MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)

2010-02-11T05:48:03Z

122.106.199.197: /* Toy tie-ins */

[[Image:Transformerswarforcybertron.jpg|center|500px|]]

'''''Transformers: War for Cybertron''''' is a video game developed by [[High Moon Studios]] and published by [[Activision Blizzard|Activision]], set before the Transformers take their war to [[Earth]]. [[Hasbro]] intends it to act as a foundation for ''[[Transformers brand| Transformers]]'' franchise storylines for years to come, and so they've been giving a lot of input and stressing character development.<ref name="tfw2005">[http://www.tfw2005.com/transformers-news/video-games-17/tfw2005-war-for-cybertron-interview-with-aaron-archer-and-matt-tieger-168910/ War for Cybertron interview with Aaron Archer and Matt Tieger @ TFW2005.com]</ref> Unlike previous ''Transformers'' video games which feature distinctly separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons (traditionally depicting the playable faction utterly defeating the other), ''War for Cybertron'' will feature a single, linear storyline; the Decepticon campaign occurs chronologically before the Autobot campaign, but [[Fandom|fans]] can play through them in whichever order they prefer.<ref>[http://www.seibertron.com/news/index.php?f_keyword=war+for+cybertron Seibertron Q&A with Activision]</ref>

The game itself will be an over-the-shoulder third-person shooter in which the player can choose his character from a small roster of either Autobots or Decepticons. The game will be released on [[July 22]], [[2010]], for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, Nintendo Wii, Nintendo DS and personal computers.
{{quote|One shall stand.|Optimus}}
:{{quote|One shall fall.|Megatron}}

==Synopsis==

[[Image:WarforCybertron-OptimusPrime.jpg|right|thumb|400px|Prime auditions for Unreal Tournament. There were no survivors.]]

The game is set during the waning days of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] is searching for a dangerous power source known as [[Dark Energon]] to fuel his conquest of the planet. [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] has come to prominence after joining the fight following an attack on [[Iacon]], but he is not yet leader of the Autobots. [[Starscream]] joins the Decepticons as second-in-command, but does not consider either Optimus or Megatron to have the planet's best interests at heart. (We will apparently learn ''why'' Starscream is such a whopping traitor and why Megatron [[:Image:Infiltration6_takeyourpunishment.jpg|doesn't just]] [[:Image:Swordscream.JPG|kill him]]).

==Characters==
At the start of each level, the player can choose from one of three characters. The characters available will shift from level to level. Known playable characters include:

'''Autobots'''
*[[Optimus_Prime_(G1)#War_for_Cybertron_video_game|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]]) ([http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/11/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-optimus-prime.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]]
'''Decepticons'''
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/18/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-megatron.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([http://gameinformer.com/games/transformers_war_for_cybertron/b/xbox360/archive/2009/12/23/transformers-war-for-cybertron-character-profile-starscream.aspx ''WfC'' character profile])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] (Gamestop preorder Multiplayer exclusive)

The Decepticon campaign includes a boss battle with [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] and the Autobot campaign includes defending [[Iacon]]. [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] appears in the IGN trailer, but he's, uh, probably not playable. Players should expect references to Cybertron locations taken from all previous Transformer stories, "things which may have only been referenced once, in one comic way back when, could be used and expanded upon."<ref name="tfw2005"/>

...They're totally reading the Wiki, aren't they? Hello, designers!

<center><gallery>
Image:WfC-IGN-Bumblebee.jpg|Bumblebee fires his weapon.
Image:WfC-IGN-RatchetBumblebeePrime.jpg|Ratchet, Bumblebee, and Prime in battle.
Image:WfC-IGN-OmegaSupreme.jpg|Omega Supreme attacks a platoon of Decepticons.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatron.jpg|Starscream and Megatron get ready for the ground assault.
Image:WfC-IGN-StarscreamMegatronSoundwave.jpg|More Decepticons!
Image:WfC-IGN-Soundwave.jpg|Soundwave sneaks around.
Image:WfC-IGN-Trypticon.jpg|Oh Primus.

</gallery></center>

==Features==
* Campaigns will be co-op both online and off for the first time in a Transformers game.
* All playable characters have two special abilities, such as absorbing health from enemies or marking targets.
* The game will run on the Unreal engine.
* High Moon is prepared to "support the game after release," meaning either patches or downloadable content.
* Online Multiplayer is being developed for the game.
* All environments, including cover, can be destroyed.

==Production==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips" to you and me).

The art and design team did intense research (i.e. watched the original cartoon, looked at comics, and watched "typical sci-fi cool stuff" like ''Blade Runner'') to work out the aesthetic of Cybertron; lead artist [[Ivan Power]] remarked that the original cartoon was the main inspiration, and that Cybertron wasn't shown there so they had to rewatch the same few clips "over and over". While many of the city designs are elaborate and shiny, Decepticon [[Kaon]] was deliberately designed to be sharp-edged, rusting, and slapped together to show the Decepticons weren't interested in building a functioning society. <ref>[http://gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2009/12/21/transformers-art-video.aspx Game Informer: Behind the Art of War for Cybertron]</ref>

==Operation Transmission Recovery==

As an early marketing campaign, the game's website included the feature "Operation Transmission Recovery": using transmission and coordinate dials, you could pick up "transmissions" from Cybertron (or "video clips/images" to you and me).

There are two dials, blue (outer) and yellow (inner). Using your mouse, you can drag the dial to set coordinates. The blue dial is set by aligning it to marks on the outer circle. When aligned, it becomes a blue ring. After that, the yellow dial is set so that signal strength is full, as indicated by a meter on the right. Once a transmission is unlocked its symbol lights up and the "Total Recovered" amount increases a little bit. When you reach 100%, it tells you how many hours remain until next batch.

As of January 12, 2010, the following transmissions (Batch 9), almost all of which are part of second trailer (link below), were available:

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
| '''S. No.'''
| '''Blue'''
| '''Yellow'''
| '''Type'''
| '''Description'''
|-
| 1
| 351
| 327
| Video
| Game Trailer (unlocked by default).
|-
| 2
| 018
| 088
| Video
| Starscream flying.
|-
| 3
| 018
| 088
| Image
| Starscream standing.
|-
| 4
| 029
| 209
| Video
| Battle scene: Camera behind Autobots, Optimus is prominent.
|-
| 5
| 040
| 328
| Image
| Holographic map of Cybertron and its two moons.
|-
| 6
| 051
| 110
| Image
| Cybertron .
|-
| 7
| 073
| 190
| Image
| Optimus vs Megatron.
|-
| 8
| 085
| 298
| Video
| Decepticon insignia (on Starscream).
|-
| 9
| 096
| 347
| Video
| A bomb explosion on Cybertron's surface (possibly the same one which made a huge hole in it).
|-
| 10
| 107
| 035
| Image
| Megatron crushes cranial unit of a poor Autobot, Starscream is visible behind him, just before the ground assault.
|-
| 11
| 120
| 040
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from a moon.
|-
| 12
| 140
| 201
| Image
| Starscream flying towards Cybertron .
|-
| 13
| 162
| 359
| Image
| A red robot (Ironhide?).
|-
| 14
| 173
| 003
| Image
| A hall (Council of Autobot Elders?).
|-
| 15
| 192
| 147
| Video
| Injured Autobot, trying to get up .
|-
| 16
| 203
| 094
| Video
| Battle scene: Trypticon joins the battle as a burning asteroid (Entry mode) behind Decepticons and Autobots run towards it.
|-
| 17
| 214
| 004
| Image
| A city seen from a tunnel .
|-
| 18
| 225
| 199
| Image
| A city tower falling and hitting another tower.
|-
| 19
| 265
| 011
| Image
| Optimus Prime.
|-
| 20
| 284
| 021
| Image
| Megatron firing his gun (at YOU).
|-
| 21
| 295
| 249
| Video
| Optimus uses his axe on a Decepticon.
|-
| 22
| 306
| 041
| Image
| Cybertron as seen from another moon.
|-
| 23
| 317
| 081
| Video
| City skyline, camera moving down, some music in the background (start of the second trailer).
|-
| 24
| 328
| 221
| Video
| Battle scene: A missile hits a battlestation and an Autobot falls down from it.
|}

==Toy tie-ins==
[[Hasbro]] has confirmed that several toys will be made to tie into the promotion of the video game. These include figures of Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Bumblebee. As of yet it is uncomfirmed what toyline these figures will be released in though most likely Universe or its own toyline.

<gallery>
Image:WFC Optimus Prime toy.jpg
Image:WFC Megatron toy.jpg
Image:Htcc-31.jpg
</gallery>

==Notes==
<references/>

==External links==
*[http://www.transformersgame.com/ Official site]
*[http://www.gametrailers.com/video/exclusive-debut-transformers-war/59860 Exclusive trailer via 'Game Trailers TV']
*[http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/54929/transformers-war-for-cybertron/videos/transformerscyber_trl_revealtrailer_10710.html;jsessionid=8yroitu115mw Second, fuller trailer from IGN]
*[http://gameinformer.com/mag/cybertron.aspx Behind the scenes bios and information from ''Game Informer'' magazine.]
*[http://www.allspark.com/content/view/6450/20/ Press release]

[[Category: Video games]]

Mickey Mouse

2010-01-05T13:44:27Z

122.106.199.197: /* Disney Label */

{{factions|{{factions/icons|custom=MickeyMouseTransformer.png|cLink=Disney Label}}}}

:''Mickey Mouse is a talking animal from the [[Disney Label]] continuity.''
[[Image:MickeyMouseTF.jpg|right|thumb|300px|M-I-C, K-E-Y, P-R-I-M-E!]]

'''Mickey Mouse''' is an oddity amongst [[Earth]]'s fauna, an upright-walking rodent with opposable thumbs and the power of speech. It is unknown if he is a unique specimen, or part of a larger species. He drives a truck that can transform into a robotic suit of armor he can pilot. The childlike features he bears endear him to the young [[human]]s of Earth. The wisdom of granting mechanized destructive power to a creature such as this is up for debate.
{{TOCclear}}

==Fiction==
===''Revenge of the Fallen'' adaptation===
The announcer mentioned "Mickey the friendly mouse" in a [[television]] advertisement for the ''Alice in Wonderland'' animatronic tour, featuring an [[Alice (animatronic)|animatronic Alice]]. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (novel)}}

==Toys==
===Disney Label===
[[Image:MickeyMouse-ColorToy.jpg|right|thumb|300px|K-E-Y. Y? Because freedom is the right of all sentient beings. Ho ho!]]

*'''Mickey Mouse Trailer''' (2009)

: The first mold in the [[TakaraTomy]]-[[exclusive]] "[[Disney Label]]" series, Mickey Mouse's vehicle transforms from a cartoony tractor-trailer truck to a Mickey-like robot resembling [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. Mickey appears as a driver with an orange worker's cap on (in the right side of the cab, what with this being a Japanese toy), but disappears when then grill is flipped upward during transformation. Mickey re-appears dressed in a battle suit on a flip-around panel on the robot mode's head when the backpack is brought down into its final position. Pushing down on the robot's upper body causes the robot arms to flap up and down, simulating giddy excitement. (No, really.) The robot's clear-plastic visor can be raised and lowered over its optics.

: So far, this mold has only been made available in Japan. Too late. It has shown up in Australia.

{{-}}{{anchor|Monochrome}}
*'''Mickey Mouse Trailer Monochrome''' (2009)

: This grayscale [[redeco]] of the Mickey Mouse Trailer toy is decoed to resemble Mickey's design in the earliest Disney cartoons. Mickey himself provides the only splashes of color on the toy, with his face keeping its peach color, while his clothes go grayscale.

*'''Mickey Mouse Trailer Halloween Version''' (2009)
{{comingsoontoy}}

==External links==
* [[wikipedia:Mickey Mouse|Mickey Mouse at Wikipedia]]

[[Category: Animals]]
[[Category: Earthlings]]
[[Category: External properties]]

Transformers Comic issue 2.6

2009-11-21T12:23:36Z

122.106.199.197: /* Law and Disorder */

{{Comicstory
|seriesissue=[[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'']] #6
|prev=Transformers Comic issue 2.5
|next=Transformers Comic issue 2.7
|image=Tf mag 6 2009.JPG
|caption=
|publisher=[[Titan Books|Titan Magazines]]
|date=5 November 2009
|editor=[[Steve White]]
|designer=[[Danny Preston]]
|deputy editor=[[Den Patrick]]
|publishing manager=[[Darryl Curtis]]
|price=£2.70
}}
'''I see no reason why Autobot treason should ever be forgot!'''

==Outlaw Blues==

*'''Script:''' [[Simon Furman]] 
*'''Art:''' [[Jon Davis-Hunt]] 
*'''Colours:''' [[Hi-Fi Design]] 
*'''Letters:''' [[Andrew James]] 
*'''Continuity:''' [[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]] (prequel)

[[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] are ''not'' happy. Branded as double-agents, they're now being transported by military convoy to be exiled in orbit. A disgruntled Skids wishes they'd just ignored this [[The Fallen|Fallen]] wotsit, and believes someone on up there just ''really'' hates them.

[[Image:Titan5_Wheeliethemurderer.jpg|thumb|left|300px|"Don't worry, kids, it's only a little stun ray! I'm just sending them to sleep... (''forever!'')"]]

Up there, [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] orders [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] to make his attack! In jet mode, he takes out the bridge, with most of the military escort either taken out by the explosion or falling into the river. Then [[Wheelie (ROTF)|Wheelie]] is parachuted in, landing on the twin's carrier to... dispatch their human guards and start freeing them from their bond? Mudflap tells the "moronic munchkin" to push off, but as Wheelie babbles about this being a ''quid pro quo'' for the twins helping the 'cons, Skids realises this is a further set-up... and back at [[Diego Garcia]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] believes he's greatly underestimated the twins' value to the Decepticons and assures [[Theodore Galloway]] that re-apprehending them is now the Autobots' top priority! The annoyed twins have to make a run for it, while Wheelie remarks that the Decepticon door is always open...

Two days later, [[Sam Witwicky]] is off to see [[Mikaela Banes|Mikaela]]; it's only a short walk, so poor [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] is left in the garage. To Sam's annoyance, his journey is interrupted when Skids and Mudflap turn up. He says again that he wants the Autobots to leave him to leave his own life, but the twins just say they want to talk and they'll take him ''wherever'' he wants to go. Unfortunately for them, an "anonymous source" tips off the Autobots that they're abducting Sam; they find it slightly suspicious, but as they can't ignore the threat, Bumblebee is contacted to save the day!

Back inside Skids, Sam is told that they want ''him'' to go to Optimus with the story of the Decepticon army massing on Cybertron as Prime trusts him. However, ''he'' isn't sure he trusts the twins: he doesn't know them, and they've practically abducted him. In the context, it was a probably a bad move for Skids to try to pressure the lad, especially as Bumblebee's caught up with them and Sam is now banging on the window screaming for help. Coming under fire and being rammed, the twins regroup and dump Sam at a baseball field, but a transforming Bumblebee soon has the drop on them.

But as they try to explain they're not traitors, ''Soundwave'' gets the drop on ''him''. While Sam begs his gunned-down friend to show signs of life, Soundwave offers sanctuary to the twins. The Fallen embraces them and they can be part of the future... something Earth soon won't have!

And Mudflap takes his hand and says he never ''did'' like the planet...

===Quotes===
"We should have just minded our own business! Forgotten all about ''the Fallen''... whatever he is or they is... are?" 
:—'''Skids'''

"My job is done. No need to thank I. Oh, and a ''message'' for you: if you ever find yourself of a place to lay low, among friends... our door is ''always'' open!"
:—'''Wheelie'''

"[Prime] trusts you." 
"That's what we heard, anyway. Though exactly why escapes me." 
"He'll ''listen'' to you. And someone's gone to a lot of trouble to shut us up! No mean feat." 
:—'''Skids''' and '''Mudflap'''

"Y'know, from a certain perspective..." 
"LET ME ''OUT''! LET ME ''OUT''!" 
"...this could look ''so'' wrong!"
:—'''Skids''' on abducting '''Sam'''

"Make no mistake, this is your ''last'' refuge."
:—'''Soundwave'''

===Errors===

* Skids and Mudflap get their dialogue mixed up on page 7. What makes this extra funny is that it's in the panel where they're explaining which twin is which.

* Soundwave makes it clear the Autobots will try to eliminate the twins, and Bumblebee does try to do it; it fits with the movie Autobot's brutal tactics. But they merely intended to ''exile'' the twins for treason?

===Notes===
* Last issue, the twins were being taken into questioning. Guess their answers didn't convince anyone!
* The strip doesn't explicitly say anyone in the convoy is being killed, but it also doesn't show anyone climbing out of the review, getting up etc. So they have to be dead. So Wheelie shot two guys dead at close range! How funny does he seem ''now'', kids?
* He goes unnamed, but that's clearly [[Theodore Galloway]] on page 5.
* The twins ''really'' don't like Sam much, with Skids remarking his seats will need cleaning.
* This is the first time Soundwave has walked on Earth in movieverse fiction.

{{-}}

==Contents==
===Articles & features===
* More Than Meets The Eye: puzzles.
* Competitions for toys, video games and books; a TF related competition is for an Optimus Prime head that works as a speaker.
* Character Profile: [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]]
* War Paint: draw and colour in a picture of Megatron!
* Law and Disorder: Letters, art and photos from readers, answered by [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] and [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]].
* Starscream's Stars: Comedy horrorscope.
* Posters of the cover and ''[[All Hail Megatron issue 5]]'s'' [[Guido Guidi]] cover.

===Free Gift===
* "Transformers DISC FLICKER!" - another disc-shooting toy that's quite blatantly a ''[[wikipedia:Yu-Gi-Oh! GX|Yu-Gi-Oh! GX]]'' duel disk. It must have been repurposed from another comic.
* '''Candy!'''

===Reprints===

* [[All Hail Megatron issue 4|''All Hail Megatron:'']] [[All Hail Megatron issue 5|''Long Shadows'']] (15 pages)

===Law and Disorder===
"Let's see who the simpering human minions wish to be subjugated by this issue!"
:—'''Barricade''' kicks off the popularity contest

"Arguments? Sarcasm? Us? Really? Never. We get on like a house on fire." 
"It's only on fire because I napalmed it."
:—'''Ironhide''' and '''Barricade'''

"Uh, I'm not sure where this kid's loyalties lie. He says he likes [[Unicron]] and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. I'm not sure if that makes him Decepticon, Autobot, or clinically insane."
:—'''Ironhide''' on Scott McNeil.

"[Unicron]'s as mad as his mouth is big — so pretty mad." 
"Yeah — the [[moon (moon)|moon]] would be like the roll the waiter offers you before you order the starters. The [[Earth]] would be on the menu under 'lite snacks'. A gas giant like Jupiter would barely give him the hiccups. He'd eat Neptune like it was a lemon sorbet! He'd —" 
"... I think he gets the picture..."
:—'''Ironhide''' and '''Barricade'''

"I notice you left your location off your email. It doesn't matter, I'm still adding your name to the book of Autobot sympathisers, you wretched human lackey."
:-'''Barricade'''

'''Small kid''': "What does [[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] look like in robot mode?" 
'''Ironhide''': "Who cares what Scrapper looks like? The only good Decepticon is one with my footprint in his face."

====Starscream's Stars====

"CANCER (22 Jun — 22 Jul): The light is at the end of the tunnel, but that's just the oncoming 5.17 from [[London]] Charing Cross." 

"SCORPONOK (24 Oct — 21 Nov): Romance is calling! Hang up and pull the socket off the wall." 

"SAGITTARIUS (22 Nov — 21 Dec): You feel a great weight has been lifted from your shoulders. That's because Megatron has finally taken his foot off your neck after you blubbed like a human baby and begged for mercy. Pathetic." 

"TAURUS (20 Apr — 20 May): Your vehicle mode is a car, so why did you think a visit to the [[B'Boom|baboon]] enclosure in that safari park was a good idea? Now you'll never find replacements for the windscreen wipers or get the stains off the bonnet." 

==Errors==
* One of the books you can win is represented by... the cover of a ''different'' book.

* Law and Disorder ''still'' promises you can win ''Starscream's'' Star Letter prize, even though he's not the host anymore.

==Notes==

[[Image:Tf mag vol2 6 alternate.JPG|right|150px|thumb|''We're rotten to the core My congratulations No one likes you anymore BAAAAAAAAD GUYS!'']]

* A wildly different cover was shown for #6 last issue.

* This is the longest the letters page has been since #1.

* ''Animated'' fanart turns up and can be seen in one of the reader's photos. The legend lives on!

* The final score for the letter page: two pro-Autobots, one pro-Decepticon, one neutral, one Minion of Unicron.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers Comic issue 2.06}}
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Magazine issues]]

Other Visits (Part 1)

2009-09-30T13:06:19Z

122.106.199.197: /* Technical/Animation Glitches */

{{episode
|series=BWtoon
|ep=32
|image=Other_Visits_1_Airazor_Tigatron.jpg
|caption="I'll never let go, Tigatron. I promise."
|title="Other Visits" (Part 1)
|production=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|airdate=[[February 8]], 1998
|written by=[[Larry DiTillio]]
|directed by=[[John Pozer]]
|animation studio=[[Mainframe Entertainment]]
|continuity=[[Beast Wars continuity]]
}}
'''A new alien site and device are discovered, and Megatron intends to have both for himself.'''

:''Japanese title:'' え? お花が? (''E? O-hana ga?'', "Huh? The Flower?")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Other Visits 1 Rhinox Dinobot.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Optimus is coming! Quick, look busy!]]
[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] scans all the known alien sites, with [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] playing "back seat computer operator". Both notice a pattern, and Rhinox is concerned, as the next location looks like it is on course with [[Tigatron]] and [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor's]] scout patrol. They try to alert the pair but are unable to due to [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron's]] jamming tower. Dinobot announces he and [[Rattrap]] will go to destroy the tower. Rhinox informs the other [[Maximals]] of the danger Tigatron and Airazor are in, so the flyers set off to warn them.

[[Tarantulas]] is repairing his web in his lair, moaning to himself that no one will help him, as "they're all too busy helping Megatron, even that vile..." when he is interrupted by his computer alerting him to the presence of the aliens. He quickly transforms into his motorbike mode and races off.

[[Image:Other Visits 1 Blackarachnia monitor.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Megatron's coming! Quick, look busy!]]
In the ''[[Darksyde]]'', [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] is nearly dozing off on scout duty, as "working for Megatron sure is boring!". This doesn't please the purple guy much, as he happens to be eavesdropping. Suddenly, she notices Tarantulas on the scanners, zipping along at breakneck speed in [[Grid Vaxon]]. At the mention of the spider, Megatron reveals himself, accompanied by [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], and begins giving Blackarachnia orders, with Inferno enforcing his master's wishes. Blackarachnia suggests they follow Tarantulas to see what he's up to, but Megs seems reluctant. Inferno then reports an attack on the jamming tower and asks if he should back up [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] and [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]]. Instead, Megatron reveals to the spider and Inferno that now is a prime time to get the [[Golden Disk (Vok)|Golden Disk]] back, with only Rhinox guarding the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''.

[[Image:Other Visits 1 Tigatron plant.jpg|left|200px|thumb|A touching moment here, but a different touching in Japan.]]
Tigatron and Airazor are patrolling when, to their delight and surprise, they see a hint of plant life in the form of a drifting seed. They continue to [[Grid Zeiram]], where they discover a clearing full of plant life, an area of natural beauty that wasn't destroyed by the alien attack. Airazor is intrigued by the unique forms of vegetation, so she transforms to get a scan. BIG MISTAKE. Tigatron also transforms. BIG MISTAKE. They both seem to be overcome by it all, and share a brief, cheesy romantic moment. But as the pair cuddle up, tendrils begin to snake up behind them, and suddenly, the two Maximals are entangled. Amidst their screams, they link hands, telling each other that their sparks will always find each other. As they are abducted, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] flies up and tries to rescue them, but to no avail. He screams in protest as he realises he has lost them. As he bemoans the Maximals' inability to warn the abducted pair in time, Tarantulas pops up and blasts Cheetor, knocking him out cold. As Tarantulas begins to check out the site, he realises [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] is coming, so he retreats.

Optimus and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] land in the clearing, and Optimus gets Cheetor back online. He hurriedly asks what happened to Tigatron and Airazor, and Cheetor indicates the plant at fault for their disappearance. At this moment, Rattrap buzzes in, informing the Maximals that he and Dinobot have destroyed the jamming tower. (Actually, Dinobot is still landing a few final blows, which topple the tower on top of Quickstrike and Waspinator.) Upon hearing about the fate of Tigatron and Airazor, all the Maximals head back to base, all deeply moved.

[[Image:Rock 'em an' sock 'em%2C Rhinox.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The incredible, unanticipated Hasbro-Mattel crossover!]]
Optimus com-links Rhinox, who is also shocked by the news, but, being the cool cucumber that he is, goes straight back to scanning the alien abduction and notices two distorted figures in the beam: Tigatron and Airazor. Before he can investigate further, the base alerts go off, and he notices Megatron outside. Rhinox has no time for fun and games, so he literally brings out "the big guns." However, Megatron is merely acting as a diversion while Blackarachnia and Inferno sneak into the base and shut off the defense systems. Big Green realizes he's in trouble and desperately tries to get through to Optimus, but Inferno enters the room, swings Rhinox's chair up to the table, and puts him at gunpoint just as Optimus finally responds. Inferno offers a "Goodbye!" on Rhinox's behalf and simultaneously blasts Rhinox. Blackarachnia rushes for the disk, but Inferno is more hesitant: "The Royalty said we weren't to touch it until..." He is interrupted by Rhinox grabbing him and yanking him back to express his displeasure. Rhinox and Inferno start to rock 'n' sock each other with chin-punches, and Rhinox soon wins by popping Inferno's block off (or at least up). Blackarachnia grabs the disk, but Rhinox menaces her with "The Chaingun Of Doom." He barely has time to threaten her before Megatron appears behind him and lays verbal claim to the disk. Despite his fear, Rhinox quickly readies to smack Megs in the face, but the Pred is too quick; he grabs Rhinox's hand in his claw, rips it off and sends him sprawling. Megatron grabs the disk, pushes Inferno's head back down, then takes his leave.

The Maximals make it back to the base, and Optimus re-attaches Rhinox's arm. The Maximals then have a council. Cheetor is still upset about Tigatron and Airazor, insisting they need to rescue those two. However, Dinobot says they need to stop Megatron before the aliens strike, to which Optimus agrees. They set off for the site where Tigatron and Airazor were abducted.

Megatron is back in the ''Darksyde'', talking about the Golden Disk, but is interrupted by Tarantulas. The spider brags that he is no longer part of the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] command, but also reminds his ex-leader that he is Megatron's only chance of surviving the alien attack. Megatron allows Tarantulas to undertake his plan.

[[Image:Other Visits 1 Megatron hunter.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"From here it looks like a giant boob."]]
The Predacons head to the abduction site, where they go about ramming posts into the ground. Megatron questions Tarantulas's motives, but Tarantulas isn't telling. However, due to the fact they shared minds, Blackarachnia knows it is because he hates the aliens. Megatron doesn't mind, since hatred is an emotion he can trust. When the plan is complete, Megatron and Tarantulas have a brief laughing contest which is interrupted by Primal and the Maximals, who transform and prepare to attack. The Predacons also terrorize, ready for battle, when the aliens' beam comes down, causing a halt in the proceedings. All the Transformers stare on in amazement as a [[Metal Hunter|spaceship]] materializes in front of their very optics.

The top of the ship opens, releasing an energon surge, which blasts into everybody.

[[Other Visits (Part 2)|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (1)
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
*[[Tigatron]] (7)
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] (8)
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (9)
*[[Optimus Primal]] (10)
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (11)
*[[Rattrap]] (14)

|h2=[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]|c2=
*[[Tarantulas]] (3)
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (4)
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] (6)
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]] (12)
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"Sometimes Optimus trusts too much..."
:—'''Rhinox''' to himself over Dinobot's recent activities

"Wherever we go, my Spark will find yours!" 
"A-a-and mine, yours."
:—'''Tigatron''' and '''Airazor''', just before getting sent into space

"We could have warned them. If only that stinking Megatron hadn't..." 
"Well you didn't!" [''blasts Cheetor''] 
:—'''Cheetor''' and '''Tarantulas'''

"Say the word, and he will ''burn'', My Queen." 
"Not yet...and for the last time, '''''stop calling me that!'''''" 
"As you command, my...''Ack...''"
:—'''Inferno''' and '''Megatron''' decide to "choke" this title for now.

'''Megatron''': (after all of Sentinel's guns are pointed at him) "I...uh..come in peace?" 
'''Rhinox''':"You're about to leave in pieces."
:—Negotiations between '''Megatron''' and '''Rhinox''' break down.

"Ready to rock and roll, insect?" 
"I don't rock and roll. I buuuuurn."
:—'''Blackarachnia''' and '''Inferno''' after knocking out the Maximal defences.

''(laughs)'' "Looks like we will have our little chat after all, Rhinox."
:—'''Megatron''', after the ''Axalon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s defenses are deactivated

"You don't wanna try it. The disk!"
:—'''Rhinox''' demands the Golden Disk from Blackarachnia, unaware that Megatron is creeping up behind him.

"It's like I always say: We're all gonna die."''(All glare at Rattrap.)'' 
"I know, I know. 'Shut up, Rattrap.'"
:—'''Rattrap''' contemplates the situation.

"Leave here, Primal! I will deal with this!" 
"Like you did ''last time''? Dream on!"
:—'''Megatron''' fails to get '''Optimus Primal''''s confidence for dealing with the aliens.

==Notes==
* In this episode and many others after the events of "[[Maximal, No More]]", at least one Maximal would express their ill feelings towards Dinobot for what he did. This would continue until "[[Code of Hero]]", where he would redeem himself, albeit at the cost of his own life.

===Technical/Animation Glitches===
*Near the beginning of the episode when Optimus is flying on his gorilla hoverboard, his blaster (which is his thruster in that mode) is pointed down, but there is still a visible jet of flame where it should be.
*During the maximal group discussion about the alien device cheetor's cst head clips into his arm.

===Real-World References===
*The fight between [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] references Rock 'Em, Sock 'Em Robots, a popular fighting game.
*Waspinator says he's pinned like an "[[wikipedia:Iron_Butterfly|iron butterfly]]", referencing the 1960s psychedelic rock band that gave the world "[[wikipedia:In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida|In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida]]".

[[Category:Beast Wars episodes]]

Imprisoned Inferno

2009-09-27T14:28:12Z

122.106.199.197: /* Animation or technical errors */

{{episode|
|series=Energon
|series2=Superlink
|ep=29
|prev=Protection
|next=Jungle Planet (episode)
|title="Improsoned Inferno" "Imprisoned Inferno"
|japanese=囚われのインフェルノ
|romaji=Toraware no Inferno
|translation=Imprisoned Inferno
|image=Improsonedinferno.jpg
|caption=For God's ''sake''.
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]]
|writer=[[Akira Okeya]]
|director=[[Kei'ichirō Kawaguchi]]
|animation studio=[[Actas]], [[Studio A-CAT]] (3D)
|airdate=[[July 23|23 July]] 2004 (Japanese) [[October 15]], 2004 (English)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy]]
}}

'''Ambushed and alone, Inferno is taken to his limits and beyond by Megatron.'''

==Synopsis==
On Iron Planet, Shockblast, chained up and guarded by the stoic and silent Inferno, is bored. He entertains himself by verbally harassing his guard. His taunts fall on deaf ears; finally Inferno stands, walks off, and nails a distant peak with one shot from his weapon, to Shockblast's puzzlement.

[[Image:E29 mirangaiilands.jpg|left|180px|thumb|Like some vast, predatory bird casting its shadow over the land...]]
Alpha Q delights over one of his new planets, and laments Scorponok's fall. On the temperate surface of the planet, Ironhide, Kicker and Misha land the ''Miranda II'' in a lake. The planet's atmosphere is identical to Earth, to Misha's relief. She wonders if it's inhabited.

Inferno calls in a report to Optimus's team on the ''[[Miranda II]]'', though he has little to tell them; he expects Rodimus to be along soon. Suddenly, Megatron radios Shockblast, taunting him for his betrayal.

Megatron expects Shockblast will come crawling back soon enough... and indeed, he radios a moment later, begging to be freed and promising loyalty. Megatron agrees. Inferno doesn't seem to notice.

Rodimus observes space debris from Unicron flying into the void. Elsewhere, on a planet, the two search team Autobots drive around and conclude that it's deserted. Downshift isn't happy about searching planet after planet, but Cliffjumper reminds him that that's what their orders are. Suddenly, they see a flash of light. Somewhere in space, Rodimus speaks to all Autobot warriors, telling them to use his flag as a beacon-guide if they've lost their way.

On Iron Planet, Inferno comes under heavy attack from Megatron's squad.

Misha observes a giant dragon fly, which freaks out Kicker. Kicker explains to Ironhide that the planet's so nutrient-rich that it's driving the eco-system to extremes. Jetfire reports that Inferno is under attack, and the Autobots prepare to move out. Ironhide is depressed, wondering if Scorponok will be there.

Inferno has retreated into a crevasse, defending himself from there. Megatron approaches the chained Shockblast; Mirage advises not releasing him, advice that Megatron agrees with. He threatens to "rewire" Shockblast. Desperate, Shockblast pleads for release, saying he'll capture an Autobot as proof of his loyalty. Inferno is still in the crevasse, waiting.

In space, Landmine, Prowl and Hot Shot fight their way through the debris-filled void. Through the void, they see Rodimus's glowing Autobot insignia-beacon, a sign of hope.

Shockblast is free; Mirage thinks it's a mistake. Inferno comes under attack from the sky, as Shockblast dives on him, firing. Starscream joins him.

Shockblast tries to flush out Inferno, but the Autobot just waits patiently, gun aimed. But Starscream gets behind him before he can fire.

Scorponok flies through the void with a horde of Insecticons, as Rodimus observes.

[[Image:Energon InfernoImprisoned torture.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Such excellent animation... something's wrong.]]
The Autobots arrive and locate Inferno. Below, Megatron chews out Shockblast and sends him to join the others above in battling the Autobots, before interrogating his captive. Above, the Decepticons hold the Autobots at a standstill.

Megatron tortures Inferno, demanding to know where the energon is. When Inferno refuses, he stabs him with his sword and threatens to turn him into a Decepticon.

Scorponok and his Terrorcons arrive; Ironhide holds him off while Prime goes after Inferno, only to run into Mirage. Megatron forces an energy ball into Inferno's wound, saying that soon he'll be a Decepticon.

Ironhide confronts Scorponok over his changed allegiance. Scorponok simply states that his only master is Megatron.

Under torture, Inferno flashes back to the beauty of Earth, and refuses to yield. Hot Shot and Rodimus arrive and finally make it into the crevasse. Surrounded, Megatron retreats. Inferno lies damaged and inert. The Decepticons transform and fly/drive off into the sky. Ironhide is still angry over Scorponok's betrayal.

The Autobots fly Inferno away. Weak, Inferno asks about Kicker's status... and, unseen by all, his Autobot symbol morphs into a Decepticon one.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Inferno (Energon)|Inferno]] (2)
* [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] (4)
* [[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]] (9)
* [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] (10)
* [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]] (11)
* [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (15)
* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] (16)
* [[Wing Saber|Wing Dagger]] (17)
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] (18)
* [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] (19)
* [[Prowl (Energon)|Prowl]] (20)

|c2=
* [[Shockblast (Energon)|Shockblast]] (1)
* [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] (7)
* [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] (8)
* [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Snow Cat]] (12)
* [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] (13)
* [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]] (14)
* [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] (21)

|c3=
* [[Kicker Jones]] (5)
* [[Misha Miramond]] (6)

|c4=
* [[Alpha Quintesson]] (3)
* [[Insecticon (Energon)|Insecticon drones]] (22)
}}

==Quotes==
"I'm bored out of my mainframe here. What's wrong? Your batteries go dead? You're a regular riot, soldier boy! HEY! Mr. Happy! Would ya lighten up a little? Teh! You can ''guard'' me without being a ''jerk'', y'know."
:—The captive '''Shockblast''' taunts Inferno.

"Shockblast! Exactly what part of that order don't you understand? Starscream, Demolishor, Snowcat and Mirage rank ''above'' you. And I expect you to follow ''their'' orders, soldier!"
:—'''Megatron''' lets Shockblast know exactly where he stands.

"Hey! You're Shockblast!" 
"That's right... boss." 
"Huh? Boss?!" 
"That's right. At least, that's what Megatron tells me." 
"Oh. In that case, I want you to destroy Optimus!" 
"HUH?!" 
"Huh—uh—I mean, if—that's okay with ''you''."
:—'''Demolishor''' and '''Shockblast'''

==Notes==
===Lost in translation===
The only changes in the dub are a few trivial items—which is quite surprising considering that there's a ''typo in the title''. [[Scorpinok|Again.]]

* Kicker kicks Ironhide after they land the ''Miranda II'' on the first planet. In ''Super Link'', it's because Ironhide had said the air was great and refreshing, and Kicker says he couldn't possibly know that. The dub changes it to Kicker staking his claim that ''he'' was the one to tell Misha that the air was safe.
* Kicker's original claim about the ecosystem is more about the planet's instinct to support life, rather than its nutrient-rich ecosystem.
* Megatron originally threatens to ''reformat'' Shockblast (rather than "rewire" him), a bit more serious-sounding considering what's happened to Demolishor, Starscream and Scorponok.
* In the dub, Inferno asks for an update on Kicker as he's carried away from Iron Planet. In ''Super Link'', he asks if they're going to where Kicker is, so he can heal on a peaceful planet.
* Absurdly triumphant background music plays over this same scene in the dub; ''Super Link'' has silence instead, more befitting the somber mood as the gravely damaged Inferno is carried off.

===Pain count===
* "Uh?": 17
* Stock footage: 3
* Let's do it: 2
* You got it: 1
* You're kidding me: 1

===Animation or technical errors===
*What the hell, Voicebox?
*No, seriously, what the ''hell?''
* The ''red'' energon sun somehow casts normal yellow/white light onto Iron Planet. The [[Jungle Planet (episode)|next episode]] would show that the planet has a yellow-tinted atmosphere. That still doesn't work with a red light source... but points for trying!
* Cliffjumper and Downshift have their names reversed. It won't be the last time. (They're not named in ''Super Link''.)
* Rodimus's magic beacon-projecting flag ''flaps in the vacuum of space''. Though it has been proven on mythbusters that ''can'' flap in space in requires something moving it.
* [[Rift (Energon)|The rift]]—referred to here as "the [[void]]"—is so badly animated and edited that it's impossible to tell what or where it is. No establishing shots make clear where it sits in relationship to anything else in the show, and it's shown differently than in previous episodes. A casual viewer would have ''no clue'' where Hot Shot's team is or what they're doing.
* Likewise, the idea is that Rodimus shines his beacon at the rift's exit, giving both Hot Shot's team (who are lost in the rift) and the search party (who are on the other side of the rift, still in normal space) a sign post to follow. The animation makes this a bit difficult to figure out, the editing makes it worse, and the dialog in both versions doesn't help much.

===Continuity errors===
* So... Rodimus and Optimus entered the rift ''after'' Hot Shot, Prowl and Landmine were sucked in, as happened in "[[Ripped Up Space]]". They made it all the way through, had a whole series of adventures and battles on Iron Planet, and meanwhile... Hot Shot's team ''still'' hasn't gotten through the rift? What've they been ''doing'' in there?

===Trivia===
* During the torture scene, Megatron and Inferno are both animated in traditional cel format, allowing them to emote beyond the level of "[[Dull surprise|mouth open/mouth closed]]".
* Unicron is apparently missing in action—there's no trace of him—but the dialog only vaguely hints at this mystery, when Rodimus says something vague about debris from Unicron.
* The episode's title was corrected for the ''Transformers: Energon - Ultimate Collection'' DVD release.

[[Category:Energon episodes]]

Five Servos of Doom

2009-09-17T11:37:46Z

122.106.199.197: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|image=TFA Five Servos Yoketron vs Prowl.JPG
|caption=Wax on, wax off.
|ep=35
|title="Five Servos of Doom"
|airdate=[[April 4]], 2009
|written by=[[Andrew Robinson]]
|directed by=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Yoshio Frank Chatani]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}

'''Sentinel Prime has incredible success capturing fugitive Decepticons, leading Prowl to suspect he's getting help. '''

==Synopsis==

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-CapturedDecepticons.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"We're gonna need a bigger shelf..."]]

In the dead of night, the [[Autobot]]s steal through the streets of [[Detroit]], on the trail of a [[Decepticon]] energy signature. With the source of the signal cornered, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] makes his move and dives through a window, only to find that the signal is coming from a beacon and that the Autobots have been tricked. To make matters worse, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] has disappeared, and the Autobots spread out to search for him. During the search, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] spots an unfamiliar shadow and follows it around a corner...to find the [[Sunstorm (Animated)|sycophantic Starscream clone]], captured and [[stasis cuffs|stasis-cuffed]] by Sentinel Prime. They take the prisoner back to the [[Elite Guard]]'s ship, where Optimus is stunned to discover that Sentinel has also recently captured [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] as well.

[[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] and [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] are eager to know how Sentinel managed to apprehend the Starscream clone, as is Optimus, but Sentinel gets defensive and tells Optimus it does not concern him. Prime confides in Prowl his suspicion that Sentinel is hiding something, and tells about the strange shadow he saw. Back at the Autobot plant, the pair consult computer records to see if Optimus can identify the distinctive helmet the robot was wearing, and when they find one that fits the bill, the stunned Prowl flashes back to his past on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]…

[[Image:TFA Five Servos Prowl meets Yoketron.JPG|thumb|right|200px|"Blam! Pow! You want I should leave this here?"]]

:''The helmet belongs to [[Yoketron]], the ninja master who trained Prowl centuries ago. Attempting to dodge the draft during the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], Prowl was apprehended by Elite Guardsman [[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] and placed into the care of Yoketron, who saw potential in him and offered to train him in exchange for the charges against him being dropped.''

Optimus pulls Prowl out of his ruminations, and the ninja-bot silently speeds back to the Elite Guard ship to converse with [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]], another of Yoketron's old students. The pair suspect that their old sensei may somehow be on Earth, capturing Decepticons, and that Sentinel is taking the credit. Sentinel walks in on the middle of the discussion and laughs off the notion that Yoketron is even still online, before departing on another patrol. Knowing that something is not right, Jazz and Prowl shadow Sentinel, but when Sentinel rounds a corner and disappears, Prowl lapses into his memories once again, recalling when Yoketron taught him that it was the robot himself, not his tools, that made the ninja. With nothing left to do, the pair return to the Elite Guard's ship, where Jetfire and Jetstorm are working to repair their communications system.

[[Image:Jetstormpose.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Say cheeeeeese!]]

The two brothers tell the ninjas that Sentinel is waiting for them in the brig, and Jazz and Prowl are amazed to see that Sentinel has brought in [[Lugnut]]! As Sentinel gloats, Prowl calls him on the unlikelihood of the whole scenario and accuses him of having "help". The ninja-bot points out the missing weapons on all the Decepticons, and notes that [[Lockdown (Animated)|only one bot]] that he knows of takes trophies from his victims, but Sentinel silences him by revealing that he has removed Lugnut's "[[Punch of Kill Everything]]" and placed it in a storage compartment in that very hallway. Embarrassed, Prowl leaves, and Sentinel turns on Optimus, telling him to keep Prowl in line, lest he "bust him back to protoform". The word echoes down the hallway, and Prowl pauses…

:''As Prowl's skills increase under Yoketron's tutelage, he is deemed worthy of a weapon by his master and is given his shuriken. Yoketron leads Prowl into a chamber containing holographic busts of his greatest students, but one plinth is empty—a spot, Yoketron reveals, previously held by a former student who disgraced the cyber-ninja corps. Prowl is amazed when Yoketron uses a technique known as "[[processor-over-matter]]" to open the far wall of the chamber with the power of his mind, revealing a greater chamber beyond, its walls lined with [[protoform]]s that the [[Cyber-Ninja Corps]] has been charged with protecting. Yoketron challenges Prowl to close the chamber using processor-over-matter, but Prowl is unable to accomplish the task, and Yoketron sends him on an "optics quest" to find his center and become a true cyber-ninja.''

Prowl's trip down memory lane is cut off as Sentinel comes down the hallway. He uses his hologram projector to disguise himself as a cabinet and listen in as Sentinel talks with parties unknown over his communicator. Prowl alerts Jazz before trailing Sentinel to [[Tigatron Stadium]], where he learns that his suspicions were correct: Sentinel is working with [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], who is wearing Yoketron's helmet! Prowl busts up the prisoner exchange, but it is soon revealed that Lockdown has double-crossed Sentinel, having been made a better offer by [[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]]. Lockdown and Prowl engage in battle, and Lockdown reveals that he was also a student of Yoketron...

:''Returning from his unsuccessful optics quest, Prowl discovers that Yoketron's dojo has been attacked, the protoforms almost all stolen, and Yoketron himself fatally wounded. As Yoketron's spark begins to fade, Prowl recovers one of the remaining protoforms and places his master's spark in it, saving Yoketron's life. Yoketron, however, is appalled by his student's actions; one must never sacrifice a piece of the future in order to save a piece of the past. When Prowl's time comes, Yoketron tells him, he too will understand. As Prowl looks on, Yoketron allows his spark to fade out.''

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-Yoketron%27sDeath.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You must not sacrifice a piece of the future to bring back the past." "But the seeds of the future lie buried in the past!" "... shut up, boy."]]

At last, all is clear to Prowl: Lockdown led the attack on the dojo and took the protoforms! Prowl pins Lockdown and demands the return of Yoketron's helmet; Lockdown appears to comply, but the helmet has been booby-trapped and binds Prowl in a tangle of cables. The captured Prowl is taken to [[Death's Head (Animated)|Lockdown's ship]], where the bounty hunter intends to remove his jump jets and holo-projector in order to complete a duplicate set of the armor that he loaned Prowl during their [[A Fistful of Energon|last encounter]]. Lying on Lockdown's "operating table", Prowl concentrates, and at last masters processor-over-matter, freeing his body from the cables with the power of his mind.

[[Image:Sentinel-derp.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Sentinel displays his ''Unfortunate Accident'' mode.]]

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime, Jazz, Jetfire and Jetstorm have arrived to rescue Sentinel Prime from the clutches of the Starscream clone, but the fight is not going well, as the clone uses Sentinel for a shield most of the time. The clone takes to the air, but Prime blinds him with a faceful of foam, and he crashes into the middle of the stadium field, dropping Sentinel head-first into the ground.

Back aboard Lockdown's ship, the bounty hunter turns to discover that Prowl has freed himself and donned both Yoketron's helmet and the armor, knowing that he will be able to handle its power this time because of the lesson he has finally learned: It is the ninja-bot, not the weapon. The two engage in battle once more, and their fight soon carries them out of the ship and into the middle of the other fight going on in the field outside. Optimus Prime and Jazz are in the process of dropping the stadium's scoreboard onto the Starscream clone, but Prowl and Lockdown get in the way at the last second, before they can stop the giant screen's tumble. As the dust clears, Optimus and Jazz discover that Prowl has used processor-over-matter to protect the combatants from the debris. Optimus quickly stasis-cuffs the Starscream clone, but Lockdown gets away.

[[Image:TFA Five Servos processor over matter.JPG|right|thumb|200px|...Show-off.]]
A little later, everyone has returned to the Elite Guard ship, where Jetstorm and Jetfire open a communications channel with [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] on Cybertron. Cliffjumper tells the Autobots about [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]'s attack on [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], and rather than add to the trouble, Prime refrains from reporting Sentinel's misconduct, instead simply informing Cliffjumper of the capture of the Decepticons on [[Earth]], crediting Prowl. Sentinel thanks Optimus for covering for him, but Optimus promises that once everything is done, he and Sentinel will have it out.

Back at the Autobot base, Jazz compliments Prowl on his armor, and tells him that Yoketron would be proud to have him wear his helmet. Prowl vows to do everything he can to be worthy of it.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (1)
*[[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] (2)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (3)
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (4)
*[[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] (8)
*[[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] (9)
*[[Yoketron]] (10) (Flashback)
*[[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] (11) (Flashback)
*[[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]] (15)
*[[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] (16)

|c2=
*[[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] (5)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (6)
*[[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] (7)
*[[Lugnut]] (12)
*[[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] (13)
*[[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] (14)

}}

==Quotes==
'''Jetfire''': Sentinel Prime, sir, tell please. 
'''Jetstorm''': How did you making to capture this badness bot? 
'''Optimus''': Yes, Sentinel. How did you capture this badness bot?
:—Optimus Prime and the twins question Sentinel and butcher the English language.

'''Warpath''': Ask me, he should rust in the stockade. Any Autobot who won't fight the Decepticons is no better than a Con himself. We're at war. 
'''Prowl''': It's not my war! 
'''Warpath''': Then maybe I should take you out back and ''make it'' your war! 
'''Yoketron''': I believe I can take it from here. 
'''Warpath''': Bam pow! Lousy draft-dodgin' peacenik.
:—Warpath has no time for draft-dodgers.

"Give. Me. Yoketron's. Helmet."
:—'''Prowl''', not pissing around.

"Couldn't resist that old armor, though, could ya? What makes you think you can handle it this time?" 
"I've learned something since then. It's the ninja-bot, not the weapon."
:—'''Lockdown''' and '''Prowl'''

"Whoa, bro. P-over-M."
:—'''Jazz''', impressed with Prowl's processor-over-matter mastery.

"Diggin' the new armor, specially Yoketron's helmet. He'd be proud to have you wear it." 
"Thank you. I plan to do everything in my power to be worthy of it."
:—'''Jazz''' and '''Prowl'''

==Notes==

===Animation or technical errors===

*When the scoreboard crashes onto Prowl, Lockdown, and Ramjet, Prowl is missing his samurai armor.
*When Prowl readies himself to kick Lockdown, his animation model doesn't have Yoketron's helmet, but rather, the helmet from the episode "[[A Fistful of Energon]]". This error reappears when Prowl charges at Lockdown a few seconds later.

===Continuity errors===
*It's not ''technically'' an error, since Prowl has always remained quiet on his history and could just have been holding back from correcting anyone, but this episode reveals that he was online during the Great War, prior to the creation of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]], where previous episodes have suggested that none of the main ''Animated'' Autobot cast, except for [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], were around back then. Notably, this makes Prowl older than Optimus Prime, which... sits ill, at best. Then again, it is possible Prime and possibly a few others were online during the war as well, but were merely still being trained at the time and were too "young" to take part.
*The dialogue exchanged between Prowl, Jazz and later on Sentinel Prime, suggests that Master [[Yoketron]] mysteriously disappeared, and nobody apparently knew whether or not he was online for sure. Later on in the episode, (during Prowl's final flashback), Master Yoketron ''clearly'' dies in the presence of Prowl, making one wonder why the Autobots seem to be in the dark with his status. Did Prowl acknowledge his death, bury the body and keep this knowledge to himself to preserve his master's dignity? Or was this information covered up by Autobot Intelligence to prevent planet-wide panic? Sadly, now, [[Endgame, Part II|we may never know for sure.]]
*On a related note, this also means that Jazz was active in the Cyber-Ninja Corps during the war, apparently long before Sentinel even came online (much less joined the Elite Guard). Even ignoring Sentinel's various flaws, this raises legitimate questions about just how promotions are handed out in the Elite Guard.
*Swindle is still in one piece, despite [[Fanzone|a certain cop]] telling the Autobots he would be stripped down and sold at an auction. Foreshadowing of his return, or just exaggeration on Fanzone's part? Though it was stated that swindle was deactivated which could include moving parts making them worthless or Optimus told Fanzone about Swindle's Decticon nature?
*Lockdown has never mentioned Prowl's fighting before, referred to any cyber-ninja training, or, perhaps most noticeably, worn Yoketron's helmet prior to this episode. The latter may have been meant to be explained by Lockdown's stated interest in Prowl's use of the samurai armor during their last encounter, however it's still a little clunky.
*The [[protoform]] in this episode is a whole lot different than the one featured in [[Transwarped]] (then again, perhaps the robot originally coming from that type of protoform would be different from [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]], so it may not be a error at all. Still, is weird). Maybe it means that Sari was not a normal protoform.

===Transformers references===
*Prowl performed the titular "Five Servos of Doom" technique back in "[[The Elite Guard]]".

*Swindle is still stuck in vehicle mode after the events of "[[SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy]]".

*Yoketron is named for [[Takara]]'s lead designer, [[Hideaki Yoke]].

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-TempleCameos.jpg|thumb|right|250px|For those who thought getting [[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] just wasn't good enough...]]

*In addition to Yoketron and Jazz, the busts in Yoketron's little "hall of fame" depict ''Animated'' incarnation of various Transformers that have otherwise not appeared in the series (yet?). Those clearly visible onscreen include [[Springer (Animated)|Springer]], [[Sky Garry (Animated)|Sky Garry]], [[Devcon (Animated)|Devcon]], [[Dai Atlas (Animated)|Dai Atlas]], [[Heavy Load (Animated)|Heavy Load]], [[Star Upper (Animated)|Star Upper]] and [[Roadhandler (Animated)|Roadhandler]], but there are many more busts in the room that are only seen from a distance, and are essentially unidentifiable. [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] has identified the other Transformers as [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Star Saber (Animated)|Star Saber]], [[Tap-Out (Animated)|Tap-Out]], [[Kick-Off (Animated)|Kick-Off]], [[Grandus (Animated)|Grandus]], [[Motorarm (Animated)|Motorarm]], [[Powerhug (Animated)|Powerhug]] and [[Road Rocket (Animated)|Road Rocket]].
** Additionally, Wyatt classifies the characters as being specialists in different categories, namely Fencing/Swordfighting/Melee Weapons (Star Saber, Magnus, Dai Atlas, Springer) , Boxing/Kick-Boxing/Street-Fighting (Tap-Out, Star Upper, Sky Garry, Kick-Off, Devcon), Sumo/Wrestling (Grandus, Motorarm, Powerhug and Roadhandler) and Martial Arts/Ninja (Yoketron, Jazz, Heavy Load and Road Rocket). These classifications speak for themselves more often than not (no explanation is needed for the melee-weapon characters, nor for someone like Star Upper, who was all about boxing), but sometimes the rationale is a bit more obscure (Heavy Load, for instance, was only ever noted to be a martial artist in his [[bio]]; it never came across in the cartoon), or is a reference to some past fiction (Roadhandler being classified as a wrestler is the main example, being that it's a reference to his stint in the squared circle from the Marvel Comics story, "[[The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!]]"). Conversely, sometimes it's just a joke—Grandus as a sumo, for instance, is purely a gag based on the fact that he's a big fatty fat-fat.

*[[Tigatron]] Stadium!

*Lockdown identifies Prowl's techniques as [[Metallikato]] and [[Circuit-Su]].

*Prowl's samurai armor was previously seen in "[[A Fistful of Energon]]", in which Lockdown last appeared. Additionally, it was in that episode that Starscream escaped from the Elite Guard flagship, which is the "last time" that Sentinel refers to while arguing with Optimus.

*Yoketron's Spark container is similar to design to [[Big Convoy]]'s Matrix, with two L-shaped handles instead of U-shaped ones. Fitting, when one considers Yoketron's Japanese-based aesthetic.

*One of the upgrades seen on Lockdown's shelves is [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave's]] G1 shoulder-mounted missile launcher.

*The protoform Prowl takes from the room is has a design similar to the ones in [[Beast Wars]].

*Also, the protoform-pods-or-whatever-it-is-called on the walls looks like the [[stasis pods]] from [[Beast Wars (franchise)|the same franchising]]...where the protoforms were guarded as well! Coincidence? Perhaps...

*Master Yoketron's dying words to Prowl are [[Endgame, Part II|rather foreshadowing....]]

===Real-world references===
*The title of the episode is apparently derived from the 1972 Hong Kong martial arts movie [[wikipedia:Five Fingers Of Death|''Five Fingers Of Death'']]. The movie's name is a regular source of recycling, including wrestler Bret Hart's "Five Moves Of Doom" and the mockumentary ''18 Fingers Of Death'' to name a few.
*Tigatron Stadium is named after and largely based on [[wikipedia:Tiger Stadium|Tiger Stadium]], the former home field of the [[wikipedia:Detroit Tigers|Detroit Tigers]], which has been partially demolished.

===Trivia===
*Like [[Where Is Thy Sting?|the previous episode]], this episode received an early online debut when a copy loaded onto the Cartoon Network website server, intended to go live after the episode premiered, was leaked out on [[March 27]], over a week before the episode premiered on television.

*The voice cast for this episode does not credit [[David Kaye]] with the role of Cliffjumper.

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-CapturedBlitzwingFaces.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Watch out, it bites!]]

*Having three faces warrants three mouth clamps, it seems, as the animation depicts the mouth clamps on Blitzwing's faces rotating when he switches personality.

*While trying to identify the helmet Optimus Prime saw, Prowl brings up the images of the helmets worn by Ultra Magnus and Blitzwing on the computer.

*As of this episode, we've seen all the Cybertronian modes for the main Bots.

*Prowl's keeping of his new armor continues the trend started in "[[Transwarped]]" with Bumblebee and Ratchet that upgrades are okay now because damnit, this is war. This is a notable turnaround from the position of the first two seasons.

*As of the end of this episode, most of the originally Earth-based Decepticons have been destroyed, captured, or scattered, with exceptions including [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] and maybe a [[Slipstream (Animated)|clone]] or two.

*This is the last episode to feature Lockdown.

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Five Servos of Doom

2009-09-17T11:36:58Z

122.106.199.197: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|image=TFA Five Servos Yoketron vs Prowl.JPG
|caption=Wax on, wax off.
|ep=35
|title="Five Servos of Doom"
|airdate=[[April 4]], 2009
|written by=[[Andrew Robinson]]
|directed by=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Yoshio Frank Chatani]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}

'''Sentinel Prime has incredible success capturing fugitive Decepticons, leading Prowl to suspect he's getting help. '''

==Synopsis==

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-CapturedDecepticons.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"We're gonna need a bigger shelf..."]]

In the dead of night, the [[Autobot]]s steal through the streets of [[Detroit]], on the trail of a [[Decepticon]] energy signature. With the source of the signal cornered, [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] makes his move and dives through a window, only to find that the signal is coming from a beacon and that the Autobots have been tricked. To make matters worse, [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] has disappeared, and the Autobots spread out to search for him. During the search, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] spots an unfamiliar shadow and follows it around a corner...to find the [[Sunstorm (Animated)|sycophantic Starscream clone]], captured and [[stasis cuffs|stasis-cuffed]] by Sentinel Prime. They take the prisoner back to the [[Elite Guard]]'s ship, where Optimus is stunned to discover that Sentinel has also recently captured [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] as well.

[[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] and [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] are eager to know how Sentinel managed to apprehend the Starscream clone, as is Optimus, but Sentinel gets defensive and tells Optimus it does not concern him. Prime confides in Prowl his suspicion that Sentinel is hiding something, and tells about the strange shadow he saw. Back at the Autobot plant, the pair consult computer records to see if Optimus can identify the distinctive helmet the robot was wearing, and when they find one that fits the bill, the stunned Prowl flashes back to his past on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]…

[[Image:TFA Five Servos Prowl meets Yoketron.JPG|thumb|right|200px|"Blam! Pow! You want I should leave this here?"]]

:''The helmet belongs to [[Yoketron]], the ninja master who trained Prowl centuries ago. Attempting to dodge the draft during the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], Prowl was apprehended by Elite Guardsman [[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] and placed into the care of Yoketron, who saw potential in him and offered to train him in exchange for the charges against him being dropped.''

Optimus pulls Prowl out of his ruminations, and the ninja-bot silently speeds back to the Elite Guard ship to converse with [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]], another of Yoketron's old students. The pair suspect that their old sensei may somehow be on Earth, capturing Decepticons, and that Sentinel is taking the credit. Sentinel walks in on the middle of the discussion and laughs off the notion that Yoketron is even still online, before departing on another patrol. Knowing that something is not right, Jazz and Prowl shadow Sentinel, but when Sentinel rounds a corner and disappears, Prowl lapses into his memories once again, recalling when Yoketron taught him that it was the robot himself, not his tools, that made the ninja. With nothing left to do, the pair return to the Elite Guard's ship, where Jetfire and Jetstorm are working to repair their communications system.

[[Image:Jetstormpose.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Say cheeeeeese!]]

The two brothers tell the ninjas that Sentinel is waiting for them in the brig, and Jazz and Prowl are amazed to see that Sentinel has brought in [[Lugnut]]! As Sentinel gloats, Prowl calls him on the unlikelihood of the whole scenario and accuses him of having "help". The ninja-bot points out the missing weapons on all the Decepticons, and notes that [[Lockdown (Animated)|only one bot]] that he knows of takes trophies from his victims, but Sentinel silences him by revealing that he has removed Lugnut's "[[Punch of Kill Everything]]" and placed it in a storage compartment in that very hallway. Embarrassed, Prowl leaves, and Sentinel turns on Optimus, telling him to keep Prowl in line, lest he "bust him back to protoform". The word echoes down the hallway, and Prowl pauses…

:''As Prowl's skills increase under Yoketron's tutelage, he is deemed worthy of a weapon by his master and is given his shuriken. Yoketron leads Prowl into a chamber containing holographic busts of his greatest students, but one plinth is empty—a spot, Yoketron reveals, previously held by a former student who disgraced the cyber-ninja corps. Prowl is amazed when Yoketron uses a technique known as "[[processor-over-matter]]" to open the far wall of the chamber with the power of his mind, revealing a greater chamber beyond, its walls lined with [[protoform]]s that the [[Cyber-Ninja Corps]] has been charged with protecting. Yoketron challenges Prowl to close the chamber using processor-over-matter, but Prowl is unable to accomplish the task, and Yoketron sends him on an "optics quest" to find his center and become a true cyber-ninja.''

Prowl's trip down memory lane is cut off as Sentinel comes down the hallway. He uses his hologram projector to disguise himself as a cabinet and listen in as Sentinel talks with parties unknown over his communicator. Prowl alerts Jazz before trailing Sentinel to [[Tigatron Stadium]], where he learns that his suspicions were correct: Sentinel is working with [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], who is wearing Yoketron's helmet! Prowl busts up the prisoner exchange, but it is soon revealed that Lockdown has double-crossed Sentinel, having been made a better offer by [[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]]. Lockdown and Prowl engage in battle, and Lockdown reveals that he was also a student of Yoketron...

:''Returning from his unsuccessful optics quest, Prowl discovers that Yoketron's dojo has been attacked, the protoforms almost all stolen, and Yoketron himself fatally wounded. As Yoketron's spark begins to fade, Prowl recovers one of the remaining protoforms and places his master's spark in it, saving Yoketron's life. Yoketron, however, is appalled by his student's actions; one must never sacrifice a piece of the future in order to save a piece of the past. When Prowl's time comes, Yoketron tells him, he too will understand. As Prowl looks on, Yoketron allows his spark to fade out.''

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-Yoketron%27sDeath.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You must not sacrifice a piece of the future to bring back the past." "But the seeds of the future lie buried in the past!" "... shut up, boy."]]

At last, all is clear to Prowl: Lockdown led the attack on the dojo and took the protoforms! Prowl pins Lockdown and demands the return of Yoketron's helmet; Lockdown appears to comply, but the helmet has been booby-trapped and binds Prowl in a tangle of cables. The captured Prowl is taken to [[Death's Head (Animated)|Lockdown's ship]], where the bounty hunter intends to remove his jump jets and holo-projector in order to complete a duplicate set of the armor that he loaned Prowl during their [[A Fistful of Energon|last encounter]]. Lying on Lockdown's "operating table", Prowl concentrates, and at last masters processor-over-matter, freeing his body from the cables with the power of his mind.

[[Image:Sentinel-derp.JPG|thumb|left|200px|Sentinel displays his ''Unfortunate Accident'' mode.]]

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime, Jazz, Jetfire and Jetstorm have arrived to rescue Sentinel Prime from the clutches of the Starscream clone, but the fight is not going well, as the clone uses Sentinel for a shield most of the time. The clone takes to the air, but Prime blinds him with a faceful of foam, and he crashes into the middle of the stadium field, dropping Sentinel head-first into the ground.

Back aboard Lockdown's ship, the bounty hunter turns to discover that Prowl has freed himself and donned both Yoketron's helmet and the armor, knowing that he will be able to handle its power this time because of the lesson he has finally learned: It is the ninja-bot, not the weapon. The two engage in battle once more, and their fight soon carries them out of the ship and into the middle of the other fight going on in the field outside. Optimus Prime and Jazz are in the process of dropping the stadium's scoreboard onto the Starscream clone, but Prowl and Lockdown get in the way at the last second, before they can stop the giant screen's tumble. As the dust clears, Optimus and Jazz discover that Prowl has used processor-over-matter to protect the combatants from the debris. Optimus quickly stasis-cuffs the Starscream clone, but Lockdown gets away.

[[Image:TFA Five Servos processor over matter.JPG|right|thumb|200px|...Show-off.]]
A little later, everyone has returned to the Elite Guard ship, where Jetstorm and Jetfire open a communications channel with [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] on Cybertron. Cliffjumper tells the Autobots about [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]'s attack on [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], and rather than add to the trouble, Prime refrains from reporting Sentinel's misconduct, instead simply informing Cliffjumper of the capture of the Decepticons on [[Earth]], crediting Prowl. Sentinel thanks Optimus for covering for him, but Optimus promises that once everything is done, he and Sentinel will have it out.

Back at the Autobot base, Jazz compliments Prowl on his armor, and tells him that Yoketron would be proud to have him wear his helmet. Prowl vows to do everything he can to be worthy of it.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (1)
*[[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] (2)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (3)
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (4)
*[[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] (8)
*[[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] (9)
*[[Yoketron]] (10) (Flashback)
*[[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] (11) (Flashback)
*[[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]] (15)
*[[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] (16)

|c2=
*[[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] (5)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (6)
*[[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] (7)
*[[Lugnut]] (12)
*[[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] (13)
*[[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] (14)

}}

==Quotes==
'''Jetfire''': Sentinel Prime, sir, tell please. 
'''Jetstorm''': How did you making to capture this badness bot? 
'''Optimus''': Yes, Sentinel. How did you capture this badness bot?
:—Optimus Prime and the twins question Sentinel and butcher the English language.

'''Warpath''': Ask me, he should rust in the stockade. Any Autobot who won't fight the Decepticons is no better than a Con himself. We're at war. 
'''Prowl''': It's not my war! 
'''Warpath''': Then maybe I should take you out back and ''make it'' your war! 
'''Yoketron''': I believe I can take it from here. 
'''Warpath''': Bam pow! Lousy draft-dodgin' peacenik.
:—Warpath has no time for draft-dodgers.

"Give. Me. Yoketron's. Helmet."
:—'''Prowl''', not pissing around.

"Couldn't resist that old armor, though, could ya? What makes you think you can handle it this time?" 
"I've learned something since then. It's the ninja-bot, not the weapon."
:—'''Lockdown''' and '''Prowl'''

"Whoa, bro. P-over-M."
:—'''Jazz''', impressed with Prowl's processor-over-matter mastery.

"Diggin' the new armor, specially Yoketron's helmet. He'd be proud to have you wear it." 
"Thank you. I plan to do everything in my power to be worthy of it."
:—'''Jazz''' and '''Prowl'''

==Notes==

===Animation or technical errors===

*When the scoreboard crashes onto Prowl, Lockdown, and Ramjet, Prowl is missing his samurai armor.
*When Prowl readies himself to kick Lockdown, his animation model doesn't have Yoketron's helmet, but rather, the helmet from the episode "[[A Fistful of Energon]]". This error reappears when Prowl charges at Lockdown a few seconds later.

===Continuity errors===
*It's not ''technically'' an error, since Prowl has always remained quiet on his history and could just have been holding back from correcting anyone, but this episode reveals that he was online during the Great War, prior to the creation of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]], where previous episodes have suggested that none of the main ''Animated'' Autobot cast, except for [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], were around back then. Notably, this makes Prowl older than Optimus Prime, which... sits ill, at best. Then again, it is possible Prime and possibly a few others were online during the war as well, but were merely still being trained at the time and were too "young" to take part.
*The dialogue exchanged between Prowl, Jazz and later on Sentinel Prime, suggests that Master [[Yoketron]] mysteriously disappeared, and nobody apparently knew whether or not he was online for sure. Later on in the episode, (during Prowl's final flashback), Master Yoketron ''clearly'' dies in the presence of Prowl, making one wonder why the Autobots seem to be in the dark with his status. Did Prowl acknowledge his death, bury the body and keep this knowledge to himself to preserve his master's dignity? Or was this information covered up by Autobot Intelligence to prevent planet-wide panic? Sadly, now, [[Endgame, Part II|we may never know for sure.]]
*On a related note, this also means that Jazz was active in the Cyber-Ninja Corps during the war, apparently long before Sentinel even came online (much less joined the Elite Guard). Even ignoring Sentinel's various flaws, this raises legitimate questions about just how promotions are handed out in the Elite Guard.
*Swindle is still in one piece, despite [[Fanzone|a certain cop]] telling the Autobots he would be stripped down and sold at an auction. Foreshadowing of his return, or just exaggeration on Fanzone's part? Though it was stated that swindle was deactivated which could include moving parts or Optimus told Fanzone about Swindle's Decticon nature?
*Lockdown has never mentioned Prowl's fighting before, referred to any cyber-ninja training, or, perhaps most noticeably, worn Yoketron's helmet prior to this episode. The latter may have been meant to be explained by Lockdown's stated interest in Prowl's use of the samurai armor during their last encounter, however it's still a little clunky.
*The [[protoform]] in this episode is a whole lot different than the one featured in [[Transwarped]] (then again, perhaps the robot originally coming from that type of protoform would be different from [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]], so it may not be a error at all. Still, is weird). Maybe it means that Sari was not a normal protoform.

===Transformers references===
*Prowl performed the titular "Five Servos of Doom" technique back in "[[The Elite Guard]]".

*Swindle is still stuck in vehicle mode after the events of "[[SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy]]".

*Yoketron is named for [[Takara]]'s lead designer, [[Hideaki Yoke]].

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-TempleCameos.jpg|thumb|right|250px|For those who thought getting [[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] just wasn't good enough...]]

*In addition to Yoketron and Jazz, the busts in Yoketron's little "hall of fame" depict ''Animated'' incarnation of various Transformers that have otherwise not appeared in the series (yet?). Those clearly visible onscreen include [[Springer (Animated)|Springer]], [[Sky Garry (Animated)|Sky Garry]], [[Devcon (Animated)|Devcon]], [[Dai Atlas (Animated)|Dai Atlas]], [[Heavy Load (Animated)|Heavy Load]], [[Star Upper (Animated)|Star Upper]] and [[Roadhandler (Animated)|Roadhandler]], but there are many more busts in the room that are only seen from a distance, and are essentially unidentifiable. [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] has identified the other Transformers as [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Star Saber (Animated)|Star Saber]], [[Tap-Out (Animated)|Tap-Out]], [[Kick-Off (Animated)|Kick-Off]], [[Grandus (Animated)|Grandus]], [[Motorarm (Animated)|Motorarm]], [[Powerhug (Animated)|Powerhug]] and [[Road Rocket (Animated)|Road Rocket]].
** Additionally, Wyatt classifies the characters as being specialists in different categories, namely Fencing/Swordfighting/Melee Weapons (Star Saber, Magnus, Dai Atlas, Springer) , Boxing/Kick-Boxing/Street-Fighting (Tap-Out, Star Upper, Sky Garry, Kick-Off, Devcon), Sumo/Wrestling (Grandus, Motorarm, Powerhug and Roadhandler) and Martial Arts/Ninja (Yoketron, Jazz, Heavy Load and Road Rocket). These classifications speak for themselves more often than not (no explanation is needed for the melee-weapon characters, nor for someone like Star Upper, who was all about boxing), but sometimes the rationale is a bit more obscure (Heavy Load, for instance, was only ever noted to be a martial artist in his [[bio]]; it never came across in the cartoon), or is a reference to some past fiction (Roadhandler being classified as a wrestler is the main example, being that it's a reference to his stint in the squared circle from the Marvel Comics story, "[[The Interplanetary Wrestling Championship!]]"). Conversely, sometimes it's just a joke—Grandus as a sumo, for instance, is purely a gag based on the fact that he's a big fatty fat-fat.

*[[Tigatron]] Stadium!

*Lockdown identifies Prowl's techniques as [[Metallikato]] and [[Circuit-Su]].

*Prowl's samurai armor was previously seen in "[[A Fistful of Energon]]", in which Lockdown last appeared. Additionally, it was in that episode that Starscream escaped from the Elite Guard flagship, which is the "last time" that Sentinel refers to while arguing with Optimus.

*Yoketron's Spark container is similar to design to [[Big Convoy]]'s Matrix, with two L-shaped handles instead of U-shaped ones. Fitting, when one considers Yoketron's Japanese-based aesthetic.

*One of the upgrades seen on Lockdown's shelves is [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave's]] G1 shoulder-mounted missile launcher.

*The protoform Prowl takes from the room is has a design similar to the ones in [[Beast Wars]].

*Also, the protoform-pods-or-whatever-it-is-called on the walls looks like the [[stasis pods]] from [[Beast Wars (franchise)|the same franchising]]...where the protoforms were guarded as well! Coincidence? Perhaps...

*Master Yoketron's dying words to Prowl are [[Endgame, Part II|rather foreshadowing....]]

===Real-world references===
*The title of the episode is apparently derived from the 1972 Hong Kong martial arts movie [[wikipedia:Five Fingers Of Death|''Five Fingers Of Death'']]. The movie's name is a regular source of recycling, including wrestler Bret Hart's "Five Moves Of Doom" and the mockumentary ''18 Fingers Of Death'' to name a few.
*Tigatron Stadium is named after and largely based on [[wikipedia:Tiger Stadium|Tiger Stadium]], the former home field of the [[wikipedia:Detroit Tigers|Detroit Tigers]], which has been partially demolished.

===Trivia===
*Like [[Where Is Thy Sting?|the previous episode]], this episode received an early online debut when a copy loaded onto the Cartoon Network website server, intended to go live after the episode premiered, was leaked out on [[March 27]], over a week before the episode premiered on television.

*The voice cast for this episode does not credit [[David Kaye]] with the role of Cliffjumper.

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-CapturedBlitzwingFaces.jpg|thumb|right|100px|Watch out, it bites!]]

*Having three faces warrants three mouth clamps, it seems, as the animation depicts the mouth clamps on Blitzwing's faces rotating when he switches personality.

*While trying to identify the helmet Optimus Prime saw, Prowl brings up the images of the helmets worn by Ultra Magnus and Blitzwing on the computer.

*As of this episode, we've seen all the Cybertronian modes for the main Bots.

*Prowl's keeping of his new armor continues the trend started in "[[Transwarped]]" with Bumblebee and Ratchet that upgrades are okay now because damnit, this is war. This is a notable turnaround from the position of the first two seasons.

*As of the end of this episode, most of the originally Earth-based Decepticons have been destroyed, captured, or scattered, with exceptions including [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] and maybe a [[Slipstream (Animated)|clone]] or two.

*This is the last episode to feature Lockdown.

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Shelfwarmer

2009-09-08T04:52:54Z

122.106.199.197: /* Demand vs. availability */

{{disambig2|toys from a long time ago that still haven't been sold|toys that have lots of [[kibble]]|Shellformer}}
[[Image:ShelfwarmersTRUGermany.jpg|right|300px|thumb|You ''know'' something is wrong when you see toys from no less than ''four'' different lines, released several years apart, all side by side on the same store shelf.]]
'''Shelfwarmer''' is a colloquial term for a toy that either fails to sell well or is over-produced, leaving residual quantities on store shelves for months or even years after its original release, generally far in excess of other toys from the same waves. Just like a "benchwarmer" in sports, who contributes nothing to the game except sitting on a bench and keeping it warm with his butt, a "shelfwarmer" does the same thing to a toy store shelf by sitting on it for prolonged periods of time.

A related term is '''pegwarmer''', used to refer to toys packaged on cards (which thereby hang on pegs), rather than in boxes.

==Shelfwarmers and you==
The inherent problem with just coming up with a list of shelfwarmers is that... well...it varies from locality to locality. Some toys will sell like gangbusters in one state or country, and yet warm shelves forever in other places. On occasion, a toy that's considered rare and hard to find in the United States can very well end up as a shelfwarmer in other countries. (''Energon'' [[Ultra Magnus (Energon)|Ultra Magnus]] is a rather infamous example of this.) Usually, this is due to the toy being only shipped to US stores in limited quantities, often even getting [[Shortpacking|shortpacked]], whereas European stores get those toys in solid [[Case|cases]], with nothing but multiples of the same one or two toys.

Toys might even shelfwarm based on the store to which they're distributed, disappearing instantly in [[Target]], but sitting for months in Wal-Mart.

This has led to some heated (or at least obstinate) debates online over which toys are/were vicious shelfwarmers. But nearly everyone agrees that [[Injector]] just wouldn't go away until he was only available for a buck.

==Shelfwarmers in Generation 1==
The toy industry and the [[fandom]] were very different things during the original toy line's run. Due to the much much ''slower'' turnaround time on retail toy shelves in the Eighties, any given toy could stay on the shelves for two, three, or even four years, and this would be a sign not of shelfwarming, but of the toy's longevity and success. Toys like Optimus Prime and Starscream stayed on the toy shelves for many years because they '''were''' popular, not because they weren't, with chains getting new shipments of older product on a regular basis. This makes it hard to gauge if there were shelfwarmers—toys that outstayed their welcome—compared to the toys in modern lines, which are only meant to have a shelf life of a few months.

That said, there certainly were some Transformers which stayed on toy shelves during Generation 1 for way longer than should be expected. The most prominent example would be the [[Jumpstarter|Jumpstarters]], over-produced in such numbers that even today they are legion in the aftermarket. The smaller [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] were also seen to hang around on shelves long after they had ceased to ship.

==Shelfwarmers in ''Beast Wars''==
It was ''[[Beast Wars (toyline)|Beast Wars]]'' that stuck the concept of shelfwarmers in the fandom's head. The fandom was maturing, communicating thanks to the internet, and starting to notice these sorts of patterns. At the same time, the attitude of retailers was changing, and the distribution system as well as a consequence, and toys no longer had the multi-year shelf lives they had in the 1980s. Toys now shipped in multiple [[wave]]s per [[size class]], and toys that were on the shelves an entire year were suddenly unsuccessful.

Toys that were noted for their shelfwarmosity in ''Beast Wars'' included [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]], [[Injector]], [[Scavenger (BW)|Scavenger]] and [[Transquito]]. Some reports even had Transquitos holding six or seven years after their initial release. Now ''that's'' a shelfwarmer.

==Shelfwarmers in later series==
As the fandom became more aware of the concept of shelfwarmers and [[Hasbro]] changed its strategies in selling toys to retailers, documenting what is a shelfwarmer and what isn't became more and more acute. Toys had much shorter shelf lives, which Hasbro extended by adding [[Redeco|redecos]] and [[Retool|retools]], and by revamping lines and packaging on a much swifter basis. ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' had the "Unicron Battles" as a mid-line [[subline imprint]] with a new packaging style roughly halfway through its lifespan, and then the entire line became ''[[Energon (toyline)|Energon]]'' roughly six months after that. Turnover times have become swifter and swifter.

In addition, fans have become more and more impatient with toys. In more recent times, the term "shelfwarmer" has started to become more specialized, basically to mean, "Toy that stays on the shelves longer than its casemates." That said, there are still some toys that just didn't sell, even in the more recent Transformers series, and which haunted shelves for many long days. In addition, as said before, distribution is slightly different in other countries than it is in the USA, so some toys don't ''have'' any casemates their turnover frequency could be judged against — which is also part of the problem: For example, ''[[Armada (toyline)|Armada]]'' [[Scavenger (Armada)|Scavenger]], [[Movie (toyline)|live-action movie]] [[Swindle (Movie)|Swindle]] and [[Bonecrusher (Movie)|Bonecrusher]] ended up as royal shelfwarmers in many European stores because they were the ''only'' toys from their respective [[Size class|size classes]] those stores would ever get from Hasbro.

Each series has had its own quintessential shelfwarmers to varying degrees. In North America, ''Armada'' clogged shelves with flocks of [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeaks]] and fleets of [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreens]]; ''Energon'' made sure you couldn't help but find [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]]; ''[[Cybertron (toyline)|Cybertron]]'' gave us unmoving armies of [[Mudflap (Cybertron)|Mudflaps]].

==Demand vs. availability==
As was already touched upon earlier, there are some toys which were very hard to get in some regions, but available so freely in other regions that they warmed shelves. Certain toys were in ''desperate'' demand in the fandom when they were difficult to get, but didn't do so well when released more widely. One online example of this phenomenon is [[Battle Unicorn]]. This ''[[Beast Machines (toyline)|Beast Machines]]'' toy was part of the very last wave of that series' product, and was barely shipped to retailers. As such, it was ''very'' hard to get; so rare, in fact, that the online store Big Bad Toy Store made a large special order for them from Hasbro—but despite the fandom's previous clamouring for the toy, they're ''still'' sitting on a lot of that stock.

The original releases of ''[[Alternators]]'' [[Tracks (G1)|Autobot Tracks]] and [[Jazz (G1)/toys|Meister]], which only shipped in two [[wave]]s each, also demanded a high rise in aftermarket prices... until Hasbro decided to re-release them as part of a semi-relaunch of the ''Alternators'' line. Now, Tracks and Meister suddenly became major shelfwarmers.

A similar thing happened with ''Alternators'' [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]: In North America, he was released only at the San Diego Comic Con and via the [[Hasbro Toy Shop]] website (for the few people who were able to get him from there), and was very difficult to get. Fans of the ''Alternators'' line who really, desperately wanted the toy were furious about its release only at a non-Transformers convention and complained at length about it not being easily available. Then suddenly the toy turned up in Australia. It hit the retail store Toyworld in massive numbers, and at half the price of usual Alternators. But...no one wanted it. The American fans had gotten over it by that point, and no one in Australia gave a damn.

Boy, did that thing sit around for ''ages''. It is still available in some stores as of September 2009!

==The new movie and shelfwarmers==
As stated before, Transformers fans are much more aware of shelfwarming than in previous days, and they are very quick (if not ''too'' quick) to call toys shelfwarmers. Any toy that sits on a shelf longer than its casemates is likely to be labeled as a shelfwarmer by the fandom nowadays. (Silly fans. Wait...this article is written ''by'' fans. Uh...)

With the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 ''Transformers'' movie]], the playing field was changed slightly. Suddenly, Transformers were '''big''' again. Toys were in short supply, and any toys that stayed on the shelves for very long did so very conspicuously. That said, even some of the least popular and most expensive toys shifted incredibly quickly around the [[Christmas]] period. Then the movie hype ended.

Movie hype is a very fickle thing, indeed; toys which were incredibly popular months before suddenly were out of the public consciousness. This meant (depending on your region, and availability, remember) that some of the later 2007 movie toys would stay on the shelves for months and months, and in some cases even as the 2009 movie toys hit the shelves. And more often than not, share the same shelves with their new counterparts, dooming them from ever getting out of the store. Think about it, would you rather have the original leader class [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] or the shiny new one from ROTF?

[[Category:Fandom]]
[[Category:Toys]]