open/close all folders
Maximals
Optimus Primal
The captain of the Axalon who's looking for adventure. He turns into a gorilla.
- Adaptational Personality Change: The big change is that he's much more eager for adventure and to hunt down Predacons in this incarnation. When he knows that the Axalon is the only ship capable of catching the Predacons, the grin on his face says it all. He's also a lot more eager to test his mettle in a sparring contest against Dinobot whereas the original Optimus would've been much more likely to take Dinobot on scientific expeditions and/or scold the former Predacon for being too aggressive or impatient.
- Adaptational Expansion: This Optimus was a member of Security Forces but was apparently kicked out before becoming captain of the Axalon.
- Blood Knight: He enjoys a good fight and is the most excited to crash land on the planet since it can lead to more action. Amusingly, Dinobot seems somewhat perturbed by this.
- Composite Character: While this version of Primal is still the same character, he does borrow some elements from IDW's first version of Optimus Prime (a security bot who was forced to fall in line for stepping outside the status quo) and Transformers: Animated Optimus (getting kicked out from the security forces for some as-yet unrevealed reason).
- Dark Is Not Evil: Like the classic incarnation, his beast and robot forms are dark in color, with the latter having red eyes that give an evil look, but is one of the heroics Maximals.
- Military Maverick: He was drummed out of Security Forces and says that his being stationed on the Axalon is meant to be a punishment to get him to fall in line, due to his more unconventional thinking.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: After Blackarachnia infects over half the protoforms with a Predacon virus then sends them crashing out of orbit (likely killing some of them) Primal declares that they'll come up with a plan of attack and hit the Predacons with a preemptive strike, something Dinobot says that Maximals aren't known to do.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the original series, he died once at the end of the first season but was brought back to life in the second. In this series, he does not die due to Megatron trapping him in a stasis pod to send him to his doom. Additionally, he also dies at the end of the Beast Era taking Megatron with him during Beast Machines but is still alive and well by the final end of this particular IDW series.
- Strong and Skilled: He's strong enough to exchange blows with the physically powerful Megatron but also has knowledge of some of Earth's fighting techniques like the Rope-A-Dope to complement his strength.
Cheetor
A younger Maximal who turns into a cheetah.
- Adaptational Badass: This Cheetor doesn't seem to be as impulsive or cocky as the original, occupying the position of the Axalon's gunner, and being decently competent at repairs. Most of his impetuousness seems to have been transferred to Nyx, who's the first to enter a skirmish with a Predacon on Earth instead of Cheetor this time.
- Adaptational Intelligence: The original Cheetor grew into being a smarter and more mature figure as time went on. As Cheetor gave his impetuous nature to Nyx this time, he's much more level-headed and reasonable. He notably doesn't take any stupid risks when Nyx goes missing and Primal orders him to wait until morning, despite his desire to do so, whereas the original would have darted out first thing to get her. He's also an adept mechanic, something the original never was in the first place.
- Big Brother Instinct: When Nyx goes missing, he's completely concerned about his comrade, to the point he won't stop asking if she's back. Primal tells him they have to wait at least until morning, and he doesn't back down until his commander gently breaks it to him that they need to have faith she'll come back. When the Maximals see Dinobot carrying the gravely injured Nyx he's so enraged that he immediately blames Dinobot and attacks him against Primal's orders.
- Composite Character: Possibly due to the series having to end soon and with no chance now of the fuzors ever appearing, Cheetor is given several of Silverbolt's traits in the final few issues, having more peaceful, cooperative interactions with Blackarachnia that don't involve fighting her. And in the final battle against the Vok-aligned Cybertronians, he tells her he's going to be optimistic and believe she can overcome her base programming to become a better person.
- Super-Speed: Even in robot mode he's able to easily avoid Scorponok and Waspinator's attacks when they try tag-teaming him.
Nyx
The pilot of the Axalon and lover of flying. She turns into a fruit bat.
- Ace Pilot: She's the Axalon's pilot and manages to give chase to the Predacons' ship through sub space.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created for this comic and doesn't originate from any other Transformers media.
- Composite Character: As Dinobot hadn’t joined the Maximals (at the beginning), she has his more adversarial relationship with Rattrap, along with Cheetor's excitability, and being the first Maximal to not only get into a skirmish with a Predacon, but being captured and tortured by Tarantulas.
- Expy: She’s a pretty much Gender Flip of Nightscream being the bat themed Tagalong Kid of the Maximals team.
- Fragile Speedster: Her beast mode is fast and nimble, but not very hardy, as Terrorsaur knocks her out with one well-placed shot after she mocked him for being unable to catch him.
- Genki Girl: She’s very hyperactive and impulsive. It gets her in trouble.
- Meaningful Name: She shares a name with the Greek Goddess of the Night—a period of time that bats are known to typically roam around in.
- Mythology Gag:
- She is based on Optimus Primal's first toy, a robot that turned into a bat.note
- Her rookie status can also be one for Tagalong Kid Nightscream from Beast Machines.
- Nice Girl
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: With Rattrap.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the sole female crew member of the Axalon.
- Token Flyer: Due to turning into a bat and the absence of Airazor makes her the only Maximal who can fly.
Rattrap
A cynical, snarky Maximal who turns into a rat.
- Adaptational Angst Upgrade: This Rattrap doesn't appear to be too fond of his beast mode, whereas the original took quite well to it. He doesn't seem to mind after he gets a taste of organic food.
- Adaptational Jerkass: He's in a much grumpier mood than the original Rattrap would be on a good day, even snarking about Primal taking a call on a bridge rather than in the gym.
- Aliens Love Human Food: He uses his beast mode to eat organic food and seems to developed a taste for fruit.
- Deadpan Snarker: Not a page goes by in the first issue without him cracking wise.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Though he's a big snarker and is usually pretty testy with his teammates, he does care for them on some level, and tries cheering Cheetor up when he's told to go wait to check on Nyx. He also apologizes to Dinobot for accusing him of treachery when it turned out that he actually stopped him from triggering a tripwire despite his antagonistic relationship with him.
- Snark-to-Snark Combat: With Nyx.
Rhinox
A calm and compassionate Maximal and a senior crew member aboard the Axalon. He turns into a rhino.
- Adaptational Badass: Not to say Rhinox wasn't already a badass in the show, but there was no indication he was a warrior in his younger days, as is the case here.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: The original Rhinox was already pretty nice to begin with, but this Rhinox hates the idea of firing on the Predacons, even after their theft of the Golden Disk. He'd rather talk things through.
- Adaptational Personality Change: The original Rhinox was generally pretty easy going and had a fascination with organic life but this incarnation is more strict when it comes to giving out orders and also seems to dislike the idea of eating organic food even when Rattrap points out the it is faster and more practical than trying to process energon.
- Genius Bruiser: He can beat Optimus in a fight, but is smart enough to whip up a method of chasing the Predacons through unspace.
- Number Two: He's Primal's executive officer and confidant. The two often spar during downtime and Rhinox is the one giving orders when Optimus isn't present.
Razorbeast
- Canon Immigrant: Razorbeast is the first toy-only character to join the comic's main cast; which until that point had been comprised of mainstays from the cartoon and Canon Foreigners.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: His original death involved being mutated by Angolmois and being given a Mercy Kill to the back of his head. In the 2021 continuity, he's dropped by Terrorsaur into a mountain of raw energon that triggers a huge explosion, consuming him.
- Full-Boar Action: Averted. Razorbeast is a large-tusked boar but with none of the stereotypes, being a mellow non-aggressive bot. Skold ends up canceling her attempt to recruit him to the Predacons because she knows that his kind nature and relative lack of battle ability would probably lead them to kill him. However, in the next issue he is able to quickly best Terrorsaur in one-on-one combat and only breaks away when he's distracted by trying to stop Skold and Optimus from harming each other.
- Nice Guy: Razorbeast is a very friendly guy. When Skold rescues him, he ignores the data in his pod about how dangerous the Predacons are and attempts to befriend her.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He dies in Issue #11, two issues after his introduction.
Predacons
Galavar/Megatron
"A new war has come, my friends... and this time, it is ours to win."
The leader of a splinter cell of Predacons, who steals the Golden Disk against the wishes of the Tripredacus Council and initiates the events of the series by going back through time. He turns into a tyrannosaurus rex.
- 0% Approval Rating: Dinobot claims this of Megatron by pointing out that he fails to properly inspire his followers. Though most of the Predacons do follow his orders without question, with the exception of Scorponok, they mostly seem to do this out of fear due to how powerful he is, or for their own ulterior motives.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: On account of the comic being cut short, the IDW continuity doesn't adapt several of Megatron's more monstrous acts that he committed late in the show. With the comic's added Adaptational Sympathy, Megatron comes off as more of a Well-Intentioned Extremist in this version, contrasting the Not-So-Well-Intentioned Extremist of the cartoon.
- Adaptational Sympathy: The original Beast Wars Megatron was a genocidal maniac with delusions of godhood that brought Cybertron to its knees and nearly wiped out history itself so he could rule. This one, while still a conniving bastard, is implied to be making a name for himself so history won't forget about him as it did his namesake, rather than simply ruling because he feels like he's the only one capable of doing so.
- Bad Boss: It wouldn't be Megatron otherwise. When Scorponok dares to disturb him by offering to help decode the Golden Disk, Megatron chokes him and throws him into a wall for his troubles. Then, when Dinobot dares to tell him off for torturing Nyx to near-death, he almost kills him for it. Of course, when Tarantulas points out that their prisoner has other uses, he forgives him, so long as he doesn't do it again.
- Berserk Button: Nyx manages to find it to the point it actually ticks him off big time: Being forgotten, much like his namesake.
- Big Bad: Much like the original series, Megatron's theft of the Golden Disk is what kicks off the plot that strands the Maximals and Predacons on prehistoric earth.
- Big Bad Wannabe: The Tripredacus Council and Dinobot see him as this. The former convinced he's just a Rogue Agent who's acting in his own, inconsequential self interests they could potentially profit from, while the latter sees him as an ineffective overlord who lacks good strategy and an improper way to inspire loyalty. Ironically enough, he thinks the Council is this, as demonstrated in this quote:Megatron: "Like my namesake, I will lead our people to the glory you three pine for, but never had the strength to seize. If this disk contains half of what I believe it does, our victory is assured. Yeeeees. Our rise is at hand! When next we meet, you'll thank me...and then, you will bow!"
- Companion Cube: His rubber ducky, though it looks more robotic compared to the original.
- Deadpan Snarker: He still has his macabre wit with him when Scorponok tells him that he'll have a hard time tracking down Dinobot. All the Predacon does is tell him to pretend that the traitor is another excuse for him to find.
- Evil Is Bigger: Like his first incarnation, Megatron towers above the Maximals and his own Predacon followers.
- Faux Affably Evil: The moment Nyx gets taken into the Predacon torture chambers, Megatron is rather polite to his "guest" despite being ready to pry her open for any information he seeks. Once he gets angry his pleasant demeanor evaporates entirely and he lashes out at anyone for the smallest of reasons.
- I Just Want to Be Special: It's implied part of the reason he assumed the name Megatron, sans megalomania, stemmed from a desire to be remembered than a faceless nobody who will be forgotten.
- Large and in Charge: He's the biggest of the Predacons in the series, and their unquestionable leader.
- Large Ham: His usual style of gloating is still here in this series when he gives the Maximals a chance to surrender.
- Named by the Adaptation: We learn his original name here: Galavar, possibly meant to be a twist on Galvatron's name. It's implied he changed it to Megatron so he can make a name for himself.
- Not So Stoic: When Nyx pushes his Berserk Button, any sort of calmness he had taking pleasure in her torture dissipates into pure rage.
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- He won't allow the rest of the Predacons to go and attack the Maximals until Tarantulas completes his survey of the area, focusing his efforts on decoding the Golden Disk. When Scorponok objects, Megatron painfully (as in, chokes him and throws him against the wall) reminds him they can't do anything without knowing what the planet holds in store for them.
- He also shoots down Terrorsaur's idea to use Unspace to travel back in time and destroy their enemies then due to the risk that meddling in the past could have massive unforeseen consequences.
- In Issue 15, he has a chance to shoot Optimus while the Maximal is distracted fighting Tigatron and Airazor and really wants to pull the trigger but decides not to go through with it because that would mean he'd be outnumbered fighting four other Transformers who serve the Vok.
- Issue 16 shows that he prioritizes survival over revenge against the Maximals, after having tasted the Vok's wrath first-hand. As a result, he's perfectly willing to put aside his grudge and orders the Predacons to work with the Maximals.
- Rogue Agent: He goes behind the Tripedicus Council's back and steals the Golden Disk and the Darksyde while he's informing them of his plans, intending to do what he feels they will not. The Council decides to let him go, hoping they could capitalize off his success—or failure.
- Spared by the Adaptation: On a technicality, as he never died during the actual Beast Wars show itself. However, he did meet his final end during Beast Machines when Optimus sacrificed himself and took Megatron with him to renew Cybertron. Here, Megatron is only sent away in the series finale and gets to walk off into the sunset alive and well to scheme some more.
- Underestimating Badassery: Megatron initially viewed Optimus and the Maximals as weak cowards which as why he didn't try to destroy them, seeing his goal of deciphering the Golden Disk as a much higher priority. However, after the Maximals launch an attack on the Predacon base and Primal actually defeats him in combat, Megatron realizes his mistake and decides to put his other plans on hold until Optimus and his troops are dead.
- Verbal Tic: Though not drawn out as long on the print, Megatron still gives off his signature vocal quirk on occasion, yesssss.
- Villain Respect: He's genuinely impressed with Dinobot having executed his treachery so flawlessly; he just promises to do the same, except quite literally, to his former comrade.
Dinobot
- The Ace: He's a very skilled fighter and this is well demonstrated when he defects as he's able to swiftly defeat all his former comrades without taking more than a single hit and traps them in their own ship. Even Megatron begrudgingly admits that his treachery was flawlessly executed.
- Adaptational Achilles Heel: In the IDW series, Dinobot suffers a Game-Breaking Injury from a Predacon beatdown that weakens him with lasting injuries and impedes his ability to fight for long.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Dinobot was the most level-headed of the Predacons under Megatron's leadership; compared to how he started out as more aggressive in the original show despite his noble qualities. He also seems to have more concern for the well-being of the other Predacons, going out of his way to check on Tarantulas' progress while Megatron is busy decoding the Golden Disk. And then his defection occurs not because of his own desire to replace Megatron as leader, but because he can't stand how the Predacons are needlessly torturing Nyx for their own amusement.
- There's also his ideas about leadership. The original Dinobot believed that strength and combat skill was what a leader needed which is why he tried to claim leadership of the Maximals at several points. However when giving a "The Reason You Suck" Speech to Megatron, he outright derides this mindset and states that a true leader needs to inspire their followers.
- In the original Dinobot's joining the Maximals involved him challenging Optimus for leadership, here he asks to join after returning Nyx to them, even putting his sword away from him to be peaceful and unarmed.
- Adaptational Personality Change: The Dinobot of the original series was generally rude, surly and confrontational even after joining the Maximals. In this series he's much calmer, more level-headed and surprisingly polite, even when compared to some of the Maximal crew members.
- Always Chaotic Evil: Discussed with Nyx, where he admits that Predacons are violent warriors, but they usually channel that need for struggle by placing themselves in positions of science or peacekeeping, where they can satiate that challenge.
- Broken Pedestal: Dinobot once looked up to Megatron, as he promised the young warrior that he could fight against the Maximal cover-up of the Golden Disk while still giving him a challenge that would test his skills as a warrior. However, Dinobot admits he lost faith in his leader when he proved to be a barbarous leader of equally ruthless followers through his torment of Nyx.
- Brutal Honesty: He bluntly states to Nyx that if she had come to the ship armed, he would have killed her without a second thought.
- Code of Honor: He won't kill a foe that refuses to fight back. Nor will he allow any warrior to die a cruel and dishonorable death, especially when it's being done for petty amusement. He also respects those who don't falter even when they can't fight back.
- Deadpan Snarker: He has plenty of shades of this, even without Rattrap to snark back at him.Tarantulas: "You destroyed my baby!"Dinobot: "Your baby was an abomination."
- Even Evil Has Standards:
- He's against killing a defenseless Maximal and tells Terrorsaur to simply stun him. While they argue, Scorponok shoots the Maximal, and Dinobot is noticeably not happy with it.
- He gets quite mad when Tarantulas refuses to follow the chain of command, going out on his own to explore unusual, Unspace-like readings instead of tracking the Maximals like Megatron asked.
- Even he's sickened at the idea of Tarantulas's cold-blooded torture, and quietly excuses himself when he begins to unleash his cruelty on Nyx. It's this and the torment Megatron inflicts on Nyx that finally convinces him to defect from the Predacons.
- He's disgusted with the Maximals hiding the truth behind the Golden Disk, which is why he joined Megatron's crew, hoping to expose this dishonor. Instead, he finds his comrades to be barbarous monsters who only care about satisfying their own sadistic pleasures rather than rise to the challenge of conflict, which is why he throws his lot in with the Maximals.
- Game-Breaking Injury: He was one of the most skilled fighters of the Predacons but after being stabbed by Tarantulas and beaten by his former teammates immediately afterwards, he's left with lasting injuries that weaken him and cause him fatigue after prolonged activity.
- Genius Bruiser: As demonstrated during his fight with the Predacons, he's able to bring them down with a combination of martial prowess and clever tactics all while lecturing them about his philosophy of keeping true to your own personal honor. He also has enough technical know-how to leave a trap in the Darksyde's security system that even Tarantulas had some difficulty removing.
- Named After Somebody Famous: Optimus name drops the original Dinobots as he discusses the inspiration for Dinobot's name. While multiple sources, including "Dawn of the Predacus" have implied that the ever-honorable Dinobot took his name from the legendary Autobot warriors, this is the first work to draw an explicit connection between the two.
- No-Respect Guy: Dinobot runs afoul of this. Terrorsaur gets up in his face when he orders him to merely stun a Maximal instead of killing them, only for Scorponok to overrule him and do the deed himself. Later, he tries invoking rank to get Tarantulas to conduct reconnaissance, but the spider merely rebuffs him, saying he holds no authority over him and to slag off. It's no surprise that when he does defect, he's quick to point out that his former comrades' lack of honor (or respect for his own) made the decision easier.
- The Nose Knows: According to himself, his raptor beast mode has a very strong sense of smell and he can track other transformers especially well due to the scent of cybertonian metal being non-native to the planet they're on. It was how he found Nyx after she escaped into the jungle.
- Pragmatic Villainy:
- He stops Terrorsaur from firing on the Maximals while in Unspace, because that would likely kill them all.
- When Nyx hits his Berserk Button and Megatron goes into a rage to try and kill her, Dinobot finally steps in and tries to get his leader to stop, pointing out that there's no possible way a dead prisoner could give them any useful information. Megatron just gets even more pissed and almost grinds his subordinate to a pulp.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When he defects, he tears Megatron a new one for his half-baked plans and his inability to think things through, believing he's failed to truly inspire his followers.
- Spared by the Adaptation: Due to the series being cut short (and Erik Burnham changing his mind around issue 6), Dinobot does not die in any storyline equivalent to "Code of Hero".
- You Are Better Than You Think You Are: When he defects, he tries to get the timid Skold to go along with him, convinced that she deserves better than serving Megatron. She refuses.
Scorponok
Megatron's second-in-command who turns into a scorpion.
- Adaptational Badass: Sort of. The original Beast Wars Scorponok was given the position of second-in-command after Dinobot defected and was sort of an idiot. Here, he's already got that position while Dinobot is a Predacon and is his superior. He's also more intelligent and he even mentions that he is a master programmer and code-breaker.
- Adaptational Intelligence: Scorponok in the series, knack for inventing aside, was generally a dim-wit, but he's portrayed more intelligently here, being a top codebreaker from Iacon whose work put down the Wolfjay Rebellion. He's also shown to be much more competent as second-in-command here as he is shown being capable of managing resources, devising strategies, and mobilizing the Predacons to carry out scouting and resupply missions while Megatron is occupied.
- The Dragon: He's Megatron's second-in-command from the start this time around and holds some authority over even Dinobot.
- Innocently Insensitive: He genuinely means well to Skold, but he doesn't seem to understand that things, like suggesting she do repairs around the base, isn't the right way to help her.
- Noble Top Enforcer: Although not a Token Good Teammate like Skold or a defector like Dinobot, he is a true believer in the cause, and generally prefers pragmatism over needless cruelty. In addition, he is rather gentle with Skold, coming to her defense when Terrosaur cruelly calls her slow.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: He tries to offer his codebreaking skills in helping Megatron decode the Golden Disk. Megatron chokes him and throws him into a wall, simply because he doesn't wish to be disturbed (that and Scorponok dared to question why he wouldn't let them out of the base).
- Offscreen Moment of Awesome: He apparently put down a rebellion using his code-breaking skills, but Megatron chokes him before he can finish explaining how he did so.
- Only Sane by Comparison: In many ways, Scorponok is an ideal Predacon minion. He's capable of the level of cruelty expected by the faction (unlike Skold and Dinobot) whilst also being relatively unambitious and able to work well in a team (unlike Tarantulus and Terrorsaur). He's one of the more levelheaded Predacons even as he pursues Megatron's dangerous and risky agenda.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: Downplayed. Scorponok is the 2nd shortest of the Predacons, only being taller than Skold. While his claws do pack a good deal of strength, he's on the weaker end of the Predacons featured in series.
- Pragmatic Villainy: While Terrosaur wants to go attack the Maximals, Scorponok instead organizes a supply run, as he is confident that the Maximals don't have the personality to attack and they can't get through the shield, and Megatron is busy with the Golden Disc. However, this comes to bite him in the ass as while he was correct about this originally, Blackarachnia ends up provoking the Maximals into coming up with an attack plan against them.
- Uncertain Doom: In issue 16 Tarantulas leaves him to the claws of zombie Terrorsaur, and thats the last we see of him. He might just be incapacitated, but its notable that he's the only Predacon to not appear in the 17th and final issue...
- Undying Loyalty: Still in full force here as most of the Predacons still see him as a suck-up. Dinobot comments that he is probably the only member of the Darksyde crew besides himself who was truly loyal to the Predacon cause and will blindly align himself with whoever he sees as best suited to carry out that cause, which in this case is Megatron.
Skold
A Predacon who turns into an alligator snapping turtle.
- Almighty Janitor: She's built like a tank, but apparently Tarantulas uses her to clean up after his torture victims.
- Anti-Villain: Skold is much friendlier and less cruel than her companions while also having a more sympathetic reason for joining Megatron's faction. When she meets Razorbeast, she saves his life and ultimately drops him off at the Axalon for medical aid knowing that his injuries would label him weak in the eyes of Megatron.
- At Least I Admit It: Her reasons for sticking with the Predacons despite how openly cruel they are to her is because the Maximals back on Cybertron like to put on a kind face, but they would mock her desire to become an artist instead of a more Predacon-style job like warrior or miner, and it soured her to the entire faction. She might be treated like crap by her teammates, but at least she knows where she stands.
- Because You Were Nice to Me: Razorbeast was one of the few Maximals to treat her with genuine kindness and refused to abandon her when they were attacked by a pack of ironwolves. When he's injured and goes into stasis lock as a result, she knows he'll be killed if she brings him to her ship, so she instead takes him to the Maximal ship for medical help despite the animosity she has for them.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She's noted to be one of the friendlier Predacons but when she's traumatized by Razorbeast's apparent death and Terrorsaur's verbal abuse, she snaps and murders Terrorsaur and then straight up lies to Waspinator that the Maximals killed him.
- Bilingual Bonus: Her name is derived from sköldpadda, the Swedish word for turtle.
- Brawn Hilda: Unlike other female Transformers, she has a bulky masculine build. Dinobot even notes that she might be the strongest member of the team in terms of brute power.
- The Brute: She may not be the biggest, but she's definitely the strongest of Megatron's crew, being capable of trading blows with Rhinox.
- Canon Foreigner: She was created for the comic and isn't based on any pre-existing Transformers character. That said, her design and beast mode are both an homage to Snapper, a Predacon from the first year of the original Beast Wars toyline, and possibly Megatron's first toy as an alligator. She also looks a lot like cartoon Rumble: small purple, and muscular.
- Dark and Troubled Past: In issue 9 she reveals that she wanted to be an artist but was the subject of Fantastic Racism from Maximals who mocked her cruelly and Galavar/Megatron took advantage of her emotional vulnerability to get her to join his team.
- The Dog Bites Back: Waspinator notes that all of the bullying Skold receives will probably push her to a breaking point. In issue 11 Terrorsaur seemingly murders Razorbeast and as he shouts at her she finally snaps and tears his spark out. As he lays dying she coldly tells him that she always hated him.
- Et Tu, Brute?: She's very personally hostile to Dinobot after his defection due to her experiences with Maximals making her believe that they just hide their cruelty behind a kind face but it's also implied that she feels betrayed because Dinobot was the only member of the Predacon team (aside from Scorponok) who treated her with any kindness and respect.
- Evil Counterpart: To Nyx, although she doesn't appear to actually be evil other than being the token female teammate on the other side.
- Nice Girl: Skold is so nice that she only barely qualifies as a Predacon at all. She's with Megatron's faction because however cruelly they treat her, she prefers their upfront cruelty to the passive aggressive hypocrisy of the Maximals back on Cybertron.
- No-Respect Guy: While the Predacons are hardly loyal to each other, it's clear that Skold is at the bottom of the chain of command. She's the physical powerhouse of the faction and one of the few who's eager to help out in schemes without an ulterior motive but nobody respects her. Terrorsaur constantly bullies her, Tarantulus has her perform janitorial duties, and Blackarachnia calls her an idiot mere moments after meeting her.
- Pint-Sized Powerhouse: She's the smallest of the Predacons but she's strong enough to face the much larger Rhinox in hand-to-hand combat on equal footing and is stated to be physically stronger than the other Predacons.
- The Quiet One: Despite her fearsome appearance, Skold is actually quite shy and withdrawn. When reporting to Dinobot, she speaks in quiet tone that irks him enough to demand her to speak up.
- The Smurfette Principle: She's the sole female member of Megatron's crew.
- Token Good Teammate: With Dinobot's defection, Skold ends up taking this role. Her meekness and comparative lack of heinous actions make her come off as much less evil than her comrades. She's also absent from major Predacon Kick the Dog moments like taunting and shooting Nyx or beating on a wounded Dinobot.
- However, this is also deconstructed as her lack of malice and cruelty compared to the rest of her crew earns her nothing but mockery and disrespect from most of them which leads her to become more isolated as a result before eventually hitting a breaking point.
- Undying Loyalty: When Dinobot defects, he tries to get her to come with her. She's too loyal to Megatron to even consider it.
Tarantulas
A Predacon scientist who turns into a tarantula.
- Adaptational Badass: A more subtle example than, say, Rhinox but there are a few moments that might mark him as more dangerous than his first incarnation. While TV Rattrap could defeat Tarantulas quite decisively one-on-one, the Rattrap in this series seriously doubted his own ability to take Tarantulas on and only defeated the spider-bot with a large hulking warsuit. Also, while it was a sneak attack from behind, Tarantulas struck and pierced Dinobot, leaving him severely weakened with a Game-Breaking Injury and a Predacon No-Holds-Barred Beatdown shortly following. In the original series, Tarantulas had never been shown to possess such formidable piercing or striking power and even as a Transmetal, he still wasn't a match for Dinobot physically and needed energy weapons to even the odds.
- Adaptational Personality Change: Compared to his animated predecessor, he's much less overtly deranged and lacks his gibbering, manic way of speaking.
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In the original show, he hated the Vok but Issue 16 of this series sees Tarantulas betraying both the Maximal and Predacon factions because the Vok offered to share with him the secrets of the universe.
- Brutal Honesty: He flat out tells Nyx that he won't stop torturing her, even if she gives him the information he wants; he'll only make it so cooperation lessens the pain she's given.
- Combat Pragmatist: He has no qualms about stabbing Dinobot in the back and leaving him open for the other Predacons to deliver onto him a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown.
- The Dreaded: Tarantulas is feared by the Maximals on Cybertron as a "butcher", thanks to his ruthless torture techniques.
- Evil Counterpart: For Rhinox as the senior intelligence officers of their respective factions. They're also complete opposites in physicality and temperament, with Rhinox being a strong and firm but fair second-in-command who serves as loyal confidant while Tarantulas is an unhinged sadist who relies on his inventions to fight for him, and plans to assume leadership of the Predacons.
- Evil Genius: He's the Predacons' science officer and a nasty piece of work to boot.
- Get Out!: He bluntly tells Dinobot to slag off when he tries invoking rank to order him around, pointing out that because they're all rogue agents, they don't adhere to the normal chain of command and Dinobot has no real power over him.
- I'm a Humanitarian: Once Nyx is near death following hours of torture under his thrall, Tarantulas plans on serving up her corpse as a meal for himself. He also tries to make a meal of Rattrap when they run into each other on the Axalon.
- Insufferable Genius: He considers himself one of the most brilliant Cybertonians alive and he still refers to Dinobot as a stupid grunt even after the latter was able to defeat him and set a trap in the Darksyde's security system.
- Kick Them While They Are Down: He does this to Dinobot along with the other Predacons after injuring him from behind. Later on, after he's captured and freed when a zombified Terrorsaur beats down Dinobot, Rhinox, and Megatron, he gives the same treatment to Megatron.
- Large Ham: He loudly demands that Blackarachnia bow to him while striking a dramatic pose.
- Laser-Guided Karma: He was the one who struck Dinobot from behind, leaving him with a Game-Breaking Injury on the side. In Issue 16, Dinobot pays him back when Tarantulas is trying to escape the base by stabbing him through his spider mode's abdomen in an area roughly equivalent to where Tarantulas pierced Dinobot.
- Pragmatic Villainy: He saves Terrorsaur from a wrathful Megatron and convinces him to spare the flyer but only because killing him would have reduced their fighting capacity and the way Megatron was about to kill Terrorsaur wouldn't have left any salvageable parts.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the original series, he dies when the Vok take over his body and an energon explosion does him in. Here, he doesn't suffer such a fate and escapes to plot another day.
- The Starscream: As per usualy. One advantage he has over his similar minded teammates is that he is significantly more subtle, cautious, and cunning with his treachery. When he learns of the Maximal protoforms in orbit he immediately tries to hack the Axalon's security so he can bring them all down and reprogram them into an army he can use to overthrow Megatron. Later he attempts to get Megatron to call Optimus' bluff about the Axalon having a self destruct sequence tied to his spark before Rattrap comments that Tarantulas wouldn't have had time to inspect the ships systems really know if Optimus was lying. Megatron quickly deduces the spider's ploy from there.
- Torture Technician: It's one of his many jobs onboard the Darksyde. He describes himself as an artist in this regard, and is apparently so infamous amongst the Maximals, that Nyx describes him as a "butcher".
Terrorsaur
- Adaptational Personality Change: Downplayed. While his treachery is still very present, it's secondary to his bloodlust. His brutality in combat and love of murder is amplified quite a bit more in this series compared to the original.
- Attack! Attack! Attack!: His mentality in general. The scene that really introduces the reader to Scorponok’s Adaptational Intelligence has him commenting that if they let Terrorsaur lead the team, he would just force them to launch endless attacks on the Axalon's shields until the Predacons ran out of resources. Terrorsaur does not deny this claim.
- And Show It to You: Skold kills him by tearing out his spark.
- Ax-Crazy: He's much more murder-happy here, maliciously pursuing fleeing Maximals just to kill them.
- Blood Knight: He's obsessed with killing Maximals. A little too obsessed, in fact, as Dinobot has to stop him before he can fire on the Axalon in Unspace, lest he blow up the Darksyde along with them. Once they get out of Unspace, Megatron lets him fire as much as he wants. He does prove able to suppress it when he wants to, opting to bring Nyx in as a gift for Megatron rather than kill her after knocking her out of the sky.
- Bullying a Dragon: Terrorsaur knows Skold can kick his ass, but he persists on treating her like crap because he wants to keep her demoralized.
- Came Back Wrong: He definitely came back right in the eyes of Tarantulas but to Maximal and Predacon alike, he's now back as an undead, spark-less monster who can manhandle Dinobot, Rhinox, and Megatron.
- Combat Pragmatist: Despite his bloodlust, he is quick and effective in combat, as he intends to execute a downed Maximal before Dinobot stops him and when in beast mode he is unable to catch Nyx in his jaws, swaps to robot mode and opts to shoot her instead.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the show, he lasted a full season before unceremoniously falling into a pit of magma alongside Skorponok in the opening of the second season. In the comics, he dies much sooner by Skold's hands after killing Razorbeast and pushing her too far with his verbal abuse. Though Tarantulas is later shown doing experiments on him to potentially revive him or his body.
- Fatal Flaw: His aggression and impulsiveness frequently get him in trouble; Terrorsaur has an almost single-minded approach to problem-solving through violence and brutality. Even Megatron cautions him against his rash actions. The fatal part kicks in hard when his verbal abuse of Skold pushes her far enough that she violently tears out his spark, killing him.Megatron: You lack foresight Terrorsaur. One day, the wrong decision will kill you.
- Jerkass: Even when he's not being a sadistic thug, Terrorsaur is very abrasive with his teammates and shows no respect for Dinobot's sense of honor. He also actively bullies Skold to keep her from being confident in herself. Dinobot even outright calls him a bully with delusions of greatness.
- Properly Paranoid: His repeated insistence on destroying the Maximals before they have the chance to attack are shot down by Megatron and Scorponok due to them assuming they won't engage in such aggressive behavior but is ultimately proven right when the Maximals do indeed attack them while their guard is down (albeit caused by unforseen extreme circumstances caused by Tarantulas and Balckarachnia making the Maximals paranoid and desperate).
- The Starscream: Much like his animated counterpart, Terrorsaur has no loyalty to Megatron and looks forward to the day he can take over. When the Predacons track down the Maximals in issue 6, he hopes that Megatron and Dinobot can both kill each other so he can lead the faction. Also like his counterpart, his treachery doesn't get very far when Megatron catches wind of it and is soundly pummeled by him.
- Trauma Conga Line: Issue 10 puts him through a rather nasty one after venting his frustrations about leaving the Maximals to hide behind their ship's shields and once again voicing his desire to overthrow Megatron. He quickly learns that Megatron was right behind him while he shouted all of this and the Predacon leader had finally lost patience with his behavior. Megatron proceeds to hammer in just how horrible Terrorsaur is a planning ahead and how his planned leadership amounts to nothing more than endlessly attacking targets with no real end goal. All of this while pummeling the now scared predacon within an inch of his life with full intention of killing him at the end. He is only spared from being vaporized by Megatron's fusion cannon at the last second by Tarantuas convincing Megatron that they can't afford to lose one of their fliers when they still have limited manpower. However after Megatron leaves, Tarantulas bluntly tells Terrorsaur that the only reason he's still alive is that Tarantuals didn't want Terrorsaur to die in a manner that would leave no body parts to harvest.
Waspinator
The pilot of the Predacons' ship who turns into a wasp.
- Adaptational Badass: He is a very adept and skilled pilot this time around. Even so, he can't help but get blown up.
- Avenging the Villain: When Skold lies and says the Maximals killed Terrorsaur he vows to avenge him.
- Butt-Monkey: True to form, the first issue has him blown apart already after the Predacons' crash.
- Hidden Depths: Is revealed to have two degrees in astrophysics, allowing him to perform repairs on the transwarp drive that even Rhinox hadn't been able to carry out (not enough to get it fully operational, but enough for the current purpose).
- Mythology Gag: Prior to getting his beast mode, his head is based on Animated Waspinatornote , while the rest of his body is based on his Bot-Con toy.
- Obfuscating Stupidity: Dinobot is partially convinced of this at least.
- Verbal Tic: He has buzzes at the beginning and end of his sentences.
Blackarachnia
- Adaptational Early Appearance: In the show, Blackarachnia was the second new character to be added to the cast (after Tigatron). Here, she's the first new addition, and appears earlier as well (though not by much—issue 7 versus episode 8, though she is added in the second storyline of the comic as opposed to the 7th in the show).
- Adaptational Personality Change: In the original series Blackarachnia was still a "bad girl" even when Tarantulas' alterations and shell programs were removed. Here she was shown to be more of a curious explorer before the rewrite was completed. She's also a lot more physically aggressive with her Predacon teammates, striking Tarantulas the minute he tells her to grovel before him, whereas in the original show she acted much more coy and subtle with him before their relationship ultimately soured. She also physically assaults Terrorsaur for the mere act of being distrustful towards her.
- Adaptational Villainy: Because the series ended prematurely, Blackarachnia does not end up pulling a Heel–Face Turn via Silverbolt despite Cheetor being given some Composite Character traits belonging to the fuzor and telling her he believes there's good in her. Instead, she ends her tenure in the IDW series turning down any idea of a truce between both factions and becomes leader of the Predacons, a position she was unable to secure in the original series.
- Kick the Dog: Immediatley disses and insults Skold when she proposes a gal team-up.
- Know When to Fold 'Em: In Issue 12, after she sees Optimus defeat Megatron, Blackarachnia decided it was time for her to flee the battle, though not before kicking Cheetor for good measure.
- Nice Job Fixing It, Villain:
- The Maximals were avoiding overtly aggressive actions out of caution after Nyx's capture but Blackarachnia sneaking into their base and tampering with the protoforms provoked them into formulating a plan of assault against the Predacons, one that they aren't properly prepared for due them assuming that the Maximals won't engage in a pre-emptive attack.
- Her Kick the Dog moment with Skold ends up indirectly costing the Predacons a protoform, at least partially.
The Vok / Children of the Vok
The Vok
A trio of energy-like beings conducting experiments on prehistoric earth when the Maximals and Predacons arrive.
- Adaptational Attractiveness : The Vok's appearance in the series resembled hideous warped human skulls while their appearance here look more like living tribal masks.
- Adaptational Badass: In the original series, they beat Megatron but it was a Curb Stomp Cushion, as Megatron in his transmetal dragon form was able to deal some damage to them in Tigerhawk's body and they did put in a little bit of effort to crush him. Here, after possessing Polar Claw's body to try to talk to Optimus and Megatron and getting blasted by Megatron for it, the Vok immediately bring Megatron to his knees without having to move a muscle or putting in any effort to humble him.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: At least when it comes to showing their physical appearance. They were present in the show since the start but didn't reveal their faces until the series had reached its end. In this series, we get to see their faces early on without a long wait.
- Adaptational Nice Guy: A minor example. In the show, the first time they come face to face with a Maximal, Optimus in particular, they take on the form of Unicron, to inspire as much terror in Primal as possible to let him know they mean business. In this series the Vok are still antagonistic but Pakak is the first to come face to face with Cheetor and this time he takes on A Form You Are Comfortable With in Blurr to put Cheetor at ease and get what he wants out of the Maximal.
- Bilingual Bonus: Their names come from native Alaskan languages— specifically, the Inuit language for Tonrar and Pakak, and the Ahtna language for Tikaani. See Meaningful Name for more details.
- Dies Differently in Adaptation: In the first show, they die alongside Tarantulas after entering into his body and getting caught in an energon crystal explosion. In this series, Rattrap and Waspinator kill them after weaponizing a transwarp drive.
- Freudian Trio:
- Tonrar (Id): Quick to advocate for scrubbing the planet as a result of the Maximals and Predacons being a source of outside interference.
- Pakak (Superego): Would rather observe the Cybertronian arrivals out of curiosity, believing they could contribute more accurate data.
- Tikaani (Ego): Evaluates both his companions' views on the matter and opts to let the two unexpected factions be for now, and only terminate them if they disrupt their experiment too heavily.
- Meaningful Name:
- Tonrar means "demon" in Inupiaq. While calling him the most "evil" of the Vok might be a stretch, he is the one most eager to decimate the invaders to preserve their experiment.
- Pakak means "one who gets into everything" in Inupiaq, fitting for a Vok whose curiosity in their experiment is only piqued by the Maximals and Predacons' interference.
- Tikaani means "wolf" in Ahtna, an animal that numerous North American and European cultures have historically associated with nobility, savagery, or even both. In Tikaani's case, he acts as the middle ground to the more "noble" Pakak and more "savage" Tonrar.
- Named by the Adaptation: The Vok here now have distinct names and personalities, compared to their more ambivalent portrayal in the original show.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: Tikaani patiently hears out Tonrar and Pakak's reasoning for either scrubbing or continuing the experiment, respectively, in light of the Cybertronians' arrival and strikes a compromise between them.
- Took a Level in Jerkass: Pakak was originally the most curious and tolerant of the Vok about the cybertonian's presence in their experiment and had a fairly calm personality but by the time he speaks to Cheetor, he's apparently grown just as angry about their disruptions as Tonrar and is nothing but snapish and unfriendly to the young Maximal.
Saberback
The first of the Children of the Vok. One of the Maximal protoforms altered by the Vok to serve as their agents in the conflict. He specializes in disguises and deception.
- Combat Pragmatist: In the short time we got to know him, we do see that he's a sneaky fighter who doesn't mind using holograms to give himself an advantage rather than take an enemy head-on.
- Unexplained Recovery: After seemingly being killed by Megatron in Issue 15, he's brought back for the final issue for the final battle.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He was introduced in Issue 14 and dies in the next issue when Megatron kills him.
Polar Claw
The second of the Children of the Vok. A Cybertronian altered by the Vok to serve as their agent. He serves more as the muscle of the group.
- Blood Knight: He acts as The Brute of the Vok-aligned Cybertronians who loves a good fight, whether against Optimus or Megatron.
- Strange-Syntax Speaker: Tends to end his sentences with questions. This may, in fact, be a somewhat complicated Shout-Out: frequent TF writer Simon Furman is known for his love of polar bears, often putting them in stories whenever possible. Thus, its somewhat fitting that Polar Claw adapts the vocal mannerisms of another of Furman's famed creations, the "freelance peacekeeping agent" Death's Head.
- Strong as They Need to Be: He solidly beats Optimus in his first appearance but in his second act, Megatron, whom Optimus solidly defeated not too long ago, kills him rather quickly and easily.
- Unexplained Recovery: After seemingly being killed by Megatron in Issue 15, he's brought back for the final issue for the final battle.
- We Hardly Knew Ye: He was introduced in Issue 14 and dies in the next issue when Megatron kills him.
Tigatron
Another of the altered protoforms. Though he was a Maximal in the original show, here he aligns himself with the Vok in his goal to preserve the planet and the Vok experiments from the Beast Wars.
- Adaptational Badass: The first Tigatron was a decent warrior in his own right but there was no indication he knew any kind of swordsmanship. In Issue 17, he engages Optimus in a sword fight and holds his own.
- Adaptational Villainy: He was born as a Maximal in the original series and served under Optimus loyally. Here, he's reprogrammed by the Vok and acts as an antagonist towards Optimus. Even after the Vok are defeated in Issue 17, he and Airazor elect to leave the battlefield as a neutral party rather than join the Maximals.
- Ironic Echo: A cross media example. When Optimus tries to resolve their battle peacefully, Tigatron ends up giving Primal the law of the wilderness speech that Dinobot gave to him in the original show.
- The Leader: He appears to be in charge of the Vok-aligned Cybetronians.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the original series, Tigatron fuses with Airazor to become Tigerhawk and gets killed by Megatron unleashing the Nemesis on them. In this series, he and Airazor get to walk off into the sunset as a neutral party.
Airazor
Another of the altered protoforms.
- Adaptational Villainy: She was born as a Maximal in the original series. In the 2021 series, the Vok got to her first and she's antagonistic towards Optimus alongside Tigatron. Even after the Vok are defeated in Issue 17, she and Tigatron elect to leave the battlefield as a neutral party rather than join the Maximals.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the original series, Airazor fuses with Tigatron to become Tigerhawk and gets killed by Megatron unleashing the Nemesis on them. In this series, she and Tigatron don't suffer such a fate and exit the battlefield as a neutral party.
Inferno
Another of the altered protoforms. Fanatically loyal to his "hive queens" the Vok and destroying any threats to their "colony".
- Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: In this series, Inferno's loyalty to Queen(s) and Colony has been transferred to the Vok and the other Vok-aligned Cybertronians rather than Megatron and the Predacon faction.
- Adaptational Heroism: Compared to Tigatron and Airazor, Inferno is comparatively less evil, upgraded from a straight up villain to a third party antagonist. He's also slightly less psychotic and murderous, if only just slightly.
- Spared by the Adaptation: In the original show, Inferno dies when Megatron accidentally kills him with the Nemesis. Here, Inferno survives and gets to join the Predacons under Blackarachnia's new leadership.
