Line #21 Headscratchers/BeastMachines


1	* How did Waspinator get back to Cybertron? He doesn't have FTL capability, he doesn't technical know-how. Did he really go TheSlowPath back to Cybertron? Just in time to be captured by Megatron?
2	** No, its entirely possible that he landed much earlier, and simply laid low for a few vorns. Of course, given how much Cybertron moved around over the course of G1, and presumably thereafter, its entirely possible that he arrived shortly before Megatron's takeover simply because he couldn't remember where the planet was supposed to be until around then.
3	*** AFAIK, he went back to Cybertron after finding the rest of the survivors. This is told on one of the comics post-''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''.
4	*** The real question is, when did he ''arrive'' on Cybertron? Depending on how long he traveled, he might have even arrived before the Great Upgrade...
5	** I seem to remember reading on Website/TFWikiDotNet that Waspinator was the ''Darksyde's'' pilot. Perhaps he cobbled something together out of spare Transwarp cells and a stasis pod.
6	*** Bob Skir clarified a few things years later. Specifically, that whole thing with the tree slingshot was a joke added by Mainframe (a bit of levity), so don't take it as canon. As for how Waspinator really did get back, he doesn't know but would love to tell the story one day (joking that his odyssey must have been 'worthy of Homer').
7	* On a similar note and all fan theories aside, just how did Megatron get so anti-organic? He showed no such resentment for most of his battles in ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', and actually seemed quite comfortable with his beast modes in general. Heck, with the power of his Dragon mode, he could defeat Optimus Primal in EVERY confrontation they had afterwards, with elemental strength. Why would he grow to hate something that gave him such power and the ability to overcome most of his enemies?
8	** There was a Botcon script reading (or something like that) not long ago that involved Beast!Megatron interacting with Animated!Optimus and Sari on an AU!Cybertron. Maybe Sari's behavior during that is what convinced Megatron to be anti-organic.
9	** By the end of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'', he's pretty vehemently anti-organic and pro-God!Megatron. Being lost on Cybertron for untold ages as the sole organic transformer might well have driven him over the edge.
10	*** Beast Wars Megatron ceased to be in a sense once he merged his spark with that of his Decepticon ancestor, the original Megatron, during the events of "Master Blaster", because the original Megatron imprinted his mindset and attitude onto the personality and ego of the Predacon Megatron. As a result, ''Beast Machines'' Megatron's change of personality is the result of the original Megatron having frankensteined him into a mental hybrid clone of the two, the original's prejudices controlled by the Predacon's ego, justifying Vehicon Megatron's hatred for his beast mode and all Cybertronians with such forms.
11	*** Not sure where you got this, but no. The original Megatron's Spark was put back in his body in the last episode of Beast Wars, the scene was just cut for time. Its still considered canon by pretty much everyone though.
12	* If Rattrap had such a big problem with his lack of built-in weapons, why didn't he just pick up a gun? His old weapons, aside from his transmetal tail that he rarely used, weren't built-in, so it's not like things have changed that much. They're on a deserted Cybertron and continuously tearing heavily armed war drones to scrap, so it can't possibly be that hard for him to scavenge either a working weapon or the parts to make one. He's shown to keep around a variety of tools and made those seed bombs as well, but a reliable energy weapon would be far more efficient than lobbing grenades one at a time. Was it just another example of the writers forgoing logic in the name of an overly simplistic theme?
13	** Long story short? WriterOnBoard in the form of Bob Skir. In one of his old interviews, Skir admitted that he preferred that the heroes he writes for won't use guns. He wasn't exactly against firearms since he said that characters like The Punisher need to use guns as part of their character. However, he was of the belief that Maximal heroes like Optimus and Rattrap aren't absolutely required to have guns... which can make sense for a character like Optimus who has his strength and sword/mace-fighting skills to make up for not having firearms but absolutely no sense for Rattrap whose EstablishingCharacterMoment for his entire Beast Wars/Transformers tenure was that of a gun aficionado and expert marksman.
14	** Also, whatever happened to [[MemeticMutation ROBO-NOOGIES!?!]]
15	*** Rattrap's new body isn't built for hand-to-hand given such issues as his lack of legs, and the drones often attack in such large numbers that such a strategy wouldn't really be practical, even before factoring in that the drones don't have a physical design that would allow Rattrap to fight them one-on-one (the tank and car drones are too big, the jet and helicopter drones can fly, and the motorcycle drones aren't designed for that kind of fight).
16	* At one point Nightscream makes a Tonka reference. I'm pretty sure he's never left Cybertron, much less ever been to Earth. Did Optimus Prime and the rest of the G1 Autobots really add this idiom to the culture upon returning?
17	** Another episode has Nightscream and Silverbolt making a Monopoly reference. Same point.
18	*** Earth was very important to Cybertronian history. It's likely they've had a LOT of contact over the centuries, maybe even into their modern day, we just don't see it since Beast Wars largely took place in the past. It's not surprising Earth culture has seeped into Transformer consciousness.
19	*** Though ''some'' of Earth's culture may have been adopted into Cybertronian society, since much (if not all) records of the Great War (including mentions of Earth) was forgotten or, as shown in BW episode "Possession", suppressed to avoid another war.
20	* In the episode where Rattrap plugged into Tankor, he was able to regain some of his memories, and see some of Rhinox's memories. That I can understand, but there's one flashback that doesn't make sense to me. When we see the flashback of Optimus and Cheetor get hit with the virus, we see it from the POV of a character, but who's POV are we seeing? If it were Rhinox, why wasn't he captured like in the later flashback with Silverbolt and Rattrap? The only other possibility is that Rattrap ''somehow'' is accessing a memory of Blackarachnia, and if that's the case, how is he seeing that from plugging into Tankor/Rhinox?
21	** It's possible that it was still Rhinox's memory, but at the time the viral canisters released the virus to infect Cheetor and Optimus, Rhinox and whoever else was with him at that point was far enough away to not be hit by the viral gas.
22	* Why is there Earth-based organic life on Cybertron? How the hell did it get there and get fossilized?
23	** Because the writers were told to do so, and not worry about how it affects the continuity/lore of the rest of the franchise. But if you still need an in-universe answer, it's possible that whoever established Cybertron (the Quintessons for the cartoon, Primus for the comic) used a planet that has/had organic life on it. I wouldn't put it past the squids to wipe out all indigenous life to build a factory over it, would you?
24	** The Quintesson theory can be supported with the G1 episode "Dweller in the Depths". In the episode, they state that their first experiment in creating a race of cybernetic servants were the Transorganics: half beast, half machine. Now doesn't that concept sound familiar?
25	* Why don't the Maximals ever consider trying to fish out the sparks of their deceased comrades from the beast wars to help them like Rhinox with Optimus Primal in Season 2 of ''Beast Wars''? You would think that they could use all the help that they can get.
26	** Rhinox specifically stated in "Coming of the Fuzors, Part 1" that he was attempting to use a window into transwarp space created by the explosion of the Vok planet-killer that was going to close soon, so there was literally no opportunity for them to retrieve anyone else from the Matrix.
27	*** Yes but still doesn't Optimus Primal have access to the Matrix? so why didn't they try to find some kind of way to gain access to the sparks of their deceased friends like Dinobot and Tigatron and attempt to bring them back to life in order to help fight against Megatron? It could not hurt to try since they are at war against countless hordes of Vehicon drones and could use as much help as possible.
28	** It may be that they're uncomfortable actually bringing others back to life and dragging them into a conflict when their comrades have earned peace after their previous struggles.
29	* Where did the Werewolf side of Noble/Savage come from? the Dragon side is obviously from Megatron's beast mode but how come he got a werewolf alternate form along with the red mutant dragon?
30	** The only theory fans have come up with is Silverbolt. Somehow. Until the creators give a real answer we'll probably never know.
31	** Considering that wolves are usually a symbol for nobility, the werewolf half could be a representation of the "nobility" Megatron had gained from his success in taking over Cybertron. He was less hammy, was willing to negotiate AND keep his word about it at times showing that he'd built up a bit of honor, literally had to be responsible to keep the entire planet active since no one was around to do it, and looked at organics like they were [[AristocratsAreEvil "a filthy disease plaguing his perfect world."]]
32	** Werewolves also represent a very primal focus. In Megatron's case, his end-goal: unite all of Cybertron under one, single, individual consciousness. If that doesn't scream "primal focus"...
33	** Since the series has a more "spiritual" aspect to it, if looked at from a biblical POV, the wolf part could be like a symbol of evil, a threat to those in Christ's flock. In this case, the Oracle's.
34	* How did the virus revert Optimus to his original beast mode? His current body started as a Transmetal; the original gorilla body was destroyed with the Planet Buster.
35	** I read a theory that the virus basically latched on to the 'memory' of Optimus's original beast mode in his spark, or maybe it just drew on the raw DNA of that beast mode still in his Transmetal form.
36	* Why exactly did Rhinox turn against the Maximals? In the past he was all for organic life but when they finally break through Tankor’s programming he reveals he agrees with Megatron’s view that organic life must be erased. Did he go insane?
37	** WordOfGod is that he thought it through and decided “Ya know what? Megatron is kind of on to something here. I should adopt his plan.” It just got mangled by hammy voice acting one over-dramatic animation.
38	** Alternatively, some fan theories have speculated that the problem was that the Maximals reactivated Rhinox's core consciousness without shutting down the Tankor shell program, which resulted in Rhinox being reactivated essentially reprogrammed into a Vehicon just as he was temporarily turned into a Predacon in "Dark Designs".
39	* Waspinator went back to Cybertron because he was bored and the Cavemen kicked him out. Why would he wants to do that? He's a wanted criminal in the Maximals' eyes and a rogue Predacon. Imprisonment or death will await for him in Cybertron.
40	** Because the alternative is staying with a bunch of angry cavemen who hate him, abuse him, and given enough time could very well kill him. At least on Cybertron he could hook up with some other Predacons for protection.
41	* Aside from Botanica's exploratory vessel getting shot down, Cybertron is never faced with off world contact again. Which, begs the question: what happened to all the colonies? Beast Wars established they were a thing. Depthcharge certainly not shutting up about Omicron. You'd think other Maximals or even Predacons would be seen attempting ''something.''
42	** Knowing Megatron, he probably sabotaged all forms of off-planet communication, so the colonies might have no idea whats going on. Plus, the length of the series isn't all that long, so the whole issue could have been resolved before anyone else even knew something was wrong.

Context Headscratchers / BeastMachines