Nemesis Part 1



Down but not out, Megatron discovers Tarantulas's secret tunnel network that leads to the Decepticon warship, the Nemesis.

Summary
The Maximals, secure for the first time since they moved into Mount St. Hilary, begin searching for the Predacons, who have been vulnerable since Tigerhawk destroyed the Darksyde. Optimus Primal quotes a verse from the Covenant of Primus, believing Tigerhawk's arrival to be divine prophecy. The Predacons are growing disaffected with Megatron. (Even Waspinator is mouthing off.) Inferno, ever loyal to his "queen", declares that a new "colony" will resecure them. Megatron orders him to take Waspinator and Quickstrike, while he, Rampage, and Dinobot 2 search the remains of Tarantulas's lair. Dinobot finds a hatch which leads to an underwater tunnel, which in turn leads to something that greatly excites Megatron.

Silverbolt and Depth Charge spot Inferno, Waspinator, and Quickstrike leaving. Optimus orders them to fall back, but Depth Charge heads in. Optimus leaves with Blackarachnia, Cheetor, and Tigerhawk to support them. As Primal arrives, Depth Charge finds the hatch&mdash;and a bomb. The explosion fails to kill any of the Maximals, but Silverbolt is damaged, and Blackarachnia and Cheetor escort his parts back to base. At the Protohumans' cave dwellings, Inferno declares that the caves will be their new "colony". He orders Quickstrike and Waspinator to engage, but Waspinator angrily refuses. Something has finally snapped in Waspy's central processor, and he declares that he is out of the Beast Wars. After a tirade against Megatron, the Predacons, life in general, and always being blown up, Waspinator tells them that they can kiss his stinger. Inferno and Quickstrike blast him, and proceed to attack the Protohumans (who have become much tougher, having learned from the example of Dinobot and the Maximals).

In the tunnels, Primal, Tigerhawk, and Depth Charge continue searching. After locating a data terminal, Primal accesses it and discovers what Tarantulas found and Megatron desires&mdash;the Nemesis, the flagship of the Decepticon fleet and the vessel which shot down the Ark. Realizing the threat the Decepticon warship holds, Depth Charge heads out to locate it. Meanwhile, Megatron and Dinobot find that Tarantulas modified the vessel with a transwarp cell, installed a Predacon control console, and left behind a Covenant of Primus to boot. Megatron and Dinobot begin powering up the vessel for an attack. Reaching the sunken behemoth, Depth Charge engages Rampage. The two enemies fight, and Depth Charge grabs an energon crystal. He drives it into Rampage's spark, and the explosion destroys both Transformers and also causes Dinobot 2 to cry out in pain. Optimus, though mourning Depth Charge's loss, is relieved to know the threat of the Nemesis has been dealt with.

That is, until the Nemesis rises from the ocean, fully powered and targeting them. To be continued...

Quotes
"Antbot can't find own thorax with both hands and a road map."
 * —Waspinatorgetting a decent dig in for a change. Inferno dropped him on his head for this.

"I said no! Dragon-Bot command you, Sub-Commander Kiss-Butt! Dragon-Bot not command Waspinator! Not any more! Waspinator sick of being evil! Sick of being Predacon! And Waspinator especially sick of getting blown to scrap all the time! Sooo, Waspinator quit! As of now, which means Ant-Bot and Two-Head can just pucker their mandibles and plant big, wet, juicy one right here on Waspinator's big...fat...stripy..."
 * —Waspinator finally stands up for himself...and gets blown to scrap by Inferno and Quickstrike.

[Silverbolt has been injured in an explosion] Silverbolt: "Worry not, my love. 'Tis but a...scratch." [Silverbolt's arm falls off] Optimus: "Maybe. But I think you're due some time in the CR chamber." Silverbolt: "Sir, I'm fine. I &mdash;" Blackarachnia: "Shut up and obey your commander, bone-brain." [Silverbolt's head falls off and springs pop up] Silverbolt: "Yes, dear."
 * —Silverbolt lets Optimus Primal know that Blackarachnia has him fairly whipped.

"You have to stop Megatron! No matter the cost."
 * —Optimus Primal telling Depth Charge what must be done.

"Hmm... impressive." "Oh, it is more than that, my malevolent minion. That is the most powerful Decepticon warship in transformer history, THE SHIP THAT SHOT DOWN THE ARK ITSELF! THE NEMESIS. The Nemesis."
 * —Dinobot II ' s admission of amazement compels Megatron to give his most dramatic exposition...in this episode.

"Raw energon! Right through your twisted spark! Take it! Take it straight to the pit, you SICKENING PIECE OF SLAG!"
 * —Depth Charge ' s final words before killing Rampage.

Stats
Writer: Bob Forward Original air date: May 6, 1999

Featured characters
(''Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Technical/Animation glitches

 * When Dinobot squeezes the piece of Rampage's spark he possesses to pacify his "half-brother", his shoulder pads are missing.
 * At the very beginning when Optimus is reciting, in the background you can see Cheetor, in his normal Transmetal body, walking with Blackarachnia.

Continuity errors

 * The flashbacks to the battle between the Ark and the Nemesis recounted by Optimus Primal and Megatron neglect to mention that the Decepticons boarded the Ark before the crash. This was probably done either to simplify the retelling, increase the significance of the Nemesis's involvement, or both.
 * Some fans state the inclusion of a space battle and the lack of a tractor beam is an error, but these elements (or lack of them) were only present in the animated series's version of the crash. Additional versions, such as the crash depicted in the Marvel Comics, did indeed have a space battle and didn't involve a tractor beam.  (In fact, the Nemesis did not crash, but instead it was parked beneath the ocean by Shockwave.)  It should be mentioned that Beast Wars is not a direct continuation of any specific continuity by design, seeking to treat all previous Generation 1 stories as if they were Arthurian legend, so most claims of continuity error in the flashback would be fruitless.

Transformers references

 * Megatron refers to Tarantulas as Unicron's spawn.
 * This is the first source to give the Decepticon vessel that attacked the Ark a name.
 * Optimus Primal tells Depth Charge to stop Megatron "no matter the cost," which echoes Optimus Prime in the Transformers movie during the Decepticon siege of Autobot City on Earth.

Real-world references

 * Inferno calls Rampage a drone at least once in this episode. It is unknown whether the writers knew that a drone is a male ant whose main purpose is to mate with the queen, who in this case would be Megatron.
 * When contacting the Maximals, Optimus encodes transmission "M Sipher", a reference to Greg Sepelak.

Trivia

 * The death of Rampage is the only time in the series that a Maximal kills a Predacon (not for lack of trying).
 * "Nemesis" was originally going to be a three-part episode, but was later compressed to two.