BB (BW)
- BB is a Predacon Combatron from the Beast Wars II portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
BB isn't particularly intelligent. You can tell by looking at him and especially by listening to him. His personal dictionary begins and ends with the word "Roger" which he uses as an affirmative, as a query and as a complete sentence. BB opts to let his partner Starscream do most of his thinking for him and unquestioningly goes along with all his power plays.
Luckily for BB, intelligence isn't necessarily required to make use of the firepower he's packing. Loaded to capacity with missiles, missiles, missiles, BB will carpet bomb his enemies back to the Stone Age before they even hear him say "-ger". And in addition to his jet and tank modes, BB can combine with Starscream to create the "Formation Scream", as if he wasn't tough enough already.
Eventually, BB was upgraded by Angolmois energy into the Cyborg Beast Max-B (マックスビー Makkusu Bī). While it didn't improve his intellect, the power boost has made him even stronger in combat.
Fiction
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Beast Wars II cartoon
- Voice actor: Takeshi Watanabe (Japanese), Yeong-seon Kim (Korean)
Roger. The New Forces Arrive! Roger... White Lion, Run! Roger. Bighorn's Rage Roger. The Lake Trap Roger? Galvatron Revived Roger. Mystery of the Ancient Ruins Roger! The Insect Corps Arrive Roger. Friend or Foe? The Insect Robos Roger. The Strongest Tag Team? Roger... Autorollers Roll Out! Roger. Danger! Scissor Boy Roger..! Galvatron Rampages Roger. Predacon General Offensive! Roger. The Combined Giant, Tripledacus Roger? The Festive Jointrons Roger! A Fearsome Combination Plan? Roger. Who Is the Leader!? Real one! Real one! The Black Lio Convoy Roger. Who Is the Strongest Warrior!? Roger...? The Tentacular Scuba Roger. Megastorm's Reckoning
BB was seen on board the bridge of the Galvaburg II when Galvatron manipulated Halfshell and the Seacons into attacking the Maximals without payment by wounding his ego. Showdown in the Sea
Face the Setting Sun The Final Battle Enter Lio Junior
BB aided Starscream in numerous plots to overthrow Galvatron and take leadership of the Predacons, even going so far as to dunk Megastorm into a pit of Angolmois energy (this, however, only upgraded Megastorm into Gigastorm).Megastorm Reborn The New Weapon, Tako Tank Gigastorm's Treachery
They continued this for quite some time until, eventually, Gigastorm had enough. While battling the Maximals, Starscream and BB fell into a trap Gigastorm had set for the Maximals (an area riddled with bombs). Gigastorm held off at first, but after the Predacons were defeated, Starscream began to beg for mercy and even offered to switch sides. This disgusted Gigastorm, who then activated the explosives. The explosion dropped Starscream and BB into a pit of Angolmois energy which upgraded them into Hellscream (a flying cybernetic shark) and Max-B (a flying cybernetic wolf). The End of Starscream
When a mysterious teleport gate crashed on Gaea, Galvatron sent the Cyborg Beasts out to secure the site. Max B and his comrades attacked Tasmania Kid and the Magnaboss team to gain control of the gate and its command key. Although they secured the gate itself and seriously injured Kid, Lio Junior escaped with the key. Galvatron later tricked Lio Junior into turning over the key to him, taking the cub prisoner as well. After the Predacons unleashed the power of Majin Zarak, Max B and the Autorollers confronted the Maximals on the ground while Majin Zarak's firepower prevented any aerial attacks. The Predacon troops were all eventually routed by the Maximals, though. Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger!
The Great Angolmois Freezing Tactic Knock Out Nemesis Lio Junior's Revolt!? Emissary of the Fourth Planet The Crisis of Planet Gaea Fly Out! Planet Gaea Assemble, Thirty-Nine Warriors Revenge of the Space Pirates As Max-B, he still continued to follow his partner Hellscream and fight against the Maximals up until the final battle on the artificial planet Nemesis. Breaking into Nemesis Legend! The Green Warrior At the climax of that battle, Galvatron detonated the planet, sending all the remaining Predacons (including Max-B) floating helplessly through outer space.Farewell! Lio Convoy
The Maximal Brainwashing Operation
BB captured Tasmania Kid and Diver while the two Maximals were out on patrol. He then brought the pair to Starscream, who brainwashed his captives into Predacons! BB then accompanied Starscream to oversee the altered 'bots ambush their former allies. After the initial sneak attack, the rest of the Predacons joined in on the assault against the Maximals. But while the attack was underway, Dirge and Thrust turned up fighting on the Maximals' side! Annoyed that Lio Convoy had "stolen his idea" to brainwash combatants, Starscream ordered BB to shoot the two jets out of the sky. As BB charged into the battlefield, the area was rocked by a powerful blast, courtesy of Megastorm. The Predacons were badly damaged by the explosion. BB hauled the unconscious Dirge and Thrust back to the Predacons' base when Galvatron called for a retreat. The Maximal Brainwashing Operation
Cloud
Beast Wars II manga
Intimidation Game
- Voice actor: Brian Dobson (English)
Max-B, apparently a Megatron follower, was present at Scourge's interrogation of the captured Tripredacus Agent Flamewar. He was initially disguised as the Maximal K-9. Intimidation Game
IDW Beast Wars comics
BB was traumatized in a Maximal Prison "re-education center" before the Pax Cybertronia, and due to the psychological damage, retreated into himself and says only "Roger". He befriended Starscream at this time and his loyalty to the smaller robot was cemented when Starscream took BB with him during his escape from the facility. Beast Wars Sourcebook #1 To boost the power of his troops, Gigastorm exposed them to Angolmois energy, and BB was transformed into Max-B. Beast Wars Sourcebook #2
Max-B later become a servant of Unicron and therefore a Herald of Shokaract. When Shokaract, the vessel for Unicron's return, engaged the Maximal field commander Big Convoy, Max-B and the other Heralds arrived on Cybertron with Angolmois capsules from the furthest reaches of the galaxy. The Ascending #3 They proceeded to distribute the Angolmois amongst Cybertron's population, causing a frenzy of violence of mayhem. The Heralds fled when Shokaract disappeared and they were defeated by Ravage with a well-thrown grenade. The Ascending #4
Transformers Legends comic
In the Legends Universe, BB was a worker at Starscream's "little brother cafe" in Akihabara. Windblade Sequel When Starscream was chewing out a new employee, another Starscream, BB stood next to him saying "roger". LG-18 Armada Starscream Super Mode Prologue 1
Games
Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars
When a super-powerful energon crystal was discovered on Earth, BB was one of the several Predacons involved in the ensuing conflicts. He was not, however, directly involved in combat. Instead, he was sent on missions to traverse pit-riddled fields, occasionally having to fend off enormous bacteria opponents. Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars
Toys
Beast Wars
- Starscream & BB (Ultra, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: D-13
- Accessories: 12 missiles
- Aside from some minor deco changes (mostly involving new decals) and a very minor retool, this toy is identical to the canceled Generation 2 Megatron ATB with Starscream. BB transforms into a "flying wing" style stealth bomber with under-slung six-missile Gatling cannon. Each wing holds three missiles, which can be dropped by pressing small buttons on the tops of the wings. He can also transform into a treaded "tank" mode. In jet form, he can combine with Starscream's jet mode to make a complete aircraft. He and Starscream always came as a pair.
- This mold was also used to make Generation 2 Dreadwing, Robots in Disguise Dreadwind, and Robotmasters Gigant Bomb. BB was reissued in South Korea in Car Bot packaging, reaffiliated as an anonymous Autobot, eventually named as Victory Bomber.
- Bighorn vs Starscream & BB (Multi-pack, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: VS-13
- Accessories: 12 missiles
- Max-B (Deluxe, 1998)
- Japanese ID number: D-24
- Accessories: Back-shield, tail-cannon, 2 anchor-missiles
- BB's upgrade is a heavily retooled version of K-9, itself an extensive retool of the Beast Wars Wolfang mold. In cyborg wolf mode, his back contains a spring-loaded missile launcher and spring-activated grabber claw. This entire assembly becomes a very unwieldy hand-held weapon for robot mode. His tail detaches to become a hand-weapon as well, also containing a spring-loaded missile launcher. Max B's missiles store in grooves on his back, giving him a pair of spikes in his tummy.
- The original incarnation of this mold was also used to make the Predacon Wolfang.
Notes
- "BB" was originally a tentative name, short for "Black Bomber".[1]
- According to a humorous comic strip from Comic Bom Bom, BB's name actually stands for "Bom Bom" because he is a regular reader of Comic Bom Bom.
- BB is (strangely) a golden orange color in his Transformers: Beast Wars Sourcebook profile entry. The profile's author Ben Yee has gone on the record that this is in fact an error of the colorist.[2] It was corrected in the trade paperback.
Foreign names
- Korean: BB (비비 Bibi)
