Sooo, been over a year since I last updated. I guess it's time I finish this. So close to the end, would be a shame I failed to finish this.
Inside the newly fortified Maximal base, Rhinox is trying to get the base fully functional. But with nothing but broken junk, it's an uphill battle. And that's a problem since a working base is needed to hold the line. Rhinox points out to Optimus they can't go hopping for Maximal rescue. If the Maximals had seen the Quantum Wave, rescue would be here now.
Meanwhile, in the Future…, a ship flies through space. The Ship computer informs its occupant that this sector has been declared off limits by the Maximal Elders. The pilot seems unphased. He scans, and finds traces of Protoform X. The pilot rejoices, but he's got no time to cheer: temporal anomalies occur, a transwarp portal opening and sucking the ship in, as the pilot begins to glow white and transmetalize.
Predacons led by Inferno survey the maximal defenses of the cave. He orders the attack with Rampage, hoping to take out Optimus. Rampage however stares at the sky, feeling that someone's coming... Someone familiar. In space, the portal opens, spewing out the small spacecraft, which begins tumbling down towards the planet, Cheetor spotting the ship and recognizing it as a starhopper and telling base. At the Maximal base, Inferno gets his ass whooped in the attack (Optimus just buzzing him by to go join Cheetor).
The ship crashes in the sea, Cheetor flying overhead hoping its occupant is okay, when he's shot by Rampage, falling in the water. Rampage notes how the occupant is an old friend, before turning to beast mode and entering the water. Meanwhile, the sinking ship's computer activates its lifeform scanners. Many fishes are seen swimming by. Eventually the scanner shuts down, and we see then a Manta Ray swimming back. The cockpit opens, and the occupant's internal computer warns him that protoform X has been detected. He transforms, introducing himself as Depthcharge and goes after it. Cut to a sinking Cheetor, the Transmetal ray sees him after launching a remote scanner (A shark version of Scorponok's Cyberbee who doubles as a rifle) and saves him.
Back at the Predacon Base, Megatron notes how his attack was a failure, and the scanners cannot find Rampage. He orders Waspinator to recover the remains of Inferno and Quickstrike to find Rampage and figure out how he's evading Predacon scanners.
Cheetor awakes on a stranded rock to find Depthcharge overlooking him. They trade greetings and name before Depthcharge leaves, his scanner noting it has found Rampage, showing a flight mode based on his spaceship before diving underwater. Cheetor's jets can't work while wet, and his commlink is down, so he's stuck waiting for Optimus.
Depthcharge rejoins with his scanner and can't seem to find X. The reason is Rampage hid under some rocks. He leaps and attacks Depthcharge, greeting his "playmate" and telling him he's now called Rampage. The two fight, Rampage noting that Depthcharge is no longer afraid of him and refers to a "party" on Omicron (And talking of Depthcharge's "Tasty friends". The Two fight, Depthcharge dragging Rampage out of the water and flying while the deranged decepticon giant rips parts off him. They eventually crash into a cliff, rampage impaled on a stalagmite.
Cheetor sees Optimus arriving, and fills him in on Depthcharge. Optimus recognizes the name. Rampage recovers, his wound healing, approaching a seemingly comatose Depthcharge. Only the fishbot is playing possum. The two trade gunfire, Depthcharge using his "wings" to shield himself before disarming Rampage. Eventually Depthcharge gets the upper hand by using his tail harpoon to make Rampage's gun backfire. During the fight we learn Depthcharge captured Rampage in the past, but this time he's not intending to bother with capture. Before he can finish him off, he's blindsided by Quickstrike, who tells him Rampage is a Predacon now. Quickstrike is immediately taken out by Prime in case we forget he sucks. They land, but Rampage is gone, leaving a wounded Depthcharge behind.
Back at the base, the new maximal is in his CR chamber, and Optimus fills the maximals and us on the story: When Rampage was first activated, he went rogue, slaughtering all the residents. Depthcharge was in charge of security, and the sole survivor. Eventually he tracked X down and captured him, but the Elders refused to just have X executed, giving him to Primal and Rhinox to dispose off on some lost planet during the Axalon's mission. Depthcharge has been looking for X ever since, hoping to "correct" this situation.
Depthcharge awakes, and is less than pleased to see Primal, holding him accountable for Rampage's continued existence. Primal explains that X is a predacon now, there's many of them, and about the Ark, but Depthcharge doesn't care about anything but his vendetta, leaving the base. Cheetor asks if he will return, and Optimus notes that there was a time, he'd never have even left. Rampage changed that.
In the water, Rampage blows up Depthcharge's ship, laughing maniacally, so glad his "friend" could stay.
Deep Metal is pretty awesome. Though almost half the episode is a fight scene, it's a good one. Brutal too, you get the feeling that Depthcharge and Rampage's hatred runs deep by watching them go at each other. Depthcharge is pne of my favorite character from the show, even if he was underused. And I like that the episode sets him up very well, his grudge with Prime, his hatred of Rampage, all good hooks. It avoids the trapping of Airazor and Tigatron's introductory episodes where we basically know nothing about these new guys.
- Depthcharge pretty much fills the anti-hero role Dinobot occupied.
- Depthcharge is HUGE. He's a bit smaller than Optimal Optimus, but comparable in size to Rampage. And unlike him, isn't some mutant experiment.
- We never learn how Rampage avoids Megatron's sensor. It's implied he does so by travelling underwater, but we never really know.
- This is the first episode to feature underwater scenes.
- Rampage is capable of sensing Depth Charge's arrival before he's dropped by the time portal.
- Also, we never learned WTF is that time anomaly. It transmetalized Depthcharge, but the Quantum Wake would've left Earth's area by his time. It looks like a Vok portal, and maybe it's linked to Megatron's attempted murder of Optimus Prime? Who knows....
- In the Beast Wars era, Earth is off limit. The show never tells us why. Word of God is that there was some catastrophe, and also to prevent people who would seek to alter history.
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