Beast Wars: The Gathering
Encyclopedia
Beast Wars: The Gathering is a four-issue comic book
mini-series
, published by IDW Publishing
. The series was launched with #1 in February 2006
and ended with #4 in May. It has since been republished as a trade paperback.
The story is set in the continuity
of the Beast Wars
CG
animated series. According to Transformers
writer
Simon Furman
, the mini-series is set during the events of the season three episode, "Changing of the Guard". The four-issue series was written by Simon Furman with art by Don Figueroa
.
The mini-series will be followed up on with the Beast Wars: The Ascending mini-series, with the first issue being released in August 2007
; The Ascending was delayed, but has been released early October.
, Megatron
and Ravage
do still make appearances though. In the third issue, the Predacons are installing Sentinel, placing the events in the season 3 episode Changing of the Guard.
general Magmatron
arrives with a crew of followers, having been dispatched by the Tripredacus Council to follow up on the former Decepticon
. However, displaced from the timestream by a chronal armband, Magmatron has his own agenda: to use a Predacon shell program to turn the Axalon
's cargo of Maximal
protoform
s in an army he can use to overthrow the existing status quo on Cybertron
. However, he is betrayed by his technical expert Razorbeast, in reality a Maximal double agent sent by Lio Convoy to thwart Magmatron's plan, and many of the protoforms turn into Maximals. Razorbeast gathers a small band of Maximals, surviving an attack by Magmatron's three modes and gathering a transwarp receiver to get a signal back to Cybertron from Ravage's ship (destroyed in The Agenda pt 3), before heading for the Ark
.
Magmatron, meanwhile, has realised his plan is not working, and resurrects Ravage in a new body to hunt Razorbeast's group down after he leaves. To divert suspicion, he attacks Megatron
as his mission requires. Megatron gains the upper hand, but is knocked out by Drill Bit and Spittor
, and they prepare to take him back to Cybertron. Leaving the other to cobble together a signal booster from the Ark, Razorbeast and Optimus Minor head to stop him, realising if Magmatron gets back to Cybertron there will be no telling what he'll do. The two hope for a distraction to allow them to sabotage Magmatron's time-travel equipment - and get one as Grimlock
arrives on the scene. The former Dinobot
and Magmatron battle, with Grimlock eventually being defeated. Razorbeast reveals himself to Magmatron, but uses his time armband to protects himself from the Predacon's attacks. He knocks Magmatron into the malfunctioning equipment and he disappears. Meanwhile, B'Boom and the others have been discovered by Ravage's Predacons. Outnumbered and outgunned, they are saved by reinforcements led by Torca, forcing Ravage to flee, although the signal booster has sent its message but burnt out. In the resolution, Razorbeast and Prowl
converse on the ethics of leaving Megatron where he was and not altering the timeline, while Ravage and the other surviving Predacons regroup.
was released in August 2006, while a pocket sized "Manga" volume was released in March 2007. The TPB includes all of artist Don Figueroa
's covers used throughout the series and some additional art by Figueroa. Included are Cybertronian modes for Magmatron (tank, jet and submarine), Spittor
(walker) and Manterror (Cybertronian motorbike), as well as sketches of Optimus Primal
in his "Optimal" form.
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
mini-series
Limited series
A limited series is a comic book series with a set number of installments. A limited series differs from an ongoing series in that the number of issues is determined before production and it differs from a one shot in that it is composed of multiple issues....
, published by IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
. The series was launched with #1 in February 2006
2006 in comics
-January:*January 1, 2006: Newsweek offer a look back at 2005 through editorial cartoons. *January 2, 2006: The Cincinnati Enquirer cartoonist Jim Borgman starts a blog to detail his creative process...
and ended with #4 in May. It has since been republished as a trade paperback.
The story is set in the continuity
Continuity (fiction)
In fiction, continuity is consistency of the characteristics of persons, plot, objects, places and events seen by the reader or viewer over some period of time...
of the Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
CG
Computer graphics
Computer graphics are graphics created using computers and, more generally, the representation and manipulation of image data by a computer with help from specialized software and hardware....
animated series. According to Transformers
Transformers universes
is an entertainment franchise. It began with the Hasbro Transformers toy line, centered on two factions of warring alien robots which are called the Autobots and the Decepticons...
writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
Simon Furman
Simon Furman
Simon Christopher Francis Furman is a comic book writer, particularly associated with of a number of notable Transformers comics for Marvel UK, Marvel US, Dreamwave, and most recently, IDW...
, the mini-series is set during the events of the season three episode, "Changing of the Guard". The four-issue series was written by Simon Furman with art by Don Figueroa
Don Figueroa
Don Allan Figueroa is a Filipino American comic book artist and toy designer. He is best known for his work on many different Transformers designs, for both the defunct Dreamwave Productions and with IDW Publishing.-Dreamwave Productions:...
.
The mini-series will be followed up on with the Beast Wars: The Ascending mini-series, with the first issue being released in August 2007
2007 in comics
-January:*January 10: Superman & Batman vs. Aliens & Predator released.*January 24: The Boys is canceled with issue #6.-February:*February 2: Newsarama reports that The Boys has been picked up by Dynamite Entertainment....
; The Ascending was delayed, but has been released early October.
Continuity
Unlike IDW's take on the G1 universe, which essentially rebooted the whole continuity, with no links to pre-existing continuities, the IDW Beast Wars comic does take place in the continuity of the Beast Wars show. However, instead of using the pre-existing cast from the show, the story focuses on those characters who were released as toys but never made it into the show, specifically Razorbeast. Many characters from the show, like Optimus PrimalOptimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
, Megatron
Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
and Ravage
Ravage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
do still make appearances though. In the third issue, the Predacons are installing Sentinel, placing the events in the season 3 episode Changing of the Guard.
Synopsis
The plot begins with a brief recap of seasons 1-2 of Beast Wars, ending with Ravage's failure to contain Megatron. At this point the PredaconPredacon (Transformers)
The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
general Magmatron
Magmatron
Magmatron is a Transformers character who first appeared in the Japanese Beast Wars Neo series, was later released in the American Beast Machines Dinobots toy line, and most recently in official Beast Wars comic continuity.-Beast Wars Neo:...
arrives with a crew of followers, having been dispatched by the Tripredacus Council to follow up on the former Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
. However, displaced from the timestream by a chronal armband, Magmatron has his own agenda: to use a Predacon shell program to turn the Axalon
Axalon
The Axalon is the name of the fictional Maximal ship in the Beast Wars cartoon and comic books. In addition, in the Transformers: Armada cartoon, the Autobots constructed a space ship that was also named the Axalon, possibly in reference to the original Maximal ship.-History:The Axalon, commanded...
's cargo of Maximal
Maximal (Transformers)
Maximals are a faction in the Transformers series by Hasbro. They are generally depicted as respecting all life and following a path of peace before war. They follow the tenets of the Pax Cybertronia. The Maximals are opposed by the Predacons...
protoform
Protoform
In the fictional world of the Transformers, protoforms are "basic frames" of a Cybertronian placed in stasis until a suitable form can be found.-"Beast Wars: Transformers" :...
s in an army he can use to overthrow the existing status quo on Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
. However, he is betrayed by his technical expert Razorbeast, in reality a Maximal double agent sent by Lio Convoy to thwart Magmatron's plan, and many of the protoforms turn into Maximals. Razorbeast gathers a small band of Maximals, surviving an attack by Magmatron's three modes and gathering a transwarp receiver to get a signal back to Cybertron from Ravage's ship (destroyed in The Agenda pt 3), before heading for the Ark
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
.
Magmatron, meanwhile, has realised his plan is not working, and resurrects Ravage in a new body to hunt Razorbeast's group down after he leaves. To divert suspicion, he attacks Megatron
Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
as his mission requires. Megatron gains the upper hand, but is knocked out by Drill Bit and Spittor
Spittor
Spittor is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Beast Wars:Spittor is a Predacon who turns into a poisonous frog.-Dreamwave Productions:...
, and they prepare to take him back to Cybertron. Leaving the other to cobble together a signal booster from the Ark, Razorbeast and Optimus Minor head to stop him, realising if Magmatron gets back to Cybertron there will be no telling what he'll do. The two hope for a distraction to allow them to sabotage Magmatron's time-travel equipment - and get one as Grimlock
Grimlock
Grimlock is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. He is usually portrayed as a tough leader who turns into a mechanical dinosaur...
arrives on the scene. The former Dinobot
Dinobots
Dinobots is the name of several teams of characters in the fictional Transformers Universe. The groups are made up of several robots, each of whose transformed mode is that of a dinosaur or similar prehistoric animal. They are called Dinotrons in the Japanese version; and ' in the Japanese dub of...
and Magmatron battle, with Grimlock eventually being defeated. Razorbeast reveals himself to Magmatron, but uses his time armband to protects himself from the Predacon's attacks. He knocks Magmatron into the malfunctioning equipment and he disappears. Meanwhile, B'Boom and the others have been discovered by Ravage's Predacons. Outnumbered and outgunned, they are saved by reinforcements led by Torca, forcing Ravage to flee, although the signal booster has sent its message but burnt out. In the resolution, Razorbeast and Prowl
Prowl (Transformers)
Prowl is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers series. "Prowl" is one of the most re-used American names in the assorted Transformers series, and its use has become almost synonymous with Autobots who possess a police car alternate mode...
converse on the ethics of leaving Megatron where he was and not altering the timeline, while Ravage and the other surviving Predacons regroup.
Resolutions
Beast Wars: The Gathering uses and expands upon plot elements and characters from the Beast Wars TV series and toyline and also uses characters from the Japanese Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo TV series as well.- One of the most pertinent unanswered questions after the conclusion of the Beast Wars TV series was the fate of the remaining stasis pods and Maximal protoforms that were left on Earth when the cast of the Beast Wars TV series returned to Cybertron. The Gathering uses the abandoned stasis pods as the basis for the story.
- During Primeval Dawn, an unofficial comic produced for BotConBotConBotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" , is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994...
, Ravage reappeared as the form he takes during The Gathering, however no backstory was given as to how he took that form. The Gathering provides this explanation. However, Ravage's robot mode is slightly more accurate to the 'Tripredacus Agent' toy in Primeval Dawn, while The Gathering does not use the robot mode. Instead, Ravage merely stands on his back legs incorporating design aspects of Ravage from the animated series. The reason for this is the 'Tripredacus Agent' toy was a repaint of Transmetal 2TransmetalsTransmetals are a subgroup of the Beast Wars and Beast Machines characters in the fictional Transformers universe. Ordinary Transformers in the Beast Wars universe have a mechanical robot form and a techno-organic animal form, also known as a "beast mode"...
CheetorCheetorCheetor is several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.- Beast Wars :Cheetor's original tech spec indicated he was a seasoned and confident warrior always in search of battle with the Predacons, seemingly in contrast to his youthful and impulsive portrayal in the original show...
. - A flashback scene in a Predacon chamber reveals symbols in the background resembling the original Predacons, indicating a link between the new Decepticon descendants and their namesakes (previously related only by name). There is also a statue of what looks like Divebomb next to the symbols.
- The Pax Cybertronia and the related Council are expanded upon, after being only referred to in the Beast Wars TV series.
- It is revealed through a flashback of Leo Prime (the US name for the Japanese character Lio Convoy from Beast Wars II) and Razorbeast that the Maximals are aware of the Predacons preparations to restart the Cybertronian Civil War.
- The presence of characters from the Japanese series Beast Wars IIBeast Wars IIrefers to the 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series, and the movie and toyline that resulted from it. While its position in the Transformers continuity has previously been unknown, the IDW Publishing comic book mini-series Beast Wars: The Gathering and comments from Transformers...
and Beast Wars NeoBeast Wars NeoBeast Wars Neo is a 1998 Japanese Transformers television animated series and toy line, and a sequel to Beast Wars II.-Plot:The series focuses on a battle between Maximal and Predacon factions for possession of an energy source called Angolmois. The lone "one-man army" Big Convoy is assigned the...
confirms that the characters (if not the stories they originate from) exist within the same continuity as the American Beast Wars TV series.
Trade paperback
The trade paperbackTrade paperback (comics)
In comics, a trade paperback is a collection of stories originally published in comic books, reprinted in book format, usually capturing one story arc from a single title or a series of stories with a connected story arc or common theme from one or more titles...
was released in August 2006, while a pocket sized "Manga" volume was released in March 2007. The TPB includes all of artist Don Figueroa
Don Figueroa
Don Allan Figueroa is a Filipino American comic book artist and toy designer. He is best known for his work on many different Transformers designs, for both the defunct Dreamwave Productions and with IDW Publishing.-Dreamwave Productions:...
's covers used throughout the series and some additional art by Figueroa. Included are Cybertronian modes for Magmatron (tank, jet and submarine), Spittor
Spittor
Spittor is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Beast Wars:Spittor is a Predacon who turns into a poisonous frog.-Dreamwave Productions:...
(walker) and Manterror (Cybertronian motorbike), as well as sketches of Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
in his "Optimal" form.