Heinrad (Beast Wars Transformers)

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Name: Heinrad
Allegiance: Maximals
Function: Dimensional Explorer
Timeline: Generation 1 (Beast Era)

Time waits for no bot... except me.

Profile:

The Maximal Heinrad was a cadet trained by the legendary one robot army, Big Convoy. A slacker through and through, Heinrad coasts through life with an easy-going, lackadaisical attitude. He does have a mischievous streak, though, loving to pull pranks on his fellow Maximals, or find ways to embarrass enemy Predacons. Heinrad's origins and full potential are a true mystery; when asked about his past, Heinrad's response is vague and dazed, like he either doesn't know, or cannot be motivated to remember.

At some point after completing his training, Heinrad found his way to Axiom Nexus. Don't ask how, he's not entirely sure either. On arrival he was recruited by the TransTechs as a "recorder" - an agent sent into the wider multiverse to catalogue its inhabitants and keep track of any phenomena that might threaten the fabric of reality.

Powers and Abilities:

Heinrad possesses incredible time manipulation abilities linked to the clock in his stomach. These abilities rival those of Vector Prime himself - but Heinrad is so poorly motivated he never bothered to master using his gifts for anything beyond basic time freezing. The jury remains out on whether this is a bad thing - such power could be devastating, and it's only his laziness that has stopped Heinrad succumbing to the temptation of misusing his powers.

Heinrad carries a reserve Energon pod (resembling a bottle of sake) and a utility pouch. These can be combined into a phosphorous flare launcher. Heinrad's visor allows him to see a few seconds into the future. Using this in conjunction with his time freezing ability allows Heinrad to alter the outcome of events - for example, he can see if one of his comrades will be hit by a Predacon attack, then freeze time to move them out of the way.

Weaknesses:

Heinrad's absolute laziness means he'd just sit around doing nothing if left to his own devices. He requires constant supervision to ensure he sticks to whatever task has been assigned to him and that he doesn't wander off or get distracted.

Heinrad Tanuki mode:

Author notes:

Heinrad is such a fun character and toy. The toy is unique in Transformers, given he's a working alarm clock as well as a fully functional Transformer - and he's also one of very few mythical creatures that aren't dragons to get a Transformers release. The character - with his laid back personality - is quite fascinating. He's got godlike powers, but he's also phenomenally poorly motivated in the use of those powers, and it's that contrast that makes him very interesting.

I wrote in the Axiom Nexus link as a thought on where he'd end up post Beast Wars Neo. The fiction around Axiom Nexus does have Heinrad active in that timeline, so I thought it would be interesting to have Heinrad as a full on dimensional explorer and end up in multiple timelines over the course of his life.

Toys of Beast Wars Transformers Heinrad

Beast Wars Neo Heinrad

Heinrad's toy is unique - I think he's just about the only functional alarm clock who is also a fully poseable, transforming robot. Both of Heinrad's modes are glorious. The robot mode is big, chunky and has good poseability. I particularly like how Heinrad has little goggles on his head to flip down when he needs to scan something or see through time. The beast mode is also quite cool, since you can pose Heinrad as either on his hind legs or on all fours, where he looks more like a racoon. It's a really cool look however you want to display him. He's a great addition from the Beast Wars line. I really like him.

More information on Beast Wars Neo Heinrad at TFW2005

See more Beast Wars Neo toys in my collection.