| 1 | %% |
| 2 | %% Some rules have to be put. Read them before entrypimping, please: |
| 3 | %% |
| 4 | %% * Character-specific tropes go in the Characters page. |
| 5 | %% |
| 6 | %% * Don't add natter, Justifying Edits, Word Cruft and that kind of nasty and unwanted stuff. |
| 7 | %% |
| 8 | %% Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1648818352076835800&page=1 |
| 9 | %% Previous image selected per Image Pickin' thread: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1641260795092622600 |
| 10 | %% Please do not replace or remove without starting a new thread. |
| 11 | %% |
| 12 | [[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/transformersbeastwars04.jpg]] |
| 13 | [[caption-width-right:350:''[[WithLyrics Beast Wars! Beast Wars! Robots are in disguise again!]]'']] |
| 14 | %% |
| 15 | ->''"Megatron may be back, and there is still more Energon. If they ever get enough, they could conquer the galaxy. So for now, let the battle be here, on this strange, primitive world. And let it be called ''Beast Wars!''"'' |
| 16 | -->--'''Optimus Primal''', "Beast Wars (Part 2)" |
| 17 | |
| 18 | The series that [[{{Revival}} revived]] the ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}'' franchise after a years-long recession,[[note]]In terms of television that is; both the toyline as well as the [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel comics]] had remained popular way into the 90s[[/note]] ''Beast Wars'' was a fully CG-animated series that premiered in 1996. It was produced by the now-bought-out Creator/MainframeEntertainment, hot on the heels of its predecessor, ''WesternAnimation/ReBoot'' (in fact, its first season aired as part of the syndicated "Power Block" [distributed by Hasbro's Claster TV firm)] alongside ''[=ReBoot=]'', ''WesternAnimation/GIJoeExtreme'' and ''WesternAnimation/VorTechUndercoverConversionSquad''). Hugely controversial at the time among purists for the massive changes to the Transformers formula, most prominently the change from vehicles and electronics to animals. "[[TheyChangedItNowItSucks TRUKK NOT MUNKY!]]" was a common cry of its detractors of the time. |
| 19 | |
| 20 | ''Beast Wars'' is a DistantSequel set in the far future of the ''Franchise/TransformersGeneration1'' franchise, though it never refers to enough specifics to figure out ''which'' Generation One ([[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers cartoon]], [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel comics]] or something else), and the events of the "Great War" are ShroudedInMyth. After the war ended with an Autobot victory, an uneasy truce has existed on Cybertron for many centuries. During this time of peace, the Transformers were reformatted into smaller, more energy-efficient bodies; the descendants of the Autobots are known as the Maximals, and the Decepticons have become the Predacons. |
| 21 | |
| 22 | A Predacon rogue steals a precious artifact from the Cybertronian archives and names himself Megatron after the historical Decepticon leader. The artifact contains the coordinates of a planet ripe with energon and Megatron escapes into space with it and a small band of followers, intent on acquiring enough energon to instigate a full-scale Predacon rebellion. The only ship able to pursue is crewed by a team of scientists and researchers led by Optimus Primal (no relation to Optimus Prime beyond name -- at least not in this continuity). Their ships crash on an unknown foreign world, similar to but not quite exactly the same as pre-historic Earth. The planet does have energon, but too much of it and it is in a raw, unstable form, and prolonged exposure would short out their systems and send them into stasis lock. To bypass this the two sides adopt "beast modes" based on the planet's native lifeforms, which they can use to move about outside their ships without risking overexposure. |
| 23 | |
| 24 | Against this backdrop, the Beast Wars between the Maximals and Predacons begin. The Maximals want to go home and let the proper authorities deal with Megatron, but the hope for rescue is slim, as their ships had trans-warp engines that let them travel through space and time, so they could be anywhere, any''time'', in the galaxy. The plan is that if they can subdue the Predacons, they can turn their attention to repairing their ship or finding a way to contact Cybertron. As for the Predacons, while the bulk believe they are here just to acquire energon to take back to Cybertron, Megatron had a secret, ulterior motive for coming to this specific planet at this specific point in time -- the true identity of the planet and why Megatron came here serve as big reveals in the second season. The two sides must also deal with a third party, {{Sufficiently Advanced Alien}}s known as the "Vok" that have a presence on this alien world and don't like the Transformers interfering with their plans for it. |
| 25 | |
| 26 | Despite its detractors when it began, ''Beast Wars'' was actually quite innovative for its time, not only because of the aforementioned CG, but also because of the tight storyline and significant character development. The show made attempts to push the boundaries of contemporary children's shows via [[DoubleEntendre witty wordplay]] and graphic violence that was let slip because [[MachineBlood flying robot parts]] [[WhatMeasureIsANonHuman have been permissible]] since time immemorial. The expense of CG animation at the time (each episode cost about $700,000 during Season 1, as an example) required a limited cast of characters, unlike the 1984 series's cast of dozens. Although this, too, was decried at the time, it meant more time was spent with each character, so they developed distinct personalities and dynamics with each other, and most of them got ongoing story arcs and character development across multiple episodes. It also meant that when a new character was introduced, an existing character was killed off, or someone got a significant upgrade that affected their appearance, it was treated as a big deal and would be a lasting, permanent change (most of the time, anyway). |
| 27 | |
| 28 | On the toy side, the toys made much larger use of ball-joint technology than the Generation 1 toys did, and this meant the ''Beast Wars''-era toys were a huge leap above the originals in playability; they had much better articulation, their joints were less prone to damage, and since the toys were being made with intent to tie into the cartoon this time instead of Hasbro creating a cartoon based on pre-existing toys, the characters looked more similar between the two formats. The toyline was not without its problems, though. "Shell-formers" is a fan term used for Transformers where their alt mode just opens up and the robot climbs out with their alt-mode pieces folding up and hanging off of their limbs, and the fandom generally dislikes this. These kinds of toys existed before ''Beast Wars'' but became much more prevalent here due to the wide variety of beast modes among the cast. In the name of looking convincingly like real animals the toys often had large, sculpted pieces that tried to cover up the robot mode parts as much as possible, so when it came time to transform them into robot mode, it wasn't always possible to find a way to gracefully integrate these pieces into the robot, so they often just folded up on their backs and chests to compress them as much as possible. |
| 29 | |
| 30 | The voices of Optimus Primal and Megatron, Creator/GarryChalk and Creator/DavidKaye, would return to voice Optimus Prime and Megatron in the ''Anime/UnicronTrilogy''. If you didn't grow up on the voices of Creator/PeterCullen and Creator/FrankWelker, you probably grew up with these guys.[[note]]And for some irony, Kaye would voice Optimus Prime in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated'', and for the G1 Megatron's cameo in this series Chalk did a Frank Welker impression. This makes them the only two voice actors to have voiced both Optimus and Megatron in some incarnation.[[/note]] |
| 31 | |
| 32 | For its flaws and strengths, ''Beast Wars'' set the standard for all other ''Transformers'' franchises from then on, both in toy and in cartoon format. Even now, it just won't die; a "10th Anniversary" release of the original toys was created (with new figures for Primal and Megatron), and fan favorites Blackarachnia and Waspinator were carried over into ''WesternAnimation/TransformersAnimated''. Dinobot was the inaugural fan-chosen inductee into the ''Transformers'' Hall of Fame in 2010, with many ''Beast Wars'' characters following. The franchise got a massive tribute for its 25th anniversary in the form of the Kingdom toy line portion of the ''[[WebAnimation/TransformersWarForCybertron War for Cybertron]]'' trilogy, with much of this show’s cast featuring in the show’s third season. 2023's ''Film/TransformersRiseOfTheBeasts'' also serves as a tribute to ''Beast Wars'', featuring several characters making their live-action debut in the ''Film/TransformersFilmSeries''. To some, ''Beast Wars'' is the best ''Transformers'' incarnation of all time due to its high quality and production values. It isn't uncommon for even longtime ''Generation 1'' fans to claim that the show is their favorite ''Transformers'' series. |
| 33 | |
| 34 | The SequelSeries, '''''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines''''', was... [[ContestedSequel less well-regarded]], due mainly to characterization changes, a focus on longer plot arcs, being too preachy, and [[DarkerAndEdgier a darker tone in general]]. The massive redesigns that the ''Beast Wars'' cast underwent were also a huge factor in its reception. Despite this, it has its own fanbase. See its own page for more information. |
| 35 | |
| 36 | In Japan, two traditionally animated series were created to fill in the production gaps between seasons, '''''Anime/BeastWarsII''''' and '''''Anime/BeastWarsNeo'''''. They were never dubbed, as they don't fit in very well with the {{continuity}} of either the source material or each other. Both shows are [[LighterAndSofter much more lighthearted]] than their Western counterparts and aimed at a much younger audience than ''Beast Wars'' (which could plausibly be called the first Transformers series aimed at teenagers, not just children). In addition, the Japanese release of the CG ''Beast Wars'' cartoon also [[{{Redubbing}} changed the dialog]] for a younger audience, almost to the point of being a GagDub. |
| 37 | |
| 38 | ''Franchise/TransformersTimelines'' has provided a few {{prequel}} stories to ''Beast Wars''. |
| 39 | |
| 40 | During the line's heyday there were a few spinoff lines, including ''Machine Wars'' (a KB Toys exclusive line featuring vehicular [=TFs=] that were redecos of European molds, and was an early attempt at reintroducing character with vehicular altmodes instead of animals, but it quietly faded away) and a tie-in line with ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}'' that wasn't well-received by either fanbase. |
| 41 | |
| 42 | Here's a [[Characters/BeastWars Character sheet]]. Now updated with characters from the ExpandedUniverse. Please feel free to add to it. |
| 43 | ---- |
| 44 | !!This show provides examples of: |
| 45 | [[foldercontrol]] |
| 46 | [[folder:Tropes # - F]] |
| 47 | * TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: Inverted. Because the vast majority of the show is CG, the rare instance of non-CG imagery (many fire and explosion effects, for example) is ''very'' conspicuous. Later seasons also showcase an all-CGI variant of this by retaining models from Season 1 like Rhinox and Waspinator, showing off how old and underdetailed they are compared to the ones introduced in seasons 2 and 3. Or compared to even Inferno and Blackarachnia from later in Season 1. |
| 48 | * AbortedArc: Due to the show getting cancelled at the end of season 3, the MythArc with [[GreaterScopeVillain the Vok]] never gets proper closure. |
| 49 | * ActorAllusion: In "The Agenda (Part 3)", Silverbolt looks up at Venus in the sky and says it reminds him of Blackarachnia. Blackarachnia's voice actress is named Venus Terzo. |
| 50 | * ActuallyPrettyFunny: |
| 51 | ** In "Bad Spark", when Blackarachnia accepts Silverbolt's presence and companionship under the excuse of self-preservation and protection from Tarantulas, the two come across [[AnArmAndALeg Tarantulas's severed limb hanging from a tree]]. Silverbolt says that there's no cause for alarm, since he has been [[StealthPun disarmed]]. Both of them laugh after trying to hold in their snickers for several seconds. |
| 52 | ** At the end of "Equal Measures", Optimus Primal scolds Cheetor for disobeying direct orders and orders him to never pull a stunt like that again. Cheetor answers that he'll never do such a thing again...until the next time he does it. Rhinox, Rattrap, and eventually Optimus as well laugh about Cheetor's statement. |
| 53 | * AdaptationalWeaponSwap: The Transmetal toys only feature melee weapons, but the animated series required the cast to have guns. As such, everyone's melee weapons either function like guns (Optimus Prime's mace handles being used as machine guns when mounted to his back, Megatron's tail whip stiffening and acting like a cannon), or other parts of their body being given the ability to fire something (Cheetor's hands firing energy blasts, Tarantulas' shoulder markings serving as missile pods). |
| 54 | * AdmiringTheAbomination: Megatron ''really'' likes the Vok and their doomsday machines, even when they're trying to kill him and the other Cybertronians. |
| 55 | -->'''Megatron:''' Brilliant! They're causing a chain reaction which will rip this planet to atoms and destroy all traces of them, simply to deal with us! Such sheer ruthlessness. Such disregard for sentient life! ...I rather like these aliens.\ |
| 56 | '''Terrorsaur:''' Like them?! They're trying to ''destroy'' us! |
| 57 | * AdvertisedExtra: The Cyber raptors created by Megatron are featured prominently in the intro for the third season, implying they will be recurring enemies for the Maximals to face. However, they are only present in the episode "Cutting Edge". |
| 58 | * AerialCanyonChase: Cheetor tries this in a canyon containing several closely spaced pillars. While he manages to shake off the newly awakened Silverbolt with this technique, Megatron simply ploughs through the pillars head-first to no ill effect. |
| 59 | * AffectionateNickname: Blackarachnia has a wide, colorful selection of doggy nicknames she uses for Silverbolt ("Jojo", "Bowser," "chunk-style", etc.) It's pretty adorable. |
| 60 | * AGodAmI: Megatron has one hell of a God complex. In the GrandFinale, he refers to his "imminent godhood" and quotes from the Covenant of Primus in reference to himself. This leads nicely into his view of himself all through ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' as destined to ascend to godhood. |
| 61 | * AHandfulForAnEye: During the Maximal/Predacon "truce" (which apparently allows combat so long as no weapons are used) Rattrap kicks a bunch of dirt in Waspinator's face, temporarily blinding him (even though he's a robot). Rattrap then proceeds to give Waspinator a noogie. |
| 62 | * AllegianceAffirmation: |
| 63 | ** One of the ways the Transformers have to show their allegiance is their activation code, which can be switched at will: "Maximize" for the Maximals and "Terrorize" for the Predacons. |
| 64 | ** After the events of "Maximal No More", where [[spoiler:Dinobot ended up giving the Golden Disk to Megatron]], he [[MyGodWhatHaveIDone realized the error of his ways]] and swore allegiance to the Maximals for the rest of his life. [[spoiler:Something he holds up to, as he dies in "Code Of Hero" saving the proto-humans and destroying the Golden Disk]]. |
| 65 | * AllThereInTheManual: The device in the "Other Visits" two-parter is called a Metal Hunter in the scripts. |
| 66 | * AlternativeForeignThemeSong: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwcMBpVXzWM WAR WAR! STOP IT!]] is the Japanese opening and [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qWyOh5RlwIU "FOR THE DREAM"]] is the Japanese ending. |
| 67 | * AncientAstronauts: [[invoked]] The Vok. WordOfGod says their seemingly nonsensical experiments were an attempt to accelerate [[spoiler:Humanity]]'s evolution so they would be able to prevent the Vok's ancestors, ''[[ComicBook/TransformersGeneration2 Generation 2]]'''s The Swarm, from devastating Earth. The Maximals themselves later take on this role, opening a school for the cave people (complete with a blackboard) so they'll be ready for [[spoiler:when the Decepticons wake up]]. |
| 68 | * AndIMustScream: In "Possession", it is revealed that, after [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie being killed by Galvatron]], Starscream's spark has been wandering through the universe for thousands of years, [[UnstuckInTime even traveling through time]]. |
| 69 | * AnimalVehicleHybrid: After gaining a Transmetal mode, several of the Maximals and Predacons acquire new modes for their beast forms: Optimus gained a skateboard for his Gorilla mode, Cheetor gained aerial wings, and later a back thruster, for his cheetah mode, Rattrap gained a pair of wheels, for his rat mode, Megatron gained skaters and a pair of thrusters for his Tyrannosaurus rex mode and Tarantulas gained motorcycle wheels for his tarantula mode. |
| 70 | * AnimationBump: While the CG was pretty good for its time, some sequences, such as [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M3PSMzUXc3A Waspinator's resignation speech]], contain especially fluid animation. |
| 71 | * AnyoneCanDie: |
| 72 | ** [[invoked]] Out of a total named cast of twenty, [[spoiler:only eight]], not counting one-shot characters, make it out alive. This was largely due to ExecutiveMeddling and software limitations. CG was relatively new at the time, and only a handful of characters could appear at once; add in the MerchandiseDriven nature of the franchise, and characters had to be removed to show off new toys. Luckily, the show ran with the punches and figured out how to swing the act properly each time someone had to bite it—save for [[spoiler:[[DroppedABridgeOnHim Scorponok and Terrosaur]]]] and the infamous [[{{Retcon}} retconned]] death of Inferno in the second season finale. |
| 73 | ** The remaining stasis pods were never found and presumed destroyed. [[note]]Unless you read the IDW comics.[[/note]] The body count is quite high for a kid's show. |
| 74 | ** If you take ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' into account, the bodycount is even higher. [[spoiler:Of the ten characters introduced in the first episode of ''Beast Wars'', only Cheetor, Rattrap and Waspinator are still alive at the end of ''Beast Machines''.]] |
| 75 | * AnArmAndALeg: Losing limbs is a relatively common dramatic device, [[GoodThingYouCanHeal as they can always be reattached later]]. |
| 76 | * ArachnidAppearanceAndAttire: Tarantulas and Blackarachnia both have spiders as their alt modes and have spider-like traits even when in robot mode. |
| 77 | * TheArtifact: |
| 78 | ** Optimus and Megatron's names were due to being planned to be the original G1 characters in new forms. |
| 79 | ** A jetpack is a seemingly random ability for a gorilla transformer to have, but as Optimus Primal was planned to be a bat in the show (matching his original toy) scenes were written with Optimus flying, so gorilla Optimus was given a jetpack to preserve them. |
| 80 | ** The beast modes of the characters largely lost any story relevance after the start of the second season, since their main utility (blocking energon radiation) was no longer relevant, and the traditional uses of beast modes in the franchise, such as disguise or rapid transport, were either useless or irrelevant. Transmetal characters got pseudo-vehicle modes that gave them some utility, but other characters had little reason to use their beast modes other than "the toys have them." |
| 81 | * ArtEvolution: The CG was always top-notch, but as the hardware improved, so did the animation. The most dramatic leaps were season two of ''Beast Wars'' and then the jump to ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines''. |
| 82 | * AStormIsComing: The show actually has an ''episode'' called [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Before_the_Storm "Before the Storm."]] |
| 83 | -->'''Megatron:''' There is a storm approaching. A storm of such power, such magnitude...it is ''beyond imagination''. |
| 84 | * ATeamFiring: Constantly. Given that characters can only die a permanent death when scripted, the combatants on both sides are equally incompetent at landing shots when they need to be. (The few times they do score hits, the victim is usually just knocked out or non-lethally blown to bits, as the case with Waspinator.) Rhinox takes the cake, as he once ended up literally knee-deep in brass casings firing ''two'' of his chainguns of doom without actually hitting anything. Especially jarring for Dinobot, who shoots laser with his eyes and should reliably be able to hit what he can see. |
| 85 | ** The one time someone's appalling marksmanship actually gets called out, it's as a setup to an ExactlyWhatIAimedAt moment, courtesy of Rhinox and several tons of falling rocks. |
| 86 | * {{Autocannibalism}}: Dinobot disposes of his fully biological clone in "Double Dinobot" by eating it. |
| 87 | * AwesomeButImpractical: [[spoiler:The Nemesis's main weapon is a scaled-up version of [[Westernanimation/TheTransformers G1 Megatron's]] [[{{BFG}} fusion cannon]]. Its firepower is immense and devastating, but it takes forever to fully charge. You can count the number of times it fired with just one hand.]] |
| 88 | * BackForTheDead: [[spoiler:Tigatron]] and [[spoiler:Airazor]]. They both [[NotQuiteDead get abducted by the Vok]] halfway through the second season, then come back [[spoiler:as Tigerhawk, a fusion of them as one being,]] right before the series finale. And then [[spoiler:Tigerhawk dies roughly ten minutes into the final episode]]. |
| 89 | * BackFromTheDead: |
| 90 | ** In "Coming of the Fuzors", Optimus Primal is reborn in a new body, complete with a Transmetal upgrade, because Rhinox retrieved his spark from the Matrix and re-inserted it into a blank protoform. |
| 91 | ** Blackarachnia also gets this in "Crossing the Rubicon". She tries to delete the Predacon reprogramming inside her with Maximal programming and a Transmetal driver. Her attempts to reprogram herself cause the Predacon programming to retaliate and nearly kill her instead, but the Transmetal driver fuses with her body and allows her to revert back to a Maximal with a Transmetal II body. |
| 92 | * TheBadGuyWins: Both Seasons 1 and 2 end on decisive victories for Megatron: |
| 93 | ** [[spoiler:Season 1 ends with Megatron successfully orchestrating the death of Optimus Primal, with his final words being "The Beast Wars are over, Optimus-You. Lose.]] |
| 94 | ** [[spoiler:Season 2 ends with Megatron infiltrating the ''Ark'' and shooting Optimus Prime in the head, retroactively altering the timeline so the Decepticons win the Great War and the Predacons rule Cybertron; the season ends with the [[RetGone Maximals fading out of existence]] and Megatron gloating.]] |
| 95 | * BandOfBrothers: The Maximals. Though they [[HeadbuttingHeroes took a long road]] to get there. |
| 96 | * BattleCry: |
| 97 | ** "Maximals, MAXIMIZE!!" |
| 98 | ** "Predacons, TERRORIZE!!" |
| 99 | ** "For the Royalty!" |
| 100 | ** "For the glory of the colony!" |
| 101 | * BehindAStick: In "Nemesis", Inferno is seen hiding behind a tree that is clearly too thin to conceal him when the recently base-less Predacons evade a Maximal patrol. |
| 102 | * BewareTheNiceOnes: Whilst there are several {{jerkass}} Maximals who'll resort to [[AntiHero morally ambiguous tactics]], the nicer Maximals are ''not'' to be underestimated. Some of the Predacons learn this the hard way. |
| 103 | * BigCreepyCrawlies: Throughout the series, nearly all of the Predacons (specifically, all those that aren't dinosaurs) have insect or arachnid beast modes. At one point, ''every'' Predacon aside from Megatron is at least half-arthropod. |
| 104 | * BittersweetEnding: Out of all the Maximals who appear in the series, [[spoiler:only six]] make it back to Cybertron alive. Pretty dark for a show that's geared towards selling toys to children. |
| 105 | * BloodKnight: Dinobot. It appears to be a trait of the Predacons in general, as illustrated when Optimus Primal and Megatron have their meeting about the truce. |
| 106 | -->'''Optimus''': When Predacons talk truce, it means they just want time to reload their weapons.\ |
| 107 | '''Megatron''': [[AtLeastIAdmitIt Under normal circumstances, yes]]. |
| 108 | * BookEnds: In the premiere and finale, [[spoiler:Megatron ignores tactical advice from Dinobot (or in the latter case, a clone thereof) in favor of toying with his enemy/satisfying petty grudges. In both cases, it costs him. Not only this, but the exact wording - in the pilot, Megatron counters a suggestion to blast the enemy while their shields are down with "Now where's the fun in that?", while in the finale, "Where is the honor in that?" is Dinobot's criticism to Megatron's petty decision to annihilate proto-humans with fusion cannons.]] |
| 109 | ** Not only that, but [[spoiler:"where is the honor in that" is the question Optimus Primal asked Dinobot when he spared him in their duel.]] |
| 110 | ** The episode "Code Of Hero" starts with an anthropoid being bitten and killed by a poisonous snake. The final scene has another anthropoid find the stone and wood club Dinobot used to take the Golden Disk from Megatron. He uses it to break open a coconut and then defend himself against another poisonous snake. The anthropoid then cheers at the club's usefulness, implying that Dinobot triggered humanity's learning toolmaking. |
| 111 | * BorrowedCatchphrase: Optimus mimics Megatron's "yeeees" after musing the Predacon may be in over his head with the newly brainwashed Rhinox, while [[LeaningOnTheFourthWall smirking at the audience]]. |
| 112 | ** Terrorsaur likewise drops a smug "yeeees" after a successful bid to [[KlingonPromotion usurp leadership]] from Megatron in "Power Surge". |
| 113 | * BulletproofHumanShield: Megatron pulls a disturbingly dark gambit on Dinobot by threatening to using a primitive human as collateral. Earlier in the episode, Dinobot uses Inferno to block Black Arachnia's spider leg guns, before shooting her with Inferno's gun and blowing Inferno's head sky high. |
| 114 | * BurpOfFinality: "Double Dinobot" ends with Dinobot revealing that he ate his clone, then picking a piece of that clone from his teeth before burping. |
| 115 | * BrassBalls: The pilot episode features Dinobot challenging Optimus Primal for the leadership of the Maximals. Rhinox's response: |
| 116 | -->'''Rhinox:''' This guy's got [[UnusualEuphemism bearings]] of chrome steel. |
| 117 | * BridalCarry: Silverbolt carries Blackarachnia in his arms in "The Agenda (Part 3)" when they start entering the Ark. How chivalric of him. |
| 118 | * BroadStrokes: The show is a follow-up to the continuity of Generation 1, but exactly which G1 continuity is left unclear because elements from both [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the cartoon]] and [[ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel the comic book]] are used. This is [[JustifiedTrope justified]] in two ways in-universe: 1. the show is set hundreds of years after G1, and 2. the Maximal leaders have purposely obfuscated facts about the Great War to hide certain things (such as Starscream's immortality). One of the major elements of the Marvel comic in the show is the Maximals' mentions of Primus, the creator god of the Transformers and Cybertron, beginning in the second season. |
| 119 | * ButtMonkey: Waspinator is by '''far''' the biggest example. His many deaths can [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UvLwUuTfdew be]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e7dd9LBJZwM watched]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i5mI5CRn89Q here.]] From the 'bot himself: |
| 120 | -->'''Waspinator''': Why universe hate Waspinator? |
| 121 | ** Scorponok and Terrorsaur have almost it as bad early on. Terrorsaur, in particular, initially rivals Waspinator for being blown to pieces. Unlike the poor bug, he still manages to remain a genuine threat, if only due to having [[WalkingArmoury one of the biggest arsenals]] in show. |
| 122 | ** As a matter of fact, Waspinator is ''such'' a butt monkey that he appears most frequently as the enemy in the ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}''-style [=FPS=] game Rattrap plays in his downtime. |
| 123 | * ByTheLightsOfTheirEyes: Megatron's new Transmetal form is teased in this way in "Aftermath", with only his red eyes burning through the smoke filling the Predacon base. Otherwise, it's used quite rarely for a series where most characters eyes naturally glow. |
| 124 | * ByThePowerOfGrayskull: Maximals and Predacons shouting out their activation codes ("Maximize" and "Terrorize", respectively). At first, it seems like this is a requirement to transform to robot mode, but the trope winds up being subverted as the series wears on. After the first season, activation codes were said less often. Lampshaded at one point where Dinobot tries to infiltrate the Predacons and has to prove his allegiance by changing his activation code. Tarantulas notes that simply changing his activation code means nothing. |
| 125 | * CharacterCatchphrase: |
| 126 | ** The two most notable are Megatron's "Yes"/"No" VerbalTic and Rattrap's OnceAnEpisode "We're all gonna die." |
| 127 | ** Optimus Primal's famous "Well, that's just Prime" phrase (usually used akin to the phrase "for the love of God") is used in the presence of the actual Optimus Prime, which causes Rattrap to lampshade it. |
| 128 | * CharacterizationMarchesOn: A lot of the characterization is quite different in early Season 1, before the writers really worked out who the characters were. Scorponok, not Tarantulas, is the smart guy of the Preds; Tarantulas's focus seems to be [[VillainousGlutton entirely based on eating things]]; and Rhinox is the type of guy to say, "Yo, ease up." None of it jives very well with the characters as they eventually become. |
| 129 | * ChekhovsGun: The first episode opens with the mention that Megatron has stolen the Golden Disk, one of Cybertron's most ancient and sacred relics. Once it is determined that it could not lead them to Earth, as Megatron had believed, the disk is quickly forgotten. It becomes a crucial plot point in season two and beyond. |
| 130 | * ChekhovsSkill: In "Gorilla Warfare." On a exploration mission, an Earth plant launches one of its seeds onto the back of Dinobot's back. Optimus later detaches a virus bug from himself and throws at the same point on Megatron. |
| 131 | * ChromosomeCasting: The large majority of characters from the series are male. |
| 132 | * ChronicBackstabbingDisorder: Comes with the package of being a Predacon. At one point or another, ''all'' of Megatron's forces try to betray him, with varying degrees of success, except for Scorponok (who is not too bright) and Inferno (who is insane). Even Rhinox, during his temporary FaceHeelTurn, does this. To top it all off, the original [[TheStarscream Starscream]] makes an appearance and does what he does best. Megs is happy to put up with all of this as long as he can use it to his advantage. |
| 133 | --> '''Megatron''': ''(to Tarantulas)'' I can suffer your treachery, lieutenant, but not your incompetence! Treachery requires no mistakes. |
| 134 | * CircleOfStandingStones: Some are found in the first episode, indicating the Maximals and Predecons are not the first advanced races to visit this world. [[spoiler:The aliens in question are eventually identified as the Vok]]. |
| 135 | * ClosedCircle: Both ships are totaled during the initial crash, and rescue is next to impossible, considering that they've traveled through both space and time. |
| 136 | * CombatStilettos: KickChick Blackarachnia sprouts a pair upon achieving her Transmetal 2 form. |
| 137 | * ComicTrio: Inferno (schemer), Quickstrike (follower), and Waspinator (complainer) form one. |
| 138 | * ComplexityAddiction: In the first scene of the pilot, Megatron has the Maximal ship cornered and damaged, but opts for a lateral shot so they will suffer, instead of destroying them outright. It ends up giving the Maximals a window to counterattack, causing both ships to crash-land, and is thus the reason for the whole cartoon series. |
| 139 | * ComputerVoice: |
| 140 | ** The interface on both ships. It's an impassive masculine voice for the Maximals and a rather seductive feminine voice for the Predacons. The Japanese dub gave the Predacons' computer (Named [=NAVi=]-ko) a full personality. |
| 141 | ** The Transformers themselves have internal computer AI that they can communicate with. They're mostly monotone but sometimes show very faint signs of emotion in dire circumstances, such as [[spoiler:Dinobot's onboard computer when he commands a [[HeroicRROD system override]].]] |
| 142 | * ConvectionSchmonvection: The characters themselves get very close to lava without any adverse effect, but they are alien robots and can survive in environments that living beings cannot. All other combustible materials burst into flames at a proper distance. |
| 143 | * CruelAndUnusualDeath: [[spoiler:Tarantulas']] demise, while admittedly [[KarmicDeath well-deserved]], is still pretty horrible. |
| 144 | * CrystalDragonJesus: The cast refers to Primus as their creator, and the Covenant of Primus seems to be some sort of Bible analogue. Once Megatron goes right off the deep end towards the end of the series, the Covenant goes from a cultural footnote to something that outright predicts things. The idea of Primus was actually nabbed from ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel'', so this was actually a long-distance ContinuityNod. |
| 145 | * DeathIsCheap: Many of the characters get blown up easily, but can heal just as easily back on base. There are many subversions of this if the plot demands it, whether being too far from a HealingVat, or taking too much damage, killing them for real. |
| 146 | * DeckOfWildCards: Even by the standards of most Transformers series, the Predacons were particularly disloyal. All but two of them worked against the others for their own schemes at least once in the story. It says a lot of about Megatron's leadership skill that he was able to keep a group as self-interested and vicious as his crew unified at all. |
| 147 | * DecompositeCharacter: Optimus Primal and Beast Megatron. While the toyline's back story [[RetCanon was changed to match the cartoon]], the toyline originally set the events on present-day Earth, and instead of being {{legacy character}}s to their G1 namesakes, Primal and Beast Megatron originally ''were'' Optimus Prime and the original Megatron themselves, just with new forms. The cartoon made it so that Primal and Beast Megatron were instead descendants of the original characters. |
| 148 | * DependingOnTheWriter: Various writers have had their own interpretations of when the cartoon takes place: |
| 149 | ** It was originally presented as a combination of the [=G1=] cartoon and comics, best shown with Starscream who was depicted with his Marvel Comics body but had his G1 Cartoon backstory, having been killed by Galvatron in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie''. However, the cartoon later started leaning towards primarily ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' as the Ark's backstory is lifted from "More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1" and the stasis-locked Autobots and Decepticons are in their stasis-locked poses from that episode. Fun Publications also went with "combination of [=G1=] cartoon and comics". |
| 150 | ** [=3H=] Productions depicted it a sequel to ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformers'' with Japan also doing this, setting it in the future of the cartoon. |
| 151 | ** [=IDW=] Publishing's The Gathering and the Ascending presented it as a merger of Beast Wars, ''II'' and ''Neo'' whereas Dawn of the Predacus used a merger of the Beast Wars cartoon, the Sunbow The Transformers cartoon, the [=BotCon=] 2006 "Dawn of Future's Past" comic, and the various IDW Publishing Beast Wars comics. |
| 152 | * DeusExMachina: In the finale, the Maximals, holed up in the Ark, are getting pummeled by the ''Nemesis'' Megatron just reactivated. Thanks to a tip from Dinobot II, [[spoiler:they find a working shuttle in one of the bays. They take that shuttle, kamikaze it into the enemy ship, and then fly home on it]]. |
| 153 | -->'''Blackarachnia''': The history tracks never mentioned this!\ |
| 154 | '''Rhinox''': History's ''still'' being made! |
| 155 | * DialogueReversal: Between Silverbolt and Blackarachnia in "Bad Spark": |
| 156 | -->'''Silverbolt:''' Are you damaged?\ |
| 157 | '''Blackarachnia:''' Just enough to make me...''[[DatingCatwoman interesting]].''\ |
| 158 | \ |
| 159 | '''Blackarachnia:''' Are you damaged?\ |
| 160 | '''Silverbolt:''' Just enough to make me...''[[DatingCatwoman interesting]].'' |
| 161 | * DidntThinkThisThrough: G1 Megatron's plan to have the Decepticons' descendents travel back in time to destroy Optimus Prime. While G1 Megatron had no way to know about it when he wrote the message, the Predacons certainly knew about Unicron and how he was defeated, and should have realized that destroying Prime would also destroy the Matrix of Leadership, leaving Cybertron defenseless in 2005 when Unicrom came a-knocking. |
| 162 | * DiminishingVillainThreat: Waspinator. While rarely a victor, he's initially portrayed as a competent fighter, as evidenced by his battle with Cheetor in the premiere. However, the writers soon made Waspinator comic relief, leading him to "getting blown to scrap all the time!" While this was originally done by the writers as an excuse to avoid having to write Waspinator's unique speech style too often, it led to Waspinator becoming one of the most popular characters in the series. |
| 163 | ** When Starscream takes over his body, he is a lot more effective. |
| 164 | * DistantSequel: ''Beast Wars'' has a cast from Cybertron in the distant future of [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the original cartoon]], by which point the latter's events are the stuff of myth ([[PlotHole even though some of its veterans are still alive]]). However, it also turns out that [[spoiler:both the Maximals and Predacons have traveled to [[EarthAllAlong Earth in the distant past]]]]. |
| 165 | * DragonsAreDemonic: Megatron's final Transmetal-II form, as he asserts that [[AGodAmI he has become]] the SatanicArchetype of ancient Cybertronian lore, is a dragon. [[spoiler:Later has its downside in the sequel series ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'', as with his newfound hyperrationalist FleshVsSteel philosophy Megatron despises his own beast mode.]] |
| 166 | * DramaPreservingHandicap: The risk of entering stasis lock and shutting down due to overexposure of energon. In Season 1 you could make a drinking game of how often stasis lock kicks in at ''just'' the wrong time to stop a plot from resolving too quickly, by forcing the Transformers to enter beast mode and/or keeping them from entering robot mode. Season 2 largely dropped this concept for reasons justified in-story with [[spoiler:the destruction of most of the planet's energon deposits]]. |
| 167 | * EarlyInstallmentWeirdness: |
| 168 | ** The transformations are treated with much more gravitas. Each member shouts his name and transformation code out loud, and is seen to transform by him/herself. This is not limited to just the first transformation, either, as almost all of them in the first two episodes are this way. Similarly, a big case is made out of Optimus's inexperience at commanding. This is never referred to again once the pilot two-parter is over. |
| 169 | ** The first season is noticeably more goofy than the following two. |
| 170 | ** In the first few episodes, Scorponok's missiles have Maximal insignias on them, evidently the Cybertronian equivalent of [[MarkedBullet marking your bullets with your victim's name.]] Viewers failed to pick up on this and wondered why a Predacon had weapons with the opposite faction's insignia on them, so later episodes have Scorponok's missiles bearing Predacon insignias instead. |
| 171 | * EarthAllAlong: The series begins with the Maximals and the Predacons ending up stranded on what they later discover is prehistoric Earth. Somewhat subverted in that [[spoiler:The Predacons and Megatron knew it was Earth they were heading for the whole time, given that Dinobot mentions Earth in the pilot as their intended destination. Despite the doubts of all the Predaons during their crash landing, Megatron is eventually proven to be right about where they ended up.]] |
| 172 | * ElectricLove: When Blackarachnia gains a Transmetal 2 body and kisses Silverbolt, she ends up shocking him. She tells him "Transmetal 2 power. Get used to it." |
| 173 | * EndIsNighEnding: In both cases, the aftermath is shown in following season, usually with a measure taken in order to prevent a full-on cataclysm: |
| 174 | ** Season 1 ends with [[SufficientlyAdvancedAliens the Vok]] launching an anti-planetary beam just as Optimus was entering into its range. While the explosion of Optimus's coffin-shaped ship is shown as the weapon is fired, we don't get to see any effects until the next season. Cut to the screen showing the phrase "The End?" in the very center. |
| 175 | ** Season 2 ends with Megatron damaging the original Optimus Prime's face in order to mess with the time-space stream and preventing the Maximals from existing. The effects of his actions are displayed, as the screen cuts to black and the words "To be continued?" are displayed. |
| 176 | * EnvironmentalSymbolism: There's a decent amount of this in the Maximal and Predacon bases. The Maximal base is a stable command center with a circular table in the middle that teeters over a waterfall and rugged but otherwise solid terrain is around them, showing that although the Maximals are an unorthodox crew they are good guys with a firm sense of loyalty. The Predacon base is in the middle of a lava pit that the crash split the ship open over so the Predacons literally and figuratively have to step carefully in lest they burn in their own home. There is also only one chair reserved for Megatron and the rest have to make due with hovering platforms they have to stand in, making clear the hierarchal system that unambiguously puts the leader first. |
| 177 | * EverybodyLaughsEnding: Several episodes in Season 1. It would often be followed by an image of a butterfly flying by, just so you'd know how great life is. |
| 178 | * EvilIsBurningHot: While the Maximal base is located near a river, the base of the Predacons is at a lava flow. |
| 179 | * ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin: If you don't go into this expecting a show about beasts and war, you have only yourself to blame. |
| 180 | * ExpandedUniverse: The IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics, which shoehorn characters from ''Anime/BeastWarsII'' and ''Anime/BeastWarsNeo'', along with most of the toy-only characters, into the series. They are all either chronally displaced or on Cybertron, however, so it does not clash with the series. |
| 181 | * FamilyUnfriendlyDeath: This is a very violent show, exploiting the MechaMooks loophole [[BloodlessCarnage as far as it can]]. Characters are bashed up, blown apart, shot, stabbed...and usually ''alive'' in the next episode. When someone actually ''dies'', it tends to go even further: Tarantulas is vaporized by one of his own mad science devices, leaving nothing but his feet with smoke rising from them. The last we see of Terrorsaur is his desperately outstretched hand slowly descending into the lava. And we'll spare you the details of [[spoiler:Depth Charge, Rampage, and [[WaveMotionGun Tigerhawk's death]].]] |
| 182 | ** Beast Wars Megatron [[spoiler:popping a cap in Optimus Prime's head]]. He got better, but still -- giant gaping hole in the head of one of the biggest adored heroes of a generation, to say nothing of [[spoiler:Dinobot's and Transmutate's]] heart-wrenching deaths. |
| 183 | * {{Fartillery}}: After being poisoned by one of Tarantulas' creations in "The Low Road", Rhinox is forced to eat a large amount of beans to keep his energy up. During the final showdown, the cumulative effect of those beans hits all at once, leading to an explosion so powerful that it destroys Tarantulas' lab, sends the Predacons flying, and creates a mushroom cloud that can be seen ''from orbit''. |
| 184 | * FictionalVideoGame: In "Proving Grounds", Rattrap is seen playing a fighting game where he plays as Optimus Primal and battles Megatron as well as a ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}''-style first-person shooter where he shoots at copies of Waspinator. |
| 185 | * FingerInABarrel: In the episode "Code of Hero," during the sequence where Dinobot is taking out the Predacons one by one, he brings down Rampage, [[TheJuggernaut at least temporarily]], by clogging up the largest barrel of his {{BFG}} with an entire body - [[ButtMonkey Waspinator's]], to be specific - just before the big crab-tank can fire it. It's probably only the third most painful thing to happen to Waspinator in the show. Later, in "Deep Metal," Depth Charge does something similar, using his tail as a projectile, clogging Rampage's missile barrel and causing the missile to explode, damaging Rampage. |
| 186 | * FlingALightIntoTheFuture: |
| 187 | ** A villain example, [[spoiler:before the [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Great War from the original cartoon]], the humans launched the [[MacGuffin golden disk]] which contained information about Earth into outer space. Megatron, the leader of the Decepticons, acquired it at some point and encoded an additional message on the disk. Presumably, the message indicates the location of the Ark and asks the descendants of the Decepticons to use transwarp technology to [[TimeTravel travel through time]], gain access to the Ark using codes to Teletraan I encoded on the disk, and change history by killing Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, before he can defeat Megatron and win the Great War.]] |
| 188 | ** Dinobot does an unwitting example when he uses a wood and stone club to take the Golden Disk from Megatron and destroy it. One of the anthropoids later finds the club and uses it both to gather food and defend himself from a predator, implying that Dinobot triggered humanity's learning to make and use tools. |
| 189 | * {{Foreshadowing}}: |
| 190 | ** Rhinox makes a comment in the first episode that they do not even know ''when'' they are, because their FTL engines can move through time given certain circumstances. The fact the planet actually ''is'' [[spoiler:prehistoric Earth]] does not come up until the beginning of the second season, mainly because the planet has ''two'' moons instead of one. Dinobot mentions [[spoiler:Earth]] in the pilot as having been the intended destination for the Predacons, but the various differences from [[spoiler:what they expected Earth to be]] initially fooled everyone aside from possibly Megatron, who was ultimately proven to be correct in his belief that they had indeed ended up on [[spoiler:Earth]]. |
| 191 | ** Episodes introducing a new character will often show the native animal their Beast Mode is based on before they emerge from their pod or starship. |
| 192 | ** Halfway through the first season, Rhinox makes a comment that "one of the moons is lighter than it should be, almost as if it were...hollow." At the end of the first season, it is revealed that [[spoiler:it is a planet-buster weapon.]] |
| 193 | ** In "Call Of The Wild" the cheetah in Cheetor's dream falls into a lava pit. The fact that the Predacon base crashed on top of a volcanic area suggests at least one character is likely to die that way. [[spoiler:In the second season premiere, Scorponok and Terrorsaur bite the dust...]] |
| 194 | ** Throughout the first season, Tarantulas is hinted to know more of what is going on than any of the other characters. Among other things, he desires to recover a stasis pod to get off the planet alone as soon as possible before the above-mentioned Planet Buster hits. He also harnesses dark science and technology that is beyond any of the other Predacons' knowledge, even Megatron's, and has a scary obsession with the Vok. While in the main continuity this goes unexplored [[spoiler:due to his death]] in the 3H continuity, he's actually [[spoiler:a descendant of '''''[[OmnicidalManiac Unicron]]''''' who wanted the power of the Vok to alter the timeline so that the Autobots and Decepticons could be erased and the Tripedacus Council would rise to unchallenged supremacy]]. |
| 195 | ** In the episode "Other Victories", a rotating picture of [[spoiler:the ''Nemesis'']] is clearly visible on one of Tarantulas's monitors. What he is up to is revealed one episode later, ushering in the FinalBattle: [[spoiler:He had finished repairing the ship for his own use]]. |
| 196 | ** "Code of Hero" begins with an AstronomicZoom ending on a [[CreepyCrows crow]], a symbolic harbinger of the theme of death which will culminate with [[spoiler:Dinobot's HeroicSacrifice.]] |
| 197 | * AFormYouAreComfortableWith: The first time the Vok speak to Optimus directly, they take the form of Unicron's head. |
| 198 | -->'''Vok:''' We have no physical form you could comprehend. We chose this figure of authority from your datatrax. |
| 199 | * FourFingeredHands: Rhinox, Depth Charge and Transmetal II Cheetor all have four fingers on each of their hands.. |
| 200 | * FragileFlyer: In the bios of the cast, the flying characters (Waspinator, Terrorsaur and Airrazor) have noticeably low endurance compared to their comrades (4, 4 and 5 respectively). As a point of comparison, Rattrap, the smallest and weakest character on the show, also has an endurance score of 5. |
| 201 | [[/folder]] |
| 202 | [[folder:Tropes G - R]] |
| 203 | * GagDub: The Japanese version of the show was rather less serious (though it tries it's best to keep the tone of the source material). |
| 204 | * GambitPileup: |
| 205 | ** In the first season finale, Megatron, Blackarachnia and the Maximals all have their own individual plans for dealing with the destruction of the planet by the alien Vok, and almost all of their plans hinge on the different known factors of everyone else's plans. |
| 206 | ** Tarantulas originally plans on escaping the planet in a stasis pod, Blackarachnia secretly plans to steal his stasis pod for herself and use it to escape, and Megatron purposefully allows the two of them to go about stealing said pod with the plan of forcing that pod (with the escapee still inside) to become a makeshift bomb used to destroy the alien Planet Buster. Optimus and the Maximals plan to use the pod for the same purpose, but with the idea that Optimus will escape the pod at the last second. (Megatron's version, which ultimately wins out, involves Optimus not escaping and dying in the explosion.) |
| 207 | * GettingCrapPastTheRadar: |
| 208 | ** In "Double Dinobot", there is ciphertext that reads "hey ian, go fuck yourself". The word "Fuck" alone is enough to warrant ''at least'' a TV-14 rating in America, 14 in Canada, or [[https://www.freetv.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/Free_TV_Commercial_Television_Industry_Code_of_Practice_2018.pdf M in Australia]]. |
| 209 | ** After Silverbolt's illegal flirting with Blackarachnia[[note]]Double entendres don't mandate a rating higher than PG or equivalent, but this was rated [[http://www.tvguidelines.org/resources/TheRatings.pdf TV-Y7]] in America and [[https://www.cab-acr.ca/english/social/antiviolence/icons_manual.shtm C8+ in Canada]]; in Australia, it was rated a more reasonable PG.[[/note]]: |
| 210 | --->'''Rattrap:''' So, uh, where ya' been, bird-dog?\ |
| 211 | '''Silverbolt:''' Uh, scout patrol...\ |
| 212 | '''Rattrap:''' Oh, yeah, yeah, scoutin' the enemy, yeah. Find any new ''positions''? |
| 213 | * GoodIsNotDumb: Optimus Primal is one of the most noble characters in the series, and one of the most cunning as well. |
| 214 | * GreaterScopeVillain: |
| 215 | ** [[spoiler:The 3H comics and supplementary material for the Japanese Generation 1 continuity established that Unicron was behind Tarantulas's plan to destroy the Ark with the Decepticons and Autobots on it, as it would mean that he could destroy Cybertron without the Matrix to stop him.]] |
| 216 | ** There's also [[spoiler:[[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers the original Megatron]], who came up with a back-up plan to have any Decepticons go back in time and kill Optimus Prime in case the Decepticons lose the war, and he had the instructions coded on the Golden Disc. It's this plan that pretty much starts off the series once the current Megatron gets hold of said Golden Disc]]. |
| 217 | * GuileHero: Optimus Primal gets to show his chops on occasion. In "Dark Designs", Rhinox is captured and reprogrammed into a Predacon. Primal's plan? ''Do nothing'', because he knows that, freed of his morality, Rhinox is too smart and ambitious for Megatron to control. Rhinox ends up taking out the entire Predacon army before Megatron turns him back, at which point the Maximals run over the weakened Predacons and take him home. |
| 218 | * HealingVat: Both sides have their own type. The Maximals posses a small, airtight, one person chamber, while the Predacons use a vat that resembles a hot tub. In fact Megatron is seen bathing in one on multiple occasions, complete with a [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Rubber_Ducky rubber ducky.]] This allowed for both sides to be regularly severely injured without lasting consequences. |
| 219 | * HeelFaceTurn: |
| 220 | ** Dinobot at the beginning switches to the Maximals due to his distrust in Megatron, believing the plan has failed. When he realizes that Megatron hadn't failed at all, he temporarily switches back to the Predacons. He returns to the Maximals in the same episode, both out of his sense of honor and his revulsion at just how dangerous Megatron's ambitions really are. [[spoiler:He remains with the Maximals until his HeroicSacrifice.]] |
| 221 | ** Silverbolt was recruited by the Predacons in his confusion after activation, but quickly switches to the Maximals when he learns that they are a much better fit for his morality than the Predacons ever could be. |
| 222 | ** Blackarachnia defects to the Maximals in "Optimal Situation" after realizing that Megatron's plan would wipe her from existence. |
| 223 | ** [[spoiler:Dinobot's Transmetal 2 clone switches sides after Rampage dies and he somehow regains memories from his predecessor. While brief, his action in this moment was enough to grant the Maximals victory in the Beast Wars.]] |
| 224 | -->'''Megatron''': ''What?!'' What possible reason do you have to disobey ''me?!'' I am your ''master!'' I am your ''creator!''\ |
| 225 | '''[[spoiler:Dinobot 2]]''': And I...have my ''honor!'' |
| 226 | * HopeSpot: |
| 227 | ** Some episodes, such as "The Probe" and "Victory", involve the Maximals finding a way to get back to Cybertron, only for attacks by the Predacons or some other mishap sending them back to square one. |
| 228 | ** [[spoiler:After Depth Charge kills Rampage [[TakingYouWithMe at the cost of his life]], it seems the gigantic explosion that results has destroyed the ''Nemesis'' and thus prevented Megatron from using it. Unfortunately for the Maximals, this isn't the end as the ''Nemesis'' rises undamaged.]] |
| 229 | * IfYouDieICallYourStuff: In "Other Voices (Part 2)" as Optimus Primal is about to embark on a mission that has the potential to end in a heroic sacrifice, Rattrap asks him "Uh...just in case you don't come back...can I have your quarters?" Then Primal does die, but a few episodes later comes Back from the Dead. At the end of the episode he returns in, he states that one of the things he has to do is "have Rattrap move all his junk out of my quarters!" |
| 230 | * ImAHumanitarian: |
| 231 | ** Tarantulas almost drained Cheetor of energy and was planning on eating him, and threatened to eat Waspinator at one point. |
| 232 | ** Dinobot ate his organic clone after defeating him. |
| 233 | ** Rampage killed and ate his way through at least two Maximal colonies before being captured. |
| 234 | * InTheirOwnImage: According to [[spoiler:G1's Megatron]], this was the plan passed down to BW's Megatron. By going back to when the Autobots and Decepticons were in stasis lock and [[spoiler:killing Optimus Prime]], Megatron would create a time paradox that would [[spoiler:remove Autobots, and thus Maximals, from existence, causing the Decepticons to win the Great War and shape the future in their image.]] |
| 235 | * InsaneEqualsViolent: When Inferno's stasis pod scans a fire ant for his alt mode, it also alters his logic, making him hell-bent on protecting the stasis pod he came in, perceiving it as his "colony". After the pod is destroyed by Maximals, he goes extremely TriggerHappy, often [[KillItWithFire incinerating everything in sight]] any time Maximals show up. |
| 236 | * InSpiteOfANail: Megatron tries to alter his present day by traveling to prehistoric Earth. His first goal is to kill humanity's ancestors so they can't help the Autobots defeat the Decepticons, and later to blow up Optimus Prime so the Autobots are leaderless during the Great War. The Maximals prevent both his efforts, and unwittingly kickstart humanity's evolution by teaching them how to make and use tools. This doesn't alter the past, since humanity would have discovered toolmaking on their own. |
| 237 | * InterspeciesRelationship: While they are all Cybertronians, their animal forms serve as this for two pairs; Tigatron/Airazor and Silverbolt/Blackarachnia. |
| 238 | * ItOnlyWorksOnce: |
| 239 | ** Optimus' death in the first season finale [[DeathIsCheap was undone several episodes into season two]] with the justification that the nature of his death, destroying the PlanetKiller device, left a direct energy trail from his spark to the matrix, the transformer afterlife. Even then, retrieving him was said to push Rhinox's mental capacities to their limit and they needed a blank protoform body to put Optimus into. It was all very lucky they were able to get him back, and most certainly wouldn't be able to be done twice. |
| 240 | ** Megatron's first attempt to attack a group of the early ancestors of humanity in a specific valley to prevent the evolution of modern man was never repeated. In the attack, Dinbot shattered the Voyager Disc that allowed Megatron to view his effects on the future and the surviving proto-humans were forced to flee the valley in separate groups. With the tribes scattered in hiding and with no access to the Disc's message, Megatron gave up on attempting to wipe out humanity as he could never be certain that he could find and kill enough of them to change the future to his specifications. He still had the proto-humans hunted on a few occasions, but only as part of other schemes. |
| 241 | * JigsawPuzzlePlot: Though the plot itself is fairly straightforward, there's loads of subtle character moments, subplots, hints of larger forces at work, and [[AllThereInTheManual background information]] that comes together to tell an even more complete story. Some of the subtle mysteries, ambiguities, and machinations of the show are still debated to this day, decades after it first aired. |
| 242 | * KangarooCourt: Quickstrike is given a "trial" for treason after he tries to kill Megatron while taking part in one of Tarantulas's schemes. [[BigBad Megatron]] is the judge (complete with powdered wig), [[TheChewToy Waspinator]] is the defense, and [[PsychoForHire Rampage]] and [[TheDragon Dinobot II]] are the jury. After Waspinator's "brilliant" summation, Megatron asks for the verdict. Rampage and Dinobot II immediately point their weapons at Quickstrike. |
| 243 | * KilledOffForReal: Quite common, as a result of the competing needs of introducing new characters and keeping the cast small. [[spoiler:Terrorsaur and Scorponok are unceremoniously bumped off at the beginning of Season 2; Dinobot's death in "Code of Hero" counts, [[EvilCounterpart later developments]] notwithstanding]]. Then, of course, the last few episodes are spectacularly fatal, with [[spoiler:Tarantulas offed by the [[SufficientlyAdvancedAlien Vok]]; Depth Charge sacrificing himself to kill Rampage; Tigerhawk, Inferno, and Quickstrike getting gunned down by a ''giant space warship'', and Dinobot's clone taking a leaf from his predecessor's book.]] |
| 244 | * KlingonPromotion: It was officially stated that Predacon leadership welcomes treachery under the rationale that leaders who cannot thwart a treacherous underling are probably not fit to be leaders. |
| 245 | * LavaSurfing: In "Double Dinobot," the Dinobot clone kicks Rattrap off a cliff into a river of lava. He survives by riding on a rock floating in the lava. |
| 246 | * LeaningOnTheFourthWall: Happens twice in "Dark Designs" |
| 247 | ** Optimus smirks at the audience after dropping a [[BorrowedCatchphrase "yeeeesss"]]. |
| 248 | ** Megatron and Blackarachnia share a nonplussed grimace to the audience at Waspinator's concussed antics. |
| 249 | * LeftTheBackgroundMusicOn: In the third-season episode "Changing of the Guard", when the previously reluctant Rattrap is beginning to enjoy his submarine ride, cheery, upbeat music (a rarity for this series in general) begins playing. Cut to Silverbolt, listening to the music over his communicator with a puzzled expression. |
| 250 | * LicensedGame: The cartoon had two video game tie-ins: ''VideoGame/BeastWarsTransformers'' for the PC and [=PlayStation=] as well as ''VideoGame/BeastWarsTransmetals'' for the [=PlayStation=] and Nintendo 64. |
| 251 | * LightningReveal: When Waspinator was possessed by [[TheStarscream Starscream]], there was a lightning storm. When the lightning flashed, it showed Starscream instead of Waspinator. |
| 252 | * LiteralDisarming: Megatron has an ArmCannon in the form of his T-Rex beast-mode's head, which fires powerful lasers out its mouth. Optimus had to resort to slicing it off altogether in one of his rare head-on fights with Megatron, and was pretty outclassed until he did. |
| 253 | * LookWhatICanDoNow: This technically happens any time a character receives an upgrade, which is quite often. |
| 254 | * LostSuperweapon: [[spoiler:The Decepticon flagship Nemesis becomes this in the finale. Megatron learning the location of it kickstarts the endgame.]] |
| 255 | * MachineBlood: Hydraulic fluid and bits of metal go flying ''everywhere''. |
| 256 | * MagneticPlotDevice: The Vok were an alien race who had a vested interest in the planet and left all sorts of powerful technology that the characters fight over. While there is certainly some continuity with Megatron's schemes, the Vok episodes tend to be the ones where things really start to shake up. |
| 257 | * MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight: As hinted in the first episode, the real reason the Predacons traveled to the past [[spoiler:Earth]] was to [[spoiler:destroy Optimus Prime within the Ark and]] establish the Predacons as the rulers of Cybertron. |
| 258 | * MarketBasedTitle: Canadian regulations do not allow a children's show to have the word "war" in its title, thus the show is called ''Beasties'' in Canada. Don't tell the really sensitive walks of fandom this; we'll ''NEVER'' hear the end of it. (''WesternAnimation/WarPlanets'', another Mainframe production, went under the alternate title ''Shadow Raiders'' also because of that same rule.) |
| 259 | * MatterOfLifeAndDeath: For the Maximals, having a Protoform die is much worse than losing one to the Predacons. They do what they can to avoid either option. |
| 260 | * MayItNeverHappenAgain: |
| 261 | ** In the episode "Chain Of Command", Optimus Primal was captured by the Predacons and the remaining Maximals were hobbled by the fact that they don't have an actual plan for this situation. [[DemocracyIsFlawed An attempt at voting for a new leader failed due to being split down the middle]], until Optimus managed to send a message putting Rattrap in charge. In the aftermath, the Maximals organised a proper chain of command in order to prevent such a blunder from happening again. |
| 262 | ** Invoked in the backstory of Rampage. He was created by the Maximal Elders in an attempt to duplicate the immortal [[OurSoulsAreDifferent Spark]] of [[WesternAnimation/TheTransformers Starscream]] [[note]]In ''The Transformers'' Starscream famously continued to exist as a ghost after his death in ''WesternAnimation/TransformersTheMovie'', in ''Beast Wars'' this was claimed to be because he had a mutant Spark[[/note]]. They succeeded... but the resulting creature (codenamed Protoform X) was a murderous maniac who, among other things, massacred an entire space colony and ''ate'' some of this victims. After he was finally captured by Depth Charge, the Elders disposed of all the project's data (even going so far as to completely seal up Starscream's records so no one would ever try to duplicate his immortality again) and tasked Optimus Primal with dumping X on some dead world far from any civilisation. This had some unintended results: due to Primal and his crew getting drawn into the Beast Wars, Megatron was able to forcibly recruit X into his ranks. Even more unexpected was when [[OutsideContextProblem Starscream himself manifested during the conflict, and the fact that the Maximals had no idea who he was due to his records being sealed put them at a huge disadvantage]]. Luckily, former Predacon Dinobot was more familiar with Starscream thanks to the Predacons not sealing their records. |
| 263 | * MeaningfulEcho: In "Code Of Hero", Rattrap confronts Dinobot for [[spoiler:his defection back to the Predacons]]: "'Oh yeah, he's a slag-spouting saurian, but at least you know where he stands!' Guess we live and learn." Later, after [[spoiler:Dinobot saves the valley at the cost of his life]], Rattrap repeats himself, "Like I said, you're just a blasted slag-spouting saurian, but...it's nice to know where you stand." |
| 264 | ** [[spoiler:"Upwind of you, for preference, [[VitriolicBestBuds vermin."]]]] |
| 265 | * MeatSackRobot: Ultimately what the characters are, as an inversion of a regular {{Cyborg}}. One episode the Predacons sabotaged the shielding used on the Maximal base so they had to remain in beast mode far longer than they normally would, and it resulted in them [[BecomingTheMask becoming more like the animals they adopted]]. Tigatron, being an arctic scout, was more accustomed to that issue and helped them adapt their beast form traits to their advantage. ''WesternAnimation/BeastMachines'' implied this was anticipated and used by the Oracle supercomputer for a greater "technorganic" revolution on Cybertron. |
| 266 | * MerchandiseDriven: One of the few genuine cases of such done properly. |
| 267 | * MindRape: As makes sense given their robot nature, multiple plots involve hacking or messing with their minds/sparks; the screaming and struggling that accompany it makes it clear that this is not a clean process. |
| 268 | * TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: In "Call Of The Wild", it's revealed that while the Maximals adopted beast modes, they (and, presumably, the Predacons) had a programming block that automatically suppressed the accompanying beast mode's instincts. When the Maximals are forced to remain in their Beast Mode for days on end, their minds begin to go dormant and the beast takes over due to being so unfamiliar with the various senses and urges their beast bodies give them (e.g. Dinobot instinctively wants to hunt). With some coaching from Tigatron, they manually delete the programming block, accept both sides of their identities, and regain their senses. |
| 269 | * MirrorMoralityMachine: Megatron uses a machine invented by Tarantulas to turn Rhinox into a Predacon in "Dark Designs". |
| 270 | * MissingManFormation: Optimus, Cheetor, and Silverbolt fly overhead in the missing man formation during [[spoiler:Dinobot's funeral]]. |
| 271 | * MixAndMatchCritters: |
| 272 | ** The Fuzors, Silverbolt and Quickstrike (the former turns into a wolf with avian wings while the latter's alt mode is a scorpion with a cobra for a tail). There are more of them mentioned in the IDW comics. [[spoiler:Magmatron recruits them.]] |
| 273 | ** Tigerhawk, due to being a fusion of Tigatron and Airazor, whose respective beast forms are a white tiger and a hawk. |
| 274 | * MookHorrorShow: During "Gorilla Warfare", Optimus goes on a rampage against the Predacons, hunting them down in their own base. At one point, he breaks through a wall to grab an obviously terrified Waspinator. |
| 275 | * MuggingTheMonster: Sorta. In "Dark Designs", Megatron builds a brainwashing machine and tests it on Rhinox. Optimus rather accurately predicts the result: evil!Rhinox is too much for the Predacons to handle, and Megatron has to change him back to stand a chance. |
| 276 | * MythologyGag: Numerous to the original series, but also to the original line of toys (including one knock at Hasbro's change from die-cast metal components to all-plastic). |
| 277 | -->'''Rattrap:''' ''(Commenting on [[spoiler:the Ark]])'' This thing wasn't built...it was POURED!\ |
| 278 | '''Optimus Primal:''' Die-cast construction...''([[LeaningOnTheFourthWall looks at the viewers, shrugs rather sadly]])'' It's a lost art. |
| 279 | * NeckLift: In the second season opener, this is how Rhinox establishes to Dinobot that he's in no mood for any argument about who's in charge right now. Very few things frighten Dinobot. [[BewareTheNiceOnes A pissed off Rhinox is one of them.]] A few episodes later, Quickstrike questions Megatron on a decision, and Megatron does this to lift the smaller Preacon up to his level to have a more intinate, and threatening, conversation. |
| 280 | * NiceJobBreakingItHero: Cheetor firing upon Megatron in the first episode cemented the Predacons' decision to go to war with the Maximals after the crash. He also fired the first shot in his skirmish with Waspinator. Although Megatron said he was always planning to attack, he ''also'' said that it Cheetor who [[ThrowingDownTheGauntlet threw down the power gauntlet]]. |
| 281 | * NiceJobBreakingItRivals: When Silverbolt and Rampage fight over Transmutate, she jumps into the crossfire and uses her powers to make her friends stop. This leads to her getting destroyed. |
| 282 | * NoClearLeader: Whenever Optimus Primal is captured or incapacitated, the Maximals get into a fight over who takes charge, with Dinobot usually being the one to demand he be made leader. They even tried voting who'd be in charge one time, and ended up in a tie! Luckily, Rhinox would put an end to this little charade and use a little brute force to put Dinobot in his place. |
| 283 | * OOCIsSeriousBusiness: |
| 284 | ** [[spoiler:Dinobot's]] [[HeroicSacrifice fight in the valley]] is the only time in the series where a character's [[ComputerVoice on-board computer]] displays [[NotSoStoic an ounce of inflection]]. |
| 285 | --->'''Computer:''' '''W[-ARNING-]: P[-OWER RESERVES NINETY-SIX PERCENT DEPLETED-]. S[-TASIS LOCK COMMENCING-].'''\ |
| 286 | [[spoiler:'''Dinobot:''']] Override...\ |
| 287 | '''Computer:''' '''R[-EPEAT-]: P[-OWER LOSS-] ''[-CRITICAL-]''. F[-URTHER EXPENDITURES WILL RESULT IN-] ''[-LOSS OF SPARK-]''. S[-TASIS LOCK-] MUST [-COMMENCE-].'''\ |
| 288 | [[spoiler:'''Dinobot:''']] ''OVERRIDE!''\ |
| 289 | '''Computer:''' '''...A[-CKNOWLEDGED-].''' |
| 290 | ** Depth Charge is single-mindedly determined to bring down Rampage, and frequently butts heads with Optimus and the other Maximals over missions. The fact that [[spoiler:he immediately listens to and obeys Optimus in the finale without protest, and initially ignores Rampage tells you how serious the situation is.]] |
| 291 | * OrcusOnHisThrone: For a guy that wants to gather enough energon to return to Cybertron and start a full-scale rebellion, Megatron spends a lot of time focusing on fighting the Maximals and not a lot of time on securing energon deposits or even trying to repair their ship to leave the planet. Turns out there's a pretty good reason for this: [[spoiler:the energon wasn't his true goal in the first place, his interest is the planet itself, the prehistorical Earth, and the ability to change history through his actions here.]] |
| 292 | * OurDragonsAreDifferent: Megatron's Transmetal-II dragon beast mode is the only entirely fictional animal on the series, seemingly assembled out of multiple creatures like a more advanced [[MixAndMatchCritter Fuzor]]. It's a fairly standard western dragon apart from being {{cybernetic|MythicalBeast}}, with the signature brightly coloured, highly reflective metallic body of other Transmetals. |
| 293 | * OurSoulsAreDifferent: This series establishes sparks as being the life force of a Transformer. |
| 294 | * OutrunTheFireball: Seen in the opening of ''every episode'' of the first season, no less. |
| 295 | * OverlyLongGag: Rhinox unloading his [[GatlingGood Chaingun of Doom]] into [[ButtMonkey Waspinator]] during the climax of "Chain of Command". It's almost ten seconds of nothing but roaring gunfire and Waspinator screaming in pain. |
| 296 | * PainfulTransformation: Every upgrade transformation is accompanied by screams, and the second upgrades of Optimus Primal and, to a far scarier extent, Cheetor have their new body parts burst through their old ones. |
| 297 | * ThePawnsGoFirst: During one attack on the Maximals' base, Megatron told Quickstrike to go first. Inferno asked why he wasn't chosen to take point, to which Megatron replies, "When expecting booby traps, always send the boob in first!" Sure enough, Quickstrike got splattered before Megatron could finish the sentence. |
| 298 | * PetTheDog: Rampage is a cannibalistic monster, but his treatment of Transmutate shows there's at least a tiny bit of goodness in him. |
| 299 | * PowerFloats: The floating mountain of energon in the episode "Power Surge". |
| 300 | * PreAssKickingOneLiner: Quite a few but special mention goes to the following exchange from "Code Of A Hero": |
| 301 | -->'''Quickstrike''': [[TemptingFate What's a warrior without weapons?]]\ |
| 302 | '''Dinobot''': [[GoodOldFisticuffs A warrior]] ''[[GoodOldFisticuffs still!]]'' |
| 303 | * PrematureEulogy: Practically a running gag, with some characters receiving them ''multiple'' times over the series. |
| 304 | -->'''Dinobot''': Fear not Optimus, I shall ensure that your funeral is a glorious one, as befits a warrior who died in battle.\ |
| 305 | '''Optimus''': Ugh... Afraid I'll have to miss it Dinobot, I'm not scrap yet.\ |
| 306 | '''Dinobot''': Hm... Are you certain? It would be a triumphant passage. |
| 307 | * {{Prequel}}: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LIJVSjIuNYg Theft of the]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nDRYFCO7fpo Golden Disk]] and the comic "Dawn of Future's Past" both tell what happened before this cartoon's events. |
| 308 | * PublicHaterPrivateFan: For all of Dinobot's bluster about Predacon virtues, he actually holds a great deal of respect for the Maximals. Largely due to Dinobot being an honorable warrior, while the remaining Predacons are not so honorable. Which the Maximals are. |
| 309 | * PunyEarthlings: Zigzagged. Megatron hates humanity for our helping the Autobots defeat the Decepticons and allowing the Maximals to rule over the Predacons. One of his reasons for coming to Earth was to massacre our ancestors and prevent humanity from existing. The early anthropoids are initially helpless against the Predacons, and only Dinobot's HeroicSacrifice keeps them from being wiped out. The anthropoids later [[TookALevelInBadass take a level in badass]] and are able to fight off Inferno and Quickstrike quite effectively. It's implied that this came from Dinobot unwittingly teaching them toolmaking and the Maximals' later attempts to educate them. |
| 310 | * RagtagBunchOfMisfits: Both teams start out like this, with the Predacons as a relatively hastily assembled group of renegades and the Maximals a group of scientists/explorers who happened to be the only ones in the area able to pursue them. |
| 311 | * RankScalesWithAsskicking: Present, as per usual for a ''Transformers'' series, but downplayed at first. Optimus Primal and Megatron do start the series bigger (barring Dinobot), stronger, and better armed than the rest of the cast, but not to the same overwhelming degree as their G1 counterparts. They ''can'' and ''do'' lose engagements to foes that are not each other. However, as the series goes on, and they evolve into the various Transmetal forms, their power compared to their contemporaries increases exponentially; once he achieves his "Optimal" form, Optimus tends to wind up getting sidelined in most fights simply because he's heavily-armed enough to scatter the entire Predacon force pretty much singlehandedly. |
| 312 | * TheReasonYouSuckSpeech: Dinobot delivers a brief but awesome one to Megatron in "Maximal No More" : |
| 313 | -->'''Dinobot:''' Your ambition had made you insane Megatron! It will destroy both Maximal ''and'' Predacon! And all who came before... |
| 314 | * ReflectingLaser: Intentionally invoked, albeit with a laser built for communication, not as a weapon: long-range communication was rendered impossible due to energon interference, so [[spoiler:bouncing a laser off the moon was the only way to signal a downed stasis pod and activate its DNA scanners]]. |
| 315 | * TheRemnant: The Predacons. The same applies to Ravage, one of the few remaining original Decepticons, and also [[spoiler:Starscream's ghost]]. |
| 316 | * RenegadeSplinterFaction: Megatron’s crew are considered criminals by Predacon standards, which eventually leads to the Tripredacus Council sending an assassin to destroy them. Not due to any innate violations of Predacon morality, but because the high profile theft of Maximal artifacts and [[MakeWrongWhatOnceWentRight dangerous]] plans they have are considered dangerous to the long term goals of the majority of the Predacon faction. |
| 317 | * ReptilesAreAbhorrent: Megatron, Terrorsaur, Quickstrike (part of him anyway), and Dinobot II (for a while) all have reptilian/dinosaur beast modes. So does the original Dinobot, [[SubvertedTrope though unlike the others, he is an honourable warrior]]. That said, he retains some of his Predacon sensibilities even after he defects to the Maximals. His clone also pulls a HeelFaceTurn by the end of the series (when Rampage dies and Dinobot II's Spark is fully formed) and performs a HeroicSacrifice to stop Megatron's plans, crashing the ''Nemesis'' in the process. |
| 318 | * ResourcefulRodent: Rattrap, being a Maximal who turns into a rat, falls under this trope. Though a [[DeadpanSnarker snarker]] and often more concerned with his own well-being, he's clever enough to weasel his way out of traps, knows how to combat opponents (even much larger ones) effectively, knows traps like the back of his own hand, and can go through the occasional bout of deceit against the Predacons. |
| 319 | * RetCanon: Prior to the series premiere, the toyline painted the events as happening on present-day Earth, and instead of being {{Legacy Character}}s of Optimus Prime and the original Megatron, Optimus Primal and Beast Megatron ''were'' the same characters as their G1 namesakes, just with new forms. Once the cartoon debuted, the toyline's backstory was changed to match up with it. |
| 320 | * TheReveal: The Golden Disc was not just a map to an energon goldmine, it was [[spoiler:a backup plan left by G1's Megatron with instructions for the Decepticons' descendants to travel back in time, gain access to the Ark, and kill Optimus Prime and any other Autobots that would stop the Decepticons from winning the Great War. This data was hidden on the actual historical [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Voyager_Golden_Record Golden Record]] launched into space during the 1970s]]. |
| 321 | * RevealingReflection: When the Vok probe comes to the Standing Stones, a fight breaks out around it. When Rhinox goes to examine the probe, he notices Waspinator trying to sneak up on him reflected on its surface and turns to give the wasp a face full of {{Gatling Good}}ness. |
| 322 | * RevengeBeforeReason: Depth Charge only cares about one thing; destroying Protoform X/Rampage. Everything else, including protecting the ''Ark'' and preserving history, is secondary to that. |
| 323 | * RewatchBonus: [[invoked]] WordOfGod revealed that [[spoiler:Dinobot]] knew he was going to die five episodes before he actually did right up 'til the last moment. Rewatching said episodes with this knowledge causes a lot of [[spoiler:Dinobot's]] actions and dialogue to take on a whole new meaning. |
| 324 | * RightManInTheWrongPlace: Optimus's crew were mere scientists starting an exploration mission who just happened to be the only ones in the area when a certain crew of renegade Predacons zoomed by in a stolen ship. |
| 325 | * RuleOfCool: There is no other reason why Megatron should have a mythical beast ([[CyberneticMythicalBeast a dragon]]) as his final beast mode in late Season 3 other than because it's awesome. |
| 326 | [[/folder]] |
| 327 | [[folder:Tropes S - Z]] |
| 328 | * SanDimasTime: Integral to the second season. In "Code of Hero", Rhinox calculates that the shockwave from the Planet Buster explosion is moving into the future, and will reach contemporary Cybertron in a matter of weeks. Sure enough, "reinforcements" from the future arrive at that point, rather than travelling back to immediately after the explosion. |
| 329 | * SealedEvilInACan: [[spoiler:[[PsychoPrototype Protoform X a.k.a. Rampage]]. He is the result of Maximal experiments to produce an immortal super-soldier by copying Starscream's mutant spark. They got that part right in the form of [[GoneHorriblyRight an unkillable serial killer who slaughtered human and Cybertronian alike]]. After eventually capturing him, the Maximal Elders sealed him up in a stasis pod, then turned him over to Optimus Primal's crew to [[SealedEvilInAnotherWorld dump on some desolate asteroid]], since they couldn't figure out how to destroy him. Several adventures later, the monster is unleashed again and recruited by the Predacons.]] |
| 330 | * SealedGoodInACan: The stasis pods all containing protoforms that are Maximals are this by default, but can be reprogrammed with a little know-how to produce a Predacon. This turns every time a protoform makes planetfall into a race between the two factions to recruit the newcomer. |
| 331 | * SecondPersonAttack: [[https://youtube.com/watch?v=-P3ZACNxtQI This infamous scene]] has a double version, plus an ImpairmentShot of seeing double and falling over after the punch. |
| 332 | * ShootTheHostage: Dinobot tries this to use Tarantulas as a hostage against Megatron. The problem with this scenario is that he tries to use [[ChronicBackstabbingDisorder Tarantulas]] as a hostage against [[MagnificentBastard Megatron]]. |
| 333 | -->'''Dinobot:''' (holding Tarantulas) Do not fire, Megatron! I have a hostage!\ |
| 334 | '''Megatron:''' Why, so you do. ''*Fires*'' |
| 335 | * ShowdownAtHighNoon: It was actually at sundown, but at the end of the episode "Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)" the Predacons rally around Megatron and the three Maximals ready their weapons, before both sides draw their guns in classic shootout fashion. Comes complete with a riff straight out of ''Film/TheGoodTheBadAndTheUgly.'' |
| 336 | * ShoutOut: |
| 337 | ** The scene in "Gorilla Warfare" where Optimus stalks Waspinator before pulling him through a wall is inspired by ''Franchise/{{Robocop}}''. |
| 338 | ** In "Victory", the scene where Optimus is falling from the ''Axalon'' after being shot by Scorponok in his beast mode resembles a scene in ''Film/KingKong1933''. |
| 339 | ** There's also this one to Franchise/{{Superman}}, complete with a SuspiciouslySimilarSong version of Supes's Main Theme: |
| 340 | -->'''Dinobot:''' Wait! Look! Down in the sky! Is it a bird?\ |
| 341 | '''Rhinox:''' Maybe a plane!\ |
| 342 | '''Rattrap:''' Nah! ''IT'S OPTIMUS!!!'' |
| 343 | ** In ''Dark Designs'', Cheetor's "Better dead than Pred" is a pun on an [[DirtyCommunists anti-communism]] message from TheFifties. |
| 344 | ** Another scene, in which Optimus brandishes his swords before Megatron shoots him down, is reminiscent of the duel between Indiana Jones and the Cairo swordsman in ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk''. Dinobot pushing Scorponok into his rotor blade weapon echoes the demise of the German engineer in the same movie. |
| 345 | ** Airazor's pose in "The Low Road" is a direct reference to the famous ''Franchise/StarWars'' poster. |
| 346 | ** The sequence in Season 3 where Megatron is [[spoiler:using the Transmetal Driver to create the new Dinobot II from a blank Protoform]] draws heavily from the classic film ''Film/{{Frankenstein 1931}}''. |
| 347 | ** In the episode "The Probe," the search-and-rescue probes sent out from Cybertron, shot for shot, mirror the Imperial probe droids from the beginning of ''Film/{{The Empire Strikes Back}}''. |
| 348 | ** Several to classic WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes, mostly involving Waspinator getting scrapped. |
| 349 | ** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvbbQyFWrDI Rock'em Sock'em Robots battle between Rhinox and Inferno in Season 2.]] Colors even match. |
| 350 | ** Megatrons VerbalTic of a long drawn-out "Yeeeess..." or "Noooo..." was originally used by the character ComicBook/DeathsHead in ''ComicBook/TheTransformersMarvel UK''. |
| 351 | ** The head writers involved were very active in the online fandom. As a result, these cropped up all the time, often in the form of locations. Subsector Hooks and Grid Joona, for example, are named after fans who posted on the alt.toys.transformers usenet group at the time. |
| 352 | *** At one point a concussed [[TheChewToy Waspinator]] refers to himself as "Wonko the Sane." While originally the name of a minor character in ''[[Franchise/TheHitchhikersGuideToTheGalaxy So Long and Thanks for All the Fish]]'', the specific reference was to a ''Beast Wars'' fan, Benson Yee, who used this name as an online alias. Yee was recruited as a continuity consultant for the second season finale. The ''Beast Wars'' crew recognized the value of the fandom. |
| 353 | ** What may have been a very subtle Shout Out was Cheetor's weapon sound effect. It sounded just like WesternAnimation/{{Mega Man|RubySpears}}'s from the cartoon. Both were voiced by Ian Corlett. |
| 354 | ** Rattrap and Optimus's dialog about the Ark, how "that ship wasn't built, it was poured" and "die-cast construction: it's a lost art" are both about how the original ''G1 Transformer'' toys (well, the better, larger ones) all had die-cast parts for at least half the body. |
| 355 | ** Speaking of the ''Ark'', it's appearance here was partially modeled after both the version seen in the G1 cartoon, as well as the [[Series/StarTrekDeepSpaceNine USS Defiant]] (especially the nose area). |
| 356 | ** Megatron's [[spoiler:first appearance to Optimus after he gets his new dragon body: "Film/EnterTheDragon!"]] |
| 357 | * ShoutOutToShakespeare: |
| 358 | ** "Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest...is silence," says [[spoiler:Dinobot]] before dying. |
| 359 | ** In the earlier episode "Victory", Dinobot says: "Alas! Poor Tarantulas. I knew him, Cheetor." Dinobot was holding Tarantulas's severed spider legs, though, not his [[AlasPoorYorick severed head]]. |
| 360 | ** Dinobot also tosses out a "To be or not to be, that is the question" when contemplating Free Will vs Fate. |
| 361 | * ShutUpHannibal: In the final episode, Optimus delivers an epic one to Megatron. |
| 362 | -->'''Megatron:''' Well come on, let's have it. The usual "destiny and honor" speech.\ |
| 363 | '''Optimus:''' ''[[VerbThis Speech this]]!'' *[[TalkToTheFist clocks Megatron in the jaw]]* |
| 364 | * SidingWithTheSuffering: This happens in [[GrandFinale the climax]] of Season 3 with [[spoiler:Dinobot 2]], who was loyal to Megatron up to the point of Megatron [[spoiler:activating the Decepticon starship and raining hell upon the surface of Earth]]. This, alongside [[spoiler:the loss of Rampage's spark]], prompted [[spoiler:Dinobot 2]] to behave more like [[spoiler:[[{{Samurai}} his former self]], ending with him making a HeelFaceTurn, right when the ship explodes [[HeroicSacrifice with him on board]]]]. |
| 365 | * SlidingScaleOfFreeWillVsFate: Dinobot spends most of the second season contemplating his fate and whether he has any control over it, once he discovers [[spoiler:Megatron has a method to predict the future using the golden disk. Dinobot goes through enough grief that he joins the Predacons for the simple reason they're more likely to win, and after rejoining the Maximals, he contemplates suicide. He finally finds his answer witnessing Megatron directly changing the future of his own free will. Dinobot becomes relieved and ironically finds himself with no choice but to perform a HeroicSacrifice to thwart Megatron's plan to wipe out human existence. In death, Dinobot finds peace, knowing he died from actions of his own free will.]] |
| 366 | * TheSmurfettePrinciple: While the original cast was entirely male, female characters Blackarachnia and Airazor were introduced in the first season. However, with Airazor [[spoiler:getting beamed into space by some freaky alien plants midway through the second season]], Blackarachnia remains the only female in half of the second and the entire third season. However, Airazor does return as Tigerhawk, a fusion of both her body and Tigatron's, but the character is presented as male. |
| 367 | * SoLastSeason: In the first season, being able to fly was a pretty big deal, as it meant races to stasis pods counted on which Maximal or Predacon flier got there first. And while the fliers weren't totally invincible, just Terrorsaur and Waspinator put together could spell some serious trouble for grounded Maximals like Tigatron or Dinobot, and in some cases, even for Optimus. By the second season, however, the ability to fly was no longer as big of an advantage as it used to be, thanks to both sides gaining more Maximal and Predacon fliers and Transmetal technology changing the landscape of the war; Megatron and Cheetor both gained flight modes and the lack of energon meant that Inferno could stay airborne for longer, while the Maximals gained new fliers like Silverbolt and Tigerhawk. Megatron lampshaded it during "Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)". |
| 368 | -->'''Megatron:''' Flight is no longer ''your'' advantage, Optimus! |
| 369 | * SoulJar: In his debut episode, Megatron slices out half of Rampage's spark and locks it in a small container full of energon crystals. Whenever the reluctant Predacon gets uppity, he squeezes it, causing Rampage to double-over and scream in agony. |
| 370 | * SpoilerOpening: The second season opening spoils the first one's final episode twist, along with all the new Transmetal forms and both the Fuzors. The third also gives away the major debuting characters' designs and gives us a good look at Optimus's new form. |
| 371 | * SquashedFlat: Happens to several characters. The writers really liked dropping heavy things on the poor bots. |
| 372 | * TheStarscream: Throughout the series all of Megatron’s subordinates aside from Inferno and Scorpinok betray him or flat out try to overthrow him in a significant way. It doesn’t work out for any of them and they all end up dying aside from Blackarachnia who performs a HeelFaceTurn. Waspinator becomes a literal example when he becomes possessed by the original Starscream who true to form, tries to overthrow Megatron. |
| 373 | * StockSoundEffects: When the actors aren't making their own growls and roars, stock animal sounds are frequent. Cheetor (and the ''Smilodon'' in "Bad Spark") use the most commonly-used cougar and bobcat snarls, Airazor and her peregrine falcon beast mode donor use the cry of the red-tailed hawk, and Rhinox gives the stock camel groan when he transforms to robot mode. |
| 374 | * StrongAsTheyNeedToBe: Shots could stagger an opponent, dent their plating, knock them off their feet, send them flying, or dismantle them, depending only on what was needed for the plot. This applied to any projectile, from energy blasts to missiles. |
| 375 | * StoryArc: Less obvious in the first season, but becomes prominent in the other two with the Vok and Golden Disc issues. |
| 376 | * StuffBlowingUp: |
| 377 | ** The show has a lot of explosions. At least one of the Transformers will be blown up in every episode. |
| 378 | ** Not counting [[ChewToy Waspinator]], who gets blown to bits in nearly every episode regardless. |
| 379 | * StumblingInTheNewForm: In Seasons 2 and 3, several characters receive upgrades that drastically alter their bodies. Some of them significant trouble adapting to the changes and make comical or dramatic mistakes. |
| 380 | * SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: Quite a few with regard to the war between the two factions. |
| 381 | ** The extremely low character count -- five on each side to start -- means that any time a stasis pod shows up, it's a major priority to secure it and get a new comrade out of it, because with the numbers this low even a one-bot advantage is one neither side can afford to let the other get. For the same reason defection from one side to the other is treated very seriously. |
| 382 | ** Flying Transformers are a serious threat, because they can get around quicker and easier and are also tricky to fight. A lot of episodes in the first season have the plot point of Optimus racing Terrorsaur and Waspinator to some objective point or being the only one able to fight them on equal footing (so to speak) because he's the only Maximal that can fly (Airazor joined them later). In the second season, Megatron becoming transmetal and able to fly himself was a big equalizer in his battles with Optimus. |
| 383 | ** The cast's beast modes are terribly inconvenient for them in the first season, acting as a DramaPreservingHandicap that forces them into their beast modes at times when they need to be in robot mode for mobility and/or combat. The episode "The Probe" makes this a major plot point in the climax when Rhinox is forced to transform into beast mode when operating a computer, and with the rest of the Maximals also stuck in beast mode, Optimus has to finish Rhinox's work because he's the only one with hands in his beast mode. |
| 384 | ** Megatron in this series is a CombatPragmatist, and he'll do anything if it means his goals are met. |
| 385 | ** When his plan to simply [[spoiler:kill off the proto-humans]] fails and he later [[spoiler:finds the Decepticon warship the ''Nemesis'']], the first thing he does with it is [[spoiler:try to blow all proto-humans off the face of the Earth]]. Even when [[spoiler:Dinobot II]] tries to tell him that it's overkill to use [[spoiler:giant ship-to-ship lasers]] to kill [[spoiler:a primitive tribe of organics]], Megatron pretends to consider it for a second, and then pushes the button anyway. |
| 386 | ** After spending half an episode shooting anything that moves, Megatron loses everything when he doesn't have the energy for a shot when he actually needs it. |
| 387 | ** A scene seemingly parodying the one from ''Film/RaidersOfTheLostArk'': Optimus is going all over the place showing off his sword moves, and Megatron [[WhyDontYouJustShootHim just shoots him]]. |
| 388 | ** One early episode had Optimus be injected with a PsychoSerum that turned him into TheBerserker, leading to Dinobot taking command after he heads off to attack the Predacons head on. Since the episode had previously set up that Dinobot despised Optimus' more peaceful tactics and suggested just letting him kill them all, and was currently regretting his words, it looks like he'll talk to the Predacons and resolve the situation peacefully. Instead, when he has Cheetor warn the Predacons ahead of time, they just start preparing for Optimus' arrival; ultimately, the Maximals only save Optimus by attacking the base from the outside while he rampages inside, which Dinobot had been rallying for from the beginning. |
| 389 | ** When Terrorsaur briefly takes over the Predacons after he finds stockpile of energon from a floating mountain that empowers him to overthrow Megatron by damaging him in combat, him defeating Megatron and boasting he is charge meets with predictable consequences when his HourOfPower shows up despite him trying to hide his weakness. Tarantulas follows him and attempts to take the source of power for himself and leaves Scorponok to repair Megatron. Once the Maximals destroy the mountain of energon, he is back to square one. |
| 390 | ** In one episode, Blackarachnia headbutts Silverbolt hard enough to knock him out... and then she falls unconscious a few seconds later. It doesn't matter who's on the receiving end, trauma from headbutts go both ways. |
| 391 | ** In the episode "Victory", when the Predacons appeared to have perished after Terrorsaur launched a rebellion against Megatron, the Maximals decide to leave Earth, and Cheetor suggest they return exploring space, but Rattrap points out with their ship, the Axalon, barely holding together meaning if they make it into space the Maximals have no choice but to return to Cybertron to which [[KnowWhenToFoldEm Optimus agrees.]] |
| 392 | * TakingYouWithMe: In the opening space battle, the Darksyde manages to shoot down the Axalon first, but as the Maximal ship falls from orbit it fires off a few final shots that cripple the Predacons too. |
| 393 | ** Probably the reason why [[spoiler:Rampage lets Depth Charge destroy his spark in "Nemesis (Part 1)"]]. |
| 394 | * TeethClenchedTeamwork: Early on, the Maximals are as prone to internal squabbles as any crew of 'Cons, and these are only exaggerated by the addition of a Predacon defector to the team. They eventually overcame this, but still have a few hiccups now and again. |
| 395 | * TemporaryBlindness: Rhinox, Rattrap, Dinobot, and Cheetor experience this in "Dark Voyage" when an accident shorts out their optic sensors. They spend the rest of the episode trying to get back to base so that they can use the CR chamber to restore their sight. |
| 396 | * ThatsNoMoon: [[spoiler:The "second" moon]] at the end of Season 1. Said revelation results in [[spoiler:EarthAllAlong.]] |
| 397 | * TheFourthWallWillNotProtectYou: Megatron's speech at the end of the second season [[spoiler:after he attempts to kill the original Optimus Prime]] appears to be addressed to the viewers as much as it is to the Maximals, especially since it ends with remarking "And you...you no longer exist!". |
| 398 | * TheMindIsAPlaythingOfTheBody: If Transformers stay in Beast Mode for too long, days not hours, their animal instincts begin to take over. This is the basis for the Predacon plot in episode 19 "Call of the Wild", though Megatron does imply that sleep deprivation also plays a big part in this happening. Getting damaged as a protform can also cause this to happen like with Inferno. |
| 399 | * TheyDontMakeThemLikeTheyUsedTo: Optimus and Rattrap conclude this when they try to enter the Ark. |
| 400 | * TimeyWimeyBall: How time travel works in this series is a bit inconsistent. |
| 401 | ** On the ScrewDestiny front: it becomes a major plot point in Season 2 that the past ''can'' be changed, and this is directly demonstrated. Not to mention the season finale where Megatron [[spoiler:destroys Optimus Prime]], causing time to twist into a pretzel for a moment now that the course and outcome of the Great War is irrevocably changed. |
| 402 | ** On the StableTimeLoop front: [[spoiler:the ''Nemesis'' is found crashed in the ocean and is raised to crash land in a jungle instead, lining up with the G1 canon. Earth also certainly doesn't have a second moon in the present; while the presumption the Vok utilized their planet-buster or else took it away at some point before G1 happened, that begs the question of why they did so.]] |
| 403 | *** [[spoiler:Considering that the second moon ''is'' the Planet Buster, and Optimus Primal destroys it with a transwarp detonation in order to stop it from destroying the Earth, this point at least has an explanation.]] |
| 404 | ** This also is to all say nothing of the wreckage of the ships and the Transformers themselves, the significant geography changes caused by [[spoiler:the Vok's planet buster]], the way the Transformers directly influenced human evolution, and so forth. The series never explores the potential repercussions of any of these events, so it's not clear if they were part of the StableTimeLoop stuff where these events ''always'' happened, or part of the ScrewDestiny front where they did change the future but in ways not so great as to be of note. |
| 405 | * TitleDrop: |
| 406 | ** By many such as Optimus, Megatron, and Tigatron, to name a few. Optimus himself declares this, starting a new war between Maximals and Predacons. |
| 407 | ** Done by Dinobot in "Maximal No More". |
| 408 | --->'''Dinobot''': From this day forth, I am Maximal no more. |
| 409 | * TitleScream: The only lyrics ''in'' the opening are '''"BEAST WAAAAAAAAAARS!"'''. |
| 410 | * TooInjuredToSave: At the end of the episode "[[Recap/BeastWarsS2E9CodeOfHero Code of Hero]]", after a hard-fought battle, [[spoiler: Dinobot managed to defeat six heavily armed Predacons and destroy the Golden Disk]], but at the cost of his life. When the Maximals found him, he was running out of reserves, with Rhinox stating that "he's too far gone, even for Stasis Lock mode". |
| 411 | * ToxicPhlebotinum: Energon is basically this for the first season in particular; it can be a useful power source, but in its current raw state the energy it produces would basically cause the Maximals and Predacons to overload if they were exposed to it in their robot forms for more than a few minutes. |
| 412 | * ToylineExclusiveCharacter: As usual for a Transformers show, but Beast Wars was especially JustForFun/{{Egregious}} in this regard; the toyline contained countless characters that never made it into the show due to the high costs of making an AllCGICartoon. |
| 413 | * UnusualEuphemism: Several, considering that the main cast are robots, not humans. Common examples are Rattrap's "Oh, for bootin' up cold!" and the general-purpose expletive "Slag!" |
| 414 | * VerbalTic: Megatron's constant habit of tacking "Yeeesss" onto his sentences. Likewise, he also says "No" quite frequently. |
| 415 | ** Waspinator has a tendency to pronounce s's as z's and draw them out, resulting in things like pronouncing his name as "Wazzzzpinator". He also has a habit of devolving into muttering that sounds like buzzing. Notably, the writers hated the way he spoke so much, both because it was annoying and it ate up a lot of time, that they resorted to [[TheChewToy quickly knocking him out of fights]] so they wouldn't have to deal with him. |
| 416 | ** In the Japanese dub, almost everyone (mainly Rhinox, Dinobot, Tigatron, Silverbolt, and '''every''' member of Megatron's predacons) had a phrase that they would end their sentences with, usually a gag based on their beast mode. |
| 417 | * VileVillainLaughableLackey: Once Waspinator's role as a ButtMonkey was established, he had this dynamic with the more serious Megatron. |
| 418 | * VillainsOutShopping: Various episodes had the villains not devote all their time and energy to plotting. Megatron would do things like play with his rubber duck or brush the teeth of his T-Rex head. He also once interrupted a game of cards between Inferno, Waspinator and Quickstrike to demand a status report. |
| 419 | * VitriolicBestBuds[=/=]VolleyingInsults: Rattrap and Dinobot regard each other as friends but also can't resist ribbing each other. |
| 420 | * WasTooHardOnHim: Zig-zagged in "Equal Measures." In the ending, Optimus apologizes to Cheetor for reprimanding him too harshly, only for Cheetor to say no, he was right to tell him because he was being too impulsive, and from that day forward, "this cat's a team player." |
| 421 | * WeWillAllBeHistoryBuffsInTheFuture: {{Subverted}} here, of all places. The Predacons are all history buffs, but due to some Big Brother cover-up HandWave, the Maximals aren't, instead treating their history as (roughly) Arthurian lore. This proves useful in an earlier episode, when [[OurSoulsAreDifferent the spark of Starscream]] drops by for a visit, and attempts to [[UnusualEuphemism bullslag]] his way into the Predacons' good graces with a false story of his role in ''WesternAnimation/TheTransformersTheMovie'', but falls apart into FridgeLogic when Ravage shows up, reminding us that the Transformer race is ReallySevenHundredYearsOld, and thus are able to have several living witnesses of events that happened millions of years ago to verify the facts for them. |
| 422 | * WeaponizedLandmark: The Standing Stones are actually a communicator beacon/containment grid for the Vok. Also, [[spoiler:the second moon.]] |
| 423 | * WhatHappenedToTheMouse: The Stasis pods. In the first episode, the Maximals release the stasis pods to prevent them from being damaged from crashing on the planet, and at least two dozen can be counted. Considering the few number of new characters introduced and the dud stasis pods used for other purposes, it's possible several stasis pods remained around the planet's orbit by the end of the series without the Maximals mentioning them. |
| 424 | ** "Other Voices (Part 1)" established that all the pods fell out of orbit when the Planet Buster was activated. The ones that weren't recovered were likely either destroyed when they crashed or were/became blanks. Expanded material, especially the comics, showed that many of the pods were recovered and activated by the Maximal spy Razorbeast and the Predacon general Magmatron, becoming many of the toy characters who didn't make it into the show and had their own adventures after the Beast Wars and during/immediately after ''Beast Machines''. |
| 425 | * WheresTheFunInThat: In the episode "Beast Wars (Part 1)": |
| 426 | -->'''Dinobot:''' Their defence shields are down! Destroy them!\ |
| 427 | '''Megatron:''' Now where's the fun in that? |
| 428 | * WitchWithACapitalB: Tarantulas occasionally refers to FemmeFatale Blackarachnia as "witch." And no, this show does not use magic... |
| 429 | ** Sometimes when show is broadcast the word "witch" is replaced with "widow," likely due to this trope. |
| 430 | * WithUsOrAgainstUs: "Law of the Jungle": after Tigatron's [[spoiler:departure from the Beast Wars (until the Preds make him return to the Maximal side)]], there is a short dialogue between him and Dinobot: |
| 431 | -->'''Dinobot:''' That is the law of the jungle. The hunters and the hunted. Scrap or be scrapped.\ |
| 432 | '''Tigatron:''' Animals hunt to survive![[note]] In the Latin American dub, Dinobot says this line and Tigatron replies with "And what do you think war is about?"[[/note]] |
| 433 | -->'''Dinobot:''' And what do you think ''war'' is about?! Maximals may believe in peace, but Predacons...you do not really know the Predacons. We...they live for the glory of conquest. If Megatron takes the energon wealth of this world unopposed, he will begin a war that will destroy Cybertron and shatter galaxies, until only one side survives. It has been this way for millions of stellar cycles, ever since the Autobots and Decepticons began the Great War. |
| 434 | -->'''Tigatron:''' Peace will never come until someone agrees NOT to fight!\ |
| 435 | '''Dinobot:''' The Predacons will not allow it! They'll destroy or reprogram you.\ |
| 436 | '''Tigatron:''' They won't find me...\ |
| 437 | '''Dinobot:''' I found you...\ |
| 438 | ''Dinobot jumps to Tigatron with his claws.''\ |
| 439 | '''Tigatron:''' What are you doing?!?!\ |
| 440 | '''Dinobot:''' If you are not with us, you are against us! |
| 441 | * WorldOfHam: Yeeesss.... Between [[Creator/DavidKaye Megatron]], [[TheHyena Inferno]], and all the characters voiced by Creator/ScottMcNeil, there is surprisingly still plenty of scenery left for all the other characters to chew. |
| 442 | * YouCantFightFate: [[spoiler:Subverted. After getting a disk that shows a history of Earth from the perspective of the future, Dinobot is torn on what to do with it. If experimenting with the disk proves that this trope is in effect, he will have no choice but to kill himself in the face of realizing he is not "the master of (his) fate" and there is no such thing as free will. Later, he witnesses Megatron testing the disk: He blows up a mountain whose image is recorded on the disk, and the image on the disk changes accordingly, proving that fate can be fought and one's actions and choices are not predetermined or set in stone. In this moment, Dinobot at last knows that he is the master of his own fate...though as Megatron intends to abuse this discovery to change history for the worse, Dinobot's sense of honor means there is only one course of action left to him.]] |
| 443 | * YoureInsane: Tigerhawk says this to Tarantulas, who shrugs it off with a casual "So they say," and a particularly indulgent and spittle-y EvilLaugh. |
| 444 | * YourSizeMayVary: Averted; unlike most Transformers shows, the approximate size of the characters remains consistent. One of the benefits of 3D animation. |
| 445 | * YouShallNotPass: Tigerhawk pulls one of these when he faces off against the Decepticon warship, the ''Nemesis''. |
| 446 | [[/folder]] |
http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/context.php
FollowingContext WesternAnimation / BeastWars
Go To
- Show Spoilers
- Night Vision
- Sticky Header
- Wide Load
