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Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II

2011-07-23T22:12:03Z

166.137.137.185: /* Chapter 2 - Decepticons */

{{Stub}}
{{Comicstory|
|seriesissue=''Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II''
|image=AllSparkAlmanacIIcover.jpg
|caption=This is where Hasbro's planning to ultimately release Blackout.
|publisher=[[IDW Publishing]]
|written by=[[Jim Sorenson]] and [[Bill Forster]]
|date=[[June 30]], [[2010]]
|illustrated by=
|continuity=[[Animated cartoon continuity]]
|pagecount=224
|price=$19.99 USD
|prev=Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac
|ISBN=ISBN 1600106838 
ISBN 978-1600106835
}}

{{bigquote|Now listen up all you palookas out there! Yer gonna shell out yer dough, yer gonna buy this here book and yer gonna like it. Capish?|[[Dirt Boss (Animated)|Dirt Boss]], the rear cover of The AllSpark Almanac II}}

'''''Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II''''' is proof of a loving, nonspecific deity that delights in shattering readers' pants and brains. Again.

==Contents==
*Foreword, by [[Matt Youngberg]]
*Introduction by the Authors
*Chapter 1: [[Autobot]]s
*Interstitial A: [[Scale|Size Comparison Charts]]
*Chapter 2: [[Decepticon]]s
*Interstitial B: [[Transformers Animated (franchise)#Japanese release|''Animated'' in Japan]]
*Chapter 3: Events
*Interstitial C: Style Guides
*Chapter 4: Culture
*Interstitial D: [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)#Episodes|Shorts]]
*Chapter 5: [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]
*Interstitial E: Deleted Scenes
*Chapter 6: Settings
*Interstitial F: [[Transformers Animated: The Game|The Video Game]]
*Chapter 7: [[Project Omega]]
*Interstitial G: [[The Arrival]]
*Foreword by [[Eric Siebenaler]]
*Section I: Toy Design
*Section II: Animation
*Section III: Season Four
*Section IV: Toy Gallery
*Section V: Packaging Art
*Section VI: The Cast
*Afterword, by [[Aaron Archer]]
*Acknowledgments

==Chapter 1 - Autobots==
Chapter one covers all Autobots who appear in the third season of the cartoon and beyond.

{{collist|3|
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|"Wingblade" Optimus Prime]] by Megatron
*[[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] by Jetstorm
*[[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] by Jetfire
*[[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]] by Sentinel Prime
*[[Yoketron (Animated)|Yoketron]] by Jazz
*[[Alpha Trion (Animated)|Alpha Trion]] by Sentinel Prime
*[[Kup (Animated)|Kup]] by Optimus Prime
*[[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] by Shockwave
*[[Wheeljack (Animated)|Wheeljack]] by Perceptor
*[[Mainframe (Animated)|Mainframe]] by Wheeljack
*[[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]] by Kup
*[[Brawn (Animated)|Brawn]] by Ironhide
*[[Hot Shot (Animated)|Hot Shot]] by Red Alert
*[[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]] by Hot Shot
*[[Grandus (Animated)|Grandus]] by Rosanna
*[[Beachcomber (Animated)|Beachcomber]] by Rattletrap
*[[Highbrow (Animated)|Highbrow]] by Shockwave
*[[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] by Flareup
*[[Dug Base]] by Wheelie
*[[Dai Atlas (Animated)|Dai Atlas]] by Ultra Magnus
*[[Sky Garry (Animated)|Sky Garry]] by Alpha Trion
*[[Rattletrap]] by Warpath
*[[Seaspray (Animated)|Seaspray]] by Sentinel Prime
*[[Autotrooper|Autotroopers]] by Alpha Trion
*[[Botanica (Animated)|Botanica]] by Tracks
*[[Wheelie (Animated)|Wheelie]] by Seaspray
*[[Pipes (Animated)|Pipes]] by Huffer
*[[Huffer (Animated)|Huffer]] by Pipes
*[[Cosmos (Animated)|Cosmos]] by Bulkhead
*[[Tracks (Animated)|Tracks]] by Beachcomber
*[[Powerglide (Animated)|Powerglide]] by Blitzwing
*[[Mirage (Animated)|Mirage]] by Cliffjumper
*[[Glyph (Animated)|Glyph]] by Volks
*[[Tap-Out (Animated)|Tap-Out]] by Glyph
*[[Chase (Animated)|Chase]] by Carrera
*[[Freeway (Animated)|Freeway]] by Sedan
*[[Searchlight (Animated)|Searchlight]] by Furão
*[[Volks (Animated)|Volks]] by Tap-Out
*[[Carrera (Animated)|Carrera]] by Bumper
*[[Furão]] by Chase
*[[Hubcap (Animated)|Hubcap]] by Freeway
*[[Sedan (Animated)|Sedan]] by Hubcap
*[[Bumper (Animated)|Bumper]] by Searchlight
*[[Flareup (Animated)|Flareup]] by Warpath
*[[Lightbright]] by Dug Base
*[[Lickety-Split]] by Lightbright
*[[Rosanna (Animated)|Rosanna]] by Grandus
**[[Steeljaw (Animated)|Steeljaw]]
**[[Zaur]]
**[[Ramhorn (Animated)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Sari Sumdac]] by Ratchet
*[[Wasp]] by Bumblebee}}

===Transformers references===

* Pg 16 - [[Yoketron (Animated)|Yoketron]] has learned and subsequently taught the arts of [[Crystalocution]], [[Diffusion]], [[Tekkaido]], and [[Circuit-Su]].
* Pg 17 - The art of [[Kup (Animated)|Kup]] depicts him with a [[Cigar#IDW comics continuity|cy-gar]].
* Pg 18 - [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] comments on sitting "not ten [[Units of length|mechanometers]]" across from [[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] in [[Autobot High Council#Transformers: Animated|High Council]] meetings.
* Pg 19 - [[Mainframe (Animated)|Mainframe]] is credited with solving [[Extempaxia]]'s fourth conjecture.
* Pg 20 - Kup refers to [[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Hot Rod's]] flame deco as making him look "like he's the [[Pit]]-Damned [[The Fallen|Fallen]]."
* Pg 22 - In [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide's]] anecdotes about [[Brawn (Animated)|Brawn]], he makes mention of the [[Tower of Pion]], [[Ballobot|ballobots]], and [[Widow's Cafe Cybertronian|Widow's Cafe]].
* Pg 24 - [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert's]] hand has been replaced with a [[Transfer Interlink]]. She graduated top of her class at [[Polyhex|Polyhex Medical Mechanical]] and created the vaccine for [[Gold Plastic Syndrome]].
* Pg 25 - Rosanna's song about Grandus is from [[Blaster (G1)#The Headmasters cartoon|Twincast]] Productions.
* Pg 26a - Reportedly, [[Beachcomber (Animated)|Beachcomber]] is into [[Syk|syk]], [[Simultronic|simultronics]], [[Angolmois]], and [[Crysmag metal|crysmag]], among other substances.
* Pg 26b - Shockwave recounts the last meeting he had with [[Highbrow (Animated)|Highbrow]] in the [[Manganese Mountains]].
* Pg 29a - [[Rattletrap]] can apparently get unlicensed [[Shock Pop]] datatrax and forged [[S.T.A.R.S.]] idento-cards for the right price.
* Pg 29b - [[Seaspray (Animated)|Seaspray]] fought in the War of the Waves on [[Antilla]].
* Pg 30a - [[Botanica (Animated)|Botanica]] rid [[Daffodil II]] of a [[Morphobot]] infestation.
* Pg 30b - [[Wheelie (Animated)|Wheelie]] was found orphaned in [[Quintesson]] territory.
* Pg 33 - Most of [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper's]] run-up on [[Mirage (Animated)|Mirage]] portrays a [[Traitor|major lack of trust]].
* Pg 34 - [[Glyph (Animated)|Glyph]] apparently studied the technological evolution of the inhabitants of the [[Gorlam Prime|Gorlam system]].
* Pg 36a - [[Tap-Out (Animated)|Tap-Out]] accuses [[Volks (Animated)|Volks]] of being a "[[Sam Witwicky|LadiesBot217]]-type."
* Pg 36b - [[Carrera (Animated)|Carrera]]'s run-up mentions [[Cybertronian sport#The Iacon 5000|the Iacon 5000]].
* Pg 36c - [[Furão]]'s name means "ferret" in Old [[Malignus]]. He was stationed aboard the ''[[Flash Frenzy (Cybertron)|Flash Frenzy]]''.
* Pg 37 - [[Bumper (Animated)|Bumper's]] ship crash-landed on [[Bhul]].
* Pg 38 - [[Lickety-Split]] is a fan of the [[Galactic Olympics]], and would like to win a [[Golden Disk (disambiguation)|Golden Disk]] in the Tour de [[Orgenon Cluster|Orgenon]].
* Pg 41 - [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] mentions Project: [[Powermaster]].
* Pg 42-43 - [[Sari Sumdac|Sari's]] built-in upgrades include twin [[Master Blade (Masterforce)|Master Blades]], a [[Skyboom (Armada)|Skyboom Shield]], [[Azusa]] energy skates, and [[Micron Booster]]s.

===Real-world references===
* Sari yapping on and on about "vampire movies" is a reference to the ''Twilight'' book/film franchise.
* [[Lickety-Split]] seems to have a thing for a certain [[Buzz Lightyear|space ranger]].

==Chapter 2 - Decepticons==
Chapter two covers all Decepticons who appear in the third season of the cartoon and beyond.

{{collist|3|
*[[Wasp|Waspinator]] by Blackarachnia
*[[Strika (Animated)|General Strika]] by Lugnut
*[[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] by Cyclonus
*[[Cyclonus (Animated)|Cyclonus]] by Scalpel
*[[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] by Megatron
*[[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]] by Oil Slick
*[[Dirt Boss (Animated)|Dirt Boss]] by Scrapper and Mixmaster
*[[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave's Avatars]] by Prowl
*[[Ratbat (Animated)|Ratbat]] and [[Laserbeak (Animated)|Laserbeak]] by Soundwave
*[[Reflector (Animated)|Reflector]] by Blackarachnia
*[[Straxus (Animated)|Lord High Governor Straxus]] by Strika
*[[Slapper (Animated)|Slapper]] by Swindle
*[[Stretch]] by Porter C. Powell
*[[Flip Sides (Animated)|Flip Sides]] by Blurr
*[[Scalpel (Animated)|Scalpel]] by Perceptor
*[[Magnificus (Animated)|Magnificus]] by Starscream
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] by Blackout
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] and [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] by Dirt Boss

===Transformers references===

* Pg 48 - [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] carries a small reserve of [[Forestonite]] to achieve high velocity in tank mode.
* Pg 49 - [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] has concocted both [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|cosmic rust]] and the [[Reverse Evolution virus]]. As Cyclonus begins to talk about how he wants to see Oil Slick killed, he cuts himself off and says "this interview is [[Furmanism|over, finished]]".
* Pg 50 - [[Cyclonus (Animated)|Cyclonus]] came to Earth muttering about somebody called "[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]".
* Pg 52 - [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]]'s feet were reverse-engineered from [[Fracture (Movie)|Crasher]], an [[GoBots (franchise)|oddly-misplaced Cybertronian]].
* Pg 54 - [[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor's]] tendril weapons are identified as [[Legion]] Tentacles. ''Eugh.''
* Pg 55 - [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] and [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] have been working on a "[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]."
* Pg 57 - [[Ratbat (Animated)|Ratbat's]] electro-echolocation allows him to "pinpoint objects the size of a [[Scraplet]] from a dozen hics away."
* Pg 58 - [[Reflector (Animated)|Reflector]] can create hard-light holographic duplicates of the Spectro/Viewfinder models, which have little intelligence and can't transform, but make great [[army-building|army-builders]]. [[Reflector (G1)|The original Reflector]] often did the same thing in early episodes of ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]''.
* Pg 59 - [[Slapper (Animated)|Slapper]] once utilized [[Kings of the Wild Frontier|Vrobian]] powder on his brothers.
* Pg 61 - [[Scalpel (Animated)|Scalpel]] is also known by the nickname [[Scalpel (ROTF)|The Doctor]].

===Real-world references===

==Chapter 3 - Events==
*[[TransWarped]] as Shockwave and Starscream's Internal Logs, Ratchet and Optimus Prime's Autobot Incident Reports, Bumblebee's Private Journal, and the Headmaster's [[Yatter]] page
*[[Three's a Crowd]] as an Autobot Incident Report by Bulkhead and Lugnut's Internal Log
*[[Where Is Thy Sting?]] as Autobot Incident Reports by [[First Aid (Animated)| First Aid]] and Bumblebee
*[[Five Servos of Doom]] as an Autobot Incident Report by Prowl
*[[Predacons Rising]] as an Autobot Incident Report by Sentinel Prime and a message in a bottle by Waspinator
*[[Human Error, Part I]] as an Autobot Incident Report by Optimus Prime
*[[Human Error, Part II]] as a fairy tale/"Wizard of Oz" type of story
*[[Decepticon Air]] as Sentinel Prime's Private Journal
*[[This Is Why I Hate Machines]] as an issue of the ALTernity Today magazine
*[[Endgame, Part I]] as an Autobot Incident Report by Optimus Prime
*[[Endgame, Part II]] as Megatron's Encrypted Internal Log

===Transformers references===
* Pg 64 - The icon on top of Headmaster's Yatter is [[Moon (BWII)|Moon]], next to which is the code "C-131", which is [[Raiden]]'s ID number. His top trackers include [[Furg|in_your_face_Furg]], [[Abdul Fakkadi (G1)|President_For_Life]], [[Maggie Madsen|Maggie_M_999]], and [[Ravage (SG)|ravagekitteh]]. Trending Yatts are [[Digital Doom on the Highway to Destruction (G1)|Digital Doom]], [[Ear Fungus]], [[Wrecker|WrecknRule]], [[David Willis|Shortpacked!]], [[FIRRIB]] (and RIBFIR), [[I Risk My Life for Earth]], [[DEATH BY CHOCOLATE|Darque Chocolate]], [[Battle Protocol]], [[I, Robot-Master!|ThisManThisMayonnaise]], and [[Cyber-slash tail weapon|RotateBlade]].
* Pg 77 - On a pole are three "missing dog" notices. One is named [[Pis]].
* Pg 79 - ALTernity Today refers to [[Aero-Bot]]'s expedition to the [[X-Dimension]], [[Sector Seven]], [[Thadius Braxis|Doctor Thadius Braxis]], [[Smokejumper]] and [[Dreadwind (RID)|Dreadwind]], [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], and [[Alexis Thi Dang]]. An insurance company is owned by [[Ai]], who is clearly based on [[T-AI]]..
* Pg 79b - Ulchtar (a preliminary name for [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]) from [[Unicron Trilogy|Aurex]] 603.0 Kappa [[Starscream's Brigade|stole personality components for five renegade Autobots]]. The five Autobots are [[Screechwing]], [[Spiketail]], [[Nightprowler]], [[Albitron]], and [[Leatherhide]]. Christening them "[[Combaticon (G1)|Combatibots]]", he intends to have them transform into a gestalt called "[[Toxitron]]". The story is printed on page [[Generation 2 (franchise)|G2]].
* Pg 80 - Astroscope signs include [[Xal]], [[Void]], [[Shokaract]], [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]], [[Golden Disk (disambiguation)|Golden Disk]], and [[Aquarius (SG)|Aquarius]]. There is also a warning about the [[Devastator Winds]].

===Real-world references===
* Pg. 64 - One of Headmaster's top trackers is "Sacred Palutena", a goddess from [[wikipedia:Kid Icarus|Kid Icarus]].
** "Where_am_I_Hibiki" references Ryouga Hibiki, the 'eternal lost boy' from [[wikipedia:Ranma|Ranma 1/2]]
* Various fictional businesses are featured on ALTernity Today's stock exchange numbers on pages 80-81.
** Umbrella Corp. is from [[wikipedia:Resident Evil|Resident Evil]]
** Spacely Sprockets is from [[wikipedia:The Jetsons| The Jetsons]]
** Strickland Fuels is from [[wikipedia:King of the Hill| King of the Hill]].
** Sirius Cyb. is Sirius Cybernetics from [[wikipedia:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy| The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]].
** S-Mart is from the [[wikipedia:Evil Dead|Evil Dead]] movies
** Biffco is from [[wikipedia:Back to the Future|Back to the Future]]
** Rossum is probably a reference to the television series [[wikipedia:Dollhouse|Dollhouse]], or to the play ''Rossum's Universal Robots'', the origin of the word "robot".
** Blue Sun is from [[wikipedia:Firefly| Firefly]].
** Gizmonic is a reference to Gizmonic Institute from [[wikipedia:Mystery Science Theatre 3000|Mystery Science Theatre 3000]].
** Ziktor Industries is from [[wikipedia:VR Troopers|VR Troopers]].
** Yoyodyne is a popular fictional company name first appearing in the works of Thomas Pynchon, but is more likely referring to the use of the name in [[wikipedia:The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension|The Adventures of Buckaroo Bonzai Across the 8th Dimension]].

==Chapter 4 - Culture==
* [[Human Error, Part I|Automen]] by Bulkhead
* [[Rock Lord]]s by Bumblebee
* [[Space bridge]]s by Megatron
* [[Ninja Gladiator]] by Sari
* [[Christmas]] by Optimus Prime
* Scooter / Jetpack by Isaac Sumdac
* Thanatos-class ships by Strika
* [[Great War (Animated)|The Great War]] (the game)
* [[Electronic paint job|Electronic Paint]] by Bumblebee
* Helmets by Swindle
* [[Protoform]]s by Yoketron
* [[Cloning]] by Swindle
* The [[Cyber-Ninja Corps]]
* Prototype Minions by Soundwave
* The [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]] Reconstituted by Optimus Prime

===Transformers references===
* Pg 93 - One of the playable characters in ''Ninja Gladiator'' is the [[hideous giant brain guy]].
* Pg 98 - "The Great War - The Game" is chock-full of references. Spaces include:
** "Unexpected Delays at [[Combatron (planet)|Combatron]]"
** "[[Paradron]] resistance"
** "[[Inferno (Animated)|Inferno]] protects the royalty"
** "[[Underbase]] lost"
** "[[Squadron X]] defeated at [[Pova]]"
** "[[Straxus (Animated)|Straxus]] [[The Smelting Pool!|smelts Scrounge]]"
** "[[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] enters this dimension"
** "[[Mini-Con|Minicons]] pledge neutrality"
** "[[Gold Plastic Syndrome]] cured"
** "[[Wheeljack (Animated)|Wheeljack]] develops [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]]"
** "[[Frenzy (Animated)|Frenzy]] infiltrates resistance"
** "[[Devcon (Animated)|Devcon]] captures [[Cryotek (Animated)|Cryotek]]"
** "[[Sideswipe (Animated)|Sideswipe]] spots enemy ship"
** "[[Sunstreaker (Animated)|Sunstreaker]] captured"
** "[[Runabout (Animated)|Runabout]] accidentally shoots Autobot double agent"
** "[[Runamuck (Animated)|Runamuck]] forgets to encrypt signal"
** "Atlas War on [[Combatron (planet)|Combatron]]"
** "[[Machine Wars]] on [[Vehicon (planet)|Vehicon]]"
** "Pangea Wars on [[Gigantion]]"
** "Asphalt Wars on [[Velocitron]]"
** "War of the Dunes on [[Praum|Praun]]"
** "[[3D Battle-Card Game#Energon Wars|Energon Wars]] destroy Paradron"
** "[[Time Wars (issue)|Time Wars]] in Salvvatan System"
** "[[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]] on [[Jungle Planet (Cybertron)|Animatron]]"
* Pg 106 - Soundwave's prototype minions are [[Buzzsaw (Animated)|Buzzsaw]], [[Sunder]], [[Garboil (Animated)|Garboil]], and [[Wingthing (Animated)|Wingthing]]. These were all partners of [[Soundwave (G1)|G1 Soundwave]] or redecoes of [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]].

===Real-world references===
* ''Ninja Gladiator'''s character roster includes [[Snake-Eyes]], Hudson from ''Gargoyles'', Felina Feral from ''Swat Katz'', Big Boss from ''COPS'', Giizmo from ''Superbook'', Miles Mayhem from ''MASK'', Steelgrave from ''Starriors'' and Turbo-Teen. The "secret code" is the famous [[wikipedia:Konami Code|Konami Code]].

==Chapter 5 - Cybertron==
* Cybertron and its moons by Ultra Magnus
* The [[Hadeen System]] by Cosmos
* Stellar Cartography by Swindle
* [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]] by Captain Fanzone
* The [[Metroplex (Animated)|Metroplex]] by Alpha Trion
* [[Longarm (Animated)|Longarm]]'s office by Cliffjumper
* Infirmary by Arcee
* [[Fortress Maximus (Animated)|Fortress Maximus]] by Sentinel Prime
* [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]] by Brawn
* [[Cyber-Ninja Dojo]] by Lockdown
* [[Space bridge nexus|Spacebridge Nexus]] by Bulkhead

===Transformers references===
*Pg 110 - Cybertron's two moons are called [[Moonbase One]] and [[Moonbase Two]].
*Pg 112 - Planets in the Hadeen System include [[Dread (planet)|Dread]] and [[Thrush]]. There is also an [[Autobot Mausoleum]].
*Pg 114-115 - Planets/sections in the galaxy include the [[Benzuli Expanse]], [[Mumu-Obscura]], [[Gorlam Prime]] and Protos, the location of the lab of [[Primacron]].
*Pg 122-123 - Ultra Magnus's predecessor is [[Powered Convoy]].
*Pg 125 - On the menu for Maccadam's there are several pictures of the heads of various Transformers characters from across the multi-verse. These include Sky Lynx, Barricade, Chromia, Stampy, Hellbat, Cy-kill, Antagony, Blaster, Tarantulas, Clipper, Mindwipe, Cheetor represented as remold of Blurr with new head pieces representing two ears, and Sky-Byte as a freaky grinning four eyed shark. One of the weeknight drink specials is the Latta Collins. [[Chris Latta]] was a voice actor for the G1 cartoon, and sometimes went under "Christopher Collins".
*Pg 128 - [[Space bridge nexus|Spacebridge Nexus]]'s full name is the "[[Xaaron|Emirate Xarron]] {{sic}} Spacebridge Nexus".

===Real-world references===
* Pg 112-113: There are numerous references here, many of them to classic sci-fi and fantasy.
** Aouda Fogg is the wife of Phileas Fogg, the main character of ''[[wikipedia:Around The World in Eighty Days|Around The World in Eighty Days]]''. Tom Ayrton was a character in ''[[wikipedia:The Mysterious Island|The Mysterious Island]]''. Both are works by [[Jules Verne]].
** Frehley's Comet was a band headed by [[wikipedia:Ace Frehley|Ace Frehley]], a member of [[wikipedia:KISS|KISS]].
** Thuvia, Kerchak and Kala are all characters created by [[wikipedia:Edgar Rice Burroughs|Edgar Rice Burroughs]]. The former is from the [[wikipedia:Barsoom|Barsoom]] novels (she was introduced in the eponymous novel ''[[wikipedia:Thuvia, Maid of Mars|Thuvia, Maid of Mars]]''), while the latter are characters from the ''[[wikipedia:Tarzan|Tarzan]]'' novels.
** Tsathoggua and Eibon are from the [[wikipedia:Cthulhu Mythos|Cthulhu Mythos]]. The latter is a priest of the former, and both were created by [[wikipedia:Clark Ashton Smith|Clark Ashton Smith]].
** Belegaer is a sea from ''[[wikipedia:The Lord of the Rings|The Lord of the Rings]]'' by [[wikipedia:J. R. R. Tolkien|J. R. R. Tolkien]].
** Thulsa Doom is a character created by [[wikipedia:Robert E. Howard|Robert E. Howard]] and is most well known as the villain from the film ''[[wikipedia:Conan The Barbarian|Conan The Barbarian]]''. All of the planet's moons are the names of Howard creations, with "Gwalhar" derived from the land of Gwalhur.

* Pg 114-115: There are dozens of references to fictional planets on these two pages alone.
** Rimmerworld, a planet from the ''[[wikipedia:Red Dwarf|Red Dwarf]]'' [[wikipedia:Rimmerworld|episode of the same name]] inhabited solely by backstabbing weasely smeg head clones, appears here.
** Marklar is a reference to a planet in the ''[[wikipedia: South Park|South Park]]'' episode "[[wikipedia:Starvin' Marvin in Space|Starvin' Marvin in Space]]".
** [[wikia:c:tardis:Skaro|Skaro]] is the home planet of the [[Dalek]]s. [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] comments about needing a Mark III Travel Machine, the shell of a Dalek as named in their origin story "[[wikia:c:tardis:Genesis of the Daleks|Genesis of the Daleks]]".
** Nintenduu LXIV is a reference to the planet Nintendu 64 in Fry's segment of the ''[[Futurama]]'' episode "[[wikipedia:Anthology of Interest II|Anthology of Interest II]]", itself a reference to the Nintendo 64 console.
** Zeotopia and the subsequent comments by Swindle about the Sectoids and Reptosaurs are all reference to the now defunct [[Hasbro]] toyline called [[wikipedia:Xevoz|Xevoz]]. If you don't get these references, [http://www.shortpacked.com/blog/2005/11/09/xevoz/ you are a monster.]
**Thundera is a reference to the original home world of the [[wikipedia:ThunderCats|ThunderCats]].
**[[wikipedia:Eternia|Eternia]] is the setting for [[wikipedia:He-man|He-Man]] and the [[wikipedia:Masters_of_the_Universe|Masters of the Universe]].
**Ceti-Alpha VII is likely a reference to the system of planets from the Star Trek universe most noted for being the system in which [[wikipedia:Khan_Noonien_Singh|Khan]] was stranded.
*** Sarpeidon is the location of the final episode of ''Star Trek: The Next Generation''.
**Thra and its valuable crystals are a reference to the planet that provides the setting for ''[[wikipedia:The Dark Crystal|The Dark Crystal]]''
**Druidia is a reference to the planet in ''[[wikipedia:Spaceballs|Spaceballs]]''
**Necronom IV, is a reference of the painting of the same name by Swiss surrealist artist H. R. Giger, done as concept art for the Xenomorph in the origonal [[wikipedia:Alien (film)|Alien]] film.
**Yautja, is a reference to the species name of the [[wikipedia:Predator (alien)|Predators]]. The message written below is in the script of the Predators, as seen most famously on their self-destruct devices.
** Tencton is the home planet of the Tenctonese from ''[[wikipedia:Alien Nation|Alien Nation]]''.
** Ork is the home of Mork from ''[[wikipedia:Mork and Mindy|Mork and Mindy]]''. The nearby planet of Melmac is the home of Alf from his [[wikipedia:Alf|titular television show]].
** Fleed is the home planet of Duke Fleed, pilot of the giant mecha [[wikipedia:Grendizer|Grendizer]] and star of that series
** Magrathea is from ''[[wikipedia:The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy|The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy]].
** Krankor is the home of the Phantom of Krankor from ''[[wikipedia: Prince of Space|Prince of Space]]'', which was presented on ''Mystery Science Theatre 3000''.
** Hala is the home world of the Kree from [[Marvel Comics]], who indirectly gave [[Ms. Marvel]] her powers.
** Fhloston refers to Fhloston Paradise, from the film ''[[wikipedia:The Fifth Element|The Fifth Element]]''.
** Giedi Prime is from the novel ''[[wikipedia:Dune|Dune]]'' by [[wikipedia:Frank Herbert|Frank Herbert]].
** Z'ha'dum is from the television series ''[[wikipedia:Babylon 5|Babylon 5]]''.
** Maxie's World refers to an animated series [[wikipedia:Maxie's World|of the same name]] created by [[Hasbro]].
** Reptizar is a world from the television show ''[[wikipedia:ShadowRaiders|Shadow Raiders]]''.
** Arus is the home planet of the giant robot ''[[wikipedia:Voltron|Voltron]]''. Planet Doom is the enemy world nearby.
** Vhoorl is another reference to the Cthulhu Mythos — namely, the planet of the titular god's birth.
** Tau Ceti Center and Qom-Riyadh are references to the ''[[wikipedia:Hyperion Cantos|Hyperion Cantos]]'' by author Dan Simmons.

==Chapter 6 - Settings==
* Cyberspace by Prowl
* [[Burger Bot]] by Sari Sumdac
* [[Tigatron Stadium]] by Lugnut
* [[Fossil Fuel]] by Dirtboss
* Soundwave's lab by Sari
* [[Beast Wars (event)|Unknown locale]] by Blackarachnia

===Transformers references===
* Pg 135 - Burger Bot's mascot is [[B.O.T. (robot)|B.O.T.]]. Some of the presidents are [[Tommy Kennedy]], [[Elaine Nakamura]], and [[Walter Barnett]]. Also, [[Cobra Commander]]'s face is on [[Mount Rushmore]].
* Pg 136 - Lugnut complains about [[Tigatron Stadium]], lamenting that he misses the [[Jekka Amphitheatre]].
* Pg. 139 - Blackarachnia wonders "where the [[Pit]] am I?".

===Real-world references===

==Chapter 7 - Project Omega==
* [[Omega Laboratory]] by Ratchet
* Autobot workers by Blitzwing
* [[Sigma Supreme|Steelhaven]] by Ultra Magnus
** Steelhaven cargo by Swindle
** Steelhaven brig by Sunstorm
** Steelhaven infrastructure by Optimus Prime
** Steelhaven Energon storage by Jazz
** Steelhaven schematics by Perceptor
* [[Lugnut Supreme]] by Starscream

===Transformers references===
* Override Prime is an homage to [[Override (Cybertron)|Override]] of ''[[Cybertron (franchise)|Transformers: Cybertron]].''
* Kappa Supreme's codename, Chromia X, is a reference to the [[Chromia 10|pursuit ship]] used by [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] in [[Dawn of Future's Past]].
* The name of Alpha Supreme's ship mode is the ''Axalon'', the name of the ship used by the Maximals in ''Beast Wars''. His mentor bot also happens to be Primal Major, a reference to the Maximal leader Optimus Primal from the same series.
* Big Bang Prime is an homage to the ''very'' obscure [[Big Bang]] from ''[[Return of Convoy (franchise)|Return of Convoy]]''.
* Zeta Supreme's designation, the ''Xantium'', and the Autobot he was bonded to, Impactor Major, as well as him being home to the Wreckers, are all references to the Generation 1 [[Wrecker]]s, their former leader, [[Impactor]], and their starship, the ''[[Xantium (G1)|Xantium]]''.
* A comic strip called "[[Boxtron]]" is seen, written by a [[Donny Finkleberg|D. Finkleberg]].

===Real-world references===

==Section I - Toy Design==
Details the processes behind designing each toy, and how Hasbro, Takara, and Cartoon Network worked together to make them possible.

==Section II - Animation==
This section is about the general production of the series, including design, the first treatment for the show, how the show evolved from season to season, casting, scripts, post-production, and of course, animation.

==Section III - Season Four==
Contains info on what would have happened if season four was made. Hasbro and Cartoon Network collaborated extensively on what such a thing would be like.

*The season's theme would be energon, since the Allspark left energon deposits all over Detroit and the surrounding area.
*There would be more on Sari's origin and Blackarachnia would have a growing army of Predacons.
*Sari and Bulkhead would stay on Cybertron to continue Sari's education and to protect the energon farms from Decepticons.
*Among the main characters, Ironhide would receive an Earth mode and replace Bulkhead, and Jazz would replace Prowl.
*Bludgeon would have appeared, and he'd be a pirate.
*Ultra Magnus was planned to go offline after being attacked by [[Shockwave (Animated)|our favorite double agent]] back in Season 3.
*Some episode proposals were listed:
** "The Trial of Megatron" - Three-part season premiere; Sari wants to learn more about her origins, Sentinel tries to become Magnus, Bulkhead's hometown is targeted by Decepticons, Megatron relocates Kaon to Earth using his trial as a distraction, and there is a spectacular prison break.
** "Allspark-alypse Now!" - Sentinel comes to Earth and intends to use the AllSpark to kill Megatron, as Prowl's ghost inhabits Cybertronians powered by AllSpark fragments, telling Optimus about the consequences of Sentinel's ideas.
** "S.T.E.A.M." - The Autobots are forced to save their detractors when the steampunk tool-using, anti-technological Luddites of "Save The Earth And Mankind" run afoul of Soundwave.
** "Mirror, Mirror" - Bulkhead and Sari enter [[Shattered Glass (franchise)|a mirror universe with evil Autobots and heroic Decepticons]].
** "Gremlins in the Gears" - The Minicons who run Kaon disassemble all machinery in Detroit, while Ratchet and Fanzone have to stop it.
** "It Came from Planet Cybertron" - Cosmos has an important message for Optimus, and comes to Earth to tell him. He loses his memory after scanning a prop flying saucer from a B-movie's set, and hi-jinks ensue.
** "Turf War" - The Constructicons battle with the Decepticons over control of the energon in Detroit.
** "Megatron Must Be Destroyed!" - The two-part season finale (series finale?) would have had Megatron's machinations threaten the entire planet. Optimus gathers as many allies as imaginable to defeat Megatron once and for all.

Three rejected toy concepts were shown: Marauder Megatron (Megatron in a new body, and as a [[Triple Changer]]), Hot Shot (an Earth-mode toy inspired by his [[Universe (2008 toyline)|2008 Universe]] figure), and Powermaster Optimus Prime (would have combined with a trailer and a Minicon to improve his size and power, looking similar to the original Powermaster Prime). Hot Shot and Megatron made it as far as the prototype stage, but Powermaster Prime existed only as concept art. There is a note from Hasbro outright stating that they will never be released, despite their wishes.

==Section IV - Toy Gallery==
[[Stock photography]] of every toy released in the [[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Animated toyline]], including some that were completed, yet not released. There is a note from Hasbro stating that some of the unreleased toys might see the light of day in some form.

==Section V - Packaging Art==
Discusses and shows off each toy's "action" package art (mass released and otherwise), drawn by [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] and [[Marcelo Matere]].

==Section VI - The Cast==
Presents information and photos of the main members of the voice cast: [[David Kaye]], [[Tara Strong]], [[Corey Burton]], [[Bumper Robinson]], [[Jeff Glen Bennett|Jeff Bennett]], [[Bill Fagerbakke]], [[Tom Kenny]], [[Cree Summer]], [[Townsend Coleman]], and [[Phil LaMarr]].

==Interstitials==

==Literary elements==
Including the copyright information, title page, foreword and afterwords, notes from the authors and acknowledgments.

==Notes==
* Cover artist [[Marcelo Matere]] recreates some of his own [[package art]] on the cover. That's probably a first.
* [[Hiroyuki Otoboto]]'s quote contains 「思ったよりも本のサイズが大きくてびっくり！」 ("I was amazed—the book was even bigger than I expected!"), which was manga artist [[Naoto Tsushima]]'s reaction that he tweeted after importing the [[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|first volume.]] <ref>[http://twitvideo.jp/00VMB Tsushima's TwitVideo with "The AllSpark Almanac"]</ref>
* This book is terribly inconsistent about whether it's volume "2" or "II". It says "2" on the spine, "II" on the front cover, "2" in the indicia, and "II" on the title page. The "most legal" title is probably the one in the indicia, "TRANSFORMERS ANIMATED: THE ALLSPARK ALMANAC, VOL. 2". For the title of this page, we went with the cover title.

===Errors===
* The cover depicts Bumblebee playing with Roll Out Command Optimus Prime, but the box beside him is that of Prime's Voyager-sized toy. It also depicts the Leader Class Bulkhead's buzzsaw on the wrong arm.
* On the back cover, the quote for Hiroyuki is mistakenly written as 「小さい頃、超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマーの本この本に等しかったな。懐かしいない... 思ったよりも本のサイズが大きくてびっくり！」 ("When I was young, [[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]] did have a book that was something like this. I didn't miss it... I was amazed—the book was even bigger than I expected!"). The correct form should have been 「小さい頃、『超ロボット生命体トランスフォーマー』の本この本に等しかったない。懐かしいな... 思ったよりも本のサイズが大きくてびっくり！」 ("When I was young, 'Super Robot Lifeform Transformers' didn't have a book that was something like this. How nostalgic... I was amazed—the book was even bigger than I expected!").
* On p. 12, "splitting" is misspelled "spitting".
* On p. 48, Blackarachnia's name is misspelled "Blacharachnia".
* On p. 52, the text says that [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] "bristles with ordinance". "Ordinances" are local laws; "ordnance" is weaponry.
* On p. 58, "posses" is misspelled "poses".
* On p. 114, in the text at the top, "[[Vestial Imperium]]" is misspelled "Vestal".
* On p. 128, "Xaaron" is misspelled "Xarron".
* On p. 139, "primitive" is misspelled "primative".
* On p. 217, "Sunstreaker" is misspelled "sunstreak"

==References==
<references/>
==External links==
*[http://www.angelfire.com/anime2/digipedia/annotatedalmanac2.html The Annotated AllSpark Almanac II], a 98% complete listing of the hidden references in the book

{{DEFAULTSORT:Animated: The Allspark Almanac II}}
[[Category:Animated books|Allspark Almanac II]]
[[Category:IDW titles]]
[[Category:Reference texts]]

Transform and Roll Out

2011-07-23T21:56:44Z

166.137.137.185: /* Part 3 */

{{disambig2|the [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]] multi-part episode|the command|roll out}}
{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=TFA_TFandRollout_AutobotHeroes.jpg
|caption=''Epic''
|next=Home Is Where the Spark Is
|next2=Sound and Fury
|ep=1, 2 and 3
|next=Home Is Where the Spark Is
|title="Transform and Roll Out"
|airdate=[[December 26]], [[2007]]
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by= [[Matt Youngberg]] [[Yutaka Kagawa]] [[Minoru Yamaoka]] [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|animation studio= [[Mook]]
|continuity=[[Animated cartoon continuity]]}}
'''When a small crew of maintenance Autobots comes into possession of the powerful AllSpark, a battle with their long-forgotten enemies sends them crashing toward a strange, distant planet known as... ''Earth.'''''

==Synopsis==
===Part 1===
In deep, deep space, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] watches a history vid of the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], prompting [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] to complain about him watching that "junk" when the other members of the crew need assistance. Prime wonders if they were designed for more than repairing [[space bridge]]s. The two 'Bots transform into their vehicle modes and head out into the asteroid field.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout TheAllsparkdiscovered.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Well... at least there's no [[Size changing|mass-shifting]].]]
Outside, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], dangling from a high rock by his wrecking ball (and becoming quite queasy in the process), is freed by [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], who also ends up taking a tumble. Bumblebee complains about the sheer amount of rocks blocking the space bridge node, and one is shattered unexpectedly by [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s throwing star. Prime gives his troops a speech about teamwork (which Prowl moans at theatrically), but at that point the space bridge lights up, sending rocks and Autobots flying. Fancy footwork by Optimus saves each of his teammates from the debris, and a well-aimed grappling line shuts down the bridge. With his subordinates stunned at their leader's skills, Prime is forced to admit he trained at [[Autobot Academy|Cybertron's military academy]]. Bumblebee's query as to what the heck he's doing on a nowhere maintenance assignment is left unanswered as they notice something glowing in the rubble.

Prime clears away the debris to reveal a large, chest-like object. Ratchet is horrified and immediately demands they throw it back into the space bridge, but an alert from [[Teletran-1]] announces the arrival of a signature consistent with the long-lost [[Decepticon]]s. Ratchet then insists they take the object and just get out of there post-haste.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Decepticonship.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Yes, this is a scout ship. Way to go, Magnanimous.]]
On board [[Teletran-1|their ship]], Ratchet finally reveals what they've found: the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], the source of all Transformer life that was lost centuries ago. Optimus, worried about the oncoming Decepticon signal, contacts the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] for help. After taking a bit of snark from [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], Optimus reveals what they found, which shuts Sentinel up fast. Sentinel then puts the crew through to [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], who tells Optimus Prime to stay put while they send reinforcements... and not to worry about that Decepticon thing. Optimus, considering this to be a really stupid move, orders the crew to start booking it out of there.

[[Image:Ani crew.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Scotty, engage!]]
This proves wise, as the signal is indeed a Decepticon ship—a [[Nemesis (Animated)|command ship]], in fact. The identification markings are ones that Optimus and Ratchet recognize, meaning its commander can only be one person: [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], leader of the Decepticons. On board the Decepticon ship, [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] doubts the AllSpark is aboard the Autobot ship and declares Megatron a fool. [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] denounces Starscream as a traitor, while [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] calls Lugnut an idiot for his blind loyalty and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] just acts... well, crazy. The Decepticons continue to bicker at each other until Megatron enters, shutting up all of them. The Decepticons chase the Autobot ship, and Starscream volunteers to board them. Megatron quickly shoots that idea down. Just before he leaves, Starscream wishes his commander "luck" with a pat on the back... affixing a bomb to Megatron in the process.

Megatron makes his way to the Autobots' ship and begins to melt his way through its hull. Optimus uses external manipulator arms to grapple with Megatron, until the bomb detonates, sending the ship careening uncontrollably into a space bridge node, which explodes after they go through the gate. Starscream begins to make a speech declaring himself the new Decepticon leader, but the other three have abandoned ship, noting that the fireball from the space bridge explosion is only getting larger. Too late, Starscream realizes the trouble he's in...

An unknown distance away, the Autobot ship reappears above a [[Earth|small blue and green planet]]. Prime checks on his troops, but Megatron has gotten aboard, having survived the explosion, but at the cost of his right arm. Prime uses his grappling line to shut off the gravity, making it more difficult for Megatron to fight. All five Autobots face off against the Decepticon, but he's too strong (though Prowl does manage to cut off Megatron's damaged arm). Prime and Megatron both end up in the storage bay where the AllSpark is... and as the ship enters the atmosphere, Prime is able to blow the hatch and kick the screaming Megatron out of the ship.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Arkatmosphere.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Oddly familiar.]]
On a small farm, a young boy hears a thud and runs to where something has landed in a not-too-distant field. He is shocked to find a robotic head staring lifelessly up at him.

Meanwhile, Prime orders his team into emergency stasis pods to prepare for a crash-landing. He manages to steer the ship away from the city below and gets to a stasis pod just before the ship plunges into [[Lake Erie]].

Fifty years later, [[Detroit]] is once again a thriving city, but instead of manufacturing automobiles, robots are the city's stock-in-trade. [[Isaac Sumdac]] is talking to a public school class taking a tour of his facilities, which gets interrupted by Isaac's daughter, [[Sari Sumdac]], and her robot dog, [[Sparkplug (robot dog)|Sparkplug]]. As Sari is carted off to her lessons by a [[Tutor Bot|robot tutor]], Isaac shows the school kids a nanotech lab, just in time to witness a roach infused with microbots grow out of control and start consuming everything in sight. Isaac tries to keep things calm, but the monster bursts out of the lab...

===Part 2===
[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Firefighters monster.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Yeah, watering it will surely stop the beast.]]
The monster continues to grow, absorbing just about everything it touches to increase its size and power. In the process, it destroys a lot of the factory. [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]], the S.W.A.T team, the fire department, ambulances, and robot drones arrive, but the creature absorbs several of the responding vehicles, too. Fanzone uses a bazooka-type weapon and destroys the beast, despite Sumdac's objection. This protest proves well-founded, as the remnants of the creature start flowing back together again, save for one piece that drops into the nearby lake and works its way down to the Autobots' ship, its nanites seeking the absorbable technology there. It infiltrates via a small breach in the outer hull, but thankfully, the ship's intruder alert systems are functional and awaken the Autobots before any damage is done. Examining the situation, they decide to have Teletran-1 give them Earth forms so they can blend in and help out. A probe is launched into the chaos and scans various vehicles, including an ambulance, a police motorcycle, an armored personnel carrier, a fire truck, and [[Captain Fanzone's car]]. Everyone deploys except Ratchet, who remains behind to analyze the sample of alien material.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Autobots.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Avengers]], ASSEMBLE!]]
During the fight, Bulkhead and Bumblebee spot Sari trying to wrest her security key from Sparkplug's mouth. Mistaking which is owner and which is pet, they approach her, but Bulkhead's greeting only scares her away. She quickly gets nabbed by the monster, but Bumblebee saves her, earning her trust and friendship. Prowl attempts to take on the bug-slug by himself, against Prime's orders, and gets absorbed. Prime orders Ratchet to join them in battle to save Prowl, but the old veteran insists that finding a "cure" code to neutralize the nanites' programming makes more sense than coming out and getting trashed. A somewhat chastened Prime agrees, and Ratchet soon delivers the goods. However, the new program must be uploaded by direct contact—meaning from inside the monster. This means the smallest, fastest one of them has to do it. Bumblebee reluctantly takes on the task. The beast has been using some of Prowl's absorbed intelligence and comm link tech, though, so it knows what they're planning and is now smart enough to fight back. Despite this, Bumblebee succeeds in delivering the code, and the bug dissolves into a dusty shower of deactivated nanites. Prowl is soon uncovered, but he's suffered grave wounds and must be taken back to the Autobots' ship for repairs. Sari pesters Bumblebee to be taken along, and her new friend reluctantly agrees, since there's no time to make her go away quietly.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Sari followedmehome.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Bumblebee, having a pet is a big responsibility.]]
Once on board, Sari's refusal to stay still and quiet causes 'Bee some embarrassment. He quickly and discreetly ejects her into a ventilation port and joins the others. However, the port opens onto a shaft that takes Sari right to the chamber where the AllSpark is being kept. Curious, she touches it, and it reacts to her, sending its energies into her security card key and reconfiguring it into [[AllSpark Key|a key of another sort entirely]]. Prime finds her almost immediately thereafter, but with no time left to spare away from Prowl, he has to bring her back with him to the repair table. Ratchet's prognosis is bleak, but the [[AllSpark Key]] abruptly reacts, glowing and tugging her toward Prowl. Bumblebee, seeming to grasp what's happening, helps her onto the table, and as she approaches, her Key reshapes itself to fit into a slot on Prowl's chest. She inserts it, and with a burst of energy, the Autobot ninja is whole again. The Autobots then take Sari home and, after a brief misunderstanding, are made heroes and are even invited to a ceremony.

In outer space, Starscream sits aboard the damaged but functional Decepticon ship, babbling that he will find the AllSpark, even though he's been attempting it on his own for the last fifty solar cycles. The ship's computers then detect the traces of AllSpark-like energy in action, and Starscream learns where the Autobots are...
{{-}}

===Part 3===
[[Image:Sariprime.jpg|right|150px|thumb|INSERT WHAT WHERE?!]]
The Autobots are later seen trying to fit in. Bulkhead gets firsthand experience in traffic jams, some birds mistake Prowl for the statue of the [[wikipedia:Hazen_S._Pingree|bald guy]] next to him, Bumblebee learns how organics fuel up, and Ratchet can't get a stasis nap without getting a dozen or so parking tickets. Optimus Prime remarks that the Autobots are programmed to respect life, which they always understood to stem from the AllSpark, but as organics are life, they must respect and protect them too. Optimus also expresses curiosity about how little organics are made. Sari's whispered explanation leaves him rather... shocked. The Autobots make a new home base out of a building Sari's dad got out of a merger, an abandoned auto factory that Bumblebee describes as a real fixer-upper—a REAL fixer-upper. All of a sudden, they get alerted to a fire. The Autobots proceed to douse the blaze and save its victims, no problem, unaware they are being watched by Starscream.

The next day, during the inauguration ceremony for the Sumdac [[Fully Automated Rapid Transit System]] (F.A.R.T.S., for short), Starscream enters Earth's atmosphere and takes on a group of fighter jets. He destroys all but one, which he scans. As the civilians and Autobots watch the aerial display of the [[Crimson Angels]], Isaac Sumdac notices there is an extra jet present that he didn't hire. That one jet then leaves the formation and streaks toward the ceremony platform, where it transforms into Starscream, who fires his null-ray cannons at the Autobots.

After a short fight, which the Autobots lose, Starscream knocks out Bumblebee and takes him, Isaac, the mayor, and Capt. Fanzone hostage in the F.A.R.T.S. train, flying it to the top of a very tall tower. He demands that the Autobots deliver the AllSpark if they want him to release the train car. The Autobots don't trust him, but don't want to risk human lives, so Sari offers a plan, but they ignore her. She continues to tell a sob story until the Autobots listen. The Autobots proceed with her plan, and Prowl and Sari fly up to the transit pod to rescue the hostages while the other Autobots keep Starscream busy. Once Starscream realizes what's happening, he takes a brief beating but recovers quickly. Starscream then throws the train—thus keeping his end of the deal—with Sari, Prowl, Stick-O, and Bumblebee on top of/in it. Between Bumblebee's agility and Prowl's thrusters plus Ratchet's magnets, Sari is rescued and the train lands without much damage. The Autobots then challenge Starscream to a friendly game of Keep Away, during which Starscream almost gets the AllSpark, but Bulkhead gets it instead, because he said he got it. A furious Starscream unleashes a devastating, prolonged (as in nearly 12 seconds) null-ray blast on the Autobots, briefly knocking them all senseless.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Prime SS Allsparkactivates.jpg|left|150px|thumb|In the old days, [[The Touch]] would have started playing now.]]
With the Autobots down, Starscream takes the AllSpark from Optimus and blows a couple of blocks of Detroit right off the map. Not ready to give up, Optimus climbs all the way up a building to get it back from Starscream, which Starscream doesn't see coming because he was too busy gloating. After a quick back-and-forth exchange of possessing it, both grab it at the same time. As they struggle, the AllSpark opens and emits a strange energy wave that blasts Starscream away.

The explosion has left Prime dangling precariously, and he takes a tremendous plummet to the pavement. He notes weakly that he now knows what it feels like to be a hero, then dies, but Sari uses the AllSpark Key to revive him.<ref>[[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|This is something of an Optimus Prime record]]: Dead after only three episodes, revived a mere 75 seconds later. Way to go.</ref> The Autobots later go about fixing up Detroit, earning the enduring gratitude of the citizenry. Professor Sumdac is also grateful, for the Autobots saved him and Sari, but he fears what will happen if the Autobots—not to mention the rest of the world—were to discover the source of his robotic empire.

Unseen by Sumdac, one of the [[Sensors|optics]] of his source of technology glows in a darkened room. Megatron still functions...
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|
c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (5)
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (6)
*[[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] (7)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] (9)
*[[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] (10)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (11)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (12)

|c3=
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (13)
*[[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel]] (14)
*[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike]] (15)
*[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly]] (16)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (17)
*[[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] (18)

|c4=
*[[Omega Supreme (Animated)|The ''Orion'']] ()
*[[Sparkplug (robot dog)|Sparkplug]] ()
*[[Tutor Bot]] ()
*[[Burger Bot]] ()}}

==History vid==
{{quote|Many millions of years ago, war raged between the forces of the heroic Autobots and the brutal Decepticons for control of the planet Cybertron. The Autobots battled valiantly in the name of honor—their courageous exploits bringing hope and glory to a beleaguered war-torn planet, and inspiring countless generations of robots yet to come on-line.|Narrator}}
Scene 1: Decepticon troopers attack led by their commander. Their numbers appear overwhelming. 
Scene 2: Two tetrajets pursue two Autobots over a Cybertronian highway. 
Scene 3: [[Omega Sentinel (Animated)|Omega Sentinel]]-like robots counter-attack the Decepticon troopers and appear to turn the tide. 
Scene 4: Transport trucks enter a storage facility. 
Scene 5: An inspired Transformer salutes.

==Quotes==
"Do you ever get the feeling that you were programmed for something more than just repairing space bridges?" 
"I got a diagnostics program that can delete that feeling like a bad line of code."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s dreams are crushed to a fine powder by '''Ratchet'''

"Know what? You're even uglier at this angle!"
:—'''Bumblebee''' is about to realize there are some things you should never, EVER, say to a Decepticon.

"Hi, I'm Bumblebee!" 
"I'm Sari." 
"Oh, don't be, I like my name."
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Sari''' are off to an awkward start.

"Y'know, all things considered, fixin' space bridges wasn't such a bad gig."
:—'''Bumblebee''', just before embarking on the plan to dissolve the bug monster

"Uh...am I going to be able to ''breathe'' down there?" 
"Oh, sure! ...What's 'breathe'?"
:—'''Sari''' is in good hands with '''Bumblebee'''.

"And to think, Ultra Magnus told me not to be a hero. Is this what it was like in your day?" 
"The Decepticons didn't leave us very much to cheer about."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Ratchet''' at the ceremony

"Enjoy it while you can, 'heroes.' You're about to take a fall."
:—'''Starscream''', watching a news report on the Autobots

"Give up the AllSpark or give up the Earth. How am I supposed to decide?" 
"Heroes are the ones who make the hard choices."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Ratchet''' after Starscream makes his ultimatum

"Let go, Autobot!" 
"Never! The AllSpark is life!" 
"Then, let it end yours!"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Optimus Prime''', fighting over the AllSpark

"So, this...is what it feels like...to be a hero."
:—'''Optimus Prime''', just before dying

"Fixing bridges? Isn't this where we started out?"
:—'''Bumblebee''', as the Autobots clean up the city

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*Megatron's vehicle mode was depicted flying upside-down, or backwards, or possibly both. To be fair, in space, there is no up and down (and to be even fairer, it's really hard to tell from the toys exactly what ''is'' the front of Megatron's Cybertronian spaceship mode), but that does not excuse the fact that any propulsion system used would be in the ''back'' of the mode.
*When the Autobot get into the stasis pods, Prime, Bulkhead, and Ratchet are on the left side, with Bumblebee, Prowl, and an empty pod on the right, in that order. Yet when they get out later in the episode, Prime, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead are on the left, and the empty one, Prowl, and Ratchet on the right.
*As pre-Earth Prime enters the chamber which will re-format his body into his Earth mode, he walks past Ratchet, who is drawn mostly in his pre-Earth mode, except for the fact that his Cybertronian gut is replaced with his ambulance gut. In the next scene, Ratchet is properly drawn, pre-Earth gut and all.
*When Sari says to the Autobots it is okay to put down their hands, Bulkhead's face is black.
*When Starscream tackles Optimus Prime through a building as the Autobot tries to escape with the AllSpark, Optimus's axe is missing from Starscream's left wing. It reappears moments later for Optimus to retrieve it.
*In at least one scene, Starscream's Earth-form wing is shown with a spike, in the same manner as his Cybertronian body.

===Continuity errors===
*There was a pretty big continuity error evident in the show's very premise that nobody really picked up on, which was: if the AllSpark was the source of Transformer life, and it was jettisoned into space at the end of the Great War, and most of Prime's crew weren't ''alive'' during the Great War... how did they come on-line? Despite the fact that nobody was asking the question, the ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|AllSpark Almanac II]]'' guidebook provided the answer by revealing that there is also a version of [[Vector Sigma]] in the ''Animated'' universe that could also grant life.
*The train Starscream blasts from the tower falls toward the ground very, very slowly.
*When we first meet Starscream, he states that he has been searching for the AllSpark for fifty ''solar'' cycles. In later episodes, a solar cycle is equivalent to a day and a ''stellar'' cycle is used for years. This is the only time a solar cycle has been used to reference years, so either Starscream entered some sort of temporal anomaly or someone messed up. For more <s>confusion</s> information, See [[Cycle|this page]].
*Sumdac is using Megatron's hand as a chair. However, he seems to be using the right hand, which was blown up by Starscream. (It ''could'' have fallen off the Autobots' ship, as it was still clinging to the hull when last seen, but that seems unlikely.)
*From Isaac Sumdac's monologue, it seems he ''somehow'' knows the source of this technology has some relation to the Decepticons. But, not only he has no way of knowing that, he [[Blast from the Past|later]] believes Megatron when he presents himself as an Autobot.
*Or, when he expresses his concerns, he could just have meant him dissecting one of their kind.

===Transformers references===
*The title of the episode itself is a [[Roll out|reference to past Transformers lore]].
*Footage from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|G1 cartoon]] episodes "[[War Dawn]]" and "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]" is used as history tapes detailing the events of the first [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], millions of years prior. [[Canon|This]] has been confirmed as purely an in-joke, and should not be taken as linking ''Animated'' to G1, continuity wise.
*The [[Teletran-1|Autobot ship]] here bears a distinct resemblance to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], albeit with a colour scheme more reminiscent of [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. (As we learn [[A Bridge Too Close, Part II|much later]], there is [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|a very good reason for that]].)
*Bumblebee says "[[Rattrap|We're all gonna die.]]"
*Sari's robotic dog [[Sparkplug (robot dog)|Sparkplug]] is likely named after either [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] from G1, the ''Armada'' Mini-Con [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], or both.
[[Image:Spikecarlydanielanimated.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Twenty years later, and they're still overdressed.]]
*Characters resembling [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]], [[Carly]], and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] are seen at a hot dog stand, purchasing some sort of futuristic bunless wieners-on-a-stick. The characters went on to become recurring figures in the background cast of the show, and in "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]" it was revealed that their names were... [[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike]], [[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel Witwicky]].
*When Optimus Prime dies, his body fades to grays, just as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Generation 1 Optimus Prime]] did in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. His spark chamber opens in much the same manner as well.
*Teletran-1 (spelled with only one "a" in this universe) dispatches a small satellite very similar to the [[Sky Spy]] satellite used on occasion by the Autobots in the ''Generation 1'' cartoon. The glowing energy "boxes" with which it scans vehicles for the Autobots to transform into are lifted wholesale out of "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".
*At one point, Bulkhead refers to Optimus as "Boss-bot", echoing an epithet used for ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] by the [[Fuzor]] [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''Brazilian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformar e Avançar!'''" ("Transform and Advance!")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformation'''"
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformieren und Abfahrt'''" ("Transform and Roll Out")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[May 3|3 May]] [[2008]] (Part 1), [[May 10|10 May]] 2008 (Part 2), [[May 17|17 May]] 2008 (Part 3)

'''Japanese (Part 1)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Shinshō! Transformer'''" (新章! トランスフォーマー, "A New Chapter! Transformers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 3|3 April]] [[2010]]

::*The episode begins with the entire [[Otoboto family]] gathered as Yūka and Tatsuya tell the viewers in unison to watch in a well-lit room (to prevent seizures and damage to your eyesight, you know).
::*As the [[title sequence]] begins, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] asks how everyone is doing, then introduces himself as leader of the Autobots. When he realizes nobody knows who he is, he ''assures'' them that he's leader of the Autobots. Then the [[Transformers Evo.|theme song]] starts.
::*'''Cut:''' Ratchet and Optimus's conversation as they walk down a hall, where Prime refers to feeling like being meant for "more than just repairing space bridges", and Ratchet's snarky response about deleting that feeling "like a bad line of code".
::*'''Cut:''' Bulkhead's comment on their medic being always grumpy, Ratchet responding to Bumblebee's age crack with a smack upside the head and the retort of "I may have one servo in the scrapheap, but I can still hear!".
::*The usual cries of "Transform!" and attack names are added in. ([[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]'s "stingers" are now called "Energy Stingers", for instance.) Perhaps most annoyingly, ''every single thing Optimus does'' has the prefix of "Ultra" added to it. In the span of ten seconds, he goes through his "Ultra Anchor", "Ultra Axe" and "Ultra Net" attacks.
::*'''Cut:''' After shutting down the space bridge, the following sequence where Ratchet is repairing Bumblebee, Bulkhead commenting about Optimus's moves, Optimus reluctantly admitting that he used to train at the Academy, and Bumblebee saying that he should've been with the Elite Guard.
::*'''Cut:''' Ratchet's poking back at Optimus wanting to see some action, Bumblebee pointing out they're repair bots, Optimus requesting a link with Cybertron Command Headquarters and Bulkhead impressed by it.
::*[[Teletran-1]] now speaks as though "she" is in a state of perpetual orgasm.
::*When the Autobots first happen upon the ''[[Nemesis (Animated)|Nemesis]]'' and all freak over [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], a new [[scene transition]] is added when transitioning into the discussion between the Decepticon forces. A guitar riff of the classic Generation 1 scene transition music is even used.
::*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]'s personae now speak with thick American accents, and spout English words like "Hey!" and "Man!"
::*New [[commercial bumper]]s have been crafted, featuring stock art of the characters with their voice actors screaming their name, followed by "Transform!"
::*'''Cut:''' [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'s entire speech on the bridge ("This is a dark day...") followed by him getting caught in the explosion.
::*When Bulkhead tumbles into Optimus, following his line "A little warning would have helped!", he screams out "Mommyyyyyyy!" Yeah, Japanese Bulkhead ain't so smart.
::*'''Cut:''' After Megatron is kicked from the ship, the establishing shots of Paw Paw (the street sign, the outside of the barn and the scroll across [[Isaac Sumdac]]'s lab).
::*'''Cut:''' Following Prime's line "Not until I've steered us clear of this populated sector!", the brief scenes of the Autobots being sealed in their stasis pods.
::*'''Cut:''' As soon as the ship crashes into Lake Eerie and leaves a stream of upturned water on the surface, the scenes of the ship sinking and Teletran-1 "initiating emergency stasis mode" on the pods as they turn grey. The episode resumes at the long shot of the sinking ship slowly coming toward the camera, with a new voice-over of Teletran-1 telling the Autobots "good night".
::*'''Cut:''' As Isaac Sumdac narrates the history of Detroit and automaton manufacturing, the scene of the trash-collecting automaton has been cut.
::*'''Cut:''' The scenes of [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] pulling the bubblegum off her face, eating it, the crowd reacting in disgust, Isaac Sumdac reacting in frustration, the kid asking Sari what its like to grow up around robots and [[Tutor Bot]] hauling Sari off.
::*'''Cut:''' After the cockroach absorbs the nanobot liquid, all the scenes involving Isaac Sumdac explaining the nanobots to the children and the children looking through microscopes at the nanobots. The sequence cuts to the roach growing bigger.
::*'''Cut:''' The close-up of Isaac Sumdac saying "Nothing to be concerned about, children!" and the kid remarking that "This accident doesn't look too happy". The sequence cuts to the roach crashing through the window behind him.
::*The Otoboto Family segment features [[Hiroyuki Otoboto]] telling his son, [[Tatsuya Otoboto]], about ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]'', complete with clips from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", as well as a brief musical clip from the songs "Time Bomb Town" (by Lindsey Buckingham, from the ''Back To The Future'' soundtrack) and "Fairy Godmother Song" (from the ''Shrek 2'' soundtrack). Mr. Otoboto then produces a complete set of ''Animated'' Autobot toys. Tatsuya is thrilled, but wouldn't ya know it? [[Megumi Otoboto|Mrs. Otoboto]] comes in with dinner! During mealtime conversation, Mrs. Otoboto makes the mistake of using the word "transform", which inevitably causes Tatsuya to start talking about Transformers, much to the amusement of his father and the annoyance of his older sister, [[Yūka Otoboto|Yūka]]. Tatsuya then causes a "freeze frame" so that he can introduce himself and his family (messing with his father's glasses in the process for his own amusement). Oddly, despite being "frozen", everyone proceeds to blink. As time resumes its normal pace, Hiroyuki wonders what happened to his glasses. He then digs into his dinner, except, oh no! It's too hot! ''Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!''
::*During the "next episode" segment, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee proceed to have an argument. Bumblebee thinks Optimus's name is too long and hard to remember. Bumblebee suggests that "[[Convoy (rank)|Convoy]]" would be better, but Prime shoots the idea down immediately. Bumblebee opts to call him "Opti" (''Oputi''), since it has fewer syllables. Prime refuses to be called such a name (more fitting for a dog), so Bumblebee settles on "Pu-Pu" after "Opera" (''Opura'') is also rejected for sounding weird. Prime refuses that too, thinking it sounds cute, but that it would be hard not to laugh instinctively at it. Bumblebee then tricks Prime into answering to it, which frustrates him even ''further''. The argument proceeds ''past'' the "next episode" segment and straight into the sponsor cards.

'''Japanese (Part 2)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Eiyū, sono Na wa Autobot'''" (英雄、その名はオートボット, "The Heroes Are Called Autobots")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 10|10 April]] [[2010]]

::*Hiroyuki and Tatsuya Otoboto tell the viewers in unison to watch the episode in a well-lit room (with Hiroyuki giving a creepy wink at the end).
::*Instead of Optimus introducing at the opening, Bumblebee introduces himself and tells viewers to listen to [[JAM Project]]'s [[Transformers Evo.|cool song]].
::*'''Cut:''' The rush of emergency vehicles driving through the city, alongside the following scene of Fanzone getting into his car, preparing to enjoy lunch at Burger Bot, and receiving the emergency call before departing.
::*'''Cut:''' Fanzone arriving at Sumdac laboratories, his little dilemma with the broken megaphone, and his first directions to the police force.
::*Optimus now has "Ultra Jump" added to his "arsenal" as he distracts the nano-monster.
::*Bulkhead now says "''dosukoi''" on occasion, a word usually used by [[Wikipedia:Sumo|sumo wrestlers]].
::*'''Cut:''' The left-to-right pan of the ruined laboratory where the tour had taken place.
::*'''Cut:''' Much of the flying debris from the monster falling into the ocean.
::*During the [[trans-scan|trans-scanning]], Teletran-1 announces the type of vehicle being scanned and the Autobots as they are reformatted.
::*'''Cut:''' Fanzone noticing the four vehicles confronting the monster and attempting to call them back before noticing that they are unmanned and include his own car.
::*'''Cut:''' Immediately after the previous cut, the scene where Bulkhead and Bumblebee attempt to converse with the police drones while fighting the monster.
::*The joke on Sari's name—"I'm Bumblebee." "I'm Sari." "Oh, don't be. I like my name." "No, I mean my name is..."—is somewhat altered. Instead, Bumblebee "corrects" her that ''he's'' not named "Sari" (the pun involving "I'm Sari" sounding like "I'm sorry" not working in the Japanese language, obviously).
::*'''Cut:''' After Bumblebee takes Sari into the parking garage, Fanzone's and Dr. Sumdac's observation of Bumblebee and his unknown purposes, and the ordering the police drones to save Sari.
::*Bumblebee counts off while disabling the police drones, and he has an extra line even though his mouth doesn't move.
::*'''Cut:''' Ratchet's comment on Optimus being a "typical [[Autobot Academy|Academy Bot]]", along with a shot of the computer analysis of the monster.
::*'''Cut:''' Sari's gasp when Bumblebee is jumping at the monster.
::*When Sari reassures Ratchet that humans "don't usually blow up things" with emergency symbols, Ratchet comments about being treated kindly.
::*'''Cut:''' After Dr. Sumdac shakes hands with Optimus at the ceremony, Optimus's comment regarding not being a hero, his question to Ratchet about things being "like this in your day", and Ratchet's rather ominous response.
::*'''Cut:''' After the ceremony, the foreshadowing scene in which Starscream is seen monologuing in the crashed ''Nemesis'' on the Moon.
::*For the Otoboto family segment, Hiroyuki and Tatsuya are playing on the living room carpet with their toys (Hiroyuki and his Optimus Prime against Tatsuya and his Bumblebee). Filled with nostalgia, Hiroyuki begins describing the Autobots and the roles of each character to the audience, only to have Tatsuya beat him to the punch by ending all his sentences. Suddenly, they hear a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. Hiroyuki and Tatsuya rise to the occasion, shout "Transform!" and "change" into Optimus Prime and Megatron t-shirts (accompanied by their own dramatic "transformation" sequences). But before they can battle the forces of Evil stirring up trouble in the kitchen, they first have to sit back down on the living room floor and transform their toys into vehicle mode. (So, what if there was a burglar beating your wife, dude?) As Hiroyuki completes the transformation of his Optimus toy, we are assured that the "adventure" of the Otoboto family will be continued next episode.
::*In the "next episode" segment, Bulkhead asks Ratchet about the name "Transformers Animated", and Bulkhead then mistakenly tells viewers to watch "Transformers Anime". Ratchet later jokes about shortening the title to "Tra-Ani" because the original title is a bit long.

'''Japanese (Part 3)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''AllSpark no Himitsu'''" (オールスパークの秘密, "Secret of the AllSpark")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 17|17 April]] [[2010]]

::*This time, it's mother and daughter, Megumi and Yūka Otoboto, who tell viewers to watch the episode in a well-lit room.
::*Starscream does the intro in a rather...perky manner.
::*'''Cut:''' The ''whole'' sequence of the Autobots integrating themselves into Detroit: Bulkhead walking through rush hour traffic, Prowl's encounter with the birds' "present", Bumblebee ordering at Burger Bot, Ratchet getting ticketed for napping in a no-parking zone, Sari traumatizing Optimus on human reproduction, and the Autobots checking out their new "home".
::*During the sequence in which the Autobots are responding to the building fire, there are some additional lines and a tweak: The entire team sound off their names while heading on scene; Bumblebee jokes about calling in [[Wikipedia:Tomica Hero: Rescue Fire|Rescue Fire]], to which Bulkhead responds by breaking the fourth wall, "That's a different show"; and the news reporter's coverage/praise of the Autobots doesn't mention "Detroit" by name and lasts until the scene changes to Starscream watching from the ''Nemesis''.
::*Sumdac says "480" on introducing the F.A.R.T.S.'s speed, which makes sense, as Japan uses the metric system and 300 miles equals to 482.803 kilometers.
::*'''Cut:''' Optimus commenting to Ratchet on being constantly called "heroes" and not feeling any different than repairing space bridges before, and Ratchet's response on the grim ends of the "heroes" he's known and his reluctance to share their fates.
::*During Starscream's attack on the jet fighters, one of the pilots shouts additional "Mayday!"s, to which Starscream retorts that "It's not 'Mayday', it's Starscream! Remember it!"
::*'''Cut:''' Panning shot from the top of Michigan Central Station down to the gathered Transformers.
::*When Starscream claims he's the "new boss" (literally) of the Decepticons, Bulkhead corrects him instead of saying that he thought Megatron was in charge.
::*Extra lines: both Ratchet and Prowl after the station crumbles; Starscream has one before Prowl tricks him with a hologram and another while dragging Optimus about after Prime uses his grappling hook.
::*'''Cut:''' Optimus declaring his name after Starscream demands the AllSpark. Cuts right to Starscream tossing Bumblebee into the transit pod.
::*Starscream's gloating while circling Sumdac Tower before Optimus baits him with the AllSpark.
::*When Sumdac asks how Sari got up the tower, Prowl's line is changed from "Same way you're getting down," to "By me, father." Fanzone's "This is why I hate machines!" catchphrase during the trip down is also tweaked.
::*Fanzone seems to be screaming for his grandfather as Prowl is dropping down to the blimp.
::*Additional line for Starscream when Ratchet tries to stop him with his magnetic manipulators.
::*Add "Ultra Spray" to Optimus's list of "Ultra" attacks when he sprays Starscream with fire retardant foam twice. Oy...
::*Bumblebee has an extra line while trying to attack Starscream when the latter realizes the jig's up.
::*Prowl calls out to Bumblebee when the train is knocked over the edge, and Starscream shouts "Dual Sonic Blaster" on sending all three into free fall.
::*Joining Bumblebee's ''"Ikimasu!"'' and Bulkhead's ''"Dosukoi!"'', Prowl's verbal tic is ''"De aru!"'' (Literally, "to be" in formal speech.)
::*Bulkhead's rhetorical question on catching the train on the first bounce is changed to a vow to do his best.
::*Instead of shock absorbers, Sari asks if Bumblebee has a parachute.
::*Ratchet has "Magnet Power" as his attack call when he catches the youngest pair, Sari's "some shock absorbers" line is altered, Prowl has "They're floating." as an extra line, and Bumblebee thanks Ratchet. Optimus's "think fast" line is delayed to just as he throws the AllSpark, and the medic's "Aw, crud." line is changed to objecting on being called "gramps" by Bumblebee.
::*While Sari calls the game "Keep Away" in English, here it's changed to Tag, or 鬼ごっこ (''oni-gokko'').
::*Instead of going on how fast one can stop, Bumblebee talks about hitting the goal.
::*Bulkhead's "I said, 'I ''got'' it.'" is altered after he clocks Starscream and gets the AllSpark.
::*Starscream yells that the show isn't over yet when he attacks the Autobots again just as Optimus is contemplating on getting the AllSpark to a safe place.
::*Instead of responding that it's Detroit when Optimus asks whether he's in the Well of AllSparks, Sari just welcomes him back. Another line change is that she tells Bulkhead that humans also cry when they're happy, instead of the Autobots having much to learn about humans.
::*'''Cut:''' The news reporter covering the Autobots' rescue and repair efforts, Bumblebee commenting how they started out on fixing bridges, Sumdac's lament of his robotic empire's origin, and the camera pan to Megatron's head.
::*In this Otoboto family segment, Hiroyuki whips out his cellphone and goes into full chatting mode. Tatsuya wonders what kind of work his father does and whether it's actually work, as he usually sees Hiroyuki playing with Transformers figures almost all the time. Tatsuya then flashbacks to last week, when, after transforming their figures to vehicle mode, father and son are racing Optimus and Bumblebee before encountering Yūka's feet. Yūka thinks her father is quite the man-child and hands over a card from someone whom Hiroyuki thought passed away three years earlier.
::*The Autobots discuss their favorite sports player during the "next episode" segment, Optimus citing [[Wikipedia:Shuzo Matsuoka|Shuzo Matsuoka]] as his favorite, much to the others' disappointment. As Prime waxes poetic about Matsuoka's passion and energetic character, he doesn't realize that his teammates have already left.

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformacja i jazda'''" ("Transform and Roll Out")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 11|11 October]] [[2008]] (Parts 1 and 2), [[October 12|12 October]] [[2010]] (Part 3)

===Trivia===
*In this episode, [[Tutor Bot]] tries to teach Sari about the [[wikipedia:Smoot-Hawley_Tariff_Act|Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act]], a major economic blunder of the 1930s.
*Bumblebee's voice is slightly different in this episode from how it sounds later, as is Lugnut's voice, which seems very metallic.
*When Prowl gets birdpooped on, he is standing next to a statue of [[wikipedia:Hazen_S._Pingree|Hazen S. Pingree]], four-term mayor of Detroit and one-time governor of Michigan. In real life, the statue is located in Detroit's Grand Circus Park.
*A refurbished Michigan Central Station makes an appearance as the site for the dedication of Detroit's rapid transit system. The real-life station (abandoned since the '80s) was featured in the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 live-action movie]].
*When mocking the Autobots, Starscream actually calls Megatron "the great Megatron" without any sarcasm. Apparently, he'll only give a sincere compliment to his leader when he's insulting something else. Either that or he's just trying to make ''himself'' sound more impressive by building up the reputation of the one he's defeated.
*When Optimus comes back to life, he asks, "Is this the [[Well of All Sparks]]?" and Sari answers, "No, it's Detroit." This is an allusion to the movie ''Field of Dreams'', in which Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) asks Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), "Is this Heaven?" and Ray answers, "No, it's Iowa."
*According to responses at a panel at BotCon 2008, the unfortunate acronym for Fully Automated Rapid Transit System was totally unintentional...which makes it that much funnier.
*Ratchet is able to use his front windshield as a video screen.
*Several elements present in this opener were changed/dropped in the main series, including expressive vehicle modes, the replacement of solar cycles with stellar cycles in terminology, the recolouring of Ratchet's magnetism from yellow to pink, and Sari's Key changing shape. However, the expressions on vehicle mode were briefly used again by [[Wasp]] in the episode [[Predacons Rising]].
*During [[Sari Sumdac|Sari's]] "conversation" with the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], it shows her the faces of Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream, then the Cybertronian [[Alternate mode|vehicle modes]] for Optimus and Ratchet, the AllSpark's case and the [[Teletran-1|Autobots' ship]]. Then Sari unknowingly shows the AllSpark a man in a suit, a woman, a boy, the planet [[Earth]], pyramids, purple flowers, a horse, an aircraft with a giant cloud coming from the back, a cell and a DNA strand. The woman has dark skin and red hair like Sari.
*This movie was (lovingly) lampooned at the [[MSTF]] panel for [[BotCon 2008]], along with "[[War Dawn]]", the episode from which most of the "history vid" footage was taken.
*It's Detroit. There are guns everywhere. Why are the humans using ''water'' to take down the monster?
*In this episode, Starscream's engines use a sound effect borrowed from ''The Phantom Menace'': the sound made by Sebulba's podracer engines.
*In the Japanese dub, Bumblebee mentions ''Rescue Fire'', which is another [[TakaraTomy]] property that's based on Takara's Tomica toy car line. Prior to ''Animated''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Japanese debut, it aired in the same timeslot and channel as ''[[Cybertron (cartoon)|Galaxy Force]]'' did.

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of UN.png|20px|International release]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — The Battle Begins ([[Pack-in material|Hasbro]]) — Part 1 only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transform and Roll Out ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transformieren und Abfahrt (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2010 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Vol. 1 (Paramount) — Japanese audio only.

== Footnote ==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Transform and Roll Out

2011-07-23T19:40:47Z

166.137.137.185: /* Featured characters */

{{disambig2|the [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]] multi-part episode|the command|roll out}}
{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=TFA_TFandRollout_AutobotHeroes.jpg
|caption=''Epic''
|next=Home Is Where the Spark Is
|next2=Sound and Fury
|ep=1, 2 and 3
|next=Home Is Where the Spark Is
|title="Transform and Roll Out"
|airdate=[[December 26]], [[2007]]
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by= [[Matt Youngberg]] [[Yutaka Kagawa]] [[Minoru Yamaoka]] [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|animation studio= [[Mook]]
|continuity=[[Animated cartoon continuity]]}}
'''When a small crew of maintenance Autobots comes into possession of the powerful AllSpark, a battle with their long-forgotten enemies sends them crashing toward a strange, distant planet known as... ''Earth.'''''

==Synopsis==
===Part 1===
In deep, deep space, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] watches a history vid of the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], prompting [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] to complain about him watching that "junk" when the other members of the crew need assistance. Prime wonders if they were designed for more than repairing [[space bridge]]s. The two 'Bots transform into their vehicle modes and head out into the asteroid field.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout TheAllsparkdiscovered.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Well... at least there's no [[Size changing|mass-shifting]].]]
Outside, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], dangling from a high rock by his wrecking ball (and becoming quite queasy in the process), is freed by [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], who also ends up taking a tumble. Bumblebee complains about the sheer amount of rocks blocking the space bridge node, and one is shattered unexpectedly by [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s throwing star. Prime gives his troops a speech about teamwork (which Prowl moans at theatrically), but at that point the space bridge lights up, sending rocks and Autobots flying. Fancy footwork by Optimus saves each of his teammates from the debris, and a well-aimed grappling line shuts down the bridge. With his subordinates stunned at their leader's skills, Prime is forced to admit he trained at [[Autobot Academy|Cybertron's military academy]]. Bumblebee's query as to what the heck he's doing on a nowhere maintenance assignment is left unanswered as they notice something glowing in the rubble.

Prime clears away the debris to reveal a large, chest-like object. Ratchet is horrified and immediately demands they throw it back into the space bridge, but an alert from [[Teletran-1]] announces the arrival of a signature consistent with the long-lost [[Decepticon]]s. Ratchet then insists they take the object and just get out of there post-haste.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Decepticonship.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Yes, this is a scout ship. Way to go, Magnanimous.]]
On board [[Teletran-1|their ship]], Ratchet finally reveals what they've found: the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], the source of all Transformer life that was lost centuries ago. Optimus, worried about the oncoming Decepticon signal, contacts the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]] for help. After taking a bit of snark from [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], Optimus reveals what they found, which shuts Sentinel up fast. Sentinel then puts the crew through to [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], who tells Optimus Prime to stay put while they send reinforcements... and not to worry about that Decepticon thing. Optimus, considering this to be a really stupid move, orders the crew to start booking it out of there.

[[Image:Ani crew.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Scotty, engage!]]
This proves wise, as the signal is indeed a Decepticon ship—a [[Nemesis (Animated)|command ship]], in fact. The identification markings are ones that Optimus and Ratchet recognize, meaning its commander can only be one person: [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], leader of the Decepticons. On board the Decepticon ship, [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] doubts the AllSpark is aboard the Autobot ship and declares Megatron a fool. [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] denounces Starscream as a traitor, while [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] calls Lugnut an idiot for his blind loyalty and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] just acts... well, crazy. The Decepticons continue to bicker at each other until Megatron enters, shutting up all of them. The Decepticons chase the Autobot ship, and Starscream volunteers to board them. Megatron quickly shoots that idea down. Just before he leaves, Starscream wishes his commander "luck" with a pat on the back... affixing a bomb to Megatron in the process.

Megatron makes his way to the Autobots' ship and begins to melt his way through its hull. Optimus uses external manipulator arms to grapple with Megatron, until the bomb detonates, sending the ship careening uncontrollably into a space bridge node, which explodes after they go through the gate. Starscream begins to make a speech declaring himself the new Decepticon leader, but the other three have abandoned ship, noting that the fireball from the space bridge explosion is only getting larger. Too late, Starscream realizes the trouble he's in...

An unknown distance away, the Autobot ship reappears above a [[Earth|small blue and green planet]]. Prime checks on his troops, but Megatron has gotten aboard, having survived the explosion, but at the cost of his right arm. Prime uses his grappling line to shut off the gravity, making it more difficult for Megatron to fight. All five Autobots face off against the Decepticon, but he's too strong (though Prowl does manage to cut off Megatron's damaged arm). Prime and Megatron both end up in the storage bay where the AllSpark is... and as the ship enters the atmosphere, Prime is able to blow the hatch and kick the screaming Megatron out of the ship.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Arkatmosphere.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Oddly familiar.]]
On a small farm, a young boy hears a thud and runs to where something has landed in a not-too-distant field. He is shocked to find a robotic head staring lifelessly up at him.

Meanwhile, Prime orders his team into emergency stasis pods to prepare for a crash-landing. He manages to steer the ship away from the city below and gets to a stasis pod just before the ship plunges into [[Lake Erie]].

Fifty years later, [[Detroit]] is once again a thriving city, but instead of manufacturing automobiles, robots are the city's stock-in-trade. [[Isaac Sumdac]] is talking to a public school class taking a tour of his facilities, which gets interrupted by Isaac's daughter, [[Sari Sumdac]], and her robot dog, [[Sparkplug (robot dog)|Sparkplug]]. As Sari is carted off to her lessons by a [[Tutor Bot|robot tutor]], Isaac shows the school kids a nanotech lab, just in time to witness a roach infused with microbots grow out of control and start consuming everything in sight. Isaac tries to keep things calm, but the monster bursts out of the lab...

===Part 2===
[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Firefighters monster.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Yeah, watering it will surely stop the beast.]]
The monster continues to grow, absorbing just about everything it touches to increase its size and power. In the process, it destroys a lot of the factory. [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]], the S.W.A.T team, the fire department, ambulances, and robot drones arrive, but the creature absorbs several of the responding vehicles, too. Fanzone uses a bazooka-type weapon and destroys the beast, despite Sumdac's objection. This protest proves well-founded, as the remnants of the creature start flowing back together again, save for one piece that drops into the nearby lake and works its way down to the Autobots' ship, its nanites seeking the absorbable technology there. It infiltrates via a small breach in the outer hull, but thankfully, the ship's intruder alert systems are functional and awaken the Autobots before any damage is done. Examining the situation, they decide to have Teletran-1 give them Earth forms so they can blend in and help out. A probe is launched into the chaos and scans various vehicles, including an ambulance, a police motorcycle, an armored personnel carrier, a fire truck, and [[Captain Fanzone's car]]. Everyone deploys except Ratchet, who remains behind to analyze the sample of alien material.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Autobots.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Avengers]], ASSEMBLE!]]
During the fight, Bulkhead and Bumblebee spot Sari trying to wrest her security key from Sparkplug's mouth. Mistaking which is owner and which is pet, they approach her, but Bulkhead's greeting only scares her away. She quickly gets nabbed by the monster, but Bumblebee saves her, earning her trust and friendship. Prowl attempts to take on the bug-slug by himself, against Prime's orders, and gets absorbed. Prime orders Ratchet to join them in battle to save Prowl, but the old veteran insists that finding a "cure" code to neutralize the nanites' programming makes more sense than coming out and getting trashed. A somewhat chastened Prime agrees, and Ratchet soon delivers the goods. However, the new program must be uploaded by direct contact—meaning from inside the monster. This means the smallest, fastest one of them has to do it. Bumblebee reluctantly takes on the task. The beast has been using some of Prowl's absorbed intelligence and comm link tech, though, so it knows what they're planning and is now smart enough to fight back. Despite this, Bumblebee succeeds in delivering the code, and the bug dissolves into a dusty shower of deactivated nanites. Prowl is soon uncovered, but he's suffered grave wounds and must be taken back to the Autobots' ship for repairs. Sari pesters Bumblebee to be taken along, and her new friend reluctantly agrees, since there's no time to make her go away quietly.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Sari followedmehome.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Bumblebee, having a pet is a big responsibility.]]
Once on board, Sari's refusal to stay still and quiet causes 'Bee some embarrassment. He quickly and discreetly ejects her into a ventilation port and joins the others. However, the port opens onto a shaft that takes Sari right to the chamber where the AllSpark is being kept. Curious, she touches it, and it reacts to her, sending its energies into her security card key and reconfiguring it into [[AllSpark Key|a key of another sort entirely]]. Prime finds her almost immediately thereafter, but with no time left to spare away from Prowl, he has to bring her back with him to the repair table. Ratchet's prognosis is bleak, but the [[AllSpark Key]] abruptly reacts, glowing and tugging her toward Prowl. Bumblebee, seeming to grasp what's happening, helps her onto the table, and as she approaches, her Key reshapes itself to fit into a slot on Prowl's chest. She inserts it, and with a burst of energy, the Autobot ninja is whole again. The Autobots then take Sari home and, after a brief misunderstanding, are made heroes and are even invited to a ceremony.

In outer space, Starscream sits aboard the damaged but functional Decepticon ship, babbling that he will find the AllSpark, even though he's been attempting it on his own for the last fifty solar cycles. The ship's computers then detect the traces of AllSpark-like energy in action, and Starscream learns where the Autobots are...
{{-}}

===Part 3===
[[Image:Sariprime.jpg|right|150px|thumb|INSERT WHAT WHERE?!]]
The Autobots are later seen trying to fit in. Bulkhead gets firsthand experience in traffic jams, some birds mistake Prowl for the statue of the [[wikipedia:Hazen_S._Pingree|bald guy]] next to him, Bumblebee learns how organics fuel up, and Ratchet can't get a stasis nap without getting a dozen or so parking tickets. Optimus Prime remarks that the Autobots are programmed to respect life, which they always understood to stem from the AllSpark, but as organics are life, they must respect and protect them too. Optimus also expresses curiosity about how little organics are made. Sari's whispered explanation leaves him rather... shocked. The Autobots make a new home base out of a building Sari's dad got out of a merger, an abandoned auto factory that Bumblebee describes as a real fixer-upper—a REAL fixer-upper. All of a sudden, they get alerted to a fire. The Autobots proceed to douse the blaze and save its victims, no problem, unaware they are being watched by Starscream.

The next day, during the inauguration ceremony for the Sumdac [[Fully Automated Rapid Transit System]] (F.A.R.T.S., for short), Starscream enters Earth's atmosphere and takes on a group of fighter jets. He destroys all but one, which he scans. As the civilians and Autobots watch the aerial display of the [[Crimson Angels]], Isaac Sumdac notices there is an extra jet present that he didn't hire. That one jet then leaves the formation and streaks toward the ceremony platform, where it transforms into Starscream, who fires his null-ray cannons at the Autobots.

After a short fight, which the Autobots lose, Starscream knocks out Bumblebee and takes him, Isaac, the mayor, and Capt. Fanzone hostage in the F.A.R.T.S. train, flying it to the top of a very tall tower. He demands that the Autobots deliver the AllSpark if they want him to release the train car. The Autobots don't trust him, but don't want to risk human lives, so Sari offers a plan, but they ignore her. She continues to tell a sob story until the Autobots listen. The Autobots proceed with her plan, and Prowl and Sari fly up to the transit pod to rescue the hostages while the other Autobots keep Starscream busy. Once Starscream realizes what's happening, he takes a brief beating but recovers quickly. Starscream then throws the train—thus keeping his end of the deal—with Sari, Prowl, and Bumblebee on top of/in it. Between Bumblebee's agility and Prowl's thrusters plus Ratchet's magnets, Sari is rescued and the train lands without much damage. The Autobots then challenge Starscream to a friendly game of Keep Away, during which Starscream almost gets the AllSpark, but Bulkhead gets it instead, because he said he got it. A furious Starscream unleashes a devastating, prolonged (as in nearly 12 seconds) null-ray blast on the Autobots, briefly knocking them all senseless.

[[Image:TFA TFandRollout Prime SS Allsparkactivates.jpg|left|150px|thumb|In the old days, [[The Touch]] would have started playing now.]]
With the Autobots down, Starscream takes the AllSpark from Optimus and blows a couple of blocks of Detroit right off the map. Not ready to give up, Optimus climbs all the way up a building to get it back from Starscream, which Starscream doesn't see coming because he was too busy gloating. After a quick back-and-forth exchange of possessing it, both grab it at the same time. As they struggle, the AllSpark opens and emits a strange energy wave that blasts Starscream away.

The explosion has left Prime dangling precariously, and he takes a tremendous plummet to the pavement. He notes weakly that he now knows what it feels like to be a hero, then dies, but Sari uses the AllSpark Key to revive him.<ref>[[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|This is something of an Optimus Prime record]]: Dead after only three episodes, revived a mere 75 seconds later. Way to go.</ref> The Autobots later go about fixing up Detroit, earning the enduring gratitude of the citizenry. Professor Sumdac is also grateful, for the Autobots saved him and Sari, but he fears what will happen if the Autobots—not to mention the rest of the world—were to discover the source of his robotic empire.

Unseen by Sumdac, one of the [[Sensors|optics]] of his source of technology glows in a darkened room. Megatron still functions...
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|
c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (4)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (5)
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (6)
*[[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] (7)
*[[Stick-O]] (8)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] (9)
*[[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] (10)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (11)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (12)

|c3=
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (13)
*[[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel]] (14)
*[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike]] (15)
*[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly]] (16)
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (17)
*[[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] (18)

|c4=
*[[Omega Supreme (Animated)|The ''Orion'']] ()
*[[Sparkplug (robot dog)|Sparkplug]] ()
*[[Tutor Bot]] ()
*[[Burger Bot]] ()}}

==History vid==
{{quote|Many millions of years ago, war raged between the forces of the heroic Autobots and the brutal Decepticons for control of the planet Cybertron. The Autobots battled valiantly in the name of honor—their courageous exploits bringing hope and glory to a beleaguered war-torn planet, and inspiring countless generations of robots yet to come on-line.|Narrator}}
Scene 1: Decepticon troopers attack led by their commander. Their numbers appear overwhelming. 
Scene 2: Two tetrajets pursue two Autobots over a Cybertronian highway. 
Scene 3: [[Omega Sentinel (Animated)|Omega Sentinel]]-like robots counter-attack the Decepticon troopers and appear to turn the tide. 
Scene 4: Transport trucks enter a storage facility. 
Scene 5: An inspired Transformer salutes.

==Quotes==
"Do you ever get the feeling that you were programmed for something more than just repairing space bridges?" 
"I got a diagnostics program that can delete that feeling like a bad line of code."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s dreams are crushed to a fine powder by '''Ratchet'''

"Know what? You're even uglier at this angle!"
:—'''Bumblebee''' is about to realize there are some things you should never, EVER, say to a Decepticon.

"Hi, I'm Bumblebee!" 
"I'm Sari." 
"Oh, don't be, I like my name."
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Sari''' are off to an awkward start.

"Y'know, all things considered, fixin' space bridges wasn't such a bad gig."
:—'''Bumblebee''', just before embarking on the plan to dissolve the bug monster

"Uh...am I going to be able to ''breathe'' down there?" 
"Oh, sure! ...What's 'breathe'?"
:—'''Sari''' is in good hands with '''Bumblebee'''.

"And to think, Ultra Magnus told me not to be a hero. Is this what it was like in your day?" 
"The Decepticons didn't leave us very much to cheer about."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Ratchet''' at the ceremony

"Enjoy it while you can, 'heroes.' You're about to take a fall."
:—'''Starscream''', watching a news report on the Autobots

"Give up the AllSpark or give up the Earth. How am I supposed to decide?" 
"Heroes are the ones who make the hard choices."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Ratchet''' after Starscream makes his ultimatum

"Let go, Autobot!" 
"Never! The AllSpark is life!" 
"Then, let it end yours!"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Optimus Prime''', fighting over the AllSpark

"So, this...is what it feels like...to be a hero."
:—'''Optimus Prime''', just before dying

"Fixing bridges? Isn't this where we started out?"
:—'''Bumblebee''', as the Autobots clean up the city

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*Megatron's vehicle mode was depicted flying upside-down, or backwards, or possibly both. To be fair, in space, there is no up and down (and to be even fairer, it's really hard to tell from the toys exactly what ''is'' the front of Megatron's Cybertronian spaceship mode), but that does not excuse the fact that any propulsion system used would be in the ''back'' of the mode.
*When the Autobot get into the stasis pods, Prime, Bulkhead, and Ratchet are on the left side, with Bumblebee, Prowl, and an empty pod on the right, in that order. Yet when they get out later in the episode, Prime, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead are on the left, and the empty one, Prowl, and Ratchet on the right.
*As pre-Earth Prime enters the chamber which will re-format his body into his Earth mode, he walks past Ratchet, who is drawn mostly in his pre-Earth mode, except for the fact that his Cybertronian gut is replaced with his ambulance gut. In the next scene, Ratchet is properly drawn, pre-Earth gut and all.
*When Sari says to the Autobots it is okay to put down their hands, Bulkhead's face is black.
*When Starscream tackles Optimus Prime through a building as the Autobot tries to escape with the AllSpark, Optimus's axe is missing from Starscream's left wing. It reappears moments later for Optimus to retrieve it.
*In at least one scene, Starscream's Earth-form wing is shown with a spike, in the same manner as his Cybertronian body.

===Continuity errors===
*There was a pretty big continuity error evident in the show's very premise that nobody really picked up on, which was: if the AllSpark was the source of Transformer life, and it was jettisoned into space at the end of the Great War, and most of Prime's crew weren't ''alive'' during the Great War... how did they come on-line? Despite the fact that nobody was asking the question, the ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|AllSpark Almanac II]]'' guidebook provided the answer by revealing that there is also a version of [[Vector Sigma]] in the ''Animated'' universe that could also grant life.
*The train Starscream blasts from the tower falls toward the ground very, very slowly.
*When we first meet Starscream, he states that he has been searching for the AllSpark for fifty ''solar'' cycles. In later episodes, a solar cycle is equivalent to a day and a ''stellar'' cycle is used for years. This is the only time a solar cycle has been used to reference years, so either Starscream entered some sort of temporal anomaly or someone messed up. For more <s>confusion</s> information, See [[Cycle|this page]].
*Sumdac is using Megatron's hand as a chair. However, he seems to be using the right hand, which was blown up by Starscream. (It ''could'' have fallen off the Autobots' ship, as it was still clinging to the hull when last seen, but that seems unlikely.)
*From Isaac Sumdac's monologue, it seems he ''somehow'' knows the source of this technology has some relation to the Decepticons. But, not only he has no way of knowing that, he [[Blast from the Past|later]] believes Megatron when he presents himself as an Autobot.
*Or, when he expresses his concerns, he could just have meant him dissecting one of their kind.

===Transformers references===
*The title of the episode itself is a [[Roll out|reference to past Transformers lore]].
*Footage from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|G1 cartoon]] episodes "[[War Dawn]]" and "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]" is used as history tapes detailing the events of the first [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]], millions of years prior. [[Canon|This]] has been confirmed as purely an in-joke, and should not be taken as linking ''Animated'' to G1, continuity wise.
*The [[Teletran-1|Autobot ship]] here bears a distinct resemblance to the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], albeit with a colour scheme more reminiscent of [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]. (As we learn [[A Bridge Too Close, Part II|much later]], there is [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|a very good reason for that]].)
*Bumblebee says "[[Rattrap|We're all gonna die.]]"
*Sari's robotic dog [[Sparkplug (robot dog)|Sparkplug]] is likely named after either [[Sparkplug Witwicky]] from G1, the ''Armada'' Mini-Con [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], or both.
[[Image:Spikecarlydanielanimated.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Twenty years later, and they're still overdressed.]]
*Characters resembling [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]], [[Carly]], and [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] are seen at a hot dog stand, purchasing some sort of futuristic bunless wieners-on-a-stick. The characters went on to become recurring figures in the background cast of the show, and in "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]" it was revealed that their names were... [[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike]], [[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly]] and [[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel Witwicky]].
*When Optimus Prime dies, his body fades to grays, just as [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Generation 1 Optimus Prime]] did in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. His spark chamber opens in much the same manner as well.
*Teletran-1 (spelled with only one "a" in this universe) dispatches a small satellite very similar to the [[Sky Spy]] satellite used on occasion by the Autobots in the ''Generation 1'' cartoon. The glowing energy "boxes" with which it scans vehicles for the Autobots to transform into are lifted wholesale out of "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".
*At one point, Bulkhead refers to Optimus as "Boss-bot", echoing an epithet used for ''[[Beast Wars (franchise)|Beast Wars]]'' [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] by the [[Fuzor]] [[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]].

===Foreign dubbing===
'''Brazilian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformar e Avançar!'''" ("Transform and Advance!")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformation'''"
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformieren und Abfahrt'''" ("Transform and Roll Out")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[May 3|3 May]] [[2008]] (Part 1), [[May 10|10 May]] 2008 (Part 2), [[May 17|17 May]] 2008 (Part 3)

'''Japanese (Part 1)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Shinshō! Transformer'''" (新章! トランスフォーマー, "A New Chapter! Transformers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 3|3 April]] [[2010]]

::*The episode begins with the entire [[Otoboto family]] gathered as Yūka and Tatsuya tell the viewers in unison to watch in a well-lit room (to prevent seizures and damage to your eyesight, you know).
::*As the [[title sequence]] begins, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] asks how everyone is doing, then introduces himself as leader of the Autobots. When he realizes nobody knows who he is, he ''assures'' them that he's leader of the Autobots. Then the [[Transformers Evo.|theme song]] starts.
::*'''Cut:''' Ratchet and Optimus's conversation as they walk down a hall, where Prime refers to feeling like being meant for "more than just repairing space bridges", and Ratchet's snarky response about deleting that feeling "like a bad line of code".
::*'''Cut:''' Bulkhead's comment on their medic being always grumpy, Ratchet responding to Bumblebee's age crack with a smack upside the head and the retort of "I may have one servo in the scrapheap, but I can still hear!".
::*The usual cries of "Transform!" and attack names are added in. ([[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]'s "stingers" are now called "Energy Stingers", for instance.) Perhaps most annoyingly, ''every single thing Optimus does'' has the prefix of "Ultra" added to it. In the span of ten seconds, he goes through his "Ultra Anchor", "Ultra Axe" and "Ultra Net" attacks.
::*'''Cut:''' After shutting down the space bridge, the following sequence where Ratchet is repairing Bumblebee, Bulkhead commenting about Optimus's moves, Optimus reluctantly admitting that he used to train at the Academy, and Bumblebee saying that he should've been with the Elite Guard.
::*'''Cut:''' Ratchet's poking back at Optimus wanting to see some action, Bumblebee pointing out they're repair bots, Optimus requesting a link with Cybertron Command Headquarters and Bulkhead impressed by it.
::*[[Teletran-1]] now speaks as though "she" is in a state of perpetual orgasm.
::*When the Autobots first happen upon the ''[[Nemesis (Animated)|Nemesis]]'' and all freak over [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], a new [[scene transition]] is added when transitioning into the discussion between the Decepticon forces. A guitar riff of the classic Generation 1 scene transition music is even used.
::*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]'s personae now speak with thick American accents, and spout English words like "Hey!" and "Man!"
::*New [[commercial bumper]]s have been crafted, featuring stock art of the characters with their voice actors screaming their name, followed by "Transform!"
::*'''Cut:''' [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'s entire speech on the bridge ("This is a dark day...") followed by him getting caught in the explosion.
::*When Bulkhead tumbles into Optimus, following his line "A little warning would have helped!", he screams out "Mommyyyyyyy!" Yeah, Japanese Bulkhead ain't so smart.
::*'''Cut:''' After Megatron is kicked from the ship, the establishing shots of Paw Paw (the street sign, the outside of the barn and the scroll across [[Isaac Sumdac]]'s lab).
::*'''Cut:''' Following Prime's line "Not until I've steered us clear of this populated sector!", the brief scenes of the Autobots being sealed in their stasis pods.
::*'''Cut:''' As soon as the ship crashes into Lake Eerie and leaves a stream of upturned water on the surface, the scenes of the ship sinking and Teletran-1 "initiating emergency stasis mode" on the pods as they turn grey. The episode resumes at the long shot of the sinking ship slowly coming toward the camera, with a new voice-over of Teletran-1 telling the Autobots "good night".
::*'''Cut:''' As Isaac Sumdac narrates the history of Detroit and automaton manufacturing, the scene of the trash-collecting automaton has been cut.
::*'''Cut:''' The scenes of [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] pulling the bubblegum off her face, eating it, the crowd reacting in disgust, Isaac Sumdac reacting in frustration, the kid asking Sari what its like to grow up around robots and [[Tutor Bot]] hauling Sari off.
::*'''Cut:''' After the cockroach absorbs the nanobot liquid, all the scenes involving Isaac Sumdac explaining the nanobots to the children and the children looking through microscopes at the nanobots. The sequence cuts to the roach growing bigger.
::*'''Cut:''' The close-up of Isaac Sumdac saying "Nothing to be concerned about, children!" and the kid remarking that "This accident doesn't look too happy". The sequence cuts to the roach crashing through the window behind him.
::*The Otoboto Family segment features [[Hiroyuki Otoboto]] telling his son, [[Tatsuya Otoboto]], about ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]'', complete with clips from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", as well as a brief musical clip from the songs "Time Bomb Town" (by Lindsey Buckingham, from the ''Back To The Future'' soundtrack) and "Fairy Godmother Song" (from the ''Shrek 2'' soundtrack). Mr. Otoboto then produces a complete set of ''Animated'' Autobot toys. Tatsuya is thrilled, but wouldn't ya know it? [[Megumi Otoboto|Mrs. Otoboto]] comes in with dinner! During mealtime conversation, Mrs. Otoboto makes the mistake of using the word "transform", which inevitably causes Tatsuya to start talking about Transformers, much to the amusement of his father and the annoyance of his older sister, [[Yūka Otoboto|Yūka]]. Tatsuya then causes a "freeze frame" so that he can introduce himself and his family (messing with his father's glasses in the process for his own amusement). Oddly, despite being "frozen", everyone proceeds to blink. As time resumes its normal pace, Hiroyuki wonders what happened to his glasses. He then digs into his dinner, except, oh no! It's too hot! ''Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!''
::*During the "next episode" segment, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee proceed to have an argument. Bumblebee thinks Optimus's name is too long and hard to remember. Bumblebee suggests that "[[Convoy (rank)|Convoy]]" would be better, but Prime shoots the idea down immediately. Bumblebee opts to call him "Opti" (''Oputi''), since it has fewer syllables. Prime refuses to be called such a name (more fitting for a dog), so Bumblebee settles on "Pu-Pu" after "Opera" (''Opura'') is also rejected for sounding weird. Prime refuses that too, thinking it sounds cute, but that it would be hard not to laugh instinctively at it. Bumblebee then tricks Prime into answering to it, which frustrates him even ''further''. The argument proceeds ''past'' the "next episode" segment and straight into the sponsor cards.

'''Japanese (Part 2)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Eiyū, sono Na wa Autobot'''" (英雄、その名はオートボット, "The Heroes Are Called Autobots")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 10|10 April]] [[2010]]

::*Hiroyuki and Tatsuya Otoboto tell the viewers in unison to watch the episode in a well-lit room (with Hiroyuki giving a creepy wink at the end).
::*Instead of Optimus introducing at the opening, Bumblebee introduces himself and tells viewers to listen to [[JAM Project]]'s [[Transformers Evo.|cool song]].
::*'''Cut:''' The rush of emergency vehicles driving through the city, alongside the following scene of Fanzone getting into his car, preparing to enjoy lunch at Burger Bot, and receiving the emergency call before departing.
::*'''Cut:''' Fanzone arriving at Sumdac laboratories, his little dilemma with the broken megaphone, and his first directions to the police force.
::*Optimus now has "Ultra Jump" added to his "arsenal" as he distracts the nano-monster.
::*Bulkhead now says "''dosukoi''" on occasion, a word usually used by [[Wikipedia:Sumo|sumo wrestlers]].
::*'''Cut:''' The left-to-right pan of the ruined laboratory where the tour had taken place.
::*'''Cut:''' Much of the flying debris from the monster falling into the ocean.
::*During the [[trans-scan|trans-scanning]], Teletran-1 announces the type of vehicle being scanned and the Autobots as they are reformatted.
::*'''Cut:''' Fanzone noticing the four vehicles confronting the monster and attempting to call them back before noticing that they are unmanned and include his own car.
::*'''Cut:''' Immediately after the previous cut, the scene where Bulkhead and Bumblebee attempt to converse with the police drones while fighting the monster.
::*The joke on Sari's name—"I'm Bumblebee." "I'm Sari." "Oh, don't be. I like my name." "No, I mean my name is..."—is somewhat altered. Instead, Bumblebee "corrects" her that ''he's'' not named "Sari" (the pun involving "I'm Sari" sounding like "I'm sorry" not working in the Japanese language, obviously).
::*'''Cut:''' After Bumblebee takes Sari into the parking garage, Fanzone's and Dr. Sumdac's observation of Bumblebee and his unknown purposes, and the ordering the police drones to save Sari.
::*Bumblebee counts off while disabling the police drones, and he has an extra line even though his mouth doesn't move.
::*'''Cut:''' Ratchet's comment on Optimus being a "typical [[Autobot Academy|Academy Bot]]", along with a shot of the computer analysis of the monster.
::*'''Cut:''' Sari's gasp when Bumblebee is jumping at the monster.
::*When Sari reassures Ratchet that humans "don't usually blow up things" with emergency symbols, Ratchet comments about being treated kindly.
::*'''Cut:''' After Dr. Sumdac shakes hands with Optimus at the ceremony, Optimus's comment regarding not being a hero, his question to Ratchet about things being "like this in your day", and Ratchet's rather ominous response.
::*'''Cut:''' After the ceremony, the foreshadowing scene in which Starscream is seen monologuing in the crashed ''Nemesis'' on the Moon.
::*For the Otoboto family segment, Hiroyuki and Tatsuya are playing on the living room carpet with their toys (Hiroyuki and his Optimus Prime against Tatsuya and his Bumblebee). Filled with nostalgia, Hiroyuki begins describing the Autobots and the roles of each character to the audience, only to have Tatsuya beat him to the punch by ending all his sentences. Suddenly, they hear a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. Hiroyuki and Tatsuya rise to the occasion, shout "Transform!" and "change" into Optimus Prime and Megatron t-shirts (accompanied by their own dramatic "transformation" sequences). But before they can battle the forces of Evil stirring up trouble in the kitchen, they first have to sit back down on the living room floor and transform their toys into vehicle mode. (So, what if there was a burglar beating your wife, dude?) As Hiroyuki completes the transformation of his Optimus toy, we are assured that the "adventure" of the Otoboto family will be continued next episode.
::*In the "next episode" segment, Bulkhead asks Ratchet about the name "Transformers Animated", and Bulkhead then mistakenly tells viewers to watch "Transformers Anime". Ratchet later jokes about shortening the title to "Tra-Ani" because the original title is a bit long.

'''Japanese (Part 3)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''AllSpark no Himitsu'''" (オールスパークの秘密, "Secret of the AllSpark")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 17|17 April]] [[2010]]

::*This time, it's mother and daughter, Megumi and Yūka Otoboto, who tell viewers to watch the episode in a well-lit room.
::*Starscream does the intro in a rather...perky manner.
::*'''Cut:''' The ''whole'' sequence of the Autobots integrating themselves into Detroit: Bulkhead walking through rush hour traffic, Prowl's encounter with the birds' "present", Bumblebee ordering at Burger Bot, Ratchet getting ticketed for napping in a no-parking zone, Sari traumatizing Optimus on human reproduction, and the Autobots checking out their new "home".
::*During the sequence in which the Autobots are responding to the building fire, there are some additional lines and a tweak: The entire team sound off their names while heading on scene; Bumblebee jokes about calling in [[Wikipedia:Tomica Hero: Rescue Fire|Rescue Fire]], to which Bulkhead responds by breaking the fourth wall, "That's a different show"; and the news reporter's coverage/praise of the Autobots doesn't mention "Detroit" by name and lasts until the scene changes to Starscream watching from the ''Nemesis''.
::*Sumdac says "480" on introducing the F.A.R.T.S.'s speed, which makes sense, as Japan uses the metric system and 300 miles equals to 482.803 kilometers.
::*'''Cut:''' Optimus commenting to Ratchet on being constantly called "heroes" and not feeling any different than repairing space bridges before, and Ratchet's response on the grim ends of the "heroes" he's known and his reluctance to share their fates.
::*During Starscream's attack on the jet fighters, one of the pilots shouts additional "Mayday!"s, to which Starscream retorts that "It's not 'Mayday', it's Starscream! Remember it!"
::*'''Cut:''' Panning shot from the top of Michigan Central Station down to the gathered Transformers.
::*When Starscream claims he's the "new boss" (literally) of the Decepticons, Bulkhead corrects him instead of saying that he thought Megatron was in charge.
::*Extra lines: both Ratchet and Prowl after the station crumbles; Starscream has one before Prowl tricks him with a hologram and another while dragging Optimus about after Prime uses his grappling hook.
::*'''Cut:''' Optimus declaring his name after Starscream demands the AllSpark. Cuts right to Starscream tossing Bumblebee into the transit pod.
::*Starscream's gloating while circling Sumdac Tower before Optimus baits him with the AllSpark.
::*When Sumdac asks how Sari got up the tower, Prowl's line is changed from "Same way you're getting down," to "By me, father." Fanzone's "This is why I hate machines!" catchphrase during the trip down is also tweaked.
::*Fanzone seems to be screaming for his grandfather as Prowl is dropping down to the blimp.
::*Additional line for Starscream when Ratchet tries to stop him with his magnetic manipulators.
::*Add "Ultra Spray" to Optimus's list of "Ultra" attacks when he sprays Starscream with fire retardant foam twice. Oy...
::*Bumblebee has an extra line while trying to attack Starscream when the latter realizes the jig's up.
::*Prowl calls out to Bumblebee when the train is knocked over the edge, and Starscream shouts "Dual Sonic Blaster" on sending all three into free fall.
::*Joining Bumblebee's ''"Ikimasu!"'' and Bulkhead's ''"Dosukoi!"'', Prowl's verbal tic is ''"De aru!"'' (Literally, "to be" in formal speech.)
::*Bulkhead's rhetorical question on catching the train on the first bounce is changed to a vow to do his best.
::*Instead of shock absorbers, Sari asks if Bumblebee has a parachute.
::*Ratchet has "Magnet Power" as his attack call when he catches the youngest pair, Sari's "some shock absorbers" line is altered, Prowl has "They're floating." as an extra line, and Bumblebee thanks Ratchet. Optimus's "think fast" line is delayed to just as he throws the AllSpark, and the medic's "Aw, crud." line is changed to objecting on being called "gramps" by Bumblebee.
::*While Sari calls the game "Keep Away" in English, here it's changed to Tag, or 鬼ごっこ (''oni-gokko'').
::*Instead of going on how fast one can stop, Bumblebee talks about hitting the goal.
::*Bulkhead's "I said, 'I ''got'' it.'" is altered after he clocks Starscream and gets the AllSpark.
::*Starscream yells that the show isn't over yet when he attacks the Autobots again just as Optimus is contemplating on getting the AllSpark to a safe place.
::*Instead of responding that it's Detroit when Optimus asks whether he's in the Well of AllSparks, Sari just welcomes him back. Another line change is that she tells Bulkhead that humans also cry when they're happy, instead of the Autobots having much to learn about humans.
::*'''Cut:''' The news reporter covering the Autobots' rescue and repair efforts, Bumblebee commenting how they started out on fixing bridges, Sumdac's lament of his robotic empire's origin, and the camera pan to Megatron's head.
::*In this Otoboto family segment, Hiroyuki whips out his cellphone and goes into full chatting mode. Tatsuya wonders what kind of work his father does and whether it's actually work, as he usually sees Hiroyuki playing with Transformers figures almost all the time. Tatsuya then flashbacks to last week, when, after transforming their figures to vehicle mode, father and son are racing Optimus and Bumblebee before encountering Yūka's feet. Yūka thinks her father is quite the man-child and hands over a card from someone whom Hiroyuki thought passed away three years earlier.
::*The Autobots discuss their favorite sports player during the "next episode" segment, Optimus citing [[Wikipedia:Shuzo Matsuoka|Shuzo Matsuoka]] as his favorite, much to the others' disappointment. As Prime waxes poetic about Matsuoka's passion and energetic character, he doesn't realize that his teammates have already left.

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transformacja i jazda'''" ("Transform and Roll Out")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 11|11 October]] [[2008]] (Parts 1 and 2), [[October 12|12 October]] [[2010]] (Part 3)

===Trivia===
*In this episode, [[Tutor Bot]] tries to teach Sari about the [[wikipedia:Smoot-Hawley_Tariff_Act|Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act]], a major economic blunder of the 1930s.
*Bumblebee's voice is slightly different in this episode from how it sounds later, as is Lugnut's voice, which seems very metallic.
*When Prowl gets birdpooped on, he is standing next to a statue of [[wikipedia:Hazen_S._Pingree|Hazen S. Pingree]], four-term mayor of Detroit and one-time governor of Michigan. In real life, the statue is located in Detroit's Grand Circus Park.
*A refurbished Michigan Central Station makes an appearance as the site for the dedication of Detroit's rapid transit system. The real-life station (abandoned since the '80s) was featured in the [[Transformers (2007)|2007 live-action movie]].
*When mocking the Autobots, Starscream actually calls Megatron "the great Megatron" without any sarcasm. Apparently, he'll only give a sincere compliment to his leader when he's insulting something else. Either that or he's just trying to make ''himself'' sound more impressive by building up the reputation of the one he's defeated.
*When Optimus comes back to life, he asks, "Is this the [[Well of All Sparks]]?" and Sari answers, "No, it's Detroit." This is an allusion to the movie ''Field of Dreams'', in which Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) asks Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), "Is this Heaven?" and Ray answers, "No, it's Iowa."
*According to responses at a panel at BotCon 2008, the unfortunate acronym for Fully Automated Rapid Transit System was totally unintentional...which makes it that much funnier.
*Ratchet is able to use his front windshield as a video screen.
*Several elements present in this opener were changed/dropped in the main series, including expressive vehicle modes, the replacement of solar cycles with stellar cycles in terminology, the recolouring of Ratchet's magnetism from yellow to pink, and Sari's Key changing shape. However, the expressions on vehicle mode were briefly used again by [[Wasp]] in the episode [[Predacons Rising]].
*During [[Sari Sumdac|Sari's]] "conversation" with the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]], it shows her the faces of Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream, then the Cybertronian [[Alternate mode|vehicle modes]] for Optimus and Ratchet, the AllSpark's case and the [[Teletran-1|Autobots' ship]]. Then Sari unknowingly shows the AllSpark a man in a suit, a woman, a boy, the planet [[Earth]], pyramids, purple flowers, a horse, an aircraft with a giant cloud coming from the back, a cell and a DNA strand. The woman has dark skin and red hair like Sari.
*This movie was (lovingly) lampooned at the [[MSTF]] panel for [[BotCon 2008]], along with "[[War Dawn]]", the episode from which most of the "history vid" footage was taken.
*It's Detroit. There are guns everywhere. Why are the humans using ''water'' to take down the monster?
*In this episode, Starscream's engines use a sound effect borrowed from ''The Phantom Menace'': the sound made by Sebulba's podracer engines.
*In the Japanese dub, Bumblebee mentions ''Rescue Fire'', which is another [[TakaraTomy]] property that's based on Takara's Tomica toy car line. Prior to ''Animated''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s Japanese debut, it aired in the same timeslot and channel as ''[[Cybertron (cartoon)|Galaxy Force]]'' did.

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of UN.png|20px|International release]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — The Battle Begins ([[Pack-in material|Hasbro]]) — Part 1 only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transform and Roll Out ([[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video|Paramount]]) — English and Spanish audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2008 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Transformieren und Abfahrt (Paramount) — English and German audio. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2010 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Vol. 1 (Paramount) — Japanese audio only.

== Footnote ==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Bumblebee (Animated)

2011-07-23T18:12:40Z

166.137.137.185: /* Animated cartoon */

{{factions|autobot|hofsilver}}
{{picsneeded|Cartoon screencaps}}
{{disambig3|Bumblebee}}
:''Bumblebee is an [[Autobot]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Bumblebeeanimated.jpg|thumb|300px|Little. Yellow. Different.]]
'''Bumblebee''' is the youngest, yellowest, and most energetic of the Autobots...[[Bumblebee (G1)|as]] [[Bumblebee (Movie)|usual]]. A hyperactive wisecracker, Bumblebee is quite convinced he's the fastest—and coolest—thing on four wheels. He has a tendency to bite off more than he can chew, so it's a good thing he pals around with the massive [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]. He does ''not'' take well to being called short, and his over-eager ways can get on [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet's]] nerves all too easily. Still, Bumblebee is good with people, as evidenced by his fast friendship with [[Sari Sumdac]].

{{bigquote|I may be small, but I'm scrappy! And I can ride circles around your big, old, rusty chassis!|Bumblebee to Bulkhead|"[[Total Meltdown]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
:''Voice actor:'' [[Bumper Robinson]] (English), [[Daisuke Kishio]] (Japanese), [[Santiago Ziesmer]] (German), [[Krzysztof Korzeniowski]] (Polish), [[Renato Novara]] (Italian), [[Márcio Araújo]] (Portuguese), [[Cristian Lizama]] (Latin American Spanish), [[Sin Yongwu]] (Korean)

[[Image:Autobot_Cadets.jpg|thumb|left|250px|There's a [[Wasp|green me]] and a [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|red me]]!]]
Early in his career, Bumblebee dreamed of becoming a member of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]]. He joined the [[Autobot boot camp]], but things didn't exactly go as planned—his [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|drill sergeant]] was a jerk, [[Wasp|most]] of his [[Ironhide (Animated)|classmates]] bullied him and the only bot willing to befriend him was a complete [[Bulkhead (Animated)|mudflap]]. His luck seemed to change, however, when he accidentally overheard someone communicating with [[Lugnut (Animated)|a Decepticon]]. He then saw fellow classmate [[Wasp]] walk out, which aroused his suspicions. After taking the advice of [[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm]], Bumblebee attempted to weed out the spy, but Sentinel Minor got in the way twice. Needless to say, this resulted in many [[Transform-up|transform-ups]] for his squadron. After Wasp and Ironhide tore off his legs and put him in a closet, he was saved by Longarm, who encouraged him not to give up. Later that day, the group was put through their first training exercise—combat in a simulated battlezone. When somebody switched the turret settings to fire actual lasers, it was Bulkhead who saved Bumblebee. However, they accidentally knocked over a building in the process, flattening Sentinel. He came friends with [[Stick-O]].

[[Image:Beecybermode.jpg|thumb|250px|Very Wacky Races.]]
When Sentinel was conducting a surprise locker inspection, Sentinel discovered a Decepticon communicator in Wasp's trunk, ousting him as a traitor. Sentinel was prepared to put Bumblebee on an Elite Guard fast track program. Sadly, his new friendship with Bulkhead forced him to throw it all away in order to prevent his new buddy being kicked out, and they both wound up working on [[space bridge]]s. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:Bumblebeeanimatedpreearth.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Wait... who are [[Hot Shot (Animated)|you]]?]]

The two friends were assigned to [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]'s space bridge repair [[Teletran-1|vessel]]. During one mission, Bumblebee and Bulkhead stumbled across [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], a ninja-bot meditating near an isolated space bridge. Due to an [[energon cube]] accident on [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]'s part, Prowl's spaceship was destroyed, and he was forced to join their crew. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}} After this, Bumblebee's work continued as usual until the crew discovered the [[AllSpark]] itself on another asteroid, which unfortunately attracted the attention of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]. Even though he expressed significant fear of the [[Decepticon]] leader, Bumblebee still managed to crack wise at his appearance once they were face-to-face. The humor vanished when Megatron pulled out his sword. After Megatron was thrown off the ship, Bumblebee entered stasis with the rest of the crew just before the crew's ship crash-landed on [[Earth]].

Fifty years later, Teletran-1 awoke the crew to alert them to the intrusion of a nanite-powered bug-slug. Sending out a probe to find local disguises, the probe scanned [[Captain Fanzone]]'s [[Captain Fanzone's car|car]] amongst other things. Bumblebee was given the car for his new bodyform. Lucky him.

[[Image:TFA_TFandRollout_Sari_followedmehome.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"Can we keep it?"]]
Upon noticing [[Sari Sumdac|"a little creature"]] struggling with her [[Sparkplug (robot dog)|"owner"]], Bumblebee and Bulkhead showed their unfamiliarity with organic life by assuming the owner/pet relationship was reversed. Their speculation was interrupted by the attacks of the giant, nanite-fueled bug monster, and Bumblebee intervened to get Sari out of the way. Later in the battle, Bumblebee was called on to deliver the override command to the beast's nanites, as he was the fastest and most nimble of the crew.

His defeat of the monster seriously impressed Sari, who decided to befriend him. Sari's definition of befriending included cajoling him into sneaking her aboard the Autobots' ship. Of course, Sari wouldn't stay still as Bumblebee asked, compelling him to jettison her into a ventilation shaft. After introducing her to the group, Sari and Bumblebee became fast friends. When [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] attacked [[Detroit]], Bumblebee took a shot intended for Sari, allowing Starscream to capture Bumblebee, [[Isaac Sumdac]], Captain Fanzone, and the Mayor. Sari, with [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s help, managed to rescue them. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

The Autobots quickly became famous for their heroic deeds in Detroit, much to Bumblebee's delight. Prowl, on the other hand, was less enthusiastic about all the attention, however, and he and Bumblebee quickly had a clash of opinions on the values of peace and quiet versus the values of fun. When the Autobots' factory base was turned against them, however, Bumblebee was forced to listen to Prowl's "stillness and strike" attitude to get past the motion sensors preventing him from shutting the factory down. In the aftermath, he had a newfound respect for Prowl as the two played a relaxed game of Twister™. {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}}

At one point, Bumblebee took part in a match against [[Colossus Rhodes|Cyrus "Colossus" Rhodes]], hosted by [[Meltdown (Animated)|Prometheus Black]] to show off the effectiveness of biotechnology. Unfortunately, Cyrus [[Hulk|hulked up]], then proceeded to beat the [[Slag (slang)|slag]] out of Bumblebee. The other Autobots were forced to rescue him, using it as a chance to riff on his small stature. However, only Bumblebee was able to get into [[Sumdac Tower]] when [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]] went to kill Isaac Sumdac. Bumblebee managed to get him to the ground floor, but Meltdown arrived. Bulkhead tried to stop him, but Meltdown threw a glob of acid at Bulkhead, which Bumblebee took instead. Bulkhead offered his apologies over his comments, saying he was only having a little fun—which sent Bumblebee into declaring his good moves and speed. He's going to be pretty impossible to live with for a while. {{storylink|Total Meltdown}}

The troubles in Detroit were far from over, as the Autobots soon found themselves facing three rampaging [[Dinobot (Animated)|robotic dinosaurs]]. During the battle, Bumblebee combined his [[Stinger (weapon)|stingers]]' electrical with Ratchet's magnets to create an [[electromagnetic pulse]] that would hopefully shut the prehistoric menaces down. Sari decided to pitch in by boosting Bumblebee's stingers with her [[AllSpark Key]], which proved enough to defeat the "Dinobots"... but also provided them with [[Spark|sparks]]. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}} He later bought a neat car horn and tried to chase down a mysterious muscle car with little success. The car turned out to be the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], who kidnapped Optimus Prime and made short work of Bumblebee as well, threatening to take his stingers. In the end, Lockdown was defeated by Ratchet and Prime was saved. {{storylink|The Thrill of the Hunt}}

[[Image:TFA_Nanosec_Bumblebee_turbo_boosters.JPG|thumb|left|250px|BB got back!]]
After Bumblebee showed a lack of ability (or inclination) to be subtle on Earth, Prime had Prowl try to teach Bumblebee how to blend in. This ruined some plans with Sari, as she wanted to attach some turbo-boosters to him to make him go even faster. During the exercise, they encountered [[Nanosec]], a crook that had gained Professor Sumdac's new speed suit via [[Megatron (Animated)|unknown patrons]]. Unable to keep up with Nanosec, Bumblebee was convinced by Sari attach the turbo-boosters against Prime's orders. Unfortunately, he couldn't control them in vehicle mode, allowing Nanosec to escape from the Autobots twice. Worse, he was carrying enough [[Destronium]] to destroy all of Detroit. Overhearing Bulkhead and Prowl's comments on his change of appearance, Bumblebee realized that the suit was causing him to age the more he used it, so he purposefully ran him into old age (cold, Bee). With the Destronium about to go critical, Bumblebee, with help from Prowl and Bulkhead, managed to use his turbo-boosters to head into the outer atmosphere and get the Destronium away from the city before detonating. The whole experience seems have given Bumblebee a bit more respect for subtlety. {{storylink|Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec}}

October soon came around, and Sari decided to teach the Autobots about [[Halloween]]. Bumblebee dressed up as "Count Dracubot", but his trick-and-treating session went sour when he and Bulkhead were attacked by the spider-bot [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] and knocked unconscious. They recovered in time to save Sari from falling off a skyscraper, although Bumblebee blew out his tires in the process. {{storylink|Along Came a Spider}} After participating in Sari's eighth birthday party, Bumblebee decided that he also wanted one of those cool [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] toys. He was less enthusiastic after Soundwave took control of all [[automaton]]s in Detroit and faked Bumblebee's voice in order to confuse the Autobots. {{storylink|Sound and Fury}} While Soundwave was eventually defeated, the Decepticon attacks were far from over—[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] soon arrived on Earth in their search for Megatron. Bumblebee and the others were knocked unconscious by Lugnut's [[Punch of Kill Everything|mighty punch]] in their first battle, but the odds were in the Autobots' favour when they later fought in the muddy waters of [[Lake Erie]]. Bumblebee got to electrocute Blitzwing a bit before both Decepticons were blasted to pieces by Teletran-1's main cannon. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

When Sari was later kidnapped by a [[Swoop (Animated)|pterosaur]], Bumblebee participated in the police investigation. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}} Bulkhead later got into the fine arts, so Bumblebee helped out by modeling for him until his friend got his body hijacked by the human villain known as the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]]. As the other Autobots investigated, Bumblebee kept Bulkhead's head company and helped him create art pieces for his upcoming gallery (all while relentlessly cracking jokes about the situation, naturally). The Headmaster soon threatened to destroy Detroit using Bulkhead's body, so the Autobots approached him by pretending to be rescue vehicles, with Bumblebee being driven by Captain Fanzone. During the battle against the Headmaster, he got to play both bowling and football with Bulkhead's head before it was returned to its body. {{storylink|Headmaster (episode)|Headmaster}}

Some time during that winter, Bumblebee and Sari were playing video games and listening to music while ignoring Prowl's lectures on how spending so much time on "electronic devices" was unnecessary. All three of them were then sent out to investigate a Cybertronic energy signal in the woods; a prospect which filled Bumblebee with dread as nature was just so ''incredibly'' boring compared to his TV, games and music back home. He came along on what Sari described as a "camping trip" anyway, although he brought plenty of electronic devices with him. Prowl was not impressed, and even less so when Bumblebee decided to use his holographic projector as a TV screen. The lack of electricity proved to be the least of Bumblebee's problems, however, as the group was attacked by a [[Space barnacles|space barnacle monster]] shortly after nightfall. After a drawn-out fight with the creature, Bumblebee eventually knocked it off a cliff with his stingers, only to find that Prowl had been infected by the barnacles himself. While Sari had the bright idea of trapping the crazed Prowl in a mine, Bumblebee ended up trapping both of ''them'' in it as well, and got himself infected. Ultimately, Sari saved the day by using hot water to remove the barnacles, and in the aftermath Bumblebee voiced his opinion that nature should just be paved over as soon as possible. {{storylink|Nature Calls}}

[[Image:Megatron_rising_1_Starscream_freakout.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Bumblebee followed this moment by offering Starscream a polo.]]
When Decepticon activity was detected in high levels, Bulkhead spilled the beans on what he and Prowl had done with the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], and Optimus Prime pretty much lost it. Ranting that all he had was a group of insubordinate malfunctions, he told Ratchet to take Sari's [[AllSpark Key]] from her, saying it wasn't safe in her hands. As she ran off crying, Bumblebee defended her, and Prime pointed out that Bumblebee wasn't a good character witness. Bumblebee mouthed off that their situation meant that Prime wasn't fit to command, and then went looking for Sari. Heading to [[Sumdac Tower]], Bumblebee spotted Starscream, and disobeyed Prime's order to hold off. Heading up the elevator (which could not only fit him, but also carry his weight), Bumblebee charged, firing his stingers at Starscream. All it really did was interrupt his speech, which made Starscream ''seriously'' freak out. However, a crane pulled Starscream, who was holding Bumblebee, up to the roof, where the two fought it out...right until Megatron burst through the roof of the tower. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

After Megatron's restoration, Starscream absentmindedly beat on Bumblebee for a while, then threw him aside when Megatron called the Decepticons to him. Once he'd been repaired with remaining AllSpark Key energy in Professor Sumdac's lab, Bumblebee called Prime on his previous statements, and Optimus apologized, saying he'd been out of line. When Ratchet brought the Autobots' ship to them, the Autobots and Sumdacs boarded the vessel in an attempt to lead Megatron and the Decepticons off-planet, but were shot down and crashed on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. As the Autobots rallied to defend the AllSpark, Bumblebee, Ratchet, and Prowl took on [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]. Ratchet and Bumblebee teamed up again to create an [[electromagnetic pulse]], causing him to crash. After shelling them in tank mode, Blitzwing again took to the air for some strafing runs. Prowl noticed a connection between Blitzwing's alternate modes and personalities, so they had Bumblebee use his greatest strength, his obnoxious personality, to cause Angry Blitzwing to emerge. Taunting the triple changer, Bumblebee got him to transform accidentally into tank mode and crash into the lake. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

[[Image:Super_secretary.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"[[Aaron Archer]]'s office. Please hold."]] Following the defeat of Megatron and the disappearance of Professor Sumdac, Bumblebee helped Sari run [[Sumdac Systems]] until the arrival of the [[Cybertron Elite Guard]]. Among their numbers was [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], Bumblebee and Bulkhead's old sergeant from boot camp, but thankfully he didn't seem to remember them. Bumblebee and the rest of the crew were subsequently contained within the [[Steelhaven (Animated)|Elite Guard flagship]] while the Sentinel and [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] went with Optimus Prime to investigate the supposed defeat of Megatron and dispersion of the AllSpark, but soon had to leave to deal with an out-of-control [[police drone]] factory. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}} Shortly afterwards, Bumblebee greeted Sari when she was thrown out of Sumdac Tower by [[Porter C. Powell]] and forced to live with the Autobots. He and Bulkhead tried to cheer her up by saying that living together would be like a non-stop party, making her food and teaching her about "stuff and how it works", but were met with limited success. {{storylink|The Return of the Headmaster}}

Bumblebee and Sari later helped stop a runaway train powered by an AllSpark fragment. When Starscream stopped by again, Bumblebee and Ratchet again combined their powers to attack him with an electromagnetic pulse, but the AllSpark-powered Decepticon shrugged it off like it was nothing. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}} After noticing truly how bad Ratchet's people skills were, Optimus Prime assigned Bumblebee and Sari to help him improve on them, something neither party was very enthusiastic about. During their training, the three encountered the newly created Transformer [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|Wreck-Gar]], who proceeded to throw beef and motorcycles at Bumblebee. The Autobots chased Wreck-Gar across the city to retrieve the experimental nanobots he had in his backpack, but Bumblebee was not present during Ratchet's final confrontation with the confused 'bot. {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}}

[[Image:TFA_Velocity_Bumblebee_Blurr_meet.JPG|thumb|right|250px|"If you're [[Auggie Cahnay]], your ass is grass!"]]
Bumblebee became involved in the illegal street races organised by the criminal [[Master Disaster]]. Believing himself to be the fastest things on wheels, Bumblebee was unsurprisingly shocked after getting thrashed in a race by a [[Blurr (Animated)| Mysterious Blue Race Car]]. Following this, AllSpark traces, and the appearance of Blitzwing at the race track, Bumblebee became determined to get to the bottom of the mystery (although deep down he just wanted another chance to beat the Unknown Racer.) He made a deal with Master Disaster to appear in his races. Enlisting the help of Sari, Bumblebee returned to the track, and, to cut a long story short, ending up being pursued by the maniacal Blitzwing. After nearly being frozen one minute and melted to slag the next, Bumblebee was eventually rescued by the Mysterious Racer driving into Blitzwing. The excitement wasn't over for Bumblebee yet, as when returning to Master Disaster's trailer for answers, he and his pal Bulkhead (who had angrily followed Bumblebee there for defying him) had to face off against Blitzwing (he was desperate for that AllSpark fragment...), and had to be rescued once again... although this time it was Sari using Master Disaster's controlling device. {{storylink|Velocity}}

Later, he went on a trip to the Five Banners Roller Coaster Kingdom theme park with Sari. Optimus, fool that he is, believed him when he called it "an important fact-finding mission". {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

[[Image:Watching_SUVs.jpg|thumb|250px|left|If they start to do it, let me see, ok?]]
On another occasion, Bumblebee was attempting to clear up the streets of Detroit by catching some of their [[Nanosec|small]] [[Angry Archer|time]] [[Professor Princess|criminals]]. However, in each case, whenever Bumblebee came close to the capture, he froze up completely, and allowed the baddies to escape. It later became apparent that this was due to the AllSpark-infused timepiece belonging to [[Slo-Mo]]. After revealing himself and snatching the timepiece, [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] froze all of the Autobots and looked set for victory. However, after being lifted to Sumdac Tower by Sari and the members of the [[Society of Ultimate Villainy|SUV]] and repaired, Bumblebee took on Swindle (even managing to floor him at one point with his stingers.) After getting the timepiece back from Swindle, Bumblebee was double-crossed by the SUV, but fortunately for the Autobot, the rest of his pals were back online by now, and managed to get the criminals arrested. {{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}}

After learning of Wasp's escape, Bumblebee felt a stirring of his old dreams, and dragged Bulkhead off to trace a signal leaked to them, containing a conversation between Megatron and his spy. As they tracked it down, Bumblebee fell into old habits, and started putting Bulkhead down, just like in the old days. It took a nasty fall to remind him that Bulkhead was the best friend he'd ever have, and he didn't need to spend his time chasing big dreams. Together, the two headed home, never realizing they were just outside of the carbon mines where the Decepticons were hiding.

Later, Bumblebee relayed the information they'd gathered to his old friend, Longarm, now Longarm ''Prime'', head of Cybertron Intel. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

[[Image:TFA_Black_Friday_Meltdown_Bee.jpg|thumb|right|250px|IDK, my BFF Jill?]]
Due to his inability to stay quiet, Prowl placed a bet on Bumblebee—that he couldn't go 10 [[Cycle|cycles]] without talking. Should he keep to this, a sweet can of axle grease would be his! However, the poor bot just couldn't do it. Prime took Bumblebee and Prowl with him to Dinobot Island to investigate Meltdown's prison break, and the plucky yellow bot vowed he would win the axle grease. However, the bet was put on hold after both he and Prowl were off-lined by [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia's]] [[cyber venom]]. After the day was saved, Prime used the antidote on the bots, and Bumblebee pointed out he'd been quiet for ages! Prowl dryly noted it took Bumblebee being comatose to achieve this, but the yellow bot didn't care—he just wanted his grease! {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)| Black Friday}}

After insulting Bulkhead's latest painting of Sari, Bumblebee realized that he was wrong and actually apologized for his comments. It didn't go over very well, and that was before Megatron showed up with Professor Sumdac. Though Bumblebee suspected that Sumdac was a willing accomplice, Sari refused to hear it. At that moment, the mysterious blue racer appeared. Thinking he was a Decepticon, Bumblebee rolled after the racer, running him off the road. It was only at this point that the racer revealed that he was [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]], a member of the Elite Guard sent to keep tabs on Decepticons and Prime's crew. Worse, Bumblebee's actions allowed Bulkhead to be kidnapped by Megatron. Once Optimus Prime was informed that the Decepticons were building a [[space bridge]] to attack Cybertron, Bumblebee went with the Autobots to rescue Bulkhead and destroy the bridge. During a brief skirmish with Lugnut and Blitzwing, Bumblebee admitted that he'd lost his title as "fastest thing on wheels" to Blurr. Unfortunately, when they confronted Megatron himself, the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] managed to incapacitate the pair...just in time for Starscream and his [[Starscream clone (Animated)|clones]] to attack. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

Managing to escape the Decepticons, the Autobots went for the clones, apparently deciding that they were the greater evil. The battle went poorly for them, as Blurr was lost in the space bridge and Bumblebee was cemented to a wall. When Isaac Sumdac decapitated Starscream and took his body with the [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster unit]], Bumblebee was convinced that he was working for the Decepticons, though Sumdac revealed that it was to destroy Megatron. That didn't work out too well. After Megatron explained his plan to the captive Autobots, the Decepticon [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] revealed that he was Longarm Prime and that Bumblebee had sent an innocent Wasp to the stockade. Fortunately, [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] arrived, reactivated thanks to Sari and Ratchet, and sacrificed himself to save the Autobots and Sumdacs. With the threat passed, Sumdac revealed that he had been forced to help the Decepticons, and Bumblebee's mistrust of the professor presumably faded away—only to return when Sari saw that the skin of her right arm had torn...revealing robotic circuitry underneath! {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

Despite the revelation that one of his best friends was a robot, Bumblebee actually remained focused on the larger picture: namely, Shockwave's presence on Cybertron. Optimus reasoned that since Bulkhead was a genius with regards to space bridges (something Bumblebee said he'd never get used to, revealing his high opinion of his other best friend), so the two headed out to the mine. Bumblebee managed to find a recall beacon generator, which was needed to locate the position in space, and the plasmadynamic thruster, which generated the transwarp field. Unfortunately, the thruster activated before Bumblebee could give it to Bulkhead, sending him across the galaxy. After catching another transwarp wave, he was again transported to another part of the galaxy—where he was swallowed by a [[Rock Lord]].

Fortunately, Bulkhead was able to capture Bumblebee's signal, and reel him in. Sadly, it also brought the alien to Detroit. As the Autobots struggled to figure out how to defeat the monster and save Bumblebee, Sari used the AllSpark Key on herself to upgrade with new weapons and a teenage appearance. Sari quickly trounced the monster, freeing Bumblebee. Unfortunately, Sari didn't remove the Key after the upgrade, causing her to overload and lose control of her abilities. Bumblebee made a mad dash to try to remove the Key, but Sari's defenses systems registered him as a threat, and Sari horrifically watched as she stabbed Bumblebee through the chest and blasted him across the street. Ratchet immediately went to work, saying that he could repair Bumblebee without the Key. However, the damage was severe, and Bumblebee's spark was fading fast. Even when they got the Key, Ratchet was still hard pressed, as the Key had been burned out upgrading Sari. Fortunately, Ratchet managed to stabilize Bumblebee with his magnets, but Ratchet was forced to deactivate Sari with his EMP generator.

[[Image:TransWarpedBumblebeeSari.jpg|250px|left|thumb|Ouch.]]
After Ratchet made what repairs he could, the Autobots allowed Professor Sumdac some time alone with Sari. Lamenting on how troubled their day had been, Bumblebee tempted fate by asking how much worse it could get. On cue, the plasmadynamic thruster began to power up, but Bulkhead manged to shut it down. Unfortunately, Omega Supreme soon arrived, under the control of Megatron. Bumblebee was given an illegal stinger upgrade to help against Omega Supreme, but it still did little good. Optimus and Prowl managed to sneak inside and remove Megatron's control while Bumblebee and Bulkhead served as <s>bait</s> a distraction. However, Starscream managed to gain control, and soon moved to conquer Cybertron. Bumblebee came up with the idea to throw the plasmadynamic thruster inside Omega to send the three randomly warping across the galaxy, managing to reach the altitude with his turbo boosters (why Optimus let him keep those is unknown). Later, Sari was awakened, and all was well with the Autobots...except for being out of contact with Cybertron, but still, it's the thought that counts. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

While Bulkhead and Professor Sumdac began constructing a space bridge, Bumblebee and the other Autobots focused on hunting down the remaining Decepticons on Earth. The first one they found was Lugnut, who was defeated and [[stasis cuffs|stasis cuffed]] after a drawn-out battle. Unfortunately, this left the Autobot force trying to pull the massive Decepticon out of the deep crater he had caused during the fight—a daunting task that they spent the rest of the night working on. Before any real progress could be made, Bumblebee and the others were called away to help Bulkhead, who had been dragged into an oil-stealing scheme by the Constructicons. Upon arriving at the [[Fossil Fuel]] oil refinery, Bumblebee fought against Scrapper, but was warned to watch his stingers so he wouldn't set fire to a nearby oil spill. Unfortunately, a collision between Scrapper and Mixmaster led to a spark setting fire to it anyway, so the Autobots were forced to transwarp an entire oil tank (with the Constructicons on it) out to Lake Erie, where it exploded. {{storylink|Three's a Crowd}}

[[Image:WhereIsThySting-hotdogbot.jpg|200px|right|thumb|Bumblebee attempts to kitbash himself.]]

Some time later, Bumblebee's old friend Wasp arrived on Earth, with a few screws loose and a vendetta against the 'bot who put him away. That night, Bumblebee was on monitor duty as the other Autobots were searching for Wasp, but spent his time playing ''[[Ninja Gladiator]]'' instead (after all, a TV is a monitor too!), which led to Wasp easily getting the drop on him. Bumblebee tried explaining how Longarm had set the whole thing up back in the day, but the deranged Wasp wouldn't listen, instead knocking Bumblebee out and saying it was ''his'' turn to lose everything he'd ever had. When Bumblebee woke up, he found himself equipped with Wasp's helmet, paintjob and voice synthesizer and all his friends staring down at him... including Wasp dressed up as himself. Unable to prove his own identity, Bumblebee was forced to escape from his own friends, only to be chased down by Elite Guard members [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]]. Luckily for the small 'bot, Jetstorm's wind blasts were too powerful for him, and he was blown away from danger. A desperate Bumblebee tried painting himself yellow with mustard from a hot dog stand, only to be confronted by Bulkhead and Prowl. Thinking of ideas to prove his innocence, Bumblebee reminded Bulkhead of their misadventures in boot camp—misadventures Wasp could never have known about. While his friends were finally convinced, the newly arrived Jetstorm and Jetfire were not, and a fight broke out until Optimus and Sentinel arrived and sorted it out. Returning to the Autobot base, they confronted Wasp, who had unfortunately spent the meantime researching Bumblebee's past and could easily list many of Bumblebee's past adventures like he was there in person. With no way to prove who was the real deal, Bulkhead suggested that they simply play ''Ninja Gladiator'' for the title of Bumblebee... after all, the real one would ''never'' lose at ''Ninja Gladiator''. The plan worked, as Wasp cracked under the pressure before the match could even begin, grabbing Bumblebee and holding him at stinger-point. With the Autobots unable to attack, Wasp cancelled his and Bumblebee's [[electronic paint job]]s and made a getaway, leaving Bumblebee to be pummelled by a confused Bulkhead. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

Chasing Wasp across Detroit, the Autobots eventually cornered him, and Bumblebee again tried explaining the "funny story" on how Longarm was the true Decepticon spy who caused Wasp's misfortune. However, Wasp didn't see the funny part of it, and Bumblebee nearly got himself blasted in the face for trying. Before the group could capture Wasp, he was suddenly abducted by [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]], so Optimus Prime and Bumblebee had to follow him to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. Upon arrival, Prime suggested that Bumblebee stopped making excuses like blaming Longarm and tried ''apologizing'' to Wasp instead. Making their way into the tunnels of the island, the two soon found Wasp... mutated into a large, monstrous [[technorganic]] form by Blackarachnia. Face to face with the monster, Bumblebee followed Prime's advice and apologized for everything he did and didn't do to Wasp. His old nemesis responded that Wasp forgave him... but he was Wasp''inator'' now, and Waspinator would ''never'' forgive Bumblebee! However, before Waspinator could destroy Bumblebee once and for all, his new body started going out of control, and he went back to Blackarachnia. After being run down by both the spider and the wasp as the latter chased the former, Bumblebee helped carry the damaged Sentinel Prime out of the tunnels. {{storylink|Predacons Rising}}

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Bumblebee vs Blitzwing.jpg|left|thumb|200px|Human Bumblebee is stronger than [[:Image:RollForIt FloppyDisk destruction.jpg|Chip Chase]].]]
Christmas eventually came around, and between shaking his presents and decorating the tree, Bumblebee didn't notice a [[Sound Wave]] toy poisoning the Autobots' [[oilnog]]. After having a taste, the 'bots all felt strangely tired and decided to take a stasis nap... only to wake up in human bodies. Bumblebee took it with a pinch of humour as he made fun of Bulkhead for being small, before the "Automen" headed out to see if Professor Sumdac could find out what was going on. However, during a brief break for food at [[Burger Bot]], the city came under attack from a large force of Decepticons. The Autobots chose to fight back despite their small fleshy bodies, but Bumblebee grabbing onto Starscream's leg had no real effect on the marauding Decepticon, and the heroes were quickly forced to run. Eventually arriving at Sumdac Tower, Bumblebee was shocked when Cybertron itself appeared in the sky and blasted part of the tower to smithereens, followed by the arrival of Megatron himself. However, by this stage, Optimus Prime and Prowl had figured out that none of this was actually happening—they were trapped in some kind of simulated reality. Realizing that they could break through the illusion with their imagination, the Autobots fought back and defeated the simulated Decepticons, with the tiny human Bumblebee easily punching out Blitzwing before transforming back into a robot. But before the Autobots could figure out how to escape from the virtual reality, they were subdued by a giant Soundwave—the one who had trapped them to begin with in order to brainwash them into becoming his mind slaves. {{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

[[Image:EndgamePart1-BumblebeeArcee.jpg|right|thumb|200px|"I think I've seen this [[Spotlight: Arcee|somewhere]] before."]]

As Soundwave increased his control over the simulation, Bumblebee and the others were transformed back into humans. Deciding that they had to find Soundwave's interface to the world, they grabbed some vehicles matching their alternate modes, leading to Bumblebee pushing a virtual Captain Fanzone out of his own car. The Autobots took to chasing after a black Soundwave van, only to fall into a trap that let Soundwave brainwash them completely. As Sari and her "[[Substitute Autobot]]s" came to save the day, Soundwave used the Autobots' bodies to fight back, with Bumblebee and Prowl teaming up against Wreck-Gar. However, controlling five people at once proved too much for Soundwave, and as he lost focus, Bumblebee's mindless body found itself bound up in Christmas lights and defeated. Shortly afterward, Bumblebee's mind was returned to normal when Optimus Prime shattered Soundwave's body. {{storylink|Human Error, Part II}}

When the Autobots discovered Decepticon signals on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]], Bumblebee found himself an volunteering (read: ordered) to transwarp there and plant a transmitter. However, the transmitter was inadvertedly broken by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] shortly after arrival, so Bumblebee changed his strategy into infiltrating Omega Supreme. Inside, he found [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] babbling on and on about school. Deeming it impossible to take her back to Earth, Bumblebee chose to activate Arcee's transmitter before leaving, using her to spy on the Decepticons. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}} When Megatron used the information inside Arcee to attack Detroit with a trio of "[[Lugnut Supreme]]s", Bumblebee went back to the moon alongside Bulkhead, Ratchet and Sari to attempt a retrieval of Omega Supreme. They quickly located Arcee again, only to be attacked by Shockwave. While Bumblebee's stingers had no effect on his old platoonmate, he was eventually defeated by Bulkhead's brawns. Shockwave transformed back to his Longarm mode in an attempt to trick his "old pals", but failed and was captured. Bumblebee was aboard Omega Supreme when he battled against the oversized Lugnuts-turned-oversized Starscreams, and following their victory, was told that Prowl had died during the battle. When the Autobots returned to Cybertron, he helped carry his friend's coffin. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}
{{charstubfiction|[[The Arrival]] appearances.}}
''{{storylink|The Arrival}}''

===Toy bios===
[[Image:Animatedpatrolbumblebeepackageart.jpg|left|150px|thumb]]
At some point, Bumblebee began taking stealth lessons from Prowl, presenting him with a new battle tactic: sneaking up from behind instead of racing fender-first into danger. To further that end, Bumblebee apparently painted himself as a police patrol car. {{storylink|Bumblebee (Animated)#ActivPatrol|Patrol Bumblebee}}

After "getting up close to members of the AUTOBOT Elite Guard", Bumblebee decided more than ever that he wanted to join their ranks. He had Sari borrow some of her dad's auto-painting robots so that he could truly look the part of an Elite Guard team member. He also began doing combat training with Prowl, and may have gotten his energy stingers enhanced. {{storylink|Bumblebee (Animated)#EliteGuard|Elite Guard Bumblebee}}

{{note|Presumably Bumblebee's "getting up close to members of the AUTOBOT Elite Guard" refers to the events of the episodes [[The Elite Guard]], [[The Return of the Headmaster]] and [[Mission Accomplished]]. However, at the time of those episodes, Isaac Sumdac was missing and Sari no longer had access to Sumdac Systems technology, so, uh... just go with it. OR, possibly, by "borrow" they mean "steal the robots out from under Powell's greasy nose"}}

===''Be the Hero'' books===
{{Note|As the following stories are [[multipath adventure]]s, details will vary depending on the path taken. See individual pages for information on alternate paths.}}

After [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Prime]] was framed for breaking and entering, Bumblebee and [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] tried to warn him in advance that the Detroit police were after him. Bumblebee helped Sari and [[You|another kid]] check out the police station for leads. Unsuccessful in their search, they went to the scene of the crime, [[HomeTech]]'s laboratory where they rendezvoused with the other Autobots. As the Autobots were too big to fit inside, they sent the kids in, which resulted in Bumblebee and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] having to rescue them dramatically. Evidence was found, leading the Autobots to HomeTech's main warehouse. Breaking in, Bumblebee clumsily knocked over a stack of crates, but somehow managed to avoid bringing security down on them. The Autobots split up and eventually found and defeated [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], who'd been behind the whole thing. {{storylink|Prime Suspect}}

When [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] made an attempt to obtain the [[AllSpark]] by taking control of [[Detroit]]'s robot workforce, the Autobots came up with a plan to hide useless copies of the AllSpark. Bumblebee concealed his at the [[Race Track]], however when the other Autobots failed to show up back at base, he found Sari and another kid, and the three of them went looking for [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]. When they found him, he fought Bumblebee while labouring under a misconception, which was quickly straightened out. They collected Prowl and finally caught up with Prime and [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], joining in a battle to defeat [[Crush-A]]. {{storylink|Quest for the AllSpark}}

Bumblebee saved Sari and her friend from a fiery death on [[Lake Erie]] before finding the Autobot ship lifeless. After getting everything working again, Ratchet found that Optimus was missing, and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]'s ship was parked on the lake bed nearby, sending Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Prowl and the two young humans on a mission to investigate. While fighting the bounty hunter, they discovered the involvement of [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]], who wanted revenge on Prime. They ended up tracking down and fighting Blackarachnia, only for her to absorb Bumblebee's stinger ability, and sprout a stinger on each of her spider legs. All three Autobots were incapacitated, but Sari and her friend were able to follow Blackarachnia, leading to her eventual defeat. {{storylink|Web of Deception}}

When Detroit was plagued by a series of strange time disturbances, the Autobots used scanning devices to scour the city. Bulkhead and Bumblebee both tracked the source of the temporal anomalies to the [[Lions Tower]] building downtown and broke in to find a time machine on the empty top floor. While Bulkhead and a human were sent back in time, Bumblebee encountered those responsible — [[Natasha Pyraniac]] and [[Blast-X]]. Bulkhead returned to the present in time to aid Bumblebee's fight against the Decepticon. Blast-X was defeated shortly after Pyraniac departed in the time machine. {{storylink|Time-Quake}}

===Titan Magazines===
In battle with new villain [[Quake-Maker]], Bumblebee got to not only mock the villain but fight alongside the super-cool new Autobot [[Afterburn]]. {{storylink|Burnout}}

The two later went on a mission to Dinobot Island to stop a Rage virus infection, a mission that had Bumblebee nervous. During the mission, Bumblebee screwed up a landing that Afterburn aced, got thrown into a mud puddle by Swoop, was left with an incredibly dirty finish, and generally looked worse than Afterburn and on ''four separate occasions'' got put down by him. This made him sad. {{storylink|Ratchet & Grimlock Are DEAD?}}

When [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] was in a huff, it was Bumblebee who convinced him to help them against the [[Wraith-X]] by appealing to that greatest of emotions, the ego! He didn't have time to gloat though, as he then found Afterburn reporting back to ''Megatron'', who then stormed the base, {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}} killed Afterburn, and started a massive battle. Bumblebee was shocked to find Afterburn had only been a sparkless drone infiltrator, but still viewed him as a real Autobot, ''taking on Megatron himself'' out of anger for what had happened.

Optimus later consoled Bumblebee that he'd been a hero and that Afterburn hadn't been real anyway. But he'd been real to Bumblebee...{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}

[[Image:Bumblebeepizza_Titan25.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Why said cheese pizza has several toppings on it is a mystery.]]

But then he got over that and started breaking traffic laws for fun to get pizzas to Sari quickly! This led to Prowl dissing him and claiming Bumblebee wouldn't be so fast if he had to obey some rules, which led to a race between the two at [[Crazy Coyote Canyon]] (plus Bulkhead joined in, which gave Bumblebee a good laugh). Autobots doing ''anything'', of course, leads to Decepticon plots, and Bumblebee (who had a Decepticon tracer stuck on his butt) found they'd ambushed Prowl halfway through the race. Locating the tracer, he stuck it on ''Lugnut's'' butt and helped Prowl escape to win.

All that excitement had allowed Bulkhead to win the race unopposed though, making him the official fastest thing in Detroit. Bumblebee accepted it amiably enough. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 25|The Race}}
{{-}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
Along with the rest of the Autobots, Bumblebee came to the [[Earth]] city of [[Detroit]] in order to protect the [[AllSpark]] from the Decepticons. During a battle in the streets with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]], Bumblebee came into contact with [[Sari Sumdac]] moments before nearly being blown to smithereens. He then squared off against, attempting to subdue the Decepticon with his [[Stinger (weapon)|stingers]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 1}}

[[Image:The CoolAutobotsRevivePrime01.jpg|thumb|200px|left|]]
When [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] died stopping Starscream from abusing the power of the AllSpark, and was subsequently revived, Bumblebee introduced him to Sari, who had brought him back with the power of her [[AllSpark Key|key]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 2}}

Bumblebee next participated in a battle against [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] and [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. He performed poorly against Soundwave's sonic attacks and Lugnut's aerial bombardments, and was grateful when the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s arrived to save the day, remarking how powerful they were. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 3}}

Back in Detroit, Bumblebee was present to dig Optimus Prime out of a pile of rubble dropped onto him by [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]]. Bumblebee did not recognize Blackout's Autobot opponent, [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]], leaving Prime to tell him that he was from the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 4}}

Bumblebee next engaged Starscream all by himself, resulting in the Decepticon nearly blasting him off the roof of [[Sumdac Systems]] headquarters. Bumblebee was saved when Starscream was distracted by the reborn Megatron, only to be blasted by Megatron's [[fusion cannon]] a short while later. Bumblebee survived the altercation, at least long enough to greet [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] and the Elite Guard. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Bumblebee later joined the Autobots in a battle against [[Clone number 2716057|Clone #2716057]]. With Prowl's help, they subdued the clone and took him to a warehouse where they encountered Megatron. The clone had been rigged to explode, but Prowl was able to send him rocketing into the sky before detonation, as Bumblebee stood around watching, doing nothing. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 6}}

At the battle for the Decepticon [[Space bridge|Space Bridge]], Bumblebee joined his fellow speed warrior, [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]], in taking down [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]. They used their speed to first confuse their opponents, then slapped them with some stasis cuffs. As the Decepticons fell over, paralyzed, the pair of Autobots speedsters skipped off while merrily whistling. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 7}}

When the battle for the Decepticon Space Bridge had ended, Bumblebee joined the other Autobots in bidding farewell to the fallen [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]. Bumblebee then freaked out when he noticed that Sari had robotics sticking through her skin.{{storylink|The Cool Episode 8}}

Not long afterward, Starscream attacked Detroit in Omega Supreme's body. Bumblebee fought to keep the fiend busy until Optimus could return and join the fray. Bumblebee expressed excitement when Sari used her key to upgrade into a teenager, then expressed lament when her newfound powers proved utterly useless against Starscream/Omega Supreme. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 9}}

Upon Megatron's defeat, Bumblebee accompanied the Autobots back to planet [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where they were all hailed as heroes by the citizenry and even [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel]]. {{storylink|The Cool Episode Final}}

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==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Bumper Robinson]] (English)
[[Image:TFAnimated Game Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|right|123px]]
When [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]] announced he was stepping up Bumblebee and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s training, Bumblebee protested he already had plenty of training and was up to level 12. After it was established that video games didn't count, he, Bulkhead and Optimus worked their way through an obstacle course set up by [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]. They got the opportunity to put their skills to a real test a short time later when drones went haywire at a [[Sumdac Systems]] factory, the trio blasting their way through the rogue robots until they found the problem — an [[AllSpark]] fragment lodged in a control console. When they intercepted a transmission indicating that [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] was planning to attack [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Optimus, Bumblebee and Bulkhead searched the factory for more fragments so they could power up Megatron's [[space bridge|Space Bridge]] and follow him.

By following a [[Decepticon Transmitter Drone]], they discovered the location of Megatron's mine base and explored it until they found Megatron and his Space Bridge. A battle ensued, during which Bumblebee powered an electromagnet that they used to defeat the Decepticon leader, but even as they were victorious, Megatron transwarped out. The trio repowered the space bridge with their own AllSpark fragments, but after Optimus and Bulkhead went through, the bridge closed, leaving Bumblebee on Earth. With Sari's help, Bumblebee tracked down more fragments at the factory... only for them to be taken from him by [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]. With the help of his [[Turbo Booster]]s, Bumblebee hunted down Lockdown and managed to get the fragments back.

Bumblebee and Sari returned to the mine, only for the computer to announce that the self destruct had been activated. Bumblebee fought his way through the mine in record time to disable it, and used the fragments to repower the space bridge. He arrived on Cybertron to find Prime and Bulkhead searching for Megatron. After intercepting a Decepticon transmission, they headed for the Space Bridge Nexus, where they confronted Megatron again, using the defense systems against him. Megatron was again forced to flee. The Autobots returned to Earth, where Bumblebee announced he was beat, but perked up again when Sari revealed she had an advance copy of ''[[Mage Master Maze Knight]]''. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
====Legends====
[[Image:Ani-toy_LegendsBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Stealth Lockdown''' (Animated 3-pack, 2008)

:A redeco of the ''Universe'' [[Legends Class|Legends-class]] Bumblebee available around the same time (see below), this Bumblebee came packaged with a [[Target]] [[exclusive]] clear version of [[Lockdown (Animated)#Stealth|Lockdown]], as well as a Legends [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]. This Bumblebee is ''almost'' identical to the individual ''Universe'' release, except this version has silver painted windows, a silver [[Autobot]] [[insignia|faction symbol]] and a darker gray face.

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[[Image:AniLegendsBumblebeeClearYellow.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Bumblebee Clear Yellow Ver.''' (EZ Collection, 2010)

: A redeco of Legends Bumblebee in mostly translucent yellow (with some opaque yellow parts). He was only available at [[Ito Yokado]] stores in Japan, given away for free to customers who purchased ''Animated'' merchandise totaling least 3,000 yen.

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[[Image:AniEZLimited.jpg|250px|thumb]]
*'''EZ Collection Limited Clear Version''' (EZ Collection, 2010)

:The "EZ Collection Limited Clear Version" set included a redeco of Legends Bumblebee in mostly translucent yellow with some opaque parts. The set was given away at Family Mart stores in Japan as part of their raffle token promotion. Unlike Bumblebee Clear Yellow Version, this version of Bumblebee is painted to resemble his normal coloration, only clear. The "EZ Collection Limited Clear Version" set was prize D, and included four different translucent EZ Collection figures, the other three being Optimus Prime, Prowl, and Starscream.

{{-}}{{anchor|EliteGuardLOC}}
*'''Bumblebee Elite Guard Version''' (EZ Collection, 2010)
[[Image:AniEZEliteGuardBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
:A black, yellow and gold redeco of Legends Bumblebee, Bumblebee Elite Guard Version shares its overall deco with the deluxe "Elite Guard Bumblebee" toy. It was only available blindpacked in TakaraTomy's EZ Collection Volume 4.

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====Deluxe====
[[Image:Bumblebee_anim_toy.jpg|thumb|300px|Awwww, it's so adorable...]]
*'''Bumblebee''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-02'''
**''Accessories:'' Left & right rocket boosters

: Bumblebee transforms from a small yellow hatchback with a single red flasher to a scrappy robot with a smirk on his face. He has a fake car roof on his chest in robot mode (but to be fair, so does his cartoon counterpart), and the two halves of his stinger weapon, stored in his forearms, can be flipped out and pegged together. In both robot and car mode, his two booster rockets can be attached on his back. Unlike the promotional image, the rockets of the actual toy do not have any red paint.

: Due to support struts added inside his forearms to ensure durability, his stingers do not recede all the way back into his arms. The latest releases of the toy fix this problem. There have also been some complaints that the socket in his left arm tends to crack easily, which makes the arm impossible to pose.

: Amusingly, flipping his bumper up in his alt-mode works like a tiny trunk.

: The Japanese release of this toy was given a shiny, metallic coat of gold paint as opposed to the flat yellow of the original Hasbro release.

: This mold was also used to make [[#EliteGuard|"Elite Guard" Bumblebee]] and was supposed to be used for the canceled [[Wasp|Fugitive Waspinator]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Bumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Deluxe Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

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{{anchor|EliteGuard}}
[[Image:Ani-toy BumblebeeEG.jpg|thumb|300px|Back from his internship with Donald Trump. Sentinel Prime, YOU'RE FIRED!]]
*'''Elite Guard Bumblebee''' (Deluxe, 2008)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-31'''
**''Accessories:'' Left & right rocket boosters

: A [[redeco]] of [[#Deluxe|Deluxe Bumblebee]], this figure represents Bumblebee after getting Sari to help paint him up in [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard]] deco as part of his anticipated ascension into their ranks. Dare to dream! He retains all the play-gimmicks of the original, though his arms have been slightly [[retool]]ed to allow the stingers to recede fully. The color scheme of the toy bears a little resemblance to [[Bumblebee (Movie)/toys#Deluxe Class toys|Stealth Bumblebee]] from the [[Movie (franchise)|live-action movie]] franchise.

: The [[Hasbro]] stock photography and [[package art]] for this toy [[:Image:Deluxeeliteguardbumblebee.jpg|depict "Elite Guard" Bumblebee with his normal yellow helmet]]. However, the actual toy has a black helmet due to the plastic color layouts.

: This toy was [[repurposing|repurposed]] as a [[Wireless Automated Sales Person]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/EGBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Elite Guard Bumblebee at TFU.info]''
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====Activators====
*'''Bumblebee''' (Activator, 2008)
[[Image:Activators_Bumblebee_toy.jpg|thumb|300px|He's a Bumblevator—or is it Actibee?]]
: Part of the first wave of [[Activators]], this small version of Bumblebee [[autotransformation|automatically transforms]] from vehicle to robot mode via spring-loaded releases when you press his top-mounted police light. Interestingly enough, this toy is probably the closest to "proper" scale in robot mode when compared to the Deluxe Prowl and Ratchet, the Voyager Optimus, and Leader Bulkhead. Like the Deluxe class toy, Bumblebee was intended to be molded with a benign sideways smirk on his face, but at this small of scale the effect does not come off as intended, leaving Bumblebee looking rather more like he's grimacing. Furthermore, his insignia is ''also'' grimacing; for some reason this toy was given the [[:Image:Live action Autobot insignia.png|movie Autobot "angry eyes" insignia]], rather than the standard "neutral expression" insignia found on most other ''Animated'' Autobots. Add him to the list of Transformers who just need a hug.

:This mold was later [[retool]]ed to make [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/ActBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

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{{anchor|ActivPatrol}}
[[Image:Activators_PatrolBumblebee_toy.JPG|thumb|250px|[[Barricade (Movie)|Bumblecade]]]]
*'''Patrol Bumblebee''' (Activator, 2008)

: A police-themed redeco of Activators Bumblebee, instead of his current "undercover" markings, he gets full-on black-and-white deco with "PATROL" lettering across his doors.
:He has the normal yellow helmet, however.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/PatrolBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Patrol Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

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*'''Shockwave VS Bumblebee''' (multipack, 2009)
[[Image:Shockwavepurplebumblebeetoys.jpg|thumb|250px|Hey, they said I was supposed to meet Longarm here. Who are you?]]
: An unchanged version of Activators Bumblebee came packaged with a purple redeco of Voyager [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] in a Target-exclusive multipack.

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[[Image:Animated-toy_BattlefieldBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
*'''Battlefield Bumblebee''' (2010)

: A redeco of Activators Bumblebee with silver detailing similar to [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Classics|''Classics'' Bumblebee]]'s white stripes and an oddly large Autobot insignia.

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====Bumper Battlers====
*'''Bumblebee''' (Bumper Battlers, 2008)
[[Image:BumperBattlers_Bumblebee_toy.jpg|thumb|250px|Does this make him [[Bumper (G1)|Animated Bumper]]?]]
: Part of the first wave of [[Bumper Battlers]], this very simple version of Bumblebee is meant for the much younger set. About the same size as the Deluxe Bumblebee in car mode, pressing the Autobot [[insignia|faction symbol]] on his hood activates the toy's sound feature, using a seemingly randomized assortment of sound effects and original voice samples from [[Bumper Robinson]]. Pressing the car mode's front bumper in activates the simple spring-loaded one-step transformation to robot mode... "properly" activated by using the toy's [[pull-back motor]] [[gimmick]] to propel it forward into an obstacle.

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{{anchor|StingRacer}}
*'''Sting Racer Bumblebee''' (Bumper Battlers, 2008)
[[Image:Ani-toy_BumperBattlers_StingBumblebee.JPG|thumb|250px|]]
: This Bumper Battlers Bumblebee has a blue stripe in place of the black one, and blue electrical marks on his sides.

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====Power Bots====
{{anchor|PowerBots}}
*'''Cyber Speed Bumblebee''' ([[Power Bots]], 2008)
[[Image:CyberSpeedBumblebee_toy.JPG|thumb|120px]]
: A large, non-transforming figure of Bumblebee in bulky, child-friendly form. He comes with lights and sounds, including a stinger sound on the right arm, which has the stinger deployed, and a "punching" sound and extending fist on the left. He also speaks a slew of phrases, including "Bring it on, Decepticons!" and "Hi, I'm Bumblebee!", again using Bumper Robinson voice clips. He is, of course, utterly adorable.

{{-}}
*'''Street Patrol Bumblebee''' (Power Bots, 2009)
[[Image:Ani-toy_StreetPatrolBumblebee.JPG|thumb|120px|Anyone seen my transformation cog?]]
: This Bumblebee has red stripes on his stinger arm and his stripe is dark blue.

{{-}}
====Voyager====
[[Image:Ani-toy_HydrodiveBumblebee.jpg|thumb|300px|Oh slag. Where did my police light go?]]
*'''Jet Pack Bumblebee''' (Voyager, 2010)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''TA-39'''
:This new, smaller mold of Bumblebee comes with an armor frame in the form of a submersible jet. In vehicle mode, he fits inside the jet, and when he transforms, the jet can be reconfigured to become a jetpack for his robot mode. The armor frame is armed with two pivoting, non-removable guns astride its nose-cone, and two missiles mounted under its wings, cast in the image of Bumblebee's [[Turbo Booster]] accessories (with jet contrails), which can be removed and plugged into his forearms. It's possible to transform Bumblebee without removing the armor.

:Jet Pack Bumblebee was only made available as part of [[TakaraTomy]]'s Japanese toyline, with a not particularly [[Show-accuracy|show-accurate]] bright metallic gold deco. He was originally intended to be released under Hasbro's toyline under the name '''Hydrodrive Bumblebee''' (the version pictured here), but was canceled.
{{-}}

===Transformers (2007 movie line)===
[[Image:WMTheLegacyOfBumblebee.jpg|thumb|250px|Upon seeing his more proportionate counterparts, Ani-Bee cried himself to sleep on his giant pillow.]]
*'''The Legacy of Bumblebee''' (Deluxe class multi-pack, 2008)

: A Walmart [[exclusive]] three pack, ''The Legacy of Bumblebee'' collector's set comes with [[Bumblebee (G1)|''Classics'']], [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Movie]] Deluxe Class Concept Camaro ([[Premium Series]]) and ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' Bumblebee figures. While the movie and ''Animated'' Bumblebees are identical to their original, single carded releases, the ''Classics'' Bumblebee has been redecoed to more closely resemble his movie and ''Animated'' counterparts, changing his white stripes to black, and his grey/silver plastic to yellow, similarly to ''Henkei! Henkei!'' Bumble.

{{-}}

===Universe (2008)===
[[Image:Legends_bb_sized.jpg|thumb|250px|Is that size-accurate enough?]]
*'''Bumblebee''' (Legends, 2008)
: A smaller, simplified [[Legends Class|Legends]]-scale Bumblebee toy, released under the ''Universe'' toyline.

:This toy was redecoed with a silver Autobot insignia, silver windows and a much darker (nearly black) face as part of the ''Animated'' line in a multi-pack with Stealth Lockdown and a Legends Class Optimus Prime (see above).

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/AniLegendsBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Bumblebee at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

{{-}}
===Fast food kids meal toys===
{{anchor|McD}}
*'''Bumblebee''' (McDonalds Happy Meal toy, 2008)
[[Image:Bumblebrick.png|thumb|180px|Bumblebrick.]]
: A simple version of Bumblebee with a very simple transformation sequence, one of six toys available as part of the McDonald's ''Transformers Animated'' promotion (held concurrently with the ''Littlest Pet Shop'' promo). You transform him by pulling out the arms from the sides, pulling down the legs and rotating them around and flipping up the head. The arms hold the legs in place, and need to be pulled out before his legs. His vehicle mode is accurate to the show, and his robot mode is reasonably accurate, although rather on the "bulky" side.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/McBumblebee/bumblebee.htm More information on Bumblebee at TFU.info]''

==Merchandise==

===Microbots Collection===
*'''Bumblebee''' (Capsule, 2010)
: Takara Tomy A.R.T.S. released Bumblebee and 5 other Animated characters as small PVC figures in the Microbots Collection, a series of capsule toys.
::*''[http://www.shmax.com/part_details/21851 More information on Bumblebee at shmax.com]''

{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:Bumblebeeanimatedkibble.jpg|thumb|150px|My real windshield is on my heels!]]
* Bumblebee's arm-mounted shock stingers are very likely inspired by an early weapon concept from the 2007 movie [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]].

* The character who would become Bumblebee was originally conceived as [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]], but changed to Bumblebee at the insistence of incoming supervising director [[Matt Youngberg]] and art director [[Derrick J. Wyatt]].<ref>[https://www.blogger.com/comment.g?blogID=21975298&postID=1516366009698858110&isPopup=true Bumblebee's inclusion explained by Derrick J. Wyatt on twitter]</ref> This explains why his character is more like Hot Shot and less like... well, Bumblebee. He also arguably shares personality traits with other, similarly brash "ADHD" characters such as [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]. Cut from the same cloth, at any rate.

* Bumblebee appears to have a fake car roof on his chest in both his toy and on his [[character model]]. Not only does Bumblebee transform like his toy in his drawn-out animated transformation sequences, with his legs forming the top of the vehicle and the rest forming the underside, but his "real" windshield is drawn on the back of his legs, just like the toy. Plus the headlights on Bumblebee's feet are upside-down, just like the toy's. However, Bumblebee's vehicle mode stripe doesn't change sides like on the toy. Cheatsy!

* In addition to the above, in "[[The Thrill of the Hunt]]," Bumblebee reaches under his '''fake''' car roof kibble to get out his air freshener and fuzzy dice. This would mean that he had kept them in his back seat or trunk. Interestingly enough, on the Deluxe toy, you can actually store small items in his chest thanks to his opening 'trunk'.

* He likes to swear a lot. [[Slag (slang)|Slag yeah!]]

[[Image:TFA_Bumblebee_Elite_Guard_promoimage.JPG|thumb|150px|[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] was so horrified his scream blew out [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]]'s audio sensors...and Jazz was in another building at the time.]]
* He apparently got his name for being a bumbler in [[Autobot boot camp]]. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}}

* On the Transformers Animated Season One DVD set, the "Season Two Sneak Peek" special feature shows Bumblebee's character model colored in the Elite Guard Bumblebee toy's deco. Bumblebee did not actually ''use'' that color scheme in Season 2, so its inclusion in a Season Two gallery is puzzling at best...

* With the airing of the episodes "Human Error" Parts 1 and 2, an interesting and probably unintentional question has been brought up. Bumblebee's human form is obviously much younger than the others, even Prowl and Bulkhead, putting him somewhere around pre-teen to early teen years. Everything else about the humans reflect their bot conterparts spot on, down to a scar on Ratchet's face to represent his broken chevron. So, seeing as human Bumblebee is obviously so young, does that make him a child soldier? Or is he just plain short?

* Bumblebee's original [[65356-9292-346]] [[body-type]] is apparently quite common on Cybertron — he shares it with many, many others.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Bumblebee''' (バンブルビー ''Banburubī'')
*''Arabic:'' '''Bumbly''' (cartoon, بامبلي ''Bāmblī''), '''Bumble Bee''' (commercial, بامبل بي ''Bāmbil Bī'')

==References==
<references/>

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2008/Autobot/Bumblebee/bumblebee.htm Bumblebee at TFU.info]
* [http://www.hasbro.com/common/images/news/transformers//Transformers_Draw_Bumblebee.pdf Hasbro.com - How to Draw: Animated Bumblebee]

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Fast food exclusives]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame]]
[[Category:Universe (2008)]]