Rhinox

Fiction [edit] First wave toy bios

Rhinox is a territorial warrior who stampedes his way through the jungle whenever Predacons draw near, crushing everything in his path. Although he is known to be courageous and cunning, what makes him stand out from other warriors is that he has never been injured. EVER. Even though he has never backed down from a fight, his triple-thick, steel-plated skin protects him from all harm, even double-barreled laser cannons (which are presumably very powerful weapons). Rhinox bio Note: The on-package bios of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the Beast Wars cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, human-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted micro-continuity.

Cartoon

Dawn of Future's Past

During the prep for the Axalon's launch, the crew spent weeks on a space station getting everything ready. Rhinox assisted with the loading process as Protoform X's statis pod was brought on-board. As they launched, the bridge crew received word from Maximal High Command about the theft of the Golden Disk.

Mere moments after receiving their mission directive, the Axalon was attacked by a small assault craft piloted by Buzzsaw and Laserbeak. Rhinox attempted some emergency repairs of their damaged systems, but they would have been destroyed if the Chromia 10 hadn't appeared in time to draw fire. Tragically, their rescuers were heavily damaged before Rhinox got everything back on-line in time to help. With leave from Optimus, he brought the two-mech crew's damaged bodies inside and stowed their sparks in blank protoforms to preserve them for later.

In pursuit of the Darksyde, the Axalon came under fire from the Predacon ship. Rhinox kept the ship together as they pursued the Darksyde through transwarp space and then... Dawn of Future's Past [edit] Beast Wars cartoon Voice actor: Richard Newman (English), Daiki Nakamura (Japanese), Felipe D'inardo (Portuguese), Hervé Joly (French), Maurizio Trombini (Italian), Gerhard Marcel (German), Miguel Ángel Ghigliazza (Latin American Spanish), Vicente Gisbert (Castilian Spanish)

"Right, I've changed my mind: Optimus, become a damn truck."

Rhinox was a crewmember of the exploration ship Axalon when captain Optimus Primal got word that the Predacon criminal Megatron had stolen the Golden Disk and a ship with transwarp capabilities. The Axalon was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so Rhinox's ship was sent to engage them. After following the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appearing above a mysterious planet, both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, the stasis pods carrying the rest of Rhinox's crew were ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with energon — so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Rhinox took the form of a rhinoceros. He soon took part in a rescue mission to retrieve Cheetor after the young Maximal ran into the Predacons, and forced Rattrap to give Primal cover. Beast Wars (Part 1)

During Optimus's battle with Dinobot, Rhinox pulled the pair to safety after they almost plunged off a ledge. The Maximals subsequently were forced to tail the Predacons, and when Dinobot almost accidentally slagged Rhinox, it caused the ex-Predacon and Rattrap to come to blows. The two factions eventually reached the mountain topped with energon and fought over it while in their beast modes, until Megatron ended up destroying it. Beast Wars (Part 2)

"Bah, stuck in the base again! To get more scenes, I need some sort of weapon... a really impressive one..."

Being the handyman of the crew, Rhinox quickly developed a new comlink to overcome the problems with energon interference. After Cheetor got into trouble while testing it, Rattrap gave the cat a hard time, causing him to race off, and Rhinox pointed out that Cheetor was about to do something stupid. The Web Rhinox's next developments were some energon monitoring devices, though Optimus initially scrubbed the mission to install them. After Cheetor went anyway, and a series of events almost destroyed the Maximal base, Rhinox and the other Maximals thanked Cheetor for preventing the explosion. Equal Measures

-OF DOOM.

Rhinox had to dive for safety during a battle at the Standing Stones, after Terrorsaur blew up the energon cache at its center. After Primal went missing, Rhinox had to break up a fight between Dinobot and Rattrap over who would lead, insisting on a secret ballot. The ballot ended in a deadlock, but they were then contacted by Primal, who'd become trapped in an alien probe at the Standing Stones. Rattrap was placed in charge during the bossmonkey's absence, and his command to Rhinox was to build a device to extract Optimus from the probe. Whether or not this device would actually have worked is unknown, as shortly before he had a chance to use it, Rhinox was ambushed by Waspinator, but turned the tables by blasting the Predacon with his chaingun. Waspinator stumbled into a stone, and Rhinox realised the whole structure was a mechanism as it caused the probe to disgorge Optimus Primal. Chain of Command

When Cheetor reported that Terrorsaur had found a flying mountain, Rhinox theorized that the high concentration of energon on the top of it might be responsible for the strange gravity-warping effect. Power Surge After Primal was taken out by a Predacon sneak attack, Rhinox, Cheetor and Rattrap headed for a crashed stasis pod. The trio were delayed further, and beaten to the pod, however the protoform had already been awakened as Tigatron. Fallen Comrades Like the other Maximals, Rhinox was shocked by Rattrap's apparent defection to the Predacons, but as it turned out, it was a ploy to discover how the Predacons had been spying on the Maximals, and they were soon rescuing their comrade. Double Jeopardy

Rhinox later developed Sentinel, a hi-tech security system for the Axalon, which unfortunately went berserk when its control panel was damaged in a struggle between Dinobot and Rattrap, forcing the Maximals from their own base. Rattrap however, was able to infiltrate the now-heavily guarded ship and deactivate Sentinel, which was then repaired and made fully-functional by Rhinox. A Better Mousetrap The Maximals were forced to restrain Optimus after he was infected by a rage virus in a cyberbee developed by Scorponok and Rhinox was unable to work out how to remove it. After Primal undertook a one-bot assault on the Predacon base, Rhinox took part in the mission to rescue their leader, laying down suppressing fire to allow Cheetor to slip inside the base. Gorilla Warfare

He was unsuccessful in contacting a Maximal temporal probe which flew past the planet. Though he blamed himself, he and the other Maximals rallied themselves to build a communications array on Predacon soil. Unfortunately while they were doing so, Tarantulas's latest invention the transformation lock lens, prevented them from sending the signal before Megatron destroyed the array. The Probe When a Predacon plan to fake a Maximal victory was exposed, Rhinox was dismayed when Optimus and Cheetor insisted on leaving the Axalon with liftoff imminent in order to rescue Dinobot. Tigatron attempted to go as well, leading Rhinox to order him to sit down. Liftoff eventually occurred without Primal, however Megatron got on board and damaged the controls. Rhinox attempted to control the ship and, with some assistance from Optimus, managed to get it down at least in one piece, though it would never fly again. Victory

Evil has silver detailing. Who knew?

Some time later, when the Maximals found themselves cornered by a Predacon ambush, Rhinox was able to take out their attackers with a carefully aimed spray of chaingun fire. Megatron was so impressed that he decided to make Rhinox a member of his merry band of thieves, by force. Rhinox was captured by Tarantulas and then reprogrammed into a Predacon by a device designed by Megatron called a "Transmuter". However, the newly malevolent Rhinox proved to be too much for Megatron to handle, as Optimus Primal had correctly predicted. He quickly dispatched most of the Predacons, working his way up to Megatron himself in an attempted coup. Rhinox very nearly succeeded, but fortunately, Megatron was able to revert him back into a Maximal using the Transmuter, and Rhinox escaped to rejoin his Maximal comrades and smell some flowers. Dark Designs

The Maximals arrived back at base after being sent on wild goose chases by Megatron's clone of Dinobot, only to find that the clone had already been dealt with by the real Dinobot. Double Dinobot Later, a stasis pod crash landed in a barren wasteland. Rhinox intercepted it and, with Cheetor's help, managed to save the protoform Maximal's spark. The protoform then became Airazor, who repaid the favor by saving the weakened Rhinox from Terrorsaur. The Spark

While Rhinox was communicating long distance with Tigatron, his fellow Maximal was attacked by Waspinator and Terrorsaur, leading the Maximals to discover the existence of a flying island. The Trigger, Part 1 Blackarachnia took control of the island and piloted it towards the Axalon, forcing Rhinox, Cheetor and Dinobot to evacuate the base. The only thing Rhinox took with him was a potted plant. When the island's destruction sent a beam into space, the Maximals wondered who received the signal and what they'd do next. The Trigger, Part 2

At one point, a magna pulse triggered by Tarantulas knocked out the power in the Maximal base, and Optimus Primal left Rhinox struggling to get things working again. Spider's Game The loss of the Axalon's rectifier coil forced the Maximals to stay in their beast forms at all times, which resulted in their beast instincts taking over and sending them off to wander the jungle. It was only with Tigatron's help that they deleted the programming blocks separating their core programming, and they were able to fight the Predacons who were hunting them. Call of the Wild

Rhinox's Yoga phase

When Scorponok detonated a pile of energon near a group of Maximals, rendering them blind, it was Rhinox who led the group on the dangerous trek back to the Axalon, teaching them how to use their other senses. They were able to overcome the obstacles both nature and the Predacons could throw at them, and succeeded in reaching safety. Afterwards, Rhinox again went off to smell some flowers. Dark Voyage After the Maximals were ousted from their base by the Predacons assisted by a Starscream-possessed Waspinator, they attempted a ruse to get the Axalon back, resulting in Rhinox and the others mounting an assault on the Predacon base. Possession

Later, Tarantulas infected Rhinox with an energon discharge virus, which made him expel his energon reserves via his nasal passages in bursts powerful enough to tear through the hull of the Axalon, threatening both to destroy the Maximals' base and completely drain Rhinox of energy. Rattrap and Dinobot were dispatched to acquire a countervirus, while Rhinox ate some wild bean vines to keep his strength up. When the bickering duo nearly failed in their mission, the other Maximals, including Rhinox, showed up, and the rhinoceros blew away the Predacons with a massive energon... *ahem* "derriere-based"... discharge which was caused by his ingestion of wild beans. Megatron would remember this moment as the most humiliating defeat in his entire career. Rhinox was later cured by the countervirus via a Cybertronic beer hat. The Low Road

After Megatron called a truce, Rhinox assisted "non-violently" in helping Tigatron escape after infiltrating the Predacon base to find out more information. He non-violently held up a sheet of metal for Terrorsaur to crash into, and then non-violently sat on him. Tigatron reported that the aliens were coming. Before the Storm Indeed, an alien construct appeared and, while the other Maximals were investigating it, Rhinox and Dinobot were bushwhacked in the Maximal base by Tarantulas and Blackarachnia. Other Voices, Part 1 The rest of the Maximals found their two comrades webbed to the ceiling, and placed them in CR chambers. Rhinox stirred in his chamber as he sensed Primal's impending destruction. Other Voices, Part 2

Protected by the CR chamber, Rhinox avoided being upgraded into a Transmetal by the quantum surge. After recovering, he took leadership of the Maximals to forestall any bickering and sent Rattrap and Cheetor out to protect the base against Megatron. Unfortunately Inferno was already loose in the base, and managed to blast Rhinox before fighting Dinobot. Rhinox quickly recovered, throwing a badly-battered Inferno out and forcing Megatron to retreat. Aftermath Rhinox later initiated a dangerous plan to bring the recently-deceased Optimus Primal back to life by using the hole in space-time caused by the destruction of the Planet Buster to astrally project his spark into the Matrix. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1) Rhinox followed the transion left by Primal's spark and led it back to the land of the living, where it was reborn as Transmetal Optimus Primal. Primal was able to come to the aid of the Maximals right when they were on the verge of defeat. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)

"Ohhhhhh... What had I been taking in that last screencap?"

Rhinox conducted tests on Optimus Primal to attempt to determine what the new Transmetal forms were capable of, with limited results. Tangled Web His research into the alien sites predicted that there would be one located in an area Tigatron and Airazor were patrolling, however a Predacon jamming tower prevented the Maximals from warning the pair, who were shot into space by some sort of alien planet device. While the others were off the base, Rhinox was attacked by Megatron, Blackarachnia and Inferno, who made off with the Golden Disk. After repairs, Rhinox and the other Maximals went to the alien site, only to be blasted by the alien construct that appeared. Other Visits (Part 1) The Transmetaled Maximals recovered quickly, and Silverbolt and Cheetor took Rhinox and Dinobot back to base for repairs. Rhinox was barely recovered when he was again pressed into action, attacking the alien construct which Megatron had taken over, to allow Rattrap and Tarantulas to slip inside. Other Visits (Part 2)

When Protoform X's stasis pod was discovered, Rhinox worried that its contents had survived the crash. Bad Spark Rhinox calculated that the transwarp wavefront from the Planet Buster explosion would soon be reaching Cybertron, though the good news was tempered a short time later when Dinobot perished saving a group of protohumans from the Predacons. Code of Hero Rhinox's tests on Transmutate were not promising, and he suggested putting the creature in stasis. Silverbolt wasn't happy with the suggestion. Transmutate

"Hey Rhinox, we just found the garage door opener after all... never mind."

Continuing to track the transwarp wavefront, Rhinox and the other Maximals celebrated their impending rescue, however instead they got Predacon agent Ravage. After fighting off the Predacons, Ravage helped the Maximals storm the Darksyde and arrest Megatron. The Agenda (Part 1) With Ravage's defection, Rhinox and Rattrap found themselves under heavy assault in the Axalon. Some daring-do on Rattrap's part saved the day, but the Maximals had to chase Megatron. Rhinox was forced to ride on Primal's surfboard, much to his visible discomfort at the height. They tracked Megatron to Mount St. Hilary, where the Predacon leader had located the Ark and attempted to reach the ship first. Though Rhinox physically forced the ship's doors open, they were too late — Megatron had blasted Optimus Prime, causing a time storm as history began to change. The Agenda (Part III)

With Blackarachnia's help, the Maximals stabilised Prime ad Rhinox stayed to supervise the repairs while the others went to defend the Axalon. His work was interrupted by Silverbolt's "situation" — Blackarachnia had been shot by Megatron during the conflict, but as Rhinox pointed out, she just needed repairs. The Axalon, on the other hand, was lost, and the Maximals were forced to set up base in the cavern housing the Ark. Optimal Situation

Rhinox had difficulties interfacing Maximal and Autobot technology, and expressed doubts that help was still on the way, though it did turn up in the form of Depth Charge, who'd come looking for Rampage. Deep Metal An attempt by Rhinox to rig up Teletraan I's force field to protect the base failed, forcing the Maximals to attempt to salvage Sentinel. He later had to restrain Rattrap from trying to attack Depth Charge, who had caused the mission to fail. Changing of the Guard

You wouldn't like him when he's angry.

Analysing the cyber raptor which Primal had encountered, Rhinox reported that it was fused with Transmetal technology. Once the others had all left the base, he and Rattrap found themselves under siege from Megatron and a group of Predacons. Rhinox finally made a desperate attempt to see them off with a barrage of chaingun fire, only to be blasted backwards. Depth Charge fortunately came to the rescue and saved them both. Cutting Edge

When the Maximals thought that Cheetor had been killed, Rhinox told Primal not to give up hope, and went to get the long-range sensors online. As it turned out, his optimism was correct, as Cheetor later turned up outside the base. Feral Scream Part 1 After Cheetor was apparently spirited away overnight by a strange creature, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia went out looking, but to Rhinox's surprise, didn't find anything. Feral Scream Part 2

"Everyone, shut up! I'm finally gonna beat the first level of Mystery of Convoy!"

Rhinox scanned Blackarachnia's internals, with a view to extracting her Predacon shell program and restoring her to a Maximal state. Some time later, he and Primal discovered that she had overheard their conversation about the concept, and fled in the belief they'd force her to go through with it. Proving Grounds A huge buildup of energy on a mountain top caused alarm for the Maximals, who braced for a possible attack, but all that happened was that the top of the mountain exploded. How odd. Go with the Flow

When Blackarachnia's attempts to become a Transmetal caused her shell program to deteriorate, threatening to erase her core consciousness, Rhinox carried out a very delicate procedure to surgically remove the shell program directly. Unfortunately, certain failsafes installed by Tarantulas, combined with a Predacon attack, caused the operation to fail. Fortunately, Blackarachnia was mysteriously resurrected anyway by the Transmetal driver. Crossing the Rubicon Megatron's next gambit involved Quickstrike remote controlling Optimus Primal. Once this was achieved, the subverted Primal's first order was for Rhinox to order everyone back to base, where Quickstrike was able to knock them out and stick them in a cage. Fortunately Blackarachnia was able to free Primal and the others and they fought off Megatron, who had upgraded himself using the original Megatron's spark. Master Blaster

I AM NOT GETTING AGGRESSIVE!!!!

Detecting an alien signature inbound to Earth, Rhinox realised that it meant that Tigatron and Airazor were coming back. Indeed, the Predacon base was soon destroyed by Tigerhawk, the emissary the Vok had created using the two Maximal sparks, though Rhinox wasn't in the mood for celebrating. Other Victories Once the situation was sorted out, the Maximals began searching for Megatron and his scattered forces. Rhinox monitored the situation from base, as the others discovered that Megatron was attempting to raise the Nemesis. He and Rattrap were overjoyed when Primal reported that Depth Charge had taken out the warship, but it turned out the news was a little too premature. Nemesis Part 1

Rhinox was ordered by Optimus Primal to execute Operation Eternity, which apparently only Primal and he knew about. The purpose of the operation was to "move the Ark" by activating its engines and taking off; little is know beyond that, because the Maximals failed when the Ark's engines proved beyond repair. However, Dinobot II downloaded emergency data to the Ark about an Autobot shuttle hidden within the Ark. Rhinox piloted the shuttle and flew it directly into the bridge of the Nemesis, taking down Megatron and causing the warship to spiral out of control and crash somewhere beyond the horizon. Thus, the Beast Wars were won. Rhinox and the other Maximals left prehistoric Earth aboard the aforementioned Autobot shuttle and began the voyage home to Cybertron. Nemesis Part 2 [edit] The Razor's Edge

After Airazor was reborn on Earth, Rhinox fought the Predacons during a plot to launch an orbital weapon. The launching pad was destroyed by Airazor. The Razor's Edge [edit] Beast Wars Diorama Story Note: This fiction takes place shortly after the events of Possession.

Rhinox eventually met up with several Autobots and Decepticons from another dimension. A battle broke out between the Maximals, Predacons, Autobots and Decepticons. Rhinox, incidentally, found himself challenged by the mysterious new Predacon Wolfang.

The other-dimensional Transformers eventually returned to their place of origin and the Beast Wars continued as they were. Beast Wars Diorama Story [edit] Tales of the Beast Wars

Rhinox was trying to teach Cheetor the value of peace and quiet when a firefight broke out in the Badlands. Finding the normally skittish Packrat trading heavy firepower with Inferno, Rhinox realized something was up. Although cautious at first, he listened to the Predacon geologist Fractyl's explanation that Packrat had stolen some experimental energon armor, which was slowly degenerating into the unstable anti-energon. Rhinox convinced Packrat that the respect he craved would not come from power, but from giving up power when it was necessary. After Fractyl neutralized the armor, Rhinox threw the geeky Predacon scientist a bone and pretened to run in terror from the "might of Fractyl" so that the arriving Megatron would give his underling some respect. Ground Zero [edit] Transmetal Toy Bio

Following the quantum surge, Rhinox found himself in a new Transmetal body, and couldn't be happier; thanks to his new vehicle mode, his new body is a lot faster then his previous one. One of his new battle moves involves pulling off wheelies on the battlefield. Furthermore, the semi-organic nature of his robot mode granted him additional fluidity and skill in combat.Transmetal Rhinox Bio Note: The on-package bios of the Transmetal sub-line presented a micro-continuity where all of the characters receiving a new toy were transmetalized due to the initial quantum surge, instead of a select few.

[edit] IDW Beast Wars comics

Rhinox stood outside the Ark as Razorbeast's chronically dispaced Maximals passed by. Although Optimus Primal could vaguely sense their presence, Rhinox theorized that the sensation was just a side-effect of Primal's recent upgrades. The Gathering #3

After his (very) later death, Rhinox was reborn by the Vok and traveled the multiverse. He was supposedly fighting Unicron's chaos, but knows the Vok really want him to manipulate Cybertronian history; however, out of guilt for his actions as Tankor, he still helped any Cybertronian he comes across. He was probably some other guy. Beast Wars Sourcebook 3 [edit] Transformers Legends anthology Note: The following takes place after the events of "Master Blaster"

Not long after Megatron combined his spark with that of the original Megatron, he had Quickstrike plant a device in the Maximal base. The device magnified the Maximals' aggression, resulting in Rhinox trying to kill Blackarachnia while Silverbolt attempted to stop him. While Silverbolt failed, Optimus Primal arrived in time to pin Rhinox down, only to succumb to the device's effects himself. Primal was soon able to overcome the effect, and freed the rest of the Maximals who then fought off Megatron. A Meeting of Minds Note: The following takes places after the events of "Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege"

After Tankor's death, Rhinox' spark and consciousness were cleansed and rejoined the Matrix. When Megatron was defeated by Nightscream Sparkwar Pt. III: The Siege, Rhinox saw an opportunity to redeem the fallen tyrant, and attempted to act as a spirit guide. Rhinox led Megatron through the ascending layers of Transformer afterlife (which is actually a tree!), urging him to leave behind his fixation on worldly power. Megatron was briefly tempted, but his repeated returns to Cybertron Spark of Darkness convinced him that godhood was still within his reach. Tapping into the power of the Oracle, Megatron erases Rhinox' spark, killing him utterly. Very upsetting. Singularity Ablyss [edit] Beast Machines cartoon Voice actor: Richard Newman (English), Daiki Nakamura (Japanese), Gerald Paradies (German), Victor Covarrubias (Latin American Spanish) For further information, see: Tankor (BM)

Rhinox suffers the horrors of symbolism.

Rhinox returned to Cybertron with the surviving Maximals to discover the entire population had been replaced by mindless Vehicon drones created by Megatron. The Reformatting

Rhinox, like the other Maximals, was exposed to Megatron's virus at this point. Although the Transmetal Maximals merely reverted to their original shapes, the Maximals who were still in their original shapes were instantly paralyzed. As a result, Rhinox and Silverbolt were captured, stripped of their organic bodies and placed in the new bodies of Tankor and Jetstorm. Much later on, Rhinox's mind was freed by Optimus' spark connection with him, and he watched and observed, eventually turning his back on his Maximals to go along with Megatron's cause of a purely technological, one-mind Cybertron. Revelations Part III: Apocalypse

Rhinox pretended to still be Tankor and sneaked around Megatron's ranks, reprogramming the Diagnostic Drone as his agent. He'd decided Megatron's cause was right, but it needed a different, more efficient person at the helm... someone like him. He went off to fulfill this new mission, in a highly malevolent and sadistic manner. Survivor

Optimus struggles with the "make-your-own Transformer" toy.

Rhinox went looking for the legendary Key to Vector Sigma that was supposed to turn organic life into technomatter. He found it, took control of it, and then faked his death. The Key Now on the underground and spying on both sides, he used the Diagnostic Drone to reveal the Key had been discovered, intending for Megatron to use it on himself (to eradicate his beast mode) and go insane in the process. When this didn't work, he set it up so Rattrap would find and use a catalyst program that would cause mutant plant-life to erupt in Cybertropolis, scaring Megatron into arming the Tank Drones with copies of the Key... The Catalyst

...only to find he no longer had remote control of the drones, and would need to trick Megatron into using them instead. By this point, he'd already been tampering with the Oracle (an interface for Vector Sigma) and used it to trick Optimus into finding the Plasma Energy Chamber that could destroy all technology. While he (wrongly) thought Primal would never use it, he knew Megatron would never take the chance! Unfortunately for him, he overplayed his hand: Megatron thought Optimus wouldn't use it either, grew suspicious with the Diagnostic Drone pushing him to strike first, and disabled it. Rhinox decided to launch an ambush assault and take out both enemy leaders while they were fighting... only to find, whoops, Megatron had programmed his generals to be incapable of shooting him. Rhinox was swiftly offlined, his plan stolen by Megatron, and then killed by plasma energy: a humiliating demise. End of the Line

Rhinox's spiritual form appeared once more with Optimus in the Matrix, bidding his friend farewell and to telling him to embrace his Spark. For his sins, he told Optimus, he himself would be remaining in the Matrix; he expressed regret for his actions. Fallout