2011-07-02T18:16:31Z

50.90.58.215: /* Quotes */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}

{{quote|Conceived in the epic tradition of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''...|[[Victor Caroli]] ain't just whistling Dixie|[[The Transformers: The Movie promo|''The Transformers: The Movie'' promo]]}}

{{episode|
|seriess=[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]
|prev=B.O.T. (episode)
|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|seriess2=[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]
|prev2=Scramble City: Mobilization
|title=''The Transformers: The Movie''
|image=Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg
|caption=Featuring the [[death]]s of all your favorite Transformers characters.
|production code=
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|writer=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers]]'' cartoon. It introduces a [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. In particular, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], and [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] are all destroyed during the course of the film.

{{quote|The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen.|Orson Welles<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KlqsYy512WIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Orson Welles: A Biography"] page 522</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFTM_Unicron_Lithone.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's no moon.]]

A mechanical planet travels through the depths of space, attacking [[Lithone (planet)|a metal planet]] which has [[Lithone (species)|robotic inhabitants]]. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year 2005, and the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of Cybertron. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I have a bad feeling about this.]]

Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who reports back to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the battle at Autobot City, both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of others are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots has been severe.

{{note|For an extensive synopsis of the battle, see [[Battle of Autobot City]].}}

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|200px|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest. One of the most severely injured Decepticons is Megatron. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] tosses him out and claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep]]s. Unicron provides them with a [[Revenge (G1)|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]
Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson#Judges|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson spacecraft#Quintesson_Cruiser|Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[Image:Tftm1986d.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]
The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike's]] son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]]—are then ambushed by [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix.

[[Image:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron, but is also unable to get it open. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]
In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].
{{-}}

==Quotes==
"Such heroic nonsense."
:—'''Megatron''' coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"
:—'''Springer''', telling it like it is.

"Their defenses are broken! Let the slaughter begin!"
:—'''Megatron''' on his vision of coming victory through Autobot genocide.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of '''''sterner stuff'''''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s trash talk is actually [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/sterner-stuff a lot cooler than it sounds]

"Until that day...'til all are one..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final words

"Oh, how it ''pains'' me to do this." 
"Wait! I still function!" 
"Wanna ''bet''?"
:—'''Starscream''' fights back the tears as he throws '''Megatron''' out of Astrotrain.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose." 
"Nobody summons Megatron!" 
"Then it pleases me to be the first."
:—'''Unicron''' shows '''Megatron''' who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?" 
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy." 
"Megatron? Is that you?" 
"Here's a hint!"
:—'''Galvatron''' drops "hints" for '''Starscream''' like others drop anvils.

"Did we ''have'' to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?" 
"Seeing as how they would have detonated ''four'' quarters, I think it was a good choice."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Springer'''

"For a time... I considered ''sparing'' your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its ''dismemberment''!"
:—'''Unicron''' really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Me Grimlock kick butt!" 
:—'''Grimlock''' isn't speaking figuratively.

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny--AAH!!" 
:—'''Unicron''''s final words

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!" 
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' announces the end of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]... yeah, right.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]/Rodimus Prime ([[Judd Nelson]])
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] ([[Robert Stack]])
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] ([[Lionel Stander]])
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] ([[Paul Eiding]])
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] ([[Buster Jones]])
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] ([[Scatman Crothers]])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Casey Kasem]])
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] ([[Don Messick]])*
*[[Auto-combatant]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Eject]]
*[[Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]** ([[Walker Edmiston]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Chris Latta]])
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] ([[Hal Rayle]])
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] ([[Clive Revill]])
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ([[Jack Angel]])
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Sweep]]s
*[[Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Rubbish]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Re-Cycle]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Trashbin]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[HAZMAT]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Ashtray]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Greasestain]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson]] leader ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Quintesson#Judges|Quintesson judge]] ([[Regis Cordic|Rege Cordic]])
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Credited, but may or may not have appeared.

<nowiki>**</nowiki>Credited, but did not appear.

==Animation errors==
* When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a [[Animation error#Sizing errors|cel stacking error]] results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, [[Distribution|making Unicron look very tiny]] in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
* The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
[[Image:TFTMUnicronSkyscrapers.jpg|thumb|300px|]]
* When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards was apparently achieved by recycling backgrounds from other animated TV shows or movies. A frame by frame viewing reveals what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings inside Unicron, some of which are upside-down.
* When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
*When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
* When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
* Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot.
* When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this probably should have been Skywarp or Thundercracker). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray.
* When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls, all of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down. Ironhide's chest is also completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
* Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
* When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's [[Character model|animation model]], in Bluestreak's grey and black colours.
* Sunstreaker appears with Kup's group on Earth as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
* In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
* Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to robot mode.
* A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
* In the big lineup of firing Decepticons, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
* When [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] sends out his cassette troops, [[FIRRIB|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].
* Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage.
* As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in red, white and blue colors.
* While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
* When Devastator forms in Autobot City, his chest plate is the same green as the rest of him. In the next shot, it's the usual purple. However, it promptly turns green again in the next shot.
* As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
* While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
* Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
* Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
* When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's head is tan instead of purple. It becomes purple when he turns it, then goes back to tan again as he turns it back.
* Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
* The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
* The gun Megatron fires uses the same sound effect as his fusion cannon.
* Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
* As he orders Astrotrain to take off, Starscream's face is gray instead of black.
* Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over Megatron.
* When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, there is another Matrix beneath it in his chest. (On which note, see also ''[[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|Matrix of Leadership, Universe comic]].'') Also, he initially grabs just the core of the Matrix, while the rest of the scene shows the entire assembly.
* When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
* As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
* The voice that says, "Brothers! Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
* Starscream's got an extra yellow segment on his canopy as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
* Most of Megatron's chest emblem isn't colored in as he first speaks to Unicron. It might pass for battle damage, but a few shots later it's fully purple.
[[Image:Coronation .jpg|thumb|right|250px| *''trumpet fanfare''* ]]
* Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
* Hook has two eyes instead of a visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
* An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and ''only'' two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
* When Galvatron introduces himself to the Coronation party, Soundwave's chest window is drawn far too small.
* When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
* Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
* Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
* The pistol Ultra Magnus fires uses the same sound effect as Optimus Prime's rifle.
* Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
* During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down.
* When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is coloured black.
* When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.
* When Unicron transforms, the first hand we see (his right) is backwards relative to how the arm is shown on screen.
* After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
* As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner spikes, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the spike, but is layered above it instead.
* Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
* During the same sequence, we see a standard-looking control panel next to Hot Rod. It's unlikely Galvatron had time to create one inside Unicron, so where did it come from?
* As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact. (The left one had been shattered.)
* As the Dinobots fly away from Unicron, the spikes on Grimlock's right arm are gray instead of gold.
* The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[Image:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|right|250px|He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.]]

* The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots{{m-}}in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
* Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
** Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
** Grapple is [[:Image:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City.
** The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
** [[:Image:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:Image:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
* Devastator is treated as ''the'' ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being [[Starscream's Brigade|severely diminished]], presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The [[Transformers: The Animated Movie]] adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to [[retcon]] the problem away.)
[[Image:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|right|250px|We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.]]
* The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious ''at best''.
** On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever. Even after it got knocked out of Earth's orbit.
** On the other hand, Megatron ''does'' refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "[[Microbots]]", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he ''might'' have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
** The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
* During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him? Note there is a time lapse between the "foot shooting" and the kicking, leaving the option of a battlefield repair.
* Prime apparently just set his blaster down before confronting Megatron. If it was out of power, why does he pick it up again when Kup tells him to finish Megatron off? If it wasn't, why didn't he have it during the battle?
* So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
* The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is [[scale|noticeably inconsistent]]: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him.
* Speaking of Astrotrain, his entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. The Decepticons inside must have ''loved'' that!
* The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and [[Cyclonus's Armada|his armada]]") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least ''seven'' new characters are shown at one point, created from only ''six'' Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.

[[Image:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yes, I bet you have."]]
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is capable of reducing [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small ''[[Thrull|planets]]'' with his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. [[Marvel Comics]] bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]". [[To sell toys|Who knows.]]
* Why didn't anyone notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons?
* Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions. Maybe he got some on the ship. It's also possible that, when he told the Allicons "No more," he meant that he wasn't going to ''feed'' them any more energon goodies, not that he didn't ''have'' anymore.
* Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover. On the other hand, the clamp holding him may well disable his exo-suit's weapons and movement abilities-if it didn't, Unicron probably wouldn't have eaten half as many victims by now...
* It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
* It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out ''that'' many Decepticons?
* When the Autobots are repairing Autobot City, Blaster is present, but a few minutes later, he's nowhere to be seen. And he isn't seen getting on one of the shuttles. It is possible that they took off without him, but Daniel noticed Arcee was not on board. Guess he cares more about Arcee than Blaster.
* Ultra Magnus blows up, but later his parts are just in individual sections. The Junkions place them together and shine him up, and he's fine! No welding or reprogramming, no replacing damaged parts...
* Makes you wonder why they couldn't fly Prime's body over and repair it, too. At the end of season three, we find out the Matrix can be given back to him, so that's not the issue...

===Not necessarily errors===
* Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some ''mass''", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
* Starscream is shown just inside Astrotrain's cargo bay when he commands him to take off, but in the next shot (Astrotrain's door closing as his rocket engines ignite), Starscream is nowhere to be seen. It's possible that he walked further in, but he should still be at least partially visible.

==Continuity notes==
* The Movie has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of Transformers are:
** The notion that Cybertron has moons
** The Matrix as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the Marvel Comics. Even the Marvel Comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
** Autobot City
** Unicron
** The notion of Megatron becoming Galvatron
** And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool!
* Gadgets and powers:
** Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
** Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
** Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
** Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
** Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
** Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to shoot lasers from his fists.
* '''[[The Revenge of Bruticus|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's <s>dead</s> almost dead!

==Real-world references and Easter eggs==
* When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''[[Wikipedia:Looney Tunes|Looney Tunes]]'' fashion.
* Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''[[Wikipedia:Of Mice and Men|Of Mice and Men]]'', complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".

* The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling the mobile suits [[Wikipedia:Gundam Mk-II|RX-178 Gundam MK II]] and the [[Wikipedia:Z Gundam|MSZ-006 Zeta Gundam]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''[[Wikipedia:Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]''.

* The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
** "Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show ''[[Wikipedia:Let's Make a Deal|Let's Make a Deal]]'' and its host, [[Wikipedia:Monty Hall|Monty Hall]].
** "Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "[[Wikipedia:Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!]]" war cry, and the 1963 hit "[[Wikipedia:Da Doo Ron Ron|Da Doo Ron Ron]]".
** "You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for [[Wikipedia:Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel]] insect traps.
** "Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Wikipedia:Esso|Esso]].

* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
** The ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.

** [[Luke Skywalker]]'s deactivating [[lightsaber]] is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
** Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.

** An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
* The ''Star Trek'' sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his <s>iPhone</s> mini-TV.
* Also, the sound used for the communicators on Star Trek was used when Daniel was activating his blaster to save Spike

==Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel Comics)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in Issue #4 of the ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel comic)|Transformers Universe]]'' series.
* [[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|A storybook adaptation]] was released in the UK by [[Ladybird Books]].
*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (2007)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Soundtrack==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}}

==Promotions==
* Early in the movie's production, a [[The Transformers: The Movie promo|promotional trailer]] was made to sell the project to potential investors.
* The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
* The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV [[commercial]]s, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.

==In the comic continuity==
The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the movie to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote [[Target: 2006]].
*In Target: 2006, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "[[Life Spark]]".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in [[Space Pirates!]] (set in 2008).

In addition, Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]" and "[[A Savage Circle]]". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005, though Prowl's death was overlooked. [[Prowl II|Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.]]
*The US version of the future story [[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]] implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

==Edits==
Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

* In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.
* In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with [[Victor Caroli|a narrator]] reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
* Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
* In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
*Instead of DEG, the [[wikipedia:Rank Organiztion|Rank Film]] "gong man" appears before the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

* Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding.
* A number of other sequences were illustrated as [[storyboard]]s but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
** A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through ''huge chunks of ice'' from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
** An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
** A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
** The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
** The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
** Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.
:Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.
* Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes. No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits are those listed in this section.
:{{see|Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie''}}

==Reception==
{{quote|''The Transformers'', in which Orson Welles plays a planet, is pure headache material. Target audience of cartoon-watchers also will probably find the film unintelligible, noisy and unoriginal. Boxoffice prospects are dismal.|2=[http://books.google.com/books?id=DHNZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasbro+Transformers&dq=Hasbro+Transformers&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1983&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2005&num=50&as_brr=0&cd=69 Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19]}}

{{quote|Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own... provided by Orson Welles.) That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help. Little more than a feature-length toy commercial.|Leonard Maltin, ''1987 Movie & Video Guide''}}

{{quote|While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors. |2=[http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/09/movies/screen-transformers-animation-for-children.html The New York Times]}}

{{quote|Transformers -- The Movie, a feature-length animated film inspired by the syndicated TV cartoon series inspired by the Hasbro toy imported from Japan, is utterly uninspired entertainment. |2=[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE8EA8D40CCA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Dallas Morning News]}}

{{quote|If you can swallow, without gagging, a large measure of sentimental and offensive religiosity - lines like "Do not grieve. Soon I will be one with the Matrix," whispered by a failing hunk of Autobot metal - then you have a better than even chance of leaving the theatre on your own two feet. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=01kiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2445,1286000&dq=transformers&hl=en The Montreal Gazette]}}

{{quote|Everything is poorly drawn and - when it's in focus - one dimensional. It is terribly hard to separate the robots from the backgrounds, and there is no easy way to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In an earlier movie based on the same sort of robot toys - "Go-Bots: The Battle of the Rock Lords" - the good guys were either white or colorful and the bad guys were dreary, and they had distinct personalities. Not this movie; everyone looks and sounds alike, except one pink robot who is a female good guy. Her tin voluptuousness makes her stand out. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kw4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,6334152&dq=transformers&hl=en The Toledo Blade]}}

{{quote|Even with an all-star cast doing the voice overs... and a rock music score, this is still nothing more than a ripoff of a successful toy line. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AYckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4192,1494652&dq=transformers&hl=en The Palm Beach Post]}}

{{quote|The great animated villains, like the Wicked Queen in Disney's "Snow White," had motivations as compelling as any live-action character. Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. |2=[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/57996397.html?dids=57996397:57996397&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1986&author=CHARLES+SOLOMON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=8&desc=%60THE+TRANSFORMERS%27%3A+STRETCHING+A+POINT The LA Times]}}

''The Transformers: The Movie'' was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his ''1987 Movie & Video Guide'', regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial" (well, he was ''right'').

Caryn James of the ''New York Times'' admitted in the [[August 9]], 1986 edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the ''Transformer'' toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults (''man-children'', on the other hand...).

''Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 '' was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults ''or'' children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the ''Dallas Morning News'' chided the film in the [[August 13]], 1986 issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon ''Star Wars'' about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the ''Montreal Gazette'' verbally disemboweled the film in the [[August 23]], 1986 edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But ''The Transformers: The Movie'' does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It's title? ''Dare to be Stupid''." ''Ouch''.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986 edition of the ''Toledo Blade'' claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that ''Challenge of the GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the [[August 22]], 1986 edition of the ''Palm Beach Post'' gave the film a whopping ''one'' star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever ''that'' means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's ''[[Fly|The Fly]]'' one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986 edition of the ''LA Times'', critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of [[fandom|Transformers fans]], particularly among children of the 80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand.

To date, the budget of the film has not been disclosed—at least, not in any place the [[fandom]] has found. According to most box office tracking sites,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm</ref><ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TRTM.php</ref> ''The Transformers: The Movie'' made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with other animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords]]''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gobots.htm</ref> ($1,338,264) and ''Heathcliff: The Movie''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heathcliff.htm</ref> ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm</ref> ($5,958,456) and the '''second''' ''Care Bears'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=carebearsmovie2.htm</ref> ($8,540,346). Bringing up ''The Great Mouse Detective''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm</ref> ($25,336,794) and ''An American Tail''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americantail.htm</ref> ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

==Significance in Transfandom==
''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The ''Transformers'' cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the ''The Transformers'' cartoon had gone off the air. Only a [[Family Home Entertainment|handful of series episodes]] were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well-known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

==Criticisms==
[[Image:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Only Imperial Stormtroopers are so precise.]]

All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way beloved characters are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw [http://www.flickr.com/photos/42232106@N06/3893688802] the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—[[Unicron]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Prime's possession all along (even though an X-ray of Optimus Prime's innards in the second season episode "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[Image:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]
The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels ([[Springer (G1)|Springer]] is a [[Han Solo]]-type and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron|but it transforms!]]), and both feature a climactic battle where the [[Hot Rod (G1)|young hero]] hears the voice of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dead, wise mentor]] one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England's]] need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].

==Formatting==
[[Image:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right).]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

==International versions==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie/dubs}}

==Commercial Releases==
[[Image:Tftm laserdisk cover.jpg|right|thumb|The cover image from the original Japanese home media release of the movie.]]
* The movie was originally released in North America on home video in 1987 by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Not long after, it was released in the UK by [[Video Gems]]. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hillcrane released a Laserdisc version alongside a VHS copy, both sporting a gorgeous painted cover that decorated many a fan's desktop back in the day.
*The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. [[Malofilm]] released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of Laserdisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]], distributed by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
*In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as ''[[Stan Bush|The Touch]]'' music video and 80s TV spots.
[[Image:Tftm uk covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]
*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.
*In 2005, Metrodome released ''Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed'', a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound & Video]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[Image:Tftm sony covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]
*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony|Sony BMG]] released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, tv spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.
[[Image:Tftm madman covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]
*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and [[posters]] from Woolworths and [[Toys"R"Us]]. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.
*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. The picture is quite stunning and the sound very good. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with swear word.
*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.

==Notes==
* According to [[Buzz Dixon]], Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] in ''[[wikipedia:G.I. Joe: The Movie|G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

* This film was the last professional performance by [[Orson Welles]], who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on [[September 10]] and [[September 11|11]] of 1985. Welles died on [[October 10]] of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].<ref>http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally_burr_3.html</ref>
[[Image:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!]]

* With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. He does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

* Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots - [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] - are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: [[Scatman Crothers]] passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem [[Casey Kasem#Notes|quit the show early in the third season]]. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

*[[:Image:TFTM-MaybeBeachcomber.jpg|A robot resembling Beachcomber]] appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]".

==External links==
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm ''The Transformers: The Movie'''s box office domestic gross.]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie]
* [http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4 ''The Transformers: The Movie'' deleted storyboards]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

2011-07-02T02:27:27Z

50.90.58.215: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=18
|series2=BWJtoon
|ep2=18
|prev2=Double Dinobot
|image=Spider's Game Tarantulas Blackarachnia.jpg
|title="Spider's Game"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[January 6]], 1997
|packaged with=[[Tarantulas (BW)#Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|Predacon Tarantulus]]
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[James Boshier]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Tarantulas detects a new stasis pod and attempts to turn the protoform into a new Predacon. '''

:''French title:'' '''Inferno'''
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Inferno'''
:''Japanese title:'' 地獄のアリ戦士インフェルノ (''Jigoku no Ari Senshi Inferno'', "Inferno, the Ant Warrior from Hell")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Juego de Arácnidos'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Intrighi''' ("Plotting")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Jogo das Aranhas''' ("The Game of Spiders")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Spider's Game Tarantulas console.jpg|left|200px|thumb|It was only after Tarantulas had finished hooking up his TVs that he remembered cable wouldn't be invented for a few epochs.]]
As another [[stasis pod]] leaves orbit and completes planetfall, Tarantulas sends out a magnetic pulse that disrupts the sensors at both the [[Darksyde|Predacon]] and [[Axalon (BW)|Maximal bases]]. The pulse ensures that Tarantulas will be the first to arrive at the pod's landing site, within [[Grid Halex]], and that he will be able to manipulate the [[protoform]] inside. Blackarachnia discovers what Tarantulas is up to and insists on accompanying him to the pod's landing site.

Tigatron also sees the pod arriving, but is unable to contact the Maximal base so he sets out to intercept the pod on his own. He is intercepted by Waspinator, who delays Tigatron until Airazor arrives and saves him. Tigatron tells Airazor to go to the pod and that he will join her there.

[[Image:Spider's Game Inferno pod.jpg|right|200px|thumb|But the box said there were supposed to be ten live ants.]]
Arriving at the pod, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia are too late to hand pick an arachnid form for the protoform; however, Tarantulas is able to do some reprogramming and turn the protoform into a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]. The new Predacon, [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], emerges from the pod only to attack the other two Predacons, then begins marching about the stasis pod. Tarantulas deduces that Inferno's beast mode is dominating his logic circuits and that he thinks he really is a fire ant protecting his colony, which his mind concludes is the stasis pod. Blackarachnia tries to fire on Inferno, but Tarantulas stops her, saying he wants no damage to the pod.

Airazor arrives on the scene only to be attacked and disabled by Inferno and Blackarachnia. While Blackarachnia uses this opportunity to make nice with Inferno and start to win him over, Tarantulas uses it to accomplish his real goal - stealing the stasis pod. This act enrages Inferno who sets out in pursuit of Tarantulas, with Blackarachnia not far behind. Tigatron arrives and tells Airazor to find Optimus while he pursues the Predacons.

[[Image:Spider's Game Inferno Tigatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Whoops, sorry, I didn't see you there.]]
Nearing his [[Tarantulas's lair|lab]], Tarantulas is caught by Inferno who demands the return of the "colony". Tarantulas ensnares Inferno in a web and is preparing to finish him off when Scorponok arrives and informs Tarantulas that Megatron wants the pod. Before that can happen however, Tigatron arrives and destroys the pod. His victory quickly turns sour as he is attacked by both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia, who inflict heavy damage on him. Megatron arrives on the scene shortly, and even though both of the spiders flee, Tigatron is still in trouble. Inferno breaks free of Tarantulas's web, enraged at the destruction of the colony. Impressed with new guy's violent attitude, Megatron directs Inferno's fury on Tigatron and is preparing to destroy him, when Optimus and Airazor arrive and blow Inferno into scrap.

[[Image:Spider's Game Scorponok Inferno.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Who buried the loyalists?]]
Megatron gathers up the parts of Inferno and has him restored, while Optimus and Airazor take Tigatron back to the Maximal base for repairs. Back at his lab, however, Tarantulas is lamenting the loss of the pod, revealing to Blackarachnia his beliefs that the planet they're on is doomed. From this, the black widow correctly surmises that Tarantulas was going to convert the pod into an escape shuttle, but is unable to wrench any more information about his motives for doing so out of him.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (4)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (5)
* [[Tigatron]] (7)
* [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (9)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (1)
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (2)
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (3)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (6)
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (8)
* [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
"Besides, you're so cute."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' to Tarantulas. Erugh.

"Ew, another ''insect''. How depressing."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' on Inferno's alt-mode.

"Spiders! Dare invade the colony? Inferno, terrorize!"
:—'''Inferno''''s first words.

"As Cheetor would say, that flight mode is ultra-gear!"
:—'''Airazor''' should find better people to quote.

"EEEE.......NOOOOO.....!"
:-'''Tarantulas''' devestated that the stasis pod has been destroyed.

"You won't be getting any of our secrets from that pod, Predacons!" 
"And you won't be getting any older, Stripes."
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Blackarachnia'''.

"Oh, I like him, yeeess."
:—'''Megatron''' on seeing Inferno in action.

"They're out of range Megatron."
:-'''Scorponok''' stating the obvious of Megatron's futile attempts to shoot down Primal before be smacked with Inferno's head.

"At least consider it; we could be a great team. ...Lunatic." 
"Witch."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Tarantulas''' contemplate working together again,

==Notes==
*After Tigatron hits his head, there's a cartoony, tweeting-bird sound.

===Technical and animation errors===
*Inferno's beast form seems to be way too large for the stasis pod he crawls out of...
*When Tarantulas transforms after Inferno finds him, the markings on his spider abdomen change as it becomes his back.
*Curiously, when Tigatron is injured near the end of the episode, his beast mode's face (which serves as his robot mode's chestplate) appears to be bleeding. Either this contradicts what Cheetor said to Tarantulas in an [[The Web|earlier episode]] when he said "I don't ''have'' real blood....only [[mech fluid]].", or this lends credence to the theory that beast modes are wholly organic.
* Alternately, it could be charring, as the same discolorations appear on his metal portions.
* Or mech fluid could just be colored red.
*When Inferno breaks out of the web Tarantulas traps him in and fires his jets, his spinning abdomen is seen slashing through the back of his legs. (for a brief second anyway)

===Continuity errors===
*While other stasis pods are shown with hatch windows in outer space, Inferno's stasis pod does not have a window when viewed from the inside.
*Despite what the stasis pod says during Tarantulas's reprogramming of it, it had already started and finished scanning for DNA before the spiders even arrived.

===Trivia===
*While Megatron is complaining that repairing the computer is Tarantulas's job, you can see the words "eat me" on the screen in the Predacon variant of [[Cybertronix]].
*This is the only episode of the series in which [[Scott McNeil]] voices just one character (specifically, Waspinator). The other fifty-one episodes saw him voicing two to four characters.
* At 1:45 you can hear a toilet flush when Optimus is running a 'strategic simulation'.
*It can be speculated that Inferno's faulty programming can be attributed to his pod already selecting his beast mode before Tarantulas began the reprogramming sequence. It is possible that without the Maximal or Predacon programming chips the pod began to program him with the basic instincts of an ant.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Warning from Space ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Alert Dans L'Espace (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — There are 2 Dinobots? ([[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. 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]]
[[Category:Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

Spider's Game

2011-07-02T02:26:30Z

50.90.58.215: /* Quotes */

Spider's Game

2011-07-02T02:21:14Z

50.90.58.215: /* Quotes */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=18
|series2=BWJtoon
|ep2=18
|prev2=Double Dinobot
|image=Spider's Game Tarantulas Blackarachnia.jpg
|title="Spider's Game"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[January 6]], 1997
|packaged with=[[Tarantulas (BW)#Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|Predacon Tarantulus]]
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[James Boshier]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Tarantulas detects a new stasis pod and attempts to turn the protoform into a new Predacon. '''

:''French title:'' '''Inferno'''
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Inferno'''
:''Japanese title:'' 地獄のアリ戦士インフェルノ (''Jigoku no Ari Senshi Inferno'', "Inferno, the Ant Warrior from Hell")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''Juego de Arácnidos'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Intrighi''' ("Plotting")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Jogo das Aranhas''' ("The Game of Spiders")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Spider's Game Tarantulas console.jpg|left|200px|thumb|It was only after Tarantulas had finished hooking up his TVs that he remembered cable wouldn't be invented for a few epochs.]]
As another [[stasis pod]] leaves orbit and completes planetfall, Tarantulas sends out a magnetic pulse that disrupts the sensors at both the [[Darksyde|Predacon]] and [[Axalon (BW)|Maximal bases]]. The pulse ensures that Tarantulas will be the first to arrive at the pod's landing site, within [[Grid Halex]], and that he will be able to manipulate the [[protoform]] inside. Blackarachnia discovers what Tarantulas is up to and insists on accompanying him to the pod's landing site.

Tigatron also sees the pod arriving, but is unable to contact the Maximal base so he sets out to intercept the pod on his own. He is intercepted by Waspinator, who delays Tigatron until Airazor arrives and saves him. Tigatron tells Airazor to go to the pod and that he will join her there.

[[Image:Spider's Game Inferno pod.jpg|right|200px|thumb|But the box said there were supposed to be ten live ants.]]
Arriving at the pod, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia are too late to hand pick an arachnid form for the protoform; however, Tarantulas is able to do some reprogramming and turn the protoform into a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]. The new Predacon, [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], emerges from the pod only to attack the other two Predacons, then begins marching about the stasis pod. Tarantulas deduces that Inferno's beast mode is dominating his logic circuits and that he thinks he really is a fire ant protecting his colony, which his mind concludes is the stasis pod. Blackarachnia tries to fire on Inferno, but Tarantulas stops her, saying he wants no damage to the pod.

Airazor arrives on the scene only to be attacked and disabled by Inferno and Blackarachnia. While Blackarachnia uses this opportunity to make nice with Inferno and start to win him over, Tarantulas uses it to accomplish his real goal - stealing the stasis pod. This act enrages Inferno who sets out in pursuit of Tarantulas, with Blackarachnia not far behind. Tigatron arrives and tells Airazor to find Optimus while he pursues the Predacons.

[[Image:Spider's Game Inferno Tigatron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Whoops, sorry, I didn't see you there.]]
Nearing his [[Tarantulas's lair|lab]], Tarantulas is caught by Inferno who demands the return of the "colony". Tarantulas ensnares Inferno in a web and is preparing to finish him off when Scorponok arrives and informs Tarantulas that Megatron wants the pod. Before that can happen however, Tigatron arrives and destroys the pod. His victory quickly turns sour as he is attacked by both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia, who inflict heavy damage on him. Megatron arrives on the scene shortly, and even though both of the spiders flee, Tigatron is still in trouble. Inferno breaks free of Tarantulas's web, enraged at the destruction of the colony. Impressed with new guy's violent attitude, Megatron directs Inferno's fury on Tigatron and is preparing to destroy him, when Optimus and Airazor arrive and blow Inferno into scrap.

[[Image:Spider's Game Scorponok Inferno.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Who buried the loyalists?]]
Megatron gathers up the parts of Inferno and has him restored, while Optimus and Airazor take Tigatron back to the Maximal base for repairs. Back at his lab, however, Tarantulas is lamenting the loss of the pod, revealing to Blackarachnia his beliefs that the planet they're on is doomed. From this, the black widow correctly surmises that Tarantulas was going to convert the pod into an escape shuttle, but is unable to wrench any more information about his motives for doing so out of him.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (4)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (5)
* [[Tigatron]] (7)
* [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (9)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (1)
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (2)
* [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (3)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (6)
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (8)
* [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
"Besides, you're so cute."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' to Tarantulas. Erugh.

"Ew, another ''insect''. How depressing."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' on Inferno's alt-mode.

"Spiders! Dare invade the colony? Inferno, terrorize!"
:—'''Inferno''''s first words.

"As Cheetor would say, that flight mode is ultra-gear!"
:—'''Airazor''' should find better people to quote.

"EEEE.......NOOO.....!"
:-'''Tarantulas''' devestated that the stasis pod has been destroyed.

"You won't be getting any of our secrets from that pod, Predacons!" 
"And you won't be getting any older, Stripes."
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Blackarachnia'''.

"Oh, I like him, yeeess."
:—'''Megatron''' on seeing Inferno in action.

"At least consider it; we could be a great team. ...Lunatic." 
"Witch."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Tarantulas''' contemplate working together again,

==Notes==
*After Tigatron hits his head, there's a cartoony, tweeting-bird sound.

===Technical and animation errors===
*Inferno's beast form seems to be way too large for the stasis pod he crawls out of...
*When Tarantulas transforms after Inferno finds him, the markings on his spider abdomen change as it becomes his back.
*Curiously, when Tigatron is injured near the end of the episode, his beast mode's face (which serves as his robot mode's chestplate) appears to be bleeding. Either this contradicts what Cheetor said to Tarantulas in an [[The Web|earlier episode]] when he said "I don't ''have'' real blood....only [[mech fluid]].", or this lends credence to the theory that beast modes are wholly organic.
* Alternately, it could be charring, as the same discolorations appear on his metal portions.
* Or mech fluid could just be colored red.
*When Inferno breaks out of the web Tarantulas traps him in and fires his jets, his spinning abdomen is seen slashing through the back of his legs. (for a brief second anyway)

===Continuity errors===
*While other stasis pods are shown with hatch windows in outer space, Inferno's stasis pod does not have a window when viewed from the inside.
*Despite what the stasis pod says during Tarantulas's reprogramming of it, it had already started and finished scanning for DNA before the spiders even arrived.

===Trivia===
*While Megatron is complaining that repairing the computer is Tarantulas's job, you can see the words "eat me" on the screen in the Predacon variant of [[Cybertronix]].
*This is the only episode of the series in which [[Scott McNeil]] voices just one character (specifically, Waspinator). The other fifty-one episodes saw him voicing two to four characters.
* At 1:45 you can hear a toilet flush when Optimus is running a 'strategic simulation'.
*It can be speculated that Inferno's faulty programming can be attributed to his pod already selecting his beast mode before Tarantulas began the reprogramming sequence. It is possible that without the Maximal or Predacon programming chips the pod began to program him with the basic instincts of an ant.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Warning from Space ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Alert Dans L'Espace (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — There are 2 Dinobots? ([[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. 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]]
[[Category:Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

Code of Hero

2011-07-02T02:15:58Z

50.90.58.215: /* Synopsis */

{{episode|
|series=BWtoon
|ep=35
|series2=Metals
|ep2=8
|prev2=Other Visits (Part 2)
|image=CodeofHero titlepic.jpg
|caption=The rest is silence...
|title="Code of Hero"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[March 9]], 1998
|packaged with=[[Dinobot (BW)#Beast_Wars_10th_Anniversary|Dinobot]]
|written by=[[Ian Weir]]
|directed by=[[Bob Forward]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity= [[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Dinobot makes the ultimate sacrifice to save those who are still to come.'''

:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Code du Héros''' ("Code of Hero")
:''Japanese title:'' あばよッ! (''Abayo!'', "Farewell!")
:''Spanish title:'' '''El Código del Héroe'''
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Código de un Héroe'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Un grande eroe''' ("A grand hero")
:''Brazilian name:'' '''Código de Herói'''

==Synopsis==
In a wild valley, a group of [[Protohuman|primitive hominids]] forage for food. A gargantuan snake attacks two of their number, and the protohumans are helpless to stop it...

[[Image:Dinobot meditate.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"I have no other choice, I have dishonored my comrades."]]
At the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', a haunted Dinobot meditates on his sword... and holds its blade ominously over his chest. But after a long moment of tension and hesitation, he casts it aside with a growl of frustration.

Rhinox has been calculating the path of the [[Transwarp wavefront|Transwarp Wave]] from the [[Planet Buster]]'s destruction—it's traveling through time at an accelerated rate, and will reach [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in the "present", thus alerting Cybertron to their location. Optimus fears Megatron has made similar calculations, and the group realizes they need to increase their defenses.

Dinobot, still somber, runs into Rattrap, who nearly goads him into a fight over his turning the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Disk]] over to Megatron. Rattrap stalks off, concluding that he'd thought Dinobot was at least forthright. Dinobot is left to reflect that his past actions cannot be undone... but they "may yet be mitigated". He arms himself and heads off into the wastes.

On aerial recon, Cheetor observes Megatron and Rampage out for a stroll. They drive him off with some damage, but Cheetor calls in the sighting to Dinobot, who promises to follow up.

At [[Tarantulas's lair|his lair]], Tarantulas has captured a tasty antelope for his dinner. But as he creeps up to the struggling beast, Dinobot bursts out of the ground, holding him at gunpoint and demanding to know what information is on the Golden Disk. Tarantulas doesn't know—there are no more copies remaining, and Megatron is keeping the Disk on his person at all times. Still holding him at gunpoint, Dinobot uses Tarantulas as his unwilling ride.

[[Image:Megatron GoldenDisk.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The hills are alive, with The Sounds of Earth!]]
The protohumans scatter and panic as Megatron flies overhead and lands. Rampage sneers that the Maximals will soon arrive from Cybertron, and that he anticipates Megatron's imminent demise. Megatron admits that's very likely... but only if history remains as it is.

Megatron explains that the Golden Disk contains images recorded in the future, including one of a nearby mountain. Megatron has Rampage destroy the mountaintop. After a moment, the image on the disk changes to suit the altered reality, to Megatron's delight. Dinobot observes all this with dawning dread: Megatron has the power to change the future.

The valley they are standing above, Megatron explains, spawned the human race. Their interference helped the Autobots win the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], thereby allowing the Maximals to rule over the Predacons today. But Megatron has a different history in mind. Summoning the rest of his troops, he orders them to annihilate the valley and its inhabitants. With the protohumans destroyed, the human race will never have existed!

[[Image:BWDinobot decision.jpg|left|170px|thumb|A picturesque image is required before a dramatic death.]]
While Dinobot's back is turned, Tarantulas blasts him; Dinobot reciprocates by squashing him under a rock. Dinobot contacts Optimus, who orders him to maintain position, but Dinobot knows there is no time to wait. With his questions answered, Dinobot is ready to face his destiny. ''Let the bsttle be joined''

Dinobot moves in to attack the entire Predacon force single-handed. He blasts, punches and stomps his way past Megatron's minions, but loses his weapons, suffers considerable damage, and drains most of his energy supply. His computer warns him that he must enter [[stasis lock]] to survive... a command which Dinobot overrides.

Megatron confronts the damaged warrior, gloating over his near-total victory; when Dinobot starts to attack, Megatron reveals a human captive. The hostage is enough to make Dinobot halt; Megatron rebukes him for weakness. But Dinobot is a warrior still. Forging a makeshift hammer from a rock and stick, he knocks the Disk out of Megatron's hand. With the last of his energy, he summons one final optic blast, shattering the Disk.

Furiously lamenting his failure, Megatron flees as the [[Maximal]]s arrive. Cheetor douses the flames of the burning valley. The Maximals gather around the fallen Dinobot, but it is too late to help him. Optimus assures him that he has saved untold lives yet to come. Dinobot exchanges a final round of barbs with Rattrap; he asks them all to tell his story truthfully, both the good and the bad, and allow him to be judged accordingly. With that, the proud warrior dies. Rattrap leads the others in a salute as Dinobot's [[spark]] leaves his body, with Primal wishing it on to the Matrix, there to join Cybertron's finest.

[[Image:Dinbot funeral.jpg|right|170px|thumb|Old soldiers don't die, they just fade away...]]
The next morning, the Maximals hold a funeral for Dinobot. The fliers soar through the air in a [[wikipedia:missing man formation|salute]], as Rattrap and Rhinox dissolve Dinobot's remains.

At the valley, a curious protohuman finds Dinobot's hammer. He soon figures out how to use it to help gather food... and to fend off predators, such as the giant snake. The protohuman's yell of triumph echoes through the valley.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
* [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (3)
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (4)
* [[Rattrap]] (5)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (6)
* [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (14)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (7)
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (8)
* [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (9)
* [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (10)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
* [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (12)
* [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (13)

|h3=[[Protohuman]]s|c3=
* [[Leader Neanderthal]] (1)
}}

==Quotes==
"Remember that transwarp cell explosion?" 
[''Primal just glares''] 
"Okay, stupid question..."
:—'''Rhinox''' has a once-in-a-lifetime lapse in intelligence.

"Well, if it ain't the irascible raptor." 
"The base remains infested with vermin I see." 
"Yeah? Funny, y'know not much changes around here… except maybe the occasional allegiance. Find any Golden Disks lately, hmm? Pass them on to any Predacons?" 
"I don't need to explain my actions to you, mouse!" 
"Yeah, that's right, ya don't cause they pretty much speak for themselves." 
"Go ahead, rodent. Push one more inch." 
[''pushes Dinobot back''] "You know, I used to figure I had you pegged. 'Oh, yeah, he's a slag-spoutin' saurian, but at least you know where he stands.' Guess we live and learn."
:—'''Rattrap''' and '''Dinobot'''

"The rodent's words give off the stench of truth. Destiny is one great test in store for us all. Has mine already come and have I failed it? A deed once done cannot be undone, but perhaps, it may yet be mitigated."
:—'''Dinobot''' embarking on his destiny

"Destroy this valley! And everything in it! The human race will never have existed!"
:—'''Megatron''', announcing the impending genocide of the proto-humans

"The question that once haunted my being has been answered. The future is not fixed, and my choices are my own. And yet, how ironic... for I now find that I have no choice at all! I am a warrior... let the battle be joined."
:—'''Dinobot''', realizing his destiny

"One lonely turncoat, battling on against impossible odds." ''[Wipes fake tear]'' "I'm almost touched! ...Fortunately, such moments pass quickly. Quickstrike, scrap him!"
:—'''Megatron''', observing Dinobot's solo fight to save the valley.

"What's a warrior without weapons, eh?" 
"A warrior ''still!''"
:—'''Quickstrike''' totally underestimates '''Dinobot'''.

"Hmm, my ears are burning! Yesss! Why, Dinobot, what a delightful surprise! Let's see, where are we now? I have the Golden Disk, I have the power to change the future, and the only obstacle in my path to ''unimaginable'' glory... is yourself. Exhausted. Damaged beyond recovery. ''Defeated''." 
"Not just yet!" 
"Ah-ah-ah!" ''[Megatron reveals a bound proto-human]'' "One more step, and it's raining bits of early anthropoid, yesss." ''[Dinobot hesitates]'' "Oh dear, how positively ''Maximal'' of you. You were weakened before you started, Dinobot. Weakened by ''compassion''."
:—'''Megatron''' confronts the severely damaged '''Dinobot'''.

"Face it, Dinobot! You're old technology, obsolete. What could you possibly ''do''?" 
"Improvise."
:—'''Megatron''' is about to find out that '''Dinobot''' has one more trick up his sleeve.

'''Optimus Primal: ''' "Well fought, my friend. You saved the valley. You saved the lives of those who live here... and of those who are still to come." 
'''Dinobot:''' "Then... there is nothing to regret." 
'''Rattrap:''' "Like I said, you're just a blasted, slag-spouting saurian, but... it's nice to know where you stand." 
'''Dinobot:'''"Upwind of you, for preference, vermin. ...Tell my tale to those who ask. Tell it truly, the ill deeds along with the good, and let me be judged accordingly. The rest... is silence."
:— Dinobot shares last words with his comrades

"He lived a warrior... and died a hero. Let his spark join the Matrix, the greatest of Cybertron."

:—'''Optimus Primal''''s eulogy for Dinobot

==Notes==
===Technical and animation errors===
* The interior of the ''Axalon'', and thus the doors to Dinobot's quarters, were made at a different scale to his character model, so he could not actually fit through the doorway. Bob Forward explained that it had to be faked by a cut.
* When Rattrap is working at the wall panel, his right forearm is backwards and remains thus until he is grandly gesturing.
* When Megatron is flying over the proto-human valley, his legs are missing and his body has very little detail.
* As Quickstrike approaches Dinobot, his left shin is backwards.
* At Dinobot's funeral, Rattrap is in his pre-Transmetal body. On the [[Madman]] DVD commentary for this episode, Bob Forward could not believe how the production team (who had viewed this scene at least a hundred times trying to get everything right) did not notice the fact they used the wrong Rattrap, and yet every fan did.

===Continuity errors===
* The strategy of the Maximal cavalry seems a bit odd. Granted, arriving in ones and twos would make them more vulnerable to attack but surely there would be some advantage in sending at least Cheetor on ahead? Or are we supposed to assume that every single Maximal, from jet-powered cheetah to bog-standard rhino, has the same top speed? (It's especially odd for Rhinox, considering that vehicle-mode Rattrap has given someone a lift [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)|before]], and Primal will give Rhinox a lift [[The Agenda (Part III)|later]]).
* When Dinobot laments about Megatron's power being limitless, Megatron and Rampage can be seen on the cliff right behind him. This and the previous shot also indicate that Dinobot is ''right out in the open'', possibly exposing himself in full view of both Predacons. So...exactly ''why'' didn't Megatron or Rampage notice Dinobot, now?
* Megatron left the field of battle in Maximal hands with all of his troops incapacitated. Yet next episode, the Predacons are back under his command. The Maximals must have simply left and allowed Megatron to collect their injured chassis at his leisure instead of taking them prisoner.
* Towards the end of the episode, listen closely when the caveman hits an oncoming snake with Dinobot's hammer. A mechanical thud can be heard when the snake hits the ground, making it sound as if the snake is made of metal.
*In this episode, the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Voyager Disk]] resembles an old record (complete with being labeled "The Sounds of Earth") instead of the design used since its appearance in [[Beast Wars (Part 1)|the first episode]].
*Rattrap mentions that Dinobot would be up against six Predacons when there was a total of seven. Either he had totally forgotten about Tarantulas or assumed that Tarantulas would still not be working with Megatron.
**Or he decided that Waspinator didn't count.

===Transformers references===
*Megatron orders the destruction of the prehumans to prevent the development of mankind. Humans assisted the Autobots to win the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]. Most of these were probably [[Witwicky|Witwickys]].

===Real-world references===
* As the Predacons jump into the valley to destroy the hominids, Rampage crushes a butterfly. This evokes the famous Ray Bradbury short story "[[wikipedia:A Sound of Thunder|A Sound of Thunder]]", in which a time traveler in the past steps on a butterfly, thus dramatically altering the future of humanity. It is also reminiscent of the [[wikipedia:Butterfly Effect|Butterfly Effect]], a principle of chaos theory which holds that a small change (a flap of a butterfly's wings, killing a few dozen hominids) can eventually lead to vast changes (changes in storm systems a world away, the dominion of Predacons over Maximals). Of course, the writers may have merely intended Rampage's act to symbolize how killing the hominids would be no more difficult for the Predacons than crushing a butterfly . . .
* When Dinobot is leaving the base, he comments that "a deed, once done, cannot be undone", a slight modification of the Shakespearean quote "what is done cannot be undone".
* Dinobot's final words, "The rest is silence", are taken directly from Shakespeare's ''Hamlet''.
* In a bit of foreshadowing, while Dinobot is contemplating suicide, three ravens fly past his window in the [[wikipedia:Missing man formation|missing man formation]], which the Maximal fliers use in their salute to him at his funeral.
* Right after Dinobot crash-lands on [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (for the umpteenth time, Waspinator gets no respect) Rampage points his cannon at Dinobot with the aim view similar to the gun barrel views from numerous James Bond movies. Of course, most Bond villains do not give the opponent time to stuff a trashed Waspinator into the barrel (for the umpteenth and 1 time, Waspinator gets no respect) but still...

===Trivia===
* ''Beast Wars'' co-story editor [[Bob Forward]] drew storyboards for this episode. Not only is it the only ''Beast Wars'' episode to be directed by the series's writers, but it is also the only episode to be done up in storyboards rather than being directed on-the-fly. Bob Forward worked in person with the [[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]] animators for this episode.
* The original storyboards were auctioned for charity at a [[BotCon]].
* According to Bob Forward, Megatron's transformation sequence had to be reconstructed to be able to show his transformation from underneath for one shot. Previously, the animation only "worked" when seen from eye-level or above.
* During the recording of this episode, [[Scott McNeil]] was attempting to deliver Dinobot's last words, but was continually interrupted by the recording crew's laughter. He is reputed to have said while still in character, "Do you mind?! I'm trying to die here!"
* According to McNeil, Dinobot knew he was going to die five episodes before he did, as right up until the last second, he believed Dinobot to only be "cartoon dead" as opposed to "''dead'' dead".
* When originally broadcast in the [[United Kingdom]], this episode was edited, with Dinobot's contemplated suicide completely excised and his hallway altercation with Rattrap cut down to only a fraction of its actual length. In the latter case, this seem to serve no other purpose than the elimination of the word "[[Slag (slang)|slag]]", and Dinobot's dying exchange with Rattrap was likewise altered to purge the word.
* It's no surprise that a DVD containing this episode was packaged with Dinobot for ''[[Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]''. This is the only post-Season 1 episode included with any ''10th Anniversary'' figures.
* Bob Forward considers this to be his favorite ''Beast Wars'' episode, as well as the "The Agenda" three-parter.<ref>http://www.infinitefrontiers.0catch.com/AutoAssembly/BobForward.htm Interview with Bob Forward</ref>

==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]] 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 7 ([[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)

==References==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[Category:Beast Wars 10th Anniversary]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

The Trigger, Part 2

2011-07-02T02:00:02Z

50.90.58.215: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=17
|series2=BWJtoon
|ep2=14
|prev2=The Trigger, Part 1
|next2=Victory (episode)
|image=The Trigger Blackarachnia chair.jpg
|caption=Lord Zedd got a makeover. By which we mean sex change.
|title="The Trigger" Part 2
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1996
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Michaela Zabranska]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Megatron (BW)/toys#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|DX Megatron]]
}}
'''With the flying island under Predacon control, the Maximal base and the Beast Wars are in jeopardy.'''

:''French title:'' '''L'Île Volante - 2e partie''' ("The Flying Island - Part 2")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Île Volante 2'''
:''Japanese title:'' 浮島のデスマッチ後編 (''Ukishima no Death Match Kōhen'' "Floating Island Death Match Part 2")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Detonante Segunda Parte'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il grilletto - Parte 2'''
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Gatilho Parte 2''' ("The Trigger Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:The Trigger Blackarachnia symbol.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Even rocks have tattoos.]]
On the [[Brigadoon|floating paradise island]] of unknown origin, [[Tigatron]] resolves to be the island's dedicated defender, protecting it from the [[Predacons (BW)|Predacons]] who would abuse its power. With the injured [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] on his back, he gets moving. Meanwhile, the Predacons plan to make Tigatron's fear come true. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] deduces how to detect traps on the island and that the obelisk that fires the laser weapon must be where the island is controlled.

At the same time, [[Optimus Primal]] (with [[Rattrap]] on his back) flies towards the island, maintaining radio contact with [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] on the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'''s bridge. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] rushes onto the scene again, as he's spotted [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] leaving the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]]. As soon as he receives the news over the radio, Primal gets into an aerial scuffle with the two fliers, and because of his handicap from carrying Rattrap, is soundly blasted. Primal and Rattrap free-fall out of control.

[[Image:The Trigger Rattrap optimus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Terrorsaur probably felt like he had a monkey on his back; it turned out to be a rat.]]
Rattrap, falling to his death, transforms and blasts the taunting Terrorsaur, commandeering the pteranodon as his new mode of transport. The battle between Primal and Waspinator ends in Waspinator's usual fashion.

Airazor and Tigatron have trouble with another of the island's deadly traps, but Tigatron cleverly blasts his and Airazor's way to freedom. Out of danger, they rendezvous with Primal and Rattrap (who is abandoned by his steed). Tigatron fills in his allies on how the symbols around the island denote the location of traps. Rattrap speculates the function of the island is, in fact, a test of the survival capabilities of whomever visits it.

Blackarachnia and [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] reach the obelisk that controls the island. Seeing the fliers, she fakes aggression against them so they attack her, which triggers the island's laser defense, giving Blackarachnia the chance to blast her way inside of the obelisk safely. The black widow marvels at the power of the alien technology she discovers inside. She gleefully announces her plan to use the island to win the Beast Wars for herself. Scorponok objects, but is quickly tricked into one of the island's traps.

[[Image:The Trigger Blackarachnia power.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I AM THE POWER!]]
Inside of the ornate control room, Blackarachnia steps on a strange symbol on the floor, which bathes her in light. The light alters her colors and her voice and gives her mind a direct connection to the island's power. She blackens the sky and uses the obelisk to rain destruction on the island (in a literal sense). The monolith elongates as she directs the island towards the Maximal base. Optimus radios to Rhinox the command for the crew to evacuate the ''Axalon''.

Rattrap's leg is pinned down by some heavy stone debris, but he commands Tigatron to leave him behind so the cat can stop Blackarachnia's chaos. As Tigatron presses forward, Rattrap uses an energy weapon to get the obelisk's defense beam to free himself. Inside the obelisk, Tigatron reluctantly destroys the island's reactor, knowing that this action will doom the paradise.

[[Image:The Trigger Island crash.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Someone stole the Master Emerald.]]
Without an energy source, the island loses altitude and guidance, narrowly swooping over the Maximal base. The island crumbles as it crashes into the ground, robbing Blackarachnia of her chance to dominate. The fallen obelisk sends one final pulse of energy into the sky, which bounces off of a similar obelisk on the smaller of the planet's two moons, then vanishes into space.

Tigatron knows the beam was a signal, telling [[Vok|the creators]] of the island how the Maximals and Predacons ruined their island paradise. A reoccurring butterfly symbolically dies. The Maximals wonder what's next, and how the builders of the island will react to the vandalism.
{{-}}
==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Tigatron]] (1)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (2)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (5)
*[[Rattrap]] (6)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (7)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (8)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s
|c2=
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (3)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (4)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (9)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (10)

}}
==Quotes==
"Have a nice... trip? Hehehahahahaha!"
:—'''Scorponok''' is easily amused.

"We should move... how are you feeling?" 
"Better. Still thrashed... ''(grunts)'' ...can't fly". 
"In that case... the lady shall ride a tiger!"
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Airazor'''

"Now fly, ya featherless freak, or I'll toast ya tachyons."
:—'''Rattrap''', aiming his gun somewhere near Terrorsaur's tail.

"You're a real piece of work, Rattrap." 
"Eh, ain't it the truth?"
:—'''Optimus''' and '''Rattrap'''.

"Pterodactyl idiot!"
:—'''Waspinator''' re: Terrorsaur.

"Uhhhh... yeeeesss...I FEEL the power. I have the control! Let there be...''light.''"
:—'''Blackarachnia''' takes control of the flying island

"May I be forgiven for what I must do."
:—'''Tigatron''', just before destroying the flying island's power source

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
*Despite Blackarachnia's observation that the monolith needs to recharge when it fires, it has no difficulty in firing a precise blast at Rattrap when he shoots at it, and it's dispersing energy all over the place at the time. Even if there are separate mechanisms for the different kinds of fire, the apparently large amount of energy consumed by the main beam seems as though it would cause some sort of pause in the barrage, at the least.
*Speaking of which, the monolith's main weapon has wildly varying power levels throughout the two-part episode. It was previously shown to be strong enough to badly damage Terrorsaur and Waspinator with one shot apiece, but in this episode, it only knocks them out of the sky, no worse for the wear. Later, it hits Rattrap almost dead-on, and leaves him seemingly uninjured save for a bout of dizziness. A possibility is that the repeated firings in such a short period of time are depleting the beam's charge, leaving it at the level of a strong blaster rather than a devastating superweapon.
*The episode's ending seems to be left open when it comes to Blckarachnia's current state. Another question remains whether Megatron was aware of the island's advance on the Maximal base?

===Real-world references===
* When Airazor is too injured to fly, Tigatron declares that "The lady shall ride the tiger". This is a reference to Frank Stockton's famous short story, "[http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml The Lady or the Tiger?]"
* In [[wikipedia:The_Bible|the Bible]], "Let there be light" is a phrase used by God when he creates the universe.

===Trivia===
* Oddly enough, there are no silver redecos of Blackarachnia [[To sell toys|available for sale]]. Are you [[Dark Designs (episode)|sensing a pattern here?]]
* Despite spewing massive amounts of firepower in every direction, the monolith under Blackarachnia's control fails to hit any of the Maximals. "[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0655450/quotes Just stop and aim, you idiot!]"
* This is the only episode of Beast Wars not to feature Megatron in any way (flashbacks, dreams or holograms).
* Dinobot appears but gets no lines at all (which is odd given they had Scott McNeil there to voice Rattrap anyway).
*[[Cybertronix]]:
** As Rhinox makes contact with Primal, much Cybertronix appears on his screen. Though some is gibberish, the words "toilet", "Rod was here", and "you look too close" can be made out.
** Upsidedown text at the bottom of the screen when Airazor spies on Blackarachnia includes the names "PAM" and "KRIS", as well as "MCM10C4" (1994 in the Maximal numbering system).

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Warning from Space ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Alert Dans L'Espace (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Floating Island Deathmatch ([[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. 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)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trigger part 2}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

The Trigger, Part 2

2011-07-02T01:59:21Z

50.90.58.215: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=17
|series2=BWJtoon
|ep2=14
|prev2=The Trigger, Part 1
|next2=Victory (episode)
|image=The Trigger Blackarachnia chair.jpg
|caption=Lord Zedd got a makeover. By which we mean sex change.
|title="The Trigger" Part 2
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1996
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Michaela Zabranska]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
|packaged with=[[Megatron (BW)/toys#Beast Wars Telemocha Series|DX Megatron]]
}}
'''With the flying island under Predacon control, the Maximal base and the Beast Wars are in jeopardy.'''

:''French title:'' '''L'Île Volante - 2e partie''' ("The Flying Island - Part 2")
:''French-Canadian title:'' '''Île Volante 2'''
:''Japanese title:'' 浮島のデスマッチ後編 (''Ukishima no Death Match Kōhen'' "Floating Island Death Match Part 2")
:''Latin-American title:'' '''El Detonante Segunda Parte'''
:''Italian title:'' '''Il grilletto - Parte 2'''
:''Brazilian title:'' '''O Gatilho Parte 2''' ("The Trigger Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:The Trigger Blackarachnia symbol.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Even rocks have tattoos.]]
On the [[Brigadoon|floating paradise island]] of unknown origin, [[Tigatron]] resolves to be the island's dedicated defender, protecting it from the [[Predacons (BW)|Predacons]] who would abuse its power. With the injured [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] on his back, he gets moving. Meanwhile, the Predacons plan to make Tigatron's fear come true. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] deduces how to detect traps on the island and that the obelisk that fires the laser weapon must be where the island is controlled.

At the same time, [[Optimus Primal]] (with [[Rattrap]] on his back) flies towards the island, maintaining radio contact with [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] on the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'''s bridge. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] rushes onto the scene again, as he's spotted [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] leaving the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]]. As soon as he receives the news over the radio, Primal gets into an aerial scuffle with the two fliers, and because of his handicap from carrying Rattrap, is soundly blasted. Primal and Rattrap free-fall out of control.

[[Image:The Trigger Rattrap optimus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Terrorsaur probably felt like he had a monkey on his back; it turned out to be a rat.]]
Rattrap, falling to his death, transforms and blasts the taunting Terrorsaur, commandeering the pteranodon as his new mode of transport. The battle between Primal and Waspinator ends in Waspinator's usual fashion.

Airazor and Tigatron have trouble with another of the island's deadly traps, but Tigatron cleverly blasts his and Airazor's way to freedom. Out of danger, they rendezvous with Primal and Rattrap (who is abandoned by his steed). Tigatron fills in his allies on how the symbols around the island denote the location of traps. Rattrap speculates the function of the island is, in fact, a test of the survival capabilities of whomever visits it.

Blackarachnia and [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] reach the obelisk that controls the island. Seeing the fliers, she fakes aggression against them so they attack her, which triggers the island's laser defense, giving Blackarachnia the chance to blast her way inside of the obelisk safely. The black widow marvels at the power of the alien technology she discovers inside. She gleefully announces her plan to use the island to win the Beast Wars for herself. Scorponok objects, but is quickly tricked into one of the island's traps.

[[Image:The Trigger Blackarachnia power.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I AM THE POWER!]]
Inside of the ornate control room, Blackarachnia steps on a strange symbol on the floor, which bathes her in light. The light alters her colors and her voice and gives her mind a direct connection to the island's power. She blackens the sky and uses the obelisk to rain destruction on the island (in a literal sense). The monolith elongates as she directs the island towards the Maximal base. Optimus radios to Rhinox the command for the crew to evacuate the ''Axalon''.

Rattrap's leg is pinned down by some heavy stone debris, but he commands Tigatron to leave him behind so the cat can stop Blackarachnia's chaos. As Tigatron presses forward, Rattrap uses an energy weapon to get the obelisk's defense beam to free himself. Inside the obelisk, Tigatron reluctantly destroys the island's reactor, knowing that this action will doom the paradise.

[[Image:The Trigger Island crash.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Someone stole the Master Emerald.]]
Without an energy source, the island loses altitude and guidance, narrowly swooping over the Maximal base. The island crumbles as it crashes into the ground, robbing Blackarachnia of her chance to dominate. The fallen obelisk sends one final pulse of energy into the sky, which bounces off of a similar obelisk on the smaller of the planet's two moons, then vanishes into space.

Tigatron knows the beam was a signal, telling [[Vok|the creators]] of the island how the Maximals and Predacons ruined their island paradise. A reoccurring butterfly symbolically dies. The Maximals wonder what's next, and how the builders of the island will react to the vandalism.
{{-}}
==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s
|c1=
*[[Tigatron]] (1)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (2)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (5)
*[[Rattrap]] (6)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (7)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (8)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s
|c2=
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (3)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (4)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (9)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (10)

}}
==Quotes==
"Have a nice... trip? Hehehahahahaha!"
:—'''Scorponok''' is easily amused.

"We should move... how are you feeling?" 
"Better. Still thrashed... ''(grunts)'' ...can't fly". 
"In that case... the lady shall ride a tiger!"
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Airazor'''

"Now fly, ya featherless freak, or I'll toast ya tachyons."
:—'''Rattrap''', aiming his gun somewhere near Terrorsaur's tail.

"You're a real piece of work, Rattrap." 
"Eh, ain't it the truth?"
:—'''Optimus''' and '''Rattrap'''.

"Pterodactyl idiot!"
:—'''Waspinator''' re: Terrorsaur.

"Uhhhh... yeeeesss...I FEEL the power. I have the control! Let there be...''light.''"
:—'''Blackarachnia''' takes control of the flying island

"May I be forgiven for what I must do."
:—'''Tigatron''', just before destroying the flying island's power source

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
*Despite Blackarachnia's observation that the monolith needs to recharge when it fires, it has no difficulty in firing a precise blast at Rattrap when he shoots at it, and it's dispersing energy all over the place at the time. Even if there are separate mechanisms for the different kinds of fire, the apparently large amount of energy consumed by the main beam seems as though it would cause some sort of pause in the barrage, at the least.
*Speaking of which, the monolith's main weapon has wildly varying power levels throughout the two-part episode. It was previously shown to be strong enough to badly damage Terrorsaur and Waspinator with one shot apiece, but in this episode, it only knocks them out of the sky, no worse for the wear. Later, it hits Rattrap almost dead-on, and leaves him seemingly uninjured save for a bout of dizziness. A possibility is that the repeated firings in such a short period of time are depleting the beam's charge, leaving it at the level of a strong blaster rather than a devastating superweapon.
*The episode's ending seems to be left open when it comes to Blckarachnia's current state. Another question remains whether Megatron aware of the island's advance on the Maximal base?

===Real-world references===
* When Airazor is too injured to fly, Tigatron declares that "The lady shall ride the tiger". This is a reference to Frank Stockton's famous short story, "[http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml The Lady or the Tiger?]"
* In [[wikipedia:The_Bible|the Bible]], "Let there be light" is a phrase used by God when he creates the universe.

===Trivia===
* Oddly enough, there are no silver redecos of Blackarachnia [[To sell toys|available for sale]]. Are you [[Dark Designs (episode)|sensing a pattern here?]]
* Despite spewing massive amounts of firepower in every direction, the monolith under Blackarachnia's control fails to hit any of the Maximals. "[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0655450/quotes Just stop and aim, you idiot!]"
* This is the only episode of Beast Wars not to feature Megatron in any way (flashbacks, dreams or holograms).
* Dinobot appears but gets no lines at all (which is odd given they had Scott McNeil there to voice Rattrap anyway).
*[[Cybertronix]]:
** As Rhinox makes contact with Primal, much Cybertronix appears on his screen. Though some is gibberish, the words "toilet", "Rod was here", and "you look too close" can be made out.
** Upsidedown text at the bottom of the screen when Airazor spies on Blackarachnia includes the names "PAM" and "KRIS", as well as "MCM10C4" (1994 in the Maximal numbering system).

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Warning from Space ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Alert Dans L'Espace (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — Floating Island Deathmatch ([[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. 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)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Trigger part 2}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]
[[category:Beast Wars Telemocha Series]]
[[Category:Pack-in material]]

Scorponok (BW)

2011-07-02T01:36:50Z

50.90.58.215: /* Beast Wars cartoon */

{{factions|predacon}}
{{disambig3|Scorponok}}

:''Scorponok is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:BWScorponokSticker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Transforms into a scorpion. Surprise?]]
'''Scorponok'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s personality seems to have two main features: He's dumb, and he's loyal to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (surprisingly so, considering Megatron's [[Terrorsaur (BW)|other]] [[Tarantulas (BW)|crew]] [[Blackarachnia (BW)|members]]), and of those two features, only the loyalty seems to be consistent. He tries to serve Megatron to the best of his abilities, but when [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] is able to outwit you, there's only so much you have to offer.

Scorponok begins as Megatron's [[second-in-command]] on the ''[[Darksyde]]'', though he is insecure about the title and constantly tries to assert himself among the other Predacons who, aware of his shortcomings, generally dismiss or ignore him.

Scorponok's only other real contribution to Megatron's cause is in developing cyber-viruses that he delivers with his [[Cyberbee|cyberbee drone]]. (This is impressive, actually, given his otherwise limited mentality.) However, these generally don't work out as he hoped, and so they've done little to increase his standing in the eyes of the other Predacons.

==Fiction==
===First wave toy bios===
Inhabiting the [[Mojave Desert]], Scorponok is suited to the harsh conditions of this arid environment. Described as vicious, this desert attack specialist relies mainly on surprise attacks to overcome his foes. For this task, he possesses three alternatives: launching a robotic bee stored in one claw, his 2-shot missile blast stored in the other; his terrifying tail, which deals poisonous cyber-strikes. {{storylink|Scorponok (BW)#Toys|Scorponok bio}}

{{note|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===
====Fun Publications ''Beast Wars'' fiction====
=====Theft of the Golden Disk=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Brad Venable]] (English)

The Predacon that would be called Scorponok and [[Backslash]] were part of a mission to steal the sacred [[Maximal]] relic, the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]], on behalf of [[Cryotek (RID)|Cryotek]]; in actual fact, "Scorponok" was loyal to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and in on his plan to take the disk for himself. He was meant to bomb [[Maximal Power Station B4-Y]] to aid Megatron and [[Dinobot (BW)|his partner]]'s attack; he was almost caught by a guard but Backslash saved him, berating him for being sloppy. Later on, when Backslash was caught by a guard, "Scorponok" laughed, mockingly referencing what Backslash said early and happily triggered the bombs, killing his alleged comrade. Nice guy. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

=====Dawn of Future's Past=====
[[Image:Scorponokbwdawn.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Looking at him, he was probably called "Scorponok" before the Beast Wars, too.]]
With the Disk in their hands, the thieves were picked up by their other comrades in a stolen ship, newly christened the ''Darksyde''. Soon after leaving Cybertron, the ''Darksyde'' was involved in a space battle with the Maximal vessels ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' and ''[[Chromia 10]]'' and an unidentified Predacon ship. At its conclusion, only the ''Axalon'' and the ''Darksyde'' survived, and both ships passed through a [[transwarp]] portal to an unknown destination. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}
{{--}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Don Brown]] (English), [[Masashi Endō]] (Japanese), [[Bernard Métraux]] (French), [[Sidney Lilla]] (Portuguese), [[Antonio Paiola]] (Italian), [[Mario Grete]] (German), [[Brando Miranda]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Enrique Cazorla]] (Castilian Spanish)

[[Image:BeastWars1 Scorponok battleready.jpg|thumb|left|280px|OUR MISSILES!]]
Crash-landing on an unknown planet, Scorponok and his peers were forced to take on organic beast modes to shield themselves from the planet's dangerous levels of raw [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. Scorponok took a scorpion as his new alternate mode. When Dinobot furiously berated Megatron for foolishly marooning them on the wrong planet and attempted to attack his leader, Scorponok stood behind Megatron and waited for his cue to fire on Dinobot, sending the traitor far into the distance. Later, Scorponok participated in the first battle between the Maximal and Predacon factions and managed to trap [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor's]] leg under a boulder. However, the Predacons soon succumbed to energon overload. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}}

After recovering in beast mode, Scorponok and the lower-ranking Predacons were wagering who would win the battle between [[Optimus Primal]] and Dinobot until Megatron ordered them to fire on the unwitting combatants. After their shots failed to destroy the Maximals but instead revealed a massive energon cache buried inside a mountain, the Predacons moved out, followed by the Maximals. The two parties confronted each other at the energon cache, and Scorponok fought Dinobot in the one-on-one clashes that ensued. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

[[Image:TheWeb Scorponok beastmode.jpg|right|220px|thumb|[http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Vorox Beware my stinger tail!]]]
While Scorponok was later salvaging a mega-cannon, he was surprised by Cheetor. Luckily [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] distracted the Maximal, giving Scorponok time to hit Cheetor with a missile. Despite asserting that he was second in command and should be giving the orders, Scorponok took Tarantulas's suggestion to scarper before Optimus Primal arrived. He subsequently installed the cannon as part of the perimeter defences for the Predacon base, aided by [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]]. {{storylink|The Web}} Scorponok found himself hunting Cheetor again, when the cat somehow teleported into the Predacon base. Cheetor escaped into the ducts, so Scorponok sent a missile in after him, unsuccessfully. A short time later, they found Cheetor messing with the Predacon computer, so Scorponok fired another missile at him, only for it to end up slagging himself and Waspinator. {{storylink|Equal Measures}}

[[Image:ChainofCommand Scorponok fail.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Cheetor]] owned with one shot and how Scorponok got up there to begin with is still unclear]]
Scorponok took part in a battle at the [[Standing Stones]], and ended up face-down in the dirt after Cheetor shot him. After Primal went missing, blasted by an [[Vok probe|alien probe]], Megatron sent Scorponok and Waspinator to guard the Standing Stones. As it turned out, Primal wasn't dead, and after he was released from the probe, he blasted all of the Predacons. {{storylink|Chain of Command}} When Terrorsaur mounted a leadership bid and badly damaged Megatron, Scorponok simply had his leader repaired the ''instant'' Terrorsaur wasn't looking. {{storylink|Power Surge}}

After a [[stasis pod]] crashed, Megatron took Scorponok and Tarantulas to attack the Maximal base. While the Predacon leader provided a diversion, the two other Predacons sneaked up on Dinobot, knocking him out. Unfortunately for them, Dinobot had time to activate the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[autogun]]s, and first Tarantulas, then Scorponok were blasted off the ship. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}} Scorponok was part of an ambush, enabling the Predacons to steal another stasis pod and bring [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] online. Terrorsaur would later mount another bid to become leader, with [[Rattrap]]'s help, but Scorponok announced loudly and at length that his loyalty belonged to Megatron and he would never follow Terrorsaur. As it turned out, Megatron allowed Terrorsaur temporary leadership, so Scorponok appeared to be happy to follow the new leader's commands, at least until it was proved in battle that Terrorsaur was incompetent as a leader. {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}

Megatron tasked Scorponok with a mission to create a virus for his [[cyberbee]] that would turn Optimus Primal into a coward. Ambushing the Maximal leader and Dinobot as they were on a botanical study near a waterfall, Scorponok managed to have his cyberbee latch onto Optimus when he attempted to help the traitor. Unfortunately, Optimus Primal fired off a shot before going down, dislodging the log Scorponok was sitting upon and sending him over the edge of the waterfall. To greater misfortune, Scorponok had botched the virus, turning Optimus Primal not into a coward, but a fearless, ultra-aggressive berserker. Both Scorponok and Megatron were blown up with the cyberbee when Primal ripped it off and chucked it at Megatron's back. {{storylink|Gorilla Warfare}}

[[Image:TheProbe Scorponok minus claw.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He told me enough. He told me you killed him.]]
Scorponok spotted the Maximals building a communications array, and gave a video of it to Terrorsaur to take back to Megatron. After word came through that the array was to be destroyed, he confronted the Maximals. Primal intercepted his missiles, Rattrap blew his claw off, and then Dinobot blasted him into the distance. {{storylink|The Probe}} He was later (improbably) one of the Predacons who staged a revolt against Megatron. That should have been the Maximal's first clue it was only a mock revolt, as once they'd made the ''Axalon'' space-worthy, the Predacons emerged from hiding and attempted to take their ship. Though he was hit by the ship's cannons during a charge, Scorponok was still able to fire a missile which knocked Primal from the entry lift. {{storylink|Victory (episode)|Victory}}

[[Image:DarkDesigns Scorponok squished.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Yet another day Scorponok would rather forget.]]
After [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] was converted into a Predacon by Megatron's [[Transmuter (BW)|Transmuter]], Scorponok found himself assigned to repair the base computer. Unaware that the computer had actually been sabotaged by Rhinox, he was surprised and shocked when the ex-Maximal dropped a pile of heavy crates on him. A spell in a Predacon restoration pool left him ready to extract some revenge, but Rhinox deftly deflected his rage onto Terrorsaur, and the pair had their heads slammed together by Rhinox. Despite all this, he was able to take part in the inevitable fight with the Maximals, during which he was able to take some of his anger out on Dinobot. He ultimately lost the fight and was at ground zero when the Transmuter exploded. {{storylink|Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs}}

Scorponok acted as a lab assistant to Megatron, as his leader created a [[Clone One|clone of Dinobot]]. He was a teeny bit skeptical at the result. {{storylink|Double Dinobot}} When another stasis pod crashed, Megatron dispatched [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and Scorponok to retrieve it. Blackarachnia was disgusted by Scorponok's subservient attitude, and on their way to the pod, she ditched him. Scorponok almost immediately ran into [[Tigatron]], who ended his quest by freezing him. {{storylink|The Spark}}

Scorponok was again teamed with Blackarachnia when Terrorsaur and Waspinator found a [[Brigadoon|weird flying island]]. After they reached the island, Scorponok used a cyberbee to check the place out, but it was intercepted by Tigatron. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} The two Predacons reached the obelisk at the center of the island and blasted their way in. When Blackarachnia announced the island's power would allow her to defeat even Megatron, Scorponok revealed that he had been sent with her to make sure that didn't happen. Of course, she promptly tricked him into triggering one of the island's many traps, and he fell through the hole that opened up to the ground below. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Spider's Game Scorponok Inferno.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Looks like someone gave Scorponok...]]
On another occasion, Scorponok was on lookout when he spotted Tarantulas being "chased" by a stasis pod. Megatron ordered he obtain take the stasis pod back to base, so he confronted Tarantulas... only for the pod to blow up, knocking him into some boulders, where a falling rock rendered him unconscious. By the time he recovered, the fight was over, and Megatron ordered him to gather up [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] for repair. {{storylink|Spider's Game}} He took part in a diversionary attack on the ''Axalon'', while Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole the ship's [[rectifier coil]]. Later, once the Maximals had gone feral, he participated on the hunt by carrying Megatron's chair, but was taken down by Cheetor once the Maximals overcame their beast instincts. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}}

In one of his rare successes, Scorponok triggered an energon explosion, apparently taking out a group of Maximals. In reality, he'd simply blinded them, but he didn't find this out until after he'd reported back to Megatron. {{storylink|Dark Voyage}} After [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], possessing the body of Waspinator, helped the Predacons take over the ''Axalon'', Megatron left the [[Decepticon]] in charge of the Maximal base with Scorponok and Blackarachnia as underlings. When the inevitable betrayal occurred, Scorponok put up a token resistance before Starscream blasted him off the side of the ship. {{storylink|Possession}}

[[Image:OtherVoices1 Scorponok and Megatron pose.jpg|left|250px|thumb|So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti]]
Scorponok was among the Predacons who were taken out by Rhinox's almighty fart. {{storylink|The Low Road}} After Megatron declared a truce, and Tigatron infiltrated the Predacon base in search of information, Scorponok and Terrorsaur attempted to stop the Maximal from escaping, and ended up colliding spectacularly. Luckily for Scorponok, he didn't have to pursue Tigatron, as the Predacons who did mostly came back on stretchers. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} Scorponok later accompanied Megatron on a mission to an alien construct which had appeared. His toxic sting was instrumental in breaching the construct's wall, allowing Rattrap to get inside and retrieve [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]. Of course, a short time later, Rattrap used one of Scorponok's missiles to dispose of Megatron, shortly before Scorponok himself was blasted by Airazor. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 1}}

[[Image:BW Scorponok Terrorsaur deaths.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Oh, the... robotity?]]
Back at base, Scorponok and the other Predacons monitored the situation with the [[Planet Buster]] which had been revealed high above the planet. Though Scorponok was confident that Megatron would save them, his leader announced that he had someone else in mind to do that. As it turned out, Optimus Primal was the one who piloted a modified stasis pod and blew up the Planet Buster. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}} Scorponok celebrated with his fellow Predacons, but the destruction of the alien weapon had other consequences. A [[quantum surge]] flooded through the base, beginning to mutate their bodies into [[Transmetal]]s. However both Scorponok and Terrorsaur lost control of their hover platforms, crashing into each other and tumbling into the lava beneath the Predacon base, where they perished. No one much noticed, though Blackarachnia pointed out that only Waspinator was present with Megatron when the Predacons arrived at the ''Axalon'' (only to keep herself from getting blasted). {{storylink|Aftermath}}
{{--}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
[[Image:Transmetalscorponok.jpg|right|thumb|200px|You'd look angry too if you had heat burns all over you.]]
However, Scorponok and Terrorsaur were not actually dead—they were just in stasis lock. They awakened after the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] ended, finding themselves in Transmetal bodies. Scorponok got shafted, though-his new body didn't have a third vehicle mode like everyone else's. He had hover-fans with which he could [[Flight|fly]], though, so that's likely a decent thing. {{storylink|Beast Wars Sourcebook}}
{{-}}

==Games==
===''Beast Wars: Transformers'' video game===
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the first season of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
{{Note|Scorponok is a playable character in the Predacon mode of this game for normal gameplay.}}
Scorponok is reported to be mining energon in a desert area, causing damage to the environment. A lone Maximal investigates, only to be confronted with an onslaught of defenses; automated weapons protecting the arid area include immobile autoguns, automated weapons that arise from the sands to pester the hero with volleys of lasers and blasts, in addition to an array of flying machines and devices that relentlessly open fire on sight on any Maximal that trespasses in Scorponok's territory. Additionally, the area is populated by ravenous beasts, including what appears to be velociraptors! But of all the obstacles to be faced, the most incredible appear to be an automated weapon that FIRES ravenous beasts! Turrets mounted on hillsides dispense snakes to antagonize Maximals who approach it. If all of this wasn't enough, the large amount of energon deposits throughout the area force the lone warrior to revert to beast mode oftentimes. After the Maximal traverses the desert, Scorponok is revealed to be in command of his own personal base! Thus the confrontation between Maximal and Predacon begins: the bout starts with Scorponok standing outside his base, protected by a shield and two autoguns (he'd been saving up for his own little place in the wasteland, obviously), on the opposite side of a canyon from the Maximal. Whilst the autoguns fire, Scorponok also unleashes volleys of his personal arsenal. Once the guns are destroyed, the whole shield program shuts down. Scorponok then begins strafing and firing, but after a few more hits, falls into the canyon. Nonetheless, this is not the end of Scorponok! The Maximal must now confront Scorponok in a close-quarter combat, by following his enemy into the canyon. After a few more blasts, Scorponok collapses (and presumably the Maximal loots his base). {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|Beast Wars: Transformers}}

{{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 Scorponok 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 (BW)|opponents]] in this game, as well as the game's main antagonists, the [[Skriix]], wherein Scorponok fills the role of the nameless Predacon. To view the plot as a whole view the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)]] page.}}

===''Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle'' video game===
Megatron was capable of summoning Scorponok forth to the battlefield in 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-ScorponokMega.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Admit it, you bought this for the bee.]]
* '''Scorponok''' (Mega, 1996/1997)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-2'''
**''Accessories'': Cyberbee drone, 2 missiles

:Scorponok transforms into a fairly organic but highly inaccurate black scorpion. The right pincer contains a small, spring-loaded [[Cyberbee|bee drone]]-type gimmick which can be launched, while his left pincer has a spring-loaded double missile launcher activated by pulling the top part of his claw open far enough to trigger the launcher. His tail also has a spring-loaded "stinging" action activated by pushing forward on a lever halfway up the scorpion tail. All three [[gimmick]]s are available in both modes.

:As one of the first toys released in the [[Beast Wars (toyline)|''Beast Wars'' line]], he features a "[[mutant head]]" gimmick; the halves of his mutant mask clamshell over his robot face from the sides.

: In Japan, Scorponok was initially released without notable changes from the [[Hasbro]] version. Come 1997, he and most of the rest of the show-cast toys were [[redeco]]ed to be more "show-accurate", with wildly varying degrees of success. Scorponok's black plastic was replaced with a charcoal gray, and the connecting red pieces were colored a lighter shade, almost orange.

:One should take care not to stress the pin that holds the cyber bee in his claw, it's fairly frail.

: This mold was later used to make [[Sandstorm (BW)|Sandstorm]] and [[Double Punch]].

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

{{-}}{{anchor|VsScorponok}}
[[Image:VS2-PolarClawScorponok.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"North Pole Showdown"? Good luck, Scorp.]]
*'''North Pole Showdown: Whiteclaw VS Scorpos''' (Vs set, 1996)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''VS-2'''
**''Accessories'': 2 missiles

: In Japan, Scorponok was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with [[Polar Claw]]. Both toys are identical to their individual releases. It is unknown if the set ever came with the [[Redeco|redecoed]] "show-like" version of Scorponok.

: Amusingly, both toys are packaged in beast mode with their smaller partners deployed, making it look like the fight isn't going so well for Polar Claw.

{{-}}{{anchor|McTransmetal}}
[[Image:BW-toy ScorponokMcD.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Oo oo. C'mon party people. Oo oo. Put your claws in the air.]]
* '''Scorponok''' (Happy Meal premium, 1998)

: Since Scorponok got killed off in order to introduce [[To sell toys|new prod—er, ''characters'']], he was granted a "[[Transmetal]]" toy as part of the second [[McDonald's]] ''Beast Wars'' Happy Meal promotion. He transforms like every other Scorponok, except his shoulders can't go lower than a few degrees from pointing up, meaning all he can do is "raise the roof." It's cast mostly in gauche magenta and "metallic" gold soft-plastics to prevent little kiddies from breaking it. Like the other McDonald's Transmetals, he lacks a third "vehicle" mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1998/Predacon/Scorponok/scorponok.htm More information on McDonald's Scorponok at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
[[Image:Scorponokmutatingcard.jpg|thumb|300px|right]]
* '''Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game''' (1997)
:Scorponok 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]].
{{-}}
*'''Beast Wars Movie Coin''' (1997)
:Released only in Japan, Scorponok was one of three characters from Beast Wars to receive a movie coin, the other two being Rattrap and Rhinox.
::*''[http://www.tfmuseum.com/tf-02273.html Scorponok Movie Coin at TFMuseum.com]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:ToyFair96ScorpGriz.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The most effective stealth ever.]]
* Scorponok was first advertised on the back of the [[Optimus Primal]] versus [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] two-pack at the start of the ''Beast Wars'' line with a completely different color scheme. The toy itself was cast completely in transparent orange and blue plastic, which would have made it remarkably fragile at the joints. Another version cast in pink translucent plastic and having the final claw coloration surfaced in 2006, although this could likely be explained by the random plastics used in [[Prototype|test shots]].
** Some early animation test shots included on [[Madman Entertainment|Madman Entertainment's]] Beast Wars Season 2 DVD release show Scorponok in his orange and blue color scheme.

*Scorponok's CGI animation model had an unusual tendency to switch from having yellow-colored optics to red-colored optics at random—sometimes within the same scene of a given episode. Most of the time he had yellow, though.

* Scorponok's pre-Beast form in "[[Theft of the Golden Disk]]" is a [[redeco]] of ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Shortround]], but in "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]" he is based on [[Scorponok (Energon)|''Energon'' Scorponok]], even though the latter story is set immediately after the former, with no real opportunity for him to change bodies in between.

* In the first few episodes, Scorponok's missiles had Maximal [[Insignia|faction symbols]] on them, a Cybertronian equivalent to carving the name of your next victim on your bullets. Many viewers failed to pick up on this symbolism, though, and they were promptly replaced with Predacon faction symbols to avoid confusion.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Scorpos''' (スコルポス ''Sukoruposu'')
*''French:'' '''Scorpinor''' (Canada)
*''Italian:'' '''Scorpionok'''
*''Polish:'' '''Skorpinor'''
*''Spanish:'' '''Skorpicon''' (America)

[[Category:Beast Wars Predacons]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]

Scorponok (BW)

2011-07-02T01:35:09Z

50.90.58.215: /* Beast Wars cartoon */

{{factions|predacon}}
{{disambig3|Scorponok}}

:''Scorponok is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family]].''

[[Image:BWScorponokSticker.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Transforms into a scorpion. Surprise?]]
'''Scorponok'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s personality seems to have two main features: He's dumb, and he's loyal to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (surprisingly so, considering Megatron's [[Terrorsaur (BW)|other]] [[Tarantulas (BW)|crew]] [[Blackarachnia (BW)|members]]), and of those two features, only the loyalty seems to be consistent. He tries to serve Megatron to the best of his abilities, but when [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] is able to outwit you, there's only so much you have to offer.

Scorponok begins as Megatron's [[second-in-command]] on the ''[[Darksyde]]'', though he is insecure about the title and constantly tries to assert himself among the other Predacons who, aware of his shortcomings, generally dismiss or ignore him.

Scorponok's only other real contribution to Megatron's cause is in developing cyber-viruses that he delivers with his [[Cyberbee|cyberbee drone]]. (This is impressive, actually, given his otherwise limited mentality.) However, these generally don't work out as he hoped, and so they've done little to increase his standing in the eyes of the other Predacons.

==Fiction==
===First wave toy bios===
Inhabiting the [[Mojave Desert]], Scorponok is suited to the harsh conditions of this arid environment. Described as vicious, this desert attack specialist relies mainly on surprise attacks to overcome his foes. For this task, he possesses three alternatives: launching a robotic bee stored in one claw, his 2-shot missile blast stored in the other; his terrifying tail, which deals poisonous cyber-strikes. {{storylink|Scorponok (BW)#Toys|Scorponok bio}}

{{note|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===
====Fun Publications ''Beast Wars'' fiction====
=====Theft of the Golden Disk=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Brad Venable]] (English)

The Predacon that would be called Scorponok and [[Backslash]] were part of a mission to steal the sacred [[Maximal]] relic, the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]], on behalf of [[Cryotek (RID)|Cryotek]]; in actual fact, "Scorponok" was loyal to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and in on his plan to take the disk for himself. He was meant to bomb [[Maximal Power Station B4-Y]] to aid Megatron and [[Dinobot (BW)|his partner]]'s attack; he was almost caught by a guard but Backslash saved him, berating him for being sloppy. Later on, when Backslash was caught by a guard, "Scorponok" laughed, mockingly referencing what Backslash said early and happily triggered the bombs, killing his alleged comrade. Nice guy. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

=====Dawn of Future's Past=====
[[Image:Scorponokbwdawn.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Looking at him, he was probably called "Scorponok" before the Beast Wars, too.]]
With the Disk in their hands, the thieves were picked up by their other comrades in a stolen ship, newly christened the ''Darksyde''. Soon after leaving Cybertron, the ''Darksyde'' was involved in a space battle with the Maximal vessels ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' and ''[[Chromia 10]]'' and an unidentified Predacon ship. At its conclusion, only the ''Axalon'' and the ''Darksyde'' survived, and both ships passed through a [[transwarp]] portal to an unknown destination. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past}}
{{--}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Don Brown]] (English), [[Masashi Endō]] (Japanese), [[Bernard Métraux]] (French), [[Sidney Lilla]] (Portuguese), [[Antonio Paiola]] (Italian), [[Mario Grete]] (German), [[Brando Miranda]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Enrique Cazorla]] (Castilian Spanish)

[[Image:BeastWars1 Scorponok battleready.jpg|thumb|left|280px|OUR MISSILES!]]
Crash-landing on an unknown planet, Scorponok and his peers were forced to take on organic beast modes to shield themselves from the planet's dangerous levels of raw [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. Scorponok took a scorpion as his new alternate mode. When Dinobot furiously berated Megatron for foolishly marooning them on the wrong planet and attempted to attack his leader, Scorponok stood behind Megatron and waited for his cue to fire on Dinobot, sending the traitor far into the distance. Later, Scorponok participated in the first battle between the Maximal and Predacon factions and managed to trap [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor's]] leg under a boulder. However, the Predacons soon succumbed to energon overload. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}}

After recovering in beast mode, Scorponok and the lower-ranking Predacons were wagering who would win the battle between [[Optimus Primal]] and Dinobot until Megatron ordered them to fire on the unwitting combatants. After their shots failed to destroy the Maximals but instead revealed a massive energon cache buried inside a mountain, the Predacons moved out, followed by the Maximals. The two parties confronted each other at the energon cache, and Scorponok fought Dinobot in the one-on-one clashes that ensued. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

[[Image:TheWeb Scorponok beastmode.jpg|right|220px|thumb|[http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Vorox Beware my stinger tail!]]]
While Scorponok was later salvaging a mega-cannon, he was surprised by Cheetor. Luckily [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] distracted the Maximal, giving Scorponok time to hit Cheetor with a missile. Despite asserting that he was second in command and should be giving the orders, Scorponok took Tarantulas's suggestion to scarper before Optimus Primal arrived. He subsequently installed the cannon as part of the perimeter defences for the Predacon base, aided by [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]]. {{storylink|The Web}} Scorponok found himself hunting Cheetor again, when the cat somehow teleported into the Predacon base. Cheetor escaped into the ducts, so Scorponok sent a missile in after him, unsuccessfully. A short time later, they found Cheetor messing with the Predacon computer, so Scorponok fired another missile at him, only for it to end up slagging himself and Waspinator. {{storylink|Equal Measures}}

[[Image:ChainofCommand Scorponok fail.jpg|left|200px|thumb|[[Cheetor]] owned with one shot]]
Scorponok took part in a battle at the [[Standing Stones]], and ended up face-down in the dirt after Cheetor shot him. After Primal went missing, blasted by an [[Vok probe|alien probe]], Megatron sent Scorponok and Waspinator to guard the Standing Stones. As it turned out, Primal wasn't dead, and after he was released from the probe, he blasted all of the Predacons. {{storylink|Chain of Command}} When Terrorsaur mounted a leadership bid and badly damaged Megatron, Scorponok simply had his leader repaired the ''instant'' Terrorsaur wasn't looking. {{storylink|Power Surge}}

After a [[stasis pod]] crashed, Megatron took Scorponok and Tarantulas to attack the Maximal base. While the Predacon leader provided a diversion, the two other Predacons sneaked up on Dinobot, knocking him out. Unfortunately for them, Dinobot had time to activate the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[autogun]]s, and first Tarantulas, then Scorponok were blasted off the ship. {{storylink|Fallen Comrades}} Scorponok was part of an ambush, enabling the Predacons to steal another stasis pod and bring [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] online. Terrorsaur would later mount another bid to become leader, with [[Rattrap]]'s help, but Scorponok announced loudly and at length that his loyalty belonged to Megatron and he would never follow Terrorsaur. As it turned out, Megatron allowed Terrorsaur temporary leadership, so Scorponok appeared to be happy to follow the new leader's commands, at least until it was proved in battle that Terrorsaur was incompetent as a leader. {{storylink|Double Jeopardy}}

Megatron tasked Scorponok with a mission to create a virus for his [[cyberbee]] that would turn Optimus Primal into a coward. Ambushing the Maximal leader and Dinobot as they were on a botanical study near a waterfall, Scorponok managed to have his cyberbee latch onto Optimus when he attempted to help the traitor. Unfortunately, Optimus Primal fired off a shot before going down, dislodging the log Scorponok was sitting upon and sending him over the edge of the waterfall. To greater misfortune, Scorponok had botched the virus, turning Optimus Primal not into a coward, but a fearless, ultra-aggressive berserker. Both Scorponok and Megatron were blown up with the cyberbee when Primal ripped it off and chucked it at Megatron's back. {{storylink|Gorilla Warfare}}

[[Image:TheProbe Scorponok minus claw.jpg|thumb|right|250px|He told me enough. He told me you killed him.]]
Scorponok spotted the Maximals building a communications array, and gave a video of it to Terrorsaur to take back to Megatron. After word came through that the array was to be destroyed, he confronted the Maximals. Primal intercepted his missiles, Rattrap blew his claw off, and then Dinobot blasted him into the distance. {{storylink|The Probe}} He was later (improbably) one of the Predacons who staged a revolt against Megatron. That should have been the Maximal's first clue it was only a mock revolt, as once they'd made the ''Axalon'' space-worthy, the Predacons emerged from hiding and attempted to take their ship. Though he was hit by the ship's cannons during a charge, Scorponok was still able to fire a missile which knocked Primal from the entry lift. {{storylink|Victory (episode)|Victory}}

[[Image:DarkDesigns Scorponok squished.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Yet another day Scorponok would rather forget.]]
After [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] was converted into a Predacon by Megatron's [[Transmuter (BW)|Transmuter]], Scorponok found himself assigned to repair the base computer. Unaware that the computer had actually been sabotaged by Rhinox, he was surprised and shocked when the ex-Maximal dropped a pile of heavy crates on him. A spell in a Predacon restoration pool left him ready to extract some revenge, but Rhinox deftly deflected his rage onto Terrorsaur, and the pair had their heads slammed together by Rhinox. Despite all this, he was able to take part in the inevitable fight with the Maximals, during which he was able to take some of his anger out on Dinobot. He ultimately lost the fight and was at ground zero when the Transmuter exploded. {{storylink|Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs}}

Scorponok acted as a lab assistant to Megatron, as his leader created a [[Clone One|clone of Dinobot]]. He was a teeny bit skeptical at the result. {{storylink|Double Dinobot}} When another stasis pod crashed, Megatron dispatched [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and Scorponok to retrieve it. Blackarachnia was disgusted by Scorponok's subservient attitude, and on their way to the pod, she ditched him. Scorponok almost immediately ran into [[Tigatron]], who ended his quest by freezing him. {{storylink|The Spark}}

Scorponok was again teamed with Blackarachnia when Terrorsaur and Waspinator found a [[Brigadoon|weird flying island]]. After they reached the island, Scorponok used a cyberbee to check the place out, but it was intercepted by Tigatron. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 1}} The two Predacons reached the obelisk at the center of the island and blasted their way in. When Blackarachnia announced the island's power would allow her to defeat even Megatron, Scorponok revealed that he had been sent with her to make sure that didn't happen. Of course, she promptly tricked him into triggering one of the island's many traps, and he fell through the hole that opened up to the ground below. {{storylink|The Trigger, Part 2}}

[[Image:Spider's Game Scorponok Inferno.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Looks like someone gave Scorponok...]]
On another occasion, Scorponok was on lookout when he spotted Tarantulas being "chased" by a stasis pod. Megatron ordered he obtain take the stasis pod back to base, so he confronted Tarantulas... only for the pod to blow up, knocking him into some boulders, where a falling rock rendered him unconscious. By the time he recovered, the fight was over, and Megatron ordered him to gather up [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] for repair. {{storylink|Spider's Game}} He took part in a diversionary attack on the ''Axalon'', while Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole the ship's [[rectifier coil]]. Later, once the Maximals had gone feral, he participated on the hunt by carrying Megatron's chair, but was taken down by Cheetor once the Maximals overcame their beast instincts. {{storylink|Call of the Wild}}

In one of his rare successes, Scorponok triggered an energon explosion, apparently taking out a group of Maximals. In reality, he'd simply blinded them, but he didn't find this out until after he'd reported back to Megatron. {{storylink|Dark Voyage}} After [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], possessing the body of Waspinator, helped the Predacons take over the ''Axalon'', Megatron left the [[Decepticon]] in charge of the Maximal base with Scorponok and Blackarachnia as underlings. When the inevitable betrayal occurred, Scorponok put up a token resistance before Starscream blasted him off the side of the ship. {{storylink|Possession}}

[[Image:OtherVoices1 Scorponok and Megatron pose.jpg|left|250px|thumb|So we shall flow a river forth to Thee and teeming with souls shall it ever be. In Nomeni Patri Et Fili Spiritus Sancti]]
Scorponok was among the Predacons who were taken out by Rhinox's almighty fart. {{storylink|The Low Road}} After Megatron declared a truce, and Tigatron infiltrated the Predacon base in search of information, Scorponok and Terrorsaur attempted to stop the Maximal from escaping, and ended up colliding spectacularly. Luckily for Scorponok, he didn't have to pursue Tigatron, as the Predacons who did mostly came back on stretchers. {{storylink|Before the Storm}} Scorponok later accompanied Megatron on a mission to an alien construct which had appeared. His toxic sting was instrumental in breaching the construct's wall, allowing Rattrap to get inside and retrieve [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]. Of course, a short time later, Rattrap used one of Scorponok's missiles to dispose of Megatron, shortly before Scorponok himself was blasted by Airazor. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 1}}

[[Image:BW Scorponok Terrorsaur deaths.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Oh, the... robotity?]]
Back at base, Scorponok and the other Predacons monitored the situation with the [[Planet Buster]] which had been revealed high above the planet. Though Scorponok was confident that Megatron would save them, his leader announced that he had someone else in mind to do that. As it turned out, Optimus Primal was the one who piloted a modified stasis pod and blew up the Planet Buster. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}} Scorponok celebrated with his fellow Predacons, but the destruction of the alien weapon had other consequences. A [[quantum surge]] flooded through the base, beginning to mutate their bodies into [[Transmetal]]s. However both Scorponok and Terrorsaur lost control of their hover platforms, crashing into each other and tumbling into the lava beneath the Predacon base, where they perished. No one much noticed, though Blackarachnia pointed out that only Waspinator was present with Megatron when the Predacons arrived at the ''Axalon'' (only to keep herself from getting blasted). {{storylink|Aftermath}}
{{--}}

====IDW ''Beast Wars'' comics====
[[Image:Transmetalscorponok.jpg|right|thumb|200px|You'd look angry too if you had heat burns all over you.]]
However, Scorponok and Terrorsaur were not actually dead—they were just in stasis lock. They awakened after the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] ended, finding themselves in Transmetal bodies. Scorponok got shafted, though-his new body didn't have a third vehicle mode like everyone else's. He had hover-fans with which he could [[Flight|fly]], though, so that's likely a decent thing. {{storylink|Beast Wars Sourcebook}}
{{-}}

==Games==
===''Beast Wars: Transformers'' video game===
{{note|This game takes place in an alternate version of the first season of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]] cartoon.}}
{{Note|Scorponok is a playable character in the Predacon mode of this game for normal gameplay.}}
Scorponok is reported to be mining energon in a desert area, causing damage to the environment. A lone Maximal investigates, only to be confronted with an onslaught of defenses; automated weapons protecting the arid area include immobile autoguns, automated weapons that arise from the sands to pester the hero with volleys of lasers and blasts, in addition to an array of flying machines and devices that relentlessly open fire on sight on any Maximal that trespasses in Scorponok's territory. Additionally, the area is populated by ravenous beasts, including what appears to be velociraptors! But of all the obstacles to be faced, the most incredible appear to be an automated weapon that FIRES ravenous beasts! Turrets mounted on hillsides dispense snakes to antagonize Maximals who approach it. If all of this wasn't enough, the large amount of energon deposits throughout the area force the lone warrior to revert to beast mode oftentimes. After the Maximal traverses the desert, Scorponok is revealed to be in command of his own personal base! Thus the confrontation between Maximal and Predacon begins: the bout starts with Scorponok standing outside his base, protected by a shield and two autoguns (he'd been saving up for his own little place in the wasteland, obviously), on the opposite side of a canyon from the Maximal. Whilst the autoguns fire, Scorponok also unleashes volleys of his personal arsenal. Once the guns are destroyed, the whole shield program shuts down. Scorponok then begins strafing and firing, but after a few more hits, falls into the canyon. Nonetheless, this is not the end of Scorponok! The Maximal must now confront Scorponok in a close-quarter combat, by following his enemy into the canyon. After a few more blasts, Scorponok collapses (and presumably the Maximal loots his base). {{storylink|Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)|Beast Wars: Transformers}}

{{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 Scorponok 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 (BW)|opponents]] in this game, as well as the game's main antagonists, the [[Skriix]], wherein Scorponok fills the role of the nameless Predacon. To view the plot as a whole view the [[Beast Wars: Transformers (video game)]] page.}}

===''Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars: Beast Warriors' Strongest Decisive Battle'' video game===
Megatron was capable of summoning Scorponok forth to the battlefield in 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-ScorponokMega.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Admit it, you bought this for the bee.]]
* '''Scorponok''' (Mega, 1996/1997)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''D-2'''
**''Accessories'': Cyberbee drone, 2 missiles

:Scorponok transforms into a fairly organic but highly inaccurate black scorpion. The right pincer contains a small, spring-loaded [[Cyberbee|bee drone]]-type gimmick which can be launched, while his left pincer has a spring-loaded double missile launcher activated by pulling the top part of his claw open far enough to trigger the launcher. His tail also has a spring-loaded "stinging" action activated by pushing forward on a lever halfway up the scorpion tail. All three [[gimmick]]s are available in both modes.

:As one of the first toys released in the [[Beast Wars (toyline)|''Beast Wars'' line]], he features a "[[mutant head]]" gimmick; the halves of his mutant mask clamshell over his robot face from the sides.

: In Japan, Scorponok was initially released without notable changes from the [[Hasbro]] version. Come 1997, he and most of the rest of the show-cast toys were [[redeco]]ed to be more "show-accurate", with wildly varying degrees of success. Scorponok's black plastic was replaced with a charcoal gray, and the connecting red pieces were colored a lighter shade, almost orange.

:One should take care not to stress the pin that holds the cyber bee in his claw, it's fairly frail.

: This mold was later used to make [[Sandstorm (BW)|Sandstorm]] and [[Double Punch]].

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

{{-}}{{anchor|VsScorponok}}
[[Image:VS2-PolarClawScorponok.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"North Pole Showdown"? Good luck, Scorp.]]
*'''North Pole Showdown: Whiteclaw VS Scorpos''' (Vs set, 1996)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''VS-2'''
**''Accessories'': 2 missiles

: In Japan, Scorponok was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with [[Polar Claw]]. Both toys are identical to their individual releases. It is unknown if the set ever came with the [[Redeco|redecoed]] "show-like" version of Scorponok.

: Amusingly, both toys are packaged in beast mode with their smaller partners deployed, making it look like the fight isn't going so well for Polar Claw.

{{-}}{{anchor|McTransmetal}}
[[Image:BW-toy ScorponokMcD.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Oo oo. C'mon party people. Oo oo. Put your claws in the air.]]
* '''Scorponok''' (Happy Meal premium, 1998)

: Since Scorponok got killed off in order to introduce [[To sell toys|new prod—er, ''characters'']], he was granted a "[[Transmetal]]" toy as part of the second [[McDonald's]] ''Beast Wars'' Happy Meal promotion. He transforms like every other Scorponok, except his shoulders can't go lower than a few degrees from pointing up, meaning all he can do is "raise the roof." It's cast mostly in gauche magenta and "metallic" gold soft-plastics to prevent little kiddies from breaking it. Like the other McDonald's Transmetals, he lacks a third "vehicle" mode.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1998/Predacon/Scorponok/scorponok.htm More information on McDonald's Scorponok at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Merchandise==
[[Image:Scorponokmutatingcard.jpg|thumb|300px|right]]
* '''Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game''' (1997)
:Scorponok 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]].
{{-}}
*'''Beast Wars Movie Coin''' (1997)
:Released only in Japan, Scorponok was one of three characters from Beast Wars to receive a movie coin, the other two being Rattrap and Rhinox.
::*''[http://www.tfmuseum.com/tf-02273.html Scorponok Movie Coin at TFMuseum.com]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:ToyFair96ScorpGriz.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The most effective stealth ever.]]
* Scorponok was first advertised on the back of the [[Optimus Primal]] versus [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] two-pack at the start of the ''Beast Wars'' line with a completely different color scheme. The toy itself was cast completely in transparent orange and blue plastic, which would have made it remarkably fragile at the joints. Another version cast in pink translucent plastic and having the final claw coloration surfaced in 2006, although this could likely be explained by the random plastics used in [[Prototype|test shots]].
** Some early animation test shots included on [[Madman Entertainment|Madman Entertainment's]] Beast Wars Season 2 DVD release show Scorponok in his orange and blue color scheme.

*Scorponok's CGI animation model had an unusual tendency to switch from having yellow-colored optics to red-colored optics at random—sometimes within the same scene of a given episode. Most of the time he had yellow, though.

* Scorponok's pre-Beast form in "[[Theft of the Golden Disk]]" is a [[redeco]] of ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' [[Shortround]], but in "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]" he is based on [[Scorponok (Energon)|''Energon'' Scorponok]], even though the latter story is set immediately after the former, with no real opportunity for him to change bodies in between.

* In the first few episodes, Scorponok's missiles had Maximal [[Insignia|faction symbols]] on them, a Cybertronian equivalent to carving the name of your next victim on your bullets. Many viewers failed to pick up on this symbolism, though, and they were promptly replaced with Predacon faction symbols to avoid confusion.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Scorpos''' (スコルポス ''Sukoruposu'')
*''French:'' '''Scorpinor''' (Canada)
*''Italian:'' '''Scorpionok'''
*''Polish:'' '''Skorpinor'''
*''Spanish:'' '''Skorpicon''' (America)

[[Category:Beast Wars Predacons]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]
[[Category:Timelines characters]]
[[Category:Transmetals]]