Meet Black Arachnia, the love of Silverbolt's life...
The relationship between Silverbolt and Black Arachnia screamed "Romeo and Juliet" from the start. She was a Predacon; he was a Maximal. She was the "bad girl"; he was the White Knight. Could such a relationship ever work out?
UNDER CONSTRUCTION--(I still haven't seen the episode that gets them together!)
What I like best about this relationship is the playoff between the two characters. Silverbolt, despite his heroic stance (or perhaps because of it) finds an attraction to the "bad girl" Black Arachnia. There's very much a Batman/Catwoman kind of mix there. Similarily, Black Arachnia finds that no matter how bad she WANTS to be, she just can't help herself where Silverbolt is concerned...though she spends THE AGENDA doing an admirable job of hiding it. All the games that Black Arachnia played with Tarantulas and Quick Strike are over when Silverbolt comes along. He's the one she just can't control herself around.
Believe you me--and I would know--when you've got someone who loves you unconditionally, no matter how much you try to convince them not to--it's very easy to find yourself returning the sentiment. Which is exactly what happens to Black Arachnia.
Another thing I like about how this relationship was handled was the fact that Black Arachnia didn't suddenly up and become a Maximal just because Silverbolt liked her. Over the course of time, she found her goals conflicting with Megatron's...but she couldn't do it all herself. She needed help...and help was to be found in the form of Silverbolt. Optimal Optimus admits in CROSSING THE RUBICON that the only real reason the Maximals allowed Black Arachnia to join them was "because Silverbolt loved her."
To be continued...
