Line #54 Main/SkeleBot9000


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/skele_bot_9000_5.png]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:[[http://pavuk.cgsociety.org/art/rpbpt-3ds-max-photoshop-project-david-friends-2d-703045 My Nightmare Buddy.]]]]
3
4	->''"Just for my own edification, did you have to design the robots with such horrifying features? I'm not a design guy, or anything, but I can't see any either performance or aesthetic benefits in designing the robots with cold, skeleton heads, piercing red eyes and giant metal teeth."''
5	-->-- '''Website/{{Cracked}}.com''', [[https://archive.is/hpoho "A Series of Emails from Cyberdyne's New Tech Guy"]]
6
7	A visual trope in science fiction materials: humanoid robots that look skeletal in design. They all have relatively thin limbs that are reminiscent of bones, and they usually lack "filling" in places where humans have only soft organs, like the abdomen.
8
9	Such robots can be very obvious, with sinister, grinning skull-faces, ''a la'' T-800 from ''{{Franchise/Terminator}}'' films. Others are more subtle, with either fairly realistic faces or [[TheBlank no faces at all]]. Some, such as the T-800s, are designed to be covered with "something", so they literally are robot skeletons once you remove the coverings.
10
11	Obvious [=SkeleBots=] are meant to scare characters. Often, these are the cold, inhuman soldiers of the BigBad. On the other hand, subtle [=SkeleBots=] are often presented (at least at first) as perfectly innocuous consumer devices, but they're meant to subtly creep out the audience.
12
13	This trope also makes quite a bit of sense from a pure engineering standpoint: the bipedal human skeleton is a rather efficient structure. Placing processing power and sensors in a compact, heavily armored box at the top of the body minimizes lag and provides the best vantage point possible, the ribcage centralizes and protects important components, and an upright bipedal stance allows both great strength and dexterity in the upper limbs[[note]]By placing the arms directly over the feet, the upright stance ensures that the weight of any object being held by the arms is as close to being directly over the base of support as possible. This greatly increases balance when holding heavy objects, allowing for greater feats of strength and precision.[[/note]] while also making us one of the few animals that can survive prolonged high-speed travel.[[note]]Two legs are always more efficient than four, provided you have the brainpower and coordination to use them. For instance, an average horse would either lose an ultramarathon to an average human or die winning.[[/note]] Eliminating excess weight by replacing muscle with systems of cables or servo motors and organs with compact power supplies would let you strip the body down to, well, the bare bones essentials.
14
15	That said, while there might be no mechanical ''need'' for the extra padding or housing necessary to keep a robot built on the human frame from looking skeletal, "not looking creepy" is a general design goal for consumer products, especially those with recognizable faces. Subtle [=SkeleBots=] with "intact" faces often lean as much towards the "moving corpse" nadir of the UncannyValley as DemBones. Sometimes overlaps with UnnecessarilyCreepyRobot for cases when it would probably be better if the robot ''didn't'' resemble a skeleton, but this doesn't seem to have occurred to the designer (or [[RuleOfScary possibly that it did]]).
16
17	If you're specifically looking for ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'' {{Exp\|y}}ies then take a look at TerminatorImpersonator.
18
19	----
20	!!Examples:
21
22	[[foldercontrol]]
23
24	[[folder:Anime and Manga]]
25	* The Boomer androids from the original ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'', as {{Terminator Impersonator}}s, also have skull-like heads under their artificial skins (the rest of the body is much less skeletal).
26	* During the Red Ribbon Army arc of ''Manga/DragonBall'', Goku and crew encounter what appears to be a skeleton with a ArmCannon in an abandoned pirate's lair.
27	* As an iconic, long-running mecha franchise, ''Franchise/{{Gundam}}'' sometimes brings in this design element:
28	** ''Anime/MobileSuitZetaGundam'': While the first Psyco Gundam had a head design mostly the same as the original RX-78, the Psyco Gundam Mk II has a slatted faceplate [[https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/gundam/images/b/b5/Psyco_Gundam_Mk-II_Head_Close-Up_02_%28ZZ_Ep34%29.png evocative of a skull]].
29	** Despite its name, the Skull Gundam from ''Anime/MobileFighterGGundam'' doesn't quite fit this trope. While its arms and legs are skeletal, its torso is [[{{Cephalothorax}} a giant skull]].
30	** The suits of ''Anime/MobileSuitGundamIronBloodedOrphans'' frequently have parts of their inner frames exposed, especially the waists, giving them a bit of this aesthetic. It's a way to give them a low-tech, inhuman feel, befitting the especially gritty, down-to-earth atmosphere of the show.
31	* The Skullgunners from ''Anime/BlueCometSPTLayzner'' have heads shape like the top of a human skull, though their disproportionately-large size make them resemble TheGreys. They're AI-controlled MechaMooks which communicate with each other through a HiveMind for ruthless efficiency.
32	[[/folder]]
33
34	[[folder:Comic Books]]
35	* The "anorexic Cybermen" from the ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' comic story ''The Flood'' are another example of the subtle version, [[http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51VHmUFK5-L._SL500_AA240_.jpg as seen here]].
36	* In the original ''ComicBook/GuardiansOfTheGalaxy'', Rancor uploads her consciousness into a robot made of ComicBook/{{Wolverine}}'s [[UnbreakableBones Adamantium skeleton]].
37	* The robot in "Spirou and the Robot Blueprints" (fr. orig. "Spirou et les plans du robot"), a ''ComicBook/SpirouAndFantasio'' comic from 1948, is at least vaguely skeletal.
38	* Most robots from the comic ''ComicBook/MagnusRobotFighter: 4000 AD'' are subtly skeletal. They have flatly mechanical faces or faceless heads, thin limbs, and chests joined to hips by nothing more than a thick cable.
39	* ''ComicBook/{{Superman}}'':
40	** Metallo late 80's version, as a direct homage to the T-800.
41	** "ComicBook/BrainiacRebirth": Brainiac's original human-like body is destroyed and replaced with a more dangerous and more fearsome [[https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/brainiac.PNG skeletal form]].
42	** In ''ComicBook/SupermanBrainiac'', all Brainiac androids that Superman and ComicBook/{{Supergirl}} fight resemble metallic human skeletons.
43	* ''ComicBook/NewMutants'': Some versions of Warlock have him look [[http://i253.photobucket.com/albums/hh60/Arkakoira/warlock_new_mutants.jpg very skeletal]] when in low energy, and much fuller and human-like when in full power.
44	[[/folder]]
45
46	[[folder:Films -- Animation]]
47	* ''WesternAnimation/TheLegoMovie'' has the Skeletrons used by [[BigBad Lord Business]], which effectively are robots in a SecretPolice without uniforms and predictably a ShoutOut to [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} the T-800]].
48	[[/folder]]
49
50	[[folder:Films -- Live-Action]]
51	* ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'':
52	** The T-800, [[Film/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines T-850, T-X]], [[Film/TerminatorSalvation T-600, T-700]], and [[Film/TerminatorDarkFate Rev-9]] endoskeletons. While the endoskeleton is designed for [[JustifiedTrope a reasonable purpose]] -- to be [[MeatSackRobot a framework on which to grow human flesh]] to better disguise the Terminators -- [[RuleOfScary the real reason]] is the horrific image (one of them ''really'' illustrates the NightmareFuel page) of implacable metal skeletons coming after you. The fact that they are also terrifying has another in-universe reason: they're built for warfare and the psychological effect on the enemy would be rather potent (the Website/{{Cracked}} [[http://www.cracked.com/blog/a-series-of-emails-from-cyberdynes-tech-guy/ article]], while amusing, relies on the premise that Cyberdyne created the Terminators before Judgement Day, which they did not). Not for nothing did Creator/JamesCameron base them on an actual nightmare he had while filming ''Film/PiranhaPartTwoTheSpawning''.
53	** ''Film/TerminatorSalvation'': [[spoiler:Marcus Wright]], following getting badly injured by a landmine, is revealed to have a metallic endoskeleton underneath his skin. What's notable is that he also has his internal organs interspersed with the endoskeleton, making him a true {{cyborg}} rather than a MeatsackRobot.
54	** The Rev-9 from ''Film/TerminatorDarkFate'' can split into two robots, the shapeshifting liquid metal exterior can come off leaving the robotic skeleton behind.
55	* ''Franchise/StarWars'':
56	** From the ''Franchise/StarWars'' prequels (mainly ''Film/ThePhantomMenace''):
57	*** The B-1 battle droids are skeletal, designed to be easily packed up and stored. According to [[Franchise/StarTrekExpandedUniverse Expanded Universe]] material, they are actually supposed to resemble the skeletons of Neimoidians (the people who designed them), which would be scary... [[NightmareRetardant if you're Neimoidian]]. The junior {{novelization}} has Jar Jar Binks compare them to Gungan skeletons when he first sees one.
58	*** Concept art shows that the original plan was for the Neimoidians themselves to have elongated faces and skeletal limbs just like their battle droids. This was scrapped for the movie (perhaps because it would have required the Neimoidians to be fully animatronic or CGI, and they figured were already pushing it with Jar-Jar) and the EU explanation was retconned in. This concept carried over to the Geonosians in ''Film/AttackOfTheClones''.
59	*** Similarly, the Destroyer Droids look like skelebots of the (EU-only) Colicoids who designed them. Including the rolling ball form.
60	** The unfinished version of C-3PO, with his "parts showing", in ''The Phantom Menace''.
61	** General Grievous, though he is technically a {{Cyborg}}, invokes this trope with his appearance. A lot of the effect is from his skull-like mask, which all members of his culture wear.
62	* The highly evolved robots at the end of ''Film/AIArtificialIntelligence''.
63	* The NS-5 and NS-4 robots in ''Film/IRobot''.
64	* One of the failed ''Film/RoboCop2'' prototypes removes his helmet to reveal a bloody human skull before screaming and collapsing.
65	[[/folder]]
66
67	[[folder:Literature]]
68	* ''Literature/NewJediOrder'': One of the methods of fighting the Yuuzhan Vong is the YVH-1, an {{Elite Mook\|s}} [[MechaMooks battle droid]] that perfectly resembles the [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} T-800]] and is specifically designed to scan and identify hidden Yuuzhan Vong agents and battle the extremely technophobic race in full combat. {{Justified\|Trope}} in that human and Yuuzhan Vong skeletons are fairly similar and their appearance is meant to be ''insulting'' rather than frightening, backed up by the pre-programmed BattleCry, "We are machines! We are greater than the Yuuzhan Vong!"
69	* Taken literally in ''Literature/NeptunesBrood''; the Church of the Fragile, lacking resources but having a fully stocked crypt, uses actual human skeletons as service robots.
70	[[/folder]]
71
72	[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
73	* ''Film/StargateTheArkOfTruth'': The replicators take over a human and the results is one of these after the flesh is burned off. This is a clear ShoutOut to ''Franchise/{{Terminator}}'', especially the similar music in that scene.
74	* Creator/CraigFerguson's "robot skeleton" sidekick Geoff Peterson on ''Series/TheLateLateShow''.
75	* The Cylon Centurions in ''Series/{{Caprica}}'', specifically referred to as "skeletons" more than once. Though in the finale ones with added armor plating are shown.
76	* A notable competitor from the ''Series/RobotWars'' spin-off ''Techno Games'' was [[http://technogames.wikia.com/wiki/Skeletron Skeletron]], a machine originally built to [[MundaneUtility compete in the rope climbing event]], but so impressive that it was upgraded to a full performance animatronic and made the show's mascot. Its design (or rather ''[[FemaleMonsterSurprise her]]'' design) was clearly based on the iconic [[Franchise/{{Terminator}} T-800 endoskeleton]].
77	* ''Series/TheOuterLimits1995'':
78	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S3E7TheCamp The Camp]]", the Commandant and the other camp overseers are androids who have a dermal layer fitted over their endoskeletons. This layer is organic and ages over time like human skin but it can be replaced. With every complete replacement, the relevant android assumes a new identity. The Commandant reveals to Prisoner 98843 that the previous ten camp commandants were all him.
79	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S4E2TheHunt The Hunt]]", the androids who are being hunted by the Nichols family have endoskeletons that are covered with artificial flesh.
80	** In "[[Recap/TheOuterLimits1995S6E8SimonSays Simon Says]]", the robot Simon has a partially constructed skeletal frame.
81	* On ''Series/SesameStreet'', there's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1Rhm7kp-tk a segment]] about mechanical toys, robots, and the ''Voyager'' satellites set to kind of creepy music, that features an android that looks kind of like a skeleton, and even has a clear casing so that the inside can be seen.
82	[[/folder]]
83
84	[[folder:Magazine]]
85	* ''{{Magazine/Analog}}'': The cover of the [[Recap/Analog1931 January 1931 issue]] has a large metallic robot with a broad torso and head but skinny abdomen, arms, and legs.
86	[[/folder]]
87
88	[[folder:Music]]
89	%% * The creepy baby bot in Music/DaftPunk's [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UoPplpBPQxQ "Technologic"]] video.
90	%% * The Music/LouReed robot in [[http://www.metacafe.com/watch/sy-36166905001/lou_reed_no_money_down_official_music_video/ "No Money Down"]] goes from creepy to this.
91	%% * Music/DoctorSteel's iconic robots are built this way.
92	%% * Protoman is designed this way on the cover of Music/TheMegas' ''History Repeating: Red''. It's not clear how much of this is because of Wily's repairs and how much is just the parts actively rusting.
93	* ''The Robots'' by Music/{{Kraftwerk}} are depicted in cover art and in [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b9iDrSeFR8c 1991 video]] as plastic torsos with rotating heads and skeletal hands. Unlike real skeletons, they have only one bone in the lower arm, but two in the upper arm.
94	[[/folder]]
95
96	[[folder:Pinballs]]
97	* The T-800 endoskeleton from ''Pinball/Terminator2JudgmentDay'', prominently featured on the playfield between the flippers.
98	* The T-X from ''Pinball/Terminator3RiseOfTheMachines''.
99	[[/folder]]
100
101	[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
102
103	* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000'':
104	** The Necrons are the result of an ancient alien race, the Necrotyr, uploading their consciousness into skeletal robotic bodies. Thematically the Necrons are intended to be a [[RecycledInSpace science fiction version]] [[DemBones of the Undead]].
105	** The Chaos Androids from the first two editions of the game (as well as the early GaidenGame Space Crusade) were daemonically-possessed automatons that take the form of shining plasteel skeletons. These androids were [[{{Retcon}} removed from the game and background material]], along with the Chaos Squats who created them, and their look used as one of the inspirations for the Necrons.
106	** The Men of Iron, the machines who [[TurnedAgainstTheirMasters rebelled]] [[RobotWar against]] humanity over fifteen thousand years before the setting's present, are depicted as skeletal robots in the first Literature/GauntsGhosts novel.
107	* In ''TabletopGame/{{Rifts}}'':
108	** [[TheEmpire The Coalition States]] actually call theirs Skelebots. Given that all their wargear (body armor, PoweredArmor, HumongousMecha, ''[[TankGoodness tanks]] and {{SpiderTank}}s, '''aircraft...''''') have a [[NothingButSkulls skull motif]], this was pretty much the logical extension. It's also useful in their role as military terror weapons.
109	** The iconic {{Full Conversion Cyborg}}s seen on many covers and interior art (actually mass-produced German [[MegaCorp Triax]] models) also have distinct skull-like faceplates; unsurprising since many of the designs were [[CaptainErsatz lifted straight from]] ''Anime/BubblegumCrisis'''s Boomers (including bulkier-than-usual-for-the-trope bodies).
110	** [[PrivateMilitaryContractors The Megaversal Legion]] from the ''South America 2'' worldbook also have a full-conversion cyborg version of the trope; your mileage may vary on whether its [[TheBlank blank faceplate]] makes it creepier-looking than other examples.
111	%%* ''ICONS: Superpowed Roleplaying'' has a adventure with a bad guy called Skeletron.
112	* In ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'', the [[TheAssimilator Phyrexian]] faction has many bio-mechanical abominations with this aesthetic. Several of them ''used'' to be humans.
113	* ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'' features the ''Atlas'', a [[HumongousMecha ten-story tall battlemech]] armed with [[{{BFG}} 30+ tons of weapons]] and [[SuperToughness enough armor to shrug off almost any attack]], and has a white skull shaped head for a cockpit. [[WeaponForIntimidation It was intentionally designed to intimidate foes on first sight]]. There's a number of derivative designs such as the very rare ''Atlas II'' that adds GlowingMechanicalEyes, the slightly lighter ''Akuma'' that has a sinister grinning head, and the ultra-high-tech ''Atlas III'', which looks more like it's wearing a hockey goalie's gear.
114	* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' {{exploit\|edTrope}}s this with the shadesteel golem: a [[HoverBot floating]] construct of dead-black metal, crafted to look like a humanoid skeleton. It becomes faster and stronger if exposed to anti-undead ReviveKillsZombie effects, so its appearance is a dangerous misdirection.
115	[[/folder]]
116
117	[[folder:Toys]]
118	* The Cyber Forest [Fantasy Girls] series by Nuke Matrix made use of this trope for their earlier kits which were highly unusual for mecha musume kits as they had highly visible and mechanical spines and legs alongside the usual human features. As the line went on however this feature started to be gradually phased out.
119	* The ''{{Franchise/Transformers}}'' toyline: "War for Cybertron: Kingdom" has the Fossilizers, skeletal robots that can turn into fossilized prehistoric animals and can disassemble themselves to be turned into weapons for other Transformers.
120	[[/folder]]
121
122	[[folder:Video Games]]
123	* ''VideoGame/{{Battleborn}}'' features ISIC, an insane robot who tried to crash reality with a LogicBomb and now takes out its anger on the invading HordeOfAlienLocusts. Its avatar is a floating SkullForAHead.
124	* A gigantic skeleton mecha serves as the last boss of ''VideoGame/BayRoute'', and a BaitAndSwitchBoss at that; after you defeat the terrorist leader's mooks, leaving the leader at your mercy, suddenly the skele-bot appears from below, allowing the leader to enter it's side.
125	* ''VideoGame/LandfallArchives'' contains an aptly-titled Minigame, "Creepy Robots", where you fight legions of spindly, skeleton-looking droids in an abandoned industrial city.
126	* The Robot Master Skull Man from ''VideoGame/MegaMan4''.
127	** The Skeleton Joe from the same game.
128	** His counterpart from the ''VideoGame/MegaManBattleNetwork'' series is even lankier, more skeletal, and downright creepier for a multitude of reasons, including his manic grin.
129	* After [[MadScientist Dr. Lugae]] loses his first go-round with the heroes in ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyIV'', he transforms himself into a skeleton robot for the second battle. The implication is that he just tears his skin off. [[{{Bowdlerise}} In the original Japanese, he does]].
130	* ''Franchise/MassEffect'':
131	** ''VideoGame/MassEffect1'': [[spoiler:When Sovereign reanimates Saren's corpse, all the organic tissue burns away to reveal a metallic skeletal construct.]]
132	** [[spoiler:The Human Reaper larva]] in ''VideoGame/MassEffect2''. To make it even scarier, it's ''huge'' (just one eye is bigger around than an adult human) and it's incomplete; basically just a skull, a spine, a ribcage and two handless arms. Nonetheless, it's capable of moving, attacking, and obliterating potential threats with lasers.
133	* ''VideoGame/MutantNight'', where majority of your enemies are MechaMooks, has robotic monkey skeletons as recurring foes. They only ''look'' creepy, however, and dies after being hit by two EyeBeams.
134	* ''VisualNovel/{{Snatcher}}'' features [[TerminatorImpersonator Terminator-like robots]]. In fact, they look so much like the Terminator that the localized release had to change their glowing eyes to green to avoid copyright infringement.
135	* ''VideoGame/TimeSplitters 2'' has the Chassisbot, which has one of the smallest frames in the game, making it hard to hit. Fans speculate that is just the chassis of a sentrybot with some additional equipment, which might also explain its sub-par stats.
136	* The MMORPG ''VideoGame/ToontownOnline'' has Skelecogs in-game which you will most often find in cog factories, during HQ raids, and in high level buildings (but sometimes, also during district invasions). Not only do they look creepier than their regular cogs counterpart, but they're almost always more powerful as well.
137	* Dr. Nefarious from ''Franchise/RatchetAndClank''. His AlternateSelf Emperor Nefarious in ''VideoGame/RatchetAndClankRiftApart'' looks even more skeleton-like due to his white color scheme.
138	* Mini-bosses Scurvo and Dreadfuse from ''VideoGame/TheLegendOfZeldaSkywardSword'' are [[GhostPirate Pirate]] [=SkeleBots=].
139	* Phase 1 Dark Troopers in ''VideoGame/DarkForces'' are essentially robot skeletons with a [[BladeBelowTheShoulder vibroblade]] in one arm and a [[LuckilyMyShieldWillProtectMe blast shield]] in the other.
140	* The ''VideoGame/MechWarrior'' series (based on ''Tabletopgame/BattleTech'') often features the Atlas, a [[HumongousMecha 100-ton battlemech]] with a skull-shaped cockpit. ''Mech 4'' in particular emphasizes the skeleton nature, by making the Atlas the tallest and giving it a bone-white head and fists. ''Multiplayer Battletech 3025'' also gave it [[GlowingEyesOfDoom glowing]] [[RedEyesTakeWarning red eyes]].
141	** The final boss for ''VideoGame/MechAssault 2'' is essentially an incomplete HumongousMecha skelebot. The mech has a huge, articulated skull for a head (with moving jaws) and is missing its entire lower torso and legs. Both ''Mechassault'' games likewise feature Atlases similar to the ones in ''MPBT 3025''
142	* ''VideoGame/ContraIIITheAlienWars'' features a giant one named Big Fuzz as a bossfight. It breathes fire, fires homing eye beams and throws time bombs around the room. Eventually it will lose its grip on the doors it was holding open, [[OffWithHisHead cutting off its head]]. Big Fuzz reappears in ''Contra 4'' with the same fire breath attack and this time, you must close the doors on its neck to kill it in similar fashion.
143	* ''VideoGame/Sharpshooter3D'' has a GameWithinAGame where you inexplicably transform into a Terminator-like robot and shoots your way through a space station filled with mutant enemies.
144	* The boss villain Yaridovich from ''VideoGame/SuperMarioRPG'' is technically an anthropomorphic spear, but his spindly limbs give him a skeletal look.
145	* The hostile golems beyond the walls in ''VideoGame/{{Phoenotopia}}'' and ''VideoGame/PhoenotopiaAwakening''.
146	* The animatronic endoskeletons in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys1''. Followed by [[spoiler:an Actual Endoskeleton Character (''Animatronic?'') in ''VideoGame/FiveNightsAtFreddys2''. He only appears in 2 rooms, doesn't attack the character, and is a complete mystery]].
147	* The Broken Lords of ''VideoGame/EndlessLegend'', a society forced to bind their souls to AnimatedArmor to survive the EndlessWinter, typically have simplistic mask-like heads/helmets, but Baron Joslyn Deyval and the Dust Bishops have a skull-shaped head (complete with GlowingEyelightsOfUndeath) and an enormous gaping mouth glowing with their inner [[ImportedAlienPhlebotinum Dust]] light.
148	* In ''VideoGame/Fallout4'', the Generation 1 and Gen 2 synths used by The Institute are built with a skeletal frame. Gen 2s have synthetic rubbery skin, while Gen 1s are basically walking, talking, shooting metal skeletons. Since most synths have spent many years in the very unkind environment of the Commonwealth wasteland, the Gen 2s' rubber skin is usually flaking off. Generation 3 synths are, for all intents and purposes, {{Artificial Human}}s -- completely indistinguishable from your standard organically grown person unless you cut them open.
149	* The FinalBoss of the UsefulNotes/ArcadeGame ''Bay Route'' is a HumongousMecha resembling a skeletal head and limbless torso.
150	* ''VideoGame/{{Terraria}}'':
151	** The Skeletron Prime boss is basically a giant floating robot skull with four skeletal limbs equipped with weapons.
152	** The Santa-NK1 doesn't seem to fit this trope at first, but once half of its health is depleted, its face tears off, revealing a mechanical skull underneath.
153	* The [[spoiler:Simon]] animatronic in ''VideoGame/{{POPGOES}}'' is a purple skeleton, presumably possessed by the [[spoiler:Purple Guy of ''Franchise/FiveNightsAtFreddys'']].
154	* The Murderbots in ''VideoGame/SaintsRowIV''.
155	* An early boss in ''VideoGame/{{Galerians}}'', [[spoiler:Dr. Lem]]. He seems like a relatively mundane MadDoctor type until an unexpected RoboticReveal mid-boss fight where it turns out he has a Terminator-esque endoskeleton.
156	* The Henchman 800 mooks from ''VideoGame/Rayman2TheGreatEscape'', who have skull-shaped heads and very thin limbs and are pirates like the above Scurvo and Dreadfuse.
157	* ''VideoGame/EtrianOdysseyIIITheDrownedCity'': [[spoiler:Olympia]] is a rare RobotGirl version of this trope. [[spoiler:She conceals it with a cloak most of the time as her head is able to convincingly pass as human.]] The normal female Yggdroid's are a partial example as they conceal some of it with a plate at the abdomen though [[https://imgur.com/UwEjZ6Y official art reveals that there is nothing else behind that to conceal it]].
158	* Nejibird from ''VideoGame/ToyFighter'' is a spindly robot whose body consist of thin pipes forming a vaguely humanoid frame, and with a plastic bird's head.
159	* ''VideoGame/XKaliber2097'' has a TerminatorImpersonator who's revealed to be a T-800-like robotic monstrosity with a mechanical skull for a head after it's RoboticReveal.
160	* ''VideoGame/ZeiramZone'' have robots whose bodies consist of a metal frame with minimal components attached as recurring enemies for the first half of the game.
161	[[/folder]]
162
163	[[folder:Webcomics]]
164	* ''Webcomic/BobAndGeorge'' has ''VideoGame/MegaMan4'''s Robot Master Skull Man, aka Really Old Man.
165	* Roofus the Robot's [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/143/ unfinished appearance]] in ''Webcomic/TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob''. His finished form is actually [[https://bobadventures.thecomicseries.com/comics/144/ fairly hefty]].
166	[[/folder]]
167
168	[[folder:Web Original]]
169	* The photoshopped image above would become the source for the creepypasta ''Antran''. ANTRAN, the robot in the story, is found in the garbage by the protagonist and loosely speculated to be some government project, although ultimately no origin is stated.
170	[[/folder]]
171
172	[[folder:Web Video]]
173	* ''WebVideo/AtopTheFourthWallTheMovie'': [[spoiler:Mechakara peels off his face before his final confrontation with Linkara, revealing a robotic skull hiding underneath. After being shot in the back by the Magic Gun, the resulting blast burns away Mechakara's flesh and clothes, revealing a metallic skeleton underneath]].
174	[[/folder]]
175
176	[[folder:Western Animation]]
177	* ''Franchise/DCAnimatedUniverse'':
178	** [[WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries Metallo]] has his Post-Crisis "Terminator" look.
179	** [[WesternAnimation/TheZetaProject Infiltration Unit Zeta]], only with a less creepy head.
180	** As a CallForward, a few episodes of ''WesternAnimation/JusticeLeague'' featured training robots that looked ''exactly'' like Zeta, only with [[http://dcau.wikia.com/wiki/Z-8 different heads]].
181	* The "ghost robot" Scared-Stiff in ''WesternAnimation/FilmationsGhostbusters''. However, he might be a {{subver\|tedTrope}}sion of the "creepy" part of this trope, as he's described in fan circles as "a wimpy [[Franchise/StarWars C-3PO]]".
182	* Transmutate from ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Her appearance is due to being a protoform unable to scan an alt-mode, treated as sickly and deformed by the other characters.
183	* Krang in ''WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles2012'', as opposed to his [[WesternAnimation/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles1987 original]] [[FatBastard version]].
184	* Aku created a whole horde of things like this in the ''WesternAnimation/SamuraiJack'' episode "Samurai versus Samurai", but despite their ghastly appearance, they really weren't much better than the rest of his MechaMooks. (After Jack destroyed them all, the pieces pulled themselves together into a giant junk-monster, but that was only slightly more formidable.)
185	* One of these is the autopilot of a damaged plane in the WesternAnimation/BugsBunny cartoon "WesternAnimation/HareLift". (Even its ''head'' is just a tiny blinking lightbulb.) Upon being activated and seeing the severity of the plane's condition, it immediately straps on a parachute [[ScrewThisImOuttaHere and jumps]].
186	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Superfriends}}'': The final two iterations ''Super Friends: The Legendary Super Powers Show'' and ''Super Powers Team: Galactic Guardians'' had Superman foe Brainiac switch to the skeletal android body he had in the comics at the time.
187	[[/folder]]

Context Main / SkeleBot9000