Maximal
- The Maximals are a faction in the Beast Era portion of the Generation 1 continuity.
Arising from the ashes of the Great War, the Maximals are the descendants of the Autobots, controlling Cybertron under the Pax Cybertronia.
Japanese name: Cybertrons
Prehistory
The exact origin of the Maximals has never been fully explained, nor has the time of their emergence as a faction. Dreamwave's The War Within depicts a Maximal symbol in Cybertron's prehistory, and IDW's Beast Wars Source Book references Maximal and Predacon conflict before the Pax Cybertronia (thus before the end of the Great War). The sourcebook also seems to place its versions of Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo in this pre-Pax Cybertronia era. Predacons (specifically BB) were being "re-educated" in Maximal prisons during the Great War.
At some point, possibly after the Pax Cybertronia had restored peace to Cybertron, the Maximal Upgrade program was introduced. The program emphasized fuel efficiency through downsizing. Many of the surviving Autobots eventually upgraded via bio-tech overhaul and cloistered themselves away, but some few stayed active in Cybertronic society to guide the emerging Maximal faction into the future. The Maximal Elders locked away much information about the Great War (and especially the location of Earth) from the young population, fearing it would re-ignite old grudges or inspire Predacon insurgents to rewrite history using transwarp technology.
The theft of the Golden Disk by Megatron, which set in motion the "Beast Wars" occured aproximately 300 years after the end of the Great War. (Note: Specific dating for this has been suggested in ancillary material but in the Beast Wars cartoon itself this date is fairly indistinct as 1) there's no way to know when exactly the Great War ended, and 2) it's not clear if those are Cybertronian or Earth years.)
Organization
The Maximal Imperium was the state that the Maximals formed. The term imperium would imply empire, though the Maximals have never displayed any milliteristic expansionist inclinations, something more in line with the Predacons. However, it might be speculated that their exploration programs, referenced in Beast Wars and Beast Machines, were a precursur to an expansion-minded colonization program.
The Maximal Imperium appeared to invest both legislative and executive power in a bicameral legislature, the Maximal Elders and the High Council. It is unknown what the relationship and division of powers were between the two legislatures, although it appears the Elders were the more senior legislature. Like their Autobot ancestors, the Maximals had a strong belief in democracy, even going so far as to elect their military leaders when unable to communicate with the high command. This could cause problems when there was an even number of voters. Some evidence suggests that the Maximal elders were more represive and secretive than strictly necessary. One powerful political body is the bi-partisan Committee for State Affairs who's appointed members includes both Maximals and Predacons.
The Maximals were by nature peaceful, but the realities of the universe did force them to have armed forces. Usually, the highest rank was Supreme Commander, awarded to Maximals of Convoy status, who were given an Energon Matrix linked to the Vector Sigma supercomputer. The Supreme Commanders answered to the Maximal Elders, and there is some eviedence to indicate that the Maximal Elders included former Supreme Commanders.
Physiology
The Maximals retained many similarities with the Autobots, such as Sparks and having vehicle forms, but had major differences. The downsized body was intended to have better fuel efficiency, and the Maximals now operated on Energon. The Maximals have been shown to eat food like organic creatures, but it is unknown if they require food to survive, or if this is an alternate energy source. Also, the robot mode lacks the robot flight mode found in the Autobots, and a Maximal is incapable of flight unless a flight mechanism is specifically included or if the Maximal has an airborne beast mode. The beast mode has been shown to dominate—if not override—logic circuits on occasion.
When Maximals do take beast modes, they tend to be mammals, birds, and fish, though this is not a hard-and-fast rule.
Maximal society
Not much is known about the Maximal-led post-Great War Cybertron. There does appear to be commerce (holo-chips), entertainment (Six Lasers Over Cybertron), and industry, but what we do know is that the Maximals focused heavily on exploration. Exploration vessels, filled with stasis pods containing newborn protoforms, would search out new planets and seed them with the protoforms, who would assume forms based on the native lifeforms and collect data. Post-war Cybertron experienced a visible boom in scientific and technological curiosity. Some of this curiosity, however, resulted in monsters such as the seemingly immortal and murderous Protoform X.
