Dark Designs

2015-07-19T23:18:36Z

Hsrt1: funny gif image extracted from episode

{{disambig2|the Beast Wars episode|the Titan Books collection|Transformers: Dark Designs}}

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=13
|series2=BWJtoon
|ep2=16
|prev2=Victory (episode)
|next2=Double Dinobot
|image=Dark Designs Evil Rhinox.jpg
|caption=Heeeeeere's Johnny!
|title="Dark Designs"
|production company=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[November 4]], 1996
|written by=[[Ian Weir]]
|directed by=[[Owen Hurley]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity= [[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''Megatron captures and reprograms Rhinox into a Predacon. It doesn't turn out very well.'''

==Synopsis==
In some usual rocky terrain, the [[Maximal]]s are disappointed to learn that their day's expedition has been a waste of time, as the [[energon]] they were searching for is inaccessible. [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] whines, saying the situation couldn't get worse, prompting an attack from the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]. The Maximals are at a clear disadvantage, but [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] triggers a rockslide that crushes all the Predacons.

[[File:Dark Designs Rhinoxweb.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|What a catch.]]
[[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] commends Rhinox's intelligent tactics, and the Maximals begin their return to base. [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] also determines that Rhinox is a major threat to his operation and orders [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] to capture the large Maximal. When Rhinox is a distance behind the other Maximals on the road home, the spider captures Rhinox and knocks the rhino out with some [[cyber venom]].

[[File:Dark Designs Transmuter.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Shocking footage reveals Hasbro's use of test animals for its [[redeco]] machinery.]]
A while later, the Maximals noticed their large comrade has disappeared. Rattrap activates his communicator, and are able to listen through Rhinox's communicator, overhearing the events in the Predacon base where Megatron uses "the [[Transmuter (BW)|Transmuter]]" to turn Rhinox into an evil Predacon. While the Maximals are concerned, Optimus Primal plans to wait a while before the Maximals make an effort to rescue their friend, yessssssss...

In the [[Darksyde (BW)|Predacon base]], Megatron, and his new underling, Evil Rhinox, get down to plotting on how they can use Rhinox's knowledge to destroy the Maximals—but some technical problems with Megatron's computer halt the planning session. Rhinox is sent to check up on [[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]'s repair of the system (which was secretly vandalised by Rhinox). With no witnesses, Rhinox drops several tons of hardware onto Scorponok. When Scorponok's flattened body is found later by Megatron and [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]], they have no clue who committed the crime.

[[File:Dark Designs Rhinox Terrorsaur.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Mmm, I feel like ''turkey'' tonight.]]
Waspinator deposits Scorponok into a [[CR chamber]] for repair, but flying away, Waspinator is hit with a heavy piece of weight pushed by Rhinox. The impact drives Waspinator into a state of dementia. This time, Rhinox's attempt at homicide is witnessed by [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]], who meets with Rhinox in private. There, Rhinox declines Terrorsaur's offer of partnership and insists that Terrorsaur stay silent. Later, Megatron discovers that Tarantulas and Blackarachnia have been poisoned. Still oblivious, a furious Megatron shouts out his confusion.

Outside of the Predacon base, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] figures out Optimus Primal's plan: leave Rhinox as he is, so he'll run roughshod over the Predacons. But knowing that Megatron will eventually wise up, the Maximals get ready to mount a rescue. At the same time, Scorponok has been repaired, and he tells Megatron what happened to him. Megatron concludes that his little experiment has gone wrong, and decides to end it—and Rhinox as well.

[[File:Dark Designs Megatron.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|So purple is a primary color to Predacons, right?]]
Megatron confronts Rhinox, and assigns Scorponok and Terrorsaur to disarm the new recruit. By mentioning Terrorsaur's plotting, Rhinox is able to get the two Predacon goons to fight each other instead of himself, leaving them as easy pickings. With those two taken care of, he opens fire on Megatron, causing the Predacon to fall off his hover platform.

Rhinox taunts Megatron with a speech about who's the boss now, but Rhinox has stepped into the range of the Transmuter. Megatron reactivates the machine, converting Rhinox back to his regular good self. The Maximals blast their way into the base. Optimus Primal battles with Megatron, slicing off one of the Predacon leader's arms. A stray shot from the still demented Waspinator hits the Transmuter, and the Maximals grab Rhinox and evacuate while the Predacons take cover to avoid being harmed by the exploding machine.

Afterward, the Maximals relax. Rhinox admits that the Predacons have some serious personality problems, and the Maximals have a big laugh. Except for [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]].

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal]]s|c1=
*[[Optimus Primal/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] (1)
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (2)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (3)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
*[[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] (5)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]] (7)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (8)
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] (9)
*[[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] (10)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (11)
}}

==Quotes==
[[File:Rhinox_bad_aim.gif|thumb|300px|right]]
"There's more than one way to skin a cat... so to speak."
:—'''Rhinox''', realizing that Cheetor is standing right there.

"Close the file on Optimus Primal... and ''delete!''"
:—'''Megatron''' is apparently referencing another [[Mainframe Entertainment|Mainframe]] [[wikipedia:ReBoot|series]].

"Better dead than Pred." 
"Some of us have ''survived'' the experience, furball." 
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Dinobot''' discuss the benefits of being a Predacon.

"Oh, I'm being real careful. See, I'm on ''this'' side, and it's all gonna fall ''that way''."
:—'''Rhinox''', shortly before dropping a pile of crates on Scorponok.

"Idiot! What have you done?!" 
"Idiot does not respond! Idiot is comatose!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Waspinator''' inspect Rhinox's handiwork.

"He's a smirker! Mangle!"
:—'''Scorponok''' re: Terrorsaur

"Well, what do you know? I win. Reprogramming me was the worst mistake you ever made cause now that I'm a Predacon, I'm just a little too crafty for you." 
"Yes, I see this now." 
"It's called irony, sport. I take over, and you head straight for the recycling bin. ''Yessss''." 
"So it would seem. And even now, Rhinox, you're teaching me a valuable lesson." 
"Yeah? What's that?" 
"Sometimes, Predacons ''gloat'' too much!"
:—'''Rhinox''' and '''Megatron'''

"Like you're three gigabytes of attitude on a two-gig hard drive. No ''wonder'' they've got personality problems!"
:—'''Rhinox''' on being a Predacon

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* When we see the Maximals conversing near the Predacon base for the second time, Dinobot looks like as if he's standing in the lava flow. This may be because of the camera angle. If so, it means that Dinobot's been animated to stand in mid-air a few inches above the ground, thus the strange effect. Rattrap's lower arms are also noticeably twisted around in these scenes.
* While Terrorsaur watches Waspinator bouncing around, the top part of his neck is jutting through his head.
* When Terrorsaur is about to attack Rhinox, he's missing his ''Pteranodon'' feet, and so his legs end in stubs.
* As Optimus swings his blade around, crying "Nooo!", the blade slices clean through his own neck. ''Ouch.''
* When Megatron dives to the floor to launch Optimus, his [[beast mode]] head can be seen lying on the ground, before it is severed.
* After he's cut off Megatron's beast head, Optimus' left leg twists around for a frame before popping back into shape.

===Continuity errors===
* Near the end of the episode, Evil Rhinox shoots Megatron's kneecaps, making it very hard for him to stand up. Yet Megatron has little trouble standing or moving around in the big fight with the Maximals that happens soon afterward.

===Transformers references===
*When [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] is driven temporarily insane, he babbles that his name is [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]], an Insecticon from the pre-[[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 continuity family|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. Stuck like this for the rest of the episode, he proceeds to stutter and repeat words in a semi-accurate reference to the distinctive speech pattern that Shrapnel had in the G1 cartoon, which saw him repeat the last word of his sentences, sentences. Waspinator also delivers the classic TF slogan "More than meets the eye."
*Oddly, Waspinator's Shrapnel impression is ''much'' more reminiscent of [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]'s speech pattern in the episode "[[City of Steel (episode)|City of Steel]]", widely assumed to be his normal speech pattern by fans despite actually being confined to that episode. Mix-Mix-Mixmaster repeated the first syllable of a sentence several times, while Shrapnel repeats the last word of a sentence once, once.
*The concept of Rhinox being reprogrammed by Megatron only to attempt to overthrow him later is revisited in the sequel series, ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
*Both Optimus and Rhinox say "Yeeessssss..." in a very similar manner to Megatron. Imitation ''is'' the sincerest form of flattery.

===Real-world references===
*Cheetor's line: "Better dead than Pred." is a paraphrase of the old 1950's anti-Communism slogan "Better dead than Red".
*Immediately following saying that he is Shrapnel, Waspinator claims that he is "Wonko! Wonko the Sane!" and salutes the audience before punching himself in the head. In addition to being a fictional character created by the sci-fi comedy author [[wikipedia:Douglas Adams|Douglas Adams]], it is a tribute to transfan [[Ben Yee]], whose online username was Wonko the Sane at the time.
*The scene where Optimus Primal proudly brandishes his swords before an unimpressed Megatron lazily shoots him down is reminiscent of the famous duel between between [[Indiana Jones]] and the Cairo swordsman in ''[[wikipedia:Raiders of the Lost Ark|Raiders of the Lost Ark]]''. Dinobot pushing Scorponok into his rotor blade weapon echoes the demise of the German engineer later in the movie.
*While Waspinator is insane (well, more insane than usual), he briefly appears to be touching Blackarachnia's right chestplate.

===Trivia===
[[File:RhinoxEvilandGood.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Grapety purple edition not sold in stores. Or anywhere else, for that matter.]]
*Oddly enough, there are [[To sell toys|no purple and silver redecos of Rhinox.]]
* Rhinox gains evil, red eyes in beast mode upon being transformed into a Predacon. His robot form already has those, however, so to underscore his evilness in that form, his eyes are circled with silver rings that connect to the ridge over his forehead. The effect is similar to "dark circles" under a [[human]]'s eyes.
* Megatron only ever refers to Rhinox by name while he's a Predacon. Before and after his reprogramming, Megatron refers to Rhinox either as 'Rhinoceros' or 'Maximal'.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Sombres Dessins'''" ("Dark Drawings")

:*''Title:'' "'''Sombre Modèle'''" (Canada, "Dark Model")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Strani progetti'''" ("Strange Designs")

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Rhinox Ōabare!'''" (ライノックス大暴れ!, "Rhinox Rampages!")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 14|14 January]] [[1998]]
::*As the Maximals limp away from the opening battle, during the shot that follows Rhinox from behind (focusing largely on his rump), Rhinox thinks to himself, "I have a sexy butt". Not making this up, we swear.
::*When Waspinator is injured by Rhinox and starts going bonkers, he does not take on the identity of [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]]. Instead, he identifies himself as "Ultramask the Third" (ウルトラマスク三世). Blackarachnia explains that Waspinator is mixing up his "TV heroes" (likely [[Wikipedia:Ultraman|Ultraman]], [[Wikipedia:Tiger Mask|Tiger Mask]] and [[Wikipedia:Lupin III|Lupin the Third]]).
:::Of course, to accommodate the pop culture gag, that means the translation completely eliminated Blackarachnia's speech about Decepticon ancestors and all the world-building it provided.
::*As Scorponok recounts his accident to Megatron, he whimpers and sniffles like a rueful child confessing to a parent. Scorponok was previously shown to be a blubbering crybaby in "[[Double Jeopardy]]".
::*After Rhinox makes his joke about Predacons and all the Maximals roll over with laughter, instead of just snarling in anger, Dinobot shouts, "They're all idiots!"

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Projetos Sombrios'''" ("Dark Projects")

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Oscuros Designios'''" (America, "Dark Designs")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Beasties Escape ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]]) 
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — L'Évasion (Alliance Video) — French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — The Destrons Make Drama ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' / ''Robots-Bêtes'' Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 2 ([[Universal]])
;[[Wikipedia:LaserDisc|LaserDisc]]
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Maximal Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — English and Japanese audio.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]]) 
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 2 — The Saga Continues! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio. 
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio. 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

File:Rhinox bad aim.gif

2015-07-19T23:12:23Z

Hsrt1: Rhinox fires against praedacons in Beast Wars S01E13, Dark Designs.

Rhinox fires against praedacons in Beast Wars S01E13, [[Dark Designs]].

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Dark Designs

File:Rhinox bad aim.gif