Razorbeast

Toy Bio and History

"Razorbeast is a stubborn infantry fighter with great strength and tenacity befitting a warthog. He will keep struggling and fighting ferociously against all odds no matter how hopeless the situation. This steadfastness in the face of adversity, coupled with his considerable improvisational skills has earned Razorbeast respect from comrades and foes alike, despite his diminutive stature. His self-reliant, self-sufficient nature and fierce refusal to give up has made him a prime choice for important but dangerous solo missions. Razorbeast has a healthy respect for the chain of command and would never disobey an order from above."

The first (and only) figure of Razorbeast was released in late 1995 as part of the first wave of Hasbro/Kenner's Beast Wars Transformers series. As such, his original packaging featured a rocky texture, to give the impression of breaking out of a rock pile. When he was re-released in 1996, it was changed to a smoother bubble. He, along with the characters Rattrap, Armordillo, the bat version of Optimus Primal, Terrorsaur, Snapper, Insecticon, Iguanus, and the crocodile version of Megatron all featured a spring-loaded transforming gimmick where they could automatically transform if a tail or something else was pulled. The mane of fur on his back could become a dual-barreled gun he could use in robot mode, or could attach to his back with the barrels sticking out to be used as shoulder cannons. His entire mold would be re-cast in gold plastic and released in the 1999 Japan-exclusive Beast Wars Neo series as the character "Randy". Before that, in 1997, as part of the Microverse toyline they were producing, a mini-figure of Razorbeast (which couldn't transform) was made and released with Megatron (for some odd reason) as the two figures who came with the Predacon base Arachnid (a large spider that could transform into a battle station).

Comic History

Hasbro Mini-Comic

Razorbeast appeared in the mini-comic that came in the two pack of Optimus Primal (bat) vs Megatron (crocodile), as one of the Maximals under Primal's command, which also included Cheetor, Rattrap, and Dinobot.

IDW Comics

Beast Wars: The Gathering

Razorbeast is a central character in the first of IDW's Beast Wars mini-series, which takes place during the events of the cartoon's third season episode "Changing of the Guard". When the story opens, we see him as an undercover Maximal agent, tasked by Maximal co-leader Leomus Prime (Lio Convoy from Japan's Beast Wars II series) with infiltrating a group led by the Predacon general (and Cybertronian Affairs committee member) Magmatron, and consisting of Spittor, Transquito, Manterror, Drill Bit, and Iguanus. The group travels back in time to prehistoric Earth (where the Beast Wars are currently occurring) with the intention of bringing in the renegade Predacon Megatron under orders from the Predacon's ruling body the Tripredacus Council. Since they are displaced from the time-stream because of chronal armbands of Razorbeast's design, that isn't the only thing they intend to do--Magmatron and his cadre also plan on secretly assembling an army of Predacons using the downed stasis pods scattered on Earth (first seen in the very first episode of the Beast Wars cartoon) in order to take over Cybertron. Razorbeast, posing as a new Predacon recruit, was brought in because of his engineering and tech expertise. After sending all his troops to some of the pod sites (save for Razorbeast and Drill Bit), Magmatron has Razorbeast activate a device to transmit a Predacon shell program (similar to the one used by Predacon scientist Tarantulas to reprogram Inferno and Blackarachnia) in order to reformat all the protoforms in the pods into Predacons. Razorbeast secretly sets the machine to not transmit the shell program to all the pods, leaving enough to awaken as Maximals that he can organize into a militia to counter Magmatron's army. When Magmatron discovers Razorbeast's treachery after Spittor reveals his encounter with a newly-emerged Maximal, Razorbeast makes a break for it, goring Drill Bit in the process (but not killing him). Once the coast is clear, Razorbeast in boar mode uses a special signal to contact some of the nearby Maximals (B'Boom, Bonecrusher, Ramulus, Optimus Minor, and Snarl), who are given the basics of the situation: they must build a transwarp reciever in order to radio Leomus Prime on Cybertron and inform him of Magmatron's actions.

Meanwhile, the other Maximals slowly begin to meet up and head towards Razorbeast's signal. Razorbeast and his crew head to the wreckage of the transwarp cruiser used by former Decepticon Ravage (who had become an agent of the Tripredacus Council, and was originally sent to round up Megatron, and was killed in the season two episode "The Agenda, Part III") in order to get the necessary components for the device. Once there, they must fend off an attack by Magmatron in all three of his modes, while Optimus Minor takes out Drill Bit in order to get the components. Escaping Magmatron, the crew then heads to the Ark (the Autobot's ship which crashed on Earth millions of years ago) in order to find the remaining parts. Meanwhile, Magmatron revives Ravage via putting his spark into one of the blank protoforms his team recovered, and assigns him to lead a team of some of the new Predacons to hunt down Razorbeast. While that occurs, Magmatron attacks Megatron as his mission requires (and in order to drive off suspicion). Megatron gains the upper hand, but is knocked out by Drill Bit and Iguanus, and they prepare to take him back to Cybertron. Leaving the others to cobble together a signal booster from the Ark, Razorbeast and Optimus Minor (who've gotten wind of Magmatron's plans) head to stop him, realizing that 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 commander and Magmatron battle, with Grimlock eventually being defeated (but not killed). 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 Magmatron disappears into a dimensional limbo. 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 Snarl built has sent its message and burnt out afterwards. The Maximal Militia (along with Grimlock) later begin to build an HQ in a hillside near the crash site of the Ark, keeping an eye on Optimus Primal's team of Maximals. While this is going on, 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.

Beast Wars: The Ascending

In the second miniseries, Magmatron (now displaced in the timestream), who has seen the destruction of Cybertron resulting from Shokaract's revival of Unicron, realizes he may need Razorbeast's help in defeating the tyrant. On Earth, Razorbeast is despondent about the message Snarl had tried to transmit to Leomus Prime (Lio Convoy in Japan) in that it may never reach Cybertron (as they did in Beast Wars: The Gathering #3 and 4). He is snapped back to his senses when Ravage and the Predacons arrive for what is seemingly a full-scale assault. Razorbeast realizes that it's a distraction so Ravage could sneak into the base and steal the chronal armbands. He and Snarl engage Ravage and manage to subdue him, and return to aid in the fight against the Predacons. Magmatron, getting an idea, manipulates the timestream to make sure Snarl's message gets to Leomus Prime and his strike team, the Pack. It works, and soon the Pack arrives on Prehistoric Earth to turn the tide of the fight. Just as the Maximals are winning, Rartorata, one of the Blendtrons, arrives after being sent by Unicron, and turns his stinger on Razorbeast, infecting him with Angolmois energy and turning him into a raging, near-mindless beast.

The other Maximals manage to restrain Razorbeast, and Leomus Prime temporarily snaps him back to his senses. When Drancron and Elephorca arrive to help Rartorata (who had been restrained by the Predacons), Razorbeasts breaks free and manages to take down Elephorca on his own. When the remaining Maximals and Predacons who had been left on Earth (a small contingent, along with Ravage and Leomus Prime, had departed for Cybertron to engage Shokaract) defeat Drancron and Rartorata, Razorbeast begins to lose control again, forcing Optimus Minor (at the request of Razorbeast himself) to put him down for good. The returned Magmatron later remarks that Razorbeast deserved the most appreciation for his actions on this day.

Beast Form

Razorbeast possesses the beast form of a wild boar.