Warning! Spoilers ahead for Transformers: Beast Wars!
IDW's comic book revival of Beast Wars has already deviated from the Transformers TV show in massive ways. A new Transformer that can take on the form of a bat already plays a major role in the series while the mysterious alien race known as the Vok is introduced much earlier.
Written by Erik Burnham with art by Josh Burcham, the bulk of Transformers: Beast Wars #2 that offers the most exciting moments for fans craving new material revolves around the Maximal known as Nyx, a character who didn't exist in the TV show. Nyx, who had been spending the majority of her time trying to fix their downed ship after careening on the mysterious planet, is given permission from Optimus Primal to "test out those new wings" of hers, an order she gratefully obliges.
Unfortunately for her, Nyx soon flies into Terrorsaur, who is essentially Beast Wars' equivalent to Starscream, and an epic battle ensues. The fight is terribly one-sided, however, because, as is the case with most Transformer antagonists, Terrorsaur can fly beyond his beast mode while Nyx can't. And the issue soon inevitably ends with Terrorsaur bringing her to Megatron's namesake.
Aside from obviously not appearing in the Beast Wars TV show, Nyx seems to be a replacement for Airazor, who originally was the only Maximal, besides Optimus, who could fly - as she could transform into a hawk. Granted, Airazor appeared later on in the show after the Maximals freed her from a damaged stasis pod, so it's possible that her character could appear later on in the comic book series. But it's important to point out that a character who could resemble Airazor didn't appear in any of the comic's scenes prior to their crash on the planet.
Meanwhile, the mysterious Vok that the TV show didn't reveal until the very end of season one has already made an appearance. These energy-based aliens developed the prehistoric version of the mysterious planet as part of an initiative known as "the Project," which explains the natural disasters and other strange phenomena there. In the show, these creatures didn't become aware of the Maximals and Predacons until after they themselves arrived from god knows where. In the comic book series, the Vok notice their unwelcome guests almost immediately, and, as is characteristic of their race, disagree on how to proceed. After some internal bickering, it is finally decided to let these foreign entities become new variables in their experiment.
Both of these divergences from IDW Publishing are quite welcome and can only serve to better improve an already compelling plot. The introduction of Nyx adds a much-needed dynamic to the Maximals that the TV show's Airazor also accomplished upon her eventual arrival later on in season one. The fact that the Predacons have captured Nyx, in turn, moves the storyline in an exciting direction that keeps the series fresh and entertaining.
Meanwhile, the Vok having what appears to be a major presence so early on in the series will undoubtedly accomplish the same positive effect as Nyx does. In the TV show, the Vok immediately tried wiping out the Maximals and Predacons, which achieved nothing else but leaving less room for their rivalry to grow over an extended period of time. This explains why they later took a less prominent role in the series as they already had a major encounter with their intruders that couldn't be topped. With the Vok deciding to observe the Maximals and Predacons from the shadows like some creepy stalker creates ample opportunities for further interactions that won't escalate too quickly. Transformers: Beast Wars #2 is in stores now!