"Prime's worst fears came true. In the heat of battle, when it looked as though Megatron and his Decepticons had won, Grimlock was unable to contain the beast within, and for the first time in over four million years, the Dinobots combined into a being of unspeakable terror. Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Snarl and Swoop all writhed in agony as their bodies were torn and conjoined into a single creature, one that should never have existed."
The Beast Within is a two-part series based on Transformers: Generation 1 continuity family, yet not taking place in any preestablished continuity. Both issues were written by Darren Jamieson and illustrated by Dylan Gibson, and published by Metrodome in 2004, being included with the DVD sets of The Transformers animated series. The story depicts forces of the Autobots and Decepticons clashing in battle, with the Autobots on the verge of total defeat. However, things go from bad to worse when Grimlock releases the Beast within, forcibly combining with the other Dinobots into a monstrous Mechanical Abomination that quickly slaughters the Decepticons and forces their few survivors to retreat, before then turning on the Autobots themselves.
T ...R ...O ...P ...E ...S:
- Ain't Too Proud to Beg: Even Menasor starts begging for mercy when the Beast approaches him. Unfortunately, his pleas fell on deaf ears.
- Apocalypse How: According to Ask Vector Prime, Unicron showed up sometime later, and due to The Beast's rampage and massive body count, the Autobots and Decepticons were barely able to fend off the Planet-Eater, even together. Unicron dealt a fatal blow to Primus before being driven back; and as such, the universe's reality unravelled completely, and what remained was devoured by the Hytherion.
- Ax-Crazy: The Beast is a mindless and extremely murderous monster, driven only by the desire to kill everything he sees.
- A Beast in Name and Nature: The Beast himself is a monstrous Dinobot combiner that is driven solely by the desire to kill everything on sight.
- Big Damn Heroes: In the second issue, Jetfire arrives to evacuate the Autobots and save them from the Beast's wrath.
- Big "NO!": Optimus cries out "Grimlock, no!" when Grimlock calls for the Dinobots to unite.
- BFS: The Beast's weapon is a massive sword.
- Combining Mecha: The Beast himself is one, being a combined form of all five Dinobots. The story also features Predaking, Devastator, Menasor, and Bruticus, all of which were killed in the Beast's rampage.
- Curb-Stomp Battle: The Beast immediately kills Predaking with a single slash of its sword, and then proceeds to kill the Seekers and Laserbeak in another swipe, and tears the other Decepticon combiners to pieces.
- Disney Villain Death: In the end of the second issue, the Beast eventually meets his end by being thrown at the bottom of a cliff and shattering from impact.
- The Dreaded: The Beast. Even Megatron was shown to be afraid of him when he sees him for the first time. And when he confronts Menasor, the Decepticon combiner starts begging for mercy.
- The End... Or Is It?: After the Beast's death, Jetfire flies to Optimus and asks him is it over. Optimus asks him in return, is it ever really over, before the story abruptly ends.
- Finishing Stomp: Megatron kills Springer by stomping on his head.
- Godzilla Threshold: The only reason Grimlock decided to unleash the Beast was because the Autobot forces were on the verge of being wiped out.
- Half the Man He Used to Be:
- The Beast swings its across Predaking's waist, dropping his upper body while leaving his legs still standing.
- Menasor meets his demise at the hands of the Beast by being torn in two.
- Head Crushing: Megatron kills a downed Springer by stomping his head into a metallic pulp.
- Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: Optimus kills Thrust by punching straight through his midsection.
- In Medias Res: The comics begins in the middle of a battle, the Decepticons having launched an ambush that quickly had the Autobots against the ropes.
- In the Back: Megatron blasts Optimus from behind, bringing his foe to his knees.
- Madness Mantra: Inside the Beast's head, it thinks only one word, over and over: "Kill".
- Mechanical Abomination: The Beast. Unlike most combiners, its body is misshapen and twisted, with what almost seem like torn/melted patches in its armor, depicting the circuitry within. It also lacks a unique head, instead having a warped version of Grimlock's, with the faceplate changed to a gaping, snarling maw. A glimpse inside the Beast shows the Dinobots' robot mode heads trapped within, and in utter agony. Even the combination itself is horrific, with wires bursting out of the Dinobots' bodies, forcibly latching on to the others.
- Near-Villain Victory: The Decepticons were on the verge of annihilating the Autobot forces before the Beast emerged.
- The Needs of the Many: Optimus decides that the Beast must be destroyed when he realizes its rampage is nearing a human city.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business:
- Megatron himself was shown to be stunned in fear when he sees the Beast for the first time.Megatron: De... cep... DECEPTICONS, DESTROY IT!
- When the Beast kills Devastator and Bruticus, leaving only Menasor, the Stunticon combiner starts begging for his life, only for his pleas to fall on deaf ears.
- Megatron himself was shown to be stunned in fear when he sees the Beast for the first time.
- Spell My Name with a "The": The Beast is always referred with "the" article in the name.
- Split-Personality Takeover: at the beginning of the story, Grimlock can hear the Beast within him, demanding to be let out. Once the Dinobots combine, the Beast takes full control, with nothing of its components' minds within it.
- Taking You with Me: Optimus attempts this with the Beast, throwing them both off a cliff. Fortunately, Jetfire manages to catch him.
- Unexplained Recovery: Springer was shown to be personally killed by Megatron in the first issue, and the second issue even shows a close-up of his dead body to emphasize he was Killed Off for Real. However, he was shown among the wounded Autobots on board of Jetfire's vehicle mode.
- Villainous Valor: After the Beast effortlessly curbstomps Predaking, the majority of the Decepticons are frozen with horror. Onslaught has other ideas:Onslaught: Decepticons, your fear disgusts me. It's just an Autobot... unite!
- Weaponized Exhaust: After showing up to help carry the wounded to safety, Jetfire hits the Beast with a burst of flame from his thrusters.
- Wham Line: Courtesy of Grimlock:Grimlock: Dinobots! Unite!!
- Wings Do Nothing: The Beast has Swoop's wings on its back, but never uses them. Even when Optimus throws it off a cliff, it doesn't try to fly.
- The Worf Effect: All four Decepticon combiners were killed by the Beast.
