MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Fandom

2009-04-14T06:46:17Z

72.193.135.71:

[[Image:Transformers-cosplayers.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Typical fans. A Sunday.]]
{{bigquote|These fools worship Transformers!|[[Astrotrain]], "[[The God Gambit]]"}}

The community of Transformers fans is referred to as a '''fandom'''. While the term technically encompasses any group of kids coming together to talk about Transformers in a sandbox, it is commonly used to refer to the people from college-age and up who participate in the online fandom. The fandom has long played a role in the [[Transformers timeline|history of the franchise]]. Most notably, [[BotCon]] is their [[wikipedia:Mardi_Gras|Mardi Gras]], an official convention geared almost totally to adult fans.

Individually, or as a group, Transformers fans can be referred to as '''Transfans'''. This may [[wikipedia:Transexual|raise eyebrows]] among the uninitiated, but it sure beats "Trannies."

==History==
===Before the internet===
The earliest form of interaction between ''Transformers'' fans that went beyond the usual schoolyard talks was the [[Letters Pages]] in the [[The Transformers (Marvel Comics)|''Generation 1'' comics]] by [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]]. In addition, the [[S.T.A.R.S.]] fan club can be viewed as the first form of an officially organized "fandom", although interaction between individual members was still limited at best.

Unofficial fanclubs were formed as early as 1986. One of them, the [http://www.geocities.com/pierre-pedro/transmasters/index.html Transmasters] club, even got a shoutout in the letters pages in [[The Last Autobot?|issue 79]] of the Marvel US G1 comic (published in 1991), leading to a huge influx of new members, soon growing to 300 members globally. The original organizers of the club soon began to crumble under the weight, leaving matters to new members who would take over responsibilities. A British branch of the club was also formed. The club was even officially recognized by [[Hasbro]] in 1991, legally giving them permission them to use the ''Transformers'' likeness for non-profit purposes.

===The early days of online fandom===
As fans grew older, those few that did not outgrow their hobby (like most children do) eventually found a form of communicating with each other on the internet. Emerging from comic-centric bulletin boards such as the CCC (Comics Collectors' Club), a mailing list was created in April of 1993, coinciding with early rumors about the impending launch of the [[Generation 2 (toyline)|''Generation 2'' toyline]]. Later that year, still before the ''Generation 2'' toyline was launched, the mailing list was abandoned in favor of a text-only [[wikipedia:Usenet|Usenet]] newsgroup named [[alt.toys.transformers]] (a.t.t.), which was launched on September 11, 1993. Many of the members of the mailing list and a.t.t. had previously also been members of the Transmasters fanclub, which was now rendered somewhat anachronistic by the internet.

Because Usenet is one of the oldest parts of the internet (dating from 1979), a.t.t. functioned as a central hub where all members of the then-small fandom interacted together. Indeed, it would not be unfair to say that for most of the 1990s, a.t.t. ''was'' the online fandom. ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' showrunners [[Bob Forward]] and [[Larry DiTillio]] later also used a.t.t. as a means of communicating with the fans, and even recruited one of them, [[Ben Yee]] (who had also started out with the Transmasters club), to work as a consultant for the show.

Another form of online fan interaction was the text-based [[MUSH]], a shared online role-playing environment. Many MUSHers were also ATTers.

===Rise of the World Wide Web===
During the late 1990s, the first individual fan sites were launched on the World Wide Web. Most of them started out as personal collector showcase/information sites, and while many of them have either disappeared from the web since then or not been updated in a decade, some still exist to this very day, such as [http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/ Steve-o Stonebraker's site] (launched in 1995, currently semi-abandoned), [http://www.eyrie.org/~dvandom/BW/index.shtml Dave Van Domelen's site] (launched in 1996), Ben Yee's [http://www.bwtf.com/ BWTF.com] (originally launched as beastwars.net in 1997, currently under reconstruction), the Lukis Bros. [http://www.unicron.com/ Unicron.com] (launched in 1997, moved to its domain in 1998) and [http://www.electric-escape.net/tf Rob Jung's site] (launched in 1999, moved to its current domain in 2005).

[http://www.tfarchive.com/ The Transformers Archive] was originally also launched as a private site in 1996 and eventually moved to its current domain in 1999. Its sister site, [http://www.transfans.net/ Transfans.net], was originally launched as Transfans.com in 1998. Both sites gained message boards in late 2000, but were mostly known for offering downloads of old cartoon episodes and scanned comic book pages for years, a practice Hasbro still silently tolerated at that time—until a cease and decist order in January of 2003. Since then, TFArchive has started to focus mostly on comic and toy reviews, while Transfans is mostly known for interviews these days. Both sites have comparably small, but stable communities.

Aside from the British fandom, Scandinavian fans were among the most active non-Americans in the online ''Transformers'' fandom during the late 1990s. In 1998, several Scandinavian ''Transformers'' fans decided to form their own fanclub, the Nordic Transfan Association, which eventually got its own website, [http://www.ntfa.net/ NTFA.net], in 2001. NTFA remains one of the largest European ''Transformers'' fan communities to this very day.

===Early message boards and tensions in the fandom===
Some of these early sites, particularly Ben Yee's, also featured message boards, which were used as an alternative to a.t.t. by some fans. While Ben Yee soon closed his board again due to frequent trolling and lack of moderation, another fan named Renaud Lefebvre launched his own site, [http://www.bigbot.com/ Bigbot.com], in 1998, which also featured downloads and a message board, Bottalk.

Even though Renaud was in contact with ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' showrunner [[Bob Skir]], thus briefly making Bottalk ''the'' primary Transformers discussion hub during that time, his tight-handed way of moderating his board eventually led to mass bannings, coupled with a mass exodus to a newly created board, named The Allspark, in November of 1999. (To this day, Renaud refuses to acknowledge the existence of other Transformers fansites on his own site and board, which resulted in a rapid decrease into obscurity.)

The Allspark eventually encountered internal friction itself—when the community, under a new owner, moved to the new domain [http://www.allspark.com/ Allspark.com] in 2001, several members stayed behind and turned the old board into a ''second'' Allspark community (now also available under [http://www.allspark.net/ Allspark.net]). The .com site remains the much larger of the two Allsparks to this very day, whereas the other board has faded into obscurity.

===The Big Bang===
In the early 2000s, the World Wide Web exploded with new ''Transformers'' fan sites. This coincided with the onset of the "nostalgia boom," when numerous properties from the 1980s were relaunched in various forms—in the case of ''Transformers'', these were the ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' and ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' lines and the [[Dreamwave Productions|Dreamwave]] comics. This caused a growth spurt for the fandom, with new arrivals eschewing the outdated Usenet and instead using web-based message boards.

[http://www.seibertron.com/ Seibertron.com] was launched in 2000, originally as an informational website, later expanded to include toy galleries and a message board. These days, the site views itself as one of the biggest ''Transformers'' fan communities.

Its biggest competitor is [http://www.tfw2005.com/ TFW2005.com], which was originally launched as a private fan site named [http://www.angelfire.com/bc2/transformers/ Transformer World 2005] in early 2000. It first moved to its current domain in May 2000, added a message board and soon started to offer downloads of Japanese ''[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Car Robots]]'' episodes. In July of 2001, TFW2005 merged with two other sites, [http://transformers.pitas.com/ Transformers News] and the Matrix Magazine, to form a new super-site, Transfandom.com. The honeymoon didn't last long, as frictions among the merged site's staff caused TFW2005 (including its boards) to return to its old domain in January of 2003, while Transfandom (now with its own board) continued alternatively under the domains Transfandom.net and Transfandom.com again, ultimately fading into obscurity and eventually disappearing from the internet altogether in the fall of 2007. Meanwhile, TFW2005 is said to have close ties with Hasbro (albeit only unofficially), and is also often the go-to site for representatives of other official parties, such as screenwriter [[Roberto Orci]].

Another site that would eventually become large was originally launched in 2001 as [http://tfexchange.com/ TFExchange.com]. In May of 2002, a hostile takeover by a URL sniper caused the site to move to its current domain, [http://tformers.com/ TFormers.com]. These days, TFormers is part of the Entertainment News International network that includes [http://toynewsi.com/ Toy News International], [http://jediinsider.com/ Jedi Insider] and [http://enewsi.com/ Entertainment News International]. Similar to Bigbot, TFormers also prefers to pretend that other fan sites don't exist. The biggest rival for TFormers is TFW2005, which dates back to Hasbro employee [[Aaron Archer]] blaming TFormers for causing his superiors to order Aaron to cease posting at TFW2005's boards.

In addition to these considerably large sites, there are countless smaller sites, some of them being mostly collector showcase sites run by individuals, while others have their own message board communities. Fan communities not based in the United States have also emerged in considerable numbers, with sites often concentrating on a single country, or at least a clearly defined area (such as the aforementioned Scandinavian NTFA), many of them also operating in other languages than English.

The large boom of Transformers fan sites on the World Wide Web also had an effect on the established Usenet newsgroup alt.toys.transformers. Activity on the group dropped off, leading many of its members to venture beyond its confines and into the message board world. Given the large number of different boards, the preferences of the users, and the enmities that formed between sites, it was no longer really possible to "know everyone," as it was in a.t.t.'s heyday.

The situation remains the same today, only more so, as the [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]] has turned a perennially strong franchise into a runaway powerhouse, attracting countless fans young and old, new and nostalgic, across the globe.

{{-}}

==References==
Many references to the fandom have been made in official Transformers fiction.

===Beast Wars===
The story editors of the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars cartoon]], [[Bob Forward]] and [[Larry DiTillio]], interacted with the fandom via alt.toys.transformers, and worked numerous "shout-outs" into the series.

* In "[[Dark Designs]]", a loopy [[Waspinator]] declared that he was "Not wacko, Wonko! Wonko the Sane!" In addition to being the name of a character in ''[[Wikipedia:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]]'', "Wonko the Sane" was a screen name used by [[Ben Yee]].
* In "[[Before the Storm]]", the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] computer informed [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] of a "code A-T-T alert," and Megatron later initiated a "voice code A-T-T override," both references to alt.toys.transformers.
* In [[Nemesis Part 2]], [[Optimus Primal|Optimus Primal's]] line "encoding transmission M Sipher" refers to the screen name of [[Greg Sepelak]].
* Also in "Nemesis Part 2," Megatron instructs [[Dinobot II]] to fire on "targeting grid 3H," referring to [[3H Enterprises]].
* Numerous locations throughout the series were references to the names (both screen and real) of fans:
*[[Grid Darcerin]]
*[[Grid Joona]]
*[[Grid Scylla]]
*[[Sector Tallories]]
*[[Tengu Sector]]

===Universe===
* The ''[[Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' Ultra Class [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] toy's [[Paint application|painted deco]] features a reference to long-time Transformer fan [[User:Monzo|Monzo]]'s screen-name and birthday. Jealousy sold separately.
* [[Acid Storm]]'s [[bio]] personality and "Hyperion-3" blasters are also references to Monzo.

==Adopted fan terminology==
Several terms initially used only by fans have been adopted by writers of official Transformers materials, thus becoming a part of the [[canon]].

*[[Darksyde|Darkside]]
*[[Combiner|Gestalt]]
*[[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]]
*[[Seeker]] (Technically, this one originated in a 1984 J.C. Penney catalog, but widespread usage within the fandom is what led to its official use.)
*[[Rainmaker|Rainmakers]] (The term was actually used by [[Bluestreak]] in [[Divide and Conquer]], but only as a colloquial description of their actions. As with "Seekers", repeated fan usage ultimately led to its adoption as an official group name.)
*[[Lugnut]]'s "[[Punch of Kill Everything]]"

==Fans gone official==
Many members of the online fandom have gone on to contribute to Transformers in an official capacity. One of the most prolific ones is probably [[Ben Yee|Benson "Ben" Yee]], who started out as an active fan (under the screenname "Wonko the Sane") and defended the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'' cartoon]] in its early phase at [[alt.toys.transformers]]. Ben was eventually hired to work as a consultant for the show. Later, he was made a member of the [[Transformers Collectors' Club]]'s Advisory Board and has since written officially licensed ''Transformers'' comic book stories for both [[IDW Publishing]] and [[Fun Publications]].

Another name widely recognized among fan circles is [[Don Figueroa]], who gained early fandom fame for his fan comic ''Macromasters'', which featured original robot designs created by him. Don also created large transformable, scratch-built toys based on his characters. He was later hired by [[Dreamwave Productions]] as a comic book artist and developed the comic series ''[[The War Within]]'' together with writer [[Simon Furman]], and also developed pre-Earth designs for every single character that appeared in the comic. Don continuted to draw Transformers comics for Dreamwave, IDW Publishing and Fun Publications and even worked as a toy designer for Hasbro (including some designs for the ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' line and major work on the ''[[Titanium Series]]'' line), but eventually announced his departure from official Transformers work in late 2007.

Aside from Don, other artists were also recruited by Dreamwave and IDW from within the fandom, among them [[Guido Guidi]], [[Joe Ng]], [[Alex Milne]] and [[Nick Roche]], although not all of them were active participants in the Transformers fandom prior to going official. Meanwhile, Dreamwave writer [[Adam Patyk]] had been an active participant in discussions at ATT during the 1990s.

Other international fans also started doing official work that made their names known outside their domestic fandoms, such as Japanese super-fan [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]], who wrote and drew the ''[[Linkage (comic)|Linkage]]'' manga as well as various other mangas, wrote the ''[[Alternators (toyline)|Binaltech]]'' backstory and worked as a toy designer for Takara on occasion.

Some of Hasbro's ''Transformers'' toy designers were also originally active members of the fandom, such as [[Andrew Frankel]] (aka "Swiper" or "Sideswipe"), [[Joseph Kyde]] or [[Alex Androski]].

Other fans who have done official work for Hasbro, Takara, comic book companies or other third party licensees include:

* [[Fumihiko Akiyama]]
* [[Adam Alexander]] (aka "Botch")
* [[Aaron Black]] (aka "Delta Star")
* [[Mark Bristow]] (aka "Bodycount")
* [[Josh Burcham]] (aka "DCJosh", aka "GodFireConvoy")
* [[Kris Carter]] (aka "Drivaaar")
* [[Stuart Denyer]]
* [[Jordan Derber]] (aka "Buster Darkwings")
* [[Doug Dlin]]
* [[Tim Finn]]
* [[Bill Forster]]
* [[Rob Gerbracht]] (aka "Tengu")
* [[Jon Hartman]]
* [[Karl Hartman]]
* [[Dan Khanna]]
* [[Shaun Knowler]] (aka "White Rabbit" or "Beachcomber")
* [[Matt Kuphaldt]] (aka "Jackpot")
* [[Joana Lafuente]]
* [[Chris McFeely]]
* [[Frank Milkovich]] (aka "Crobot91")
* [[Raksha]]
* [[Daniel Ross]] (aka "Mouth04")
* [[Greg Sepelak]] (aka "M Sipher")
* [[Liam Shalloo]]
* [[Pete Sinclair]]
* [[Jim Sorenson]]
* [[Chris Tang]] (aka "Ravestrike")
* [[Brandie Tarvin]]
* [[Frank Todaro]] (aka "Broadcast")
* [[Trent Troop]]
* [[Josh van Reyk]] (aka "Richter")
* [[Graham Weaver]] (aka "Liquid Velcro!")
* [[David Willis]] (aka "Walky")
and others....

[[Category:Fandom]]

The Agenda (Part 1)

2009-04-14T06:44:55Z

72.193.135.71: /* Real-World References */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=37
|image=Agenda_1_Ravage_ship.jpg
|caption=Hello, boys, I'm back!
|title="The Agenda" (Part 1)
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[March 11]], 1998
|written by=[[Bob Forward]]
|directed by=[[Cal Shumiatcher]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''The Predacons of Cybertron send an agent to Earth to bring back Megatron and his band of criminals.'''

:''Japanese title:'' たいほだにゃ (''Taiho Da Nya'', "Meyow're Under Arrest")

==Synopsis==
[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] tracks the transwarp wavefront released by the destruction of the alien [[Planet Buster]], announcing it will arrive at [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in a few hours, and that the [[Maximal|Maximals]] are going home soon.

[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] reports to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] that [[Code of Hero|his attack]] on the early humans caused them to scatter, making their extinction an impossibility. Megatron decides to implement one final plan—a gamble, he notes, as his security cameras show [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] leaving the [[Darksyde|Predacon base]].

[[Image:Agenda 1 Silverbolt Blackarachnia.jpg|left|200px|thumb|How romantic.]]
[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] flies to a secluded location where he meets up with Blackarachnia, delivering to her a [[graviton generator]]. He once again offers her a spot in the Maximal ranks. She refuses, telling him that she ''likes'' being a bad girl—and Silverbolt knows he likes it too. They embrace...

In another time and place, [[Predacon Command Outpost One|a Cybertronian outpost]] is violently rocked by the transwarp wavefront. The [[Tripredacus Council]] convenes, having traced the wavefront signature back to Megatron. They detonate a Cybertronian satellite to make sure the Maximal sensors don't detect the wave, and send an operative to find and capture Megatron. Operating a special stealth-equipped [[transwarp cruiser]], his orders are to "terminate with extreme prejudice."

[[Image:Transwarp cruiser.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Who was the inventor of this ship?]]
Back at the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', the Maximals get ready for Megatron's inevitable final attack on their base. [[Waspinator]] and Inferno ready some attack systems, but [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] decides to take the more direct approach and assaults [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]]'s shields with his weapons. The battle begins, and the Predacons appear to be winning until reinforcements come from above. Megatron orders a retreat, and the invisible source of the Maximals' help lands.

The ''Axalon'''s hatch opens and Silverbolt's super doggie nose smells something. All the Maximals draw their weapons as two red lasers appear out of nowhere from the hatch. Optimus Primal finally realizes that their reinforcements came in the form of a Decepticon who after the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] was granted amnesty and rebuilt as a Predacon.

[[Image:Agenda 1 Ravage attention.jpg|left|200px|thumb|In Soviet Russia, you serve Ravage.]]
Shots are fired, knocking all of the Maximals' weapons out of their hands. The mysterious assailant jumps into the bridge, and reveals himself—[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]. He apologizes for disarming them, saying that he was concerned that he might be attacked before he could explain himself. [[Rattrap]] appears to justify his caution, saying that the only thing worse than a Predacon is a Decepticon. [[Optimus Primal]] shoves Rattrap aside and orders him to shut up, but does inform Ravage that they've been fighting Megatron for a while. Ravage offers the apologies of the [[Predacon Alliance]] for Megatron's actions, insisting that the Alliance did not sanction them, and says that he is here to help neutralize Megatron. But he lies about the transwarp wave, saying that it was too weak for anything but the Predacon sensors to detect, and that the reason he's alone is because they detected Megatron's energy signature only, hoping to settle this "quietly".

At the Predacon base, Blackarachnia finishes work on a flying stasis pod with Silverbolt's graviton generator. Her celebration is cut short, however, when Megatron calls for her. Megatron correctly anticipates a Maximal retaliation, and sends everyone but Waspinator to fortify the base. Waspinator, he sends on a "special mission", which Blackarachnia takes note of.

[[Image:Agenda 1 Megatron bound.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Hey, for once it isn't the monkey getting restrained!]]
Ravage's transwarp cruiser takes off from the ''Axalon'' with the Maximals onboard. [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] is still unsure about their plan, but Ravage notes that the ship provides several advantages (such as the ability to use Ravage's own cloaking ability) and Ravage notes that they have another one inside the Predacon base. This sets off alarms in [[Tarantulas]]' lair, and he transforms and rolls out in the same direction as the cruiser. Ravage and the Maximals attack the Predacon base. Silverbolt ignores Optimus' orders to take down Blackarachnia, who takes off towards Waspinator's secret location.

Ravage begins firing upon the downed Predacon ship. Megatron orders his troops to keep fighting, but suddenly is bound to his chair with energy rings as the base's power cuts out. Ravage, Optimus, Rattrap, and Rhinox walk in, and Ravage places Megatron under arrest. Are the Beast Wars over? [[The Agenda (Part 2)|To be continued]]!

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

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (7)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (8)
*[[Tripredacus Council]] (9)
*[[Waspinator]] (10)
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]] (11)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (12)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (13)
*[[Tarantulas]] (14)

}}
==Quotes==
"Oh man, you are gonna love it! I know this little place where you can get dirty mech fluid mixed with just a touch of radium. It'll take your head right off! And not only that... (''looks at Cheetor, who is eagerly listening, and lowers his voice'') Not only that, but the serving bots are walking around minus their torso plates, ya know what I mean?" 
"Yes, obviously a veritable nexus of culture and refinement. How can I refuse."
:—'''Silverbolt''' on '''Rattrap's''' description of Cybertron's bar scene.

"Aw, forget him, Big R. You and I can go to the Six Lasers over Cybertron amusement park. There's the Space Slide and the Galaxy Coasters"— 
"Kid! ...Don't make me hurt ya."
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Rattrap''' show their ages once again.

'''Rattrap''': So, uh, where ya' been, bird-dog? 
'''Silverbolt''': Uh, scout patrol... 
'''Rattrap''': Oh, yeah, yeah, scoutin' the enemy, yeah. ...Find any new ''positions''?
:—'''Rattrap''', proving that neither he nor the writers of ''Beast Wars'' are above cheap innuendos.

'''Rattrap''': Now whadda we do? 
'''Silverbolt''': Well, given our proximity, I breathe through my mouth.
:—'''Silverbolt''', picking up where Dinobot left off.

'''Cheetor''': What do you think it is, Big Bot? 
'''Optimus Primal''': Not what...who. After the Great War, a few Decepticons were granted amnesty. Most have retired. But rumor has it that one was reprogrammed and rebuilt—''as a Predacon!''
:—Enter gratuitous G1 homage.

"Oh, for bootin' up cold, the only thing worse than a stinkin' Pred, is a stinkin' Decepticon!"
:—'''Rattrap''' about Ravage not using the front door

"In the name of the Pax Cybertronia and the Predacon Alliance, you are under arrest."
:—'''Ravage''', upon apprehending Megatron

==Notes==
*In the opening shot, parts of Optimus Primal pre-transmetal fly at the screen.
*The Tripredacus Council shown at the beginning of the episode ''were'' meant to be the Tripredacus gestalt toy, and were even referred to by their individual names in the original script. However, time constraints prevented the renders for the figures from exactly matching the toys they were based on, so Hasbro asked that their individual names not be referred to, though the gestalt name was still used for the group.
*It's mentioned that the Axalon disappeared "last mega-cycle" which usually refers to a [[Units_of_time/Continuity#Beast_Wars_.26_Beast_Machines_cartoon|time period]] of around an hour. It may have meant to have been "deca-cycle".

===Technical/Animation Glitches===
*None noticed

===Continuity Errors===
*While the Maximals jump from Ravage's cruiser, the auto-guns have no effect on them whatsoever, while they've dropped them before easily.

===Transformers References===
* Ravage was one of the original cassette-robots to serve under [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] in the original cartoon and comics.

===Real-World References===
*[[Six Lasers Over Cybertron]], which Cheetor gets excited about, is a reference to [[wikipedia:Six_Flags|Six Flags]] over various states.
*Rattrap speaks of places in Cybertron where the servingbots walk around "minus their torso plates" and then does sort of a "wink wink, nudge nudge" toward Silverbolt. He's referencing strip clubs, of course.
*The three missiles Rampage fires at the ''Axalon'' to start the attack each bear a symbol: a [[wikipedia:Bohr_model|classical model of the atom]] (a nuclear warhead?), a death's head poison symbol, and a peace sign, of all things.
*Ravage arrests Megatron in the name of the "Pax Cybertronia", a parallel to the [[wikipedia:Pax_Romana|Pax Romana]].

==External Links==
*[http://www.tv.com/beast-wars/the-agenda-1/episode/45431/summary.html TV.com episode summary]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Agenda part 1}}
[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Before the Storm

2009-04-14T06:44:04Z

72.193.135.71: lol @ hooks "reference"

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

:''Japanese title:'' やつらが来る! (''Yatsura ga Kuru!'', "They Come!")

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

*Apparently, all you have to do to hack all of [[Darksyde|the Predacon ship]]'s data, is play a virtual reality video game. The Predacons' computer virtual interface is similar to what's seen in early-to-mid 90's techno-films like ''[[wikipedia:Johnny Mnemonic (film)|Johnny Mnemonic]]''.
*Blackarachnia can be seen trapping a red poison-dart frog in her webbing when Megatron communicates with her via computer.
*Before the Predacon computer wakes him up, Megatron's dinosaur head-arm is "awake" and looking around. Similarly, when observing Tarantulas's break-in, his dino hand is looking up at him, and he pets it affectionately, as if it was, well... a pet. Just before Airazor calls the Predacon base, he is brushing its teeth with a toothbrush. It's not clear what's going on here or how this works, particularly when he's in beast mode, but clearly, Megatron has a very special relationship with his right hand.

===Technical/animation errors===
* When Optimus arrives at the neutral territory to talk with Megatron, his shoulder pads are missing. Megatron's ones are also missing when he speaks to Airazor.
* While Megatron is in his closing words of the episode, he is missing his beast mode "kibble", except the head of course.

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

===Real-world references===
[[Image:Scorponok-beforethestorm.jpg|right|200px|thumb|But where's the heart banging out through his chest?]]
*On the shelf in Megatron's room (aside from the seeker head and a picture of himself), there is a Transformer sized trophy and bowling pin. Must be good at that non-sport until he traded his hand for another head.
* When accessing the transwarp cell's programming, Megatron's code "A T T override" is a shout-out to the Usenet newsgroup [[alt.toys.transformers]].
* The entire escape sequence contains a great deal of Loony Tunes-style sight gags. Scorponok's facial features contort wildly just before he collides with Terrorsaur; Blackarachnia and Tarantulas are squashed by an improbably fast rock; Terrorsaur flies into a sheet of metal, leaving a full-body impression; and Inferno comes to a dead halt in mid-air before realizing that his flight systems are disabled and that he's required to fall. A tiny poof of dust accompanies his impact on the ground far below.

==References==
<references />

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]