Tigerburn

Tigerburn is a Laser Beast from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Works where it hurts.

The Great Emperor of the Subterranean Kingdom, heir to the Royal Tiger Clan, the mighty Tigerburn (タイガーバーン Taigābān) is the undisputed leader of the Laser Beast society. His soldiers follow his orders without question, his advisors seek only to ensure his victory in battle and continue his mighty rule, and countless beasts would lay down their lives without a moment's hesitation to further his cause. He is an imposing figure, a beast with an endless burning drive inside him, tempered by great intelligence and a cool, calm and rational demeanor. He is driven to ensure the Kingdom of the Laser Beasts is the dominant force on planet Beast... and beyond.

In combat, he has few equals, having achieved a perfect balance of offence and defense, blinding speed and raw power, strategy and savagery. His appearance on the battlefield can easily turn the tide of battle in the Laser Beasts' favor by itself. Not only do opponents often flee upon spotting him, but Tigerburn can restore wounded soldiers to peak fighting strength. His Medical Aid Laser (メディカルエイドレーザー Medikaru Eido Rēzā) MVP Weapon, aside from being a powerful piece of artillery, can be set and charged to fire a burst of six different specialized laser beams, regenerating biological injuries, restoring rended metal, and treating mechanical malfunctions.

Fiction

Beastformers comic

Tigerburn played a role in making Laser Beast society into a cold-blooded, machine-like civilization. Legend of the Three Wise Ones One day their underground city was flooded, so he led the Laser Beasts to the surface and conquered much of North Snarl in anticipation for taking Bistoram. When he learned that White Leo had seen through his plan and called for reinforcements, Tigerburn had his troops sack one of Bistoram's supporters, Rabbihos, then made it clear he was uninterested in peace by firing upon White Leo when he attempted negotiating. The Laser Beasts had the upper hand in the ensuing war until the Beastformers got their hands on Hunters, which Tigerburn then countered by having his engineers invent Battlecruiser vehicles, including a Battle Drill for his own use. Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Legends comic

The Laser Beasts did well in the war until several Autobots joined the Beastformers' side and pushed them back. Coveting the Transformers' strength, Tigerburn used one of the gems that contained the power of the Three Wise Ones on three of the Headmaster Teens, merging himself with Lione to acquire a completely robotic body. With his newfound power, he was able to steal the Stag Hunter and sever the heads of the Monsterbots, once again getting the upper hand in the war. LG51 Doublecross Prologue He was prevented from destroying Grotusque's head by Platinum Tiger. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

When White Leo escaped to the Legends World, Tigerburn followed him and used Legends technology to become a Headmaster, allowing him to take direct control of Doublecross's body. With Doublecross and the Laser Beasts' powerful Haywire Laser, Tigerburn had the advantage over White Leo and sought the six gems in White Leo's possession. However, White Lune was able to save the day by suggesting his brother use the gems to evolve. Responding to their wishes, the gems merged White Leo with Doublecross's severed head and White Lune with the Haywire Laser. White Leo stole control of Doublecross, and the dragon's power united with the Haywire Laser was able to blast Tigerburn away. LG51 Targetmaster Doublecross

Tigerburn began losing the war to his newly empowered enemies and fled Beast with his troops, returning to the Legends World intent on conquering it and harnessing its Beast Power. With the power of the Water Gem of Motion he flooded the world and turned the locals into Laser Beasts before using his head mode to take control of Trypticon, though he was opposed by Seaspray and Alana. Taking an interest in the Well of Transformation water possessed by his enemies, he stole it and used it on himself, but this was a mistake: the water instead responded to the mind of Lione, still active within their combined body, who used it to split them apart. Now restored to his original body, Tigerburn fled back to his home universe. LG64 Seaspray & Lione

Recovering two other gems, the Laser Beasts continued waging war until many of the Transformers from the Legends World arrived on Beast and sided with the Beastformers. When Seaspray undid the other Headmaster Teen fusions in the Laser Beast army, Tigerburn was enraged and attacked the Autobot, stole back the Water Gem of Motion he had taken, and used it to take control of the Red Phoenix, Wood Beetle, and Shocking Shark. The three mobile bases were taken out by the revived Monsterbots, however, and Tigerburn was finally defeated when White Leo used the power of the gems to crystallize the both them in their final struggle. The crystal statues became a symbol of unity that allowed the Beastformers and Laser Beasts to make peace. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

Fifteen years later, a ship full of refugees from the Legends World arrived, Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two shortly followed by the Nemesis, a giant starship constructed by Galvatron II to drain the planet of its Beast Power. As the united Beastformers and Laser Beasts fought Galvatron's Decepticon army, now-Queen White Lune spoke of a prophecy that the two leaders would return when Beast is in dire need. And indeed the crystal statue shattered, the two reborn leaders ready to fight for their planet together. Tigerburn used his Medical Aid Laser MVP Weapon to heal the wounded warriors of Beast, and then re-merged with Lione, who volunteered his body this time, in order to allow Grotusque the ability to fight in robot mode once again. However, even the additional might of the Monsterbots was not enough to beat Galvatron, who trashed the trio. While their Beast partners urged them to fight, the Monsterbots accepted their fates, pulling their Headmaster partners free and throwing them clear so they would not be destroyed by the blast that was about to claim them. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 3 But intervention from the Three Wise Ones as well as the Legends World refugees saved the day and sent Galvatron and his army packing, bringing the planet back to peace. LG-EX Grotusque

Toys

Beastformers

• Tigerburn (Laser Beast, 1988)

• ID number: 81
• Accessories: "Medical Aid Laser" MVP Weapon (usually)

Part of the first assortment of Takara's Beastformers individually-boxed Laser Beasts, Tigerburn is an anthropomorphic tiger in high-tech stone-blue armor. He has a transparent orb in his torso, revealing the elemental power of Fire, Water, or Wood when you look through it into a light source.

Nominally, he comes with the tiger-themed "Medical Aid Laser" blaster. However, there is also a chance he could come with the weapon from one of the other 11 Laser Beasts in his shipping case; matching the Beasts with their same-numbered weapons was part of the "role-playing game" attached to the line, encouraging kids to buy more of the toys.

This toy was actually released in Hasbro's Battle Beasts line as part of the "Shadow Warriors" series, but they saw extremely limited distribution, largely hitting clearance chains in the US, plus limited releases in parts of Europe. As such, it generally goes for a bit less than the later Laser Beasts that were only released in Japan, but not a lot less. There is a minor variant to the gun that has popped up in some EU and Canadian samples: the common version has the "81" ID number stamped on the left-hand side on the small support part under the rifle's barrel, while the variant has a smaller "81" stamped inside the tiger's mouth, just behind the teeth.

Titans Return

• Sawback (Titan Master, 2016)

• Accessories: Lion/shield/jet drone

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Part of the third wave of individually-carded Titans Return Titan Masters, Sawback is a tiny robot that transforms into a robot head that can be plugged into the neck socket of every Deluxe, Voyager, or Leader Titans Return figure. To further homage his original beast mode, his robot mode features a leonine snout rather than a humanoid face.

He comes with his vehicle partner which transforms from a shield that can be used by larger figures thanks to its 5mm posts, to a winged lion (of which he forms the mane) or a jet any Titan Master can ride.

Legends

• Seaspray & Lione (Multi-pack, 2018)

• ID number: LG64
• Release date: March 24, 2918

Legends Lione is a redeco of the Titans Return head-former, without the transforming lion accessory. This version is colored more like the original Lione toy, albeit in a more desaturated color palate matching old catalog photos than the actual released toy.

He was only available in a two-pack with Seaspray.

Notes

• Tigerburn is the only Laser Beast with two different pieces of stock character art. The art seen at the top of this page is used on his bio card. However, a different piece of art is used as the "title image" for various "Laser Beast" pack-in pamphlets.
• In the Legends comic, Tigerburn's fused body initially used the Titans Return Sawback deco in "LG51 Targetmaster Doublecross", but this was ignored in later chapters in favor of the Legends Lione deco.