I've read Spotlight: Shockwave and I had a theory about the Dynobots' use of the CR chambers on the Skyfire to create beast modes. Could the Maximals and Predacons have used data from that incident to develop their DNA scanners and beast mode capabilites? Assuming that the Skyfire's onboard computer would have logged and recorded data of the Dynobots using the CR chambers to take on beast modes.

 

Interesting theory. I suppose it's possible (if Beast Wars occurs in the IDW continuity), but I'm sure it's not what the writers of Beast Wars had in mind, given that the show was created a over ten years in advance of Spotlight: Shockwave.

 

Well, it's clear that's what Spotlight: Shockwave is REFERENCING, but you have to remember that the Beast Wars can't occur in IDW continuity - because there's no crashed Ark for Megatron to travel back in time to go after. We don't know if Maximals and Predacons will ever exist in that timeline. Over in Dreamwave, for instance, Maximals and Predacons are established to be a fusion of Pretender and Micromaster technology.

 

Its possible that's something they could eventually work with, but as it stands now, it seems to be more of an afterthought than an actual attempt at linking the two, especially since BW was made long before the dynobots were put into print.

 

Technically the Maximals and Predacons don't need the Pretender tech as most Maximals and Preds had vehicle modes. The advent of organic beast modes seemed to come in later.

It's the Maximals and Preds with Beast Modes which had pretender tech added on to make them pass as normal beasts.