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Divide and Conquer

2009-06-18T00:37:03Z

67.62.164.213: /* Trivia */

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 cartoon episode|the Marvel UK comic|Divide and Conquer!}}
{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=6
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=6
|image=FHE-DivideAndConquer.jpg
|caption="And I, Starscream, am now leader of the Autobots!"
|title="Divide and Conquer"
|production code=#700-03
|airdate=[[October 20]], 1984
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Autobots must journey to Cybertron to retrieve a vital piece of technology to save the life of the critically wounded Optimus Prime.'''

:''Japanese title:'' SOS! サイバトロン (''SOS! Cybertron'')

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DivideandConquer MegatronENEMY poster.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Join the guys we shoot at, now!]]

[[Earth]] factories are busily preparing weaponry for use against the [[Decepticon]] menace. [[Chip Chase]] is inspecting one such facility, where the administrators hope he can develop new methods to improve the efficiency of weapons production. The Decepticon [[Seeker]] jets suddenly attack the factory, breaching its walls and landing inside. They begin draining the factory of its energy, but have not noticed Chip, who sends out a distress signal to the [[Autobot]]s.

[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] are on a search mission, fruitlessly looking for any trace of the Decepticon [[Space Bridge]]. Prime intercepts Chip's call for help, and orders the Autobots at the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] to meet him at the munitions plant. Prime arrives at the scene first, and is outnumbered three-to-one. A stray shot hits one of the massive computer banks, which begins a critical meltdown and overload. Prime attempts to shield the humans from the inevitable explosion with his own body. The blast tears through Prime, and the Decepticons take advantage of his weakened state to nail him. Prime collapses under fire.

[[Image:Divide and conquer.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Ohhh, that's REALLY gonna leave a mark on the Matrix.]]

The Seekers hear the approach of the other Autobots, and following [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s orders, retreat with the [[energon cube]]s. The Autobots find Prime's badly damaged form and take it back to base. Prime’s power relays are fused. His mobility limited. His speech… slow… and labored. Part replacement… essential….

Wanting to confirm Prime's condition, Megatron dispatches [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] to the Ark to spy on [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]'s efforts to repair Prime. Optimus's [[electropulse]] is fading. At Megatron’s command, Laserbeak attacks the incredibly vulnerable Prime, tearing into his exposed chest cavity and causing a tremendous explosion.

[[Image:DivideandConquer shutupHuffer.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Shut up, Rattrap.]]

It's more smoke and sparks than fiery blast, and Prime survives the explosion, though his energy is fading fast. His very [[laser core]] is at risk of snuffing out, and Ratchet needs a [[cosmotron]] to keep his Prime's energy levels from draining. Wheeljack only knows of one in existence, but it’s in his shop back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], which the Decepticons had placed under a computerized lock. The Autobots need to get back to their homeworld and pick this lock. Naturally, Chip Chase is the only one of them familiar enough with Cybertronian computers to make this possible.

[[Image:DivideandConquer Farewellwarrior.jpg|right|150px|thumb|If I tell you go, then you GO!]]

Chip uses [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] to do what Optimus could not: triangulate the likely coordinates for the Space Bridge’s next appearance. Following Chip’s detective work, the Autobots drive into the woods and discover the Space Bridge site. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] and [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] oversee the transport of a shuttle module filled with Energon cubes, with a hapless [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]-type soldier sent to pilot it across the gulf of interstellar space. With the Autobots' arrival, a fray breaks out–and so does a sudden thunderstorm.

[[Image:DivideandConquer Rainmakerclouds.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Red clouds in morning, Autobots take warning]]

Surprisingly, Megatron (who has been monitoring the battle) orders the Decepticons to let the Autobots win. The thunderstorm has given him an idea, but he does not elaborate. The Autobots—[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Bluestreak]], [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] and [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]—drive into the Space Bridge and are teleported to [[Decepticon Headquarters (Cybertron)|Shockwave’s base]]. They blast their way past a shocked Shockwave and into Cybertron’s streets. Megatron orders the [[Rainmaker]]s to destroy the Autobot infiltrators with [[acid rain]].

At [[Wheeljack's shop]], Chip works his way past the locking mechanism, and Ironhide instantly finds the cosmotron. Outside, a trio of Seekers somehow seed the clouds over the workshop so they produce incredibly debilitating acid rain.

[[Image:DivideandConquer Starscreampowerfist.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"SHIIIINING FINGEEEEER!"]]

The acid rain shorts the circuitry of the Autobots, who collapse at the touch of the deadly downpour. Chip is immune to the rain’s effects, and implores the Autobots to continue. Trailbreaker musters up the energy to project his force-field, sheltering the Autobots from the rain, giving their automatic repair systems time to kick in. Bluestreak fires some blasts into the clouds overhead, dispersing the rainmaking seekers and the toxic clouds. Rejuvenated, the Autobots return to Shockwave’s tower and ride the Space Bridge back to Earth.

On Earth, Megatron recognizes that without Prime, the conquest of the Autobots is a foregone conclusion. He leads an attack on the Ark. The Autobots recognize the hopeless battle up ahead, but Spike musters up his courage, grabs [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]'s rifle, and rallies the troops. He even manages to inspire perpetual downer [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] to take charge.

[[Image:DivideandConquer Bring It.jpg|left|150px|thumb|"You talking to me? You talking to me? I don't see no one else here!']]

An enormous battle breaks out in front of the Ark, just as the Autobot mission returns from Cybertron. Chip and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] race the cosmotron to Prime. Optimus emerges in time to personally challenge Megatron and soundly beats him, forcing the Decepticon leader to yield. With Megatron down, a self-satisfied Starscream orders the Decepticons to retreat.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (6)
* [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (7)
* [[Bluestreak]] (8)
* [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (9)
* [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (10)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (11)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] (12)
* [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (13)
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (19)
* [[Gears]] (20)
* [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (21)
* [[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (22)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (24)
* [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (25)
* [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (26)
* [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (9)
* [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (32)

|c2=
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (2)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (3)
* [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (4)
* [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (5)
* [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (16)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (17)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (18)
* [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (27)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (28)
* [[Rainmaker]]s (29-31)
** [[Acid Storm]] (29)
** Blue Rainmaker (30)
** Yellow Rainmaker (31)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (33)

|c3=
* [[Chip Chase]] (1)
* [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (13)
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (14)
}}

==Quotes==
"Heh, I wonder if I'll ever get used to that."
:—'''Sparkplug''' witnessing the Autobots transform

"He's doomed. I know it. I can feel it in my [[databank]]."
:— '''Huffer''', hoping the best for a dying Prime.

"They sure don't build 'em like that anymore."
:—'''Sparkplug''', commenting on the fact Optimus Prime is still alive after ''his chest explodes''.

"Just like Sherlock Holmes with floppy disks!"
:—'''Spike''', hopelessly over his head when it comes to computer talk.

"No one's ever really disabled as long as he has courage."
:—'''Chip Chase''', and that’s one to grow on.

"I'm sorry, Spike. Sometimes nothing you do makes any difference."
:— '''Sparkplug''' to Spike, which, if you don't read as the general you, is actually kind of mean and funny.

"We can't go down without ''trying!'' Prime would want us to go for it, no matter what the odds! Well, are you with me, or do I fight this battle alone?"
:— '''Spike''' gives an inspirational battle rally to the Autobots after taking Jazz's gun.

"Is there anyone in the universe who will challenge the might of Megatron?"<br>
"There is one, Megatron! I, Optimus Prime, challenge you!"
:—'''Megatron''' is scared to death by a now healthy '''Optimus Prime'''.

==Notes==
*The scene in which Shockwave opens fire on the Autobots when they first arrive on Cybertron was edited out of the Japanese version for time.

===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:DivideandConquer Factoryguardworkers.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Note the standard issue army hardhats]]
* Due to a mix-up in animation models, the green-uniformed human soldiers protecting the weapons factory in one shot turn into hard-hat wearing factory workers in another shot.

* A teleporting Skywarp is mistakenly colored with Starscream's colors, and then Thundercracker's colors.

**To make matters worse, in the Japanese dub of this scene, Skywarp is also ''voiced'' by Starscream so that ''he'' is the one who teleports.

[[Image:DivideandConquer slopedPrime.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Prime in his seldom-used "aerodynamic" alternate mode.]]

* A peculiar design in one shot has Optimus Prime's cab face sport a 45-degree slope.

* When Starscream reacts to Optimus Prime barreling into the factory, his voice is not electronically enhanced.

* When the Autobots are shown talking to Optimus, and later arriving at the factory, Bumblebee is the only yellow Autobot shown. However, when the Autobots transform to go to the factory, Sunstreaker is shown transforming instead of Bumblebee.

* Because the background art moves around to simulate a camera tilt, the foreground animation of Prime's trailer receding into the background looks instead like it is [[Size changing|shrinking into nothingness]] in [[Subspace|midair]].

* Before Brawn enters the room where Optimus Prime is being worked on, he is shown standing inside.

* There's a big nasty S-shaped hair in the center of the screen as Wheeljack describes his shop on Cybertron.

* At the Space Bridge site, the camera pans across the scenery, but a painted foreground tree travels with the move, making it look like the tree is mobile.

* Four Reflectors are shown when preparing the Space Bridge (though it could be argued it is a separate Reflector-like Decepticon).

* Rumble blinks out for a few moments when the Autobots arrive at the Space Bridge.

* In the shot of him still holding the tree after Megatron tells him to let the Autobots win, and emerging from Ironhide's deep freeze, Starscream is colored like Thundercracker.

* As Shockwave and a Reflector soldier unload the Space Bridge's shipment of Energon cubes, the Energon is not filled with an illumination effect, and appears as solid black bars.

* The nitrogen pack that Ironhide uses in Shockwave's control center is labeled "NITRGEN". And Ironhide shouldn't have to use a pack anyway, since he has a built in liquid nitrogen projector.

* When the Decepticons exit their base to attack the Autobots, a fourth Decepticon jet is shown. Later, an extreme close-up of one of the jets' weapons shows a red "rainmaker".

[[Image:Ironhideinblack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|So that's the reason why he is black.]]

* When the Autobot away team races back to Shockwave’s tower, Ironhide is painted with Trailbreaker's colors, making him resemble a Diaclone incarnation of his toy.

* After returning to Earth, Bluestreak emerges from the Space Bridge painted as Prowl, but without police lights.

* In the carnage of the battle, a prone form of Ironhide is colored with Ratchet's white and red hue (Ratchet's inside the ''Ark'') and Sideswipe has Shockwave's colors.

* Optimus Prime's mouthplate moves when Megatron concedes defeat.

===Continuity errors===
* It is unclear how Chip knows Skywarp's missile is of the heat-seeking variety before it does anything to suggest such.
* Optimus Prime somehow deflects the heat-seeking missile by hitting its ''warhead'' with his arm.
* Chip Chase's superhuman abilities shine in this episode: he knows Cybertronian technology better than Autobots, who have only had millions of years to get used to it. He knows how to find the Space Bridge better than Optimus can, since Chip thinks to use Teletraan I, a tactic that somehow escaped Prime. Chase can crack a Cybertronian lock, and he is immune to Cybertronian acid rain.

===Transformers references===
* The Space Bridge, which first appeared in "[[Transport to Oblivion]]," reappears in this episode.
* The tetrahedron seeker jets return; they first appeared in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|More Than Meets The Eye, Part 1]]."

===Real-world references===
* A cosmotron is a real-world particle physics accelerator.

===Trivia===
[[Image:DivideandConquer LaserbeakonBrawns shoulder.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Laserbeak disguised as Brawn's dandruff]]
* Brawn really is a dumbass to not notice Laserbeak sitting on his shoulder.

* The Autobot Matrix of Leadership is nowhere to be found on Prime's chest when Wheeljack and Ratchet are repairing him.

* This is the only episode where Laserbeak displays any cowardice, a trait described in his original tech spec bio and usually associated with the character.

* Megatron's order to let the Autobots win really makes no logical sense. If his soldiers had beaten them, they'd have been just as out of the way, and if they didn't he could still try his acid rain plan.

* Reflector displays an odd ability in this episode: he can absorb his fellow units into his body.

* Reflector can emit a light that shorts out optic sensors.

* Ironhide's wrists can emit liquid glop launchers that trap the Decepticons to the surface with a thick adhesive.

* Cybertron has an atmosphere breathable by humans.

[[Image:DivideandConquer SympatheticDecepticon.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Poor guy.]]
* The Reflector-type Decepticon warrior that Starscream forces to pilot the Space Bridge transport has an oddly sympathetic and very human-sounding voice.

* A [[:Image:DivideandCon.gif|trio]] of [[Seeker]]s on Cybertron include a [[Acid Storm|neon green one]], a gunmetal bluegray one, and a lemony yellow one.

* Autobots have built-in repair systems.

* Sideswipe is capable of emitting a smokescreen from his chest ... for little effect.

* The Transformers have a personal battle code where customs dictate personal challenges be settled in personal combat.

* The chapter stops on the Rhino DVD version of this episode are Opening / Weapon Factories / Off to Cybertron / New Age of Decepticons / Fight For Optimus / Optimus Saved!

* Optimus Prime displays the unusual ability to fire energy beams out of his optics... right into Megatron's face.

==Home video releases==
[[Image:DivideAndConquerBetamax.jpg|right|180px|thumb|More or less antiquated than the TF storybooks that came with records? You decide!]]
* The episode was released by itself on videocassette in 1984 as Volume 6 of [[Family Home Entertainment]]'s ''Transformers'' collection. It had the (now somewhat quaint) honor of being available in both VHS and Betamax formats.

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/divide_and_conquer.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Tarantulas (BW)

2008-02-06T16:55:29Z

67.62.164.213: /* Trivia */

{{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]] who 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]]"}}

''Japanse name'': '''Tarans'''

==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 Predacon's 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: Dawn of Future's Past'' comic====
[[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 communications 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.

====''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 to 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. Tarantulas 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 Tarantulus 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 crafted 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 his download of the stasis pod's datatracks, torched Tarantulas, and was defeated by Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}}

Fortunately for him, 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 severe 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 function, complete with a Predacon control console. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

When the transwarp explosion finally reached through the time warp and had enough potency to enter [[Cybertronian]] space, Tarantulas 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 Megatron's ship. Ravage was sent to ally with the Maximals, arrest Megatron, and then betray and destroy them all.

Allied with the Maximals, and with his stealth ship, they easily overwhelmed Megatron. Tarantulas knocked out the power to his ship at the 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 Disc 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' treachery, as it was simply the Predacon way and Tarantulas was too useful to execute, even though Megatron made it very clear that he never trusted Tarantulas, even before Tarantulas 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 ultimate 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 offline 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 onto the lava, while he set the Ark'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, Megatron had lost his patience. While he tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived, however, and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster}}

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. Tarantulas' 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, till 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}} When Megatron learned of Tarantulas' death, he 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, even though the Vok don't have skin—he's that insane.]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas' body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he 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. The remaining Vok anticipated Tarantulas' 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. 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.

''([[3H Productions]] dissolved before this storyline could be completed. It can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, and that the Maximals were triumphant.)''

====3H ''Universe'' comics====
When the influence of [[Unicron]] sways [[Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness, she is surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joins the ranks of the [[Minions of Unicron]].

{{-}}

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

: Part of the first wave if ''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, his has two different robot-mode "heads", a robot-mode one 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 with gold as well as the black eyes of the 'mutant' head.

: 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 its 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 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 were painted as a single visor to better match the show.

*'''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]] has 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.

*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Tenth Anniversary, 2006)

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the original Tarantulas toy, more closely resembling Tarantulas' 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===

==Trivia==
* Tarantulas' 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 darkside]]", 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, however, 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 another then-planned clear-orange Mega-sized Predacon arachnid ([[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: Ninjas]]
[[Category: Predacons]]
[[Category: Scientists]]
[[Category: Security officers]]
[[Category: Timelines characters]]
[[Category: Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category: Transmetals]]
[[Category: Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category: Universe characters]]<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)

2008-02-04T16:30:24Z

67.62.164.213: /* Trivia */

{{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]] who 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]]"}}

''Japanse name'': '''Tarans'''

==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 Predacon's 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: Dawn of Future's Past'' comic====
[[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 communications 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.

====''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 to 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. Tarantulas 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 Tarantulus 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 crafted 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 his download of the stasis pod's datatracks, torched Tarantulas, and was defeated by Blackarachnia. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2}}

Fortunately for him, 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 severe 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 function, complete with a Predacon control console. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 1}}

When the transwarp explosion finally reached through the time warp and had enough potency to enter [[Cybertronian]] space, Tarantulas 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 Megatron's ship. Ravage was sent to ally with the Maximals, arrest Megatron, and then betray and destroy them all.

Allied with the Maximals, and with his stealth ship, they easily overwhelmed Megatron. Tarantulas knocked out the power to his ship at the 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 Disc 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' treachery, as it was simply the Predacon way and Tarantulas was too useful to execute, even though Megatron made it very clear that he never trusted Tarantulas, even before Tarantulas 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 ultimate 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 offline 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 onto the lava, while he set the Ark'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, Megatron had lost his patience. While he tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived, however, and fled back to his lair. {{storylink|Master Blaster}}

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. Tarantulas' 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, till 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}} When Megatron learned of Tarantulas' death, he 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, even though the Vok don't have skin—he's that insane.]]
Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas' body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he 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. The remaining Vok anticipated Tarantulas' 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. 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.

''([[3H Productions]] dissolved before this storyline could be completed. It can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, and that the Maximals were triumphant.)''

====3H ''Universe'' comics====
When the influence of [[Unicron]] sways [[Blackarachnia]] to the side of darkness, she is surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joins the ranks of the [[Minions of Unicron]].

{{-}}

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

: Part of the first wave if ''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, his has two different robot-mode "heads", a robot-mode one 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 with gold as well as the black eyes of the 'mutant' head.

: 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 its 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 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 were painted as a single visor to better match the show.

*'''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]] has 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.

*'''Predacon Tarantulus''' (Tenth Anniversary, 2006)

:This toy is a slight [[redeco]] of the original Tarantulas toy, more closely resembling Tarantulas' 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===

==Trivia==
* Tarantulas' 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] Such an 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. (Forward's own inkling, albeit never realized, was that they might be descended from [[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]'s Cybertronian Empire.) But, much like [[Terrorsaur]]'s line about "[[Darksyde|the darkside]]", 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, however, 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 another then-planned clear-orange Mega-sized Predacon arachnid ([[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]].

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

[[Category: Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category: Ninjas]]
[[Category: Predacons]]
[[Category: Scientists]]
[[Category: Security officers]]
[[Category: Timelines characters]]
[[Category: Toys "R" Us exclusives]]
[[Category: Transmetals]]
[[Category: Unicron-related characters]]
[[Category: Universe characters]]<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>