Beast Wars: Transformers

File:Beastwarslogo.jpg

Beast Wars TV series logo

Beast Wars (Beasties in Canada) was a line of toys in the Transformers range, released by Hasbro in the late 1990s. The toys spawned a full CG animated series set in the Transformers universe, produced by the Transformers Production Company. The series was made in the 1990s, and some have seen it as a sequel to the original Transformers cartoons of the 1980s, though others point to story elements originating in other versions of the Transformers story. The Dreamwave Generation 1 ongoing series seems to show evidence that Beast Wars took place in that continuity.

Each 1/2 hour episode of the series follows the adventures of the "Maximals" and the "Predacons", both of which are beings who transform between "robot" and "beast" forms. The Maximals take on the protagonist role of the Autobots from the original series, while the Predacons take on the antagonist role of the Decepticons.

The head writers for the Beast Wars TV series were Bob Forward and Larry DiTillio.

Pilot episode

The two-part pilot episode, entitled "Beast Wars", chronicles the arrival of both the Maximals and Predacons on a mysterious, uncharted planet. The Predacons have stolen a golden disc which was the most valued relic of the planet Cybertron (the home of the Transformers) and supposedly held the location of a rich Energon source, which could make the Predacons invincible. The Predacons flee into outer space with it in their spacecraft, seeking Earth. (Their exact reasons for seeking Earth are explained later.) They are pursued by a Maximal exploration ship, which was the only ship able to lock on to the Predacon ship. The opening scene shows the Predacon ship emerging from an apparent wormhole, closely pursued by the Maximal ship. In a brief battle over the unknown planet, both ships are critically damaged and plummet to the surface.

Both the Maximals and Predacons are stranded on the planet, which they soon learn is rich in Energon. Although Energon is vital to the survival of the Transformers, an environment as Energon-rich as that which they now find themselves in is harmful to them — causing their robot-forms to short out within a few minutes to hours, depending on the concentration in the area. Thus both the Maximals and Predacons scan the surrounding terrain for lifeforms, which they then use as a basis for their new beast forms.

The four Maximals take on the form of a gorilla (Optimus Primal, their leader), a cheetah (Cheetor), a rhinoceros (Rhinox), and a giant rat (Rattrap). Meanwhile, the leader of the Predacons (Megatron) takes on the form of a purple tyrannosaurus rex, while his minions take on the form of a velociraptor (Dinobot), a giant wasp (Waspinator), a giant tarantula (Tarantulas), a pterosaur (Terrorsaur), and a giant scorpion (Scorponok). Dinobot quickly defects to the side of the Maximals, due to his dissatisfaction with Megatron's failure to bring them to the correct planet (specifically, he calls Megatron an "idiot" and is blasted away from their company as a result).

Thus began the Beast Wars, as the Maximals and Predacons battle on the mysterious planet for control of the Energon source.

Further adventures

Before the Maximal ship crashed on the planet's surface, it ejected dozens of stasis pods, containing dormant Transformers into a safe orbit. When the stasis pods come down to the planet's surface, a new Transformer emerges, and the Maximals and Predacons race to rescue or reprogram him or her. Thus, as the first season progresses, the cast of characters is built up in this way.

The subsequent seasons of the Beast Wars saga see dramatic changes to the characters, including the introduction of the Transmetals (characters based on the Hasbro Transformer toys which feature three modes of transformation, not just two) and the Fuzors (in which the Beast Mode of the Transformer consists of a combination of two different animals (for example, a wolf with wings)).

Beast Wars introduced the concept of spark, a secular/mechanical term for "soul". Each Transformer carries his own spark within it and when critically injured, the Transformer dies and its spark leaves its body. Both Maximal and Predacon sparks return to "the Matrix". Sparks and mortality would play a major role in Beast Wars.

Eventually it was revealed that Maximals and Predacons were the descendants of the Autobots and Decepticons, and that the Autobots were the eventual winners of the wars in the original Transformers saga. The Decepticons were, for the most part, dismantled or made second-class citizens, or as Megatron referred to them, "slaves."

Further developments come with the revelation that the Transformers have been stranded on prehistoric Earth with the Autobot Ark, containing the stasis-locked leader of the Autobots Optimus Prime, his officers, and the Decepticons who boarded the Ark before it crashed. Also, one of the "Golden Discs" was in fact the Voyager Golden Record, and the location of Energon was Earth itself. The original Megatron had inscribed additional information onto the disc.

It is also revealed that Megatron's mission was a futuristic rebellion. He plans to destroy Optimus Prime as he lies in stasis, and free the Decepticons and thus the Predacons from their defeat by the Autobots.

Characters

Maximals (Cybertrons)

They were based in the spaceship Axalon.

• Optimus Primal (Convoy): Supreme Commander of the Maximals whose beast-form is a gorilla. Optimus is a caring leader with much concern for his friends and comrades. In addition, he is also imperfect (sometimes making flawed judgements, a trait that sets him apart from other Autobot leaders) and prone to losing his temper when under pressure. He uses the word "Prime" a lot, usually in a sarcastic fashion. He was killed saving everyone from the Vok Planet Killer, but was resurrected as a Transmetal, able to fly using a hoverboard. Then, when he absorbed the spark of Optimus Prime while his predecessor's body was being fixed, he evolved into Optimal Optimus (Powered Convoy).
• Rhinox: proficient in technological creation and repair; beast form is a rhinoceros. Rhinox's personality is a two-edged coin. On one side, he is a gentle giant who loves peace and quiet and smelling flowers, on the other, when agitated Rhinox is prone on making threats or using his imposing body for intimidation. Rhinox is the only Maximal who does not change or evolve for the duration of the series. This may be the root of his problems in the sequel series, Beast Machines (he turned into Tankor).
• Rattrap (Rattor): a smart-aleck whose beast form is a rat. Rattrap fills the comic relief portion of the show; he also seems to be the Maximals' covert ops/spy and once defected to the Predacons to find out secret information. As a Transmetal, his vehicle mode is a high-powered car. Second to Rhinox, Rattrap has some knowledge about mechanics, especially sabotage. Rattrap often criticized Cheetor because of his immaturity and would at times stand up to Optimus Primal when he felt Optimus's ideas weren't reasonable. Rattrap also was very suspicious of Dinobot's loyalty. The two often bickered. Dinobot often made jokes about Rattrap's odor. As Dinobot lay dying, Rattrap was shown to be affected by Dinobot's bravery and passing. Rattrap was the most eager of the group to go home.
• Cheetor (Cheetas): Jungle patrol, acts very child-like; beast form is a cheetah. Cheetor underwent two Transmetal upgrades during the series. The first one added two jet engines on stub wings, which allowed him to fly in Vehicle Mode. The second changed the two flight jets into one big jet on his back, which deprived him of flight but allowed him to run at Mach 5. Also, it brought his feral side much closer to the surface, which affected his personality.
• Dinobot: Combat specialist. He was a former Predacon whose beast form is (incorrectly called) a Velociraptor. The size of the form hearkens more to the large species of raptor discovered in Utah just prior to production of the movie Jurassic Park, named 'Utahraptor' by the discoverer on the suggestion of paleontologist and novelist Robert T. Bakker who wrote the book Raptor Red, based solely on the finding of the extraordinary fossils. Like a samurai, Dinobot has a high sense of honor and duty. He sacrificed his life to stop Megatron from killing the primitive humans in the episode "Code of Hero" (considered by many fans the best episode of any of the Transformers series).
• Tigatron: The first Maximal protoform to be awakened, Tigertron served as the team's recon. His beast form was a white Bengal Tiger. Of all the Maximals, Tigatron was the one most 'in harmony' with his beast form and shares a love for the beauty of nature with Airazor. During his long travels through primeval earth, he managed to merge his animal instincts with his Maximal brain, uniting his beast and robotic form. His personality is that of an buddhist monk; he is slow to anger, lives in harmony with the world around him and is very wise and well-spoken. He and Airazor were abducted by the mysterious alien race known as the Vok, who fused them into Tigerhawk (TigerFalcon). Later revived by the Vok to assist Primal Prime.
• Airazor: The second Maximal protoform, her beast mode was a large falcon. Brash and self-confident, Airazor is the Maximal's aerial scout during the better part of the series' first season. When her stasis pod crashed, the locking chip of Airazor's protoform was damaged. Rhinox transplanted Cheetor's locking chip into Airazor's protoform and giving her a chance of survival. Together with the locking chip, Airazor inherrited some of Cheetor's personality-quirks. She had a romantic relationship with Tigatron before being abducted by the Vok and fused into Tigerhawk. She was later revived by the Vok to aid Primal Prime. Airazor was male in the Japanese version of the series, but was female in the manga.
• Silverbolt: Maximal flyer and Fuzor; his Beast mode is a fusion of an eagle and a gray wolf. Among them, he was the most righteous and stood up for both the Transmutate and Blackarachnia. He was sort of a contrast to Dinobot (who embodied Predacon honor, similar to the Samurai code of bushido), while Silverbolt embodied the Maximal version of honor which was like the chivalry of the medieval knights. Silverbolt fell in love with predacon Blackarachnia at the end of Season 2, which caused Blackarachnia to defect to the Maximals.
• Depth Charge: Marine Commander & former Maximal Security Officer; beast form was a metallic manta ray. He had a vendetta against Rampage who was contained at the planet he served at and when Rampage broke loose he killed Depth Charge's squad. Depth Charge was a quiet, brooding warrior, traumatized and obsessed with killing Rampage. In the end, he died when he impaled Rampage's spark with a piece of raw Energon, thus causing an immense explosion.
• Tigerhawk: Merged form of Tigatron and Airazor, sent to Earth by the Vok to destroy Megatron. Originally possessed by a pair of Vok, who were later removed and infused within Tarantulas. The Sparks of Tigatron and Airazor, pursuing their fused body, merged together to inhabit the new Maximal. Tigerhawk was destroyed shortly afterward by the Nemesis.
• Windrazor: A Maximal/Predacon hybrid from the future, he was temporarily controlled by Unicron. However, he escaped this control and then aided the Maximals in battle with Shokaract. Note: BotCon exclusive repaint of Silverbolt.
• Apelinq: A Maximal from the Beast Machines era, he ended up in the past by accident, and later joined the battle against Shokaract. Note: BotCon exclusive repaint of Transmetal Optimus Primal.

Note: Windrazor and Apelinq never appeared in the American version of the Beast Wars television series.

Predacons (Destrons)

Note: The Predacon spaceship in Canada has never been canonically named, but a de facto name for it, in fan circles, is the Darkside, based on Terrorsaur's quote: Welcome to the dark side!. The Japanese version did call it Hidenburg

• Megatron: Leader of the Predacons. He is considered a megalomaniac among his followers and unqualified. That has lead to many of the Predacon subordinates to plot against him or to defect from the Predacons. The Tripredacus Council also considers him to be untrustworthy which is why Tarantulas was sent undercover to keep an eye on him. Megatron shares the name with the Decepticon leader Megatron. His trademark is the word "yeesss", though he claims there's no one intelligent enough to agree with him. Megatron always has a secret agenda which is usually convoluted and involves calculated risks and gambles. His ultimate goal is the conquest of Cybertron, where he is currently branded a criminal. His favourite toy is a yellow rubber duck.
• Tarantulas (Tarans): Scientist, ninja, and covert Predacon police lieutenant in the service of the Tripredacus Council. Always trying to save himself; beast form was a giant tarantula. Megatron often relied on Tarantulas because of his mechanical skills and intelligence, but was always suspicious of him. Shortly before his demise, he made a remark implying that he, as well as the Tripredacus Council, were not descended from the Autobots or Decepticons that crashed landed on Earth, but supposely one of the Decepticons that remained on Cybertron (Megatron later refers to Tarantulas as "Unicron's spawn"). He later died from an accidental shot from his own ray gun while fighting the Vok influence which he had extracted from Tigerhawk. Having been corrupted, the extracted Vok resurrected Tarantulas and built Tripredacus Agent. In Transformers: Universe, Tarantulas returned to his true master, Unicron.
• Waspinator (Waspittar): Stupid, yet loyal flyer; beast form was a giant wasp. Waspinator often refers to himself in third person. His body is often dissembled numerous times throughout the series. Among the original crew, he was the only one that survived to the end of the series finale, when he was last seen being worshipped by the planet's inhabitants. Waspinator is the only Predacon who does not change or evolve for the duration of the series.
• Terrorsaur (Terrorzaurer): Technical advisor and Aerial Combatant; beast form was a pterodactyl. Terrorsaur was most disloyal member of the Predacons. He attempted numerous times to overthrow Megatron so he can be leader. Megatron kept him in service despite of his knowledge of Terrorsaur's treachery. He died in the season 2 premiere after colliding with Scorponok and falling into lava.
• Scorponok (Scorpos): Loyal second-in-command to Megatron; beast form was a giant scorpion. He possesses some technical knowledge, though behind Tarantulus and Blackarachnia in skill, and is notoriously incompetent. He died along with Terrorsaur in the Season 2 premiere.
• Blackarachnia (Black Widow): Saboteur. Maximal protoform that was converted into a Predacon by Tarantulas; beast form is a giant black widow spider. Blackarachnia has some skills in mechanics, 2nd to Tarantulas. In season 1 and 2, she largely assisted Tarantulas in his machinations and was briefly possessed by him. Later she joined up with the Maximals after falling in love with Silverbolt and was able to gain a new Transmetal 2 form.
• Inferno: Maximal protoform converted by Tarantulas; beast form is a giant fire ant. A glitch in this process resulted in Inferno believing he really was an ant, although his loyalty made his boss (whom he often referred to as his Queen) forgive his quirks. Inferno was unintentionally killed by his "Queen" in the Beast Wars finale (during an attack on the early humans).
• Quickstrike: Originally a Maximal Fuzor, he switched to the Predacons due to his more violent nature. His Fuzor form is a giant scorpion with a cobra acting as his tail. Quickstrike was unintentionally killed (along with Inferno) by Megatron in the Beast Wars finale. He often came off as a cartoonish "Old West" gunslinger caricature.
• Rampage: Warlord. A Maximal experiment gone wrong; Maximal scientists were attempting to recreate Starscream's mutant immortal Spark, creating Protoform X (Rampage's original name). X destroyed countless Maximals, razing entire colonies including Starbase Rugby and Omicron. Rampage (whose beast form is a giant metal King crab) is a sadist who loves nothing more than death and destruction. He was recruited by Megatron when he removed half of Rampage's spark, which Megatron uses to keep him in line. He was killed by Depth Charge at the end of the series.
• Dinobot 2: Blank protoform equipped with half of Rampage's Spark and Transmetal 2 technology, Dinobot 2 was created as a clone of the Maximal Dinobot. Without any of Dinobot's honor, this Dinobot was a formidable foe. After Rampage died, Dinobot 2 regained the personality of the original, and thus refused to attack his former comrades. He died when the Autobot shuttle tore through Nemesis.
• Shokaract: Predacon warlord, carrier of Decepticon Matrix of Conquest. Came back in time to safeguard the Dark Essence of Unicron, his power source. Was defeated in a battle against the Beast Wars Maximals, the Legends of Cybertron, the Covenant of Primus, and Apelinq and Windrazor. Note: BotCon exclusive repaint of Rampage.

Note: Shokaract never appeared in the American version of the Beast Wars television series.

Non-Aligned Characters

• Jak & Una: Two hominid children who befriend the Maximals.
• The Vok: A race of semi-divine aliens who evolved from the Swarm (as seen in Transformers: Generation 2), the Vok sought to correct the 'sins' they had committed as the Swarm and went on a mission to maintain creation. They travelled through time and space conducting several experiments. Prehistoric Earth became one of their testing grounds, seeding it with raw Energon deposits and other anomalies such as flying islands, Stonehenge, a golden disk, etc. They even constructed a second moon, which was in reality, a giant cannon capable of wiping all life off the face of the Earth should they need to "sterilise" the Earth. This was seen as a necessary step when the Maximals and Predacons arrived from the future and started the Beast Wars. The Beast Wars posed a threat to galactic peace and the Vok took it upon themselves to cleanse the Earth of all life, rather than risk interplanetary war. After losing direct contact with the Beast Wars Transformers, the Vok abducted Tigatron and Airazor, and rebuilt them as their emissary, Tigerhawk. The Vok element was removed from Tigerhawk by Tarantulas, who wanted to gain its power. Both were apparantly destroyed by a weapon fired at Tarantulas. However, as BotCon Beast Wars: Primeval Dawn reveals, Tarantulas and the Vok survive, and battle once more. The Quintessons consider the Vok's existence to be an aberration. It is unknown how many Vok exist.
• Transmutate: A Transformer created from a stasis pod that was so extensively damaged that it created her with permanent neurological and physical impairments. Transmutate was inarticulate in speech or thought, and unable to transform, but deeply emotional and powerful; she was capable of flight and energy projection. Transmutate befriended both the Maximal Silverbolt, who sought to protect her, and the Predacon Rampage, who knew the pain of being labelled a "freak," and sought to form a sympathetic friendship with her. Megatron saw Transmutate as having no value as a combatant and initially wanted to destroy her. With Transmutate's immense physical powers but limited mental capacity, Optimus Primal viewed her as a threat and thought it best if she were shut down. This caused a moral divide between Optimus Primal and Silverbolt. Silverbolt and Rampage battled over custody of Transmutate. Unable to tolerate watching her friends fight, she sacrificed herself to protect Silverbolt and Rampage from each other, leaving Maximal and Predacon to mourn for her passing. Her episode served as an extremely powerful metaphor for euthanasia and is arguably one of the most morally provocative stories ever written for Transformers.
• Blentrons: (Beast Wars Neo) an elite core of three demonic ninja Fuzors created by Unicron to serve as his heralds. They retrieved the Angolmois Energy Capsules which had been obtained by the Maximals and Predacons and returned them to their evil master. The Blentrons consist of Drancron the Executioner, Raatoraata the Assassin and Elphaorpha the Destroyer.
• Unicron: the destruction of Unicron's body dispersed his life energy known as Angolmois Energy or Dark Essence. The Angolmois Energies became housed in capsules, which Unicron needed for his resurrection. He had also previously forged an artifact known as the Galvamatrix which he used to manipulate the Predacon leader Galvatron. Unicron also forged the Matrix of Conquest which he used to control the Predacon warlord Shokaract. The Vok once communicated with Optimus Primal in the form of Unicron's giant face.

Generation 1 characters included

• Starscream: From the original Transformers series, guest starred in one episode. His spark is immortal (the result of a random aberration that so far cannot be duplicated), and one day it was able to possess Waspinator, resulting in an all-too brief return of the Air Commander of the Decepticon battle fleet. Waspinator, predictably, enjoyed dramatically enhanced combat abilities during this unlikely fusion.
• Ravage (Jaguar): Intelligence/Saboteur. Another returning Decepticon from the original series that appeared in the 3 part episode, "The Agenda". After the Great War, several of the Decepticons that had been captured or that surrendered were granted amnesty. In time, one was reprogrammed and rebuilt as a Predacon, Ravage. In his upgraded form, Ravage was more humanoid and possessed active camouflage, although he could still transform into a tape cassette. When the Maximals on prehistoric Earth were finally able to send a "signal" back to Cybertron, it was intercepted by the Predacon council, who ordered Ravage on a clandestine mission to the planet aboard an advanced stealth warship, with orders to kill Megatron and all witnesses including the Maximals. Initially, Ravage aided the Maximals in capturing Megatron. However, the imprisoned Megatron then informed Ravage of his true agenda in coming to Earth; the original Megatron had encoded a message on the Voyager Golden Record. The message would only have been found if Megatron was defeated in the Great War (which he was), and it ordered any remaining loyal followers to go to Earth (whose coordinates the record provided) in the past and attempt to attack the Autobot Ark ship while Optimus Prime was still frozen in stasis-lock. On hearing these orders from his former commander, Ravage switches sides and joined the Predacons in a massive but ultimately thwarted attack on the Maximals. Destroyed in the explosion of his ship, his last words were "Decepticons forever!". Ravage was later revived by the corrupted Vok as a Transmetal 2 and aided Tarantulas in battling Primal Prime.
• Optimus Prime (Convoy): Leader of the Autobots. When the Maximals discovered the Ark, Megatron attacked Optimus Prime to wipe them from history. To save Prime, Optimus Primal took his Spark into his own body for a time, resulting in his mutation into Optimal Optimus. After Prime's body was repaired, his Spark was returned. The Autobot Matrix of Leadership was later used by the Vok to bring life to Primal Prime.
• Megatron the First: Leader of the Decepticons. Found aboard the Ark along with Optimus Prime and his crew. Megatron later infiltrated the Ark and absorbed his ancestor's Spark, resulting in the birth of Megatron in his Dragon form. Despite this, Megatron was defeated, and the original Megatron's Spark was returned.

Second series: Beast Machines

By the time that "Beast Wars" was ending, there was a large demand by fans of the show who wanted to know what was going to happen to the stranded Transformers, who were now able to leave Earth and return to their home of Cybertron. As such, a sequel was created known as Beast Machines. This new series featured the Maximal team returned back in their home environment, but the planet is without power. No other signs of life are present, with the exception of a new race of Transformers known as the Vehicons, who are out to take over Cybertron and will stop at nothing to destroy the Maximals. The Maximals found themselves stuck in their animal forms, and with no ability to transform into their more powerful robot forms. Optimus Primal was then summoned by an ancient super computer called "the Oracle". The Oracle's cryptic messages foretold of a great change to come for the planet of Cybertron. It "Reformatted" Optimus and the Maximals in order to better equip them to face the threat to Cybertron, that being a Virus that had been engineered by the rogue Predacon Leader Megatron. It was revealed that Megatron had escaped during "Transwarp" from the pre-historic past of the Beast Wars and had arrived in an unspecified amount of time before the Maximals exited Transwarp Space. Thus, Megatron had conquered the entire planet with his Virus and extracted the Sparks of the entire race. It is unclear if there were any Predacons left on Cybertron at this point. In "The Agenda part 1" of Beast Wars, the leaders of the Predacons (The Tri-Predicus Council) were shown to inhabit an artificial satellite, and it has been speculated that the Predacons were banned from the Planet's surface by this point in the story, since their ancestors the Decepticons had lost the Great War. The Vehicons were shown to be a race of drones, automated and controlled by Megatron from the former Maximal Citadel. Without Sparks of their own, the Vehicons at first proved to be easily defeated by the Maximals as the strain of Multi-tasking (running the entire Planet and controlling the Drones) proved to be difficult for Megatron. Megatron thus took three Maximal Sparks and created three Vehicon generals to take command of their respective drones. The Tank Drone Commander was named Tankorr, the Cycle Drone Commander was named Thrust, and the Aero Drone Commander was called Jetstorm. It was revealed the the Sparks used to create the Generals were all known to the Maximals, two of which being former Comrades and being forced by hard wired programming to battle their friends. Jetstorm was really Silverbolt, Tankorr was really Rhinox, and Thrust was really Waspinator. After having his memories awakened by Rattrap, Tankorr rebelled against Megatron and secretly began to plot to take over Cybertron for himself. Apprehending and reprogramming Megatron's Diagnostic Drone, Tankorr discovered the Oracle and learned of the existence of "The Key to Vector Sigma", a device which could transform organic matter into "Techno-Matter", Tankorr faked his demise and allowed Megatron to learn of the Key's existence. Megatron sought to use the Key as a weapon to destroy the Maximals, however Tankorr used the Oracle to arm Optimus Primal with control of the "Plasma Energy Chamber", a devise that could transmute metal or Techno-Matter into Organics or "Technoganics". Tankorr then set up a show down between Megatron and the Maximals in which he intended to seize control once they destroyed each other, however, Megatron had hard-wired programming into Tankorr's body which caused him to shut down when Tankorr tried to physically confront Megatron. Megatron and Optimus Primal both unleashed their weapons against each other and Cybertron itself was nearly destroyed, but the Oracle, on behalf of the All-Spark, intervened and prevented any harm to come to Cybertron. Megatron, Primal, and Tankorr were apparently temporarly destroyed, however because of their link to the Oracle itself, they were each given the opportunity to choose their own destiny. Optimus Primal chose to return and carry out the will of the All-Spark. Rhinox was freed from the hard wiring that made him Tankorr and he thus chose to rejoin the Matrix in atonement for his misguided deeds as Tankorr. Megatron chose to separate the organics from his body (his driving desire since retuning to Cybertron, as he began to abhor organics from his experience in the Beast Wars, and came to the conclusion that organics had no place on a Mechanical race) and succeeded in doing so, however his Spark was trapped in the wrong half and he became a totally organic Transformer known as Savage/Noble. His intended form, that being an enormous Battle Station in the shape of an altered version of his head (and able to transform into an alternate form of a powerful Space Ship) was released on auto-pilot into the sky above the Maximal Citadel. As Savage/Noble, Megatron tricked the Maximal Nightscream into believing Noble to be another survivor of Megatron's Virus and used the Maximals to gain entry to the Citadel where he was able to extract and free his Spark from his organic form (the organic body lived on as a feral beast that followed Nightscream around but never showed anymore than basic intelligence) and Megatron was able to interface with his Battle Station form and remotely took control of Cybertron once again. The Maximals discovered an organic "Core Liquid" and a chamber containing fossilized animal bones, and were able to awaken Silverbolt from within the form of Jetstorm and reformat him into a Maximal once more. However, his experience as Jetstorm turned him bitter, and Silverbolt lost his charismatic Chivalry that was his main character trait. It was never explained how or why the Fossils were there, and this became a sore point in the Transformers fan base. Cybertron was always portrayed as having evolved as a purely machanical planet, so this addition of the story launched massive speculation that this planet may not be Cybertron at all. Having lost two of his original Generals, Megatron used the Sparks of two Maximals (that were said to be the greatest Maximal Generals in Cybertron History,) and thus two new Vehicon Generals were created: Obsidian and Strika. The Maximals also gained another member when an exploration ship returned to Cybertron in answer to a false distress beacon set up by Megatron to lure wayward Maximals back home, and to their doom. Having adopted an alternate from based on the dominate life form of the planet she was sent to explore (that of a sentient plant) the newcomer called herself Botanica. This character proved to cause the most disapproval with the Transformer's fan base, as she was totally divorced from any thing ever to appear in the Transformers stories before. Botanica proved to be very powerful, and became central in Optimus Primal's plan to reformat the entire planet, and introduce organics to Cybertron, as he believed the All-Spark wanted him to do. The Maximals then learned that the Sparks of the former inhabitants of the planet were being held within the massive Battle Station that was Megatron's new body. After launching an attack against Megatron in which the Maximals were nearly defeated, Nightscream witnessed the destruction of Savage/Noble by Megatron and, in a rage, was able to depolorize Megatron's Spark and force it from it's Battle Station shell. The Maximals then gained control of the Battle Station and thus control of the displaced Sparks as well. Megatron was forced to inhabit an off-line Diagnostic Drone as his Vehicon army mounted a massive attack in an effort to reclaim his former base. Megatron's forces were able to deplete the power reserves of the Battle Station and force it to crash, then the Vehicon's vast numbers overwhelmed and defeated the Maximals, extracting their Sparks and adding them to the collection in the process. However, before his capture, the Maximal Cheetor was able to use the Anti-Gravity engines of the Battle Station to launch Obsidian and Strika into orbit around the planet. The only Maximal that was left to face Megatron was Optimus Primal, but to Primal's dismay, Megatron had taken a new form: one based on Primal's own former "Optimal Optimus" body, but stripped of it's organics. Megatron then released all of the captured Sparks and absorbed them into his own(causing his form to swell in size) in order to create one perfect being. Megatron then blasted a hole to the core of the planet, exposing the Organic Core Liquid. Megatron separated Optimus from the Oracle, reformed the Key to Vector Sigma, and began to convert the Organic Core into Technomatter. Once completed, Megatron intended to transfer his own counciness into Cybertron itself, turn it into a perfect Techno-Sphere, and use Cybertron as weapon to conquer the Universe. However, the All-Spark again interveined and allowed Optimus Primal to escape. Primal then interupted the converson process and tackled Megtron, knocking them both over the edge and into the Organtic Core below. As they hit the Core, Primal unleased the Reformatting process, releaseing the Sparks that were absorbed within Megatron and apparently turning the entire planet into a Tehcnoganic Bio-Sphere. The Maximals awoke in their own bodies while the population was reborn into the new bodies of the reformatted Vehicon drones. However, Optimus Primal and Megatron apparntly perished.

Transtech

After Beast Machines ended, Hasbro planned a follow-up series called Transtech. The series was supposedly to bring back some of the characters who died in Beast Wars along with some returning faces from Beast Machines. Generation 1 characters were also supposed to make a comeback. The series was never produced, but some designs are available to be seen on the Internet, and fanfiction and fan designs have been made as well. Many of the design concepts were eventually modified and used in Transformers Armada, Energon, and Cybertron. Character designs include: Depth Charge, Optimus Prime, Cheetor, Megatron, Silverbolt, Shockwave, and Starscream.

IDW Comic

Dreamwave Productions had plans to release a Beast Wars comic in early 2005. While Dreamwave Productions filed for bankruptcy in January 2005, the licence for all Transformers comics, including Beast Wars was picked up be IDW Publishing, and is scheduled to be released in early 2006. The series will been written by Simon Furman and drawn by Don Allen Figueroa. Brad Mick and Adam Patyk were originally planned to write the series until they left Dreamwave after not being paid for several projects. The Beast Wars comic is expected to take place immediately after the cartoon series finale, which Furman wrote. The series is expected to introduce new characters like Magmatron, Razorbeast, and Wolfang. The main cast will still be the survivors of the original cartoon. Generation 1 characters are expected to join the cast too.

Botcon Comic

In the BotCon comics, two particular Beast Wars storylines are tapped.

In the Point Omega storyline, several events lead up to a tremendous battle against Shokaract, a Predacon fueled by the Dark Essence of Unicron himself. This also serves as an introduction for Apelinq, and the only appearances of Windrazor, Sandstorm, Antagony, Cataclysm, and the Covenant of Primus.

In the Primeval Dawn story, Tarantulas comes back from the dead along side Ravage, Spittor and Razorclaw to complete the mission he set out to do, while the Vok create Primal Prime to stand in his way who teams up with Airazor and Tigatron, who have come back from the dead as well.

Japanese Continuity

The Japanese series Beast Wars II (Second) (ビーストウォーズセカンド） and Beast Wars Neo （ビーストウォーズネオ） were created to fill the gap while the second and third seasons of Beast Wars were being translated into Japanese (called Beast Wars: Metals). The characters originate from the future that the Beast Wars teams left, but the events of the series take place in the far future. The series are noted primarily for the return of Unicron, but more negatively, for their childish, comedic nature. Beast Wars Second spawned a theatrical movie (「ライオコンボイの危機」: "Lio Convoy's Crisis"). See Transformers Series for more details. The Beast Wars Neo toyline was created to cater for the Japanese market. Whereas the cybernetic Transmetal Beast Wars Transformers sold well in Western markets, Japanese fans preferred more realistic looking beast modes. Beast Wars Metals was not as successful with Japanese fans. The Beast Wars Metal show and toy line only lasted a few months before being quickly replaced by Transformers Car Robots (later released in English-speaking countries as Transformers: Robots In Disguise) in the following new year.

Cast (Canada)

• Gary Chalk - Optimus Primal
• Richard Newman - Rhinox
• Ian James Corlett - Cheetor, Sentinel, Seaclamp
• Scott McNeil - Rattrap, Dinobot, Waspinator, Silverbolt, Ramhorn
• Blu Mankuma - Tigatron/Tigerhawk
• Pauline Newstone - Airazor
• David Sobolov - Depthcharge
• David Kaye - Megatron
• Don Brown - Scorponok
• Alec Willows - Tarantulas
• Doug Parker - Terrorsaur, Starscream
• Venus Terzo - Blackarachnia
• Jim Byrnes - Inferno
• Colin Murdock - Quickstrike
• Campbell Lane - Rampage
• Elizabeth Carol Savenkoff - Predacon Ship Computer
• Lee Tockar - Ravage
• Susan Blu - Transmutate, Una

Cast (Japan)

• Takehito Koyasu - Convoy
• Daiki Nakamura - Rhinox
• Wataru Takagi - Cheetas
• Kappei Yamaguchi - Rattor
• Keiji Fujiwara - Dinobot
• Koichi Tochika - Tigatron/TigerFalcon
• Tetsuya Iwanaga - Airazor
• Mitsuo Iwata - Silverbolt
• Kiyoyuki Yanada - Depth Charge
• Shigeru Chiba - Megatron
• Masashi Endo - Scorpos
• Nobuo Tobita - Terrorsaur, Quickstrike, Sentinel
• Yuichi Nagashima - Tarans
• Kenso Kato - Waspittor
• Ryoka Yuzuki - Black Widow, Destron Computer(Naviko)
• Shinichiro Miki - Inferno
• Nobuyuki Hiyama - Rampage
• Kazuki Yao - Starscream
• Hidetoshi Nakamura - Vok Unicron
• Haruna Ikezawa - Transmutate
• Furin Cha - Cicadacon
• Yukimasa Kishino - Ramhorn
• Joji Yanami - Seaclamp
• Toshiyuki Morikawa - Jaguar

Trivia

• Originally, the line was going to be set in the present, with certain Generation 1 characters reborn in new bodies. This was very much evident in the Tech Specs of the first line of toys. The reasons behind it being dropped for the current storyline is still unknown.
• While the toy line was lauded for its innovative joint construction and the show mostly liked by fans, some Transformer purists still decry the entire series as a mistake, having gone as far as to devise slogans like "Truk not munky" to show their disgust over the use of animals instead of vehicles for the line's alternate forms.
• Airazor was made into a male in the Japanese dub, due to female toys not being sold as well as male ones.
• The third season of the TV show was originally supposed to include an episode called "Dark Glass", written by Christy Marx. The script of the episode depicted an encounter between Rattrap and Dinobot II, where Rattrap finds that the datatracks of the original Dinobot in the ship's computer, and goes on a suicide mission to install it into the Transmetal 2 clone in a desperate bid to bring his old friend/foil back. However, the script was seen as "too dark" for little children to watch, and so the episode was never produced. A considerably lighter and more jocular episode called "Go with the Flow" was shown in its place.
• Actor Scott McNeil voiced five characters in the series; Rattrap, Silverbolt, Waspinator, and the two incarnations of Dinobot.
• While the Beast Wars and Beast Machines series officially exist as the future of a G1, it is not a specific G1, incorporating bits and pieces of continuity from both the original television series and the Marvel comics, while introducing new elements into the Transformer mythos, such as sparks and protoforms (however, it should be noted that beyond use of the comic-only term, "The Ark", and the comic book deity, Primus, all of the show's references are based on the G1 cartoon). This would be carried on into the Dreamwave comics, which seemed to integrate elements from both lines while working towards maintaining continuity with Beast Wars.
• Despite living all the way to the series finale, Waspinator is either shot, framed, or somehow blown-up in every episode. (similar to the character Kenny in the cartoon South Park).
• Among others, Transformers fan and proprieter of www.bwtf.com Ben Yee had been called on many times to provide insight into the Transformers mythos to Mainframe so they could properly incorporate them into the show. As thanks for his help, Ben Yee is given a commendation within an episode of the show as an in-joke. When Rhinox was reprogrammed as a Predacon, he sabotaged various aspects of the base, and even Waspinator's personality. When Black Arachnia referred to him as "wacko," Waspinator replied "Wacko? No, Wonko! Wonko the Sane!" This is a reference to a character from Douglas Adams' Life, The Universe, And Everything, and was the screen name of Ben Yee at the time.

External links

• Beast Wars: Transformers at the Big Cartoon DataBase
• Transformers Network
• Ben's World of Transformers
• Transformers Toys Database
• BW International
• Transformers @ The Moon
• Lucky Draw Transformers