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Shadow Raiders

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Shadow Raiders was an animated television series produced by Mainframe Entertainment that aired from 1998 to 1999. The show was loosely based on the Trendmasters toy line, War Planets. Although the show ended after its second season, tying up most of the loose ends, a proposed third season that would have answered major questions like the origin of the Beast Planet was never made.

The series focuses on the four planets of a solar system as they form an alliance against the threat of the Beast Planet. The planets Rock, Ice, Fire, and Bone have warred for years over their natural resources, Rock produces metals and minerals, Ice produces water, Fire produces energy, and Bone produces food. However, when an alien named Tekla comes from another solar system, she brings a warning: the Beast Planet is coming. Now Graveheart, a humble miner of Planet Rock, must convince the leaders of Fire, Rock, Bone, and Ice to put aside their differences and fight the Beast, their new common enemy.

The series has recently returned to Canadian airwaves on YTV's Bionix block, where it currently airs on Friday nights at 8:30pm EST.

Contents

Planets

Planet Tek - Little is known about Planet Tek, except that it is one of many planets which was consumed by the Beast Planet, as seen in the first episode. Tekla, the princess of Planet Tek, managed to escape the destruction of her homeworld but was pursued through space by Beast Drones. Tekla's ship crash-landed on the Planet Ice where she made the acquaintance of Graveheart. Tekla has made it her mission to bring down the Beast whatever the cost.

Planet Ice - A planet of glaciers and icebergs ruled over by the benevolent King Cryos. Planet Ice is inhabited by insect-like humanoids who are well accustomed to the blistering cold and who harbour no fondness for the invading Beast Planet. Weapons and troops available to planet Ice are Glacial Troopers, Spider Tanks, giant tamed Ice Fleas, Blade Wings, and (of course) King Cryo's personal flagship the Aurora.

Planet Rock - A land of mountains and harsh desert weather, Planet Rock is lorded over by Mantle, a ruler who is as ruthless as he is confident in himself and his planet's abilities. The warriors of Planet Rock live in a society where the fittest have power and where comradeship and a planetary version of patriotism are omnipresent. Graveheart hails from this stern land, but his heart is not made entirely of stone. He, unlike his fellows, can see the danger posed by the Beast. But while he makes his entreaties for their aid against this new threat, the people of Rock are confident that they can rise to the challenge on their own. This is the only planet with a vast array of five Battle Moons, giant weapons that act as the defence of the planet. In addition to Battle Moons, Rock also boast a large army of Quarriors, Miners, Sonic Weaponry, and a large range of tanks and ships. It should be noted that the names for all Rock inhabitants, vehicles, ranks, and tanks are taken from Rock-based themes.

- Notable Inhabitants -

- Technology - - Starships & Vehicles - - Battle Moons - Five heavily armoured satellites made out of large chunks of rock, the Battle Moons are a unique defensive as well as offensive attribute to Planet Rock. Armed to the teeth with a multitude of weapons, they are an imposing sight to intruders and an empowering sight to denizens of Rock looking up at them in the night sky. Only Planet Rock possesses these weapons as no other planet in the cluster possess the materials to build them, and they are virtually impervious to conventional attacks. However, it is noted that by the second season, only three of them remain because the Beast Planet destroyed the other two, the first(red) one was destroyed when the Beast Planet made a gruesome example of the moon to show off it's power. The second(green) was destroyed when it was defending Planet Fire from the Beast Planet, it flew too close to a cannon(which was more than 10 times larger than the moon) and was incinerated by the blast.

Planet Bone - The planet is a dense and murky swamp, filled with fetid ponds of life and death. A vast amount of near-ancient bones litter the planet's surface, and it is in these bones that the indigenous people have made their dwelling. Ruled over by the pusillanimous Emperor Femur, Bone is an enigma to the other planets. The inhabitants are lizard-like, and seem to be generally unpleasant towards outsiders, even quarrelling among themselves when it suits them. While Femur is ready to commit his people to the Alliance, he shows little real resolve in his pledge. He must also deal with a traitorous court sycophant who is constantly planning to usurp him. The loyal Sternum Warriors are outfitted with "Smart Suits" as their IQ is lower than their tolerance and loyalty(which, by the way, is almost non-existant.). The names of all the Characters from Bone are taken from Bones within the human body.

Planet Fire - Volcanoes litter the planet's surface and liquid magma flows like a lake throughout every crevice. Ruled over by Prince Pyrus, the people of Fire abide by a system of honour and respect. They are a prideful people and don't appreciate having their traditions interrupted. While Pyrus shows great skill at governing his planet, he has a teenager's passion and must be taught wisdom. For this task, his Vizier is constantly preparing him, scolding him and watching his every move. The Vizier believes that Planet Fire must rely on its own people to deal with outside threats, and so he adopts an isolationist policy, despite the supplications of the Alliance. Later on in the series, the Vizier pilots Planet Fire on a collision course into the Beast Planet in order to allow the other planets to escape. Planet Fire could not escape the Beast Planet due to the damaged state of its World Engines and the Vizier did this to allow the other Alliance worlds to escape. The collision results in the loss of Planet Fire but the Beast Planet appears undamaged. Later on, Planet Fire would return. But Prince Pyrus would find that this world is very different from the Fire he once knew. It is not known how the fake Planet Fire was created nor how the Vizier came back. It was only known that the Vizier was not the same as the one who cared so deeply for Pyrus. The guardians of fire include the Ignious Knights.

Planet Sand - This desert planet is home to two races, the Sun People and the Sand People. Zuma is the main representative of this planet and is good friends with Lady Zera after helping her to save the planet. Ramset is the ruler of the Sun People. The planet was almost destroyed by the Beast Planet but after it was saved, the planet joined the other worlds in their alliance. The Sand People are basically slaves to the Sun People and they maintain the capital city. The planet has a large city were the majority of the planets inhabitants live which suffered minor damaged at the hands of Beast Drones. The inhabitants of planet sand seems to be based off Egypt and possess a small grasp of technology. Their city can be protected by closing the walls from all 5 sides. Also, only Ramset was shown without his armour, all other Sun People never reveal their faces.

Planet Jungle - This is a remote world covered entirely in telepathically linked plants. One massive jungle covers the whole planet and the living plants do not welcome outsiders. A hot planet positioned quite close to a Star, the living plants can live on even if all but a single plant is wiped out.

Planet Remora - A desolate moon on the outskirts of the system. Though most of the planets have shown little interest in it, the Beast Planet has established a formidable base there. Thousands of Beast Drones and ships fill its docking bays and it is from here that they can perform reconnaissance on the outlying system. Beneath the rock surface of the moon is a ball of armour reminiscent of the Beast Planet itself constructed by it's new inhabitants. When preparing for battle, the base casts aside its rock surface to reveal black metal underneath. Remora opens itself like a clam and is equipped with enormous guns and landing zones from which its ships are deployed. Blokk once commented on how well the plan is going and Lamprey added "as always", implying that Remora was not the first planet transformed this way.

The Beast Planet - The Beast is a monstrous entity, a voracious consumer of entire worlds and civilizations. Long uncharted, the Beast has moved from galaxy to galaxy in its unholy mission to consume. The Beast is a virtually indestructible ball of black steel which can open to reveal a claw which pulls hapless worlds into its grasp. From its open hatches sprout guns the size of space cruisers which fire "pure null energy" which can devastate whole planets and incinerate Battle Moons with a single blast. The Beast inhabitants consist mostly of Drones which fire projectiles from their arms. These plasma-like creatures are composed of "null matter" and are soulless. They will follow any superior order, and they are also untouchable by any other species, as to come into physical contact with them can cause the victim being teleported into the heart of the Beast. The Beast warriors are limitless in number and their typical tactic before their "planet" consumes a world is to overwhelm it with their ships, destroying any possible resistance. The leader of the Beast Planet is known as the Beast, indicating that the Beast Planet could be a living entity. More sophisticated and sentient Beast Drones act as generals and command the vast legions of Drones. They are called Voyd, Lamprey and Blokk. Voyd seems to have more power then the other two but never speaks. Blokk and Lamprey are often at each others throats, suggesting dramaticly different tatics for conquering worlds, usually leaving the choice of which plan will be followed to Voyd. Whenever a plan fails, Blokk and Lamprey are often left pointing the blame at each other. It should be noted that, unlike normal Beast Drones, Blokk, Voyd and Lamprey do not have containment units but instead a "skull" depicting their facial expressions(excluding Voyd as he/she/it never seems to have any kind of interaction other than nodding). Blokk also have a tendency to "jitter", and this bugs Lamprey very much. After the first season, Voyd is never seen again. We can assume that he is in the Beast Planet and is not shown to keep the mystery of the Beast. Although the Beast Planet is called a "Planet", it is, in fact, about 9 times larger than a normal planet and just a tad smaller than a White Dwarf Star.

Planet Reptizar - This planet is not revealed to the alliance but is seen being consumed by the Beast Planet.

Planet Water - Little is known about Planet Water, save that it was in the same system as planet Tek, and was turned into a gigantic weapon to fight the Beast Planet, and was subsequently destroyed.

The Prison Planet - This world is a planetoid with a large, city-sized prison facility on it which is enclosed within an energy field. It was used by Planets Ice, Rock, Fire and Bone to house the most violent criminals on their worlds. Any ships that get too close to the Prison Planet are shot down and crash in the prison facility, thus adding more to the planet's population. There are two main factions on the planet, one lead by the former Emperor of Bone, Sternum, and the other by a mysterious women with a questionable past name; Julia. Both side have no mobile Weapons of any sort and contain a vast army of Glacial Troopers, Quarriors, Ignious Knights, and Sternum Warriors. There are no special markings distinguishing the two sides and all their armour is worn out. What little weapons they have are also in shambles and are barely maintained to standards. The two sides are fighting over control of the world engine, which unlike other planets, can teleport the Prison Planet. The Prison Planet is then consumed by the Beast Planet, but as it was being destroyed, Sternum triggered the teleportation of the planet which also took the Beast Planet with it.

The Engines

Planets Ice, Rock, Fire, Bone, Sand and Jungle are all equipped with World Engines while the Prison Planet is equipped with Teleport Engines. Built long before the inhabitants of these worlds evolved by an unknown race, the engines have the power to move the planets through space at great speeds while the Prison Planet can teleport to different locations in space. Each set of engines is located at the core of that world and can be reached using Telepods, small platforms on the surface of each world. The Telepods send the user to the core of the planet where they can use the computer to move the planet. The Telepods can also be used to move people from one planet to another. The engines use a gravity matrix, atmospheric shields and massive engines buried beneath the planet to move it safely through space. The Prison Planet operates in a similar way but is instantly teleported through space. The World Engines and Teleport Engines were discovered thanks to the Beast Planet. If the Beast Planet knew about the World Engines, it is possible that all worlds are equipped with these engines.

Main Characters

The Story

[Spoiler warningSpoiler warning]: Plot and/or ending details follow.
The story begins moments before the destruction of Planet Tek. Princess Tekla and Voxx flee their world as it is consumed by the Beast Planet and escape attacking Beast Drones. Tekla travels to the solar system to which the Beast Armada is heading in order to warn them of the approaching danger. She finds Graveheart on Planet Ice who, after an attack on the planet by Beast Drones, gets King Cryos to join him in an alliance to defeat the Beast Planet. Planet Rock does not join the alliance but Gravehearts friend Jade joins him to help rally planets Fire and Bone to his cause. In the end, Fire and Bone join the alliance and they soon realise that the Beast Planet must have set up a base somewhere near by from which it is launching its attacks on the alliance. They find out that it is Remora and the three worlds send a huge fleet to wipe out the Beast Drones on the planet, but the destruction of Remora only serves to anger the newly arrived Beast Planet. Planet Rock has now joined the alliance, using its five powerful Battle Moons to help destroy Remora, but the Beast Planet destroys one of the moons and sets out to consume Planet Fire.

Another moon is lost in the battle to defend Planet Fire but nothing is able to stop the Beast Planet. Planet Ice is almost destroyed in the battle but Tekla discovers the World Engines and saves the planet and as the alliance relocates the people of Planet Fire to the Battle Moons, the World Engines on Fire are also activated. But Fire’s engines are damaged by the Beast Drones and the planet is to slow to avoid the Beast Planet. The Grand Vizier then uses the engines to ram the Beast Planet with Planet Fire. Fire is consumed by the Beast Planet and the rest of the alliance worlds use their engines to move away from the Beast Planet. On their journey, they discover Planet Sand which joins the alliance and Planet Jungle, which the alliance uses as a trap. They fill it with enough explosives to destroy the planet and detonate them as the Beast Planet consumes it, but the Beast Planet is still in one piece. The inhabitants of Jungle survive however when a single plant is given to the alliance. The Prison Planet then teleports into the path of the alliance and Graveheart, Jade, Cryos and Emperor Femur all crash on the planet. As the rescue is about to take place, the Prison Planet teleports away.

On the Prison Planet, Graveheart and Cryos are captured by a faction of convicts led by Jewelia, a devious woman who takes a liking to Graveheart. Femur, unfortunately for him, is taken, along with Jade, by a second faction commanded by Sternum, his nobler brother, and arguably the rightful ruler of Bone. Convinced that their friends have been slain by the other faction, they join in the fight until the truth is revealed.

Meanwhile, the Beast Drones attack the alliance, and Lord Mantle takes control of the alliance through force. Thinking that his planet is superior to the Beast Planet, Mantle sends the Battle Moons to attack the Beast Planet, but an armada of Beast ships capture Planet Rock and Blokk kills Lord Mantle in single combat. As the Beast Planet is about to consume Planet Rock, the Prison Planet teleports into its path and as it is being consumed Graveheart and his group use Sternum's Telepod to travel to Rock and they then teleport the Prison Planet away and it takes the Beast Planet with it. A final battle between Graveheart and Blokk results in Blokk’s demise, Jade’s rise to ruler of Planet Rock and the alliances new era of peace. Meanwhile, the story ends moments before the destruction of Planet Reptizar at the hands of the Beast Planet.

Episode List

Season 1: Season 2:

Cast

War Planets Toy Line

The Shadow Raiders series was based on the War Planets toys from Trendmasters. Toys of Planets Ice, Fire, Bone, Rock, Sand, Tek, Water, Reptizar, Remora, the Beast Planet, several Battle Moons and Beast, Bone and Ice Tanks were created. The series is not strictly set around the toys since more worlds than just Rock have Battle Moons. Several toys were brought out that were based on the Shadow Raiders series but they were either figures of the main characters or ships.

External links

 

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