The Trigger, Part 1

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"The Trigger" Part 1
Production company	Mainframe Entertainment
Airdate	November 18, 1996
Written by	Bob Forward
Directed by	J. Falconer
Animation studio	Mainframe Entertainment
Continuity	Beast Wars continuity
Packaged with	DX Megatron

Tigatron discovers a flying island with amazing alien power, but the Predacons are after it as well.

French title: L'île Volante - 1^re partie ("The Flying Island - Part 1")

French-Canadian title: Île Volante 1

Japanese title: 浮島のデスマッチ前編 (Ukishima no Death Match Zenpen "Floating Island Death Match Part 1")

Latin-American title: El Detonante Primera Parte

Italian title: Il grilletto - Parte 1

Synopsis

Who has got the creepier smile? Terrorsaur or that weird-looking Bullet Bill?

An earthquake on a snowy mountainside raises questions from the nearby Tigatron, on his way to file his weekly report with the rest of the Maximals. Rattrap answers Tigatron's call, and as soon as Tigatron mentions that he hasn't seen any Predacon activity, Waspinator and Terrorsaur attack, their attacks causing Tigatron's communication console to collapse upon him as Rattrap listens. Optimus Primal heads out to rescue his comrade.

Tigatron, pushing the console off himself, continues to fight against his airborne assailants. A missile from Terrorsaur is detonated by a shot from Waspinator, tearing the ground into pieces and dropping Tigatron into a cloudy chasm. But when the two fliers follow Tigatron into the cloud to gather his remains as trophies, they are blasted by something unseen.

Battered and bruised.

Primal eventually arrives at the site of the battle, and using Tigatron's communication console, radios to the Axalon that Tigatron is missing, possibly destroyed.

Airazor, spying on the Predacon base, witnesses Waspinator and Terrorsaur return in poor condition. The two goons report to Megatron what happened to them after they followed Tigatron.

Inside of the cloud Tigatron fell into, the two Predacons discovered Tigatron had landed on a massive flying island. While trying to finish Tigatron, the two were blasted away by energy beams from a strange tower in the center of the island. Megatron sends the team of Scorponok and Blackarachnia to claim the island in the name of the Predacons.

These trees all look so unrealistic.

Airazor reports to the Maximals her observation of the two Predacons, who were in much worse condition than they should be had they won the battle against Tigatron, which means the tiger could still be alive. Cheetor rushes in to follow up her report with news that Blackarachnia and Scorponok are leaving the Predacon base. Airazor is sent to follow the two.

In Beast Mode, Tigatron explores the island he's discovered, and is amazed at the flora and fauna on the isolated paradise. But, after passing a rock with strange markings, the island reveals some strange defenses against his presence. Tigatron decides to play it safe for the rest of his time in the strange area.

If you want order in Gotham, Batman must take off his mask and turn himself in. Oh, and every day he doesn't, people will die, starting tonight.

Outside of the cloud, Blackarachnia and Scorponok find the island. Scorponok explores the island with one of his cyberbees, until Tigatron snatches the bee out of the air. The deceptive nature of the cloud confirmed, Blackarachnia fires a line into the cloud to board the island. As the line retracts, pulling up the two arachnids, Scorponok sees Airazor in pursuit. Using one of his rockets, he blasts her out of the sky. After Scorponok dodges the island's response to his attack, Blackarachnia resolves to take control of the island for herself.

Tigatron aids Airazor and explains to her that he reprogrammed the cyber bee to carry a message back to the Axalon. Soon, Primal recovers the bee and receives the message explaining how if the island's weapon is commandeered by either side, it would ensure victory….

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Maximals	Predacons
Tigatron (1) Rhinox (4) Optimus Primal (5) Rattrap (6) Cheetor (7) Dinobot (8) Airazor (9)	Terrorsaur (2) Waspinator (3) Megatron (10) Scorponok (11) Blackarachnia (12)

Quotes

"Waspinator love victims that are punctual!"

—Waspinator is happy to see Tigatron.

"Waspinator wants his heeeeead!"
"It's mine, bug face!"

—Waspinator and Terrorsaur fighting over whatever's left of Tigatron.

Primal radios his investigation of the battle scene to the Maximal base.
Cheetor: Say it ain't so, Big Bot! Not our striped scout!
Optimus Primal: This place is a battle ground. Blast craters and missile debris everywhere. From the angle, it was an aerial attack.
Dinobot: Hrmmm. Waspinator and Terrorsaur.
Rattrap: Oh, thanks for the insight there, Dinobrain. You want your expert consultant fee now?
Dinobot: No need—I can simply excise it from your hide!
Rhinox: HEY! Not. Now.

—The Maximals argue amongst themselves.

"Either the grunge look is coming back, or those two ran into something hot."

—Airazor on spying Terrorsaur and Waspinator after their encounter with the flying island.

Optimus Primal: Good thing you didn't just blast this bee.
Cheetor: Well I would've but it was carrying one of Airazor's feathers.
Rattrap: 'Sides...he missed.
Cheetor: Yeah, that too.
Optimus Primal: Prime.

—The Maximals receiving the Cyber Bee.

Notes

Animation and technical errors

• It seems to take a very, VERY long time for the transmission tower to fall on Tigatron. There is at least a 20 second break between the Maximals losing his transmission and Optimus taking off to find him, after which Tigatron is still screaming as the tower finally falls on him.
• When Terrorsaur transforms during his flashback, his shoulder cannons float above him as he transforms, then reattach when he turns to robot mode.
• The trail of tiger footprints in the snow is a nice touch, but then Tigatron transforms and he's not leaving footprints any more.

Real-world references

• Rattrap answers Tigatron's call with the phrase What's new, pussycat?

Trivia

• Early in the episode, Rhinox observes that one of the moons is lighter than it should be. Perhaps this could be foreshadowing? A hollow celestial body? Call Dr. Lucy Suzuki!
• There is a model submarine on Rattrap's Station
• The idea of a tropical area surviving amongst otherwise inhospitable coldness is a concept used elsewhere in Transformers: Savage Land

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.

VHS

1998 — Beast Wars — Warning from Space (Alliance Video)
1998 — Robots-Bêtes — Alert Dans L'Espace (Alliance Video) — French audio only.
1998 — Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers — Floating Island Deathmatch (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
1998 — Beast Wars / Robots-Bêtes Three pack (Alliance Video) — Available in English or French audio.
2001 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Beginning: Vol. 3 (Universal)

Laserdisc

1998 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Predacon Edition (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.

DVD

2000 — Beast Wars: Transformers — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.
2003 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete First Season (Rhinomation)
2005 — Beast Wars — Classic Episodes: Volume 3 — The Battle Rages On! (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio.
2005 — Beast Wars — The Complete First Season (Alliance Atlantis) — English and French audio.
2006 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Season 1 (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Beast Wars — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)