Lio Junior (Beast Wars II/Beast Wars Neo 1998/1999)

Lio Junior (ライオジュニア Raio Junia) is a child and acts his age expertly. When he's reprimanded, he pouts. When he's denied a request, he pitches a fit. And when he messes up, he passes the blame. So naïve and immature, Lio Junior makes Tasmania Kid look like a 4-star general.

But it's not entirely his fault. Lio Junior was literally born yesterday; created in a fluke accident by the influence of pure Angolmois energy upon Lio Convoy’s Energon Matrix. Though Lio Convoy won't entertain the subject, Lio Junior considers him his father and desperately craves paternal approval. And though Junior may be a child, he's not helpless. He swings his "Lio Byūto"[1]weapon with devastating effect, can launch balls of Angolmois energy from twin projectors in his mane, and is even capable of short-range flight in robot mode.

But all that unpolished potential resides in a very rash, inexperienced Maximal who was conscripted into the Beast Wars out of necessity, not merit. Skywarp and Santon act as his guardians and impromptu trainers and together the three of them can form the mighty Magnaboss.

He is sometimes known as Lio Minor.

Beast Wars II cartoon

 * Voice actor: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese)

When Convoy first crashed on the planet Gaea, his energy levels were very low. In and out of consciousness, he was rescued by a white lion who brought him to a cave filled with Angolmois energy. Convoy recovered and became Lio Convoy as he scanned his lion savior as a beast mode. Lio Convoy rejoined his crew in the battle against Galvatron, unaware of the second effect of the Angolmois energy: duplicating his Energon Matrix to create a new robotic lifeform. Emerging in beast mode as a lion cub, this new Transformer was initially raised by the white lion, but soon learned he was different from his "parent", who could not transform like him.

The Maximals eventually detected the Angolmois energy signature of the cub, and had several brief encounters with him. Tasmania Kid and Diver were the first to get the cub to stop and talk with them, by revealing their secondary modes. As the cub explained his origins, Tasmania Kid jokingly said this meant Lio Convoy was his father, and nicknamed the cub "Lio Junior". Lio Junior took Kid's words to heart, and angrily confronted Lio Convoy about leaving him. Lio Convoy initially refused to accept the connection between him and the cub, which only angered Lio Junior further. Their "bonding time" was interrupted by an attack from Galvatron, who also sensed the Angolmois power within Lio Junior.

Two journeying Maximals named Santon and Skywarp arrived on Gaea, having sensed Lio Junior's birth from afar. They took responsibility for his training, and instituted a forced fusion, merging the three of them into a combined form as Magnaboss. Under the guidance of his mentors, Lio Junior controlled the Magnaboss combination in battle with Galvatron.

In the battle against Galvatron, Lio Convoy assisted Magnaboss in delivering a critical blow, driving the Predacon commander away. Lio Junior was thrilled at his "papa's" apparent acceptance, but Lio Convoy told him afterwards not to refer to him as his father. Even after comparing their two Energon Matrix, Convoy still did not seem accepting of Junior. Feeling rejected, Lio Junior ran off on his own. He nearly died when Gigastorm emerged from the Angolmois pits, causing tremors that devastated the cliffside. As he clung to the side of the rock wall, Lio Junior was saved by Lio Convoy. Convoy called Lio Junior his son that one time, and explained his distance was necessary in times of battle. He had to act as commander of the Maximals first, and not as a loving father so long as they were at war. Lio Junior accepted Lio Convoy's explanation, and began calling him "commander" instead of "papa". The two fought side-by-side until Skywarp and Santon arrived to provide the Magnaboss combination. Magnaboss and Lio Convoy then destroyed the weakened cliff under Gigastorm's feet, sending him back into the Angolmois flow.Gigastorm remained a powerful foe, however, so Lio Junior and his team joined the Maximals in a new operation to eliminate him. They lured Gigastorm into an unstable area and intended to bury him in a collapsed mountain pass. Gigastorm survived their best efforts, though. Lio Junior's youthful exuberance got the best of him when his Energon Matrix detected evil Angolmois nearby. He raced off to confront the source, drawing Tasmania Kid, Diver, and Bighorn after him. When he found the Autorollers' cavernous facility, Lio Junior threw caution to the wind and raced straight into battle without plan or back-up. This proved to be an error when he and his comrades were locked inside the base by Autostinger and Galvatron, who then called down a space-based destruction beam from Nemesis to wipe out the facility. Miraculously, Lio Junior and the others survived with minimal damage.After hearing Lio Convoy lament about how powerful the Angolmois energy made Gigastorm, Lio Junior impulsively decided to throw himself into an Angolmois pit and hope for a super upgrade too. Santon and Skywarp caught wind of his plans, and tried to stop the youngster. They warned him that his pure Angolmois energy wouldn't mix well with the corrupted Angolmois energy racing over the planet thanks to Nemesis's influence. The Maximals were soon forced to confront another set of corrupted Angolmois Predacons as Starscream and BB became the Cyborg Beasts, Hellscream and Max-B.Lio Junior, Santon and Skywarp were only mildly distracted by Dirge and Thrust when they tried to kidnap Lio Junior as bait for a trap for Lio Convoy. Instead, Lio Junior freed himself and merged into Magnaboss to discourage the Combatrons from trying anything further. The duo made an unexpected return as the Angolmois powered Dirgegun and Thrustor, however, incapacitating Scuba before going after Lio Convoy. When they found Scuba, Lio Junior left his mentors to free their fellow Maximal while he went to Lio Convoy's aid with the Tako Tank bike. He distracted the Cyborg Beasts and Lio Convoy buried them in rubble, but a definitive victory was not achieved.When an ancient and mysterious ship crash-landed on Gaea, Lio Junior insisted on being allowed to investigate first. The other Maximals treated him unkindly, gently mocking his youth and inexperience. Before Lio Junior could get too angry, Tasmania Kid spoke up on his behalf and offered to lead the Magnaboss team to the crash site. With Kid as a chaperone, Lio Convoy agreed to the mission.

Lio Junior's impetuous behavior continued during the reconnaissance, though. He entered the ship and began manipulating its systems and controls, to the point where his recklessness even began to annoy Skywarp and Santon. Lio Junior uncovered the control unit for an immensely powerful teleport gate just before Hellscream and the Cyborg Beasts arrived to steal it. The Maximals were uncoordinated in their counter-assault due to their bickering, as Lio Junior's mentors even refused to combine with him to form Magnaboss. During the battle, Lio Junior was targeted by Hellscream and survived only because Tasmania Kid threw himself in the path of the missiles.

After the other Maximals arrived as back-up and rescued the scouts, Lio Convoy chastised Lio Junior for his behavior. By invading the ship first and challenging the Predacons in combat, he was not serving greater universal peace, but his own desire for notoriety. He put his own glory over the lives of his comrades. Lio Junior shot back that he wouldn't need to improve his standing if the other Maximals treated him as an equal in the first place. Partly ashamed, partly indignant, Lio Junior ran off with the control unit still in his possession.

Galvatron found Lio Junior sulking in the forest. He wove a lie in which the Predacons had improperly activated the teleport gate while trying to use it without the control unit, and now the gate threatened the entire planet Gaea. Only the control unit could shut down the malfunctioning gate. Tasmania Kid had crawled off his sick bed to find Lio Junior in the woods, and begged him not to accept Galvatron's word. Lio Junior was still young and gullible, however—his guilt and need for Lio Convoy's approval led him to accompany Galvatron to stop the planet from exploding.

Galvatron naturally betrayed Lio Junior as soon as he got the control unit. Lio Junior was imprisoned on the Galvaburg II while the Predacons used the teleport gate to summon the terrifying Majin Zarak. When Lio Junior escaped the brig, he reunited with Santon and Skywarp and they made their way to the teleport gate. Injured despite assuming his Magnaboss form, Lio Junior used some of his own dwindling energy to power the gate and summon a legendary warrior of their own: Optimus Primal. With the assistance of Tasmania Kid to compensate for his wound, Magnaboss proved strong enough to upend Majin Zarak in his aircraft carrier mode. Through the power of their Energon Matrixes, "Burning Convoy" and "Flash Lio Convoy" defeated Majin Zarak and the Predacons. In the aftermath, Optimus Primal returned to his own time and place, and the Maximals destroyed the teleport gate before it could be misused again.As the artificial planet Nemesis made the Angolmois energy on Gaea increasingly unstable, the planet's ecosystem and wildlife were threatened. With the help of Drill Nuts, the Maximals created freeze cannons designed to neutralize the volatile Angolmois before it reached critical mass. During their efforts, the Maximals were met by the Jointron brothers, who also sought to stop the Angolmois by blocking eruptions with massive stones. Lio Junior was impressed to meet new Maximal warriors, and combiners as well, but Bighorn warned him about the Jointrons'...unconventional ways. Galvatorn increased Nemesis's influence on the planet in response to the Maximals' tactics, ruining their efforts and driving Tripledacus into an uncharacteristic bout of self-doubt. Lio Junior's encouragement brought him out of his funk, though, and they conceived a plan to combine their efforts and use a massive iceberg to both block AND freeze the Angolmois energy. Lio Junior and Skywarp shielded Tripledacus as he transported the iceberg into place, and the danger was temporarily routed.To deal with the oncoming threat of the artificial planet Nemesis, the Maximals planned to reposition one of the Niagara Base's artillery cannons as a conduit for the Angolmois energy, powering it up enough to obliterate Nemesis. Lio Junior pressed to have the most important role in the mission. While the Yukikaze's main crew moved an obvious forgery over the ground and Scuba transported a second forgery through an undersea tunnel, Lio Junior's team emerged as Magnaboss to move the REAL cannon to the top of the Angolmois volcano where it would be powered. Magnaboss had a very short time window to position the cannon and charge it properly, but the other Maximals did their best to occupy the Predacons. Unfortunately, Galvatron and Gigastorm remained in reserve to confront Magnaboss at the volcano. To deal with the new arrivals, Santon and Skywarp split out of Magnaboss, allowing Lio Junior to fill the cannon with his own Angolmois energy and fire upon the artificial planet Nemesis. Tragically, the youngster could not sustain the beam indefinitely, and the Niagara Cannon gave out before striking Nemesis. Galvatron was sincerely impressed by Lio Junior's determination over the Niagara Cannon, and thought the Angolmois-attuned youth might make an even better successor than the fickle and unreliable Gigastorm.Lio Junior's sense for Angolmois energy allowed him and the Magnaboss trio to hunt down and dismantle countless Autoroller fortress operations on Gaea. Duly impressed by the youth, Galvatron presented himself via hologram to Lio Junior at the next fortress site. He claimed a kinship with Lio Junior due to their shared Angolmois connection, and pressed his point by causing a corrupted Angolmois eruption that temporarily engulfed Lio Junior. On an astral plane, Galvatron impressed his vision of Predacon peace in the universe on Lio Junior's spirit. When Lio Junior emerged from the pit, he had been corrupted by the Angolmois and Galvatron's vision, turning on Lio Convoy and his friends. Santon and Skywarp tried to stop the youngster by merging with him, but that only resulted in a corrupted Magnaboss. As Magnaboss fought internally, Lio Junior reached out to Lio Convoy through their Energon Matrix connection, and asked Lio Convoy to kill him before Santon and Skywarp were forced to injure someone against their will. To save his son, Lio Convoy instead used his Energon Matrix to draw the corrupted Angolmois out of Magnaboss, eventually expelling it all together. Galvatron appeared again by hologram, calling it a pity that Lio Junior no longer saw things his way. Lio Junior promised to never stop fighting the Predacons.When a Martian emissary robot arrived on Gaea, it claimed to be capable of stopping the corrupted Angolmois energy. Lio Junior and his teammates formed Magnaboss to delay the Cyborg Beasts, letting Lio Convoy reach the mother computer with the robot to do what was necessary. During the battle, however, Lio Junior spotted a tiny robot crying out for his attention. Moon was an android created by the Gaians who lived on the Moon. Hidden by an invisibility cloak that only Lio Junior's unique nature could penetrate, Moon warned Lio Junior that the emissary robot intended to crash the moon into Gaea to prevent the corrupted Angolmois from spreading.Lio Junior relayed this information to Lio Convoy, and the Maximals assembled to stop the destruction of Gaea and the moon. NAVI managed to enter the mother computer and reverse the emissary's signal. Afterwards, Lio Junior thanked his new friend Moon, who returned to the moon. Moon.With no other options, the Maximals cannibalized equipment from the Yukikaze to retrofit Santon and Skywarp's starship into a craft that could carry the full team to battle Nemesis directly in space. The Insectrons constructed a secret missile catapult to send them into orbit. When the base was discovered, Lio Junior and his team helped defend it from Predacon attack, and then ventured out to aid the rest of the Maximals in reaching the ship before the launch window closed. The entire team successfully boarded the starship as it blasted off.After being grounded to an asteroid by the Seacons, Lio Junior formed Magnaboss with his mentors and battled the combined God Neptune. He lost his grip on the Magna Blade at a key moment and was at the mercy of God Neptune, but his fellow Maximals leapt into the fray and Magnaboss defeated the Seacons. Afterwards, the Maximals were at a loss for how to continue with their ship damaged and their trajectory to Nemesis ruined. Lio Junior was contacted by moon who proposed a risky maneuver to use the moon's gravity to slingshot back on course to confront the Nemesis. Lio Junior relayed his plan to the others and Lio Convoy trusted in his protégé to see it through. Approaching the moon at high speed, Lio Junior steeled his nerves until receiving the signal from Artemis and Moon, launching the Maximals back on track.As the Maximals reached Nemesis, their shuttle was shot down by the artificial planet's defenses. The Maximals then destroyed it completely in an effort to trap the investigating Predacons. Lio Convoy reasoned they needed to reach the artificial planet's core, destroying the Angolmois reservoir building up there. Lio Junior was eager to accept the mission, and balked when Lio Convoy rejected his assistance. Lio Convoy had his reasons, however—a great force was necessary to prevent the Predacons from interfering with their work and, once the core was damaged, only Magnaboss had the flight power needed to evacuate the remaining Maximals before Nemesis exploded. Lio Junior accepted Lio Convoy's reasoning, and promised to guard the rear. Lio Convoy told Magnaboss it had been an honor commanding him before proceeding.

Once Nemesis reached Gaea, however, it began actively powering up from the Angolmois energy, drawing that deadly power down the same port Lio Convoy entered. Fearing for his father's life, Lio Junior separated from Magnaboss. He left Santon and Skywarp to defend the port while leaping down into the abyss to search for Lio Convoy.Even here, Lio Junior's unique connection to the Angolmois energy allowed him to proceed with little resistance. During his search of the Angolmois flooded inner chambers, he feared Lio Convoy could not have survived the way he did. Lio Junior encountered Galvatron in the chambers first. The Emperor of Destruction addressed the cub kindly, but told him Lio Convoy was dead after being struck by the Angolmois wave. He could now be free of his devotion to Lio Convoy, and serve at Galvatron's side. Lio Junior refused the offer and refused to accept Lio Convoy's death.

Deeper inside the Nemesis chambers, Lio Junior found Lio Convoy. His commander was clinging to life, contained inside a stasis field shell generated by his Energon Matrix. He would survive, but only until the field gave out. Lio Convoy instructed Lio Junior to leave him to die and return to his team for the battle against Galvatron. Lio Junior refused to abandon his father, however, and tried to link his Energon Matrix with the field generated by Convoy's. From this merger, a new entity was formed. The legendary Green Lion warrior combined Lio Convoy and Lio Junior to confront the Predacons. Galvatron left Gigastorm to tend to the green lion, but it proved impervious to his attacks and defeated Gigastorm with a single blast of its Matrix Typhoon attack.As the Green Lion was invincible even to Galvatron's Drill Destroyer attack, Lio Convoy and Lio Junior separated to confront their adversary. Galvatron refused to back down, even after hearing Scuba had successfully sabotaged Nemesis and it would explode at any minute. As Galvatron desperately returned to the core, Lio Junior stood shoulder-to-shoulder with his father to pursue their foe. At the core, Galvatron began absorbing Angolmois energy directly, becoming a ginormous dragon. Lio Convoy and Lio Junior recognized Galvatron would remain invincible right up until the explosion of the Nemesis. Lio Convoy conceived a plan to use their Matrix Typhoon to create thousands of stasis fields like the one he created earlier, encapsulating the Angolmois energy in separate containers to minimize the explosion. Despite the risks to them, Lio Junior stepped forward willing to sacrifice his life in the name of peace, and Lio Convoy told his son how proud he was of him.

Becoming the Green Lion once more, Lio Convoy and Lio Junior forged the Angolmois capsules and broke down both the Nemesis core and Galvatron himself. Reduced to his original state, Galvatron challenged the Green Lio Convoy to one last battle and lost when Lio Convoy struck a killing blow to his Galva-Matrix. When Nemesis finally erupted, Lio Convoy used all the strength of his Energon Matrix to preserve the lives of his Maximal brethren. Although Gaea was saved, the Maximals were left floating in the void, caught in a wormhole created by Nemesis's destruction. They took heart, however, in the appearance of a great light Lio Convoy said would lead them to their next adventure. Lio Junior and his father advanced towards destiny with their friends and fellow Maximals by their side.

Beast Wars Neo cartoon
After the defeat of Unicron, Lio Junior returned to Cybertron. There and as part of Magnaboss, he was witness to one of Optimus Prime and Magmatron's tussles.