Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)
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With sales of the Generation 2 toyline proving unremarkable by 1995, Hasbro faced a choice: end the Transformers brand for a second time, or completely revamp the concept. They chose the second option, and Beast Wars: Transformers was the result. The toys were initially developed and distributed by Hasbro's Kenner division, but with the massive success of Beast Wars, the parent company eventually reclaimed control of the brand. Beast Wars packaging was branded "Kenner" until the 1998 Transmetals 2 packaging sported "Hasbro" logos again. The European multilingual packaging variants already shifted back to "Hasbro" with the Fuzors and Transmetals.
The new franchise consisted entirely of robots who transformed into beasts: insects, mammals, and more. The traditional factions of Autobot and Decepticon were replaced with heroic Maximals and evil Predacons. Most radically, the beast modes were intended to represent fully natural and organic animals, as opposed to the "mechanical beasts" represented by the likes of Generation 1's Dinobots and Terrorcons.
The Beast Wars toyline brought poseability to full fruition. Whereas Generation 2 marketed a handful of toys as "super poseable", Beast Wars made it standard for virtually every toy. Heavy use of ball joints gave the figures unprecedented degrees of freedom — often greater than that of a normal, non-transforming action figure. Poseability — a rarity in the days of G1 — became commonplace and expected after Beast Wars.
Concealed parts and weapons also became standard during Beast Wars. Again, Generation 2 had introduced a number of toys whose kibble had a place to store when not in use, but it was Beast Wars that made it a universal feature.
Beast Wars also introduced a standardized system of price points to Transformers: $5 Basics, $10 Deluxes, $15 Megas, and $20 Ultras. The price for Basics eventually rose to $7, but the system remained largely unaltered through the end of Beast Machines. Portions of the system continue to be used today (the Basics were "Scouts" during Cybertron, and the Mega has been replaced with the $20, slightly-larger "Voyager".) A rarely-seen, extra-large Super class was introduced with the Optimal Optimus toy in 1998.
The toyline evolved over its three and a half year run. 1996–97 featured purely-organic beasts exclusively. 1998 was dominated by two sublines: Fuzors, whose beast modes combined aspects of two different animals, and Transmetals, which featured metallic-finished chrome and sleekly mechanical beast modes. In 1999, the Transmetals 2 were the primary offering, featuring asymmetrical and often bizarrely patchwork fusions of mechanical and organic in both modes.
Beast Wars largely ended as a toyline when Hasbro elected to revamp the franchise and re-introduce vehicular Transformers, leading to the Beast Machines toyline. Though a new franchise, Beast Machines continued many aspects of the Beast Wars toyline including a number of major characters, the Maximal faction, and beast forms that combined mechanical and organic aspects. Furthermore, the Beast Wars title would continue to grace sporadic toys such as store exclusives, convention exclusives, a 10th anniversary line in 2006, and another 10th anniversary line for Japan in 2007.
1996
Basic
- Armordillo (armadillo)
- Rattrap (rat)
- Razorbeast (razorback)
Deluxe
Mega
Ultra
- Optimus Primal (gorilla)
McDonald's Happy Meal Toys
Basic
- Iguanus (frilled lizard)
- Insecticon (stag beetle)
- Snapper (snapping turtle)
- Terrorsaur (Pteranodon)
Deluxe
- Blackarachnia (black widow spider)
- Buzz Saw (wasp)
- Tarantulas (tarantula)
- Waspinator (wasp)
Mega
- Scorponok (scorpion)
Ultra
- Megatron (Tyrannosaurus rex)
McDonald's Happy Meal Toys
Exclusives
Others
- Optimus Primal (fruit bat) vs Megatron! (crocodile)
1997
Basic
Deluxe
- Bonecrusher (American bison)
- Cybershark (hammerhead shark)
- Grimlock (Velociraptor)
- K-9 (German Shepherd)
Mega
- B'Boom (mandrill)
Ultra Combiner Magnaboss
- Ironhide (African elephant)
- Prowl (lion)
- Silverbolt (bald eagle)
- Orcanoch (orca whale/Maximal base)
Basic
- Drill Bit (Boll weevil)
- Lazorbeak (Pteranodon)
- Powerpinch (earwig)
- Razorclaw (fiddler crab)
- Spittor (poison arrow frog)
Deluxe
Mega
- Inferno (fire ant)
- Transquito (mosquito)
Ultra Combiner Tripredacus
- Arachnid (spider/Predacon base)
- Fractyl (Pteranodon) & Packrat (rat)(BotCon 1997)
1998
Basic
- Air Hammer (hammerhead shark/hawk Fuzor)
- Bantor (baboon/tiger Fuzor)
- Noctorro (bull/bat Fuzor)
Deluxe
- Airazor (Transmetal falcon)
- Cheetor (Transmetal cheetah)
- Rattrap (Transmetal rat)
- Rhinox (Transmetal rhinoceros)
- Silverbolt (wolf/eagle Fuzor)
- Torca (orca whale/elephant Fuzor)
Mega
- Optimus Primal (Transmetal gorilla)
Ultra
- Depth Charge (Transmetal manta ray)
Super
- Optimal Optimus (Transmetal gorilla)
McDonald's Happy Meal Toy
- Dinobot (Transmetal Velociraptor)
VHS Packs
Basic
- Buzzclaw (praying mantis/lizard Fuzor)
- Quickstrike (scorpion/cobra Fuzor)
- Terragator (alligator/terrapin Fuzor)
Deluxe
- Injector (lionfish/hornet Fuzor)
- Sky Shadow (iguana/dragonfly Fuzor)
- Tarantulas (Transmetal tarantula)
- Terrorsaur (Transmetal Pteranodon)
- Waspinator (Transmetal wasp)
Mega
Ultra
- Rampage (Transmetal crab)
McDonald's Happy Meal Toys
- Blackarachnia (Transmetal black widow spider)
- Scorponok (Transmetal scorpion)
VHS Packs
- Razorclaw
- Transmetal Spittor ("Transmetal" poison arrow frog)(UK exclusive)
- Antagony (fire ant, BotCon 1998)
- Vice Grip (earwig, BotCon 1998)
1999
Basic
- Nightglider (Transmetal 2 flying squirrel)
- Optimus Minor (Transmetal 2 spider monkey)
- Sonar (Transmetal 2 bat)
- Stinkbomb (Transmetal 2 skunk)
Deluxe
- Cheetor (cheetah, Fox Kids redeco)
- Cheetor (Transmetal cheetah, Fox Kids redeco)
- Cheetor (Transmetal 2 cheetah)
- Dinobot (Velociraptor, Fox Kids redeco)
- Jawbreaker (Transmetal 2 spotted hyena)
- Prowl (Transmetal 2 owl)
- Ramulus (Transmetal 2 ibex)
- Rhinox (black rhinoceros, Fox Kids redeco)
Mega
- Blackarachnia (Transmetal 2 black widow spider)
- Cybershark (Transmetal 2 great white shark)
Ultra
- Tigerhawk (Transmetal 2 tiger/falcon Fuzor)
- Windrazor (wolf/eagle Fuzor, BotCon 1999)
- Rattrap (Transmetal rat, Wal-Mart)
Basic
Deluxe
- Dinobot (Transmetal 2 Velociraptor)
- Iguanus (Transmetal 2 frilled lizard)
- Scourge (Transmetal 2 locust)
- Tarantulas (Transmetal tarantula, Fox Kids redeco)
- Waspinator (hornet, Fox Kids redeco)
Ultra
- Megatron (Transmetal 2 dragon)
- Sandstorm (scorpion, BotCon 1999)
2000
Deluxe
- Airazor (Transmetal falcon, Fox Kids redeco)
- Rattrap (Transmetal rat, Fox Kids redeco)
- Rhinox (Transmetal rhinoceros, Fox Kids redeco)
Deluxe
- Waspinator (Transmetal hornet, Fox Kids redeco)
- Shokaract (Transmetal crab, BotCon 2000)
Deluxe
- Icebird (polar bear/snowy owl Mutant)
- Poison Bite (barracuda/scorpion Mutant)
- Razor Claw (Velociraptor/wolverine Mutant)
- Soundwave (alligator/bat Mutant)
2001
- Tigatron (Transmetal white tiger, BotCon 2001)
- Tripredacus Agent (Transmetal 2 black jaguar, Wal-Mart)
Innovations and lasting effects
- Beast Wars made ball joints, first used on a wider scale by the Generation 2 Cyberjets, a regular feature of Transformers toys.
- Beast Wars was also the first toy line to commonly integrate the robots' weapons and accessories into the alternate mode, thus avoiding extraneous kibble (in the original meaning of the term) and/or obvious attached weapons and accessories.
- As noted above, Beast Wars finally established standardized size classes/price points and multiple assorted waves of the same price point per year.
- Furthermore, Beast Wars made redecos and retools of toys from previous waves a lot more prevalent than had been the case in previous lines.
- Lastly, Beast Wars packaging introduced the use of twist ties, to the anger of a lot of fans.
Notes
The Universe (2008) toyline includes toys marked as "Beast Wars series".
Foreign names
- French: Ani Mutants (France), Guerre Bêtes (Canada)
- Italian: Biocombat
- Spanish: Guerra Bestias (America)
