Retrax

Retrax is a Predacon from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

He loves you THIIIIIIS much!

Retrax is a decent warrior, using his pill bug mode to overpower his enemies. He specializes in desert demolitions and lives in tunnels under the desert, which keep him cool. His companions are the remains of his enemies. He is a coward at heart, however, and at the slightest hint of being overwhelmed will bounce to safety in his "bug ball" along one of his many pre-determined escape routes.

Fiction

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

After the Maximals left prehistoric Earth at the end of the Beast Wars, Magmatron traveled to the organic world to activate all protoforms that had been left behind, planning to turn them into Predacons in the process. Retrax was among the protoforms activated to this end. Shell Game #1

2006 IDW Beast Wars continuity

Okay, so what the hell kind of pillbug is green and yellow and has spikes, anyways?

His previous identity unknown, Retrax was one of the many Decepticons that the Tripredacus Council experimented upon with transwarp energy. Lucky for him, he was one of their successful experiments, and was reborn in a "purer" body. Dawn of the Predacus

He then eventually came to be one of the protoforms jettisoned by the Axalon on prehistoric Earth. Retrax was activated and put in chronal phase by Razorbeast at Magmatron's request. The newly born Predacon quickly joined Magmatron. The Gathering #1 He was sent to hunt down the Maximals that Razorbeast had also awakened. The Gathering #2

While investigating a swampy area with Transquito, Powerpinch, Scourge, and Insecticon, Retrax was attacked by Poison Bite. Several other Predacons were taken down by the Mutants, who declared that no Maximal or Predacon was welcome in their home. The Gathering #3

Retrax survived the stinkin' muties' attack and later joined Manterror and Snapper in creating a distraction so Ravage's main Predacon force could attack the Maximals. He annoyed the hell out of Manterror with his grousing that he'd rather be with a platoon than in a vulnerable group, and was accused of being a wuss. When faced with Grimlock, Retrax chose to curl up into a ball and bounce away to safety, rather than engage the Maximal raptor directly. (Manterror was right!) Under desperate orders from Manterror, Retrax remembered to blow up the mines he'd planted around the Maximal base. The Ascending #1

When the Blendtrons turned up, Retrax agreed that the Maximals and Predacons should stand together against them... though not too close to Stinkbomb. The Ascending #4

Beast Wars: Uprising

A member of the Resistance against the Builders, Retrax participated in Blackarachnia's attack on Override's control room. He and Longhorn were responsible for keeping security at bay while the main force incapacitated the Builder. Broken Windshields

2005 IDW continuity

Retrax was one of Onyx Prime's Maximals. When the Maximals invaded Cybertron, he was one of the many warriors who wound up battling Arcee and fell to his death when Arcee disrupted the gravity generator in Nemesis. Unforgivable

War for Cybertron Trilogy marketing material

Retrax's the one in insect mode towards the left.

The Predacons traveled across time to find the Allspark and change the fate of Cybertron. While battling the Maximals on pre-Ice Age Earth, both sides were joined by the Autobots and Decepticons, their epic battle changing their combined destinies forever. Kingdom webpage^[1]

In a possible destiny recorded on the Voyager Golden Disk, Retrax was present when Blackarachnia ascended to the leader of the Predacons, alongside Predaking, Buzz Saw, Manterror, and Buzzclaw. Kingdom Golden Disk cards

2021 Beast Wars comic

Beware my perfectly manicured nails!

The Cybertronian who would become Retrax was one of the many Maximal protoforms aboard the Axalon. To eliminate the Maximals and Predacons, Tarantulas and the Vok brought every crashed stasis pod they could find online and reprogrammed the protoforms within into loyal "Children of the Vok". Together, they attacked the crashed Darksyde in an attempt to take out the Maximal-Predacon alliance; when the Maximals and Predacons destroyed the Vok themselves, however, their remaining followers agreed to a truce and left to live peacefully in the wilderness. The End

Toys

Beast Wars

Predacon Bowling League champion, ten years running.

• Retrax (Deluxe Class, 1997)

• Known designers: Takio Ejima (TakaraTomy), Masakatsu Saito (concept artist)

Part of the fourth wave of year-two Beast Wars Deluxes, Retrax transforms into an organic pill bug or possibly pill millipede... albeit one far more horrifying and spiky than any known species. In isopod mode, his pincers (which pill bugs and pill millipedes do not have) can snap shut with spring-loaded force, activated by a trigger on his noggin. His back end has a spring-loaded stinger (which pill bugs and pill millipedes also do not have) that is activated with a trigger on his butt. Pressing the two yellow L-shaped latches in the middle of his back causes him to curl up into a ball which is frankly amazing.

In robot mode, both spring-activated spiky attack gimmicks are available to him at the end of each arm. The spring-activated gimmick that curls up his bug mode can be used to make his arms snap together in robot mode, grasping his target in a bear bug hug—or just clapping. Due to his body-curling gimmick, his arms have no real articulation, but can be unpegged from the shells to move horizontally at the elbow and wrist as long as the shoulders remain primed for the gimmick. When unpegged, his arms are floppy and not designed to retain a position.

His tiny insect legs can be easily popped off from his body and lost forever due to their small size. He is also incredibly top-heavy in robot mode and has problems standing unassisted, especially thanks to his robot feet not really locking into place and being easily folded up from the sheer weight of his upper body.

This toy was released in Japan as an import in Hasbro packaging with a Takara-applied sticker. This mold was also redecoed to make the Beast Wars II Insectron Powerhug. A heavy retooling into "Unicron's subordinate" was planned for Beast Wars Neo, but ultimately abandoned.

• More information on Retrax at TFU.info

Vintage Beast Wars

My favorite part was when he said "It's Traxxin' Time!" and Traxxed all over those dudes.

• Predacon Retrax (Reissue, 2022)

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Beast Wars, the original 1997 Deluxe Class Retrax was reissued under the Vintage Beast Wars lineup. His beast mode antennae are installed backwards compared to his original release, so they arch along with his shell rather than sticking out from it. Also, for some arbitrary reason, the middle legs on his pill bug mode are not included in the reissue, leading to him having four pairs of legs rather than five.

Notes

• Retrax is one of the only Transformers to have a Tech Spec stat at "1" (Speed). He also is one of the only Transformers to have a Tech Spec stat at "2" (Firepower). His very low Speed stat might be an error; it at least seems at odds with his bio, which describes him as being capable of "racing across the desert like a turbo-charged tire screaming down a mountain."
• His Beast Wars Sourcebook profile incorrectly identifies him as having insect legs: pillbugs are actually terrestrial crustaceans.

Foreign names

• Japanese: Retrax (レットラックス Rettorakkusu)^[2]
• Italian: Tenax^[3]

References