Razorbeast

Razorbeast is a Maximal from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

Whose tusks gleam in the night?

Razorbeast is a stubborn infantry fighter with great strength and tenacity befitting a warthog. He will keep struggling and fighting ferociously against all odds no matter how hopeless the situation. This steadfastness in the face of adversity, coupled with his considerable improvisational skills has earned Razorbeast respect from comrades and foes alike, despite his diminutive stature. His self-reliant, self-sufficient nature and fierce refusal to give up has made him a prime choice for important but dangerous solo missions. Razorbeast has a healthy respect for the chain of command and would never disobey an order from above.

Spanish name: Jabali

Italian name: Razor

French-Canadian name: Sanglier

Fiction

First wave toy bios

Razorbeast is an infantry soldier serving under Optimus Primal, a leader he would never disobey due to his respect for Optimus, not only as his leader, but also as his fellow comrade. He is stubborn, aggressive, and always starving for combat, something he engages in ferociously, causing even his fellow Maximals to consciously attempt to always stay on his good side. Razorbeast toy bio

Whose prose gleams in the night?

In a swamp outside the Fusion Building genetics lab, a fleet of ferocious animals has gathered. Suddenly, the wild boar and his wild comrades is under attack by a massive alligator! Surprise! This is a battle between Optimus Primal and his Maximals and Megatron's Predacons! Razorbeast quickly transforms to attack Tarantulas, and the Beast Wars have begun! Optimus Primal vs Megatron!

Collect them all!

This comic, along with the on-package 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.

IDW Beast Wars comics

Maybe his alt mode is a Razor scooter?

Razorbeast was an undercover agent embedded by Lio Convoy in Magmatron's organization to discover, and if possible to foil, the general's plans. He traveled back in time to prehistoric Earth with Magmatron and his crew to retrieve the rogue Megatron. However this was just a front to the true plan, to challenge the Maximals for control of Cybertron. Magmatron needed an army, and prehistoric Earth was littered with the stasis pods that had been abandoned by the Axalon. Magmatron had Razorbeast awaken these protoforms as Predacons, however, Razorbeast inserted a virus into the protoform-awakening software which allowed some of them to retain their Maximal allegiance. The Gathering #1

Fleeing from Magmatron, Razorbeast hooked up with the few Maximals he could immediately find: B'Boom, Snarl, Optimus Minor, Bonecrusher, Ramulus, and Wolfang. B'Boom in particular had difficulty trusting Razorbeast at first, as the warthog's camouflage programming caused him to broadcast a Predacon spark signature even now. The Gathering #2

Still, this rag-tag crew worked together on a pair of simultaneous missions: to prevent Magmatron from mucking with the timeline, and salvage the proper equipment to send a distress signal back to Cybertron. Magmatron was successfully dispatched back into the future, but the signal array was destroyed before it could be properly utilized. In the end, Razorbeast and company joined up with Torca's militia, Prowl's air force, and the remaining Maximals to continue protecting Earth against the Predacons and their new commander, the rebuilt Ravage. The Gathering #3 The Gathering #4

Hakuna MatatAAAIIGGHH!!!

Razorbeast continued to lead the Maximals against Ravage's Predacons, hoping for eventual rescue. After launching constant hit-and-run attacks, Ravage eventually set his Predacons on a full-tilt assault against the Maximals, hoping to steal the chronal phase armbands that would allow him to sync up with the "other" Beast Wars. The Ascending #1

With the arrival of the Pack on Earth, victory and rescue seemed imminent. But the machinations of Unicron came into play when Razorbeast was infected with Angolmois by Rartorata, and was transformed into a feral beast. The Ascending #2

The Maximals were forced to wrestle Razorbeast to the ground and restrain him to get him under control as the Predacons handled Rartorata. Lio Convoy managed to break through the Angolmois-madness and bring Razorbeast back to his senses temporarily, but when Drancron and Elephorca arrived on the scene, Razorbeast broke free and turned his rage on the two Blendtrons. The Ascending #3

He managed to defeat Elephorca largely by himself, and the others managed to beat Drancron and Rartorata. With no new enemies to focus his rage on, Razorbeast began to lose control again. A distraught Optimus Minor was forced to shoot his friend in the head, killing him, lest he harm the surviving Maximals and Predacons.

That'll do, Maximal. That'll do.

Showing his respect and regard for a fallen foe, Magmatron would later remark that if anyone deserved a monument for their actions this day, Razorbeast would be the one. The Ascending #4

Toys

Beast Wars

• Razorbeast (Basic, 1996)

Part of the very first wave of Beast Wars product, Razorbeast transforms from a red warthog to robot mode with a spring-loaded one-step transforming action. His mane becomes a dual barreled (non-firing) handgun. The original releases came on a "rocky bubble" card, but this later changed to the "smooth bubble" style.

This mold was also used for Beast Wars Neo's Randy.

• More information on Razorbeast at TFU.info

• Razorbeast (MicroVerse, 1997)

This tiny, non-transforming Razorbeast was available with a tiny, non-transforming alligator Megatron and the Arachnid MicroVerse playset. There are two variants of this piece; one has bright yellow legs, the other bright green.

• More information on Arachnid, including Razorbeast figure at TFU.info

Merchandise

• Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game (1997)

Razorbeast was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars card game.

Trivia

HAIR-trigger temper ha ha ha.

• The card-art for Razorbeast shows him with two handguns. It's possible that an early design of the toy was intended to split the mane in half. In the comics, he alternates between holding his gun in his hand and leaving it mounted on his back while firing.

• Simon Furman picked Razorbeast as the main Maximal character of The Gathering before he even saw a picture of him. Razorbeast's name just stood out to him. He also stated that had he seen the toy before he made that decision, he might have used someone different.

• Unsurprisingly, the going price for Razorbeast's toy on eBay has jumped considerably since his starring role in IDW's comics. Call it "The Bludgeon Effect" - Simon does it again!

• Don't call him Pumbaa.