Cheetor (BW)

The name or term "Cheetor" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Cheetor (disambiguation).

Cheetor is a Maximal (and later an Autobot) from the Beast Era portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

There he is, your little guy.

Cheetor is full of youthful overconfidence. He's also the fastest Maximal on four legs, so he gets into way too much trouble. Thankfully, Optimus Primal keeps a steady eye on him. In return, Cheetor has grown to idolize Primal, whom he calls "Big Bot." Optimus Primal knows the young and inexperienced Cheetor needs a good role model, so he doesn't mind too much. And, hey, he's a good kid. Just... keep him away from Dinobot, okay? Impressionable minds, and all.

Speaking of bad influences, Cheetor had a brief crush on the Predacon turncoat Blackarachnia, adding some real tension between him and Silverbolt. He seems over her now.

Cheetor also appears to have vague precognitive skills, sensing important events before they actually happen--usually in the form of ominous dreams. With such power and potential, who knows—maybe the lad is destined for great things someday.

Japanese name: Cheetus or Cheetas (チータス Chītasu)

Chinese name (Taiwan): Bàu-tz (豹子, "Cheetah" or "Panther" or "Leopard"), Hūa Bàu (花豹, "Leopard", used in Beast Machines sometimes)

French name (cartoon): Vélocitor

Indonesian name: Sidor (probably a pronunciation mistake)

Italian name: Ghepard (original toy), Metal Ghepard (Transmetal)

Polish name: Gepardon

Spanish name: Chitor

Latinamerican name: Chitah ("Cheetah")

Fiction

Cartoon continuity

Dawn of Future's Past

A former cadet of the Maximal Command Security Force, Cheetor left the organization young after being recruited by Optimus Primal based on his leadership potential, and joined the crew of the Axalon. Full of youthful enthusiasm and hoping to see the furthest reaches of space, Cheetor instead became embroiled in conflict when the Golden Disk was reported stolen while the Axalon was docked at a Maximal satellite. His vehicle mode could reach 550 mph, making him the fastest Maximal aboard the Axalon even before landing on prehistoric Earth. Dawn of Future's Past

Beast Wars cartoon

Voice actor: Ian Corlett (English), Wataru Takagi (Japanese), Tata Guarnieri (Portuguese)

What? Is it my breath?

After the Axalon crash-landed on a mysterious planet, the most youthful crew member of the disabled ship chose a cheetah as his new beast form. Impressed with his own appearance, the young 'bot renamed himself Cheetor. He then got beaten up by Waspinator. Beast Wars (Part 1)

Cheetor dreams of Rattrap's rescue attempt before it happens.

Far too frequently, Cheetor looked up to Optimus Primal enough to rush out in an all-too eager attempt to prove himself. He seemed to botch as many missions as he carried out successfully; he broke an experimental communicator, rushed into combat, got himself captured by Tarantulas, The Web and set up remote survey posts in the middle of a lightning storm on a bed of unstable energon crystals because someone stroked his ego. Equal Measures

It seems Cheetor also trusted Dinobot more than the rest of his crew. When Optimus Primal was feared dead, a vote was held to decide whether Rattrap or Dinobot would lead the Maximals. Naturally, both parties voted for themselves, but as Rhinox read out the votes, he was only surprised by Dinobot's second vote. This would imply that he did NOT vote for Dinobot, and that it must have been Cheetor. Chain of Command

When Tigatron turned up, Cheetor fast bonded with "Big Cat" and looked up to him. Tigatron's eventual death left him greatly distraught.

When the quantum surge from the explosion of the Planet Buster engulfed the planet, Cheetor's exostructure was mutated into a shiny new Transmetal body. Along with a tougher metal hide and built-in weaponry, his beast mode gained the ability to fly via two powerful thrusters in his torso. Unfortunately, his first attempt at flying led him on a one-way trip into a bulkhead. As Rattrap later remarked after a disastrous rescue attempt, a few flying lessons wouldn't have hurt. Aftermath Once he got the hang of it, he was constantly used on flight and recon missions.

Ultra gear!

When Blackarachnia defected to the Maximals, Cheetor swiftly gained a big crush on her and deliberately joined her on a mission; he was left annoyed when she dismissed him as a "nice kid" Cutting Edge, and more so when she further emphasised what she thought of the crush via a big pointy weapon. Proving Grounds Despite this, the crush briefly flared up again when she almost died. Crossing the Rubicon

While supporting Depth Charge's attack on Megatron's perverse cloning experiments, Cheetor came in contact with the direct energy beam of the transmetal driver, causing a massive explosion that made his fellow Maximals believe he was dead. However, he was seriously damaged and wandered around for megacycles afterwards, not knowing where he was, before he finally stumbled back to base.

Refusing treatment in the CR chamber, he was prone to hallucinations, panic attacks, paranoia, and delirium. He escaped the base and would rest for hours at a time, only to awaken and find himself somewhere foreign, his gears exhausted. Feral Scream Part 1

Rawr.

In reality, his Transmetal body was in conflict with the alien "Transmetal 2" power infused into it by the transmetal driver. While unconscious, he would undergo a mutation into a feral beast that acted with savagery and aggression. With Optimus Primal's help, he finally gained control of the power and rejoined the rest of the Maximals, who were surprised at the rapid changes to him. Feral Scream Part 2

"Oh, joy," Rattrap remarked on this. "Cyber-puberty."

IDW Beast Wars comics

Cheetor appeared outside the Ark alongside Optimus Primal and Rhinox. The Gathering #3

Beast Machines cartoon

Voice actor: Ian Corlett (English), Wataru Takagi (Japanese), Hercules Fernando (Portuguese)

3H comics

It was revealed that Cheetor was a Matrix Templar, as he and Rodimus (another templar) battled Cryotek. It also appears that Cheetor is one of Rodimus's biggest fans. They are very much alike, it appears. They looked up to really big leaders, they both are known to live for speed, and their early days were filled with bonehead stunts. He is such a big Rodimus idolizer that "My first changeform was even based on yours!"

He later said of Rodimus's past "I'm not lookin forward to the day they chronicle my early bonehead adventures onto a datacon for all the world to see." Wreckers: Finale Part II

Hope he never reads this.

Beast Wars Metals comic

Off to go train with Piccolo or something, I'm sure.

Following the Quantum surge, Cheetor was upgraded into a Transmetal but left stranded on Energoa far, far away from the other Maximals and believed dead by Rattrap. Following Optimus Primal's return to life, Cheetor could be seen staring poetically at the moon from his distant location. Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!

Henkei! Henkei! pack-in comic

The Cirrrcle of Liiiife...

After Screamscream and Ravage stole energon cubes from Hound, Cheetor appeared on the scene, defeated both of them and got the cubes back, getting the adoration of Hound and random fauna. Cheetor then went to live in a safari park. Henkei! Henkei! volume 8

Trivia

• Cheetor fired the first shots of the Beast Wars. First he shot at Waspinator, unprovoked, and again at Megatron while Optimus was attempting to negotiate. What a little rascal.

• Cheetor has the first line in the show Beast Wars; he also has the last line in the show Beast Machines, closing the arc of the two shows in a coherent development of Cheetor as a young rookie to Cheetor as commander.

• Aside from Tigatron, Cheetor is the only character in Beast Wars who is definitely in the correct scale to the lifeform he has adopted as a beast mode. As a result, Cheetor has the odd distinction of being the yardstick by which other Beast Wars characters' scale inconsistencies can be measured.

• On the other hand, Cheetor's original toy is monstrously out of scale with his fellow Deluxe Class toys and is only scale-compatible with larger toys such as the Ultra-class Optimus Primal.

• Mainframe Entertainment's original plan for Transmetal Cheetor was to have his face mature over the course of the season, from a big-eared, wide-eyed, rounded face into one close to the toy. Also, he would have had a "Hero's Heart" which glowed after completing brave or heroic feats, somewhat akin to the classic anime character Astro Boy. Due to time and financial restrictions, none of these concepts panned out. Thankfully. His toy, however, DOES have a molded heart on the abdomen.

I wonder what Beast Machines Cheetor thinks of this artwork?

• Comic Bom Bom advertisements for the Game Boy Color's Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle feature Cheetor with a slightly different (and much happier) head than the version which appeared in the game's instruction manual. Both are sickeningly cute, though.

• Cheetor has the somewhat dubious honour of being the only Maximal Megatron never refers to by name on the show.

• In "Bee in the City", Beast Wars Megatron accidentally calls Bumblebee "Cheetor", the first instance of a running gag where the plucky young yellow kid-appeal bot is called by another kid-appeal bot's name.
  • This is also ironic in being the first and only time his name is spoken by Megatron.

• In the Japanese dub of the Beast Wars cartoon and in the Beast Wars Metals manga, Cheetor had the quirk of ending nearly every sentence in a long, stressed "Jā-n", which is supposed to sound like a cute kitty growl.

External links

• Cheetor at TFU.info