Lobclaw

Lobclaws are Decepticons from the Super-God Masterforce portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Bob Lobclaw Lobs Claw Bomb.

Lobclaws (ロブクロウ Robukurō) are devoid of sentience, like all the Seacons commanded by Turtler, serving only as mindless mass-produced drone warriors designed to overwhelm their opponents by numbers. While all Seacons are fairly fragile creatures, not designed for sustained combat, Lobclaws exemplify this expendability more than most, equipped as they are with internal self-destruct systems that allow them to take their enemies down with them. These suicide bombers of the sea are quite sluggish, though, so they tend to make more use of their powerful claws and whip-like "feelers".

The Lobclaws can combine with their fellow Seacons to form King Poseidon.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

Lobclaws were among the Seacons which accompanied Decepticon Pretenders Dauros and Gilmer on their mission to the Karin Islands. Autobot Pretender Diver spotted a Lobclaw in the waters around the island chain, tipping the Autobots off to the Decepticons' activities there, and Metalhawk soon arrived to help take down a swarm of Lobclaws in the island jungles. Terror! The Decepticons' Manhunt The Decepticon Pretenders later unleashed Lobclaws in Tokyo, which kept the Autobot Pretenders busy while both factions' newly created Headmaster Juniors had their first battle. Birth! Headmaster Jrs

Lobclaws subsequently participated in a few battles in America; one accompanied the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors in an attack on an American city, where Shūta Gō and Cab managed to break off its own claw and use it to stab the Seacon, Rage!! Little Devils with No Need for Rules while more of them backed up Hydra and Buster when they attempted to publicly discredit Autobot Godmaster Ginrai. Eliminate the Godmaster Ginrai

With the debut of the Seacon commander Turtler on the battlefield, at least one Lobclaw would usually be present in order to combine with its leader as the right arm of the giant King Poseidon. The Seacon combiner battled Ginrai on an island off the coast of America Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai and in Canada, Lightfoot: A Dramatic Encounter but they didn't even get the chance to combine before they were wiped out in a clash in the French village of Dagneux. Assemble! The Four Godmaster Gunmen A swarm of Seacons backed up the Decepticon Pretenders in a battle on Atlan Island, where a Lobclaw had the misfortune of going up against Ginrai's Atomic Fire Guts attack and losing explosively. Save the Little Girl! The Chōjin Warriors, the Godmasters

Every Red Lobster chef's worst nightmare.

Lobclaws were among the swarms of Seacons that besieged British Motors alongside Hydra and Buster and were destroyed by the Autobot Godmasters, Life? Death? The Desperate Lightfoot and vast numbers of them attacked Lightfoot in the waters off the coast of Australia when the Autobot investigated the Decepticons' activities in the area. Escape!! The Underwater Volcano Erupts Numerous Lobclaws joined in the Decepticons' all-out assault on the Autobot headquarters, with a large swarm of them attacking Lightfoot, and one in particular receiving the honor of destroying the magma energy converter that powered the base, setting of a chain reaction that destroyed it from within. Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes Later, more of the sea-beasts joined in occupying the Autobots' attentions when the powerful Decepticon BlackZarak began cutting a swathe of destruction across Earth. BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space

When Ginrai approached Decepticon Base in order to rescue his captive comrade Shūta, several Lobclaws were patrolling the perimeter and attacked him, forcing him to blast out the base's airlock, sucking himself and his opponents inside. Subsequently, a Lobclaw was always handy for the formation of King Poseidon, inside the Decepticon base, God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base in a battle on its roof, The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform in the Grand Canyon, Autobots! Desperate Attack!! and in the Alps, where the Seacons had their final battle with Ginrai, and were once again defeated and destroyed. Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z Whether or not any Lobclaws remained on Earth following the destruction of Decepticon emperor Devil Z and the departure of most of the Transformers from the planet is unknown. A Battle... and Then...

Generations Selects comic

In 2020, Lobclaw lay deactivated after King Poseidon's final defeat at the hands of God Ginrai. Seacons comic 5

Upon traveling to the Precursor World, Turtler rebuilt his supply of Seacon drones using Angolmois Energy. Kraken and Lobclaw drones were deployed during a battle over the Silver Matrix with Optimus Prime, with one of each forming replacement limbs for King Poseidon. Seacons comic 4 Prime struck the King hard enough to make them break apart, and the Seacons dropped down to the Blue Planet. Regrouping in the seas, a full compliment of Seacons displayed their new robot modes before recombining as King Poseidon. Seacons comic 5

King Poseidon later assembled an army of Seacons to battle Ultra Megatron Omega, but it proved fruitless. Super Megatron comic 2

In time, Turtler felt appreciated by the Beast People of the Blue Planet, and assumed the role of their benevolent "king" and protector. He directed his Seacons to defend the beasts when their world was threatened by Primus's machinations. Finale Prelude

Zone cartoon

Years after the Masterforce War, the Seacons, including one Lobclaw, were recruited by the supernatural new Emperor of Destruction Violengiguar. Although they never appeared in their individual forms, as King Poseidon, they attacked Earth in search of the Zodiac and were destroyed by the new Autobot Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas. Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!

TV Magazine comic continuity

Super-God Masterforce comic

A Lobclaw was the first Seacon unleashed by the Decepticons, upon Ginza, Tokyo. The monster gave the newly created Autobot Headmaster Juniors a tough time, but Metalhawk soon arrived to dispose of the cantankerous crustacean. The Birth of the Junior Headmasters Later, when the Decepticons attempted to dupe the Autobots with holographic images of legendary Decepticons of years past, a Lobclaw joined with its fellow Seacons in forming King Poseidon, only to be defeated by the new-born Super Ginrai. Burn, Chokon! New Commander Super Ginrai!

When Turtler led a Decepticon attack on the planet Athenia and merged with various other Decepticons to create "Scramble 7", a Lobclaw served as a hand-held weapon for the mis-matched combiner, which was soon destroyed by Ginrai. The Battle Begins! The Earth-Space Alliance Army

Zone comic and story pages

The Seacons, including a Lobclaw, were recruited by the supernatural new Emperor of Destruction Violengiguar. Appearing only in their combined form of King Poseidon, the team battled the Autobots on the planet Wall, Zone story page #3 and were later defeated by the new Autobot commander Dai Atlas when they attacked Earth in search of the Zodiac. Zone It is unclear if the Seacons survived their clash with Dai Atlas; they did not reappear, suggesting they may have been destroyed, but Predaking and Trypticon, who were also blasted by Dai Atlas, were both shown to have survived the experience. Zone story page #6

Toys

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

Yeah, the pictured "attack mode" in the middle might be less awkward, but it's not the official one, sorry.

• Lobclaw (Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-315
• Accessories: Left & right claws, "Cannon Gun", "Tripod Rifle", connector, weapon stand base

Released in the fourth year of Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line under the Super-God Masterforce banner, Lobclaw is identical to the Hasbro-release Nautilator, transforming into a robotic lobster. His large grey gun can plug into his open maw for an "attack mode", which is a bit awkward. His huge lobster-claws are detachable if you'd like a less back-heavy robot mode, as this toy has a lot of backpack going on.

He also has a third mode; an artillery emplacement that mounts on top of a stand formed from three individual components. The central piece of this stand, the "Tripod Rifle", can also be wielded as a weapon in robot mode.

Lobclaw can also transform into either an arm or leg compatible with any "Scramble City"-style combiner (somewhat awkwardly, given the intrusive splay of his lobster legs), though his nominal placement is as the right arm to King Poseidon; thanks to Poseidon's unique fists, Lobclaw's artillery mode can also be used as a hand-held weapon by the Seacon super robot.

• More information on Lobclaw (well, Nautilator) at TFU.info

• Kingposeidon [sic] (Gift set, 1988)

• ID number: D-318
• Accessories: Left & right claws, "Cannon Gun", "Tripod Rifle", connector, weapon stand base

Lobclaw was sold both as an individual, and in a large King Posiedon box set. All of the toys in the set are identical to their individual releases.

Unlike the Hasbro Seacon box-set, which excludes Nautilator, the King Poseidon set comes with all six members of the team: Turtler, Gulf, Kraken, Lobclaw, Overbite, and Tentakil.

Generations Selects

Nautilator? I hardly know her.

• Seacons Lobclow [sic] (Deluxe, 2020)

• Release date: February 29, 2020
• Hasbro ID number: TT-GS06
• Accessories: Laser gun, hatchet, tail/gun, combiner hand/gun mode handle, hand gap filler/gun

A TakaraTomy-initiated addition to the Generations Selects series, "Seacons Lobclaw" is an extensive retooling of Power of the Primes Deluxe Class Terrorcon Blot, transforming into a robotic lobster-monster.

Just as with his original toy, he is able to form any limb for any Combiner Wars-style super robot, with his nominal place as the right arm to King Poseidon, plus he also retains his artillery mode, which can again be used as a hand-held cannon by compatible combiners. Like the other Generations Selects Seacons, Lobclaw has newly-tooled combiner hands with individually-posable fingers, which also form the base of the Targetmaster-style gun mode, with the handle being a Combiner Wars styled port that plugs in to the hand provided in this set. The hand can be plugged into the back of the tail in beast mode, or as the back of the feet in the combined mode, whilst Turtler's feet components are at the front. He also has a new axe, which combines with the other Seacons' melee weapons to form King Poseidon's oversized trident-sword.

Lobclaw was released as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive in Japan, as part of the second of three mini-waves of Seacons alongside Overbite. The Seacons were also available via Hasbro Pulse and other online retailers in the U.S. and Canada.

This tooling also served as the model for the comic-only appearance of Lawbhammer in the Generations Selects finale prelude.

Merchandise

Transformers Gum

• King Poseidon Set B (1988)
  • Accessories: Blaster

Released as part of the series 10 lineup of Kabaya candy kits, Lobclaw was available in as set along with fellow Seacons Gulf, Kraken, and Tentakil. Despite being a snap-together model kit, it is functionally a downsized version of the larger toy, retaining the combining functions. Since the kit is gang molded with the other Seacons, some of the plastic colors are a bit off. Common among Kabaya kits, it relies on stickers for added detail.

Lobclaw can become an arm, leg, or cannon for King Poseidon.

• Lobclaw (2015)
  • Accessories: Blasters, King Poseidon fist

Part of the tenth wave of Kabaya's standard snap together kits, Lobclaw can transform from monstrous lobster to robot, though you need to partsform his robot legs to do so. He can combine with the concurrently released Seacons to create King Poseidon.

Lobclaw and the other Seacons are compatible with the Gaia Scramble combiner limbs released a few years prior.

Notes

Melted butter won't help you now, Bill Cosby!!

• None of the Masterforce Seacons were ever depicted in robot mode in the anime or manga. The toy's package art is the only known "fictional" depiction of a Lobclaw in robot mode.
• Lobclaw/Nautilator was excluded when the Generation 1 Seacons were redecoed for Beast Wars, but decades later, the character Lawbhammer would fill the gap.

Foreign names

• English: Nautilator (Shout! Factory sub)
• Mandarin: Tiě Qián Xiā (铁钳虾, "Iron-clamp Shrimp")