Beast Wars: The Gathering

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Beast Wars: The Gathering
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Issue #1 cover by Don Figueroa
Publication information
PublisherIDW Publishing
ScheduleMonthly
FormatLimited series
Publication dateFebruary–May 2006
No. of issues4
Main character(s)Maximals, Predacons
Creative team
Created byHasbro
Written bySimon Furman
Artist(s)Don Figueroa
Colorist(s)Josh Burcham

Transformers: 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 animated series. According to 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 was followed by The Ascending mini-series in October 2007.

Story[]

Continuity[]

This comic takes place in the continuity of the television series. 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 Predacon 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 protoforms into an army who 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 retain their original faction programming as Maximals. Razorbeast gathers a small band of Maximals, surviving an attack by Magmatron's divide-and-conquer-themed beast mode of three beasts 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 Transmetal 2 body to hunt Razorbeast's group down after he leaves. To divert suspicion, he engages Megatron as his mission requires, starting with a stealthy unconsciousness device jab to knock Megatron out and bring him into his captivity for bringing back to Cybertron, Megatron quickly noticing this effort and, in response, quickly disarming Magmatron of his device. Megatron gains the upper hand but is knocked out by Drill Bit and Iguanus who knock him out themselves with their devices while Megatron is distracted, thereby doubling Megatron's unconsciousness, and they prepare to take him back to present day Cybertron. Leaving the others 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. Grimlock and Magmatron battle, with Grimlock eventually being defeated. Razorbeast reveals himself to Magmatron, but uses his time armband to safeguard himself via chronal displacement back and forth from Magmatron's attacks. He knocks Magmatron into the equipment just as it is about to initiate its transwarp of Magmatron and Megatron back to present day Cybertron as planned and Magmatron, via Razorbeast blasting the equipment at the same time of the transwarp starting, disappears due to the transwarp, while coming into effect, being tampered with by Razorbeast's coincidental destruction of the equipment. Meanwhile, B'Boom and the others have been discovered by Ravage's Predacon forces. Outnumbered and outgunned, they are saved by reinforcements led by Torca, forcing Ravage his forces to flee, although the signal booster has sent its message but burnt out. In the resolution, Razorbeast and Prowl (Transmetal II owl) converse on the ethics of leaving Megatron where he was and not altering the timeline, Razorbeast imagining that altering the timeline would furfill his belief of Megatron's threat being stopped forever while an potential opportunity he saw was available, Prowl informing him that leaving things in the current Beast Wars as they are meant to be was a wise decision, while Ravage and the other surviving Predacons regroup.

Trade paperback[]

The trade paperback 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 pre-beast-mode Cybertronian bodies for Magmatron (tank, jet and submarine), Spittor (walker) and Manterror (Cybertronian motorbike), as well as sketches of Optimus Primal in his "Optimal Optimus" form (gained in episode 1 of the television series' third and final season, "Optimal Situation").

See also[]

  • List of Transformers comic book series

References[]

External links[]

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