LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: ‘Transformers: Rise of the Beasts’ is a desperate attempt by Paramount Pictures to save a sinking franchise that once used to milk in close to a billion dollars in revenue. The studio executives woke up to pass a clear set of instructions to the creative warlords — revive the franchise by introducing new storylines. And it turns out that producer Michael Bay and his team were already at work. ‘Rise of the Beasts’ finally took inspiration from the animated series ‘Beast Wars: Transformers’ to introduce a new faction of Transformers named the Maximals, Predacons, and Terrorcons, clear descendants of the Autobots and the Decepticons.
"Beasts" simply mean the Transformers who can turn themselves into a beast form by mimicking biological lifeforms and then taking their shape. They left Cybertron and landed on prehistoric earth and since then the Maximals, the allies of the Autobots molded themselves into shapes of mammals like gorillas and cheetahs while Predacons and Terrorcons, the descendants of Decepticons took the shape of reptiles and amphibians. All the Beasts variants of Transformers had a higher level of bio-mechanical powers to develop humanoid skin while keeping their iron and steel shields intact. You would believe that this would give them an extra edge and develop a higher level of ferociousness but the Beasts are an extension of the bloodlines of Autobots and Decepticons and not entirely their superiors. But both these factions possess immense strengths to aid their forefathers in their missions.
Predacons and Terrorcons - Two aces of Decepticons
Predacons are the true descendants of the Decepticons who came into being after the Great War on Cybertron. Predacons are known to take the form of reptiles or amphibians or creatures such as dinosaurs or even scorpions. They were considered inferior to the Maximals, who arose as their parallels after the Great War. Terrorcons are also a sub-faction of Decepticons. They are essentially Transformer zombies. They are created from dead Transformers with the use of Dark Energon. This also provides them with the ability to suck the life force from their enemies, the Autobots. When combined with their innate strength, Terrorcons become nearly invincible. It’s widely known that Autobots and Decepticons possess Sparks that are extinguished upon their death but Terrorcons have a unique life source called an Anti-Spark to keep them going.
Maximals - The Autobot army
Maximals are the good guys in the Transformer series. They shapeshift into the creatures of the jungles like gorillas or cheetahs and blend in easily. Blessed with the raw strength of the wild coupled with their alien genes, Maximals use a highly advanced cloaking technology that transforms them into their animal counterparts, they cover themselves in an artificial skin allowing them to hide among nature. This gives them an upper hand and allows them to integrate organic material into their superstructures. We see an Optimus Primal, a gorilla, a Cheetor, a Cheetah, a Rhinox, and a rhinoceros as the Maximals in all their glory, thriving in the jungles of Peru before Autobots come calling for a mission to save the universe.
‘Rise of the Beasts’ is a happy departure from witnessing the repetitive fights between Autobots and Decepticons. The inclusion of the Beasts will give birth to many storylines and might kick off a new franchise of its own. With the threat of Unicron imminent in the upcoming Transformers film, it remains to be seen who comes out on top and how.
