Who Are Scourge and the Terrorcons? ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ Villains Explained

Transformers: Rise of the Beasts took a departure from the usual Transformers villain to give more of the limelight to a comparatively new villain in the form of Scourge and the Terrorcons that he led against the Autobots and the Maximals in the hopes of getting his hands on a powerful relic called the Transwarp Key. In that regard, we don’t see Megatron in this movie because it focuses more on Scourge as the villain. So, who exactly are Scourge and the Terrorcons?

Scourge is the leader of the Terrorcons, acting as the henchmen of the planet-devouring entity known as Unicron. As the leader of the Terrorcons, Scourge is Unicron’s strongest minion and is tasked with finding the Transwarp Key so that Unicron can easily get from one planet to another to devour them faster.

In a way, Scourge acts as the herald of Unicron, similar to what the Silver Surfer did for Galactus in the world of Marvel Comics. That is why Scourge is such a great threat to the people of Earth and to the Autobots and the Maximals, as he is powerful enough to defeat Primes all on his own due to having a fraction of a godlike entity’s power. So, with that said, let’s look at what we know about Scourge and his Terrorcons.

Who Is Scourge?

Because Transformers: Rise of the Beasts acts as some sort of a reboot and even a prequel to the events of the original Transformers movies helmed by Michael Bay, we don’t get to see Megatron and the Decepticons taking center stage as the big bad guys that the good guys need to stop. Despite that, some characters took on the villain role and owned it perfectly in Rise of the Beasts. Chief among them was a Cybertronian named Scourge, who was big enough of a threat that the Autobots were rag-dolled by him and his men.

Scourge was introduced early in the movie when the Maximals were shown on their home planet. The Maximals were led by Apeling, who was guarding the Transwarp Key against Unicron and his minions because it allows anyone to travel through time and space. And the Maximals needed to ensure that Unicron did not get his hands on it because this would allow the massive planet-eating entity to easily consume entire galaxies in hours or days.

As such, Apeling was seen fleeing with the Transwarp Key until some of Scourge’s underlings appeared and injured him. When the other Maximals saved Apeling from certain death, the leader of the Maximals ordered Optimus Primal to escape the planet using the Transwarp Key so that they could keep it away from Unicron’s hands. Apeling decided to stay behind to slow the other enemies down.

Apeling dueled with Scourge, who offered to spare the planet of the Maximals in exchange for the Transwarp Key. But Apeling rejected the offer because he knew Unicron would only use the key to destroy entire galaxies. As such, Scourge had no choice but to kill Apeling and take his crest as part of his collection.

Scourge is the strongest out of Unicron’s men because he is tasked with locating planets that the massive being can devour. He is similar to what the Silver Surfer does for Galactus in Marvel Comics, as he is part of an advanced scouting party that paves the way for Unicron’s arrival. And Unicron gave Scourge the task of locating the Transwarp Key and using it to summon Unicron over to his location so the devourer could eat the planet.

The Terrorcons Explained

On top of the fact that Scourge is the strongest out of all of Unicron’s men, he is also the leader of the Terrorcons, which are Cybertronians that act as the minions of the planet-devouring entity. In that regard, they are underlings of Scourge but aren’t necessarily so much weaker than him.

In fact, during the movie’s events, three Terrorcons were already more than enough to give both the Autobots and the Maximals trouble. That’s because the Terrorcons are given a fraction of Unicron’s powers to make them far stronger than any other Cybertronian. And this gave them a clear advantage in their fight against the good guys.

During Optimus Prime’s first duel with Scourge, the Terrorcon leader showcased how far the gap between him and the Autobot leader was because he could easily block Prime’s attacks and even overpower him with his own strength. And we know just how strong Optimus is compared to the other Autobots.

The Terrorcons also displayed similar levels of strength when they were able to overpower some of the Autobots and Maximals during the movie’s events. But the other Terrorcons were not as strong as Scourge, who easily defeated Optimus and killed Bumblebee in his first meeting with the Autobots.

In the cartoons and the comics, the Terrorcons were never portrayed to be somewhere near the level of the Autobots and the Decepticons. But the thing about them in the cartoons and the comics is that they were a subgroup of Decepticons instead of an entirely different group. As such, Rise of the Beasts gives the Terrorcons an entirely different identity that separates them from the one that cartoon and comic book fans know.

What Happens to Scourge in Rise of the Beasts?

As mentioned, Scourge and the other Terrorcons were far too powerful for the Autobots and the Maximals. After Scourge was able to infect Airazor and use the Maximal to get the second half of the Transwarp Key, he initiated the arrival of Unicron by using the key on a machine that opened up a portal from where Unicron was.

The Autobots and Maximals worked with Noah Diaz and Elena Wallace to stop the machine using a secret code that would immediately shut it off. And Scourge happened to be on the console that operated the machine.

Noah and Elena were supposed to sneak to the console while Mirage distracted Scourge. Mirage didn’t stand a chance against the Terrorcon leader despite his valiant efforts. But instead of dying, Mirage gave his parts to Noah so that he could use Mirage’s body as a battle suit that allowed him to have the same capabilities as a Cybertronian. Noah teamed up with Optimus to fight Scourge.

While Scourge was still more than a match for Noah and Optimus Prime, Bumblebee’s arrival turned the tide of battle in favor of the good guys. And after Scourge destroys the console to prevent Elena from shutting the machine down, Optimus finally kills and defeats the strongest Terrorcon by using his blades to rip his head off his body.

In that regard, Scourge and the Terrorcons were defeated. Optimus Prime also destroyed the Transwarp Key to prevent Unicron’s arrival. And while Scourge may be dead and Unicron may be trapped in a different galaxy, Prime and the others weren’t sure they’d seen the last of the planet-devouring entity.