Blackarachnia (BW)
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| The name or term "Blackarachnia" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Blackarachnia (disambiguation). |
- Blackarachnia is a Predacon who changes allegiances with alarming frequency from the Beast Era portion of the Generation 1 continuity family.
A sultry femme fatale, Blackarachnia is smart, sly, and dangerous. She's got eight legs, and she knows how to use them. Of the several rebellious Predacons under Megatron's command, she's one of the very few who can, on occasion, outguile him. Always looking out for Number One, Blackarachnia values her independence and freedom above all else. She would rather be deactivated than be a slave.
Blackarachnia's greatest weakness, other than her overconfidence, is her feelings for the Maximal Silverbolt. Something about his heroic demeanor and the kindness he shows her makes her uneasy. She hasn't experienced unconditional love before, and it scares her, though she'll never admit it.
Sometimes she is previously known as White Propionica, and sometimes she utilizes the aliases Venus or Elita.
Fiction
Toy bios
Working by moonlight, Blackarachnia posed as a double agent. In reality, this was merely a ruse she utilized in order to lure unwitting Maximals into her darkened den, where she first paralyzed her victim with a poisonous missile. She then proceeded to restrain her victim with her powerful legs, and subsequently sucked their life force dry... kinky. She was capable of converting thermal energy into cyber venom. Blackarachnia bio
The new Transmetal 2 body Blackarachnia acquired from Megatron's mysterious new technology had the power to cast illusions, altering her physical appearance and position for up to five minutes thanks to the electro disruptor housed in her... rear segment. Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia toy bio
Cartoon continuity
Beast Wars cartoon
- Voice actor: Venus Terzo (English), Ryōka Yuzuki (Japanese), Xu Lin (Chinese), Fátima Noya (Portuguese), Françoise Vallon (French), Loredana Alfieri (Italian), Uta Dahlbridge (German), Olga Hnidey (Latin American Spanish), Marisa Marco (Castilian Spanish)
"NO."
Blackarachnia was born from one of the Maximals' fallen stasis pods. Tarantulas, watching a black widow fight and devour another spider, was inspired. Megatron, observing the slim and attractive Blackarachnia transform and strike a few poses, suggested that he had "ulterior motives behind her beast form selection" but she was a Predacon, and that was what was important. In the battle with the Maximals that followed, she easily defeated Cheetor with a well-placed kick. She was later reported as "missing," though the reasons why and how were never addressed. Double Jeopardy
She was soon assigned to a mission with Terrorsaur and Waspinator to dig under the Maximal base and use a sonic emitter she had invented to blow a hole into the bottom. She didn't get on well with either of them, but they managed to eventually get to the point where they were ready to trigger the emitter... only for Tigatron to steal it. By the time they caught up with the Maximal, the emitter was ready to explode, and they could only flee the blast area. A Better Mousetrap When Scorponok's virus turned Optimus Primal into a berserker and he invaded the Predacon base, Blackarachnia and Terrorsaur battled the other Maximals as they also tried to gain entry. Unfortunately Cheetor slipped past them and was able to rescue Primal, however at least the other Maximals were held off. Gorilla Warfare
Blackarachnia was present during the interrogation of Cheetor when the Predacons discovered that a Maximal probe was flying past the planet, and took part in the battle to destroy the signal array which the Maximals were building. Once Dinobot was locked into his dino-mode by Tarantualas's transformation lock lens, Blackarachnia delivered the coup de grâce to his pride after hitting the disabled Maximal with several kicks to the face, only to be subsequently blasted off a cliff by Rattrap. The Probe The Predacons staged a deception, faking their own destruction and using signal dampeners invented by Blackarachnia to hide while the Maximals use parts from their ship to repair the Axalon. After being discovered by Dinobot, they pursued him. During an attempt to rush the Axalon, Blackarachnia was blasted by the ship's defenses. Victory
After Megatron turned Rhinox into a Predacon using a Transmuter, Blackarachnia and Megatron were startled by Waspinator's impression of Shrapnel. Dark Designs Blackarachnia and Scorponok were dispatched to retrieve the latest crashed stasis pod. They encountered Tigatron, who disabled Scorponok, but was himself paralyzed by Blackarachnia's venom. At the pod, she fought Cheetor at length, but he caught her venom dart and used it to knock her out. The Spark
The discovery of a mysterious flying island led to Megatron dispatching Blackarachnia and Scorponok to investigate it. Blackarachnia, when she saw the power wielded by the island, resolved to herself that she would take control of it. The Trigger, Part 1 As the pair reached the obelisk in the center of the island, Waspinator and Terrorsaur arrived, and Blackarachnia tricked them into using their weapons, causing the island defenses to blast them. She then got rid of Scorponok using one of the island's traps, and took control of the island's power herself. Though she started piloting the island toward the Axalon, Tigatron was able to destroy its energy supply, and the whole thing crashed to the ground. The Trigger, Part 2
She soon attempted to forge an alliance with Tarantulas, flattering him and accompanying him on a mission to secure the latest stasis pod to crash. Unfortunately they were too late to ensure the protoform obtained an arachnid beast mode, and Inferno was born. While Blackarachnia was trying to get the new Predacon under control, Tarantulas made off with the real prize — the stasis pod itself. After the pod was destroyed, Tarantulas revealed to her that the planet was doomed, and she realised he'd intended to use the pod to build an escape ship, but he rebuffed her offer of further help and threw her out of his lair. Spider's Game
A Predacon plan to steal the rectifier coil from the Axalon resulted in the Maximals going feral, and Blackarachnia was part of the hunting party which pursued them into the jungle. She was defeated by Dinobot after the Maximals overcame their little problem. Call of the Wild When Starscream took control of Waspinator's body and the Predacons were able to conquer the Axalon, the Decepticon took Blackarachnia under his wing as a student and revealed his true intent to overthrow Megatron. After he abandoned her in the Maximal base, leaving her to escape Primal and Dinobot on her own, she took that as a hint to return the favour, and later shot a cluster of energon crystals, blasting Starscream free from Waspinator. She then engaged in some quick talking to get herself out of trouble with Megatron. Possession
Tarantulas infected Rhinox with an energon discharge virus, and was later himself incapacitated, leading the Predacons to investigate his lair to see if they could dig up any more of the virus. Blackarachnia was able to find a counter-virus, but while Megatron was attempting a brilliant gambit against the attacking Maximals, Rhinox countered with an almighty fart which left the Predacon forces hanging from a tree. The Low Road Some time later, Megatron called a truce when signs pointed to the aliens returning. Tarantulas stole a transwarp cell from the Darksyde, leading Megatron to assign Blackarachnia to keep an eye on him. The two spiders attempted to stop Tigatron escaping the Predacon base, but were tricked into being flattened by a boulder by Dinobot. They were the least damaged, however, and dragged the rest of the Predacons back to base. Before the Storm
Blackarachnia offered to help Tarantulas break into the Maximal base to steal a stasis pod. They were able to use one of Blackarachnia's inventions to penetrate the Axalon shields and overcome Rhinox and Dinobot. Other Voices, Part 1 As Tarantulas worked to turn the stasis pod into an escape ship, Blackarachnia turned on him, intending to use the pod herself. They were interrupted by Inferno, who slagged Tarantulas, but Blackarachnia was easily able to defeat him in return. She linked to Tarantulas's mind to obtain the necessary information, and successfully completed modifying the pod... only to be captured by the Maximals. Optimus forced her to change the control codes to respond to him, so he could pilot the pod himself and destroy the Planet Buster weapon threatening the planet. But as she badmouthed the Maximals' good-byes, she was subsequently knocked temporarily off-line by Airazor, but as it happened, Megatron had sabotaged the transwarp cell, and Optimus was unable to eject before impact. Other Voices, Part 2
While attempting to escape from the Maximal base, Blackarachnia was shocked to discover that her earlier interfacing with Taratulas had resulted in a permanent mind-link between the two of them. Tarantulas was able to force her to take his body with her as she left the base. Though she was intercepted by Tigatron and Airazor, Megatron happened to turn up at that point. He threatened to terminate Blackarachnia, but she talked her way out of it by pointing out the simple fact that Megatron's stock of troops was sorely depleted. Of course, during the inevitable battle, Tarantulas forced Blackarachnia to retreat with his body. Aftermath
Returning to the Predacon base, Blackarachnia interrupted Dinobot stealing the Golden Disks, but refused Tarantulas's order that she should try to get them back. Instead she repaired him, but discovered that the mind link persisted. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1) While Tarantulas went to help Megatron's latest battle, Blackarachnia dug through the base's computer for information on the Golden Disks and discovered important data, including the access codes to the Ark. she was able to download it while Tarantulas was unconscious, and destroyed the computer. She later told Megatron and Tarantulas that Dinobot had destroyed the computer and the data lost. Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)
The two spiders were later sent with new recruit Quickstrike to build a refueling station in a cave full of energon. Tarantulas schemed to take over the cave himself and attempted to persuade Blackarachnia to join him, but soon realised she was hiding something from him. When he tried to rip the information from her mind, she cracked an energon cube, the radiation causing them both pain and forcing him to sever the mental link. He threatened to tear her apart, but was interrupted when Rattrap and Silverbolt arrived to fight. Silverbolt, much to Rattrap's annoyance, refused to strike Blackarachnia because she was female. In the end, Tarantulas used the battle as cover to fake the destruction of the cave, and the trio had to report their failure to Megatron. Tangled Web
When Dinobot attempted to defect back to the Predacons, Blackarachnia suggested he prove himself by fighting with Quickstrike. Maximal, No More During another alien incursion, Megatron took Blackarachnia and Inferno to the Maximal base, where they were able to overcome Rhinox, the sole Maximal there. Blackarachnia grabbed the alien Golden Disk. Megatron and Tarantulas colluded to work against the aliens, and when Megatron questioned why, Blackarachnia revealed that she had learned from the mind link that Tarantulas hated the aliens and wanted to destroy them. Other Visits (Part 1) Though Blackarachnia was rendered unconscious by a blast from the alien construct that appeared, she was reactivated when Megatron took control of the construct and brought the other Predacons aboard. She was one of the Predacons sent out to defend the construct against the Maximals, but Tarantulas managed to infiltrate and destroy it anyway. Other Visits (Part 2)
"Depends on how hard ya hit me."
When an energon blast sent her and Silverbolt into the middle of the dense jungles, they were forced to work together. Though attracted to the Fuzor, Blackarachnia was endlessly frustrated by his seemingly idiotic chivalry and need to treat her specially. Megatron, listening in via a synch-pulse transmitter he'd planted on her, was disgusted by the obvious romance going on. Still Silverbolt and Blackarachnia worked together surprisingly well, saving each other's life in turns, and eventually defeating Rampage with the help of Optimus and Cheetor. Bad Spark
When the Predacons attacked the valley of proto-humans, Blackarachnia was teamed with Inferno. She did considerable damage to Dinobot before being blasted herself. Code of Hero
Blackarachnia took advantage of Silverbolt's obvious interest in her, meeting the Maximal at a secluded location to obtain a graviton generator. She used the generator to convert a stasis pod into a makeship hoversled, and later overheard Megatron giving a mission to Waspinator. As the Maximals fought their way into the Predacon base, Blackarachnia emerged on her sled to encounter Silverbolt. Silverbolt refused a direct order from Optimus to shoot her, allowing her to leave and tail Waspinator instead. The Agenda (Part 1) Silverbolt eventually caught up with Blackarachnia, who resorted to shooting him in order to try to get the point across that he should leave her alone. It didn't really work, and when the hoversled she was on hit Waspinator, Silverbolt saved her from plummeting to the ground. He subsequently joined her in digging into the side of the mountain they had been heading towards. The Agenda (Part 2)
Finally they broke through into a huge cavern containing the Ark, and Blackarachnia explained the ship's significance to her companion. While she was keen to take the power for herself, Megatron arrived and knocked Silverbolt offline before caving in the tunnel they'd dug. Having always intended for her to reach the Ark as he knew she had the access codes, Megatron threatened to vape Silverbolt unless she did what he said. Bitterly, she agreed to his demands, reluctantly opening the ship and, while Megatron went on, using the Ark's security system to hold off the Maximals. Megatron took the opportunity to attempt to assassinate Optimus Prime, potentially erasing the Maximals from history. The Agenda (Part III)
Unfortunately for Megatron, Blackarachnia had originally been a Maximal protoform, and certainly wasn't willing to die for his cause. She activated Teletraan I's security nets to force Megatron off the ship. With Silverbolt's help, she got the dying Autobot leader under life support and began the repairs. The Maximals were forced to accept her help, but while the Maximals were occupied with Megatron, Blackarachnia slipped out... only to be trapped by falling rocks, and slagged by Megatron during his escape. Silverbolt cradled her to his chest as she shut down, swearing vengeance until the other Maximals suggested he stop messing around and get her to a repair chamber. With no much other choice, Blackarachnia joined the Maximal ranks. Optimal Situation She even spent time on guard duty outside the base with Silverbolt. Deep Metal
Blackarachnia quickly showed her usefulness to the Maximals, building a hand-powered subaquatic stealth vessel that could retrieve Sentinel from the Axalon's underwater resting place. Rattrap was less than thrilled about having to use the "Predacon beach ball". Changing of the Guard
She was even less thrilled when she ended up having to escort two human children back to their tribe along with Cheetor, who was exhibiting a boyish crush on her, much to Silverbolt's annoyance. Rattrap was also rather distrusting of her, as earlier he had spied Blackarachnia sneaking some parts from a classified area. But when Megatron's new cyber raptors attacked, Blackarachnia showed her good side by defending the children, even taking a hit from Tarantulas for them, which she immediately denied to an impressed Silverbolt by saying she slipped. With the cyber raptors defeated, she informed Cheetor that he was a nice kid - which were two strikes against him, so don't go looking for strike three. Cutting Edge
Depth Charge returned from a mission reporting that Cheetor had been destroyed trying to interfere with Megatron's experiment, however the Maximal had secretly brought back the Transmetal driver, a component of Megatron's experiment. Though he tossed it into a pool of lava, Blackarachnia was able to grab it before it was destroyed. Feral Scream Part 1 She took part in the search for Cheetor, leading Silverbolt to develop jealousy at her apparent concern for their comrade. He later turned up with, it transpired, a new Transmetal 2 body, which Blackarachnia took particular interest in. Feral Scream Part 2
After Rhinox scanned her and found the shell program that made her a Predacon, Blackarachnia finally got fed up with Rattrap's attitude and Cheetor's crush, and would have choked/blasted them both if Optimus hadn't intervened. Weary that apparently she hadn't proven herself to the Maximals and thinking that Optimus and Rhinox were planning to force her to remove the shell, Blackarachnia decided to split... which turned out to be a bad decision, as Dinobot II had been waiting for this moment. Taking turns hunting each other, Blackarachnia got the upper hand but was caught off-guard by Dinobot's power and durability. Fleeing to a mesa, she was found by Silverbolt, who got in a fight with Dinobot and was about to be slagged. Blackarachnia shot him out of the way, then tried to make a deal with Dinobot to take over the Ark and the Predacons, which backfired and allowed Dinobot to stun her, but he was distracted by Silverbolt long enough for the two Maximals to finally defeat him. After an argument between the pair, where Blackarachnia was enraged that Silverbolt thought she'd really been striking a deal with Dinobot instead of trying to con the villain, Optimus arrived to point out that the decision to remove the program had always been up to her. Proving Grounds
When Megatron attempted to fire his new disruptor cannon on the Maximal base, the Maximals prepared for the worst, but the cannon blew up instead. Go with the Flow
Seeking more power, Blackarachnia attempted to use the Transmetal driver on herself. Silverbolt, not realizing what she was planning, bailed her out of the contraption. Like every good girlfriend, she began to chew him out, but was cut off as an energy surge made her lose control of her circuits. A security system Tarantulas installed had been triggered by her tampering with her core, and the only way to fix it was to cut the Predacon shell program loose. Reluctantly, she agreed, especially since this was a very difficult procedure that could lead to her death. With time running out, she passed the Ark's access codes on to Primal in case she didn't make it and shut herself down, leaving herself in Rhinox's care. Rhinox began the operation, but his tinkering tripped an alert in Tarantulas's lair. The Predacons got wind of what he was doing and mounted an attack on the Maximal base. The Maximals countered their attack, but the power was disrupted by a shot fired by Tarantulas at a critical stage. This apparently killed Blackarachnia.
Distraught, Silverbolt took off to avenge her death, blinded by rage. However, in Silverbolt's absence, Blackarachnia's body attracted the attention of the Transmetal driver, and she was resurrected in a new Transmetal 2 form. She arrived just in time to save Silverbolt from Rampage. Rampage admitted that he liked her new look, but tried to kill her just the same. Surprisingly, Blackarachnia was able to disarm and stun the titanic Rampage, ultimately throwing him over the horizon using her webs. Silverbolt was, of course, overjoyed to see his beloved alive, but Blackarachnia told him to knock off the vengeful hero stuff so she wouldn't have to keep endangering herself with inevitable rescue attempts. Crossing the Rubicon
Some time later, Blackarachnia returned to base to find the doors open. It was the result of Megatron's latest plan as it turned out, which involved Quickstrike taking control of Optimus Primal's body, rendering the other Maximals unconscious and placing them in a cage. Left in Rampage's "care", Blackarachnia was able to use some sort of telekinesis to make a girder fly through the air and disable the Predacon. After dealing with Inferno, she went to release the other Maximals, only to run into Quickstrike and Primal. She freed Primal by disabling Quickstrike's control suit, and subsequently managed to stop the Ark's destruct sequence, which Tarantulas had set in motion, before rescuing the other Maximals and helping fight Megatron off. Master Blaster
When an object from space destroyed the Predacon base, Blackarachnia realised that the aliens had returned — in this case in the form of the Vok emissary Tigerhawk. She cut short Rattrap's celebrations by pointing out that when Tigerhawk had finished with the Predacons, he'd probably come for them. Other Victories Tigerhawk, in fact, joined the Maximals. When Silverbolt was injured looking for the Predacons, Blackarachnia rode to his aid on Cheetor's back, and the pair took him back to base for repairs. Nemesis Part 1 After Megatron raised the Nemesis from the depths of the ocean, the Maximals struggled to prepare the Ark for moving. In search of something to make a power link, Blackarachnia grabbed Rattrap's tail-whip, snipping off the end and repurposing it as a power cable. Though the attempt to shift the Ark failed, Rhinox used a shuttle to defeat Megatron. The Maximals subsequently blasted off for Cybertron in the shuttle. Nemesis Part 2
Beast Machines cartoon
- Voice actor: Venus Terzo (English), Ryōka Yuzuki (Japanese), Xu Lin (Chinese), Márcia Moreli (Portuguese), Rossella Acerbo (Italian), Heike Schroetter (German), Olga Hnidey (Latin American Spanish), Maxo Barjas (Castilain Spanish), Nathalie Stas (French)
When the Autobot shuttle crashed on Cybertron and the Maximal team was gassed, Blackarachnia's Transmetal 2 powers were stripped away from her, as were her memories. As such, the amnesiac Maximal decided to head underground, distraught and confused. Locked out of her robot mode, she awaited her imminent deactivation...until the other three survivors—an equally disoriented Optimus Primal, Rattrap and Cheetor—plunged into her web. Primal made the decision to head underground, and Blackarachnia complied, using her webs to grant them safe passage. However, in her weakened state her webbing was limited, and so the foursome plummeted most of the way down into the chamber of the Oracle. She watched as Optimus emerged in his technorganic form, and she was the fourth and last Maximal to be reformatted, emerging as a pink black widow spider with green markings. When attacked by a squadron of Cycle Drones, she put her technorganic mode to good use, trapping one of the Vehicons in a tangle of web. The Reformatting
Under Primal's tutelage, Cheetor and Blackarachnia relearned the ability to transform, and the Maximals set about finding a new base. Blackarachnia managed to goad Cheetor into accompanying her aboveground to find out what had happened to the residents of Cybertron. They accessed the Cybertron InfoCore, only to find it had been wiped. The Maximals visited the Council Citadel, allowing Blackarachnia to test her new powers in combat, including an ability to fire electrical "stings" through the ground. To her shock, they discovered that the mastermind behind the cleansing of Cybertron was none other than Megatron. Master of the House During an attempt to access the Cybertron Archives, she received a vision of prehistoric Earth and Silverbolt. She sneaked off to the spaceport to consult the records of their arrival and was followed by Rattrap. As well as encountering Megatron's new, sentient Vehicon generals, they discovered that there had been six occupants in the shuttle. Seeking more information, Blackarachnia attempted to access the logs from the shuttle itself, only for Megatron to attempt to access her own mind, and she was only prevented from revealing the location of the Maximal base by Rattrap severing the link. The pair were subsequently rescued by Primal and Cheetor, but Blackarachnia's information reawakened memories of Rhinox and Silverbolt in them all. Fires of the Past
Rattrap's use of a transformation enhancer got the Maximals captured by Megatron for a short time, but during their escape, Optimus reported that Tankor's spark seemed familiar. Mercenary Pursuits Blackarachnia and crew later discovered the bat-creature Nightscream, who led them to a strange, organic fruit tree. Upon eating the fruit, Blackarachnia began to revert to her instinctual "animal" mind, and it was only thanks to Cheetor that her feral mind returned to normal, and thanks to Primal that the bat's life was saved and reformatted into a technorganic body. Forbidden Fruit After another mission was fouled up by Rattrap's antics during Optimus's convalescence from reformatting Nightscream, the remaining Maximals discussed what they needed to do about Rattrap. Blackarachnia was irritated by Rattrap's uselessness, but Cheetor asserted that they had to cover for their friend. They were shocked to find a while later that Rattrap had overheard them and taken up with Megatron in exchange for weapons. Primal talked Rattrap around, scolding the other Maximals that they undervalued their teammate. The Weak Component
Later, the group stumbled across one of Megatron's many Transformer junkyards, where the lifeless, sparkless bodies of the city's inhabitants were disposed of. When Thrust and Blackarachnia were split up from the battle, the two made an unofficial truce, but when Thrust saved her life and her spark, having strange recollections of doing so before, her mind was set: He was Silverbolt, mutated and made evil by Megatron. She resolved to get her lover back, but didn't reveal to the other Maximals that she believed Thrust was Silverbolt. Discovery When Cheetor enacted a subsequent plan to try to hack into Tankor, Blackarachnia volunteered to keep Thrust busy. She made numerous appeals to Thrust to try to bring out his Maximal nature, but Thrust was hesitant and was soon bullied into extracting her spark by Jetstorm. Descent As her spark rocketed into the darkness, Nightscream fought Jetstorm for it. At the same time, on another plane of existence, Blackarachnia encountered Primal, who calmed her astral spirit down, at the same time allowing Nightscream to restore it and bring her back. She and Nightscream were able to come to Cheetor and Rattrap's aid, but they had found that Tankor was really Rhinox, and their old friend was now siding with Megatron's view of a technological Cybertron. Apocalypse
After Nightscream was snatched away by the Vehicons, the other Maximals gave pursuit. Blackarachnia's hesitation in attacking Thrust allowed the Vehicon to pursue Primal and Nightscream, who had discovered a cave full of fossils, proving Cybertron was once organic. Survivor When Tankor gained control of the Key to Vector Sigma and "infected" Nightscream and the new orchard with the Key, Blackarachnia quickly found that the organic goo they'd just discovered was a cure to the technomatter. While the other Maximals went to get a mole drone, Blackarachnia stayed behind to look after Nightscream, only to be infected by him and temporarily lose her own sanity. The other Maximals eventually returned with a drone and were able to cure her. The Key
Taking a vial of the goo, Blackarachnia kidnapped Thrust, trapping him in a web and using the goo to force out his inner personality, in the expectation that Silverbolt would emerge. Instead, she discovered that Thrust was Waspinator, who'd flown to Cybertron from prehistoric Earth. When Jetstorm attacked, another mishap with the organic goop occurred, and for a moment Silverbolt's true personality emerged, sweeping Blackarachnia in his arms. However, as he and Waspinator fought over Blackarachnia, the goo vanished from the both of them, and the Vehicons' minds both returned. Blackarachnia was swiftly rescued by the other Maximals, riding a giant vine created by a catalyst which Rattrap had found. The Catalyst
Blackarachnia was involved in the battle in Megatron's Citadel, holding off the Vehicons as Primal confronted Megatron within, though she, along with the others, were all overwhelmed by the Key to Vector Sigma and became comatose. End of the Line The clashing energies of the Key and the Plasma Energy Chamber restored the four Maximals to life. Entering the Council Citadel, they found that the battle had claimed Primal, Megatron and Tankor. They headed for the Oracle in search of guidance, where they found Optimus Primal floating within, and they convinced him to return to real-space and continue his leadership.
The Maximals returned to the surface to find a giant floating head in the likeness of Megatron. Fallout Blackarachnia and Nightscream tried unsuccessfully to infiltrate the head. Leaving Optimus to try and contact Megatron's spark, the other Maximals went to find the two remaining Vehicon generals and encountered a strange, organic Transformer named Noble, who changed from a wolf into the dragon-like Savage. Savage Noble The Maximals later infiltrated the Council Citadel, looking for information, only to discover that Noble was actually Megatron, trapped in his own organic half. Megatron used spark extractors to remove his spark, taking over the huge, flying head and reactivating the Vehicon drone army, which forced the Maximals back underground. Prometheus Unbound
When Rattrap revealed he's created a device he hoped could be used to restore the stolen sparks into new bodies, Blackarachnia "borrowed" it. She managed to force Jetstorm into a large pool of the organic goo, and his body began to change. Scanning a nearby condor skeleton, he awoke in a new form, a purple technorganic bird of prey. Blackarachnia was startled by the change in him. Instead of the lovable, chivalrous knight in shining armor, he was a brittle, haunted bot, tormented by the images of the evil deeds he had done...done by choice. Though he gave up on himself, she never did, urging Silverbolt to forgive his past, prompting him to head to the Grand Mal to confront his old master and rescue Primal and Cheetor. In Darkest Knight
Blackarachnia continued to assure Silverbolt that things would get better. After Silverbolt inadvertently spread a new, Megatron-enhanced version of the old Hate Plague, causing dissension in the ranks, he blamed himself, but she and the other Maximals were supportive. A Wolf in the Fold Later, when a Maximal spaceship crashed, the Maximals split up to reach it in time. As they did, Blackarachnia confided to Rattrap that she'd found Silverbolt increasingly cold towards her. At the ship, they encountered a strange, alien plant monster, which Primal reformatted, revealing it to be Botanica, a fellow Maximal. Home Soil
The Maximals would soon encounter two new Vehicon generals, Obsidian and Strika, whose gambit almost defeated them until Botanica stepped in. The Strike Blackarachnia and Silverbolt were teamed up with Cheetor during a search for the missing sparks. Though Silverbolt was uncomfortable about following someone he still regarded as a kid, Blackarachnia defended Cheetor. The Search The Maximals attempted to infiltrate the Grand Mal to find the missing sparks, only to discover that Megatron was using them to fuel his great ascension. Nightscream's intercession appeared to dispel the Vehicon leader's spark. The Siege
Once the Maximals had celebrated, Blackarachnia tried to talk to Silverbolt, believing now was the time for them to renew their romance. Silverbolt was not convinced of Megatron's demise, and in fact, he was right: Megatron still lived as a disembodied and depolarized spark. The pair found themselves being attacked by a zombie of pieced-together Vehicon parts, animated by the power of Megatron's spark. Megatron was later trapped in a Diagnostic Drone by Rattrap. Spark of Darkness
Silverbolt, Blackarachnia and Nightscream attacked the Vehicons while the others attempted to secure the sparks in the Grand Mal. They were subsequently able to put Megatron's Vehicon factory out of commission, but the Grand Mal itself was brought down. The Downward Spiral Blackarachnia and Silverbolt were able to share a quiet moment before the final battle, and they received a spark power-up from the collective population of Cybertron. However, they were both felled during battle by Obsidian and Thrust, respectively. Their sparks were then torn from them by cycle drones. When Legends Fall Though unable to assist physically, Blackarachnia and the other Maximals were able to give moral support to Primal during his final battle against Megatron, which resulted in the sacrifice of both leaders and the reformatting of Cybertron into a technorganic paradise. With harmony restored, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia were finally able to be together. Seeds of the Future
Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Beast Wars Diorama Story
Soon after Starscream's intrusion into the Beast Wars, Blackarachnia joined a battle between Maximals and Predacons. Optimus Primal Chapter Blackarachnia faced off against Dinobot, who attacked with his Dino Sabel. Dinobot Chapter Blackarachnia counterattacked with her Anchor Shot. Blackarachnia Chapter The battle was joined by Autobots and Decepticons from another universe, Tigatron Chapter and the collective Maximal/Autobot forces faced off against their opposite factions. Motorarm Chapter
Legends comic
Following the Great Reformatting, Blackarachnia and the other surviving Maximals listened to Cheetor explain that Rhinox's spark was not gone for good, but lost in another universe. Bonus Edition Vol. EX After Rattrap and Waspinator were sent to retrieve their comrade, Blackarachnia was elated to see the two return with Rhinox accompanying. Bonus Edition Vol. EX
3H comics
Blackarachnia brought Fractyl back to reality after the Predacon scientist had been daydreaming about the worst case scenarios that would follow up his presentation to Megatron about his "energon armor". When Fractyl expressed a desire to inform Megatron about the current progress of his experiements with furmanite, Blackarachnia dissuaded him from doing so, secretly hoping to use Fractyl's invention for her own gain. She and Inferno continued to keep watch over Fractyl, until Packrat stumbled upon the scene, causing Inferno to lash out violently. In the confusion that followed, Packrat ran off, prompting Blackarachnia to order Inferno to pursue him. She then turned to Fractyl for an explanation to his armor's volatilie nature, only to learn that furmanite was, in truth, "anti-energon". Realizing that if enough energon came into contact with the furmanite, it could spell doom for the entire planet, Blackarachnia went to fetch Megatron while Fractyl pursued the Maximal. When she and Megatron came upon Fractyl, he had retrieved the armor, and was sending a small group of Maximals fleeing. Ground Zero
After Blackarachnia had acquired her Transmetal 2 form, she and the other Maximals set out to investigate a temporal anomaly detected by Rhinox. They encountered the Predacons en-route. The two factions were locked in a firefight, though the advantage lay with the Predacons. After Megatron took off to reach the time-traveler that both teams had previously detected, Optimus was forced to pursue him, leaving his troops against insurmountable odds. Blackarachnia was sure to voice her displeasure over the situation. The Predacons eventually began to push the Maximals back towards a cliffside. Then, suddenly, Predacon fire ceased entirely. The situation had not become any safer however, the Maximals now had to contend with Windrazor, the aforementioned time-traveler, possessed by Unicron's dark essence. Though Windrazor was able to expunge Unicron from his systems, the much more powerful Shokaract appeared immediately aftwerwards... Paradox
This led to Blackarachnia participating in Point Omega, a battle that would determine the fate of all Cybertronians. She was eviscerated by Shokaract's firepower. She got better as space-time rebooted itself with the disappearance of the Dark Essence from the past, and these events were erased from her timeline. Terminus
Shortly after Cybertron underwent the Great Reformatting, the Quintessons seized the opportunity to attack, believing that the revolutionary change would have rendered the planets' inhabitants confused and docile. Suffice to say, the Transformers were greatly underestimated. Silverbolt and Blackarachnia were successfully able to fend Cybertropolis from Quintesson invaders. Wreckers: Finale Part II
One year later, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia were chosen to greet a ship of returning Autobot heroes from the Great War. Their welcomes were ignored by the crew, which included Sideswipe, Trailbreaker, Roulette, and Shadow Striker, when they realized that their home had been transformed into a strange technorganic paradise. Only Sunstreaker was unfazed, choosing to talk up Blackarachnia and Silverbolt so that he could mug for Rook's cameras.
Their greeting was interrupted by a series of what appeared to be fireworks. Instead, they were beams of energy sent by Unicron to capture the returning crew, Blackarachnia, and Silverbolt, and bring them to him. When they arrived, a booming voice welcomed them to the Pit, a dimension inside Unicron. Blackarachnia and her fellow captives were painfully smelted down and reformed; only Trailbreaker emerged unchanged. Since she arrived, Blackarachnia had begun to feel a growing anger that she couldn't control. And in this new Unicron-tainted form, she more than welcomed the swarm of creatures that began swarming her group. Overwhelmed, Blackarachnia and the others were herded into the Cauldron and filed into prison cells. As Blackarachnia protested, she was silenced by Tankor, one of their hosts.
It was revealed to them by the master of ceremonies, Razorclaw, that they would be forced to fight fellow abducted Transformers. The loser's spark would fuel and empower Unicron, whose form had fallen into disrepair. Blackarachnia's uncontrollable rage welcomed this bloodsport; Silverbolt watched helplessly as she fell under Unicron's evil spell. Abduction
Optimus Primal, resurrected by Primus, arrived to rescue the prisoners of the Cauldron, and with help from Silverbolt and Trailbreaker, its captives were set free. But Unicron's grip on Blackarachnia was too strong. She began lashing out madly, even at Silverbolt, and the Fuzor took tight hold of her so that he might swiftly remove her from Unicron's grip. But as the others began jumping through a portal that would lead them to their respective homes across the multiverse, Blackarachnia had a moment of clarity. Sadly, she told Silverbolt that Unicron had awakened her true nature, then bid him farewell and threw him through the portal.
Soon, she was escorted by Tankor and Obsidian to the center of Unicron, where she was repulsed to meet a familiar face: Tarantulas! Escape
Blackarachnia was dispatched to her home Cybertron's Undercity, where she observed Rattrap for a while. Finally, she made her presence known, stinging him with her cybervenom. She never had liked the vermin, after all. Suddenly, Rattrap was saved by Depth Charge, back from the dead. Blackarachnia was knocked out, and Depth Charge left the weakened Rattrap to fend for himself. As Depth Charge departed, he found himself surrounded by Blackarachnia's Piranacons. Homecoming
Much later, Optimus Primal waged one last desperate assault against Unicron, and his Children of Primus were able to defeat the Minions of Unicron. As Unicron himself seemed to dissolve below them, Silverbolt carried Blackarachnia with him, saving her from sharing the gruesome fate of her evil peers. Revelations Part 2
Dreamwave Generation One continuity
On the way back to Cybertron after the end of the Beast Wars, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt dozed off to sleep while cuddling each other. Ain't No Rat
They awoke, affected by a Transwarp agitator planted on the shuttle by a new team of Predacons hiding on Earth. This device caused Blackarachnia and the other Maximals aboard to act aggressively towards one-another, and they tried to force Rattrap into the ship's C.R. Chamber due to its influence. Rattrap resisted, managed to get away, and deactivated the ship's Transwarp drive. Though this restored the Maximals to their senses, it also returned them to prehistoric Earth. Shell Game #1
Transformers Legends anthology
Not long after Megatron took the original Megatron's spark into himself, he had Quickstrike deliver a device to the Maximal base which amplified the Maximals' aggression. Blackarachnia was attacked by Rhinox before escaping while Silverbolt distracted him. Once Optimus Primal was able to overcome the device's effects and free the other Maximals, they attempted unsuccessfully to capture Megatron in one of Blackarachnia's webs. A Meeting of Minds
After the Maximals returned to Cybertron, Blackarachia was trying to persuade Silverbolt that it was all right for them to resume their romance after Megatron's apparent death, when they were attacked by a strange zombie-like creature. After it zapped Silverbolt, she unsuccessfully tried to attack it in retaliation. Singularity Ablyss
IDW Beast Wars comics
"White Propionica"[1] was walking down a street shortly after the signing of the Pax Cybertronia. Dawn of the Predacus
As Magmatron was surveying the timestream, he witnessed several key moments taking place during the Beast Wars. Among these was Blackarachnia fiddling around with some technology. The Gathering #1
While the Maximals attempted to remove her Predacon shell program, an alternate Transmetal "Vok" body was somehow automatically created (by someone, somehow) in subspace just in case it was needed. It wasn't, and so it was "sidelined". Beast Wars Sourcebook #1
Waspscream continuity
In Primax 208.06 Zeta, the machinations of the Starscream from Primax 206.15 Gamma resulted in the local Predacons defeating the Maximals, prompting the Vok to attempt to sterilize their experiment. Blackarachnia was killed when Megatron tricked her into destroying the Vok weapon while she was trying to escape Earth. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/16
Story of Binaltech
As the victorious Maximals travelled forward in time from prehistoric Earth to far-future Cybertron in Primax 496.22 Alpha, their shuttle was suddenly struck by a powerful force of darkness. This was the result of the temporal machinations of Ravage in Primax 785.06 Alpha and the Alternity's response effort to repair the timeline. However, these events resulted in two copies of the Maximals' shuttle being created: one copy went on home to Cybertron where its crew would participate in the Spark War while the other was hurled into the early 21st century of Primax 903.0 Beta. Unicron observed the shuttle and destroyed it, scattering most of the crew into transwarp space. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/09/30Outlier Blackarachnia, however, was forced by Unicron to aid him in his efforts to destroy the Matrix of Leadership. Her spark was placed inside the silver Beta Unit Honda S-2000 Aero Style body intended for the Autobot warrior Windcharger, and her mind was overwhelmed by an evil essence that forced her to do Unicron's bidding.
Still possessing her extrasensory Transmetal 2 powers including telekinesis, Blackarachnia gained several additional weapons courtesy of her new form: a long-range Venom Sniper Gun that fired system-disrupting energy bullets, a defensive riot shield that projected an electromagnetic field from its edge, and the ability to fire strong artificial webs from her grill, exhaust pipe and hands in robot mode.
Blackarachnia was partnered with the newly-created Decepticharge and dispatched to confront Shockwave's forces on Earth. Finding them in the middle of a Starscream-led uprising, the pair put down the rebellion and ordered the Decepticons to defeat Optimus Prime and destroy the Matrix.
While forced to act as a Decepticon, Blackarachnia's true self remained intact but submerged, struggling to overcome Unicron's control and desperate to correct the warped Binaltech timeline. Ask Vector Prime, 2015/08/08
Wings Universe
Following the Great Reformatting of Cybertron, Blackarachnia and her friends stood guard over Cheetor as their leader attempted to commune with the Oracle. Alpha Trizer's profile
An image of Blackarachnia carrying a Maximal flag and being led by Primal Prime into battle (presumably taken during the Quintesson invasion) hung in the Cybertronian Knights' headquarters. Hoist the Flag
A Change to the Agenda
After his attack on Optimus Prime, Megatron was thrown out of the Ark when Blackarachnia activated the ship's defense systems. However, he was not thrown far enough and the Predacon managed to reenter the Ark and blasted the Autobot leader, decisively erasing the Maximals from the timeline. But before he could gloat further, Blackarachnia attacked the original Megatron with her cyber-venom before she disappearing, ensuring the Predacon Megatron's nonexistence. A Change to the Agenda In the wildly different timeline that followed, Blackarachnia's life would take a very different track.
Beast Wars Metals manga
Following the Quantum surge, Blackarachnia was one of the few Transformers not to be upgraded into a Transmetal. As Quickstrike and his armies laid siege to the weakened Maximal base, Blackarachnia waited in secret for an opening. When Rhinox was forced to shut Sentinel down to let an injured Airazor in, Blackarachnia saw her chance and entered the base. Knocking out Airazor and ripping Rattrap's arm off, Blackarachnia confronted Rhinox. Rhinox proceeded to pull out a "gun", but instead of shooting her with it, he blasted himself in the head (the "gun" actually being a machine allowing him to enter Transwarp space). Confused, but seeing no further use for the Maximals, Blackarachnia left the base. As the base collapsed behind her, she was approached by Quickstrike, who didn't like her "interfering" with his business. Not in the mood, she immediately kicked his head off. Beast Wars Metals #1
She later teamed with Tarantulas in confronting Tigatron. Tarantulas was promptly cut in two by the Maximal, though Blackarachnia blocked his sword with her legs and was able to escape with her comrade's body. Beast Wars Metals #2
Tarantulas recovered and took control of Tigatron's mind. Blackarachnia disapproved of such an invasive attack, but Tarantulas ignored her. While Airazor fought to save Tigatron's mind and body, Blackarachnia had a change of heart and decapitated Tarantulas with her thighs. She then entered the battle to help Airazor, but was shot in the back by Tarantulas' headless body. Ultimately, Tigatron's mind was saved, but Airazor died in the process. With nobody noticing, Blackarachnia slunk away to the Ark. Beast Wars Metals #4
There, she met the severed head of Megatron and disapproved of his plan to kill the sleeping Optimus Prime and disrupt the timestream. She kicked his head into a lava pit, but this only allowed Megatron to merge with the spark of his ancestor and become even more powerful. Beast Wars Metals #5
After Megatron was killed and the Maximals reunited, Blackarachnia encountered Silverbolt and the two immediately hit it off. Beast Wars Metals #6
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. When one of the archeologists, Jessica Theist, later touched one of the markings, she was bestowed a vision of the Maximals' and Predacons' battles. Among them, she saw Blackarachnia. Fire in the Dark
Universe CD-ROM
Blackarachnia followed Reptillion[sic] in battle against Optimus Primal and his Autobot forces. She teamed up with Razorclaw to fight Striker before being abducted by a mysterious ship, which was bringing the Decepticons to Unicron. Universe CD-ROM
Q-Robo Transformer
Beast Wars: Uprising
Blackarachnia was brought online in a universe where the Autobots and Decepticons had grown too decrepit to carry on the Great War, and had made the Maximals and Predacons continue the war in a series of ritualized Games. As a result from her first moments Blackarachnia knew only strife and combat. Increasingly questioning the orders of her Autobot masters, the breaking point came with the death of her colleagues Silverbolt and Rhinox, and the apparent death of Rattrap. She conspired with Nightscream and together they killed their commander, Optimus Primal.
Joined by the malcontent Predacons Immorticon and Scavenger, they fled and activated an experimental transwarp device, hoping to escape Cybertron. Instead, they found themselves in another Cybertron, in Axiom Nexus. After processing, they were placed in the care of Alpha Trion. He convinced her that the Transcendent Technomorphs who ruled the city were little different from the Autobots under whose yoke she had chafed. Under his tender ministrations, her spark was transferred from her Lowtech body into that of her Transcendent Technomorph counterpart, with the authorities of Axiom Nexus none the wiser. Blackarachnia's profile in Club magazine #25
Thus upgraded, she joined Alpha Trion's insurrectionist organization, and was part of the raid on Shockwave's laboratory in the hopes of rescuing Breakaway. Blackarachnia and her comrades successfully stormed into Shockwave's inner sanctum, where they came face-to-face with the formidable Megatron. Transcendent: Part 5 Despite that rather severe obstacle, Blackarachnia and the Alpha Trion's minions managed to secure the transit room and transwarp to the Old One's original universal stream. Transcendent: Part 6
On the other side of the transwarp portal, Alpha Trion ordered Blackarachnia to prepare the cloaking device in order to keep his return a secret. Reunification: Part 1
Through some form of transdimensional navigation, Blackarachnia arranged to return to her home universe. She intended to arrive on Earth, but instead found herself drawn back to Cybertron due to a unique but powerful energy matrix of Terran design she detected. She was discovered after impact by Lio Convoy, Guardian of Order in the Games and unknowingly the possessor of this energon matrix at the core of his spark. Blackarachnia's words stirred the fires of revolution in Lio Convoy, and he recognized the need to throw off their Builder oppressors. Blackarachnia got back in touch with the resistance, getting a new body along the way.
At the start of the next Games, Blackarachnia and her team of rebels (B'Boom, Scylla, Break, Longhorn, and Retrax) stormed the stadium and overcame the Builder Override. Taking control of the cameras and broadcast equipment, they ensured Lio Convoy had the world's undivided attention when he executed the Games' announcer and declared it was time for revolution. Broken Windshields
Blackarachnia was tasked with recruiting Twirl into the resistance, until Twirl was murdered. She started her own investigation into the murder, and infected Wolfang with a virus, to probe his core conscious for information. Wolfang's secret Predacon identity was revealed, giving Blackarchania leverage over him. Wolfang discovered she purchased the virus from Overrun under the psuedonym "Elita." Both Wolfang and Blackarachnia traced Twirl's murder to the Mayhemist movement. Despite knowing Twirl for a short period of time, Blackarachnia sought to avenge her death, setting up a sniper's nest outside the Mayhemist base. Wolfang found her and threatened to arrest her, but Blackarachnia countered, stating that she could end his life with a single anonymous transmission. The two reluctantly teamed up, deeming the Mayhemists a mutual threat. The pair shared cy-gar-ettes while waiting for the Mayhemists to arrive. Wolfang was shocked to see that Tarantulas, head of the Predacon Secret Police, was directly involved with the Mayhemists. Blackarachnia suggested killing him outright, but Wolfang insisted on trying to arrest him. Blackarachnia temporarily fled to avoid the PSP, later intending to meet Wolfang back at the Spark of Genius. However, she was apprehended by Overrun on the way, who confessed to the murder after Wolfang confronted him. Blackarachnia managed to free herself, but not before the PSP arrived. Overrun escaped, pursued by Wolfang and Blackarachnia, as well as the MCSF and PSP. Overrun attempted to escape near the border of Vos. While Wolfang decided what to do with him, Blackarachnia bought them time by prompting a mortar strike on the area. Blackarachnia offered an escape for Overrun and Wolfang, but Wolfang declined, knowing that their time was near. Wolfang and Blackarachnia shared a brief romantic moment, before she fled the scene. Trigger Warnings
Pragmatic to a fault, Blackarachnia was quick to accept "dirty" business as a necessity of war. When the Predacons declared their secetion from the Builders as the Independent Predacus States, they initially opted for neutrality. The Tripedacus Council was willing to entertain an open alliance with the Resistance under certain conditions, one which was non-negotiable: the elimination of Preditron, founder of the Predacons and the council's only real threat to power. Blackarachnia and Lio Convoy agreed to arrange the death of Preditron, who had been in their care since the breakout at Fortress Maximus.
Blackarachnia was also encouraging Games of a new sort in Protihex—captive Micromasters fighting against each other to the death, just as the proto-races did for centuries. She called it a needed release for their tired troops, but Cheetor wondered how much Lio Convoy knew about such an idea. Safe Spaces
As High Command attempted to deal with independent warlords and the rise of the Maximal Nation and Independent Predacus States as potential allies, the Vehicon Apocalypse began. Blackarachnia supported Operation Amputation, an excessive counter-strike to wipe out the infected regions of Damaxus, Carpessa, and Protihex with K-Class Commandos. The failure to cauterize the infected areas mean the Vehicons spread beyond their initial borders, and the Resistance was now caught between the Builders to the north and a growing menace to the south. Faced with little choice, High Command ordered an all-out assault on Iacon, hoping that winning the war and bringing down the Builder Assembly would also provide the means to contain or deactivate the Vehicon horde.
In order to press onwards to Iacon, the Yuss Naval Batteries could not be firing on the Resistance Navy when they traversed the Great Rust Sea. And so, the Resistance fought to seize the seven fortresses guarding the batteries, and the batteries themselves. Blackarachnia led the successful siege on Fort Xern. The Maxilla was conquered and the batteries seized, but at great cost. No longer having the necessary naval ships to transport the army up the Sea, the Resistance had to proceed largely on foot to Iacon. They began to double-time it once they realized Hot Rod, commander of the Micromaster 001st in Iacon, was refusing to engage in open warfare in the streets and risk civilians. The enemy's general had, effectively, left the front door open to them.
At the High Pavilion of Iacon, Blackarachnia and Lio Convoy secured the outer perimeter while Psycho-orb and B'Boom led squads inside to reach the Builder Assembly. Instead, the Builders seemingly chose to come to them. The Assembly bunker raised into the sky, exposing the Builders in a naked display of arrogance. Lio Convoy and Blackarachnia ascended to greet them with Grimwing and the Flying Meteors. As they tried to "negotiate" the Assembly into surrendering, the Vehicon hordes finally reached Iacon. They were completely unprepared when the Vehicons turned on the Builder Assembly, assimilating them and going on to augment their numbers with the three million Builders also in Iacon. All hope of shutting the Vehicons down was lost. The Vehicons would not, could not be stopped. The Vehicon Apocalypse had begun.
Two megacycles later, the army of the Resistance was still fighting to survive in the ruins of the High Pavilion. Lio Convoy was prepared to activate their last K-Class, Ro-Tor, and destroy the entire planet to stop the Vehicons when Administrator Eject arrived with intelligence on the Vehicons' home base, the Grand Mal of Nova Cronum. Working quickly, Blackarachnia and Lio Convoy assembled a small squad of special forces troopers to assault the Grand Mal and hopefully defeat Galva Convoy, the dark mirror of Lio Convoy who created the Vehicons.
Entering the Grand Mal and making their way to the command center cost lives, and the final door was heavily guarded. Ro-Tor, Apexus, and Razorbeast were sent off to cause a diversion while Blackarachnia and Lio Convoy used the concealing power of his Soplisistic Sword to move past the Vehicon guards. They confronted Galva Convoy, but were overwhelmed by his defenses. Trying a different tactic, Lio Convoy claimed to have seen the light, and expressed a desire to join his "brother". To prove it, he agreed to have Blackarachnia turned into a Vehicon. Instead, he interposed himself between Blackarachnia and the nano-injection, taking the plague for himself. Their shared CNA allowed him to pass the infection into Galva Convoy with a touch. With a heavy heart, Blackarachnia used her mandible-blaster to shoot Lio Convoy with cyber-venom before he too succumbed to the plague.
Destroying Galva Convoy didn't stop the Vehicons, unfortunately. It only revealed the true malefactor behind the Apocalypse: Lord Imperious Delirious, a second-born intellect who slipped into Cybertron during the Uprising to destroy the Transformers from within. Uncertain of Lio Convoy's chances of survival, Blackarachnia pulled the supreme commander to safety and hooked up with the commandos. She ordered the last surviving special forces trooper, Razorbeast, to get Lio Convoy to safety by any means necessary. After that, she and Ro-Tor pressed on to the engineering section, hoping to detonate the K-Class warrior and stop the flying fortress. Instead, the crazed Rampage intervened and stole Ro-Tor's core bomb for himself. Attaching the explosive to his own spark by ripping open his chest, Rampage bade Ro-Tor and Blackarachnia to run while they still could. The Resistance fighters made it out of the Mal before Rampage detonated his bomb, destroying Delirious and severing the Vehicons from their hive mind.
In the days that followed, Blackarachnia rested at Lio Convoy's bedside in Stanix until he recovered from her cyber-venom, which proved remarkably effective in cleansing the nano-plague. Once he awakened, Lio Convoy insisted on a Grand Summit of the surviving factions to ensure peace was forged and the world didn't slide back into war again. A Cybertronian Parliament was hammered out, with the Resistance gaining three voices our of sixteen, joined by Maximals, Predacons, Neutrals, and a few concessions to the surviving Builders. In the meantime, Resistance territory would be reforged into the League of Autonomous Proto-States, each having a voice while governing themselves. Unfortunately, Lio Convoy wouldn't be around to see it. Blackarachnia's oldest friend and collaborator rightly decided he was too polarizing a figure to remain, and planned to leave Cybertron good-bye. As he departed, Blackarachnia and "Aslan" shared a final moment together, as she thanked him for all his efforts since they first met, stellar cycles earlier. Derailment
Millennia later, Blackarachnia would be unfairly remembered as trying to capture "Oversurge" and trying to turn him into a weapon of mass destruction. She was also mistakenly attributed with Lio Convoy's murder of Supersonic. The Inexorable March
Mini Mayhem!
Using the Autoscout, Soundwave delivered a love-letter to Blackarachnia. She didn’t seem too happy about it. Mini Mayhem!
Regeneration One
As the Dark Matrix creature tortured Circuit Smasher with visions of his dead father in Zero Space, cracks began to appear in the membrane of infinite worlds. Through one, Blackarachnia could be seen alongside Leobreaker, Jetstorm, Gas Skunk and Starscream. The War to End All Wars, Part 5
Transformers vs. G.I. Joe
A Decepticon believed to have been killed by Ultra Magnus, Blackarachnia had in fact survived and made her way into Fortress Maximus's head, corrupting the giant's brain and turning him into a mindless, violent zombie. She was eventually discovered and defeated by Arcee and Tunnel Rat, restoring Maximus to normal. Everybody Hates Metroplex
Kre-O online manga
Blackarachnia was part of Bludgeon's forces that uncovered the Red Bucket. She panicked and fled when they were attacked by a giant Jazz robot. Treasure Competition! Defeat with Block Power!
Legends comic
Blackarachnia visited the Transformers Celebration 2014 event, where she browsed the toys for sale. Legends Bonus Vol. At day, she was an office worker at Tera-Kura Co., while, at night, she worked at a host club where she'd often entertain her employer, President Megatron. Head of Partying, Cheetor She was also a huge Transformers fan, something that prompted Megatron to learn more about the franchise to impress her. President Mega's Requests Before long, he was able to recite all kinds of Transformer names, to Blackarachnia's enjoyment. President Mega's Studies She also received a bunch of presents from him for Christmas. Merry X'mas!!
When Blackarachnia stayed at work longer than other employees, Megatron told her to finish up, wanting to leave and go the bar. He was unaware that she also wanted to get done quick as she had to go work at said bar. Widow-chan at Work Megatron later went to a Q-Transformers event, hoping to buy merchandise Blackarachnia would like, and found to his surprise that she was also there. Deckss × Q-Transformers When the original Megatron appeared in the Legends Universe, seeking to conquer it, Blackarachnia was happy to see him and gave him some oil as an offering. Lord Megatron Goes to the Legends World She did, however, fail to recognize him when President Megatron brought him as a guest to the club. Bonus Edition Vol. 13 Blackarachnia was overjoyed when the original Megatron became the chairman of Tera-Kura Co., but worked hard to act natural around him as she didn't want people at the office knowing she was a big nerd. Widow-chan's Usual Day
President Megatron later invited all his employees for a night on the town, but Blackarachnia turned him down. The Autumn Megatron Festival Among his visions of things to come, Alpha Trion foresaw that something would happen to Blackarachnia. Bonus Edition Vol. 14 She would attend the unveiling of Tera-Kura's latest product, the Nightbird Shadow ninja maid robot. Bonus Edition Vol. 15 Trion's prediction came to pass when Blackarachnia contracted Transformers sickness, granting her a full-scale Transformer body. Happy to have another Transformer on his team in time for Halloween, Chairman Megatron had her to go trick-or-treating for energy alongside Nightbird and Slipstream, which she did dressed as a cat. When Autobots Arcee, Chromia, and Windblade showed up to spoil their fun, Blackarachnia defeated all three by tying them up in webbing. Bonus Edition Vol. 17
Armada Starscream, another employee at the club, called Blackarachnia for help when he got in trouble with Slipstream, but she assumed he had started it and took Slipstream's side. LG-16 Slipstream Sequel When Springer arrived in the Legends world, Blackarachnia found him very easy on the eyes LG19 Sprung Prologue and was quite literally all over him alongside Nightbird and Slipstream. Bonus Edition Vol. 19 The three later went with Chairman Megatron on a hot springs trip, and were thus absent when Tera-Kura Co. was briefly taken over by Waspinator. Bonus Edition Vol. EX Blackarachnia grieved over G1 Megatron's body after he was seemingly killed by Skids, only to find a tiny new Megatron located inside the remains of the old one. Bonus Edition Vol. 20
After their company merged with the Decepticon Headmasters to become Decepticon Tera-Kura Co., Blackarachnia appeared on a chart of the current employees. Bonus Edition Vol. 22 When Megatron turned into the violent Galvatron, Blackarachnia, Nightbird and Slipstream tried to dissuade him from destroying the city only to be blasted for their trouble. Bonus Edition Vol. 23 Blackarachnia was later present for Scourge's failed attempt at usurping Megatron, Bonus Edition Vol. 26 and was temporarily hypnotized by Mindwipe into clinging all over him. Bonus Edition Vol. 34 She sat on Tigatron during the filming of Transformers: Convobat Amazon Showdown, which he didn't mind but the director did. Bonus Edition Vol. EX Blackarachnia later had her dresses ripped off by Apeface's telekinetic powers, Bonus Edition Vol. 38 and started taking Astrotrain's commuter service to work. Bonus Edition Vol. 40
Blackarachnia helped defend Tera-Kura when the treacherous Headmaster faction came to steal Metroplex's transformation cog, but was defeated by Trickdiamond Decepticon Civil War and sat back at base during the ensuing battle with Trypticon. Bonus Edition Vol. 43 She remained loyal to G1 Megatron even after he departed the company, and later helped him clear out invading Vipers from Tera-Kura's office. Bonus Edition Vol. 63
2005 IDW continuity
- First appearance: The Transformers: Windblade vol. 2 #6
A native of Eukaris, Blackarachnia was a member of the Fateweaver tribe, a small group of Transformers who specialized in the art of prophecy and fortune-telling. The Price of You Blackarachnia was one of the very few Fateweavers to be born with the gift of true precognition and the ability to access what she called the "Web of Time". Her unusual precognitive powers set her apart from the other citizens of Eukaris, and over time she took up the life of a hermit. Windblade vol. 2 #6
When fellow Fateweaver Airachnid went rogue and began experimenting on unwilling Eukarian victims, Blackarachnia oversaw her banishment from the tribe and subsequent exile. The Price of You
One evening, Blackarachnia was visited by Airazor and Tigatron, who had witnessed a pair of combiners from Cybertron fighting in nearby Talon Valley. Consulting the "Web of Time", Blackarachnia foresaw the coming of Cybertronians and Camiens to their isolated world. Not long afterwards, Blackarachnia assembled representatives from all four of Eukaris's tribes at the planet's spacebridge, where they encountered Cybertronian representative Rattrap.
Not long afterwards, the tribes reconvened to greet a second delegation, consisting of Starscream and Windblade. Windblade used her Camien heritage to try and parley favor of the Eukariens, but the arrival of "standard-formers" reawakened Chela - another part of a prophecy that Blackarachnia had forseen. The two Cybertronians were able to put down the mad Titan; although Windblade was saddened by the loss Blackarachnia consoled her by telling her that the death of Chela was but the first step towards changing Eukaris for the better.
Eukaris agreed to join the Council of Worlds; Blackarachnia decided that Tigatron and Airazor's status as outcasts would make them ideal delegates. Windblade vol. 2 #6
Generations Selects comic
Blackarachnia was a member of the Yellow Order. God Neptune comic 1
Games
Beast Wars: Transformers video game continuity
Beast Wars: Transformers video game advertising comic
Upon arriving on "Planet Energon," the dangers of Energon radiation forced the six surviving Predacons and their Maximal adversaries to take on beast alternate forms. Beast Wars: Transformers video game advertising comic
Beast Wars: Transformers video game
- Voice actor: ??? (English), ??? (Japanese)
Blackarachnia joined her fellow Predacons in battling not only the persistent Maximal resistance, but the interdimensional monsters known as the Skriix.
Maximal campaign
Predacon campaign
When Blackarachnia's stasis pod landed in the "Polluted Area," it was secured by the Predacons whom she subsequently joined. Beast Wars: Transformers
Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)
- Voice actor: Janet-Laine Green (English), ? (Japanese)
Transmetal Blackarachnia joined her fellow Predacons in distributing various one-on-one beat downs to the Maximals. Eventually, Silverbolt convinced her to defect to the Maximals but she never truly reformed. It was her betrayal at a key moment that eventually assured the Maximals victory in the Beast Wars. Once back on Cybertron, she worked as a double-agent between the Maximal and Tripredacus Council with no loyalty to either side. She often pondered what would have happened if she had remained on the Predacon team throughout the war. Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (N64)
Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (PS)
- Voice actor: Janet-Laine Green (English), ? (Japanese)
Transformers: Beast Wars Transmetals (PS)
Transformers Legends
Alongside Waspinator and Terrorsaur, Blackarachnia came upon the crash-site of a large stasis pod marked with a red "X". Finding the Maximal Silverbolt already there, a battle ensued. When the content of the pod was accidentally let loose, Blackarachnia and Silverbolt were blown away from the fight by the newly emerged Rampage, and sent flying into a hostile swamp. Finding that they need to rely on one another to survive, Blackarachnia is slowly won over by Silverbolt's chivalrous attitude, despite them being on opposing sides of a war. Eventually returning to where Waspinator, Terrorsaur, and a recently arrived Depth Charge continue to do battle with Rampage, all present manage to defeat Rampage just as Megatron arrives on-site. When Sparks Fly
Transformers: Battle Tactics
Blackarachnia participated in battles against a variety of opponents, both Autobots and Decepticons. Sometimes there were many of her! She appeared in multiple different bodies:
- Blackarachnia — This Epic character first appeared in the "Beast Wars - Episode 2" event, and could be recruited by collecting 500 units of Cybermetal, 250 units of Transmetal, and 50 cores of this character.
- Blackarachnia TM II — This Epic character first appeared in the third "Transmetals 2: Episode 1" mini events, and could be recruited by collecting 650 units of Cybermetal, 350 units of Transmetal, 150 exclusive cores, and 50 cores of this character.
Transformers: Earth Wars
Blackarachnia and Cheetor were investigating a massive anomaly where Megatron and Optimus Primal had seemingly disappeared. Seeing as both Blackarachnia and Cheetor were reverted to their pre-transmetal states, Cheetor had a hard time believing Blackarachnia could be trusted. Transformers: Earth Wars Primal Call Arachnophobia Not So Fast String Theory
- Class: Special
- Weapons: Blackarachnia can use her built-in gun to shoot a peculiar beam at defenses. In beast mode, she chops and dices at enemy targets with her razor-sharp spider legs.
- Ability: Bestial Fury - For 15 seconds, use melee attacks dealing 37.8 damage. Destroy buildings to increase your attack and movement speed by 25% - the buff lasts 90 seconds and can stack 5 times.
- Cost: 4 ability points +2 cost increase.
Blackarachnia at Transformers: Earth Wars Wiki
Toys
Notes
- Reportedly, Blackarachnia's show model was created after some Mainframe folks had taken the design modeler to a strip club only a few days prior for, um... inspiration.[2]
- Like her fellow spider Tarantulas, her original beast mode is depicted with nine eyes rather than eight.
- An unproduced Beast Wars episode concept would have seen Airazor and Blackarachnia join forces as a "third faction" for a bit. It went unproduced as the writers couldn't see where to go with the idea.
- In the Japanese dub of Beast Wars, Blackarachnia's character underwent a few noteworthy changes. Firstly, she had a voice that can only be described as "bipolar". She would switch between her usual sultry, flirtatious voice to a screaming blood-thirsty maniac at the drop of a hat. Another notable change is that she was made more vain and bratty, occasionally being prone to whining, crying and begging for mercy from her enemies (things she never did in the English version). Her unique verbal tic was a habit of making a hissing tssshaaaa noise, a trait actress Ryōka Yuzuki would pass on to Animated Blackarachnia and Prime Airachnid.
- Blackarachnia was the first character to willingly embrace the change to Transmetal, as the others were unwillingly changed by external forces or by sharing the spark of another. The second was Megatron.
- Even though Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia's toy has a unique faction-switching spark crystal, the feature doesn't make sense in a fictional context. By that point in the Beast Wars television series, the Transmetal Driver had destroyed her Predacon shell program, making her fully Maximal. (Though, to be fair, it had happened mere moments previously.)
- Blackarachnia exhibited what appears to be telekinesis not long after gaining her Transmetal 2 form, levitating a steel girder to stop Rampage in "Master Blaster". The ability only appeared once and was never explained, though it resembles the other strange, almost supernatural powers wielded by Transmetals 2 in the cartoon. Following her reformatting in Beast Machines, Blackarachnia no longer possessed this ability.
- Blackarachnia's Transmetal 2 animation model is noticeably tweaked from the toy design, with her extremely large shoulder-pads and back rockets all being significantly reduced to a very discreet size. Although arguably more toy-accurate than the CG model of her original body, this level of alteration was uncommon in new characters/upgraded bodies introduced from Season 2 onwards, as their animation models were more closely based on their respective toys (at least in appearance, if not always in capabilities.) Additionally, the CG render omitted her toy's chest armor.[3]
- Character and fiction information for the cancelled BT-16 "Blackwidow" toy finally emerged in late 2007 with the release of The Transformers Binaltech Stories: Profiles and Technical Specifications, an unofficial publication by Binaltech story writer Hirofumi Ichikawa that compiled all then-current Binaltech information as well as that of the unreleased Blackarachnia and Ginrai toys. Ask Vector Prime would canonize her bio almost a decade later.
- Blackarachnia is (strangely) depicted solely using a golden orange version of her Transmetal II body in her IDW Beast Wars Sourcebook profile entry. She received properly colored coverage of all her modes in the trade paperback version.
- In the Nintendo 64 version of Beast Wars: Transmetals, Blackarachnia was a stretched palette-swap of Transmetal Tarantulas. The PlayStation version does not stretch out Tarantulas, instead remeshing the model to resemble her Transmetal 2 form.
- As Blackarachnia appeared in the Kre-O webcomic months before her Kre-O toy was revealed, her comic appearance doesn't completely match up with the toy, lacking the spider legs and featuring additional paint details that make her more accurate to the original Blackarachnia.
- Beast Wars: Uprising Blackarachnia was depicted in a BotCon 2016 lithograph as a "virtual redeco" of Generations Chromia.
Foreign names
- Japanese: Blackwidow (ブラックウィドー Burakkuwidō), Blackarachnia (ブラックアラクニア Burakkuarakunia)
- Cantonese: Alaina (雅麗娜 Aa Lai Naa)
- French: La Veuve Noire (French cartoon dub, "The Black Widow"), Mygale (Canada toy)[4]
- German: Schwarze Arachnia (Beast Wars cartoon)
- Italian: Arachnia
- Korean: Black (브랙 Beulaeg)
- Latvian: Zirneklene (derived from zirneklis, meaning "spider")
- Mandarin: Zhīzhū (Beast Wars, 蜘蛛, "Spider"), Dú Zhīzhū (Beast Machines, 毒蜘蛛, "Venomous Spider")
- Polish: Arachna
- Portuguese: Aracniana (Portugual), Viúva Negra (Brazil Beast Wars, "Black Widow")
- Russian: Chornaya Vdova (Чёрная Вдова, "Black Widow")
- Spanish: Araña Negra ("Black Spider")[4]
References
- ↑ The BotCon 2016 script reading, "The Hot Rod" established this name as Blackarachia's pre-Earth name in this continuity.
- ↑ Why Blackarachnia Looks Asian on alt.toys.transformers.
- ↑ "Animators' Interview" from Madman Entertainment's Beast Wars Season 3 DVDs.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Whether Transmetal II Blackarachnia had different French and Spanish names is uncertain at this point.
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