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Debuting in 1996, the Beast Wars cartoon revitalized Transformers. It’s thanks to Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward that Transformers is still going strong today, and not just a forgotten relic of the 1980s.
Beast Wars is still one of the most beloved incarnations of the franchise. In 2021, in honor of the cartoon’s 25th anniversary, IDW has been publishing an ongoing Beast Wars comic. Written by Erik Burkham, with Joshua Burcham and Winston Chan juggling art duties, the series follows the broad strokes of the original but has been reimagining key details. Nine issues in, there are some big differences.
10 The Comic Reveals Megatron’s Original Name
The Predacons’ leader in both cartoons and comics alike is a renegade named Megatron. His name is no coincidence, he chose it for himself in tribute to the vanquished Decepticon leader, a choice which also stands as a testament to Megatron’s unfathomable pride.
The comic reveals a key piece of the villain’s backstory the series did not—his original name. In the comic’s debut issue, the Predacon leader is first known as “Galavar,” before proclaiming himself Megatron. This name is likely meant to evoke the Decepticon leader’s alternate self, Galvatron.
9 The Axalon & Darksyde Battle Happens On-Panel
Beast Wars’ premiere, sharing a title with the show itself, begins with the Maximal ship Axalon and Predacon vessel Darksyde emerging from Transwarp. Viewers are thrust into the conflict devoid of any immediate context, and only witness the tail end of the battle with both ships falling to Earth.
The comic, unrestricted by animation budget concerns, shows the events leading up to this, including the Predacons’ theft of the Golden Disk and the opening stages of the battle.
8 The Maximals & Predacons Have One New Member Each
One of the most obvious changes is that the initial cast size is bumped up from 10 in the cartoon to 12 in the comic. One for the Maximals, the energetic Nyx, and one for the Predacons, Skold. Both characters add some gender diversity to what was previously an all-male cast.
While both characters are inventions of the comic, Nyx’s bat alt-mode calls to mind early Optimus Primal toys, while Skold is essentially a gender-flipped version of the obscure Predacon Snapper.
7 The Vox Are Introduced Much Earlier
There was another major faction in the Beast Wars besides the Maximals and the Predacons, the Vok. These enigmatic extraterrestrials existed on a higher plane than Cybertronians, and had been conducting experiments on Earth long before the Transformers came—it was them who seeded the planet with Energon.
The Vok’s presence was hinted at several times throughout Season 1 before coming to a head in the finale, “Other Voices.” However, in the comic, the Vok appear much earlier in Issue #2, with a trio of them deciding to let the conflict between the Maximals and Predacons play out under their watch—they still have yet to reveal themselves to either faction, though.
6 Why Dinobot Defects Is Different In Cartoon & Comic
Dinobot’s character arc is considered the high point of Beast Wars, and with good reason. Booted from the Predacons, he joins the Maximals and goes from uneasy ally to true comrade before sacrificing himself in battle during Season 2’s “Code Of Hero.”
In the cartoon, Dinobot was exiled from the Predacons in “Beast Wars, Part 1” after challenging Megatron for leadership then coming up short. In the comic, however, he betrays them in Issue #3 out of disgust with their torture of a captive Nyx. This change is more in-line with Dinobot’s personality—an honorable warrior among scoundrels.
5 Dinobot Doesn’t Challenge Optimus For Leadership
Related to Dinobot’s changed motivation for defection, the circumstances of him falling in with the Maximals differ as well. In the cartoon’s two-part premiere, he challenges Optimus Primal for leadership of the Maximals. Their duel is interrupted by the Predacons.
Dinobot, impressed by Primal and recognizing they have a common enemy in Megatron, still joins the Maximals as a subordinate. In the comic, Dinobot only jokes that he and Primal duel after the Maximal leader refuses to accept him—no such fight transpires.
4 The Planet Is Filled With Alien Fauna
The planet on which Beast Wars was set turned out to be Earth, circa 4 million years ago. This was only gradually revealed as the series went on. “Other Voices” revealed the planet’s supposed second moon was actually a Vok super-weapon, while Season 2 finale, “The Agenda,” introduced The Ark, with the stasis-locked Autobots and Decepticons from The Transformers all aboard.
Burkham has said the comic could go in a different direction about the planet’s true nature. In what could be foreshadowing or misdirection, several issues have featured alien fauna, from a green-skinned saber-tooth cat in Issue #4 to cybernetic Ironwolves in Issue #9. No such animals ever appeared in the cartoon.
3 Blackarachnia Is The First Protoform To Emerge
In “Beast Wars, Part 1,” the Axalon expels stasis pods into orbit while crash-landing. These pods hold protoforms, inactive Maximals who are meant to explore new worlds. These stasis pods became plot devices for introducing new characters—whenever one fell from orbit, Maximals and Predacons raced to claim it.
The first character introduced this way was the Maximal Tigatron in “Fallen Comrades.” Soon after came Blackarachnia, reprogrammed into a Predacon by Tarantulas, in “Double Jeopardy.” In the comic, Blackarachnia debuts first in Issue #7, while Tigatron has yet to appear.
2 The Message On The Golden Disk Seems To Be Different
The central MacGuffin of Beast Wars was the Golden Disk. The inciting incident was when, just before the events of the series, Megatron’s Predacons stole the disk from the Maximal archives on Cybertron. It turned out the disk, as in our world, was launched from Earth on the Voyager probe. Only this time, the original Megatron eventually got his hands on it and encoded a message for any future Decepticons—should they fail, travel back in time to kill Optimus Prime and retroactively prevent an Autobot victory.
In the comic, the disk’s full contents have yet to be revealed. However, in Issue #7, Megatron decrypts a brief file, which is an indecipherable message from his future self.
1 Razorbeast Was Absent From The Cartoon, But Appears In The Comic’s Ninth Issue
The Maximal Razorbeast never appeared in the Beast Wars cartoon. However, he’s developed a fanbase thanks to his role as protagonist of the in-continuity mini-series, The Gathering (written by Simon Furman, art by Don Figueroa) and its sequel, The Ascending.
Thanks to his popularity, Razorbeast debuted in Beast Wars #9. He makes friends with Skold, who feels alienated from the other Predacons, and saves her from a pack of Ironwolves. As thanks, Skold takes him to the Maximals for repairs.
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