Cyber-Leader (Scratchman)

A Cyber-Leader was in charge of a unit of Cybermen that attempted to convert humans using a plague provided by Scratchman.

The Cyber-Leader was denoted by the black sides of its Cyber-helmet, with its brain and skull visible through transparent plating on its head.

Biography
The Cyber-Leader's unit encountered Scratchman, who offered the Cybermen a gift in the form of a plague which converted humans into living scarecrows. The Cyber-Leader accepted, seeing the opportunity to create huge armies with ease.

The Cybermen deployed the scarecrow plague on a small Scottish island as a test and hid their Cyber-ship under the bay while observing the plague's progress. The scarecrows were ultimately defeated by the Fourth Doctor. The Cyber-Leader dismissed the failure, claiming the scarecrows were only prototypes.

However, in accepting the deal, the Cybermen unwittingly allowed Scratchman a foothold in N-Space. They became trapped in Scratchman's universe, known by some as Hell, where Scratchman awoke some of the Cyber-Leader's memories. This in turn caused some of the Cyber-Leader's emotions to resurface. Separated from its unit, it believed itself to be the last of its species, causing it to experience sadness and loneliness. Scratchman forced the Cyber-Leader to roam his dimension performing good deeds, which it considered a personal hell.

When the Doctor arrived in Scratchman's dimension, the Cyber-Leader was compelled to fight him when he was spotted in Charon's taxi. This actually helped the Doctor retain his own memories which Charon was attempting to suppress.

Later, the Cyber-Leader rescued Harry Sullivan from a pit in Scratchman's giant pinball table. It reunited Harry with the Doctor and Sarah Jane Smith, after helping Sarah hoist the Doctor up from a lava pool with his scarf. The Doctor took pity on the Cyber-Leader and offered it the chance to aid them in defeating Scratchman and saving the other Cybermen. The conflicted Cyber-Leader gave no answer and simply left.

When the properties of the dimension shifted once Scratchman was defeated, the Cyber-Leader saved Harry once again from a quicksand-like substance. It declared, "This is the very last time I am committing such an act," and then marched off into the darkness of the realm. (PROSE: Scratchman)

Behind the scenes

 * The exact design of the Cyber-Leader is left open to interpretation. Its visible brain and skull, with black sides of its head, nevertheless suggest a similarity to the Cyber-Lord in 1851, (TV: The Next Doctor) the Cyber-Lord in the Arctic (GAME: Blood of the Cybermen) and the Cyber-Leader of the Twelfth Cyber Legion, (TV: A Good Man Goes to War) all of which share the Cybus design. Alternatively, it could be similar to the Cyber-Leader who allied with Rassilon, (COMIC: Supremacy of the Cybermen) which sported a variant of the 2013 Nightmare in Silver redesign.
 * The Cyber-Leader is the only Cyberman to receive any dialogue throughout Scratchman. As such, it is the only character voiced by Nicholas Briggs in the audiobook; the rest of the characters are all read by Tom Baker in character as the Doctor.