A Beast Wars Transformer Villain Finally Gets The Death He Deserved
Warning! Spoilers ahead for Transformers: Beast Wars #11!
The Beast Wars comic finally just rectified the lackluster death that befell Terrorsaur in the Transformers TV show by giving the Predacon a rather brutal and ceremonious end more befitting his character - especially IDW Publishing's rendition of him.
Before his passing, IDW changed Terrorsaur in such a profound way that he's no longer defined as a Predacon who takes joy in killing Maximals and who's essentially Beast Wars' version of Starscream. He was a bully so pathetically insecure that he ridiculed a fellow Predacon named Skold whom he feared would surpass him by taking advantage of her weaknesses in the most despicable way. His hope had been that his efforts would prevent Skold from gaining enough self-assurance to realize her true potential. Skold could never stand up for herself, but when Terrorsaur ostensibly kills her friend Razorbeast, she literally rips out his spark in epic fashion in Transformers: Beast Wars #11 by writer Erik Burnham, artist Josh Burcham, and letterer Jake M. Wood.
In the TV show, Terrorsaur fails to form such a personal relationship with any of his comrades besides Megatron, which his comic counterpart also shares and came closer to dying as a result of it. Although not as dynamic a character, TV's Terrorsaur still deserved a more proper death than he eventually received. During a battle against the energy-based alien creatures known as the Vok, the Vok's Planet Buster is destroyed, which creates an intense shockwave that mutates many of the show's Transformers into the so-called Fuzors. But Terrorsaur and Megatron's number-two Scorpinox plunge into some lava instead, never to be seen again. Neither the death of Terrorsaur nor Scorpinox is recognized by their comrades who survived them, creating the impression that the TV show just wanted viewers to forget about them. And they deserved more than such an unceremonious end.
Even if Terrorsaur never treated Skold with such malicious contempt, he still would have deserved a more proper send-off than the one he received in the TV show. Much like his portrayal on television, IDW's Terrorsaur espoused the same desire to usurp Megatron as leader of the Predacons. Ironically, he never even attempted to overthrow the Predacon leader or even got the chance to actually try before his death. In fact, Megatron almost killed Terrorsaur just for mentioning his desire to rule, changing their dynamic in a profound way. It's because Terrorsaur is essentially Beast Wars' version of Starscream that any rendition of his character deserves a dismal end just like the actual Starscream did in 1986's The Transformers: The Movie. Luckily, IDW delivered - and his death is much more emotionally powerful just because of how uniquely the comics depicted him.
Terrorsaur's death isn't dramatic just because he died. It's because of how badly he mistreated Skold, making his death just as much about her as it is about him. When Skold looks over his lifeless body, the once-timid Predacon not only delivers a cold line that her former self would have never been unable to utter but she later blames his death on the Maximals without stuttering to fire up one of her Predacon comrades. With all that said, Terrorsaur's passing is definitively not glossed over like it was in the Beast Wars TV show. Hopefully this Transformers reboot will give Scorpinox the death he always deserved as well.