Beast Machines

     A Transformation Revelation by Mr Smith


     We have had beast mode Transformers from the first G1 season, with Ravage and Laserbeak, and later with the Insecticons and the Dinobots. 1996 brought us Transformers: Beast Wars which was all about the beast forms.

     Overall, the Beast form transformers were characterized as...bestial; the Insecticons were ravenous and unreasonable-the Dinobots slow and not bright. I attribute it our hubris at thinking the Dinoasaur age as a failed series of lifeforms because they largely died out, when the reality is that they existed as successful organisms for millions of years. I attribute it to our human-centered tunnel vision that makes us see ourselves as the pinnacle of creation, when we may be just another experiment from good old mother nature and father time

     I am highly amused by the fact that in Transformers Prime season 3, Megatron and Starscream both treat the Predacon with contempt, as a dumb beast, like nothing more than a cumbersome weapon that gets in the way at all non-weapony times. Meanwhile, when they are not watching, it is accessing the data terminals, and finally...transforming. When the Decepticons realize that the Predacons could potentially "outevolve" them, they take steps to wipe out all of the gestating Predacons, leaving the newly crowned "Predaking" as the last, enraged survivor.

Voyager Predaking

Leader Class Target Exclusive Predaking

Size Comparison

And transformed

But even though they did not appear in the show...Hasbro made more Predacon toys

Ripclaw

Grimwing- What sort of Portal would he have to use to enter a
room? would it be a Griffin-door?

More Gargoyle than Dragon to my thinking

Movie Dinobots. The Bayverse Versions have their particular aesthetic-Spiky and kind of skeletal

And movie Dinobots give way to Fall Of Cybertron Grimlock

And thus to Grimlock from the new Cartoon, Robots in Disguise(coming soon!)

First toy I bought this year

First one broke-probably an assembly issue

replaced by TRU, I enjoy his very innovative transformation

     The moral of our tale is that when you see what you might think is a lesser creature, bear in mind that it is something perfectly suited to it's environment- a survivor. And if you see it near your home...it's adapted to your environment too. For more on this, see here on how Squirrels recycled our neighbors pumpkins.

I think this post has gotten long enough. More Dinobots and dino-thoughts next post