Transmetals

Transmetals 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 an organic animal form, also known as a "beast mode", which helped them deal with high Energon levels. Transmetals on the other hand are Transformers that due to mutation caused by a powerful energy wave are highly resistant to Energon overload. This mutation also granted them additional abilities and a transport mode.
A more mutated form of Transmetals known as Transmetal 2 was introduced later in the Beast Wars storyline, with toys released in 1999.
Background
Arrival on Earth
At the start of the Beast Wars series two Transformers factions, the Maximals and Predacons, land on an Energon rich planet, which is later established as being Earth. Energon can be used as a power source for Transformers, however exposure to too much causes damage. To compensate for this, both factions scanned the planet for local lifeforms to create organic "beast modes", which allowed them to be on the planet's surface and around Energon without fear of damage. These experiments were contaminated with the Transformers arrival resulting in the Vok deciding to destroy Earth with the Planetbuster, a weapon that they had disguised as one of Earth's moons. The resulting destruction of the Planetbuster caused a powerful energy wave known as the Quantum Surge to spread throughout space and time. This Quantum Surge irradated the Transformers space-ships Axalon and Darksyde, causing the mutation of several of the Transformers rendering them into what became known as "Transmetals". - Became a Transmetal when irradated with radiation from the Quantum Surge. - Became a Transmetal when his ship was pulled into a temporal anomaly and sent back in time becoming irradated with the Quantum Surge in the process. The resulting time travel and crash on Earth brought him into the Beast Wars.
* Optimus Primal - Died when destroying the Vok's Planetbuster weapon, however his spark was put into a Transmetal protoform bringing him back to life.
* Rattrap - Became a Transmetal when irradated with radiation from the Quantum Surge.
* Tarantulas - Became a Transmetal when irradated with radiation from the Quantum Surge.
Later fiction
In the Dreamwave More Than Meets the Eye guidebook series, the term Transmetal was expanded to include any Transformer with a metallic animal-themed alternate mode - for example the Dinobot leader Grimlock turned into a Transmetal Tyrannosaurus.
In the Transformers: Cybertron toyline, the character profile of , states that he has a "Transmetal claw" without expanding any further on it.
Toys
The Transmetal sub-line of Beast Wars toys ran from 1998 to 2001. Several Transmetal figures would also be recolored and released as exclusive toys at BotCon or in Transformers Universe, some of them being associated with the Beast Machines line.

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See Also

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