Cheetor is racing into trouble once again.
Last time on Beast Wars, Cheetor
was given a simple mission to test out a communicator. It didn’t go well. He stumbled
upon Scorponok digging out a Mega Cannon that was broken off the Darksyde in
their fire fight and tried to stop him but was ambushed by Tarantulas. He lost
the cannon, and the communicator was destroyed in the tussle. Trying to redeem
himself, Cheetor ran off on hi own to try to take out the cannon but was
captured by Tarantulas. The creepy spider intended to drain him of energy and then
drain him dry. Cheetor is saved by Rattrap, and the two bid a hasty retreat.
Rattrap covers for Cheetor and then threatens the kid to try to ensure he never
tries something like that again. The next episode proves that the lesson didn’t
stick. Oh, and the Mega cannon never comes up again to my knowledge.
This episode begins with Optimus
Primal watching a lightning strike obliterate the side of a mountain. It
reveals a massive Energon deposit. Optimus radios into the command center and
tries to tell them to scrub the planned mission due to the destructive
potential of the storm, but radio interference keeps his message from reaching
the ship.
Meanwhile, Rhinox finishes setting
up the relay posts they’re going to use for said mission. They’re long spear
like poles that shrink and collapse into hockey puck sized disk. Rhinox asks if
there’s any word from Optimus, but Rattrap isn’t getting anything, also due to
the storm. Dinobot examines the other part of this mission, a bomb, saying that
the mission is too important to delay due to bad weather. He’s going make an
adjustment, but needs a special laser for it, Cheetor has it and tries to
casually make the adjustment himself but instead knocks the bomb over. Everyone
freaks out for a moment as it rolls away, but thankfully Optimus caught it in
the elevator before he hit anything with enough force to set it off. Cheetor takes
the bomb and tells Optimus that they just need to do one more little adjustment
before it’s ready to send the Predacon base back into orbit. He almost sets the
bomb off again, but it powers down. Optimus tells them they’re scrubbing the
mission. Cheetor still wants to do the mission, as even though Optimus says
that the storm will hit in the hour, he thinks he’ll be able to outrun the
storm with time to spare. Optimus says no, for fear that rushing planting the
posts would lead to, ya know, death and destruction. They need to set the posts
up in a specific line to avoid other Energon deposits. Cheetor begs for the
chance to still do it, asking Optimus to have faith in him, but Optimus still
says no. Dinobot lobbies to just set the bomb without the survey posts, as the worst
thing that could happen is they blow up a Predacon. Optimus tells him this isn’t
about killing (they use every other word for that, because 90s TV but that’s
what they mean) but destroying the Predacon base and limiting their resources. He
says that winning doesn’t mean annihilation. Dinobot counters that with reverse
roles, Megatron would destroy then and spare the base. Optimus claims Dinobot’s
judgement is clouded due to his desire to scrap Megatron. Dinobot transforms
and storms off. Rattrap tries to lobby for trying the mission, as the relays are
just to scan for Predacon energy signature, so what’s the harm? But Rhinox is
with Optimus that the Energon makes the mission too risky.
Later, Dinobot goes to Cheetor’s
room. Cheetor is sulking and is thus really susceptible to Dinobot’s…
manipulations. He does just enough flattery to convince Cheetor that he can outrun
the storm and set up the posts correctly, and that doing so is the only way to
prove himself to Optimus. Cheetor exits the base and starts running. He quickly
runs to each point, transforms, places a relay, and then runs to the next point
over the course of the hour. He makes it all the way to the last relay, but a
lightning strike hits him before he can plant it. It hits an Energon deposit
they hadn’t detected. Cheetor tries to pull the relay out, but the Energon is
making it spark with energy.
At the Predacon base, Terrorsaur is
on lookout duty. He detects something, hoping it’s a Maximal, but ultimately
dubs it just storm interference. That is until Cheetor tries to pull the relay
out again and somehow ends up teleporting onto his station. Terrorsaur transforms
and the two of them start firing on each other. Terrorsaur almost finishes him
off, but Cheetor shifts to beast mode and tackles him. He knocks Terrorsaur
into a console and he teleports as well. Cheetor marvels at the coolness of that
but is interrupted by Scorponok and Waspinator. The two chase Cheetor,
ultimately blowing a hole in their ventilation system and giving Cheetor a
means of escape. And to reenact Die Hard if he wants. Scorponok orders
Waspinator to tell Megatron what happened.
Terrorsaur teleports into the
Maximal base. He comes face to face with Dinobot. The two of them almost throw
down, but Dinobot notices the console is sparking with energy. They realize
that somehow the storm and the relays created a transporter of some kind,
Terrorsaur confirming it by mentioning that Cheetor ended up at the Darksyde.
Dinobot proposes a truce, Terrorsaur taking it further, saying that together
they can defeat the Maximals and then rule the Predacons with two iron fists.
They pump fists, but Dinobot’s smile suggests he’s plotting something.
Meanwhile, Cheetor is being chased
through the vents by Waspinator and Scorponok. Waspinator shooting darts through
the vent, leading Cheetor towards Scorponok who tries to hit him with a
missile. Cheetor dodges the initial explosion, but is knocked through the vent
by the shockwave, and Scorponok and Waspinator are blasted back as well.
On the Axalon, Dinobot confirms
from Terrorsaur that just touching the console was all they needed to use the
transporter. Dinobot thanks him, then kicks his ass and sticks him a launcher
and fires him out into space. Terrorsaur tries to plead for him not to do it,
saying they’re partners, but Dinobot casually reminds Terrorsaur that he is not
a team player. Optimus arrives a moment later, having noticed the missing
relays and cat and wants an explanation. Dinobot lies to Optimus, saying that
Cheetor “must have” gone out on his own to set the charges and that he “intercepted
a communication” saying that Cheetor had ended up in the base and has surely been
destroyed by now. He uses Optimus’ anger at the thought of Cheetor’s death to
try to convince him to send the bomb through the portal to finish Megatron off.
On th Darksyde, Waspinator and Scorponok
are still looking for Cheetor. He slips into one of the computer bays and
starts downloading their maps and survey data. It’s super lucky he did this, as
he’s able to combine both their survey data and learns that the Energon deposit
that allows the transporter to work runs under both bases. Blow up the Darksyde
with the bomb, and the chain reaction will take the Axalon with it. Cheetor makes
a copy of the disk right before being caught. He dodges a missile from Scorponok
and keeps running.
At the Axalon, Optimus confirms
from Dinobot that the bomb he set will give the Predacons enough time to evacuate.
Dinobot says yes, that they will give them 30 seconds to escape. They send the
bomb just as Cheetor sends the data disk.
Cheetor is captured by Terrorsaur, whom I guess had just arrived back at
the base and gotten Megatron. Megatron tells Terrorsaur to disarm the bomb, but
they don’t have time, its anchored down and they only have 20 seconds. Cheetor
offers to disarm it, which Megatron allows. He disengages the anchors and Terrorsaur
flies up and throws the bomb, but still gets scorched. Megatron goes to execute
him, but Cheetor jumps on the console and teleports away. After, the others congratulate
Cheetor, though Optimus promises him he’ll put Cheetor’s tail in a sling if he
tries a stunt like that again. Cheetor promises not to… until next time and
runs off. Everyone gets a good chuckle out of that.
This episode was an interesting
look at the psyche of my favorite former Predacon, Dinobot. While the carnivorous
dinosaur is usually all about honor, one-on-one combat, and fair play, when it
comes to Megatron he’s blinded by rage. He unabashedly used Cheetor’s desire to
prove himself and headstrong nature to his own end of killing Megatron. He then
was either willing to sacrifice Cheetor to see the mission be completed or had
even less faith in the kid’s ability to stay alive than anyone else. It’s not
exactly evil in and of itself but does show a ruthlessness that seems hardwired
into his faction. For Cheetor, this is largely a rehashing of his story from
last time. He’s an impulsive teenager that is more confident than he probably
should be and is reckless because of it. He’s incredibly trusting, willing to
listen to Dinobot’s praises and his idea to earn respect. Like, anyone with
even a little more experience would have seen that Dinobot was using him to get
his vengeance. But, kid, so he genuinely believes that Dinobot wants to help
him earn street cred. This will be somewhat ironic, as Dinobot ends up being
incredibly protective of Cheetor in the future, but that’s the future. We also
get a bit more of Terrorsaur. So, he’s a red flyer with an inflated ego and
constantly one good day away from betraying Megatron… yes, he’s basically Starscream.
It’s not the most original character type, but the “constant traitor” archetype
does separate him from the general clump that most of the villains are in
currently. Oh, and Cheetor’s line when he returns to the base at the end of the
episode “Hiya cats, miss me?” is one of his most iconic lines. I love it. And
that’s all I have to say about that. Have a good night.
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Twitter: @BasicsSuperhero
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