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Challenge

2010-11-26T02:34:01Z

128.189.175.215: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=Cybertron
|ep=43
|series2=Galaxy Force
|ep2=44
|image=Cyb-Beastfight.jpg
|caption=Are you asking for a challeeenge?
|title="Challenge"
|japanese=プラネットXの秘密
|romaji=Planet X no Himitsu
|translation=The Secret of Planet X
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Aichi]], [[we've|We've]], [[Tōkyū Agency]]
|writer=[[Manabu Ishikawa]]
|director=[[Megumi Sakai]]
|animation studio=[[GONZO]]
|airdate=[[November 5]], [[2005]] (Japanese) [[September 19]], [[2006]] (English)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy cartoon timeline|Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Autobot search teams continue to explore the depths of Gigantion, the Jungle Planet is in danger, and the mystery of Planet X is revealed.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Cyb_ep43_black_hole_grows.jpg|left|220px|thumb]]
On [[Earth]], [[Colonel Franklin]] and [[Lucy Suzuki]] watch as [[Primus]] fires his main cannons in another attempt to stall the expansion of the [[Unicron Singularity|black hole]], which continues to grow more and more powerful. Watching the expansion of the singularity through the ever-growing [[space bridge]] portal in the sky over Earth, [[Crosswise (Cybertron)|Crosswise]] and [[Mudflap (Cybertron)|Mudflap]] remark on the situation as well, and worry about the [[Jungle Planet (Cybertron)|Jungle Planet]], which seems to be suffering the worst effects of all the colony worlds. ''On'' Jungle Planet, [[Brimstone (Cybertron)|Brimstone]] is struck by lightning and plummets from the sky, but is saved by [[Backstop (Cybertron)|Backstop]], while across the galaxy, on [[Gigantion]], Snarl senses the pain of his homeworld and howls into the (artificial) night sky. Leobreaker wonders why he can't feel the same connection, and Snarl assures him he should be glad he can't with what's going on now.

Elsewhere on the Giant Planet, [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] and [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] come out of hiding in a rubble-strewn room, feeling particularly down-hearted after their recent string of all-too-humiliating defeats at the hands of [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]]. The two decide that once they get the "[[Cyber Planet Key|Cyber Planet Thingy]]" they'll be strong enough to take on all the [[Autobot]]s... only to promptly fall through the weakened floor to a lower level, directly in the path of Optimus Prime's team. Again. Optimus transforms to super mode and uses his Cyber-Key-enhanced blasters to send the pair flying off. Again.

[[Image:Cyb ep43 planet x vs gigantion.jpg|right|220px|thumb]]
Somewhere else in the depths of the planet, [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]] and [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] are scanning for something. They're interrupted by the [[Cybertron Defense Team]], who demand to know what they're doing. Caught in the act, Soundwave at last reveals his and Sideways's story...

:''In the distant past, the world of technological marauders known as [[Planet X (Cybertron)|Planet X]] discovered that their planet was dying, and attacked Gigantion, with the intention of taking it for their own. In retaliation, the Gigantions used the Cyber Planet Key to increase both their size, and the size of their planet, leading to a war that culminated when Planet X unleashed its mightiest weapon. Alas, the weapon's power was so great that even they could not control it, and they only wound up destroying their homeworld. Sideways and Soundwave are the two lone survivors of Planet X, and now seek revenge against the Giant Plant for all they have lost!''

[[Image:Smokeways.jpg|left|220px|thumb|"We just use Autobots as a distraction for the populace, to draw attention away from our crippling lug-nut shortage!"]]

The tale told, Soundwave ejects [[Laserbeak (Cybertron)|Laserbeak]], who produces a thick smog that surrounds the Autobots and reduces visibility to near-zero. Using their special abilities, the two Planet X agents attack and confuse the Autobots: Sideways creates multiple illusions of himself that assault Red Alert, while Soundwave alters his voice and image to make Hot Shot and Scattorshot accidentally attack each other. Hot Shot and Scattorshot are then separated again, and Soundwave plagues both of them individually: first, he adopts the voices of different Autobots and attacks Hot Shot's confidence, then, he disguises himself as Hot Shot and tries to get Scattorshot to take his hand. At the same time, however, the real Hot Shot appears, so Scattorshot tricks Soundwave by asking the Hot Shots if they remembered an event that in reality never happened. Scattorshot fires on the fake, nailing Laserbeak and dissipating the smoke, and a second volley takes down Soundwave. That leaves the small army of Sidewas clones, but Scattorshot brazenly declares he can see the real deal-prompting the real Sideways to start in surprise and blow his cover. Sideways' location revealed, Scattorshot sends him flying with a leaping kick, and the three Autobots use their Cyber-Key-enhanced weapons to bury the two Planet X agents under a ton of rubble.

[[Image:Cyb_ep43_scourge_victorious.jpg|right|thumb|220px]]

In another of Gigantion's cities, Snarl and Leobreaker run across [[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]]. Scourge berates the two, and Leobreaker challenges Scourge for leadership of Jungle Planet, proclaiming Scourge is unfit to rule, since he only cares about himself. The two combatants shift to beast mode, and the two battle across rooftops and through buildings. After some nasty blows, Leobreaker drops to one knee, and Scourge begins to walk away. Snarl informs Scourge of Jungle Planet's suffering, and Scourge says he already knows: his connection to his homeworld is just as strong. Leobreaker isn't done yet though, and Snarl has had enough, transforming to wolf mode to tackle Scourge as well. All three robots battle with their Cyber-Key-enhanced weapons, a fight that decimates several buildings... and leaves Scourge the only one standing in the end. In another part of the planet, Coby notices that the two beast-bots' signals have stopped.

[[Image:RanCrumple-sitting.jpg|left|220px|thumb|Bring us the sports section.]]
Back on the highway Optimus Prime's team is travelling on, Ransack and Crumplezone accidentally fall through the ceiling and land in front of the Autobots. ''Again.'' The two indignantly refuse to give up, and plunk themselves down in the Autobots' path. Coby radios Bud about Snarl and Leobreaker, and Wing Saber arrives on the scene as well. He and Optimus combine into Sonic Wing Mode, and blast the two Decepticon dopes, with predictable results. Override and Lori show up shortly afterwards, Lori promising a good story....
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Primus]] (1)
* [[Crosswise (Cybertron)|Crosswise]] (4)
* [[Mudflap (Cybertron)|Mudflap]] (5)
* [[Backstop (Cybertron)|Backstop]] (7)
* [[Snarl (Cybertron)|Snarl]] (8)
* [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]] (9)
* [[Six-Speed]] (12)
* [[Jolt (Cybertron)|Jolt]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
* [[Metroplex (Cybertron)|Metroplex]] (15)
* [[Reverb (Cybertron)|Reverb]] (16)
* [[Vector Prime]] (17)
* [[Scattorshot (Cybertron)|Scattorshot]] (21)
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] (22)
* [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] (23)
* [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (27)
* [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] (28)
* [[Quickmix (Cybertron)|Quickmix]] (29)
* [[Evac (Cybertron)|Evac]] (30)
* [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] (31)
* [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]] (32)

|c2=
* [[Brimstone (Cybertron)|Brimstone]] (6)
* [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] (10)
* [[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Crumplezone]] (11)
* [[Scourge (Cybertron)|Scourge]] (25)

|c3=
* [[Colonel Franklin]] (2)
* [[Lucy Suzuki|Dr. Lucy Suzuki]] (3)
* [[Bud Hansen]] (18)
* [[Coby Hansen]] (26)
* [[Lori]] (33)

|c4=
* [[Soundwave (Cybertron)|Soundwave]] (19)
* [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] (20)
* [[Laserbeak (Cybertron)|Laserbeak]] (24)
}}

==Quotes==
'''Optimus Prime:''' "Well, well, look what the [[cybercat]] dragged in!" 
'''Ransack:''' "Ow, my head..." 
'''Metroplex:''' "At least nothin' important was hurt."
:—The Autobots display their high opinions of Ransack and Crumplezone

"You know, sometimes being us is no fun at all!!"
:—'''Ransack''', on his recent string of defeats

"Your disc scratched, homes? You keep laying down the same beat and I keep giving the same answer: it isn't here."
:—'''Soundwave''', to Sideways

"You'll understand how we feel once ''your'' homeworld says peace out. But for now, since we can't have you all up in our grill, it's time to clear the dance floor... and ''get rid of you''."
:—'''Soundwave''' prepares to kick Autobot skidplate

"Look at you, Snarl. Just following these Autobots around like you're their lapdog. You used to be a proud and noble warrior, but now you're nothing but a loser who does what he's told."
:—'''Scourge's''' pot calls Snarl's kettle black.

"Battle isn't just about actual fighting, Scourge! It's about what you're fighting ''for''! Optimus Prime and the rest of us are fighting for what's right!" 
"Huh! Don't lie to youself. You're fighting for something ''different'', not ''better''."
:—'''Leobreaker''' and '''Scourge'''

"But first, we gotta deal with these schmoes." 
"Hey! Don't call us that! ... what does that mean, anyway?"
:—'''Bud''' and '''Ransack'''

"You're the ones who wanted to fight us, right? Well, you should have the chance to battle the very best! Nothing but the most powerful Autobot is gonna satisfy two tough guys like you, right?!" 
"Er... er... I guess." 
"Well, we could take on someone a little less powerful, I guess."
:—'''Wing Saber''' ready to send '''Ransack''' and '''Crumplezone''' blasting off again

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Galaxy Force''===
*''Galaxy Force'' includes a "previously on" segment summarizing the events of "[[Ambush]]".
*In ''Cybertron'', it is noted that Planet X was "running out of juice"; in ''Galaxy Force'', it is not merely the planet, but ''all life'' in the universe that was coming to an end. ''Galaxy Force'' proceeds to note that the natives of Planet X found Gigantion on "the edges of space-time, in another universe", indicating that it was they who were responsible for pulling the planet into the universe it now resides in (a fact that would later be confirmed outright by a timeline on TakaraTomy's website). Also, this makes it explicit that Planet X is a native world of the parallel universe, which ''Cybertron'' does not directly state.
*When Scattorshot tricks Soundwave, he does so by recalling something Jetfire did from before the Autobots travelled through the warp to Gigantion. In both versions of the show, he claims Jetfire freaked out over the confined space of the warp; ''Cybertron'', however, omits Scattorshot noting that what ''really'' happened was that Jetfire freaked out over getting a shot, as seen in "[[Warp]]".

===Animation or technical errors===
*Once again, Ransack's black "mask" appears and disappears with noticeable frequency. For one of many examples, check out the image of him and Crumplezone sitting, above.
*When Soundwave is disguised as Hot Shot to trick Scattershot, his true voice can still be heard over Hot Shot's. It is possible, however, that this oddity is intended for the audience's benefit alone (so they can see which Hot Shot is the fake) and that Soundwave's impersonation is actually as flawless as ever.

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Cyb_ep43_jungle_planet_natives.jpg|right|thumb]]
* Scourge calls Leobreaker "Autobrat," an insult used by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] to refer to [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
* Hot Shot claims the fog Laserbeak emits is "thicker than [[Nebulos|Nebulan]] pea soup". This is actually one of two references to the homeworld of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] aliens in the ''Cybertron'' series: the other comes from Jetfire's [[Cyber Key Codes|Key Code data file]].

===Trivia===
*This episode offers us our first genuine look at the present day inhabitants of the Jungle Planet. Back in "[[Honor]]", we were shown a few natives in a flashback, who were all atypically rendered in cel animation. With this episode, we finally glimpse some fully CGI-animated beast-bots, with alternate modes including an antelope, a deer, some sauropod [[dinosaur]]s and some long-beaked birds.
*When Soundwave is playing with Hot Shot's head, he imitates Red Alert, Optimus Prime, Vector Prime, and Jetfire.
*Snarl and Leobreaker both use their Cyber Key attacks in robot mode in this episode. Leobreaker has done this before, but this is the only time Snarl does it. It's an interesting thing to watch, because Snarl's beast-mode head is his right hand.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2006 — ''Transformers: Galaxy Force'' — Vol. 11 ([[Victor Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers: Cybertron'' — The Ultimate Collection ([[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]])

[[Category:Cybertron episodes]]

Bad Spark

2010-11-25T22:49:14Z

128.189.175.215: /* Additional notes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=34
|series2=Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers
|ep2=part 3
|prev2=Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger
|image=BWRampage Badspark.jpg
|caption=Herrrree'sss Jonnnny!
|title="Bad Spark"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 22]], 1998
|written by=[[Greg Johnson]]
|directed by=[[Steve Sacks]] [[Jonathan Goodwill]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''An oversized stasis pod reveals the secrets of Protoform X.'''

:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Étincelle du Mal''' ("Spark of Evil")
:''Japanese title:'' ビーストウォーズメタルス (''Beast Wars Metals'', see below)
:''Spanish title:'' '''Mala Chispa'''
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Mala Chispa'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il ritrovamento''' ("The retrieval")
:''Brazilian name:'' '''Centelha do Mal''' ("Evil Spark")

==Synopsis==
[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], on recon patrol, spots a giant stasis pod (labeled with a big yellow "X") crashed inside a patch of unstable [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] deep inside a murky swamp. [[Optimus Primal]] orders Cheetor not to open the pod until he arrives. As Optimus and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] leave, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] invokes the help of [[Primus]] if "that thing survived". However, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] intercept the transmission, and [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] sends [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] to retrieve it, subtly planting a [[Synch-pulse transmitter|listening device]] on the former. He calmly taps his chair armrest, possibly aware that [[Tarantulas]] left a bug of his own under it.

[[Image:Bad Spark Optimus cheetor.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"I don't feel a pulse, so it's dead." (Sure it is.)]]
When Optimus and Silverbolt meet Cheetor beside the pod, they find the protoform within apparently dead, and Primal seems relieved. When the other two ask why, Primal tells them what the pod means: The stasis pod holds "the dark secret of [[Axalon (BW)|''Axalon'']]'s journey," Protoform X. Protoform X was created in experiments attempting to replicate the mutation in the [[spark]] of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], making it indestructible, but the subject was treacherous and insane, so the ''Axalon'' was to dump the protoform "somewhere far, someplace barren."

Blackarachnia and Waspinator strike, attempting to take Protoform X for themselves. Attacking Silverbolt, Blackarachnia is angry that his code of honor won't allow him to fight back by hitting a female. Then Tarantulas arrives and threatens her. Silverbolt defends her, but the battle accidentally ignites the energon beneath Protoform X's stasis pod, which explodes and triggers an energon storm that scatters everyone for miles.

[[Image:Bad Spark Tarantulas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Horror movies have shown us that if you see a shadow come from behind you, just run!]]
Blackarachnia and Silverbolt crash-land next to each other. They agree to work together, as they are far from their respective teams and Silverbolt's wing is broken. Tarantulas lands next to the pod; he investigates it, only to find it empty. He then turns to find ''something'' looming over him through the mist. His scream echoes for miles...

Optimus Primal and Cheetor return to the ''Axalon'', too damaged to search for Silverbolt. Blackarachnia and Silverbolt journey by foot, learning to trust each other, but Megatron is eavesdropping on them. They soon discover a piece of Tarantulas and conclude with dark humor that he is no longer a threat. [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] is disgusted by their alliance, but Megatron notes that with Tarantulas out of the way, Blackarachnia no longer needs a protector. This becomes apparent when Silverbolt is the first to cross a log bridge, only for Blackarachnia to pull her weapon on him. However, a sabertoothed cat attacks her, which Silverbolt defeats, but is left dangling on a vine. Blackarachnia saves Silverbolt, awkwardly saying that it was in case there were more tigers around. Megatron is disgusted, as it is apparent that she may have feelings for the [[Maximal]].

[[Image:Bad Spark Blackarachnia Silverbolt.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Look, just admit that it's possible Frenzy is the blue one.]]
As the two Transformers walk on, Silverbolt tries to appeal to Blackarachnia's "inner Maximal goodness", only to receive gunfire in return. As Blackarachnia stomps off, she finds Tarantulas' stasis locked body—in several pieces. Silverbolt notes that Protoform X must have done this, and tells Blackarachnia about the protoform's indestructible spark. Megatron, still eavesdropping, fashions an energon blade in preparation. Blackarachnia, freaked, prepares to high-tail it out of the area as an ominous form skitters through the fog behind them. Suddenly, the two find themselves face-to-face with Protoform X! Huge and frightening, it knocks them around effortlessly and is immune to their firepower. The monster lifts Silverbolt in its powerful claw, relishing his victim's mounting terror. Silverbolt screams in pain as X crushes him.

[[Image:Bad Spark Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|This will hurt me a lot more than it will hurt you...oh, I'm lying. This won't hurt me. If anything, I'll enjoy it.]]
Primal and Cheetor arrive in the nick of time and attack, freeing Silverbolt. Blackarachnia joins them in blasting Protoform X, eventually driving it off a cliff edge. However, it transforms into tank mode and ascends the cliffside. Silverbolt throws a feather missile, knocking him down into another pile of raw energon, but not before Protoform X fires at Blackarachnia, knocking her off the other side of the cliff. Silverbolt jumps after her, unsure if his wing mechanism is healed, but he succeeds, and she is saved. The Maximals let her go before returning home. Blackarachnia watches them depart, then uses her grappling wire to depart, emphasizing a claim that she didn't need Silverbolt's last rescue.

Helpless in the pile of raw energon, Protoform X sees Megatron appear over him with the energon blade. X wakes up in the Predacon base to find that Megatron has carved out a piece of his spark and put it in a tiny cage that, when squeezed, causes him tremendous pain. Megatron has Protoform X at his mercy and renames him "Rampage".
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (1)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (2)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (3)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (4)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Protoform X]] (9)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (12)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s
|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (6)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (7)
*[[Tarantulas]] (8)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (11)

}}
==Quotes==
"Primus help us all if that thing survived."
:—'''Rhinox''', on Protoform X

"Spiders spin their webs, yes. But I spin them larger."
:—'''Megatron''' after placing a cloaked tracking device on Blackarachnia

''(Tarantulas pounces on Blackarachnia and is holding her)'' 
'''Blackarachnia''': You! What are you doing here? 
'''Tarantuals''': You've got information I want. 
'''Megatron''': Yesss, let's hear it. 
'''Blackarachnia''': Fine, Tarantulas, here's the scoop: Megatron is a slag-suckin' saurian, got it? 
'''Megatron''': Grr... she'll pay for that.
:-'''Megatron''' and '''Tarantulas''' both know '''Blackarachnia''' has a big secret, but she tells them something everyone knows.

"Are you...damaged?" 
"Ah...just enough to make me...interesting."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia'''

"Tarantulas!" 
"Where?!" 
"Do not worry. He has...been disarmed." 
"To say the least."
:—'''Silverbolt''' and '''Blackarachnia''' share a dark joke.

"Are ya...damaged?" 
"Just enough to make me...interesting."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Silverbolt''' trade roles and lines.

'''Silverbolt:''' "Why did you save me?" 
'''Blackarachnia:''' "Well, uh...there...might be other...creatures..." 
'''Megatron:''' "Eww, yuck."
:—Megatron listens in on Silverbolt and Blackarachnia's conversation.

"Forget the rescue plan, Optimus, and start devising an attack plan! Megatron has lost two, but we have only lost one." 
"I'll remember that...next time ''you're'' out missing in an energon storm." 
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Optimus Primal''' debate priorities.

"Is that fear you're feeling, Maximal? Mmm...yes. My spark, it feeds on terror. Let it grow! Let it consume your circuitry! Feel it! Yes, feel it! Feel the fear!"
:—'''Protoform X''' with Silverbolt in his claws

"Your persistence is futile! I rise again...!" 
"In that case, let us give you further to fall!"
:—'''Protoform X''' and '''Silverbolt'''

"You are much more than a Predacon, my lady. Someday, you will come to realise that."
:—'''Silverbolt''' to the departed Blackarachnia.

"Welcome to the Predacons, '''RAMPAGE'''. You shall be an honored member...so long as you never forget one important fact about your new life: ''It's mine.''"
:—'''Megatron'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*As Optimus is departing the bridge with Silverbolt in tow, the panels that make up his boogie board/robot lower legs are missing.

===Continuity errors===
* Why would Optimus Primal be so quick to assume Protoform X's indestructible spark was permanently offline? (Admittedly, he didn't have much time to examine it before the Predacons showed up, and his later assertion that it was offline may have only been to deter Blackarachnia.)

===Transformers references===
* Rhinox notes, "[[Primus]] help us all if that thing survived," which was the first reference to the Creator-God of the Transformers outside of the original Marvel comics. According to Bob Forward, they took the term from a post in the [[alt.toys.transformers]] newsgroup, and were unaware of its history until afterwards. <ref>Forward's introduction to the [[Matrix Quest (Titan)|Matrix Quest]] TPB.</ref>
* Protoform X was created as an attempt to duplicate [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s "mutant indestructible spark." This is a reference (and a retcon in technobabble jargon) to Starscream's ghost in the third season of the original animated series and, more recently, to Starscream's appearance in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Possession]]." It also explains why, as Optimus noted in "Possession", Starscream's records were sealed; the Council didn't want anyone else to make the same mistake they did and try to recreate Starscream's spark condition.

===Additional notes===
* Cheetor's [[Transmetal]] body can soak up energon, and instead of seizing up, he can shunt it away from his body in a burst of gas. Primal thinks this is rude, and Cheetor apologizes for "blasting one off." In other words, Transformers can [[The Low Road|fart]]. This absorption and release of energon radiation was rarely mentioned in the series, and serves mostly as a lead-in to Rampage's reactivation by the energon storm.
*[[Rattrap]] does not appear in this episode.
*Apparently Blackarachnia can shoot a line downwards to save Silverbolt; however, she can't shoot one upwards to scale the wall of the chasm they must venture through on foot. Her usual ability to scuttle up walls in beast mode is also seemingly offline. On the other hand, immediately afterwards she said, *sigh* "Like I needed him to catch me anyway." while using her grappling gun. So it seems likely she simply ''wanted'' Silverbolt to catch her. Wacky mis-matched buddy adventures can be a tricky business.
*The original script includes an extra line from Rampage in the last scene, in which he threatens to eat Megatron's "living brain on a plate with fava beans". No doubt cut because it was just a little too on the nose regarding Rampage's [[Wikipedia:Hannibal Lecter|Hannibal Lecter]] characterization.

===Theatrical release===
[[Image:BeastWarsSpecialJapanesePosterArt01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]

*This episode was released theatrically in Japan on [[December 19]], 1998, as the third segment in the ''[[Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers]]'' feature film, titled simply as "Beast Wars Metals". The episode was included to get fans anticipating the long-awaited Japanese release of the ''[[Beast Wars Metals (franchise)|Beast Wars Metals]]'' TV series (seasons 2 and 3 of the American series). Its placement in the ''Beast Wars Metals'' TV broadcasts was filled with a newly crafted [[clip show]], "[[Where Is the Banana?]]".

{{-}}

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Bad Spark / Code of Hero ([[KB Toys]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers Special'' — Clash! Beast Warriors ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 7 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers Special'' (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers Special'' (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Second Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

Other Visits (Part 2)

2010-11-25T22:26:20Z

128.189.175.215: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=33
|series2=Metals
|ep2=7
|next2=Code of Hero
|image=Other_Visits_2_Hunter_Predacons.jpg
|caption=All that trouble, just for a giant vacuum cleaner.
|title="Other Visits" (Part 2)
|production=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 15]], 1998
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[Colin Davies]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}

'''With the alien craft in his possession, Megatron intends to use it to conquer Cybertron!'''

:''French title:'' '''Les Visiteurs - 2e partie''' ("The Visitors - Part 2")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Les Visiteurs 2'''
:''Japanese title:'' え? かおが? (''E? Kao ga?'', "Huh? The Face?")
:''Spanish title:'' '''Otras Visitas (Parte 2)'''
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Los Visitantes Segunda Parte'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Minaccia aliena - Parte 2''' ("Alien threat - Part Two")
:''Brazilian name:'' '''Outras Visitas Parte 2''' ("Others Visits Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Other Visits 2 Hunter Maximals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The Maximals aren't too thrilled with the radiation tent put around their house.]]
The Beast Warriors lay inert after the [[Metal Hunter]]'s energy surge… but the [[Transmetal|Transmetalized]] ones soon recover. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] begins investigating the alien base, finding it does not react to their presence. [[Tarantulas]] says that the surge has used most of their energy, and they must act quickly. Tarantulas activates the devices that the Predacons had previously planted around the alien site, creating a force field which repels a [[Maximal]] attack. Safe inside the web, Megatron casually uses the [[Golden Disk (Vok)|alien disk]] to enter the base, shrugging off [[Optimus Primal]]'s warnings.

Primal sends [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] to take [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] back to base for repairs, while he and [[Rattrap]] prepare to take down Tarantulas' shield.

Megatron boots [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] into the main chamber of the alien base, but nothing happens. Tarantulas observes that their beast modes shield them from detection. Tired of hiding, Megatron transforms, but still nothing happens; he realizes that the [[Quantum surge|quantum surge]] has rendered them invisible to the aliens.

[[Image:Other Visits 2 Megatron power.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I hope that isn't [[JaAm]].]]
Tarantulas hacks into the base's systems, but finds no trace of the aliens. A control interface appears, which Megatron activates with the alien disk. Energy surges down into him.

Rattrap produces a couple of bombs, which he and Primal use to take down the [[Refractive web|refractive web]]. Tarantulas realizes what's happened, and takes Quickstrike to defend the base, determined that it remain in Predacon hands. After they leave, the energy surge ends, a control chair descends, and Megatron laughs in triumph.

Primal and Rattrap puzzle over how to enter the base, only to have Tarantulas and Quickstrike pop out from a door and open fire. Primal charges and nearly makes it to the entrance, but the base rumbles to life just then, lifting off the ground. A single shot knocks out Primal and sends Rattrap flying away. A green energy beam scoops up all the Transformers and levitates them into the air. Only Rattrap avoids it, by diving into cover amid some boulders.

[[Image:Other Visits 2 Megatron chair.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I am the navigator.]]
A giant version of Megatron's face emerges from the base, speaking to his troops. He tells Tarantulas that the aliens no longer matter, and that with his victory, their alliance is terminated—and thus drops Tarantulas back to the ground. The rest of his troops are repaired and, along with Primal, are brought inside the base. Just as Rattrap is wondering what else can go wrong, the base teleports away, and he finds himself held at gunpoint by a battered Tarantulas.

The alien base rematerializes over the mountaintop where [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] found the alien disk. Megatron needs time to achieve his next goal; he sends [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and Inferno on a special task.

At the Maximal base, Dinobot and Rhinox are back online. Silverbolt is unable to find the Metal Hunter; however, he does detect Rattrap incoming... along with Tarantulas! The spider wants access to the Maximals' computer system, which—after some initial distrust—he quickly uses to locate the base. He also scans Inferno and Waspinator, who are carrying [[Transwarp]] cells back to the base. Tarantulas urges an immediate attack.

[[Image:Other Visits 2 Optimus bound.jpg|right|200px|thumb|How many more dodgy situations are in this show?!]]
At the Metal Hunter, Primal awakens to find that Megatron intends to take the base back to Cybertron. Again, he brushes off Primal's concerns about the aliens discovering Cybertron; he plans to destroy them, along with the Maximals and the Autobots. He reasons that the trophies of the base and Primal will convince the [[Predacon Alliance]] that conquest is the right path.

The Maximals attack, drawing out the Predacon troops and providing a distraction while Rattrap and Tarantulas infiltrate the base. With the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] drawn out, the Maximals fall back. Tarantulas sends Rattrap toward the control room, and vanishes.

[[Image:Other Visits 2 Megatron Optimus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|King Kong vs Godzilla!]]
Megatron engages a teleportation sequence, but Rattrap bursts into the control room and frees Optimus Primal. Megatron and Primal battle, while Rattrap attempts to stop the teleport sequence. Destroying the control chair doesn't do the trick, but just as Rattrap seems to have run out of ideas, Tarantulas arrives. He sends a download into the alien systems and hightails it out of the base, so even if the teleportation sequence is complete, the only thing that will be destroyed is the Metal Hunter. The combatants soon realize what's happened, and flee the alien base shortly before it teleports into space. A transwarp portal opens to receive it, but the base explodes before it can leave Earth.

Primal resolves to the gathered Maximals that, if [[Tigatron]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]'s [[Spark|sparks]] are still online, they will recover them.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
* [[Rattrap]] (7)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (8)
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (9)
* [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (10)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (11)
* [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Tarantulas]] (1)
* [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (1)
* [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (1)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (1)
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (1)
}}

==Quotes==
"Megatron, don't! [[Vok|Their]] power is beyond what you can imagine. You can't control it!" 
"I am power."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' and '''Megatron''', just before the Predacons enter the Metal Hunter

"Oh, man! Looks like we lost this one big time." 
"We lose when we quit, and I'm not ready to quit." 
"I hate it when he talks like that."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Optimus Primal'''

"You do realize the web's the only thing keepin' that alien locker quiet." 
"Blow it."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Optimus Primal''', with the line that launched a thousand childish innuendos.

"''Your'' turn to think of something."
:—'''Rattrap''' has done his bit.

"Yeah! Now this is the party I expected!" 
"Let's mingle."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Optimus''' under fire

"Oh man, what else can go wrong?"
:—'''Rattrap''', just before the Metal Hunter teleports away and Tarantulas holds him at gunpoint.

"I'm getting sick of waking up in the slagging R Chamber."
:—'''Rhinox''' after getting knocked offline for the umpteenth time.

"Waspinator not think this job so important." 
"Every job for the Royalty is a gift!" 
"Ant-bot is major suck-up!"
:—'''Waspinator''' and '''Inferno''', while flying the transwarp cells to the Metal Hunter

"Hhh! Your scanning system is ''pitiful''. Did you learn ''nothing'' from the alien disk?"
:—'''Tarantulas''' isn't impressed by Rhinox's skills.

"This time, you ''lose'', Megatron!"
:—'''Optimus Primal''' to Megatron after the Predacon's plans for glory are ruined.

"What about Airazor and Tigatron?" 
"If their Sparks are still online, we'll get them back."
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Optimus Primal'''

==Notes==
* Before Megatron places the alien disk into the control column, he gives it a kiss for luck. Truly.

===Technical/animation glitches===
*Glitch

===Continuity errors===
*Last time, [[Vok|the aliens]] were prepared to blow up the entire planet to stop the Transformers. This time, they just send this plant base thing which makes a single attack on the Beast Warriors and then just sits there, waiting for Megatron to stroll right in. (''[[Beast Wars Universe]]'' has shown that DiTillo's idea was that the Vok have been convinced that omnicide is wrong by Tigatron and was there to simply get them off the planet, but this never made it into the show.) On the other hand, it's unlikely that the aliens were aware of the Transmetals-if everyone was still in their original forms when the base attacked, the Beast Wars might have ended then and there.

===Transformers references===
* The idea of a giant floating Megatron head would go one step further with the debut of the [[Grand Mal]] in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Optimus Lives! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — L'Empreinte D'Optimus (Alliance Atlantis) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — Huh? The Face? ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 6 ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Second Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Other Visits (Part 1)

2010-11-25T22:22:21Z

128.189.175.215: /* Continuity notes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=32
|image=Other_Visits_1_Airazor_Tigatron.jpg
|caption="I'll never let go, Tigatron. I promise."
|title="Other Visits" (Part 1)
|production=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 8]], 1998
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[John Pozer]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''A new alien site and device are discovered, and Megatron intends to have both for himself.'''

:''French title:'' '''Les Visiteurs - 1re partie''' ("The Visitors - Part 1")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Les Visiteurs 1'''
:''Japanese title:'' え? お花が? (''E? O-hana ga?'', "Huh? The Flower?")
:''Spanish title:'' '''Otras Visitas (Parte 1)'''
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Los Visitantes Primera Parte'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Minaccia aliena - Parte 1''' ("Alien threat - Part One")
:''Brazilian name:'' '''Outras Visitas Parte 1''' ("Others Visits Part 1")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Other Visits 1 Rhinox Dinobot.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Optimus is coming! Quick, look busy!]]
[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] scans all the known alien sites, with [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] playing "back seat computer operator". Both notice a pattern, and Rhinox is concerned, as the next location looks like it is on course with [[Tigatron]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor's]] scout patrol. They try to alert the pair but are unable to due to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron's]] jamming tower. Dinobot announces he and [[Rattrap]] will go to destroy the tower. Rhinox informs the other [[Maximals]] of the danger Tigatron and Airazor are in, so the flyers set off to warn them.

[[Tarantulas]] is repairing his web in his lair, moaning to himself that no one will help him, as "they're all too busy helping Megatron, even that vile..." when he is interrupted by his computer alerting him to the presence of the aliens. He quickly transforms into his motorbike mode and races off.

[[Image:Other Visits 1 Blackarachnia monitor.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Megatron's coming! Quick, look busy!]]
In the ''[[Darksyde]]'', [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] is nearly dozing off on scout duty, as "being loyal to Megatron sure is boring!". This doesn't please the purple guy much, as he happens to be eavesdropping. Suddenly, she notices Tarantulas on the scanners, zipping along at breakneck speed in [[Grid Vaxon]]. At the mention of the spider, Megatron reveals himself, accompanied by [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], and begins giving Blackarachnia orders, with Inferno enforcing his master's wishes. Blackarachnia suggests they follow Tarantulas to see what he's up to, but Megatron seems reluctant. Inferno then reports an attack on the jamming tower and asks if he should back up [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]]. Instead, Megatron reveals to the spider and Inferno that now is a prime time to get the [[Golden Disk (Vok)|Golden Disk]] back, with only Rhinox guarding the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''.

[[Image:Other Visits 1 Tigatron plant.jpg|left|200px|thumb|A touching moment here, but a different touching in Japan.]]
Tigatron and Airazor are patrolling when, to their delight and surprise, they see a hint of plant life in the form of a drifting seed. They continue to [[Grid Zeiram]], where they discover a clearing full of plant life, an area of natural beauty that wasn't destroyed by the alien attack. Airazor is intrigued by the unique forms of vegetation, so she transforms to get a scan. BIG MISTAKE. Tigatron also transforms. BIG MISTAKE. They both seem to be overcome by it all, and share a brief, cheesy romantic moment. But as the pair cuddle up, tendrils begin to snake up behind them, and suddenly, the two Maximals are entangled. Amidst their screams, they link hands, telling each other that their sparks will always find each other. As they are abducted, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] flies up and tries to rescue them, but to no avail. He screams in protest as he realises he has lost them. As he bemoans the Maximals' inability to warn the abducted pair in time, Tarantulas pops up and blasts Cheetor, knocking him out cold. As Tarantulas begins to check out the site, he realises [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] is coming, so he retreats.

Optimus and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] land in the clearing, and Optimus gets Cheetor back online. He hurriedly asks what happened to Tigatron and Airazor, and Cheetor indicates the plant at fault for their disappearance. At this moment, Rattrap buzzes in, informing the Maximals that he and Dinobot have destroyed the jamming tower. (Actually, Dinobot is still landing a few final blows, which topple the tower on top of Quickstrike and Waspinator.) Upon hearing about the fate of Tigatron and Airazor, all the Maximals head back to base, all deeply moved.

[[Image:Rock 'em an' sock 'em%2C Rhinox.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The incredible, unanticipated Hasbro-Mattel crossover!]]
Optimus com-links Rhinox, who is also shocked by the news, but, being the cool cucumber that he is, goes straight back to scanning the alien abduction and notices two distorted figures in the beam: Tigatron and Airazor. Before he can investigate further, the base alerts go off, and he notices Megatron outside. Rhinox has no time for fun and games, so he literally brings out "the big guns." However, Megatron is merely acting as a diversion while Blackarachnia and Inferno sneak into the base and shut off the defense systems. Big Green realizes he's in trouble and desperately tries to get through to Optimus, but Inferno enters the room, swings Rhinox's chair up to the table, and puts him at gunpoint just as Optimus finally responds. Inferno offers a "Goodbye!" on Rhinox's behalf and simultaneously blasts Rhinox. Blackarachnia rushes for the disk, but Inferno is more hesitant: "The Royalty said we weren't to touch it until..." He is interrupted by Rhinox grabbing him and yanking him back to express his displeasure. Rhinox and Inferno start to rock 'n' sock each other with chin-punches, and Rhinox soon wins by popping Inferno's block off (or at least up). Blackarachnia grabs the disk, but Rhinox menaces her with "The Chaingun Of Doom." He barely has time to threaten her before Megatron appears behind him and lays verbal claim to the disk. Despite his fear, Rhinox quickly readies to smack Megatron in the face, but the Pred is too quick; he grabs Rhinox's hand in his claw, rips it off and sends him sprawling. Megatron grabs the disk, pushes Inferno's head back down, then takes his leave.

The Maximals make it back to the base, and Optimus re-attaches Rhinox's arm. The Maximals then have a council. Cheetor is still upset about Tigatron and Airazor, insisting they need to rescue those two. However, Dinobot says they need to stop Megatron before the aliens strike, to which Optimus agrees. They set off for the site where Tigatron and Airazor were abducted.

Megatron is back in the ''Darksyde'', talking about the Golden Disk, but is interrupted by Tarantulas. The spider brags that he is no longer part of the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] command, but also reminds his ex-leader that he is Megatron's only chance of surviving the alien attack. Megatron allows Tarantulas to undertake his plan.

[[Image:Other Visits 1 Megatron hunter.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"From here it looks like a giant boob."]]
The Predacons head to the abduction site, where they go about ramming posts into the ground. Megatron questions Tarantulas's motives, but Tarantulas isn't telling. However, due to the fact they shared minds, Blackarachnia knows it is because he hates the aliens. Megatron doesn't mind, since hatred is an emotion he can trust. When the plan is complete, Megatron and Tarantulas have a brief laughing contest which is interrupted by Primal and the Maximals, who transform and prepare to attack. The Predacons also terrorize, ready for battle, when the aliens' beam comes down, causing a halt in the proceedings. All the Transformers stare on in amazement as a [[Metal Hunter|spaceship]] materializes in front of their very optics.

The top of the ship opens, releasing an energon surge, which blasts into everybody.

[[Other Visits (Part 2)|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Tigatron]] (7)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (8)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (9)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (10)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (11)
*[[Rattrap]] (14)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Tarantulas]] (3)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (4)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (6)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (12)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"Sometimes Optimus trusts too much..."
:—'''Rhinox''' to himself over Dinobot's recent activities

"Wherever we go, my Spark will find yours!" 
"A-a-and mine, yours."
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Airazor''', just before getting sent into space

"We could have warned them. If only that stinking Megatron hadn't..." 
"Well you didn't!" [''blasts Cheetor''] 
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Tarantulas'''

"Say the word, and he will ''burn'', My Queen." 
"Not yet...and for the last time, '''''stop calling me that!'''''" 
"As you command, my...''Ack...''"
:—'''Inferno''' and '''Megatron''' decide to "choke" this title for now.

'''Megatron''': (after all of Sentinel's guns are pointed at him) "I...uh..come in peace?" 
'''Rhinox''':"You're about to leave in pieces."
:—Negotiations between '''Megatron''' and '''Rhinox''' break down.

"Ready to rock and roll, insect?" 
"I don't rock and roll. I buuuuurn."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Inferno''' after knocking out the Maximal defences.

''(laughs)'' "Looks like we will have our little chat after all, Rhinox."
:—'''Megatron''', after the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s defenses are deactivated

"You don't wanna try it. The disk!"
:—'''Rhinox''' demands the Golden Disk from Blackarachnia, unaware that Megatron is creeping up behind him.

"It's like I always say: We're all gonna die."''(All glare at Rattrap.)'' 
"I know, I know. 'Shut up, Rattrap.'"
:—'''Rattrap''' contemplates the situation.

"Leave here, Primal! I will deal with this!" 
"Like you did ''last time''? Dream on!"
:—'''Megatron''' fails to get '''Optimus Primal''''s confidence for dealing with the aliens.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
*Near the beginning of the episode when Optimus is flying on his gorilla hoverboard, his blaster (which is his thruster in that mode) is pointed down, but there is still a visible jet of flame where it should be.
*During the Maximal group discussion about the alien device, Cheetor's cat head clips into his arm.

===Continuity notes===
* In this episode and many others after the events of "[[Maximal, No More]]", at least one Maximal would express their ill feelings towards Dinobot for what he did. This would continue until "[[Code of Hero]]", where he would redeem himself, albeit at the cost of his own life.
* Fittingly, many references are made to the Transformers' [[Other Voices, Part 1|last]] [[Other Voices, Part 2|encounter]] with the aliens. Both Rattrap and Blackarachnia refer to the alien's [[Planet Buster|previous superweapon]], while Optimus makes several references to the "truce" and his own death that occured due to the last event.

===Real-World References===
*The fight between [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] references Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots, a popular fighting game. This isn't the only time [[Headmaster (episode)|either]]
*Waspinator says he's pinned like an "[[wikipedia:Iron_Butterfly|iron butterfly]]", referencing the 1960s psychedelic rock band that gave the world "[[wikipedia:In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida|In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida]]".

===Trivia===
* The original script called for the alien plant to lure Tigatron and Airazor in with a [[stasis pod]] containing a [[blank]].

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Optimus Lives! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — L'Empreinte D'Optimus (Alliance Atlantis) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — I Quit! ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 6 ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Second Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

The Low Road

2010-11-25T22:01:51Z

128.189.175.215: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=22
|image=Low Road Rhinox fart.jpg
|caption=AKA "The Low Brow"
|title="The Low Road"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 10]], 1997
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[J. Falconer]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Rhinox is infected with a strange energon discharge virus, and if a cure isn't found, he'll destroy the Maximal base as he literally sneezes himself to death.'''

:''French title:'' '''Le Virus''' ("The Virus")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Le Virus'''
:''Japanese title:'' ストップ･ザ･くしゃみ (''Stop the Kushami'', "Stop the Sneezing")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Subterráneo'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il virus''' ("The virus")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Caminho Subterrâneo''' ("The Underground Way")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Low Road Rattrap Dinobot fight.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Objection!"]]
The [[Maximal]]s use their tools to garden, trimming the wild bean vines that have grown around the Maximal base and, as [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] explains, could be exploited by the Predacons. [[Rattrap]] and Dinobot get into a fight. Inside, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] detects [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] coming to attack, but can't activate the [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]] shields because of the two arguing Maximals outside. Rhinox comes down the elevator with his guns ablaze and commands the two to get inside, but they are too busy arguing to obey. Trying to cover his teammates' withdrawal, Rhinox is hit by a strange weapon from [[Tarantulas]]. Dinobot blasts Tarantulas several times, and with the crucial shot fired, the Predacons retreat.

Inside, the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'''s computer reports on the strange effect the device had on Rhinox, giving him a [[Energon discharge virus|disease]] that causes the larger Maximal to "spontaneously discharge energy." Rhinox demonstrates this by hiccuping energy beams around the base, causing much collateral damage. It's decided a counter-virus must be found.

[[Image:Low Road Rattrap Dinobot Taratulas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hello? You're at gunpoint!]]
Rattrap and Dinobot attempt to trail the injured Tarantulas. The two get into an argument about who is to blame for Rhinox becoming sick, which quickly degenerates into name-calling. Eventually forgetting why they started the argument, the two follow Tarantulas's scent. Running after a glimpse of the Predacon, they fall though a hole and onto a long slide—with a heavy boulder close behind them. But after they land at the bottom of the slide, the boulder actually hits Tarantulas. Rattrap and Dinobot continue bickering as they search through the underground caverns for Tarantulas's lab.

Aboard the ''Axalon'', [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] reveals to [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] that he paired Dinobot and Rattrap together so they could either learn to work together or kill each other. Rhinox is meanwhile kept on a life support system which drains energy from the rest of the (now heavily damaged) Maximal base.

Back at the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]], [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] sends his own forces to reclaim Tarantulas so more of the virus can be developed to use on the rest of the Maximals. They head to his [[Tarantulas's lair|laboratory]] to see if they can locate the missing arachnid there. On Tarantulas's security sensors, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] notices the two wandering Maximals making their way through the caverns towards the hideout.

[[Image:Low Road Optimus Rhinox.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Hey, handsome. Come here often?"]]
Primal rallies his available soldiers for action against the Predacons to seize the antidote to Rhinox's ailment forcibly. Rhinox attempts to come along with the others, but Primal orders his friend to stay behind and consume some food to help stabilize his systems. Naturally, the first option on Rhinox's menu happens to be the wild beans conveniently surrounding the ''Axalon''.

[[Image:Low Road Megatron countervirus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Megatron discovers what has been making his beast head go all green.]]
Back in Tarantulas's lair, Blackarachnia discovers where Tarantulas stored the counter-virus. When [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] detects the two Maximals getting closer, the Predacon goons open fire, wildly hoping to hit something, but instead just ruin any chance they have of ambushing their targets. Dinobot tries to use Tarantulas as a hostage, but this tactic doesn't work on Megatron, who has no reservations about abusing his own soldiers. However, the distraction has bought Rattrap (who was supposed to be covering Dinobot) the time to sneak through some tubes to arrive behind the Predacons, leaving him close enough to disarm them quickly.

A nasal energon-expulsion from Rhinox provides a hole for the other Maximals to enter the chamber once they finish posing heroically. Megatron mentions that he alone has the counter-virus that could save Rhinox.

But then Rhinox shoots an incredible energon fart (visible from space) that blows the Predacons far away, giving the Maximals the chance to grab the counter-virus and live happily ever after. Rattrap and Dinobot still bicker like kids, though.

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]
|c1=
*[[Rattrap]] (1)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (3)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (5)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (13)
*[[Tigatron]] (14)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (6)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (7)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (8)
*[[Tarantulas]] (9)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (10)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (11)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (12)

}}

==Quotes==
"Excuse me. Are ''you'' implying that the current situation is somehow...''my'' responsibility?!" 
"Well, you did start it...''gearhead''!" 
"I BEG to differ...cheese lips!" 
"Pre-evolved birdbrain!" 
"Eater of garbage!!"
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Rattrap''' trade insults, part 1

"Sheesh, and they call ''me'' the immature one."
:—'''Cheetor''''s response to above argument

"Wait! I detect a scent! Vile corruption... a whiff of festering putification!" 
"So I ate a limburger sandwich for lunch! I'm a rat, gimme a break!" 
"I've been... uncomfortably aware of your stench for the past hour, ''vermin''. This is something else... something over... THERE!" 
''(Tarantulas suddenly springs out and legs it)'' 
"Oh yeah! He's mine!" 
"Leave battle to the ''warriors'', '''''mouse'''''!!!"
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Rattrap''' trade insults, part 2

'''Dinobot:''' Unlike you, I do not spend my time scurrying through ''sewers!'' 
'''Rattrap:''' Yeah? Well, a sewer smells better than your breath, bronto-brain! 
'''Dinobot:''' Nnngrrh! You will get used to it WHEN I BITE YOUR USELESS HEAD OFF! 
''(Tarantulas suddenly wakes up)'' 
'''Tarantulas:''' DIIIIE, MAXIMALS! 
'''Dinobot and Rattrap:''' SHUT UP! 
''(They both punch Tarantulas)''
:—Rattrap and Dinobot trade insults, part 3

"So, uh, you got a better plan?" 
"No, but I ''still'' despise the idea of expiring underground. It lacks a...a warrior's nobility." 
"Oh, hey-hey, no sweat, heh heh. 'Cause I ain't lettin' ''nobody'' waste you down here! That's a job I'm reserving for myself!" 
"Oooh, I appreciate your concern, but let me assure you, being shot in the back by a malodorous ''mouse'' would not exactly earn me a seat in Silicon Valhalla!" 
"Awwww, poor baby."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Dinobot''' trade insults, part 4

"A bargaining chip should remain in play until the game is over, yesss." 
"Why do you always talk to yourself?" 
"Ah, I simply have a penchant for...''intelligent conversation''."
:—'''Megatron''' ripostes rather well to '''Blackarachnia'''.

''(Dinobot enters, holding Tarantulas)'' 
"Do not fire, Megatron! I have a HOSTAGE!" 
"Why, so you do..." 
''(Megatron shoots Tarantulas)''
:—Hostage negotiations with '''Dinobot''', '''Megatron'''-style

"This is ''certainly'' the most humiliating defeat of my entire career. Yess..."
:—'''Megatron''' after Rhinox defeats the Predacons single...erm, handedly

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After the boulder hits Tarantulas, it cracks in a most unconvincing way — the cracks appear to be extremely shallow.

===Continuity notes===
*In this episode Blackarachnia mentions that Tarantulas encrypted all the information on his computers, foreshadowing that he has something to hide.

===Continuity errors===
*When Rattrap and Dinobot fall through the trapdoor leading to the underground tunnels, Rattrap's gun is left spinning in mid-air. The next shot is upwards from underground, as they fall, and the gun is not visible. Indeed, when Rattrap lands on Dinobot, the gun doesn't fall on top of them. Later, as they approach Tarantulas' lab, Rattrap has his gun back.

===Real-world references===
[[Image:LowRoad fart.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The same results can be obtained by eating at Taco Bell.]]
* Dinobot refers to a [[Silicon Valhalla]] as some kind of afterlife, dually referencing both [[wikipedia:Valhalla|ancient Norse mythology]] and [[wikipedia:Silicon_Valley|Silicon Valley]] (and at a stretch [[wikipedia:Red_Dwarf|Red Dwarf's]] [[wikipedia:Silicon_Heaven|Silicon Heaven]]).
*Some of the slapstick, particularly temporarily defying gravity, and Rattrap's gun being momentarily left in the air when they do fall, is reminiscent of classic [[wikipedia:Warner_Bros.|Warner Bros.]] cartoons, such as [[wikipedia:Road_Runner_(cartoon)|Road Runner]].
* During one of their squabbles, Rattrap refers to Dinobot as a 'pre-evolved birdbrain', riffing on the recent scientific theory that birds evolved from Dromaeosaurid dinosaurs ("raptors") like Dinobot.
*When the Maximals burst into Tarantulas's lab, Airazor is kneeling at Optimus's feet, with one hand affectionately placed on his leg. Instead of, y'know, ''pointing a gun at the bad guys.'' The shot is a parody of the stereotypical heroic entrance/posturing scene, such as found on the theatrical poster for the original ''[[wikipedia:Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope|Star Wars]]'' film. Once Rattrap undermines the moment, as evidenced by the musical score, Airazor can be seen standing normally with the other Maximals. All part of the fun, folks.
*When the rhino-fart shakes the globe, the epicenter is clearly in Africa, providing more evidence for the show being set there. In fact, it appears to be in the middle of the Sahara, which would have been less arid in the prehistoric time of the Beast Wars than it is today.
*Rhinox dons a beer-hat style contraption from which to sip his treatment.

===Trivia===
*In the beginning of the episode, Rattrap is using one of Optimus Primal's swords to cut down the vines.
*The details of exactly ''why'' Optimus decided it was a good idea to send Rattrap and Dinobot together on a life saving mission is beyond anyone. He later confesses, "They'll either learn to work together or destroy each other. Right now I don't really care which." He apparently doesn't hold Rhinox's safety in very high regard.
*While turning around to deliver his energon fart, Rhinox's *ahem* anus is clearly visible. Now that's classy.
*The virus which infected Rhinox and which Megatron intended to use to infect the rest of the Maximals was never mentioned again. Can you blame him for washing his hands of the entire affair?
*Rattrap actually does eat garbage<ref>[http://www.tfarchive.com/toys/techspecs/beast-era/1996__Rattrap_(1996a).jpg Tech spec bio].</ref>.
*Rattrap's declaration that he and Dinobot have the Predacons under control is a bit exaggerated. He may have shot the guns from their hands, but that still leaves six Predacons with a variety of built-in weapons (Scorponok's missiles, Megatron's lasers, Blackarachnia's spider-leg machine guns, etc.) against two Maximals. Either Rattrap has a lot of faith in his and Dinobot's fighting abilities, or he has an incredibly low view of Predacon skill...
*Farts are funny. Hence, this episode is very funny if you like farts. And who doesn't?
*Episode writer Bob Forward summed up the reaction to the episode thusly: "[...] After 15 Years And A Couple Of Hundred Scripts, [I] Will Be Remembered Forever For A Rhinocerous {{sic}} Fart."<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/70dc1b8dd547cba9 Post on alt.toys.transformers by Bob Forward]</ref>
*For some reason, Tarantulas seems to have one of Waspinator's arms in his lab.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Starscream's Invulnerability ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 4 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Predacon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 4 — The Predacons Advance! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

==References==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Low Road}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Before the Storm

2010-11-25T21:57:41Z

128.189.175.215: /* Technical/animation errors */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=24
|image=Before the Storm Megatron disc.jpg
|caption="At last, I have located the greatest chocolate coin in all history, ''yessss''..."
|title="Before the Storm"
|production company= [[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate= [[February 21]], 1997
|written by= [[Larry DiTillio]] [[Bob Forward]]
|directed by= [[Adam Wood]]
|animation studio= [[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity= [[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Inferno brings Megatron an alien golden disk that causes him to offer a too good to be true cease fire to the Maximals.'''

:''French title:'' '''Le Calme Avant la Tempête''' ("The Calm Before the Storm")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Avant l'Orage''' ("Before the Storm")
:''Japanese title:'' やつらが来る! (''Yatsura ga Kuru!'', "They Come!")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Antes de la Tormenta'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Prima della tempesta
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Antes da Tempestade'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:VokDisk Monolith.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Finders keepers.]]
[[Tigatron]] observes a strange energy pulse in a distant mountain. Simultaneously, within the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]], [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] is woken by his computer. It reports the energy anomaly, and that it is of alien origin. Megatron suspects this could be the start of something big and thus sends [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] to investigate. The fire ant burrows into the mountain and recovers a [[Golden Disk (Vok)|strange discus]].

[[Optimus Primal|Primal]] is on a scouting run looking for the energy anomaly that Tigatron reported. He sees a strange probe, and follows it. The probe stops and forms into a hologram of Megatron. He proposes to meet about a truce on neutral ground, between both leaders.

When they meet, Megatron insists that the truce is not an act of treachery. He explains that he has no time to fight [[Maximal|Maximals]], and he needs time to think. Primal reluctantly agrees to a truce, bound by Maximal code. [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] proposes that it's about the alien energy. Primal agrees, stating that something scared Megatron very badly. [[Rattrap]] is sent—despite his usual complaints—to infiltrate the ''[[Darksyde]]''.

Meanwhile, [[Tarantulas]] hacks his way into a holding chamber to steal one of the Predacon ship's remaining Transwarp cells. [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] surprises him and demands an answer, and Tarantulas easily defeats him. Megatron, watching the exchange, decides to let Tarantulas do his work, and throw another kink in it—[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]].

[[Image:Before the Storm Airazor rattrap.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Ride the wind, Rattrap.]]
[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] delivers Rattrap to the Predacon base—unarmed—and drops him off quickly before hailing the Predacon channels. Megatron casually disarms the perimeter defenses and asks Airazor to leave. As she leaves, he stops her a moment and suggests she take Rattrap with her. Foiled, they return to the base and report to Primal, but exchange knowing glances—the distraction was enough for [[Tigatron]] to make his entrance.

Blackarachnia surprises Tarantulas, and in the confusion, Megatron hacks the Transwarp cell and adds his own programming.

Tigatron hacks the Predacon database in a cool VR world, and discovers the second Golden Disk's datatracks. Terrorsaur finds Tigatron hacking and sounds the alarm, but Tigatron uses Terrorsaur and Scorponok's goonery against each other. Under orders not to fire, the Predacons chase Tigatron, leading into a battle with the rest of the Maximals.

[[Image:Before the Storm Terrorsaur.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Pteranodon on a silver platter. Tasty.]]
Under the limitations of a truce, the Predacons and Maximals battle without using their weapons. Primal steals a wire from Inferno's rocket. Terrorsaur fails at dodging a piece of sheet metal that Cheetor and Rhinox move into position. The spiders are smart enough to avoid one trap set by Dinobot, but in doing so, are crushed by another. Without firing a single shot, the Maximals have won the day... unless, of course, Megatron intentionally let them get away.

On the Maximal base, Tigatron explains what Megatron discovered: a golden disk similar in size to the one Megatron originally stole, this one created by the same aliens who crafted the flying island, and seeded the energon on the planet. The disk itself was part of a signal that the aliens sent, ensuring that the planet received a message:

[[Vok|The aliens]] are on their way. And they are not very happy...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Tigatron]] (1)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (4)
* [[Rattrap]] (5)
* [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]](6)
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (7)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (8)
* [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (12)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (2)
* [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (3)
* [[Tarantulas]] (9)
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (10)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
* [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (13)
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (14)
}}

==Quotes==
"By the [[Great Smelter]], the Royalty was correct!"
:—'''Inferno''' surprised by the accuracy of his master's assumptions.

"Yes, my queen." 
"I wish he wouldn't call me that."
:—'''Inferno''' and '''Megatron'''. [[Lugnut (Animated)|It could be worse, Megatron.]]

"When Predacons talk truce, it just means they need time to reload their weapons." 
"Under normal circumstances, yes."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' correctly assesses '''Megatron'''.

"Do you take me for a fool?" 
"No. I take you for a Maximal."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' and '''Megatron'''

"What could I do? He was right, I'm a Maximal. I have to give peace a chance, no matter how unlikely it seems."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' channels John Lennon.

"Ehhhh we're gonna diieeee!" 
"Isn't there a rule that heroes have to face destruction with dignity?" 
"Hey! What's the use of dyin' if ya can't enjoy it?"
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Airazor'''

"Well, well, looks like curiosity just claimed another cat."
:—'''Terrorsaur''', finding Tigatron inside the Predacon Base

"There is a storm approaching. A storm of such magnitude, of such power... it is ''beyond imagination''. And to think, I was once satisfied with mere energon. To think that my ambitions lofted no higher than the conquest of Cybertron. ''*laughs* *coughs*'' Well, no longer. For I have been given a glimpse of power. Real power. And that power shall be ''mine!''"
:—'''Megatron''' starts to acquire a taste for godhood.

"Don't even twitch your whiskers, pussycat, or I'll fragment your hard drive." 
"You cannot shoot. We have a truce, remember?" 
"Oh, I remember, but you know my trigger finger. It just might forget." 
"Then permit me to jar its memory."
:—'''Terrorsaur''' and '''Tigatron'''

"Peaceful." 
"Very peaceful."
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Optimus Primal''', after observing Rhinox and Rattrap unconventionally defeating Terrorsaur

==Notes==
*Bob Forward has said this was originally planned to be part of a 4-part "Other Voices" but the plans were changed at the last minute—"Apparently anything more than a two-parter is too hard to schedule. Before The Storm had to be made into a stand-alone ep."<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/bc8e54e9165e0823?hl=en&&q=%22before+the+storm%22 Bob Forward interview on alt.toys.transformers]</ref>

*Apparently, all you have to do to hack all of [[Darksyde|the Predacon ship]]'s data, is play a virtual reality video game. The Predacons' computer virtual interface is similar to what's seen in early-to-mid 90s techno-films like ''[[wikipedia:Johnny Mnemonic (film)|Johnny Mnemonic]]''.
*Blackarachnia can be seen trapping a red poison-dart frog in her webbing when Megatron communicates with her via computer.
*Before the Predacon computer wakes him up, Megatron's dinosaur head-arm is "awake" and looking around. Similarly, when observing Tarantulas's break-in, his dino hand is looking up at him, and he pets it affectionately, as if it was, well... a pet. Just before Airazor calls the Predacon base, he is brushing its teeth with a toothbrush. It's not clear what's going on here or how this works, particularly when he's in beast mode, but clearly, Megatron has a very special relationship with his right hand.
*Airazor's suggestion that Rattrap "shed a few kilos" certainly raises some questions about Maximal biology.
*How exactly Megatron managed to reach the truce location is a bit sketchy. Optimus was only able to reach it by flight, and yet there were no other minions to carry Megatron up to such a high location, yet towards the end of the conversation, he simply turns to walk away... must have been a hard fall down.

===Technical/animation errors===
* When Optimus arrives at the neutral territory to talk with Megatron, his shoulder pads are missing. Megatron's ones are also missing when he speaks to Airazor.
* While Megatron is in his closing words of the episode, he is missing his beast mode "kibble", except the head of course. In fact, Megatron is missing most of his kibble throughout the episode, especially the pieces on his back (which form the sides of his beast mode).
* Not so much an error as it is an animation oversight, but if you look closely as Blackarachnia runs after Tigatron ''(right before the scene cuts to Dinobot,)'' you can see her holding a gun, despite Megatron's emphasis on "No shooting" mere seconds ago. Blackarachnia probably remembers this in the next scene involving her, as her gun is nowhere to be seen then.

===Transformers references===
*When Megatron is talking to Inferno in his room, there is a Generation 1 [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] head on his shelf, with an expression of pure horror. It's either a reference to [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s treachery in [[Possession|a previous episode]], or Megatron has some weird taste in ornaments.
*There's also a replica of [[Megatron (G1)|Generation 1 Megatron's]] [[fusion cannon]] on the shelf below the head.

===Real-world references===
[[Image:Scorponok-beforethestorm.jpg|right|200px|thumb|But where's the heart banging out through his chest?]]
*On the shelf in Megatron's room (aside from the Seeker head and a picture of himself), there is a Transformer sized trophy and bowling pin. He must have been good at that non-sport before he traded his hand for another head.
* When accessing the transwarp cell's programming, Megatron's code "A T T override" is a shout-out to the Usenet newsgroup [[alt.toys.transformers]].
* Megatron mused that "There is a storm coming. A storm of such power, such magnitude, it is beyond imagination!" "Beyond Imagination" was at the time the website of James Hooks, a fan who'd had close contact with the series writers. His site took its name from a tagline for [[The Transformers: The Movie|the original movie]].
* The entire escape sequence contains a great deal of Looney Tunes-style sight gags. Scorponok's facial features contort wildly just before he collides with Terrorsaur; Blackarachnia and Tarantulas are squashed by an improbably fast rock; Terrorsaur flies into a sheet of metal, leaving a full-body impression; and Inferno comes to a dead halt in mid-air before realizing that his flight systems are disabled and that he's required to fall. A tiny poof of dust accompanies his impact on the ground far below.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Farewell Tigatron ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 4 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Predacon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 4 — The Predacons Advance! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Law of the Jungle

2010-11-25T21:53:07Z

128.189.175.215: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=23
|image=Law of the Jungle Tigatron.jpg
|caption=Tigatron finds out that he got Jeph Loeb's ''Hulk'' in the mail instead of ''The Incredible Hercules''.
|title="Law of the Jungle"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 17]], 1997
|written by=[[Mark Leiren-Young]]
|directed by=[[John Pozer]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''After an innocent is killed, Tigatron questions his commitment to the Maximal cause.'''

:''French title:'' '''La Loi de la Jungle''' ("The Law of the Jungle")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Loi de la Jungle'''
:''Japanese title:'' さらばでござるタイガトロン (''Sarabadegozaru Tigatron'', "Fare Thee Well, Tigatron")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''La Ley de la Selva'''
:''Italian title:'' '''La legge della natura''' ("Law of the nature")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''A Lei da Selva'''

==Synopsis==
Frogs eat bugs, snakes kill frogs, birds kill snakes. Things are mercilessly killing each other, as Nature intended. But Nature didn't intend for a [[Inferno (BW)|giant crazed robotic fire ant]] to attack [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] and [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]. As the maniacal Inferno gleefully assaults the two, [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] brings out some heavy explosives from a mountaintop weapons cache to take out Dinobot, though he ends up knocking Inferno aside as well; [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] just hangs back, waiting for the signal that Terrorsaur never bothered to give. After getting blasted a good distance, Terrorsaur signals for Waspinator to attack. Cheetor radios for back-up.

[[Image:Law of the Jungle Tigatron Waspinator.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Don't look!]]
Waspinator plans an attack on Cheetor using another heavy explosive, but overestimates his own strength and can't keep himself aloft when he's holding the weapon. While trying to keep airborne, Waspinator sees [[Snowstalker|a tiger]], which he naturally mistakes for Tigatron—who is actually a few feet higher on the mountain, ready to pounce on the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]. Tigatron holds on and guides the bug to a crash.

Inferno switches his weapon to a flamethrower to cook the cats. Tigatron transforms and blasts Inferno away, but a stray shot from his own gun passes Inferno and heads towards the mountain where both Snowstalker and the Predacon's weaponry cache are located. The entire supply of explosives detonates in a single blast, and Tigatron's animal friend is caught in the rockslide. Concerned for his companion, Tigatron hurries to unbury the wild tiger, but it's too late.

[[Image:Law of the Jungle Snowstalker grave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Tigatron attempts to invent Lego.]]
Later, as the sky darkens, Tigatron finishes constructing a marker for Snowstalker's resting place. Surveying the damage to the landscape from the fight, Tigatron resolves to quit being a participant in the Beast Wars. Dinobot argues that destruction is part of the nature of war, but Tigatron remains with his decision to stay out of the Maximal/Predacon conflict. After Tigatron leaves, Dinobot follows him, making it clear he has a sort of plan. Cheetor is relieved when [[Optimus Primal|Primal]] arrives to make sense of the situation.

The three Predacons meet to plan their next move.

[[Image:Law of the Jungle Tigatron Dinobot.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Tigatron has awesome nightvision.]]
In the dark of night, in thick foliage, Dinobot shows Tigatron an example of Nature in action: a tiger killing some gazelles. Slaughter for survival, just like the Maximals battle the Predacons for the survival of peace on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. Dinobot explains that if [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] wins, he will spread war to other worlds, ultimately destroying Cybertron in the process. Thus, the Maximals must stop him. It is the legacy of the [[Autobot|Autobots]] and the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]: they will always oppose each other. Tigatron still disagrees, and Dinobot gets aggressive. Luckily, before Dinobot gets carried away, Primal arrives to take his turn at reasoning. Disgusted, Dinobot takes his leave. After he leaves, Primal tells Tigatron that he hates the Beast Wars just as much as him, but that as long as they are on this planet, they have a duty to protect it from the Predacons.

[[Image:Law of the Jungle Tigatron maximals.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Tigatron does the "windmill" move.]]
The three Predacons attack Dinobot, overpowering the lone Maximal despite his inhumanly flexible neck. Primal arrives soon after, and the Predacons hope for another victory. Optimus puts up a better fight, knocking away both Terrorsaur and Waspinator with one shot, but Inferno hits Optimus from behind with a strong blast. The two Maximals are too damaged to fight against the killer fire ant, when to their rescue comes Tigatron, who can't sit passively while his friends are close to death.

Inferno's flamethrower ignites a bush, adding to Tigatron's fury. The cat blasts Inferno into the distance, ending the Predacon's campaign. Tigatron extinguishes the fire and is welcomed back to the Beast Wars. Although he still hates the collateral damage, Tigatron now understands he can do more good as a warrior than a bystander.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (1)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (2)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (6)
*[[Tigatron]] (7)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s
|c2=
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (3)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (4)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (5)

|c4=
*[[Snowstalker]]

}}
==Quotes==
"FIIIIRRRREEEE! For the Royalty!"
:-'''Inferno''', ruining any chance of a sneak attack on the Maximals.

"''Do something!''" 
"Terrorsaur has not given signal!" 
"''ATTACK, YOU IMBECILE!''" 
"Waspinator will engage enemy."
:—'''Terrorsaur''' and '''Waspinator''' have some communication problems.

"Goodbye, Snowstalker. Let your hunting ground shelter you now."
:—'''Tigatron''' at Snowstalker's grave

"I cannot do this again." 
"It's... it's never easy to bury a friend." 
"But it is too easy to do ''this''!" 
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Cheetor''' behold the ruinous cost of war

"In my lust for battle, I caused the death of an innocent." 
"Hrah! There are no innocents. This is war! And this...well, this is simply a battlefield." 
"''We made it so!'' And every time we do, this world suffers. But I will have no more of it. From this moment on, I am no longer part of the Beast Wars."
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Dinobot'''

"You have the instincts of a warrior. You know when danger's approaching." 
"Why do you stalk me?" 
"To... ''talk''."
:—'''Dinobot''' refuses to give up on '''Tigatron'''.

"Hrah! Sentiment. The more time I spend with you Maximals, the more I wonder how you survived so long."
:—'''Dinobot''' protests too much.

"Tigatron, I hate this war as much as any of us." 
"All the more reason to stop it! We don't belong here, Optimus." 
"But we ''are'' here. And as Maximals, we've got a duty to explore and defend this world."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' and '''Tigatron'''

"You - will - leave - the wild - ALONE!"
:—'''Tigatron''', blasting Inferno with every word

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
* Dinobot says that the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] began three centuries ago. What he meant to say was that it ended three centuries ago.

===Transformers references===
* Snowstalker had previously been seen in the episode "[[Fallen Comrades]]". Who's the fallen comrade NOW?
* Inferno calls Tigatron "destroyer of my colony!", a reference to [[Spider's Game|how the tiger-bot ticked him off in his debut episode.]] Apparently, Inferno doesn't yet think of the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]] as his colony.

===Trivia===
* Rattrap and Rhinox aren't seen in the episode, but Rhinox is mentioned by Primal.
* As Tigatron berates Inferno, both Primal and Dinobot stand behind him, waving their fingers.
* At the beginning of the episode, Cheetor and Dinobot are searching for more [[Vok|alien]] sites. [[Before the Storm|This]] [[Other Voices, Part 1|is]] [[Other Voices, Part 2|foreshadowing]].
* The wild tiger that Dinobot and Tigatron observe looks rather strange: it is, of course, just a [[redeco|direct color swap]] of Tigatron's animation model replacing all the white with orange, which results in the tiger being ''completely'' orange whereas a real tiger would still have white fur all over its underbelly, neck, and face.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Farewell Tigatron ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 4 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Predacon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 4 — The Predacons Advance! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

The Low Road

2010-11-25T21:49:45Z

128.189.175.215: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=22
|image=Low Road Rhinox fart.jpg
|caption=AKA "The Low Brow"
|title="The Low Road"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 10]], 1997
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[J. Falconer]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Rhinox is infected with a strange energon discharge virus, and if a cure isn't found, he'll destroy the Maximal base as he literally sneezes himself to death.'''

:''French title:'' '''Le Virus''' ("The Virus")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Le Virus'''
:''Japanese title:'' ストップ･ザ･くしゃみ (''Stop the Kushami'', "Stop the Sneezing")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Subterráneo'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il virus''' ("The virus")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Caminho Subterrâneo''' ("The Underground Way")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Low Road Rattrap Dinobot fight.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Objection!"]]
The [[Maximal]]s use their tools to garden, trimming the wild bean vines that have grown around the Maximal base and, as [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] explains, could be exploited by the Predacons. [[Rattrap]] and Dinobot get into a fight. Inside, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] detects [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] coming to attack, but can't activate the [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]] shields because of the two arguing Maximals outside. Rhinox comes down the elevator with his guns ablaze and commands the two to get inside, but they are too busy arguing to obey. Trying to cover his teammates' withdrawal, Rhinox is hit by a strange weapon from [[Tarantulas]]. Dinobot blasts Tarantulas several times, and with the crucial shot fired, the Predacons retreat.

Inside, the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'''s computer reports on the strange effect the device had on Rhinox, giving him a [[Energon discharge virus|disease]] that causes the larger Maximal to "spontaneously discharge energy." Rhinox demonstrates this by hiccuping energy beams around the base, causing much collateral damage. It's decided a counter-virus must be found.

[[Image:Low Road Rattrap Dinobot Taratulas.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hello? You're at gunpoint!]]
Rattrap and Dinobot attempt to trail the injured Tarantulas. The two get into an argument about who is to blame for Rhinox becoming sick, which quickly degenerates into name-calling. Eventually forgetting why they started the argument, the two follow Tarantulas's scent. Running after a glimpse of the Predacon, they fall though a hole and onto a long slide—with a heavy boulder close behind them. But after they land at the bottom of the slide, the boulder actually hits Tarantulas. Rattrap and Dinobot continue bickering as they search through the underground caverns for Tarantulas's lab.

Aboard the ''Axalon'', [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] reveals to [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] that he paired Dinobot and Rattrap together so they could either learn to work together or kill each other. Rhinox is meanwhile kept on a life support system which drains energy from the rest of the (now heavily damaged) Maximal base.

Back at the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]], [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] sends his own forces to reclaim Tarantulas so more of the virus can be developed to use on the rest of the Maximals. They head to his [[Tarantulas's lair|laboratory]] to see if they can locate the missing arachnid there. On Tarantulas's security sensors, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] notices the two wandering Maximals making their way through the caverns towards the hideout.

[[Image:Low Road Optimus Rhinox.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"Hey, handsome. Come here often?"]]
Primal rallies his available soldiers for action against the Predacons to seize the antidote to Rhinox's ailment forcibly. Rhinox attempts to come along with the others, but Primal orders his friend to stay behind and consume some food to help stabilize his systems. Naturally, the first option on Rhinox's menu happens to be the wild beans conveniently surrounding the ''Axalon''.

[[Image:Low Road Megatron countervirus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Megatron discovers what has been making his beast head go all green.]]
Back in Tarantulas's lair, Blackarachnia discovers where Tarantulas stored the counter-virus. When [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] detects the two Maximals getting closer, the Predacon goons open fire, wildly hoping to hit something, but instead just ruin any chance they have of ambushing their targets. Dinobot tries to use Tarantulas as a hostage, but this tactic doesn't work on Megatron, who has no reservations about abusing his own soldiers. However, the distraction has bought Rattrap (who was supposed to be covering Dinobot) the time to sneak through some tubes to arrive behind the Predacons, leaving him close enough to disarm them quickly.

A nasal energon-expulsion from Rhinox provides a hole for the other Maximals to enter the chamber once they finish posing heroically. Megatron mentions that he alone has the counter-virus that could save Rhinox.

But then Rhinox shoots an incredible energon fart (visible from space) that blows the Predacons far away, giving the Maximals the chance to grab the counter-virus and live happily ever after. Rattrap and Dinobot still bicker like kids, though.

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]
|c1=
*[[Rattrap]] (1)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (3)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (5)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (13)
*[[Tigatron]] (14)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (6)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (7)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (8)
*[[Tarantulas]] (9)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (10)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (11)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (12)

}}

==Quotes==
"Excuse me. Are ''you'' implying that the current situation is somehow...''my'' responsibility?!" 
"Well, you did start it...''gearhead''!" 
"I BEG to differ...cheese lips!" 
"Pre-evolved birdbrain!" 
"Eater of garbage!!"
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Rattrap''' trade insults, part 1

"Sheesh, and they call ''me'' the immature one."
:—'''Cheetor''''s response to above argument

"Wait! I detect a scent! Vile corruption... a whiff of festering putification!" 
"So I ate a limburger sandwich for lunch! I'm a rat, gimme a break!" 
"I've been... uncomfortably aware of your stench for the past hour, ''vermin''. This is something else... something over... THERE!" 
''(Tarantulas suddenly springs out and legs it)'' 
"Oh yeah! He's mine!" 
"Leave battle to the ''warriors'', '''''mouse'''''!!!"
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Rattrap''' trade insults, part 2

'''Dinobot:''' Unlike you, I do not spend my time scurrying through ''sewers!'' 
'''Rattrap:''' Yeah? Well, a sewer smells better than your breath, bronto-brain! 
'''Dinobot:''' Nnngrrh! You will get used to it WHEN I BITE YOUR USELESS HEAD OFF! 
''(Tarantulas suddenly wakes up)'' 
'''Tarantulas:''' DIIIIE, MAXIMALS! 
'''Dinobot and Rattrap:''' SHUT UP! 
''(They both punch Tarantulas)''
:—Rattrap and Dinobot trade insults, part 3

"So, uh, you got a better plan?" 
"No, but I ''still'' despise the idea of expiring underground. It lacks a...a warrior's nobility." 
"Oh, hey-hey, no sweat, heh heh. 'Cause I ain't lettin' ''nobody'' waste you down here! That's a job I'm reserving for myself!" 
"Oooh, I appreciate your concern, but let me assure you, being shot in the back by a malodorous ''mouse'' would not exactly earn me a seat in Silicon Valhalla!" 
"Awwww, poor baby."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Dinobot''' trade insults, part 4

"A bargaining chip should remain in play until the game is over, yesss." 
"Why do you always talk to yourself?" 
"Ah, I simply have a penchant for...''intelligent conversation''."
:—'''Megatron''' ripostes rather well to '''Blackarachnia'''.

''(Dinobot enters, holding Tarantulas)'' 
"Do not fire, Megatron! I have a HOSTAGE!" 
"Why, so you do..." 
''(Megatron shoots Tarantulas)''
:—Hostage negotiations with '''Dinobot''', '''Megatron'''-style

"This is ''certainly'' the most humiliating defeat of my entire career. Yess..."
:—'''Megatron''' after Rhinox defeats the Predacons single...erm, handedly

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After the boulder hits Tarantulas, it cracks in a most unconvincing way — the cracks appear to be extremely shallow.

===Continuity notes===
*In this episode Blackarachnia mentions that Tarantulas encrypted all the information on his computers, foreshadowing that he has something to hide.

===Continuity errors===
*When Rattrap and Dinobot fall through the trapdoor leading to the underground tunnels, Rattrap's gun is left spinning in mid-air. The next shot is upwards from underground, as they fall, and the gun is not visible. Indeed, when Rattrap lands on Dinobot, the gun doesn't fall on top of them. Later, as they approach Tarantulas' lab, Rattrap has his gun back.

===Real-world references===
[[Image:LowRoad fart.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The same results can be obtained by eating at Taco Bell.]]
* Dinobot refers to a [[Silicon Valhalla]] as some kind of afterlife, dually referencing both [[wikipedia:Valhalla|ancient Norse mythology]] and [[wikipedia:Silicon_Valley|Silicon Valley]] (and at a stretch [[wikipedia:Red_Dwarf|Red Dwarf's]] [[wikipedia:Silicon_Heaven|Silicon Heaven]]).
*Some of the slapstick, particularly temporarily defying gravity, and Rattrap's gun being momentarily left in the air when they do fall, is reminiscent of classic [[wikipedia:Warner_Bros.|Warner Bros.]] cartoons, such as [[wikipedia:Road_Runner_(cartoon)|Road Runner]].
* During one of their squabbles, Rattrap refers to Dinobot as a 'pre-evolved birdbrain', riffing on the recent scientific theory that birds evolved from Dromaeosaurid dinosaurs ("raptors") like Dinobot.
*When the Maximals burst into Tarantulas's lab, Airazor is kneeling at Optimus's feet, with one hand affectionately placed on his leg. Instead of, y'know, ''pointing a gun at the bad guys.'' The shot is a parody of the stereotypical heroic entrance/posturing scene, such as found on the theatrical poster for the original ''[[wikipedia:Star_Wars_Episode_IV:_A_New_Hope|Star Wars]]'' film. Once Rattrap undermines the moment, as evidenced by the musical score, Airazor can be seen standing normally with the other Maximals. All part of the fun, folks.
*When the rhino-fart shakes the globe, the epicenter is clearly in Africa, providing more evidence for the show being set there. In fact, it appears to be in the middle of the Sahara, which would have been less arid in the prehistoric time of the Beast Wars than it is today.
*Rhinox dons a beer-hat style contraption from which to sip his treatment.

===Trivia===
*In the beginning of the episode, Rattrap is using one of Optimus Primal's swords to cut down the vines.
*The details of exactly ''why'' Optimus decided it was a good idea to send Rattrap and Dinobot together on a life saving mission is beyond anyone. He later confesses, "They'll either learn to work together or destroy each other. Right now I don't really care which." He apparently doesn't hold Rhinox's safety in very high regard.
* While turning around to deliver his energon fart, Rhinox's *ahem* anus is clearly visible. Now that's classy.
*The virus which infected Rhinox and which Megatron intended to use to infect the rest of the Maximals was never mentioned again. Can you blame him for washing his hands of the entire affair?
*Rattrap actually does eat garbage<ref>[http://www.tfarchive.com/toys/techspecs/beast-era/1996__Rattrap_(1996a).jpg Tech spec bio].</ref>.
*Farts are funny. Hence, this episode is very funny if you like farts. And who doesn't?
*Episode writer Bob Forward summed up the reaction to the episode thusly: "[...] After 15 Years And A Couple Of Hundred Scripts, [I] Will Be Remembered Forever For A Rhinocerous {{sic}} Fart."<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/70dc1b8dd547cba9 Post on alt.toys.transformers by Bob Forward]</ref>
*For some reason, Tarantulas seems to have one of Waspinator's arms in his lab.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Starscream's Invulnerability ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 4 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Predacon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 4 — The Predacons Advance! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

==References==
<references />

{{DEFAULTSORT:Low Road}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Call of the Wild

2010-11-25T21:42:28Z

128.189.175.215: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=19
|image=Call of the Wild Optimus scope.jpg
|caption=Scopes munky trial?
|title="Call of the Wild"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[January 7]], 1997
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Jonathan Goodwill]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''The Predacons steal the rectifier coil from the Maximal base, which causes the Maximals to revert into a more feral state.'''

:''French title:'' '''Chassez le Naturel''' ("Hunt the Natural")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Appel Sauvage''' ("Savage Calling")
:''Japanese title:'' よみがえれビーストパワー! (''Yomigaere Beast Power!'', "Revive, Beast Power!")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Llamado de la Bestia'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il richiamo della foresta'''
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Instinto Selvagem''' ("Wild Instinct")

==Synopsis==
A cheetah enthusiastically chases some antelopes, when the ground around it breaks up and it is sent falling into hot lava. Before the cat gets burned, the sequence ends, revealed to be a dream of [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]'s. Cheetor awakens from his nightmare in time to hear the alarms triggered by a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] assault. As the other [[Maximals]] prepare [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]], [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] drags Cheetor outside to battle.

[[Image:Call of the Wild Waspinator Terrorsaur.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What do we do about the slime?]]
[[Optimus Primal|Primal]] exits the Maximals' control room via the roof hatch, but is unable to prevent [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] from grabbing a piece of Maximal hardware off the roof and retreating with the other Predacons. A well-placed rocket from [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] prevents Primal from chasing the fliers. [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] is just able to catch the Maximal leader before he crashes into the ground, but lowering Primal after taking a hit from Terrorsaur seriously taxes Airazor's systems. On the upside, the Predacons are no longer attacking.

Inside the base, recuperating, the Maximals suddenly feel the harmful effects of [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] build-up. [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] explains that without the [[rectifier coil]] the Predacons stole, the Maximals will have to stay in Beast Mode. Meanwhile, the Predacons, after an uncharacteristically successful mission, enjoy a hearty laugh together.

[[Image:Call of the Wild Rhinox Optimus Rattrap.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Maximals look on as [[Michael Bay]] attempts to direct a scene.]]
Days later, Rhinox interrupts a dream Primal has (of being a real ape) to mention that Predacons are still haunting the local area. [[Rattrap]] suffers frustration from his Beast Mode's diminutive size and limb length. Primal and Rattrap almost get into a fight with each other, their minds suffering from bestial traits leaking into their personalities, but Rhinox lays down the line. Once the Preds leave, the Maximals take some much-needed rest.

[[Image:Call of the Wild Hunt.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Shhh. Be vewy, vewy quiet. We'ah hunting Maxies. Heheheheheh.]]
In his dreams, Primal is tormented by eyes glowing in the dark, Dinobot dreams of hunting surprisingly tiny hadrosaurs, and Rattrap dreams of rat stuff. The dreams overpower their respective dreamers, and the Maximals awaken, trapped in the mindsets of the creatures whose forms they wear. The animals all eventually exit [[Axalon (BW)|their base]]. Their foes' intellects gone, Megatron and the Predacons begin their hunt.

Airazor exits the [[CR Chamber]] to meet [[Tigatron]] in the empty Maximal base. Tigatron resolves to reform his Maximal companions before they're killed, while Airazor has her own mission. She heads to the unoccupied [[Darksyde|Predacon base]], deftly dodging the automated defenses. Inside, the rectifier coil is under no protection she can't destroy.

[[Image:Call of the Wild Optimus Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Peter Jackson likely watched this episode.]]
In the jungle, Tigatron comes to face the feral Cheetor and Rhinox. The two follow him for reasons their animal minds don't comprehend. Next Tigatron recruits the primal Optimus into his party, and finally Dinobot and Rattrap. His friends gathered, Tigatron speaks to the dormant minds of his friends. He explains how the schism that exists between the Maximals' two modes is a side effect of a programming block, and as long as that program exists, the animal and Maximal identities will never reach cohesion. Now embracing the beasts within, the restored Maximals are ready to "Slag some bot!"

Primal swings Megatron off of his throne as the two Maximal cats tackle the two Predacon goons who were carrying their leader. Dinobot's raptor mode conquers [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. Rhinox knocks over a tree to ground the Predacon fliers, and a ratball special puts Rattrap into position to pump gunfire into Terrorsaur. After the Predacons start to feel the effects of Energon build-up, Megatron orders a retreat.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (1)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (4)
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (5)
* [[Rattrap]] (6)
* [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (7)
* [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (12)
* [[Tigatron]] (14)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]](2)
* [[Tarantulas]] (3)
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (8)
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (9)
* [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (10)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
* [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"Man, I swear them polka-dots go clear through to the brain."
:—'''Rattrap''' on Cheetor.

"Trouble with the neighbours again."
:—'''Airazor''' spots the ''Axalon'' under attack.

"Predacons, fall back!" 
"Now he tells me!"
:—'''Megatron''''s order comes a wee bit too late to save '''Tarantulas'''.

"Hunting from the air with automatic weapons—now ''that's'' a sport!"
:—'''Terrorsaur'''

"She stoops to conquer!"
:—'''Airazor''' shows some wit.

"Rat...robot. Rat...robot. I'm a robot ''and'' a rat! Yeahh, I ''like'' it!" 
"Hrmf, I do not see why."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Dinobot'''

"Remember, do not fight your beast instincts. Let them help your robot forms both in battle and in peace. But for now, let us maximize (''transforms into robot mode), AND SLAG SOME BUTT!"''
:—'''Tigatron''' delivers solid advice.

==Other notes==
===Animation errors===

TBC

===Continuity errors===
* In one of the bigger continuity errors in ''Beast Wars''—because it is actually in the spoken dialogue and not a result of [[Code of Hero|careless animation]] or [[Transmutate (episode)|time-filling sound edits]]—Megatron says his plan is contingent on his research of Maximal programming, and Tigatron later confirms the existence of this specifically Maximal weakness. So ''why is Dinobot affected at all?'' A common fan theory is that the weakness is present in Predacons as well, but Megatron would already know that part and thus wanted to confirm that Maximal programming worked in the same way.

===Other errors===
* In his beast dream, Dinobot—supposedly experiencing the instincts of his beast mode, Asia's ''[[wikipedia:velociraptor|Velociraptor]]''—dreams of chasing what appears to be a ''[[wikipedia:parasaurolophus|Parasaurolophus]]'', which only lived in the Americas and which furthermore is portrayed as far too small. Since the creature is never actually named, it may be taken as representing a different dinosaur species as-yet-undiscovered. Though, perhaps it was a mere baby.

===Transformers references===
===Real-world references===
* The episode was likely named after [[wikipedia:Jack_London|Jack London's]] 1903 novel ''[[wikipedia:The_Call_of_the_Wild|The Call of the Wild]]''.
* Airazor's "she stoops to conquer" line is a ''double'' reference: first, and most obviously, to 1773 play ''[[wikipedia:She_Stoops_to_Conquer|She Stoops to Conquer]]'', and secondly to a ''stoop'', which is the dive of a bird of prey. [[Ben Yee|Some people]] do not get it.

===Trivia===
* This episode marks the only use of Megatron's right arm-mounted missile launcher, which fires from the same port the laser beam emanates from. What is with Transformers and the one-use weapons?
* When Optimus is dreaming in his quarters, the plant that Dinobot left for him at the end of [[Gorilla Warfare]] is still seen next to his bed.
* This episode explores many themes that several of the same characters would later explore in ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''. The idea of the Maximals taking on more bestial personalities because of their beast modes is used in the episode "[[Forbidden Fruit]]". A similar concept would have been touched on in the unproduced ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[A Greater Ape]]".
* When the Maximal computer announces that the Predacons are withdrawing from the area, text in the Maximal version of the Cybertronix [[Cybertronian languages|language]] scrolls by the bottom of the screen, and more text flashes in blue in the middle of the screen. The blue flashing text reads "area clear", and the text on the bottom reads "its been a long time since ive had sweet thistle pie".
* In Cheetor's dream, the cheetah falls into a pit of lava. [[Aftermath|Foreshadowing]] the death of a certain [[Scorponok (BW)|couple]] of [[Terrorsaur (BW)|characters]], perhaps?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Resurrected Beast Power ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 3 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Predacon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 3 — The Battle Rages On! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Fallen Comrades

2010-11-25T21:21:34Z

128.189.175.215: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=7
|image=Fallen Comrades Tigatron beast.jpg
|caption=Do not bring your evil here.
|title="Fallen Comrades"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[September 30]], 1996
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Steve Ball]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity= [[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Tigatron#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|Tigatron]]
}}

'''A stasis pod falls in the Northern Sector of the planet and the Maximals and Predacons race to obtain it.'''

:''French title:'' '''Un Ami venu du Ciel''' ("A Friend from the Sky")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Ami venu du Ciel'''
:''Japanese title:'' 孤独な戦士タイガトロン (''Kodoku na Senshi Tigatron'', "Solitary Warrior Tigatron")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Camaradas Caidos'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Compagni dispersi''' ("Missing comrades")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Companheiros Caídos''' ("Fallen Comrades")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Fallen Comrades Tiger pod.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Foreshadowing is fun.]]
A field of debris circles the planet. Among the waste, a [[stasis pod]] falls from orbit and enters the atmosphere. Both the [[Maximals]] and [[Predacons (BW)|Predacons]] watch as it falls into the distant icy [[Northern Sector]]. Rather than immediately going for it themselves, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] decides to ambush the Maximals' only flier ([[Optimus Primal]]) as he goes for the pod.

At the [[Axalon (BW)|Maximal base]], Primal is anxious to retrieve the pod containing a fellow Maximal. He falls for [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]]'s trap despite [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]'s attempt to protect the Maximal leader. However, Dinobot is able to prevent the Predacons from taking Primal out of commission.

Back at the Predacon base, Megatron is disappointed to learn that Optimus Primal has survived, but realizes that the Maximals must now send a ground party to retrieve the stasis pod. This will leave the Maximal base undermanned and vulnerable to attack. Megatron dispatches his fliers to race to the pod, while he, [[Tarantulas]], and [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] go to attack the Maximal base.

[[Image:Fallen Comrades Terrorsaur bridge.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You'd think they'd, y'know, use their guns.]]
Meanwhile, [[Rattrap]], [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]], and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] run towards the pod. As they go, they remark that while leaving the base with the damaged Optimus Primal and Dinobot may not have been the best idea, it was their only option. Rhinox goes on to say that they need to hurry because, if the pod is damaged, the [[protoform]] robot within will be exposed to the planet's dangerous [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] fields. Indeed, this seems to be the case when the stasis pod is shown opening, as the protoform's arm reaches from the pod and immediately begins to short out due to the high energon.

As they come to an ice bridge across a crevasse, the Maximal team is met by Waspinator and Terrorsaur. After a fire fight, the Predacons knock out the bridge and the Maximals' best hope of getting to the pod quickly.

[[Image:Fallen Comrades Dinobot Optimus core.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Dinobot, Megatron's escaped. Recruit me five Maximals with attitude.]]
Rattrap radios back to the base and informs Dinobot of this development. He accesses Optimus Primal's core consciousness in the [[CR chamber]] and informs him. Primal suggests that they send a laser transmission to the pod by bouncing the signal off of something.

Outside of the Maximal base, Megatron and the other Predacons observe Dinobot setting up a laser transmitter on top of the base. Megatron offers Dinobot a chance to return to the Predacons by handing over the base. Dinobot responds by shooting Megatron with his [[Optic weaponry|eye lasers]] and is then promptly shot by Tarantulas and Scorponok. Although damaged, Dinobot is able to activate the base's auto-weapons which quickly dispatch the Predacons. Megatron then calls off the assault to join the pursuit of the pod.

With the transmitter in place, Optimus Primal is able to bounce a laser off one of the planet's moons and to the stasis pod. Both the Maximals, the Predacon fliers, and a nearby white tiger witness this development. The pod's [[DNA scanner]] comes online and scanning its surroundings.

His regeneration complete, Optimus Primal puts Dinobot in the CR chamber and begins his own flight towards the pod.

[[Image:Fallen Comrades Tigatron gun.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Kiss my hand or I'll shoot you!]]
Meanwhile back in the Northern Sector, the Maximal group arrives at the pod to find Waspinator and Terrorsaur struggling to open it. The Maximals warn the Predacons to stop, but soon Megatron arrives and threatens to kill two white tigers if the Maximals do not surrender. They agree, but when Megatron opens the pod to reprogram the protoform into a Predacon, he finds that the pod is empty. It turns out that one of the white tigers was the new Maximal [[Tigatron]]! As he and Optimus Primal join the fight the Predacons soon realize that they are out-gunned and retreat.

Primal welcomes Tigatron to the team and thanks him for his help. Tigatron tells his fellow Maximals that his identity circuits were damaged in the pod's landing and that he was not sure who he was until he saw that the Maximals were willing to risk their lives to save the tigers. He declines Optimus Primal's invitation to go back to the base with them, stating that he needs to stay in the wild since he is still more tiger than Maximal. Still, he promises his loyalty to the Maximals as a scout.

The Maximals head back to their base and leave Tigatron with the [[Snowstalker|other white tiger]].

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (1)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (3)
*[[Rattrap]] (4)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (5)
*[[Tigatron]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (6)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (8)
*[[Tarantulas]] (9)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
"Oh no! Waspinator in trouble!"
:—'''Waspinator''''s understatement after being flattened by a rock some ten times his size.

"Fear not, Optimus! I shall ensure your funeral is a glorious one, as befits a warrior who died in battle!" 
"'Fraid I'll have to miss it, Dinobot; I'm not scrap yet!" 
"Hmm, are you certain? It would be a triumphant passage."
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Optimus''', the former perhaps being a little too hopeful.

"No excuses, you pathetic rodent. Keep moving. Dinobot, out." 
"HEY! You can just kiss my pink hairy—"
:—'''Dinobot''' and '''Rattrap''' share some friendly banter over the comms.

"You were a Predacon once; become one again. Turn the base over to me and the Beast Wars will be over. We Predacons will rule the galaxy and you shall be my second in command. What do you say?" 
"EAT SLAG!"
:—'''Dinobot''' turns down '''Megatron'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s inviting offer.

"You win, you depraved wad of stinkin' slag."
:—'''Rattrap''', gracious in defeat.

"Let the trails lead where they may—I will follow."
:—'''Tigatron''' gets poetic. This would serve as his motto in "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]" and ''[[Beast Wars Sourcebook]]''.

==Notes==
===Technical/animation glitches===
*After Optimus is shot down, his right shoulder pad is upside down.
*When Cheetor lowers his gun in surrender, it slides right through his leg.
*When Scorponok shoots Dinobot off of the Axalon roof, he has his scorpion-legs for nipples. How do they even make that mistake?
*In several shots near the end of the episode, Tigatron's beast-mode legs are yellow/tan instead of white.

===Continuity errors===
*Despite being flattened by a huge rock, Waspinator doesn't seem to spend any time being repaired and functions normally (for Waspinator, anyway) for the rest of the episode.
* Megatron got to the pod ''really'' quickly, despite the other Transformers taking nearly the entire ''episode'' to get there. Perhaps he should've just saved himself the trouble and just gone after the pod himself? On the other hand, it's possible that Tarantulas and Scorponok helped make a shortcut for their leader-which would also explain why Megatron is the only reinforcement to arrive at the pod.
*The land-masses displayed on Terrorsaur's monitor when he indicates the position of the crashed pod bear little resemblance to Earth, as shown in other episodes.

===Trivia===
*You can avoid being shot by Maximal autoguns if you stand perfectly still. Just try not to get so nervous that you shake uncontrollably.
*Talking of the autoguns, they are EXTREMELY weak for ship-mounted weapons, causing no visible damage to Scorponok, Tarantulas or Megatron despite several directs hits. It's possible that the power to the autoguns is much lower than in the first episode because the ''Axalon'''s main engine core is damaged (assuming the guns receive their power directly from the engine).

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1996 — ''Beast Wars'' — A Feature Length Beasties Adventure ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1996 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Une Adventure Cybernetique (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Lonely Warrior Tigatron ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' / ''Robots-Bêtes'' Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 1 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 3 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 2 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes — Where the Beasties Began! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

Dark Designs

2010-11-25T21:11:31Z

128.189.175.215: /* Trivia */

{{disambig2|the Beast Wars episode|the Titan Books collection|Dark Designs (Titan)}}

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=13
|series2=BWJtoon
|ep2=16
|prev2=Victory (episode)
|next2=Double Dinobot
|image=Dark Designs Evil Rhinox.jpg
|caption=Heeeeeere's Johnny!
|title="Dark Designs"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[November 4]], 1996
|written by=[[Ian Weir]]
|directed by=[[Owen Hurley]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity= [[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Megatron captures and reprograms Rhinox into a Predacon. It doesn't turn out very well.'''

:''French title:'' '''Sombres Dessins''' ("Dark Drawings")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Sombre Modèle''' ("Dark Model")
:''Japanese title:'' ライノックス大暴れ! (''Rhinox Ōabare!'', "Rhinox Rampages!")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Oscuros Designios'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Strani progetti''' ("Weird designs")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Projetos Sombrios''' ("Dark Projects")

==Synopsis==
In some usual rocky terrain, the [[Maximals]] are disappointed to learn that their day's expedition has been a waste of time, as the [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] they were searching for is inaccessible. [[Rattrap]] whines, saying the situation couldn't get worse, prompting an attack from the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]. The Maximals are at a clear disadvantage, but [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] triggers a rockslide that crushes all the Predacons.

[[Image:Dark Designs Rhinoxweb.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What a catch.]]
[[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] commends Rhinox's intelligent tactics, and the Maximals begin their return to base. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] also determines that Rhinox is a major threat to his operation and orders [[Tarantulas]] to capture the large Maximal. When Rhinox is a distance behind the other Maximals on the road home, the spider captures Rhinox and knocks the rhino out with some [[cyber venom]].

[[Image:Dark Designs Transmuter.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Shocking footage reveals Hasbro's use of test animals for its [[redeco]] machinery.]]
A while later, the Maximals noticed their large comrade has disappeared. Rattrap activates his communicator, and are able to listen through Rhinox's communicator, overhearing the events in the Predacon base where Megatron uses "The [[Transmuter (BW)|Transmuter]]" to turn Rhinox into an evil Predacon. While the Maximals are concerned, Primal plans to wait a while before the Maximals make an effort to rescue their friend, yessssssss...

In the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]], Megatron, and his new underling, Evil Rhinox, get down to plotting on how they can use Rhinox's knowledge to destroy the Maximals—but some technical problems with Megatron's computer halt the planning session. Rhinox is sent to check up on [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok's]] repair of the system (which was secretly vandalised by Rhinox). With no witnesses, Rhinox drops several tons of hardware onto Scorponok. When Scorponok's flattened body is found later by Megatron and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]], they have no clue who committed the crime.

[[Image:Dark Designs Rhinox Terrorsaur.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Mmm, I feel like ''turkey'' tonight.]]
Waspinator deposits Scorponok into a [[CR Chamber]] for repair, but flying away, Waspinator is hit with a heavy piece of weight pushed by Rhinox. The impact drives Waspinator into a state of dementia. This time, Rhinox's attempt at homicide is witnessed by [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]], who meets with Rhinox in private. There, Rhinox declines Terrorsaur's offer of partnership and insists that Terrorsaur stay silent. Later, Megatron discovers that Tarantulas and Blackarachnia have been poisoned. Still oblivious, a furious Megatron shouts out his confusion.

Outside of the Predacon base, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] figures out Primal's plan: leave Rhinox as he is, so he'll run roughshod over the Predacons. But knowing that Megatron will eventually wise up, the Maximals get ready to mount a rescue. At the same time, Scorponok has been repaired, and he tells Megatron what happened to him. Megatron concludes that his little experiment has gone wrong, and decides to end it—and Rhinox as well.

[[Image:Dark Designs Megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|So purple is a primary color to Predacons, right?]]
Megatron confronts Rhinox, and assigns Scorponok and Terrorsaur to disarm the new recruit. By mentioning Terrorsaur's plotting, Rhinox is able to get the two Predacon goons to fight each other instead of himself, leaving them as easy pickings. With those two taken care of, he opens fire on Megatron, causing the Predacon to fall off his hover platform.

Rhinox taunts Megatron with a speech about who's the boss now, but Rhinox has stepped into the range of the Transmuter. Megatron reactivates the machine, converting Rhinox back to his regular good self. The Maximals blast their way into the base. Primal battles with Megatron, slicing off one of the Predacon leader's arms. A stray shot from the still demented Waspinator hits the Transmuter, and the Maximals grab Rhinox and evacuate while the Predacons take cover to avoid being harmed by the exploding machine.

Afterward, the Maximals relax. Rhinox admits that the Predacons have some serious personality problems, and the Maximals have a big laugh. Except for [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]].

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (3)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Rattrap]] (5)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (7)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (8)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (9)
*[[Tarantulas]] (10)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
}}

==Quotes==
"There's more than one way to skin a cat...so to speak."
:—'''Rhinox''', realising that Cheetor is standing right there.

"Better dead than Pred." 
"Some of us have survived the experience, furball." 
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Dinobot''' discuss the benefits of being a Predacon.

"Oh, I'm being real careful. See, I'm on ''this'' side, and it's all gonna fall ''that way''."
:—'''Rhinox''', shortly before dropping a pile of crates on Scorponok.

"Idiot! What have you done?!" 
"Idiot does not respond! Idiot is comatose!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Waspinator''' inspect Rhinox's handiwork.

'''Waspinator:''' Destroy all Autobot-bot-bot-bots! 
'''Megatron:''' Waspinator, what are you buzzing about?! 
'''Waspinator:''' Waspinator? Negative-negative-negative! I am Shrapnel, Decepticon hero-o-o-o-o! 
'''Blackarachnia:''' Shrapnel?! That was a Decepticon from the Great Wars three centuries ago. He's wacko. 
'''Waspinator:''' Wacko? NO!! Wonko! Wonko the Sane!! 
''[Waspinator salutes the audience, then begins punching himself]'' 
:—The result of Waspinator's Rhinox-inflicted super insanity.

"He's a smirker! Mangle!"
:—'''Scorponok''' re: Terrorsaur

"Well, what do you know? I win. Reprogamming me was the worst mistake you ever made cause now that I'm a Predacon, I'm just a little too crafty for you." 
"Yes, I see this now." 
"It's called irony, sport. I take over, and you head straight for the recycling bin. ''Yessss''." 
"So it would seem. And even now, Rhinox, you're teaching me a valuable lesson." 
"Yeah? What's that?" 
"Sometimes, Predacons gloat too much!"
:—'''Rhinox''' and '''Megatron'''

"Yo, everybody! Out of the pool!"
:—'''Rattrap''' alerts everyone to the fact they should run in his own special way.

"I am very very unhappy indeed, oh ''yessss''."
:—'''Megatron''' clues us in on his emotional state.

"Like you're three gigabytes of attitude on a two-gig hard drive. No ''wonder'' they've got personality problems!"
:—'''Rhinox''' on being a Predacon

==Notes==
===Technical/animation glitches===
* In one shot, when the Maximals are having a conversation near the Predacon base, Dinobot looks like as if he's standing in the lava flow. This may be because of the camera angle. If so, it means that Dinobot's been animated to stand in mid-air a few inches above the ground, thus the strange effect.

===Continuity errors===
* Near the end of the episode, Evil Rhinox shoots Megatron's kneecaps, making it very hard for him to stand up. Yet Megatron has little trouble standing or moving around in the big fight with the Maximals that happens soon afterward.

===Transformers references===
*When [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] is driven temporarily insane, he babbles that his name is [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], an Insecticon from the pre-[[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. Stuck like this for the rest of the episode, he proceeds to stutter and repeat words in a semi-accurate reference to the distinctive speech pattern that Shrapnel had in the G1 cartoon, which saw him repeat the last word of his sentences, sentences. Waspinator also delivers the classic TF slogan "More than meets the eye."
*Oddly, Waspinator's Shrapnel impression is ''much'' more reminiscent of [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]'s speech pattern in the episode "[[City of Steel]]", widely assumed to be his normal speech pattern by fans despite actually being confined to that episode. Mix-Mix-Mixmaster repeated the first syllable of a sentence several times, while Shrapnel repeats the last word of a sentence once, once.
*The concept of Rhinox being reprogrammed by Megatron only to attempt to overthrow him later is revisited in the sequel series, ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
*Both Optimus and Rhinox say "Yeeessssss..." in a very similar manner to Megatron. Imitation ''is'' the sincerest form of flattery.

===Real-world references===
*Cheetor's line: "Better dead than Pred." is a paraphrase of the old 1950's anti-Communism slogan "Better dead than Red".
*Immediately following saying that he is Shrapnel, Waspinator claims that he is "Wonko! Wonko the Sane!" and salutes the audience before punching himself in the head. In addition to being a fictional character created by the sci-fi comedy author [[wikipedia:Douglas_Adams|Douglas Adams]], it is a tribute to transfan [[Ben Yee]], whose online username was Wonko the Sane at the time.
*The scene where Optimus Primal proudly brandishes his swords before an unimpressed Megatron lazily shoots him down is reminiscent of the famous duel between between Indiana Jones and the Cairo swordsman in ''[[wikipedia:Indiana_Jones|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''. Dinobot pushing Scorponok into his rotor blade weapon echoes the demise of the German engineer later in the movie.
*While Waspinator is insane (well, more insane than usual), he briefly appears to be touching Blackarachnia's right chestplate.

===Trivia===
[[Image:RhinoxEvilandGood.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Grapety purple edition not sold in stores. Or anywhere else, for that matter.]]
*Oddly enough, there are [[To sell toys|no purple and silver redecos of Rhinox.]]
* Rhinox gains evil, red eyes in beast mode upon being transformed into a Predacon. His robot form already has those, however, so to underscore his evilness in that form, his eyes are circled with silver rings that connect to the ridge over his forehead. The effect is similar to "dark circles" under a [[human]]'s eyes.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Beasties Escape ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — L'Évasion (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — The Destrons Make Drama ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' / ''Robots-Bêtes'' Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 2 ([[Universal]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 2 — The Saga Continues! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

The Agenda (Part III)

2010-11-25T06:12:11Z

128.189.175.215: /* Synopsis */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=39
|image=G1Prime BWMegs.jpg
|caption=Head ''off''.
|title="The Agenda" (Part III)
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[March 12]], 1998
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Asaph Fipke]] [[Colin Davies]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''His plans crumbling, Megatron takes a final stab at winning the Beast Wars and changing history.'''

:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Le Programme 3''' ("The Program 3")
:''Japanese title:'' むか～しむかし (''Muka~shi Mukashi'', "Once Upon a Time")
:''Spanish title:'' '''El Agente (Parte 3)'''
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Programa Tercera Parte'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il coraggio di Grifo - Parte 3''' ("Silverbolt's courage - Part Three")
:''Brazilian name:'' '''Os Planos Parte 3''' ("The Plans Part 3")

==Synopsis==
With [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] and his [[transwarp cruiser]] backing them up, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] unleash a full assault on the [[Maximal]] [[Axalon (BW)|base]]. [[Rattrap]] changes to beast mode and jumps onto the back of the transwarp cruiser, where he begins cutting into the ship's hull. On the battlefield, [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] are pinned down by the Predacons' firepower, but the autoguns manage to knock [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] from his perch atop [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] and a short time later the larger Predacon runs him over.

[[Image:Agenda 3 Rampage axalon.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Who decided to give the experiment awesome firepower?]]
It's not long before Ravage and Rampage bring down the base's shield, and [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] emerges to fire on Rampage. Ravage has [[Tarantulas]] transfer all the cruiser's power into one enormous missile. Before it can fire, [[Rattrap]] bursts into the ship's weapons hold and tosses a pair of magnetic bombs that adhere to Tarantulas's hands. The bombs obliterate [[Tarantulas]], the ship's interior, and Ravage—who faces the onrushing fireball with a stoic cry of "[[Decepticon|Decepticons]] forever!" The cruiser falls out of the sky, coming to rest mere feet from Rampage—who is then blasted by the still-armed missile.

With the cruiser destroyed and his minions out of commission, Megatron flees. Optimus notes that he's not headed back to base, realizes [[Mount St. Hilary|where]] he's probably going, and orders the Maximals to pursue.

[[Image:Ark BWAgenda1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|OK, remember where we parked.]]
Meanwhile, [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] make their way into the caves of the volcano, uncovering the object of Blackarachnia's quest—the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. Blackarachnia explains to Silverbolt that the ship was launched long ago, containing the Autobots' "finest heroes", and was shot down by Decepticons. The ship has members of both factions stored inside, who will awaken in the distant future to re-start the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Blackarachnia is concerned only with the power it possesses—but Megatron arrives just then, blasting Silverbolt offline and sealing the entrance to the caves behind him.

[[Image:Agenda 3 Blackarachnia codes.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What's it like to see things like Neo?]]
The Maximals arrive hot on his heels, find the sealed entrance, and start digging their way in. Inside, Megatron threatens to vaporize Silverbolt, convincing Blackarachnia to use the access codes to gain access to the Ark (though she vehemently maintains it's only so they'll have some cover in the face of the imminent Maximal attack). The Maximals burst through in time to see the two Predacons sealing the Ark behind them.

Blackarachnia activates the ship's defenses to hold off the Maximals, while Megatron goes to "effect a more permanent solution." Entering the main bridge of the ship, he hovers among the fallen Autobots and Decepticons, eulogizing the Decepticons and cursing the Autobots, until he comes face to face with his intended target—[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], the original [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot|Autobots]], who kept the Decepticons from victory (and therefore left their Predacon descendants in a subservient position to the dominant Maximals). Though the risk is incredible, Megatron decides to carry out [[Megatron (G1)|his namesake's]] instructions, charges his main weapon, and prepares to fire.

[[Image:Agenda3 MegatronOptimusPrime.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't worry, we know [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|the drill]].]]
In the caves, the Maximals are pelted by fire from the ship's cannon, until Rattrap manages to force a backblast that deactivates the cannon and shields. [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] struggles to open the mighty doors of the Ark. But the Maximals are too late—Megatron unleashes a full-power blast at Optimus Prime's head, destroying it.

A time storm immediately wells up, spreading outward from the Ark and into space. The Maximals find themselves phasing in and out of past bodies—as well as out of existence—as Megatron emerges from the Ark, triumphant.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal]] (2)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (3)
*[[Rattrap]] (6)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (7)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]](10)
|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (4)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (5)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (8)
*[[Tarantulas]] (9)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
|h3=[[Autobots]]|c3=
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] [Flashback] (12)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (13)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (14)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] [Flashback] (15)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (16)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (18)
|h4=[[Decepticons]]|c4=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (17)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (19)
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (20)
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]](22)

}}

==Quotes==
"Decepticons forever!"
:—'''Ravage''''s last words

"What're you looking at?" 
"That star. Well, planet, actually. Venus. It reminds me of you." 
"You mean hot, poisonous, and deadly? Aww, you're sweet." 
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Silverbolt''', with a ref to the former's [[Venus Terzo|voice actress]]

"Stay with the group. When Megatron lands, we'll need all our firepower." 
"Where's he headed, Big Bot?" 
"To the beginning of everything, Cheetor, and quite possibly the end."
:—'''Optimus Primal''' and '''Cheetor'''

"I think we're almost through." 
"Then, stand back." 
"Wait, we just—" 
''Silverbolt blows the rocks away'' 
"Uh, never mind. What is it with guys and high explosives?" 
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Silverbolt'''. ([[Michael Bay|Guys]] really don't know either.)

"Aw, man! That ship wasn't built, it was poured!" 
"[[Die-cast]] construction!" [''He [[wikipedia:Breaking_the_fourth_wall|looks at the audience]]''] "It's a lost art."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Optimus Primal''' comment on the sturdiness of the Ark.

"Now I enter these hallowed halls...a conquerer...yesss. Autobots and Decepticons, still frozen in emergency stasis, awaiting the moment, four million years hence, when they will awaken to start the Great War. Hmmm, a Great War, when the Autobots defeated the Decepticons, and thus their descendants, the Maximals, rule we Predacons. Archaic energon [[guzzler]]s! How ''dare'' they? Unwilling though I was to follow my namesake's instructions, it has all come down to this: the ultimate risk, for the ultimate prize. A day of reckoning with ''those'' who made ''us'' slaves!"
:—'''Megatron''' enters the command bridge of the Ark.

"So, we are now face to face, Optimus ''Prime''. In one future, you awaken and become the great leader of the Autobots. But time shall take a different track, now. Computer! All available power to primary weapon! ... And now, Optimus Prime, in memory of the Decepticons...for the glory of the Predacons...for the Cybertron that is rightfully ours—and ''mine''—to rule! ...I unleash the storm of vengeance...''farewell!''"
:—'''Megatron''' rewrites history

"Say goodbye to the universe, Maximals! The future has changed. Yessssss. The Autobots lose! Evil ''triumphs!'' And you...''YOU'' NO LONGER EXIST!"
:—'''Megatron'''

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* During the opening battle scene, Optimus Primal takes several shots to the chest, leaving it blackened and dented. In the shot of the Maximals watching Ravage's ship explode, his chest is undamaged-and then it goes back to damaged as he talks about why Ravage betrayed them.
* After Ravage's ship goes down and the Maximals decide to chase after Megatron, Optimus transforms to flight mode. His front, back, and upper torso are all messed up, to the point that he has to spin around a few times after transforming. (While this is happening, the scene mostly switches to Rattrap climbing on Cheetor.) Optimus is normal again when he tells Rhinox to "Get on."
* In the first close-up of Megatron's face in the volcano (after he shoots Silverbolt and Blackarachnia), his face is very dark-almost black.
* After Megatron blasts the entrance shut and the Maximals get off and find it covered, for a split second, the colors on Rattrap's wheels (on his back) and his rat legs are reversed.

===Continuity errors===
* This episode called into sudden question the location of the Maximal and Predacon bases. The events of "[[Code of Hero]]" seem to place the series firmly somewhere in Africa, where early Humanity evolved; the templates for the Maximals' beast modes (gorillas, cheetahs, rhinos) would seem to back this up. However, the Ark is traditionally seen to have crashed in the Pacific Northwest of the United States. If this is the case, the Maximals pursued Megatron across the Atlantic Ocean and over an entire continent! Even if the Ark touched down in Africa in this continuity, in "[[Possession]]", [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream's]] spark is ''clearly'' shown landing in the southwest United States. Also, the early humans still appear after any theoretical "crossing of the Atlantic" took place.
* Either way, it doesn't make much sense that the Maximals make ''no'' attempt to shoot down Megatron while he's still on the run, rather than waiting till he reaches his destination. In his defense, Optimus may have thought that they were at a disadvantage during the chase: Only Rattrap is in any position to attack (Optimus and Cheetor being in flight mode and Rhinox probably having enough problems balancing on Optimus's hoverboard), and Megatron would be hard to hit (he's pretty far away, and not presenting much of a target from Rattrap's position). Of course, that still doesn't explain why Optimus doesn't just let Cheetor and Rattrap fly ahead and get a better shot—after all, [[Changing of the Guard|a later episode]] would prove that the espionage expert has pretty good aim even when hitching a flight.
* At the end of the previous episode, Megatron was standing on the "back" of Ravage's ship as it opened fire on the Maximals, but at the start of this one, he's hovering above it as it attacks (of course, it is possible that a few moments have passed, and Megatron simply took to the air).
* Ravage was in his cassette mode in the ship at the end of last episode, but is piloting it from the cockpit in this one. Given the nature of the former mode as essentially [[GEEWUN|fanservice]], this may not be terribly surprising.

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Agenda3-AutobotsonArkattack.jpg|right|thumb|300px|At the time, these guys hadn't gotten any work in a while.]]
*In reference to the strength of the Ark, Rattrap claims, "That ship wasn't built, it was poured!" Primal replies "Die-cast construction. It's a lost art," in homage to the original Transformer toys, which featured some [[die-cast]] parts.
*We get to see the Ark launch from Cybertron, along with a brief glimpse of Optimus Prime, [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] moving about, as well as a glimpse of the ''Nemesis'' attacking the Ark.
*The final act features a bonanza of cameo appearances by the original Generation 1 Transformers, including Prowl, Optimus Prime, [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], Ironhide, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]], and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]].

===Real-world references===
* Rattrap refers to his vehicle mode as Knievel mode, a reference to [[wikipedia:Evel_Knievel|Evel Knievel]].
* When Rattrap's torch goes out and he has to break through the ship with his beast mode's teeth, he calls himself the [[wikipedia:The_Stainless_Steel_Rat|Stainless Steel Rat]].
* During the short fight between Rhinox and Rampage, Rhinox dives through the air firing his guns in a homage to ''[[wikipedia:The Killer (1989 film)|The Killer]]''.
* As Rattrap rides the missile connected with Ravage's ship, he lets out a cowboy yell. This is an homage to Stanley Kubrick's ''[[wikipedia:Dr._Strangelove|Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb]]''.
* Blackarachnia refers to Silverbolt as "Jo-Jo", possibly in reference to [[wikipedia:Fedor_Jeftichew|Jo-Jo the Dog-Faced Boy]].

===Trivia===
[[Image:Agenda3 opening.JPG|right|180px|thumb|Yes, "Part Eye-Eye-Eye".]]
*Despite every other multi-part episode in ''Beast Wars'' using Arabic numerals in its title (including the first two parts of "The Agenda"), this episode opts for the Roman numeral for whatever reason.
* Megatron, to no one's surprise, is perfectly willing to sacrifice most of his team to defeat the Maximals. Blackarachnia, Inferno, Quickstrike, and Rampage were all originally Maximal protoforms (or, in Rampage's case, the product of Maximal science). If his plan to destroy the Autobots and Maximals retroactively had worked, he would have been left with a team consisting of Waspinator and Tarantulas. (Tarantulas's precise origins are unclear, but he's definitely not a descendant of the Autobots.)
*In any event, Megatron's plan would seem to be [[wikipedia:Temporal_paradox|temporally problematic]], since such a drastic change could've wiped out the Predacons (and himself) just as easily as the Maximals. Small wonder he "was reluctant to follow my namesake's instructions" and regards it as "the ultimate risk". Megatron's ending in the ''[[Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)|Beast Wars Transmetals]]'' video game further elaborates on this, stating that with Optimus Prime dead, there would be no [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]], and, as such, nothing to [[The Transformers: The Movie|stop Unicron from destroying Cybertron]], an act that would wipe out Autobots and Decepticons.
*Apparently, Rhinox is afraid of heights. While sitting on Primal's hoverboard, he looks straight ahead, occasionally looking down and immediately snapping straight up with what looks like pure horror on his face.
*This episode marks the commencement of an ongoing error, whereby [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] is frequently pronounced "Tele''tron'' 1". The issue is resolved with [[Rattrap|extreme subtlety]] in "[[Nemesis Part 2]]".
*The word "suckers" is written on the giant missile in [[Cybertronix]].
*Bob Forward had originally intended to make Rattrap chew all the way through Ravage's ship in beast mode, rather than using a laser cutter first. In a sly remark on Madman's commentary of the episode, he states "My version would have been cheaper!"

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals'' — I Do Love You! ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 8 ([[Universal]])
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Second Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Vol. 1 (Universal) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agenda part 3}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Tarantulas (BW)

2010-11-25T06:08:48Z

128.189.175.215: /* Beast Wars cartoon */

{{factions|predacon|unicron}}
{{featured}}

:''Tarantulas is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]]. He is sometimes known as '''Tarantulus'''.''

[[Image:Tarantulasbw.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[[BotCon 2000|"And fries! Lots of FRIES!"]]]]

'''Tarantulas''' is the scheming mad scientist of the Predacon crew. He's the type of mad scientist who experiments on living beings, cackling in his [[Trademark|trademarked]] laugh all the while, and then if things go wrong, happily eats what's left as his midday snack. The eating is what he was really looking forward to, anyway. It's this focused perversity that turns off even his fellow Predacons. Tarantulas's emotional detachment from their war also rubs his peers the wrong way. Fighting Maximals and following orders is just a required chore; his real passion is the unmentionable projects stashed in [[Tarantulas's lair|his "secret" lair]].

Nominally, Tarantulas was one of the Predacons to join [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] during his theft of the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and the search for [[Earth]]. In addition to being an utterly psychotic, sadistic sociopath, Tarantulas has a record for treachery rivaled by few other Transformers. Tarantulas is actually an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]], which is trying to coax the Beast Wars toward an unspecified goal, where neither Autobot or Decepticon won the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Who knows what other [[Unicron|dark secrets]] lie in his past.

If anything upsets Tarantulas, other than losing a potential meal, it's those pompous aliens who call themselves the [[Vok]]. He harbors a hatred for them strong enough to make him work to eliminate them by any means.

{{bigquote|You're ''insane.''|[[Tigerhawk]]}}
{{bigquote|So they ''saa''-aay! Wbrrwbrrbbppth!|Tarantulas|"[[Other Victories]]"}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Tarans''' (タランス ''Taransu'')
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jr-jū''' (蜘蛛, "Spider"), '''Húng Jr-jū''' (紅蜘蛛, "Red Spider")
:''Chinese name (Mainland):'''''Láng-Zhū''' (狼蛛，tarantula)
:''Italian name:'' '''Metal Tarantulas''' (Transmetal)
:''Polish name:'' '''Tarantulator'''
:''Brazilian name:'' '''Tarântulos'''

==Fiction==
===First wave toy bios===
[[Image:PrimalVSMegs-Tarantulas.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Why Megatron, I do believe you're trying to seduce m-- oh, hey, [[Razorbeast]].]]
Tarantulas is a sneaky, mysterious ninja feared across the galaxy. A master of the martial arts, he's suspected in the disappearances of many [[Human|Earthlings]], and rumors swirl of giant cocoons where he stores his prey.{{storylink|Tarantulas#Toys|Tarantulas bio}}

Later, Tarantulas was guarding the Predacons' jungle-based genetics lab along with Megatron and Waspinator. When the Maximals discovered them, he engaged [[Razorbeast]] in combat briefly before Megatron called retreat and destroyed the lab. {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

{{note|This comic, along with the on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon and its backstory. They seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Theft of the Golden Disk====
[[Image:TheftOfGoldenDisk-Tarantulas.jpg|left|thumb|300px|What y'wanna do? Wanna be hackers? Code crackers? Slackers? Wastin' time with all the chatroom yakkers? WHAT?]]
Tarantulas decoded the information on the Golden Disk, freshly stolen by Megatron. He thought this was quite hilarious, but then, he thinks that about everything. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Tarantulasdawn.jpg|right|180px|thumb|See? A Planet X key in the corner of the pic. He's working for Unicron! Get him!]]
As [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and his rogue band of Predacons escaped [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in their stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', Tarantulas was in charge of scanning the disk for a desired set of coordinates. While Megatron was not watching, he was in secret communication with a member of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. (The reflections in his helmet show the silhouette of [[Cicadacon|General Cicadacon]].)

Using the decoded coordinates, the ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal, which it and the [[Axalon (BW)|''Axalon'']] passed through. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}
{{-}}
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Alec Willows]] (English), [[Yūichi Nagashima]] (Japanese), [[Fábio Vilalonga]] (Portuguese), [[Riccardo Peroni]] (Italian), [[Hervé Joly]] (French)

Lieutenant Tarantulas of the [[Predacon Secret Police]] was one of Megatron's original crew, a mole inside his organisation feeding information back to the [[Tripredacus Council]] without his knowledge. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} More than that, he was a ''direct'' agent of the Council and shared their origins, with an overall agenda to alter the timeline by going back to prehistoric Earth and completely destroying the [[Ark (G1)|''Ark'' and the Transformers within]]. {{storylink|Other Victories}} The plan went tits up though, as Megatron's ''Darksyde'' warship ended up crashing on an unidentified planet and contact with Cybertron as last. Tarantulas carried on as normal despite this setback.

[[Image:TheWeb Tarantulas beast mode.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Not arachnophobic, eh? I can fix that.]]
As Megatron's technical leader, he manned the scanners to appropriate beast forms based on the most powerful local creatures, choosing the form of an oversized spider for himself. He cheerfully took part in the first battle of the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]], only to succumb to energon buildup while the Maximals were escaping. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} The Predacons uncovered a stash of energon crystals atop a mountain, but were forced to fight in their beast modes. Tarantulas and [[Rattrap]] fought in this manner until Megatron triggered a chain reaction which caused the energon to explode. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

[[Image:ChainofCommand Tarantulas firing.jpg|right|thumb|240px]]
It wasn't long before Tarantulas had set up his own [[Tarantulas's lair|underground lair]] to keep his experiments away from Megatron's prying eyes. After helping [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] recover a mega-cannon, Tarantulas managed to capture [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], trapping the young Maximal in a web in his lair with the intent of feeding later. Rattrap mounted a rescue, during which the cavern caved in on Tarantulas {{storylink|The Web}} Tarantulas was blasted by Rattrap during the battle at the [[Standing Stones]], and later accompanied Megatron and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] to attack the ''Axalon'' after it appeared that [[Optimus Primal]] had perished. After the Maximals got the ship's shields back up, he suggested to Megatron that they return to the Standing Stones. Unfortunately once there, the Maximals managed to retrieve Primal from the [[Vok probe|alien probe]] at the site, and Tarantulas was one of the first victims of the restored Maximal commander. {{storylink|Chain of Command}}

Terrorsaur, his power boosted, defeated Megatron in combat before leaving Tarantulas in charge of the other Predacons. Tarantulas promptly tailed Terrorsaur to find out what his new power source was, and discovered it was a [[flying mountain]] topped with a cache of super energon. Before he could do anything with the knowledge, he encountered Rattrap, who'd come to destroy the mountain. Their fight ended with Tarantulas falling from the side of the mountain. {{storylink|Power Surge}} He subsequently took part in an attack on the Maximal base after a [[stasis pod]] crashed. While Megatron kept [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] distracted, Tarantulas and Scorponok ambushed the Maximal from behind. Unfortunately for them, Dinobot had time to activate the base defenses, and Tarantulas was blasted into the distance by the auto-guns. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}}

When the Predacons finally captured a stasis pod, Tarantulas made sure that the [[protoform]] was given a spider beast mode, creating [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]]. Megatron suspected he had ulterior motives, but was nonetheless pleased by the new soldier. Tarantulas seemed happy to follow Terrorsaur when the Predacon mounted another takeover attempt with the aid of Rattrap, but spent most of his time skulking around the ''Darksyde'' in search of rats to eat. He spotted Rattrap sneaking around, but the Maximal blasted him before he could do anything. He subsequently limped back to the others to find that Megatron had reasserted his leadership. {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}} After one of Scorponok's viruses turned Primal into a berserker, the Maximal leader broke into the Predacon base and, completely ignoring Tarantulas's attempts to stop him, pinned the spider to a wall using Tarantulas's own weapon. {{storylink|Gorilla Warfare}}

[[Image:Tflocklens&tarantulas.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Behold my latest invention... THE DISCO BALL VERSION 2.0!"]]
One of Tarantulas's many inventions, the [[transformation lock lens]], was instrumental in preventing the Maximals from contacting a [[temporal probe]] doing a flyby of the planet. He used it to ensnare [[Tigatron]] and Cheetor, then wreaked havoc with the Maximals' attempts to build a communications array, before he was finally defeated by Primal. Although his new toy was destroyed by the recovered Cheetor and Tigatron, the damage was already done, and the probe flew by uncontacted. {{storylink|The Probe}} After the Predacons discovered a Maximal spy camera in their base, they faked a mutiny and hid in a crevice. Tarantulas spent his nights being hugged like a stuffed toy by [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]], and his days eating stray rats. While the Maximals repaired the ''Axalon'', the Predacons were discovered by Dinobot, and gave chase. Though they attacked the Maximal ship in an attempt to capture it, the affair ended with the ''Axalon'' crashing back to the ground. {{storylink|Victory (episode)|Victory}} After a Maximal victory, largely due to the efforts of Rhinox, Tarantulas captured the rhino in a web on Megatron's orders, so that he could be converted into a Predacon by the [[Transmuter (BW)|Transmuter]]. In return, the new Predacon poisoned him and Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs}}

[[Image:Spider'sGame Taratulas hauling stasis pod.jpg|thumb|right|260px|Ever the engineer, Tarantulas invents the low-tech equivalent of a tow truck.]]
Tarantulas detected another stasis pod landing in [[Grid Scavos]], but Megatron refused to let him go and assist in the recovery, much to his disgust. {{storylink|The Spark}} The next time a stasis pod crashed, Tarantulas was more prepared. From his lair, he used a [[magna pulse]] to disable both the ''Darksyde'' and ''Axalon'' to allow him to investigate without interference. Unfortunately for him, Blackarachnia had found his lair, and insisted on coming along to help. At the pod, Tarantulas reprogrammed the new arrival into a Predacon, but was disappointed that a beast mode had already been chosen, and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] would not be another spider. In the confusion that followed, he made off with the real prize — the stasis pod itself. Unfortunately for him, Tigatron destroyed the pod before he could get very far, and he was forced to retreat when Megatron arrived. Later, in his lair, he inadvertently told Blackarachnia that the planet was doomed, and she realised he was intending to build an escape ship, however he threw her out before she could work out any more of his plans. {{storylink|Spider's Game}}

Tarantulas took part in a diversionary attack while Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole the Maximals' [[rectifier coil]]. After the Maximals went feral, the Predacons mounted a hunting expedition, though Tarantulas was stuck supporting the back end of Megatron's chair. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}} On another occasion, Tarantulas detected what appeared to be walking energon. Megatron realised that an earlier battle had left four of the Maximals contaminated and blinded, and ordered Tarantulas to send Terrorsaur to investigate. {{storylink|Dark Voyage}} After Waspinator was possessed by the ghost of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], Tarantulas took part in the attack on the ''Axalon'', and pointed out once they'd conquered it that their own base was now undefended. Megatron's answer was to leave Starscream in charge of the ''Axalon'', a decision which would come back to bite him later. {{storylink|Possession}}

[[Image:Dinobottarantulasrattrapthelowroad.jpg|thumb|left|240px|"See? I told you I was taller than Tarantulas."]]
During an attack on the Maximal base, Tarantulas was able to infect Rhinox with an [[energon discharge virus]], though he himself was injured by Dinobot during the retreat. He was tracked by Dinobot and Rattrap, but eventually turned the tables by getting the drop on them, only to be flattened by a huge boulder. After recovering, he took advantage of their incessant arguing by trying to get the drop on them again, only to be knocked unconscious by a double punch. Finally, Dinobot attempted to use Tarantulas's body as a hostage, only for Megatron to blast it aside. Perhaps his only consolation was that he avoided the indignity of the fate that befell the rest of the Predacons. {{storylink|The Low Road}}

With the return of the [[Vok|aliens]] a certainty, Tarantulas stole a [[transwarp cell]] from the ''Darksyde'', slagging Waspinator in the process. Megatron detected the theft and used Blackarachnia as a distraction while he remotely inserted his own programming into the cell. The two spiders later took part in an attempt to prevent Tigatron from escaping the Predacon base, and were squished by a boulder Dinobot had set up. They were relatively uninjured and able to haul their damaged comrades back to the ship. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} The two spiders teamed up again, infiltrating the Maximal base and disabling Rhinox and Dinobot while the other Maximals were busy with the latest alien construct to appear. They became aware that the planet's second moon had just been revealed as an artificial, alien ''doomsday weapon'' in disguise, with Tarantulas remarking it was "the beginning of the end" for the planet. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 1}} In the cargo hold, Tarantulas used the transwarp cell and a stasis pod to construct a ship, but was interrupted by Inferno, who torched the spider. Fortunately, Blackarachnia entered Tarantulas's mind to obtain the information to complete the escape ship, and he was able to set up a permanent neural link between the two Predacons. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:ComingFuzors1 Tarantulas lives.jpg|thumb|right|280px|A new look, and he didn't even have to [[Spider-Man|sell out]] to [[Iron Man|Tony Stark]] for it!]]
When the [[quantum surge]] caused by the "second moon's" destruction knocked out all of the Transformers on the planet, Tarantulas's body was upgraded to a [[Transmetal]] form, and he forced Blackarachnia to drag it from the Maximal base, even getting her to ignore Megatron's command to stay and fight the Maximals. {{storylink|Aftermath}} With Blackarachnia's hard work and some serious-looking electrical arc generators, Tarantulas was restored to life. Megatron soon called him to the battlefield, so he left Blackarachnia to root around in their leader's computer files: by this point, the loss of the "moon" and the damages to the planet had revealed it to be ''prehistoric Earth'' all along... {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)}}

Using his new cycle mode, Tarantulas quickly reached the Maximals' position. During the fight, he kept in contact with her, until a shot by Dinobot put him temporarily out of commission. After he came around, Blackarachnia reported that she'd failed to get the data he needed. The Predacons were soon routed by the resurrection of Optimus Primal, and forced to return to base. There, Megatron and Tarantulas questioned Blackarachnia, only to be told the vital data had been lost. Neither of them believed her, but didn't call her out. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)}}

With his old lair destroyed by the Planet Buster, Tarantulas was fortuitous in that Megatron assigned him with Blackarachnia and [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] to check out a cave filled with energon. He quickly surmised that it would make an excellent new lair, and attempted to get his two comrades interested in going it alone. Blackarachnia was more interested in getting rid of the neural link the two of them shared, and cracked an energon crystal, sending feedback through the link, to force him to sever it. By a fortunate coincidence, the three Predacons were soon attacked by [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] and Rattrap, and during the battle Tarantulas was able to convincingly fake the destruction of the cave, allowing him to utilise it as his own lair. {{storylink|Tangled Web}} When Dinobot defected to the Predacon side, Tarantulas offered to verify his programming, but Megatron decided it wouldn't be a very good idea to let Tarantulas into Dinobot's processor. {{storylink|Maximal, No More}}

[[Image:OtherVisits1 Tarantulas beast mode.jpg|left|220px|thumb]]
Back in his lair, Tarantulas's instruments detected the aliens again, and he rushed off to the site. He arrived shortly after Tigatron and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] had been abducted, and zapped Cheetor, but was forced to retreat when more Maximals arrived. He visited Megatron, claiming to no longer be under the tyrant's command, but willing to help. The Predacons returned to the alien site to set up equipment, during which Blackarachnia revealed that she had learned through the broken neural link that Tarantulas hated the aliens. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 1)}} Megatron, Quickstrike, and Tarantulas recovered quickly from the energy wave put out by the new [[Metal Hunter|alien construct]], and after Tarantulas's [[refractive web]] was activated, the trio ventured inside. Once Megatron had control of the construct, he terminated his alliance with Tarantulas, dropping the Predacon from a great height. Infuriated, Tarantulas helped the Maximals attack the construct, infiltrating it along with Rattrap, and sabotaging the transwarp cells which Megatron installed, causing the ship to explode. {{storylink|Other Visits (Part 2)}}

Though a bug planted on Megatron's chair, Tarantulas learned that Blackarachnia had been sent to recover a new protoform, and took the opportunity to threaten her to try and extract the information he suspected she'd gained from Megatron's computers. Unfortunately for him, Silverbolt stepped in and defended Blackarachnia, shortly before an energon explosion separated everyone. Though Tarantulas found the stasis pod, [[Rampage (BW)|its contents]] found him, and his body parts were spread liberally over a wide area. {{storylink|Bad Spark}} Dinobot later tracked down Tarantulas in an attempt to find out what Megatron's latest scheme was. Though Tarantulas didn't know, Dinobot forced him to act as transport, and they soon found Megatron preparing to torch a valley fill of [[Protohuman]]s. Tarantulas took advantage of Dinobot's distraction to shoot the Maximal, only for Dinobot to drop a boulder on him. {{storylink|Code of Hero}}

[[Image:Agenda3 Tarantulas button push.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tarantulas presses the History Eraser Button.]]
Alerted by the [[transwarp wavefront]], the [[Tripredacus Council]] sent covert agent [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] to capture Megatron. The former Decepticon led the Maximals to apprehend Megatron, and Tarantulas assisted by taking down the ''Darksyde''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> defense system. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}} Megatron, to his infuriation, was later informed by Ravage that the spider was a lieutenant in the Predacon Secret Police; Tarantulas joined in the diss by laughing over a comm-screen at his former boss. Tarantulas was able to instruct the Maximals in the location of a stash of energon crystals that Megatron had hidden. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} When Ravage was persuaded to change sides by the Predacon leader, Tarantulas appeared to come too, manning the [[transwarp cruiser]]'s weapons systems for an attack on the ''Axalon''. Alas, Rattrap chewed his way into the ship and tossed a couple of bombs at Tarantulas, which stuck to his hands before exploding. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}}

Tarantulas survived, though, and was quickly put back together by his [[arachnoid]]s. He was repaired in time to witness the destruction of the ''Axalon''. {{storylink|Optimal Situation}} He was soon seen back at the Predacon base, working under Megatron's command once again with no mention of his former secession. {{storylink|Cutting Edge}} However, around this time he was also working on another scheme: restoring the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'', the flagship of the [[Decepticon]] fleet! At some point, he'd found it lying at the bottom of the ocean, and was ensuring it would not only fly again but had a Predacon control console and a transwarp cell that could take it back to Cybertron... {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

He battled the Maximals alongside Megatron's [[cyber raptor]]s, taking the opportunity to try out his new Transmetal [[cyber venom]] to great success, though he was stomped on by a cyber raptor once the Maximals worked out how to destroy their controls. {{storylink|Cutting Edge}} He assisted in the construction of Megatron's [[disruptor cannon]], suggesting that they abduct an early human to complete the device when the other Predacons were unable to get too close to it due to the unstable power source. While the cannon was completed by [[Una]], she managed to use her knowledge of levers to tip a piece of heavy equipment on him. Though he survived that, Una had taken the cannon's stablizer crystal, and it exploded in the Predacons' faces when they tried to use it. {{storylink|Go with the Flow}}

[[Image:CrossingRubicon Tarantulas fires on Silverbolt.jpg|thumb|left|260px]]
When the Maximals attempted to remove Blackarachnia's shell program, he revealed to Megatron that he had included "certain safeguards" that guaranteed she would not survive, and joined the other Predacons in an attack on the Maximals that was meant to disrupt the attempted shell removal. He fired the missile which knocked the Maximals' power off-line at a crucial instant, seemingly bringing an end to his "treacherous creation". Enraged by the death of his beloved, [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] attempted to kill the scientist, but was thwarted by [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], who was later defeated by a revived—and [[Transmetal|Transmetalized]]—Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}

Tarantulas participated in the Predacons' next attempt to retake the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], utilising his latest invention to allow Quickstrike to take control of Optimus Primal... and ''that'' was when he made his move, at last. He manipulated [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] into throwing Megatron into the nearby lava while he himself set the Ark's engines to overload. Megatron survived his lava-dunking, gaining a new body in the process. However, he had lost his patience. While he'd tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived his punishment and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster}} This appears to have ''not'' been what Quickstrike thought he was going to do, and neither he nor Megatron had any idea why he'd planned to destroy the whole Ark.

[[Image:TarantulasVok SignOfTheCross.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Save me, X-Men!"]]

Tarantulas was left ranting in his lair about how the Tripredacus Council's plans were wrecked, while his systems monitored the ''Nemesis'' (which was finished by this point). However, his rant and Nemesis plans were interrupted when the aliens (now revealed to be called the [[Vok]]) sent their emissary [[Tigerhawk]] arrived on Earth. Tarantulas let him take out the Predacons, then used his arachnoids to disable and capture him. Tarantulas intended to force the all-powerful being into his servitude by drawing the Vok influences out of his body and reprogramming him, and then have him obliterate the Ark: he cheerfully told the emissary that as he nor the Council had Autobot or Decepticon origins, they'd survive the resulting timestorm, turn Cybertron into a universe-conquering force, and one day even conquer the Vok themselves!

The scheme backfired, however, as his energy beam device expelled two ''actual Vok'' out of Tigerhawk. The formless spectres attempted to take over Tarantulas' body. Panicking, he made a religious sign to ward them off and then opened fire on them—a futile gesture that merely served to spin the energy device around 'til its rays were blasting him and his lab equipment. Overloaded by the beams, Tarantulas exploded, leaving nothing behind but his boots. The remainder of his equipment detonated seconds later, blowing the lair to rubble. Cheetor managed to rescue the inert Tigerhawk, and Tarantulas was presumed dead. {{storylink|Other Victories}}

Megatron knew that Tarantulas must have had some schemes on the go that the Predacons could pick up and use, and had his men search the ruins of Tarantulas's lair. During this, he offhandedly referred to him as "[[Unicron's Spawn]]". He ended up discovering and using the working ''Nemesis''. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}
{{-}}

====''Beast Wars Diorama Story''====
[[Image:BWDiorama Motorarm Tarantulas.jpg|thumb|A ravenous, sinister fiend... and Tarantulas.]]
Sometime after Starscream's arrival to prehistoric Earth, Tarantulas was confronted in battle by a time-displaced [[Motorarm (BWII)|Motorarm]], who fended off the Predacon with his Beetle Claw attack. Tarantulas was not present when the Autobots from [[Movie (franchise)|another universe]] and Maximals combined all of their energies to attack a team of Predacons and Decepticons. {{storylink|Beast Wars Diorama Story|Motorarm Chapter}}
{{-}}

====3H comics====
Tarantulas is the inventor of the [[mind-drill]]. [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] "borrowed" it from him to get information out of [[Antagony]]. {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Herald}}

[[Image:PrimevalDawn2-TarantulasMatrix.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Further proving the maxim: "If you want to steal the Matrix, you basically can."]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas's body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he'd previously absorbed. The undead Tarantulas, along with a rebuilt Ravage (as [[Ravage (G1)|Tripredacus Agent]]), nurtured new troops to life through enigmatic means, growing [[Razorclaw (BW)|Razorclaw]] and [[Iguanus (BW)|Iguanus]] in tubes. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

The remaining Vok anticipated Tarantulas's plan to destroy the rest of them, take their power, and fashion the timestream to his desires, and so they assembled an army of their own consisting of [[Primal Prime]], [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]], and [[Tigatron]]. Tarantulas met this opposition in battle, overwhelmed them, and triumphantly ripped the [[Matrix of Leadership]] from Primal Prime's chest. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2}}

Wounded critically, the Maximals withdrew to the Ark, while Tarantulas and his Predacons returned to his lair, where he directed them in the construction of a transwarp portal. Upon completion, Tarantulas planned to bring his stolen prize to his master, Unicron. Since his troops were getting restless, he promised them they could assault the Ark once they finished construction. Tarantulas was true to his word, and as Ravage led the Predacons against the Maximals, Unicron's spawn tried to stabilize the portal and prepared the Matrix for transport. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

{{note|[[3H Productions]] dissolved before this storyline could be completed. Based on the subsequent ''Wreckers'' and ''[[Universe (2003 comic)|Universe]]'' storylines, it can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, the Maximals were triumphant and used Tarantulas's portal to return home to Cybertron, and that Tarantulas somehow fled to Unicron.}}

[[Image:Escape-Tarantulas.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Basically I just never die.]]

A year after the [[Great Reformatting]], the influence of [[Unicron]] swayed [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness. As she was escorted by [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]] and [[Reptilion]] into the heart of the Chaos Bringer, she was surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joined the ranks of the [[Minion of Unicron|Minions of Unicron]]. She hissed with disgust, while Tarantulas noted that it was just like old times. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}}

Tarantulas had learned that [[Alpha Trion]] had been assembling the [[Children of Primus]] to counter Unicron's Minions, and so he sent Blackarachnia on a mission to Cybertron to sever the link between the Transformers and [[Primus]] by invading [[Vector Sigma]]'s chamber and destroying Alpha Trion. He gave Blackarachnia a swarm of [[Piranacon (Universe)|Piranacons]] and directions to the chamber through a structural weakpoint near the [[Rust Sea]]. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}
{{-}}

====A Meeting of Minds====
{{note|This story takes place immediately after "[[Master Blaster]]."}}

The [[Megatron (G1)|original Megatron]], now inside the mind of [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], berated the Predacon leader's failures—in particular, being led astray time and again by such treacherous subordinates as Tarantulas. {{storylink|A Meeting of Minds}}

===''Beast Wars Metals'' comic===
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Tarantulas was upgraded into a [[Transmetal]]. Scheming with [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] within their floating island base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', Tarantulas developed a plan to revive the deceased [[Optimus Primal]] as a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] slave. Recovering Primal's mindless, raging body, Tarantulas staged a strange voodoo ceremony (complete with boiling cauldron). As Megatron pricked his finger and prepared to use his mutated blood to turn Primal's rampaging body into his slave, the spark of Optimus Primal returned to it just in the nick of time. As Primal turned into a Transmetal, Tarantulas began to celebrate, convinced that his plan had worked out better than he had thought, unaware of what was really going on. An angry Optimus Primal then proceeded to knock Tarantulas's block off. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

===Fire in the Dark===
When [[human]] archaeologists uncovered a cave filled with primitive language, [[Mini-Con]] [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeak]] translated it for them. The markings told of a time when the Maximals and Predacons crashlanded on prehistoric Earth, though the stranded Transformers were seen by the protohumans as gods. The "spider-god" and the "[[Waspinator (BW)|wasp-god]]," under instruction from their leader, enslaved the humans for the purposes of excavating "glowing rose crystals." Eventually, the Maximals came and freed the humans. {{storylink|Fire in the Dark}}

===IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics===
Tarantulas programmed the Predacons' mobile fortress, the [[Arachnid]], utilizing his own personality programs to give it some form of sentience, accompanied by Tarantulas's own tendency for cruelty.{{storylink|Beast Wars Sourcebook}}

==Games==
===''Beast Wars: Transformers'' video game===
:''Voice actor'': ?
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the first season of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
[[Image:BWgameUK-Tarantulas.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Some great dialog there, Tarry.]]
Upon arriving on prehistoric Earth, the dangers of Energon radiation forced the Maximals and Predacons to take on beast alternate forms. Tarantulas picked up a tarantula in his palm and scanned it. Soon, Tarantulas spotted [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] moving in on the Predacons' crash site. Swearing revenge, Tarantulas transformed and attacked, and threatened to skin the Maximal alive. {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers video game advertising comic}}
{{Note|Tarantulas is a playable character in the Predacon mode of this game for normal gameplay.}}
[[Image:BeastWarsPSX-Tarantulasstats.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Sadly, there's no Eat Cheetor level.]]

All of the Beast Wars combatants had managed to construct personal bases, customized to their personal tastes, due to the extended duration of the war. Tarantulas overtook Rhinox's base and reprogrammed its defenses, prompting the Maximals to retake it.Tarantulas warred against both the Maximals and the evil extra-dimensional aliens dubbed the [[Skriix]].
{{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)}}
{{Note|Due to the nature of this game, a player may select various individual characters to perform the feats required in every level, and complete the game's narrative. Thus, any playable Maximal can fill the role of protagonist in Maximal Mode, and any playable Predacon can fill the role of protagonist in Predacon Mode. As such, each character's page only lists said character's actions when they fill the role of antagonist during gameplay. To view the various feats Tarantulas can accomplish throughout gameplay in Predacon Mode, it is told on the pages of the [[Optimus Primal|several]] [[Cheetor (BW)|Maximals]] [[Rattrap|included]] [[Dinobot (BW)|as]] [[Rhinox|opponents]] in this game, as well as the game's main antagonists, the [[Skriix]], wherein Tarantulas fills the role of the nameless Predacon. To view the plot as a whole view the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)]] page.}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals'' video game===
[[Image:N64Tarantulas.jpg|thumb|300px|Arboreal Camouflage Tarantulas? Blue Crusader Tarantulas?]]
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the second season of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Alec Willows]] (English), ??? (Japanese)

Tarantulas found a way to escape prehistoric Earth and return to Cybertron. The Beast Wars progressed in his absence for a time...

[[Image:N64_Tarantulus.jpg|frame|left|Player 2 Has Entered His Stomach. Continue?]]Then he came back, newly promoted and with an armada of Transwarp battleships under his command, out to end the Beast Wars and enforce the Tripredacus Council's will... {{storylink|Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)|Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals}}
{{note|Each character possessed an alternate ending, displayed if the Nintendo 64 game was beaten with said character. Each character has only their own ending listed on their pages, see the other characters' pages for Tarantulas's fate in those outcomes.}}
{{-}}

===''Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle'' video game===
[[Image:DuelFight_Tarantulas.gif|thumb|left|200px|]]
Megatron was capable of summoning Tarantulas forth to the battlefield during his attempts to acquire the super-powerful [[energon crystal]]. {{storylink|Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle}}
{{--}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
[[Image:BWtoy-Tarantulas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Hey, guess who's going to be [[redeco]]ed into a hot girl?]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
** ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-4'''
**''Accessories'': Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: Part of the first wave of [[Beast Wars (toyline)|''Beast Wars'' product]], Tarantulas transforms into an organic generic spider (''not'' a tarantula). His abdomen contains a spring-loaded missile launcher, which fires the anchor-missile kept in his spider-butt. This missile is attached by a string so he can hang from things like a real spider. The launcher can be removed and used as a robot-mode weapon, using any of his front four spider-legs as missiles. Like all early Deluxe-and-up ''Beast Wars'' toys, he has two different robot-mode "heads"; a robotic face and a "mutant" face. He is almost always depicted using the mutant face.

: There is a variation of this toy in the [[Hasbro]] line: Later releases (the smooth bubble) lack the yellow paint on his elbows.

: The [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] release of Tarantulas was originally identical to the Hasbro release. Later, a slightly color-altered version was released, using a brighter shade of green and a slightly darker gray. The color-altered version also replaced the blue eyes on the "robot" head and the black eyes of the "mutant" head with gold.

: This mold was used to make the first [[Blackarachnia (BW)#Toys|Blackarachnia toy]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Predacon/Tarantulas/tarantulas.htm More information on Tarantulas at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|VsDinobot}}
[[Image:VS4-DinobotTarantuas.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The classic battle of dino vs spider. We've all heard the tale.]]
*'''Brutal Showdown: Dinobot VS Tarans''' (VS pack, 1997)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''VS-4'''
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

: In Japan, "Tarans" was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with "[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]". Both toys in this set were identical to their individual releases.

: Currently, it is unknown if the latter "more show-like" redeco of Tarantulas was ever released in a VS set.

{{-}}{{anchor|Transmetal}}
[[Image:BWtoy-TarantulasTransmetal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|I'm-a spawn of-a Unicron! I-a slice-a ya pizza!]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-44'''
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: Part of the first assortment of Deluxe [[Transmetal]]s, Tarantulas transforms into a robotic spider. He also has a third "transport" mode, flipping down a wheel from his abdomen and a saw-blade from under his beast-head, making a spidey-cycle. The saw detaches for robot mode to become a hand-held weapon.

: The Japanese version is slightly different, replacing the "TARANTULAS" [[tampograph]] with "DESTRON" and the Predacon sigil, plus his robot-mode eyes are painted as a single visor to match the show look better.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1998/Predacon/Tarantulas/tarantulas.htm More information on Transmetal Tarantulas at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|FKTransmetal}}
[[Image:Tarantulas-FKTM.jpg|right|300px|thumb|It's like Eight Legged Freaks, but classier, and with a pizza slicer.]]
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe "Fox Kids" Transmetal, 1999)
**''Accessories'': Sawblade weapon

: A [[redeco]] of the Transmetal Tarantulas toy in grays, silver and black. He and a Transmetal [[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]] redeco were part of the little-seen second wave of [[Toys"R"Us]] [[exclusive]] "[[Fox Kids]]" toys, so called for the advertisements for the Fox channel on the packaging (as the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] had moved there from syndication). Internal Hasbro documents have listed this toy as "'''Steel Force Tarantulas'''", a name that did not make it to final packaging.

: These colors were used to depict Tarantulas in the ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' and [[Universe (2003 comic)|''Universe'' comics]]. With the toy's limited availability, secondary-market pricing for this item due to its fictional use has gone up.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1999/Predacon/FKTMTarantulas/tarantulas.htm More information on Fox Kids Tarantulas at TFU.info]''

{{-}}

===MicroVerse===
[[Image:Tarantulas-Microverse.jpg|right|100px|thumb|I'm not [[Fantastic Four|The Thing]], I swear!]]
*'''Orcanoch''' ([[MicroVerse]], 1997)

: A small, non-transforming micro-figure of Tarantulas came with the [[MicroVerse]] [[Orcanoch]] playset. It was presumably painted based on the original design, as its upper body is copper rather than purple. Its only articulation is at the waist, letting it sit in any of the MicroVerse mini-vehicles or playset stations.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1997/Maximal/Orcanoch/orcanoch.htm More information on MicroVerse Tarantulas (via Orchanoch) at TFU.info]

{{-}}
===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
[[Image:BWXtoy-Tarantulas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|He's not here to help assemble [[Transmutate]]. That leg's his dinner.]]
*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Deluxe, 2006)
**''Accessories:'' Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the original Tarantulas toy, more closely resembling Tarantulas's appearance in the cartoon (save the big Predacon faction sigil tampograph). Part of the second wave of [[Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|''Beast Wars'' 10th Anniversary product]], he came with a DVD of the episode "[[Spider's Game]]," plus the left leg to [[Trans-Mutate]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2006/Predacon/PredaconTarantulas/predacontarantulas.htm More information on 10th Anniversary Tarantulas at TFU.info]''

{{--}}

==Merchandise==
* '''Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game''' (1997)
:Tarantulas was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars [[Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game|card game]].

===Robot Heroes===
[[Image:Robotheroestarantulasprimal.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Don't take your eyes off your mech fluid, Primal.]]
*'''Optimus Primal vs Predacon Tarantulas''' (2008)

: Part of the second wave of ''[[Universe (2008 toyline)|Universe]]'' ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'', this PVC figurine of Tarantulas' original body has articulation in the shoulders and neck. He was available only in a "Beast Wars Series" two-pack with [[Optimus Primal/toys|Optimus Primal]] (amusingly enough, the [[Maximal]] he also came with in the ''[[MicroVerse]]'' [[Orcanoch]] playset).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Predacon/RHTarantulas/tarantulas.htm More information on Robot Heroes Tarantulas at TFU.info]''

{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:BWcommercial-Tarantulas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Not terribly appealing.]]
* Tarantulas is referred to as simply "Tarantula" in the [[commercial]] advertising his toy. This commercial and also early promotional pictures showed the original Tarantulas toy as being transparent orange, but the final toy was a clear deep purple instead. Presumably, this was for a little visual variety in the early line, which already had a largely tan toy ([[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]) and a largely yellow toy ([[Cheetor (BW)/toys|Cheetor]]) in the Deluxe range, plus a Mega-sized Predacon arachnid then planned to be orange ([[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]), and [[Tigatron]], who was at one point slated to be a traditional orange tiger.

[[Image:TarantulasArm.jpg|right|150px|thumb|He tastes everything he holds.]]

* In the original control art for Tarantulas, the claws are shown in the same configuration as used in the show. In other words, the claws were somehow swapped during the assembly process and have remained as such on every version of the mold thereafter.

* The original Tarantulas toy has ''nine'' eyes in beast mode, as does the show model. This makes characters' references to him as "eight-eyes" rather... interesting.

* Tarantulas's toy bios paint him as a really dumb ninja-like stealth assassin. Both of his [[Tech Spec]]s give him an intelligence of 4, even the numbers that accompany his ''Transmetals'' bio which mentions the cartoon's [[quantum surge]].

* In the first season, Tarantulas is characterized more as a cannibalistic, psychotic gourmand who happens to be the Predacons' Science Officer than as the mad scientist and master plotter he becomes from "[[Spider's Game]]" onwards. This is to the extent that his official season one profile makes several mentions of his eating habits, describes his sole interest as being "food", and summarizes his relationship with the other Predacons as simple disdain, as he considers them to all be potential meals.

* In the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'', Tarantulas retained his trademark cackle, but it was a little ''different''. His voice was very high-pitched and he shrieked almost constantly. His trademark laugh more closely resembled a wicked witch of sorts.

[[Image:OptimalSituation Tarantulas insignia.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Tarantulas is one of Reprolabels's best customers.]]
* From "[[Optimal Situation]]" onwards, the [[Arachnoid]]s sport a Tarantulas-themed insignia.
[[Image:TMtigatronboxback2.jpg|thumb|right|Pew! Pew!]]
* Tarantulas's origins are a bit complicated. He declares in "[[Other Victories]]" that he and the [[Tripredacus Council]] have origins other than Autobot and Decepticon, such that they would not be affected by the destruction of the Ark. Megatron's line about "Unicron's spawn" was apparently not intended by [[Bob Forward]] to be taken literally; it was to have been a generic insult rather than a statement of fact.<ref>[http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/f06828ec523295c1?dmode=source&output=gplain Larry DiTillio's take on Tarantulas origins! at alt.toys.transformers]</ref> (Forward's own inkling, albeit never realized, was that they might be descended from [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian Empire.) A Unicronian origin also creates potential canonical issues, as Tarantulas says that "under our rule, Cybertron will conquer the universe" ("[[Other Victories]]"), whereas Unicron's goal would have been to eat Cybertron. But, much like [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]]'s line about "[[Darksyde|the dark side]]", this line developed a life of its own. Eventually this connection was reasserted in [[3H Productions]]' ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' storyline, initially written by... Bob Forward.

* Tarantulas's body in "[[Theft of the Golden Disk]]" is based on [[Ransack (Cybertron)|''Cybertron'' Ransack]].

* Tarantulas is probably the only [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] [[Minion of Unicron]] who avoided being labeled a [[Decepticon]].

* From what can be observed from art on the back of Transmetal Tigatron's packaging, Tarantulas's vok-enhanced abilities include levitating and firing energy beams from his eye(s?) in robot mode. Neat!

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars Predacons]]
[[Category:Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Ninjas]]
[[Category:Robot Heroes]]
[[Category:Scientists]]
[[Category:Security officers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category:Transformers with three modes]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]
[[Category:Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category:Universe characters]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]

Power Surge (episode)

2010-11-25T06:03:16Z

128.189.175.215: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=BW
|ep=6
|image=Power Surge Terrorsaur pointing.jpg
|caption=Uncle Terror wants '''YOU'''.
|title="Power Surge"
|airdate= [[September 25]], 1996
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[Nicholas Kendall]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity= [[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Waspinator (BW)#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|Waspeeter]]
}}

'''Terrorsaur discovers a cache of energon on a floating mountain that gives him enough power to overthrow Megatron.'''

:''French title:'' '''L'Énergie d'Énergon''' ("The Energy of Energon")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Surcharge''' ("Overcharge")
:''Japanese title:'' 空中山脈大爆破 (''Kūchū Sanmyaku Dai Bakuha'', "The Aerial Mountain Explodes")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Descarga de Energía'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Sete di potere per i Biocombat''' ("Thirst for power for the Biocombats")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Surto de Energia''' ("Power Surge")

==Synopsis==
A wild and free bird majestically soars through the air, experiencing the wonders of aviation as it feels the wind flow around its proud wings. The bird explores its domain with a grace and sincerity and deliciousness. The lattermost attribute is of interest to a hungry Terrorsaur, who quickly swallows the bird as a snack.

[[Image:Power Surge Floating mountain.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Maybe it's made of very light rock?]]
Terrorsaur discovers a [[flying mountain|massive mountain elevated into the sky]]—defying gravity. Flying closer, he discovers the mountain houses an incredible cache of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. To check the energon's stability, he transforms into his robot mode, at the risk of having raw energon radiation harm his circuits. When he tries to take a sample for study, bolts of pure energy surge though him, greatly enhancing his abilities. Naturally, the first thing the overcharged [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] does is fly back to his base to overthrow Megatron. Luckily, Cheetor also finds the airborne crag, and watches Terrorsaur leaving at top speeds.

[[Image:Power Surge Megatron down.jpg|right|200px|thumb|They just don't make Megatrons like they used to.]]
Outside of the [[Darksyde|Predacons' crashed ship]], Megatron shows his troops some newly installed territorial defenses. Terrorsaur arrives, and flowing with power, immediately announces that he's taking over the Predacons. Megatron obviously disagrees, and the two fight, but the pumped-up Terrorsaur easily blasts Megatron over the edge of a cliff, where he lands in pieces. With the remaining Predacons under his control, Terrorsaur announces the [[Maximals]] are his next target. Cheetor, having followed Terrorsaur from the floating mountain, perceives the new developments as bad news.

Before he can lead the final battle against the Maximals, Terrorsaur finds his new charge has a short life and he must return to the floating mountain to reinvigorate himself. Tarantulas follows in secret, eager to steal the source of Terrorsaur's new capabilities. Scorponok is left alone with Waspinator, so the two begin to re-assemble and repair Megatron.

Cheetor rushes back to the Maximal base and scrambles onto the bridge, where he spits out an incoherent sequence of words vaguely relating to the current crisis. Giving explanations a second try, Cheetor explains the story thus far to his fellow Maximals. Rhinox concludes that the floating mountain isn't totally scientifically impossible, given enough energon. Primal and Rattrap prepare to destroy the entire island.

[[Image:Power Surge Terrorsaur Primal.jpg|left|200px|thumb|The Gutbuster Workout doesn't prove to be quite what Primal thought.]]
A weakened Terrorsaur flaps back to the island; on the ground, Tarantulas climbs a webline up to the suspended formation. Optimus and his cargo, Rattrap, arrive moments later. The two watch Terrorsaur re-charge his systems. To give Rattrap time to plant the explosives, Primal engages Terrorsaur in an airborne chase. Primal swiftly dodges most of what Terrorsaur fires, but eventually is hit by his [[Optic weaponry|optic blasts]]. He lands to deliver the finishing blast to Primal, who is now trapped in his beast mode thanks to energon buildup. But before a final shot can be fired, Terrorsaur's energon enhancements run out again, and he is forced to go for another recharge, promising to return to finish Optimus.

[[Image:Power Surge Optimus Rattrap jump.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Fly my pretties!]]
Rattrap meanwhile, has been tussling with Tarantulas, the two of them staying in their Beast Modes as they wrestle. With a toss of mud, Rattrap blinds Tarantulas and the spider blindly runs off the side of the mountain to the ground far, far below. Rattrap is passed by the flapping Terrorsaur, and concludes that Primal must have lost their bout. Terrorsaur, meanwhile, discovers the timed charges Rattrap left, and flees in panic without recharging.

The explosives detonate, causing the energon crystals to collapse and explode. Before the ground loses form, Optimus arrives to carry Rattrap away from annihilation. With his ratty companion, Primal swan dives off the exploding alp and somehow the two survive thanks to Primal grabbing onto a tree.

Terrorsaur, no longer having the island's resources to rely on, returns home to meet a very, very angry Megatron.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (2)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (7)
*[[Rattrap]] (8)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (9)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (1)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Tarantulas]] (4)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (5)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (6)
}}

==Quotes==
"Terrorsaur, you treacherous worm. I'll finish you forever!"
:—'''Megatron''''s famous last words.

"Well?" 
"Well what?" 
"If you're second in command, what is your command?" 
"..."
:—'''Waspinator''' and '''Scorponok'''. Be patient, Waspinator.

"You do know... that was crazy." 
"Eh, sometimes crazy works. By the way, you did good up there!" 
"Eh, you weren't so bad yourself. But, er...don't tell anybody I said so!"
:—'''Rattrap''' witnesses '''Optimus Primal''' coin his motto.

'''Terrorsaur''': "Blast those Maximals! They destroyed my power! But at least I got rid of Megatron." 
''[Megatron emerges from the Predacon base, fully repaired]'' 
'''Megatron''': "Well, well. Look who's ''BACK''." 
'''Terrorsaur''': "Help."
:—'''Megatron''' greets a depowered—and very scared—'''Terrorsaur'''.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Tarantulas shoots a line up to the floating mountain and begins scurrying up it—yet the mountain is revolving. What is his line anchored to?
===Transformers references===
* Terrorsaur eating the bird in the beginning of the episode may be alluding to his on-package [[bio]], where it is said that he "ingests entire flocks of birds by flying opened mouthed through their flight pattern." He apparently didn't have much of an appetite in this case.
* When Optimus Primal and Rattrap are flying to the mountain, Rattrap complains that if he wanted to fly, he'd have chosen a [[Optimus Primal/toys| bat]] as an altmode.

===Trivia===
* Megatron's line "I thought you already learned your lesson about challenging me, Terrorsaur" suggests that this isn't the first time Terrorsaur has tried to openly seize leadership of the Predacons. Some possibilities are that this episode was meant to be set after 'Double Jeopardy' (the absence of the Predacon Autoguns in that episode would seem to reinforce that), that Megatron has found out about the attempted coup in 'Equal Measures', or simply that Terrorsaur did something before the series started (possibly an early attempt when he was first recruited?).
* The Predacon Autoguns are introduced in this episode.
* Rattrap plays holographic cards. According to the [[Cybertronix]] text, he's playing old maid.
* Dinobot is mentioned but does not appear.
* Tarantulas's interest in the floating mountain's Energon is the first glimpse at his treacherous nature.
* After Terrorsaur informs the rest of the Predacons that "Megatron is scrap" he adds Megatron's practically patented "Yeess".
* When charging on the unstable energon, Terrorsaur appears to flicker in and out of existence. That can't be good.
* When indicating where he saw the floating mountain, Cheetor points to a location in North America.
* A 'Con that wants to overthrow his leader? Where have we seen [[Starscream (G1)|this]] before? (In a twist on the usual formula, ''none'' of the 'Cons take his coup seriously and happily bring Megatron back when he's not looking.)

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Disappeared ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 1 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 2 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Volume 1 ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes — Where the Beasties Began! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]