Series author Erik Burnham returns with more insights about Transformers Beast Wars, including a cast list and an explanation of the timeline at play in this series.
So where in the timeline does this take place? Are we still about 500 years before Generation One?
That’s the fun thing. It could be. It doesn’t have to be. We haven’t made plain the whens or the wheres of it all yet because the big twist that the show used (this all happening on a prehistoric Earth) may or may not be something we ultimately follow. Hasbro has been open to making changes — in fact that was a key thing they wanted — so long as they liked the new ideas as much as the old.
Will this series have any connection to the original Beast Wars comic from 2006?
It will not! The idea here was, at first, to just do exactly what the show did — but pad it out more, give more of a look into things. That was where we started. And then Hasbro & IDW decided, instead, to go for something different. The word thrown out was ‘Ultimate,’ like Marvel’s old Ultimate line. We start in a familiar place, with tiny changes. But a tiny change can change the path of a story—leading to other changes and a wholly different path.
Review our coverage of issue #1’s 5-page preview, then sound off on the 2005 boards!
The cast list:
Maximals
- Optimus Primal – Captain of the Axalon. One of the Maximal warrior class.
- Nyx – Ace pilot. Loves flying more than anything.
- Rattrap – Data Analyst/Scrounger. Thinks he should be in charge. Of what, well, he’s not picky.
- Cheetor – A former athlete that wanted to see what was in the wider universe and joined the Axalon’s crew.
- Rhinox – Lead Scientist. As smart as he is tough (and he’s very, very tough.)
Predacons:
- Megatron – Commander. Wants to overthrow the Maximals and Predacons governing Cybertron. Can be impulsive.
- Tarantulas – Mad scientist. Lover of chaos. Possibly a cannibal.
- Scorponok – True-Blue Predacon believer. He is all-in for the glory of the cause of Predacon supremacy.
- Waspinator – Good pilot, but also kind of unlucky.
- Terrorsaur – A bully, and possibly even more cruel than Megatron himself. No one really likes him, but he’s handy in a fight.
- Skold – A tank of a fighter, Skold is looking for acceptance and thinks the separatists will provide it. She’s loyal to Megatron.
- Dinobot – A pure warrior that has been convinced that the Maximal/Predacon dynamic needs to be shaken up. In the show, folks know he starts as a Predacon before switching sides.
Robcbh
I'm very confused as to why there are so many people in this thread whose soul agenda is to trash every aspect of the comic and to argue with and belittle anyone who says anything positive about it.
We're 7 issues in. If you're done reading it, then move on. Stop pissing in other people's cheerios.
AzT
https://twitter.com/jcburcham/status/1436055020508692492
AzT
https://twitter.com/crashtesterX/status/1435039768732217347
supernova222
Nono it ain’t mine I just recognized the fig
unexisted
That's awesome though. Did you make it? Would love to have a file for the beast and bot heads
supernova222
the base fig is TFA swoop
unexisted
Which figure was that based off from?
Lucas35
What do you mean? Cowboy Bebop only owes a few pics and they look good and faithful. And about He-Man although it owes problems and it wasn't great, it was a good series that respected the original series and was created by fans.
AzT
https://twitter.com/Transformerspo1/status/1431496808535138306
Josh
*in your opinion*
Bass X0
Majority? Minority? No, that isn't the issue. Respecting the legacy is the only thing that matters. And that's not just Beast Wars or Transformers. Its also about Marvel, DC, Star Wars, Doctor Who, Dungeons & Dragons, Magic: The Gathering, He-Man. All those long running franchises and many more, with Cowboy Bebop being added to the list just this week of legacies not being respected. I've been seeing a kind of uprising from long-time fans of those properties standing up against new fans and new creators who don't give a shit about the legacy. Deviating from the legacy makes someone the proverbial nail that sticks out.
I don't believe that all art styles are universal that can fit any and all franchises. Some art styles work better for some franchises than they do for others and likewise there are some franchises that certain styles just do not work for. A bad art style for one franchise may be a good art style for another franchise. Beast Wars commands its own specific art style; like the cartoon – doesn't matter that its 25, years old now. Winston Chan, the artist of #7, knew how to respect the Beast Wars legacy and in turn, he deserves respect for doing so.
MarikZero
VernoxSplit Fanfic incoming
supernova222
yeah well just remember there are plenty of us who enjoyed them and loved ur style
its always the haters that are the loudest but are rarely the majority
![[IMG]](https://i.redd.it/myl8ec2a7bnz.gif)
SPLIT LIP
O////O
Verno
Great post.
Bass X0
I can understand they wanted to mix things up with an additional female and an additional flyer. Should have been Sonar before she became a Transmetal. Unless Nyx somehow later becomes Onyx Primal, the black repaint of the bat Optimus Primal.
SPLIT LIP
And see, that's why the introduction of Skold confuses me. As Necromaster (or was it Coffee?) pointed out a while back, the idea of Skold being loyal due to her insecurities despite the abuse and mistreatment from Megatron would be a great character arch… for Scorponok, who was already a sniveling, grovelling lackey despite his moderate technical know-how. He was clearly not a complete oaf, but when pressured he would break down, start stuttering or talking like a dullard, and fumble basic tasks. (usually if Megatron wasn't around) It wasn't deep, but it was an internal mechanic of the character, and would've worked perfectly for what Skold has been thus far. There really didn't need to be a new character created when one of the existing characters would've worked just fine. Instead Scorponok is now just a goon again, except without the neurotic behaviour.
It just confuses me. They've increased each team by one, yet still don't have the time/material to develop even half of them over seven issues.
I wasn't planning to but now I'm on blast guess I gotta.
Nah, if it was, it'd be good. Or at the very least entertaining.
In Beast Machines the characters were pressured into new roles and situations and only barely managed to not crack under pressure. (some even did) In this book everyone just acts odd for no tangible reason. Cheetor, for example, grew out of his youthful impetuousness by the time BM rolled around and continued to mature into a more leader-like role. In this book Cheetor does nothing for six issues, then tells us his personality instead of having one.
In BM the characters were massively outmatched and forced to keep relocating because the entire planet was swarming with attack drones. In this book both armies are "comfortably" marooned yet neither army seems especially eager to do much, with even the threat of Energon radiation being virtually non-existent. No desperate quest to merely survive, no attempts to seek out and eliminate the opposition. The Predacons launched one really poorly planned assault that accomplished nothing and Nyx got lost for an issue. Wheee.
At least in BM they were attempting to visualize a concept which formed the backbone of the show's purpose. The designs were quite literally the blueprint for the heroes' own goals.
And in BM drives the entire plot practically episode-to-episode, unlike the Vok here which show up for no reason, do nothing, and have been completely ignored since.
Rhinox was reprogrammed in BM, here he's just kind of a bitch making catty remarks for no reason. Perhaps he's merely playing devil's advocate, but his choice of words and body language convey a sense of irritation and belittling, like the other characters are just too stupid to see his point of view. If this is working towards Rhinox turning bad it's incredibly forced.
Well shit ya got me there.
Seven episodes in BM had already had character-focused episodes, world-building, delved into the new mythos, and just started moving the main plot forward with Revelations Part 1. In seven issues this book has developed maybe three of its twelve characters, introduced another one, and had no movement of the main plot whatsoever. (unless you count Blackarachnia's arrival but we're not sure just how she'll effect the story and how soon)
Beast Machines is way better than this book. At least Beast Machines had momentum, things happened, and it didn't waste its time and characters. Say what you will about The Weak Component, but that whole episode was development for Rattrap (which had been building since episode 1) and was a big step forward for his character in BM. Nobody has gotten anything near that in this book. Closest is Dinobot, but as I've said before his character development was practically done before the book started. His defecting was treated as a foregone conclusion by the writer, and the story reflected this. Hell, by Revelations Cheetor had already started to question Optimus and removed him from command. Every character had development and their own subplots moving and changing by the seventh outing. I know one issue isn't quite equivalent to one episode, but it's close enough and shows just how little this comic has actually achieved.
Nope
I look forward to seeing a Split Lip rebuttal to that.
Verno
Ohhhh, of course. It's a Beast Machines comic book:
That explains why it sucks. It all makes sense now.
AutobotAvalanche
This is something I've come to appreciate a lot more on my current rewatch. Even Scorponok, the bittest of bit players, has shades and layers to his character. He pretty much only acts as a plot device for things like the cyberbee or as a goon, but the writers went out of their way to flesh him out anyway.