Rippersnapper

Rippersnapper is a Decepticon Terrorcon introduced during the Headmasters era, a savage beast-mode warrior who transforms into a fanged alien shark-creature. He operates as part of the Terrorcons, a team of ferocious Decepticons known for their brutal combat style and destructive appetites.

Rippersnapper crashed onto the scene in 1987's The Transformers: Headmasters #3, a Bob Budiansky and Frank Springer creation who arrived right at the heart of one of Marvel's most ambitious expansions of the Transformers mythos. A Copper Age original, this character has kept genuinely dangerous company — sharing pages with heavy hitters like Scorponok, Soundwave, and Optimus Prime across The Transformers and its Headmasters offshoot. The fact that Rippersnapper's presence has been catalogued as recently as 2025, from a debut nearly four decades ago, speaks to the stubborn staying power of even the deeper cuts from that era's remarkable roster.