Mecannibal

"You are what they eat!"

Mecannibals are mechanical lifeforms that "eat" other mechanical lifeforms. Their appearance is faintly reminiscent of spiders, except with only four spindly little legs attached directly to a rotund red body, which appears to be mostly toothy mouth, below a pair of malevolent yellow optics.

Mecannibals reconstitute their prey back into their component parts (or at least, PARTS of their prey), which they have been known to sell on the black market to unwary or unscrupulous buyers.

Their leader is Master Mouth.

Fiction

Marvel The Transformers comics

Events from the UK-only comic stories are in italics.

The Mecannibals entered an arrangement with the two Nebulans Hi-Test and Throttle to have the pair deliver robots to them, unaware that their business partners were themselves binary bonded to the Decepticons Dreadwind and Darkwing. Through these dealings, the Mecannibals would be brought plenty of food, while their left-overs would be sold on the black market. While at the Grand Central Space Station, looking for microchips, Cloudburst and Landmine made a deal with the Nebulan Powermasters, and were allowed on board the Mecannibals' ship to make the exchange: 500 million high-quality chips for 4, 000 Energon units. During the transaction, the Mecannibals were not aware that the two Autobots were robots, thanks to their Pretender shells. The business deal was interrupted when the Mecannibals rolled out Sky Lynx, an earlier acquirement, whom they intended to have for supper. By making use of his shell's ability to act independently of the robot stored within, Landmine managed to set his comrade free. He then blew up some of the energon he was handing over to blind the Mecannibals, covering his re-integration into his shell. Enraged by the deal gone sour, the Mecannibals cut half of Hi-Test and Throttle's commission for it. The Nebulans soon discovered the Autobots' true mechanical nature however, and arranged for them to be brought back to their bosses, this time as items on the menu! Guess Who the Mecannibals Are Having for Dinner?

About to be devoured, Cloudburst and Landmine managed to talk their way out of being eaten by promising to go to the planet Femax, obtain a rare spice of lead sulfide crystals and return with the garnishing; allowing at least one of them to go free in return. As collateral, the Mecannibals held onto Sky Lynx's human buddy, Berko. After a series of rascally and erotic hijinks on Femax, the pair returned with the crystals and freed Berko. They also modified the deal they had made with the Mecannibals; during their absence, the Autobots had captured Hi-Test and Throttle, and held them ransom in exchange for their own lives, as well as a guarantee that the Mecannibals would reassemble all of their previous victims. Seeing the robot-spotters as too valuable to lose, the Mecannibals accepted these terms. However, before leaving, Cloudburst and Landmine revealed to the hungry Mecannibals that the Decepticons under their employ were, in fact, robots. The Mecannibals, outraged over being tricked, chased the pair of frightened Decepticons out into deep space, determined to eat them. Recipe for Disaster!

The pair eventually lost the Mecannibals, or so they thought. In reality, the Mecannibals followed them back to Cybertron. All the Familiar Faces! Feeling like losers, Dreadwind and Darkwing chose to drink away their sorrows at Maccadam's Old Oil House. The Mecannibals followed them to the pub, eating their way past Rocky, the bouncer. The Mecannibals immediately began tearing up the joint, with the pair of inebriated Decepticons blissfully unaware of the chaos around them. Luckily, Quickswitch was present and leapt into action. After a brief skirmish, Quickswitch used his tunneling mode to bury the Mecannibals alive deep underground. The Mecannibals were last seen trying to eat their way out of the pit they were trapped in. Out to Lunch!

Of Masters and Mayhem

The Mecannibals' digestive systems excreted insidious chemicals giving them an astoundingly durable construction. As a result, no Cybertronian, whom the Mecannibals considered a delicacy, had managed to kill a Mecannibal, their losses instead being the result of superior Cybertronian intelligence.

After Thunder Mayhem had destroyed Cybertron, the Wreckers, seeking to avenge their planet, reforged themselves into Wreckage to destroy the monster. To test out their powers, Impactor led them to a jungle planet inhabited by the Mecannibals. After the predators proved immune to Toxitron's sludge, the Wreckers combined.

Simply seeing a larger meal, the Mecannibals leapt at Wreckage only for him to physically crush them. Terrified, the Mecannibals ran back into their hive. While Wreckage destroyed a portion of the hive, the Mecannibals managed to efficiently evacuate through its network of tunnels. Deadly Aim

Notes

• Their secret origin: Bob Budiansky thought of the pun one day and went "I'm doing a story about that!". Apparently, Hasbro had him tone down the story a bit.