Rhinox
| “ | A spark... When a spark goes online, there is great joy. When one is extinguished, the universe weeps. | „ |
| ~ Rhinox |
Rhinox is a Maximal and a soldier of the Beast Wars. He is one of few Maximals to fight in the Beast Wars and survive. When he arrives on prehistoric Earth, he takes the beast form of a rhinoceros. He is voiced by Richard Newman.
He loves nature and does not wish to fight, but when threatened, he is prepared and can pack a punch. He is close friends with all of his fellow Maximals. Optimus Primal and Rattrap are his two best friends and he is more of a fatherly/uncle figure to Cheetor and Airazor. Even Dinobot and Megatron respect him. He appears in all 52 episodes of the cartoon series Beast Wars and is one of the few that does not upgrade to a Transmetal, something that later proves to be quite detrimental when he returns to Cybertron.
In the sequel/spinoff series Beast Machines, the surviving Maximals return to Cybertron to find it overrun by mindless drones of Megatron. Due to his lack of a Transmetal form, Rhinox is paralyzed and captured by Megatron and turned into a Vehicon general and given the alternate form of a giant tank. From this moment onward, he is known as Tankor. When Optimus restores his memory, he becomes a rogue and plots to overthrow both Optimus and Megatron. His plans are foiled and he sacrifices himself to save Optimus, and his spark joins the Matrix.
