TheRock1525 Ranks the Beast Wars Transformers

TheRock1525 completed this listing in May of 2008.

19. Dinobot II
He sucks ass.

Favorite quote:

"Now we play... for real!" Says this while holding a vaguely sexual apparatus.

18. Scorponok
What can you say about him other than he's extremely dumb and loyal, yet able to design virus and stuff in order to defeat the Maximals. In all honesty, he has the personality of a rock and basically bores the **** out of me. Hell, he's got one of the laziest transformations I've ever seen. Hey! My hands in beast mode transform into... my hands in robot mode!

I've give him props, though. He actually held his own against Dinobot not once, but twice during the series. Not many people have done that throughout the series. In fact, he was winning one fight until Dinobot used his rotary blade to win the battle.

Other than that, he sucks. Useless waste of the Sub-Commander title (which Inferno quickly takes over after his death and proceeds to be badass about it). I'm glad he died after one season. It was about one season too many with him.

17. Terrorsaur
Oh my God, this lame ass Starscream wannabe. Ironic that the two worst Transformers in the show are the only ones killed off in the first season. Seriously, his voice actor annoys the hell out of me. His plans to overthrown Megatron are not plans at all, but rather "Hey I stumbled across something that gives me a slight edge over Megatron, let me try that!" He is completely one-upped by the 2nd and 3rd season's Starscream (though he doesn't exactly want to take over the Predacons, so to speak). It's funny, Scorponok is the sub-commander, replaced in the 2nd and 3rd seasons by Inferno, and he easily trumps him. Terrorsaur is replaced by Tarantulas as the main Starscream like character in the 2nd and 3rd season, and is easily better than him. It's almost as if the writers created those two, said "Oops, we ****ed up, let's kill them off." And BAM! Show gets better.

Favorite quote:

"RRAAWK!!"

16. Airazor
You know, not being around very often isn't an excuse to be completely boring. I really don't have much to right about her. She's just kind of... there. Although, her "birth" was one of my favorite episodes in the first season (yay, Rhinox!). But after that, they try to develop a relationship between Tigatron and Airazor, which is easily trumped in later seasons by Silverbolt/Blackarachnia. The fact she's killed off half-way through the series, then suddenly reappears and merges with Tigatron to form Jesus... I mean, Tigerhawk, was just really lame. So, she stays towards the bottom. Interesting fact, the toy of Airazor had no gender, and the Japanese dub has her as a him. Which leads to lots of innuendo between the male Airazor and male Tigatron.

Favorite Quote:

Uh... can't think of one.

15. Cheetor
The show focused WAAAAAAAAAAAAY too much on him. I just didn't care for him, but he was the only character outside of Optimus and Megatron to get three forms. I think he was kind of an attempt to make a Bumblebee 2.0 so they could sell more toys, but the more they forced him down my throat, the more I became annoyed with him. Especially his sayings. If I hear "Ultra gear!" one more time, I will murder someone. The weird part is that, as a character, I really didn't mind him for the most part. But it seemed like he played an important role in almost every episode at some point, and it was overkill. They really wanted to sell those Cheetor toys.

One of the biggest surprised is that I actually liked him in Beast Machines. He was one of the few characters that actually improved in the follow-up series. Maybe because Nightscream inherited a lot of my Cheetor indifference/hatred. But still, he was better.

In the end, had Cheetor not been Bumblebee 2.0, I probably would have liked him. In the end, however, it just began to annoy and that's why he's so low.

Favorite Quote:

Don't have one. Most of his sayings annoy the piss out of me.

14. Quickstrike
The good news: from hear on out, all the characters listed are characters I like. The bad news: now everyone ranking will be tough. I like Quickstrike. He's kind of like an evil, kid-friendly version of Stone Cold Steve Austin. Wanting to fight more than anything. The problem is that he has, without a doubt, the most ridiculous looking robot mode I ever seen. Seriously, how could he ever pick up anything. Using his beastmodes legs as his fingers? And why, of all people, was Quickstrike chosen to pilot the Optimus suit? He doesn't even have opposable thumbs! Seriously, what the hell?

Another problem is that he's so easily manipulated by everyone, and has a tendency to be the idiot of the group. You know that when Waspinator looks like your superior, intelligence-wise, you're doing it wrong!

For the most part, however, he was an enjoyable character. Especially towards the later parts of the series. His goofiness in the final episodes was needed to inject a bit of humor in a rather dark set of episodes (God, like 7 transformers died in those two episodes). He never really added much to the series, and was slowly pushed into the background to make room for Rampage, Tarantulas, and Dinobot II. He also lags behind his fellow Scrap-Bots (Inferno and Waspinator), as they seem to steal the humor out from underneath his legs.

Favorite Quote:

"Here comes poison!"

13. Tigatron
Also known as the wussiest transformer ever. He often refuses to fight, and regularly gets his ass kicked by some of the weaker transformers. He is basically a Predacon punching bag, and is usually easily defeated by them. At which point, some Maximal jumps in at the last second to save him. Seriously, stop being such a ***** when it comes to actually fighting.

On the other side, he does a good job playing the pacifist, favoring nature over firearms, and is often the voice of reason amongst both the Predacons and the Maximals. Kind of a necessary foil to remind the Maximals who they are and keep them from becoming Predacons themselves. He becomes frustrated as the Maximals continue becoming more and more violent, though he begins to understand that the war was to protect the planet.

I also feel sorry for what happens to him. Especially during his return as Tigerhawk. He seems to have forget, or has trouble remembering, his home. For a creature that was so tied to nature, feeling more beast then robot, the fact that he comes back as a 800-ton Jesus, and is unfamiliar with the nature he loved made me feel sorry for him. Especially how sad he looked when Cheetor attempted to welcome him home. "Home?... Yes, I remember now. This is home." He obviously wasn't the same Tigatron, the one who relished in his beast side, and the nature of the planet.

Favorite Quote:

"We were given a paradise! All we had to do was live there in peace! But we proved unworthy. And the paradise is no more."

12. Blackarachnia
Sex appeal in a children's cartoon show? That's just sick, guys. No really, when she started off as female Tarantulas, I didn't care for her at all. However, she slowly gained an independency from the other spider, and fell into her own character. Regularly being an annoyance for... well, everyone, she became one of the better characters on the show. Kind of interesting that, despite her Predacon "Shell Program," the moment it's removed, she acts exactly the same. I thought the whole point of the shell program was to force Maximals into becoming Predacons, altering them and making them act against their very core. However, it seems like BA was always a *****, but it wouldn't be the first time a Maxie joined the Preds of free will (Y HALO THAR QUICKSTRIKE).

Much of the later part of the series was focused on the goody two-shoes Silverbolt and the bad-girl Blackarachnia. The sad part is that this is all they had going for the characters for the most part, save Silverbolt's brief period attempting to help Transmutate. Once she finally became a Maximal (or a Predacon helping the Maximals), it kind of ruined their torrid love affair (it's like Romeo and Juliet with weaponry and transforming robots!). She does "emasculated" Rattrap's tail in an effort to reactivate the Ark. Ouch.

Final thoughts: a good character that developed from a relatively poor idea (female Tarantulas).

Favorite Quote:

Silverbolt: That star. It's a planet really. It's Venus. It reminds me of you. Blackarachnia: Dark, hot, deadly, and poisonous? You're sweet.

11. Silverbolt
Made sense that these two would end up side-by-side on my list. Almost all of their character development (both in Beast Machines and Beast Wars) revolved around each other.

Anyway, Bird-Dog is the ultra-heroic, super moral member of the Maximals who eventually becomes the world's deadliest peacock in Beast Machines. I could rant and rave about how much his BM character sucked, but this is a Beast Wars ranking (otherwise he'd be closer to the bottom). Silverbolt makes for an interesting replacement for Dinobot, as he restricts himself to a very serious moral code (refusing to attack defenseless enemies, will not attack a woman). The main difference is that Dinobot's code is somewhat more realistic, Silverbolt's is supposed to a satirical look at the over-the-top heroes that often creep their way into most kid's shows. Hell, he even says he's supposed to be the heroic one.

One of my favorite episodes revolves around Silverbolt, and his thoughts on Transmutate. Whereas most of the transformers (Predacon and Maximal alike) see him/her as a danger due to it's limited intelligence and great power, Silverbolt stands up for TM, even question his fellow Maximal's humanity (or would it be robotity?). A very sad episode, as the two people trying to protect it (him and Rampage) are the ones that lead to it's death. Silverbolt goes as far as to describe Rampage as his "brother" in the pain they share.

Silverbolt, for all his stupidity and strict adherence to a moral code, was part of the more thought-provoking episodes of Beast Wars, and for that, he gets a thumbs-up from me. Also, Scott McNeil is an amazing voice actor. He voices Silverbolt, Rattrap, Waspinator, and Dinobot, all good to great characters.

Favorite Quote:

"Although attacking your own comrade is no doubt business as usual in Predacon guide to villainy, it is simply... unacceptable behaviour... in my book!"

10. Rattrap
Argh, I feel bad for putting him this low. But, there's just too many good characters left to put him any higher. Especially since he's mainly comic-relief in most episodes.

Rattrap is essentially the resident pessimist of the Maximals. His usual "We're all gonna die" shows up in... well, pretty much every episode (which is interesting considering the fact that they never actually die). He's often the most annoying Maximal (according to the Maximals themselves) and grates on everyone. He's a necessary foil to the seemingly always optimistic Maximals.

The biggest part of Rattrap's character was his constant interaction with Dinobot. The Noble Warrior was often at odds with the Xenophobic Coward ("I don't trust Preds."). I don't know if they hated each other, but it just seemed natural that they wouldn't get along, even beyond the Predacon turned Maximal angle. Dinobot was also an easy target for Rattrap, as his nobility and warrior attitude was perfect for satire (it didn't work as well with Rattrap/Silverbolt due to the fact that Silverbolt's nobility was ridiculous).

One of the best moments of the series was in Code of Hero, which was the episode where Dinobot gives his life to save a human valley. What's interesting is that this is the first time we really see character development for Rattrap. He actually reveals to Dinobot how he actually feels about him: he doesn't like him, but he'd trust him with his life. When Dinobot defected, it actually hurt Rattrap quite a bit, hence why he really lays into Dinobot about what he did. There's weren't the casual jokes Rattrap usually tosses. These cut right to Dinobot, which ended up making a choice. After Dinobot's battle, Rattrap is the first to rush to his side, and holds his hand as he dies. He's also the first to salute him. It really shows how much their relationship had grown.

Favorite Quote:

Cheetor: Sit down and keep quiet. Rattrap: Yeah, yeah, story of my life.

9. Depth Charge
I may get some flack for putting him this low, but I have some reasons: 1. He's introduced very late in the series. 2. He's basically the stereotypical stoic badass. 3. Rampage (his mortal enemy) was way cooler. 4. He yells "Maximize" when turning into his beast mode.

So now that I got the criticism out of the way.

Depth Charge is essentially the Dirty Harry of the Beast Wars. A loner by nature, he rarely interacts with the other Maximals other than to remind him that he doesn’t care about their missions and only wants X (Rampage). What’s interesting is despite Rampage’s inherent crazy strength and ability to wipe out entire colonies, DC actually goes toe-to-toe Rampage quite easily, even having a chance to kill him the first time they reunite. But for some odd reason, it seems like Depth Charge ends up in the restoration chambers quite often. In fact, I think every episode he’s in, he’s seen at some point coming out of it. Maybe it’s because of his complete disregard for everything except capturing/killing Rampage.

Speaking of which, pretty much all of Depth Charge’s character development revolves around his obsession with Rampage. It keeps him out of the Maximal base, leading to most interaction between him and the Maximals being short and sweet. He pretty much disregards everyone and everything while pursuing Rampage, to the point where he regularly screws over the Maximals (usually on accident). He also blames Primal for the entire mess, and how he knew he’d screw it up. So there’s a large level of resentment between the faction and DC.

What makes Depth Charge interesting in my mind is his final battle with Rampage. It really speaks volumes about what he had become. Optimus basically told him that he needed to stop the Nemesis at any cost. When he’s interrupted by Rampage, a bit of goading quickly draws DC back into battle with the disturbed Predacon. Rampage takes a few shots at him, with Depth Charge simply responding “Shut up!” Finally, in one last instance, with Rampage defeated and an energon blade inches from his spark, Depth Charge says his final words:

''“Raw Energon! Right through your twisted spark! Take it! Take it straight to the Pit, you sickening piece of slag!”''

At which point Rampage releases the blade, allowing Depth Charge to kill him. Whereas most Maximals (even Rattrap) would have relented seeing Rampage defenseless as he was, DC had been pushed over the edge by Rampage. In a way Rampage had corrupted the Maximal to become just as sick and merciless as he himself, and for that, it made a sad end to a somewhat tortured spark (Depth Charge, not Rampage).

Favorite Quote:

“It's not revenge I'm looking for. It's justice.”

8. Optimus Primal
Boss monkey. Big Bot. Fearless Leader. Whatever you call him, he’s the defacto leader of the Maximals (even though he’s just the captain of a exploration vessel). Optimus does have a lot of the qualities of the original Optimus, but enough quirks that prevent him from being a carbon copy. He’s willing to think outside the box, and has shown a certain level of manipulation (mainly of the Predacons) to gain victory. Never the less, he does has a sense of honor, and would rather capture the Predacons than destroy them (though Megatron does occasionally push him over the edge).

Early on in the show, Optimus isn’t exactly the most competent leader. He often defers to Rhinox (since he is the senior member of the crew) and has his leadership often questioned by Rattrap. He takes a risk by allowing Dinobot to join his crew (five minutes after he tried to kill him no less) and does earn the respect of his fellow Maximals through later events.

Optimus is rather dry compared to the other characters, unfortunately. He’s kind of the straight man to the other over-the-top characters in the show. He usually provides a level-headed approach to any situation, and will even agree to plans that he personally does not like. One of my biggest problems was in the third season, though given extraordinary powers thanks to Prime’s spark, he seems to be regularly put out of commission by the Predacons. In fact, it seems like he suddenly became the biggest target for the Predacons, with most plans targeting him and him alone. Hell, one good shot from Dinobot II put him on his back.

In the end, I liked Optimus Primal. I thought he was exactly what you’d expect out of the Maximal leader, being both strong and well-rounded. He’s the voice of reason in the group, often being the first to point out problems amongst his crew and in general. However, he was a bit too bland to move up the list

Favorite Quote:

Megatron: Come on, let's hear it, the usual destiny and honor speech. Optimus Primal: Speech this! *punches Megaton in the face*

7. Waspinator
Ah, yes. The Kenny of the Beast Wars saga. Also, what happens if you had a Transformer with ADHD and a speech impediment. He always speaks in third person (save one instance in the last episodes), and frankly, is a total spaz. But that's why we love him.

Not a whole lot to say about Waspy. He doesn't have any real character development, and only exists to get wailed on by any and all transformers (including his fellow Predacons). He does get to be Starscream for a day, though all it results in is a headache in his whole body (and the start of a running gag). The funny part is that he only survived the destruction of the second moon because he was so damn popular (lol @ Scorponok and Terrorsaur). Plus, speaking in third-person is usually awesome (example: The Rock).

I really don't have much to say about Waspy at this point.

So let's rant about Thrust.

Anyway, if you haven't watched Beast Machines (if you haven't, good for you), Thrust is Waspinator's spark with a shell-program to make him act cool. Basically, the concept of Thrust took a big, gigantic **** on the ending of Beast Wars. The whole point was for Waspinator, the transformer who was basically picked on and punished the most during the Beast Wars, to finally be happy. That's a happy ending, dammit! But noooooooo, they have to bring Waspy back, have his spark extracted by Megs, and turn him into some badass biker-bot. That don't fly in my book. If you want to bring Waspinator back, you bring WASPINATOR back, not some crappy biker dude.

Although chick-bots dig loners, as Waspy said.

Whatever, summary: Waspy awesome. Thrust sucks.

Favorite quote:

"Inferno blow up, Waspinator must salvage. Waspinator blow up, nobody salvage! Why universe hate Waspinator?!"

Poor Waspy.

6. Inferno
Dammit, Inferno was so God damn hard to place in this list. There were times when he was as high as #3, and other times when he was as low #9. Finally, I decided with #6, and am perfectly happy with it.

For lack of a better term, Inferno is bat**** ****ing insane. Completely disregards his own well-being for the sake of the "Royalty." He lights a cache of raw energon, knowing he will die, to try and take out Optimus Primal and Cheetor. And the entire time, he's ****ing laughing his ass off, pounding his fist. Inferno will **** you up.

My favorite aspect of Inferno is that every now and then, he goes "The Juggernaut, *****!" on a character or two. Like, Tarantulas fires his leg/machine gun thing, Inferno takes the bullets quite easily, says, "You're no match for me! BURN, TRAITOR, BUUUUUUURN!" and proceeds to set the spider on fire. In fact, he's got awesome burn related quotes in his arsenal. "Your turn to burn, Optimus Primal!" "I don't rock and roll, I burn!" "Burn in the fires of Inferno!" and so forth. Like I said, ****ing crazy.

The only knock against Inferno is that as badass as he is, both personality-wise and what he actually does, the entire 3rd season he is reduced to fodder for the most part (usually him, Waspinator, and Quickstrike). For a Predacon that was so ridiculously badass and crazy in the first two seasons, they now decided to make him a walking joke for the rest of the series. That's not cool. At all.

I was disappointed in his death at the end of the series, mainly because it was rather un-manly. The way he stares into the sky and the Nemesis, and says "Oh no," as womanly as possible. And the fact that he gets owned by a bunch of humans? BULL****! He should have burned that mother****er down, with not a human left alive. That's the Inferno way.

So, in the end, complete and utter badass through the first two seasons, joke character for most of the 3rd. Bleh.

Favorite Quote:

"Ha ha haha, fool! Pain is my friend -- allow me to introduce you to it!" * beats the **** out of Quickstrike*

Man, badassery thy name is Inferno.

5. Rampage
As crazy and insane as Inferno is, Rampage is just as close, but more cunning and sadistic. He takes pleasure in the pain of others, and basically sees life as nothing but pain and misery. Yes, he is the first emo transformer, but Rampage decides to do something about it: take his frustration and misery out on any and every transformer. And he does love his work.

Basically, they introduce Rampage as this unstoppable force, what with his immortal spark and his immense size. He also lets Silverbolt know how much he loves fear from his prey, and loves to inflict pain on the Maximal. They proceed to try and own him with 3 different transformers, only for him to rise again. It takes a lucky shot to take down Rampage, and even with an energon blade, Rampage is still not destroyed. However, one of my favorite Megatron moments occurs in the process, while crushing half of his spark, he reminds the twisted transformer of his new rank:

"Welcome to the Predacons, RAMPAGE. You shall be an honored member...so long as you never forget one important fact about your new life: It's mine."

Though this basically makes Rampage Megatron's *****, it's also when I started to gain sympathy for the monster. He was created Frankenstein-like, trying to recreate Starscream's immortal spark. He's insane, but can that really be helped? The Maximals rejected him, the Predacons force him into service. Maybe he just wanted to be left alone? I don't know, but it seemed like Rampage was getting screwed over here.

And then, the Transmutate episode, in which he attempts to befriend a tortured spark like himself. Both victims more than villains in this episode, they're rejected (in a way) by both sides. Yet, they both find a kindred bond with each other, and it almost makes you forget Rampage is a crazy sociopath.

Then, the third season introduced Depth Charge, and a lot of sympathy left the window. He tormented Depth Charge, joking and playing with him after what he had done. He refers to him as an old-playmate, and comments how tasty DC's friends were. This is when Rampage's most sadistic side began to show, when confronted with seeing Depth Charge again. A character I once felt was forced into a situation beyond his control, now taking his frustration out on Depth Charge, and tormenting him in return.

I love Rampage's quotes. To me, he's probably the most quotable character on the show, which is saying something. Though they all revolve around pain, fear, misery, and regret, a lot of them are pretty clever, and some actually dive deeper in his psyche, while at the same time maintaining his homicidal side ("I regret everything, my sweet. Struggle as much as you like, I enjoy it.").

One final thing: his tank mode screwed him over so much. I mean, it seemed like the only time he was defeated was when he was in tank mode. There may be a couple exceptions, but I can't think of any off hand.

Favorite Quotes: "You'll live to regret this, crab legs." "I regret everything, my sweet. Struggle as much as you like, I enjoy it." —Blackarachnia as she struggles against Rampage "Greetings, old playmate. So glad you could come!" "X!" "I'm called Rampage now! A bit obvious, but to the point. Don't you think?" —Rampage and Depth Charge reintroduce themselves.

There's probably some others I'm missing, but these two are my favorite so far.

4. Megatron
Let the Yesssss count begin!

He may share the same name as his G1 counterpart, but they couldn't be more different. The original Megatron used brute force, charisma, and his war time experience to lead the Decepticons. BW Megatron is a criminal and a gambler, taking huge risks and stacking the odds in order to achieve his final goals. He's more a subtle manipulator, working behind the scenes and passing suggestions to set about his plans.

He's a bit of a ham, as you all well know. He's most well known for his vaudeville style Yesssss, but c'mon! You know you did it too every now and then. However, Megatron does it every single episode. And it's still awesome. As I mentioned, I love the fact that this Megatron disregards strategy and tactics to gamble and take risks. Though it does blow up in his face, it also leads to some legit victories for the Predacons during the Beast Wars. One such example: following Primal's lead and using the original Megatron's spark to upgrade himself. It damn well worked, too (though I wasn't huge fan of Dragontron).

What I love about Megs is that, as much as he needs his crew, they're about as disposable to him as a candy wrapper after the sweet has been consumed. The only Predacon he seems to "care" (as in, actually bothers to recover) is Inferno, and only because Inferno is the Predacon least likely to betray him in any way, shape or form (Scorponok was the other, but he was dead for the most part). Yesssss.

I'm going to avoid Beast Machines Megatron, because it seems odd that he'd devote all this time attempting to put Predacons as the ruling race, only to suddenly decide that he hates them, too. So let's just stop there.

I have a couple knocks against Megatron. The first being his need to over-dramatize everything. As he mentions himself, "Sometimes Predacons gloat too much." Now, in a children's TV show, you can't have a very compitent enemy. I understand that. Yet, Megatron takes it far beyond that. Watching the first episode, Megaton makes, like, a 5 minute speech while confronting the Maximals for the first time. Then, suddenly, Cheetor shoots him. Rather than retaliating, he takes the blow and starts talking again for another 2 minutes. Really, Megatron? Really? I understand that the speeches are a big part of what makes Megatron great, but that seemed to be par for the course for the rest of the series.

Secondly: his obsession with Dinobot. He clones him not once, not twice, but three times. Megs, you need to let it go. I mean, could Megatron not tolerate the idea of one of his own defecting? Was Dinobot such a great asset, he felt the need to have him on his team regardless of whether it was the true Dinobot or not? Was he hoping with his final clone that it would bring back memories of the original Dinobot for the Maximals, making it difficult for the Maximals to fight Dinobot II? I find it ironic that his final undoing ended up being his obsession with Dinobot. Yesssss.

Favorite Quote:

"The universe cowered once at the name of Megatron and it shall do so again!"

3. Dinobot
Dinobot is one of those characters I want to hate but just can't. I mean, he recites pseudo-Shakespeare in order to appear to be a well written character, and he has way too many Linkin Park AMVs for Code of Hero. He should really be a shallow emo-like character, like Vincent Valentine or something. But rewatching the series, he's grown on me. To the point where I can see why everyone liked him so much, and why I should like him.

Dinobot was nominally a Predacon. In fact, the only reason he joined the Maximals is because he thought Megatron was an idiot (and realized by season two that Megatron was actually right). He's often the first to point out that he will not be treated as well as a Predacon turncoat should they return to Cyberton. Fitting that this theory was never tested.

Dinobot is a warrior (as he often reminds us throughout the series) which almost always puts him at odds with the explorer Maximals. He's more focused on stopping Megatron, whereas the Maximals are more patient, awaiting a moment to strike. What I like about Dinobot is he actually seems to grow fond of his "teammates," even putting aside obvious differences in order to help them. When they attempt to contact a probe that would lead to Maximal rescue and his doom, he willingly helps build the tower and sacrifices himself to stop the Predacons.

What I like most about Dinobot, however, is that he's actually shown as a troubled transformer. When faced with what the Golden Disks are, he comes to question his own being. If he is merely a pawn in the game fate, he sees no point to his life, and could not live knowing the world hangs on pre-destination. Kind of like being born already condemned to hell, the idea that fate lies outside man's... er, robot's reach. In the second season, he attempts to rejoin Megatron in order to find the truth, yet rejoins the Maximals after realizing the scope of his plans.

Then, of course, is Code of Hero, which ultimately tests Dinobot to the fullest. He now knows that the future is not set in stone, and can be changed. What I find interesting is that when faced with saving a settlement of pre-evolved humans, major allies of the Autobots, he decides to save this valley despite the fact that it wouldn't have effected him. The fact that his honor drove him more than personal glory and the Decepticon/Predacon cause is what makes him such a great character.

My biggest knock against him, however, is he's not written evenly. Especially when depicting his honor. Against his clone, he switches to beast mode in order to have a fair fight. However, he's often the one to point out when the Predacons are weak/down a man, sends a bomb directly in the Predacon base through an unknown transporter (rather cowardly), and pretends to ally himself with Terrorsaur in order to get info about the transporter. Are they sound tactical decisions? Yes. Are they honorable? Not so much.

Favorite Quote:

"The question that has haunted my being has been answered: The future is not fixed. My choices are my own. And yet, how ironic, for I now find I have no choice at all. I am a warrior; let the battle be joined."

2. Rhinox
You know, Rhinox is so awesome, there isn’t a whole lot to say about him. He’s the quiet, angry type who’s usually calm when necessary and gets extremely pissed off when that’s necessary. He’s the oldest Maximal (as far as I can tell), but he isn’t the typical grandfather, know-it-all type that usually pisses and moans about youth. He also offers words of advice and often is relied on for his technical knowledge, though it’s rarely condescending and almost always useful. He also hates heights.

He’s also the kinder, gentler bot of the Beast Wars. He’d often prefer to sniff flowers and be with nature (but not like Tigatron’s obsession with all things nature). It kind of bummed me out when in later episodes, Rhinox was hardly, if ever, seen outside the Maximal base (in fact, Code of Hero I believe is the last time his Beast Mode is seen). They kind of pushed him aside in favor of both new characters with new toylin- I mean, new forms, and he kind of got lost in the mix. I am glad that he was the one piloting that Autobot shuttle. He’s the true hero of the Beast Wars.

It’s kind of hard to find any faults with Rhinox. He was just an all-around good character. But, it’d feel cheap to only give him two paragraphs. So I’m going to have to dig deep on this one.

Oh! Oh! Chainguns of Doom. My God, were those things awesome. The big rotating blades, combined with the sound they made and whenever he brandished them, even I got a little intimidated. And Lord knows how many times he scrapped Waspinator with those things. Easily the best weapon of the Beast Wars, save maybe Dinobot’s blade.

Uh…

Damn, I didn’t want to do this, but Beast Machines rant coming: they completely screwed Rhinox up. Of all people to actually buy into Megatron’s ideals, Rhinox? Seriously, Rhinox? Even Black Arachnia, a former PREDACON, thought the idea was stupid. Blargh. Tankor was alright, I guess, but making him Rhinox (a bitter, angry, violent Rhinox) just made him a lot worse. At least Thrust benefited from being Waspy (Jetstorm, kind of on the fence about. He was the best Vehicon).

In the end, Rhinox was awesome, and could overcome the Beast Machines attempt to ruin him. A+ character.

Favorite Quote:

"When a Spark goes online, there is great joy. When one is extinguished, the universe weeps."

1. Tarantulas
Yes. Tarantulas is number 1. I know I may get some heat for it, but let me make my case: Tarantulas MADE the Beast Wars in the later seasons. Seriously, without him, a lot of the intrigue is gone. The fact that he puts Starscream to shame with a lot of his plots and plans. I mean, he would make an alliance at the beginning of season 2 (with Quickstrike), then patiently waited until near the end of the series to enact. And it would have worked if Quickstrike wasn’t a moron.

See, looking at early episodes, you’d probably think Tarantulas was kind of lame. And well… he kinda was. No way around it, early episodes of Tarantulas were pretty uninteresting. Though the third episode showed how sick he was. I mean, he wanted to eat Cheetor alive. Not because he needed the nourishment, mind you. It’s because he enjoys the act. He’s also shown always acting in his best interest. While this is nothing new to the Predacons and Decepticons, it’s how he carries it out. He does it over several episodes, and they usually only fail due to idiots around him (**** you, Inferno and Tigatron!)

It’s the second and third season when we really get to see Tarantulas reach his full potential. The betrayals are no longer minor. In fact, he out and out states to Megatron that he is no longer under his command (though he does team up with him at times later). When Megatron thinks he successfully double-crossed Tarantulas to gain control of the Metal Hunter, Tarantulas actually allies himself with the Maximals to stop him, using a data-tracks to destroy the Metal Hunter. And during the ensuing scuffle between Maximal and Predacon, Tarantulas actually abandoned the Maximals to operate his own agenda.

And from the end of season two right up to his death, several aspects are revealed about Tarantulas. Some are mysterious, while others very awesome. Tarantulas finally reveals that he was never with Megatron, and that he was a member of the Predacon secret police. Basically, he is what screws Megatron over and causes him to easily capture the Predacon leader. It also explains why he resents Megatron so much, as it’s explained later both he and the Tripredacus Council are not Autobot or Decepticon descendants, but rather another 3rd unknown faction. What is it? He never tells, but it pushes him as far as trying to destroy the Ark, which houses both Autobus and Decepticon leaders. He’s also ****ing insane. Or so they saaaaaaaay.

I just find Tarantulas so intriguing. Megatron goes as far as to refer to him as Unicron’s Spawn, raising another question of his origins. Of course, Megs could be just insulting him, but it’s still cool to imagine. He also hates the Vok, as he thinks they’re arrogant pricks.

But Tarantulas best aspect is easily the laugh. C’mon, you know if you could laugh the way he does, you’d do it all the ****ing time. Don’t even deny it, the laugh was AWESOME. And his death was awesome, too. I mean, even Waspinator couldn’t top it.

Favorite Quote:

“The Vok? A simple name, for so arrogant a race.”

Own-Zone: +200