ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
SUB-GROUP: HEADMASTER
HUMAN COMPONENT: GRAX

FUNCTION: SWAMP WARRIOR
FIRST APPEARANCE: HEADMASTERS # 1 (Skullcruncher), HEADMASTERS # 2 (Grax)

“Autobots are like bad fuel – weak and greasy.”

Profile: Like Weirdwolf, Skullcruncher has a bad habit of tipping off
his enemies just before he strikes. Instead of talking to himself, Skullcruncher
grinds his metal teeth, producing a sound like nails being scraped down a blackboard,
only amplified tenfold. Apart from tipping off Autobots, it sets Decepticons
on edge. No one wants Skullcruncher as a partner, and if they do get stuck with
him, they do their best to avoid combat, knowing only too well what will precede
it. Though he professes to hate the taste of Autobots, Skullcruncher goes about
eating them (after they’ve run, and if he manages to catch them) with considerable
zest and relish. It’s rare that there’s enough left of an Autobot to fill an
energon pod after Skullcruncher’s finished with him. Whether he actually digests
his victims or just does it for the fun of it isn’t clear. Though tough and
strong, Skullcruncher is a bit of mental plodder, stopping to chew in the midst
of a raging battle. Too much to think about tends to annoy Skullcruncher, so
he focuses on one job (or meal!) at a time. His Nebulan partner is Grax, an
industrialist who teamed up with Skullcruncher in order to eliminate his business
rivals. Skullcruncher was less than impressed – his Nebulan victims were not
even ‘bite-size’ snacks!

Abilities: In robot mode, Skullcruncher uses a tissue demolecularization
gun (he calls it a ‘softening up’ gun for a joke… or more likely because he
can’t get his vocal units around its proper name) to give an opponent’s metal
skin the consistency of rubber, making it easier to chew (and digest?) when
he transforms to alligator mode. He’s even slower in alligator mode than he
is in robot mode, and though he’s deadly, he’s also easy to avoid.

Weaknesses: Skullcruncher’s slow, ponderous, and clumsy approach to
stalking a victim makes him not only an easy Decepticon to evade, but also a
sitting target for retaliatory action. Only his thick armor plating and tanklike
advances keep him alive… and full!