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Microbots

2012-01-27T14:11:56Z

1.162.91.143: /* Synopsis */ Well, Laserbeak flying drunk is still pretty hilarious.

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=34
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=25
|prev2=Auto Berserk
|next2=Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=33
|prev3=The Insecticon Syndrome
|next3=Blaster Blues
|image=Microbots shrink.JPG
|caption=In the '80s, every cartoon had to have a shrinking episode.
|title="Microbots"
|production code=#700-33
|airdate=[[October 7]], 1985
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Perceptor, Brawn, and Bumblebee must shrink themselves to go inside Megatron and retrieve an artifact, the Heart of Cybertron, that gives him enormous power.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ミクロの決死隊 (''Micro no Kesshi Tai'', "The Micro Suicide Squad")
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Nel corpo di Megatron''' ("In Megatron's body")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Microbots'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:NemesisMicrobots1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"We've passed here for the past 20 years! How could we never have spotted this before?!" "Every time we passed here, you pointed to that rock with the funny shape on the other side of the road, Mike."]]


While digging for Mayan artifacts in South America, a group of archaeologists stumble upon an ancient spacecraft. As news of the discovery is broadcast on the news, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] recognize it as the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon ship]] they traveled to Earth in four million years ago. Megatron states that there is something on that ship which he wants, and sets out to get it.

Meanwhile, at the [[Autobot]]s' [[Ark (G1)|headquarters]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] is using a [[transmat reduction beam|shrinking-enlarging device]] to repair one of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide's]] memory chips while being insulted by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] for not being a soldier. [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] walks in and tries to make him stop, when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] orders Brawn and Bumblebee to follow him to South America along with [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], to stop Megatron from obtaining what he wants.

[[Image:Microbots Megatron energy blasts.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Now you will experience the full power of the dark side.]]

As Megatron's troops blast their way through a rainforest in order to avoid satellite detection, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] manages to first miss blasting a tree and then get attacked by a giant snake, to the amusement of [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. Meanwhile, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] has met his match in the form of a real jaguar. The Autobots arrive and decide not to burn the forest down, because Optimus says "that's not our style".

Megatron gets through the forest first, and reaches the ship. Blasting it open, he retrieves the ship's energy core, the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] implants it into Megatron's torso, vastly increasing his power level. Optimus Prime then arrives and orders the Autobots to attack, but they are all defeated by Megatron's new ability to continuously fire energy from his fingertips. The Autobots only manage to escape when Optimus orders [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] to generate a smokescreen, allowing them to bring a hill down on the Decepticons.

[[Image:Microbots Decepticons drunk.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Soundwave superior. Lightweights inferior.]]

After limping back to base, Wheeljack creates a force-field to keep Megatron at bay. Perceptor hatches a plan to shrink himself, Brawn and Bumblebee to microscopic sizes in order to infiltrate Megatron's body and disconnect the Heart of Cybertron.

Meanwhile, the Decepticons sit around and get <s>plastered</s> overcharged on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. After Megatron rambles on about the "good ol' days" and passes out, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] delivers the tiny Autobots into his body. This wakes up Megatron, who fires a few parting shots at Powerglide. Finding that none of his warriors can even stand up, or in [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak's]] case ''fly straight'', Megatron departs to destroy the Autobots himself.

[[Image:Microbots Heart throw.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Why don't we install it in Optimus, Perceptor?" "Because you're an idiot, Brawn."]]

Perceptor, Brawn and Bumblebee make their way through Megatron's body, avoiding his [[electro-sanitizer]]s, until they reach the Decepticon's brain. The others have to restrain Brawn from destroying the brain, since the fall would likely cause the Heart of Cybertron to explode. Megatron reaches Autobot headquarters and begins firing on the force field protecting Optimus Prime. The miniaturized trio ride one of Megatron's [[evil brain impulse]]s to the Heart of Cybertron, which Perceptor disconnects while dodging more brain impulses. Taking the heart, they make a dash for safety as the shrink-ray's effects begin to wear off. Megatron, deprived of his weapon and knocked flat by Optimus, is shocked by the sight of three rapidly-growing Autobots jumping out of his shoulder joint, and flies off.

Observing that the Heart of Cybertron has become unstable, Brawn tosses it two thousand miles into the sky, at which point Perceptor detonates it with a blast from his cannon. After this, Brawn shows much more respect for Perceptor.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (6)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (7)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (10)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (11)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (19)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (20)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (21)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (22)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (23)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (24)
*[[Grapple]] (25)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (27)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (28)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (29)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (30)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (31)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] {12)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (13)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (14)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (15)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (17)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (18)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (30)

|c3=
*[[Merrick]] (1)
*[[Jose (cartoon)|Jose]] (2)
*[[Joan]] (3)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
"Nice scenery." 
"Yeah, let's waste it! I hate nice things."
:—'''Rumble''' and '''Scavenger'''

''[Starscream shoots at a tree and misses]'' 
"Good shot, Starscream!" 
"Shut up or I'll blast ''you'', punk!" 
"Hey, hold that pose! I wanna remember you that way!" 
''[A snake wraps itself around Starscream's neck]'' 
"Help! Get this thing off me!" 
"I think it looks stunning on ya!"
:—'''Rumble''' and the Constructicons laugh at '''Starscream'''.

"He'll blow us away if we attack." 
"He'll blow us away if we just stand here! ''Charge!''"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Cliffjumper''' debate whether or not to attack the powered-up Megatron.

'''Brawn''': Are you ''defective?'' ''How''<nowiki>'</nowiki>re we gonna do ''that?!'' 
'''Perceptor''': Simple! We use my trans-mat reduction beam to shrink down to microscopic size. Then, we crawl into Megatron, and rip the blasted heart out! 
'''Optimus''': What do you think of his intelligence now, Brawn? 
'''Brawn''': Ahhh, I reserve judgment.
:—Brawn is just being pissy at this point.

'''Megatron''': Decepticons: a toast. To the imminent destruction of the accursed Autobots! 
''[The Decepticons begin drinking Energon]'' 
'''Starscream''': Energy! We won't need to conserve it after tomorrow. We can bleed this planet dry! 
'''Rumble''': ''[hiccups]'' Boy, these are good. ''[hiccups]'' I needed to refuel. Energy! 
'''Megatron''': Energy! Energy! 
'''Thundercracker''': Hey! This stuff's the greatest! ''[passes out]'' 
'''Megatron''': Ah, those were the good ol' days, back on Cybertron...Didn' hafta...sneak around in these...ugly Earth disguises, heh... 
''[Powerglide arrives]'' 
'''Powerglide''': Time to cut the jets and glide! ...What in the world? 
'''Megatron''': Good ol' Cybertron! Land... of the metal moon!
:—the Decepticons give us what is quite possibly the funniest scene in the series.

"How come it's so quiet?" 
"Because he isn't engaging any of his main brain functions." 
"Then I got a honey of an idea. Let's bash brain!"
:—'''Brawn''' and '''Perceptor''' in Megatron's cranial chamber

"What are they?" 
"Brain impulses... ''evil'' brain impulses!"
:—'''Brawn''' and '''Perceptor''' discuss Decepticon neuroscience.

"It's all over, Prime!" 
"Not until every last Autobot program is erased, Megatron."
:—'''Megatron''' anticipates the destruction of the Autobots, as if it was a new thing.

"You filthy [[retrorat]]s!! Rrrarrgh!!" 
:—'''Megatron,''' realizing that three Autobots have been messing with his insides.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* The excavation site changes radically between shots. When the archeologists first strike the Decepticon ship, they're digging downward into flat ground. In the next shot, they've removed an entire hillside, while still standing on flat ground. In the third shot ("this thing's been here longer than the hill!") the hill has become much bigger.
* As Perceptor unshrinks Ironhide's microchip, Perceptor has a red Decepticon symbol.
* Scavenger's head is colored light gray instead of dark gray as Rumble mocks him for missing.
* When the Constructicons laugh at Starscream, they use Rumble's laughter while Rumble is talking. This laughter is reused a second later by Rumble himself when he is done talking.
* Megatron gives the order to "'''''cut''''' [[Nemesis (G1)|the ship]] open". Hook proceeds to blast a huge explosive hole in the vessel.
* After Megatron hands the Heart of Cybertron to Hook, Hook's head is white instead of black.
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
** In three different scenes, only Ratchet, Prime, Bumblebee and Brawn are shown making the journey to South America. After the first commercial break, however, lots more Autobots just show up in the middle of the battle (Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Ironhide, Huffer, Smokescreen, Windcharger, Hoist...)
* The doofy shot of Megatron firing upwards at the Autobots on the hill keeps getting re-used, even after the Autobots are no longer attacking from the hill.
* Optimus falls forwards down the hillside, but ends up on his back in the very next shot.
* One gun, many lasers:
** In the same sequence of shots, multiple beams of energy are streaking in towards the Autobots from multiple directions, despite Megatron only having two hands to fire the beams from. (There's no on-screen evidence that the other Decepticons have joined in the firing at all.)
* When Smokescreen finds Prime, he's lying in a completely different spot than where he fell after getting knocked out.
* Perceptor's eyes are white instead of blue when he reacts to the damaged Autobots.
* The damaged Autobots include Ratchet and Hoist, who didn't have a mark on them when the battle concluded. They also include Wheeljack and Gears, who weren't seen at the battle at all.
* While Perceptor is giving his monologue about shrinking down and going into Megatron, Optimus Prime's waist is red instead of white.
* When the Decepticons get drunk, Soundwave is seen drinking amongst the crowd, despite having a faceplate. Maybe it can drop down like that of [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (as seen in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]").
* Flying Autobots:
** As Brawn leaps up to attack the electro-sanitizers, he has a flight sound effect.
* After he leaps back down, the top of his backpack is yellow instead of olive green.
* The animation of Megatron stepping aside to avoid Warpath's shells is played twice in a row, which means the first shell's explosion is missing in the second shot.
* In typical cartoon fashion, the energy shield shatters like glass, complete with breaking glass sound effects. The [[dome of invulnerability]] went down the same way in "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
* When Prime opens fire on Megatron, his shots don't quite reach the whole, oh, maybe 50 feet of distance between him and Megatron.
* After Megatron falls, a closeup shot shows the joint in Megatron's shoulder. The next shot is a tighter closeup; the joint has suddenly gone from solid to hollow (allowing us to see the Autobots running past.)
* As the three Autobots flee Megatron's interior and start to return to their normal size, the Heart of Cybertron grows right along with Brawn during the first growing spell.
* The line "But it's destabilizing. It could explode at any second!" is voiced by Brawn, but Perceptor's mouth moves. The line sure sounds like it was written for Percy.
* When the Heart of Cybertron is supposedly 1,500 miles above the ground, it's still in front of the night sky clouds.

===Continuity errors===
*The archaeologists at the beginning of the episode are digging for Mayan artifacts in South America, though in the real world the Maya civilization never reached further south than modern-day Honduras.
* Megatron rather strangely identifies the vessel as "''a'' Decepticon ship", as if he's never seen it before, despite later verifying that it is "our ship".
* Optimus is hesitant to cut down a path so his forces can drive through. Yet he does EXACTLY that in "Changing Gears". Did he have a change of heart or does he have something against African Jungles? To be fair in this episode the Autobots had plenty of time to reach the Decepticons while in "Changing Gears" the ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM was about to be vaporized by its own exploding sun.
* Do the Decepticons ''really'' need to carve a path the size of an interstate highway? Wouldn't a single-file pathway be a lot quicker?
* The Decepticons' ship was depicted as being the same size as the ship used by the Autobots in the opening episode, but here it's considerably smaller.
* Would the ship's vital, fragile power source really be that close to its exterior hull? (said hull being quite vulnerable to a small hand-held weapon?)
* Was there ''nothing'' else in the ship that would be of value to the Decepticons?
* Why on Earth are the Decepticons sitting around in the middle of the desert somewhere? And how does Powerglide know to find them there?
* Prime has "all available Autobots" move out to attack Megatron. Responding to the call are... Cliffjumper, Windcharger and Warpath. What happened to everybody else?!
* At one point, Brawn proposes killing Megatron from the inside (by PUNCHING HIS BRAIN TO PIECES). Perceptor stops him, saying that if he fell while flying, the impact could detonate the Heart of Cybertron. But while they're having this debate, Megatron lands, so it wouldn't seem to be a concern anymore. Perhaps even a short fall would have been enough? Maybe not, since Megatron falls right over when Prime shoots him a moment later! Also, with Megatron's change in orientation, the room that Perceptor and company are in should really undergo a 90 degree gravity shift, but nothing changes.
* Why is it so hard for Perceptor to reach the wire that's right in front of him? He's not damaged or anything!
* For that matter, why did he have to cut all three himself, when Brawn was ready and willing to help? It didn't seem like a particularly complex procedure.
* We're not doubting the strength of the almighty, indestructible Brawn or anything, but... can something as tiny and light as the Heart of Cybertron really be ''thrown'' 2,000 miles into space?
* For that matter, Perceptor's tracking report means the Heart is moving at about 250 miles ''per second''. Wouldn't it have incinerated in the lower atmosphere at such speeds?
* And somehow Perceptor's missile can reach it in less than five seconds!

===Continuity notes===
* [[Nemesis (G1)|The Decepticon ship]] is the same one last seen in the series pilot episode, "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]". A decade later, it would be given a name and a central role in the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'']] cartoon episode "[[Nemesis Part 1]]".
[[Image:Microbots impulse ride.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Maybe this is how Teletraan I is able to detect "[[Attack of the Autobots|evil presences]]".]]
* We learn quite a bit about Megatron's physiology in this episode:
** He can fly at least 600 miles per hour (100 miles in ten minutes, per Prime's reading of [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]].)
** He has an open spot amid his chest circuitry for the Heart of Cybertron, much like Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod have reserved spots (holes) for the Matrix.
** He has a wristwatch on his left wrist, which he looks at while flying around (causing concern for the Autobots within his shoulder joints). Oddly enough, this has [[Transport to Oblivion|precedent]].
** While drunk, Megatron rants about disliking his "ugly Earth disguise", yet in 2005, he still has the same alt-mode. Surely he could have found time to change his gun mode if he really hated it that much! Maybe he doesn't like his ''troops<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' alternate modes.
** [[Evil brain impulse]]s!
* Warpath actually fires shells from his cannon, rather than the usual lasers.
* Warpath's [[tech spec]] weakness comes into play: He is "helpless if upended".

===Real-world references===
* The pulsating sound heard when Perceptor and company approach the Heart of Cybertron within Megatron is the same one used for the [[Dalek]] control rooms in all episodes of ''Doctor Who'' since 1963.

===Trivia===
* "Microbots" features some of the most beautifully animated sequences in the entire series: Ratchet tumbling into the camera as he's shot, Soundwave trying to outrun the avalanche, Brawn ripping apart the electro-sanitizers, Cliffjumper getting hit by rocks, Warpath's shells closing on Megatron...
* Brawn's assertion that "five of us are functional" actually accords with the animation; Prime calls on Ratchet, Grapple and Hoist, and Bumblebee and Brawn are shown still standing in the preceding shot. Amusingly, Grapple is never seen in the animation at all.
* Decepticons make funny, happy drunks.
* Writer David Wise reused scenes from "Microbots", almost word-for-word, in the parts of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' episode "Shredder and Splintered" involving the Turtles inside Krang's giant robot body. This would not be the [[Kremzeek!|only]] [[Auto-Bop|''Transformers'' episode]] Wise recycled concepts of for ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 12: Size Matters ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 3 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/microbots.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicles]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2

2012-01-27T14:08:18Z

1.162.91.143: /* Synopsis */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=95
|ep2=32
|prev2=The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1
|next2=Four Warriors Come out of the Sky
|image=ReturnOptimusPrime2 title shot.JPG
|caption=I'm back, kiddies!
|title="The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2"
|production code=700-116
|airdate=[[February 25]], 1987
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|story by=[[Marv Wolfman]] [[Cherie Wilkerson]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Optimus and a handful of Autobots make a desperate bid to recover the Matrix, in the hopes that a cure for the Hate Plague can be found.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンボイの復活パート2 (''Convoy no Fukkatsu Part 2'', "The Resurrection of Convoy Part 2")
:''German title:'' '''Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime, Teil 2''' ("The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Primeandjessicamorgan.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Chip Chase, is that you?]]

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], now fully restored to life by [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] and a [[Quintesson]] survivor of the rampant Hate Plague that's infecting the universe, demands to know what has happened during his time on the [[Allspark|other side]]. Sky Lynx recaps the events that had conspired to bring him back, including [[Jessica Morgan]]'s valiant play to save him from total destruction, the discovery of the [[Hate Plague]] spores, and the trap laid out by Jessica's father and her partner Gregory Swofford to infect the Autobots with the spores in revenge, which ultimately spiraled out of control. It was thought by Rodimus, before his infection, that Prime would know what it would take to stop the plague. Prime asks who is available, and learns of the injured [[Autobot|Autobots]]. The Quintesson manages to reactivate them, completely rebuilding [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] into Goldbug.

When [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] asks what the plan is, Prime admits that he doesn't have a plan. Without the accumulated wisdom within the [[Matrix of Leadership]] (which now resides in Rodimus), he doesn't have a clue as to where to start. That is, until Jessica comes forward with the experimental alloy that she, her father, and Gregory had worked on, which proved strong enough to block the spores. Theoretically, coating Optimus with this alloy would protect himself from the spore's infection and allow him to get close enough to Rodimus to extract the Matrix from him. However, all remaining alloy samples were stolen by the Decepticons. The Autobots decide to retrieve the metal.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 crazycons.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Cyclonus and Scourge each spent 2,000 XP to create the Level 7 Flame Barrier spell. Unfortunately Galvatron has Protection from Fire with Permanency effect.]]

Meanwhile, on [[Chaar]], [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is pinned down by his own mutinously diseased soldiers, unable to fight back against their maddening ferocity...until Optimus and his team arrive to save the day, convincing Galvatron that it would be in his best interest to join in an alliance with them. As is his way, however, the Decepticon leader is suspicious of Optimus's motives, especially when he learns they need the alloy he stole, but cannot get a reason for it out of them. He agrees to join in and leads Optimus and his gang down a series of boobytrapped tunnels, their numbers dwindling from the tunnel's natural hazards and the infected Decepticon mob behind them, until only Optimus, Galvatron, Sky Lynx, and Jessica arrive at the alloy's hiding place. Unfortunately, Jessie accidentally lets slip their plan to coat Optimus with the metal after confirming there would be enough of it to do the job, prompting Galvatron to turn on Optimus in hopes of using the process on himself, but he is soon subdued by Sky Lynx. Under coercion, Galvatron loads the alloy onto Prime's trailer, but doesn't notice that an infected Cyclonus has managed to sneak in, infecting Jessica in the process. Jessica, in turn, infects Galvatron, forcing Sky Lynx and Optimus to flee back to Earth.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Primes duel.JPG|left|200px|thumb|So I guess Rodimus is a bottom... to Ultra Magnus?]]

Once on Earth, Optimus is coated with the alloy, and sets out to find Rodimus. He finds him, taking down infected Transformers with reckless glee, and attempts to reason with him, which fails. Unwilling to hurt his successor, Prime lures Rodimus to a nearby auto shop, attempting to peacefully subdue and talk Rodimus into helping him, but the Hate Plague is overriding any effort to do so, forcing Optimus to knock Rodimus out and take the Matrix back by force. Back at [[Autobot City]], Optimus dives into the Matrix to question the elders of the past in reverse chronological order (of their history) to try and find out any information on the spores. The spirit of [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] warns him that if he travels too far, he risks becoming lost within the Matrix itself.

During Prime's journey, the Quintesson that revived him notices a troop of infected Transformers attempting to get in, and manages to temporarily shut them out, giving Optimus the time he needs to finally find his answer. He learns that, in a period of pre-Cybertronian history, the Plague ''has'' visited the planet before, but was contained and sealed inside the star Jessica and Gregory found it in using sheer wisdom, though even back then, no one had the wisdom to destroy the spores, and now that it has spread so much throughout the galaxy, it's doubtful that anyone has the wisdom to even contain them again. Optimus then realizes that a source of raw wisdom may be available to destroy the infection once and for all: the accumulated wisdom within the Matrix of Leadership.

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Hmm, this looks familiar...]]

The infected Transformers finally break into the base, and corner the Quintesson, who begs them to stop. Galvatron grabs a metal pole, intending to impale Prime. However, Prime's chest opens to reveal a glowing Matrix, surprising the Transformers. Asking it to "light our [[darkest hour]]", Optimus Prime releases the energy of the Matrix of Leadership, which spreads across the universe and totally eradicates the Plague. It even seems to, at least temporarily, cure Gregory and Jessica's father of their hatred for Autobots, and Galvatron of his own madness, and they call a truce with Optimus. Galvatron in partiuclar warmly shakes his old enemy's hand, gratefully proclaiming that he has earned his respect.

It is then that Rodimus (now [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]], without the Matrix within him) notes that the Matrix is now empty, its wisdom supposedly lost in order to stop the plague. Optimus, however, disagrees; they have all become a little wiser, now, and although the Matrix is indeed empty of wisdom, it is up to them from then on to fill it again with their knowledge and experience. Optimus, once again the Autobot leader, ordering his troops to "Transform and roll out".

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (2)
*[[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (6)
*[[Chase (G1)|Chase]] (7)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (8)
*[[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (11)
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (12)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee/Goldbug]] (13)
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (14)
*[[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (15)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod]] (21)
*[[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (16)
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (17)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
*[[Sweep|Sweeps]] (19)
*[[Predaking]] (20)
*[[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (23)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (24)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (25)

|c3=
*[[Jessica Morgan]] (4)
*[[Gregory Swofford]] (5)
*[[Mark Morgan]] (27)

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]] (3)
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]] (9)
*[[It]] (26)
}}

==Quotes==

"We need a plan! Okay, Optimus, what's the plan?" 
"I... have no plan."
:—'''Goldbug''' and '''Optimus Prime''', the latter of whom is not exactly inspiring confidence

"[[Autobots, transform and roll out]]!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', getting back into the swing of things.

"Fools, I am your leader! ... It's no use. You're all crazed!"
:—'''Galvatron''' fighting his infected and insane troops. The irony fairy just had a coronary.

"Have I no friends left?!" 
"Well, well, what have we here?" 
"Looks like something the cat dragged in."
:—'''Galvatron''' tries to reason with the infected '''Cyclonus''' and '''Scourge'''...for once

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Prime Galvatron.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Come on, Optimus, why can't we be friends?"
 "When we first met, you shot me and my girlfriend. You make a bad first impression."]]

"Come on, Optimus, tell me! Why do you want this metal? How will it be used? Why is it so precious?" 
"I've explained it to you." 
"You told me it was important, but you didn't tell me why!" 
"That's because I know you too well, Galvatron."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' resuming their same old song and dance

"I don't need you anymore, Optimus. So much for your resurrection!"
:—'''Galvatron''', same song, different tune

"I don't want to hurt you, Rodimus!" 
"Don't worry, Optimus, you won't! HAHAHAHAH!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down.

"No more games, Rodimus! Innocent lives are at stake!" 
"''No one'' is innocent!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Rodimus Prime''' throw down some more... right before Optimus clocks him.

"Now, light our darkest hour!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''', proving that destiny and Chosen Ones mean nothing when pitted against letters from angry kids and parents.

"There will be no war today, Optimus Prime. You have earned Galvatron's respect."
:—'''Galvatron''', totally sane for the first time since... ever

"The wisdom of the ages! It's lost!" 
"No, not lost. We're all a little wiser now." 
"But the Matrix is empty!" 
"It's up to all of us to fill it again—with the wisdom we accumulate from this moment on. Autobots, transform and roll out!"
:—'''Hot Rod''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*The chair Optimus was sitting on is missing at the beginning of the episode.
*Optimus's fog lights are entirely red, even at the bulbs, which should be yellow or white.
*When the small group of Autobots is restored, Steeljaw's paws are over the side of the table in one shot and beside him in the next shot.
*In his first full body shot, Goldbug's head is drawn off-model, with pointier horns, smaller eyes and a much simpler mouthplate that looks more like Optimus Prime's than Goldbug's zigzag-shaped plate.
*As he speaks with the group, the closeups of Optimus's face from the side have the panel on the left side of his head in gray instead of blue. The long shots don't show his mouth plate moving as he speaks.
*When Optimus Prime kneels down to talk to Jessica Morgan, Goldbug's feet (in the background) are colored gray instead of gold, even though his shins are still gold.
*After Kup suggests the Autobots steal the metal back, Steeljaw (who's very close to the camera) is Rampage colored like Steeljaw.
*As the group "rolls out," Kup is shown driving backwards (unless he turns around after the scene transition...).
*The red squares are missing from the tops of Galvatron's shoulders in several shots. His chin is gray in some and dark gray in others as well.
*Optimus's rifle has the basic Autobot gun sound effect rather than its usual sound effect.
*When the Decepticons retreat on Chaar, Cyclonus speaks with Ultra Magnus's voice.
*As Optimus drives through the cave, his trailer is missing its Autobot symbol.
*Just before he transforms in the cave, Optimus' bumper and grille are red instead of gray.
*Just before the team crosses the spider web, Cyclonus is shown in place of Blurr.
*Some shots show the crest on Optimus's helmet framed in gray, while others (such as during his "know you too well" line) have it framed in blue.
*As the energy leeches drop on Optimus, his fog lights are long cylinders rather than short triangles.
*Just before getting infected, Blaster has no lines on his switch plate.
*"We have to get out of here!" - Optimus's faceplate is misaligned with his helmet.
*When Galvatron shoots the top of the cave the second time, some of the rocks stay in mid-air.
*When they enter the Decepticon lab, Galvatron is taller than Optimus. In most other shots, he's shorter than Optimus.
*As Jessica discovers the alloy in the lab, Optimus is missing the Autobot symbol on his shoulder.
*After she makes the discovery, a shot shows the sides of Optimus' midsection in white instead of red.
*When Galvatron is threatening Optimus after they find the heat-resistant metal, Galvatron's cannon has a trigger on it.
*When escaping after Galvatron is infected, Optimus and his cab are coated in the resistant metal before it was even melted down.
*When he first meets Optimus, Rodimus is missing his Autobot symbol.
*The subsequent shots show Rodimus as semi-transparent.
*As Rodimus drives out of the junkyard a few moments later, he floats above the ground.
*Rodimus's gun fires yellow shots at times and purple shots in others. And what happened to his rifle?
*As Optimus grapples with Rodimus, Rodimus's Autobot logo disappears in a few frames.
*The inside of Rodimus' mouth is gray as he delivers the "no one is innocent!" line.
*The ceiling of the junkyard plant has beams framing the glass, yet the beams disappear when Sky Lynx crashes through them.
*Sky Lynx ''also'' disappears after crashing through the glass.
*As Optimus struggles with Rodimus the second time, Optimus's Autobot logo is framed in white in some shots, black in others.
*When Optimus takes the Matrix from Rodimus, the "glow" from the Matrix lags behind the Matrix itself when he raises it up.
*In the next shot, Rodimus is laying there with his chest suddenly closed again.
*When Optimus is talking to Alpha Trion, Alpha Trion is miscolored. He's entirely orange in a few shots.
*When Optimus activates the Matrix, its handles disappear. They're back again in the next shot.
*As Optimus is explaining that the Matrix must be refilled with the future wisdom, he is colored as if he still has the heat resistant metal on him.
*In the same shot, Hot Rod looks bigger than Optimus even though he should be much smaller (especially now that he's not Rodimus anymore).
*In the last shot of the episode, Optimus is missing his smoke stacks, the front of his cab has the gray stripes but the sides do not, and his trailer is again missing its Autobot logo.
*Also in the last shot of the episode, look at Blurr carefully. He clips into Kup and his front end disappears from the frame!

===Continuity errors===
*Optimus's last line in Part 1 was "This time, no force in the universe can stop me." His first line here is "''Now'', no force in the universe ''will'' stop me."
*Sky Lynx is in two parts at the beginning. He was the full walking bird at the end of the last episode.
*After Sky Lynx's recap, Optimus is seen getting up from a table and walking over to where he was a minute earlier. There was no table behind him in previous shots, and no reason for him to lay down for a moment.
* So....how ''exactly'' does Sky Lynx know every single detail of what happened in the previous episode? He wasn't even there when half of those recapped events took place! Unless he turned Metroplex back on...
* If Sky Lynx said that the uninfected Autobots were "Kup,''Wheelie'', Steeljaw, Bumblebee, and Blurr," then why does it show ''Blaster'', not Wheelie, among the uninfected autobots?
*When the small group of Autobots is restored, Optimus suddenly has his rifle back, though he wasn't holding it in the previous shots.
*Given that the Autobots are in a rush to save the galaxy, why did the Quintessons take the time to retool Bumblebee into Goldbug?
*How did Kup know that Rodimus had been contaminated since he was deactivated by Superion before Rodimus was?
*A close-up of Jessica during the spider-web ambush shows her without her exo-suit, which she is shown wearing immediately before and after.
*The alloy is heat-resistant to the point of surviving a supernova in the [[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1|previous episode]]. Yet it now can be melted down to coat Optimus Prime with it.
*The Transformers wounded by [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] included Steeljaw and Wheelie, who are briefly seen at the start. They are then replaced by Blaster. Steeljaw returns a bit later, however, but Wheelie stays gone. Not that this is a bad thing. Wheelie must have stayed with a Quintesson on Cybertron.
*The infected Decepticons work ''together'' to fight Galvatron and the others, instead of attacking each other.
*Worse, when outnumbered by the Autobots, Cyclonus orders the other Decepticons to retreat, and they follow his command.
*Sky Lynx doesn't help during the spider attack, even though he ''can'' fly.
*When Galvatron and Prime are working together, Prime says, "That's because I know you too well, Galvatron." Yet this is the first time a ''cognizant'' Optimus has ever met Galvatron (him being only half-alive back when they met in "[[Dark Awakening]]"). Perhaps he just has really good intuition, or knows [[Megatron (G1)|who Galvatron USED to be...]]
*Optimus is coated in the alloy in robot mode. How does his trailer get coated?
*Goldbug, Kup and Blaster get infected without being touched. Sky Lynx was right next to them but doesn't get infected. Huh?
*After Jessica Morgan and Galvatron got infected, Optimus and Sky Lynx speed off. Jessica makes a jump for Sky Lynx and briefly clings onto his tail before losing her grip, yet Sky Lynx ''still'' doesn't get infected.
*How do the support beams in the junkyard plant hold Optimus and Rodimus' weight?
*Rodimus's Matrix chamber opens via a pair of rectangular swing-out doors much like Optimus' chamber. In "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4," the door opened in the middle of the flame on his chest. In "Dark Awakening", it hinged across the left side of the flame, and the whole design opened to reveal the chamber.
* When Optimus puts the Matrix into his chest, he puts it in kind of... sideways. Surely his months of deactivation haven't made him forget how the thing sat in his chest for ''millions of years''?
* Upon entering the Matrix of Leadership, the first ancient Autobot that Optimus Prime converses with is Alpha Trion. The latter's appearance there is somewhat puzzling, as it was [[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|previously established]] (and [[The Rebirth, Part 2|later reiterated]]) that he had merged with Vector Sigma. Alpha Trion's presence makes even ''less'' sense considering that it was clearly stated in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]" that he had never taken the Matrix for himself, thus eliminating the possibility that a "backup copy" of himself had somehow been "uploaded" into it. Years later, of course, the big ol' retcon of the [[Allspark]] indirectly rectified this: Alpha Trion's in the afterlife, which one can communicate with through both the Matrix and Vector Sigma.
*The infected transformers work ''together'' to find Optimus Prime, instead of attacking each other.
*How exactly does wisdom kill spores?
** Because you can't say "love" in 1980's American Children's Television. Makes more sense as love and kindness kills hate, not wisdom.
*In the movie, the Matrix took up the top half of Optimus' chest compartment and was behind a flip-up panel. Here, it fills in the whole (now hollow) cavity with no panel or other electronics to be seen.
*How exactly did Jessica get off [[Chaar]]?
*And what are she and Gregory Swofford doing in Moscow by the time they're cured of the Hate Plague? It's not just a case of an accidentally recycled background from the previous shot (which did depict actual Russians being cured of the Hate Plague)—even though both shots feature onion domes reminiscent of Saint Basil's Cathedral, they're definitely different background paintings. So... what gives?
*How did they get the alloy ''off'' Optimus Prime?
*And why would they want to, if it's so resilient? (Unless... they just painted over the alloy?)
*Does anyone else think that Dr. Swofford and Morgan get off waaaaay too easy at the end of the episode? They ''willingly'' unleash the hate plague that causes widespread devastation (and probably death) across not just the world but the entire galaxy, just to spite the Autobots, and they get off by just saying "sorry"?
*Then again, we don't actually ''see'' Optimus shaking their hands. Burn!

===Transformers references===
*When Optimus uses the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, it bears more than a passing resemblance to when Rodimus Prime used the Matrix to destroy [[Unicron]] in [[The Transformers: The Movie|''The Movie'']]. They've even got "[[The Touch]]" playing in the background.

*In Japanese continuity, the events of [[The Great Transformer War issue 3|issue 3]] of ''[[The Great Transformer War]]'' take place shortly after this episode, helping to bridge the gap between it and "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]", the first episode of ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]''.

===Trivia===
[[Image:DialogueScriptTROOPOrionPax.jpg|thumb|250px|So this is odd.]]
*The Japanese version of this episode has a slightly alternate ending. After Optimus Prime and the Autobots ride off into the sunset and "the Touch" ends, the music changes to "[[Transformer 2010|TRANSFORMER 2010]]" by [[Shō Hirose]] and the scene shifts to a montage of all the major characters from the series.
*The portion of "The Touch" that plays includes the line about "Hell breaking loose," an unusually strong word for an American '80s TV cartoon. Guess the censors were looking elsewhere that day.
*The [[Sunbow Productions]] cast list entry for this episode lists Orion Pax as appearing. A flashback to Optimus Prime's early days that was removed for time constraints, you might think? No. According to the [[dialogue script]] for the episode, Orion Pax was originally going to be the one to ask Prime why he had returned to the Matrix! Presumably someone on staff caught the error early enough, as Pax's line in the final cut went to Alpha Trion. (The dialogue script also misspells "Trion" as "Tion", for that matter.)
*After abusing his own troops throughout Season 3, there's something deeply satisfying in seeing Galvatron being attacked by his soldiers willingly.
*Jack Angel takes over as the voice for Cyclonus following the death of Roger C. Carmel

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1987 — ''The Transformers'' — The Return of Optimus Prime ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime (Zweiter Teil) ([[Polyband]]) — German audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''Transformers'' — The Return of Optimus Prime: Optimus Prime the Ultimate Robot ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — Headmasters / The Return of Optimus Prime (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''Transformers'' — Headmasters / The Return of Optimus Prime / Cosmic Rust (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 7: The Return of Optimus Prime ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_return_of_optimus_prime_part_2.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Microbots

2012-01-24T10:54:12Z

1.162.91.143: Corrected for gramatical flow.

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=34
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=25
|prev2=Auto Berserk
|next2=Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=33
|prev3=The Insecticon Syndrome
|next3=Blaster Blues
|image=Microbots shrink.JPG
|caption=In the '80s, every cartoon had to have a shrinking episode.
|title="Microbots"
|production code=#700-33
|airdate=[[October 7]], 1985
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Perceptor, Brawn, and Bumblebee must shrink themselves to go inside Megatron and retrieve an artifact, the Heart of Cybertron, that gives him enormous power.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ミクロの決死隊 (''Micro no Kesshi Tai'', "The Micro Suicide Squad")
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Nel corpo di Megatron''' ("In Megatron's body")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Microbots'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:NemesisMicrobots1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"We've passed here for the past 20 years! How could we never have spotted this before?!" "Every time we passed here, you pointed to that rock with the funny shape on the other side of the road, Mike."]]


While digging for Mayan artifacts in South America, a group of archaeologists stumble upon an ancient spacecraft. As news of the discovery is broadcast on the news, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] recognize it as the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon ship]] they traveled to Earth in four million years ago. Megatron states that there is something on that ship which he wants, and sets out to get it.

Meanwhile, at the [[Autobot]]s' [[Ark (G1)|headquarters]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] is using a [[transmat reduction beam|shrinking-enlarging device]] to repair one of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide's]] memory chips while being insulted by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] for not being a soldier. [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] walks in and tries to make him stop, when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] orders Brawn and Bumblebee to follow him to South America along with [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], to stop Megatron from obtaining what he wants.

[[Image:Microbots Megatron energy blasts.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Now you will experience the full power of the dark side.]]

As Megatron's troops blast their way through a rainforest in order to avoid satellite detection, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] manages to first miss blasting a tree and then get attacked by a giant snake, to the amusement of [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. Meanwhile, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] has met his match in the form of a real jaguar. The Autobots arrive and decide not to burn the forest down, because Optimus says "that's not our style".

Megatron gets through the forest first, and reaches the ship. Blasting it open, he retrieves the ship's energy core, the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] implants it into Megatron's torso, vastly increasing his power level. Optimus Prime then arrives and orders the Autobots to attack, but they are all defeated by Megatron's new ability to continuously fire energy from his fingertips. The Autobots only manage to escape when Optimus orders [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] to generate a smokescreen, allowing them to bring a hill down on the Decepticons.

[[Image:Microbots Decepticons drunk.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Soundwave superior. Lightweights inferior.]]

After limping back to base, Wheeljack creates a force-field to keep Megatron at bay. Perceptor hatches a plan to shrink himself, Brawn and Bumblebee to microscopic sizes in order to infiltrate Megatron's body and disconnect the Heart of Cybertron.

Meanwhile, the Decepticons sit around and get <s>plastered</s> overcharged on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. After Megatron rambles on about the "good ol' days" and passes out, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] delivers the tiny Autobots into his body. This causes him to wake up and go to destroy the Autobots himself, as none of his warriors can even ''stand'' (or in [[Laserbeak (G1)| Laserbeak's ]] case, ''fly'') straight at this point, much less help Megatron chase Powerglide.

[[Image:Microbots Heart throw.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Why don't we install it in Optimus, Perceptor?" "Because you're an idiot, Brawn."]]

Perceptor, Brawn and Bumblebee make their way through Megatron's body, avoiding his [[electro-sanitizer]]s, until they reach the Decepticon's brain. The others have to restrain Brawn from destroying the brain, since the fall would likely cause the Heart of Cybertron to explode. Megatron reaches Autobot headquarters and begins firing on the force field protecting Optimus Prime. The miniaturized trio ride one of Megatron's [[evil brain impulse]]s to the Heart of Cybertron, which Perceptor disconnects while dodging more brain impulses. Taking the heart, they make a dash for safety as the shrink-ray's effects begin to wear off. Megatron, deprived of his weapon and knocked flat by Optimus, is shocked by the sight of three rapidly-growing Autobots jumping out of his shoulder joint, and flies off.

Observing that the Heart of Cybertron has become unstable, Brawn tosses it two thousand miles into the sky, at which point Perceptor detonates it with a blast from his cannon. After this, Brawn shows much more respect for Perceptor.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (6)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (7)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (10)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (11)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (19)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (20)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (21)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (22)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (23)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (24)
*[[Grapple]] (25)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (27)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (28)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (29)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (30)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (31)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] {12)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (13)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (14)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (15)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (17)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (18)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (30)

|c3=
*[[Merrick]] (1)
*[[Jose (cartoon)|Jose]] (2)
*[[Joan]] (3)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
"Nice scenery." 
"Yeah, let's waste it! I hate nice things."
:—'''Rumble''' and '''Scavenger'''

''[Starscream shoots at a tree and misses]'' 
"Good shot, Starscream!" 
"Shut up or I'll blast ''you'', punk!" 
"Hey, hold that pose! I wanna remember you that way!" 
''[A snake wraps itself around Starscream's neck]'' 
"Help! Get this thing off me!" 
"I think it looks stunning on ya!"
:—'''Rumble''' and the Constructicons laugh at '''Starscream'''.

"He'll blow us away if we attack." 
"He'll blow us away if we just stand here! ''Charge!''"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Cliffjumper''' debate whether or not to attack the powered-up Megatron.

'''Brawn''': Are you ''defective?'' ''How''<nowiki>'</nowiki>re we gonna do ''that?!'' 
'''Perceptor''': Simple! We use my trans-mat reduction beam to shrink down to microscopic size. Then, we crawl into Megatron, and rip the blasted heart out! 
'''Optimus''': What do you think of his intelligence now, Brawn? 
'''Brawn''': Ahhh, I reserve judgment.
:—Brawn is just being pissy at this point.

'''Megatron''': Decepticons: a toast. To the imminent destruction of the accursed Autobots! 
''[The Decepticons begin drinking Energon]'' 
'''Starscream''': Energy! We won't need to conserve it after tomorrow. We can bleed this planet dry! 
'''Rumble''': ''[hiccups]'' Boy, these are good. ''[hiccups]'' I needed to refuel. Energy! 
'''Megatron''': Energy! Energy! 
'''Thundercracker''': Hey! This stuff's the greatest! ''[passes out]'' 
'''Megatron''': Ah, those were the good ol' days, back on Cybertron...Didn' hafta...sneak around in these...ugly Earth disguises, heh... 
''[Powerglide arrives]'' 
'''Powerglide''': Time to cut the jets and glide! ...What in the world? 
'''Megatron''': Good ol' Cybertron! Land... of the metal moon!
:—the Decepticons give us what is quite possibly the funniest scene in the series.

"How come it's so quiet?" 
"Because he isn't engaging any of his main brain functions." 
"Then I got a honey of an idea. Let's bash brain!"
:—'''Brawn''' and '''Perceptor''' in Megatron's cranial chamber

"What are they?" 
"Brain impulses... ''evil'' brain impulses!"
:—'''Brawn''' and '''Perceptor''' discuss Decepticon neuroscience.

"It's all over, Prime!" 
"Not until every last Autobot program is erased, Megatron."
:—'''Megatron''' anticipates the destruction of the Autobots, as if it was a new thing.

"You filthy [[retrorat]]s!! Rrrarrgh!!" 
:—'''Megatron,''' realizing that three Autobots have been messing with his insides.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* The excavation site changes radically between shots. When the archeologists first strike the Decepticon ship, they're digging downward into flat ground. In the next shot, they've removed an entire hillside, while still standing on flat ground. In the third shot ("this thing's been here longer than the hill!") the hill has become much bigger.
* As Perceptor unshrinks Ironhide's microchip, Perceptor has a red Decepticon symbol.
* Scavenger's head is colored light gray instead of dark gray as Rumble mocks him for missing.
* When the Constructicons laugh at Starscream, they use Rumble's laughter while Rumble is talking. This laughter is reused a second later by Rumble himself when he is done talking.
* Megatron gives the order to "'''''cut''''' [[Nemesis (G1)|the ship]] open". Hook proceeds to blast a huge explosive hole in the vessel.
* After Megatron hands the Heart of Cybertron to Hook, Hook's head is white instead of black.
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
** In three different scenes, only Ratchet, Prime, Bumblebee and Brawn are shown making the journey to South America. After the first commercial break, however, lots more Autobots just show up in the middle of the battle (Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Ironhide, Huffer, Smokescreen, Windcharger, Hoist...)
* The doofy shot of Megatron firing upwards at the Autobots on the hill keeps getting re-used, even after the Autobots are no longer attacking from the hill.
* Optimus falls forwards down the hillside, but ends up on his back in the very next shot.
* One gun, many lasers:
** In the same sequence of shots, multiple beams of energy are streaking in towards the Autobots from multiple directions, despite Megatron only having two hands to fire the beams from. (There's no on-screen evidence that the other Decepticons have joined in the firing at all.)
* When Smokescreen finds Prime, he's lying in a completely different spot than where he fell after getting knocked out.
* Perceptor's eyes are white instead of blue when he reacts to the damaged Autobots.
* The damaged Autobots include Ratchet and Hoist, who didn't have a mark on them when the battle concluded. They also include Wheeljack and Gears, who weren't seen at the battle at all.
* While Perceptor is giving his monologue about shrinking down and going into Megatron, Optimus Prime's waist is red instead of white.
* When the Decepticons get drunk, Soundwave is seen drinking amongst the crowd, despite having a faceplate. Maybe it can drop down like that of [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (as seen in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]").
* Flying Autobots:
** As Brawn leaps up to attack the electro-sanitizers, he has a flight sound effect.
* After he leaps back down, the top of his backpack is yellow instead of olive green.
* The animation of Megatron stepping aside to avoid Warpath's shells is played twice in a row, which means the first shell's explosion is missing in the second shot.
* In typical cartoon fashion, the energy shield shatters like glass, complete with breaking glass sound effects. The [[dome of invulnerability]] went down the same way in "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
* When Prime opens fire on Megatron, his shots don't quite reach the whole, oh, maybe 50 feet of distance between him and Megatron.
* After Megatron falls, a closeup shot shows the joint in Megatron's shoulder. The next shot is a tighter closeup; the joint has suddenly gone from solid to hollow (allowing us to see the Autobots running past.)
* As the three Autobots flee Megatron's interior and start to return to their normal size, the Heart of Cybertron grows right along with Brawn during the first growing spell.
* The line "But it's destabilizing. It could explode at any second!" is voiced by Brawn, but Perceptor's mouth moves. The line sure sounds like it was written for Percy.
* When the Heart of Cybertron is supposedly 1,500 miles above the ground, it's still in front of the night sky clouds.

===Continuity errors===
*The archaeologists at the beginning of the episode are digging for Mayan artifacts in South America, though in the real world the Maya civilization never reached further south than modern-day Honduras.
* Megatron rather strangely identifies the vessel as "''a'' Decepticon ship", as if he's never seen it before, despite later verifying that it is "our ship".
* Optimus is hesitant to cut down a path so his forces can drive through. Yet he does EXACTLY that in "Changing Gears". Did he have a change of heart or does he have something against African Jungles? To be fair in this episode the Autobots had plenty of time to reach the Decepticons while in "Changing Gears" the ENTIRE SOLAR SYSTEM was about to be vaporized by its own exploding sun.
* Do the Decepticons ''really'' need to carve a path the size of an interstate highway? Wouldn't a single-file pathway be a lot quicker?
* The Decepticons' ship was depicted as being the same size as the ship used by the Autobots in the opening episode, but here it's considerably smaller.
* Would the ship's vital, fragile power source really be that close to its exterior hull? (said hull being quite vulnerable to a small hand-held weapon?)
* Was there ''nothing'' else in the ship that would be of value to the Decepticons?
* Why on Earth are the Decepticons sitting around in the middle of the desert somewhere? And how does Powerglide know to find them there?
* Prime has "all available Autobots" move out to attack Megatron. Responding to the call are... Cliffjumper, Windcharger and Warpath. What happened to everybody else?!
* At one point, Brawn proposes killing Megatron from the inside (by PUNCHING HIS BRAIN TO PIECES). Perceptor stops him, saying that if he fell while flying, the impact could detonate the Heart of Cybertron. But while they're having this debate, Megatron lands, so it wouldn't seem to be a concern anymore. Perhaps even a short fall would have been enough? Maybe not, since Megatron falls right over when Prime shoots him a moment later! Also, with Megatron's change in orientation, the room that Perceptor and company are in should really undergo a 90 degree gravity shift, but nothing changes.
* Why is it so hard for Perceptor to reach the wire that's right in front of him? He's not damaged or anything!
* For that matter, why did he have to cut all three himself, when Brawn was ready and willing to help? It didn't seem like a particularly complex procedure.
* We're not doubting the strength of the almighty, indestructible Brawn or anything, but... can something as tiny and light as the Heart of Cybertron really be ''thrown'' 2,000 miles into space?
* For that matter, Perceptor's tracking report means the Heart is moving at about 250 miles ''per second''. Wouldn't it have incinerated in the lower atmosphere at such speeds?
* And somehow Perceptor's missile can reach it in less than five seconds!

===Continuity notes===
* [[Nemesis (G1)|The Decepticon ship]] is the same one last seen in the series pilot episode, "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]". A decade later, it would be given a name and a central role in the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'']] cartoon episode "[[Nemesis Part 1]]".
[[Image:Microbots impulse ride.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Maybe this is how Teletraan I is able to detect "[[Attack of the Autobots|evil presences]]".]]
* We learn quite a bit about Megatron's physiology in this episode:
** He can fly at least 600 miles per hour (100 miles in ten minutes, per Prime's reading of [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]].)
** He has an open spot amid his chest circuitry for the Heart of Cybertron, much like Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod have reserved spots (holes) for the Matrix.
** He has a wristwatch on his left wrist, which he looks at while flying around (causing concern for the Autobots within his shoulder joints). Oddly enough, this has [[Transport to Oblivion|precedent]].
** While drunk, Megatron rants about disliking his "ugly Earth disguise", yet in 2005, he still has the same alt-mode. Surely he could have found time to change his gun mode if he really hated it that much! Maybe he doesn't like his ''troops<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' alternate modes.
** [[Evil brain impulse]]s!
* Warpath actually fires shells from his cannon, rather than the usual lasers.
* Warpath's [[tech spec]] weakness comes into play: He is "helpless if upended".

===Real-world references===
* The pulsating sound heard when Perceptor and company approach the Heart of Cybertron within Megatron is the same one used for the [[Dalek]] control rooms in all episodes of ''Doctor Who'' since 1963.

===Trivia===
* "Microbots" features some of the most beautifully animated sequences in the entire series: Ratchet tumbling into the camera as he's shot, Soundwave trying to outrun the avalanche, Brawn ripping apart the electro-sanitizers, Cliffjumper getting hit by rocks, Warpath's shells closing on Megatron...
* Brawn's assertion that "five of us are functional" actually accords with the animation; Prime calls on Ratchet, Grapple and Hoist, and Bumblebee and Brawn are shown still standing in the preceding shot. Amusingly, Grapple is never seen in the animation at all.
* Decepticons make funny, happy drunks.
* Writer David Wise reused scenes from "Microbots", almost word-for-word, in the parts of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' episode "Shredder and Splintered" involving the Turtles inside Krang's giant robot body. This would not be the [[Kremzeek!|only]] [[Auto-Bop|''Transformers'' episode]] Wise recycled concepts of for ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 12: Size Matters ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 3 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/microbots.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicles]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]