Spider's Game

'''Tarantulas detects a new stasis pod and attempts to turn the protoform into a new Predacon. '''

Summary
As another stasis pod leaves orbit and completes planetfall, Tarantulas sends out a magnetic pulse that disrupts the sensors at both the Predacon and Maximal bases. The pulse ensures that Tarantulas will be the first to arrive at the pod's landing site, within Grid Halex, and that he will be able to manipulate the protoform inside. Blackarachnia discovers what Tarantulas is up to and insists on accompanying him to the pod's landing site.

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

Arriving at the pod, Tarantulas and Blackarachnia are too late to hand pick an arachnid form for the protoform; however, Tarantulas is able to do some reprogramming and turn the protoform into a Predacon. The new Predacon, Inferno, emerges from the pod only to attack the other two Predacons. Tarantulas deduces that Inferno's beast mode is dominating his logic circuits and that he thinks he really is a fire ant protecting his colony.

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

Nearing his lab, Tarantulas is caught by Inferno who demands the return of the "colony". Tarantulas ensnares Inferno in a web and is preparing to finish him off when Scorponok arrives and informs Tarantulas that Megatron wants the pod. Before that can happen however, Tigatron arrives and destroys the pod. His victory quickly turns sour as he is attacked by both Tarantulas and Blackarachnia, who inflict heavy damage on him. Megatron arrives on the scene shortly, and even though both of the spiders flee, Tigatron is still in trouble. Inferno breaks free of Tarantulas's web, enraged at the destruction of the colony. He turns his fury on Tigatron and is preparing to destroy him, when Optimus and Airazor arrive and blow Inferno into scrap.

Megatron gathers up the parts of Inferno and has him restored, while Optimus and Airazor take Tigatron back to the Maximal base for repairs. Back at his lab, however, Tarantulas is lamenting the loss of the pod, revealing to an eavesdropping Blacharachnia his beliefs that the planet they're on is doomed. From this, the black widow correctly surmises that Tarantulas was going to convert the pod into an escape shuttle, but is unable to wrench any more information about his motives for doing so out of him.

Stats
Writers: Larry DiTillio Original Air Date: January 6, 1997

Major Characters (in order of appearance): Tarantulas, Blackarachnia, Inferno (first appearance), Tigatron Minor Characters (in order of appearance):Waspinator, Optimus Primal, Airazor, Scorponok,Megatron

Technical/Animation Glitches

 * Curiously, when Tigatron is injured near the end of the episode, his beast mode's face (which serves as his robot mode's chestplate) appears to be bleeding. Either this contradicts what Cheetor said to Tarantulas in an earlier episode when he said "I don't have real blood....only mech fluid.", or this lends credence to the theory that beast modes are wholly organic.
 * Alternately, it could be charring, as the same discolorations appear on his metal portions.

Transformers References

 * References

Real-World References

 * Reference

Trivia
While Megatron is complaining that repairing the computer is Tarantulas's job, you can see the words "eat me" on the screen in the Predacon variant of Cybertronix.