Recap / Beast Wars S 2 E 8 Bad Spark

The dark secret of the Axalon's voyage wakes up.

Tropes featured:

• An Arm and a Leg: Rampage dismembers Tarantulas. Initially, Silverbolt and Blackarachnia think nothing of seeing his severed arm—even laughing it off. Then they see the rest of his torn apart body and are freaked.
• The Bad Guy Wins: Megatron successfully coerces Rampage into joining the Predacons by the end of the episode.
• Batman Gambit: Megatron sticks a transmitter on Blackarachnia's back right before sending her out into the field. He fully expects Tarantulas to attack and interrogate her about certain codes she recently stole.
• Be Careful What You Wish For: After Dinobot suggests they abandon searching for Silverbolt in favor of attacking the Predacon Base:
  Optimus: I'll remember that... the next time you're missing in an energon storm.
• Berserk Button:
  • Silverbolt explains his to Tarantulas while standing up for Blackarachnia.
    "Though threatening your own comrade is no doubt business as usual in the Predacon guide to villainy, it is simply unacceptable behavior in my book!"
  • Silverbolt in turn presses Blackarachnia's by reasoning she has "a spark of goodness" deep down, due to having once been a Maximal protoform. She angrily fires some warning shots to get him to shut up.
• Big Damn Heroes: As Rampage tortures Silverbolt, Optimus and Cheetor arrive.
• Black Comedy: When Silverbolt and Blackarachnia find the first piece of Tarantulas.
• Call-Back: Say hello to the reason the Maximal Elders sealed the records on Starscream.
• Continuity Nod: Right before their mental link was severed in "Tangled Web", Tarantulas learned Blackarachnia was hiding something of importance. Tarantulas is still determined to learn what.
• Cool Sword: Megatron fashions an energon blade in this episode.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Rampage delivers them throughout the entire episode; it takes Optimus, Cheetor and Blackarachnia attacking him all at once to force him back over a cliff, and that only lasted for a few seconds before he got back up.
• Drama-Preserving Handicap: Silverbolt is unable to simply take himself and Blackarachnia to safety because his wings were damaged in the earlier fight and their radios can't get a signal in their current location.
• Emotion Eater: Rampage revels in this.
  "Is that fear you're feeling, Maximal? Mmm...yes. My spark, it feeds on terror. Let it grow! Let it consume your circuitry! Feel it! Yes, feel it! Feel the fear!"
• Enemy Mine: Blackarachnia and Silverbolt team up to escape the jungle and the Energon storm. Blackarachnia later joins Optimus, Cheetor and Silverbolt in shooting Rampage. They let her go afterwards.
• Even Evil Has Standards:
  • Inferno and Megatron are disgusted by the blossoming romance between Silverbolt and Blackarchnia.
  • Blackarchnia is horrified when she sees Tarantulas' dismembered body.
  • She can't stand to watch Rampage slowly crush Silverbolt to death in the grip of his claw.
• Eviler than Thou: Rampage subjects Tarantulas to this, ripping him to pieces. At the end of the episode Rampage is subjected to this by Megatron. After his defeat Megatron cut into Rampage's spark and installed it in a torture to device to ensure his obedience.
• Evil Is Bigger: Rampage's stasis pod is huge.
• The Exile: While on their mission of exploration, the Axalon crew was ordered to dump Rampage's stasis pod on some barren moon.
• Flashback: Optimus's recollection of Protoform X being sealed in a stasis pod.
• For the Evulz: There's absolutely no reason for Rampage to do anything to the cast aside from getting a few yucks.
• Foreshadowing:
  • It's revealed that while the Axalon's primary mission was exploration, Optimus (and Rhinox) had received secret orders from Maximal leadership to execute a secondary mission. Come "The Agenda", it'll be revealed Megatron ironically was in the exact same boat as Optimus when the Darksyde launched. Energon acquisition was the public mission and motive for stealing the Golden Disk...while unofficially, Megs was following secret orders of his own...
  • Dinobot is backing up his mind to the Axalon's main computer. This would've been followed up in Season 3, but that episode was dropped.
  • Megatron believes Blackarachnia is hiding something, hence the listening device. While it's not outright said, it's obvious this is a continuation of "Coming of the Fuzors" and that Megs has (correctly) concluded it was Blackarachnia who destroyed his Golden Disk backup files, not Dinobot.
• God Help Us All: Rhinox's reaction, as Optimus and Silverbolt head out to the location of Protoform X's stasis pod.
  Rhinox: Primus help us all, if that thing survived.
• Gone Horribly Right: The Maximal government wanted an immortal warrior who would never stop? They got one. It's also hinted that they may have done too good a job recreating Starscream's Spark as Optimus says Protoform X was very treacherous.
• He Who Fights Monsters: After getting a tease back in "Possession", we get more evidence that the Maximal government has succumbed to this as they conducted an experiment to replicate Starscream's immortal Spark.
• Heel–Face Door-Slam: An inversion of how it usually works. Silverbolt tries to appeal to Blackarachnia's "inner Maximal goodness". She shoots him.
• Hidden Heart of Gold: Blackarachnia claims she only saved Silverbolt because there might be other creatures out there that could attack. Megatron (listening in) doesn't buy it for a second.
• Just in Time: The healing of Silverbolt's wing.
• Knight of Cerebus: Rampage's very presence, along with his backstory, makes this episode a much darker one.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Cheetor wasn't informed about Protoform X and it's hinted that neither was Rattrap. As Silverbolt only came online recently, he has to be told by Optimus on-site, which makes for convenient exposition for the audience.
• Look Behind You: Subverted. Right before Blackarachnia can try to shoot him, Silverbolt warns her this way. She calls this a pathetic ploy, only to realize he's telling the truth when his worried expression doesn't change. A beast then emerges from the brush to attack her, forcing Silverbolt into action.
• Meaningful Background Event: After seeing what happened to Tarantulas, Blackarachnia wants to get as far away as possible. As she says this, a certain someone can be seen running by.
• Meaningful Rename: Megatron dubs his new servant "Rampage" at the end of the episode.
• Mythology Gag: Rhinox swears by Primus. While commonplace now, this is the first instance where it happened outside of Marvel Comics.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: In defending Blackarachnia from Tarantulas, Silverbolt ends up smacking him into the nearby energon. This triggers the explosion separating all the characters and waking Protoform X back up.
• No Man Left Behind: Optimus and Cheetor won't abandon Silverbolt while Dinobot has no problem with it. Blackarchnia also averts this by leaving Tarantulas' body behind.
• Not Quite Dead: From the condition of the stasis pod, Optimus assumed (and no doubt hoped) that Protoform X was dead and gone. This proves to not be the case.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Blackarachnia drops her usual acerbic, sassy tone, reacting with heartfelt worry when Rampage begins squeezing Silverbolt so tight he screams out in pain.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • Optimus gives Rhinox such a look when he hears Cheetor found Rampage's stasis pod.
  • Tarantulas when Rampage looms over him.
  • Blackarachnia and Silverbolt are freaked out when see Tarantulas has been torn to pieces, and Silverbolt realizes that this is the doing of the very much alive and possibly immortal Protoform X.
• Panthera Awesome: A Smilodon attacks Blackarachnia and nearly overpowers Silverbolt in beast mode before the Fuzor sends it and himself tumbling over a cliff.
• Proud Warrior Race Guy: Dinobot suggests abandoning Silverbolt and assaulting the Darksyde since Megatron has lost two warriors. Optimus will keep that in mind...next time Dinobot is lost in a storm.
• Shout-Out: This episode takes many conventions from the slasher film genre, with Silverbolt and Blackarachnia as the young couple, the disturbing backstory, creepy dark environment, and Rampage as the unstoppable killer.
  • Rampage himself was inspired by Hannibal Lecter.
• Sickening Sweethearts: Megatron certainly thinks so by his reaction to Blackarachnia and Silverbolt's burgeoning affection for each other.
  Megatron: Yuck.
• Soul Jar: Megatron carves out a piece of Rampage's Spark and puts it in a cage to torture him into submission.
• Reflective Eyes: Megatron at the end, to drive home how diabolical his plan is. As he tortures Rampage, the camera pans to his eyes in which the reflection of the volcano and then Rampage lying in agony are seen: a perfect vision of Hell.
• Tank Goodness: Rampage.
• Tempting Fate: As Rampage climbs back up the mountain:
  Rampage: Your persistence is futile! I rise again.
  Silverbolt: In that case, let us give you farther to fall! [throws a missile at Rampage's tank treads]
• Title Drop: "Welcome, my new servant, yes. Welcome... to the Beast Wars!"
• Tragic Monster: As bad as Protoform X is, it's noted that he was just the product of a Maximal experiment. In the flashback, as Protoform X screams his head off while being restrained, Optimus simply looks away sadly rather than react like a deserved punishment is being carried out.
• Ungrateful Bastard:
  • After being saved from the fall, Blackarachnia tells Silverbolt not to expect any gratitude. Silverbolt says he won't since she is a Predacon.
  • The newly christened Rampage thanks Megatron for repairing him by pulling his rocket launcher on him. Though it turns out Megatron cut out part of his Spark and put it in a torture device to keep him obedient. So Rampage has every reason to be angry.
• Unwitting Pawn: Tarantulas intends to get certain information out of Blackarachnia, completely unaware that Megatron had found his listening device and was using him for the exact same end.
  Megatron: Spiders spin their webs, yes, but I spin them larger.
• What Happened to the Mouse?: Waspinator is forgotten about after the energon storm begins. That was probably to be expected.
• Wouldn't Hit a Girl: Silverbolt, even to the point of Blackarachnia outright pummeling him. Suffice to say, she's not impressed by his chivalry.
• "X" Makes Anything Cool: Protoform X.
• "You!" Exclamation: Blackarachnia after Tarantulas grabs her.