Beast Wars: Beyond the Cartoon

[BiffyPrimal]

There have been numerous little "expansions" to the Beast Wars universe beyond the cartoon. I'm curious as to what everyone here thinks about parts of this "expanded" Beast Wars universe that they may know of (I'm including Beast Machines in the non-expanded universe, although I know it isn't as loved as Beast Wars).

Here are my thoughts on various parts that I am aware of:

Theft of the Golden Disk - I generally like this animated feature released [sort of] through the official club. It was nice to see some more Beast Wars characters in 3D, even if not quite as good as the TV show. It was nice that they were able to get David Kaye to provide Megatron's voice. My only real complaint is that Megatron's "theft" of the disk doesn't seem quite as amazing since the video indicates the plan was Cryotek's and Megatron just decided to take the disk for himself.

Dawn of Future's Past - This pretty much follows the Theft of the Golden Disk video from above. I generally like this comic, but I wasn't too fond of making Tigatron and Airazor have in-depth "pasts" before coming online in the Beast Wars.

Reaching the Omega Point - This was an interesting piece of fiction, but I can't say I'm overly fond of it. One thing I really do like from this story was the idea of the future where Shokaract ruled.

Primeval Dawn - Of all of the expanded Beast Era fiction, this is probably my favorite. Although I've only actually read the first "issue" in this storyline (via the Botcon website), the general feel of the storyline and characters gets to me with a "Beast Wars" vibe.

The Wreckers - I generally like this piece of fiction, but I'm not entirely sure why. It may have something to do with a relatively small cast of Beast Wars/Machines repaint characters with a pretty focused storyline. It definitely has its flaws though, such the writing making it obvious that this story written with an "anti-Beast Machines" stance.

Universe - This was sort of a continuation of the Wreckers storyline, but it focused largely on the old Universe toyline from 2003. This is probably my least favorite part of the expanded Beast Era fiction, largely due to the "multiversal" aspects of it.

The Gathering - The comic has a decent premise behind it, and it was nice to see some new Beast Wars fiction. Overall though, I'm not overly fond of this series. I generally think they introduced too many characters, and Razorbeast's decision to let Megatron go really doesn't make too much sense.

The Ascending - The sequel to the Gathering mini-series by IDW centers around Shokaract's attempted ascension using Angolmois energy. I generally liked this story more than the Gathering, even if it is (in many ways) a rehash of the Omega Point storyline. I also really liked the Cybertronian scenery in this issue.

Well, that about all I have on the "extended" Beast Wars universe. There are a few minor stories I haven't included (ie. the Botcon Critical Mass comic), but I believe I've covered most of the other pieces of fiction (excluding BWII/Neo).

[Alak]

I wasn't a big fan of Universe due to the color changes...and the fact that it wasn't finished (what happens to Depth Charge?!).

[Nurann]

I wasn't a big fan of Universe due to the color changes...and the fact that it wasn't finished (what happens to Depth Charge?!).

Last I heard he was hiding out under the rust sea smuggling Unicron refugees around. After that, who knows?

Edit: The "end" of that story came with in some flashback in a comic somewhere, didn't it? I don't think it mentioned anyone specifically by name, but eventually Unicron got sucked into a void and everyone lived happily ever after. *shrug*

I find the complex storylines that the extensions built was fascinating. It was the entire reason I went back to watch BM again, just so I could get a fresh grasp on the stories added in afterward. Considering how much I haaaaaate Beast machines, that should say something.

Plus, any excuse to blame the entire technorganic fiasco on the Squids is alright by me!