Horri-Bull

Horri-Bull is a Decepticon Headmaster from the Generation 1 continuity family.

"The fish rots from the head, as they say. So my thinking is, why not cut off the head?"

Horri-Bull (aka Terri-Bull or Rot-Gut) is indeed horrible, as well as Aw-Ful, Dis-Gusting, and Gnaw-C-8-Ing, but at least he's not a slob like Blot or Snapdragon or Landfill. Oh, he's a slob, all right, but he's a different sort; neither an ignorant, involuntary slob like Blot, nor an oblivious slob like Landfill, not even a lazy slob like Snapdragon. Never! He's a proud, oil-spitting, grease-oozing, smoke-belching filthmaster. Horri-Bull boasts, with real pride, that he can't remember his last bath. He believes this makes him unique among the Decepticons. If one were to object that it was not a specialty to take pride in, it would only bring pain and perhaps death by flamethrower, because Horri-Bull is also a horrible bully (ha ha), with a nasty temper and a mean streak wider than the oily trails he leaves.

It is only fitting that this uniquely repulsive Decepticon is paired with such a vile specimen of Nebulan ooze with legs—the vulgar talking shock-jock known as Kreb. Together, they make a team to be avoided.

Fiction

Marvel Comics continuity

Marvel The Transformers comics

"I'm talking about an overhaul of the system. Putting the power in... different hands."

Horri-Bull's partner Kreb served as frontman for the Z Foundation, organizing a team of human bounty hunters called the Roadjammers to hunt Autobots for his leader, Scorponok. Unfortunately, the Roadjammers discovered Horri-Bull and his fellow Headmasters "behind the curtain" and tried to take them out as well. Lord Zarak was forced to sacrifice his "jammer"ed control over captured Autobots in order to revive his soldiers. Ca$h and Car-nage!

Horri-Bull and the other Decepticon Headmasters and Targetmasters took Scorponok's headless body with them to ambush the Autobot Highbrow, who had taken Zarak from his shoulders in a previous battle. Though they succeeded in reuniting their leader with his head, Horri-Bull's part in the proceeding battle was cut short when he was shunted into Limbo along with Weirdwolf, Fangry, Misfire, Skullcruncher, and Slugslinger to make room for the time traveling Soundwave and Terrorcons from 2009. Time Wars

"It's a brand new day and the sun is high! All the birds are singin' that you're gonna die!"

When Scorponok and his greeting party were attacked while meeting with Ratbat's crew, Horri-Bull led the remaining army into battle against their fellow Decepticons. However, he was quickly sliced in two by Blitzwing's electron scimitar Cold War! and carried back in pieces to the Decepticon base. Dark Star He was up and about by the time Optimus Prime surrendered to Scorponok in order to join their forces against the encroaching threat of Unicron. Horri-Bull made sure that Blurr did nothing funny as the Autobot was escorted to a holding cell. Surrender! He was later caught in the collapse of the New Jersey base caused by Shockwave's Decepticon faction. He was helped up on his feet by Soundwave. ...All This and Civil War 2 During the battle that followed, the Transformers on Earth, including Horri-Bull, were suddenly teleported to Cybertron by Primus. There, they were forced to listen to Primus's warning about Unicron. The Void!

Following Unicron's attack and Scorponok's death, Horri-Bull fell under Bludgeon's leadership and was part of his invasion force on Klo. The Last Autobot? When the Neo-Knights came to Klo, Horri-Bull was about to crush them when the reborn Optimus Prime landed in front of the Decepticons, shocking Horri-Bull. Horri-Bull and a few others fought the Autobot leader, but the battle turned against the Decepticons and Bludgeon forced the Decepticons into exile. End of the Road!

Marvel UK future timelines

Listen close to everybody's heart and hear that breaking sound.

In 1995, Horri-Bull joined Shockwave, Fangry, and Squeezeplay in attacking the Autobots at a football stadium in California. While his partners disabled Jazz, Horri-Bull roasted Hot Rod with his flamethrower breath. They then turned their attention on Optimus Prime, but were interrupted by the newly created Autobot, Arcee. She kept the Decepticons occupied long enough for the other Autobots to recover, and so they fled. Prime's Rib!

Transformers Comic-Magazin

Horri-Bull wanted to be disguised as a bull but his jet engine was a bit of a giveaway. Attack At Dawn He was part of a Decepticon raid on the nuclear arms cache Nevada Alpha, melting all human opposition with his weapons and smashing his way into the missile storage room. Well, at least the Autobots could stop him! Unless those Autobots were the Small Targetmasters because Horri-Bull singlehandedly hospitalised them with one charge! Optimus had to personally wrestle him and even that took a long time. Don't mess with Horri-Bull. Save Nevada Alpha

The characteristics of Horri-Bull and the other Headmaster Decepticons were reviewed by Optimus Prime and Bumblebee in a simulation watched by Goldbug. Memories of Bumblebee

Classics

You've got more than enough evil hours to get into the Henchmen's Union.

Twenty years after the battle of Klo, Horri-Bull had joined Gigatron's Decepticons on Earth, and was present when Gigatron's team attacked the Autobots' Ironworks headquarters for their hidden Rarified Energon reserves. Invasion Prologue

They were plotting a second assault when invaders from another dimension complicated the plans. The Decepticons found themselves allied with the forces of good, defending their hunting ground on Earth from Evil Autobots who wanted to destroy the entire world. Invasion

Regeneration One

"The League is watching. I gotta do this alone."

Twenty-one years after the battle of Klo, Horri-Bull was still at Bludgeon's side aboard the Warworld as the Decepticon leader unleashed his Blitz Engines on Cybertron's Autobots and fired the Warworld's weapons at Ultra Magnus and Galvatron. Destiny, Part Four At Fangry's suggestion, Krok, Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher, Octopunch, Stranglehold, and Horri-Bull went down to the planet's surface to join the battle, but as the Blitz Engines, Soundwave's Neo-Decepticons and finally Bludgeon himself were all defeated in turn, Ultra Magnus's Autobots rallied and claimed victory. Destiny, Part Five

Ladybird Books continuity

"Oh, goodness, look at my wrist. I gotta go."

Horri-Bull, Fangry, and Squeezeplay operated a secret underground base on Nebulos within the "Nebulos Triangle". They maintained this secrecy by shorting out electronics and causing whoever wandered into the area to disappear... at least until Optimus Prime decided that these phenomena were probably caused by a secret Decepticon base. The Autobots stormed in, and Quickmix poured Nebulite-enriched concrete all over the fleeing Decepticons, leaving Horri-Bull and the others trapped in a living tomb. Decepticons Underground

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

A heinous crime, a show of force, a murder would be nice of course!

Horri-Bull was a member of Starscream's Predacons during the Dark Ages, and was present when the Lightning Strike Coalition stole one of their energon shipments. Fragmentation

2005 IDW continuity

First appearance: Drift #1

"Hey, sexy, fancy some backstory?"

Horri-Bull was one of the early Decepticons and passed on its class warfare rhetoric to his close compatriot, Needlenose. Tracks, Needlenose's brother, was disparaging of Horri-Bull and his Decepticonism. The Transgressors As the Decepticon movement spread across Cybertron, Needlenose formally joined the Decepticons alongside Horri-Bull. The two became gun-runners for the cause, supplying disenfranchised workers with "self-defense" weapons in preparation for a larger uprising. To Walk Among the Chosen Dance Among the Shadows

When an idealistic scientist named Jetfire had an altercation with the law, Horri provided their Decepticon comrade with a gun, unaware that Jetfire, adhering to the belief that the Decepticon movement should be pacifistic, was secretly working with Orion Pax to crack down on the arms trade. Dance Among the Shadows Jetfire's troubled allegiances only grew worse when Needlenose revealed that Soundwave, ostensibly preaching the path of peace, had authorized the arms-dealing in the first place. Future Glories Lost Orion and Prowl arrived to crack down on the arms dealers, and Needlenose and Horri-Bull fled while Pax gunned down the third member of their group. Frustrated by the loss of their weapons, Needlenose berated Soundwave for letting their hard work go to waste, but Soundwave lied to them by telling them that their supply of weapons had been detonated by the Autobots rather than a pragmatic Starscream. Feel Safe Without Regrets

Needlenose and Horri-Bull would later catch Jetfire on the way home from his new job in the police science division. They administered a beating before getting scared off by Bumblebee. The Next Day, and the Next

Millions of years later, Horri-Bull was a member of Turmoil's detachment of Decepticon soldiers. He fought against Sunstreaker's Autobot forces under the leadership of Turmoil's lieutenant, Deadlock. Drift #1

"Look at him! Not a word! Hammer, meet NAIL!"

Following the end of the war, Horri-Bull was among the Decepticons captured and affixed with inhibitor/deterrence chips in the wake of Galvatron's defeat on Cybertron. When they were released to take down the NAILs protesting against the Autobots' presence on the planet, Horri-Bull strangled one unlucky rioter. The Death of Optimus Prime

Horri-Bull enjoyed his new position as "enforcer" and joined Needlenose in harassing NAILs, including Tappet. When they were caught in the act by the Autobots, they were turned over to Ratbat, then the appointed leader of the Decepticons and who chewed them out for blindly serving the Autobot government. Nevertheless, the two were at it again, this time beating up Zetca. When Horri-Bull refused to back off, Bumblebee detonated the I/D chip in Horri-Bull, blowing his head off. (Unknown to the horrified Needlenose, the I/D chips had been disabled: the Decepticon leadership had allowed Horri-Bull to die to keep this quiet, Soundwave having remotely detonated the chip.) The Autonomy Lesson The World & Everything in It

When lamenting how their leaders just kept bringing them more fighting, Needlenose said that he missed Horri-Bull. Shockpoint Later, as a disgruntled Needlenose began to become a Decepticon leader himself, he was driven to rage when Tracks said Bumblebee could have given the Decepticons a better peace, saying he would never have worked with the Transformer who'd killed his lover. The Transgressors Having learned the truth of Horri-Bull's death from Arcee, Optimus Prime later used it as leverage to extort Soundwave into allying with the Autobots by threatening to pass the information on to Needlenose. The Medium and the Message When Onyx Prime revealed the truth that Soundwave killed Horri-Bull, the rest of the Decepticons turned on him. The Ground During the battle of Unicron Soundwave then glimpsed Horri-Bull's spirit among the other deceased Cybertronians welcoming him to the Afterspark. Ceremony

Ask Vector Prime

Vector Prime regarded Horri-Bull, and his contempt for modern hygiene, as one of the vilest evils he had ever faced. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/06/12

Titans Return marketing material

"It's not a death ray or an ice beam—that's so Johnny Snow."

Though Terri-Bull was a filthy slob, his comrades didn't call him that to his face because he could give them the ability to fire a toxic rust cloud. Titans Return Terri-Bull online bio Rot-Gut accompanied Skullsmasher and Grax to Caminus, where they stole some secret Autobot codes. Pursued by Blaster, Stripes, and Rewind, the Decepticons eluded their pursuers by having Rot-Gut combine with Skullsmasher's body. Rot-Gut imparted his power onto Skullsmasher, allowing Skullsmasher to fire a cloud of toxic rust from his blaster. Titans Return: The Power of the Titan Masters

Commercial appearances

Torro!

• Fangry, Horri-Bull, and Squeezeplay burst through a wall, and the three engaged the new Headmaster Autobots. Galvatron noted that their new Headmasters would give the Decepticons "more brainpower than ever." Small Headmasters Commercial Given that it's Galvatron who said it, the utterly ludicrous nature of this comment can just be explained as him being particularly crazy that day.
• During a battle on the Moon, Horri-Bull attempted to tackle down Quickswitch. The Autobot dodged out of the way, and used his puma mode to take down his attacker. Quickswitch commercial

Games

Transformers Roleplaying Game

Horri-Bull was a guard at the Styx penal colony. Decepticon Directive

Toys

The Transformers

There is no Dana, only Zuul.

• Horri-Bull (Headmaster, 1988)

• Accessories: "Kreb" Headmaster pilot, "Concussion blaster", double-barreled "flamethrower"-tail

Released in the fifth year of the original Transformers toyline (fourth in Europe), Horri-Bull transforms into a robotic buffalo^[1] or bull^[2] (though he more closely resembles the "terror dogs" Zuul and Vinz Clortho from Ghostbusters). His beast mode back opens up to contain his pack-in Nebulan partner Kreb, who forms the robot mode's head. Plugging Kreb (or any other Headmaster) into the neck socket activates the Tech Spec meter in Horri-Bull's chest; as a smaller Headmaster, the stats are part of a single plate rather than individual rollers. His twin-barreled tail-blaster becomes a hand-held weapon in robot mode.

His beast mode forelegs feature articulated claws, but what purpose this serves is unknown, since they only fold down, useless in beast mode and actually covering up his fist-holes in robot. Making matters worse, he can't hold his double-barreled tail gun without partially un-transforming his fist away from the claws to clear room for the weapon. Like most larger toys of the era, he features 5mm pegholes for holding weapons.

Horri-Bull suffers from another design flaw: the beast mode head has square sections that catch onto the joint and stop it from moving, and the joint must be forced down for transformation, risking breakage.

This toy was released in Japan without changes as the Super-God Masterforce human villain Bullhorn.

• More information on Horri-Bull at TFU.info

Titans Return

Needlenose is desperately trying to import this.

• Terri-Bull (Titan Master, 2016)

• Accessories: Tank vehicle
• Known designers: John Warden (Hasbro), Emiliano Santalucia (concept artist)

Released in the first wave of Titans Return Titan Master class toys, Terri-Bull transforms from robot to a head compatible with any Deluxe-or-larger Titans Return figure. The companion vehicle changes from a tank to a plane which Terri-Bull (or any other Titan Master/Legends Headmaster figures) can ride on/combine with, and has a 5mm post that folds out to become a weapon for larger figures. The gun barrels connect to the tank turret via 3mm C joints, which allows them to pivot up and down, as well as clip onto other compatible figures.

Unlike most of the Titan Master vehicle accessories, Terri-Bull's tank vehicle's gun mode handle does not seem to be pop off when wielded by many 5 mm post-compatible closed hands. However, like his wavemate Loudmouth, the upper portion of Terri-Bull's legs has been installed backwards in all samples. This can be fixed by lightly knocking out the pin, flipping the leg pieces, and reassembling the toy.

Terri-Bull was originally designed by Emiliano Santalucia as a new character, and sported an original head-mode design. The Trypticon's Titan Master Crunch cereal box refers him as "Rot-Gut". His promo shots show a purple face and light grey arms, while the final toy has yellow-colored face and blue arms. His guns are also shown in blue rather than light grey.

This toy has become rather hard to find in Australia while his wavemates are still relatively common.

Terri-Bull was retooled into Titans Return Skytread, whilst for the Legends line the head was redecoed as Bullhorn and the vehicle into Tankette, and he would've been redecoed as a "Scout Tank" for the BotCon 2017 "Action on Hydrus Four" set that never came to be.

• More information on Titans Return Terri-Bull at TFU.info

Merchandise

Transformers Trading Card Game

• Horri-Bull, Ground Trooper (2020)
  • Wave 5: Titan Masters Attack
  • Rarity: UT
  • Card Number: T25/T46
  • Stars: 6

Horri-Bull is one of forty-six double sided character cards released as part of Wave 5 of the Transformers Trading Card Game, Titans Masters Attack. As a character with a body mode, Horri-Bull begins the game with a Titan Master attached in head mode. Once Horri-Bull is KO'd, said Titan Master is deployed.

The card features original artwork for both modes, with lines by Sara Pitre-Durocher

This card's set was originally set for an April 2020 release, however due to the global COVID-19 pandemic the release was pushed back to May 29, 2020.

Notes

Our wiki is so... horrible.

• Horri-Bull's yellow color in "The Autonomy Lesson" stems from the image TFWiki used to have for Horri-Bull's toy and TFU.info's screencap of Horri-Bull. Josh Perez chose to use the yellow to "help him stick out a lot more".^[3]

Foreign names

• Japanese: Horri-Bull (ホリブル Horiburu)
• French: Taureu (Canada)
• Hungarian: Szörnybika ("Monster-bull")
• Italian: Thorror

References