Beast Wars: Transformers (toyline)

Beast Wars

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.

In the beginning, came the beasts, and all that creeps, crawls and flies. But nature lies, they're robots in disguise!

Transmetals! They're extreme!

Transmetals 2! They're extremely extreme!

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 Beasts

Rattrap

Wave 1

Iguanus (frilled lizard)
Rattrap (rat)
Razorbeast (razorback)
Terrorsaur (Pteranodon)

Wave 2

Armordillo (armadillo)
Insecticon (stag beetle)
Snapper (snapping turtle)

Deluxe Beasts

Blackarachnia

Wave 1

Cheetor (cheetah)
Dinobot (Velociraptor)
Tarantulas (tarantula)
Waspinator (wasp)

Wave 2

Rhinox (rhinoceros)
Wolfang (wolf)

Wave 3

Blackarachnia (black widow spider, redeco of Tarantulas)
Buzz Saw (wasp, redeco of Waspinator)
Tigatron (white tiger, redeco of Cheetor)

Mega Beasts

Polar Claw (polar bear)
Scorponok (scorpion)

Ultra Beasts

Ultra-class Megatron. In 1996, this was seriously the most complex Transformer ever.

Megatron (Tyrannosaurus rex)
Optimus Primal (gorilla)

Comic 2-Pack

Optimus Primal (fruit bat) vs Megatron! (crocodile)

Exclusives

Manta Ray

McDonald's Happy Meal

Beetle (beetle)
Manta Ray (manta ray)
Panther (panther)
Rhino (rhinoceros)
Under-3 (lion head)

BotCon 1996

Onyx Primal (bat, redeco of 2-Pack Optimus Primal)