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Beast Machines Stryka: Dumb Name, Minty Fresh Character by Pitten

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Whether or not one liked the show, Beast Machines made quite an impression on the Transformers community and no matter what we do, it's here to stay. But for better or worse, one has to admit that the series definitely broke ground on several new levels, including the introduction of organics on Cybertron (however controversial it may be), having a setting that is in fact located on Cybertron itself, a heavily pseudo-religious theme integrated into it, as well as pressing the idea of two leaders who are in seriously questionable degrees of mental stability.



But there's something else in there that people gloss over, and I'm generally surprised after all the feminist ravings I've heard over the portrayals of most females in Transformers that it isn't mentioned more often: that Stryka may very well be the very first, and possibly the last, female Transformer character to appear that is anything close to what fans desire.



So who is Stryka? For those who haven't seen the second season, Stryka is a Cybertronian war general who partners with another (male) general by the name of Obsidian. She's introduced in the Sparkwar trilogy as one of Megatron's two new Vehicon generals and quickly establishes herself as a force to be reckoned with in the series. Her role changes very little through the course of the next six episodes before she is unceremoniously dumped from the series during the finale. However, even with only six or seven episodes of serious involvement and/or development, Stryka still manages to leave behind a rather interesting impression on the viewer.



What first strikes me as interesting is the completely lack of physical femininity about her. Without adequate references to her as female, I'd otherwise assume her male at first glance. Her voice reveals femininity, of course, but it's nothing high-pitched or blatantly female. Her voice is low, deep, and resounding, spoken with a deep calm. Otherwise, she has a very bulky, almost asymmetrical look about her that radiates an aura more of a powerful, stocky fighter than anything we've seen of the females before.



Secondly, her rank is something unseen as of yet, especially since she's supposedly one of the "bad guys." The only other only female character that I can recall who carried any sort of founded commanding rank was Elita-1, and she was little more than a leader of a small band of a guerrilla fighters on Cybertron despite her connection with the Autobot leader Optimus Prime. Stryka, on the other, is firmly established early on as both war partner of equal rank to Obsidian, as well as general of the tank drones. She commands her troops competently and accordingly, often using advanced militaristic tactics. Although she seems more of a "background general," sitting back while her counterpart Obsidian is more than front man, they still confer frequently on battle plans and her opinions seems to hold as much weight as his own.



Third, her personality is none of the major TF female personality extremes: that of the maternal/parental figure or devoted lover or "bad girl." She's just...herself. While not particularly evil or menacing, she is not ridiculously merciful either, willing to take out an enemy cleanly and efficiently when needed. She occasionally comes off as very cold, but shows emotions often enough to assure otherwise. Blind loyalty isn't her forte, either--she shows some definite emotional and mental conflict over what to do after Megatron appears to have been defeated, though retains that she is dedicated to her role as protector and warrior of Cybertron.



Lastly, she shows no signs of being definitively romantically attached to any male character in the show. Her relationship with Obsidian appears to be of a strictly platonic/professional nature. Although first introduced by her partner as his "consort," there is nothing ever passed between them to suggest that Obsidian was referring to the definition synonymous with "spouse" rather than the simple definition of "partnership." She neither enters the show harboring any romantic feelings for a character nor develops any throughout the series, and that's a big thing in a series backed by a legacy of other series where the only featured females were seriously attached with male counterparts.



However, there is, as always inevitably will be, a downside to the introduction of this rather ground-breaking character, in that she suffers from what I like to call "Arcee-syndrome." Although showing unique characteristics and not falling into the typical pitfalls of the other female characters, she still receives very little screen time as compared to her Maximal foils, Botanica and Blackarachnia. Part of problem lies heavily in the fact of how late her character was introduced in the series. Obsidian and Stryka barely received six episodes of development before being jettisoned into outer space in "Endgame" by a surprisingly cunning Cheetor. Again, it's just like Arcee in the Rebirth saga. Just when we receive a female character who's getting a chance to develop in her own right, the series ends and knocks her out of the loop.



Stryka's biggest downfall, however, is something of which her character has no control over. Why didn't the writers introduce Styrka as simply Obsidian's partner? Why must she be his "consort?" Although no romantic interaction is shown between them anywhere in the series, the word still holds the connotation of "lover" in some contexts. Why here? Why couldn't she just be another competent, experienced general? The word almost seems demeaning compared to Obsidian's aggressive, front-stage performance, made worse by the fact that it's a male character who introduces her as such. Although I personally did not interpret it as such, I fear that it sounds more like the introduction of a sidekick more than it is the entrance of a powerful female character who is a force to be reckoned with.



Despite this, I think Stryka in this sense is the closest thing female Transfans have been searching for all this time but who was shafted just as her Autobot ancestor was shafted all the way back in G1. She's a female character with a number of unique characteristics, and finally one that acts independently without attachment to another. One that could have very well been a much beloved and memorable character. She is not confined to feminine form, rank, or established personalities. In such a way, she's possibly even more free than the Beast Wars girls were. And when it comes down to it, I think it was a darn shame she was discarded so quickly and not remembered for what could have been.