Combaticons

The Combaticons are an antagonistic group in the Transformers franchise, especially Generation One. They are a subgroup of the Decepticons. The membership comprises:
 * Onslaught
 * Brawl
 * Swindle
 * Vortex
 * Blast Off

They combine to form Bruticus.

G1 cartoon
The Combaticons were introduced in the late second season episode "Starscream's Brigade". They were created by Starscream using old military vehicles and the brain modules of Decepticon convicts. He used them as his henchmen in a plan to wrest control of the Decepticons from Megatron. The plan almost succeeded, with the Combaticons' combined form Bruticus defeating Devastator, but they were quickly defeated by Menasor.

The Combaticons were exiled to an asteroid along with Starscream but quickly escaped and headed to Cybertron, where they ousted Shockwave and took control, attempting to use the space bridge to send Earth into the sun. The Autobots and Decepticons teamed up to defeat them. Megatron promised the Combaticons would be destroyed but instead reprogrammed them to serve him.

The Combaticons continued to serve under Megatron throughout the rest of the second season. In the episode "B.O.T.", they were destroyed by Defensor except for Swindle, who sold the others for spare parts and then had to reassemble them when Megatron objected. After the events of The Transformers: The Movie, they continued to serve Galvatron, at one point battling the Protectobots to try and stop Metroplex's transforming cog being installed. They appeared in the last story "The Rebirth" as part of the army Galvatron took to take control of Cybertron.

Marvel Comics
The Combaticons were first seen in the UK-exclusive story "Second Generation" as part of a vision of the future provided by the Creation Matrix. Megatron presumably activated them with the tap into the Matrix and, in US Issue #24 "Afterdeath", they accompanied him in an attempt to steal a new power source that saw them battling Optimus Prime and the Protectobots in virtual reality. Although all the Combaticons were "killed" in the virtual combat, Vortex's spying provided Megatron with a cheat code to continue the battle.

Shockwave later sent the Combaticons with Soundwave to destroy the volcano in which Galvatron and Ultra Magnus were buried but they were stopped by the Throttlebots. As revenge for this, they pursued the Throttlebots but found themselves in conflict with both the Protectobots and the human anti-robot team RAAT. This in turn led to them battling the Protectobots at a disused rail yard. Bruticus managed to defeat Defensor but was then stopped by Blaster. The Combaticons were later sent by Ratbat to attack the Autobots massed on the moon but forced to retreat. This was their last appearance in the main comic, although "Prime Bomb", a text story in a UK annual, later depicted them as working for Scorponok in a plan to steal Optimus Prime's spare personality disc.