Hey everyone. Some of you might remember that a week back I started a thread with my list of the top 25 Beast Wars characters. Here's that list again, but posted into the thread.

What are all of your thoughts? Agree? Disagree? How would you rank them differently? What makes such and such a better character than so and so?

I'll spread them out over a few posts, so it's not too long.

On a whim I decided to do a little write-up thing for the Top 25 Beast Wars characters, ranked from 25 up until 1. This not a list of the characters in order of favoritude - some of my least favorite characters are in the top 10, and some of my favorites are not. It's ranked instead in terms of impact, importance, characterization and significance to the overall show.

Also included in their profiles are tech specs. Since a lot of the toy ones are flagrantly inaccurate in comparison to the show, I've rewritten them in a way that I think suits them better.

So... without further ado...

#25. Starscream
Played by: Doug Parker (1997)
First Episode: #1.21 (Possession)
Last Episode: #1.21 (Possession)
Key Episodes: #1.21 (Possession)
Protoform: Decepticon
Affiliation: Predacons (briefly)
Form: Basic
Beast Mode: Wasp
Role: Predacon subcommander/usurper
Strength: 8
Intelligence: 9
Speed: 10
Endurance: 10
Rank: 9
Courage: 5
Firepower: 9
Skill: 9
Status at End of Series: Floating through space

Notes: Obviously Starscream ranks as one of the all-time greatest Transformers characters of all time, but this list is looking strictly at Beast Wars itself, and in this case all Starscream has is a one episode appearance. It's a fun episode - a good one if not necessarily a great one - but it doesn't leave a lasting impression on the show in general. In fact, after his appearance, that any of them ever met Starscream is never mentioned again. And for some stupid reason they decided to make their Starscream played by Doug Parker, who played Terrorsaur (the Beast Wars Starscream clone) in basically the same voice, which is just plain confusing and kind of limits Starscream's impact because it makes him seem analagous to Terrorsaur, when he's much more competent.

Really, honestly, Starscream's inclusion is pretty much just because I needed someone to make it an even 25 and my only other option was Jak and Una. Starscream's a great Transformers character, but as a Beast Wars character he's obviously fairly forgettable.


#24. Scorponok
Played By: Don Brown (1996-1997)
First Episode: #1.01 (Beast Wars, Part 1)
Last Episode: #2.01 (Aftermath)
Key Episodes: God, I dunno.... Gorilla Warfare maybe? He didn't have much.
Protoform: Predacon
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Basic
Beast Mode: Scorpion
Role: Predacon Second-in-Command
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 4
Speed: 5
Endurance: 5
Rank: 9
Courage: 7
Firepower: 7
Skill: 6
Status at End of Series: Deceased

Notes: One would think that the original second-in-command of the Predacons would be a fairly interesting and important character in Beast Wars, but one would be wrong. From the get-go, Scorponok was plagued by a decided absence of personality, and whatever personality he had couldn't be settled on. Sometimes he was portrayed as a smart tech-guy developing technologies such as his cyberbees and the virus that turned Optimus into a ragemonkey. Most other times, he was portrayed as an idiot, and occasionally he spoke in monosyllabic first-person like the Hulk. Of the original Predacons, Scorponok was given by far the least to do, and is perhaps the only character to have really no episodes devoted to him. His only real consistent personality trait was that he was loyal to Megatron, and when Inferno showed up showing even more intense, slavish loyalty to him as well, but with an added jolt of personality and awesomeness, the writing was on the wall that Scorponok was clearly now redundant and obsolete and he died without ceremony or comment in the second season premiere. It's well known by now that originally it was going to be Scorponok and Waspinator, not Terrorsaur, who died until the writers intervened and saved him. But clearly everybody agreed Scorponok needed to go.


#23. Tigerhawk
Played By: Blu Mankuma (1999)
First Episode: #3.11 (Other Victories)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2)
Key Episodes: Other Victories, Nemesis (Part 2)
Protoform: Vok
Affiliation: Maximal
Role: Vok Emissary/Maximal Warrior
Form: Vok
Beast Mode: Tiger/Falcon
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 7 (10 when Vok-influenced)
Speed: 10
Endurance: 10
Rank: 8
Courage: 10
Firepower: 10
Skill: 9
Status at End of Series Deceased

Notes: I'm not against the idea of Tigerhawk, per say. Rushed though it was, Tigatron and Airazor's abduction did need to be addressed and wrapped up before the end of the series - and as randomly as it was handled, I still prefer that to them just not giving closure to those characters at all. And, the idea of Tigerhawk - of two characters being merged into one, and the complexities of two sparks and distinct personalities having to deal with being part of one whole now - is actually pretty interesting. Tigatron and Airazor are now part of perhaps the most intense marriage of all time. Plus, on top of everything, Tigerhawk was just really cool looking and badass.

But the issue, of course, is that there was just. no. time. Tigerhawk appeared in the third-to-last episode of the series. All he had to establish himself was his introductory episode (most of which he spent as a vessel for the Vok), the following episode (where so much was going on that Tigerhawk barely had a chance to do anything) and the final episode (where he died almost immediately). The death was done in a cool way, but not nearly enough attention was given to it - new though he was, Tigerhawk was still, ultimately, Tigatron and Airazor, and they were two important members of the Maximals and friends to those still remaining. It's hard to blame the writers - Tigerhawk was foisted on them at the eleventh hour and they needed to rework the final episodes in order to include him, so there was clearly no real role for him to play. But he still was an incredibly wasted opportunity. At the very least, I wish he'd been kept alive at the end so he could have played a role in Beast Machines.

#22. Tripredacus Council
Played By: Ramhorn (Lee Tockar), Sea Clamp (Ian James Corlett), Cicadacon (Scott McNeil) (1998)
First Episode: #2.11 (The Agenda, Part 1)
Last Episode: #2.11 (The Agenda, Part 1)
Key Episodes: #2.11 (The Agenda, Part 1)
Protoform: Unknown
Affiliation: Possibly Predacon
Role: Predacon Elders and behind-the-scenes puppetmasters
Strength: ??
Intelligence: 9
Speed: ??
Endurance: ??
Rank: 10
Courage: 5 (they operate in the shadows, are afraid to fight Maximals openly, and let others do their dirty work)
Firepower: ??
Skill: ??
Status at End of Series: Unknown

Notes: No characters on this list appeared as briefly as the Tripredacus Council. Not only did they appear in only one episode, it was just one scene of one episode. Still, in that scene, and in the fallout of their actions, they made quite an impact on the series - stopping the transwarp wave from reaching Maximal censors and allowing the characters rescue, sending Ravage and kicking off the events of the Agenda, and who knows what else. What exactly the deal with them is has become a bit of a mystery. Originally they were fairly clearly established as being the Predacon leadership from whom Megatron was rebelling because he didn't like that they bided their time, cowed before the Maximal Elders and didn't declare all out war on the Maximals. However, the fact that they employed Tarantulas as a spy for their organization seemed to get tangled with Tarantulas' other origins and agendas - namely the destruction of both Autobots and Decepticons alike - and so the Tripredacus Council got included in apparently not being real Predacons at all, which doesn't seem to fit with what was previously established about them. The fact that they were used as this kind of catch-all mysterious puppetmaster group maybe have muddied their role in the show a little bit, but it still went to show how much power and mystique was behind the name of this only briefly witnessed council.

#21. Ravage
Played By: Lee Tockar (1998)
First Episode: #2.11 (The Agenda, Part 1)
Last Episode: #2.13 (The Agenda, Part 3) [Seen as corpse in Optimal Situation]
Key Episodes: The Agenda (1-3)
Protoform: Decepticon
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Basic presumably
Beast Mode: Strangely he never got one, though one assumes it would be a lion or panther or something
Role: Covert Agent for Tripredacus Council
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 7
Endurance: 7
Rank: 9
Courage: 8
Firepower: 8
Skill: 8
Status at End of Series: Deceased

Notes: Ravage's role would initially appear to be simply the active onscreen manifestation of the Tripredacus Council. This, and this alone, would actually probably rank him below the Council, as he would be a mere foot soldier following the Council's orders and protecting their interests on Ancient Earth. But there was more to him than that. As a former Decepticon from the Great War, Ravage has his own identity and role, and though he pledged allegience to the Predacons, who (as a people) were behaving in a far more understated, subtler way than their Decepticon ancestors did, he was still, at heart, a Decepticon. And Decepticons want war. When Megatron managed to convince Ravage that his Golden Disk could lead to the Decepticons, and thus Ravage himself, winning the Great War after all, Ravage became a loyal soldier to a Megatron once again, and when this led, shortly after, to his destruction, Ravage went out with a blaze of glory. "Decepticons forever!!!!"

Ravage was pretty cool, fairly interesting and fit in well enough with the canvas during the three-part Agenda storyline but because of how limited his appearance was, just three episodes, he simply didn't have a chance to become a more beloved, prominent character in the series - hell, we don't even know what his Beast Mode was, if he had one, although judging by who he is, we can probably take a guess. One wonders why it was decided to kill Ravage off so quickly - they could have simply included him as a member of the Predacons after the events of The Agenda were completed, but at the end of Season 2, when it appeared as if quite a handful of Predacons had been killed off, only Ravage's death stuck.

 

Omg... did you post about this in a GameFAQs topic recently?

 

Haha, I did. To decidedly less response than the thread here got.

 

Cool thread, man. This should be fun.

Off topic a bit, but.....I've often wondered who those three Tripredacus Council guys were. Ramhorn was one...as in Blaster's Ramhorn???

 

The show never makes a clear indication who they are onscreen, but apparently the original script revealed their names as the three Predacons that made up the toy Tripredacus, and identified which was which. Not that they at all resemble those toys.

 

Somehow, I think that most of the lists will have pretty much all the show characters.

 

Yeah, with a 25 character list and only so many characters in Beast Wars, basically everyone makes the cut. It's more about where they're ranked.

 

Poor Scorponok. Can't wait to see the rest of your list, though.

Here's mine, by the way (includes some non-show characters).

1. Inferno (yes, this is a completely biased choice)
2. Megatron
3. Tarantulas
4. Dinobot
5. Optimus Primal
6. Waspinator
7. Rhinox
8. Rattrap
9. Cheetor
10. Blackarachnia
11. Depth Charge
12. Silverbolt
13. Rampage
14. Quickstrike
15. Tigatron
16. Razorbeast (from The Gathering)
17. Drill Bit (from The Gathering)
18. Terrorsaur
19. Dinobot II
20. Airazor
21. Ravage
22. Transmutate
23. Scorponok
24. Tigerhawk
25. Tripredacus Council

 

#20. Airazor
Played By: Pauline Newstone (1996-1998)
First Episode: #1.15 (The Spark)
Last Episode: #2.06 (Other Visits, Part 1) [Seen as empty shell in Other Victories]
Key Episodes: The Spark, The Trigger (1 and 2), Other Voices (Part 1), Other Visits (Part 1)
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Maximal
Role: Aerial Recon
Form: Basic
Beast Mode: Falcon
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 9
Endurance: 5
Rank: 6
Courage: 7
Firepower: 5
Skill: 6
Status at End of Series: Deceased

Notes: If Scorponok is the Predacon that got the least characterization and attention given to him, than Airazor is the Maximal. But, as the Maximals tended to get more focus than the Predacons over all, this still allows her to be in a bit of a better position than Scorponok. In a lot of ways, Airazor's lack of characterization isn't entirely her fault. She wasn't around that long, and didn't get a lot of chance to get focus. She showed up half way through Season 1 just before lots of intense episodes happened gearing up for the finale and so there wasn't much time for her. Then when Season 2 arrived, the show clearly had to make room for new characters and so two members of each team got shoved aside. Though Tigatron and Airazor were spared death (for a while) they were still given an extended vacation before being abducted by aliens. And then that was it for her.

So, all in all, we didn't really learn that much about who Airazor was and what made her tick, and she never really became an important member of the team. Her identity essentially boiled down to her being "the girl" - if asked to describe what Airazor was like, you might not be able to come up with much more than that she was the female Maximal and hooked up with Tigatron. She did have some traits - she was tough and brave like most Maximals, and unlike Scorponok who never got a chance to shine at anything, she did have a few cool moments - notably the times she got to punch out Blackarachnia. But so much of her remains undeveloped - hell, I'm not even entirely sure if she lived at the base and just went out on recon missions, or if she was like Tigatron and permanently roving. It was also not made clear if she had jumbled memory circuits like some of the other crash-landed stasis pods or not. There shouldn't have been so much ambiguity about a member of the Maximal team, and the fact that there was speaks to her needing more focus than she got.

 

Ah, I only included characters from the show itself and so I had to make due with folks like Starscream. Interesting list, there are parts of it that aren't so different from mine - although I'll admit your number 1 is not be quite so high up for me.

 

So,Another thread based off the same topic was created by the same member. Because the first thread didn't get as many replies?  

 

Yeah, I included those two because I didn't really want to include any non-TFs (like the Protohumans and the Vok). Kinda forgot about Starscream, though (even though I've seen Possession a bunch of times).

Yeah, I read the list on your website (which went up to #8). I really like your descriptions, by the way. I had never realized that Depth Charge was only in seven episodes, for example

And yes, Inferno is much too high on my list, lol. In reality, he'd probably be around #10, but he was always my favorite, so I had to make an exception.

 

No? My first thread was deleted almost immediately because it linked to a personal website of mine and was regarded as an advertisement. I talked with the mods, figured out how to correct the mistake, and reposted.

 

Oh, I understand. I tried really hard to keep my own preferences and biases out of it (my favorite character in Beast Wars will not be number 1, for instance, because I know he doesn't actually deserve to be) but I'm sure it still factors in whether I mean for it to or not. Still, I'm trying to look at this objectively in terms of their importance and significance as characters.


#19. The Vok

Played By: Blu Mankuma (1999), Richard Newman (1999)
First Episode: #1.25 (Other Voices, Part 1)
Last Episode: #3.11 (Other Victories)
Key Episodes: Other Voices (1 and 2), Other Visits (1 and 2), Other Victories
Protoform: N/A
Affiliation: Vok
Role: Creators of The Project, Masterminds of Ancient Earth
Strength: 10
Intelligence: 10
Speed: 10
Endurance: 10
Rank: 10
Courage: 10
Firepower: 10
Skill: 10
Current Status: The race is presumably still active, though the two members we met up close and personal are dead

Notes: Though they never appeared onscreen (or were named) until the third-to-last episode, the Vok (known for most of the series simply as "the aliens") played a huge role in the series, serving as significant antagonists that occasionally the Maximals and Predacons would be forced to jointly battle. The Vok were an enigmatic group, they apparently created Earth, or at least heavily altered it, for some mysterious experiment, and though they seemed to have honorable intentions, they were so far removed from things that they didn't care how many innocent lives were destroyed through their actions. Their exact origins vary - apparently Bob Forward believed them to be the evolutionary endpoint to all intelligent life in the universe while Larry DiTillio saw them as the evolution of the Swarm, Transformer/human/lizard hybrids. Likewise the details of their agendas varied - in Season 1 they wanted to destroy the Earth, but by Season 3 they were content to simply send agents to assassinate Megatron. In Season 2 they had no physical form we could comprehend, but by Season 3 they were simply big floating skulls.

But those little confusions and details are inconsequential - at the end of the day, the Vok are fun, mysterious characters, and episodes that featured them (generally helpfully identified as Other V episodes) generally were big, exciting, important episodes. For characters that generally were only discussed and never seen, the Vok definitely made their mark.

 

Good to see it back. Just a suggestion: I think you should post your introductory paragraph too, at least the part where you outline your criteria for who ranks where.

 

Not a bad idea. It is done!

#18. Transmutate
Played By: Susan Blu (1998)
First Episode: #2.10 (Transmutate)
Last Episode: #2.10 (Transmutate)
Key Episodes: Transmutate
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Predacon/Maximal
Form: Transmetal...ish
Beast Mode: None
Role: Defective transformer
Strength: 8
Intelligence: 1
Speed: 6
Endurance: 5
Rank: 1
Courage: 9
Firepower: 10
Skill: 2
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Of all the one episode characters on Beast Wars, none were as fascinating or heartbreaking as Transmutate, the powerful but defective Transformer who died proving she had a strength that most of the others could not understand. In fact, in her one episode appearance she got more depth than some longstanding members of the cast, like Scorponok and Airazor. There's really not a lot of explanation or analysis to get into here - all we know about her comes from that one episode, and the tragic beauty of that episode speaks for itself. Though never mentioned again after it, she did leave a legacy through Rampage and Silvberbolt (friends dark and good) - she established that there was a sadness and loneliness in Rampage beneath the insane monster shell, and it further established boy scout Silverbolt as a bit of a maverick, who will defy protocol and orders when he feels they're getting in the way of justice and the honorable thing to do - these were traits that were ultimately very important in some of the character's later decisions.

 

#17. Dinobot II
Played By: Scott McNeil (1999)
First Episode: #3.05 (Feral Scream, Part 1)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2)
Key Episodes: Feral Scream (Part 1), Proving Grounds, Nemesis (Parts 1 and 2)
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Transmetal 2
Beast Mode: Velociraptor
Role: Special Operations Combatant
Strength: 9
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 8
Endurance: 9
Rank: 7
Courage: 10
Firepower: 7
Skill: 8
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Dinobot II was a very cool idea in theory - Dinobot was seen apparently uploading his core consciousness in one of his final appearances, it makes sense that Megatron, who has attempted to clone Dinobot before, would do so again with his more advanced Transmetal 2 technology, and there's a lot of poignancy in the idea of the Maximals having to fight a version of their former comrade. However, like a lot of things in Season 3, it was all rushed and never really measured up to its potential.

It wasn't an outright disaster - Dinobot II was certainly really cool looking (arguably the best Transmetal 2 design), very fearsome, and it was fun having at least some measure of Dinobot still active in Season 3, but the biggest opportunities with the character were wasted. The Maximals barely seemed like they noticed or cared that this new Predacon they were fighting was a clone of their former comrade. Now, the scrapped episode "Dark Glass" would have rectified this and showcased the Maximals' (and particularly Rattrap's) grief and complicated feelings towards Dinobot in a big way, but it never came to pass. And because so much of the story of Season 3 was lost under the mire of too many episodes devoted to characters getting new forms, there was never really room to explore Dinobot II beyond his role as a deadly, ruthless killer.

Ultimately, what saves Dinobot II from being further down the list is his role in the series finale episodes. In it, the creators finally seem to remember that Dinobot II is a clone of one of their most legendary and beloved characters and after Rampage's death frees the remaining half of his spark to develop into its own individual, Dinobot II begins to take on the traits of his predecessor and ultimately saves the day for the Maximals in one last heroic sacrifice. Obviously, this would have made more sense had "Dark Glass" come to pass, but you can handwave something about Dinobot's DNA being intrinsically honorable and still get the poignancy. Ultimately, even all this, only allows Dinobot II to be a good character, and not a great one, but he was still ultimately a positive addition to the (sometimes weak) final season.

#16. Terrorsaur
Played By: Doug Parker (1996-1997)
First Episode: #1.01 (Beast Wars, Part 1)
Last Episode: #2.01 (Aftermath)
Key Episodes: Equal Measures, Power Surge, Double Jeopardy
Protoform: Predacon
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Basic
Beast Mode: Pterodactyl
Role: Aerial Combat
Strength: 5
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 8
Endurance: 5
Rank: 5
Courage: 6
Firepower: 5
Skill: 5
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Considering he was this show's answer to Starscream, there was every reason to suspect Terrorsaur was going to be a hugely significant character in Beast Wars, and in the first half of the first season it appeared he would be. He got starring roles in episodes sooner than many of his Predacon colleagues (hell, we saw two semi-successful coups on his part by episode 7) and seemed poised to be the most prominent Predacon after Megatron. Because in the beginning of the series? He was.

Obviously... that didn't stick. In much the same way that Scorponok's role was snatched up by the more interesting Inferno, Terrorsaur's role was very quickly usurped by Tarantulas, who was just as scheming and treacherous as Terrorsaur, but far more competent, subtle and enigmatic about it. Starscream was Starscream, there was no improving on him, and so the Beast Wars writers seemed to realize they were better off blazing their own trail and creating a different sort of Predacon rival for Megatron. And with Tarantulas now in this role, it left very little for Terrorsaur to do, especially when Blackarachnia was added as a secondary schemer. Three treacherous Predacons was a bit much, and since Terrorsaur was established as being kind of obvious and incompetent at it, it was him who had to take the backseat. All his big episodes are in the first half of the season, and so for the second half he basically just was partnered with Waspinator, flying around and squawking.

Though the writing appeared on the wall in terms of his redundancy, Hasbro, perhaps still instrinsically thinking the Starscream-type character was someone to keep around, wasn't initially keen to dispatch him, wanting Waspinator to die instead, but the writers wisely realized that Terrorsaur had run his course and there wasn't much role for him to play and he was dispatched along with Scorponok. The best that can be said for him is that despite being frequently connected with Scorponok given their dual fates, Terrorsaur was definitely the better developed of the two and certainly got more face-time and popularity. So, of the two most worthless Predacons, Terrorsaur at least gets to reign supreme.

 

#15. Depth Charge
Played By: Donald Sobolov (1998-1999)
First Episode: #3.02 (Deep Metal)
Last Episode: #3.12 (Nemesis, Part 1)
Key Episodes: Deep Metal, Changing of the Guard, Nemesis (Part 1)
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Maximal
Form: Transmetal
Beast Mode: Manta Ray
Role: Aquatic Forces Commander
Strength: 8
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 8
Endurance: 8
Rank: 8
Courage: 9
Firepower: 8
Skill: 9
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Depth Charge never really felt like part of the Maximals - and I don't just mean because of his tendency to go rogue. While a lot is made mention of Tigerhawk's only appearing in three episodes, the fact is Depth Charge only appears in seven, and that's not all that much more. Though generally considered a defining facet of the third season, Depth Charge misses huge chunks of it - notably after his appearance in the mid-season "Go with the Flow" he never appears again until his final episode of "Nemesis, Part 1". While what we saw of Depth Charge was pretty cool and interesting - he was a badass character, had a cool design, had an interesting backstory (although I think it was a mistake to have him be defined by his obsession with Rampage and that alone) - he just really sort of felt like an extended guest star in the series. Even in the episodes he did appear in, he never really interacted with too many characters, usually just showed up, battled, and went on his way. Like Ravage or Tigerhawk, Depth Charge sort of just felt like a temporary aberration on the canvas, and not an actual cast member. It also sometimes felt like the producers decided shortly before Season 3 "Hey, we should have an edgy loner Maximal to take Dinobot's place" but didn't bother to really take the time to do it properly - though as I've mentioned previously much of Season 3 is marred by the same problem of too much going on and not enough time to deal with it.

The fact that he rates this high even despite those handicaps, however, is a testament to just how cool and badass Depth Charge was. Many fans still name him as one of their favorites despite how little we see him, and it's actually the sign of good story telling if we're surprised by how little he appeared, because it means he made his mark quicker than many (I mean, I was going back and forth on who should be higher on this list, Terrorsaur or Depth Charge, and Terrorsaur appeared in triple the amount of episodes, that's saying something). Depth Charge was certainly one of the most tragic characters in the series - a man tortured by past mistakes, and with nothing left in himself but the hatred he feels for another. 'X' has become his life, and in a way it was good that Rampage took him down with him, because Depth Charge likely had no one or nothing to go back to. Depth Charge can't honestly be remembered as one of the more defining characters of Beast Wars, but he was sure a memorable one.


#14. Quickstrike
Played By: Colin Murdock (1997-1999)
First Episode: #2.02 (Coming of the Fuzors, Part 1)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2)
Key Episodes: Coming of the Fuzors (Parts 1 and 2), Tangled Web, Master Blaster
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Fuzor
Beast Mode: Rattlesnake/Scorpion
Role: Flunkie
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 3
Speed: 5
Endurance: 5
Rank: 4
Courage: 9
Firepower: 6
Skill: 5
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Quickstrike is probably not one of the more beloved characters in Beast Wars. He's the least appearing and popular of the Predacon buffoon trio of Waspinator, Inferno, and himself. He's about as an incompetent a character as exists on this show, and his cowboy schtick grates on some people's nerves. But you know what? He's a lot of fun. Sure, maybe he's not as fun as Waspinator or Inferno, but that's some tough company. And sure he's incompetent, but it's hard not to be charmed by this blustering buffoon barreling into situations he has no hope of succeeding in with complete confidence that he's about to kick the keyster of everyone present. Blackarachnia may be seen as evidence that Maximal protoforms are inherently good, but Quickstrike is the counter argument of that - from the very second of his birth all he sought was battle. It's strange to think, but Quickstrike is actually the most violent character in this series. Fighting is, almost literally, the only thing that Quickstrike is interested in - and it's not because he's an experiment gone wrong like Rampage or designed that way like Dinobot II - it's just who he is. He always wants to fight everything always. Planning a coup? The only thing you need to do to get him on your side is to promise him you'll have him more opportunities to kill things.

The fact that this desperate lust for battle is tempered with his utter idiocy and incompetence when actually in a battle is what makes that work, and allows Quickstrike to play an important role as comic relief in otherwise dark moments - in the spooky Feral Scream when the Predacons find themselves ambushed by some lightning quick growling monster, Quickstrike declares that it's probably a ghost and promptly runs off to try to kick the ghost's ass. And let's not forget that the epic and mysterious Other Victories began with Quickstrike on trial - one of the funniest scenes in the series. Predacons generally come in two varieties - dangerous and intimidating, or stupid foot soldiers and it's no surprise which of those groups gets the most love. But Beast Wars gets a lot of credit for managing to make the stupid foot soldiers (who are necessary in carrying out the plans of the darker, bigger characters) as unique and fun as they can. And Predacons don't come much more fun than Quickstrike. And quite frankly, the dude lasted a lot longer than he probably had any right to - he's stupid, he's disposable, and he doesn't even seem to have a hand that can actually function as a hand. How he managed to outlive the brilliant and badass likes of Tarantulas and Rampage is beyond me. Maybe he's tougher than he looked.


#13. Rampage
Played By: Campbell Lane (1998-1999)
First Episode: #2.08 (Bad Spark)
Last Episode: #3.12 (Nemesis, Part 1)
Key Episodes: Bad Spark, Transmutate, Deep Metal, Nemesis (Part 1)
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Transmetal
Beast Mode: King Crab
Role: Monster
Strength: 9
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 7
Endurance: 10
Rank: 5
Courage: 9
Firepower: 9
Skill: 9
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Rampage is a very popular character, and it's not difficult to see why. He's scary, one of the strongest characters in the series, and a total badass. A lot of people are attracted to his dark, twisted persona, particularly when considering the majority of the villains in this series really aren't all that scary. However, while I get the appeal, I do find him a bit overrated (in preparation for this I looked up some other top lists of Beast Wars characters and found a YouTube video where he came in fourth) and feel he, like others such as Dinobot 2, never really measured up to his potential.

While Season 2 saw him as a fascinating character, and he got two great spotlight episodes in "Bad Spark" and "Transmutate", I think Season 3 took him in a wrong direction. To be honest, I think Depth Charge kind of ruined him. It took him from a dark, fascinating monster and boiled him down to "the guy Depth Charge hates." All of the big moments focused on Rampage in the final season were really more focused on Depth Charge. There was little to no chance to explore his relationships with other characters, he became almost entirely about Depth Charge. When Depth Charge wasn't in the episode (which, as I noted, was often), then Rampage was disserviced even more, become just a random mook of Megatron's. Sure, he was the mightiest of Megatron's mooks, but he was a mook still. Many episodes feature him doing little else but cackling as he blasted people. For a character established in his opening episode as a terrifying villain that was poised to be an epic threat against Maximals and Predacons alike, Rampage really didn't turn out to be a major factor in Beast Wars. Compare how terrified everyone is of him in his first episode, to how people treat him as time goes on - can you imagine anyone saying "Here, tanky, tanky tanky." or "Pop goes the crabcake!" to him in "Bad Spark"? He really becomes just another Predacon.

Still, his role in Season 2 is reason enough to really like Rampage and while what they did with him in Season 3 was disappointing, it was only disappointing because of the high bar that had been set for him. And, it still featured some interesting moments - even years later fans are still debating the meaning behind small moments like his line "I regret everything." in "Master Blaster" or his seeming to allow Depth Charge to murder him in his final episode. It's clear that even if he could have been more than what he became, Rampage is still a villain that resonates.

 

Alright, just going to get the other ones already done at this point knocked out in one fell swoop since I think most have seen them.

#12. Inferno
Played By: Jim Byrnes
First Episode: #1.18 (Spider's Game)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2)
Key Episodes: Spider's Game, Law of the Jungle, Other Voices (1 and 2),
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Predacon
Form: Basic
Beast Mode: Fire Ant
Role: Predacon Subcommander/Shock Trooper
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 4
Speed: 8
Endurance: 7
Rank: 9
Courage: 10
Firepower: 8
Skill: 8
Current Status: Deceased

Notes: Like Rampage, Inferno is a character introduced as a scary and significant threat who fairly quickly became not such a big deal. In fact, he fell much further than Rampage did, ultimately winding up as the ringleader of what I tend to dub the "buffoon trio" of himself, Quickstrike and Waspinator. Though he is promoted to second-in-command following Scorponok's demise and is rarely treated with the outright mockery that Quickstrike and Waspinator get, he clearly is sectioned off into the "funny Predacons" and not the "serious Predacons". Still, while some people see this as a slight, I think it's sort of where he always belonged. This is a robot who thinks he's an ant, who refers to Megatron as his queen and the base as his colony. Inferno's goofy, and he should be, and it works. It's part of his charm and allows him to be one of the more unique Predacons. Few characters can believably get away with speaking in proper, regal tones one minute and then screaming in incoherent rage the next.

But he's more than just a fun, unique character, he's an important one too. With the Predacons such a treacherous, backstabbing, underhanded bunch, you need one who is mindlessly loyal to Megatron and can function as his eyes, ears, and muscle when he can't be present. Scorponok played that role at first, but that was literally all Scorponok had going on, and that was boring. Inferno managed to fulfill every single function of Scorponok's, but do it better, and bring a whole other fun personality and characters to the proceedings. Some bemoan Inferno's increased silliness as the series went on, some think he was better off dying in "Agenda (Part 2)" as originally intended rather than be brought back for Season 3 just to be a joke character, but I honestly have no problem with it, because I thought he was a joke from the get go. But it was a pretty funny, enjoyable joke.


#11. Silverbolt
Played By: Scott McNeil (1997-1999*)
First Episode: #2.02 (Coming of the Fuzors, Part 1)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2,)*
Key Episodes: Coming of the Fuzors (Parts 1 and 2), Bad Spark, Transmutate, The Agenda (1-3), Crossing the Rubicon
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Maximal
Form: Fuzor
Beast Mode: Wolf/Eagle
Role: Maximal Warrior/Aerial Combat
Strength: 7
Intelligence: 5
Speed: 9
Endurance: 7
Rank: 6
Courage: 10
Firepower: 6
Skill: 6
Status at End of Series: Alive

Notes: Of all the characters who don't appear until the second half of the series, Silverbolt most certainly ranks at the top. Very quickly upon his arrival, Silverbolt established himself as a crucial member of the Maximals, and became almost the leading man of the show. Off the top of my head nine episodes of Season 2 feature him in a very significant capacity, and that's not bad for a season that only has thirteen episodes. As the romance with Blackarachnia was kicked into high gear in Season 3 that didn't really diminish much - although she became the more important part of the duo. Still, truly no one but the original five Maximals did a better job of firmly entrenching themselves as an indispensable member of the team. And as he came on the show around the same time that Tigatron and Dinobot said goodbye, he took on some the duties that they no longer could- allowing his beliefs about what's right and good take precedence over his directives, valuing honor above most else, questioning Optimus' command decisions on occasion, and even arguing with Rattrap when need be. Make no mistake, Silverbolt's a big deal.

Still, even though the show's best episodes come in Season 2, and even though Silverbolt's a big part of a lot of them, there's still sometimes the sense that he came too late to truly be a defining part of the series. Say what you want about the wealth of filler episodes in the super-long Season 1, but a lot of the characterization of the core cast came from them. By the time Coming of the Fuzors came about, you knew the remaining characters very well - better than you'd get to know the people who came after, because with so much less episodes, there was no time to not be focusing on the over-arcing story at all times. No longer could they get away with a lot of episodes like A Better Mousetrap or Law of the Jungle, that just function as character pieces, to later season characters' detriments. Plus, Silverbolt's role on the team and ability to function as a replacement of sorts to characters who had gone also kept him from feeling super unique. He was sort of a mixture of elements of Tigatron, Dinobot and Optimus with a dash of superhero silliness, and I would argue that he didn't do what any of them did nearly as well. And things fared a bit worse for him in Season 3 when he became almost entirely defined by his love for Blackarachnia and basically just functioned as her cheerleader and defender. So while Silverbolt was a good character, funny at times, and very important, I had to check my initial knee-jerk that he belonged somewhere in the top 10, but I think he's more appropriate here on the outskirts. Someone had to be Scott McNeil's least unique, significant character, and it was this guy.

*Continues on in Beast Machines



#10. Tigatron
Played By: Blu Mankuma (1996-1998)
First Episode: #1.07 (Fallen Comrades)
Last Episode: #2.06 (Other Visits, Part 1) [Seen as empty shell in Other Victories]
Key Episodes: Fallen Comrades, The Trigger (1 and 2), Call of the Wild, Law of the Jungle, Other Visits 1
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Maximal
Form: Basic
Beast Mode: White Tiger
Role: Scout
Strength: 6
Intelligence: 7
Speed: 6
Endurance: 6
Rank: 6
Courage: 7
Firepower: 6
Skill: 6
Status at End of Series: Deceased

Notes: It was a hard choice between Tigatron and Silverbolt, who would make it to the top 10 and who would be on the outskirts. Love'em all or hate'em all, the nine characters remaining on this list after this are who this series is ultimately about, while the rest just provide color during certain parts of the story. But Tigatron and Silverbolt were both main parts of the show too, it's just that Tigatron only had the first half while Silverbolt had the second. And though Silverbolt arguably played a more important role in his half of the series than Tigatron did, ultimately I had to give the nod to Tigatron as a better character.

Tigatron is really unique in this series - from his refusal to live at the base to his desire for pacifism above all else. More than Dinobot or even Depth Charge, Tigatron is really the rogue member of the team. He does his own thing throughout almost the entirety of the series and often provides a fairly stark contrast to the other characters in the series - you've got the Maximals and Predacons fighting this war, and then you have this vagabond just wandering the earth and helping his friends out when he's around and doing, really, who knows what while he's gone. And though he often feels like an ancillary characters because of how much he misses by being an eternal vagabond, episodes that include him tend to focus on him very heavily. Going through the list, I was surprised at just how many key episodes he had, and frankly, there's more I could have included on that list. Ultimately Beast Wars (like almost every Transformers series) is about Transformers fighting on Earth, and no character in Beast Wars is more closely connected to the Earth than Tigatron. This thus puts him in conflict with friend and enemy alike, about keeping the sanctity of the planet in tact, as well as making him a big factor in all the Vok-related episodes as he seems to be connected to these aliens and against them at the same time, and it's interesting how many of the core Vok episodes feature significant moments for Tigatron - The Trigger was his first showcase episode and he understood the island better than anyone, he was the one who discovered that the Vok were coming in Before the Storm, he was the one (along with Airazor, natch) abducted in Other Visits, and came back as Tigerhawk in Other Victores.

He may seem like a supporting character and he may not be one of the first names out of people's mouths when they think of Beast Wars or their favorite characters, but Tigatron was really a big and unique part of this series. For this, he gets a place in the top 10.


#9. Cheetor
Played By: Ian James Corlett (1996-1999*)
First Episode: #1.01 (Beast Wars, Part 1)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2)*
Key Episodes: The Web, Equal Measures, The Spark, Cutting Edge, Feral Scream (1 and 2)
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Maximal
Form: Basic (1.01-2.01), Transmetal (2.01-3.06), Transmetal 2 (3.05-3.13)
Beast Mode: Cheetah
Role: Jungle Patrol (really just an all purpose soldier)
Strength: 5/6/8
Intelligence: 4 (6 by series end)
Speed: 8/9/10
Endurance: 6/7/9
Rank: 5 (7 by series end)
Courage: 9
Firepower: 6/7/8
Skill: 3 (7 by series end)
Status at End of Series: Alive
*Continued on in Beast Machines

Notes: Perhaps naturally, considering he was the only one established as a youth when the show began, Cheetor went through the most changes in terms of maturity and competence throughout the series. Like Optimus, Megatron and Terrorsaur, Cheetor was an obvious stand-in for an already established Transformer, in this case, Bumblebee - with shades of Hot Rod as well. But unusual for the kid-appeal character in shows like this, Cheetor plain sucked when the show began and would frequently perform impulsive death-defying heroic stunts... that got him into danger and necessitated his rescue by the seasoned professionals. In this way, Cheetor was a lot less annoying than he could be, because he was hardly ever rewarded for his idiocy and the show didn't glorify him for his stupid, hot-headed actions. Still... Cheetor could be pretty annoying. Going back and watching the series, there's little about it that will cause you to occasionally cringe in embarassment than Cheetor's weird cheesy Season 1 dialogue. (My pick for worst line of the series goes to him in the very first episode "The word is spot on smooth! It's a crime!") but underneath all the "Ultra Gear!"s, Cheetor was an important stalwart member of the team, and in many ways functions as the main Maximal protagonist more than Optimus does, despite having surprisingly large chunks of time where he doesn't do all that much - He hardly does a single thing in the entirety of Season 2, for instance, and in general plays surprisingly small roles in any of the big dramatic story-advancing episodes.

Thus, Cheetor's importance to the show comes less from things he actually does during the course of the show, but more from the role he plays among the group. He's the audience surrogate, much more normal than some of his badass compatriots, always getting how the world works explained to him, occasionally screwing up when he tries to do the right thing. While other characters have concerns like galactic domination, avenging dead loved ones, or coming to peace with the true nature of their soul... Cheetor has more down to earth concerns - trying to get his 'father' to treat him like an adult, dealing with his peers picking on him, jealousy over the girl he likes dating someone else. So, while, yes, Cheetor may be cheesy and not super original as a character, it's refreshing on this show full of rivalries, egos, deceit and brutality, to have one character who's just bright-eyed, fun-loving and friendly.


#8. Optimus Primal
Played By: Garry Chalk (1996-1999*)
First Episode: #1.01 (Beast Wars, Part 1)
Last Episode: #3.13 (Nemesis, Part 2)*
Key Episodes: Beast Wars (1 and 2), Gorilla Warfare, Other Voices, The Agenda, Optimal Situation, Nemesis
Protoform: Maximal
Affiliation: Maximal
Form: Basic (1.01-1.26), Transmetal (2.03-3.01), Optimal (3.01-3.13)
Beast Mode: Gorilla
Role: Maximal Commander
Strength: 7/8/10
Intelligence: 8
Speed: 8/9/10
Endurance: 8/9/10
Rank: 10
Courage: 10
Firepower: 8/8/10
Skill: 9
Status at End of Series: Alive (Deceased in Beast Machines)
*Continued on in Beast Machines

Notes: Although there's nothing shabby about being ranked 8th in a show with as great of characters as Beast Wars has, my first instinct (like yours may be) is that it's pretty low to be Optimus' rank. He's Optimus! Leader of the Maximals, hero of the show! But the truth is that despite Optimus Primal being a more relatable, down-to-earth and, dare I say?, interesting version of the character than Prime, he really did not get the character development or introspection that a lot of other characters did. Flaws, quirks, unique and surprising character traits, tended to be left to less iconic characters, and so Optimus was just... the hero. He was almost never wrong about everything, could always be counted on to do the right thing, was always fair and kind, and always saved the day - but we didn't get to know him that well as a person and as time got on, he really did not get all that much focus. Sure, we saw him all the time, but it was usually in his role as the Boss Monkey giving out orders or as the cavalry coming to swoop in and provide back up near the end of the episode just when the heroes were getting overwhelmed. Despite his role as the hero of the show, my guess is that if you added it up Rattrap, Cheetor, Dinobot and Silverbolt (the latter two, obviously, just during the time they're on the show) all end up with more actual facetime than Optimus gets.

Now, this isn't necessarily a bad thing for Optimus. The name "Optimus" it too iconic to screw with too dramatically. You can't have an Optimus who has the same kind of flaws and makes the same kind of mistakes as characters like Dinobot, Cheetor and Rattrap, because Optimus is supposed to be the ideal others aspire too. He's almost more important than a symbol than as a character (part of the reason I secretly think the show would have been more interesting if Optimus had stayed dead after Other Voices, and R, R, C and D would have had to try to keep things together without a clear leader) and such symbols are important. He's the Beast Wars equivalent of Superman or Captain America in the Justice League or Avengers. Sure, people like flawed anti-heroes like Batman or Iron Man or Wolverine better, but you need the true blues for them to be judged against. However, this does have the negative effect of making Optimus, frankly, less interesting than many of the men who serve under him.

 

I don't have a fav 25 but I can give 10 and it includes comics
1. Optimus primal
2. Megatron
3. Waspinator
4. Dinobot
5. Inferno
6. Razorbeast
7. Cheetor
8. Rhinox
9. Rattrap
10. Ravage