BB (BW)

BB is a Predacon Combatron from the Beast Wars II portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

You'll shoot your eye out, kid.

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)

"Get em', Knuckles!"

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!?

Who framed Roger Rabbit... Roger?

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

Max Goof

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

Mighty Max!

When a mysterious teleport gate crashed on Gaia, 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!

As the artificial planet Nemesis zeroed in on Gaia, the Maximals stepped up their counter-attacks, and the Predacon response increased as well. Hellscream and Max-B were sent to stop the Maximals from freezing the volatile corrupted Angolmois energy drawn out by Nemesis's presence. They encounter Tripledacus trying to stop the flow of Angolmois energy with one massive iceberg. Max Roger! The Great Angolmois Freezing Tactic Later, they targeted a giant artillery cannon the Maximals intended to use to obliterate Nemesis before it reached Gaia. Hellscream was suspicious by how obvious the Maximals were in transporting the cannon, and so he had Max-B scan the area. Max-B's optic emitter located Scuba and the Tako Tank transporting a second cannon. Locate! Locate! Unfortunately for the Predacons, that cannon was also a decoy. Knock Out Nemesis

Lio Junior increased his attacks on Autoroller fortress operations, forcing Hellscream and Max-B to step up when Dirgegun and Thrustor once again proved inadequate. When Galvatron emerged on the battlefield to run a con on Lio Junior, however, Hellscream and Max-B wisely stepped back and allowed their Emperor to carry on his scheme. Lio Junior's Revolt!?

Hellscream's "peeping head" uncovered news of a robot from Mars found by the Maximals which could allegedly retake control of the Angolmois energy. Galvatron ordered him and Max-B to prevent the Maximals from doing so, but Lio Junior and the combined Magnaboss held off Hellscream and Max-B so that Lio Convoy and the emissary robot could continue. Emissary of the Fourth Planet Once it was clear the emissary robot intended to "control" the Angolmois energy by destroying the planet, Galvatron ordered his Cyborg Beasts to withdraw so the Maximals could deal with the situation for them uncontested. Max Clever! The Crisis of Planet Gaia

Hellscream and Max-B discovered a Maximal missile catapult, which the heroes planned to use to launch into space and confront the Nemesis. The Cyborg Beasts damaged the catapult, but failed to prevent the Maximals from leaving Gaia. Fly Out! Planet Gaia Max-B and the Predacons followed the Maximals out into space aboard the Galvaburg II. Revenge of the Space Pirates

On Nemesis, the Predacons shot down the Maximal ship and boarded the wreckage, only to find the Maximals weren't present. Empty! Empty! They barely escaped the pre-rigged self-destruct mechanism. Max-B and the Cyborg Beasts confronted the Maximals as Lio Convoy tried to shut down Nemesis at its Angolmois energy core. Breaking into Nemesis When Galvatron emerged from the core, he told the assembled Maximals and Predacons that Lio Convoy and Lio Junior had been consumed by the Angolmois energies he unleashed. Max-B and the Predacons cheered the death of Lio Convoy, but Galvatron bid them to be silent, mourning the loss of a valiant foe. Legend! The Green Warrior To everyone's surprise, Lio Convoy and Lio Junior emerged as the legendary Green Lion, powerful enough to drain all of Gigastorm's Angolmois energy from him. When Galvatron left to reignite the sabotaged core, Max-B and the Beasts continued the fight against the remaining Maximals, despite the threat of Nemesis exploding at any moment. They eventually wised up, and the Cyborg Beasts got together and lugged the lumbering Gigastorm off of Nemesis before it exploded. Max Roger! 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

Beast Wars II manga

BB joined Galvatron and his Predacons on Gaia in their quest for Angolmois energy. After Galvatron absorbed some Angolmois energy and fell into a deep sleep, Megastorm hooked up the Predacon leader to the machinery of the Galvatron Dekazura Tank to power it, and enlisted BB and his other fellow Predacons into piloting the vehicle against the Maximals. Their enemies soon came rushing towards them in a counter-offensive, and BB and Starscream manned the tank's turrets to blast them. Though they managed to shoot down Lio Convoy as he and Bigmos approached them from the air, they weren't as successful in stopping Tasmania Kid, who hoped over BB's head in scurried into the juggernaut. A secondary offensive from the Maximals led to the tank sinking into a nearby river, and finally Lio Convoy managed to battle Megastorm within it, resulting in the tank's self-destruct mechanism being activated. The Predacons were all blown away in the resulting explosion. Demolish the Superdreadnought Tank!

Timelines

Voice actor: Brian Dobson (English)

Max-B, 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

I mean... "Roger".

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

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

Beast Wars: Uprising

The female Max-B was a Darksyder who died after attempting to scan a beast mode. Hoping to refine the process, Leatherhide and Labrat autopsied her remains along with several other deformed victims of Megatron's experiments. Not All Megatrons

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

It is unknown at this time exactly how illin' his gatling gun is.

• 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. Packed in with his partner 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.

• More information on BB at TFU.info

• 2 Against 1 Showdown: Bighorn vs Starscream & BB (Multi-pack, 1998)
  • Japanese ID number: VS-13
  • Accessories: 12 missiles

The pairing of Starscream and BB were also made available in a multi-pack with the Maximal Bighorn.

All of the toys in this set were identical to their individual releases.

Suddenly, the robot arms hanging off the dog chest are a lot less noticeable.

• 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.

• More information on Max-B at TFU.info

Notes

I did this all just for you, Starscream.

• "BB" was originally a tentative name, short for "Black Bomber".
• Ironically for a towering character, his Cyber Beast upgrade causes him to shrink quite a bit. Max-B is as tall as Hellscream usually.
• 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. It was corrected in the trade paperback.

Foreign names

• Korean: BB (비비 Bibi)

External links

• Gallery of ATB Megatron with comparison to BB at Transformers At the Moon