King Poseidon

King Poseidon is a Decepticon combiner from the Super-God Masterforce portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

King of the Deep Blue Sea

King Poseidon (キングポセイドン Kingu Poseidon) is the combined form of the Seacons, created when the Seacon leader Turtler merges with one of each of the numerous Seacon drones under his command. As Turtler is the only sentient member of the team, it is his consciousness alone which controls the giant combiner, becoming even more cold and cruel as he tears through the battlefield with his massively increased mobility and destructive power.

King Poseidon is composed of:

• Turtler (torso)
• Gulf (right leg)
• Kraken (left arm)
• Lobclaw (right arm)
• Overbite (firearm)
• Tentakil (left leg)

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Super-God Masterforce cartoon

Voice actor: Masato Hirano (Japanese)

After numerous failures on the part of the individual Seacons and the other Decepticons serving under them, Decepticon leaders Giga and Mega decided it was time for King Poseidon to enter the fray. Eliminate the Godmaster Ginrai The Seacon combiner introduced himself to the shocked Autobots during a battle on an island off the coast of America, and immediately attacked Ginrai, who found himself unable to match King Poseidon's raw power. As King Poseidon ground his foot down on top of Ginrai, the trailer Ginrai had recently added to his Transtector suddenly burst into life, flying through the air and knocking King Poseidon aside. Ginrai and the trailer then fused together to create "Super Ginrai", who seized King Poseidon and body-slammed him so hard that the Seacons forming his limbs exploded. Only Turtler survived, and escaped into the ocean. Heroism!! The Birth of Super Ginrai

"And lo did Ginrai toss King Poseidon out on his aft, as was before, as e'er shall be."

King Poseidon next battled Super Ginrai in Canada, where he was again quickly overcome by the Autobot's Chōkon Power and had his right arm blown off. Sent tumbling backwards, the combiner lost his grip on his sword, which wound up impaling his own leg and destroying it. With two limbs gone, the Seacons were forced to disengage and retreat. Lightfoot: A Dramatic Encounter

It was some time before King Poseidon reappeared, but he eventually showed up again when Autobot Godmaster Lightfoot clashed with the Seacons in the waters off Australia and was sent tumbling into a crevasse. When Ginrai arrived to save his team-mate, the Seacons merged into King Poseidon and collapsed the crevasse on both of them, intending to leave them both to be destroyed by a sub-sea volcano that was about to erupt. Ginrai's drone partner Godbomber soon came to dig them out, and King Poseidon engaged him in battle to prevent the Autobots from being rescued, but during their fight, the volcano erupted. King Poseidon was knocked aside by flying rocks, allowing Godbomber to extricate Ginrai and Lightfoot, but as they attempted to flee, King Poseidon recovered for one final attack. Ginrai and Godbomber merged into God Ginrai and grappled with the combiner on the rim of the volcano, at which point Lightfoot performed a "Chōkon Spin Drill", creating a water spout that threatened to suck King Poseidon in. With his attention divided, King Poseidon was overcome by Ginrai and hurled into the volcano, then hit with a blast from Ginrai's God Cannon, blowing him into his component parts. As ever, only Turtler survived, slinking back to Decepticon Base to report his failure. Escape!! The Underwater Volcano Erupts

I believe I can fly... I believe I can touch the sky...

A little later, the Decepticons found themselves approached by the final Godmaster, Clouder, and Hydra instructed King Poseidon to test the newcomer's ability in battle. Surprisingly the other uninformed Decepticons, King Poseidon burst from beneath the ground and mercilessly attacked Clouder, who countered by transforming to his falcon form, seizing the combiner's shoulders, and hoisting him into the air. As he was dragged over a nearby cliff and dangled over the ocean, King Poseidon attempted to free himself with his double cannons, but wound up having his limbs blasted off by Clouder's Chōkon Power. As he tumbled into the ocean, Clouder hit him with one more blast, blowing King Poseidon to pieces yet again and proving himself to the other Decepticons. Appearance!! The Final Godmaster Secret Orders! Destroy the Autobot Base!! Clouder was subsequently installed as a double agent within the Autobot ranks, and the information he fed the Decepticons enabled them to perform an all-out assault on Autobot Base. King Poseidon was summoned into action by Giga and separated into his component Seacon parts, which proceeded to invade the base and destroy it from within. Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes

When the Decepticons captured Autobot Headmaster Junior Shūta Gō, King Poseidon served as jailer for the young hero, holding him in an unbreakable grip as Ginrai arrived in the base to rescue him. Unable to act thanks to King Poseidon's hold on his team-mate, Ginrai was pummelled by Overlord, but the tables turned most unexpectedly when the Decepticon Junior Cancer could finally no longer stomach the Decepticons' evil and opened fire on King Poseidon. King Poseidon's arm was blown off and he dropped Shūta, but Cancer pressed his attack, and King Poseidon turned his weapons on the youth, blasting his gun out of his hand. Luckily, before he could deliver the killing blow, King Poseidon was once again blasted to smithereens by Godbomber. God Ginrai: Showdown at the Decepticon Base Cancer subsequently sided with the Autobots and provided them with the information they needed to mount an attack on the Decepticons' headquarters, during which King Poseidon was formed once again, only to be promptly blown apart by Grand Maximus. The Ultimate Combination!! BlackZarak, the New Lifeform

Mine's bigger than Yours!

When the Autobots' assault resulted in the destruction of Decepticon Base, the villains relocated to the Grand Canyon for an attack on North America, and the Autobots pursued, splitting up into teams to search. The team consisting of the Headmaster Juniors and Ranger were about to scale a rock face when it exploded into fragments, revealing King Poseidon hiding within it. When their weapons proved ineffective against the giant, Shūta and Cab grabbed his arms in hopes of breaking them off, but King Poseidon simply slammed his arms together, crushing the boys between them. Although Ginrai and Grand Maximus arrived to save them, the Decepticons pulled out rather than fight on, heading for the Alps for their final attack on Earth. Autobots! Desperate Attack!! Again, the Autobots gave chase, but as soon as they arrived in the Alps, Metalhawk and the Autobot Juniors were almost immediately attacked by the waiting King Poseidon. Metalhawk engaged the combiner in a sword fight, but as they strained their blades against one another, Ginrai appeared in the skies overhead and knocked King Poseidon into his component Seacons with a God Punch attack. Rather uncharacteristically, the Seacons actually managed to stay intact through his disassembly, and Turtler had them immediately recombine to attack Ginrai, but the Autobot hero easily blew King Poseidon to fragments with his God Cannon, for the final time. Malevolent and Inhuman! The True Form of Devil Z Turtler, of course, survived the explosion, but disappeared, and was not seen either during the final battle, or when the other Decepticons fled into space at the war's end. A Battle... and Then...

Generations Selects Special Comic

After traveling to the Precursor World, Turtler recreated his Seacon drones using Angolmois Energy. He reformed King Poseidon using four Gulfs while battling Optimus Prime over the Silver Matrix. Seacons comic 3 Prime began blasting off the King's limbs, but he summoned more drones of the Kraken and Lobclaw types and replaced his lost arms. Seacons comic 4 Optimus Prime could heal himself using Star Power, however, keeping their battle at a standstill. He struck King Poseidon with great force, causing the combiner to separate back into Turtler, a Lobclaw, Kraken, and two Gulfs. The Seacons regrouped in the waters of the Blue Planet, with all six Seacon types now upgraded by Angolmois Energy. Turtler initiated the King Poseidon combination again, hoping to prove the Seacons were worthy of respect and would never be looked down upon again. King Poseidon was shocked when he realized he still couldn't overpower Prime, who was drawing strength from his burning determination to protect the lives on the Blue Planet. Still, King Poseidon continued to fight, believing he could claim real power through the Silver Matrix. Seacons comic 5

King Poseidon's struggle with Optimus Prime was interrupted by Galvatron. Having reformatted himself inside the Photon Sailer, Galvatron emerged as Super Megatron as he brought down Halfshell and his ship. He mocked King Posideon with how Halfshell had been using him, but the united Seacons refused to listen. King Poseidon turned his power on Megatron, but was blown to pieces for his troubles. Super Megatron comic 1

Matters escalated as Primus and the Blue Corps of the Primal Vanguard joined the fight, but Super Megatron evolved to become Ultra Megatron Omega thanks to the energies of the Silver Matrix. King Poseidon re-entered the fray to protect Prime from Megatron (having restored his combiner mode using more Seacons). Even with an army of Seacons at his back, however, King Poseidon was broken apart again by the arsenal of Megatron Omega. Super Megatron comic 2 He eventually accepted his failure and reverted to Turtler. God Neptune comic 1

In defense of the Blue Planet, King Poseidon would reform again using Decepticons from 2050, becoming the Scramble 7 combination. As chaos reigned around them, King Poseidon reluctantly teamed up with God Neptune. Finale

Zone

Years later, King Poseidon was among several powerful Decepticons led in an assault on planet Zone by the reborn Dark Emperor Deathsaurus. Attempting to steal their Energon Z, the Decepticons proved no match for the Micromasters and were driven away. Zone Project Story

...of course he needs a cape! He's a "King"!

King Poseidon was one of nine Decepticons selected by the supernatural new emperor of the Decepticons, Violengiguar, to become one of his Great Demon Generals. Appointed "Oceanic Fish General" and equipped with new powers and weapons to make him stronger than before, King Poseidon was first unleashed against the Autobots on the ocean planet of Wall. Hiding beneath the waves alongside Trypticon, King Poseidon emerged to battle Autobot commander Star Saber, but was beaten back by a concentrated attack from Erector, Skywave, Missile Bull, and Overload. Zone Part 3 At some point, the Generals schooled Metrotitan and the Metrosquad in the ways of evil, making them formidable opponents to the Powered Masters. Zone Part 7

King Poseidon was sent to Earth along with Devastator, Trypticon, and Predaking to steal the Zodiac necessary for Violengiguar's schemes. The mysterious energy source was located beneath the planet's surface by new Autobot commander Dai Atlas and stolen by Devastator, but as Dai Atlas attempted to chase him down, King Poseidon struck, emerging from a nearby subterranean lake and ensnaring Dai Atlas with a chain. Devastator handed the Zodiac off to King Poseidon, who returned to the surface with it, where he was attacked by Sonic Bomber and forced to hurl the Zodiac out of his reach. Unfortunately for the villains, Dai Atlas was the one who caught it, prompting Trypticon to fire a beam of Energon Z at the heroes. The Energon Z interacted with the Zodiac, which empowered Dai Atlas and Sonic Bomber with its energies, transforming them into powerful new "Zone Modes". The firepower of the two Autobots' new modes was directed upon King Poseidon and Trypticon, who were destroyed when they exploded dramatically. Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!

Comic continuity

Super-God Masterforce comic

One of King Poseidon's forays onto the battlefield occurred when the Decepticons attempted to dupe the Autobots with holographic projections of legendary Decepticons from years past. Racing into action, the Autobots suddenly found themselves surrounded by a legion of Decepticons led by "Galvatron", and while the holograms themselves posed no danger, the threat of King Poseidon was all too real. The Seacon combiner loomed over the battlefield, bearing down on the Autobots, at which point the new Autobot Godmasters Lightfoot, Ranger and Road King arrived with a new trailer unit for Ginrai's Transtector. At Lightfoot's instruction, Ginrai combined with the trailer, transforming into "Super Ginrai" and unleashing the full extent of his Chōkon Power against King Poseidon. Struck by a "Super Fire Guts" attack, King Poseidon was smashed to bits, and the battered Turtler limped away while the Autobots realized the had been facing illusions. Burn, Chokon! New Commander Super Ginrai!

Turtler later combined with several other Decepticons into the mis-matched "Scramble 7", which, naturally, had Piranacon's head and torso. The Battle Begins! The Earth-Space Alliance Army

King Poseidon returned as the powerful Grand King Poseidon and battled the Autobot Masterforce warriors in a whirlpool. Headmasters VS Masterforce

Zone comic

Now in grey edition!

Years later, King Poseidon was one of nine Decepticons selected by the supernatural new emperor of the Decepticons, Violengiguar, to become one of his Great Demon Generals. Appointed "Oceanic Fish General" and equipped with new powers and weapons to make him stronger than before, King Poseidon was first unleashed against the Autobots on the ocean planet of Wall. Hiding beneath the waves alongside Trypticon, King Poseidon emerged to battle Autobot commander Star Saber, but was beaten back by a concentrated attack from Erector, Skywave, Missile Bull, and Overload. Zone Part 3 At some point, the Generals schooled Metrotitan and the Metrosquad in the ways of evil, making them formidable opponents to the Powered Masters. Zone Part 7

King Poseidon, Trypticon, Predaking, and Devastator were directed to attack Earth in search of the mysterious "Zodiac", in order to create the super-energy Violengiguar needed for his schemes. They were pursued to the planet by the Autobot Powered Masters Dai Atlas and Sonic Bomber but while, Dai Atlas was occupied in a subterranean battle with Devastator, King Poseidon located and absconded with the Zodiac. Dai Atlas pursued him back to Earth's surface, where both sides grappled for possession of the Zodiac until Trypticon fired a beam of Energon Z at the Autobots. The Energon Z interacted with the Zodiac and unleashed its energies, transforming Dai Atlas and Sonic Bomber into heavily armed new "Zone Modes". The two heroes blasted the generals with their powerful new weapons, winning the day. Zone

Toys

Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers

An example of neon not existing in Generation 1 toy colorations.

• Turtler (Boxed Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-312

• Overbite (Carded Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-313

• Clerken[sic] (Carded Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-314

• Lobclaw (Carded Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-315

• Galph[sic] (Carded Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-316

• Tentakil (Carded Seacon, 1988)

• ID number: D-317

Released in the fourth year of Takara's Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers line under the Super-God Masterforce banner, King Poseidon is identical to the Hasbro-release Piranacon, being the combined mode of all six Seacons. Turtler forms the torso, Kraken and Lobclaw form the left and right arms respectively, Gulf and Tentakil form the right and left legs respectively, while Overbite is in his artillery mode as a hand-cannon, thanks to the unique combiner fists that serve double-duty as both a standard 5 mm post holder and a "Scramble City"-style combiner socket. And like any "Scramble City" style combiner, the limbs (and gun-bot) are freely swappable and cross-compatible with any other teams (though obviously the combiner would need Poseidon's fists to use a bot as a gun).

Normally, one would have to buy all six Seacons separately to complete the combiner. However...

• More information on King Poseidon (well, Piranacon) at TFU.info

• Kingposeidon [sic] (Gift set, 1988)

• ID number: D-318

King Poseidon could also be bought in a single large 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. Clawsome!

Generations Selects

Are they really there? Thank your lucky stars

• Turtler (Voyager, 2020)

• Gulf (Deluxe, 2020)

• Kraken (Deluxe, 2020)

• Lobclow[sic] (Deluxe, 2020)

• Overbite (Deluxe, 2020)

• Tentakil (Deluxe, 2020)

A TakaraTomy-initiated addition to the Generations Selects series, all six Seacons were re-made for the Generations Selects direct-order series, each one an extensive (and in a couple cases, almost-total) retooling of a Power of the Primes combiner toy. He comes with new-mold combiner kibble, with Power of the Primes-style combiner hands that feature individually-posable fingers. As a result, those hands are similarly compatible with Prime Masters, albeit the port one would use to plug in those accessories is shallower than on the aforementioned Power of the Primes hands.

King Poseidon's large trident-shaped sword is now formed by combining the melee weapons of the six individual Seacons. Similarly, the Seacons' guns contain multiple ports and pegs, enabling them to be assembled in several possible ways to form a large gun for King Poseidon, not unlike those encouraged by the C.O.M.B.A.T. System. While there are no official configurations detailed in the instructions with which to combine the Seacons' guns, the Transformers Generations 2020 book does include one suggestion that can be replicated if one wishes.^[1]

Speaking of large guns, he retains the original "use one bot as a cannon" gimmick thanks to each limb-bot having an "artillery" mode, essentially formed by slightly modifying their leg modes. As the individual limbs are not designed with gun handles for their Targetmaster forms, the Seacon serving that purpose instead uses its combiner peg to attach to a port on the back of one of the combiner hands. However, as the limb molds were not originally engineered to bear the weight of an entire separate limb figure attached in this manner, doing this will likely cause King Poseidon to drastically lean forward, making it difficult to stand him straight. This also makes it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to pose King Poseidon holding up his arm in a firing pose without external assistance such as a flight stand, to take the excess weight off the combiner's joints.

In the first installment of the promotional comics advertising Generation Selects Super Megatron, King Poseidon assumes what it called his "Full Target Mode", which basically replaces the combiner's hands and feet with the gun barrels of his components' Targetmaster modes. This mode can be replicated with these figures, but the resultant configuration is highly unstable.

The Seacons were all sold individually, released two at a time over the course of three months: Turtler and Gulf on January 25 2020, Kraken and Lobclaw on February 29, and Overbite and Tentakil on March 28. They were TakaraTomy Mall exclusives in Japan, but were also carried by Hasbro Pulse and other online retailers in the U.S. and Canada.

This set (minus Lobclaw) was later redecoed as God Neptune.

Merchandise

Transformers Caramel

Still not as bad a color scheme as the actual toy.

• King Poseidon 1 (1988)
• King Poseidon 2 (1988)

The six Seacons were available as part of Kabaya's Transformers Caramel line of candy toys. These non-transforming Decoy-style soft rubber figures came in two sets: the first contained Turtler, Gulf, and Kraken, with Overbite, Tentakil, and Lobclaw coming together in the second. The two sets could be plugged together to form King Poseidon. Each group of three was connected by a rubber sprue, and were available in blue, yellow, or red, so you could wind up with a mis-matched King Poseidon, like the one we've got pictured here! Each set came packaged with a piece of caramel.

Transformers Gum

• King Poseidon A (1988)
• King Poseidon B (1988)

Snap-together model kits of the Seacons were released in the tenth wave of Kabaya's Transformers Gum line, split across two sets: set A contained Turtler and Overbite, with the remaining four Seacons grouped together in set B. All six robots were fully transformable into all three modes (robot, creature, and weapon), and could combine into King Poseidon. The kits were made from solid magenta, teal, and grey plastic, with stickers rather than paint operations for detail. They came packaged with a stick of gum.

Notes

Foreign names

• English: Piranacon (Omni Productions dub, Shout! Factory sub)
• Italian: Piranha
• Mandarin: Hǎishén Wáng (海神王, "Sea God King")
• Russian: Zhivodyor (Живодёр, "Flayer")
• Spanish: Piranicón (Latin America)

References