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 behavioural characteristics of the animal. This affected the Transformer in various ways.

• Many characters displayed appetites consistent with their beast mode's diets, e.g. Rattrap's liking for cheese, Dinobot's carnivory, Optimus' interest in bananas, Tarantulas' tendency to try and eat...everyone.
• Tigatron's stasis pod was damaged causing him to identify more strongly than usual with the characteristics of the tiger that was scanned, initially taking some time to realise that was not actually a normal organic tiger. 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
• When Inferno's stasis pod activated, for reasons that are uncertain the characteristics of his ant beast mode became extremely dominant in shaping his worldview. He thought he was an ant and Megatron was his queen. Spider's Game
• Some unknown factor seems to impart a more subtle sense of animal-identification amongst even those Beast Warriors with notionally "normal" programming. This tends to manifest itself in an odd kind of subtle speciesism, e.g. 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, Dinobot rather curtly addresses Cheetor in one episode simply as "feline", who in turn claims with some chagrin that, being a cat, he should "know better than to trust a dog" after being sucker-punched by Silverbolt.

Generation 1

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Me, Grimlock like it!

Non-organic beast alt-modes were a hallmark of the Cybertronians who served Onyx Prime. When Nova Prime united the tribes of Cybertron and instituted functionism, he placed them near the bottom of society, above only those in the so-called Disposable class. Transformers with beast alt-modes faced institutionalized discrimination that remained until the start of the Great War, and a stigma that lasted longer. The Crucible

Seeing the writing on the wall, Onyx Prime instructed the Metrotitan Chela to colonize and defend the distant planet of Eukaris. From the hot spot within his body, Chela created a civilization of beast mode Transformers, safe from the stigma of functionism. The Eukariens were aware of the prejudice their kind had faced on Cybertron, and cultivated a deep distrust of any "standard-formers" with vehicle modes. Windblade vol. 2 #6

The Dynobots took on organic flesh covered beast modes to protect them from high levels of Energon radiation on prehistoric Earth. Spotlight: Shockwave During his tour of duty on Z'verei, Rattrap adopted a beast mode based on the local life-forms. Three Monologues

After the war, the Decepticon Demus started kidnapping and lobotomizing beast mode Transformers, selling his new "Roboids" as torture dolls for organic races to take their frustrations out on. Animals

Mesothulas eventually refined organic beast mode technology, creating mass-shifting "bio-disguises" - the ability to perfectly mimic any living creature and completely mask their signals in the process. When Mayhem were deployed to Earth, they adopted this technology and hid themselves among the native wildlife. Sins of the Wreckers issue 3

Classics

When Autobot and Decepticon ships crash-landed on a prehistoric Earth saturated with Energon radiation, Prowl came up with the solution of beast modes based on Pretender and Powermaster technology. Though Dirge came up with the same idea, Megatron opted to give the Decepticons new armor instead. Shattered Time

Notes

• "Beast mode" has since been trademarked by Marshawn Lynch, an American football running back for the Seattle Seahawks, who claims to have "invented" it as his own personal, signature catch phrase. Lynch now uses it as the primary branding of his clothing line, so don't expect the phrase to appear on any Hasbro merchandise any time soon.