ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
SUB-GROUP: CONSTRUCTICON
FUNCTION: MATERIALS FABRICATION

FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 10

“How strong the steel, how quick the contest.”

Profile: Nothing is safe from Mixmaster’s seething cauldron. He will
use any material necessary, whether unliving rock or living robot, in the making
of some new material. He’s been known to swallow up brand new limousines and
reduce them to steel girders. And he performs his often grisly tasks with an
evil, cackling glee that more befits a medieval witch than a Constructicon.
The manner in which he creates new materials resembles an arcane ritual. Sometimes
his fellow Decepticons wonder if perhaps Mixmaster hasn’t a few microchips loose
in his logic center, but they never question the results of his efforts.

Abilities: While having the appearance of a standard concrete mixer,
Mixmaster can, by using various acids and bonding agents, reduce and recombine
virtually any substances put inside his drum and use them to form new substances.
He is a chemistry lab on wheels. Atop the roof of his cab, he can mount a powerful
infrared cannon which emits bursts of 8000� C heat for an effective range
of .8 miles. In robot mode, he carries a laser pistol and a shoulder-mounted
optical distortion projector, which, by bending light waves, disorients the
vision of anyone caught in its field. When combined with his fellow Constructicons,
he serves as the left leg module in the giant robot known as Devastator.

Weaknesses: Mixmaster’s mixing drum can be rendered inoperative by the
addition of certain chemicals, particularly alkalides.

ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
SUB-GROUP: HEADMASTER

HUMAN COMPONENT: SPIKE WITWICKY
FUNCTION: EARTH DEFENSE COMMANDER
FIRST APPEARANCE: HEADMASTERS # 1 (Fortress Maximus), TRANSFORMERS #
38 (Spike Witwicky)

“Prepare for war, but strive for peace.”

Profile: Valiant, courageous, powerful beyond measure, Fortress Maximus
is a warrior without compare, but one whose most fervent wish is never to have
to fight again. All his early life, Fortress Maximus trained as an architect,
becoming the creator of many of Cybertron’s proudest monuments. With his ability
to transform into vast construction bases, many of his creations were crafted
by his own hand. So Fortress Maximus learned to build, not destroy. When war
came, he did not hesitate to turn his gifts to the ways of combat, adapting
one construction base into a repair bay, the other into a battle station. But
as the war spread and he saw his constructions tumble and wall with countless
lives lost in the process, he began to see how pointless and counter-productive
battle was. He began to fight with only one aim in mind – to bring an end to
the senseless conflict. He would fight, but only out of necessity, only to save
other lives. Drawing inspiration from Optimus Prime, Fortress Maximus carried
on his noble work after Optimus disappeared, assuming Prime’s mantle of Autobot
leader. But as the war dragged on, so Fortress Maximus’s ideals dulled, his
purpose lost in one battle after another. Realizing he was losing his very self,
Fortress Maximus and a group of Autobots left Cybertron, bound for the planet
Nebulos, a world where they could live in peace. But the Decepticons followed,
bringing the war with them. To better combat the Decepticons and convince the
Nebulans of their honest intent, Fortress Maximus removed his head, letting
the Nebulan leader Galen replace it. Galen’s body was bio-engineered to combine
with an intermediary form and transform into a facsimile of Fortress Maximus’s
proud visage. Through his mind-link with Galen, Fortress Maximus rediscovered
his purpose. The battle would not be won by turning his back on it. So he returned
to the war, fighting once more, every battle a small step towards his ultimate
goal… the end of all hostilities.

When Galen was killed, the human Spike Witwicky took over as Fortress Maximus’s
binary-bonded partner. Spike, a college student, had no long term plans to continue
in this role, and eventually quit. But as he has continued to find out, the
binary bonding goes deep indeed and his own courage and commitment will be tested
to the full.

Abilities: In both robot and battle station mode, Fortress Maximus is
a walking armory. Retractable pulse cannons (emitting a strong ion beam capable
of disrupting and incapacitating internal circuits), twin automatic machine
gun batteries (wrist mounted in robot mode), twin laser-guided mortars (in lower
legs, robot mode), dual laser blasters (with a heat-seeking target lock system)
and a fusion-powered photon rifle make his firepower second to none. His battle
station is fully equipped with communication, detection and radar equipment,
while his repair bay has extensive re-fit facilities for almost any Transformer
and a wide range of spare parts. From either repair bay or battle station Fortress
Maximus can operate two remote controlled vehicles, Gasket and Grommet, using
them to supply instant battleground first aid/repairs or as offensive/defensive
combat units. When in robot mode, Gasket and Grommet combine to form the radio
controlled warrior/mechanic, Cog. Fortress Maximus’s head transforms into a
robot form called Cerebros, which is controlled entirely by his binary-bonded
partner. Despite his size, Fortress Maximus is both very strong and very fast.
Though seemingly awkward, his bulky configuration moves with well oiled ease.
His greatest asset, though, is his vast intellect and capacity for instant tactical
decisions. To him, crafting an attack is like blueprinting a structure and it’s
almost second nature.

Weaknesses: The many parts of Fortress Maximus, each requiring a portion
of his concentration, sometimes leave the whole vulnerable to attack. When guiding
Gasket and Grommet through a battlefield, he relies almost totally on automated
defense systems to safeguard him from attack. If incapacitated in robot mode,
Fortress Maximus has no choice but to utilize his second robot form, the much
smaller and infinitely more vulnerable Cog. Beyond these slight problems, Fortress
Maximus has no known weaknesses.

ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
SUB-GROUP: THROTTLEBOT
FUNCTION: SCOUT
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 30

“Hunters drive; targets park.”

Profile: Chase is usually ten miles down the road before his fellow
Autobots even have had a chance to shift into gear. He’s impatient and overeager.
He doesn’t seem to know how to stand still; the phrase “put it in park”
had no meaning for him. As fast as he drives, he talks even faster. His coarse,
simple language is seemingly at odds with his sleek, sophisticated design. He
usually dominates the conversation in any group, regaling all who will listen
with tales of past exploits and predictions of future conquests. But he does
all this in a most engaging manner. He’s extremely popular among the Autobots.

Abilities: In car mode, Chase can reach a cruising speed of 240 mph.
He has extremely well developed optical sensors in his head and his headlights.
He can see an object the size of a tennis ball at two miles and his excellent
peripheral vision gives him approximately a 270 degree viewing range; i.e.,
he can see simultaneously in front of him and on both sides. Embedded under
his car mode’s roof is an array of small radar dishes that allow him to detect
moving objects as small as a toaster from horizon to horizon. He also has the
ability to lock in on passing orbiting satellites and bounce radar signals off
of them, which allows him some over-the-horizon radar abilities.

Weaknesses: High speeds exact a heavy toll on Chase in car mode, particularly
on his drive shaft and transmission. Sometimes he’s too busy talking or running
off somewhere to listen to good advice. Consequently, he gets into trouble that
a cooler-headed individual might avoid.

ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
FUNCTION: CAVALIER

FIRST APPEARANCE: THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE # 1

“My actions speak louder than words.”

Profile: Hot Rod is the all-American-boy Autobot. Not too sweet, not
too sharp, not too snotty… not a goodie-goodie, but basically a typical adolescent
who has dreams of doing great stuff and being as heroic and important as Optimus
Prime and other famous and revered top Autobots. He tends to follow rules until
they bug him – and he sometimes learns, to his regret, that disobeying wasn’t
exactly smart. And he often acts without thinking in an effort to do the right
thing – and this gets him and sometimes his friends in trouble. But he’s not
afraid when trouble does arrive and is a brave and honorable fighter and friend.
He is especially close to Kup, the grizzled old mentor of an Autobot, although
he sometimes resents hearing “wisdom.” And he likes Daniel, the Earth
kid, a lot. (In a way, Hot Rod is big brother to Daniel – a role model – and
Hot Rod knows it and takes the responsibility seriously.) In robot or automotive
mode, Hot Rod is sometimes hot-headed, but always a well-meaning, admirable
“lad” and popular with all who know him.

Abilities: He carries two photon lasers that temporarily electromagnetize
an enemy robot’s microcircuits. Speed: 120 mph. Range: 4 miles.

Weaknesses: Hot Rod’s impulsive actions often get him into trouble.

ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
SUB-GROUP: TRIGGERBOT

FUNCTION: AIR COMBAT
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 46

“Don’t fire till you see the lights of their eyes.”

Profile: The skies are unsafe for aviation when Dogfight is in the air.
He terrorizes friend and foe alike. Not one to take chances, he buzzes even
non-military commercial aircraft just to make sure that they keep their distance
from him. This wild, wicked sky-flying street fighter likes to go nosecone to
nosecone with his opponents in what he calls “a dance of doom.” He
generally doesn’t begin to fire until he’s close enough to count the rivets
in their fuselage. Sometimes he’ll even partially transform to his robot mode
in mid-air so he can punch it out with an enemy aircraft. It doesn’t take much
to get his fuel flowing – he’ll fly into action against a flock of pigeons if
they accidentally interfere with his radar. Optimus Prime has tried to calm
Dogfight down by instructing him in mechano-meditation, a discipline that teaches
the art of mastering one’s behavior by learning how to recognize and modify
the electrical pulses within one’s emotional cortex module. So far, the results
have been negligible. Dogfight’s aggressive outbursts are deep-rooted. They
stem from a moment of indecision in his youth. He was on air guard duty for
his village on Cybertron. While on a maintenance break on the ground, he saw
a squadron of jets approach in the distance just as an air tanker carrying vital
fuel relief was arriving. Before he could decide whether the squadron was friend
or foe, it destroyed the tanker. All the while, Dogfight remained on the ground.
Without the fuel many of his neighbors had to shut down for a long time, and
some have yet to fully recover. Because he hesitated to take action, Dogfight
blamed himself for this tragedy. Ever since, he’s never hesitated. And he’s
never met a Decepticon that he didn’t want to destroy immediately.

Abilities: Dogfight’s swept-back wing design allows him superior maneuverability
in jet mode. A state-of-the-art navigational system gives him the ability to
constantly adjust his speed, altitude and direction to compensate for the inherent
instability of this wing design. His maximum speed is 1700 miles per hour and
his range is 3000 miles. He is armed with two fusion reaction-powered blowtorch
blasters in both jet and robot modes. In jet mode the blasters are mounted under
his tail section and pointing behind him to surprise any enemy aircraft that
try to sneak up on him. He commonly leaves a twin trail of flame from the blasters
as he streaks through the air. His wingtips are serrated and can cut through
all but the toughest steel alloys. One of his favorite tactics is to fly close
enough to his opponents so that he can use his wingtips to slice off their wings.

Weaknesses: Dogfight is vulnerable to mid-air stalls during some of
his more dramatic flying maneuvers. So far he has been able to pull out of all
of them before actually crashing on the ground, but he’s come close to destroying
himself on several occasions.

ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
FUNCTION: SWEEP LEADER

FIRST APPEARANCE: THE TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE # 1

“Desolation follows in my trail.”

Profile: Scourge is the most fearsome and implacable hunter-destroyer
created by Unicron from the wreckage of dead Decepticons. Scourge is leader
of “The Sweeps,” a specially created wolf pack of tracker-terminators
designed by Unicron to hunt down and eradicate Autobots and their human allies.

Abilities: Scourge is possessed of scanning and locating equipment,
which can detect machine or human presence even if it is as small as an amoeba
in the ocean or a wind-up toy in the Sahara desert. And he is merciless and
capable of using such weapons as acid rays, which dissolve his targets, laser
blasters, disintegrator beams, and assorted demolition and fusion devices in
eliminating his prey. He can transform to a scouring vehicle, a marauding automotive
mode which handles any terrain and scans for “survivors.”

Weaknesses: Scourge’s only weakness is his arrogance.