Editing Spider's Game

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

==Synopsis==
[[File:Spider's Game Tarantulas console.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|It was only after Tarantulas had finished hooking up his TVs that he remembered cable wouldn't be invented for a few epochs.]]
As another [[stasis pod]] leaves orbit and completes planetfall, [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] sends out a magnetic pulse that disrupts the sensors at both the [[Darksyde (BW)|Predacon]] and [[Axalon (BW)|Maximal bases]]. The pulse ensures that Tarantulas will be the first to arrive at the pod's landing site, within [[Grid Halex]], and that he will be able to manipulate the [[protoform]] inside. [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] discovers what Tarantulas is up to and insists on accompanying him to the pod's landing site.

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

[[File:Spider's Game Inferno pod.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|But the box said there were supposed to be ten live ants.]]
Arriving at the pod, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia are too late to hand pick an arachnid form for the protoform; however, Tarantulas is able to do some reprogramming and turn the protoform into a [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]. The new Predacon, [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], emerges from the pod only to attack the other two Predacons, then begins marching about the stasis pod. Tarantulas deduces that Inferno's [[beast mode]] is dominating his logic circuits and that he thinks he really is a fire ant protecting his colony, which his mind concludes is the stasis pod. Blackarachnia tries to fire on Inferno, but Tarantulas stops her, saying he wants no damage to the pod.

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

[[File:Spider's Game Inferno Tigatron.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Whoops, sorry, I didn't see you there.]]
Nearing his [[Tarantulas's lair|lab]], Tarantulas is caught by Inferno who demands the return of the "colony". Tarantulas ensnares Inferno in a web and is preparing to finish him off when Scorponok arrives and informs Tarantulas that [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] wants the pod. Before that can happen however, Tigatron arrives and destroys the pod. His victory quickly turns sour as he is attacked by both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia, who inflict heavy damage on him. [[Megatron (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Megatron]] arrives on the scene shortly, and even though both of the spiders flee, Tigatron is still in trouble. Inferno breaks free of Tarantulas's web, enraged at the destruction of the colony. Impressed with new guy's violent attitude, Megatron directs Inferno's fury on Tigatron. The ant is prepares to destroy the tiger, but [[Optimus Primal (BW)/Beast Wars cartoon continuity|Optimus Primal]] and Airazor arrive and blow Inferno into scrap.

[[File:Spider's Game Scorponok Inferno.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Who buried the loyalists?]]
Megatron gathers up the parts of Inferno and has him restored, while Optimus and Airazor take Tigatron back to the Maximal base for repairs. Back at his lab, however, Tarantulas is lamenting the loss of the pod, revealing to Blackarachnia his beliefs that [[Earth|the planet]] they're on [[Planet Buster|is doomed]]. From this, the black widow correctly surmises that Tarantulas was going to convert the pod into an escape shuttle, but is unable to wrench any more information about his motives for doing so out of him.
{{--}}

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

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

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


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


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


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


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


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

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*As Blackarachnia talks while Tarantulas works away at the protoform, her claws at one point clip through her hip, and then through Tarantulas' arm [[kibble]].
*When Waspinator flies after Tigatron, he clips through the screen.
*After smashing into the boulder, Tigatron's head briefly clips into it.
*Inferno's beast form seems to be way too large for the stasis pod he crawls out of...
*Inferno's legs are also colored quite randomly. This means that when he first transforms to [[robot mode]], his right leg suddenly goes from being dark red to a bright hue.
*Just before Inferno transforms for the first time, one of his ant legs in the pod jerks back and forth.
*When Inferno salutes after firing at the spiders, his hand clips into his head and his "horns".
*When Blackarachnia hides behind a tree, her spider legs clip into its trunk.
*Then, as she transforms, Tarantulas' forearms are on backwards. And when ''he'' transforms, his robot mode legs miraculously disappear, only to flip down from his body and retract into it again.
*Right after this, as Inferno's walking up and down to guard his pod, his back kibble are doing their own independent movements.
*As Blackarachnia throws Tarantulas off herself, he briefly passes into her back.
*The spinning blades on Inferno's abdomen have a tendency to clip through his legs as he flies or hovers.
*When Tarantulas snickers to himself after Blackarachnia goes to talk to Inferno, his spider "hands" clip into the ground.
*When Inferno introduces himself to Airazor, his hand passes into his chest.
*The sound effect for Inferno's spinning blades can still be heard when he lands in front of Blackarachnia, but they aren't moving.
*As Airazor struggles to get up, the fingers on her right hand twist outwards two times.
*As Airazor caresses her right arm when talking to Tigatron, her left hand keeps popping on and off its joint. Then, as Tigatron leaves, her right arm clips into her thigh.
*When Tarantulas transforms after Inferno finds him, the markings on his spider abdomen change as it becomes his back.
*Before Tarantulas shoots his web at Inferno, the latter is standing in front of an open plain, but when he's hit, the rock outcropping that was to his side appears behind him.
*Scorponok is standing on the ground when he finds Tarantulas, but when Tigatron's blasts knocks him back, he's suddenly on a boulder.
*When Inferno breaks out of the web Tarantulas traps him in and fires his jets, his spinning abdomen is seen slashing through the back of his legs. (for a brief second anyway)
*While he flies higher up, Inferno tilts his head back so much that the back of it clips completely into his torso.
*Both Megatron and Scorponok are missing from view when Primal's shot flies at and hits Inferno.
*As Primal's missile flies toward Megatron, a strange flickering line appears on the ground on the right side of the screen.
*After getting blasted by Primal, Megatron has odd "prongs" sticking out of the back of his head for a shot.
*The damage on Megatron's torso disappears as he fires at the retreating Maximals, only to reappear afterwards.
*Tarantulas' maniacal laughter at the end is accentuated by a rare dramatic shadow that sadly makes it look like he's hovering in the air.

===Continuity errors===
*While other stasis pods are shown with hatch windows in outer space, Inferno's stasis pod does not have a window when viewed from the inside.
*Despite what the stasis pod says during Tarantulas's reprogramming of it, it had already started and finished scanning for DNA before the spiders even arrived.
*While Airazor is standing up from her injury, the stasis pod can be seen in the background, even though Tarantulas has already taken it away.
*When Tigatron is injured near the end of the episode, his beast mode's face (which serves as his robot mode's chestplate) appears to be bleeding (and has a black eye). Unless mech fluid happens to be red, this either contradicts what Cheetor said to Tarantulas in an [[The Web|earlier episode]] when he said "I don't ''have'' real blood... only [[mech fluid]].", or this lends credence to the theory that beast modes are wholly organic.
*It's snowing rather heavily near the end of the episode. Considering that the series most likely takes place in prehistoric Africa, this is... odd, to say the least. Perhaps it has something to do with the energon deposits?

===Continuity notes===
*Following on from the events of the [[The Trigger, Part 2|previous episode]], Tarantulas has correctly realized that the planet's strange geography is the result of alien manipulation, and is planning to flee the planet before they show up.
*Tarantulas hopes to make another of "our kind", referring to the role he played in Blackarachnia's own creation back in "[[Double Jeopardy]]".
*Prior to this point, Predacons had been known to exclaim "By the Inferno". With the introduction of a character using that name, the phrase is quietly dropped to avoid confusion and will be replaced in a couple of episodes with "By the [[Pit]]".
*Gadgets and powers:
** Airazor can perform a "sonar scan" while in beast mode to detect faraway targets.
** We get to see the installation of a Predacon [[shell program]] onto a Maximal protoform, which involves physically replacing a chip within the pod's machinery.
** We also get to see Tarantulas pooping out some webbing, which he uses to pull the Stasis Pod along. It... doesn't sound pleasant.

===Trivia===
*Remarkably, this is the first episode where Tarantulas and Blackarachnia interact since her debut.
*While Megatron is complaining that repairing the computer is Tarantulas's job, you can see the words "eat me" on the screen in the Predacon variant of [[Cybertronix]].
*This is the only episode of the series in which [[Scott McNeil]] voices just one character (specifically, Waspinator). The other fifty-one episodes saw him voicing two to four characters.
*Inferno's stasis pod is the only pod in the entire series to make a controlled descent and scan a [[beast mode]] without incident. Of course, it doesn't stop him from being bonkers, but hey.
*It can be speculated that Inferno's faulty programming can be attributed to his pod already selecting his beast mode before Tarantulas began the reprogramming sequence. It is possible that without the Maximal or Predacon programming chips in place, the pod began to program him with the basic instincts of an ant.
*This is the first episode of the series to not feature [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]], [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], or [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]].
*After Tigatron hits his head, there's a cartoony, tweeting-bird sound.
*Just before Inferno's pod lands, one ant in the screen's lower left corner is doing rather questionable things to its partner. Hopefully that particular behavior wasn't picked up by Inferno's programming.
*A toilet flushing can be heard right before Optimus Primal asks Rhinox why the power is out. Optimus states that he was running a "strategic simulation."

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Inferno'''"


:*''Title:'' "'''Inferno'''" (Canada)


'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Intrighi'''" ("Intrigue")


'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Jigoku no Ari Senshi Inferno'''" (地獄のアリ戦士インフェルノ, "The Ant Warrior from Hell, Inferno")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 28|28 January]] [[1998]]
::* Inferno is dubbed fairly faithfully to his English language version, with the addition of incessantly repeating words and phrases to express his mania.  Like all other characters, Inferno was given a unique verbal tic.  In his case, he ends sentences with the phrase ''de arimasu'', an outdated predecessor to the more modern ''desu'' used only in highly formal situations (for Inferno, it illustrates his reverence for "the colony").  "Ari" also happens to be Japanese for "ant", making it a pun.  Like all characters, he shouts a phrase whenever he fires his weapon.  In his case, it's ''shageki'' (射撃, "Fire!").


'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Jogo das Aranhas'''" ("The Game of Spiders")


'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Juego de Arácnidos'''" ("Spiders' Game")


'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Zhīzhū de Yóuxì '''" (蜘蛛的游戏, "Spiders' Game")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' — Warning from Space ([[Alliance Atlantis|Alliance Video]])<br>
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Robots-Bêtes'' — Alert Dans L'Espace (Alliance Video) — French audio only.<br>
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers'' — There are 2 Dinobots? ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars'' / ''Robots-Bêtes'' Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2001 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Beginning: Vol. 3 ([[Universal]])
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Predacon 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.<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete First Season ([[Rhino Entertainment|Rhinomation]])<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Shout! Factory]])<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)<br>
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — Classic Episodes: Volume 3 — The Battle Rages On! ([[Alliance Atlantis]]) — English and French audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of Canada.png|20px|Canada]] 2005 — ''Beast Wars'' — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — ''Beast Wars: Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]])<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Beast Wars'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)


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