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Tarantulas (Transformers)
Encyclopedia
Tarantulas is a Predacon
in the
Beast Wars
series who turns into a tarantula. Due to problems in trade-marking the name, later releases of the character were called Predacon Tarantulus by Hasbro.
originally depicted him on his tech specs. On the specs he was a stealthy ninja of average intelligence who liked to feed on humans, not a double agent or scientist. When Tarantulas was re-released in 2006 they changed his tech specs to more reflect the television series character. Ironically, while he seemed to be more of a scientist (and double agent, serving his own agenda as much as Megatron
's, although he did like preying on animals), Blackarachnia was much more adept in the martial arts than he was. His weapons include his shoulder "legs" shooters and a missile launcher in his original form. In his Transmetal form, he used shoulder-mounted missile-launchers and a pistol. Sometimes he used webs and other alternate weapons.
Megatron refers to Tarantulas in "Nemesis part 1" as "Unicron's spawn". According to the Beast Wars writers, this is in fact proof that Tarantulas is not an ordinary Predacon. Writer Bob Forward has claimed that this was in fact meant to show that Tarantulas was descended from Unicron
himself. This explains his assertion that destroying The Ark wouldn't affect him, because he and the council have different origins. Although, it is never stated in the show that Tarantulas is descended from Unicron. The closest there has been to a confirmation of the link was in Transformers: The Ultimate Fan Guide. It was claimed he had dark science links dating back to the Chaos-Bringer. Although, whether this in fact means that Tarantulas is descended from Unicron is unknown.
Although he was openly contemptuous of Megatron, he seemed to be genuinely afraid of Optimus Primal. On two separate occasions he retreated when he realized that Optimus was coming; and on a third occasion he refrained from acting in a situation when he saw Optimus. In fact, though he deeply hated the Vok, Optimus Primal appeared to be the only one that Tarantulas feared.
tale Timelines: Dawn of Futures Past. Much more of the background surrounding the theft of the Golden Disk
artifact was revealed. After Megatron and his crew had stolen the Golden Disk Tarantulas was able to decode enough information from the Golden Disk to set a course through Transwarp space - all the while reporting his discoveries to his master on the Tripredacus Council member General Ram Horn. With a little help from Laserbeak
and Buzzsaw (secretly sent by Divebomb to ensure Megatron's plan to change history succeeded) they destroyed one of their pursuers, and the newly christened Darksyde fled into Transwarp space, with the Axalon in pursuit - thus beginning the Beast Wars. Art sketches by artist Marcelo Matere in the latter section of the comic indicate his pre-Earth mode was that of a multi-wheeled transport.
's Darksyde crew who stole the Golden Disk
artifact from the Cybertron
archives. A recurring gag throughout the series is his tendency to get squashed by something, usually a boulder. He has been known to attack enemies both physically and psychologically. He is often considered one of the most sadistic and treacherous members of the Predacons, a mad scientist
in his own right. He was the one who infected Blackarachnia and Inferno
with Predacon shell programs (and once Rhinox as well). In the case of Blackarachnia, he reprogrammed her from a Maximal Protoform with the full intention of her being his mate and partner. He later developed an obsession with the "She-spider" (as he often called her), because of how much she rivaled him in skills. However, when he was consistently betrayed and rivaled by Blackarachnia, he then took to calling her "Witch". Another attempt to create a spider Predacon failed because the pod had already scanned a fire ant
, which resulted in Inferno.
Megatron often relied on Tarantulas because of his technological and strategic brilliance. However, he was always suspicious of his intentions and aspirations as well as his somewhat psychotic nature (he made comments about Tarantulas' "treachery" long before he ever found about his agenda). He was well known for his frequent maniacal laughter. Megatron would eventually discover Tarantulas' role but, much to Tarantulas' amusement, could not afford to kill him as he still had need of his talents.
At points in the first season, Tarantulas would show to have abnormal levels of knowledge about the Vok
(then simply called the "aliens") and even knew in advance they planned to destroy the planet. He attempted to capture and modify a Maximal Stasis Pod so he could escape. Unfortunately for him, Megatron learned of this and sent Inferno to stop him. The arsonist Predacon
torched Tarantulas with his flamethrower, seemingly disabling him. Despite his body being blasted, Tarantulas' managed to download his mind temporarily into Blackarachnia's body when she tried to access his datatracks.
body to the Predacon base. There, Tarantulas' mind was transferred back into his body but kept a psychic link to use Blackarachnia as his puppet, forcing her to attempt to gain information on Megatron's Golden Disk
s. However, Blackarachnia betrayed him, waiting until he was distracted by the Maximals to download the data for herself. Tarantulas retained the link until Blackarachnia forced him to break it by threatening to kill herself, which would also kill him.
After that (and the resurrection of Optimus Primal
as a transmetal), Tarantulas remained with the Predacons for a while. Although, he was always following his own agenda (even sabotaging a Predacon mission in order to gain a new lair). Tarantulas became a free agent after the discovery of the Vok
ship that abducted Airazor and Tigatron in "Other Visits", much to Megatron's fury.
The two formed an alliance of sorts after, promising to share its secrets. Megatron predictably pulled a double-cross, forcing Tarantulas (who had planned to do the same) to form a wary alliance with the Maximals to stop him from returning to Cybertron with the ship, actually helping them to stop Megatron due to his hatred of the Vok. After this, he was often seen helping Megatron if he had something to gain from it. The two never truly trusted each other, resorting to spying on each other and bugging the others' communications.
Tarantulas also attempted several schemes of his own, attempting to take Protoform X
's pod for himself while forcing Blackarachnia to reveal her knowledge, only to get beaten up by Silverbolt and subsequently torn apart by the psychotic Protoform X. Later, when Ravage
was sent to Earth, Tarantulas showed his true colors. Ravage identified Tarantulas as an agent of the Tripredacus council. Tarantulas then aided Ravage and the Maximals in capturing Megatron by disabling the defenses of the Darksyde . When Ravage switched sides after seeing a recording of the original Megatron, Tarantulas also switched sides, helping him to attack the Axalon
. However, their attack failed when Rattrap delivered bombs onto Ravage's ship in a daring solo assault on the vessel, with Tarantulas being blown to bits when the demolition charges glued onto his hands exploded.
to Earth. The Transformers included original Tracks
, Ariel, Cosmos
and Megatron, Beast Wars Tarantulas, Robots in Disguise Sky-Byte
and Beast Machines Tankor
. Tarantulas was seemingly plucked from some time in early season two of Beast Wars. Unlike most of the Transformers present, Tarantulas immediately allied himself with Unicron, who sensed the spider as one of his servants. Eventually the Transformers were able to learn that the death of Unicron in 2005 was what created the repeat wave. They defeated Unicron by tricking him into Transforming and using up his power, then using the Key to Vector Sigma program (which Tankor had brought with him) to tap into the power of Vector Sigma
itself, and through it the Autobot Matrix of Leadership
. With Unicron severely drained the various Transformers faded back to their original timelines.
with the aid of cloned transmetal enhanced Velociraptors and on the Predacon mission to ensure Blackarachnia would die when her Shell Program was being tampered with (this nearly got him killed by a vengeful Silverbolt). His hatred of the Vok was also made clear although the reason behind it remained a mystery.
He finally cut all ties with the Predacons when he manipulated the gullible Quickstrike
into using Optimus Primal (who Quickstrike could control via Tarantulas' control suit gadget) to kill Megatron, throwing him into a lava pit as he warred for control of the spark of his namesake. With Megatron's seeming demise, Tarantulas attempted to destroy The Ark
, setting it to self-destruct. However, his plan was foiled on both fronts—Megatron arose from the pit, mutated by the power of his ancestor into a massive new dragon form, one he quickly used to full effect on the traitor, first roasting him with blasts of fire then telling him that while Megatron could suffer Tarantulas' treachery, he could not suffer his incompetence (likely meaning that this action was too much for him tolerate), and threw him into the lava pit himself, finishing with "Treachery requires NO mistakes". Tarantulas survived this. Elsewhere, Blackarachnia used her knowledge of Tarantulas' methods to halt the self-destruct countdown.
When Tarantulas attempts to alter history by destroying the Autobots and Decepticons dormant within the Ark he reveals that neither he nor the Tripredicus Council are of Decepticon or Autobot origin, but are descended from Unicron and would not be affected by the time-line alteration. Thus prompting Megatron referring to him as "Unicron's Spawn" It is further implied that this might have been in keeping with the Council's plans.
Badly damaged and forced into hiding after this, Tarantulas attempted to take over control of Tigerhawk from the Vok
, ironically saving Megatron (Tigerhawk was about to kill him). Here he revealed that this was the plan of the Tripredacus Council, who were not descended from Autobot
and Decepticon
like the rest of the Cybertronians, and wanted the planet's current existence erased from the timeline (and hence would not have been affected by the destruction of The Ark). However, in doing so, he inadvertently attracted the direct attention the Vok influence and, as it tried to enter his own body, he accidentally vaporized himself with his own machinery (comically leaving his legs). It is revealed in the two-part series finale "Nemesis", that Tarantulas had been repairing and restoring the crashed Decepticon warship, Nemesis, for his own use.
and adding Razorclaw, Spittor
and Iguanus
to his ranks, he sought to complete the task he had begun. However, he met opposition in the Vok's new avatar, Primal Prime
, as well as with the returned Tigatron and Airazor.
Although there would be no Tarantulas toy for the Universe line, Tarantulas (seemingly in the Vok-afflicted body from Primeval Dawn) appeared in the Transformers: Universe comic book series. Presumably after his defeat in the Primeval Dawn storyline, he joined forces with Unicron's Decepticons. He welcomed Blackarachnia back to the side of evil (Transformers Universe #2) and sent her on a mission against the Autobots (Transformers: Universe #3).
.
Predacon (Transformers)
The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
in the
Beast Wars
Beast Wars
Transformers: Beast Wars is a Transformers toyline released by Hasbro between 1995 and 2000, and a Daytime Emmy Award winning full-CG animated television series spawned by it that debuted in 1996...
series who turns into a tarantula. Due to problems in trade-marking the name, later releases of the character were called Predacon Tarantulus by Hasbro.
Beast Wars
The character of Tarantulas as seen on the television series was very different from how HasbroHasbro
Hasbro is a multinational toy and boardgame company from the United States of America. It is one of the largest toy makers in the world. The corporate headquarters is located in Pawtucket, Rhode Island, United States...
originally depicted him on his tech specs. On the specs he was a stealthy ninja of average intelligence who liked to feed on humans, not a double agent or scientist. When Tarantulas was re-released in 2006 they changed his tech specs to more reflect the television series character. Ironically, while he seemed to be more of a scientist (and double agent, serving his own agenda as much as Megatron
Megatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
's, although he did like preying on animals), Blackarachnia was much more adept in the martial arts than he was. His weapons include his shoulder "legs" shooters and a missile launcher in his original form. In his Transmetal form, he used shoulder-mounted missile-launchers and a pistol. Sometimes he used webs and other alternate weapons.
Megatron refers to Tarantulas in "Nemesis part 1" as "Unicron's spawn". According to the Beast Wars writers, this is in fact proof that Tarantulas is not an ordinary Predacon. Writer Bob Forward has claimed that this was in fact meant to show that Tarantulas was descended from Unicron
Unicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
himself. This explains his assertion that destroying The Ark wouldn't affect him, because he and the council have different origins. Although, it is never stated in the show that Tarantulas is descended from Unicron. The closest there has been to a confirmation of the link was in Transformers: The Ultimate Fan Guide. It was claimed he had dark science links dating back to the Chaos-Bringer. Although, whether this in fact means that Tarantulas is descended from Unicron is unknown.
Although he was openly contemptuous of Megatron, he seemed to be genuinely afraid of Optimus Primal. On two separate occasions he retreated when he realized that Optimus was coming; and on a third occasion he refrained from acting in a situation when he saw Optimus. In fact, though he deeply hated the Vok, Optimus Primal appeared to be the only one that Tarantulas feared.
Transformers: Timelines
Tarantulas was featured in the 2006 BotConBotCon
BotCon, briefly known as "The Official Transformers Collectors' Convention" , is an annual convention for Transformers fans and collectors. BotCon has been held annually since 1994...
tale Timelines: Dawn of Futures Past. Much more of the background surrounding the theft of the Golden Disk
Golden Disk
-Beast Wars:The Golden Disk is a relic from the Beast Wars Transformers timeline, and a key plot device for the events of the show. Considered a revered artifact, it is actually the Voyager Golden Record, which includes information on Earth and humanity, and is presumably the only source of...
artifact was revealed. After Megatron and his crew had stolen the Golden Disk Tarantulas was able to decode enough information from the Golden Disk to set a course through Transwarp space - all the while reporting his discoveries to his master on the Tripredacus Council member General Ram Horn. With a little help from Laserbeak
Laserbeak
Laserbeak is the name given to several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is almost always a mechanical bird, and is partnered with Soundwave.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
and Buzzsaw (secretly sent by Divebomb to ensure Megatron's plan to change history succeeded) they destroyed one of their pursuers, and the newly christened Darksyde fled into Transwarp space, with the Axalon in pursuit - thus beginning the Beast Wars. Art sketches by artist Marcelo Matere in the latter section of the comic indicate his pre-Earth mode was that of a multi-wheeled transport.
Season 1
Tarantulas was one of the original members of MegatronMegatron (Beast Wars and Beast Machines)
The Beast Wars and Beast Machines version of Megatron is the main antagonist from the aforementioned parts of the Transformers animated series, toy lines, and multiverse...
's Darksyde crew who stole the Golden Disk
Golden Disk
-Beast Wars:The Golden Disk is a relic from the Beast Wars Transformers timeline, and a key plot device for the events of the show. Considered a revered artifact, it is actually the Voyager Golden Record, which includes information on Earth and humanity, and is presumably the only source of...
artifact from the Cybertron
Cybertron
Cybertron is a fictional planet, the homeworld of the Transformers in the various fictional incarnations of the metaseries and toyline by Hasbro. In the Japanese series, the planet is referred to as "Cybertron" pronounced as セイバートロン Seibātoron...
archives. A recurring gag throughout the series is his tendency to get squashed by something, usually a boulder. He has been known to attack enemies both physically and psychologically. He is often considered one of the most sadistic and treacherous members of the Predacons, a mad scientist
Mad scientist
A mad scientist is a stock character of popular fiction, specifically science fiction. The mad scientist may be villainous or antagonistic, benign or neutral, and whether insane, eccentric, or simply bumbling, mad scientists often work with fictional technology in order to forward their schemes, if...
in his own right. He was the one who infected Blackarachnia and Inferno
Inferno (Transformers)
Inferno is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes. Despite having different alternate modes, the character name has been most associated with the form of a fire engine.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
with Predacon shell programs (and once Rhinox as well). In the case of Blackarachnia, he reprogrammed her from a Maximal Protoform with the full intention of her being his mate and partner. He later developed an obsession with the "She-spider" (as he often called her), because of how much she rivaled him in skills. However, when he was consistently betrayed and rivaled by Blackarachnia, he then took to calling her "Witch". Another attempt to create a spider Predacon failed because the pod had already scanned a fire ant
Fire ant
Fire ants are a variety of stinging ants with over 285 species worldwide. They have several common names, including ginger ants, tropical fire ants and red ants.- Appearance :...
, which resulted in Inferno.
Megatron often relied on Tarantulas because of his technological and strategic brilliance. However, he was always suspicious of his intentions and aspirations as well as his somewhat psychotic nature (he made comments about Tarantulas' "treachery" long before he ever found about his agenda). He was well known for his frequent maniacal laughter. Megatron would eventually discover Tarantulas' role but, much to Tarantulas' amusement, could not afford to kill him as he still had need of his talents.
At points in the first season, Tarantulas would show to have abnormal levels of knowledge about the Vok
Vok
The Vok are a race of fictional aliens from the Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:In Transformers history, the Vok were mysterious and powerful aliens who had evolved beyond the corporeal world. Their base of operations—be it another planet, location in space, or entire dimension—is dubbed "Nexus...
(then simply called the "aliens") and even knew in advance they planned to destroy the planet. He attempted to capture and modify a Maximal Stasis Pod so he could escape. Unfortunately for him, Megatron learned of this and sent Inferno to stop him. The arsonist Predacon
Predacon
The Predacons usually refer to the name of several fictional Decepticon-like teams led by Megatron, however Transformers: Armada, Predacon is the name of a single character.-Transformers: Generation 1:...
torched Tarantulas with his flamethrower, seemingly disabling him. Despite his body being blasted, Tarantulas' managed to download his mind temporarily into Blackarachnia's body when she tried to access his datatracks.
Season 2
Tarantulas continued to influence Blackarachnia's body, forcing her to abandon a battle with the Maximals (much to Megatron's fury) to return his newly transmetalizedTransmetals
Transmetals are a subgroup of the Beast Wars and Beast Machines characters in the fictional Transformers universe. Ordinary Transformers in the Beast Wars universe have a mechanical robot form and a techno-organic animal form, also known as a "beast mode"...
body to the Predacon base. There, Tarantulas' mind was transferred back into his body but kept a psychic link to use Blackarachnia as his puppet, forcing her to attempt to gain information on Megatron's Golden Disk
Golden Disk
-Beast Wars:The Golden Disk is a relic from the Beast Wars Transformers timeline, and a key plot device for the events of the show. Considered a revered artifact, it is actually the Voyager Golden Record, which includes information on Earth and humanity, and is presumably the only source of...
s. However, Blackarachnia betrayed him, waiting until he was distracted by the Maximals to download the data for herself. Tarantulas retained the link until Blackarachnia forced him to break it by threatening to kill herself, which would also kill him.
After that (and the resurrection of Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal
Optimus Primal is a fictional character from the Transformers toyline, and the leader of the Maximal forces and the main protagonist in the Beast Wars television series. He is sometimes called Optimal Optimus...
as a transmetal), Tarantulas remained with the Predacons for a while. Although, he was always following his own agenda (even sabotaging a Predacon mission in order to gain a new lair). Tarantulas became a free agent after the discovery of the Vok
Vok
The Vok are a race of fictional aliens from the Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:In Transformers history, the Vok were mysterious and powerful aliens who had evolved beyond the corporeal world. Their base of operations—be it another planet, location in space, or entire dimension—is dubbed "Nexus...
ship that abducted Airazor and Tigatron in "Other Visits", much to Megatron's fury.
The two formed an alliance of sorts after, promising to share its secrets. Megatron predictably pulled a double-cross, forcing Tarantulas (who had planned to do the same) to form a wary alliance with the Maximals to stop him from returning to Cybertron with the ship, actually helping them to stop Megatron due to his hatred of the Vok. After this, he was often seen helping Megatron if he had something to gain from it. The two never truly trusted each other, resorting to spying on each other and bugging the others' communications.
Tarantulas also attempted several schemes of his own, attempting to take Protoform X
Rampage (Transformers)
Rampage is the name of several different fictional characters in the Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:Rampage is a fictional character of the Transformers Predacons, with his alternative form being a mechanical tiger....
's pod for himself while forcing Blackarachnia to reveal her knowledge, only to get beaten up by Silverbolt and subsequently torn apart by the psychotic Protoform X. Later, when Ravage
Ravage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
was sent to Earth, Tarantulas showed his true colors. Ravage identified Tarantulas as an agent of the Tripredacus council. Tarantulas then aided Ravage and the Maximals in capturing Megatron by disabling the defenses of the Darksyde . When Ravage switched sides after seeing a recording of the original Megatron, Tarantulas also switched sides, helping him to attack the Axalon
Axalon
The Axalon is the name of the fictional Maximal ship in the Beast Wars cartoon and comic books. In addition, in the Transformers: Armada cartoon, the Autobots constructed a space ship that was also named the Axalon, possibly in reference to the original Maximal ship.-History:The Axalon, commanded...
. However, their attack failed when Rattrap delivered bombs onto Ravage's ship in a daring solo assault on the vessel, with Tarantulas being blown to bits when the demolition charges glued onto his hands exploded.
Voice actor plays
Tarantulas appeared in the 2006 TransformersCon voice actor play. Voices in the play were performed by a variety of volunteers and the actual voice actors attending the convention. In this play various Transformers from different timelines and realities were swept up in a repeat wave and transported along with UnicronUnicron
Unicron is a fictional character from the Transformers universe and toyline. Created by Floro Dery, he was introduced in the 1986 animated film The Transformers: The Movie as the film's main antagonist. Unicron is a prodigiously large robot whose scale reaches planetary proportions, and he is also...
to Earth. The Transformers included original Tracks
Tracks (Transformers)
Tracks is a character in the Transformers Universes. The name is now too generic to license in recent times; so the toys creator, Hasbro had to add a "modifier" - a prefix to the name in order to use it on their product, in this case the name became "Autobot Tracks" or "Turbo...
, Ariel, Cosmos
Cosmos (Transformers)
Cosmos is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is sometimes referred to as "Autobot Cosmos" for trademark purposes.Wired Magazine once nominated him as one of the 12 most ridiculous Transformers of all time....
and Megatron, Beast Wars Tarantulas, Robots in Disguise Sky-Byte
Sky-Byte
Sky-Byte is the name of several fictional characters in the various Transformers universes. He is usually a Predacon who turns in a mechanical shark.-Transformers: Robots in Disguise:...
and Beast Machines Tankor
Tankor
Tankor is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Transformers: Generation 1:This version of Tankor, initially called Octane, is the Decepticons' fueler, in charge of storing and distributing fuel among Decepticons with vehicle modes. He is characterized as...
. Tarantulas was seemingly plucked from some time in early season two of Beast Wars. Unlike most of the Transformers present, Tarantulas immediately allied himself with Unicron, who sensed the spider as one of his servants. Eventually the Transformers were able to learn that the death of Unicron in 2005 was what created the repeat wave. They defeated Unicron by tricking him into Transforming and using up his power, then using the Key to Vector Sigma program (which Tankor had brought with him) to tap into the power of Vector Sigma
Vector Sigma
In the fictional universe of the first Transformers animated series, Vector Sigma is the "mega-computer" that gives sentience to non-sentient robots, and is used by the Quintessons to endow their robotic creations with the true life that eventually leads to their rebellion...
itself, and through it the Autobot Matrix of Leadership
Autobot Matrix of Leadership
The Matrix of Leadership or Creation Matrix in the fictional Transformers universes is the Autobot talisman of legend, passed down from leader to leader. It consisted of an oval-shaped container, holding a glowing crystal. To open the Matrix is to release an unpredictable wave of power from the...
. With Unicron severely drained the various Transformers faded back to their original timelines.
Season 3
Shown to be rebuilt by spider-like repair bots in "Optimal Situation" Tarantulas only appeared sparingly, working on his own agenda off-screen, though he appeared to have rejoined the Predacons. Megatron referred to him as "Lieutenant" and he appear to function as a squad commander on the Predacon mission to try and to kill Blackarachnia (now having defected to the Maximals) and CheetorCheetor
Cheetor is several fictional characters from various Transformers universes.- Beast Wars :Cheetor's original tech spec indicated he was a seasoned and confident warrior always in search of battle with the Predacons, seemingly in contrast to his youthful and impulsive portrayal in the original show...
with the aid of cloned transmetal enhanced Velociraptors and on the Predacon mission to ensure Blackarachnia would die when her Shell Program was being tampered with (this nearly got him killed by a vengeful Silverbolt). His hatred of the Vok was also made clear although the reason behind it remained a mystery.
He finally cut all ties with the Predacons when he manipulated the gullible Quickstrike
QuickStrike
QuickStrike is a collectible card game gaming system developed by Upper Deck Entertainment for use in their games. This system made its initial debut in 2006.-Compatibility:...
into using Optimus Primal (who Quickstrike could control via Tarantulas' control suit gadget) to kill Megatron, throwing him into a lava pit as he warred for control of the spark of his namesake. With Megatron's seeming demise, Tarantulas attempted to destroy The Ark
Ark (Transformers)
The Ark is an Autobot spacecraft in the Transformers Universe. It has appeared as a central fixture of the Transformers storyline ever since its creation, as the Autobots main method of transport to Earth and as a base once they arrive....
, setting it to self-destruct. However, his plan was foiled on both fronts—Megatron arose from the pit, mutated by the power of his ancestor into a massive new dragon form, one he quickly used to full effect on the traitor, first roasting him with blasts of fire then telling him that while Megatron could suffer Tarantulas' treachery, he could not suffer his incompetence (likely meaning that this action was too much for him tolerate), and threw him into the lava pit himself, finishing with "Treachery requires NO mistakes". Tarantulas survived this. Elsewhere, Blackarachnia used her knowledge of Tarantulas' methods to halt the self-destruct countdown.
When Tarantulas attempts to alter history by destroying the Autobots and Decepticons dormant within the Ark he reveals that neither he nor the Tripredicus Council are of Decepticon or Autobot origin, but are descended from Unicron and would not be affected by the time-line alteration. Thus prompting Megatron referring to him as "Unicron's Spawn" It is further implied that this might have been in keeping with the Council's plans.
Badly damaged and forced into hiding after this, Tarantulas attempted to take over control of Tigerhawk from the Vok
Vok
The Vok are a race of fictional aliens from the Transformers universe.-Beast Wars:In Transformers history, the Vok were mysterious and powerful aliens who had evolved beyond the corporeal world. Their base of operations—be it another planet, location in space, or entire dimension—is dubbed "Nexus...
, ironically saving Megatron (Tigerhawk was about to kill him). Here he revealed that this was the plan of the Tripredacus Council, who were not descended from Autobot
Autobot
Autobot, a faction of sentient robots from the planet Cybertron, are usually the main protagonists in the fictional universe of the Transformers, a collection of various toys, graphic novels, paperback books, cartoons and movies first introduced in 1984. In all but one Transformer story, the...
and Decepticon
Decepticon
The Decepticons are usually depicted as the antagonists in the fictional universes of the Transformers stoyline and related comics and cartoons, and the enemies of the Autobots and the University of California Davis Aggies...
like the rest of the Cybertronians, and wanted the planet's current existence erased from the timeline (and hence would not have been affected by the destruction of The Ark). However, in doing so, he inadvertently attracted the direct attention the Vok influence and, as it tried to enter his own body, he accidentally vaporized himself with his own machinery (comically leaving his legs). It is revealed in the two-part series finale "Nemesis", that Tarantulas had been repairing and restoring the crashed Decepticon warship, Nemesis, for his own use.
Beast Machines
Pieces of Tarantulas' corpse reappeared in the Beast Machines episode "Spark of Darkness". Megatron's depolarized Spark took control of a Transformer corpse. Although it was never identified or recognized as Tarantulas, the corpse had Transmetal Tarantulas' legs, and torso. However, it lacked Tarantulas' spider legs, shoulder missile-launchers, chestplate and had a head reminiscent of Dinobot's. This body was also considerably larger than the Beast Wars rendition as this version was a lot bigger than both Blackarachnia and Silverbolt. It was likely that it was composed of a cocktail of all the fallen Beast Wars Transformers.3H Enterprises
In the Beast Wars: Primeval Dawn comic, it is revealed that Tarantulas' destruction was an elaborate ruse engineered by himself, in order to absorb the Vok who possessed Tigerhawk into himself. With the power of the Vok at his command Tarantulas now planned to destroy the rest of the Vok and refashion the timeline to his own desire. Reviving RavageRavage (Transformers)
Ravage is the name of several fictional characters in the Transformers universes. Due to the inability to trademark the common word "ravage", he is sometimes called Battle Ravage, Command Ravage or Tripredacus Agent...
and adding Razorclaw, Spittor
Spittor
Spittor is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers universes.-Beast Wars:Spittor is a Predacon who turns into a poisonous frog.-Dreamwave Productions:...
and Iguanus
Iguanus
Iguanus is the name of several fictional characters from the various Transformers series.-Transformers: Generation 1:Iguanus is a loathsome Decepticon who is in love with his Pretender shell so much he rarely takes it off.-Reception:...
to his ranks, he sought to complete the task he had begun. However, he met opposition in the Vok's new avatar, Primal Prime
Primal Prime
Primal Prime is a fictional character from the Transformers universes and a repaint of Beast Wars, Optimal Optimus.-Beast Machines:Forged from the remnants of a control suit used to manipulate Optimal Optimus during the Beast Wars, Primal Prime is a hybrid of Maximal and Autobot spark-replication...
, as well as with the returned Tigatron and Airazor.
Although there would be no Tarantulas toy for the Universe line, Tarantulas (seemingly in the Vok-afflicted body from Primeval Dawn) appeared in the Transformers: Universe comic book series. Presumably after his defeat in the Primeval Dawn storyline, he joined forces with Unicron's Decepticons. He welcomed Blackarachnia back to the side of evil (Transformers Universe #2) and sent her on a mission against the Autobots (Transformers: Universe #3).
IDW Publishing
Tarantulas had a biography printed in the Beast Wars Sourcebook by IDW PublishingIDW Publishing
IDW Publishing, also known as Idea + Design Works, LLC and IDW, is an American publisher of comic books and comic strip collections. The company was founded in 1999 and has been awarded the title "Publisher of the Year Under 5% Market Share" for the years 2004, 2005 and 2006 by Diamond Comic...
.
Toys
- Beast Wars Deluxe Tarantulas
- Tarantulas was a deluxe-sized toy released in the first wave of Beast Wars figures in 1996 by Hasbro. He shared a common mold with Blackarachnia, but in the television series they proportioned Tarantulas like the toy and used the mutant head from the toy, whereas Blackarachnia was given more female proportions and they used the robot head from the toy. This toy was later recolored into the unreleased Halloween Horricon Blackarachnia.
- In early Beast Wars toy commercials, they referred to this character as Tarantula.
- Beast Wars
- He was later reformatted as transmetal spider with attributes of a motorcross bike. One criticism of the toy was that it was very top heavy in robot mode, and this was actually utilized in the episode "Tangled Web." In Japan this figure was sold individually and also packaged together with transmetal RhinoxRhinoxRhinox is the name of three fictional characters from various Transformers universes.-Beast Wars:Rhinox's character in the Beast Wars television series is very different from how the toy was depicted. As one of the first year toys, the toy of Rhinox was created before the television series came...
.- Beast Wars Deluxe Fox Kids Transmetal Tarantulas
- The transmetal toy was recolored for his Fox Kids release. These colors were used to depict Tarantulas in the Primeval Dawn and Universe comics.
- In 2006 the original Tarantulas toy was one of the toys selected for the Beast Wars 10th Anniversary toyline. He was repainted in more show-accurate colors. His name is indicated on packaging as Predacon Tarantulus, the spelling of his proper name changed for trademarkTrademarkA trademark, trade mark, or trade-mark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual, business organization, or other legal entity to identify that the products or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or...
reasons. He came packaged with one of the six pieces used to make the TransmutateTransmutateTransmutate is the name of a fictional character from the various Transformers universes. She is a damaged, but powerful, Maximal protoform who befriends both the Maximal Silverbolt and his enemy the Predacon Rampage....
toy. He also came with a DVD with the Beast War episode Spider's Game on it.