Inferno (BW)
| The name or term "Inferno" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Inferno (disambiguation). |
- Inferno is a Predacon from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
Inferno wholeheartedly believes that he is an ant and that Megatron is his queen. Unlike many Predacons, he has no personal ambitions or future plans; everything he does is for the good of the colony and his queen. Luckily for Inferno, many of the tasks his queen assigns him involve burning things—and he likes burning things.
Keeping with his ant mentality, Inferno has absolutely no regard for his own personal safety whatsoever. He is fanatically loyal to Megatron, and as such will use his heavy firepower and incredible strength full-on and take any task given of him, no matter how suicidal. And he'll do it laughing maniacally the entire time, for the glory of the colony.
An alternate-universe iteration of Inferno was caught up in the Universe war and joined the Autobots. No, really. Another one was rebuilt into a Vehicon, then also ended up in that war.
| “ | You're no match for me! Burn, traitor, burn! | ” |
—Inferno, "Other Voices, Part 2" | ||
| “ | Ahahahaha! FOOL! Pain is my friend—allow me to introduce you to it! | ” |
—Inferno, "Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)" | ||
- Italian name: Formicula (toyline), Formikon (show)
- Spanish name: Infierno
Fiction
Cartoon Continuity
Beast Wars cartoon
- Voice Actor: Jim Byrnes (English), Shinichirō Miki (Japanese), Sérgio Moreno (Brazil)
When Inferno's stasis pod crashed to prehistoric Earth, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia immediately set out to claim him as their own. Unfortunately, Inferno had been awakened automatically, having scanned the form of a fire ant. Moreover, his beast mode came to overwhelm his logic circuits, causing Inferno to become wholly convinced that he was an actual fire ant and that his stasis pod was his "colony". Airazor arrived at the scene and was immediately attacked by Inferno and Blackarachnia. During the fight, Tarantulas escaped with the stasis pod, which was his real goal, and an enraged Inferno followed. Pursuing the Predacons, Tigatron was able to destroy the stasis pod before Tarantulas was able to get it to his lab. This act put Inferno completely over the edge, and he went even crazier (if possible). Before he could finish Tigatron off, however, Optimus and Airazor showed up and blew him to bits.
However, Megatron took an immediate shine to the brutish psychopath, stating, "Oooohhh, I like him," and had him restored, possibly with some mental improvements. Thereafter, Inferno was fanatically loyal to Megatron, thinking of him as his "Queen", which Megatron found very annoying. A few death threats convinced Inferno to call Megatron "the Royalty" instead, although he occasionally backslid. Spider's Game
Inferno took part in the Predacon hunt after the Maximals' beast instincts had overtaken their programming. He merrily shot at their quarry, at least until the Maximals were able to overcome their beast instincts. Then he was shot out of the air by Cheetor. Call of the Wild He led a diversionary assault on the Axalon with Waspinator and Terrorsaur to allow Tarantulas to deliver an energon discharge virus, and later accompanied his Queen to Tarantulas's lair to find more of the virus. Unfortunately, this meant he was at ground zero when Rhinox blew the Predacons away with an enormous fart. The Low Road
Though supposedly under Terrorsaur's leadership for an attack on Cheetor and Dinobot, Inferno didn't wait for the signal to attack, instead plunging into frenzied battle. Though he had Cheetor pinned down for most of the fight, he was blasted out of the air by Tigatron. The three Predacons later ambushed Dinobot, defeating the Maximal before Terrorsaur and Waspinator were both taken out by Optimus. Inferno had Dinobot and Primal in his sights when Tigatron turned up to defend them. Inferno's act of igniting a nearby tree only made the Maximal more furious, and Inferno was soon blown away. Law of the Jungle
Sent on a mission by the Royalty, Inferno discovered a Golden Disk and managed to retrieve it, even as his systems were suffering from energon overload. After returning to base, he underwent repairs and subsequently took part in an attempt to stop Tigatron escaping the Darksyde. He plummeted out of the air after Primal disconnected his jet thruster, and he had to be hauled back to base. Before the Storm
It wasn't long before he was given a new mission by the Royalty, and he tailed Blackarachnia and Tarantulas to the Axalon, though he was temporarily delayed by having to dig a tunnel under the ship's force field. Other Voices, Part 1 He found the two spiders in the hold of the Axalon, working on a stasis pod. Blasting Blackarachnia and setting Tarantulas on fire, Inferno barely had time to check out what they were doing before Blackarachnia recovered and shot him back. Other Voices, Part 2 After pulling himself together, he attacked Rhinox and Dinobot on the Axalon's bridge, eventually being defeated and thrown bodily from the ship. The Royalty, faced with imminent defeat, gathered up his loyal soldier and retreated. Aftermath
With Scorponok's demise, Inferno was promoted to Sub-Commander. After the two Fuzors were "born", Inferno attacked them vigorously until the Royalty batted him aside and talked the pair into joining the Predacons. Quickstrike later rode Inferno into battle against Dinobot, Cheetor and Rattrap. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1) A mid-air collision saw Inferno and the Royalty temporarily swapping heads. The Predacons were on the verge of victory when Optimus Primal appeared, reborn as a Transmetal. Inferno accidentally blew away Tarantulas and Quickstrike before failing to beat Primal in a quick draw, and the Predacons were eventually forced to retreat. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)
Inferno and Waspinator were assigned to construct a jamming tower, a mission they quickly completed, though in a manic fit, Inferno brought the new tower down on Waspinator's head while the latter was reporting to the Royalty. Tangled Web The pair then teamed up with Quickstrike to ambush Dinobot and Rattrap. Inferno managed to pin Dinobot down but ran out of ammo, and he would probably have been torn apart by the Maximal if it wasn't for Waspinator managing to take out Silverbolt and Dinobot with one shot. After commending Waspinator for serving their Queen well, Inferno gathered up Dinobot and flew his prize back to base. Maximal, No More
Always keen to shoot something, Inferno joined Blackarachnia and the Royalty on a mission to infiltrate the Axalon. While the Queen distracted Rhinox, Inferno and Blackarachnia slipped inside, and Inferno was able to blast the Maximal. Unfortunately, Rhinox quickly recovered and dealt Inferno a flurry of uppercuts to the chin, but this only gave the Royalty the chance to come to his loyal soldier's aid, and the trio were able to make off with the alien Golden Disk. The Predacons later visited an alien site and were blasted by an alien construct which appeared there. Other Visits (Part 1) The Royalty was able to take control of the construct, restoring Inferno and the others to the land of the living, before sending him on a mission with Waspinator to retrieve a transwarp cell. Afterward, Inferno was pressed into action defending the construct from the Maximals, and thus wasn't aboard when it exploded. Other Visits (Part 2)
Inferno, Quickstrike and the Royalty monitored Silverbolt and Blackarachnia, and Inferno wondered aloud why the spider didn't shoot the Fuzor. Bad Spark He merrily torched a valley full of protohumans until Dinobot impaled him, used him as a shield, and then used Inferno's own gun to blow his head off. Code of Hero Inferno was sent to retrieve a new stasis pod, only to be disabled by Silverbolt. He recovered and fired on Silverbolt...and hit Transmutate instead, triggering the creature to unleash its attack on everyone present. Inferno was surprisingly the only one sensible enough to duck the blast, and later joined Rampage in presenting the newcomer to his Queen. After some negotiation, the Royalty agreed to give Transmutate a chance, and the trio ambushed Silverbolt. When Transmutate refused to finish Silverbolt off, Inferno pushed it aside to shoot Silverbolt, only to be blasted by Transmutate's sonic weapon. Transmutate
With rescue for the Maximals seemingly impending, the Predacons mounted a full attack on the Axalon, only to be driven off by Ravage's cloaked transwarp cruiser. The Maximals subsequently teamed up to assault the Predacon base. During the attack, Inferno attempted to blast Rhinox, only to be perforated by a chaingun. The Agenda (Part 1) Megatron's troops were scattered after the defeat, Inferno heading for a cave full of energon. There he was found by Primal and Cheetor, and he ended up sacrificing himself by detonating a huge cache of energon in a failed attempt to defeat the Maximals. The Agenda (Part 2) Despite his apparent vaporization, he revived yet again, though with several holes in his chassis. He joined his Queen at the Ark, and they headed for the Axalon along with Waspinator. They never reached their objective, being intercepted by Optimus Primal and Cheetor while still en route. Optimal Situation
Inferno was assigned to attack the new Maximal base with Rampage. Inferno's plan to draw Optimus out seemed to work, but Rampage had gotten distracted and left Inferno to it, and the fire ant was swiftly crushed by a boulder dropped by Blackarachnia. Deep Metal Inferno was next teamed up with Waspinator and Quickstrike to attempt to steal the Sentinel module from the Maximals. After Waspinator was taken out by Silverbolt and Rattrap, Inferno pursued them relentlessly until he was able to snatch the module and return triumphantly with it to his Queen. Changing of the Guard
During a period when the Maximal base was undermanned, Inferno took part in an attack lead by his Queen. When Quickstrike was given lead position as they entered the base, Inferno asked why he hadn't been chosen, but the reason became clear moments later as Quickstrike was taken out by a sequence of booby traps. The Predacons stormed the base, but met with heavy resistance in the form of Depth Charge, and were forced to retreat. Cutting Edge After Inferno plugged in the Predacons' new disruptor cannon too soon, he and Waspinator were forced to kidnap Una to complete installing the shielding. The task was completed, but Una escaped with Rattrap's help. Inferno, Waspinator and Dinobot gave chase, only to end up colliding after Rattrap flicked mud into Waspinator's face. They returned to the cave housing the cannon in time for its firing, but as Una had taken the stabilizer crystal, it merely exploded. Go with the Flow
As the Predacons attempted to disrupt the power in the Maximal base during an operation to save Blackarachnia, Inferno managed to find the blind spot for the Maximal auto-guns from which he could safely fire. While crowing that the traitor would soon be destroyed, he was attacked by Optimus. He managed to dodge the missiles, but the move took him out of the blind spot, and he was promptly blasted by the auto-guns. Crossing the Rubicon A new plan allowed the Predacons to conquer the Maximal base, and Inferno was left in charge of the unconscious Maximals. Blackarachnia, the only one still functioning, got him to chase her and tricked him into stepping outside the base so she could shut him out and turn the auto-guns on him. Master Blaster
The destruction of the Darksyde at the hands of the Voks' emissary, Tigerhawk, left Inferno distraught at the loss of their colony. A short time later, he, Waspinator and Quickstrike were literally blown away by Tigerhawk. Other Victories After Inferno asserted that they needed to found a new colony, the Royalty sent him with Quickstrike and Waspinator to do just that. They soon found a potential new colony in the form of a protohuman settlement and, after the setback of Waspinator abandoning the cause and having to be shot, Inferno and Quickstike began their takeover. Unfortunately, the protohumans had been learning and met force with resistance. Nemesis Part 1 Nonetheless, they seemed to succeed largely in driving the protohumans out, and they celebrated as the Nemesis appeared overhead. The celebration was short-lived, as moments later, the ship's main fusion cannon obliterated the area, killing both Predacons.
His head was used thereafter by the protohumans as a drum, and his tail thruster was used for their cooking fire. Nemesis Part 2
3H comics
When Fractyl discovered Furmanite, Inferno was told to watch him. When Packrat showed up, Inferno tried to burn him and accidentally triggered an energon/anti-energon explosion, allowing Packrat to steal the Furmanite. Because Inferno did not have the Furmanite, and thus no Energon Armor, his pursuit of Packrat was both disastrous and humiliating. Critical Mass
A temporal distortion drew the attention of both the Maximals and Predacons to a remote canyon, where Inferno and his fellow Predacons met their foes. The Maximals were losing, having been fought into a corner, when suddenly the battle was interrupted. The Dark Essence, the source of the temporal distortion, had possessed the newcomer Windrazor with the life force of Unicron. Inferno and the others were immobilized by Windrazor/Unicron's psionic force blasts, and the merged creature advanced on the Maximals. Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox These events would soon be retroactively erased from Inferno's timeline with the efforts of the legendary Covenant. Terminus
IDW Beast Wars comics
Megatron dispatched Inferno alongside Rampage to oversee the installation of Sentinel into the Darksyde. Once Megatron was alone, however, he was ambushed by a trio of chronally displaced assailants. Inferno rushed back to the scene to inquire what all the commotion was about, but his leader was nowhere to be seen. The Gathering #3
Universe toy bios
Two different alternate-universe incarnations of Inferno fought in the Universe war.
The Inferno of a parallel Beast Wars was pulled from his universe and altered by Unicron into a "Fire Chief" Lamborghini. He retained his mad desire to engulf his enemies in searing, metal-melting flames...but all of his new weaponry was designed to extinguish fires. Optimus Primal freed him from the Cauldron, and Inferno began following his new "queen" with fanatical devotion as an Autobot and Child of Primus. Even with his anticlimactic new weapons, he still attacked his enemies with savage disregard for his own personal safety.
Another alternate Inferno survived his universe's Beast Wars and ended up back on Cybertron, where Megatron converted him to a Vehicon. This upgrade removed most of his madness, but not his loyalty to his beloved queen. Alas, he somehow ended up in the Universe war as well, serving Optimus Primal against Unicron.
Beast Wars Metals toy bio
Games
Beast Wars: Transformers video game
Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle video game
Megatron was capable to summon Inferno forth to the battlefield in his attempts to acquire the super-powerful energon crystal. Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle
Toys
Beast Wars
- Inferno (Mega, 1997)
- Japanese ID number: D-11
- Accessories: Mandible claw, spring-loaded missile launcher, 2 insect-leg missiles
- Inferno transforms into a red fire ant. His beast-mode mandibles can detach, concealing an arm-mounted missile launcher weapon which can fire either one of his rear insect legs. In robot mode, his beast mode abdomen splits open to form spinning blades surrounding a quad-jet thruster. The blades spin when a lever on the thruster is repeatedly pressed.
- This mold was also used to make Antagony.
- Cybershark vs Inferno: Hell Showdown (Vs pack, 1997)
- Japanese ID number: VS-11
- Accessories: Mandible claw, spring-loaded missile launcher, 2 insect-leg missiles
- In Japan, Inferno was available both separately and in a "Hell Showdown" vs. pack with Cybershark. Both toys are identical to their individual Japanese releases.
- Metals Inferno (Mega, 1999)
- Japanese ID number: D-46
- Metals Inferno is almost wholly identical to the Hasbro Mega-Transmetal Predacon Scavenger, only the name tampograph was changed from "SCAVENGER" to "DESTRON" with the faction sigil. He transforms into a robotic ant with a third "transport mode", a double-drill tank. The drills end up as his robot-mode hands, and spin using gear-wheels.
- Showdown at the Ocean Bottom: Metals Depth Charge Vs. Metals Inferno (Multi-pack, 1999)
- Japanese ID number: VS-46
- During Beast Wars Metals, "Metals" Inferno was available both individually and in a double-pack with Depth Charge. Both toys were identical to their individual releases.
Universe (2003)
- Inferno (Deluxe, 2003)
- Accessories: Left & right thrusters, 2 "flame" missiles
- A redeco of the Robots in Disguise Prowl toy in a deco similar to the Generation 1 character Red Alert, Inferno transforms into a "Fire Chief" Lamborghini Diablo. The toy features a pair of pressure-launch missile launchers, which attach to his car-mode spoiler or to his robot-mode forearm, as well as attaching to the car-mode's light bar in robot-mode to form a jet pack.
- Universe Inferno was originally supposed to be Red Alert. When the naming issue was brought up on Transformers brand designer Aaron Archer's Orson's World forum, he said that the "Inferno" name was a mistake that somehow passed and that it was too late to do anything about it. In an attempt to deal with the confusion, the biography 3H created for this toy to be used on Hasbro's Transformers website stated that this was an alternate universe version of Beast Wars Inferno, though, as stated above, the biography was never published.
- The same mold is used by Universe Sideswipe and Sunstreaker.
- Inferno (Scout-class, 2006)
- Accessories: Blade, key
- This redeco of Scrapmetal was only available in the customization class at BotCon 2006, along with Rumble. Parts were provided, but the individuals taking the class had to assemble and paint the toy themselves. For those who wish to reproduce Inferno at home, the following Testors paint colors were used: Gin Green, Bright Blue, Camouflage Gray, Flat White, Cobalt Blue, Deep Pearlescent Purple, Medium Gray, Armored Steel, and Flat Black.
- Inferno transforms into a four-legged "spider tank" with top-mounted cannon. Inserting a Cyber Planet Key into the back end of the cannon swings a removable clear-plastic sawblade-sword from the main chamber of the cannon. In robot mode, the fists can be covered with the tank-mode spikes, or a "pile driver".
- This mold was also used to make the Cobybot.
Merchandise
- Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game (1997)
- Inferno was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars card game.
Robot Heroes
- Tigatron / Inferno (2-pack, 2009)
- Part of the fifth wave of Universe Robot Heroes, Inferno is a mix of his original toy's design and the cartoon's depiction. He comes packaged with Tigatron.
- The US release of this two-pack has been cancelled, but it has been found in Singapore and Europe.
Notes
- Hasbro originally intended Inferno to be the new body for Megatron. According to a 1997 interview conducted by fan HooksX, Bob Forward stated, "For a while there Hasbro was planning to make the Inferno toy the new Megatron. We were going to kill Megatron and bring him back as Inferno." The closest they got was in "Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)" when Megatron and Inferno had a collision and swapped heads.
- No one knows exactly how Inferno's beast mode mentality became so dominant; his stasis pod was perfectly intact upon landing, thus ruling out any problems due to damaged circuitry, and Tarantulas's other attempts at reprogramming Maximals caused no such glitch in personality. Perhaps soldier ants simply have such strong instincts that they couldn't be resisted, or perhaps Tarantulas did something different this time around. Or... something.
- Inferno quite clearly gets utterly vaporized in an energon explosion at the end of Season 2; the Madman Entertainment Season 2 DVD commentary states that Inferno was indeed meant to die in the scene. At the time of the episode's production, it wasn't known if Beast Wars would be renewed for a third season (the show's chief writers once stated at BotCon that they'd adopted a "kill 'em all, let Hasbro sort 'em out" attitude towards the show's season finales.) When the show was renewed, Inferno was brought back, looking charred but more or less intact.
- Like Waspinator, Inferno's beast mode is female, as male ants are winged drones, which Inferno, due to his lack of wings, clearly is not. So, like Waspinator (and to some extent Tigatron), he has the distinction of being a guy in a girl's body.
- It's unknown as to why Transmetal Scavenger, a toy clearly designed to be an upgraded Inferno, ended up not being Inferno except in Japan. Maybe Hasbro was just really keen on reclaiming the "Scavenger" trademark. Another theory is that since there were ant colonies of Inferno clogging store shelves (as Inferno had been shipped in a solid case), retailers wouldn't want even more Infernos, so Hasbro had the name changed. Ironically, colonies of Scavengers also formed, as the Transmetal was also shipped in a solid case.
- Inferno's Universe mass-release and his wave-mate Ratchet were given the "group" name "Machine Robot Rescue", presumably in an attempt by Hasbro to block competitor Bandai from using the name for a potential importation of their Machine Robo Rescue toy series from Japan to the US.
