History WesternAnimation / BeastMachines

* SameCharacterButDifferent: One of the main reasons this series gets a lot of criticism is that the characters' characterizations aren't completely consistent with the original series, most notably with Optimus Primal becoming an extremist who is so focused on the mission that he thinks little of the other Maximals' feelings (which, to be fair, is called out InUniverse).

* FleshVersusSteel: The show has the technorganic Maximals fight against the completely robotic Vehicon forces of Megatron. Ultimately {{subverted}} with the aim of delivering the [[MoralOfTheStory message]] that nature and technology shouldn't be enemies.

* ArtEvolution: A step up even from the last few episodes of WesternAnimation/BeastWars, and [[DullSurprise Energon's CGI]] made it look even better in hindsight.

* [[NiceJobBreakingItHero NiceJobBreakingItHeroes]]: The entire series only happens because [[spoiler:the Maximals chained Megatron to the roof of the Autobot Shuttle at the end of ''Beast Wars''. While they did it to humiliate him and to not have to listen to him during their return flight home, they never anticipated Megs would get loose -- or that his doing so would set off a catastrophic chain of events by the time they returned to the 24th Century.]]

* NiceJobBreakingItHeroes: The entire series only happens because [[spoiler:the Maximals chained Megatron to the roof of the Autobot Shuttle at the end of ''Beast Wars''. While they did it to humiliate him and to not have to listen to him during their return flight home, they never anticipated Megs would get loose -- or that his doing so would set off a catastrophic chain of events by the time they returned to the 24th Century.]]

** In the episode "In Darkest Knight", [[spoiler: Silverbolt gives this when he returns, unwilling to face himself after Megatron's brainwashing forced him to enjoy being evil.]]

** A fairly subtle, clever one: Megatron's selection of [[spoiler: Rhinox]] for one of his generals seems odd, until you remember that Megatron saw what he was capable of when he was infected with a Predacon virus back in season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''. Not only is [[spoiler: Rhinox]] capable of Machiavellian scheming beyond even Megatron's skills, but he's also given to overconfident gloating, both traits that Megatron takes advantage of.

* AntiClimax: Subverted. In "Fallout" after his vision at the start of the episode, Optimus transforms to robot mode to seemingly engage Megatron and Tankor in a big climatic duel, [[spoiler: then sees Megatron and Tankor being atomized by the Plasma Energy Chamber before he can even touch them]]. We then see the ''real'' climax: [[spoiler: Optimus using his powers to save Cybertron and deactivate all the drones]].

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: In the following episodes after "In Darkest Knight", [[spoiler: [[BattleCouple Blackarachnia and Silverbolt]] of all people fall under this after he's rescued from Megatron's control. Due to his [[SurvivorGuilt hangups]] from being brainwashed, their relationship is in a rocky place, but despite arguing, they're also shown supporting each other and expressing flashes of their old romantic rhythm.]]

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: In the following episodes after "In Darkest Knight", [[spoiler: [[BattleCouple Blackarachnia and Silverbolt]] of all people fall under this after he's rescued from Megatron's control. Due to his [[TraumaSurvivor hangups]] from being brainwashed, their relationship is in a rocky place, but despite arguing, they're also shown supporting each other and expressing flashes of their old romantic rhythm.]]

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: In the following episodes after "In Darkest Knight", [[spoiler: [[PowerCouple Blackarachnia and Silverbolt]] of all people fall under this after he's rescued from Megatron's control. Due to his [[TraumaSurvivor hangups]] from being brainwashed, their relationship is in a rocky place, but despite arguing, they're also shown supporting each other and expressing flashes of their old romantic rhythm.]]

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: In episodes following after "In Darkest Knight", [[spoiler: [[PowerCouple Blackarachnia and Silverbolt]] of all people fall under this after he's rescued from Megatron's control. Due to his [[TraumaSurvivor hangups]] from being brainwashed, their relationship is in a rocky place, but despite arguing, they're also shown supporting each other and expressing flashes of their old romantic rhythm.]]

* AwLookTheyReallyDoLoveEachOther: In the episode "In Darkest Knight", [[spoiler: [[PowerCouple Blackarachnia and Silverbolt]] of all people fall under this after he's rescued from Megatron's control. Due to his [[TraumaSurvivor hangups]] from being brainwashed, their relationship is in a rocky place, but despite arguing, they're also shown supporting each other and expressing flashes of their old romantic rhythm.]]

* AceCustom: The Vehicon generals have slightly different, more colourful paint jobs than their drone soldiers.

** The very first shot is an organic flower, which is crushed underfoot by a tank drone. In the final episode, Botanica causes a bunch of the same flower to bloom across Cybertron, and the very final shot is one of them.

*** Cheetor's fight in the penultimate episode acts as a book end to his first battle in ''Beast Wars''. In the first series, he is head-strong, gets into a one-on-one fight he has to struggle through due to inexperience and only survives because of the others' arrival. Here, he still struggles, but is much smarter about his approach and emerges victorious all on his own. Additionally, [[spoiler:his final opponent is Thrust, who is of course really Waspinator - his first opponent in ''Beast Wars''.]]

* CurbStompCushion: During the final battle of [[spoiler:Optimus versus "Optimal Megatron" (Megatron in a duplicate of Optimus's "Optimal Optomus" body), Megatron consistently has the advantage in terms of strength, speed and firepower. Optimus is sometimes able to get the advantage, whether by using his smaller size to take Megatron by surprise or by luring his enemy into an area where he can cause sufficient destruction that Megatron will be caught in the blast, but ultimately he lacks the power to stop Megatron in a straight fight]].

* DarkReprise: A few particularly dramatic episodes would reprise some of the recurring themes from ''Beast Wars'', albeit in the more techno-influenced, industrial sounding music style of the series.

* DeathOfPersonality: [[spoiler:Happens to the original Vehicon generals. Tankor’s personality is pretty much erased when Rhinox takes over, though Tankor’s programming still affects him, while Thrust and Jetstorm have their personalities completely destroyed and replaced with the original personalities of their spark, Waspinator and Silverbolt respectively, when they are reformatted.]]

* HatePlague: The Maximals have some trouble with a mutation of the original in "A Wolf in the Fold." Silverbolt gets corrupted by the implanted virus, and passes it on to all of the other Maximals.

* LostInTranslation: The Japanese version [[spoiler:gives away that Tankor, Jetstorm and Thrust are Rhinox, Silverbolt and Waspinator straight away by having Tankor and Thrust retain Rhinox and Thrust's tics "dana" and "bun" while Jetstorm retains Silverbolt's psychotically polite personality.]]

* OffModel:
** The models for Vehicon generals Jetstorm, Thrust and Tankor often get confused with the models of the drones they command.
** Megatron's eye scar also can't decide whether it should be over his right eye (its proper place) or his left.
** Anytime models from ''Beast Wars'' show up, the most that changes are their textures, if that, with noticeable differences when compared to the new models made for the series.

[[caption-width-right:350:It's an evolution revolution!]]

* DarkerAndEdgier: The show has a much more serious and bleaker tone than ''Beast Wars'' due to Megatron taking over Cybertron and imprisoning the sparks of nearly all Cybertronians. Optimus Primal and the other Maximals spend a good deal of the series trying to evade Megatron's forces and set things right again.

''Beast Machines'' was the followup cartoon and toyline to ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars''; like its predecessor, it was animated entirely in {{CGI}} by Creator/MainframeEntertainment but featured a massive change to the production and writing staff, and went from being in syndication to airing on Creator/FoxKids in the US (it remained in Canada on Creator/{{YTV}}). It begins a new story with the characters of ''Beast Wars'' but in general is not considered a continuous storyline.