The Predacons take control of Optimus Primal's body and gain access to the Ark. As Megatron seizes new power for himself, Tarantulas and Quickstrike have different plans in mind...
Tropes featured:
- All Your Base Are Belong to Us: The Predacons successfully infiltrate the Maximal base and gain the access codes to the Ark.
- And I Must Scream: Optimus was fully aware of everything while under the control of the harness. Once free, he's immediately able to get Blackarachnia up to speed.
- Badass Boast: "Did you think you could stand against the fury of both Megatrons? Farewell, Optimal Optimus!"
- Big Damn Heroes: The rest of team opens fire to save Optimus from Megatron.
- Bittersweet Ending: Optimus is saved, the other Maximals are freed, and Tarantulas is foiled, but Megatron still has his namesake's Spark. Optimus grimly notes they have to win the war soon or else.
- Bond Villain Stupidity: Megatron has Optimus under his control, and shortly afterwards has captured all the Maximals save Depth Charge. Rather than simply kill all of them immediately, he leaves them locked up, whereupon Blackarachnia is able to eventually escape, rescue the others, and foil his plans.
- Similarly, upon entering the Ark, rather than proceeding to immediately kill Optimus Prime like before, (when nobody could stop him), Megatron instead wastes time acquiring his ancestor’s spark for a power up, solely to fuel his ego. By the time he returns presumably to do this, Optimus is available to take him on.
- Crazy-Prepared: Optimus coded the Ark access codes so that only someone with a Maximal energy signature could download them from him.
- Didn't See That Coming: Megatron over Optimus being back in control.
- Do Wrong, Right: Megatron scolds Tarantulas for his betrayal:Megatron: I can suffer your treachery, lieutenant, but not your incompetence! Treachery requires no mistakes.
- Played with in that unknown to Megatron Tarantulus had rigged the Ark to explode, meaning that had the Maximals not stopped it, in the end he would have successfully pulled off his betrayal after all.
- Easily Forgiven: Subverted. Megatron punishes Tarantulus for setting up a betrayal, but still forgives him. Failing to see it through, however is another matter.
- Even Evil Has Standards: Quickstrike is apprehensive about what Megatron wants to do with his namesake's Spark.
- Evil Counterpart: Megatron justifies taking his namesake's Spark by saying Optimus did the same with Prime's Spark.
- Fascinating Eyebrow: Optimus does this when he sees Waspinator charge forward by his lonesome...
- Freeze Ray: Though primarily using fire attacks, Megatron is also shown to have this ability. He freezes Optimus's arm solid before trying to finish him.
- I Have You Now, My Pretty: Quickstrike when he uses Optimus' body to seize Blackarachnia.
- Incoming Ham: "Enter the dragon!"
- Little "No": Tarantulas right before getting roasted by the new and improved Megatron.
- Mid-Season Upgrade: Using G1 Megatron's spark, Predacon Megatron gains a new Transmetal II dragon form after a betrayal from Tarantulus and Quickstrike.
- New Powers as the Plot Demands: In this episode only, Blackarachnia demonstrates the ability to use telekinesis in her new body.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Blackarachnia transferring the Ark access codes to Optimus last episode comes back to bite everyone in the ass once Megatron gains control of the Maximal Leader.
- Not Quite Dead: Megatron emerges from the lava more powerful than ever.
- Oh, Crap!: Tarantulas is horrified when Megatron emerges from the lava pools in his new Transmetal 2 form.
- Puppeteer Parasite: The device that Tarantulas hits Optimus. It allows Quickstrike full control by way of the harness modeled after Optimus.
- Race Against the Clock: Blackarachnia has to deactivate the self-destruct. It comes down to literally the last second.
- Raised Hand of Survival: Megatron does this when emerging from the lava (with the dragon head being a hand in his new robot mode).
- The Starscream: Tarantulas gets Quickstrike to betray Megatron while he's vulnerable and attempts to destroy the Ark for himself.
- Tactical Withdrawal: With all of the other Maximals opening fire at once, Megatron opts to make his escape.
- This Is Gonna Suck: Waspinator when he realizes both what his real role in the plot is and that he's about to get flattened.
- Took a Level in Badass: Like Optimus before him, Megatron gains a substantial power boost from taking in his namesake's Spark.
- Traitor Shot: After Megatron is incapacitated by taking in his namesake's Spark, a close-up shows the mind-controlled Optimus now smirking.
- Unwitting Pawn:
- Unsurprisingly, Quickstrike has no idea what Tarantulas really seeks to do.
- Waspinator was told he'd be leading an assault on the base. He's just the distraction for the real plan.
- We Will Meet Again: Megatron vows this when flying out of the Maximal Base.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Megatron sends Dinobot II to kill Depth Charge, but the battle is never seen.
- The Worf Effect: Megatron's newfound badassery is demonstrated by having him inflict a Curb-Stomp Battle to Optimal Optimus.
- Written-In Absence: Depth Charge doesn't appear, but he's mentioned as still being out in the field and working on his scanners. Dinobot II is dispatched after him, but as noted above, that's the last we hear of it.
- You Fool!: Megatron's response to Quickstrike being apprehensive about doing anything with the original Megatron's Spark.
