Tarantulas (BW)

The name or term "Tarantulas" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Tarantulas (disambiguation).

This article is a featured article, and considered to be one of the most informative on this wiki.

Tarantulas is a Predacon from the Beast Wars portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.

"And fries! Lots of FRIES!"

Tarantulas is the scheming mad scientist of the Predacon crew. He's the type of mad scientist who experiments on living beings, cackling in his trademarked laugh all the while, and then if things go wrong, happily eats what's left as his midday snack. The eating is what he was really looking forward to, anyway. It's this focused perversity that turns off even his fellow Predacons. Tarantulas's emotional detachment from their war also rubs his peers the wrong way. Fighting Maximals and following orders is just a required chore; his real passion is the unmentionable projects stashed in his "secret" lair.

Nominally, Tarantulas was one of the Predacons to join Megatron during his theft of the Golden Disk and the search for Earth. In addition to being an utterly psychotic, sadistic sociopath, he has a record for treachery rivaled by few other Transformers. He is actually an agent of the Tripredacus Council, which is trying to coax the Beast Wars toward an unspecified goal, where neither Autobot or Decepticon won the Great War. Who knows what other dark secrets lie in his past.

If anything upsets Tarantulas, other than losing a potential meal, it's those pompous aliens who call themselves the Vok. He harbors a hatred for them strong enough to make him work to eliminate them by any means.

In some universes he can combine with the Tripredacus Council and Ravage to form Predacus.

Sometimes he is previously known as Mesothulas and sometimes his name is spelled as Tarantulus.

“	You're insane.	”
—Tigerhawk

“	So they saa-aay! Wbrrwbrrbbppth!	”
—Tarantulas, "Other Victories"

Fiction

Toy bios

Why Megatron, I do believe you're trying to seduce m— oh, hey, Razorbeast.

Tarantulas was a sneaky, mysterious ninja feared across the galaxy. A master of the martial arts, he was suspected in the disappearances of many Earthlings, and rumors swirled of giant cocoons where he stored his prey. Tarantulas bio

Tarantulas was guarding the Predacons' jungle-based genetics lab along with Megatron and Waspinator. When the Maximals discovered them, he engaged Razorbeast in combat briefly before Megatron called retreat and destroyed the lab. Optimus Primal vs Megatron!

After the quantum surge, Tarantulas became a Transmetal, with the accompanying vehicle mode to match. With his new set of wheels, Tarantulas didn't have to rely on stealth and deceit as much, instead speeding head-first into battle and using his new mechanical beast mode to overpower his enemies. Transmetal Tarantulas bio

Cartoon continuity

Beast Wars cartoon

Voice actor: Alec Willows (English), Scott McNeil (English, portions of "Other Voices, Part 2" only), Yūichi Nagashima (Japanese), Hervé Joly (French), Lutz Harder (German), Riccardo Peroni (Italian), Junseok Song (Korean), Humberto Vélez (Latin American Spanish), Fábio Vilalonga (Portuguese)

Lieutenant Tarantulas of the Predacon Secret Police was one of Megatron's original crew, a mole inside his organization feeding information back to the Tripredacus Council without his knowledge. The Agenda (Part 2) More than that, he was a direct agent of the Council and shared their origins, with an overall agenda to alter the timeline by going back to prehistoric Earth and completely destroying the Ark and the Transformers within. Other Victories The plan went tits up though, as Megatron's Darksyde warship ended up crashing on an unidentified planet and contact with Cybertron was lost.Beast Wars (Part 1) Tarantulas carried on as normal despite this setback. The Agenda (Part 2)

Not arachnophobic, eh? I can fix that.

As Megatron's technical leader, he manned the scanners to appropriate beast forms based on the most powerful local creatures, choosing the form of an over-sized spider for himself. He cheerfully took part in the first battle of the Beast Wars, only to succumb to energon buildup while the Maximals were escaping. Beast Wars (Part 1) The Predacons uncovered a stash of energon crystals atop a mountain, but were forced to fight in their beast modes. Tarantulas and Rattrap fought in this manner until Megatron triggered a chain reaction which caused the energon to explode. Beast Wars (Part 2)

Sure, he's fast on the draw, but he ALWAYS shoots himself in the foot.

It wasn't long before Tarantulas had set up his own underground lair to keep his experiments away from Megatron's prying eyes. After helping Scorponok recover a mega-cannon, Tarantulas managed to capture Cheetor, trapping the young Maximal in a web in his lair with the intent of feeding later. Rattrap mounted a rescue, during which the cavern caved in on Tarantulas The Web Tarantulas was blasted by Rattrap during the battle at the Standing Stones, and later accompanied Megatron and Terrorsaur to attack the Axalon after it appeared that Optimus Primal had perished. After the Maximals got the ship's shields back up, he suggested to Megatron that they return to the Standing Stones. Unfortunately once there, the Maximals managed to retrieve Primal from the alien probe at the site, and Tarantulas was one of the first victims of the restored Maximal commander. Chain of Command

Terrorsaur, his power boosted, defeated Megatron in combat before leaving Tarantulas in charge of the other Predacons. Tarantulas promptly tailed Terrorsaur to find out what his new power source was, and discovered it was a flying mountain topped with a cache of super energon. Before he could do anything with the knowledge, he encountered Rattrap, who'd come to destroy the mountain. Their fight ended with Tarantulas falling from the side of the mountain. Power Surge He subsequently took part in an attack on the Maximal base after a stasis pod crashed. While Megatron kept Dinobot distracted, Tarantulas and Scorponok ambushed the Maximal from behind. Unfortunately for them, Dinobot had time to activate the base defenses, and Tarantulas was blasted into the distance by the auto-guns. Fallen Comrades

When the Predacons finally captured a stasis pod, Tarantulas made sure that the protoform was given a spider beast mode, creating Blackarachnia. Megatron suspected he had ulterior motives, but was nonetheless pleased by the new soldier. Tarantulas seemed happy to follow Terrorsaur when the Predacon mounted another takeover attempt with the aid of Rattrap, but spent most of his time skulking around the Darksyde in search of rats to eat. He spotted Rattrap sneaking around, but the Maximal blasted him before he could do anything. He subsequently limped back to the others to find that Megatron had reasserted his leadership. Double Jeopardy After one of Scorponok's viruses turned Primal into a berserker, the Maximal leader broke into the Predacon base and, completely ignoring Tarantulas's attempts to stop him, pinned the spider to a wall using Tarantulas's own weapon. Gorilla Warfare

"Behold my latest invention... THE DISCO BALL VERSION 2.0!"

One of Tarantulas's many inventions, the transformation lock lens, was instrumental in preventing the Maximals from contacting a temporal probe doing a flyby of the planet. He used it to ensnare Tigatron and Cheetor, then wreaked havoc with the Maximals' attempts to build a communications array, before he was finally defeated by Primal. Although his new toy was destroyed by the recovered Cheetor and Tigatron, the damage was already done, and the probe flew by uncontacted. The Probe After the Predacons discovered a Maximal spy camera in their base, they faked a mutiny and hid in a crevice. Tarantulas spent his nights being hugged like a stuffed toy by Waspinator, and his days eating stray rats. While the Maximals repaired the Axalon, the Predacons were discovered by Dinobot, and gave chase. Though they attacked the Maximal ship in an attempt to capture it, the affair ended with the Axalon crashing back to the ground. Victory After a Maximal victory, largely due to the efforts of Rhinox, Tarantulas captured the rhino in a web on Megatron's orders, so that he could be converted into a Predacon by the Transmuter. In return, the new Predacon poisoned him and Blackarachnia. Dark Designs

Ever the engineer, Tarantulas invents the low-tech equivalent of a tow truck.

Tarantulas detected another stasis pod landing in Grid Scavos, but Megatron refused to let him go and assist in the recovery, much to his disgust. The Spark The next time a stasis pod crashed, Tarantulas was more prepared. From his lair, he used a magna pulse to disable both the Darksyde and Axalon to allow him to investigate without interference. Unfortunately for him, Blackarachnia had found his lair, and insisted on coming along to help. At the pod, Tarantulas reprogrammed the new arrival into a Predacon, but was disappointed that a beast mode had already been chosen, and Inferno would not be another spider. In the confusion that followed, he made off with the real prize — the stasis pod itself. Unfortunately for him, Tigatron destroyed the pod before he could get very far, and he was forced to retreat when Megatron arrived. Later, in his lair, he inadvertently told Blackarachnia that the planet was doomed, and she realized he was intending to build an escape ship, however he threw her out before she could work out any more of his plans. Spider's Game

Tarantulas took part in a diversionary attack while Waspinator and Terrorsaur stole the Maximals' rectifier coil. After the Maximals went feral, the Predacons mounted a hunting expedition, though Tarantulas was stuck supporting the back end of Megatron's chair. Call of the Wild On another occasion, Tarantulas detected what appeared to be walking energon. Megatron realized that an earlier battle had left four of the Maximals contaminated and blinded, and ordered Tarantulas to send Terrorsaur to investigate. Dark Voyage After Waspinator was possessed by the ghost of Starscream, Tarantulas took part in the attack on the Axalon, and pointed out once they'd conquered it that their own base was now undefended. Megatron's answer was to leave Starscream in charge of the Axalon, a decision which would come back to bite him later. Possession

"See? I told you I was taller than Tarantulas."

During an attack on the Maximal base, Tarantulas was able to infect Rhinox with an energon discharge virus, though he himself was injured by Dinobot during the retreat. He was tracked by Dinobot and Rattrap, but eventually turned the tables by getting the drop on them, only to be flattened by a huge boulder. After recovering, he took advantage of their incessant arguing by trying to get the drop on them again, only to be knocked unconscious by a double punch. Finally, Dinobot attempted to use Tarantulas's body as a hostage, only for Megatron to blast it aside. Perhaps his only consolation was that he avoided the indignity of the fate that befell the rest of the Predacons. The Low Road

With the return of the aliens a certainty, Tarantulas stole a transwarp cell from the Darksyde, slagging Waspinator in the process. Megatron detected the theft and used Blackarachnia as a distraction while he remotely inserted his own programming into the cell. The two spiders later took part in an attempt to prevent Tigatron from escaping the Predacon base, and were squished by a boulder Dinobot had set up. They were relatively uninjured and able to haul their damaged comrades back to the ship. Before the Storm The two spiders teamed up again, infiltrating the Maximal base and disabling Rhinox and Dinobot while the other Maximals were busy with the latest alien construct to appear. They became aware that the planet's second moon had just been revealed as an artificial, alien doomsday weapon in disguise, with Tarantulas remarking it was "the beginning of the end" for the planet. Other Voices, Part 1 In the cargo hold, Tarantulas used the transwarp cell and a stasis pod to construct a ship, but was interrupted by Inferno, who torched the spider. Fortunately, Blackarachnia entered Tarantulas's mind to obtain the information to complete the escape ship, and he was able to set up a permanent neural link between the two Predacons. Other Voices, Part 2

A new look, and he didn't even have to sell out to Tony Stark for it!

When the quantum surge caused by the "second moon's" destruction knocked out all of the Transformers on the planet, Tarantulas's body was upgraded to a Transmetal form, and he forced Blackarachnia to drag it from the Maximal base, even getting her to ignore Megatron's command to stay and fight the Maximals. Aftermath With Blackarachnia's hard work and some serious-looking electrical arc generators, Tarantulas was restored to life. Megatron soon called him to the battlefield, so he left Blackarachnia to root around in their leader's computer files: by this point, the loss of the "moon" and the damages to the planet had revealed it to be prehistoric Earth all along... Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)

Using his new cycle mode, Tarantulas quickly reached the Maximals' position. During the fight, he kept in contact with her, until a shot by Dinobot put him temporarily out of commission. After he came around, Blackarachnia reported that she'd failed to get the data he needed. The Predacons were soon routed by the resurrection of Optimus Primal, and forced to return to base. There, Megatron and Tarantulas questioned Blackarachnia, only to be told the vital data had been lost. Neither of them believed her, but didn't call her out. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)

With his old lair destroyed by the Planet Buster, Tarantulas was fortuitous in that Megatron assigned him with Blackarachnia and Quickstrike to check out a cave filled with energon. He quickly surmised that it would make an excellent new lair, and attempted to get his two comrades interested in going it alone. Blackarachnia was more interested in getting rid of the neural link the two of them shared, and cracked an energon crystal, sending feedback through the link, to force him to sever it. By a fortunate coincidence, the three Predacons were soon attacked by Silverbolt and Rattrap, and during the battle Tarantulas was able to convincingly fake the destruction of the cave, allowing him to utilize it as his own lair. Tangled Web When Dinobot defected to the Predacon side, Tarantulas offered to verify his programming, but Megatron decided it wouldn't be a very good idea to let Tarantulas into Dinobot's processor. Maximal, No More

Downside: everything tastes like feet now.

Back in his lair, Tarantulas's instruments detected the aliens again, and he rushed off to the site. He arrived shortly after Tigatron and Airazor had been abducted, and zapped Cheetor, but was forced to retreat when more Maximals arrived. He visited Megatron, claiming to no longer be under the tyrant's command, but willing to help. The Predacons returned to the alien site to set up equipment, during which Blackarachnia revealed that she had learned through the broken neural link that Tarantulas hated the aliens. Other Visits (Part 1) Megatron, Quickstrike, and Tarantulas recovered quickly from the energy wave put out by the new alien construct, and after Tarantulas's refractive web was activated, the trio ventured inside. Once Megatron had control of the construct, he terminated his alliance with Tarantulas, dropping the Predacon from a great height. Infuriated, Tarantulas helped the Maximals attack the construct, infiltrating it along with Rattrap, and sabotaging the transwarp cells which Megatron installed, causing the ship to explode. Other Visits (Part 2)

Though a bug planted on Megatron's chair, Tarantulas learned that Blackarachnia had been sent to recover a new protoform, and took the opportunity to threaten her to try and extract the information he suspected she'd gained from Megatron's computers. Unfortunately for him, Silverbolt stepped in and defended Blackarachnia, shortly before an energon explosion separated everyone. Though Tarantulas found the stasis pod, its contents found him, and his body parts were spread liberally over a wide area. Bad Spark Dinobot later tracked down Tarantulas in an attempt to find out what Megatron's latest scheme was. Though Tarantulas didn't know, Dinobot forced him to act as transport, and they soon found Megatron preparing to torch a valley fill of Protohumans. Tarantulas took advantage of Dinobot's distraction to shoot the Maximal, only for Dinobot to drop a boulder on him. Code of Hero

Tarantulas presses the History Eraser Button.

Alerted by the transwarp wavefront, the Tripredacus Council sent covert agent Ravage to capture Megatron. The former Decepticon led the Maximals to apprehend Megatron, and Tarantulas assisted by taking down the Darksyde's defense system. The Agenda (Part 1) Megatron, much to his indignation, was later informed by Ravage that the spider was a lieutenant in the Predacon Secret Police; Tarantulas joined in the diss by laughing over a comm-screen at his former boss. Tarantulas was able to instruct the Maximals in the location of a stash of energon crystals that Megatron had hidden. The Agenda (Part 2) When Ravage was persuaded to change sides by the Predacon leader, Tarantulas appeared to come too, manning the transwarp cruiser's weapons systems for an attack on the Axalon. Alas, Rattrap chewed his way into the ship and tossed a couple of bombs at Tarantulas, which stuck to his hands before exploding. The Agenda (Part III)

Tarantulas survived, though, and was quickly put back together by his arachnoids. He was repaired in time to witness the destruction of the Axalon. Optimal Situation He was soon seen back at the Predacon base, working under Megatron's command once again with no mention of his former secession. Cutting Edge However, around this time he was also working on another scheme: restoring the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon fleet! At some point, he'd found it lying at the bottom of the ocean, and was ensuring it would not only fly again but had a Predacon control console and a transwarp cell that could take it back to Cybertron... Nemesis Part 1

He battled the Maximals alongside Megatron's cyber raptors, taking the opportunity to try out his new Transmetal cyber venom to great success, though he was stomped on by a cyber raptor once the Maximals worked out how to destroy their controls. Cutting Edge He assisted in the construction of Megatron's disruptor cannon, suggesting that they abduct an early human to complete the device when the other Predacons were unable to get too close to it due to the unstable power source. While the cannon was completed by Una, she managed to use her knowledge of levers to tip a piece of heavy equipment on him. Though he survived that, Una had taken the cannon's stablizer crystal, and it exploded in the Predacons' faces when they tried to use it. Go with the Flow

When the Maximals attempted to remove Blackarachnia's shell program, he revealed to Megatron that he had included "certain safeguards" that guaranteed she would not survive, and joined the other Predacons in an attack on the Maximals that was meant to disrupt the attempted shell removal. He fired the missile which knocked the Maximals' power off-line at a crucial instant, seemingly bringing an end to his "treacherous creation". Enraged by the death of his beloved, Silverbolt attempted to kill the scientist, but was thwarted by Rampage, who was later defeated by a revived—and Transmetalized—Blackarachnia. Crossing the Rubicon

Tarantulas participated in the Predacons' next attempt to retake the Ark, utilising his latest invention to allow Quickstrike to take control of Optimus Primal... and that was when he made his move, at last. He manipulated Quickstrike into throwing Megatron into the nearby lava while he himself set the Ark's engines to overload. Megatron survived his lava-dunking, gaining a new body in the process. However, he had lost his patience. While he'd tolerated Tarantulas's treachery, he could not tolerate incompetence. Tarantulas survived his punishment and fled back to his lair. Master Blaster This appears to have not been what Quickstrike thought he was going to do, and neither he nor Megatron had any idea why he'd planned to destroy the whole Ark.

"Save me, X-Men!"

Tarantulas was left ranting in his lair about how the Tripredacus Council's plans were wrecked, while his systems monitored the Nemesis (which was finished by this point). However, his rant and Nemesis plans were interrupted when the aliens—now revealed to be called the Vok—sent their emissary Tigerhawk arrived on Earth. Tarantulas let him take out the Predacons, then used his arachnoids 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, and then have him obliterate the Ark: he cheerfully told the emissary that as he nor the Council had Autobot or Decepticon origins, they'd survive the resulting timestorm, turn Cybertron into a universe-conquering force, and one day even conquer the Vok themselves!

The scheme backfired, however, as his energy beam device expelled two actual Vok out of Tigerhawk. The formless spectres attempted to take over Tarantulas' body. Panicking, he made a religious sign to ward them off and then opened fire on them—a futile gesture that merely served to spin the energy device around 'til its rays were blasting him and his lab equipment. Overloaded by the beams, Tarantulas exploded, leaving nothing behind but his boots. The remainder of his equipment detonated seconds later, blowing the lair to rubble. Cheetor managed to rescue the inert Tigerhawk, and Tarantulas was presumed destroyed. Other Victories

Megatron knew that Tarantulas must have had some schemes on the go that the Predacons could pick up and use, and had his men search the ruins of the spider's lair. During this, he offhandedly referred to him as "Unicron's Spawn". He ended up discovering and using the working Nemesis. Nemesis Part 1

Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

Yokohama Decepticon Secret Base

As part of a plot to destroy the 2014 Transformers Expo in Yokohama and the Cybertronian artifacts within, Taratulas, working on Unicron's behalf, secretly granted NAVI-ko a new body and intelligence regarding Nemesis Prime. True to plan, NAVI-ko was sent to activate the clone and guide him to the Transformers Expo. However, thanks to Nemesis Prime's inherent sense of justice, the plan failed. Yokohama Decepticon Secret Base

Beast Wars Diorama Story

A ravenous, sinister fiend... and Tarantulas.

Sometime after Starscream's arrival to prehistoric Earth, Tarantulas was confronted in battle by a time-displaced Motorarm, who fended off the Predacon with his Beetle Claw attack. Tarantulas was not present when the Autobots from another universe and Maximals combined all of their energies to attack a team of Predacons and Decepticons. Motorarm Chapter

3H comics

Tarantulas was the inventor of the mind-drill. Megatron "borrowed" it from him to get information out of Antagony. Herald

Further proving the maxim: "If you want to steal the Matrix, you basically can."

Following the Beast Wars, Tarantulas's body returned to life, reanimated by the Vok powers he'd previously absorbed. The undead Tarantulas, along with a rebuilt Ravage (as Tripredacus Agent), nurtured new troops to life through enigmatic means, growing Razorclaw and Iguanus in tubes. Primeval Dawn Part 1 Primeval Dawn II

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

Wounded critically, the Maximals withdrew to the Ark, while Tarantulas and his Predacons returned to his lair, where he directed them in the construction of a transwarp portal. Upon completion, Tarantulas planned to bring his stolen prize to his master, Unicron. Since his troops were getting restless, he promised them they could assault the Ark once they finished construction. Tarantulas was true to his word, and as Ravage led the Predacons against the Maximals, Unicron's spawn tried to stabilize the portal and prepared the Matrix for transport. Primeval Dawn Part 3

3H Productions dissolved before this storyline could be completed. Based on the subsequent Wreckers and Universe storylines, it can be assumed that the Matrix of Leadership was restored to Optimus Prime's body at the end of this altercation, the Maximals were triumphant and used Tarantulas's portal to return home to Cybertron, and that Tarantulas somehow fled to Unicron.

Sideways claims he showed up at the last second to help win the battle but only refers to Ravage being there, not Tarantulas. Ask Sideways, 2015/06/06

After using the Divine Light to access Primus's power, Cryotek reanimated several Sharkticon corpses into facsimiles of Megatron's old subordinates, including one of Tarantulas. Wreckers: Finale Part II

Tarantulus [sic] basically just never dies.

A year after the Great Reformatting, the influence of Unicron swayed an abducted Blackarachnia to the side of darkness. As she was escorted by Tankor and Reptilion into the heart of the Chaos Bringer, she was surprised to see Tarantulas (still in his undead body) greet her as she joined the ranks of the Minions of Unicron. She hissed with disgust while Tarantulas noted that it was just like old times. Escape

Tarantulas had learned that Alpha Trion had been assembling the Children of Primus to counter Unicron's Minions, and so he sent Blackarachnia on a mission to her home Primax 797.18 Epsilon Cybertron to sever the link between the Transformers and Primus by invading Vector Sigma's chamber and destroying Alpha Trion. He gave Blackarachnia a swarm of Piranacons and directions to the chamber through a structural weak point near the Rust Sea. Homecoming

Transformers Legends anthology

The original Megatron, now inside the mind of Predacon Megatron after the latter planted the former's spark inside his body, berated the Predacon leader's failures—in particular, being led astray time and again by such treacherous subordinates as Tarantulas. A Meeting of Minds

IDW Beast Wars comics

One account states that when Tarantulas was born at the Pit, a glitch in the process granted him insight into the fact that an alien force was manipulating the Predacons for its ends. Thus, Tarantulas became obsessed with whatever this force was. Beast Wars Sourcebook #4

Another account stated that Tarantulas was one of the Tripredacus Council's covert agents, working for them since before the Great Wars began to be recorded. As a key member of the council's schemes, Tarantulas helped develop the combiner technology that led to Predacus. Combiner Wars Tarantulas bio

Before his travels off-world, Tarantulas worked in tandem with the Tripredacus Council, who sought to unite Cybertron under a single, "purer" race. As the Great War drew to a close, Tarantulas received field intelligence reporting startling news: both Optimus Prime and Galvatron had died in a terrible confrontation between their forces. Though his masters weren't particularly moved by this turn of events, a renegade within their army's ranks was. It became clear to the council that this upstart would resume the offensive against the enemy forces despite being ordered not to, and so Tarantulas was sent back out into the field to try and prevent any further complications from arising out of the situation.

While Tarantulas was away, the Council's secret base was discovered, and due to an exploration vessel accidentally getting in its path, the transmatter bomb the Council had attempted to launch, to reformat all of Cybertron at once, was deflected from its proper course. Ram Horn, Cicadacon, Sea Clamp, and Ravage all met up with Tarantuals in the field, and confronted the gestalt Predaking, who was among the Decepticons causing dissension in their ranks. Tarantulas and his allies isolated him on the battlefield, and merged into their own gestalt form, Predacus, to slay him.

Tarantulas next met with the upstart now calling himself "Megatron", and told him that the transmatter raining down on the planet was the result of a doomsday weapon of Galvatron's going off, triggered by the mad tyrant's death. He next informed Megatron that Predaking has comitted suicide out of shame for his involvement in Galvatron's plans. The Tripredacus Council had hoped these lies would be enough to dissuade Megatron from continuing hostilities, but this was not the case, and so moved on to plan B: sniping Megatron with a stun beam, and surrendering to the Autobots themselves.

For the "great risks" Tarantulas took towards the pursuit of peace, he was granted amnesty after the signing of the Pax Cybertronia. He had a hearty laugh at the expense of the Autobots' gullibility over this. Dawn of the Predacus

During his time on Earth, Tarantulas discovered the force he was obsessed with since birth was the Vok. Beast Wars Sourcebook #4 He also programmed the Predacons' mobile fortress, the Arachnid, utilizing his own personality programs to give it some form of sentience, accompanied by Tarantulas's own tendency for cruelty. Beast Wars Sourcebook #1

While Magmatron surveyed the timestream, he witnessed several key events during the Beast Wars. Among these was Tarantulas in his original "beast" body skulking in his lair. The Gathering #1

SD BotCon

Tarantulas joined Ravage at a bar to laugh maniacally over drinks, only for the pair to be approached by Beetle after their fourth outburst; the pair were being kicked out since everyone else was tired of their cackling. Thankfully, Tarantulas knew of a place where they could laugh to their hearts' content... a children's ball pit! SD BotCon #1

Timelines

What y'wanna do? Wanna be hackers? Code crackers? Slackers? Wastin' time with all the chatroom yakkers? WHAT?

Tarantulas decoded the information on the Golden Disk which had been freshly stolen by Megatron. He thought this was quite hilarious, but then, he thinks that about everything. Theft of the Golden Disk

See? A Planet X key in the corner of the pic. He's working for Unicron! Get him!

As Megatron and his rogue band of Predacons escaped Cybertron in their stolen ship, the Darksyde, Tarantulas was in charge of scanning the disk for a desired set of coordinates. While Megatron was not watching, he was in secret communication with General Cicadacon of the Tripredacus Council.

Using the decoded coordinates, the Darksyde opened a transwarp portal, which it and the Axalon passed through. Dawn of Future's Past

Two weeks after Airazor was reborn on Earth, Tarantulas fought to defend an orbital weapon from the Maximals. The launching pad was destroyed by Airazor. The Razor's Edge

Wings Universe

One of four mysterious protoforms found by Sky-Byte in the laboratory of Jhiaxus while trying to save his former collaborator's clones from the Autobots, A Common Foe Tarantulas and the other three pledged allegiance to the Predacons in suspiciously quick time.

Hot Shot's Bot Thoughts

The Tarantulas of Primax 509.28 Epsilon was interviewed by Shotimus Prime, who seemed determined to prove that Tarantulas was also Sideways. Annoyed by Shotimus's badgering, Tarantulas eventually resorted to pulling the Matrix out of Shotimus's chest, reverting him to Hot Shot, and then hitting him repeatedly with it. Hot Shot's Bot Thoughts

Waspscream continuity

In Primax 208.06 Zeta, Tarantulas joined Waspscream's successful coup against Megatron. Waspscream then convinced Tarantulas to decode Megatron's Golden Disk by promising to make Tarantulas his lieutenant upon returning to Cybertron and deposing the Tripredacus Council. Unfortunately en route, Megatron escaped, conquered Cybertron with a transformation virus, and turned the bodies of Cybertron's populace into Vehicons. Upon arrival, Waspscream's crewmembers who had transmetal forms managed to survive the virus and escape Megatron's clutches, eventually finding their way to the Oracle, who granted them technorganic forms. Waspscream's Predacons waged a valiant Spark War against the Vehicons, eventually achieving victory. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/16

Beast Wars Metals manga

Tarantulas raises an army of mannequins to strike terror into his foes.

Following the Quantum surge, Tarantulas was upgraded into a Transmetal. Scheming with Megatron within their floating island base, Hindenburg, Tarantulas developed a plan to revive the deceased Optimus Primal as a Predacon slave. Recovering Primal's mindless, raging body, Tarantulas staged a strange voodoo ceremony (complete with boiling cauldron). As Megatron pricked his finger and prepared to use his mutated blood to turn Primal's rampaging body into his slave, the spark of Optimus Primal returned to it just in the nick of time. As Primal turned into a Transmetal, Tarantulas began to celebrate, convinced that his plan had worked out better than he had thought, unaware of what was really going on. In fact, he was so convinced that Primal was now a Predacon slave, that he ordered the monkey to give him a shoulder massage. Optimus Primal proceeded to knock Tarantulas's block off. Beast Wars Metals #1

Tarantulas pulled himself together and confronted Tigatron, only to be promptly sliced in half. Beast Wars Metals #2

Undeterred, he taped himself back together and planted an arachnoid in Tigatron which gave Tarantulas control of the Maximal samurai's mind and body. Beast Wars Metals #3 Airazor linked her mind to Tigatron's in an attempt to free her beloved and while her body fought Tigatron, Airazor's consciousness fought Tarantulas and his virtual minions. Ultimately, with Blackarachnia's help, Tigatron's mind was freed, though Airazor died in the process, killed by the mind-controlled Tigatron. Optimus Primal arrived and promptly stomped Tarantulas to death and blew his body to pieces. Beast Wars Metals #4

Shortly afterward, the energies from sparks freed from an obliterated Rampage brought Tarantulas back to life as a mindless zombie. He fought Optimus Primal but was destroyed for good by Primal's rocket-fists. Beast Wars Metals #5

Transformers Legends anthology

When human archaeologists uncovered a cave filled with primitive language, Mini-Con Laserbeak translated it for them. The markings told of a time when the Maximals and Predacons crash-landed on prehistoric Earth, though the stranded Transformers were seen by the protohumans as gods. The "spider-god" and the "wasp-god," under instruction from their leader, enslaved the humans for the purposes of excavating "glowing rose crystals." Eventually, a "wolf-god" came, and had a fierce battle with the spider, allowing the captive humans to flee. The spider was defeated by the wolf, and then buried underground in a cave-in. Fire in the Dark

Ask Vector Prime

In Aurex 1104.30-JH Zeta, Tarantulas had his own agenda on prehistoric Earth. He deployed his Arachnoids across the globe to search for traces of Super Energon, accumulating a large cache of the powerful substance. Optimus Primal sacrificed himself to hijack Tarantulas's makeshift craft and destroy it in orbit, causing a Super Energon Transwarp Explosion which granted a Transmetal upgrade to many participants in the conflict as well as created the Fuzors. Later, Megatron attempted to use Tarantulas's secret experiments in a last-ditch effort to turn the tide, but ultimately, the Maximals emerged victorious in the war for the Mini-Cons. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/13

Transformers Legends comic

Tarantulas sneakily browsed the toys for sale at Transformers Celebration 2014. Legends Bonus Vol. The head of Tera-Kura Co.'s science department, he was responsible for production of their Nightbird clones. One day he was approached by the Decepticon Headmasters of another universe, who offered him use of their technology in exchange for his help in building them new transtectors. Realizing he could use this tech to conquer the Legends Universe for himself, Tarantulas accepted. Headmasters Chapter Prologue Once a partnership between the Decepticons and Tera-Kura had been formed, he used data stolen from the Autobot Headmasters to build a body for Skullcruncher as well as the drone Batora. Seeking to eliminate the Autobots, his rivals on the technology market, he and Weirdwolf then sent out Skullcruncher to lure out and destroy them, but the Headmaster was defeated. Bonus Edition Vol. 22 Tarantulas's boss, Megatron, chewed them out over their violent approach, leading to a disgruntled Tarantulas building a body for Megatron that would turn him into the destructive Galvatron. In the end, Megatron resisted the body and taught them a lesson, though Tarantulas pointed out that as he'd planned, Galvatron's destruction had increased Tera-Kura's sales. Bonus Edition Vol. 23

Ask Vector Prime

To the best of Vector Prime's knowledge, Tarantulas and Sideways did not think of themselves as relatives. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/05/15

Sideways himself (a known liar) claimed to know the secret origins of Tarantulas and the Tripredacus Council. Ask Sideways, 2015/06/28

IDW Generation 1 continuity

Mesothulas was a non-affiliated scientist who covertly worked for Prowl during the early stages of the Autobot/Decepticon war. Mesothulas saw their relationship as symbiotic -— Prowl's imagination would feed into Mesothulas's desire to make the impossible real and vice versa. Their partnership resulted in many frightening advancements, such as stasis bullets, spark extraction, Decepti-bombs, and Aequitas itself. What he considered his greatest success, however, was the creation of artificial Transformer life—Ostaros. Prowl eventually began to have doubts about the ethics involved with Mesothulas's inventions, especially after the scientist unveiled his latest creation: a prison dimension Mesothulas dubbed the "Noisemaze". Sins of the Wreckers #3

Unable to let Mesothulas continue his increasingly depraved experiments, Prowl asked Impactor to dispose of Mesothulas and his creations by pushing the scientist into his own Noisemaze and destroying the entire contents of his workshop. The deed was done, although neither Prowl nor Impactor could bring themselves to put down Ostaros. Instead, Prowl falsified a new identity for him as the Autobot "Springer". Sins of the Wreckers #3 Sins of the Wreckers #5

But then one day he went to that science lab
That mutated spider came down

Mesothulas was prepared for such an occurrence, though, having a personal jumpgate built into his body. Even still, the disorienting effects of the Noisemaze made it centuries before Mesothulas could remember and put it to use. Returning to his lab to find it empty, Mesothulas decided to follow where Shockwave trode and went to Earth. There, he found and refined a sample of Ultra-Energon into obtenteum, a super-fuel he used to power his future inventions. Inspired by the native wildlife, Mesothulas developed perfect bio-disguises which nearly completely masked a Cybertronian's presence. One creature in particular, the spider, attracted Mesothulas's attention. He modified his own body with Chimeracon technology to gain a tarantula form and renamed himself "Tarantulas". Sins of the Wreckers #3

At some point after adopting his new alternate mode, Tarantulas kicked off the incident that would later be known as the "Roadbuster affair" - shrinking down to a tiny form, Tarantulas crawled into Roadbuster's ear and began whispering to the Autobot, convincing him to do terrible things to his recruits. Roadbuster assumed that he was hearing the voice of Mortilus and cheerfully started torturing and murdering his cadets on "Mortilus's" orders, while Tarantulas used the sparks Roadbuster unwittingly harvested to test the Chimeracon process. The Autobots found out just in time to save Hubcap. By that point Tarantulas had already fled the scene and everyone assumed that poor old Roadbuster had just gone round the bend. Sins of the Wreckers #4

Needing some real muscle on his side, Tarantulas became the patron of the anarchist group, Mayhem, supplying them with similar bio-disguises. Meanwhile, he turned his attention to building a laboratory complex, the Tor, within the Noisemaze. He also managed to turn Hubcap to his side, serving as a mole within the Autobot ranks whose Outlier skills let Tarantulas uncover Prowl's secrets, including the data containing Aequitas's proclamations. Sins of the Wreckers #3 Even though Tarantulas admitted having been the voice of "Mortilus" that drove Roadbuster mad, the terrified Hubcap went with it in the hope of justice and getting a stronger body for himself. Sins of the Wreckers #4

Oh, and now Meso crawls over everyone's walls
And he's swingin' all over town

With Prowl a wanted fugitive after his disastrous exploits on Caminus, nobody noticed when Mesothulas ordered Mayhem to abduct Prowl. The disgraced tactician found himself in the Noisemaze, greeted by Tarantulas. Sins of the Wreckers #1 Tarantulas suspended Prowl in his webs and presented Aequitas trial data, stolen from Verity Carlo, as collateral for an open conversation between the two. Sins of the Wreckers #2 With the greatest of anticipation, Tarantulas unveiled his new form to Prowl, who was horrified at his old collaborator's metamorphosis. Prowl suspected Tarantulas intended to use the war crimes data from Aequitas to simply blackmail him, but Tarantulas had more complex desires. Honestly, Tarantulas merely wished to work with Prowl again, to recreate the symbiosis of their original possibly-more-than-professional relationship. When Prowl still refused, he was placed in the company of his would-be rescuers: Verity, Springer, Roadbuster, and Arcee, their most shameful, damning thoughts opened bare to him thanks to Tarantulas's new invention, Impetus. Sins of the Wreckers #3

Tarantulas explained to Verity that her current sickly condition was a result of exposure to the Aequitas supercomputer back on Garrus-9. Tarantulas attempted to force Prowl into Impetus, only for Prowl to try and talk him out of it, offering to tell him about Ostaros's true fate and lying that he had killed the artificial Transformer that day in the lab. Before Tarantluas could go through with his plan, Kup Impactor, and Guzzle crashed the Noisemaze with Debris, threatening to tear the pocket dimension apart. Tarantulas ordered his Chimeracons to counterattack and Hubcap to transmit the Aequitas data across the galaxy, only for Hubcap to turn on his employer and free his Autobot prisoners. Arcee, Springer, and Roadbuster ganged up on the spider-bot, but he proved too powerful. Roadbuster managed to temporarily dispatch him by transforming into vehicle mode and ramming Tarantulas, sending both of them flying out the window. Tarantulas survived the fall by shrinking and crawling inside Roadbuster's head, just like old times.

The itsy-bitsy spider blew up Roadbuster's head.

Tarantulas taunted his old victim one last time... then expanded back to his full size, blowing open Roadbuster's head from the inside out.

As the surviving Autobots regrouped at the Tor, intending to destroy the entire complex, Tarantulas arrived, promising that before the day was done he would do "something weird" to everyone. Sins of the Wreckers #4 Using mass displacement to enlarge his spider mode to massive size, Tarantulas used a retinal scanner to activate a final contingency plan: shrinking the Tor itself down to pocket size so that he can safely transport the facility out of the collapsing dimension. Tarantulas taunted Arcee, Verity, and Prowl, gloating that he'd healed Verity's illness for no reason other than to one-up Prowl. The mad scientist continued to grow as he ranted about his need for revenge on Prowl, prompting Prowl to reveal to his old friend that Impactor was the one to blame for the destruction of his lab. Realizing this, Tarantulas demanded to know what had become of Ostaros, and seconds later made the connection between Springer's voice and the fate of his creation. Thoughts of revenge momentarily forgotten, Tarantulas attempted to reunite with Ostaros, only to be halted by Arcee and Impactor. Arcee severed Tarantulas's beast mode head, using it to trip the retinal scanner and halt the Tor's contraction.

Having survived the loss of his beast mode head, Tarantulas managed to find Springer, earning himself a punch in the face from the green Autobot. His words were garbled by the energies of the Noisemaze, preventing any kind of meaningful dialogue between creator and creation. The pair struggled with one another as Springer repeatedly stabbed Tarantulas, neither of them able to speak or hear each other. Seconds later, Impactor detonated the entire Noisemaze, destroying almost all of Tarantulas's creations and perhaps the mad scientist with them.

Back in Nome, Verity and Springer watched the northern lights, while a tiny spider spun a web in Springer's wheel-well... Sins of the Wreckers #5

Beast Wars: Uprising

Games

Beast Wars: Transformers video game continuity

Beast Wars: Transformers video game comic

Some great dialog there, Tarry.

Upon arriving on prehistoric Earth, the dangers of Energon radiation forced the Maximals and Predacons to take on beast alternate forms. Tarantulas picked up a tarantula in his palm and scanned it. Soon, Tarantulas spotted Cheetor moving in on the Predacons' crash site. Swearing revenge, Tarantulas transformed and attacked, and threatened to skin the Maximal alive. Beast Wars: Transformers video game advertising comic

Beast Wars: Transformers video game

Voice actor: ??? (English), ??? (Japanese)

Sadly, there's no Eat Cheetor level.

Many Beast Wars combatants had managed to construct personal bases, customized to their personal tastes, due to the extended duration of the war. Tarantulas still preferred to operate out of a dark, underground lair. Tarantulas joined his fellow Predacons in battling not only the persistent Maximal resistance, but the interdimensional monsters known as the Skriix.

Maximal campaign

After Rhinox had expanded his own personal base too close to Tarantulas's own territory, creating an opening for the Predacon to infiltrate Rhinox's personal metropolis. Tarantulas overtook Rhinox's base and reprogrammed its defenses, prompting the Maximals to retake it. The Maximal's offensive push forced Tarantulas to retreat deeper and deeper into the annexed territory, until he finally returned to his own lair. While he was in control of Rhinox's forces, however, Tarantulas had gained access to sensitive information, prompting the Maximals to follow Tarantulas back to his hide-out, and eliminate him once and for all.

Predacon campaign

Rhinox's expansion into Tarantulas's territory allowed the Predacons to infiltrate the Maximal's "Urban Area" and eliminate Rhinox. Beast Wars: Transformers

Due to the nature of this game, a player may select various individual characters to perform the feats required in every level, and complete the game's narrative. Thus, any playable Maximal can fill the role of protagonist in Maximal Mode, and any playable Predacon can fill the role of protagonist in Predacon Mode. The various feats Tarantulas can accomplish throughout gameplay in Predacon Mode as the story protagonist are described on the Beast Wars video game page.

Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)

Arboreal Camouflage Tarantulas? Blue Crusader Tarantulas?

Voice actor: Alec Willows (English), ??? (Japanese)

Tarantulas found a way to escape prehistoric Earth and return to Cybertron. The Beast Wars progressed in his absence for a time...

Player 2 Has Entered His Stomach. Continue?

Then he came back, newly promoted and with an armada of Transwarp battleships under his command, out to end the Beast Wars and enforce the Tripredacus Council's will... Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)

Each character possessed an alternate ending, displayed if the game was beaten with said character. Each character has only their own ending listed on their pages, see the other characters' pages for Tarantulas's fate in those outcomes.

Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (PS)

Voice actor: Alec Willows (English), ??? (Japanese)

Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (PS)

Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars

Megatron was capable of summoning Tarantulas forth to the battlefield during his attempts to acquire the super-powerful energon crystal. Duel Fight Transformers Beast Wars

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Tarantulas participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of him! He appeared in three different bodies:

• Tarantulas — This Super Rare character first appeared in the "Beast Wars: Episode 2" event, and could be recruited by by collecting 250 units of Cybermetal, 75 units of Transmetal, 35 event cores, and 10 cores of this character.
• Tarantulas — This Epic Character was available in the August Daily Campaign and could be recruited by collecting 20 Alpha cores, 20 Beta cores, 20 Omega cores, and 10 cores of this character.
• Tarantulas Transmetal — This Super Rare character was available to 2500 players during the second event of the "Transmetals: Episode 3" mini events.

Transformers: Battle Tactics

Toys

Beast Wars

Interested in getting hog-tied with spider-butt rope? Running is the only 'no' available.

• Tarantulas (Deluxe, 1996/1997)
  • Japanese ID number: D-4
  • Accessories: Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

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

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

The Takara release of Tarantulas was originally identical to the Hasbro release. Later, a slightly color-altered version was released, using a brighter shade of green and a slightly darker gray. The color-altered version also replaced the blue eyes on the "robot" head and the black eyes of the "mutant" head with gold.

This mold was used to make the first Blackarachnia toy.

• More information on Tarantulas at TFU.info

The classic battle of dino vs spider. We've all heard the tale.

• Brutal Showdown: Dinobot VS Tarans (VS pack, 1997)
  • Japanese ID number: VS-4
  • Accessories: Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

In Japan, "Tarans" was available both as an individual and in a two-pack with "Dinobot". Both toys in this set were identical to their individual releases.

Currently, it is unknown if the latter "more show-like" redeco of Tarantulas was ever released in a VS set.

I'm-a spawn of-a Unicron! I-a slice-a ya pizza!

• Tarantulas (Deluxe Transmetal, 1998)
  • Japanese ID number: D-44
  • Accessories: Sawblade weapon

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

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

• More information on Transmetal Tarantulas at TFU.info

It's like Eight Legged Freaks, but classier, and with a pizza cutter.

• Tarantulas (Deluxe "Fox Kids" Transmetal, 1999)
  • Accessories: Sawblade weapon

A redeco of the Transmetal Tarantulas toy in grays, silver, and black. He and a Transmetal Cheetor redeco were part of the "Fox Kids" toys, so called for the advertisements for the Fox channel on the packaging (as the Beast Wars cartoon had moved there from syndication). Internal Hasbro documents have listed this toy as "Steel Force 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. This toy was also later repurposed as Tarantulas's Shattered Glass counterpart. With the toy's limited availability, secondary-market pricing for this item due to its fictional use has gone up.

• More information on Fox Kids Tarantulas at TFU.info

MicroVerse

I'm not The Thing, I swear!

• 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 upper body is copper rather than purple. Its only articulation is at the waist, letting it sit in any of the MicroVerse mini-vehicles or playset stations.

• More information on MicroVerse Tarantulas (via Orchanoch) at TFU.info

Beast Wars 10th Anniversary

He's not here to help assemble Transmutate. That leg's his dinner.

• Predacon Tarantulus (Deluxe, 2006)
  • Accessories: Launcher, 4 spider-leg missiles

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

This release of Tarantulus has misassembled forearm/claws, which can be easily swapped to the correct position due to the ball jointed elbows.

• More information on 10th Anniversary Tarantulas at TFU.info

Timelines

Everyone's second-favorite purple-and-yellow motorcycle two-Mini-Con-having servant of Unicron.

• Tarantulas (2015)

Tarantulas is a redeco of United Scrapheap, itself a retool of Transformers Wreck-Gar with a new head. He turns into a motorcycle. The toy is meant to represent his pre-Beast Wars appearance. The toy also comes with two Arachnoids that can be pegged into his left and right arms.

When first revealed at BotCon 2014, the toy's color was different from the final release's appearance. The toy was lighter colored (including the Arachnoids!), his mouthplate was green, and his arms were entirely colored green, among many other differences.

Transformers (2010) mold: Wreck-Gar
Hasbro: Reveal the Shield Wreck-Gar Generations Junkheap Platinum Edition Wreck-Gar (Planet of Junk Clash) Junkion Scrapheap (Planet of Junk Clash) Fun Publications: Timelines Wreck-Gar (Shattered Glass) Scrap Iron (Shattered Glass) Junkheap (Shattered Glass) Tarantulas TakaraTomy: United UN-18 Wreck-Gar e-HOBBY: United Scrapheap

Combiner Wars

*Insert Spider-tank related caption here*

• Dawn of the Predacus (BotCon 2016 box set)
  • Accessories: Claw weapon, Combiner Foot/Hand

A retool of Combiner Wars Rook, "Predacon Tarantulas" features a new spider-esque head. As a Combiner Wars Deluxe limb he is able to combine with any Voyager Class toys released as part of the same subline but is, of course, intended to be combined with Sea Clamp, Cicadacon, Ramhorn, and Ravage to create Predacus.

Rather than 5mm hands, Tarantulas has forward-facing 5mm ports in front of his fists. This allows him to mount his claw-like accessory as an integrated weapon or use Combiner Wars combiner hands (one of which is included) as giant "Hulk hands".

He was available exclusively at BotCon 2016 in the "Dawn of the Predacus" box set with Ravage, General Ramhorn, General Cicadacon, and General Sea Clamp.

Combiner Wars mold: Rook
Version 1: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Protectobot Rook Fun Publications: Combiner Wars Impactor Predacon Tarantulas TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-06 Wandering Roller Version 2: Hasbro: Combiner Wars Swindle Swindle (Generation 2) Autobot Hound TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-07 Swindle UW-EX Hound UW-EX Greejeeber Version 3: TakaraTomy: Unite Warriors UW-08 Nosecone

Merchandise

• Beast Wars Transformers Mutating Card Game (1997)

Tarantulas was one of the 24 beast warriors to receive a battle card representation for the Beast Wars card game.

Robot Heroes

Don't take your eyes off your mech fluid, Primal.

• Optimus Primal vs Predacon Tarantulas (2008)

Part of the second wave of Universe Robot Heroes, this PVC figurine of Tarantulas' original body has articulation in the shoulders and neck. He was available only in a "Beast Wars Series" two-pack with Optimus Primal (amusingly enough, the Maximal he also came with in the MicroVerse Orcanoch playset).

• More information on Robot Heroes Tarantulas at TFU.info

Notes

Not terribly appealing.

• Tarantulas is referred to as simply "Tarantula" in the commercial advertising his toy. This commercial and also 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) and a largely yellow toy (Cheetor) in the Deluxe range, plus a Mega-sized Predacon arachnid then planned to be orange (Scorponok), and Tigatron, who was at one point slated to be a traditional orange tiger.

He tastes everything he holds.

• 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.
• 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.
• Tarantulas's toy bios paint him as a really dumb ninja-like stealth assassin. Both of his Tech Specs give him an intelligence of 4, even the numbers that accompany his Transmetals bio which mentions the cartoon's quantum surge.
• In the first season, Tarantulas is characterized more as a cannibalistic, psychotic gourmand who happens to be the Predacons' Science Officer than as the mad scientist and master plotter he becomes from "Spider's Game" onwards. This is to the extent that his official season one profile makes several mentions of his eating habits, describes his sole interest as being "food", and summarizes his relationship with the other Predacons as simple disdain, as he considers them to all be potential meals.
• In the Japanese dub of Beast Wars, Tarantulas retained his trademark cackle, but it was a little different. His voice was very high-pitched and he shrieked almost constantly. His trademark laugh more closely resembled a wicked witch of sorts.

Tarantulas is one of Reprolabels's best customers.

• From "Optimal Situation" onwards, the Arachnoids sport a Tarantulas-themed insignia.

Pew! Pew!

• Tarantulas's origins are a bit complicated. He declares in "Other Victories" that he and the Tripredacus Council have origins other than Autobot and Decepticon, such that they would not be affected by the destruction of the Ark. Megatron's line about "Unicron's spawn" was apparently not intended by Bob Forward to be taken literally but as a generic Transformer insult; Larry DiTillio has said Bob "regrets" the line and they never had any fixed idea of Tarantulas' origin. Larry also said that had the show continued, the characters "might" be descended from the Cybertronians. 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 "the dark side", this line developed a life of its own. Eventually this connection was reasserted in 3H Productions' Primeval Dawn storyline, initially written by... Bob Forward. On the other hand, Fun Publications' "A Common Foe" depicted a Jhiaxus/Cybertronian origin for Tarantulas and the Tripredacus Council but left the specifics a mystery.
• Tarantulas's body in "Theft of the Golden Disk" is based on Cybertron Ransack. His body in "Dawn of Future's Past", however, is a unique design not directly based on an existing toy, unlike the rest of the show characters in the story.
• Tarantulas is probably the only Predacon Minion of Unicron who avoided being labeled a Decepticon.
• From what can be observed from art on the back of Transmetal Tigatron's packaging, Tarantulas's vok-enhanced abilities include levitating and firing energy beams from his eye(s?) in robot mode. Neat!

Foreign names

• Japanese: Tarans (タランス Taransu), Tarantulas (タランチュラス Taranchurasu)
• Italian: Metal Tarantulas (Transmetal toy)
• Korean: Tarantulas (타란튤라스 Talantyullaseu)
• Mandarin: Chīh-chū (Taiwan, 蜘蛛, "Spider"), Hóng Chīh-chū (Taiwan second and third season, 紅蜘蛛, "Red Spider"), Láng Zhū (China, 狼蛛, "Tarantula")
• Polish: Tarantulator
• Portuguese: Tarântulos (Brazil)