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Snarl (BW)

2010-01-08T04:38:50Z

189.153.84.200:

{{Factions|maximal}}
{{disambig3|Snarl}}
:''Snarl is a [[Maximal]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]]''.

[[Image:IDW Snarl.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Just what the ''hell'' do I turn into?]]
'''Snarl''' is an expert at surprise attack. Using a cloaking field, similar to the one employed by [[Beast Era]] [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], he can vanish at will and infiltrate [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] strongholds. Snarl enjoys reappearing in a dramatic fashion to startle foe or friend alike. He is a cool and confident warrior, sure of his own abilities and with an independent streak a sector wide.

Snarl is also young and a little impatient. Even when working as part of a group he has the tendency to cloak himself and wander off to pursue their goals in his own fashion. This occasionally annoys his comrades, but usually his impressive results speak for themselves.

:''Italian name:'' '''Diablo'''<ref>This name only seems to have been used on the cross-sell for the English/Spanish/Italian "video-pack" release of [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]. The name is not used on Snarl's own cardback.</ref>
:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Grondeur''' ("Grunter" or "Growler")
:''Spanish name:'' '''Gruñón'''

==Fiction==
===IDW Beast Wars comics===
[[Image:BWTheAscending4_Snarl_savestheday.jpg|thumb|left|250px|At least we no longer have to care who the hell [[Prowl II| he]] is.]]

Snarl was one of the protoforms left behind by the crew of the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' on prehistoric [[Earth]]. He was activated and put in [[chronal phase]] by [[Razorbeast]] at [[Magmatron]]'s request, but was protected from Magmatron's Predacon shell-program by a viral code Razorbeast inserted. Coming online in a swampy area, he was one of the first Maximals to hear and respond to Razorbeast's signal.

During the search for the [[Transwarp]] Amplifier in [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]'s crashed ship, he used his stealth ability to save [[Optimus Minor]] from [[Drill Bit (BW)|Drill Bit]]. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 2}}

Hyperactive he may be, but Snarl is also a technical wizard. He put together a communications device using the amplifier and reverse-engineered technology from [[Ark (G1)|the Ark]] {{storylink|The Gathering issue 3}} and managed to send off a brief distress call to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] - he bravely did this last part even when under heavy fire from the Predacons. {{storylink|The Gathering issue 4}}

He served as a distraction, allowing Razorbeast to get the upper hand on Ravage when the cat tried to steal the chronal-phase facilitator. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 1}}

And Snarl totally saved the day in the battle against [[Shokaract]], his invisibility powers allowing him and [[Prowl II]] to reach the monster and place a chronal phase facilitator on him. {{storylink|The Ascending issue 4}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Snarl''' (Basic, 1997)

: Snarl transforms into a large "tasmanian devil" (the resemblance to the real thing being vague at best). By holding the toy by its tail in beast mode and pulling the trigger, his body leaps forward in a spring-loaded lunging attack. Or at least, it's supposed to — the spring is so weak that on any surface other than a smooth table or counter-top, you're lucky if the figure even clears the end of the launcher. In robot mode, the tail becomes an arm-mounted (non-firing) blaster cannon.

: A virtually identical version of the toy was sold by [[Takara]] as ''[[Beast Wars II (toyline)|Beast Wars II]]'' [[Tasmania Kid]]. This mold is also used by ''[[Robot Masters (franchise)|Robot Masters]]'' [[Bound Rogue]].

==Trivia==
*As alluded to in other parts of this entry, Snarl does not actually closely resemble a Tasmanian devil. In fact there is some fan speculation that he is actually based on the Tasmanian spotted quoll, sharing as he does their bushy tail and brown colouration. The quoll is the world's second-largest marsupial predator after the Tassie devil.
*In [[Germany]] Snarl's toy was released under a special promotion of Hasbro products, each of Hasbro's toy lines had a toy only available under this promotion for the bargain price of 5 Deutsche Mark (that was half of what a basic cost back then), unsurprisingly he flew off the shelves.

==References==
<references />

==External Links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1997/Maximal/Snarl/snarl.htm Snarl at TFU.info]

[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Maximals]]

Waspinator (BW)

2010-01-06T03:27:00Z

189.153.84.200: /* Beast Wars cartoon */

{{factions|predacon|vehicon}}
{{disambig2|the ill-destined wasp robot from the Beast Era|the ill-destined wasp robot from ''Transformers Animated''|Wasp}}
:''Waspinator is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:Waspinatorbw.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Waspinator: chew-toy of fate.]]
'''Waspinator''' is the universe's whipping boy. If something goes wrong, it happens to him. If something blows up, he's usually at the epicenter of the explosion. He has been blasted, burned, shot down, torn up, crushed, slashed, smashed, bashed, and otherwise reduced to his component parts times beyond counting. Disturbingly, [[Rattrap]] has taken to collecting his severed components.

Waspinator's not the brightest 'bot in the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]. Megatron has classified the harebrained Predacon as expendable, much to Waspinator's dismay; he doesn't get much more respect from anyone else, either. His speech quirks don't help: he tends to refer to himself in the third person and to most other people by nicknames like [[Cheetor (BW)|"cat-bot"]] and [[Quickstrike (BW)|"two-head"]]. He's also a bit too fond of the letter "Z". (Those prone to witticisms might say he has a "lizzzzp".)

Waspinator may be dumb, but he's not stupid. He has caught on to his lot in life and tries to avoid his fate as often as possible... but fate always finds him. Thankfully, he's almost supernaturally durable and has survived the most devastating and humiliating of defeats.

{{quote|[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] blow up, Waspinator must salvage. Waspinator blow up, ''nobody'' salvage! Why universe hate Waspinator?|Waspinator laments his lot in life, "[[Deep Metal]]"}}
:''Japanese name:'' '''Waspeeter''' (ワスピーター ''Wasupītā'')<ref>This particular [[romanization]] was first used on a Japanese ''Beast Wars'' [http://www18.tok2.com/home/jackhama/transformers/bwtcard_1/img/015.jpg trading card], and later reappeared in the opening sequence for the Japanese version of the PSX ''[[Beast Wars: Transmetals]]'' fighting game.</ref><br/>
:''Bulgarian name:'' '''Osinator''' (Осинатор)
:''French name:'' '''Bourdon''' ("Bumblebee", original toy, Canada), '''Bizznator'''<ref>It is unknown at this time if Waspinator was "Bizznator" in both Quebec and France, or if there were even two separate French dubs of ''Beast Wars'' to begin with. However, it ''is'' definitely known that only Canada got packaging with actual French names on it.</ref> (cartoon, Transmetal, Canada)
:''Chinese name:'' '''Hú-fēng''' (胡蜂, "Wasp", Taiwan), '''Tsāng-yíng''' (蒼蠅, "Fly", Taiwan)
:''Italian name:'' '''Punginator'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Osator'''
:''Russian name:'' '''Ospinator''' (Оспинатор)
:''Spanish name:'' '''Avispaneitor''' (cartoon, spelling uncertain), '''Avispón''' ("Hornet", toy)

==Fiction==
===First wave toy bios===
The Waspinator is a fearsome warrior of monstrous appearance, striking fear with the eerie sound of his ominous buzzing. He strikes down helpless victims using his secret wing missiles, poisoning them with his cyber-sting.{{storylink|Waspinator (BW)#Toys|Waspinator bio}}
He also likes to gang up on his victims with his partner, [[Buzz Saw]]. {{storylink|Buzz Saw#Toys|Buzz Saw bio}}

{{note|The on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}
===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Waspinatordawn.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Waspy is mi kopilot, but hoo on Sibertron is mi spelcheker?]]
While [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], his [[Dinobot (BW)|lieutenant]], and [[Scorponok (BW)|another underling]] stole a Maximal relic, the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]], the Predacon who would later name himself Waspinator stole a ship with the help of an accomplice he nicknamed "[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Beakbot]]." The two had a contest to name the ship, but "Waspinator" lost, and thus the stolen ship was dubbed the ''[[Darksyde]]''. "Waspinator" believed ''Buzzerbot'' would have been a better name. For reasons known only to [[Primus]], Megatron agreed.

After escaping [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], the ''Darksyde'' was intercepted by the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' and the ''[[Chromia 10]]'', but after an intense space battle, only the ''Darksyde'' and the ''Axalon'' remained. Megatron ordered "Waspinator" to ''excecute'' their planned [[transwarp]] jump, opening up a portal which both ships entered. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
''Voice Actor'': [[Scott McNeil]] (English), [[Kensō Katō]] (Japanese), [[Ivo Roberto]] (Portuguese), [[Diego Sabre]] (Italian)

[[Image:BeastWars1 Waspinator robotmode.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]
Waspinator, part of Megatron's rogue band of Predacons, landed on an unknown planet with dangerous levels of unstable [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. To protect themselves from the energon, the Predacons took organic beast modes. In Waspinator's case, he now transformed into a large, green wasp. The first conflict between the stranded Predacons and their Maximal pursuers came when the Maximal [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] stumbled across Waspinator. In a stark contrast to his later career, he actually proved to be a serious threat and had the advantage over the inexperienced Cheetor, pinning the young Maximal down in a canyon. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}}

The Predacons pursued the Maximals and interrupted a fight between [[Optimus Primal]] and [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]. When a stray shot exposed a cache of energon atop a nearby mountain, the Predacons headed for it. Waspinator was teamed with [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] for the first time, in an attempt to slow the Maximals down. They were chased off by a missile from Primal and rejoined the others for a mountaintop battle, wherein Cheetor attempted to have a rematch with Waspinator. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

He helped [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] and Terrorsaur install some perimeter defenses around the Predacon base. {{storylink|The Web}} When Cheetor ended up in the Predacon base through some sort of freak teleportation system, Waspinator and Scorponok tried to kill him, but only succeeded in blowing themselves up with their own missiles. Little did Waspinator know that he would be blown up numerous times in the adventures to come. {{storylink|Equal Measures}}

[[Image:ChainOfCommand Waspinator gets shot up.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
Waspinator was part of an attack on the Maximals at the [[Standing Stones]]. He survived that battle, but when an [[Vok Probe|alien probe]] appeared at the circle, he and Megatron attempted to take possession of it, and a pulse of energy zapped them. They turned up, badly damaged, back at the Predacon base. After repairs, Megatron sent Waspinator and Scorponok to guard the circle. The Maximals soon turned up to try and extract Primal from the probe, and Waspinator attempted to sneak up on [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]], only for the Maximal to ventilate him with a chaingun. Waspinator fell backwards against a standing stone, activating a sequence which freed Primal from the probe. {{storylink|Chain of Command}}

After Terrorsaur managed to slag Megatron and take leadership of the Predacons, Waspinator and Scorponok promptly fixed Megatron. {{storylink|Power Surge}} When a stasis pod crashed, Waspinator and Terrorsaur went directly to the ''Axalon'' and ambushed Optimus Primal when he emerged to look for the pod. Though they succeeded, Dinobot dropped a huge rock on Waspinator, and Terrorsaur had to help his fellow. Waspinator was still healthy enough to report to Megatron, who sent the pair to capture the pod. On the way, they managed to slow down the Maximals by destroying an ice bridge, but by the time they reached the pod, [[Tigatron]] had already been activated. The new Maximal fought them off. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}}

[[Image:Better_Mousetrap_Waspinator.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Wazzzzpinator not want to know "who'zzzz there?"]]
In one of Waspinator's few victories, he managed to retrieve the stasis pod which gave birth to [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. When Terrorsaur again deposed Megatron, Waspinator seemed happy to follow his fellow Predacon. {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}} Perhaps that was why he was subsequently assigned with Blackarachnia and Terrorsaur to deliver a [[sonic emitter]] to a location below the ''Axalon''. Dissatisfied with the task, he went to fly around for a bit and mutter to himself, only to give away their position accidentally. Though he returned to the other two Predacons, they were discovered by Tigatron, who destroyed the sonic emitter. {{storylink|A Better Mousetrap}} After Primal was inadvertently turned into a berserker by Scorponok's [[cyberbee]], Waspinator attempted to track down Optimus in the Predacon base, but found himself pulled through a wall and blasted. {{storylink|Gorilla Warfare}}

Waspinator acted as bait for the first test of [[Tarantulas]]'s [[transformation lock lens]]. The test was a success, but Waspinator was slagged by Tigatron. {{storylink|The Probe}} He was later one of the trio who mounted a mock revolt against Megatron to fool the Maximals. The Predacons concealed themselves in a crevasse (where Waspinator apparently spent his nights cuddling Tarantulas like a soft toy) while the Maximals repaired the ''Axalon''. They were discovered by Dinobot, who dropped a large rock on Waspinator and Terrorsaur. Though the latter survived to battle on, Waspinator apparently didn't. {{storylink|Victory (episode)|Victory}}

[[Image:DarkDesigns Waspinator is nuts.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Auditions for the next "Tinkerbell" movie got weird.]]
When [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] had his personality program converted to that of a Predacon, he started surreptitiously taking out the various Predacons. He swung a cargo crate into Waspinator, giving him a concussion. As a result, Waspy flew around in a daze, claiming to be the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] as well as the great [[Ben Yee|Wonko the Sane]]. This dementia was apparently reversed when Cheetor later got annoyed at his yattering and shot him down. One of Waspinator's stray shots subsequently hit the [[Transmuter]], causing it to explode. {{storylink|Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs}}

Terrorsaur and Waspinator were hanging around outside the Predacon base during Megatron's experiment to create a [[Clone One|clone of Dinobot]]. {{storylink|Double Dinobot}} The pair attacked Cheetor when the young Maximal was protecting a stasis pod. Cheetor managed to lure Waspinator into flying over an energon geyser, frying his circuits. {{storylink|The Spark}} Perhaps a sign that they hadn't learned their lesson, Waspinator and Terrorsaur attacked Tigatron, only to be blasted by the defense system of a strange [[Brigadoon|flying island]]. Though injured, they were able to return to base to report the find. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} Following another bout of repairs, the duo headed back for the island, only to run into Primal and [[Rattrap]], who were headed in the same direction. Eventually they did each the island...only for Blackarachnia to trick them into triggering the island's defenses again, resulting in them both being blasted. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 2}}

Tigatron was ambushed on his way to another stasis pod by Waspinator, who managed to get a drop on the tiger. Waspinator's victory was short-lived, as [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] promptly shot his wings off, and he crashed to the ground. {{storylink|Spider's Game}} Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[rectifier coil]], forcing the Maximals remain in their beast modes. Once the Maximals had gone feral and wandered off into the jungle, the Predacons mounted a hunting expedition. The Maximals were able to overcome their programming block, and during the subsequent fight, Rhinox swatted Waspinator out of the air with a ''tree''. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}}

[[Image:Possession_Waspinator.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Give him an orange parka and call him Kenny.]]
After an apparently victorious battle, Waspinator and Scorponok returned to base. However, the Maximals they had attacked were not dead, merely blinded, and Waspinator was soon sent out again, teamed with Terrorsaur, to eliminate them. Unfortunately, even four blind Maximals were more than enough match for them, and both Predacons were sent packing. {{storylink|Dark Voyage}} Things continued to go badly for Waspinator, as during a violent storm, he was possessed by the immortal [[spark]] of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. It took a major [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] explosion to dislodge Starscream's immortal [[spark]] from Waspinator's body. It also had the after-effect of giving Waspinator a headache in his ''whole body''. {{storylink|Possession}}

Waspinator was part of a diversionary attack while Tarantulas tried out his new weapon, an [[energon discharge virus]]. Later on, the Predacons attempted to stop the Maximals getting the antidote and were blasted by Rhinox's enormous fart. {{storylink|The Low Road}} Waspinator teamed up with [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] and Terrorsaur for a fight, only to be roundly trounced by Tigatron. The trio were later able to defeat Dinobot, with Waspinator dealing the final blow, but Optimus Primal turned up and blew both him and Terrorsaur away with one shot. {{storylink|Law of the Jungle}}

[[Image:OtherVoices1 robonoogie.jpg|thumb|200px|right]]
Waspinator caught Tarantulas stealing a [[transwarp cell]] from the ''Darksyde'', but he was unable to stop the spider from leaving, as Tarantulas tossed him a bomb. Waspinator was soon in a multitude of separate pieces. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} Recovered and ready to take revenge on Tarantulas, he was instead sent by Megatron to secure a new alien site. Unfortunately, once he got there, he encountered Rattrap, who saw him off with a "robonoogie" and a kick to the unmentionables. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 1}} He retired to the ''Darksyde'', where the Predacons monitored the situation with the [[Planet Buster]] weapon which had been revealed from the planet's second moon. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:ComingFuzors1 Waspinator cubed.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
After the Planet Buster was destroyed, the strange energies of a [[quantum surge]] saturated both ships. Waspinator lost control of his hoversled and was tipped into one of the restoration pools. Bathed in the regenerative fluids, he was prevented from becoming a [[Transmetal]]. He and his newly upgraded leader mounted an attack on the ''Axalon'', but once Waspinator faced a similarly upgraded Cheetor, he soon retreated. {{storylink|Aftermath}} Waspinator was the first to realize that the seemingly unknown planet on which they'd landed was, in fact, [[Earth]]. Dinobot had made the same realization and stole into the ''Darksyde'' to retrieve both of Megatron's disks. Waspinator proposed the two work together to steal the disks, and much to his surprise, Dinobot agreed...and threw him into the security shield. Waspinator was crushed into a cube by the disks' security contraption, leaving Dinobot free to steal the disks unharmed while Waspinator crawled away to the CR chamber using two fingers.

He got himself repaired in time to join Megatron's forces on the battlefield, where they outnumbered Dinobot, Cheetor and Rattrap. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)}} He was teamed up with new recruit [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] to attack the ''Axalon'' by air. After asserting his authority over the [[Fuzor]], he was promptly knocked out of the air by Cheetor. He joined the other Predacons as they prepared to finish off the Maximals for good...but was the first victim of a reborn Transmetal Optimus Primal. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)}}

Waspinator and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] were tasked with constructing a new jamming tower. They constructed it successfully, but while Waspinator proudly reported their success to Megatron, Inferno playfully knocked the tower over on him. {{storylink|Tangled Web}} Another of Waspinator's rare victories came when he shot Silverbolt from behind, causing the Maximal to crash into Dinobot, effectively taking both out. While Inferno took off with Dinobot's prone form, [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] refused to help Waspy carry Silverbolt. A short time later, Rattrap mimicked Quickstrike's voice, tricking Waspinator into picking up a gas mine, and Waspinator's victory was no more. {{storylink|Maximal, No More}}

Waspinator and the rest of the Predacons installed shield generators around another alien site, but the [[Metal Hunter|alien construct]] which appeared zapped everyone, sending him into stasis lock. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 1)}} Megatron took control of the construct and restored all of the Predacons to working order. Waspinator and Inferno retrieved transwarp cells to give the ship transwarp capability. They were later sent out to defend the construct against the Maximals. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 2)}}

[[Image:BadSpark Waspinator defeated.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
Sent with Blackarachnia to claim another pod, Waspinator didn't last long before he was shot down by Cheetor and landed head first. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} He also took part in the attack on the valley where the [[protohuman]]s were living, but his contribution ended when Dinobot stuffed him head-first into [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]'s main cannon and Rampage exploded. {{storylink|Code of Hero}}

As by Megatron's calculations, the [[transwarp wavefront]] from the Planet Buster explosion would soon be reaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], the Predacons mounted an attack on the ''Axalon''. The Maximals received reinforcements in the form of Predacon covert agent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], whose [[transwarp cruiser]] saw the Predacons off. Waspinator was subsequently given a new solo mission by Megatron, and he departed when the Maximals next attacked. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}} Just as he arrived at his [[Mount St. Hilary|destination]], Blackarachnia accidentally hit him with her hoversled, knocking him apart. Waspinator once again started gathering himself together. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}}

Waspinator pulled himself together in time to aid Megatron's escape, after the Predacon leader badly damaged [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. He, Megatron and Inferno headed for the ''Axalon'', but Cheetor and Primal caught up with them, and Waspinator was downed by one shot from Cheetor. {{storylink|Optimal Situation}} After Inferno was blown to bits while attacking the Maximal base, Megatron sent Waspinator to salvage him. Waspinator was less than happy, complaining that no one ever salvaged ''him''. {{storylink|Deep Metal}} He was able to get the drop on Silverbolt when the Maximals were attempting to salvage [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]], and he happily flew off with the module.

{{Quote|Waspinator having good day! Not get shot once!}}

[[Image:Waspinatorigor.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Igor needs to file his nails.]]
Sadly, he didn't get very far before Silverbolt and Rattrap caught up, blasting him out of the air so they could reclaim Sentinel. {{storylink|Changing of the Guard}} After Megatron developed [[cyber raptor]]s, Waspinator and Tarantulas were sent out with a group of them to attack Cheetor and Blackarachnia. The Maximals soon discovered that destroying the raptors' control components sent them wild, and Waspinator was stomped into the ground by an out-of-control dinosaur. {{storylink|Cutting Edge}} Another of Waspinator's increasingly few victories came when he managed to snatch a stasis pod from under the Maximals' noses. He acted as lab assistant as Megatron utilised the [[blank]] [[protoform]] contained in the pod, plus a [[transmetal driver]], to create a new [[Dinobot II|Dinobot]]. Unfortunately, even this victory was short-lived, as a short time later, the device Megatron was using exploded, and Waspinator was caught in the blast. After getting repaired, he made his way to where Megatron was interrogating [[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]]...only to be blasted by his own trigger-happy leader. {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 1}}

After Megatron discovered that Cheetor had upgraded himself into a [[Transmetal 2]], he sent Waspinator and Dinobot out to find and capture the kitty. The pair located him in a cave, but as Dinobot began to move in, Waspinator asserted his own leadership...and was shredded by Dinobot. Following another bout of repairs, Waspinator rejoined the hunt, and they eventually found Cheetor again. Waspinator was offhandedly slagged by the Maximal while trying to sneak up. {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2}}

[[Image:Go with the Flow Waspinator Una.jpg|thumb|right|200px]]
Requiring someone organic to complete the [[disruptor cannon]], Megatron sent Waspinator and Inferno to pick up a protohuman. Waspinator was able to capture [[Una]], but she did quite a bit of damage to him on the flight back. On reaching the mountain hideout, Waspinator reported success and promptly collapsed into a collection of parts. At some point, he got repaired and was able to join in the pursuit of Rattrap and Una as they escaped. He was hit in the face by mud, sending him out of control, crashing into first Inferno, then Dinobot, and allowing the Maximals to escape. The three Predacons were called back to the mountain, where Megatron attempted to use the disruptor cannon, which promptly exploded. {{storylink|Go with the Flow}} Waspinator's next glorious mission was an attack on the Maximal base. Unfortunately for him, his expected backup wasn't there, and he was swatted by Optimus Primal. It had all been a ploy to draw Primal out so that Tarantulas could deliver a device to take control of the Maximal leader. {{storylink|Master Blaster}}

After the destruction of the ''Darksyde'' at [[Tigerhawk]]'s hands, Megatron sent Waspinator, [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], and [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] on an errand to find a new base, which was really nothing more than pointless busywork while Megatron went to do more important things. As the trio staked out an early [[human]] tribe that had taken up residence in a series of caves, Waspinator decided he'd finally had enough and ripped off his [[insignia|Predacon symbol]], declaring himself out of the Beast Wars.

[[Image:Waspinatorhappyatlast.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Wazzzzpinator happy at last! ...until the [[Beast Machines (cartoon)|next series]].]]
{{quote|I said '''no!''' [[Megatron (BW)|Dragon-Bot]] command '''you,''' [[Sub-Commander]] [[Inferno (BW)|Kiss-Butt]]! Dragon-Bot not command Waspinator! Not any more! Waspinator sick of being evil! Sick of being Predacon! And Waspinator especially sick of getting blown to '''scrap''' all the time! Sooo, Waspinator '''quit!''' As of '''now,''' which means [[Inferno (BW)|Ant-Bot]] and [[Quickstrike (BW)|Two-Head]] can just pucker their mandibles and plant [[Kiss|big, wet, juicy one]] right here on Waspinator's big...fat..stripy...}}

At this point, Waspinator was interrupted by getting blown to scrap by Inferno and Quickstrike. Also, note that this is the first (and only) time that he refers to himself as "I". {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

His parts recovered by the protohuman tribe, Waspinator remained on Earth while all the other surviving Transformers set off for Cybertron, and led the tribe, declaring that he was finally...happy. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2}}

For a bit, at least.
{{--}}

====''15 Go! Go!''====
The time-traveling [[human]] [[Atari Hitotonari]] and the [[Sparkbot]] [[Star Dust]] witnessed a battle between Waspinator and Optimus Primal. However, the two interlopers could not be seen by either of the warriors.

====''Tales of the Beast Wars''====
[[Antagony]] threatened to blast Waspinator if Megatron did not back down. Waspinator's warranty had expired, but it didn't matter as Antagony accidently wasted her last shot when she sneezed. Do we even need to guess what happened to Waspinator? {{storylink|Visitations}}

Later, to his credit, Waspinator was the only Predacon aside from Megatron to not be paralyzed in fear at the sight of a [[Unicron]]-possessed [[Windrazor (BW)|Windrazor]]. Of course, Waspinator had just been blown up for the umpteen millionth time. None of the Maximals expressed satisfaction. They always got Waspinator. Always. {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Paradox}}

{{charstubfiction}}

====Transmetal Toy Bio====
Even though the quantum surge has upgraded Waspinator physically, his personality remains the same. He has however found a renewed drive to eliminate the Maximals, accompanied by enhanced speed.
{{storylink|Waspinator (BW)#Toys|Transmetal Waspinator Bio}}
{{note|The on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the Transmetal sub-line presented a micro-continuity where all of the characters receiving a new toy were transmetalized due to the initial quantum surge, instead of a select few.}}

====Transformers Beast Wars: Transmetals Video Game====
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the second season of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
[[Image:N64Waspinators.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Neon]] Camo Waspinator and Transmetal [[Buzz Saw]]! In stores now!]]
[[Image:TMWaspinator-Render.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Full Metal Yellowjacket]]
''Voice Actor:'' [[Scott McNeil]] (English), ??? (Japanese)

[[Transmetal]] Waspinator joins his fellow Predacons in distributing various one-on-one beat downs to the Maximals. Eventually he got fed up, quit, and became God to early humanity. He did this after ''kicking everyone's ass''. {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transmetals}}

{{Note|Waspinator is only available for game play in the Nintendo 64 version of this game. His model was also used to represent the hidden character [[:Image:N64Starscream.jpg|Starscream]].}}

{{note|Each character possessed an alternate ending, displayed if the N64 version of the game was beaten with said character. Each character has only their own ending listed on their pages, see the other characters' pages for Waspinator's fate in those outcomes.}}
{{-}}

====IDW Beast Wars Comics====
An alternate timeline's Waspinator was possessed by Starscream's immortal spark after the later's defeat at the hand of the Maximals. This time around, Starscream was able to hold possession of Waspinator until the Quantum Surge hit Prehistoric Earth, and was able to influence Waspinator's transmetalisation so that the Predacon's third mode would ressemble Starscream's own original fighter jet mode. The two of them bicker constantly over control of the shared body, their two distinct voices audible to whoever hears them argue. {{storylink|Beast Wars Sourcebook}}

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
''Main article: [[Thrust (BM)]]''
[[Image:Wazzpinator.jpg|right|thumb|180px|Why [[Vector Sigma#Beast_Era|Oracle]] hate Wazzzzpinator?]]
Waspinator grew bored of being a god to the Protohumans and started flicking rocks at their heads. The Protohumans he had ruled over grew tired of his presence and forced him to leave the planet and return to Cybertron (and his proper time) under his own power (quite how this could be acheived is unclear). There, his spark was removed and used to power the [[Vehicon general]] [[Thrust (BM)|Thrust]]. He ''loved'' being a cool biker-bot as he now got respect and was finding [[Blackarachnia (BW)|chicks]] dig the new brooding bad boy schtick!

Influences from his inner spark caused Thrust to save Blackarachnia's life several times, causing her to believe he carried [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]]'s spark. {{storylink|Revelations Part I: Discovery}} She later tried to bring his original mind back and discovered, to her disgust, that she'd spent all her effort getting Waspinator back. Poor Waspinator was rather upset to find Blackarachnia no longer wanted to "go steady" with him, and briefly had a punch-up with a revived Silverbolt over her honour. {{storylink|The Catalyst}}

Following Blackarachnia's unambigious rejection of him, Waspinator remained in the "background" and let Thrust run the show, until [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] used an [[Spark extractor|extractor]] to remove Waspinator's spark from the body shell. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. II: When Legends Fall}} After Cybertron's [[technorganic]] reformatting (thanks to Optimus Primal, through the cost of his and Megatron's lives) Waspinator returned in his beast mode with Thrust's head, now the size of a standard wasp. He complained to Rattrap about how much he wanted glory and power and never gets what he wants... at which point Rattrap swatted him away. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future}}

{{note|While the suggestions that Thrust was really Silverbolt turned out to be a red herring, his actions raise the question of ''how'' Waspinator's spark could influence Vehicon programming, seemingly due to having a crush, but her true love Silverbolt's ''didn't''.}}

====''Universe'' comic====
After the reformatting of Cybertron, Waspinator came under the command of [[Galvatron (BWII)|Galvatron]]. His tiny size and great speed made him an excellent scout and messenger, and he reported to Galvatron that the invading Quintessons had entered a particular canyon that the Predacons had booby-trapped. He seemed very giddy to have a commander who actually found him useful for once. {{storylink|Wreckers: Finale Part II}}

Later, Waspinator was part of a team sent to rescue victims of [[Unicron]] who had been transported to an isolated, icy planetoid. {{storylink|OTFCC 2004 Live-Action Script Reading}}
{{-}}
===''Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle'' Video Game===
Megatron was capable to summon Waspinator forth to the battlefield in his attempts to acquire the super-powerful [[energon crystal]]. {{storylink|Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle}}
{{-}}

===''Legends'' anthology===
{{charstubfiction}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
[[Image:Waspinatorjbwtoy.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The Japanese version is more [[Playskool]].]]
* '''Waspinator''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
** ''Japanese ID number'': '''D-3'''
** ''Accessories'': Launcher, 2 missiles

:Waspinator transforms into a large organic wasp. His stinger separates to become a hand-held spring-loaded missile launcher for his robot mode; the bolts are stored on the underside of his insect-wings. His head is on a vertical column that rotates around a horizontal axle; each end has a different head, one "mutant", one "robot". The "mutant" head was used as the base for his CGI model, and thus the norm for his fictional portrayals. The [[Takara]] version of Waspinator uses slightly brighter, more primary colors than the [[Hasbro]] version.

:This mold was later [[redeco]]ed for a "[[Fox Kids]]" version, as well as [[Beast_Wars_10th_Anniversary|both the Hasbro and Takara 10th anniversary versions]] of the character.

:This mold was also used to make [[Buzz Saw]] and [[retool]]ed into [[Dirge (BWII)#Mutant|Dirgegun]].

{{-}}
[[Image:VS3-CheetorWaspinator.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Catbug is a cat but he's got bugness in his veins.]]
* '''Showdown of the Quickest: Cheetus VS Waspeeter''' (VS pack, 1997)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''VS-3'''
** ''Accessories:'' Launcher, 2 missiles

:In Japan, Waspinator was available both separately and in a VS pack with [[Cheetor (BW)/toys#Dx1|Cheetor]]. Both toys are identical to their original releases.

:Currently, it is unknown if the latter "show-like" version of the two toys were ever released in the VS set.

{{-}}
[[Image:Waspinator-TMtoy.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Contains a tiny bit of Starscream in every mold.]]
* '''Waspinator''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
** ''Japanese ID number'': '''D-42'''
** ''Accessories'': Stinger-rifle

:Now an almost completely robotic figure, [[Transmetal]] Waspinator transforms into a robotic wasp. He features a third "jet" mode, flipping and folding his wings into a fighter-jet configuration as well as flipping a cockpit/nosecone between his insect-head mandibles. Though he appears solid black at first glance, he is actually made of very dark transparent-black/green plastic.

:The Takara version of this toy is almost completely identical, except the "WASPINATOR" [[tampograph]] on his wing was replaced with "DESTRON" and the Predacon sigil.

:This mold was later [[redeco]]ed for a "[[Fox Kids]]" version of the character. It was slated for a ''[[Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' [[Waspinator (BW)#Universe_.282003.29|version of Waspinator]], but that set was canceled.

{{-}}
* '''Hurricane Showdown: Metals Cheetus VS Metals Waspeeter''' (VS pack, 1999)
** ''Japanese ID number'': '''VS-42'''
** ''Accessories'': Stinger-rifle

:In Japan, Transmetal Waspinator was available both individually and in a two-pack with [[Cheetor (BW)#TM1|Transmetal Cheetor]]. The two-pack version was unchanged from the normal individually-packaged one.

{{-}}
[[Image:Waspinator-FKtoy.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Do be a blue bee.]]
* '''Waspinator''' (Deluxe, 1999)
** ''Accessories'': Launcher, 2 missiles

:This toy is a [[redeco]] of the first Waspinator toy. A "[[Fox Kids|FoxKids!]]" sticker on the packaging promoted the cartoon, which was playing on Fox at the time. Like most of the other Fox Kids redecoes, his color scheme was altered significantly, consisting primarily of slate blue and green-gold plastic, with dark blue (barely) translucent parts.

:Hasbro solicitations for this toy gave it the name "Power Flight Waspinator", but this name never made it to final packaging.

:This toy's deco was later used to create the non-toy character [[Buzzbomb]].

{{-}}
[[Image:BW_FoxKidsTransmetal_Waspinator_toy.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Why FoxKidzzzz hate Waspinator?]]
* '''Waspinator''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 2000)
** ''Accessories'': Stinger-rifle

:This toy is a [[redeco]] of the Transmetal Waspinator toy. A "Fox Kids!" sticker on the packaging promoted the cartoon, which was playing on Fox at the time. The toy's new deco bears more than a passing resemblance to [[Buzz Saw]].

{{-}}

===Universe (2003)===
[[Image:Waspinator_unreleased.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Wazzpinator... purple?]]

For a brief time, [[Hasbro]]'s official website checklist featured listings for two "Halloween [[Horrorcon (Universe)|Horrorcon]] Value Packs" that were to be Wal-Mart [[Exclusive|exclusives]]... which also likely explains why they were canceled. (Wal-Mart had taken a good half-dozen exclusives and released them more-or-less simultaneously, leading to a huge glut. A lot of other ''Transformers'' exclusives were canceled during the ''[[Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' era.)

In 2004, several test-shots appeared on eBay in a group, among them the Transmetal Waspinator toy with opaque-salmon wings and lavender insect legs. This, presumably, was to have been the ''Universe'' incarnation of Waspinator, as the other toys in the group line up with the names given for the two Halloween sets. He was to come in a "Vs." two-pack with the presumably-[[Autobot]] character [[Nightprowler]].
{{canceledtoy}}

{{-}}

===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
[[Image:Waspinatortenthtoy.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Finally Waspinator come with pieces that aren't Waspinator's!]]
* '''Waspinator''' (Deluxe, 2006)
** ''Accessories:'' Launcher, 2 missiles, Transmutate's head

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the first Waspinator toy to make it closer to Waspinator's cartoon appearance, replacing the gray with green and adding extra gold [[Paint operation|paint applications]]. He came with the head to [[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]] plus a DVD with the episode "[[Possession]]".

{{-}}
===Timelines===
[[Image:Waspinator-BC06toy.jpg|right|thumb|300px|This works surprisingly well on many levels.]]
* '''Darksyde Megatron and Darksyde Waspinator''' (Bagged set, 2006)
** ''Accessories'': 2-part rifle

:Available [[Exclusive|exclusively]] at the [[BotCon 2006]] event itself, this two-pack represents Waspinator and Megatron before the events of the ''Beast Wars'' show. "Darksyde Waspinator" is a Basic-sized figure, originally used for ''[[Machine Wars]]'' [[Skywarp (G1)#MW|Skywarp]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)#MW|Thundercracker]], which autotransforms to robot mode from a [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes#Dassault_Rafale|Dassault Rafale fighter jet]]. (One can surmise, however, that it is meant to represent a Cybertronic design in this case.) His rifle splits into two pieces, which store in the backs of his lower legs.

:This mold was also used to make ''[[Beast Wars II (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]'' [[Dirge (BWII)|Dirge]], ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Skyfire (RID)|Skyfire]], and ''[[Robot Masters]]'' [[Wingstun]].

{{-}}
===Beast Wars Telemocha Series===
[[Image:Waspinatortelemocha.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Otherwise known as Dr. Wasp Itor.]]
* '''Waspeeter''' (Deluxe, 2007)
** ''Japanese ID number'': '''TM-04'''
** ''Accessories'': Launcher, 2 missiles

:This toy is a ridiculously-extensively-painted redeco of the first Waspinator toy to make it almost completely [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] to Waspinator's cartoon appearance (forgiving mold issues and [[unpaintable plastic]], of course). Due to a manufacturing error, Waspinator's crotch piece is backwards.

:He came with a DVD of the episode "The Aerial Mountains Explode", the Japanese dub of "[[Power Surge]]".

{{-}}

==Merchandise==
* '''Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game''' (1997)
:Waspinator was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars [[Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game|card game]].

[[Image:Robotheroesrhinoxwaspinator.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Do we ''want'' to know what that is gushing out of his butt?]]
===Robot Heroes===
* '''Rhinox vs Waspinator''' (2008)
:Waspinator was released in the second wave of [[Universe (2008 franchise)|''Universe'']] ''[[Robot Heroes]]'' packed with [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] as part of the "Beast Wars Series." An amalgam of toy and television show depictions, Waspinator has articulation at the neck and shoulders. He suspends himself in the air on a strong stream of fluid launching from his butt. (Okay, it's probably supposed to be a compressed air jet or something, but look at it. Eyuw.)
{{--}}

==Trivia==
* Ironically, in the original toyline's continuity (which was created before the animated series), Waspinator was profiled as a cruel, cunning, highly skilled warrior who was greatly feared by the Maximals.
* Ever wonder ''why'' Waspinator became the whipping boy of ''Beast Wars''? Early in the series, his buzzing, drawling method of speaking frustrated story editors [[Larry DiTillio]] and [[Bob Forward]], as they found it was taking up too much time out of the episodes. To get around this, but still meet with the requirement that he appear regularly, they took to blasting him to bits so that he wouldn't ''have'' to talk! Of course, this only wound up endearing him to the writers and the fans, and his frequent brushes with destruction became a running gag done for fun, rather than a script requirement. <ref>[http://www.infinitefrontiers.0catch.com/AutoAssembly/BobForward.htm Auto Assembly interview with Bob Forward]</ref>
* Waspinator uses neither of his original toy's heads but rather a made-up one borrowing a few elements from his toy's mutant head while still being very different.
* Waspinator was originally chosen by [[Hasbro]] to be one of the characters killed off for the second season of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon to help make way for new characters ([[To sell toys|read: product]]). However, Forward and DiTillio convinced them to spare Waspinator on the grounds of his popularity with the online fan-base, so [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] and [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] took the plunge instead.
* Waspinator was originally slated to appear in the very first [[Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|''Beast Wars'' video game]], and even had a character model built. However, he was ultimately unused and only appeared in footage taken from the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon.
* Waspinator appears to be the inspiration for [[Buzzer-Bot]] from the ''[[Go-Bots (toyline)|Playskool Go-Bots]]'' line, as well as the obvious [[Wasp]] character from ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]''.
* As a side note, Waspinator's original toy contains a high number of [[Ball joint|ball]] and [[Swivel joint|swivel joints]], which more than easily separate. Makes him a little more [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]], after all.
* When Waspinator is hit from behind by a stasis pod ship made by Blackarachnia, a toilet is seen falling from Waspinator's smashed body. Now Waspinator need new waste disposal unit!
* According to Waspinator's profile in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]'', he likes flying and nectar.
* Waspinator has a yellow [[tongue]] in robot mode.
* While Waspinator ''usually'' refers to other characters by nicknames, he is fairly consistent about calling Megatron and Optimus Primal by their real names. ([[Nemesis Part 1#Quotes|Fairly.]]) He also refers to Inferno by name at least twice, and Tarantulas at least once.
* Waspinator is the only member of the Beast Wars [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] lineup who was there from the beginning and remains alive and unchanged for the entire course of the show.
* Waspinator never once makes a proper landing while in his beast form. However, there are plenty of instances for which he makes ''improper'' landings while in beast form, usually when he's being blasted out of the sky.
* Technically, Waspinator's beast mode is that of a female wasp, given that males do not possess a stinger. He would probably find this objectionable, along with everything else in his life.
* Somebody give this guy a hug.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/1996/Predacon/Waspinator/waspinator.htm Waspinator at TFU.info]
* [http://s33.photobucket.com/albums/d75/binalternator/unreleased/nightprowler_vs_waspinator/ Gallery of Nightprowler vs. Waspinator test-shots]

[[Category:Beast Machines characters]]
[[Category:Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category:Convention exclusives]]
[[Category:Predacons]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Transformers with three modes]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Vortex (G1)

2010-01-04T03:51:26Z

189.153.84.200: /* Generation 1 */

{{Factions|decepticon|decepticong2|minicon}}
{{disambig3|Vortex}}
{{picsneeded}}

:''Vortex is a [[Decepticon]] [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:MTMTEVortex.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I'm FANCY!]]
In a past life, it is very possible that '''Vortex''' was a roller coaster of some sort. He is the interrogator of the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], and his favorite method of coaxing secrets from trembling [[Autobot|Autobots]] is to take them on ''Mr. Vortex's Wild Ride''. Laughing like a maniac, Vortex will treat Autobots held hostage within his cargo hold to a psychotic helicopter ride of twists, turns and near-death experiences. Then, once he has learned everything they have to tell: kerplop!

Vortex can combine with his fellow [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticons]] to form [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]].

:''Japanese name:'' '''Vorter'''

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====Generation 1 cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Johnny Haymer]] (English), [[Ken Shiroyama]] (Japanese)

[[Image:StarscreamsBrigade Vortex capture.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Hey dude, I don't think we're in Kansas anymore!"<br>
"Shut up, Jazz."]]
Vortex was one of five Decepticon renegades liberated by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] in the Air Commander's latest attempt to unseat [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Rebuilt into new bodies based on WWII-era [[human]] military vehicles and dubbed the Combaticons, the renegades worked with Starscream primarily to gain the [[energy absorbers]] the schemer left out of their new forms. While Vortex and the others were at first successful, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]]' intervention meant the brigade's defeat, and all six were exiled to a remote asteroid. {{storylink|Starscream's Brigade}}

Vortex and his fellow Combaticons soon escaped the asteroid and invaded [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], defeating [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave's]] defenses as Bruticus. After Onslaught modified the [[space bridge]] to pull [[Earth]] into the [[sun]], the Combaticons were attacked by unknown forces, which were actually [[Hologram|holograms]]. Vortex was quite happy, as he ''loved'' sneak attacks. Once again, however, the Combaticons were defeated by outside intervention, as the Autobots and Decepticons temporarily allied against the renegades. While Megatron allowed the Autobots to believe the Combaticons had been destroyed, he secretly had Bruticus (and his components, we guess) reprogrammed to serve more loyally. {{storylink|The Revenge of Bruticus}}

[[Image:RevengeBruticus BlastOff Vortex.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Another example of why headbanging isn't more popular among the Decepticons.]]
Some time later, the Combaticons set a trap for the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], and Vortex attacked them alongside [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. He was eventually shot down by [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] and retreated back to Megatron's [[Giant Purple Griffin]], which the Aerialbots eventually discovered. In the ensuing battle, Vortex took control of a few of Megatron's jet fighter [[Drone|drones]], but didn't fare particularly well anyway. The Combaticons then tried to merge into Bruticus, but were defeated by [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. {{storylink|Aerial Assault|Aerial Assault}} Afterwards, Bruticus was blown to pieces by [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]], and [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] sold Vortex's parts. What a friend. Vortex and the other Combaticons were eventually repaired just in time for Bruticus to be defeated again. {{storylink|B.O.T. (episode)|B.O.T.}}

[[Image:FFoD2 SwindleVortex.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Hey, my semi-automatic glue gun isn't firing lasers any more! It must be... broken?"]]
After the great battle at [[Autobot City]], the Combaticons were among the battered Decepticon forces who withdrew to [[Chaar]]. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}} When the Deceptions spotted [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] spying on them, Vortex was the first to note that their weapons weren't working due to their low energy levels. He and his comrades simply opted for bashing the intruders to death instead. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} The Combaticons later participated in a [[Quintesson]]-led assault on a group of Autobots trapped on [[Goo]] {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3}}, until [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] returned and took back control of his forces. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:UltimateWeapon Vortex interrogation.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Confess! Where is the candlestick? What were you doing in the conservatory?"]]
The Combaticons later performed a hit-and-run attack on Cybertron in order to destroy a peace conference shuttle. When the Autobots fought back, Vortex shot [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] with a barrage of lasers, but was blasted out of the sky by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] for it. {{storylink|Surprise Party}} Much later, Vortex was charged with guarding [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] in the [[Netherlands]]. [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]], seated in a disguised Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime, respectively, tried tricking him into thinking they were repairmen in order to infiltrate the city-bot, but unfortunately Vortex could detect the "nauseating smell of Autobot fumes" on them. He tried shaking the truth out of Daniel, only to accidentally throw him off a cliff. The Autobots were forced to abandon their disguises in order to save him, and Rodimus blasted Vortex into unconsciousness. {{storylink|The Ultimate Weapon}}

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime1 InfectedVortex.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The difference between a Decepticon and a Decepticon infected with the hate plague is... murky, at best.]]
When the Earth was infected by the [[Hate Plague]], the Combaticons were among the earily victims. In a frenzy, Vortex started flying around an airfield blowing up jumbo jets. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}} By order of Galvatron, the Combaticons lated constructed a giant planetary rocket engine that was used to propel Cybertron into orbit around Earth. They also dragged away the bodies of defeated Autobots to use as fuel for the engine. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}

{{-}}
====''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' manga====
As Bruticus, Vortex and the Combaticons aided Menasor when the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]]' new base found itself under attack from [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. Whilst Bruticus took care of Defensor with relative ease, Superion shot his leg components off, allowing [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] and [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] to steal their places. Taking control of the giant's flight systems, the two [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] flew off with Bruticus's remaining components, planning to drop them off somewhere over the ocean. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 5}}

Vortex and the Combaticons were later ordered to hunt down a [[Murdered puppy|dog]] imbued with [[Decepticon super science]]. The Autobot [[Mini Vehicle|Mini Vehicles]] led by [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] soon arrived to save the poor animal, and the Combaticons formed Bruticus in response. However, the dog used its super science to power up Powerglide, who used [[Scramble Power]] to combine with his comrades and drill straight through him, forcing the Combaticons to withdraw. {{storylink|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers issue 8}}

====''Scramble City'' OVA====
Vortex and the other Combaticons were dispatched to help the Stunticons in a battle against the Aerialbots. As Bruticus and Menasor, the two groups nearly defeated Superion, until [[Metroplex (G1)|Scramble City]] arrived and blew them away. {{storylink|Scramble City}}

====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
The Combaticons participated in a major Decepticon assault on Cybertron, during which Vortex performed air strikes until he was shot down by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} He later combined with the other Combaticons to continue fighting, but even Bruticus was driven away by the arrival of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Battleship Maximus]]. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} The Combaticons were subsequently sent to Earth, where they set out to stop [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] from retrieving the [[Matrix of Leadership]] for Optimus Prime. They didn't get far before being ambushed by the Protectobots, who buried the team in a rockfall. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}} Vortex and the others later defended [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] against [[Blaster (G1)|Twincast]]'s attempted infiltration, but got their hands full when the Aerialbots also joined the battle. {{storylink|The Great Cassette Operation}}

The Decepticon army, including the Combaticons, later attacked Cybertron again, in order to obtain the precious [[Cybertonuron]] created by [[Vector Sigma]]. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 1}} This didn't go very well, as Bruticus was again defeated by Defensor. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}} Bruticus was then sent to [[San Francisco]] with orders to destroy any Autobots out to kill the giant carnivorous plant hidden there by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]. He ended up duelling with [[Raiden]], the [[Trainbot]] combiner. {{storylink|Head On!! Fortress Maximus}} Vortex and his team were later seen under the command of [[Sixshot]], who ordered them to attack an Autobot energy facility in [[Miami]] in order to divert troops from [[Autobot City]]. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus Dies!!}}

Vortex later watched and cheered as Scorponok official took leadership of the Decepticons. {{storylink|I Risk My Life for Earth}} As Bruticus's arm, he later tried to lure Fortress Maximus away from the Decepticon base on [[Master (planet)|Master]], but it didn't work. {{storylink|The Zarak Shield Turns the Tide}} Bruticus was later seen laughing with [[Predaking]] as they sank the luxury liner ''[[Queen World]]'' in the Atlantic Ocean. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 1)}} Naturally, Vortex and the Combaticons were part of the final climactic battle with the Autobot army at the [[Arctic|North Pole]], and retreated into space when Scorponok's plan to tear Earth apart appeared to become a reality. {{storylink|The Final Showdown on Earth (Part 2)}}

====''Zone'' OVA, manga and story pages====
Seeking to create a [[Decepticon Zone]] to counter the [[Micro|Autobot Zone]], [[Emperor of Destruction|Decepticon Emperor]] [[Violen Jiger]] gathered together the [[Nine Great Demon Generals]], upgrading them with powerful new armor and weaponry, then sent them forth to conquer planets. Vortex was of those summoned, but only as part of Bruticus. {{storylink|Zone (story page)|Zone Part 1}} {{storylink|Zone (manga)|Transformers: Zone}} {{storylink|Enter the New Supreme Commander, Dai Atlas!}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
''[[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]] was the only human in existence to have ever possessed the Autobots' [[Matrix of Leadership|Creation Matrix]] in his mind. Months after returning the Matrix to its true guardian, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], Buster began experiencing nightmares of strange new Transformers, [[Special Teams]] with the ability to merge into a 5-in-1 giant. Vortex and his Combaticon teammates appeared in one of Buster's earlier dreams, before he sought help from the Autobots. In order to process the information his subconscious was feeding him, Buster linked his mind with Prime, so that the next dream came through far clearer than the previous ones. He and Prime observed a <s>toy commercial</s> scenario where Vortex and his fellow Combaticons joined forces with the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] against their Autobot counterparts, the [[Protectobot (G1)|Protectobots]] and [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]]. The Combaticons fought together as [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], but were defeated by the teamwork shown by Autobot gestalts [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]]. After Prime and Buster awoke, the Autobots immediately went to work designing these new warriors. Thanks to [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]'s hacking skills, however, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] also saw the visions and began working on their own Special Teams. {{storylink|Second Generation!}}''

{{note|The above origin was not referenced in the U.S. comics and, unlike the Stunticons, the Combaticons were never explicitly stated to have been built on Earth. Although it's generally assumed they were anyway, one [[Swarm (issue)|obscure reference]] inferred that they may have come from Cybertron.}}

[[Image:Afterdeath Vortex BlastOff.JPG|right|200px|thumb|'''Stop the Pigeon!''']]
At Megatron's command, Vortex began scouting human energy projects for possible sources of energon for the Decepticons to steal. Hovering over [[Energy Futures Industries]] on the Oregon coast, Vortex learned about a new device called a [[hydrothermocline]], which could potentially summon limitless energy from beneath the seas. He summoned Megatron and the rest of the Combaticons for a late night raid. Unfortunately for them, the Autobots had been doing a little spying of their own, and the Combaticons found Optimus Prime and the Protectobots lying in wait at EFI when they arrived. Optimus and Megatron were busy measuring who had the biggest gestalt when [[Ethan Zachary]], a human programmer working at EFI, offered them a better solution than brawling. Using his [[Multi-World]] video game scenario, Zachery could upload the Autobots and Decepticons into the game, allowing them to fight without risking the hydro-whatsis or innocent lives in the process.

Inside Multi-World, Vortex and [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] teamed up to hunt down Protectobots. In the region known as the [[Cloud-Steppes]], they came across [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] and [[Blades (G1)|Blades]]. The digital environment was comprised of a series of roadways supported by cables connecting them to hovering clouds. Vortex chose the simplest solution and began cutting through the cables with his rotor blades, sending the ground-bound Groove and several Cloud-Steppers to their doom. Groove saved himself, and Blades caught the cloud people as they fell. The Autobots' new friends then turned their cloud power against the Combaticons, blinding them long enough for Groove to... blind them again. Stupid pacifists. Anyway, Vortex and Blast Off then crashed into each other and "died", their consciousnesses returning to reality. The other Combaticons fared just as well, leaving Megatron alone to fight Prime and Defensor. Blindly choking his subordinates in the real world, Megatron got close enough for Vortex to whisper a "cheat code" he had overheard when first scouting the location... AFTERDEATH. Despite using the password to cheat, Megatron still lost the battle. But, because Optimus Prime was forced to sacrifice innocent "people" in the game to defeat Megatron, he allowed the Decepticons to take the hydrothermocline anyway. Truly an [[Heavy Metal War|over-developed sense of honor]]. {{storylink|Afterdeath!}}

During the Decepticon plans to move the hydrothermocline to a more energy efficient location for its work, Vortex was transporting the land-bound Decepticons to their island base. At Shockwave's request, however, he was dissuaded from picking up Megatron on time, allowing Shockwave's [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]] mercenaries time to complete their assassination attempt on the Decepticon leader. Megatron survived, but ended up blowing himself up anyway, leaving Vortex and the Combaticons under Shockwave's command. {{storylink|Gone but Not Forgotten!}} When fuel auditer [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] arrived to supervise the Decepticon activities, Shockwave engineered a daring daylight raid on an oil tanker in the Caribbean. Vortex, the [[Conehead|Coneheads]] and the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] successfully commandeered the vessel and brought it to the Decepticons island base. It was the perfect plan... with the small technicality of there not being any fuel in the tanker. {{storylink|Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom}}

''On a later mission, Soundwave and the Combaticons were commissioned with destroying the inactive super-Decepticon known as [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]], who had been trapped inside the lava flow of an active volcano, preserving him like a fly in amber. Shockwave nevertheless saw Galvatron as a potential threat to his command, and wanted him eliminated permanently. Vortex and the others were to set up explosive charges around the mouth, burying the future warrior forever. Their plans were waylaid by a group of human females, who used up most of the explosives against the Combaticons. The Decepticons were then forced to retreat once [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] and the [[Throttlebot|Throttlebots]] arrived to back-up the humans, but they swore vengeance for the interference. {{storylink|Ladies' Night}}''

Vortex began trailing the Throttlebots, and caught up with them on a California freeway. He was freely taking pot shots at them until Blaster transformed and supported himself on [[Rollbar (G1)|Rollbar]] and [[Chase (G1)|Chase]]'s vehicle modes, firing back at the Combaticon with his electro-scrambler gun. After nearly causing a traffic pile-up, Blaster got a good shot at Vortex, overloading his circuitry and sending the Decepticon careening through the sky. Once he recovered, Vortex tracked Blaster and the Throttlebots to a used car dealership, and summoned the rest of the Combaticons. Matters became complicated when the Protectobots also arrived on the scene, looking to arrest Blaster and Goldbug for going AWOL and rebelling against the Autobot commander, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]... not to mention the [[RAAT]] brigade of human military officers looking to take the Autobots into custody as well. The resulting four-way war left everyone confused and the dealership a wreck. Vortex was blinded early on battling [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]], and the Combaticons ultimately retreated once Blaster joined forces with the Protectobots. In the melee, however, the Throttlebots were carted off by RAAT, and the Protectobots still took Blaster into custody for Grimlock after the fight was over. {{storylink|Used Autobots}}

Vortex tracked the Protectobots from a distance, as they transported the mode-locked Blaster back to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] for trial and execution. The two teams clashed again at a (mostly) abandoned railyard once the Combaticons had fully assembled on Vortex's position. Vortex clashed with his opposite number, the Protectobot helicopter known as Blades, trading fire in the skies. Despite his computer image-guided targeting technology, Blades was unable to overcome Vortex's aerial agility and score a decent hit. The Combaticons eventually combined into Bruticus and managed to defeat the united Defensor in battle. Meanwhile, Blaster had managed to shake off his mode-lock and, despite his current situation, brought down the Decepticons in defense of his fellow Autobots. {{storylink|Child's Play (issue)|Child's Play}}

[[Image:Jetfireyourehit.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]
The Combaticons licked their wounds and eventually limped back to the Decepticons' hidden island base in the Caribbean. Decepticon leadership soon changed from Shockwave to Ratbat after the former was critically injured and believed dead following a space battle with [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]. {{storylink|The Desert Island of Space!}} When the Autobots decided the best way for Grimlock and Blaster to finally settle their differences was through trial by combat, Ratbat brought the Decepticons to the combat site on the moon and launched a full scale assault on the unsuspecting Autobots. Vortex and [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] managed to shoot down [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], but ultimately Grimlock and Blaster put aside their differences and turned the tide, sending the Decepticons packing. {{storylink|Totaled!}}

For their next trick, the Decepticons turned their deserted desert island base into a tropical paradise for humans, using the tourist trade to hide their true motives and protect themselves from any Autobot attack with human shields. Despite their distaste for flesh-creatures, many of the Decepticons were in good spirits. Vortex was seen trading stories with [[Drag Strip]] about how he told off one of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. Those nerds. {{storylink|Club Con!}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====
''Vortex and the Decepticon air force were led into battle by [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] in 2008. They planned to strike back against the Autobots, but were instead ambushed by the [[Quintesson|Quintessons]] in what could have been a massacre. Putting aside his pride, Decepticon commander [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] radioed the Autobots for assistance, and soon the two factions were fighting side-by-side on Cybertron against the invading Quintesson forces. After the fight was over, Soundwave left the battlefield in Vortex's [[Scale|ridiculously-oversized]] helicopter mode. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}''

====Generation 2====
When Megatron was looking to forge an alliance with Optimus Prime against [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronians, he brought a contingent of Decepticons to Ethos to back-up the Autobots. Vortex joined Starscream and [[Ransack (G2)|Ransack]] in supplementing the Aerialbots and the other Autobot sky forces. {{storylink|Escalation!}}

Vortex, along with the other Combaticons, formed the first line of defense against Jhiaxus's attack on [[Warworld]]. While Vortex's ultimate fate is unseen, the fact that Jhiaxus's troops ultimately took Warworld makes it likely he was destroyed. {{storylink|Total War!}}

===Young Corgi continuity===
Vortex and his fellow Combaticons were searching for a mysterious city beneath the ice when the Aerialbots, [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] and [[Slingshot]], interferred. Vortex got into a dogfight with Skydive, flying through the icey mountains and canyons of the North Pole. Luckily, as a Super Seasprite helicopter, he was infinitely more maneuverable than an F-16. Vortex led Skydive straight towards a mountain wall, and shot upwards at the last instant to send the Aerialbot flying nose first into the side of the mountain. Unfortunately for Vortex, Skydive vaporized the mountain peak with his [[nega-gun]] and, flipping back around in robot mode, clocked the Combaticon with a solid blow while Vortex was blinding by the steam.

Vortex was presumably still seeing stars when the rest of the Decepticons learned the [[city-dweller]]s were the true enemy and joined forces with the Autobots against them. Hopefully, Vortex's fellow Combaticons remembered to pick him up for repairs when they departed. {{storylink|Battle Beneath the Ice}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
Shortly after [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] became the new Autobot Supreme Commander, Vortex took part in the Decepticon assault upon [[Iacon]].

Millions of years later, Vortex, along with his fellow Combaticons, was imprisoned by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] until he was released by Starscream.

When [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]] appeared on Earth, the battered Combaticons were ordered by Starscream to combine into Bruticus and deal with the crazed zealot. It did not end well.

[[Image:G1DW SkyLynx defeats Combaticons.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Nice kitty... pretty kitty...]]
The repaired Combaticons were brought to Guadalcanal, where they could hone their somewhat lackluster combat skills and listen to Starscream's long-winded aspirations of glory. Starscream ordered them to defeat the Autobot [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] as a means to train themselves for greater battles. Blast Off ordered Vortex to "take [Sky Lynx] down", but the crafty Autobot split into his two forms, and Blast Off was embarrassingly grabbed in the flying form's jaws while Vortex looked on.

This was the least of their troubles, however, as [[Predaking]] showed up as soon as Sky Lynx was deactivated. This encounter also did not end well. {{storylink|The Route of All Evil}}

{{-}}

===''G.I. Joe vs the Transformers''===
As part of [[Serpent O.R.]]'s forces, Vortex defended the newly unified Decepticon army's base against a combined Autobot/[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] strike force. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5}}

===IDW comics continuity===
Vortex was part of the Combaticons', under the command of [[Banzai-Tron (G1)|Banzaitron]]'s [[Decepticon Secret Service]]. They attacked the [[Garrus-9]] penal facility to seize the [[Pretender Monster|new gestalt Transformers]]. When [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] turned up to kill them all, it was Vortex who reacted quickly and sprang the gestalts while under fire. He then dissed [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] on the way out. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

After a deal was negotiated between Arcee and Banzaitron, Vortex and the other Combaticons later helped her in an attempt to recapture [[Monstructor]] (who had been stolen by [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]] and [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]]'s forces) on [[Rotan]], though the insane Autobot disappeared mid-battle. {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}

{{note|Due to the truncated nature of the ''[[Revelation (IDW)|Revelation]]'' miniseries, the outcome of this battle is unknown.}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Vortex toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Get to da choppa. I dare ya.]]
* '''Vortex''' (Combaticon, 1985/1986/1991)
**''Team ID number'': '''C4'''
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-66'''
**''Accessories'': Pistol, left & right cannons

: Vortex transforms into a Kaman Aerospace SH-2G Super Seasprite helicopter. He is armed with a small, chin-mounted [[Glue gun|semi-automatic glue gun]] and two large, tri-barrel Gatling guns mounted astern on his tail.

: In robot mode, Vortex is armed with his helicopter chin gun, and along with fellow Combaticon [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]], is one of the first Transformers figures to utilize ball-joints, located in his shoulders. Vortex normally becomes the left arm of Bruticus, but as a [[Scramble City]] design, he can also occupy any other limb slot on Bruticus.

: There are a few variations of this toy. Initial releases of Vortex gave him a [[die-cast]] metal chestplate painted deep purple. Later releases replaced the metal with lighter-purple plastic. In 1991, the entire Combaticon team was re-released as part of the European "[[Classics (Europe)|Classics]]" line; like many toys released in this series, Vortex was [[Retool|retooled]] to remove the [[rubsign]] indent from his vehicle mode.

: This mold was [[Redeco|redecoed]] as ''[[Operation Combination (toyline)|Operation Combination]]'' [[Target Hawk]], ''[[Robots in Disguise (toyline)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Ro-Tor (RID)|Ro-Tor]], and ''[[Universe (2003 toyline)|Universe]]'' Ro-Tor.

::*''[http://tfu.info/1986/Decepticon/Vortex/vortex.htm More information on Vortex at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Bruticus}}

*'''Bruticus''' (Gift set, 1985)

===Generation 2===
* '''Vortex''' (Combaticon, 1994)
**''Team ID number'': '''C4'''
**''Accessories'': Pistol, left & right cannons

: During the ''Generation 2'' line, Vortex was redecoed blue with purple camouflage paint. His weapons were also redecoed purple, and his chest was changed to a different shade of purple, making him totally inconspicuous.

::*''[http://tfu.info/1994/Decepticon/Vortex/vortex.htm More information on Generation 2 Vortex at TFU.info]''

{{-}}
===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Universe-ROTF-toy_Vortex.jpg|thumb|right|300px|]]
*'''Bruticus Maximus''' (2008)
**''Accessories:'' Quad blaster (hand/foot), Decepticon-type [[energon star]]

:''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' Vortex is a [[redeco]] of the ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' [[Blackout (combiner)|Blackout]]/[[Stormcloud (Energon)|Stormcloud]] mold, transforming into a blue/grey assault helicopter somewhat similar to an Apache. He was only available with ''Universe'' Bruticus Maximus giftset. When combined with the other Combaticons, Vortex is nominally Bruticus Maximus' left arm, though he can be used in any other limb position. "V-1" is [[Tampograph|tampographed]] on the right side of his cockpit.

:This mold was also used to make [[Fun Publications]] [[Transformers Collectors' Club]]-[[exclusive]] [[Topspin (Classics)|Topspin]] and ''Universe'' (2008) [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]. Said Swindle is identical to ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' [[Swindle (ROTF)|Swindle]], and Vortex himself also doubles as that franchise's [[Vortex (ROTF)|Vortex]].

{{-}}

===Henkei! Henkei!===
[[Image:Henkei-toy VortexMicron.jpg|right|300px|thumb|And he doesn't take American Express.]]
*'''Destron Vorter''' (Micron, 2009)

: A redeco of the ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' [[Mini-Con]] [[Divebomb (Classics)|Divebomb]], Vortex now transforms into an [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|AH-64 Apache assault helicopter]].

: Vortex was only available by—brace yourself—signing up for a [http://www.transformers-card.com/pre2/index.html Transformers-themed Visa credit card] through Pocket Card Co., Ltd. Vortex is available only to those who get the Decepticon-themed card. Also available is [[Slingshot|Sling]] for those who get the Autobot card. How one gets both without paying out the butt is anyone's guess.

: This mold was also used to make [[Torque Gain]] and ''[[Universe (2008)|Universe]]'' [[Cloudraker (Universe)|Cloudraker]] and [[Crosshairs (Universe)|Crosshairs]].

==Notes==
[[Image:EuroClassicsCombaticons.jpg|thumb|200px]]

* The [[Character model|character models]] of the Combaticons are heavily... okay, heavily made-up. Early models of the team which were a bit more accurate to the toys — except for the heads, oddly enough, where the show models are quite accurate — have shown up in various sourcebooks, though Vortex's is still off in some very odd ways.

* The packaging of the 1990 European [[Classics (Europe)|Classics]] release of the original Onslaught toy depicted the Combaticons in (mostly) new color schemes, despite the fact that the actual toys looked identical to their original releases. While it may never be known for certain, it has been theorized that these colors originated from a packaging printing error rather than a legitimate attempt to [[redeco]] the Combaticons.

==External Links==
*[http://www.ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Vortex Vortex's ''Universe'' profile at NFTA.net]

[[Category:Combaticons]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category:Generation 2 characters]]
[[Category:Headmasters characters]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei! characters]]
[[Category:Japanese promotion exclusives]]
[[Category:Mini-Cons]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Carmine Fanzone

2009-12-29T21:30:35Z

189.153.84.200: /* Animated cartoon */

:''Carmine Fanzone is a [[human]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Captainfanzone.jpg|right|200px|thumb|NYPD Bluestreak]]
Captain '''Carmine Fanzone''' is the apparent head of the [[Detroit]] police department. He hates machines, but in an "I'm old" sort of way rather than being evil or anything. However, despite his oft-repeated mantra of "''This'' is why I hate machines/robots" whenever some device in his vicinity goes on the fritz (often with comedic, embarrassing results), he's pragmatic enough to make use of technology when needed. For example, he's a world champion at yelling at subordinates through megaphones for added effect. And firing heavy weaponry at [[Dinobot (Animated)|rampaging robots]].

Despite his endless battle with the march of progress and general poor luck, Fanzone is a good cop, dedicated to protecting the people of his city, even if he dislikes certain demographics. He's also not a bad guy to have in a brawl. He doesn't ''completely'' trust the [[Autobot|Autobots]], but he's at least assured that they mean well and, like him, are here to protect and serve the people of Detroit. He just wishes that they'd stop destroying so much of the city in the process.

Along with machines, he also hates lawyers and kids, but most of all, he hates tech support for machines.

{{bigquote|A technophobe is someone who ''fears'' technology. ''Does this look like fear to '''you'''?!''|Captain Fanzone smashes a phone to define his worldview to [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]|"[[Survival of the Fittest]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Jeff Glen Bennett]] (English), [[Axel Lutter]] (German)

It was the beginning of a bad day when Captain Fanzone got a call for all units to respond to [[Sumdac Systems]] down by Lake Erie. (It was in the middle of his lunch break.) Taking command of the assembled emergency units, Fanzone quickly realized that they were in over their heads fighting a rampaging cybernetic bug-slug, and he ordered all humans to fall back and allow the drones to deal with the creature. When he noticed four cars refusing to fall back, he demanded to know who they were...at which point he realized [[Prowl (Animated)|a cop bike]] had no driver, and [[Captain Fanzone's car|his own car]] was among the group. It got even weirder when it turned out they were [[Transformer|alien robots]], but [[Sari Sumdac|some little girl]] managed to talk the cops down from shooting at the invaders.

Several days later, Fanzone, the Mayor, [[Isaac Sumdac]], and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|that robot that looks like his car]] were taken hostage by [[Starscream (Animated)|an evil jet]], but were saved by the aforementioned little girl and the cop bike. As the cop bike took him down, Fanzone declared that this is why he hates machines. Thankless primate. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

Fanzone was courted by [[Prometheus Black]], who hoped to use the Captain's mistrust of machines in general and Sumdac products in specific to win his company a contract with the Detroit police department. However, once he saw the berserk rage that [[Colossus Rhodes]] displayed when smashing up the parking lot of an arena, he decided he didn't much like Black's biotechnology either. Not long after, he presided over a demonstration of new Sumdac models which proved to still have a few bugs in the system. Sumdac mentioned that these models had much better recognition systems, thus avoiding a repeat of "the unfortunate incident with the Captain's wife". However, sabotage courtesy of the newly minted supervillain Meltdown ensured that the new robots were still far from ready for prime-time. {{storylink|Total Meltdown}}

[[Image:Fanzone.jpg|left|200px|thumb|It's amazing what you can find on eBay these days...]]
When police responded to the rampage of the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], Captain Fanzone arrived and asked how bad it was into his megaphone...to an officer who was standing right next to him. The officer pointed at the rampaging robots, as [[Snarl (Animated)|a mechanical triceratops]] sent a car flying through the air, which hit Fanzone's car, crushing it. Captain Fanzone remained completely unmoved, then grabbed a bazooka from a nearby officer and fired at the triceratops...which promptly ate the projectile. Fanzone again proclaimed his dislike of machines. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

After [[Nanosec]]'s defeat by the [[Autobot|Autobots]], Fanzone took the suddenly elderly supervillain into custody. {{storylink|Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec}}

Captain Fanzone accompanied a number of DPD officers to a military base where the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut]] had been sighted. He was quite miffed to find that the two giant alien robots had apparently vanished into thin air, unaware that the two had adopted [[Earth]] modes and were hiding in plain sight, and with very odd color schemes. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

[[Image:TFA Survival Fittest Fanzone Grimlock.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Fanzone knew he shouldn't have booked that vacation to Jurassic Park...]]
Captain Fanzone was brought in to lead the investigation regarding Sari Sumdac's disappearance and probable kidnapping. In questioning the Autobots, he was somewhat dubious as to the merits of teaching a little girl "ninja nerve blows." After noticing suspicious behavior from Prowl and Bulkhead, he resolved to follow the two Autobots and pursued them in a (increasingly leaking) submersible. Luckily, Fanzone arrived on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|the island]] safely, though his vessel crumbled into pieces. Nature proved almost more hostile to the Captain than technology, ultimately resulting in him getting trapped in quicksand and requiring rescue from the very individuals he was shadowing. Grudgingly going along with them, he uncovered Prometheus Black's plan to genetically alter Sari into a biotechnological shapeshifter. His outrage was brief, however, as the mad scientist dropped him into a gladiatorial arena and sicced [[Fusion creature|his failed experiments]] on the Captain and Prowl. Forced to team up to survive, the Autobot earned the Captain's respect and trust as they fought their way out of the research facility. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}}

And then that trust was destroyed along with a good portion of Detroit after [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]'s [[Megatron Rising - Part 2|rampage]]. When an [[Steelhaven (Animated)|alien ship]] landed in Detroit, Fanzone told the Autobots to stay away, lest something worse happen. When it turned out to be the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]], Fanzone was resigned to the fact that the Autobots would have to deal with them. While the Autobots aboard the alien ship, he refused Sari Sumdac's plea to go to their aid. Once [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] stepped out and told them they were Autobots, Fanzone appeared mildly relieved—until [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|a missile carrier]] and [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|a jerk monster truck]] rolled right after Prime, with the later vehicle denting Fanzone's car. Why did it have to be robots? {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

During a press conference with [[Augustus Edsel|Mayor Edsel]] and the monster truck named Sentinel Prime, Fanzone received a phone call from what he believed was a woman reporting on Decepticon activity. Heading to old Detroit, Sentinel Prime condescendingly told the humans to stay away. Later, he was on hand to arrest [[Headmaster (Animated)|Henry Masterson]], only for [[Porter C. Powell]], the new CEO of Sumdac Systems, to arrive and point out that Masterson had committed no real crimes, as robots weren't protected by law, not to mention that the incident occurred on a boat in international waters between the [[United States]] and [[Canada]]. Reluctantly, Fanzone released Masterson. This is why he hates businessmen. {{storylink|The Return of the Headmaster}}

[[Image:Swingset.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Fanzone agreed to help as long as someone gave him a push.]]
With the prospect of being recalled to Cybertron, the Autobots had the dilemma of who was going to care for Sari after the mean old businessman put her out on the streets. First on their list of grade-A trustworthy humans was Captain Fanzone. Granted, the list was short and also included Prometheus Black and Nino Sexton. In an effort by the Autobots to get the two humans to bond, Sari discussed with Fanzone the merits of being able to stay up as late as she likes, as well as her need for a very large allowance.

Captain Fanzone breathed a sigh of relief when the Autobots got to stay. Sari said they could still hang out. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

The captain was close by when a breakdown in human-robot relations occurred during the Autobots' assistance with a garbage strike. Breaking up the confrontation between a curmudgeonly citizen and the similarly curmudgeonly [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], he advised the veteran Autobot that he needed to work on his people skills. When someone like Fanzone says this, you really ought to worry. {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

While pursuing some of the racers of ''[[Street Demon]]'' show, Fanzone managed to arrest two of them who'd been driven off the road by [[Blurr (Animated)|a blue car]] when the Autobots provided assistance to the drivers. Interrogating one (and serving as both [[Prowl (G1)|good cop]] ''and'' [[Barricade (Movie)|bad cop]]), he learned where the next race would be. As he headed downtown, he was surprised when Bumblebee drove up alongside and opened his door, and Sari Sumdac told him to jump into the car—at which point he noticed [[Blitzwing (Animated)|a fighter jet]] shooting missiles at him. Fanzone jumped into Bumblebee, where Sari revealed that [[Master Disaster]] was controlling the blue car with some sort of remote control. After the aforementioned blue car won a mid-air game of chicken with the jet, Bumblebee removed the two humans, then went to fight the Decepticon. As Master Disaster tried to sneak away, Fanzone placed him under arrest. {{storylink|Velocity}}

{{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}}

After Meltdown was abducted from jail, Fanzone was called in to investigate. While at the scene, Fanzone encountered Porter C. Powell, who immediately blamed Sari and the Autobots for Meltdown's escape, and was shown a recorded conversation they had with Meltdown as proof. Suspicious, Fanzone asked him how he obtained that recording, which was met with an evasive response from Powell. After Powell pompously demanded that he provide him with police protection, Fanzone ignored him and walked off. Later that night, Fanzone received a call from Powell, informing him that a robbery had been committed by the Autobots, though the only thing they took was Meltdown's [[genetic modifier]]. Turned out that the robbery and Meltdown's escape were caused by their [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|"Spider-Lady Friend"]] blackmailing the Dinobots and Optimus Prime into helping her and the Autobots returned the genetic modifier back to Powell, albeit melted and damaged beyond repair. An irate Powell demanded that Fanzone arrest the Autobots for endangering his life, but Fanzone, already fed up with Powell at this point, said he was going to get some sleep and walked away, but not before telling Powell to do the same or he'd arrest him for being a public nuisance. {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday}}

After Optimus Prime defeated [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]], Fanzone showed up mutely to arrest him. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

When the [[Constructicons (Animated)|Constructicons]] (under [[Dirt Boss (Animated)|new management]]) started their oil-racketing gig, Fanzone asked whether Bulkhead knew the [[Mixmaster (Animated)|rude]] [[Scrapper (Animated)|oil guzzlers]] in question. When Bulkhead admited so and claimed that they were simply good bots that fell in with [[Decepticons|the wrong crowd]], Fanzone told Bulkhead to tell his 'good bots' that he does not appreciate illegal horseplay in his town, especially if it's by machines. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

Fanzone was given a [[Sound Wave]] for Christmas, with the note "A machine even you could love". It proceeded to take over his mind. Meanwhile, in a virtual world, Bumblebee stole virtual-Fanzone's car.

Upon the real [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]]'s defeat, Fanzone was freed. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

When the police heli-drones started malfunctioning, Fanzone went to Sumdac Tower to complain to Issac Sumdac in person. All he found was Ratchet trying to work use Bulkhead's Space Bridge to find [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]. Then said heli-drones appeared and started attacking Fanzone. Fortunately, his life was saved when the Space Bridge activated and sucked Fanzone out of harm's way. Problem was, it sent him to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], a planet inhabited completely by robots. Things did not turn better when [[Flareup (Animated)|one robot]] encouraged [[Grandus (Animated)|her large friend]] to step on him. Fanzone's life was saved when Ratchet, who had also jumped through the Space Bridge, showed up. Unfortunately for Fanzone, all of Cybertron was anti-organic, thanks to their new leader, Sentinal 'Magnus'. He was apprehended by Sentinel and was a witness to the Autobot Council's debate whether or not they should fire on Omega Supreme. When Ratchet's disagreement with Sentinel caused him to be branded as a traitor, Fanzone provided a decent distraction with a loud (and disgusting) sneeze.

Ratchet and Fanzone escaped to the underground tunnels, only to find someone had been living there for a while: a tall one-eyed Decepticon that Ratchet identified as [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]. When Shockwave revealed his plans to steal Omega Supreme's access codes, the two bots had a tussel and Shockwave got away. Fortunately, Fanzone knew where to go: to [[Rattletrap|the guy in town who dealed in false documents]]. Ratchet and Fanzone were able to convince him to give them an access card to the Cybertron Central Infirmiry. When those codes turned out bogus, Jazz, who Fanzone knew had been tailing them since the tunnels, gave them a genuine keycard. Then Ratchet showed them what they were fighting over: [[Arcee (Animated)|a comatose robot dame]]. However, they just led Shockwave to her. Fanzone demanded an explanation of why she was so important. Ratchet briefly told him how he and Arcee were captured by [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] when Ratchet was transporting her and the activation codes she carried, only for her memory to be wiped by Ratchet's EMP generator. Ratchet then put Fanzone and Arcee into the room, only for Shockwave to break into the room, bury Fanzone in rubble, and fly off with Arcee.

Later, [[Alpha Trion (Animated)|two]] [[Perceptor (Animated)|of]] the Autobot Council provided Ratchet and Fanzone a Space Bridge ride home. The moment was slightly soured by Ratchet refusing to give Sentinel the Magnus Hammer and jumping through the Space Bridge with Fanzone. Back on Earth, Fanzone loudly complained about how he had been "mixed up in a war, nearly stepped on, blasted, buried in rubble, and possibly zapped into space" and was now an accomplice in intergalacitc grand theft. Then Ratchet destroyed a malfunctioning heli-drone and Fanzone called it even. Then Jazz came through the Space Bridge so he could join the Earth Autobots, much to Fanzone's annoyance. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

{{charstubfiction}}

==Notes==
* According to [[Marty Isenberg]], Captain Fanzone was named after Detroit native [[wikipedia:Carmen_Fanzone|Carmen Fanzone]], a neighbor of his and a former player for the Chicago Cubs. Due to the relative scarcity of Fanzones in Michigan, the real Fanzone had to sign a waiver before the character could be used. The real Carmen Fanzone also doesn't look or sound anything like the ''Animated'' one.

[[Image:TFA Fanzone open eyes.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Fanzone can open his eyes. Experience has just taught him that he won't like what he sees.]]
* Fanzone's ability to open his eyes seems to vary from episode to episode. In many episodes (seemingly the ones animated by [[The Answer Studio]]) his eyes are permanently closed... which does match the stock [[character model]] seen above, granted, but probably isn't how he's supposed to be 24/7.

* Captain Fanzone is so slow to adopt new technology that he has a [[wikipedia:rotary_dial|rotary dial]] cell phone...and he even has problems with that.

* His car has been crushed several times, yet it continues to show up to be crushed again. He must have good insurance.

* Fanzone's extended family, including his wife and mother-in-law, have been alluded to on a number of occasions, but have yet to make an actual appearance. Given that it's been implied that the other Fanzones are just as susceptible to "unfortunate incidents" with technology as the captain himself is, that's probably just as well.

* Fanzone is actually the first human [[This Is Why I Hate Machines|ever to set foot on Cybertron]] in the ''Animated'' universe.

{{DEFAULTSORT: Fanzone, Carmine}}
[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Humans]]
[[Category:Security officers]]

Beastformer (species)

2009-12-25T06:16:41Z

189.153.84.200: /* Toys */

[[Image:BattleBeastsDreamwave1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Adorably vicious]]
The '''''Beastformers''''' toy line, developed jointly by [[Hasbro]] and [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] in 1986, was released as part of the Japanese ''Headmasters'' series (in 1987) and even made appearances within the series' cartoon and manga.

The American/European version of the line, called '''''Battle Beasts''''' was, until recently, fictionally unconnected to ''Transformers''.

:''Portugese name'': '''Bestias Combate'''
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Comba Nimaux'''
:''French name'': '''Les Dragonautes'''

==Transformers fiction==
===Japanese cartoon continuity===
====''The Headmasters'' cartoon====
[[Image:Beastfamily.jpg|right|300px|thumb|A bucolic [[wikipedia:Sylvanian_Families|Sylvanian]]... er, Beastformer family, before the Decepticons invaded.]]
The [[Autobot]]s came into contact with two refugee Beastformers who were seeking help. They said that their world, planet [[Beast (planet) | Beast]], was a happy and peaceful one ruled by a just hereditary monarchy of lions (what else?) until the [[Decepticon]]s invaded and helped the enemy forces of [[Alligatron]] take control. To all appearances, this tragedy changed their society from [http://www.sylvanianfamilies.com/index.php a girls' toy brand] to a boys' toy brand. The Autobots traveled to Beast inside of [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] and helped the good Beastformers free planet Beast from Decepticon tyranny. [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] left the [[Monsterbot]]s behind to protect the planet from any future Decepticon incursions.

After [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] blew up [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and Rodimus Prime departed to find a new homeworld, the Monsterbots rejoined the Autobot forces under Fortress Maximus. This led to further suffering for the Beastformers as the Decepticons invaded again (see below) and Scorponok took many of them to the planet [[Zarak (Nebulan)|Zarak]] as slaves to build him a giant [[transtector]]. Smooth move, Monsterbots. {{storylink|Rebellion on Planet Beast}}

====''The Headmasters'' comic====
Once again, the Decepticons teamed up with Alligatron to take over planet Beast. The good Battle Beasts under the command of [[White Leo]] (with help from human-turned Battle Beast, [[Kane]]) sent for assistance from the Autobots, who arrived to help defeat the Decepticons and Alligatron. {{storylink|Great Decisive Battle of Planet Beast!}}

===Dreamwave Generation 1 comics===
While hunting down the rogue [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s search brought him to planet Beest during the middle of a battle amongst the Beastformers. {{storylink|Welcome to the Jungle}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:Beastformers GIJoe.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Beastformers acting as Unicron's antibodies.]]
In order to keep the planet-devouring chaos god [[Unicron]] from munching [[Earth]], [[Flint (G.I. Joe)|Flint]] and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] traveled within the giant's body in order to deliver a devastating payload of metal-eating fungus to his brain. Flint and Cosmos were stalled by Unicron's antibodies, in the form of mind-controlled Beastformers. Flint and Cosmos fought past the Beastformers and defeated Unicron with the fungus. Whether this freed the enslaved Beastformers or not remains unclear. However, [[Joe Colton]] is charged with leading a mission to Unicron's dead body in order to bring assistance to its residents (presumably the Beastformers). {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 2 of 2|Black Horizon Part 2}}

==Beastformers/Battle Beasts fiction==

===''Laser Beasts'' comic===
Tens of thousands of years ago, the Three Wise Men (later to be known as the God Beasts) crash-landed on planet [[Beast (G1)|Beast]] and quickly discovered that they could not survive due to the planet's incredible temperature, lack of water and virtually no breathable atmosphere. Immediately, they located a cave and chose to live underground where they could survive somehow. Using their incredible knowledge, they created three machines capable of unfathomable destruction which they dubbed "Hunters". They used the Hunters to build a vast subterranean empire, but fearing the destructive power of the Hunters, had all three units separated and hidden across the globe. Later, they developed a new kind of lifeform, the '''Laser Beast'''. Using a lens located in its chest, the Laser Beast could absorb artificial solar energy and power itself.

20014 years later, the underground civilization of the Laser Beasts eventually succumbed to over-mechanization, destroying their own environment and causing a rift between the once-peaceful citizens. A group of Laser Beasts, fearing the new hostilities, chose to leave the subterranean empire and journey to the surface for the first time ever. Surviving the journey, the Laser Beasts found the surface of Beast to have changed drastically since when the Three Wise Men founded their civilization, as it was now a jungle brimming with life. Almost immediately after their arrival, a great natural disaster flooded the subterranean empire of the Laser Beasts, destroying their city. The surviving Laser Beasts then chose to travel to the surface of Beast, albeit reluctantly.

Unknown to the Laser Beasts, the surface of Beast was already inhabited: by the Beastformers! The Laser Beasts and the Beastformers then clashed in a massive battle, deciding which Beast lifeform would rule the surface of Planet Beast!

===Blackthorne ''Battle Beasts'' comics===
[[Image:BattleBeasts comic 1.GIF|left|100px|thumb|The cover of Blackthorne Battle Beasts #1]]
The Battle Beasts did get some outside fiction in the U.S., in the form of a short-lived (four issues) [[Blackthorne Publishing|Blackthorne]] black-and-white comic book. Good luck finding it.

The comic is set on an unnamed planet inhabited by sentient, armored animals, each imbued with the power of one of the three elements: water, fire, and wood. Their powers and the health of their world are maintained by the Soulspirit, a ghostly figure that—strangely for a planet of talking animals—appears to be [[human]]. By keeping her animal charges and their nature totems in harmony, the Soulspirit helps maintain a balance that prevents the return of her ancient enemy—Ruhin, the sludgy lord of chaos. An evil plot by the totem-switching, mind-controlling, rather [[Megatron (BW)|''Beast Wars'' Megatron]]-ish Chameleon, and his minions Blitzkrieg Bat, Rocky Rhino, and Cutthroat Cuttlefish, disrupts the Soulspirit's planetary totem renewal ritual: the subsequent psychic totem disruption drives every creature on the planet insane and makes them start viciously attacking each other. The only beasts spared from this madness are Chameleon's forces and a small group of heroes (Horny Toad, Knight Owl, and Gargantuan Gorilla) who had already tried and failed to stop him. With their world now plunged into madness and nonstop war, the heroic faction must journey to find the one being on the planet—the near-mythical [[White Leo|Sunburst Warrior]]—who can restore the harmony and sanity of the Battle Beasts. But they must hurry, because the disruption of the balance of nature has also revived the evil Ruhin!

{{--}}

==Toys==
[[Image:BEASTFORMERS BACKcomp.JPG|right|300px|thumb|The Care Bear Cousins will protect the Forest of Feelings at all cost!]]
Battle Beasts/Beastformers are soft plastic figures of anthropomorphic animals in high-tech armor, each about 1.5 inches tall, with swivel-jointed shoulders and a unique weapon accessory. Their primary gimmick is the use of [[Rubsign|rubsigns]]. In the initial Takara releases, they came in ''Transformers''-style boxes.

Their rubsigns were used to play a variation of "Rock-Paper-Scissors". Each Beast could have one of three "elements" revealed by the rubsign: Wood, Fire or Water. Wood beats Water, Water beats Fire, and Fire beats Wood. A rare fourth element, Sunburst ("Burstsun" in Japan), could beat any other, though this symbol was introduced late in the line. Since the symbols were heat-activated, it was impossible to determine what each toys' symbol was until the toys were freed from their packaging. (Reportedly, only [[White Leo]] was available as a "Burstsun" warrior in Japan.) The [[Hasbro]] line packaged them as two-packs with randomized pairings, while the [[Takara]] series had individual boxes with bio cards.

===Series 1 (1987)===
Packaged in ''Transformers''-style boxes, the initial Beastformers were divided between the Autobot and Decepticon factions on the basis of whether their species was an endothermic vertebrate (mammal or bird) or... well, anything else. The one exception was the Decepticon [[Devilbat]].

====Autobot====
*1 - [[White Leo]] / Pirate Lion
*2 - [[Big Serow]] / Deer Stalker
*3 - [[Golder]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCFTiger.html]</ref> / Ferocious Tiger
*4 - [[Flykick]] / Colonel Bird
*8 - [[Elephan]] / Sledgehammer Elephant

[[Image:SnakeBomb-MIB.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You can't keep me in here! I have to fight He-Man!]]
*9 - [[Graysharp]] / Rocky Rhino
*10 - [[Grayox]] / Roamin' Buffalo
*11 - [[Battle Bear]] / Grizzly Bear
*13 - [[Bonga]] / Gargantuan Gorilla
*14 - [[Wildthunder]] / Swiny Boar
*16 - [[Beafox]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCFox.html]</ref> / Sly Fox
*18 - [[Yellow Giraffe]] / Rubberneck Giraffe
*19 - [[Hedgehog]] / Prickly Porcupine
*22 - [[Rabbit Kid]] / Hare Razing Rabbit
*21 - [[Bowdog]] / Danger Dog
*23 - [[Bluehorse]] / Sir Sire Horse
*24 - [[Giader]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCWeasel.html]</ref> / War Weasel
*25 - [[Violethorn]] / Bloodthirsty Bison
*26 - [[Bombsheep]]<ref>The English [[romanization]] on Bomb Sheep's Meiji trading card[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCSheep.html] is "Bomsheep". The majority of the other Beastformer romanizations the wiki has adopted from these cards are otherwise widely open to interpretation; in this case, however, "bom" is assumed to be [[Engrish]].</ref> / Bighorn Sheep

====Decepticons====
*5 - [[Killer Fish]] / Killer Carp
*6 - [[Snake Bomb]]<ref>The English [[romanization]] on Snake Bomb's Meiji trading card[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCSnake.html] is "Snakebom". The majority of the other Beastformer romanizations the wiki has adopted from these cards are otherwise widely open to interpretation; in this case, however, "bom" is assumed to be [[Engrish]].</ref> / Triple Threat Snake
*7 - [[Drillfrog]] / Horny Toad
*12 - [[Devilbat]] / Blitzkrieg Bat
*15 - [[Alligatron]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCGator.html]</ref> / Gruesome Gator
*17 - [[Black Turtle]] / Hardtop Tortoise
*20 - [[Badshark]] / Sawtooth Shark
*27 - [[Deaspider]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCSpider.html]</ref> / Webslinger Spider
*28 - [[Crabhit]] / Crusty Crab

===Series 2 (1987)===
At this point, Beastformers boxes ceased to use the Autobot and Decepticon symbols and faction-coded red and purple backgrounds. They were still divided between Autobot and Decepticon factions, with appropriate faction insignia on the bio cards included in their boxes. The Autobot Beastformers were still exclusively mammals and birds, while the Decepticon Beastformers welcomed owls and a variety of mammals into their ranks. And these are supposed to be the ''villains''.

====Autobot====
*31 - [[Powerjaguar]] / Jaded Jag
*32 - [[Stronghippo]] / Humongous Hippo
*33 - [[Wavemoose]] / Major Moose
*35 - [[Jungaroo]] / Kickback Kangaroo
*37 - [[Seairon]] / Wolfgang Walrus
*39 - [[Darkraccoon]] / Dragoon Racoon
*41 - [[Smileduck]] / Run Amuck Duck
*42 - [[Undergroun]] / Miner Mole
*44 - [[Beavop]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCBeaver.html]</ref> / Eager Beaver
*47 - [[Yellowcamelus]] / Hunchback Camel
*48 - [[Polar Battle Bear]] / Pillaging Polar Bear
*49 - [[Flyingattacker]] / Squirely Squirrel
*50 - [[Platinum Tiger]] / Sabre Sword Tiger
*51 - [[Bullorn]] / Bludgeonly Bulldog

====Decepticon====
*29 - [[Iguanamonss]]<ref>Spelling in English on Meiji trading card.[http://home.comcast.net/~BattleBeastSD/MGCIguanna.html]</ref> / Icky Iguana
*30 - [[Browngyro]] / Armored Armadillo
*34 - [[Greenchameles]] / Delta Chameleon
*36 - [[Redocto]] / Octillion Octopus
*38 - [[Scoutmouse]] / Powerhouse Mouse
*40 - [[Powernozzle]] / Antic Anteater
*43 - [[Cuttledeep]] / Cutthroat Cuttlefish
*45 - [[Juniordragon]] / Slasher Seahorse
*46 - [[Knightowl]]
*52 - [[Ultragas]] / Pew-Trid Skunk

===Series 3 (1987)===
With the third wave release, the rubsigns were reworked so they featured full-color illustrations, rather than the black-on-mood-ring-colors of the old signs. All Series 1 Beastformers were repackaged to fit with the new ''Beastformers'' brand and given the updated rubsigns. The Series 2 Beastformers were also rereleased with the updated rubsigns in Series 3 boxes. Numerous multi-packs --with [[exclusive]] variations-- were released in Japan as well.

Vehicles were also introduced to the line, motorized "Battle Chariots" and transforming "Battle Bases" that unfolded into large playsets.

====Autobots====
*53 - [[Strong Panda]] / Panzer Panda
*55 - [[Koala Gray]] / Killer Koala
*57 - [[Black Jaguar]] / Black Panther
*58 - [[Dream-Eater]] / Torrential Tapir
*60 - [[Baboon]] / Manic Mandrill
*61 - [[Dog Hunter]] / Pixilated Pointer
*62 - [[Būpink]] / Pillager Pig
*63 - [[Razorkukku]] / Rowdy Rooster
*64 - [[Musk-Horn]] / Musky Ox
*66 - [[Slo]] / Slowpoke Sloth
*67 - [[Earthhog]] / Ardent Aardvark
*68 - [[White Cow]] / Bodacious Bovine
*69 - [[Zebra Ball]] / Zealot Zebra
*71 - [[Duck Diver]] / Diving Duckbill
*73 - [['Mingo Kid]] / Frenzied Flamingo
*74 - [[Little Serow]] / Fleet-Footed Antelope
*75 - [[Peguinis]] / Pungnacious Penguin
*76 - [[Udan]] / Osified Orangutan

====Decepticons====
*54 - [[Shield Dragon]] / Leapin' Lizard
*56 - [[Demonkey]] / Tarsier Tyrant
*59 - [[Cobrander]] / King Cobra
*65 - [[Pangol]] / Tanglin' Pangolin
*70 - [[Eagle Killer]] / Harrier Hawk
*72 - [[Crowmax]] / Crooked Crow

====Battle Chariots====
*[[Battling Big Horn]]
*[[Battling Deer Stalker]]
*[[Battling Tearin' Tiger]]

====Battle Bases====
*[[Red Phoenix]]
*[[Shocking Shark]]
*[[Wood Beetle]]

===Laser Beasts (1988)===
An evolution of the gimmick was planned for both sides of the world, replacing the rubsigns with clear marbles that would reveal their element when looked through into a light source. The US/Europe version of these toys, dubbed the '''Battle Beasts Shadow Warriors''', never made it to a wide release, though packaged samples of the toys have been uncovered. In Japan, the entire range made it to retail, under the name '''Laser Beasts''', likely named as such due to the combination of their light-based gimmick, and that the melee weapons of old were replaced with blaster-rifles. However, the Laser Beasts came out after the Beastformers had removed all their ties to ''Transformers'' (and, as such, will not be covered extensively on this wiki).

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.toyarchive.com/BattleBeasts/BattleBeasts1.html Battle Beasts info at Super Toy Archive]
*[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5O26Dtubh0 Toy commercial on YouTube]

[[Category:Beastformers| ]]
[[Category:Beastformers franchise| ]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Headmasters franchise]]
[[Category:Planet Beast]]