Chomper

The Chomper is a multi-use instant kill plant. It appears to be loosely based on Audrey II, the carnivorous, man-eating plant from Little Shop of Horrors as shown in the Suburban Almanac and the Venus Flytrap.

Suburban Almanac Entry
Chomper

Chompers can devour a zombie whole, but they are vulnerable while chewing.

Damage: massive

Range: very short

Special: long delay between chomps

Chomper almost got a gig doing stunts for The Little Shop of Horrors but it fell through when his agent demanded too much on the front end. Chomper's not resentful, though. He says it's just part of the business.

Cost: 150

Recharge: fast

Usage
The Chomper can eat any zombie other than a Gargantuar, Giga-Gargantuar or Dr. Zomboss in one bite - even Zombonis and bobsleds. It will spend about 40 seconds chewing its meal, during which time it is vulnerable and cannot eat another zombie. However, if a Pole Vaulting Zombie (and another Vaulting Zombie) jumps over a Chomper, it will not be able to eat it unless it is frozen.

If a Gargantuar is in front of it, and there are no other zombies that the Chomper can possibly eat (apart from the Gargantuar), and it is not currently chewing, it will bite away at the Gargantuar and do small amounts of damage until it gets squished.

Standard Levels
The Chomper has a range of two squares in front of it, so it can eat a zombie on the other side of a Wall-nut, Tall-nut, or Pumpkin. Like all high-damage plants, it's best against tough zombies, or for when a zombie manages to get past your defenses. The Tree of Wisdom mentions that the Chomper and Wall-Nut were friends in college owing to the way that if a Wall-nut is placed directly in front of a Chomper, the Chomper could reach and swallow zombies just as they reach the Wall-nut. If you are trying to save space, plant a Pumpkin over the Chomper so that you do not need the extra space in front for a Wall-nut.

Zomboogie (I, Zombie level)
Dancing Zombies are the most effective against the Chomper because they can continue to summon Backup Dancers. Just be sure to place the Dancing Zombie on the far right so that he will start summoning his Backup Dancers before he gets to the first row of plants, and to use a regular zombie first if there is a Chomper in the first column. When all else fails, use the regular Zombie to feed the Chomper, then eat it with another zombie.

All your brainz r belong to us (I, Zombie level)
There's no time limit on these puzzles, so plan your first moves carefully. There's usually only one lane with Chompers, so that's generally a good candidate for a Digger Zombie (remember - Chompers can't chomp behind themselves), but remember that there is almost always a Magnet-shroom close enough to steal the Digger Zombie's pick, so you may have to wait until you've earned enough Sun to afford a Bungee Zombie to get rid of the Magnet-shroom before you can send a Digger after the Chompers. Also, be warned: if a Chomper is in the leftmost column, it can eat any Digger Zombies that try to eat it.

Level 5-5 (Roof)
On Level 5-5 on the Roof, the Chomper is your only offensive plant here, but you also get Pumpkins, Cherry Bombs, and Flower Pots. It is best to put all of your frontwards Chompers in Pumpkins.



Trivia

 * Chompers seem to resemble the Piranha Plants from the game Super Mario Bros..
 * No matter what type of zombie a Chomper eats, the arm hanging out of its mouth is that of a regular Zombie.
 * The Chomper on the start-up screen for Plants vs. Zombies doesn't have spikes on the back of its head.
 * According to the Tree of Wisdom, the Chomper and the Wall-nut were roommates in college, which is supposedly why they work well together.
 * Chomper is a male plant.
 * The Chomper is the only plant that doesn't have eyes at all.
 * Chompers can't eat Gargantuars whole, but bite them instead and deal little damage. However, if a Chomper kills a Gargantuar, the Gargantuar will fall down as normal but the Chomper starts chewing with an arm hanging out of its mouth.
 * The Chomper will do at least 3 normal damage to a Gargantuar.
 * It is unknown how a Chomper can tell if a zombie is in front of it due to the fact that they don't have eyes.
 * Although they could have heightened auditory or olfactory senses Or they could sense vibrations.
 * When an Imitater Chomper is eating a zombie, no matter what type of zombie an Imitater Chomper eats, the arm hanging out of its mouth is that of a regular Zombie, but it's black and white.
 * If a Chomper is planted directly in front of a bobsled, it will eat the sled, and all four zombies in it, which can be extremely helpful in Bobsled Bonanza.
 * According to the Plants vs. Zombies website, the Chomper costs 175 sun, while it really only costs 150.
 * The Chomper is the only plant that can kill a vehicle zombie without making them explode.
 * The Chomper is the plant with most teeth seen.
 * The Chomper is the only plant with a visible tongue.
 * The Chomper and the Cob Cannon are the only instant kills that are reusable.
 * The Chomper, the Tangle Kelp, Potato Mine and the Squash are the only Instant Kills that can be used on contact to the enemy.
 * The Chomper is the only instant kill that is unable to take away half the Gargantuar's health.
 * The Chomper is one of only four plants that have a name which doesn't involve plants or mushrooms, the others being the Spikerock, the Grave Buster, and the Gold Magnet.
 * The Chomper is the only plant with a stem on the back of it's head.
 * The Chomper is one of the plants shown at the loading screen, the others are Sunflower, Wall-nut, Peashooter, Repeater, Tall-nut and Cactus.
 * A cardboard Chomper dosen't seem to chew, but it still swallows after a while.
 * The Chomper and the Grave Buster are the only plants that can eat (not including the Imitater versions).
 * The Chomper, however, is the only plant that can eat a zombie.
 * Chomper is the only instant kill with a fast recharge.
 * The Chomper was originally planned to have a Sun cost 175 as seen in the Plants vs Zombies Website in the characters tab.
 * The Chomper and Cob Cannon are the only multi-use instant-kill.
 * The Chomper, Squash, and Tangle Kelp is the only instant-kills that are not explosive.
 * On the DS version, the Chomper's almanac entry replaces "The Little Shop of Horrors" with "Hollywood."
 * This may be because Pop Cap didn't have enough room on the screen for its full entry.
 * The Chomper is the only instant kill that cannot affect more than one zombie at a time
 * The Chomper was going to be a movie star.
 * The Chomper is the only insta-kill plant that is rooted to the ground.