Transmutate (BW)

This article is about the Beast Wars character. For the Beast Wars episode, see Transmutate (episode).

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

MU-tilate. MU-tant. Hm. I wonder. Oh well.

Twisted and warped, Transmutate is a Transformer in name only. The damage done to it by its troubled birth has rendered it unable to transform and reduced its mind to infancy, leaving it utterly innocent in personality and able to grasp only simple concepts. Its trusting and curious nature is both a boon and a handicap.

Transmutate's distorted frame conceals almost unbelievable destructive power in the form of a super-sonic scream which can leave all but the hardiest victim out cold. Its simple mind means that many of its capabilities remain unknown, even to itself, and it will express surprise when, for instance, it finds it has the ability to flyyyyyyyyy.

Man, I am tellin' ya, the things coming out of these pods is just getting weirder and weirder.Rattrap, "Transmutate"

Fiction

Beast Wars cartoon

Voice actor: Susan Blu (English), Haruna Ikezawa (Japanese)

Transmutate's stasis pod was one of many aboard the Axalon and at some point crashed from Earth orbit in seismically-unstable Grid Deltron. The heavily-damaged pod later became uncovered by the region's earthquakes and Transmutate explosively freed itself. Presented with the choice of Maximal or Predacon, it hesitated and when Inferno accidentally shot it, it unleashed its sonic scream. With the Maximals out of commission as a result and feeling he'd found a kindred spirit, Rampage lost no time in befriending Transmutate. Though Megatron failed to see the value in the mutant and wanted it destroyed, Rampage intended to prove it a worthy ally. He and Inferno persuaded it to act as bait for a trap for Silverbolt. When Transmutate was reluctant to finish off the Maximal, Inferno pushed the creature aside and was promptly blasted into the distance for his troubles.

Optimus Primal arrived and, defeating Rampage, persuaded Transmutate to return with him to the Axalon for a scan. The results were discouraging—Optimus felt that it was a danger to itself as well as those around it, Rhinox suggested putting it into stasis lock, and Silverbolt was the only one to speak up angrily in its favor. Walking through the base alone, Transmutate heard Rampage calling to it, and opted to leave the Axalon to join him.

Silverbolt quickly found the pair and immediately came to blows with Rampage. Transmutate tried to get them to stop, landing between them right as they each fired missiles. Transmutate blazed with power as it tried to halt the missiles, but was shattered in the resulting explosion and, though its consciousness lingered for a few moments more, its spark was extinguished. Transmutate

Beast Wars: Uprising

Believing the authorities' version of reality was flawed, Trans-Mutate fell in with Cryotek, the only one who seemed to listen to her. When her usefulness was ended, he discarded her, and instead she was rescued from the authorities by Botanica. Alone Together: Perception and fell in with Rattrap's freedom fighters, struggling to overthrow the masters who forced them to fight a continuous war. Transmutate's club magazine profile She joined in a raid on the Ferromax Detention Center, intending to free Dynobot, however when they entered the maximum security level, she was distracted by a voice from a nearby cell, telling her that he could feel the pain in her spark. The Maximals freed Dynobot, and before they left, Rampage promised Trans-Mutate that they would meet again. Alone Together: Prologue

Trans-Mutate was captured, tried, and sentenced to incarceration on Garrus-16, however the Claustrum suffered a hull breach en route, depositing her stasis pod on dwarf planet LGC-8803. Taking the navicomp from the pod to supply advice, she explored and discovered a huge structure. A short time later, Rampage found her. Alone Together: Perception

Toys

Beast Wars

Not wanted anywhere but eBay.

• Head - Waspinator
• Torso - Cheetor
• Waist & right leg - Rhinox
• Left leg - Tarantulas
• Right arm - Rattrap
• Left arm - Dinobot

Trans-Mutate was never sold as an individual toy. Rather, it was only available with the first two waves of Beast Wars 10th Anniversary toys in 2006; each of the first six releases had a part to Trans-Mutate packaged with it. All six parts combined to form a non-transformable figure with limited articulation... but the simple fact that an official figure of a one-episode show character got made is itself an extraordinary occurrence.

• More information on Transmutate at TFU.info

Timelines

"Abed, she’s a program."
"People have said similar things about me."

• Trans-Mutate (Deluxe, 2014)
  • Accessories: Two arm blades/motorcycle panels, stand

Trans-Mutate is a redeco of First Edition Arcee. She will be an exclusive available for purchase by Transformers Collectors' Club members. Trans-Mutate transforms from a green and tan motorcycle to a robot and back. Arm blades stow in vehicle mode and can be plugged under Trans-Mutate's forearms in robot mode.

Notes

• A minor point of argument among fans is exactly why the Maximals were so quick to stasis-lock Transmutate instead of transferring its spark to another body like Rhinox did with Optimus Primal following the latter's unintentional sacrifice. It was stated only that its core consciousness and body structure were mutilated beyond recovery; no mention was made about the condition of its spark. Of course, the euthanasia metaphor of the character's title episode would fall apart if they did that, but hey, semantics.
• In regard to the previous note, the script for this episode explicitly states that Transmutate's spark was unstable: "Energy ERUPTS throughout Its body as Its own unstable spark begins to tear It apart." Although stage direction and narration from scripts are only pseudocanon, this may nonetheless satisfy some fans that the spark was indeed as damaged as the body. The script, like many Beast Wars scripts, can be found on BWTF.com.

faaaaaaaaaaaace

• Also from the episode script comes this character description in the cast listing section: TRANSMUTATE: a being with no beauty of form nor logic of shape, massive, made of unmatched parts: bits of Predacon, pieces of Maximal, chunks of Fuzor and Transmetal, heavy-duty weapons, and a face that vaguely indicates it is female. This wording lends some credence to the fan notion that Transmutate was originally a female Protoform. However, Transmutate is consistently referred to within the script using genderless pronouns, confusing the issue. In 2014, Transmutate would be depicted as female by a Timelines toy and Club magazine story.
• According to Ben Yee on Madman Entertainment's Beast Wars Season 2 DVD commentaries, Hasbro attempted to replicate Transmutate's sonic scream attacks first as a spring-loaded projectile, then as a static decoration. Fortunately for the sake of good taste, they abandoned those plans.
• Many people feel Transmutate's face is unsettling.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Transmutate (トランスミューテイト Toransumyūteito)
• Italian: Convertor
• Portuguese: Transmutante
• Spanish: Transmutante
• Russian: Transmutatzia (Трансмутация), Transmutant (Трансмутант)