When Beastwars went DARK

[@SteveReviews]

Use STEVE55 to get 55% off your first month at Scentbird sbird.co/3S64rZU

[@tayloredwards4968]

Please review gargoyles. I don't remember the name of the episode. But there was an episode when one of the character Broadway accidentally shoots Alicia their human. It's a dark episode that talks about gun violence.

[@c00mgoblin]

Hey Steve you might like the animated short: Opal by Jack Stauber. It’s on KZbin and has so much to analyze lmao.

[@STANK_THE_SHITTIEST_CHANNEL]

Dude, this is an insane Coincidence? I have just discovered and watch this show like about a month ago And I recently found out that there was a comic, called beast, wars uprising, where we get to see what she was like before the stasis pod malfunction, and she was basically just a robot with autism and insane power

[@ramirocaorlin4613]

Can you check out your gmail? I sent a movie idea that might interest you to review

[@danielmaddocks9315]

Can I suggest the old show cubix. Loved that back in the day

[@_TheeZarcosuchus]

Bro you know it’s a weird episode when the murderous,rageful, cannibal crab is being more sympathetic than the good guys.

[@arturmical]

Fun fact.that is probably the first villain i saw that was presented as capable of expressing non-twisted, genuine love. He himself is twisted, but his love was pure. Later came Mr Freeze

[@GunSlingerTie]

"This is HAPPENING!" Fred the Scorpion

[@_TheeZarcosuchus]

@@arturmical I am not gonna lie; same thing. First villain I seen like that.

[@_TheeZarcosuchus]

@@GunSlingerTie haha 😂

[@mrsnayarlhats4242]

Well some villains can have sympathy over the weak and powerless and the different and the innocent I feel bad for rampage for someone who was close with a robot that was defective like him it's like us we have sympathy for who are weak and powerless and different and innocent it's so sad that both of the heroes and villains where opt to kill the poor defective robot because of being defective

[@archlordv3494]

The thing that always stuck with me the most from this episode was Transmutate's simple innocence of the conflict between the Maximals and the Predacons. In her final moments, Transmutate refers to Silverbolt and Rampage as "Friend Good" and "Friend Dark" respectively, showing that she understands the difference between right and wrong but had chosen not to judge either of them and had accepted both as her friends. Ramapage's genuine grief at the end hurts too; here he had found what he believed to be a kindred spirit, the one being who didn't treat him like a monster, or a slave...and he ends up inadvertently killing it.

[@brodydodson918]

yknow in the idw beast wars hunger games type comic we get to see a transmutate that got to have a normal form and rampage ends up getting shipped with her

[@Lazrael32]

yeah there was SO much story potential for ravage after that but... nope.... this was the only episode i found him remotely interesting.

[@fegtynpax5147]

Makes me wonder if rampages spark will every find peace.

[@thegloriouskingkronk8422]

@@Lazrael32 I did really like the final battle between him and Depth Charge and their deaths though, that shit was metal "Here to save the universe, fish boy? Don't make me laugh!"

[@FairyPhantasia]

​@@brodydodson918 comic name?

[@40KTheories]

I'd like to point out that Stasis Lock is not a form of euthanasia, but is effectively a safeguard to protect a Transformer from losing their spark should they suffer extreme or catastrophic damage. In fact Dinobot died because he refused to allow his in-built computer to activate Stasis Lock after he sustained heavy damage during his defence of a proto-human tribe. So when Rhinox suggests putting Transmutate into Stasis Lock, he's basically suggesting something more akin to a medically induced coma.

[@DemiRurge]

Which still is not that great of a suggestion. Maybe its not as bad as eutanasia, but is still not entirely a good guy thing

[@40KTheories]

@@DemiRurge True enough, I suppose. But at least there's the potential of being able to help them down the road, you know?

[@CloudHiro]

@@DemiRurge well I kinda considered it more "putting it in a safe mode till they have the ability to stabilize it and properly save it" as its own power could destroy it. which could mean it being locked away till they got back home.

[@josiaharaki7310]

​@Тодор Терзиев It is also important to note that the protoforms weren't supposed to be activated yet at all, as they'd been put in stasis lock for their safety during the Axalon's mission. She was never supposed to be woken up during the Beast Wars in the first place and is a civilian, one who's currently suffering from severe physical and mental impairment due to being improperly activated. Further, protoforms are, in BW anyway, the first stage of the Cybertronian life cycle. She's the equivalent of a premature newborn who requires time in an incubation chamber to properly finish developing.

[@DemiRurge]

@@josiaharaki7310 I see. Well, I can definitely agree with this take on the situation. This comparison never came to my mind before

[@RanYT-uq8zb]

Fun fact: Transmutate was voiced by Susan Blu who voices Arcee and was the voice director of the original G1 transformers series and beast wars.

[@Renegade2786]

Which is funny as Rattrap confirmed in that episode he is related to Arcee.

[@henrypaleveda7760]

that's why the voice sounded familiar even though I missed out on beast wars as a kid.

[@thepatrolmangaming5649]

Another fun fact was transmutate was going to be referred too as she in the show but was later changed to it. There was even a idw comics interpretation of beast wars that showed transmutate if she wasn’t harmed in the crash and she would’ve looked like the prime Arcee

[@watashiBUGBEAR]

She also played the mom in Friday the 13th Part 7

[@wd3185]

I love that Rampage's care for Transmutate was genuine. It gives him so much more depth and reminds you that he's as much a victim as he is a monster- a failed experiment he didn't choose to partake in, alone in the constant pain and suffering he shoulders, who views inflicting it on others as his only means of escape. In Transmutate, he found someone he finally identified with, and it is so painfully tragic that he was part of the reason she was lost. Definitely one of my absolute favorite episodes of the series.

[@aerickmon3350]

That’s why their story in the comics is so damn heart touching Transmutate and rampage finally got the ending they deserved

[@anthonytonythegeek5561]

@@aerickmon3350Fr

[@michelcoolguy1701]

It gives him more depth charge energy

[@bryanmiller8604]

Just imagine if Rampage was somehow able to merge his remaining half of his spark to hers. Now that would be an interesting character arc.

[@inkdemon6065]

My brother and I both liked how Rampage was more than just a brute in this episode. It showed that even the most violent of people can find someone they care about more than anything else. Though to be honest, I thought Rampage going back to his violent ways was him shutting his emotions out. "I tried to have a close connection with someone like me and they died. I don't want to go through the pain of loss again. Better to be a heartless villain than a person who loses everything." IDK, that's just me.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

That's usually how it goes

[@nathanblevins9870]

I did made them turn good in my version of the show. But this episode actually made me cried. The two along with dinobot were characters I felt bad for.

[@gothnerd887]

"Caring hurt, so I stopped"

[@Bam_Bizzler]

​@@gothnerd887 it be like that sometimes

[@henrypaleveda7760]

I figured that transmutate's death was more of a motivator. at first he was a slave in megatron's war, but now it is HIS war and Rampage very much wants to be a brutal monster.directing the grieff and anger at theprtocons.

[@chadderbug7587]

It was mostly the damage to the pod that malfomed Transmutate. Every pod contained a spark and mostly had a soft protoform body to house it that would then take full form after scanning an alt mode. Of course, the energon readings of the planet and the amount of damage her pod took lead to the scanners making her screwed up and not fully develop. It's a really sad origin for her, and even sadder after she went out. She wasn't meant to become what she did in her last time alive.

[@skeaneable]

still doesn't explain why it has a human looking face that's the uncanny valley about this character.

[@chadderbug7587]

@@skeaneable Of course, but it explains most of why her body was very skeletal and malformed

[@xyreniaofcthrayn1195]

@@skeaneable bruh you do realise every transformer wears a helmet even the protoforms if they are in pristine condition so as transmutate was on the order of 75-85% damaged by way of 90% broken pod it's no wonder transmutate came out the way it did as that is what a transformer lacking most parts looks like without the armour and weapons

[@ryanbarth6691]

​@@skeaneable and those black creepy teeth

[@MikeDang-pm4co]

@@skeaneable about the human face, I think the broken pod scanned the ape/cave people, idk is just my though

[@FoxNinja4000]

Transmutate had as much kindness as she had destructive power. I wish she didn't have to die. I also loved her friendship with Rampage and wonder if he could've turned good had she been there. ( Also I think I remember in the comics Rampage and Transmutate were a couple.)

[@fbafoundationalbuck-broken6011]

SHE?

[@EdgyZiggy]

​@@fbafoundationalbuck-broken6011 Well, in Beast Wars, Transmutate is genderless In Beast Wars Uprising, she is indeed female

[@stwormmarkus]

As a transformers fan, I love the darker tone a lot. In fact I love this show to. Can't wait for it to either get ruined or get back in the limelight in rise of the beast.

[@jonathanathor117]

transformers lore does go hard. And overall the lore/ universe of the transformers did mature alongside the audience.

[@dudotolivier6363]

Ok two things : 1. Since the original series and the coming soon film don't share the same continuity, they aren't canon. And because they aren't canon mean that whatever happen in one of the two don't have any impact of somekind on the others. 2. Even if the two Transformers movies, the last one of Micheal Bay of the original films series and the one-shot independant Bumblebee, were just okay, this next one really seem to be promising. Sure, there not only Maximals, but honestly, it will be interresting to see how they will interact with the Autobots. Since both never actually have coexist a lot in any others continuity (in the original show, the Autobots were just in a sleep/coma state during all his duration, and even the following sequel series).

[@gojirafan0577]

Well whatever does end up happening in Rotb whether it ends up being good or bad I'll still always love the original beast wars series with all my heart (I honestly think rotb is being a bit overhyped and wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being terrible)

[@BroAnarchy]

Yeah , me too. I forgot that movie is coming out soon... I hope it does really really well!!

[@silverwizardess7921]

Just another chapter in the Transformers multiverse.

[@unfinishedsentenc5308]

Dude! I loved Beast Wars as a kid. Completely agree about this episode. That robot freaked me out

[@McBean1331]

Hi.

[@michami135]

I'm sure this episode made more than one child transfphobic.

[@Crusader316]

​@@michami135 its a fucking robot

[@unfinishedsentenc5308]

@@McBean1331 okay

[@Bam_Bizzler]

​@@michami135 i....what?? How??

[@The_Str4nger]

Stasis Lock doesn't mean death. It's just a security system that activates when a transformers suffered too much damage, he goes into a comatose condition to safe the spark from damage. Dinobot died because he deactivated his stasis lock function in a later episode

[@leonardogutierrez8147]

While this is true, I doubt they had any plans to let transmutate out of stasis

[@superpaytonmars8852]

The episode right before this one, in fact.

[@nicholasfarrell5981]

And Transmutate had no capacity to understand what they were doing to her. It's why Optimus' line of thinking rubbed Silverbolt the wrong way, if I remember correctly.

[@gojirafan0577]

It's basically the Cybertronian equivalent of a coma

[@AngelEmfrbl]

In the origin script, it was permanent stasis. Meaning she was never coming of it.

[@Coffee_nightowl]

I didn't watch Beast Wars until my late teens and without a nostalgia lens I can tell it's absolutely fantastic. This episode made me cry, yet it's probably also my favorite episode in Beast Wars. It's the episode that made me like Silver Bolt and that line he delivered. "Are we Predacons now? Do we destroy whatever does not fit our definition of perfection?!". It just resonates with me so hard. That everyone has a worth and deserves a chance of a fulfilling life, regardless of disability.

[@Konani_the_unicorn_queen]

i watched it very recently, since i went on a transformers-binge earlier this year, beast wars for sure had a good storytelling, compared to the other transformers around that time, though i'd still pick the japanese version of armada (legend of micron) and transformers prime over it,

[@cemawi]

Me too

[@GherkinGarboi]

I'd really love to see a full retrospective on the series. This show has aged like fine wine.

[@BroAnarchy]

That.... Would be PRIME.

[@pyrolee17]

Bull session did that along side a retrospective on reboot

[@silverwizardess7921]

I would absolutely watch a retrospective analysis of this show. This was one of my favorites growing up. I have all three seasons on collector's edition DVDs.

[@Starbat88]

I loved that show in the 90s. The writing and lore aged like fine wine. But though it pains me to say it, the 3D animation did not...

[@balsasjekloca9308]

It's not exactly what you're looking for, but a channel called Prime of Grammar did a four part retrospective on the entire Transformers franchise, worth a watch if you're interested

[@singletona082]

I'm disabled. I went to a school for the blind. This school also had many mentally delayed persons and people who would be considered autistic in modern diagnostics. this episode wasa gut punch to me. It was one of Primal's VERY few failures. One of the few times I could look and go 'dude you're WRONG for what you've done.' Yet even when they advocated stasis lock (essentially medicaly induced coma, as others have mentioned it was refusing stasis lock that killed Dinobot,) 'for the duration.' And yet Even then with that admission they lacked the resources to properly help transmutate, and that a warzone is no place for someone who is effectivly mentally a child? 'So it has come to this? You speak as if we are Predicons deciding who deserves to live or die.' This was also one of the few shining examples of showcasing Rampage as a character and not just a slobbeing maniac. He hates what he is, and even if only for a moment could relate to Transmutate, and above even his hatrid for all things, he wanted no harm to fall to her. It was good to see that even in the worst of what was possible? There exists that spark to show noone is ever wholy good or evil and none are perfect because our WORLD isn't perfect and we work with what we are given rather than what we have. Then there is Dinobot. He has ... made a grave error. A mistake that will cost him his life, but as of right now? It has cost him what he values more; his honor. WHich leads to Code of Warrior's '. . .the future is not fixed and my choices are my own. And yet, how ironic. For I now find I have no choice at all.'

[@blackagent4754]

Wait, so you went to a school for the blind, so I take it you're cured of your blindness now? Correct me if I'm wrong. I'm just asking and curious.

[@Bam_Bizzler]

​@@blackagent4754 yes he got mr beast'd. He prolly just graduated like most people in life lmao

[@katefresina832]

@@blackagent4754 Ah, no my friend. ''School for the Blind'' refers to a school that is designed for children who are blind. It functions like a regular school, but it teaches blind children to function in a seeing world. For my mom who is legally blind, she went to a blind school. She lived there too. Graduated from there and worked at a church for a couple of years before becoming a full time stay at home mom. Now that's not to say every blind child will go to a school for the blind. It is completely up to the parents and child. But yeah going to a blind school will not cure blindess.

[@AsgardianQueen]

You know, I'm an autistic person, I feel like I can relate to animals, aliens and robots more than people.

[@Motor__]

That’s because people are unique and complex. I think everyone relates to animals more because it’s easier to see themselves in them.

[@Cousin_Uli]

Rampage actually getting some depth was a treat in this episode. Partly because he's introduced as a one note psychopath, and partly because his actor Campbell Lane has an absolutely incredible voice and the character doesn't get to let him flex more than a few times in the series.

[@kurtis2awsome]

I remember watching the episode where Rampage was introduced so vividly. All the Predicon's and Maximal's were so frightened of hearing that he was still alive (Rampage being a experiment thought to have been lost for good)

[@andrewgan557]

Basically they got a giant robot serial killer on the loose.

[@AuroraPaintBrush4444]

I love the voice acting in this show. Always amazes me that the characters, Rattrap, Dinobot, Silverbolt and Waspinator all have the same voice actor. Also one of my favorite Megatron voices. Just an amazing voice acting cast. Not a bad voice in the whole lot.

[@Jerepasaurus]

SAME.

[@ХорхеГарсия-э5е]

The spanish dub for Megatron is masterful.

[@BatInDisguiseOFFICIAL]

I never knew Silverbolt and Waspinator were also voiced by Scott McNeil and what's funny is animated Optimus is voiced by David Kaye

[@superpaytonmars8852]

You know you have a good cast when Cheetor is played by Canadian Goku and Megatron is played by the same guy who would go on to voice clank.

[@jakd.rabbit]

Imagine my amazement as an 8 year old finding out that David Kaye not only voiced Megatron in all the shows I grew up with at that point (2005) but also finding out that he voiced Clank in the Ratchet and Clank games. Also, most of this show's cast voiced characters in Adventures of Sonic the Hedgehog with Gary Chalke voicing Grounder, Cheetor's actor voicing Coconuts, and Black Arachnia's actress voicing various characters throughout the series.

[@Eva01-jy2qu7pu9r]

Transmutate was one of the most unsettling episodes I saw as a kid, but I always remember watching it constantly because it was so different than what the show tackled before. Season 2 was full of these dark episodes which is why it's my favorite in the series.

[@weefweef]

I immediately clicked on the notification when I saw this, you should definitely talk more about this show, especially about Dinobot's character arch

[@jaylenware363]

I like how Rampage is the character to see eyeto-eye with Transmutate. Sure, Rampage is a horrifying "immortal" serial killer/ cannibal, but he is the result of science without morality. With the Maximals creating him in an experment to recreate Starscream's immortal spark, the give life to him, torture him, and try to destroy him, only to realize that he's basically unkillable. And then they're suprised he's so evil? Not justifying his actions of course, but of all the characters, he understands the most about what Transmutate is going through and dealing with. I also like that good guy Silverbolt stands up for Transmutate too. He also is an outlier amongst his team, being a "Fuzor" of two different creatures in response to -radiation poisoning- a quantum surge

[@endiecutie06]

8:57 I adore this line. The way it’s delivered just gives me the chills.

[@CreatureCal]

Yes! Please do more Beast Wars and Transformers reviews! I love revisiting my childhood and seeing what made it so good!

[@G.O.A_godofautism]

Fun facts about Transmutate: they are voise by Susan Blue who voices Arcee in the original 1986 "The Transformers The Movie" and comic books in recent years told a what if story about Transmutate where we see what would've happened if their stasis pod never malfunctions and it's revealed that Transmutate is actually a recolored Transformers Prime Arcee.

[@williampulfer-melville8536]

She was also the casting director for this series

[@ursidae97]

​@@redneckranger2144yes they were.

[@CourierJackalope]

I was born in '91 and I still remember watching this show whenever it was on. I never got into the transformers franchise but this show always held a special place. It would be cool to see you review more episodes of it. Would you also concider covering Gargoyles? That is the show that got me into Shakespeare and Norse mythology!

[@pallydan893]

Gargoyles also had guns and blood in a Disney show, even one of the protagonists got shot and was critically injured

[@BroAnarchy]

Yeah this show really is so good. Great voice acting, animation is well made (even if extremely outdated now), and the story and character development is also top notch. Also, the Universe hates Waspinator. Lol. I remember watching Gargoyles too, that was also a really great animated series... You really can't go wrong with Keith David voicing Goliath!!

[@rageinme-music4971]

The 90's was a crazy good time , huh?

[@clintonclay3158]

I loved it as a kid and to this day I have what's left of my collection of the figures.

[@JohnArtis-kc5wt]

The I am hurt part made me ugly cry. The theme of how war has no good or bad side and that it's all perspective... Coupled with the fact that he's made to look scary but behaved in a pure and innocent matter is 😖

[@silascraven]

This was easily one of my favorite shows as a kid and still is, in fact i have the full dvd collection right now and still watch it today

[@Foundlilly11]

I don't know if this series was also shown in the UK, but Bobby's world had a lot of dark moments. Realistic, like a traffic/crossing person dying, but also his imaginition with Bobby having a vision of getting eaten in a Halloween episode. Really made me upset at the time.

[@MASTEROFEVIL]

Wait, what the hell!?

[@Renegade2786]

It was. Channel 5 aired all the episodes of Beast Wars in 2003 every Saturday morning.

[@TFormers2002]

I am definitely all up for a full series retrospective. I loved finding out you are yet another huge fan of the series.

[@alejandroelluxray5298]

The first time I saw this episode, I cry in sadness and pain after witnessing her death, something so innocent and fragile, a being Who didn't understand the war she was in, and how she was killed in a crossfire between the only ones Who were her friends... It was Just heartbreaking to see all of this, an allegory to all the innocent souls Who are lost in warfare, many of them not being able to comprehend the terrible conflicts they are caught into

[@AlejandroLopez-ib2jx]

Yeah then again it was a walking abortion

[@CarbonEye42]

not gonna lie, I prefer you reviewing dark animated shows more than the terrible ones

[@starjumper]

Same. His content definitely shines when covering the disturbing. Usually for bad movie/show reviews I go to Saberspark lol.

[@jacksonhopp2003]

Yeah, if you want comedic bad movies. Go to Brandon Tenold.

[@whitedragoness23]

Dark animated shows tend to be more fleshed out. You get to know the characters and then get the see that one “messed up” episode. It’s like the studio had to sneak in one in almost every kids show.

[@The_PokeSaurus]

Agreed.

[@wannabedrewafualo]

@@starjumper Me too! For Steve I love how dark and serious the subject of his reviews are, and for Saber I love how ridiculous and trash the subject of his reviews are, especially when he’s watching them in full with Rishi.

[@anmanarrative]

I forgot how dark this episode was. In fact I think I forgot just how dark Beast Wars got, must revisit the series at some point as it was one I really enjoyed as a kid. Would definitely love to hear more of your thoughts on the show. As for other shows, I'd still love to see you tackle Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons. It is such a dark show with excellent atmosphere and writing, one of the best Gerry Anderson productions.

[@danzerfoxable]

This show was my favorite as a kid because it knew when to be hokey and silly but also knew when to have a deep story that touched on dark tones or serious matters. Like hell I remember the episodes where they started to go from looking like normal animals to robotic animals, like the changes were a bit rough if I remember and they were shown as just "oh they changed but more so "they can't stop this and it's strange". Or you have the whole starscream arch throughout the series where he is trying to figure out who he is and what side he wants to fight for same with waspinator. The series was great, yeah the animation aged like dirt but it's rich dirt, that they took time to write and make feel like a fleshed out series that you could watch again and again.

[@gothnerd887]

I can't help but see a dark beauty in Transmutate like they're a statue in an art gallery made to represent something deep, profound and depressing.

[@606Xentrax606]

This is my all time favorite show. To this day, Beast Wars continues to influence my own creative writing. Honestly with regars to character arcs, Dinobot was my first Prince Zuko. Thank you for covering this episode, Steve. Hope you cover more! Love your vids!

[@RedhoodJT]

Silverbolts line at the end of Rampage and him being brothers in their grief was and still is devastating.

[@lukewatson301]

I'd be quite curious to see further thoughts on the series since I really enjoy its moments of adult concepts. The inner turmoils of Dinobot, the loss of Airrazor and Tigertron, the exploration of the darker side of Rhinox, this stuff fascinated me as a kid especially with the curveballs the following series gave us with things like the further exploration of Rhinox through Tankor and Rattraps personal code of conduct in defending Megatron.

[@Ghoulstille]

I always enjoyed the darker episodes of cartoons in the 90's and mid 00's they always gave me something to think about because episodes like this were just so warped (and i mean that in a good way) it would challenge what I was expecting from something meant for an adolescent brain.

[@Konani_the_unicorn_queen]

i can remember some really effed up episodes of teenage mutant ninja turtles around that time, good times :>

[@juansemino2038]

This episode still haunts me. I remember I watched when I was like 9 or 10, and the themes the characters discused then made me feel a bit uncomfortable

[@shockwave_datafiles8099]

Seeing that people have already mentioned it, Stasis Lock is Suspended Animation. They intended to basically freeze Transmutate but keep her (apparently they're referred to as she in later media) alive so the's not a danger to herself or others. For further example, The Autobots and Decepticons were in a form of Stasis Lock due to the injuries they sustained when The Ark crashed.

[@AngelEmfrbl]

In the original script, they said she would go into stasis to never wake up again, essentially being in there until she died out of natural events without ever knowing what was happening around her and never having lived. There was no cure, so they were doing the kindest thing they could think of.

[@dracodracarys2339]

I love that Beast Wars was forced to make do with fewer characters so they had to make them count and it worked. Unlike G1 that introduced and dropped new characters left and right...to act as a toy commercial lmao.

[@BroAnarchy]

"you go back to base, we'll take care of Rampage" Wunderdog: 'NO ... leave him be. For the moment, He and I are brothers ..." I'll never forget that line. Hits you so hard when you realize Rampage actually has a Soul (er, Spark) to some degree .... And that how Silverbolt sees it so plainly and painfully, he crossses the threshold to accept him and the loss they both shared. God, i love Beastwars.

[@CatMario100]

It's a good day to hear people talk about Beast Wars even today. I would be more than happy to see you cover the Beast Wars series. There are far too many moments for me to mention that I remember so fondly. I remember watching the whole series at a young age, including this one. I didn't understand it at first, but I was still left very unsettled by it and its tone. Rewatching this episode now and understanding the message, I'm even more blown away that such a heavy concept is explored in a kids show. I knew Beast Wars didn't shy from being dark during multiple occasions in the series, but this is still one of the absolute biggest gut punches.

[@Kagira2006]

I remember this episode, oddly enough it was the first I saw. I was unnerved by transmutate but felt really bad they died. I remember being amazed a cartoon could do something like this episode and was hooked right away.

[@alexisburns1196]

i started watching this show in my early teens so the mature story telling and respect for its audience was one of the things i appreciated most and one of the reasons ill always remember this show

[@misterzygarde6431]

Given Depth Charge's history with Rampage, I'm curious on how he'd react to seeing Rampage act this way. Also I feel like bringing up that David Kaye, the voice of Megatron, went on to voice Optimus Prime in 2007's Transformers Animated on CN

[@zaragachizanparo4948]

When I think of dark episodes from kids' shows, these ones come to mind: Batman the animated series 1. Heart of Ice 2. Over the edge 3. Growing pains 4. Two-face introduction 5. The Judge Superman the animated series 1. Every Darkseid episode 2. The late Mr. Kent 3. Brave New Metropolis

[@TeruteruBozusama]

This really makes me hope you make more videos about this show as I've mostly seen people mock its CGi but never really about what the show was really about, so this is interesting..!

[@jessieramona2184]

Stasis lock doesn't necessarily mean death, it's more like a coma. Transformers can go into it if they become too damaged, as a "last ditch" so that they could possibly be revived later on. It also happens if they run out of energon, and then they can be jumpstarted again, which is what happened to Jetfire in transformers 2, where they find him in the museum and Sam uses a piece of the shard to restart him. They didn't necessarily want to euthanize Transmutate, rather than put it into a sleep mode until they have a better plan

[@mariodude345]

I'm glad you're covering Transformers and I hope you cover more Transformers series! this was a really sad and touching episode. Also just want to let you know that Transmutate is meant to be a female character.

[@MH-xg4wy]

I found both Beastwars and Reboot got darker as they progressed. Both started off with humour, and realized over time they didn’t actually need it and went full-on dark.

[@reizak8966]

Did you ever watch Reboot? The two-part episode where Dot faces off against a creepy clown in a game, only for her to lose and see how the entire world gets destroyed because of it was so dark as a kid that I remember it clearly to this day. Such a great TV show.

[@Raziel312]

Hey Steve! If you want dark Transformers episodes I have a few recommendations. 1. Autobot Spike: Wheeljack cobbles together a Transformer body out of spare parts. The idea was to temporarily put a Transformer's mind inside it when their body needed serious repairs. Then their human friend Spike gets seriously hurt. They decide to put his mind into Autobot X as that gives the doctors more latitude in their treatments (somehow). Only, a human mind was never meant to inhabit a Transformer body so Spike starts to go insane as his mind is assaulted by alien sensations. So yeah, it's Transformers meets Frankenstein. 2. Staying in G1, ever wanted to know what it would be like if 28 Days Later had 20 foot robots running at you screaming for your blood? Check out the Hate Plague season 3 final. 3. Season 1 of Transformers Prime. Cliffjumper comes to Earth looking for his missing partner, Arcee. He gets jumped and brutally killed. Then Megatron uses Dark Energon to resurrect Cliffjumper as a vicious zombie, forcing Arcee to re-kill her friend.

[@CreatureCal]

A Beast Wars review? As Megatron always says, *”Yesss!”*

[@nemesis2002b]

Dude! You got to review all the big dinobot episodes. First two episodes. (Beast Wars, Part 1 and two) The preds stole the golden disk and the ship their in is to to find earth. The whole reason we're on earth with all of them is because dinobot and Megatron wanted to wipe the original transformers and change history. The predicons (the main faction, not megatron's group) is seen as a neutal group. But their really binding their time when they can invade and thak what is theirs. (The Agenda, Part 1) So Megatron, Dinobot, waspinator, terrosaur, scorpinok and Tarantulas all go agaist their factions leadership to follow megatron back in time and kill Optimus prime and the other autobots. They stole a maximal ship, stole the golden disc and the show starts. But then they landed on what didn't look like earth, it had two moons, and Dinobot saw that as Megatron being unfit to rule. Like he fucked up and this was a sign that Dinobot should lead. The preds and Decepticons lead by who is most powerful. Strongest leads. This is why Dinobot challenges Optimus primal for leadership. He looses and expects to die. Dinobot lives by honor and saw the maximals as having none. But when they save him and offer him to join he does because it made him see that they do have honor it's just different than what it's used too. "Double Dinobot" I think the fan theory here is MEgatron is very attached to Dinobot. They where friends with a goal they both believed in. They both became criminals to get those goals done. And Dinobot left to join the enemy. So he makes a clone! (first one) and even programs him with memories of dinobot so he basically acts like him. Megatron was soo attached he needed to make his friend again! And then the original ones ends up eating him. (that's pretty dark) "Maximal, No More" With the second moon gone Dinbot realizes that they are on earth. Megatron was right and he was in the wrong. Megatron takes him back basicly right away. He sets Dinobot up to win. He puts him agaist Quickstrick. The new bumbling bot that's never bested dinobot in battle ever. Making sure Dinobot wins. Hell I'd argue when he tells Dinobot to kill him he's trying to tell him, take his place on our team. Then Rattrap shows up and fucks everything up. And dinobot has to decide if he's going back to the predacons for real, his people, and the reason he decided to do all of this in the first place and become a wanted criminal mind you, or go back with the maximals that have show him their's more to honor like caring and freind ship. Then "Code of Hero" Fuck man, where do I even start with this one? The best episode in beast wars or any cartoon I've ever seen. Name me one episode on any show where a main character needs to attone for his sins. Fights unfair odds. Sacrifices him self to stop his friend from doing the fucking thhing they both became criminals to do. That momment with his systems are telling him their putting him into stasis lock and he keesp overriding it because he knows if he stops now their gonna kill the early humans. He knows he needs to keep fighting even if it dies. He needs to fix his mistakes. Battered, beaten and damaged beyong repair. He does it. He wins the day. At the cost of his live. That line he says at the end. "Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good and let me be judged accordingly. The rest is silence." Chills are going down my spine just thinking about it. I've done bad things and I've done good things. Tell people both. Don't lie about anything I did. Let my actions be what they judge me. Powerful stuff their's a lot more like "Feral Scream, Part 1" MEgatron makes an other clone of Dinobot. But this one has Rampage's spark making him evil. and even the cut episodes planned to flesh out Dinobot II. But yeah Dude is why I love beast wars. Amazing show.

[@TechnoNeko94]

Dang, that made me want to watch the whole show in one sitting. Reminds me of Reboot and really gives me nostalgia even though I've never seen Beastwars or much of any Transformers at all.

[@Jorge-hl9ol]

You should! Its arguably one of the best shows in the entire franchise

[@Laserbeak316]

Oh man, I absolutely loved that you ended up covering Beast Wars as one of the shows you review. And since Beast Wars is finally hitting the big screen this summer, I definitely recommend looking into other episodes in the series to cover as well. Most notably Code of Hero, which is regarded as the single best episode of all Transformers series (for obvious reasons).

[@JayTohab]

Fascinating! Would definitely be interested in seeing more reviews about this show. Had no idea it had such a unique character!

[@Slayheim]

Great episode. I had forgotten about transmutation. Beast wars was a childhood favorite of mine and had a profound impact on me. Well done!

[@nightmarefreddy0422]

Well they were worried of transmutate maybe hurting not only their self but anything around it which its actually a good idea since thats so much power and since its just stasis lock which is actually the equivalent of a comma and means that the crew would be able to return to cybertron with transmutate because it would still be alive and that would mean they would be able to have more options rather then killing it

[@Ultra04channel]

Interestingly enough, IDW did an alternate version of this character in a comic. One that wasn't damaged. She turned out looking like Prime Arcee (the best one). This may be a reference to the fact that she's voiced by G1 Arcee's VA.

[@geraldsasmrstories7903]

Its not part of my childhood. But I've seen most of season 1 and I must say, its great to know someone else enjoys that glorious eyesore of a show.

[@Hydragames648]

Transmutate was definitely something else and in fact she got her own spotlight in the comics and being her own unique character that helps her as they share a unique spark but she also gets a proper form in the look of a recoloured tfp Arcee.

[@takolink3350]

I remember crying my eyes out watching this episode.

[@kimeraclan3135]

Oh yes, I also remembered this episode and the tragedy it showed. Though to be fair, I had forgotten the Silverbolt's line towards Optimus. The impact of rediscovering the episode's message hits a little more stronger now. As for another dark moment in animation I would sujest the Cyborg 009 episode "Frozen Time", if Steve happened to have seen that show growing up.

[@crazyt7270]

Never really understood how deep this episode got as a child because transmutate's characters design just freaked me out too dang much lol but I would definitely love for you to do a review on the whole series as this coupled with Beast Machines despite its many problems is my most favorite iteration of the Transformers series even to this day.

[@daysonduncan6100]

THIS WAS ONE OF MY FAVORITE SHOWS AS A KID, I LOVED HOW DARK IT WAS. I was a messed up kid

[@AnimatedTechie]

I was 7 years old the first time I saw this episode as a kid and I cried at the end. :( I watched the episode for the first time in over 20 years yesterday and surprisingly cried again, but this time for both Transmutate and Rampage. I didn’t realize Transmutate was symbolic of someone with a disability. I was sad when she died because she is such an innocent character.

[@Khether0001]

*YES* that was an actually interesting show, would love to see you cover it a bit more! Great episode, Steve!

[@Amethyst-eb6jp]

I'm popping out of my lurking corner to say that I love your videos, and I really do hope you go forward with more Beast Wars breakdowns. I adored that show as a child for the CG and action, but looking back with adult eyes, it amazes me how many episodes had darker themes. Cheerio.

[@Jaeger_Bishop]

Beast Wars and Reboot's second seasons, both went into some dark places... You covering these aspects would be a treat, especially since you tend to give these subjects respect and not I ject to much personal bias into it. Also, Transmute...as it turns out, was actually female and a .1% spark, just like Rampage. There's an interesting comic "Shattered Glass" that explores this...at least, I think that's what it was called. Anyway, great video, looking forward to more content like this, in the future.

[@Aupsic-hh5sy]

The thing with the Mutant are his energy burst, as previously showed, these bursts can basically toast any transformer nearby, and the mutant couldnt control these bursts of power, so it wasnt much of a "useless, mentally disable" transformer, but more of a walking, talking EMP bomb that could go off any second. If it wanst for that, you can be sure that Optimus would have taken it under his wing.

[@angelbasiliorodriguezbusto2065]

I would love if you review more of the series in the future, especially with Rise of the Beasts coming out this year

[@LeoMkII]

"The audio mights sounds different " I was expecting a massive drop from the current quality but steve sounds literally the same

[@bigtripull8126]

Beast Wars isn't a spin off. It was the mainline of its time.

[@dudotolivier6363]

Him and his following TV Show sequel are in their own canon. So yeah, was really something back at the time.

[@bigtripull8126]

@@dudotolivier6363 Beast Wars and Beast Machines are part of G1. They are the same continuity.

[@dudotolivier6363]

@@bigtripull8126 Ah. Ok, if you said that. But the G1 canon is a great and confuse mess let be all honest on that. Personnally, I prefer when franchise and their series are made and take place all after the previous ones, always sequels to the previous production. It's more easy to follow. Back in time, flashback and midquel production are still possible, but it's better when it isn't complex and are minors. Not like the two Beastwars series who are big and long, a d take time and mind to follow. TV Shows who are in their own chronology and have any sequels are good too. This is why I prefer Transformers Animated and Transformers Rescue Boots, for example. They are all one-shot.

[@Maelif644]

I want more of what YOU THINK. I've noticed an unsettling trend of my youtubers stating what they see, rather than what they feel. I love hearing you talk, but I'm not here to watch you catalog things with some jokes mixed in (though I do love the jokes). I understand that taking a side is unwise on the internet, but I would at least like to hear you point out the flaws of both arguments if there's an argument at the core of the video. That always seems pretty safe... And yes, I would like more beastwars content, even if it's not that dark, so long as you talk about HOW MUCH you love it and WHY. Best wishes.

[@AllHailTheAnimeLover]

Honestly I do enjoy when you cover dark episodes of children's media or just dark children's media Especially for ones that you don't often see like there's videos upon videos about dark harvest from invader zim or invader zim as a whole but you introduced me to a whole lot of shows I would have never known about

[@dudotolivier6363]

The ultimate dark, gruesome and controversial episode of Invader Zim is of course the one about the Organs !

[@TLSoulDude]

I'd love to see more Beast Wars reviews from you because this is also a favorite series of mine. As well as this episode because of the themes it tackles...and Silverbolt's last line hits me hard. Other Maximals ask if they should do anything to Rampage while he's vulnerable, but Silverbolt immediately puts that idea down, "No...leave him be. For now, we are brothers." ...Yeah, I think that would've been worth expanding on. Not just because Rampage shows this tender, empathetic side, but could have been used to change character dynamics. After all, the cartoonishly knightly Maximal and the Predacon berserker suddenly had something in common. I get it, serialization was seen as taboo for the syndicated television show (for the most part), but there was a lot that could be taken from it. I mean, Blackarachnia had a whole redemption arc, why not have Silverbolt try appealing to Rampage's better nature that he now KNOWS is there?

[@lonewolf9578]

Oh hey, a beast wars video, didn’t expect this

[@MechaEmperor7000]

I remember seeing this episode on TV when it was new. It's almost funny how it was considered the lighter episode, as it was sandwiched between Code of Hero (widely considered to be the greatest transformers story ever written) and The Agenda (which was way darker than this). Also, there are some cool tidbits you might like: While Megatron talks about transmutate like an object, even using verbage to denote his ownership of them, Rampage never does; he always talks about how they belong together, never that they belong to him (in fact in his skyward scream moment, he does say "belong", but it's "with me" instead of "to me"). This was the moment that many people (me included) realized that Rampage has his own set of weird, twisted morals and is far more than the rampaging monster he's portrayed to be, since he not only views Transmutate as an equal (something he never does to anyone else, not even Depthcharge), but also that he clearly has affection for them. Like you said, it's sad that we never got any Rampage-centric episodes after this, as whenever he becomes the focus of an episode, it's usually because it's also a Depthcharge episode. When Transmutate dies, they call Silverbolt the "Good" friend, but Rampage the "Dark" one. They never call him evil or bad. Transmutate, in what short life they had, learned about morality and knew that Rampage, ultimately, was not an inherently evil being (unlike Megatron), but a deeply wounded and damaged person.

[@calebpribyl5152]

Man you really like dark stuff!

[@IzzyMarrie]

Fun Publications did a dark Beast Wars storyline at the time which was an AU, exploring Maximals and Predacons alongside other Cybertronians. One interesting aspect of these stories was that Transmutate wasn't as severely damaged as in Beast Wars. However, there was still something slightly different in the brain. Rampage is still there to befriend the broken bot who also teaches that what may seem to be broken might actually not be "broken" at all, just different. And it's an honestly sweet part of the story. Also, having not suffered the same level of substantial damage allowed Transmutate to actually have an alt form.

[@thereptiledurppy6703]

Transformers as a franchise has had a lot of dark elements in its shows and comics in recent years. My favorite show TF Prime is one of those exceptions where it shows dark themes of death, war, abuse, and substance abuse. I recommend this show if you are interested or want to comment on it.

[@The_Punisher]

TFP shows abuse really?

[@thereptiledurppy6703]

@@The_Punisher between Megatron and Starscream. Starscream and Knockout. Just Decepticons being Decepticons.

[@saximaphone]

Canadian animation has a history of not backing down from certain topics.

[@lamp9434]

Please cover Unicorn Wars, is the new movie of the creator of Bird Boy. And I think this would fit the channel

[@CommanderConvoy]

You want more dark Transformers episodes? How about "Dark Awakening" from the 80s cartoon. Optimus dies in the '86 movie only to be brought back as a mind-controlled zombie in the episode, then dies AGAIN when a mausoleum FILLED with other famous dead characters explodes.

[@jeaustinnunez3839]

For a moment i thought it was Beastars spelled wrong!

[@gojirafan0577]

This is one of my all time favourite episodes of the original beast wars series with its strong message that was rare for both the series and the transformers franchise at the time I highly recommend watching the episode for those who want to get into the original beast wars cartoon

[@HelenaSan425]

i love Transformers I'm a huge fan Animated and the 2007 movie i grew up with

[@Imufur]

what a disturbing design, and that walking animation is awesomely creepy

[@Erikjust]

Kids Whaa Dinobot died i am crushed... sniff well at least next episode will ease my heartache... next episode Transmutate. .... you just love to twist that knife don't you.... 😂😂

[@zachtheowlhousefanhall973]

Hope you do a video on the DIC Mario Cartoons later this month to get ready for The Super Mario Bros Movie next month,a video focusing on the 90's Spider-Man cartoon and The Spectacular Spider-Man to get ready for Across The Spider-Verse to come out this June and a video review on both the Hazbin Hotel pilot to get ready for the tv series coming out this summer and a series review on Helluva Boss(Season 1 and 2)!

[@noirangel6416]

I would like to point out that Transmutate was actually modeled and is confirmed to be female. She's voiced by Arcee's va from G1. Transmutate & Rampage even get a spin-off comic together in Beast Wars: Uprising (her apperance being more normal but her personality described as being somewhat of cybertronian autism.).

[@Lucario4thewin]

Stasis lock isn't death, it's essentially a self induced coma for conserving energy.

[@joaovitorfarinabraga690]

This episode reminds me a lot of the episode “twisted sister” from the powerpuff girls, where they create a fourth sister who like transmutaste is obviously supposed to represent someone who’s mentally challenged and like him looks ugly compared to her sister, both characters for a shot period of time unknowingly team up with bad guys and sacrifice themselves at the end, and that’s very sad man, they have only been alive for a couple of hours and could barely enjoy life because they were “different”, The 90’s really hated neurodivergent people and I’m glad that they barely never used this ableist trope of self sacrifice again in other shows.

[@fellowtraveller7305]

Please do cover them more! I've always loved BeastWars, but not a lot of people around me talk about it, so it became just some kind of obscure part of my childhood.

[@Crazyredemu]

Transmutate has been confirmed to be a girl, but other then that great review, Id love to see you review the entire show!

[@Lonewolf360gaming]

Yeah I remember watching a video discussing her idw counterpart it was kinda surprising seeing the extreme differences but odd similarity of being looked down upon between them

[@ariannasv22]

This reminds me of that one episode of powerpuff girls with the purple powerpuff girl that they tried to make on their own but ended up ruining the recipe.

[@joshuaflores8532]

Can you please review the animated Lord of the Rings some day?

[@optimistprime3192]

I think it’s those lines from Silverbolt - “Are we Predacons now? Do we destroy whatever does not fit our definition of perfection?!” - that lead people to thinking the other Maximals want to euthanize Transmutate. Like other comments say here, Stasis Lock is more of an induced coma to protect the spark when the body is highly damaged. As such, Optimus and Rhinox didn’t want to off Transmutate, but rather put her in a coma as a safeguard to protect her and everyone around her until they can find a way to stabilize and rebuild her volatile systems.

[@AngelEmfrbl]

ITs because originally he WAS reacting to the idea she was about to be put to sleep. Originally in the script they were going to put her to sleep forever with no prospect of waking her up.