White Leo

White Leo is a Beastformer from the Generation 1 continuity family.

We can rebuild him. We have the technology.

The 11th King of the Royal Lion Clan of Bistoram, White Leo (ホワイトレオ Howaitoreo) has risen time and again to fight for the freedom and peace of planet Beast and beyond. A natural leader, skilled in battle and tactics, he is also incredibly kind-hearted and affectionate, seeking to do right by all, and willing to sacrifice himself to stop evil. Along with the aid of his sister White Lune and subordinate Emperor Flykick, he is supported by numerous Kings and Emperors of other nations who look up to him, having joined his army during the Decepticon-backed insurgency that sent the then-Prince into hiding, and to this day readily defer leadership to him in times of crisis. It is not a position that White Leo takes for granted, and he does everything in his power to pay back the faith and support he has been given.

In combat, he has few equals. A beast gifted with incredible strength, speed and intelligence, he is a skilled swordfighter personally trained by the legendary warrior Platinum Tiger, perfectly balancing offence and defense. His MVP Weapon, the White Beamer (ホワイトビーマー Howaito Bīmā), is a blade capable of firing powerful beams of photon energy, as well as channeling his other powers. His mechanical augmentations have been further enhanced by Autobot science, even giving him control of the powerful "Burstsun" energy projected from his armor's Battle Emblem, an energy force capable of countering any of the three foundation elements of planet Beast; Fire, Water or Wood. He has learned the legendary technique known as "Creation of All Things", a psychic power passed down through the Royal Lion Clan for generations.

He is, in many respects, the Optimus Prime of planet Beast.

Fiction

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon

Voice actor: Keiichi Nanba (Japanese), John Culkin (English, Omni Productions dub)

Rejected by the Thundercats.

When the Decepticons invaded and took over the planet, White Leo headed a group of rebel Beastformers, though they didn't have much luck in rescuing a number of their fellows whom the Decepticons had enslaved in an underground factory. White Leo and his lieutenants were trying to decide what to do next when the Autobot Headmasters arrived. The newcomers teamed up with White Leo's rebels and went to check out the Decepticon base. White Leo knew of an entrance beneath the piragilon swamp, and Fortress instructed him to use it while the Autobots took care of the Decepticons.

White Leo contacted Platinum Tiger who knew the way, but told him it would be impossible as the swamp was infested with metal-eating piragilons. White Leo was stymied until Fortress used Battleship Maximus to drain the water from the swamp, leaving the piragilons helpless. White Leo was then able to lead his team into the cave under the swamp, and with Platinum Tiger's help, head towards the Decepticon factory. They encountered Wheelie, Daniel Witwicky and the escaping prisoners partway through the tunnel, and led them back out into the open air. The victorious Autobots provided White Leo with the services of the Monsterbots, should the Decepticons return. Rebellion on Planet Beast

The Headmasters comic

In White Leo's absence, the Decepticons attacked Beast with Alligatron's forces again, this time also using Predaking and a horde of Sharkticons. When the Decepticon forces held Brainstorm and Highbrow hostage, Alligatron hoped to use them to lure White Leo into their clutches. White Leo soon arrived with a contingent of Autobot Beastformers to aid the Autobot Transformers, and they were all successful at driving the Decepticon invaders off the planet once again. White Leo thanked the Autobots for their help at making Beast a peaceful planet. The Decisive Battle of Planet Beast!

Beastformers catalogs

Thanks to Autobot technology, White Leo was reborn as a stronger warrior wielding Burstsun Power, allowing him to defeat the elements of fire, water, and wood. Using his Scanning Eye, Devilbat took a Secret Photo of White Leo exposing information about his new power, but dropped it in a forest. Series 2 catalog Scrambling to find the Secret Photo before the Decepticons could, White Leo and his troops came upon the Red Phoenix, ancient guardian of the Lion clan, which helped them recover the photo from Alligatron. Series 3 catalog

White Leo was later ambushed by Alligatron in a bottomless swamp in the middle of the forest, but successfully bested his nemesis, killing him with Burstsun Power. However, Alligatron returned as a ghost and revived Cobrander, who continued the war against White Leo's forces. Burstsun catalog

Beastformers comic

In the aftermath of the Beastformers' war, freak weather patterns began wreaking havoc on Beast because of imbalance between the six elemental gems of the Three Wise Ones. Determined to fix this by recovering the lost gems, White Leo led Badshark, Bowdog, Bluehorse and Deaspider to Lake Sagan in Sunatoria, where the Water Gem of Stillness was believed to lie. The mission had several possible outcomes and the Beastformers may have either succeeded or been forced to retreat by a giant scorpion or the mysterious enemy Sur, who would battle them for the gem if they found it. The Water Gem of Stillness

The natural disasters led to the emergence of the Laser Beasts, a subterranean race with designs to take the surface of Beast for themselves. Though he was warned by Bombsheep that the Laser Beasts were targeting his nation, having conquered the rest of the continent, White Leo was reluctant to begin another war and opposed to Rabbit Kid's idea of using the Head Hunters to fight back. He attempted to negotiate peace with the Laser Beasts, but they immediately opened fire and injured him, angering the Beastformer populace who rose up and declared war on the invaders. White Leo again acted as leader of the army in this new conflict. Beastformers VS Laser Beasts

Ask Vector Prime

In gratitude to a team of Autobot Pretenders, White Leo gave them the Ultra Matrix. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30

Legends comic

White Leo ended the war with the Decepticon Beastformers by defeating Cobrander only for a new war to break out when the Laser Beasts invaded from the planet's underground. His forces were losing more and more territory to the invaders when several Autobots arrived to assist, only for the Laser Beasts merged with three of the Transformers to grow even more powerful. After recovering the six gems that held the power of the Three Wise Ones, White Leo was told by Platinum Tiger of the Legends World, a dimension of beasts that could be of help. LG51 Doublecross Prologue

Defeated by the Laser Beast Emperor Tigerburn, White Leo fled to the Legends World with his sister, White Lune, and the six gems. With the gems, he transformed Neo Akihabara City into a jungle and forcibly recruited its citizens as new "Beastformers". Unfortunately, his nemesis, Tigerburn, followed him to the Legends World, with the captive Doublecross in tow. White Lune came to the rescue, helping White Leo use the gems to merge White Leo with Doublecross's severed head, transforming him into a Headmaster, and merging White Lune with Tigerburn's Haywire Laser. After taking over Doublecross, White Leo was able to use him and the Haywire Laser to send Tigerburn blasting off. With their newly acquired powers, White Leo and White Lune returned to their world to continue the war against the Laser Beasts. Bonus Edition Vol. 51 White Leo later sent his sister to the Autobots in G Nebula 89 so they could grant her the ability to transform back into her original form. Late Xmas Present Chapter

White Leo and Doublecross battled the Laser Beasts until the year 2023, when a large number of Transformers arrived on Beast and sided with the Beastformers. This allowed Leo the opportunity to grapple with Tigerburn and, through the power of the gems, sacrifice himself to crystallize both himself and the Laser Beast emperor. As he had hoped, the crystal statues of White Leo and Tigerburn in their final struggle became a symbol of unity that allowed the Beastformers and Laser Beasts to make peace. The Road to Legends' Revival Chapter 1 Fifteen years later they were discovered by Rattrap when he arrived on Beast. Legends World in Imminent Danger! Part Two

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

White Leo was in the front lines, fighting off Megatron's Air Warrior armies when the Decepticon came to take the Predacons. Welcome to the Jungle

Mini Mayhem!

When Galvatron unleashed Predaking, boasting that the gestalt's combined animal strength was unparalleled, White Leo and his allies stood united to prove him wrong. Mini Mayhem!

Beast Wars: Uprising

An inhabitant of the colony world Rebirth, Daburu Leo was an Optimus enforcer who fought and pursued the rebel Malignus faction underground when their protests threatened the interests of the planetary oligarchy. A Brush With Infamy–Prologue

Toys

Transformers: Beastformers

Kimba me timbas.

• White Leo (Beastformer, 1987)

• ID number: 1
• Pack: A, C, E
• Accessories: Sword

Released in the first series of Beastformers, White Leo is an anthropomorphic white lion with blue robotic armor. The Battle Emblem on his chest reveals one of three randomly-applied symbols when warmed up: Fire, Water or Wood.

He was re-released in the subsequent second and third series; while the toy proper was not changed, the packaging and packed-in bio card was. The Series 1 release comes in a generic red-grid "Cybertron Beastformer" box, with a red-grid bio card with a painted character image on the front, though there was a random chance of his card being replaced by the rare "Holography Mirror" card. Series 2 came in a green-grid generic "Cybertron Beastformer" box, with the bio card putting the painted image on a jungle backdrop; sold in the "Pack C" box, his bio card could have been replaced with the rare "Secret Photo" card. The series 3 "Pack E" release is mostly identical to series 2, changing only the "Pack" designation, plus this time his bio card could instead be replaced by the rare "VS Holography Mirror" card.

• Burstsun Special Set (Multi-pack, 1987)

• ID number: 1
• Accessories: Sword

A special White Leo with the then-unique "Burstsun" Battle Emblem (but no other notable changes) was part of the first Beastformers multipack, the Burstsun Special Set (バーストサンスペシャルセット Bāsutosan Supesharu Setto). This blindpacked set contains 10 figures out of a potential 14. Thankfully, these were not randomly-packed, and came in two distinct lineups, though White Leo was only available in one of them:

The first version has Burstsun White Leo, Black Jaguar, Būpink, Dog Hunter, Dream Eater, Muskhorn, Pangol, Slo, White Cow, and Udan.

The second version has Ghost Alligatron, Black Jaguar, Būpink, Crowmax, Earthhog, Mingo Kid, Pangol, Slo, White Cow, and Udan.

Each one came with a new bio card; White Leo's card is almost identical to his Series 2 card, with the only change being the use of comic-style line-art for the character portrait, visually consistent with the other toys in this set.

Beastformers

• White Leo (Beastformer, 1988)

• ID number: 1
• Pack: G
• Accessories: "White Beamer" MVP Weapon

Re-released in the Transformers-less Beastformers sequel series, White Leo was given a straight re-release with new packaging and a new, more filled-out bio card using comic-style line-art rather than a painted portrait. This new card also gave his weapon, now branded an "MVP Weapon", the name "White Beamer".

He was sold in two similar-but-different styles of boxes. One wholly-generic version, sold in large display boxes like the Transformers releases, advertised the chance for the included bio card to instead be a rare holofoil card of White Leo with a "Burstsun" Battle Emblem in a baggie taped to the back, so you could apply it to the Beastformer of your choice. The more common version has a slightly different box with a peg-hole in the top flap, and has a sticker on the bottom with his name and role on it. Samples of White Leo (among others) have also been found on simple bubble cards, with the bio card positioned so the name shows clearly under the figure's feet, but it is uncertain if this style of packaging was ever properly sold at retail.

Late in the run, the "mood ring" styled rubsigns were replaced with new rubsigns that revealed full-color Fire/Wood/Water images on black backdrops. (These rubsign variants also happened at the same time in the Hasbro Battle Beast version of the line.)

Extra-White Leo

• White Leo (Gahsapon Beastformer, 1988)

• ID number: 1
• Accessories: Randomized weapon

Many Beastformers were also sold in gashapon capsule machines for the same price as their boxed versions (200 yen) during the "RPG" line, White Leo included. This version is identical to the regularly-released boxed version, including the randomized rubsign, except the gashapons appear to have randomized weapons (or just really crummy quality control).

According to their pack-in paperwork, fifteen rare all-white/cream Beasts were available in these capsules, though only four were shown, White Leo among them; White Leo is one of only twelve confirmed "rare types" found. These rare versions can vary in how white they actually are, and it's uncertain if that's how they started or if some have simply yellowed with age. These versions tend to be very expensive on the secondary market, going for $100+ even when missing their arms.

Legends

• Targetmaster Doublecross (Deluxe, 2017)

• ID number: LG-51
• Release date: November 25, 2017

Available with his larger partner Legends Targetmaster Doublecross, the Headmaster version of White Leo is a redeco of Titans Return Titan Master Daburu, who was designed in homage to White Leo to begin with. He transforms into Doublecross's robot mode head, and is designed to be compatible as a head or pilot to any Titan Master-compatible toys.

This figure was later retooled to become Titans Return Fengul / Legends Platinum Tiger, and again to make Titans Return Dastard / Legends Hedgehog.

Merchandise

Candy toys

• White Leo (Gashapon/candy-toy Beastformer, 1988)
  • ID number: 1
  • Accessories: "Tomahorn" weapon

A 1-inch-tall, super-deformed, articulation-free version of White Leo that could come in red, blue or green plastic, representing the Fire, Water and Wood elements (even though he still had a rubsign). All of the SD Beastformers come with a different Beastformer's weapon attached to their left shoulder by a snippable sprue. White Leo came with Violethorn's "Tomahorn", while Beafox had White Leo's "White Beamer".

This toy was sold in three different ways. First it was available as a gashapon capsule prize by Takara. Then it was sold as a candy toy from Takara, randomly-packed in a box of three with a packet of ramune-flavored candy tablets. Then again as a candy toy, this time through candy/snack company Meiji, in randomized packs of two^{[citation needed]} with a packet of "chocoballs" (chocolate covered malted milk balls). The Meiji release also has much more elaborate packaging, with newly-painted box art (which sometimes shows characters not made in this assortment), and the entire interior of the box printed with game rules, character bios, chunks of lore, etc.

• Ramune Beastformers Battle Card (1988)
  • ID number: 1

A gold-foil "Battle Card" of White Leo, featuring the painted character art from his original Transformers: Beastformers bio card, was available in randomly-packed sets of cards that came with ramune-flavored candy tablets. The back of the card features a severely truncated bio, with data for the game from the Meiji chocoball SD figures' packaging.

Notes

• His 1988 "RPG" bio gives him the nickname White (ホワイト Howaito), and notes he was born in Lake City.
• His "Creation of All Things" power from his RPG bio is... vague at best.

Foreign names

• English: Pirate Lion, Sheep Commander (Omni Productions dub)
• Italian: Leone Bianco