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!"

Transformers with beast modes are sometimes referred to as "beast-formers", distinguishing them from vehicular "standard-formers." Rarely, a Transformer might have an animal form as their main robot mode, and have a regular alternate mode they turn into.

Fiction

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 Transformers do more than simply mimic the life form, they also take on some behavioural characteristics of the animal. This affects 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 realize that he 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 became 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 [[wikipedia:{{#if:|:}}speciesism|{{#if:||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

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Animal-based Transformers were known as primitives. Call of the Primitives

When the Nemesis fell to Earth, a trio of Decepticons ejected themselves in an escape pod. Upon landing, the trio's idento-computers reformatted them into insectoid alternate modes so they could survive in the alien environment. A Plague of Insecticons

After discovering dinosaur bones, the Autobots were inspired to create the Dinobots, powerful warriors with alternate modes patterned after the extinct beasts. S.O.S. Dinobots War of the Dinobots

The Quintessons utilized the Sharkticons and Allicons, Transformers with shark and crocodile beast modes respectively, as a servant races. The Transformers: The Movie

In 2006, a large group of beast mode Transformers, consisting of both Autobots and Decepticons, were summoned by a mysterious entity to defeat Primacron and his creation, Tornedron. Call of the Primitives

Wings Universe

Laserbeak was the first ever Cybertronian to possess an animal form—a Cryo-Condor who'd been reengineered with a rudimentary alternate mode. Ravage and Buzzsaw would follow, and over the years both Autobots and Decepticons would add many new "Recordicons" and "Recordabots" to their ranks. Menagerie #1

The Dinobots were the first Cybertronians to possess both humanoid robot forms and beast modes. Menagerie #2 The Predacons would become the most notable beast-bots in the years that followed the disappearance of Galvatron and the revitalisation of Cybertron; Perceptor speculated that Razorclaw had marshalled the remnants of the Decepticon military so as to continue their evolution into Predacons. Menagerie #1

2005 IDW continuity

Me Grimlock like it!

In Cybertron's prehistoric past, the Maximal army emerged as a tribe of bestial warriors under the command of Liege Maximo. When the Forgotten Plains were conquered by Megatronus, the Maximals and their master fled, coming into the employ of Onyx Prime who incorporated the Maximals into his own "menagerie" of bestial legions. The First Who Was Named Origin Myths Endless Forever

When the Thirteen Tribes unified, the Maximals continued to be segregated on account of their beast modes. Another Mine

When Nova Prime united the tribes of Cybertron and instituted functionism, he placed the beasts near the bottom of society, above only those in the so-called Disposable class. The beasts would become the victims of institutionalized discrimination that lasted until the final days of Sentinel Prime's reign. The Crucible

Beast mode Transformers come in many different shapes and sizes.

Knowing what was to come, Onyx Prime had instructed the Titan 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 ancestors had faced on Cybertron, and cultivated a deep distrust of any "standard-formers" with vehicle modes. Windblade vol. 2 #6

By the time of the Great War, the stigma seemed to have largely dissipated, as nobody considered Transformers with beast modes to be especially remarkable. Some vehicular Transformers even adopted beast modes: most notably, the Dynobots took on pseudo-organic 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 "domesticating" 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 #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

Beast Wars: Uprising

The "Beast Upgrade", as it came to be known, was developed by the Darksyder Megatron during the Grand Uprising after colluding with the mad Builder scientist Leatherhide. Although several early test subjects died as a result of the imperfect process, the Darksyders were able to perfect beast mode technology to first create Formikon and then apply it to themselves. Not All Megatrons

Based off of Cybertron's native mechanimals, Transformers who adopted the Beast Upgrade no longer required external energon cubes to function; instead, they could ingest food which their onboard systems could then process into energon. Not All Megatrons Beast mode Transformers also possessed increased reflexes as a result of their bio-enhanced physiologies and could quickly repair their injuries while in their beast modes. Cultural Appropriation

The Beast Upgrade soon spread across Cybertron, and most Maximals and Predacons chose to abandon their original vehicular configurations in favor of beast modes. It became a decisive factor as the Grand Uprising came to a close; freed from the need for vulnerable energon supply chains, members of the Resistance and other splinter forces were able to besiege Builder-held cities with impunity. Derailment Cultural Appropriation

2019 IDW continuity

After Ironhide's sardonic jest about the Senate Guard's poor reputation worried Subsea, Grotusque noted that his colleague should adopt a beast mode to get used to being looked down upon, with Ironhide voicing the opinion that no one looked down on bestial Cybertronians. We Have Deceived You

2021 IDW Beast Wars comic

After the Axalon and the Darksyde had crashed, the AIs of both ships reconstructed their crews with fabricated techno-organic material that matched the native organics on a molecular level to protect the Cybertronians from harmful levels of energon radiation. Savage Landing Part 1

2001 Robots in Disguise cartoon

The Predacons all had beast modes, contrasting the vehicular Autobots. Though Megatron, as a Six Changer, could transform into non-bestial forms, two of his alternate forms were a two-headed dragon and a bat. Battle Protocol! When he became Galvatron, he gained a single-headed dragon, an elephant, and a griffin as additional beast modes. Maximus Emerges

Energon cartoon

Alpha Quintesson's Terrorcons all possessed animalistic alternate modes. Each sub-species of Terrorcon had their own beast form, with Battle Ravages and Command Ravages transforming into jaguars Cybertron City Crisis in Jungle City, Divebombs and Blackout transforming into hawks Energon Grid, Cruellocks turning into an approximation of a dinosaur The Return of Demolishor, and Insecticons turning into beetles. Each One Fights... Their commander, Scorponok, had what can be loosely described as a beast mode, but in actuality it was a construction vehicle shaped like a scorpion. Scorpinok.

In a reverse to the typical norm, it was their beast mode that they stayed in most often, and they were only seen in robot mode when it became absolutely necessary for combat. Energon Stars A Tale of Two Heros

Cybertron cartoon

The Transformers who colonized the Jungle Planet adopted beast modes to cope with their new world. Search Deep

When Overhaul tapped into the power of the Jungle Planet's Cyber Planet Key, it gave him a lion alternate mode, prompting him to rename himself "Leobreaker". Detour

Animated cartoon

Befitting the Cybertronian xenophobia towards organic lifeforms, beast modes were an uncommon and repulsive sight in the optics of most Cybertronians. During a disastrous expedition to the forbidden world of Archa Seven, the Autobot cadet Elita-1 attempted to use her download powers on a native arachnid but wound up infecting herself with their venom, becoming a technorganic monstrosity and gaining a beast mode in the creatures' likeness. Along Came a Spider

As part of his many attempts to regain his body and power, Megatron experimented on dinosaur automatons to make them attack drones. Perhaps as a result of these modifications, Sari Sumdac's AllSpark Key was drawn to the automatons, granting them sparks and turning them into fully fledged Cybertronians. Blast from the Past Their beast modes, and indeed their very existence, was viewed as proof by Sentinel Prime as what a screw loose planet Earth was. The Elite Guard

In her quest to purge herself of her organic half, Blackarachnia fused Wasp with an organic wasp, granting the deranged Autobot a beast mode based off the creature. Predacons Rising

Aligned continuity family

The first Cybertronian with a beast mode was Onyx Prime of the Thirteen. When he passed, he returned to Primus in the core, the deity using the Triptych Mask to scan all life in the universe and pattern the Cybertronian race after the diversity. The descendants of Onyx were the Predacons, a savage race of predators who harassed the city-dwelling Cybertronians until their leader, Predaking, was put in his place by Prima. When the Great Cataclysm occurred, the Predacons were left on the surface, the sub-species going extinct as a result.

In the era that followed the Cataclysm, beast modes saw a decline in popularity, with only the Insections and a handful of other beasts being birthed from the Well of All Sparks.

When the Quintessons invaded, the Sharkticons were enslaved as enforcers and executioners. The Covenant of Primus

When the Cybertronians entered the Golden Age, the planet Aquatron was colonized by Cybertronians with alternate modes based on aquatic lifeforms, the Sharkticons among them. Retribution

In the era of the Great War, beast modes appeared to have largely died out in society. As the war began to spill off Cybertron, Shockwave cloned the fossilized remains of the Predacon species to function as enforcers. Project Predacon When this project was resurrected in 2013, it was discovered the Predacons were sentient beings with robot modes, prompting Megatron to scrap the project. Evolution

Over the course of their adventures, Rescue Force Sigma-17 scanned dinosaur beast modes. Quarry's Quarry

In the post-War era, all of the Decepticons aboard the Alchemor featured animalistic features, being either an animalistic humanoid or having a beast mode. Robots in Disguise

Cyberverse cartoon

After being stranded on Earth, Grimlock reformatted himself into a Tyrannosaurus rex to better cope with the harsh environment, even rewiring his circuitry to increase the raw power of his beast mode. King of the Dinosaurs

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.

See also

• Chimeracon