Transmetal

Rattrap admires his grasping forepaws while Cheetor flexes his pecs.

A Transmetal is a Transformer whose superstructure has been mutated by the quantum surge during the Beast Wars.

The most obvious effect is a mode-based inversion of organic and mechanical composition: A Transmetal's beast mode is mostly mechanical, and his or her robot mode bears many organic elements, such as Cheetor's furry chest. Transmetallization sometimes also produces a third "mobility" mode, which is essentially the beast mode with some vehicular additions. Examples include Rattrap as a wheeled rat, Optimus Primal as a sky-surfing gorilla, Tarantulas as a motorcycle-spider hybrid, Cheetor as a flying cheetah, and Megatron as a VTOL-enhanced Rollerblader.

One more subtle effect of Transmetallization is immunity to certain Vok weaponry that would debilitate a normal Transformer. Tarantulas hypothesized that this is because Transmetals are closer to being Vok themselves. Additionally, being a Transmetal seems to provide a temporary resistance to the full effects of Megatron's virus, but at the cost of losing one's Transmetallization.

Later in the Beast Wars, a more advanced "Transmetal 2" mutation would appear.

Fiction

e-HOBBY comics

During a battle at Autobot Headquarters, Megatron took a blow from Optimus Prime so powerful it damaged his internal stability regulators. This allowed Megatron to access a cache of quantum surge energy that had been stored in his body for millions of years. The energy transformed him into a nigh-invulnerable Transmetal. Destron Leader Megatron Black Ver.

Beast Wars cartoon

Brass munky.

The Transmetals were created as a result of Transformers being bathed in a quantum surge after the destruction of the Vok Planet Buster. Aftermath All the Beast Warriors who were not "born" from a protoform on Earth or shielded in a CR chamber were altered. Why Earth-born Transformers were unaffected by the surge's effects are a mystery, especially considering that protoforms still in stasis pods were affected to various degrees.

The Transmetallized individuals were Megatron, Tarantulas, Rattrap, and Cheetor. Scorponok and Terrorsaur were in the middle of their mutation when they fell into lava pits seeping into the Predacon base and perished. Rampage was Transmetallized in his stasis pod. Bad Spark When Optimus Primal's spark was transplanted into a fresh new protoform, the resulting form was Transmetal as well. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2) Other protoforms in evidence included Transmutate, who was judged "partially Transmetal", Transmutate and the Fuzors Silverbolt and Quickstrike, who displayed the Transmetal quality of immunity to the Metal Hunter's weapon. Other Visits (Part 2) Even a fair bit of time after the surge, Depth Charge was turned into a full Transmetal as he approached Earth in his ship. Deep Metal

Yep, he's a Transmetal too. That's what happens when time itself gets messed with.

Most Transmetals had additional weapons and seemingly enhanced power levels. They were immune to some Vok weapons and did not show up on Vok scanners—Tarantulas took the view that the quantum surge's effects meant they were "one with [the Vok] now".

Transmetals were possibly immune to the effects of energon radiation. The evidence is scant, since most of the energon deposits on Earth's surface had been destroyed or converted to stable energon cubes by the Planet Buster cannon. However, the Transmetallized Tarantulas was once seen standing beneath an energon cache, completely unaffected. Tangled Web Then not long afterwards, the non-Transmetal Inferno suffered energon overload while in a cave containing energon crystals. The Agenda (Part 2)

IDW Beast Wars comics

Scavenger was a Transmetal, despite only existing as a protoform beforehand. The Gathering issue 2

Beast Machines cartoon

Maximals are going green! (Your mileage may vary)

When the Maximals encountered Megatron's virus, the Transmetals among them had a strange reaction: Rather than becoming instantly paralyzed, as apparently happened to the majority of Cybertronians exposed, they simply lost their Transmetallization. Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia reverted to their pre-Transmetal beast modes (or, in Primal's case, the form he would have had if he hadn't been "born" a Transmetal). The Reformatting They were able to stay mobile, though glitching and amnesic, while Rhinox and Silverbolt immediately succumbed to paralysis. It seems that whatever Transmetal properties had protected Silverbolt from the Metal Hunter couldn't save him from the virus. Revelations Part II: Descent

Toys

{{ #if: {{#ifexpr: 3 }}

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3

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• Transmetals (1998–2001)
  • McDonald's
    • Blackarachnia
    • Dinobot
    • Scorponok
  • Basic
    • Claw Jaw
    • Spittor
  • Deluxe
    • Airazor
    • Airazor (Fox Kids)
    • Cheetor
    • Cheetor (Fox Kids)
    • Metals Jaguar
    • Metals Rattle (Puzzle)
    • Rattrap
    • Rattrap (Wal-Mart)
    • Rattrap (Fox Kids)
    • Rhinox
    • Rhinox (Fox Kids)
    • Tarantulas
    • Tarantulas (Fox Kids)
    • Terrorsaur
    • Tigatron
    • Waspinator
    • Waspinator (Fox Kids)
  • Mega
    • Inferno (same toy as Scavenger)
    • Megatron
    • Optimus Primal
    • Scavenger
  • Ultra
    • Depth Charge
    • Rampage
  • Super
    • Optimal Optimus

}}

The initial run of "main line" Transmetals consisted of new toys for existing characters featured in the successful cartoon (budget constraints would mean not all the Transmetal toys would appear in the show.) Later, the subline included two new characters, Depth Charge and Rampage.

The defining characteristics of the Transmetal line are the chrome-like finish featured on much of the toys' surfaces, and semi-vehicular "third modes". Aesthetically, the toys are smoothly contoured, with more organic features revealed in robot mode.

Scorponok, Blackarachnia, and Dinobot, though also not Transmetal in the show, were given their own Transmetal toys as Happy Meal pack-ins from McDonald's.

Claw Jaw and Spittor were redecoed and sold as Transmetals in European markets with a VHS tape, though they lacked the third mode and vacuum metallizing.

Notes

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• Initial Transmetal toys were not designed with guns, only melee weapons, contrary to the requirements of the animated series (kinda the opposite of the situation with Bludgeon and co.'s toys vs. their comic book depictions). As a result, Mainframe Entertainment was forced to come up with creative solutions to give these characters ranged weapons without diminishing their toy accuracy. Thus, Tarantulas's handheld buzzsaw functioned like a gun and the green markings on his shoulders were depicted as missile ports, Megatron's pincer/whip/flail/"whiplash cutlass" thing (read: he's holding his damn tail) gained the ability to stiffen and fire like a cannon (tee hee), as well as his dinosaur arm kibble moving forward to function as shoulder guns, and Cheetor's hideous hands were capable of firing energy blasts, usually when placed together and thus temporarily making the halves of his beast-mode head whole, with the zaps emanating from its mouth (a pose impossible to achieve with the figure without unhinging the shoulders from the sides.) In "Other Visits (Part 2)", however, he fires only one hand.

Even more elaborate was the functional reconceptualization of Optimus Primal's toy, whose hoverboard thruster/mace launcher was used as a laser pistol. Not content with this rather puny-looking firearm, some clever cove at Mainframe noticed that his shoulder-pad and mace-stowing bracket thing could be flipped over his head (a function of his transformation) and improperly positioned in such a way that the long handles of his dual maces pointed outwards like gun barrels and, with the shoulder-pads positioned over his outstretched fists like trigger-guards, the whole device was re-imagined as something resembling two machine guns mounted on a steadicam harness.

The only exception to these exotic re-imaginings was Rattrap, who used his tail/whip/spear as intended but also retained his pre-Transmetal gun (albeit with a redeco to suit his new color scheme), despite the fact that the toy did not.

As an odd point of comparison, the later Transmetal Optimal Optimus was packaged with a rifle, which he never used in the show. Presumably someone decided that his large chest cannons were enough (although they also made them retractable, unlike the toy).

• According to Ben Yee, the Transmetals were originally conceived of by Beast Wars writers as "absorbing" energon radiation and then needing to discharge that energy later, typically as weapon energy.<ref>Ben Yee's "Bad Spark" review (archive)</ref> However, the only time this was hinted at in the series was during "Bad Spark", when Cheetor "farts" a little energon cloud.

References

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