ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
SUB-GROUP: DINOBOT

FUNCTION: DESERT WARRIOR
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 4

“Only in war is there happiness.”

Profile: An Autobot of few words and fewer opinions, Snarl grudgingly
follows the orders of Dinobot leader Grimlock and leaves the thinking to others.
He’s generally unhappy and a loner, and his uncommunicative nature only adds
to his feelings of isolation. Only the thrill of battle can elevate his spirits.
In fact, few of his comrades experience the joyous heights that Snarl attains
while locked in mortal combat. But for him war is an all too brief respite from
the twin devils that haunt his miserable existence: the ungainly dinosaur form
the Ark has bestowed upon him and the knowledge he may never see his beloved
Cybertron again.

Abilities: His unique design makes Snarl particularly useful in sunny,
arid environments. The large golden plates protruding from his spinal assembly
are solar collectors. Although he can operate without sunlight, solar energy
can increase his strength tenfold and his endurance to a virtually limitless
degree. A swipe of his tail can shatter a 20-foot concrete cube. His heavily
armored hide makes him resistant to most missile fire.

Weaknesses: Snarl’s dependency on sunlight makes him extremely vulnerable
to attack at night. Although he can use the same fuel the other Autobots use,
he operates at only a fraction of his strength when he does. He is also very
slow and his uncooperative behavior patterns sometimes hinder his effectiveness
in dangerous situations.

ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
SUB-GROUP: STUNTICON
FUNCTION: SCOUT

FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 22

“Keep your optical sensor to yourself.”

Profile: When Breakdown is in his car mode, he thinks everyone else
is staring at him. Not just living creatures such as other Transformers and
humans, but humans’ cars, stoplights… anything mechanical. Heavy traffic can
be a particularly nerve-wrecking experience for him. His circuits sometimes
get so overloaded with worry that he even stalls out. The root of his concerns
is that someone will see him for what he really is – an alien on a strange world.
Despite his earthly disguise, Breakdown is constantly aware that underneath
the hood he is different, and the thought haunts him. He’d be happier if he
were a human – that way he feels he could just anonymously fit in anywhere and
be in a better position to help conquer the Earth!

Abilities: The rumbling vibration produced by Breakdown’s engine while
he’s in car mode can cause mechanical failures in other vehicles. He can travel
at speeds of up to 220 mph. In robot mode, he uses a weapon of a similar nature
– a concussion cannon – to get the same results, except with the cannon he’s
better able to target his prey, and the effects are more devastating. He combines
with his fellow Stunticons to form the giant robot, Menasor.

Weaknesses: Often Breakdown’s extreme self-consciousness negatively
affects his performance, particularly in his role as a scout in which he must
venture into numerous tension-producing situations. He also suffers from his
own mechanical problems – a sometimes leaky fuel pump in both car and robot
modes that can grind him to a halt.

ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
FUNCTION: DECEPTICON AEROSPACE COMMANDER
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 1

“Conquest is made of the ashes of one’s enemies.”

Profile: Starscream makes no secret of his ambition to overthrow
Megatron as Decepticon Leader. He is ruthless, cold-blooded and cruel. In that
sense the two rivals are very much alike. But he has a vain side that clearly
distinguishes him. He considers himself the most sophisticated and handsome
of the Decepticons. He exudes a high-class, urbane air that provides a certain
irony to his murderous tendencies. He looks down at Megatron for being antiquated
in his military strategy. Starscream believes the Decepticons should rely more
on guile and speed rather than brute, destructive force to defeat the Autobots.
Megatron overlooks the potential threat Starscream represents for one very good
reason: Starscream is very good at his job.

Abilities: Starscream is one of the fastest flyers of the
Decepticons, reaching speeds up to Mach 2.8. He can climb to sub-orbital altitudes
of 52 miles and nose-dive down to near ground level in mere minutes. This makes
him particularly effective in surprise attacks and hit-and-run actions. He can
shoot cluster bombs a distance of 40 miles, each of which can level an area
10,000 feet square. His null-ray rifle can interrupt the flow of electricity
in any circuitry it hits for periods of up to two minutes, effectively preventing
the operation of many machines dependent on those circuits during that period.

Weaknesses: Starscream overrates himself sometimes, and finds
himself in situations that are more than he can handle. His nose-dives often
overload his gyro-circuitry leaving him disoriented briefly. But, overall, he
is a very tough nut to crack.

ALLEGIANCE: AUTOBOT
FUNCTION: AIR & SEA ASSAULT
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS: GENERATION 2 # 1

“I like the sea far away and my feet on the ground.”

Profile: Broadside is very uncomfortable about transforming to aircraft
carrier or jet mode, and with good reason. Floating on water upsets his gyro-balance
circuitry, making him feel as if he’s functioning at less than peak performance
– the mechanical equivalent of seasickness. And he’s even more distressed while
flying since he has a natural fear of heights. He strongly detests these Earthen
forms and is quite vocal about it. But, despite everything, he manages to overcome
these problems in battle. He is an effective and valiant warrior, and his fellow
Autobots value him for these qualities. They just wish Broadside would do his
job without griping so much about it.

Abilities: In aircraft carrier mode, Broadside expands his form to a
1200-foot length, giving him the capacity of landing jet aircraft and carrying
other Autobots and vehicles. Having little offensive capability of his own in
this mode, Broadside relies on these “passengers” for protection.
His titanium-steel hull and deck protects him from most artillery fire, but
he’s vulnerable to high-energy beam weapons. An internal fusion reactor powers
him in this mode, allowing him a speed of 40 knots and a range of 15,000 miles.
In jet mode, he can reach speeds of 1800 mph and has a range of 2500 miles.
He can project a powerful electric field around his jet form that will jolt
anything within 1.5 miles of him with 80,000 volts. Of course, for this weapon
to be effective, his target has to be electrically grounded somehow. In robot
mode, he carries a high-energy plasma-pulse gun and a vibro-ax that shatters
whatever it cleaves into by emitting powerful high frequency vibrations.

Weaknesses: Aside from the aforementioned seasickness, fear of heights,
and lack of offensive capabilities while in carrier mode, Broadside also suffers
severe corrosion when exposed to salt water for extended periods. His armored
skin flakes and peels if he’s at sea for longer than two days.

ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
SUB-GROUP: CONSTRUCTICON

FUNCTION: CONSTRUCTION ENGINEER
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 10

“My work is a monument to – and of – my enemies.”

Profile: Scrapper is a wizard at designing fortresses and energy production
plants for the Decepticons. Disguising his creations to blend unnoticed into
the surrounding alien human landscapes comes almost as easily to him. He modestly
shrugs off the acclaim these talents inspire from his comrades. After all, he
feels he is just fulfilling the requirements of his job. But overcoming an enemy
Autobot and secreting his body in the foundation or structural skeleton of one
of his buildings is another story. It is in such cases that Scrapper exhibits
his true malevolent genius and relishes the admiration and praise it garners.
Megatron considers him the most valuable of the Constructicons.

Abilities: In vehicular mode, Scrapper’s shovel can slice through 12-inch
thick carbon-steel plate and lift up to 30 tons. By adding on his single-jet
levitation wing he can fly at 60 mph for 250 miles. In robot mode he has immense
strength and carries a laser pistol. When combined with his fellow Constructicons,
he serves as the right leg module and part of the torso module in the giant
robot known as Devastator.

Weaknesses: While flying, Scrapper is a very vulnerable target due to
his lack of speed and maneuverability. His shovel is prone to metal stress fractures
if overused.

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: DECEPTICON

SUB-GROUP: TRIGGERCON
FUNCTION: DATA COLLECTOR
FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 48

“Things are never as good as they seem.”

Profile: Crankcase is a wheezing, whining ingrate who is about as welcome
as a rash of rust-rot, even among his fellow Triggercons. His favorite pastime
is complaining about everything and everyone. Nothing is good enough for him.
He delights in the misfortunes of others. Apparently, their misery makes him
feel superior in some misguided, muddle-headed way. This juvenile “I’m-better-than-you-are”
need in him stems from his youth, before he became a Decepticon. At that time
he was little more than a gangly collection of circuits and servo-motors, performing
a menial janitorial function in the Fuel-Spill Section of the Ministry of Energy
and Nutrition on Cybertron. More robust fellow workers mocked his feeble physique
and bullied him. Feeling alienated from and hatred of established society, Crankcase
eagerly joined the Decepticons when they began their war against the Autobots.
Megatron himself rebuilt Crankcase to give him increased bulk and strength.
Crankcase’s first action in his new body was to attack the Ministry of Energy
and Nutrition. Millions of years later, the fuel spill he caused has yet to
be fully cleaned up.

Abilities: Crankcase has a vast data storage capacity. His memory can
contain 400 trillion trillion bits of information, which are encoded in patterns
of light within microscopic crystal matrices. His titanium-steel alloy armor
is resistant to all explosive shells having yields of ten megatons or less.
Twin infrared probes can penetrate and analyze most unshielded electrical circuitry.
He is armed with two high-impact laser blasters and a distortion modulator that
scrambles internal electrical signals within most targets that it hits. It can
effectively cause temporary paralysis or uncontrollable, spasmodic seizures
within a victim. He transforms into a ground vehicle with the same armor and
sensor properties. In this mode his maximum speed is 90 miles per hour and his
range is 480 miles.

Weaknesses: In vehicle mode, Crankcase is prone to frequent tire blowouts.
On rare occasions, a sharp blow to his head module causes small data dumps in
different areas of his memory – a form of amnesia similar to the type found
in some humans who have undergone similar trauma.

ALLEGIANCE: DECEPTICON
FUNCTION: RECONNAISSANCE

FIRST APPEARANCE: TRANSFORMERS # 1

“My bite is worse than my bark.”

Profile: Given his reputation for civility and sophistication, it might
seem surprising at first that Buzzsaw is also one of the cruelest and most destructive
of all Decepticons. But his two sides are not contradictory. He carries out
his lethal tasks with the careful, reasoned approach of a fine artist, with
the cool precision of a neurosurgeon. He views every awful undertaking of his
as the beginning of a new masterpiece. Every opponent he defeats marks a completion.
And, like any true artist, nothing can sway him from his commitment to his deadly
craft. He will only end his career when the Autobots are no more.

Abilities: Using his optical sensors, Buzzsaw can pinpoint and photographically
record a thumbtack at 20 miles, making him invaluable on spy missions. He can
fly virtually soundlessly at speeds up to 250 mph for a distance of 1500 miles.
He’s equipped with twin mortar cannons that can fire five rounds per minute.
His most feared weapon is his beak, which, with its diamond-hard, micro-serrated
edges, he can use to carve up all except the most strong-skinned opponents.
And, like the artist he is, he uses his beak with great finesse.

Weaknesses: Buzzsaw has a tremendous ego. If one of his carefully planned
operations should go astray, ruining what he considers a work of art in progress,
he will often stop and sulk rather than improvise and proceed.