Beast mode

Beast mode is a term that is properly used to describe a Transformer's alternate mode when the alternate mode is of the form of an animal and has organic material integrated among the Transformer's mechanical form. Transformers would often initiate the process of converting from their robot mode by vocalizing the phrase "Beast mode!"

Beast Wars

The term was first used officially in fiction relating to the Beast Era. When stranded on a planet with high levels of Energon radiation, Maximals and Predacons took on beast modes from the native life on that planet. The quasi-organic nature of the beast mode protected them from the radiation.

In taking on such beast modes, the Transformer did more than simply mimic the life form, he also took on some characteristics of the animal. This affected the Transformer in various ways.

• All characters frequently displayed characters consistent with their beast modes diets e.g. (Tarantulas' tendency to try and eat...everyone, Dinobot's carnivory, Optimus' interest in bananas.

• Tigatron's stasis pod was damaged causing him to take on characteristics of the tiger that was scanned. Fallen Comrades

• The energon radiation shielding was sabotaged at the Maximal base forcing them to remain in beast mode for much longer than they were used to. The extended time in beast mode caused the Maximals to become overcome with the mindset of their beast mode. They become feral and live as animals in the jungle. Tigatron, due to the accident with his protoform, is well adapted to his beast mode and routinely remains a tiger for long periods of time. Tigatron teaches the rest of the Maximals to embrace the beast within, which both frees them from being overcome with the bestial instincts and allows them to be more effective fighters in beast mode. Call of the Wild

• For reasons that are uncertain, when Inferno's stasis pod activated he completely took on the characteristics of his ant beast mode. He thought he was an ant and Megatron was his queen. Spider's Game

• Some unknown factor that may or may not be similar to the preceding cases seems to impart a more subtle sense of animal-identification amongst even the most well-adjusted of the Beast Warriors. This tends to manifest itself in an odd kind of subtle speciesism, Rattrap and Blackarachnia refer to Dinobot and Megatron respectively as "slag-sucking saurian"s, Megatron and Dinobot in turn refer to Rattrap with contempt as "vermin", Tarantulas deliberately makes sure Blackarachnia's protoform scans a spider for its beast-mode and attempts to do the same with Inferno, seeking to create more of "our kind", and Megatron expresses his resulting distrust of the scheming "arachnids" on several occasions.

Generation 1

IDW comics continuity

Me, Grimlock like it!

The Dynobots took on organic flesh covered beast modes to protect them from high levels of Energon radiation on pre-historic Earth. Spotlight: Shockwave