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Warpath (G1)

2008-03-31T09:23:01Z

59.167.43.234: /* Animated continuity */

{{picsneeded|Other fictional appearances}}

{{Template:Disambig2|the [[Generation 1]] Autobot tank|the [[Movie (franchise)|live action Movie]]-continuity Autobot jeep|Warpath (Movie)}}

:''Warpath is an [[Autobot]] in the Generation 1 [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Warpathg1.jpg|right|thumb|250px|... or are you just happy to see me?]]
'''Warpath''' is the stereotypical tank commander: loud, boisterous, skilled, confident, devoted to his buddies, and probably a little deaf. His armor is tremendously thick; his skull no less. He loves to show off by splitting hex nuts a mile and a half away, and he has an endless variety of special munitions to load in his prized main gun: cryogenic, acid, thermal, and sonic. His most favorite, however, are the simple explosive shells that go off with a huge explosion, KABOOM!

His gun...how Warpath loves his gun. Prominent and useful in both modes, she has saved his life countless times, and she gets only the best in return. How he loves to line her sights up precisely on a barely visible target, and KAZOWY! blow it to shrapnel with a single well-placed shell. A dud annoys him; a miss is near-fatal embarassment. A mere scratch to his gun's barrel keeps him up, late into the night, polishing it away. When on occasion his gun is damaged seriously enough to impair her function, he is practically inconsolable for weeks.

:''Preliminary name'': '''Hot Shot'''<br>
:''Greek name'': '''Ahtipitos''' (Αχτύπητος)<br>
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Trajecto'''
:''Italian name'': '''Boom-Boom'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Hadiösvény''' (meaning Battlepath. HA! ... Okay, Warpath then.)

==Fiction==
===Animated continuity===
:''Voice Actor:'' [[Alan Oppenheimer]] (US), [[Takurō Kitagawa]] (Japan)

[[Image:G1_APrimeProblem_Warpath_shot.jpg|thumb|left|150px|SAFE!]]

Warpath (ZING!) had a habit of (BLAM!) interjecting his speech with (WHAMMO!) onomatopoeia. Whether this was a programming feature or personal choice is unknown. His fellow Autobots seemed to tolerate it.

Warpath appeared with no explanation for his arrival when [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] created a remote-controlled duplicate of [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] to lead the Autobots to their doom. He did little more than get shot by a fake [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{Storylink|A Prime Problem}} He later accompanied Optimus Prime and the Autobots to [[Dinobot Island]], where he first demonstrated his zest for combat and unique style of speech. He also had the first of several battles with his opposite number, the [[Triple Changer]] Decepticon tank, [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]. {{Storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

[[Image:G1_DinobotIslandPt2_Warpath_tank.jpg|thumb|right|150px|BLAM! KAPOW!]]

He was one of several Autobots who defended the Ark when the [[Heart of Cybertron]]-powered [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] attacked. Warpath rolled toward the Decepticon leader in tank mode, firing his shells, but was blasted by Megatron's destructive energy lightning. {{Storylink|Microbots}}

Accompanying [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] and [[Beachcomber]] on a geology expedition, Warpath managed to get in some (ZOW!) action when Blitzwing and the [[Conehead]]s staged a surprise attack. He and Blitzwing engaged in Tank Wars again, but the fighting got so furious they buried each other in sand for awhile. It was anyone's game until [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] found a pool of [[electrum]] and became invincible. Even a hot and cold mix of [[Powerglide]]'s thermal beam and Warpath's cryo-shells couldn't break the Decepticon warrior. Warpath was forced to reluctantly sound the retreat, tunneling through the mountainside to make their escape. {{Storylink|The Golden Lagoon}}

[[Image:G1_DecepRaiderinKingArthurs_WarpathramsRamjet.jpg|thumb|left|150px|So they have Renaissance Fairs on Cybertron, too?]]

On one occasion, Warpath and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] were chasing a small group of Decepticons led by Starscream, and ended up passing through the [[Dragon Mound]] and into 542 AD. The Autobots and Decepticons took opposite sides with a pair of warring knights, and Warpath allowed the [[Sir Aetheling the Red|Red Knight]] to ride him in joust against [[Sir Wigend du Blackthorne]]'s champions, [[Rumble]] and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]. They successfuly rammed Ramjet, caving in his nosecone and forcing the Decepticons to fall back on the ol' "grab a hostage and run" trick, taking the Red Knight's daughter [[Nimue]] captive. Warpath led the charge against Blackthorne's castle and, with their siege tower destroyed by some of Starscream's gunpowder barrels, he and Hoist served as makeshift ladders for their allies to breach the castle walls. After thwarting Starscream's plans to rule the 6th century, they enlisted the aid of a local wizard to get back to the 20th century. {{Storylink|A Decepticon Raider in King Arthur's Court}}

When the [[Morphobot]]s took over a valley on Earth, Warpath and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] did their best to blast through using a variety of shells and liquid, but it took (POW!) [[Blaster]] and some (COWBELL!) tunes to really get them out of the way. {{Storylink|Quest for Survival}}

[[Image:G1_Masquerade_Warpath_crushes_DeadEnd.jpg|thumb|right|150px|THUS I REFUTE THEE!]]

Late in 1985, the Autobots plotted to capture the [[Stunticon]]s to discover the reason behind their high-profile thefts. [[Tracks]] and Warpath were assigned to take down [[Drag Strip]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] on a beach. Warpath quickly disabled Drag Strip with a few well-placed explosive shells, while Tracks blinded Dead End with his black beam gun. Unable to see, Dead End drove right into Warpath, who (BAM!) crushed the Decepticon with a single punch that went straight through his roof. {{Storylink|Masquerade}}

In the year 2006, Warpath watched a broadcast of the first [[Galactic Olympics]]. He commented to [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] that the Autobots sure had an unusual leader in [[Rodimus Prime]] when the young Autobot dispensed with making a long, stuffy speech at the games' opening ceremony. {{Storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}}

[[Image:G1_FFODPart5_Warpath_kicked.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Football's not so cool when you're the ball.]]

As the Decepticons made their move on Earth, Warparth and [[Pipes]] commanded the team defending the Ark. The Autobots hid in a ravine and as Trypticon passed overhead, Warpath gave orders to fire, significantly damaging the Decepticon's rolling battle station mode. However, Trypticon quickly recovered and transformed into his massive dinosaur mode, forcing the Autobot Minicars to regroup and counter attack. Warpath fired a shell which Trypticon merely swatted away, then when the Autobot protested that he didn't (ZEEM!) believe what was happening, he was kicked for his troubles. Warpath ordered [[Teletraan I]] to activate the volcano's defensive cannons as Trypticon neared the Ark, but this had little effect on the Decepticon, who then destroyed the volcano. {{Storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5}}

Warpath was later seen stationed at [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] when [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]'s ghost came by to steal the city-bot's eyes for [[Unicron]]. Being land-bound, poor ol' Warpath unfortunately missed out on most of the aerial action. {{Storylink|Ghost in the Machine}}

===Marvel Comics continuity===

:''('''Note''': Events in italics occurred only in the Marvel UK books.)''

[[Image:Smeltingpoolminivehicles.jpg|left|thumb|200px|On Cybertron he turned into a tank with a really obvious weakpoint.]]
Warpath was a member of [[Perceptor (G1)| Perceptor's]] resistance cell on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. During the great raid on [[Darkmount]], Warpath was in charge of setting the explosives which brought down the massive tower. The Autobots' secondary objective, however -- destroying the [[Space Bridge]] -- could not be completed, and instead Warpath and his team were forced to flee over the bridge to Earth. {{Storylink|The Bridge to Nowhere!}} They were quickly taken captive by [[Circuit Breaker]] and [[RAAT]] forces, but were later set free after making a deal to help against the rampaging [[Battlecharger]]s. {{Storylink|Decepticon Graffiti!}} ''Warpath and his group then ran afoul of Galvatron and got pretty banged up, but ultimately made their way to the Ark and joined up with Optimus Prime's team. {{Storylink|Fallen Angel!}}''

Later, after Prime's death, the Ark was put under assault by a sonic-scrambler missile fired by the Decepticon assault base known as [[Trypticon]]. Warpath destroyed this first missile, and the Autobots went hunting for their attacker. Trypticon would have proven to be too much for them, though, without the timely intervention of [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s. As thanks, the Autobots named Grimlock their new leader. {{Storylink|King of the Hill!}}

The Autobots of Earth saw very little action after this, and Warpath slowly faded into the background, never to be seen again.

{{-}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===

Warpath was first seen among Cybertron's population, observing anti-Autobot propaganda being pumped through the cortex by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] to discredit Optimus Prime and his returning crew. {{Storylink|Cold War}} Warpath, like most Autobots, recognized it as a load of BLAM! POW! ZOOM! and joined [[Tracks]], [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] and several other Mini-Vehicles in rising up along with the other Autobot insurgency cells to fight back against Shockwave's rule. {{Storylink|Countdown to Extinction}}

After the fall, Warpath travelled to Earth under [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s command aboard the supply ship, [[Orion]]. {{Storylink|Night of the Combaticons}} They crashlanded in the midst of a three-way battle between the Autobots and Decepticons of Earth and a lone super-powerful clone warrior known as [[Sunstorm (G1)|Sunstorm]]. Things got more than a little hectic, and the Autobots were forced to make a deal with Starscream in order to gain his cooperation against (and he, their protection from) Sunstorm. As part of the deal, Starscream told them where he had stashed several Autobots his brigade had captured earlier, and Warpath and [[Bumper]] were sent out to retrieve them. On the salvage run, however, the pair ran into [[Earth Defense Command]] agents who made a forceful BOOM! suggestion that the Autobots accompany them back to their base. {{Storylink|The Omega Effect}}

The EDC were looking to conscript some Autobots to help them deal with an [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] problem, and [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] agreed to help after being reactivated. He left Warpath behind, however, to watch over their comrades [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Windcharger]], who had not yet been revived. {{Storylink|Infestation}} After dealing with the Insecticons, Jazz and his unit hooked back up with Warpath, and then all of them proceeded on to the future site of [[Autobot City]], under construction at [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]]'s direction. {{Storylink|The Route of All Evil}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}

[[Image:SpotlightGalvatron_Warpath.jpg|thumb|right|And what if we don't wanna?]]

Warpath was a member of [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s Tactical Response Unit, guarding [[Thunderhead Pass]], a lonely assignment watching over the deactivated form of [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]] and his cultists who rested in stasis lock. When [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] broke comm silence to request a transfer to Earth, Warpath was witness to Hound's dressing down of aggressive Autobot. The monotony was suddenly broken without warning when [[Galvatron (G1)|a mysterious, powerful transformer]], arrived on Cybertron to claim Thunderwing for [[Nova Prime|his master]]. Warpath and the squad were easily brushed aside by the ancient warrior. {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}}

Recently, Optimus Prime informed Hound that his unit should make preparations to come to Earth as reinforcements. This will presumably include Warpath. {{Storylink|Devastation issue 1}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Warpath''' (Mini-Vehicle, 1985)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''87'''

[[Image:G1_Warpath_toy.jpg|thumb|left|150px|MINT! NEWT!]]

: Warpath transforms into a General Motors M551A1 Sheridan ARAAV tank. There is a notable paint variation on Warpath: while most releases have black-painted optics, some leave the optics unpainted yet cover his entire faceplate in black.

: In 1986, he was made available as a mail-away item (as he was no longer shipping to retail shelves) in the [[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction]] flier packed with most boxed ''Transformers'' toys. He cost $4 and one [[robot points|robot point]].

: In Japan, he was made available ''only'' as a mail-away item, costing 500 yen and two robot points.

{{-}}

*'''Minibot Team''' (Multi-pack, 2004)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''TFC-12'''

: Warpath was reissued in a "[[Transformers Collection]]" six-pack with [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Cosmos]], [[Gears]], [[Huffer]] and [[Powerglide]]. There are no notable differences between the original and the reissue versions, aside from a factory-applied foil Autobot sigil decal on his turret.

: This entire set was [[redeco]]ed to make the [[G1 GoBots]] set: Warpath was used to make [[Treds]].

==Merchandise==
===3D Battle-Card Game===
*'''Warpath''' (2007)

: A 35-point "common" character in the [[3D Battle-Card Game]]'s "Energon Wars" expansion, Warpath "transforms" into a red and grey tank. He uses the same parts layout as [[Transformers (2007)|Movie]] [[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl]] and [[Wreckage (Movie)|Wreckage]].

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1985/Autobot/Warpath/warpath.html Warpath at TFU.info]

[[Category: Autobots]]
[[Category: Mini Vehicles]]
[[Category:Mail order exclusives]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Tarantulas (BW)

2008-03-28T05:47:31Z

59.167.43.234: /* Beast Wars cartoon */

{{picsneeded|Toys and Transmetal version}}
:''Tarantulas is a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] from the [[Beast Wars]] portion of the [[Generation 1]]/[[Beast Era]] [[continuity family]].
:''His name is also officially spelled "'''Tarantulus'''".''

[[Image:Tarantulasbw.jpg|right|thumb|250px|"And fries! Lots of FRIES!"]]

'''Tarantulas''' is the scheming mad scientist of the Predacon crew. The type of mad scientist who experiments on living beings, cackling in his [[trademark]]ed laugh all the while, and then if things go wrong, happily eats what's left as his midday snack. (Considering his appetite, that must happen a lot.) He was one of the Predacons to join [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] during his theft of the [[Golden Disc]] and the search for [[Earth]]. In addition to being an utterly psychotic, sadistic sociopath (even by Predacon standards, which is something he appears to wear with pride), Tarantulas has a record for treachery rivaled by few [[Starscream (G1)|other]] Transformers. Tarantulas is actually an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]], which is trying to coax the Beast Wars toward an unspecified goal, where neither Autobot or Decepticon won the [[Great War]].

Tarantulas has a particularly notable hatred of the [[Vok]] aliens, a hatred strong enough to make him work to eliminate them by any means.
{{quote|Lunatic.|[[Blackarachnia]] on Tarantulas|"[[Spider's Game]]"}}

''Japanese name'': '''Tarans'''

''Polish name'': '''Tarantulator'''

==Fiction==
===Toy Bio===

Tarantulas is a sneaky, mysterious ninja feared across the galaxy. A master of the martial arts, he's suspected in the disappearances of many [[human|Earthlings]], and rumors swirl of giant cocoons where he stores his prey.

''('''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. Instead, they seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with 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.)''

===Optimus Primal VS Megatron pack-in comic===

Tarantulas is guarding the Predacons' jungle-based genetics lab along with Megatron and Waspinator. When the Maximals discover them, he engages Razorbeast in combat briefly before Megatron calls retreat and destroys the lab. ''(This story predates the animated continuity and seems to be set on present-day Earth. See note above.)''

===Animated continuity===
====Timelines====
Tarantulas decoded the information on the Golden Disk, freshly stolen by Megatron. He thought this was quite hilarious, but then, he thinks that about everything. {{storylink|Theft of the Golden Disk}}

[[Image:Tarantulasdawn.jpg|left|thumb|250px|See? A [[Planet X]] [[Cyber Planet Key|key]] in the corner of the pic. He's working for [[Unicron]]! Get him!]]

As [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and his rogue band of Predacons escaped [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in their stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', Tarantulas was in charge of scanning the disk for a desired set of coordinates. While Megatron was not watching, he was in secret communication with a member of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. (The reflections in his helmet show the silhouette of [[Cicadacon|General Cicadacon]].)

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

Tarantulas was one of the original crew on the ''Darksyde'' when it crashed on prehistoric Earth. As Megatron's technical leader, he manned the scanners to appropriate beast forms based on the most powerful local creatures. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)}}

Tarantulas caused as many problems for Megatron as he fixed. He always needed a [[Tarantulas's lair|separate hideout]] to plot other, evil schemes, and he managed to stay one step ahead of most of his "allies". The only partner he worked with frequently—though they betrayed each other just as often—was [[Blackarachnia]].

When Tarantulas learned of the [[Vok]] and their impending return to Earth, he spent his best efforts to capture a working [[stasis pod]] to craft an escape shuttle. At the hour of the Vok's return, he finally completed one. Megatron had known of his and Blackarachina's plans and threw a wrench in the works—[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]]. Inferno stomped into the room, interrupted Tarantulas's download of the stasis pod's datatracks, torched him, and was defeated by Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}}

Fortunately for Tarantulas, Blackarachnia picked up his discarded download visor. Tarantulas jumped into her mind, controlling her (presumably from his stasis-locked body). When the [[quantum surge]] knocked out all of the Transformers on Earth, his body was upgraded to a Transmetal form, complete with a motorcycle vehicle mode. He maintained a link to Blackarachnia's mind, but was forced to sever it when she threatened to to commit suicide, which would also off-line him. He also set up a second lair in [[Grid Arakis]], which held a large cache of stable [[Energon cube]]s and had been written off by both sides. {{storylink|Tangled Web}}

At some undisclosed point, Tarantulas discovered the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'', the flagship of the [[Decepticon]] fleet. Although his longterm goals for the vessel are unknown, he did manage to restore the ship to working status, complete with a Predacon control console and a transwarp cell, meaning that he may have planned to use it to return to Cybertron once he completed his main objective. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

When the transwarp explosion finally reached through the time warp and had enough potency to enter [[Cybertronian]] space, Tarantulas's true allegiance was revealed: He was a member of the [[Predacon Secret Police]] and an agent of the [[Tripredacus Council]]. The Tripredacus Council was the first alerted of the transwarp explosion and realized it was from where Megatron's ship had gone. Ravage was sent to ally with the Maximals, arrest Megatron, and then betray and destroy them all.

Allied with Ravage and having the use of his stealth ship, the Maximals easily overwhelmed Megatron. Tarantulas knocked out the power to Megatron's ship at that exact moment, allowing an easy capture. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 1)}}

Megatron managed to manipulate Ravage into his servitude using a recording of the original [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] on the Golden Disk and gained his freedom. Tarantulas joined Ravage on his stealth ship for an attack on the ''[[Axalon]]''. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part 2)}} However, Tarantulas was blown to pieces by Rattrap through a combination of the rodent's demolition bombs and the explosion of the ship. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)}} Tarantulas survived, though, and was quickly put back together by his spider drones.{{storylink|Optimal Situation}}

Megatron, in all his wisdom, forgave Tarantulas's treachery, as it was simply the Predacon way and the spider was too useful to execute, even though Megatron made it very clear that he'd never trusted Tarantulas, even before the scientist did anything treacherous. Tarantulas appeared back in the Predacon camp on a regular basis—though it would later become clear that he was still very busy working on his own agenda, apparently during his numerous unexplained absences. He battled the Maximals alongside Megatron's Transmetal raptors (a harbinger of [[Dinobot II|things to come]]) {{storylink|Cutting Edge}} and helped the other Predacons construct a massive disruptor ray (which ultimately backfired on them). {{storylink|Go With the Flow}} When the Maximals attempted to remove Blackarachnia's shell program, he revealed to Megatron that he had included "certain safeguards" that guaranteed she would not survive, and joined the other Predacons in an attack on the Maximals that was meant to disrupt the attempted shell removal. He fired the missile which knocked the Maximals' power off-line at a crucial instant, seemingly bringing an end to his "treacherous creation". Enraged by the death of his beloved, [[Silverbolt (Fuzor)|Silverbolt]] attempted to kill the scientist, but was thwarted by [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]], who was later defeated by a revived—and [[Transmetal]]ized—Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon}}

Tarantulas participated in the Predacons' next attempt to retake the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', but manipulated [[Quickstrike]] into throwing Megatron into the nearby lava while he himself set the ''Ark''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s engines to overload. At this point, he claimed to be descended from neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons, which was why he was willing to destroy the core members of both factions then present (in stasis lock) in the ''Ark''. Megatron survived his lava-dunking, gaining a new body in the process. However, he had lost his patience. While he'd tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived his punishment and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster}}

[[Image:Tarantulas death.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Oh, yeah, he [[Primeval Dawn Part 1|meant to do this]]. Right. ''Sure'' he did.]]

When the [[Vok]] emissary [[Tigerhawk]] arrived on Earth shortly afterwards, Tarantulas managed to disable and capture him. Tarantulas intended to force the all-powerful being into his servitude by drawing the Vok influences out of his body and reprogramming him. The scheme backfired, however, as his energy beam device expelled two actual Vok out of Tigerhawk. The formless spectres attempted to take over Tarantulas' body. Panicking, he opened fire on them—a futile gesture that merely served to spin the energy device around 'til its rays were blasting him and his lab equipment. Overloaded by the beams, Tarantulas exploded, leaving nothing behind but his boots. The remainder of his equipment detonated seconds later, blowing the lair to rubble. Cheetor managed to rescue the inert Tigerhawk, and Tarantulas was presumed dead. {{storylink|Other Victories}}

While searching the ruins of Tarantulas's lair, Megatron offhandedly referred to him as "[[Unicron]]'s spawn". {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

====3H ''Primeval Dawn'' comics====
[[Image:Primeval Tarantulas.jpg|right|thumb|Tarantulas doesn't really hate the Vok so much as he wants to kill them and wear their skin as a Vok suit.]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas's body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he'd previously absorbed. The undead Tarantulas, along with a rebuilt Ravage (as [[Tripredacus Agent]]), nurtured new troops to life through enigmatic means, growing [[Razorclaw (BW)|Razorclaw]] and [[Iguanus (BW)|Iguanus]] in tubes. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}}

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

Wounded critically, the Maximals withdrew to the ''Ark''. Tarantulas ordered Ravage to take Razorclaw, Iguanus, and their new recruit [[Spittor]] and assault the ''Ark'' in order to finish them off. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

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

====3H ''Universe'' comics====
When the influence of [[Unicron]] swayed [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness, she was surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joined the ranks of the [[Minions of Unicron]]. {{storylink|Escape}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Beast Wars===
*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-4''', '''VS-4'''

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

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

: The Japanese release of Tarantulas was originally unchanged and could also be purchased in a two-pack with [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]. Later, a slightly color-altered version was released, using a brighter shade of green and a slightly darker gray. The color-altered version also replaced the blue eyes on the "robot" head and the black eyes of the "mutant" head with gold.

: This mold was used to make the first [[Blackarachnia]] toy.

*'''Orcanoch''' ([[MicroVerse]], 1997)
: A small, non-transforming micro-figure of Tarantulas came with the [[MicroVerse]] [[Orcanoch]] playset. It was presumably painted based on the original design, as it's a bright copper rather than purple.

*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''D-44'''

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

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

*'''Tarantulas''' (Deluxe "Fox Kids" Transmetal, 1999)

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

===Beast Wars 10th Anniversary===
*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Deluxe, 2006)

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

===Merchandise===
====Robot Heroes====
{{comingsoontoy}}

==Trivia==
* Tarantulas's origins are a bit complicated. He declares in "[[Other Victories]]" that he and the [[Tripredacus Council]] have origins other than Autobot and Decepticon, such that they would not be affected by the destruction of the ''Ark''. Megatron's line about "Unicron's spawn" was apparently not intended by [[Bob Forward]] to be taken literally; it was to have been a generic insult rather than a statement of fact. [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/msg/f06828ec523295c1?dmode=source&output=gplain] (Forward's own inkling, albeit never realized, was that they might be descended from [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian Empire.) A Unicronian origin also creates potential canonical issues, as Tarantulas says that "under our rule, Cybertron will conquer the universe" ("[[Other Victories]]"), whereas Unicron's goal would have been to eat Cybertron. But, much like [[Terrorsaur]]'s line about "[[Darksyde|the dark side]]", this line developed a life of its own. Eventually this connection was reasserted in [[3H Productions]]' ''[[Primeval Dawn]]'' storyline.

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

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

* Early promotional pictures showed the original Tarantulas toy as being transparent orange, but the final toy was a clear deep purple instead. Presumably, this was for a little visual variety in the early line, which already had a largely tan toy ([[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]]) and a largely yellow toy ([[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]) in the Deluxe range, plus a Mega-sized Predacon arachnid then planned to be orange ([[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]), and [[Tigatron]], who was at one point slated to be a traditional orange tiger.

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

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

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

*Tarantulas is referred to as simply "Tarantula" in the commercial advertising his toy.

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Predacon/Tarantulas/tarantulas.htm Tarantulas at TFU.info]

[[Category: Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category: Double agents]]
[[Category: Ninjas]]
[[Category: Predacons]]
[[Category: Robot Heroes]]
[[Category: Scientists]]
[[Category: Security officers]]
[[Category: Timelines characters]]
[[Category: Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category: Transmetals]]
[[Category: Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category: Universe characters]]
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