Revelations Part I: Discovery
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 Megatron's experimental automatic beauty treatment machine was not a success. | ||||||
| "Revelations Part I: Discovery" | ||||||
| Production company | Mainframe Entertainment | |||||
| Airdate | October 30, 1999 | |||||
| Written by | Brynne Chandler Reaves | |||||
| Directed by | James Taylor | |||||
| Animation studio | Mainframe Entertainment | |||||
| Continuity | Beast Wars continuity | |||||
The Maximals discover what happened to the inhabitants of Cybertron, and Blackarachnia learns more about the Vehicon general, Thrust.
Synopsis
The Maximals find themselves cornered by Thrust and his Motorcycle Drones, when Optimus Primal floods the tunnels with coolant to get rid of them. After Rattrap narrowly avoids getting swept away, they make their way to the surface, where they find the bodies of hundreds of Cybertronians in some sort of factory. Examining the remains, Rattrap declares that their sparks weren't extinguished; they were removed altogether. Blackarachnia wonders if the same thing happened to Silverbolt, but is interrupted when Jetstorm attacks with his Aero Drones. The Maximals choose to stand and fight, rather than flee again, partly because they're sick of running, but also partly because there's a giant killer tank in their way.
During the ensuing battle, Thrust tails Blackarachnia, but rather than attack her, he saves her from a Sonic Attack Jet's missiles—missiles which then go on to knock over a nearby tower. Blackarachnia and Thrust are seemingly buried underneath it. As the other Maximals recover from the crash, they realize that the coolant they used to flood the tunnels was meant to cool the factory they're fighting in now, and without it, the facility will explode in a few minutes. As Optimus rushes to free Blackarachnia, Cheetor wonders what "big bot" has gotten them into, echoing an earlier sentiment from Nightscream.
Meanwhile, Blackarachnia awakens, and spies the shadow of Silverbolt approaching her, only to realize it's being cast by Thrust, who saved her once again. When she asks why, he only replies "my mistake", and that it won't happen again. And then it does happen again, as he knocks her out of the way of an approaching supply train. This time, he begins flashing back to having his spark extracted, and then to memories of Blackarachnia during the Beast Wars. The two venture further into the factory together, and run across a giant spark extractor, which promptly seizes them both and tries to, well, extract their sparks. Thrust saves Blackarachnia, but his own spark is taken, as Blackarachnia begins to suspect that he is, in fact, Silverbolt. She shuts down the machine, releasing both Thrust and the spark. Blackarachnia realizes that this place is where Megatron stole the sparks of all Cybertronians.
Outside, the Maximals deal with their antagonists one at a time and head to get Blackarachnia, as Nightscream and Cheetor continue arguing about Optimus. When they find her, she has restored Thrust's spark and attempted to get him to remember the time before. He promptly flees, and Optimus, seeing all the bodies, mourns his inability to stop Megatron. Cheetor, seeing they are out of time, orders Optimus to leave. The factory explodes behind them as they flee. After Cheetor declares he's taking command back from Optimus, much to the latter's surprise, Blackarachnia tells them that Thrust's spark once belonged to a Maximal. Realizing that Jetstorm and Tankor must be the same way, the Maximals resolve not to destroy the Vehicon generals, but to bring them back to the right side.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Vehicons |
|---|---|
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Quotes
"Aw man, look at me. This bod' is useless."
"Ah, don't underestimate it, Rattrap; it's ugly too."
- —Rattrap and Blackarachnia.
"Tankor slag Bird Bot!"
"Hello, I'm a BAT!"
- —Tankor, confusing Nightscream for another type of flying creature
"Well well well, all I need's a spider and I've got the whole set! Gotta catch 'em all!"
- —Jetstorm, confusing one franchise for another
"Saving me AGAIN? What is your defect?
"This place.." [bad flashbacks] "You..." [Blackarachnia flashbacks] "I almost remember."
- —Thrust, just being confusing
Notes
Transformers references
- The models of several Generation 1 characters seen in the Beast Wars episode "The Agenda (Part III)" appear as corpses including Prowl and Soundwave.
- Thrust recalls memories of Optimus Primal, Cheetor, Rhinox and Blackarachnia's Beast Wars forms.
Real-world references
- At one point, Jetstorm says, "Gotta catch 'em all!"—the catchphrase of the competing Pokémon franchise.
- Thrust refers to Blackarachnia's 'positronic brain', a reference to the works of Isaac Asimov.
Continuity Notes
- Thrust's past visions of Blackarachnia make little sense after his identity is revealed., specifically the one of Transmetal 2 form Blackarachnia. Consider that the two characters never interacted once, or even shared screen time together, while Blackarachnia was in Transmetal 2 form during Beast Wars.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Révélation, Partie I" ("Revelation, Part I")
- Title: "Révélations 1" (Canada, "Revelations 1")
Japanese
- Title: "Ai no Chikara" (愛の力, "The Power of Love")
- Original airdate: November 27, 2004
Spanish
- Title: "Revelaciones, Primera Parte: Descubrimiento" ("Revelations, First Part: Discovery")
Home video releases
- DVD
2004 — Super Lifeform Transformers: Beast Wars Returns — Volume 2 (Geneon Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2006 — Beast Machines: Transformers — The Complete Series (Rhinomation)
2007 — Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume Two (Sony)
2007 — Transformers: Beast Machines — Season One: Volume Two — Revelations (Sony)
2007 — Transformers: Beast Machines — Complete Season One (Sony)
2009 — Transformers: Beast Machines — Intégrale Saison 1 (Sony) — French audio only.
