Aftermath (BW episode)

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Stan Bush's guitar finds a victim.
"Aftermath"
Season	2
No. in season	1
Production company	Mainframe Entertainment
Airdate	October 26, 1997
Written by	Larry DiTillio
Directed by	Colin Davies
Animation studio	Mainframe Entertainment
Continuity	Beast Wars continuity
Packaged with	Transmetal Claw Jaw, Airazor, Razorclaw
Watch this episode on YouTube

After the destruction of the alien machine and the death of Optimus, the remaining Maximals are left to pick up the pieces and fend off the Predacons... with some strange new upgrades.

Synopsis

That's odd, I don't remember ordering a glow-in-the-dark redeco

At their respective bases, both the Maximals and the Predacons react to Optimus Primal's death. The Maximals are in a state of shock, whereas the Predacons laugh, jeer and generally have a good time. However, these moods are short-lived. The destruction of the Planet Buster causes a quantum surge which very soon hits the planet. In the Axalon, Rattrap and Cheetor are affected by it in the control room, as is the unconscious body of Tarantulas down below. The surge also severely rocks the Predacon ship, causing Waspinator to fall into the CR pool while Megatron, Scorponok and Terrorsaur catch the surge's full effect. Megatron is thrown onto the floor of the base, while Scorponok and Terrorsaur lose control of their hover platforms and collide into each other. The collision causes both of them to fall into the lava pit, where they are terminated. After the surge, Waspinator emerges from the CR pool, joyous to have survived. He sees Megatron in the shadows, having been upgraded by the surge into a new Transmetal body.

Look at my hands! Oh, sorry, Cheetor.

In the Maximal base, both Rattrap and Cheetor are startled at each other's new appearance until each realizes the same has happened to himself. Airazor suggests they both try out their new beast modes which they discover that they have a rat on wheels, and Flight for Cheetor, they give them a test, only to crash, Tigatron and Airazor go off on the hunt for the spiders who are partly responsible for Optimus Primal's death.

Under Tarantulas's control, Blackarachnia begins to leave the Axalon while he insists she bring his body along. Unbeknownst to them, the eyes of Inferno's severed head glow back online...

Who needs a Maximal Torture Chamber with him on your team?

Back upstairs, Rhinox and Dinobot come back online. Rhinox orders Rattrap to tell him everything. Dinobot then announces that he should be leader, but after a stern throttling by Rhinox, he backs down.

Blackarachnia and Tarantulas escape the base only to be intercepted by Tigatron and Airazor, with the latter punching Blackarachnia for a second time. However, help for the she-spider is on its way. Megatron is never above kicking somebody while they're down, so he brings a full Predacon assault (in the form of Waspinator) to join the Tarantulas-possessed Blackarachnia in an assault on the Axalon. Airazor and Tigatron are blasted offline by Megatron. The alert sounds inside the Axalon, so Rhinox sends the two new Transmetals outside while he and Dinobot try to set up the defenses. However, Inferno emerges into the room and immediately blasts Rhinox backwards using a missile, which prompts Dinobot into a physical brawl with the Predacon.

First it was Tyrannosaurs in F-14s...now it's Tyrannosaurs with Turbines!

Outside, Tarantulas forces Blackarachnia to retreat against her and Megatron's wishes. Waspinator battles Cheetor, much surprised that the "cat-bot" can fly. After a bit of a beating, Waspinator retreats. Following some more shooting, Megatron transforms into vehicle mode and charges at Rattrap, who transforms into beast mode and uses his tail to trip the Predacon. Megatron is not out of the fight yet, however, and he blasts Cheetor off the cliff. Cheetor transforms to flight mode to escape, but crashes into Rattrap. Megatron prepares to end the new bots.

Inferno and Dinobot are still locked in combat when Rhinox grabs Inferno and throws him out of the base lift. He then challenges Megatron with one of the Chainguns of Doom. Megatron realizes with only a broken Inferno in his army that he is no match for Maximals, so he calls a retreat.

Elsewhere, under one of the Planet Buster-generated storms, two stasis pods are shown lying in a barren area, their DNA scanners malfunctioning.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Yes, I am good, aren't I?" [smacks Waspinator] "But we can discuss my brilliance later. Now, there is work to be done."
"What kind of work?"
"The Predacon kind. We must defeat the remaining Maximals while they mourn their dear, departed leader. This will be the final battle!"

—Megatron wastes no time...delivering exposition to Terrorsaur.

"I'm here, inside your pretty little head, controlling your pretty little thoughts."

—Tarantulas makes pretty little threats against Blackarachnia.

"What's with you two?" [gestures toward pants area] "Is my gear box hangin' out or somethin'?"

—Rattrap, paragon of social graces...

[Dinobot and Rattrap are about to have a fight]
"Enough. Stand down, Dinobot."
"By what right do you command me? With Optimus gone, I should be—"
[Rhinox grabs Dinobot by the neck and picks him up]
"I'm in a bad mood. Understand?"
"Uh-huh."

—Rhinox proves to Dinobot that Maximals can be scary too.

"New packaging. Same product. Losers."

—Megatron, not impressed with the Transmetalized Maximals.

"...but if you ask me, the Beast Wars just got a whole lot weirder."

—Rattrap, as he watches a robot T. rex with roller skates fly away.

Notes

Script timeline

• First draft: 9th June 1997
• Second draft: 19th June 1997
• Finalised: 24th June 1997
• As Air: 16th October 1997

Animation and technical errors

• Waspinator's gun is whipped out of his hand by Cheetor, but moments later, he transforms fully, including his gun forming his beast mode's abdomen.
• Rattrap is seen dropping his shield (which acts as a hubcap for his wheels in beast mode) before Cheetor crashes into him, but, upon impact, both hubcaps are seen on his back.
• When the Predacons are celebrating Optimus Primal's demise, the reflection mapping on metallic surfaces on all of the Predacons is missing, leaving only the flat material colours. The reflections are back in the following shot.

Continuity errors

Continuity notes

• The planet survived the Vok attack, but it's clear that the ecosystem didn't make it out unscathed. Notably, the jungle that separated the Axalon from the Darksyde appears to have been burnt away, with only a few stumps remaining.
• There are methods to the madness that is Transmetallization. All of the original ten Transformers who did not emerge from stasis pods on Earth would have become Transmetals, but several of them were protected from the quantum surge in a CR chamber. For reasons that have never been explained, Transformers born on Earth were immune to the quantum surge.
• While both ships survived the Planet Buster's attack, the Quantum Surge severely damaged their structures. The Darksyde is now more gray than green and the rear section of the fuselage has collapsed and bent. The Axalon's surfaces now look very deteriorated and the ship is bent/fractured at about the halfway point of the forward fuselage.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • As the debut of the Transmetals, the episode spends a good chunk of its time showcasing all their new features, particularly their "vehicle" modes.
  • Rattrap's beast mode thighs can detach in robot mode and be used as shields.

Real-world references

Will Scorponok return? Of course he won't.

• Terrorsaur's death scene resembles that of the Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.

Trivia

• A new title sequence debuted this episode for the new season. It effectively summarized the events of "Other Voices" and "Aftermath", which was a bit odd since major story points like the quantum surge appeared in the credits before they actually got shown in the episode itself. Although the credits "spoil" the debut of the Fuzors and most of the Transmetals, Optimus Primal's Transmetal form is not shown, presumably in an effort to keep his return in the third episode a surprise.
• As they plunge into the lava, Terrorsaur and Scorponok are glowing with the same Transmetallization energy; this was written in as an "out" in case the writers needed to bring them back.
  • They would come back in one continuity, about 10 years after the fact.
• Waspinator was originally intended to die in this episode instead of Terrorsaur, but due to fan popularity and the fact the writers needed a character for comic relief, he was granted amnesty. This is somewhat reflected in Waspinator's line as he emerges from the CR chamber: "Waspinator is...alive! Hee hee!"
• The recap of the last episode actually shows Optimus approaching the center of the moon before the explosion, a scene cut from the first-season finale.
• Inferno can survive getting shot point blank in the head. Awesome!
• The characters who have received Transmetal forms also receive some anatomical changes with them, with the exception of Rattrap.
  • Megatron no longer features a T-rex head for a right arm, gaining a normal right hand instead, as well as both hands having five fingers as opposed to four. His tail weapon is still a handheld weapon, but now typically held in his right hand rather than his left.
  • Tarantulas' arms no longer have pincers, instead having three-fingered hands.
  • Cheetor no longer has normal hands, instead now having a claw-like single finger and thumb mounted within the separated halves of his cheetah head over his forearms.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Et le Combat Reprend" ("And the Battle Resumes")

• Title: "Contrecoup" ("Aftermath")

Italian

• Title: "Dopo l'esplosione" ("After the Blast")

• Starting from this episodes, the narrator totally disappears, Blackarachnia is called again by her Italian name and beast modes are mostly called "moduli Biocombat" which actually translates (pretty oddly) as "Transformers modules" (since Transformers are called "Biocombat" in the Italian dub of this series).
• When the Maximal computer says: «Unit Optimus Primal» it is werdly translated as: «Alien force destroyed».

Japanese

• Title: "Kaette Kita ze!" (帰ってきたぜ!, "We're Back!")
• Original airdate: October 6 1999

• In Japan, the second and third seasons of Beast Wars were rebranded as a new series: Beast Wars Metals. Release of this series was delayed, with the original cartoons Beast Wars II and Beast Wars Neo filling the broadcast gap between Beast Wars and Beast Wars Metals.
• The episode "Bad Spark" actually premiered in Japan nearly a year before this proper "first" episode, as part of the theatrical film Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers, released in December of 1998. To keep viewers up to date, the "Bad Spark" segment of the film was preceded by numerous clips from this episode.
• Just for the record, the adlibbing in the Beast Wars Metals series is exponentially increased from the (already excessive) adlibbing in the Beast Wars series. Additionally, the self-referential, goofy and relentless sense of humor is ratcheted up, making the Japanese dub of Metals almost a satire of itself.
• When NAVIko alerts Megatron to the incoming quantum surge near the start of the episode, she flusters and mixes up her words. Her alert at first is the declaration "Hentai!" She then corrects herself and shouts "Taihen!" ("Oh no!"). You probably all know what "hentai" popularly means, but the word can also be used to mean "transformation" or "change." Get your minds out of the gutters.
• As Terrorsaur sinks to his doom in the lava, he shrieks out some last words: "What is this!?" Scorponok, meanwhile, just repeats his verbal tic over and over before groaning: "Orya Orya Orya!"
• Rattrap's and Cheetor's conversation about their new appearances is less a "conversation" and more just the two of them saying "Pikapika!" ("Glittery!") over and over again. The incessant use of the phrase is dated, but a reference to the massive Pokémon craze sweeping Japan (particularly in the way they say "Pikapika", devolving into Pikachu impressions as they repeat it).
• Whenever a Transmetal (or just "Metal", in this dub) transforms to their third-mode, they now announce it as "Vehicle Mode!"
• When Tarantulas forces Blackarachnia to disobey Megatron's orders and desert the battle, as she webslings away with Tarantulas's inert body, Blackarachnia screams a mocking, "See ya later!" to Megatron. This runs completely counter to the intent of the scene, as Blackarachnia had just gone on about how she didn't want to risk disobeying and infuriating Megatron again so soon after her most recent betrayal. Another fine example of Yoshikazu Iwanami's excessive adlibbing style.
• When Megatron first transforms into Transmetal T. rex mode, he squeals in a high-pitched voice, "So cooooooool!"
• As Megatron retreats and carts off Inferno, he howls in a silly voice, "So long!"
• And on the subject of silly voices, when Dinobot finally exits the Axalon after the battle, he dramatically announces "Here's Dinobot! ...Huh?" in a really goofy voice (and, obviously, this would seem quite counter to his established personality).

Portuguese

• Title: "Consequências" ("Consequences")

Mandarin

• Title: "Jié Hòu Yú Bō" (劫后余波, "Aftermath of the Doom")

Spanish

• Title: "El Día Después" ("The Day After")

• Title: "Las Consecuencias" (America, "The Consequences")

Home video releases

VHS

1998 — Pack in video with Airazor & Razorclaw
1998 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Series 2 / Volume 1 (Siren Entertainment)
1999 — Beast Wars: Super Lifeform Transformers: Metals — We're Back! (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
1999 — Pack in video with Transmetal Claw Jaw. (Universal)

DVD

2000 — Beast Wars: Transformers: Metals — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — English and Japanese audio.
2004 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Second Season (Rhinomation)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Seasons 2 & 3 (Shout! Factory)
2011 — Beast Wars: Transformers — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2006 — Beast Wars: Transformers — Season 2 (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Beast Wars — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)