The Transformers franchise has been around since 1984, and it has brought in billions of dollars through toy sales and live-action movies. The main focus of the Transformers franchise has been the conflict between the Autobots and the Decepticons, but in 1996, a new show called Beast Wars debuted. This show focused on the conflict between the Maximals and Predacons - the descendants of the original Transformers.
Some of these characters appeared in Transformers: Rise of the Beasts, but most of them did not. As the name of the show suggests, these Transformers could turn into animals, including dinosaurs, and they would battle in both forms. The show may have been geared toward kids, but it had some serious moments, and certain characters stood out because of their personalities and character arcs.
10 Optimus Primal
Just like in Rise of the Beasts, Optimus Primal was named after Optimus Prime, and he was the leader of the Maximals when they arrived on Earth. He abides by a code of honor and morals, and he is extremely loyal to his friends. At times, he is even respectful to the Predacons.
Throughout the series, Optimus proved how brave and selfless he was. He even sacrificed himself to save the Maximals from the Vok's planet-destroying weapon. He was reborn in a Transmetal gorilla body, and he later gained a larger, more powerful body when he saved his namesake's life.
9 Silverbolt
When the Vok attacked the planet, all the remaining stasis pods fell to Earth, and some of their scanners were damaged. This led to the creation of the Fuzors. Silverbolt was a fusion of a wolf and an eagle, and when he first emerged, he was recruited by the Predacons.
Silverbolt is chivalrous, noble, and heroic, which is why he leaves the Predacons fairly quickly to join the Maximals. He has an overdeveloped sense of right and wrong, to the point that he can be considered the purest Maximal. His relationship with Blackarachnia was well executed, and his journey with Transmutate was both thought-provoking and heartbreaking.
8 Rattrap
Beast Wars fans would have loved to see a live-action movie version of Rattrap because he was one of the series' more popular characters. As his name suggests, his Beast Mode was that of a rat, and when he gets his Transmetal makeover, he gains a chrome-like body with wheels.
He is very sarcastic and rude, and he has no problem mouthing off to his commanding officer. When it comes to combat, he prefers to sneak around, even though he has a full arsenal of guns and bombs. To some, Rattrap may seem cowardly, but he just wants to avoid death.
7 Waspinator
Waspinator assumed the form of a large green wasp, and he was by no means an adorable insect. He was part of the show's original group of Predacons, which means that he was clearly evil, but he also served as a major source of comic relief.
Waspinator would always refer to himself in the third person, and he was by far the least intelligent transformer in the show. His comrades considered him to be expendable, which is understandable since he is always getting blasted, smashed, crushed, burned, or blown to pieces.
6 Rampage
Rampage's debut felt like a horror movie because he literally hunted several transformers as soon as he emerged from his stasis pod. Rampage was a serial killer and cannibal, but he was a Maximal. The only reason he joined the Predacons is because Megatron removed part of his Spark and used it against him.
He was part of an experiment to duplicate Starscream's immortal Spark, which was successful. He nearly wiped out an entire colony, and he seems to feed on others' pain. Rampage's beast mode was a crab, but he could also turn into a tank. Rampage was criminally insane, and he brought a sense of terror to Beast Wars.
5 Tarantulas
As his name suggests, Tarantulas took the form of a tarantula, and he was one of the original Predacons who landed on Earth. In terms of appearance, he received the best Transmetal upgrade, as he looked far more formidable. He was the Predacon's scheming mad scientist, and he enjoyed experimenting on living beings.
Tarantulas is a sociopath with an iconic cackle, and he was known for his treachery. He may have been part of Megatron's crew, but he was actually an agent of the Tripredacus Council, who wanted to create a future in which neither the Autobots nor Decepticons won the Great War.
4 Blackarachnia
Blackarachnia was a Maximal protoform, but Tarantulas got to her first and converted her into a Predacon when her stasis pod crashed. Her Beast Mode is that of a black widow spider, and she quickly became the show's femme fatal.
While serving Megatron, Blackarachnia was always rebellious, as she valued her own freedom above anything else. She even stated that she would rather be deactivated than be someone's slave. She is smart and deadly, and she eventually falls in love with Silverbolt. Thanks to him, she realizes that she is a kind person, and rejoins the Maximals.
3 Inferno
When Inferno's stasis pod crashed, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia attempted to recruit another spider-bot, but they got a large red ant instead. Unlike other transformers in the show, Inferno's Beast Mode overwhelmed his logic circuits, which caused him to believe that he was an actual ant.
Unlike other Predacons, Inferno has no personal ambitions, and he is fully loyal to Megatron. He views Megatron as his queen, and he calls him that on numerous occasions. Megatron finds this annoying, and it is a great running gag. Inferno sports one of the better Predacon designs, and he is a psychopath who does not care about his own safety.
2 Megatron
Megatron leads the Predacons, and he was named after the great Decepticon leader. However, unlike his ancestor, this Megatron transformed into a purple T-rex, and when he received his Transmetal upgrade, he became a flying T-rex. At the end of Beast Wars, he could transform into a fire-breathing dragon.
He stole the Golden Disc so that he could restore glory and power to the Predacons. He has a massive superiority complex, and he is quite manipulative. He may be a leader, but he does not trust anyone, and he views most of his allies as pawns. What makes this Megatron so good is David Kaye's voice acting, which makes the transformer feel like a sophisticated Bond villain.
1 Dinobot
When the Predacons crashed on Earth, their scans found Velociraptor remains, and Dinobot picked the dinosaur to be his Beast Mode. He thought Megatron led them to the wrong planet and challenged him for command, but he was double-crossed. Fortunately, he was able to join the Maximals.
Dinobot was ruled by a sense of honor and wished to have a glorious death in battle. He was a true warrior who was skilled in all forms of combat, but he primarily used a spinning sword and laser eye beams. In the end, Dinobot got his warrior's death when he sacrificed himself to protect humanity's earliest ancestors from the Predacons.