Platinum Tiger

Platinum Tiger is a Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

Platinum Tiger (プラチナタイガー Purachina Taigā) is an Autobot-aligned Beastformer, anthropomorphic animal aliens from planet Beast. He is a saber-toothed tiger from Platinum City, in Harriso where he is king. The keeper of secrets passed down from an ancient ancestor, a wise hermit, he is a devout and forgiving Honorary Warrior who knows much about astronomy and mysticism. His secret techniques include the mastery of a unnamed martial art, the ability to create a barrier than can withstand even a neutron bomb, and the power to strengthen the unique abilities of his fellow warriors such as Flying Attacker's senses. Platinum Tiger's MVP Weapon is the Platinum Sword (プラチナスウォード Purachina Suwōdo), a blade that can pierce anything.

Fiction

Beastformers catalogs

When Alligatron led a Decepticon-supported rebellion against the ruling Lion clan of Beast, the loyalists were soon at a disadvantage. To bring in the Autobots to counteract the Decepticons, Platinum Tiger snuck into the occupied palace so that he could use the communications room to contact their possible allies. However, Alligatron left a trap for any unaware enemies: the Holography Mirror, which trapped Platinum within it. Series 1 catalog

The Headmasters cartoon

Look, I neither know nor care who is the fairest of all.

Voice actor: Michihiro Ikemizu (Japanese)

When White Leo led a group of Beastformers to rescue the slaves held inside a Decepticon factory, he contacted Platinum Tiger through the Holography Mirror. However, Platinum Tiger was unable to help them, as the carnivorous piragilons infested the swamp around the factory. Battleship Maximus, however, was able to drain the swamp of its water, leaving the flopping piraglions and allowing the Beastformers safe passage into the caverns in the swamp. White Leo continued to contact Platinum Tiger to lead them through the maze of caverns to the factory. Thanks to Platinum Tiger's help, they were able to rescue the slaves. Rebellion on Planet Beast

Beastformers comic

Platinum Tiger later escaped the Holography Mirror and fought alongside the other Beastformers in their war with the Laser Beasts, but with their side losing more and more territory, he left to search for the Hunters. He found the Tiger Hunter and returned with it just as the Beastformers were losing another battle with the Laser Beasts, allowing them to turn the tide. Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Legends comic

When the Laser Beasts began winning the war again, Platinum Tiger contacted White Leo and informed him of the existence of the Legends World, an alternate dimension filled with Beast Power that the Beastformers could use to their advantage. LG51 Doublecross Prologue

Platinum Tiger used the Tiger Hunter to rescue Grotusque's head from the Laser Beasts, though at the cost of succumbing to the Hunter's curse, corrupting his heart and turning him evil. Grotusque attempted to mitigate its effects using the Three Wise Ones' gems, merging the both of them into a robotic Headmaster made up of both their psyches, but it was not enough and Platinum Tiger chose to sequester himself in a dimension of emptiness so that he wouldn't harm anyone. Eventually he sensed that Grotusque's body had been liberated from the Laser Beasts and left his prison to return the Monsterbot's consciousness to his body, believing it too dangerous for them to stay together. After lending his power to help end the war, Platinum Tiger used the Holography Mirror on himself, imprisoning himself once more but remaining in contact with Grotusque. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1

Toys

Transformers: Beastformers

• Platinum Tiger (Beastformer, 1987)
  • Beast ID number: 50
  • Accessories: Fencing saber

Part of the second series of Takara's Beastformers toys, Platinum Tiger is a yellow anthopomorphic saber-toothed tiger in light blue robotic armor. The rubsign on his chest reveals one of three symbols; Fire, Water or Wood.

He came in a green-grid generic "Cybertron Beastformer" box, with a bio card with a painted character image on a jungle backdrop. Re-released in Series 3, the box was unchanged, but the bio card replaced the painted image with a simpler line-art image, first used in Hasbro's Battle Beasts cast poster. In both Series, depending on the "Pack" he came in, there was a chance of his bio card being replaced with a rare "Secret Photo", "Bewitching Serpent Seal", or "VS Holography Mirror" card.

Beastformers

• Platinum Tiger (Beastformer, 1988)
  • Beast ID number: 50
  • Accessories: "Platinum Sword" MVP Weapon

Re-released in the Transformers-less Beastformers sequel series, Platinum Tiger was given a straight re-release with new packaging and a new, more filled-out bio card with corrected coloring. This new card also gave his weapon, now branded an "MVP Weapon", the name "Platinum Sword" (プラチナスウォード Purachina Suwōdo).

He was sold in two similar-but-different styles of boxes. One wholly-generic version, sold in large display boxes like the Transformers releases, advertised the chance for the included bio card to instead be a rare holofoil card of White Leo with a "Burstsun" rubsign in a baggie taped to the back, so you could apply it to the Beastformer of your choice. The more common version has a slightly different box with a peg-hole in the top flap, and has a sticker on the bottom with his name and role on it.

Late in the run, the "mood ring" styled rubsigns were replaced with new rubsigns that revealed full-color Fire/Wood/Water images on black backdrops. (These rubsign variants also happened at the same time in the Hasbro Battle Beast version of the line.)

• Tiger Hunter (Head Hunter Vehicle, 1987)
  • Accessories: "Platinum Sword" MVP Weapon

Platinum Tiger also came packaged with the Head Hunter "Tiger Hunter" vehicle, seemingly unchanged from his original release.

• Beast Planet's Greatest Confrontation Set (Box set, 1988)
  • Accessories: "Platinum Sword" MVP Weapon

Platinum Tiger was also available in the "Beast Planet's Greatest Confrontation Set" (ビースト星最大の対決セット bīsuto boshi saidai no taiketsu setto), unchanged from his prior releases, once again with the Tiger Hunter vehicle.

This set also came with Golder and Yellow Giraffe (same as their prior releases), and the set-exclusive Skullgrotes, Kingbuster, Salmomancer, and a chromed-gold Battle Drill.

This set is particularly expensive on the secondary market, given the entire Laser Beast half of the set is not available anywhere else.

• Platinum Tiger (Gashapon/candy-toy Beastformer, 1988)
  • Meiji ID number: 18
  • Accessories: "Hegrinder" weapon

A small, super-deformed, articulation-free version of Platinum Tiger was sold both as a gashapon capsule prize by Takara, and as a candy toy with "chocoballs" through the candy/ snack company Meiji. The candy toy version came with a bio/data card with its own role-playing rules, using the old Transformers-era painted character art.

This stumpy lil fellow could be found in red, blue or green plastic, representing the Fire, Water and Wood elements (even though he still had a rubsign). All of the Meji Beastformers comes with a different Beastformer's weapon attached to their shoulder by a snippable sprue. Platinum Tiger came with Hedgehog's "Hegrinder" weapon, while Killer Fish came with Tiger's "Platinum Sword".

Legends

• Repug & Grotes (Repugnus & Grotusque) (2-pack, January 26, 2019)
  • ID number: LG-EX

Legends Platinum Tiger is a re-release of Titans Return Fengul with the very slight difference of a matte paint finish and a black screw in contrast to the glossy finish and silver screw of the Hasbro release. Platinum Tiger forms the head of Grotes and is also compatible with any Deluxe, Voyager, or Leader Class Titans Return-style figure. He and Grotes were available in a multi-pack with Hedgehog and Repug.

Notes

• Platinum Tiger's name could be more directly transcribed as "Platina Tiger", but "Platinum Tiger" is the official Romanization provided by Takara via a trading card. "Platina" is the standard word for platinum in Japan, and comes from an older name for the element.
• Platinum is the only Beastformer from Series 2 to appear in the Headmasters cartoon.
• The Hasbro release of "Saber Sword Tiger" was similarly (eventually) available with both styles of rubsign.
• The head and colors of Fengul from Titans Return are based on Platinum Tiger.

Foreign names

• English: Saber Sword Tiger, Soldier Bear (Omni Productions dub)
• Italian: Super Leon