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Metal Attraction

2012-01-16T13:15:08Z

210.56.88.84: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 18
|prev=Crisscross
|next=Rock Bottom
|image=MetalAttraction-stuck.jpg
|caption= Sadly, they don't fuse into [[Tigerhawk|a powerful being.]]
|title="Metal Attraction"
|airdate=[[July 9]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Nicole Dubuc]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots try to claim a magnetic weapon called a "polarity gauntlet" before the Decepticons get to it.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:MetalAttraction-JackJuneEep.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Jack discovers his mother's startling fetish.]]
[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] reports to [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] that there's an incoming vehicle, which they initially assume to be a [[Decepticon]], but they relax when it turns out to be [[June Darby]] in her car. Jack's less than enthusiastic that his mother's come to check up on him ''again'', but the mood changes when Ratchet detects an unusual magnetic flux.

[[Image:TFP_ep18_BD_optic_patch.jpg|thumb|right|300px|YOU ARE A PIRATE.]]
[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has also picked up the magnetic signature, which [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] recognizes as a Decepticon weapon. [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] volunteers to secure the invention. Megatron is skeptical of Breakdown's abilities following [[Operation: Breakdown|certain recent events]], but Breakdown insists.

[[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] and [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] arrive back at [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]] with [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]], but their high spirits drop when they realize Jack's mom is there. Arcee and Jack prepare to go conduct a routine diagnostic, but June's questioning about how safe it will be makes Arcee irritated. Ratchet asks Bulkhead to go and investigate the magnetic disturbance, and when Miko announces she's going too, Bulkhead is obliged to tell her to stay at base. Finally, June's questions become too much for Arcee, and she opts to go with Bulkhead.

In a desert area, Breakdown breaks apart some rocks to find the device he's after. No sooner has he picked it up than [[Airachnid]] puts in an appearance, clouts him and grabs the weapon. Breakdown recovers quickly and begins fighting Airachnid, until she burrows up from beneath the earth and drags him down, leaving him buried. She picks up the device and is ready to leave, when Breakdown pulls himself free of the ground, and the pair charge at each other.

[[Image:TFP_ep18_tag_team.jpg‎|thumb|left|300px|"How many attraction jokes do you think we can come up with?" "A lot, Bulkhead."]]

Arcee and Bulkhead trudge through the rocks, discussing how Jack's mom is a killjoy, and Miko, who has quietly tagged along, asks if they can ban her from the base. Arcee calls for a [[GroundBridge]], but Miko talks her out of it, then requests Bulkhead play some rock music. Arcee tells him to shut it off, as it's not exactly stealthy, and they soon find Breakdown and Airachnid fighting. Leaving Miko a safe distance behind, the two Autobots leap into combat, surprising Airachnid, who has just gotten the upper hand. Bulkhead tosses Arcee into the air, and she shoots at the pair before charging at Breakdown, but Airachnid insists on facing Arcee herself. After a few minutes' fighting, Bulkhead and Arcee overcome their opponents, but Breakdown grabs the weapon and activates it. Warning him that it isn't a toy, Airachnid retreats underground, and Arcee and Bulkhead find themselves being dragged towards each other. The weapon hoists them into the air before slamming them back against some rocks. Satisfied, Breakdown transforms to return to the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]''. Miko finds [[Miko's phone|her phone]] stuck to Bulkhead's chest and Arcee stuck to Bulkhead's back.

Driving along a road, Breakdown is ambushed and entangled in a web.

Ratchet realizes that the weapon Breakdown has is a [[polarity gauntlet]] and says their best bet to get Arcee unstuck is to get the gauntlet back. Arcee insists on Miko returning to base, and Miko complains loudly that she sounds just like Jack's mom, which June naturally hears over the comm link.

[[Image:TFP_ep18_Airachnid_gauntlet.jpg‎ |thumb|right|300px|"Ooh, shiny."]]

At an old gas station, Airachnid tries on the gauntlet. Breakdown, securely webbed to the side of the building, suggests they could take it back to Megatron together, but she's not keen on rejoining the Decepticons and thinks the gauntlet will be perfect for keeping everyone else away. Bulkhead trudges up to the gas station to confront Airachnid, who tells him to put his hands up and turn around. He does so, and Arcee promptly opens fire, managing to shoot the gauntlet out of Airachnid's hand. The device activates and drags everything metal towards it, including Breakdown, who is pulled free of the webbing and shuts the gauntlet down. Bulkhead and Arcee begin awkwardly fighting Breakdown and Airachnid. Bulkhead manages to deck Breakdown and turns to face Arachnid, but then Breakdown uses the gauntlet to drop an oil derrick on the 'Bots.

Pinned under an unconscious Bulkhead, Arcee is menaced by Airachnid. Fortunately, Bulkhead comes around in time, and the pair stand up, now separated. Arcee attacks Breakdown, but Bulkhead finds himself no match for Airachnid, who grabs the gauntlet and uses it to draw Arcee to her. Bulkhead blasts Breakdown into another oil derrick, while Arcee and Airachnid fight. Arcee eventually gets possession of the gauntlet and uses it to polarize everyone so that they repel metal. Airachnid uses her webbing to snatch the gauntlet back and transforms to escape, but Bulkhead grabs onto her helicopter mode and throws her into Breakdown. With the gauntlet secured, Arcee and Bulkhead head back to base, where they give it to Ratchet, and June apologizes for being overprotective.

On the ''Nemesis'', Megatron is unhappy when Breakdown returns apparently empty-handed, but Breakdown reveals he has Airachnid stuck to his back. Airachnid tells an amused Megatron that she is happy to return.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (1)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (5)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (7)
*[[Airachnid]] (11)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (12)

|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (3)
*[[June Darby]] (4)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (10)

}}

==Quotes==
'''June''': So... where's Optimus? 
'''Ratchet''': On a scouting mission with Bumblebee. Sorry to disappoint. 
'''June''': And I wore heels and everything... 
'''Jack''': MOM!
:—June makes Ratchet and Jack uncomfortable with a few choice words.

"Allow me to redeem myself, master. What I have lost... is a constant reminder that I must never again fail you."
:—'''Breakdown''' rather darkly references his new eyepatch.

"It was a lovely burial."
:—'''Airachnid''' says after literally putting Breakdown six feet under...

"A scout should be silent but deadly."
:—'''Arcee''' unwittingly makes Bulkhead and Miko's day.

"Still up for a truce, muscles?" 
"Only because I hate Bulkhead more than I hate you."
:—'''Airachnid''' and '''Breakdown''' decide to look at the bigger picture.

'''Megatron''': Breakdown, you dare to return empty-handed?! 
'''Breakdown''': No, Master. 
''[Turns around, revealing Airachnid magnetized to his back]'' 
'''Megatron''': Airachnid... it has been some time. 
'''Airachnid''': Lord Megatron... what can I say? It's good to be back.
:—The Decepticons get an unexpected addition... and an expected pun.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* Cellphones are primarily made of plastic, which is not attracted to magnetic objects. The gauntlet also took Miko's change, which is also not magnetic. Yet the gauntlet didn't attract Miko's belt buckle or earrings. Huh.
* A magnetic field that powerful should have wiped out Miko's phone.
* When Arcee is stuck to Bulkhead, she can still move her arms and legs. If the magnetic force were strong enough to hold her to him, her limbs would also have been stuck.

===Continuity errors===
* Mere moments after Bulkhead states that he is polarised and can’t touch metal, he grabs Airachnid out of the air and throws her at Breakdown. Is she not made of metal, or did the gauntlet's effects wear off that fast?
** To be fair, Airachnid was not polarized.

===Continuity notes===
*Breakdown was bested by humans and lost his right optic in "[[Operation: Breakdown]]".

===Transformers references===
*After Breakdown volunteers to retrieve the weapon, Megatron retorts, "If you can be bested by mere humans, [[Furmanism|what chance do you have]] against the Autobots?"
* At the end of the episode, Arcee gives Ratchet the magnet. If he uses it himself, he would not be [[Ratchet (Animated)|the first Ratchet to use a magnet as a weapon and tool.]]

===Real-world references===
* The episode title appears to be a belabored nod to the film ''[[wikipedia:Fatal Attraction|Fatal Attraction]]''.
* Bulkhead and Arcee appear to perform a [[wikipedia:Fastball Special|Fastball Special]] in combat. [[Along Came a Spider#Real-world references|This is not the first time a Bulkhead has used this move.]]
*The Gauntlet clearly draws inspiration form the Omni-Tool from Mass Effect.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Metallische Anziehung'''" ("Metal Attraction")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 20|20 January]] [[2012]]
'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Attrazione tra metalli'''" ("Attraction Between Metals")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 26|26 November]] [[2011]]
'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Jaseok Mugi'''" (자석 무기, "Magnetic Weapon")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 25|25 October]] [[2011]]
'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 28|28 December]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
*Breakdown's new optic patch was hinted at during [[BotCon 2011]] when an artist from the series was requested to sketch Breakdown by [[Chris Ho|a certain Transformers fan]]: the artist asked what [[Operation: Breakdown|episode]] had just been screened, thought for a moment, and soon provided an image of Breakdown with an optic patch.<ref>Vangelus revealed this during the [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/wtf-tfw-transformers-podcast/422249-wtf-primetime-14-operation-breakdown-june-22-2011-a.html "Operation: Breakdown"] episode of TFW2005's "WTF Primetime" podcast</ref>
*During this episode's original airing, the [[commercial bumper]]s were backwards: "we now return" was played at the start of each break and "we'll be right back" was played at the end.
*As of this episode, we finally have a mention of Jack's father having left him and June.
*Apparently, Miko [[Shadowzone (episode)|didn't learn her lesson]] as she followed Bulkhead and Arcee. Although this time, she only followed them to get away from Jack's mother, so otherwise, she probably would have stayed put.
*As shown in [[Scrapheap|a previous episode]], Miko is terrified of spiders, yet the sight of Airachnid doesn't seem to frighten her at all. This is likely due to Airachnid being a robot rather than an actual spider.

==External links==
<references />

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Airachnid (Prime)

2012-01-16T07:51:46Z

210.56.88.84: /* Notes */

{{faction|decepticon}}
:''Airachnid is a Decepticon from the [[Transformers: Prime (franchise)| Prime]] portion of the [[Aligned continuity family]].''
[[Image:Airachnid.jpg|thumb|400px|Shelob gave dieting a go after seeing how much weight her director lost.]]

Long ago, '''Airachnid''' was with the [[Decepticon]]s, where her cruel, cold-sparked, murderous demeanor served her well. But after the [[Great Exodus]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], she decided to go solo. Nevertheless, she still feels a sort of kinship with her former allies, so if a [[MECH|group of humans]] attempted to disassemble a [[Breakdown (Prime)|Decepticon]], she would take offense to it.

These days, Airachnid spends her time engaging in her new hobby: collecting [[Airachnid's specimens|endangered species]]. Well, parts of endangered species. Mostly the heads.

And if a species ''isn't'' endangered? Oh, they will be. She'll make ''sure'' of that. And she'll make sure it's a slow, painful process.

==Fiction==
===''Prime'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor'': [[Gina Torres]] (English), [[Erica Edwards]] (Latin American-Spanish), [[Heide Domanowski]] (German)

During the war for Cybertron, Airachnid managed to capture [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] and her partner [[Tailgate (Prime)|Tailgate]]. Quickly realizing that Arcee would resist the physical torture she used, Airachnid decided to employ a simpler threat: Tell her the attack coordinates, or Tailgate dies. Arcee insisted she didn't know the coordinates, but Airachnid didn't believe her and killed Tailgate. Moments later, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] burst into the holding room, killing the two [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s and rescuing Arcee. Airachnid, however, escaped.

Following the [[Great Exodus]], Airachnid concluded that the war was over, meaning she needed a new way to spend her time. Abandoning the Decepticons, she decided to hunt sentient species, then wipe them out after getting a trophy. Eventually, Airachnid crash-landed [[Airachnid's ship|her ship]] on [[Earth]]. She initially laid her optics on a lone camper, but was ambushed by Arcee. While Arcee gained the upper hand, she was distracted by her human partner, [[Jack Darby]], and Airachnid webbed her to a rock. Having learned of Cliffjumper's recent demise, Airachnid decided that making Jack her next trophy would be a delicious way to hurt Arcee before finally snuffing out her [[spark]]. She chased Jack back to her ship, but discovered too late that the human had snuck out the underside. She spotted Jack ''just'' in time to see him hurl a flaming stick into a pool of [[energon]] that was leaking from her ship. Airachnid barely managed to escape the explosion, but she was wounded and ''really'' pissed. She managed to web the fleeing Jack to a tree, but before Airachnid could deliver the killing blow, Arcee came to the rescue and absolutely wiped the forest floor with the Decepticon. Deciding she had endured enough for one night, Airachnid drilled into the ground and fled. {{storylink|Predatory}}

[[Image:Crisscross-helicopter.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Finally a use for those helicopter cockpit halves on her shoulders!]]
Learning of [[MECH]]'s treatment of [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]], Airachnid engineered a distress call which lured [[Silas]] to the forest. She made a deal with the MECH agent to give him Arcee – at least, what would be ''left'' of her – if he could deliver Jack to her. Silas used the [[Internet]] to track down information on Jack and have [[June Darby]] kidnapped so Airachnid cocooned her and dangled her from a building in the disused [[Jasper]] factory MECH was occupying. When Jack arrived, Airacnid gave him six minutes to rescue his mother. She followed Jack around the factory and, when he eventually found June and claimed victory, she pointed out the task was to ''rescue'' mom, not just find her. Before Airachnid could start with the dismemberment, Arcee arrived to attack her and the two enemies fought at length around the building's structure. During the fight, Airachnid was thrown into a container and coated with concrete, but managed to get free and web Arcee to the ground. She was about to finish off Arcee when she was attacked by [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]]'s helicopters, and was forced to [[scanning|scan]] one so she could escape. {{storylink|Crisscross}}

[[Image:MetalAttraction-Airachnidcaptured.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"Breakdown, you have a bug on your... um... windshield?"]]
Airachnid followed a magnetic signal and found [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] with a [[polarity gauntlet]]. Seeking to obtain the weapon, she buried him underground, but he escaped and she was forced to fight him. Then Arcee turned up with a [[Bulkhead (Prime)|new partner for her to snuff]] and she had to fight them as well. When Breakdown activated the gauntlet, she fled in alarm. She later ambushed the 'Con on his way back to the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', taking the gauntlet from him and reacting with disdain to his suggestion they could take it back to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] together. The Autobots caught up with them, and Airachnid used the gauntlet to draw Arcee to her for a little one-on-one fighting. When the battle started to turn sour, however, she grabbed the gauntlet and attempted to flee in her helicopter form. Unfortunately, Bulkhead grabbed her and threw her into Breakdown. Fused magnetically to the 'Con, she was carried back to the ''Nemesis'', where she had no choice but to rejoin the Decepticons. {{storylink|Metal Attraction}}

[[Image:Partners-Immobilizer.jpg|thumb|250px|"Even shinier than the [[Polarity gauntlet]]!"]]
Immediately ingratiating herself with Megatron, Airachnid told the Decepticon leader that Starscream had been keeping information to himself, such as the location of the crashed Decepticon ship, the ''[[Harbinger]]''. Megatron ordered Starscream to take Airachnid to the ship's crash site and secure the experimental weapon it contained. Once there, Airachnid discovered that the half of the ship containing the [[Immobilizer]] had broken off before impact. She webbed up Starscream and forced him to tell her the location of the aft section, but was attacked by the Autobots while leaving. After a brief fight with Arcee, Airachnid was chased off by [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]], and instead went to find the ''Harbinger''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> aft. She quickly located it and retrieved the Immobilizer, then lay in wait as Optimus's team approached the ship. She was able to freeze Bulkhead and Optimus, but some deft trickery by Bumblebee allowed him to sneak up on her and destroy the Immobilizer. She retreated back to the ''Nemesis'' where she tried to blame the loss of the Immobilizer on Starscream as well as explain why she left him behind. Unluckily for her, an enraged Megatron roared that by allowing the Decepticon second-in-command to be taken prisoner, she'd just put all Decepticon intelligence at the fingertips of the Autobots. {{storylink|Partners}}

[[Image:Tfprime Airachnid thoughts of betrayal.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Who needs Starscream?]]
When the Decepticons located the last part they needed for their space bridge in a human installation, Airachnid suggested she could burrow up under it, but Megatron announced that the time for stealth was past, so she didn't. Once they secured the power source they needed, Airachnid and Knock Out observed Megatron acting strangely and wondered if their leader was losing it. {{storylink|One Shall Fall}} While the [[Decepticon Miner|miners]] gathered up [[Dark Energon]], Airachnid hung out on the bridge and watched as [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] played back [[Unicron]]'s pulse. She reported to Megatron that the hold was full, and they should think about retreating. He responded by leaving her in charge while he went to go and talk to Unicron. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 1}} Airachnid returned the ''Nemesis'' to orbit to wait. When no further word came from Megatron, she told Soundwave that Megatron might not be coming back. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 2}}

[[Image:OneShallRise3-SoundwaveAirachnid.jpg|right|thumb|250px|]]
When she called the ''Nemesis''<nowiki>'</nowiki> crew to the bridge, she had deduced that Megatron, either deceased or deep within Unicron, had abandoned them, and with Earth falling into chaos, decided that they should relocate to [[Regulon Four]]. As none of the other Decepticons spoke out against her, Airachnid ordered Soundwave to set the ''Nemesis'' on course, however the silent Decepticon refused to comply. She attempted to assert her leadership by attacking him, only to discover that she was no match for Soundwave and his Minicon [[Laserbeak (Prime)|Laserbeak]]. The pair double-teamed her, and she was forced to yield when held underfoot. She subsequently decided to be elsewhere when Megatron did return. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Her head design is similar to the Decepticon insignia.
* Her unusual head design is reminiscent of both the Disney villain [[wikipedia:Maleficent|Maleficent]] and the similarly spider-like ''Doctor Who'' monster [[wikipedia:List_of_Doctor_Who_monsters_and_aliens#Racnoss|The Empress of the Racnoss]].
* Airachnid went her entire introductory episode without transforming into a true [[alternate mode]], only from biped-mode to spider-legs mode and back. This is due to her not scanning an alternate mode until "[[Crisscross]]".
* The said alternate mode doesn't really make sense: Airachnid scanned Agent Fowler's Bell 212 Huey helicopter, but she somehow ended up with a stealth helicopter alt-mode.
* The existence of the name "Airachnid" was first revealed when Hasbro filed an intent-to-use [http://tarr.uspto.gov/servlet/tarr?regser=serial&entry=77892423 trademark application] for the term with the US Trademark and Patent Office. However, the application was eventually denied for registration,<ref>[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/beast-wars-2/case-closed---goodbye-airachnid-170451/ "Case Closed – Goodbye Airachnid"]</ref> so whether Hasbro will still use the name for any toy is unknown.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Cartoon-only Transformers]]
[[Category:Prime Decepticons]]
[[Category:Female Transformers]]
[[Category:Transformers with three modes]]