Tasmania Kid (BW)
- Tasmania Kid is a Maximal from the Beast Wars II portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
There's the young, there's the restless, and then there's Tasmania Kid (タスマニアキッド Tasumania Kiddo), who has both of those qualities to spare. A fairly green recruit, Kid's enthusiasm to prove himself and bask in the spotlight is as unbridled as it is dangerously stupid. Kid is desperate to see himself recognized and honored as one of the greatest Maximal warriors of all time, but he wants that recognition now and preferably without all that training, strategy and diplomacy stuff.
Mischievous, reckless, insubordinate and disrespectful, his fool-hardy search for a "big break" on the battlefield often lands him in hot water... both with the Predacons and the Maximals. Despite his shortcomings, Kid's ambition and enthusiasm are seen by his superiors as qualities to be molded and directed rather than fully discouraged. And with each catastrophic mistake, he learns another valuable lesson about what it means to be a soldier.
Tasmania Kid's closest friend is the unmotivated slacker Diver, whom he often leads astray into his hair-brained schemes. Kid also has a kindred spirit in Scissor Boy, who shares in many of his youthful interests.
Fiction
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Beast Wars II cartoon
- Voice actor: Katashi Ishizuka (Japanese)
Tasmania Kid, simply known as Kid at the time, was under the command of Lio Convoy (who similarly was just named "Convoy") on a Maximal Space Station. When Convoy went missing, Kid was unwilling to go on missions without him, instead spending his time losing at chess against Diver. Eventually Bighorn took charge of the team and they went to investigate a suspicious energy flare on the planet Gaea. Upon arrival, their ship was shot down by Galvatron's Predacons, so Kid took an escape pod down to the planet's surface.
Gaea's atmosphere proved hazardous to Transformers, so Kid was forced to scan himself an beast mode in order to survive. He considered either a leopard or a bird, and soon settled on a nearby eagle. However, a Tasmanian Devil jumped in his face as he activated his scanners, and Kid accidentally scanned its DNA and became Tasmania Kid. He wasn't very happy with this turn of events, since, well, Tasmanian Devils just aren't cool. Tasmania Kid soon met up with Diver, Scuba, Apache and Bighorn, and together they investigated a mysterious black fog that had enshrouded the area.
The fog turned out to be emanating from the Predacons' spaceship, the Galvaburg II, but before they could do anything about it, Tasmania Kid and the others were attacked and pinned down by the Predacons. They were rescued by the emergence of a large white lion, and heavily damaged the Galvaburg II before following the lion into the wilderness. The New Forces Arrive!
The Maximals were led back to their crashed spaceship, where they took up headquarters. The lion then revealed itself to be Lio Convoy, whose earlier disappearance was due to crashing on Gaea. Reunited with their leader, the Maximals prepared to stop the Predacons' plot to drain the planet of energy. They were quickly sent out to stop the Autorollers from destroying a jungle, and Tasmania Kid contributed by extinguishing a fire by peeing on it. White Lion, Run!
While picking flowers in a meadow, Tasmania Kid was surprised to learn Bighorn was deeply enraged by the very sight of a red flower. Kid found it funny following Bighorn around the rest of the day as he tried to pick fight with various Predacons, only to be turned down each time because they weren't interested in fighting him. As funny as the day was, when the unsuspecting Diver thought to give Bighorn a nice red flower as a gift after he had calmed down, Tasmania Kid quickly tried to wave the flower away before it started another mess. Bighorn's Rage
On a routine patrol, Tasmania Kid located the Autorollers building a fortress base near a lake. Eager to take the glory for himself, Kid radioed the base and told the Maximals to expect great things from him in the future, but wouldn't elaborate. Getting an idea from his Tasmanian namesake, Kid dug a series of tunnels around the base and rigged them with explosive booby traps. When he was set, Tasmania Kid set off his traps, devastating the Autorollers' work.
His victory was short-lived, though, as an electrified cage sprung up around him. The lake base had been a trap set by Starscream to lure in unsuspecting Maximals. Tasmania Kid was held hostage to bring the other Maximals running to the real, underwater base. Kid "escaped" into the ventilation shafts, only to discover those were rigged with death traps as well, keeping him off-balance. Eventually, Diver, Scuba, and his Tasmanian devil friend entered the base and helped free Kid from the Predacons' traps. Tasmania Kid apologized for the trouble he had caused his fellow Maximals, and thanked the furry friend who helped lead the Maximals to his rescue. The Lake Trap
The Maximals were hard pressed to stop Megastorm's latest ploy to capture the planet's energy, dispatching an overwhelming quantity of autonomous robot drones to build fortresses for the Predacons. This became the least of their problems, however, when Galvatron emerged for the first time on Gaea. His dragon and drill tank modes proved virtually unstoppable, and Tasmania Kid and the Maximals were barely able to slow him down. In the end, it was a sneak attack by Megastorm that upset his brother's footing and sent him tumbling into an open volcano, leaving the Maximals confused over who their secret ally was.Galvatron Revived
Next, Tasmania Kid and the Maximals moved on to the Southern Continent to investigate a new string of energy readings. A mysterious signal from the ancient ruins prompted an investigation by Lio Convoy, and all the Maximals volunteered to go. Apache arranged for the team to draw straws but, after he won and left with Lio Convoy, Kid examined the straws and found Apache had cheated. Still, he cried real tears when the Maximals thought Apache had died in an explosion at the ruins, and cried even harder when he learned the old nag was still alive after all. Mystery of the Ancient Ruins
With the Insectrons as a new potential threat, Lio Convoy cautioned the Maximals not to make enemies of the Insectrons unnecessarily. As a result, he sent out teams of two to locate the Insectrons, and ordered his men not to fire on them, but engage in dialogue. Kid and Lio Convoy were nearby when Bighorn and Apache were attacked by the Insectrons Bigmos and Tonbot, who had been fed false information on the Maximals by Starscream. They tried to stop the fighting when they arrived, but Starscream and BB opened fire on both parties to avoid any peaceful dialogue. The Maximals warned the Insectrons of the incoming missiles, and threw their own bodies on top of their opponents' delicate insect modes for protection. Confused by the act of self-sacrifice, Bigmos and Tonbot departed without further conflict. The Insect Corps Arrive
Lio Convoy maintained that the Insectrons were potential allies, not enemies, and ordered the Maximals to try and make peaceful contact with them again. Tasmania Kid joined Bighorn and Diver on patrol, when Starscream and BB used missiles to lure them into a conflict with another nest of Insectrons. Once Bighorn heedlessly launched into the fray, Kid and Diver had no choice but to follow. Tasmania Kid fought against Scissor Boy, the youngest of the Insectrons. Despite the supposedly serious combat, Boy and Kid remained good-natured during the back-and-forth, and Tasmania Kid jokingly tried to beat Scissor Boy with a rock because "Rock beats Scissors!" Once the matches between Bighorn and Powerhug and Diver and Drill Nuts stopped on their own, Tasmania Kid and Scissor Boy shrugged and stopped fighting as well. The Predacons interrupted the downtime, driving the Insectrons away, but the encounter only reinforced Lio Convoy's position that the Insectrons weren't all that bad after all. Friend or Foe? The Insect Robos
Hoping to mend fences, build bridges, and a third metaphor, Tasmania Kid brought a sack of oil into Insectron territory for a peaceful get-together. The ever-territorial Mantis had no interest in oil, but Scissor Boy stopped Mantis from flaying Kid alive by saying he was the weakest and least-threatening of the Predacons. Once he got over his indignation, Tasmania Kid realized the Insectrons called him a Predacon, too, and reviewed the false data Starscream gave the Insectrons. After explaining that HIS team were the Heroic Maximals and Starscream was an Evil Predacon, Scissor Boy and Mantis mentioned maybe the other Insectrons shouldn't have gone to a party Starscream was throwing them. Kid, Boy, and Mantis met up with the other Maximals and eventually managed to not only sober up the Insectrons drunk on Starscream's "special" oil, but also joined forces against the return of Galvatron. With that, the Maximals and Insectrons finally made peace. The Strongest Tag Team? Kid was surprised when the Insectrons refused to aid the Maximals in combat against the Autorollers. After Bigmos cleared up the debt to Autostinger that was tying his hands, Tasmania Kid witnessed the duel between the two. Autorollers Roll Out!
One day, Tasmania Kid was hopping merrily through the forest, ready to bring a pretty bouquet of flowers to his good friends, the Insectrons. But his day was no longer a happy one when Scissor Boy charged him and knocked Kid down a cliff. It seemed poor Scissor Boy had gotten himself captured by the Autorollers, and needed Tasmania Kid to pretend to lose in combat to him, or else the Autorollers would blow them both up with missiles! Tasmania Kid reluctantly surrendered, although he balked when he heard Scissor Boy called him the weakest of the Maximals. Kid and Boy tried to lure the Autorollers into a trap in Maximal territory, but Scissor Boy's fellow Insectrons tried to rescue them before the trap was sprung, leaving all combatants at the feet of Megastorm and the Galvaburg II. Fortunately, the Maximals and Insectrons rallied their forces and drove off Megastorm and the Autorollers. Danger! Scissor Boy
Tasmania Kid and the Maximals later joined forces with the Autorollers when Galvatron went on a rampage while engorged on Angolmois energy. The two groups overfed Galvatron with Angolmois until his bloated form nearly exploded from within, rendering him harmless. Galvatron Rampages
When the Predacons launched a massive offensive on the Southern Continent, Tasmania Kid and the Maximals teamed up with the Insectrons to foil their plans once again. Predacon General Offensive!
Bighorn, Diver, and Tasmania Kid located a crashed spaceship on Gaea's Eastern continent, and soon encountered the Jointron brothers and their combination form, Tripledacus. Maximals by name, the Jointrons nevertheless proved to be irresponsible and short-sighted, acting outside Lio Convoy's authority and without regard for their fellow Maximals. Tasmania Kid and the others were concerned the Jointrons would make favorable reports to Maximal HQ that highlighted their "accomplishments" to the detriment of the crew of the Yukikaze. The Combined Giant, Tripledacus Bighorn and Kid snubbed the Jointrons on patrol to avoid getting caught up in their antics, only to return later and find the Jointrons had overtaken the Maximal base and then lost it to Predacon raiders, leaving Diver and Apache trapped inside. They helped Lio Convoy retake the base, but the Jointrons were unfazed by their actions, celebrating the minor victory of temporarily capturing Dirge and Thrust (only to lose them again). The Festive Jointrons
While the Maximals were searching for the latest Predacon fortress, Diver and Tasmania Kid were exploring with the Jointrons. When they spotted a black smoke cloud like those typically unleashed by Predacon Angolmois operations, the flying Jointrons decided to send in a reconnaissance patrol...by dropping Kid and Diver into the cloud. The Maximals only found a smoke machine on the ground, signifying a Predacon trap. Indeed, Starscream and BB arrived and exposed them all to a bacteria bomb that robbed them of their power. The Jointrons' teamwork fell apart, as Gimlet was free of the bacteria and refused to combine with the others and risk exposure to the bacteria. Lio Convoy and the other Maximals saved the Jointrons by posing as the massive Jointron II. They compensated for Kid and Diver's exposure to the bacteria by sharing energy between one another, in a proud display of teamwork. A Fearsome Combination Plan?
The Jointrons caused more chaos when they stole one of the base ships to approach a Predacon fortress from the air. Tasmania Kid and the Maximals followed them in the second ship, and Kid leapt aboard the Jointrons' ship only to find them fighting over the controls because they couldn't decide who was their leader. The Predacons were engaged in an operation to kidnap the Jointrons and study their combination transformation. While the other Maximals held back the Autorollers, Kid raced after BB to try and free the captive Jointrons. Fortunately, Scuba appeared to save the day, the Jointrons were rescued, and the installation was soon destroyed. Who Is the Leader!?
One day, Tasmania Kid found a Copy Machine that scanned objects to create three-dimensional duplicates of the subject. Somehow, the conversation jumped immediately to "Lets clone ourselves!", and Kid shined the Machine's ray on Lio Convoy, creating Black Lio Convoy. Unfortunately, the machine only created evil copies, and so Kid and the Maximals were forced to deal with a malevolent usurper that had all of Lio Convoy's knowledge and skills. He even captured the Copy Machine and used it to create Black Tasmania Kid and other copy Maximals. Fortunately, Diver's Niagara Base enhancements turned the tide in favor of the original Maximals. The Black Lio Convoy
Alerted to a new arrival on Gaea, Tasmania Kid and the Maximals traveled to the Sea Continent and discovered a pirate ship from space. The Maximals were soon confronted by Halfshell, captain of the Space Pirate Seacons who intended to plunder the world of Angolmois energy. Lio Convoy had the idea of flipping the snapping turtle on his back, rendering him helpless, but Halfshell's beast mode was designed to counter that strategy, turning him into the Big Wheel Cutter that rampaged over the hills. Matters only deteriorated further when Halfshell called his crew and formed the colossal God Neptune. Outmatched by the combiner's sheer power, Lio Convoy directed Diver and Scuba to seize control of the deserted pirate ship while the land-based Maximals kept God Neptune busy. The distraction worked, as God Neptune chased after his stolen ship, only to get caught in an Angolmois detonation the Maximals rigged before abandoning ship. The Space Pirate Seacons!
When Artemis and Moon got into a discussion over who was the strongest of the Cybertronians, they contacted the Maximals and Predacons for input. As the weakest of the Maximals, Diver and Tasmania Kid were compared to the Combatron officers Dirge and Thrust. Diver's...unorthodox soap bubble power and extendo-neck led Galvatron to declare victory for the Predacons in this particular match-up. It doesn't seem he was very impressed with Kid, either. Who Is the Strongest Warrior!?
One day, Tasmania Kid and Diver were bemused to discover Bighorn searching for a four-leafed clover to bring himself luck. Their amusement turned to exasperation when Bighorn fell wildly in love with the Space Pirate named Scylla, concocting an elaborate fantasy where she was a space princess being held hostage by the other Pirates. Kid and Diver had to follow along behind to make sure Bighorn didn't inadvertently start a war with the Seacons while Convoy was still sorting out their allegiance (and remind the love-sick Bighorn that he couldn't swim when he repeatedly tried following Scylla into the water). The Tentacular Scuba
When Megastorm and the Seacons teamed up, each of the Maximals was lured to a separate location by an Angolmois signal transmitter. Tasmania Kid was surprised to find a squid hanging upside-down from a tree at the site of his transmitter, but his amusement quickly fell away under the barrage of Scylla and her Scylasers. Scylla chased Kid back and forth like a Warner Bros. cartoon until they were interrupted by Megastorm's ineptitude. Megastorm's Reckoning
Kid was once again caught up in Bighorn's lovelorn folly when the buffalo received a love letter from Scylla, seemingly drawing him to a romantic interlude by the beach. In fact, Bighorn fell into a trap set by the Seacons, and Kid fell with him. They were set adrift on a stone raft when Sea Phantom cut them loose from shore, and had to be rescued by Scuba and Diver. Tasmania Kid tried to ride Diver's back to safety, but they were pursued by Terrormander. The amphibious Seacon could electrify Kid on Diver's back from the air, or fire aquatic missiles at them if they dove underwater, leaving kid hapless and helpless to defend himself. Eventually, Scuba pulled the entire team to shore on a small rocky island, but that only left them isolated for God Neptune to deliver the final strike. As luck would have it, the Insectrons soon arrived as reinforcements, and helped the Maximals drive off the Seacons. Showdown in the Sea
As Diver and Kid were on patrol with Bighorn, he suddenly got a call and suspiciously raced off with a bouquet of roses. Fearing something stupid and/or violent was about to happen, Diver and Kid tracked him down and found Bighorn intended to engage in some playacting with the Jointrons in order to win Scylla's affections, but the Predacons and other Seacons had gotten involved in the mess too. As the fiasco degenerated into a battle between Tripledacus and God Neptune, the Maximals provided cover for their combiner comrade. Face the Setting Sun When the Seacons prepared to leave Gaea, Halfshell arranged to fight Lio Convoy one-on-one for the energy they needed to depart. Well, God Neptune is technically a "one". When Tasmania Kid and the other Maximals heard about this technicality, they tried to race to the battleground, but were diverted by Dirge and Thrust. In the end, Lio Convoy survived and the Seacons departed the planet. The Final Battle
While surveying the unstable changes in Gaea's Angolmois, Diver and Kid ran across a lion cub that they initially mistook for Lio Convoy himself. After a short encounter, they realized the youngster was actually a new Maximal who only bore a startlingly resemblance to Lio Convoy. Tasmania Kid started joking that the cub was a real "Lio Junior", but Diver cautioned him to be serious in case the cub took what he said to heart. Sure enough, when Lio Convoy caught up to them, Lio Junior ran right up to their Commander and called him "mama". Kid tried to walk back what he had said, but the damage was done -- he had embarrassed his commander and caused the first meeting between Lio Convoy and Lio Junior to start off incredibly awkward. Enter Lio Junior Kid also joined the Maximals in their first confrontation with the powered-up Megastorm, now the Angolmois-infused Gigastorm. Megastorm Reborn
The Maximal Brainwashing Operation
Tasmania Kid and Diver were out on a scouting mission (much to Diver's chagrin, as he wanted to relax) when Apache, popping out of the bushes, quietly called them over. The confused pair followed, only to find Apache to be an illusion, baiting them into a net laid out by BB. BB then took the two Maximals back to Starscream, who told them he would release them after they ran an "errand" for him.
When the duo didn't report back, the Maximals left in search of the missing Diver and Tasmania Kid, eventually finding them collapsed at the edge of a valley. However, it was all part of Starscream's trap. Diver and Tasmania Kid, now brainwashed into thinking they were Predacons, sprang into action and attacked the Maximals. Galvatron soon entered the scene and stacked the odds tremendously against the Maximals.
As the fight raged on, Megastorm got to a vantage point and prepared to fire his cannon at both Lio Convoy and Galvatron, killing two birds with one stone. Scuba intervened by creating a geyser beneath him from an underground river, throwing Megastorm's aim off. The blast knocked Tasmania Kid and Diver back to their senses, though they were angry at the (rightfully) confused Apache, whom they blamed for ambushing them. The Maximal Brainwashing Operation
Beast Wars Neo cartoon
After the defeat of Unicron, Tasmania Kid returned to Cybertron. There, he got caught up in a tussle between Big Convoy and Magmatron. Graduation Ceremony!!
Bom Bom manga continuity
Beast Wars II manga
Demolish the Superdreadnought Tank! Infiltrate the Mystery Island! Free the Captured Matrix! Realize the Forbidden Love! Make a Surprise Attack on the Super Weapon Base! Recover the Bonds Lost! All Hands, Make a Special Attack on the Evil Planet! Win the Battle of Light and Darkness! The Beast Wars "Neo" Begin!!! At another time, When Lio Convoy wrecked Apache's room in a drunken rampage, Apache scolded Kid, who decided to run away. Kid was attacked and captured by the Cyborg Beasts, who planned to make him one of them. This plan failed when Apache singlehandedly annihilated the Predacon forces Rambo-style.[citation needed]
Beast Wars Neo manga
Tasmania Kid was worshiped as a god on the planet of rabbit-formers from which Stampy hailed. A Battle Fought Alone
IDW Beast Wars comics
Tasmania Kid was the class clown at Maximal Military Academy, often performing pranks on classmates and instructors. Despite this, Lio Convoy saw potential in Tasmania Kid and took him into his unit to Gaea, where they battled Galvatron. Beast Wars Sourcebook #4
Later, Tasmania Kid was one of Big Convoy's subordinates on Cybertron. He helped investigate the strange rash of Angolmois-related murders. The Ascending #2
Along with Survive and Cohrada, he joined Big Convoy in investigating Shokaract's tower. Unfortunately, Shokaract emerged from within and grabbed Tasmania Kid in his claws. Kid was torn in two pieces and killed. Big Convoy and the others were summarily defeated as well.
Fortunately, the Earthbound Maximal and Predacon teams took the Pack's transwarp cruiser and returned to the point in the time stream that Shokaract emerged from his tower. Unfortunately, it was still too late to save Tasmania Kid, who was torn in two pieces again just before Big Convoy and Shokaract noticed the newly arrived transwarp cruiser.
Sheesh. The Ascending #3
Beast Wars: Uprising
Tasmania Kid was on the Maximal team in a fateful match of the Games, which was interrupted by Lio Convoy's assassination of Supersonic and call for an uprising against the Builders. Broken Windshields
Transformers Legends comic
Tasmania Kid was present at the announcement of Tera-Kura Co.'s new product, the ninja maid robot Nightbird Shadow, and like everyone else he was taken by how cute and clumsy she was. Bonus Edition Vol. 15 He was later part of a crowd trying to claim Armada Megatron's discarded Unicron of Light toy for themselves, Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 18 and witnessed Deadlock's visit to an internet cafe. Bonus Edition Vol. EX
Toys
Beast Wars
- Tasmania Kid (Basic, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: C-14
- Accessories: Arm-mounted cannon
- Tasmania Kid's only toy is virtually identical to the Hasbro Beast Wars toy Snarl, transforming into an (alleged) Tasmanian devil. Holding the toy by its tail in beast mode and pulling the trigger makes his body leap forward in a spring-loaded lunging attack. In robot mode, the tail becomes an arm-mounted (non-firing) blaster cannon.
- The same mold is used by Robotmasters Bound Rogue, whose coloration bears a striking resemblance to the contest-prize version of Tasmania Kid.
- Tasmania Kid vs. Dirge (Vs. pack, 1997)
- Japanese ID number: VS-14
- Tasmania Kid was also available in a multi-pack with the Predacon Dirge.
- Tasmania Kid (Contest prize, 1997)
- A blue and yellow version of Tasmania Kid was awarded as a special prize along with many other oddly-colored Beast Wars II Maximals in a magazine contest in Japan. This was the design contest that resulted in the creation of Star Upper.
Merchandise
- Beast Collection Special 10 (Super Deformed Set, 1998)
- A non-transforming, translucent blue figurine rendition of Tasmania Kid came in a set with nine other Beast Wars II characters.
Notes
Tasmania Kid's name (タスマニアキッド) can also be interpreted as Tasmanian Kid. One instance of this, is the Beast Wars II manga, where his profile name is written as Tasmanian-Kid. However, some of the earlier Beast Wars II Databooks write his name as Tasmania Kid. Neither is right or wrong, as it all boils down to how one interprets it.
