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"Look, I'm a ghost, okay? Quit being such a jerk."
Waspinator finds himself possessed by none other than the original Decepticon traitor, Starscream!
- Possession (Japanese title: 不死身 の スタースクリーム) (Fujimi No Starscream "The Immortal Starscream") is the twenty-first episode of first season of Beast Wars: Transformers, is the twenty-first episode of the Beast Wars: Transformers series and is overall the twenty-first episode of the Beast Era of the Transformers series. It is overall the one hundredth-nineteenth episode of the G1 Era of Transformers.
Summary
In space, a flying spark appears and a violent storm rages, causing significant damage and knocking out power to both the Maximal and Predacon bases. While the Maximal team managed to stash their extra ammo deeper in the Axalon 's hold to prevent any undue accidents, Waspinator attempts to get one of the Darkside 's computer consoles online, only to be greeted by a ghostly, shrill voice from it. A power surge hits the bugbot soon afterwards, and when the other Predacons begin to wonder what has happened to him, in he comes, announcing his return "at long last" in the same eerie voice.
It turns out that the spark has enter into the Darkside's computer system during the storm and has taken control of Waspinator. The spark reveals himself to be Starscream, Air Commander of the Decepticon forces and second-in-command to the original Megatron. Starscream claims that while he was destroyed defending Galvatron from the Chaos Bringer Unicron, his spark endured drifting in space beyond the reaches of time itself. As a show of his good faith, Starscream pledges his loyalty to Megatron's descendant, revealing vital information about the state of the Maximal base due to the storm that he could use to plan a sneak attack.
The next day, as the Maximals are making repairs to their base, they are suddenly attacked by the Predacons, as Starscream's intel proved very useful in catching them off-guard. In the ensuing firefight, Dinobot is injured and the Decepticon Air Commander flies rings round Optimus, forcing the Maximals to abandon ship and regroup outside. Feeling victorious in taking over the Avalon, Megatron puts Starscream in charge of holding the Axalon as a reward for the successful attack, with Scorponok and Blackarachnia under his command while the rest of the Predacons return to the Darkside in case the Maximals decide to go for a sneak attack of their own. However, despite being pleased with Starscream for his efforts, a suspicious Megatron secretly tells Scorponok to watch him closely. Once they're alone, Blackarachnia shows off her knack for history by correctly pointing out to Starscream that he was murdered by Galvatron (the Unicron-reborn Megatron) after he betrayed the Decepticon commander. She's willing to keep this a secret though, if she's let in on his real plans, which is to destabilize Megatron's control and rule both Maximal and Predacon factions, thus securing victory of the Beast Wars for himself.
Deep in the forest, as the Maximals recover, Optimus voices his confusion and concern over Waspinator's new personality; he isn't entirely convinced he is possessed by the spark of Starscream, but as the Maximal Elders had long since sealed the Decepticon's records, they're not able to confirm or deny it, either. Fortunately, Dinobot's as much of a military history buff as Blackarachnia is, commenting on how Webster's Cybertronian Dictionary has pretty much replaced all definitions of "traitor" with Starscream's name.
With this information, Optimus cooks up a plan. Returning to the Axalon, the Maximals call Starscream out to announce their surrender, citing the need to use the ship's RC Chamber to repair Dinobot's supposed wounds. Feeling generous, the Decepticon Air Commander allows Optimus and Dinobot to come on board, but as predictably as night follows day, betrays them and strips Optimus of his weapons and locks him up in the hold as soon as he steps on deck. With both Optimus and Dinobot now held prisoner, Starscream orders the other Maximals to attack the Predacon base, over the token objections of Scorponok, who is then blasted off by Starscream and Blackarachnia's firepower. Having no choice, the Maximals are forced to oblige to Starscream's orders.
Unbeknown to the Air Commander, he's been duped by the oldest trick in the book; by allowing himself to be betrayed, Optimus has put himself and Dinobot in the perfect position to retake their base, which they do in a dazzling display that forces Starscream and Blackrachnia to retreat back to Predacon territory. Around the same time, Megatron learns of Starscream's true motives and angrily swears to finish both him and Blackarachnia off for their treachery. Optimus pursues, and manages to best Starscream in an aerial dogfight, leaving him grovelling at the Maximal's feet...until Blackarachnia shows up, prompting Starscream to plead for her aid, believing they can still complete their coup. No dice; this new generation is much less gullible than their ancestors, and Blackarachnia has skillfully pulled off a double-cross on the double-crosser, igniting a small Energon explosion to evict the Decepticon's spark from Waspinator's body.
Back at the Darkside, Megatron gets done fixing the back-to-normal Waspinator as Blackarachnia explains her betrayal: if she didn't, she wouldn't have been able to sniff out Starscream's true motives. Megatron reluctantly accepts this excuse, but warns her that it still doesn't invoke confidence in her loyalties anymore. Back at the Axalon, the Maximals are finishing up repairs of their own...everyone but Cheetor, who's slacking off with a bout of stargazing, quipping "Twinkle, twinkle, little Starscream" as the camera pans up to beyond the planet's orbit, showing Starscream's spark screaming mech fluid-drenched vengeance on both the Maximals and Predacons as he drifts away into space.
Quotes
"Since when did buzzbrain learn that move?"
- — Cheetor comments on a maneuver used by Waspscream
"What is this? Program does not respond! Waspinator does not understand!"
"I'll bet Waspinator seldom does! But try not to let it depress you, bug face!"
- —Waspinator, about to be possessed by The Screamer himself
"Allow me to present myself: Air Commander Starscream of the Decepticon BATTLEFLEET!!!"
(Cue the fanfare)
- —Starscream, speaking through Waspinator, makes his grand return
"Starscream, perhaps the centuries of weightlessness have taken a toll on your neurological circuitry?"
- —Megatron seems to forget that free-floating sparks don't have circuitry
Optimus: Apparently, Waspinator is Starscream or he thinks he is. Either way, he's become a major problem - especially since the files on Starscream were classified by the Maximal elders.
Dinobot: FOOLS! Fortunately, I have long studied military history.
Optimus: Go on.
Dinobot: Starscream was deceitful and scheming. The most notorious traitor of all!
Optimus: And now he's back and pledging his loyalty to Megatron? Hmmmm...
- —An explanation of why Dinobot knows more about Starscream's nature than most of the others.
"I'd say it's tramplin' time!"
- —Rhinox is now free to open a can of kick-keister.
Cheetor: (after being told to attack the Darksyde) The Pred base?! What is this?
Scorponok: It's called "TREACHERY"!
(Scorponok attempts to blast Starscream, who blasts the former away first)
Rattrap: (watching Scoroponok being blasted away screaming) Ooh.... You.. You're nothin' but a schemin' snake-in-the-grass!
Starscream: Flattery will get you flattened, vermin. OBEY ME!!!
- —Starscream leads an assault on the Darksyde
Rhinox: "This is suicide! We've gotta retreat!"
Starscream: "No! Attack! THAT'S AN ORDER!!!"
Optimus: "I have to tell you, Starscream, you're giving space debris a very bad name!!"
- —Starscream tries to continue the assault on the Darksyde, while Optimus is annoyed by Starscream's persitence as the former tries to force the Maximals into attacking the Pred base
"Ugh! Starscream and Blackarachnia! I'll have both their treacherous hides! Yeeessss... I'll-I'll melt them down and use them for aluminum siding! Oh, yes indeed! Rgh!"
- —Megatron finally learns of Starscream's traitorous nature. Odd...
"Are all your dreams in Technicolor?"
- —Blackarachnia, about to give Starscream a taste of his own medicine.
"Hasta la vista, Starscream!"
- —Optimus escapes from Starscream's exorcism from Waspinator's body engineered by Blackarachnia. With Starscream's defeat, Waspy is now a mere midget once again.
"Ohhhh... Waspinator has a headache in his whoooole body."
- —Waspinator, as he's put back together yet again from another one of his destruction footages. Aww...
"Just lookin' for new constellations.Twinkle, twinkle, little Starscream."
- —Cheetor, gazing up at the night sky as Starscream heads for parts (or time periods) unknown.
"I'll be back! Even if it takes a 1000 years, I'LL BE REVENGED ON YOU ALL!!!"
- —Starscream, as his spark drifts through space, cursing the Beast Warriors...
Stats
- Original Air Date: February 3, 1997
- Written by: Ian Weir
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Maximals | Predacons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Notes
- Waspinator's "death"
- This episode's has a purpose: Near obliteration by Blackarachnia in an attempt to evict Starscream's Spark from him.
Animation and/or technical glitches
- When Megatron "checks up" on Waspinator, his dino head inexplicably switches from his right hand to his left.
- When the Maximals are surrendering to Starscream and Optimus is explaining that Dinobot needs to be repaired, the red armor piece of his upper left arm is missing, making his arm appear mostly hollow.
- When Waspscream is standing on top of the Axalon telling the Maximals that he has Optimus Primal captured, his right leg is overlapping one of the autoguns.
Continuity errors
- Looking at the intro sequence with Starscream's spark, he clearly touches down somewhere in the Southwest United States, apparently Arizona. The terrain and creatures in Beast Wars clearly suggest that it takes place in Africa; then again it makes sense, since in the third/final part of the three-part Season 2 Finale, "The Agenda (Part III)", he puts the Axalon and the Ark within commuting distance. Of course, just because he goes down there, doesn't mean he still didn't commute once on the planet.
- It remains unclear as to how Starscream ended up as a Spark again, as his body was recovered by Unicron in The Transformers Season 3 Episode "Ghost in the Machine".
- Megatron knew a great deal about Cybertronian history, yet apparently did not know the real nature of Starscream and his demise. However, Megatron might have been playing dumb to lure Starscream into being bolder with his actions. It should also be of note that both the Predacon and Maximal Elders had a large portion of his records sealed due to his history.
- Unicron's "ring" is not connected to his body.
- Despite being born from a Maximal Protoform, Blackarachnia refers to the Decepticons as "our" (the Predacons) ancestors.
- Inferno is absent for the entire episode, making it unclear if he was simply elsewhere or the timeline of the episode was intended to be before his introduction. If the latter, it could theoretically fit best coming right before "The Trigger, Part 1" since Megatron is suspicious of Blackarachnia's treacherous and ambitious side that she, up until that episode, gave no reason for Megatron to be suspicious of beforehand. Whereas in this episode, her brief teaming up with Starscream would be enough reason for Megatron to be wary of her loyalty in "The Trigger" were this episode to precede that one.
- In an interview with Bob Forward, it is stated that Primal originally had a very complex way of breaking free, but due to budget and time restrictions, this was changed to just him "Busting out". [citation needed]
- In the Season 3 episode "Deep Metal", Waspinator complains that "Waspinator blow up, nobody salvage!", yet here he was pretty much salvaged by other Predacons (at least his head was reattached by Megatron).
Real-world references
- Optimus Primal says "Hasta la vista, Starscream," paraphrasing a famous line from Terminator 2.
- And another Terminator reference, Starscream screams "I'll be back!".
- As he flies away immediately after saying this, Optimus Primal is seen wearing a pair of sunglasses, aping Arnold Schwarzenegger's trademark look from the movie.
- Optimus escape from his shackles is very reminiscent of King Kong.
- Rhinox's line "It's Tramplin' time" is an obvious homage to The Thing of the Fantastic Four's catchphrase, "It's clobberin' time!".
Transformers references
- Obviously, Starscream himself firmly ties Beast Wars to established G1 history. Though you could argue that Waspinator thinking he was Shrapnel already did this.
- Starscream's spark, or "ghost" as it was then called, had possessed several Decepticons (including Cyclonus, Scourge, Astrotrain, and Trypticon) in the The Transformers Season 3 episodes "Starscream's Ghost" and "Ghost in the Machine." It's nothing new that his spark is pretty durable.
- One of the Predacon insignias on the side of Waspinator's cranium changes into Decepticon insignia while Starscream's spark is inhabiting his superstructure.
Notes
- This episode marks the first appearances of Starscream since The Transformers Season 3 episode "Ghost in the Machine".
- Because of the call backs to The Transformers, as well as Starscream making an appearance, this episode gives out the hint that Beast Wars: Transformers is the fallow-up/sequel to The Transformers series.
- Terrorsaur's actor, Doug Parker, stands in for Starscream's now late former actor Chris Latta in this episode. It makes you wonder why they didn't just have Starscream possess Terrorsaur instead of Waspinator. Maybe that was just too obvious. But then again, Parker could be considered a descendant, as his portrayal of Starscream was far more superior than Latta's, to the heavy extent we're given a reason why Starscream's called Starscream, for his screaming of orders and threats when portrayed by Parker.
- Starscream's color scheme is different from his character model in G1 cartoon, particularly around his head. Just take a look and compare it to the original, you'll see what is meant. It somehow slightly resembles his appearance in Marvel G2 comics.
- Why does Starscream imprison Optimus in shackles that he can break out of in about five seconds flat? It probably has something to do with his Starscreamish arrogance and stupidity.
- Some fans speculate that Waspinator's ability to survive from the more devastating destruction he suffered in this episode and throughout seasons 2 and 3 is a result of sharing his body with Starscream's immortal spark in this episode, which may have inadvertently made Waspinator's spark immortal as well.
- Question: How did Screamer's spark go BACK IN TIME?
- Answer: Starscream states that his spark was "drifting helplessly through the depths of space beyond the reach of time itself".
- As Starscream walks with Blackarachinia to train her as a traitor he touches her butt. Perv.
- Well, Waspinator did touch Blackarachinia on her right chestplate in an earlier episode when he thought he was yet another Decepticon. So Generation One Transformers turn Waspinator into a perv? Appears so.
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