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Matrix of Leadership

2012-02-02T09:27:52Z

189.167.109.155: /* Animated cartoon */

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[[Image:Matrix.jpg|right|375px|thumb|You put the life in the coconut.]]

The '''Autobot Matrix of Leadership''' (also known as the '''Creation Matrix''' or rarely, the '''Autobot Matrix of Power'''<ref>[[The Autobots Have a Special Mission for:]]</ref> or the '''Matrix of Light'''<ref>For the majority of the ''Transformers: The Movie'' sticker book (see right), though it is also referred to as the "Matrix of Leadership" once or twice.</ref>) is an [[sacred implement|artifact of great power]], traditionally carried by the [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot]]s. Although its appearance differs slightly from [[universal stream]] to universal stream, it generally appears as a glowing crystal sphere encased within a hollow metal shell, with a handle on either side.

By most accounts, the Matrix is a conduit for the power of [[Primus]], the creator-god of the [[Transformer|Transformers]], serving as a means of access to the [[Allspark]], the "afterlife" of the Transformer race, through which it can either bestow new Transformer life, or provide its wielder with a means of communicating with the deceased leaders who have come before them. These divine powers put it at the centre of much Autobot [[religion]], spirituality and prophecy; while many [[Decepticon]]s are less inclined to believe in its divinity, they certainly covet the increased physical power it is known to convey upon its holders, and several have made obtaining the Matrix one of their primary goals. As one of the embodiments of the power of Primus, the Matrix is antithesis to [[Unicron]], and one of the very few things the chaos-bringer fears.

{{quote|But one day... an Autobot shall rise from our ranks... and use the power of the Matrix... to light... our [[darkest hour]].|A [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dying Optimus Prime]]|''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''}}

==Conceptual history==
[[Image:SecondGeneration prime gives buster matrix.jpg|left|thumb|250px|The Matrix made its fictional debut when [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] transferred it to [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]], an event recounted in this scene from "[[Second Generation!]]".]]
The Matrix and the concepts associated with it have continuously evolved over twenty-five-plus years, with different pieces of ''Transformers'' fiction creating new ideas centred on it, which have in turn influenced its representation in ''other'' fiction, and so on. The current nature of the Matrix as it is understood is beholden to quite a few different sources, and its development is described here to minimize confusion. For the specifics on the different interpretations of the Matrix in various continuities, see the "Fiction" section below.

The concept of the Matrix originates from the brain of [[Marvel Comics]] writer [[Bob Budiansky]] and is a result of the "no girls"/"no gender" policy enforced by [[Hasbro]] regarding their then-new robot brand. Because there were no female robots/the robots had no gender, Budiansky came up with an asexual method of reproduction in the form of the Creation Matrix, a "[[Primal Program]]" housed within the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] that could bring new Transformers to life, which would also prove a helpful plot device when he was required to introduce new characters to the series.<ref>[http://www.bwtf.com/interviews/bb204/ Bob Budiansky Interview at BWTF.com]</ref><ref>[http://www.metalmachine.net/blog/2009/11/21/todds-take-with-bob-budiansky-the-architect-of-the-transformers/ Metal Machine interview with Bob]</ref><ref>[http://rustingcarcass.yuku.com/topic/954 Rusting Carcass interview]</ref>

The appearance of the Matrix in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 animated series]] originated with early script drafts of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', which introduced the idea of "[[Life Spark]]s", very similar to the [[spark]]s that would later be introduced with ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. The Matrix was not present in the earliest known incarnation of the movie; instead, upon his death, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] transferred his own Life Spark to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], with the implication that this was standard practise among Autobot leaders. This idea was eventually discarded, replaced with a physical object known as the "Matrix of Leadership", which evidently derived its name from the Creation Matrix of the comic book. The episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]" attempted to introduce the concept of the Matrix to the animated universe before the movie, but the dialogue containing the reference was deleted during production. The line, which dated the creation of the Matrix to 4.5 million years ago, would ultimately have conflicted greatly with what would be learned of the Matrix in the future.

[[Image:FFOD4 passing the matrix.jpg|right|thumb|200px|[[Zeta Prime]] inherits the Matrix from [[Guardian Prime]] in the first recounting of the Prime lineage from "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]].]]

Virtually nothing of the Matrix's nature was actually divulged in the finished film, where it was treated as simply a magic talisman of prophecy that was the antithesis of [[Unicron]]. The idea that had originated with the Life Spark concept—that of dying Autobot leaders merging their lifeforces with others—remained, albeit in a vague way, as Optimus Prime intoned upon his deathbed that he would soon be "one with the Matrix". The mini-series "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" fully expanded on the meaning of his line, revealing that the Matrix contained the lifeforces of all the deceased [[ancient Autobots|Autobot leaders]] who had previously held it, collectively known as the "Wisdom of the Ages," which could be consulted for aid in moments of need.

[[Image:Sentinel prime lou.jpg|left|thumb|200px|The dying [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] passes the Matrix to Optimus Prime in this flashback scene from "[[The Legacy of Unicron!]]".]]

Having already cannibalized many of the movie's best elements for use in his comic book stories, writer [[Simon Furman]] contradicted Bob Budiansky's US comic book stories by presenting the Matrix as it had appeared in the film, as a physical object, in his own UK storylines, and carried this over to the US comic when he later began writing it. This alteration was also reflected in a ''[[The Transformers Universe|Universe]]'' profile written for Powermaster Optimus Prime around the time, where Budiansky's "program" concept and the cartoon's "physical object" idea were merged with the explanation that the program was encoded in light patterns in the Matrix's crystal core. As Furman's run progressed, the "lifeforces of previous holders" concept was also adapted into the comics, with the Matrix possessing a genetic memory of those that had held it. Most notably, in both UK and US books, Furman crafted a story to explain the origins of the Matrix, why Unicron was vulnerable to it, and how it could create new life, ultimately revealing it to be the essence of the Transformers' creator-god, [[Primus]].

It was the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|''Beast Machines'' animated series]] which made the next big addition to the growing mythology of the Matrix when it introduced the [[Allspark]], the extradimensional source of all Transformers sparks living or dead, which was also known as "the Matrix." Although it did not explicitly make any callbacks to the Matrix as seen in the Generation 1 cartoons or comics, the implication was obvious—rather than ''contain'' anything, the physical Matrix object from those continuities was a ''gateway'' to the Allspark. Where the animated "Matrix of Leadership" and the comic book "Creation Matrix" had previously seemed incompatible, this revelation united them conceptually—the lifeforces of the dead from the cartoon and the ability to bring new life from the comics could now both be tied to the features of the Allspark dimension. [[Dreamwave Productions]]' comics proceeded to cement this concept, depicting a Matrix of Leadership that possessed both these traits, and explicitly identifying it not as a holder of Primus's power, but a ''conduit'' for it.

The Matrix took something of a back seat in major fiction in the latter years of the 2000s, effectively replaced in the worlds of the [[live-action film series|live-action movies]] and ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' by the [[AllSpark]]—a mystical object that, while physically distinct from the Matrix, possessed its life-giving powers and record of Transformer history. Before long, however, both these continuities reintroduced the idea of the Matrix: In both universes, the AllSpark was destroyed and its knowledge and power was reincarnated in an object either specifically named, or designed to look like, the Matrix, thereby bringing the whole concept full-circle.

Finally, the recent revelation (implied in the movies, confirmed by [[Fun Publications]]' "[[Crossing Over]]" and reiterated in ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'') that the energy that is the basis of Transformer life is actually the rarefied form of the Transformers' fuel, [[energon]] itself, suggests that the energy of the Matrix is also (a form of) energon. This had actually been portrayed as the case in some formerly-questionable pieces of fiction such as the [[Keepers Trilogy]] novels, which retroactively makes sense now.

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}
[[Image:Prima.jpg|right|thumb|275px|Intel Inside!]]

When Primus created the Transformer race, before entering voluntary systems shutdown, he bestowed upon them a genetic matrix containing his essence and the majority of his power, which could be used to give life to more Transformers so that the race might grow without his direct involvement. {{storylink|Primal Scream}} Later named the "Creation Matrix", this divine gift took the form of a "[[Primal Program]]" encoded in intricate patterns of light within a crystal,<ref>[http://ntfa.net/universe/english/index.php?act=view&char=Optimus_Prime_PM Powermaster Optimus Prime's Marvel comic profile]</ref> which was passed from leader to leader down through the millennia. The first holder of the Creation Matrix was the first Transformer, [[Prima]], then subsequently [[Prime Nova]], [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] and in the modern era, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} The Autobot leaders evidently elected to keep the true nature of the Matrix a secret, since most other Transformers were shown to believe it was a program stored within the mind of Optimus Prime himself, rather than housed within a separate physical object. This mistaken belief gave rise to a legend that claimed that the Program was encoded into a new Autobot leader once every ten millennia. {{storylink|The New Order}}

[[Image:WhoseLifeforce prime and longtooth.jpg|left|200px|thumb]]

''At one point during his tenure as Autobot leader, Optimus Prime came across [[Longtooth]] struggling to save the life of [[Longtooth's comrade|a fallen comrade]] on the battlefield after a particularly ferocious conflict. Mistakenly believing he was witnessing a great show of Autobot spirit (when in actuality, Longtooth was simply terrified of being the last one left alive), Prime extracted a tiny portion of the Creation Matrix's energy and gave it to Longtooth, telling him to use it wisely. Once Prime had left, however, Longtooth gave into his fear and kept the Matrix energy for himself, to serve as a "spare life" that allowed him to be daring and brave on the battlefield without fearing death.'' {{storylink|Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?}}

[[Image:DisintegratedCircuits buster uses matrix.jpg|right|thumb|275px]]

When the Transformers' war moved to [[Earth]] in 1984, current Decepticon leader [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] elected to increase his forces by creating new Transformers with the power of the Creation Matrix. Capturing the [[Autobot]]s and decapitating Optimus Prime, Shockwave tapped the energies of the Matrix and brought the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] to life. {{storylink|The Next Best Thing to Being There!}} Prime was able to transfer the Matrix into the mind of the Autobots' human ally, [[Buster Witwicky (G1)|Buster Witwicky]], {{storylink|The Worse of Two Evils!}} thereby preventing Shockwave from animating his newest construct, [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], but the presence of the Matrix within Buster's mind gave the boy incredible powers over machinery. {{storylink|DIS-Integrated Circuits!}} {{storylink|Brainstorm!}} Deducing that Buster possessed the Matrix, Shockwave programmed the unliving Jetfire to capture the boy, but Buster used the Matrix to bring Jetfire under his control and used him to thwart Shockwave's plan and save Optimus Prime. With Prime and the Autobots rescued, Buster transferred the Creation Matrix back to the Autobot leader, {{storylink|Prime Time!}} and Prime subsequently used the Matrix to give Jetfire true life. {{storylink|Rock and Roll-Out!}}

''Residual energy from the Matrix that lingered in Buster's brain soon began to give the youth nightmarish visions, causing him to black out and create strange images of previously-unheard of Transformers.'' {{storylink|Devastation Derby!}} ''Seeking to help Buster, the Autobots hooked him up to equipment that would allow them to monitor his dreams, and discovered that the Matrix was showing them all them a vision of the future, and the creation of the [[Special Teams]].'' {{storylink|Second Generation!}}

[[Image:Matrixflame.jpg|left|thumb|275px|If the Autobots were Jewish, it would have burned another six days.]]

''The Matrix was also known to have an analog on Cybertron, the [[Matrix Flame]], which burned constantly as long as the Matrix still existed, no matter where in the universe it was. It could also be used to channel the energy of the Matrix, which the Autobots on Cybertron did to bring life to their new warrior, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]].<ref>Ultra Magnus profile page in Marvel UK [[Target: 2006#Defeat!|#81]]</ref> Not long after, however, the Matrix Flame flickered out when Optimus Prime was shunted into [[limbo]] by time-travelling Decepticons, leading the Autobots on Cybertron to send Magnus to Earth to investigate. Prime was returned in due time, and the Matrix Flame re-ignited.'' {{storylink|Target: 2006}}

''Following the earlier vision from the Matrix,'' the Autobots created the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], and Optimus Prime used the Matrix to bring them to life. Little did the Autobots realise, however, that [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] had deduced a way to usurp the Matrix's power, using a [[cerebro-shell]] previously planted in Prime's body by [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] to siphon off some of the life-giving energy, which he employed it to animate his own new creations, the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]]. {{storylink|Heavy Traffic!}}

[[Image:DarkCreation_we_would_know_more.jpg|right|thumb|275px]]

When Optimus Prime died following a video-game duel with Megatron a short time later, {{storylink|Afterdeath!}}, the Autobots loaded his body into a funeral bier and launched it into space in accordance with Cybertronian tradition. {{storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Unfortunately, having been unaware of the existence of the physical Creation Matrix crystal within the corpse's chest, this meant that they unwittingly set the sacred lifeforce of their race adrift in the sea of stars. After some time, the craft eventually crashed on the distant moon of [[VsQs]], where it lay undisturbed for a time. Left in solitude, the rudimentary consciousness of the Matrix formed from the genetic memory of its past holders began to desire new sensations. {{storylink|Dark Creation}}

It got its chance when a [[Deathbringer (Marvel)|Deathbringer]], a medical mechanoid created to painlessly end the life of the terminally ill, crashed on VsQs. Critically wounded, the dying robot reached out to touch the Matrix, and in its hunger for new experiences, the talisman used its powers of creation to disassemble and rebuild the Deathbringer, inadvertently warping its programming and transforming it into a powerful being who sought to destroy ''all'' life. A trace of its energy remaining in its body, the Matrix revelled in its first experience of "evil" as the Deathbringer cut a swathe of destruction across the galaxy, ultimately finding its way to Earth. ''Sensing the Matrix's power within the creature, Optimus Prime—since resurrected by the technology of [[Nebulos]]—was hesitant to destroy the only link they had discovered to the lost Matrix, but [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] solved the problem by convincing the Deathbringer that since the Matrix's power was eating away at it, it should destroy itself.'' {{storylink|Deathbringer (issue)|Deathbringer}}

[[Image:Creation Matrix 65.jpg|left|thumb|210px|The Creation Matrix was the Leader-1's-head of the Marvel comic. Can't be drawn the same way twice.]]

Back on VsQs, the Matrix's curiosity found new expression when an insectoid creature crawled into Prime's corpse's chest cavity and became the next recipient of the Matrix's power. Dissecting and studying the beast, the Matrix was fascinated that the creature seemed to be meant to do nothing but destroy, so it re-created the thing into a [[Matrixspawn|larger, more powerful predator]]. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} The monster attacked a team of astronauts that had set up a research station on VsQs, killing nearly all of them, but at least one escaped and crashed in the seas of the nearby planet [[Pequod]]. His body infused with Matrix energy from the beast that had attacked him, the astronaut was swallowed by a [[klud]], which ingested the energy. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}}

Meanwhile, Optimus Prime became aware of the threat of Unicron, and, realizing that the Matrix would be necessary to defeat the Chaos-Bringer, arranged for search parties to scour the cosmos for any trace of it. ''Longtooth was among the Autobots recruited for the search mission, and was forced for the first time to truly confront the selfishness of what he had done with the Matrix energy Prime had given him millennia before. In hopes of redemption, he loaded the energy fragment into a pod and sent it back to Optimus Prime.'' {{storylink|Whose Lifeforce Is It Anyway?}} [[Image:Thunderwing with matrix.jpg|right|thumb|215px]] ''Prime agonized over how to best use the Matrix energy, knowing that it had the power to revive only one of the deactivated Autobots on the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], and ultimately, elected to disperse it the Earth's atmosphere to rejuvenate damage done to the ecosystem by the Transformers' warring on the planet.'' {{storylink|The Greatest Gift of All!}}

In the meantime, the search parties seeking the Matrix had piqued the curiosity of new Decepticon leader [[Thunderwing (G1)|Thunderwing]], who possessed an affinity with the Matrix and a desire to possess its power for his own. As the opposing teams dodged each other, they eventually set their sights on Pequod, where the klud had been attracting attention because its species was supposed to have been extinct. Thunderwing used his Matrix affinity to psychically link with the Matrix-infused beast and see the memory of swallowing the dying scientist. Recognizing the "VsQs" stamp on his equipment, Thunderwing set out for that moon. {{storylink|Deadly Obsession}} Once there, both sides battled the creature the Matrix had created, which had grown to enormous size, with Thunderwing ultimately killing the beast and taking the Matrix. {{storylink|Dark Creation}} The Decepticon immediately attacked the spaceborne [[Ark (G1)|Ark]], manifesting the Matrix power in the form of a giant, vaguely humanoid energy field around himself. Soon, however, the Matrix began to speak through Thunderwing, delighting in the firsthand experience of evil, and the Decepticon realized he was being possessed. Thunderwing tried to mentally battle the Matrix, to no avail, but the Autobots exploited his erratic behaviour to impale him with a harpoon and blow him out the Ark's airlock into space. {{storylink|All Fall Down}}

[[Image:EdgeofExtinction-sothatallmaylive.jpg|left|thumb|275px|It cures what ails ya.]]

Thunderwing's body came to rest on Earth's [[Moon (moon)|moon]], where the Matrix began to heal his battered frame. Repairs took time, but once completed, the Matrix set out for Cybertron, coincidentally arriving just as Unicron was trying to destroy the planet. The Matrix-creature fought Unicron, but Unicron soon realized that the Matrix had been tainted with evil, and that it was no longer a threat to him, given the infinitely greater magnitude of his own evil nature. Thunderwing was destroyed by Unicron's attack and Optimus Prime was able to recover the Matrix, cleansing it of the taint of evil and restoring its purity. Rocketing into Unicron's gaping maw, Prime released the Matrix's energy within the planet-eater's body, destroying him. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} The explosion should have killed Prime as well, but his devastated body was saturated with Matrix energy, keeping it alive long enough for the suffering Prime to pass on leadership of the Autobots to [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. {{storylink|Still Life!}} Prime's consciousness, however, was transferred to his [[Nebulan]] partner, [[Hi-Q]], who was later recreated into a new Optimus Prime by the [[Last Autobot]], complete with a reconstructed Matrix. {{storylink|End of the Road! (US)|End of the Road!}}
{{-}}
=====Marvel UK future timelines=====

[[Image:MatrixCoconut1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Will I become a great Autobot leader?" "All signs point to no."]]

''In the alternate future timeline of [[Earth-120185]], a dying Optimus Prime passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus in 2006. {{storylink|The Planet-Eater!}} It was then used by [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] to destroy Unicron, in the process transforming the young Autobot into Rodimus Prime. {{storylink|The Final Battle!}}

''In the year 2008, Unicron attempted to engineer his resurrection by mentally controlling the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]] into building him a new body. Drawn into the conflict by [[Death's Head (G1)|Death's Head]], Rodimus Prime used the power of the Matrix to battle Unicron on his own mindscape, while [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] set explosives to destroy the portion of Unicron's body that had been constructed. The explosion tore Unicron's body apart, but did not destroy him; instead, with no physical shell to inhabit, his essence wound up trapped within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}

[[Image:MarvelUK-187.jpg|left|thumb|215px]]

''Later in 2008, the [[Quintesson]]s invaded and conquered [[Autobot City]] while Rodimus Prime was absent, and set a trap for the Autobot leader by leaving the wounded [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] at the city entrance. Arriving to find the one-time object of his affections in dire straits, Rodimus opened his chest cavity in order to heal Arcee with the energy of the Creation Matrix, only to be blindsided by the Quintessons and have the Matrix plucked from him, transforming him back into Hot Rod. The Matrix wound up the hands of Quintesson [[Ghyrik|General Ghyrik]], who was able to harness its power and boost his strength for a throwdown with Hot Rod. A bout of impromptu ventriloquism from the young Autobot distracted Ghyrik, allowing Hot Rod to rip the Matrix from his body and transform back into Rodimus Prime, handing Ghyrik an ignominious defeat. {{storylink|Space Pirates!}}

''When disruption to the fabric of space and time forced Rodimus and several other Autobots to travel back in time from 2009 to 1989 in order to discover the source of the disturbance, the presence of the Matrix within his body required that Optimus Prime once again be shunted into limbo in order to maintain balance. Rodimus was able to use the power of the Matrix they shared to allow Optimus to communicate with the other Autobots, and when Rodimus was then defeated in battle, Optimus risked the security of the space-time continuum by using the Matrix as a stepping stone to return to reality for a final battle with [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]].'' {{storylink|Time Wars}}

[[Image:WhiteFire kup yanks matrix.jpg|right|thumb|160px|I honestly can't tell if it's the Matrix, or a weird kind of saucepan...]]

''Returning to Cybertron after their time-travel adventure, Rodimus and the Autobots found that the disruption of space and time had altered their future, and that Galvatron was waiting for them. Galvatron attempted to force Rodimus Prime into a savage battle, hoping to force him to unleash his basest, most violent impulses, and by extension, lead them to corrupt the Matrix. Fortunately, Rodimus realized his plan and stopped.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}} ''However, it soon became apparent that the Matrix required no external corruption; Unicron's essence, still trapped within the talisman following the events of 2008, slowly began to take hold of Rodimus Prime's mind, forcing him to sabotage the guidance systems of the Autobots' craft when they were on a hyperspace trip to Earth in 2010.'' {{storylink|The Void! (UK)|The Void!}} {{storylink|Edge of Impact}} ''Rodimus battled within Unicron inside the Matrix in an attempt to win back control of his mind and body, but it took [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] deducing what was going on and wrenching the Matrix from Rodimus's chest to free him from the chaos-bringer's influence. But now, Rodimus knew that the evil of Unicron would be waiting for him within it...'' {{storylink|Shadow of Evil}} {{storylink|White Fire}}

''Alas, later in 2010, Unicron's essence succeeded in taking over Rodimus's body, transforming it into a duplicate of his own and attacking Cybertron once more, until Rodimus was able to defeat him from within and re-seal him within the Matrix.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

''When last seen, in the far future of 2356, Unicron's essence remained sealed within the Matrix, causing Rodimus's body to steadily wither and weaken.'' {{storylink|Aspects of Evil!}}

{{-}}

====Marvel ''Generation 2'' comic====
[[Image:G210 starscream warworld.jpg|left|thumb|180px]]
Requiring the Matrix to bring the new warriors created by [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] to life, Megatron defeated Optimus Prime in battle and tore the Matrix from his body with an energy siphon. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} The Matrix's energy was then used to give life to the [[Laser Rod|Laser Rods]] and [[Rotor Force]]. {{storylink|New Dawn}}

Subsequently, Prime and Megatron were forced into an uneasy alliance against the massed forces of the [[Cybertronian (faction)|Cybertronian Empire]], and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] exploited the chaos of the huge battle to take the power of the Matrix for himself. Using it, he merged his mind and body with the Decepticons' [[Warworld]], becoming a colossal living weapon able to reshape himself at will. {{storylink|Total War!|Tales of Earth, Part Seven}} However, unlike with Thunderwing, Starscream found his own evil being subverted by the Matrix's goodness, {{storylink|Dark Shadows!|Tales of Earth, Part Eight}} and he returned the Matrix to Prime, for fear of being changed beyond recognition.

Soon after, when Prime was consumed by the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]], he channelled the Matrix's energy into the dark force, enlightening and completing it with the purity of Primus's vision. Suddenly transformed from a destructive force into a force for life, the Swarm re-created Prime and departed into space. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}
{{-}}

===Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
====''The Transformers'' cartoon====
[[Image:OracleMatrix.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]

The origins of the Matrix of Leadership are almost entirely unknown. The only hint of its beginnings was given in an account from near the dawn of time, soon after the ancient genius [[Primacron (G1)|Primacron]] and [[Oracle (G1)|his assistant]] created the colossal robot, Unicron. Unicron turned on his creators and destroyed the assistant's body, but seen to rise from his remains and disappear into space was an object that appeared identical to the Matrix. If this was truly the Matrix, it is wholly unknown how it came to be held by the Autobots and how it was elevated to the position of power it became known for. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

However it came to be in Autobot hands, the Matrix came to be at the centre of the robots' belief system and was safeguarded by each successive generation of Autobot leaders. Upon the passing of its holder, the Matrix became a receptacle for the deceased Autobot's lifeforce, which cumulatively became known as the "Wisdom of the Ages", a storehouse of knowledge and experience stretching back to the dawn of Cybertronian history (and potentially beyond) that could be consulted by the Matrix's living wielders in times of need. The spirits of many Autobots have been seen within the Matrix, but the names of only a select few are known: The oldest entity within the Matrix is known only as "[[It]]" {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}; [[Image:Matrix 5faces4 7.jpg|left|225px|thumb|My preciousssss!]] following this entity, the next oldest known was [[Primon]], who possessed the Matrix in the early days of the Cybertronian race around twelve million years ago; [[Prima]] bore it at the height of their oppression by the [[Quintesson]]s about a million years later; [[Prime Nova]] was its wielder during the eventual rebellion against the five-faced aliens; [[Guardian Prime]] and his successor [[Zeta Prime]] carried it during the first war between the Autobots and Decepticons, before it was passed to Sentinel Prime, under whose leadership the war came to an end.

Around nine million years ago, the Autobot/Decepticon war was reignited by the creation of [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], who killed Sentinel Prime as one of his first actions. In his death throes, Sentinel entrusted the Matrix to the ancient Autobot [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], who kept it hidden until a damaged young robot was brought to his workshop, another victim of Megatron's wrath. Trion recreated him as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], new leader of the Autobots, and gave him the Matrix. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Optimusg1passingthematrix.jpg|right|thumb|225px]]

Fatally wounded by Megatron in the year 2005, Optimus Prime passed the Matrix and leadership of the Autobots to his chosen successor, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. Before passing away, Prime spoke of a prophecy—that one day, a "Chosen One" would rise from the ranks of the Autobots, and use the power of the Matrix to light the Transformers' darkest hour. When Prime's strength faltered at the last moment and he dropped the Matrix, the young Autobot Hot Rod stooped to catch it before it hit the floor. The Matrix glowed brightly in response to his touch, signifying what none of the Autobots present would realize until later: that Hot Rod was the Chosen One.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]

When word of Unicron's approach on Cybertron reached the Autobots on Earth, Ultra Magnus believed (and Hot Rod agreed, based on nothing more than a feeling) that the Matrix might be able to stop the world-eater. Knowing that this was indeed the case, Unicron recreated Megatron as Galvatron and dispatched him to steal the Matrix, leading to a confrontation on the [[Junkion (planet)|Planet of Junk]] in which Ultra Magnus tried in vain to open the Matrix and use it to fend off the attacking Decepticons. Galvatron bested him and took the Matrix, believing he could use it to subjugate Unicron himself, but he had no more luck opening it than Magnus did. Unicron swallowed Galvatron whole as punishment, and it was within Unicron's body that the Decepticon leader engaged Hot Rod in the battle that saw the young Autobot claim his destiny. Seizing the Matrix from around Galvatron's neck, Hot Rod was transformed by its power into Rodimus Prime, then proceeded to fulfil the prophecy by opening the talisman and releasing its power, which tore Unicron apart from within. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie}}

Later, when injured in battle, Rodimus's consciousness briefly entered the Matrix itself and witnessed a vision that led him to believe that the answer to the mystery of the alien Quintessons currently plaguing the Autobots was held within it. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2}} To find his answer, Rodimus deliberately short-circuited himself and entered the Matrix a second time. Guided by the ancient Autobots within, Rodimus was shown the history of Cybertron and discovered the Quintessons' role in the creation of the Transformers. {{storylink|Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4}}

[[Image:Darkawakening_matrix_pain.jpg|right|225px|thumb|The zombified Optimus Prime reacts in pain to the light of the Matrix.]]

The burden of leadership weighed heavily upon Rodimus, and he was all too eager to return the Matrix to Optimus Prime when it seemed that the Autobot leader had returned from the dead in 2006. It transpired, however, that Optimus had only been reanimated as a robotic zombie by the Quintessons, with the intent of luring the assembled Autobot forces into a trap. Fortunately, with the Matrix now back within him, its energies overrode the evil intentions the aliens had programmed him with, and he returned it to Rodimus before apparently sacrificing himself again to trigger the Quintessons' trap alone. {{storylink|Dark Awakening}}

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod retrieves matrix.jpg|left|thumb|225px]]

Still struggling with leadership, Rodimus tried to forget his woes with a bout of drag-racing in the hills of [[Japan]], only to be ambushed by [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. The two Stunticons stole the Matrix and brought it back to Galvatron, but when the Decepticon leader attempted to use its energy to power his cannon, he was instead tormented by the spirits of the Autobots within it. The terrified Galvatron instructed [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] to dispose of the Matrix, but Scourge grasped the true nature of its power where his leader could not, and instead placed it within his own chest. The Matrix's energies warped his body into a powerful, misshapen hulk, increasing his power to the point that he was able to oust Galvatron and take control of the Decepticons himself. Scourge proceeded to lead the Decepticons in an attack on Earth, only to be bested by Hot Rod, who had since learned the importance of "the burden hardest to bear", and reclaimed the Matrix once more. {{storylink|The Burden Hardest to Bear}}

[[Image:ReturnOptimusPrime2 Matrix open.JPG|right|thumb|225px]]

When Optimus Prime was at last truly resurrected, he was forced to battle the [[Hate Plague]]-infected Rodimus in order to reclaim the Matrix from him, in hopes of consulting the Wisdom of the Ages to find a cure for the disease. Communicating with the mysterious It, he learned that the only way combat the madness of the plague was with wisdom, and opened the Matrix, expelling all of the wisdom within it to extinguish the disease (in the process claiming that this was also the Autobots' "darkest hour"). Although the Matrix was emptied, leaving only a shell, Optimus claimed they would have to start filling it with wisdom again, from that moment on. {{storylink|The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2}}

In 2007, Optimus Prime used the shell of the Matrix as a substitute key to access [[Vector Sigma]], where he consulted Alpha Trion on the mystery of the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]]. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 2}}
{{-}}

====Madman ''The Transformers'' comic====
[[Image:Madman comic PrimeHotrod.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Optimus's proposal to Hot Rod.]]
The significance of the Matrix to the Autobots was such that when Optimus Prime prepared to lead the Autobots in an evacuation of Cybertron in the year 2001, he hid the Matrix in a bunker at the construction site of the future Autobot City. Unfortunately, [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] had monitored the Autobot leader's meeting with Ultra Magnus, and moved to steal the Matrix for the Decepticons. Fate intervened in the form of Hot Rod, who defeated the Decepticons and took back the ancient Autobot relic, and at the same time received a vision of his future as the Autobot who would light Cybertron's darkest hour. {{storylink|The Transformers (Madman)|The Transformers}}
====Rodimus vs. Cyclonus====
After their adventure on [[Quintessa]], while Hot Rod, Kup and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s were searching space for Ultra Magnus's team, they were attacked by [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]. A flash of ancient knowledge he had received from the Matrix upon catching it when Optimus Prime had passed it to Magnus inspired Hot Rod to invoke the [[Challenge of Aria-Bellum]]. {{storylink|Rodimus vs. Cyclonus}}
{{-}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
{{note|The events of the Generation 1 cartoon occur in Japanese animated continuity as described above, except that the events of 2006 are moved forward to 2010, and "The Rebirth" does not occur. A 2007 [[retcon]] built upon the original cartoon's confusing hints to create a full origin for the Matrix in this continuity.}}

When Primacron and his assistant (also known as the "Oracle") were attacked by the rebelling Unicron, the assistant's body was destroyed, but his lifeforce persisted. Sealed within a protective shell, the Oracle's lifeforce fled to a dead world at the centre of the galaxy, which the Oracle used his powers to transform into a lush, green world. In time, however, the alien Quintessons came to the Oracle's world and were able to bring him under their power, transforming him into the mega-computer, Vector Sigma. Using the [[Key to Vector Sigma]], the Quintessons cyber-formed the Oracle's world into [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], and the Oracle's life-giving powers were harnessed to produce a race of robotic slaves. The shell which had contained the Oracle's essence became the Matrix, but precisely how it came to be held by the Quintessons' consumer goods robots (later known as the Autobots), or even why the Quintessons would ''allow'' their creations to possess such a powerful item, is unknown. {{storylink|Generation 1 cartoon timeline (Japan)|2007 TakaraTomy Transformers timeline}}

=====''The Battle of the Star Gate''=====

[[Image:StargateBattles_matrix_powered_megatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb]]

In the mid-1990s, Optimus Prime put the power of the Matrix to an unconventional use when a battle in space forced him to team up with Megatron in order to stop the rampage of Starscream, who had fused himself with the space station known as the [[Trigger]]. With Megatron in gun mode clutched in his arms, Prime summoned up the Matrix's energy and channelled it through his body, into the Decepticon leader, who unleashed it all in one colossal shot of cosmic proportions. The blast obliterated Starscream's new Trigger-body, but the backwash of the explosion was so great that it sent Prime, Megatron and all the Transformers observing the battle on a fiery plummet into Earth's atmosphere. {{storylink|The Battle of the Star Gate}}

=====''Story of Binaltech''=====
In a parallel timeline that diverged off from this one thanks to the flow of history being altered by the time-tossed [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], Optimus Prime did not die in 2005, and was prepared to confront Unicron himself. However, after sustaining serious injuries in the opening salvo of the battle with the chaos-bringer, Prime passed the Matrix to Ultra Magnus. Despite knowing he was not the Chosen One, Magnus bravely petitioned the Matrix to allow him to wield its power anyway, as otherwise, the Autobots' destruction was assured. The Matrix granted Magnus his wish, and its energy was used to destroy Unicron. {{storylink|Binal Time}}
{{-}}

=====''Kiss Players''=====
After inheriting the Matrix in 2005, Rodimus Prime was horrified to discover that when he threw Galvatron out of Unicron, the Decepticon leader had wound up crash-landing on Earth, destroying [[Tokyo]]. Seeking to atone for his sins, Rodimus returned the Matrix to Ultra Magnus and became Hot Rod again, leaving both the talisman and the role of leadership in Magnus's hands for five years until he returned to his post in 2010. {{storylink|Transformers: Kiss Players (radio drama)|A Big Catch Tonight?!}}

=====''The Headmasters'' cartoon=====

After emptying the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, Optimus Prime sought to restore the lifeforce that had been lost by filling it with energy drawn from the lifeforce of [[Earth]] itself. To this end, the Matrix was secreted away in the lower levels of one of many Autobot energy-gathering facilities on Earth, where Prime hoped it would steadily recharge. Whether or not this odd-sounding plan would have ''worked'' is an area of some debate, but ultimately, a different set of circumstances soon came into play...

[[Image:DoublePrime matrix recharged.jpg|left|260px|thumb|Alpha Trion's spirit re-enters the Matrix, recharging it.]]

In the year 2011, a catastrophic side-effect of the Matrix's energy being released became apparent—without the Matrix to act as a controlling force, Vector Sigma began to destabilize, putting all of Cybertron in great danger. The Decepticons took this opportunity to invade the planet, hoping to take control of the unstable computer and by extension, the planet itself. {{storylink|Four Warriors Come out of the Sky}} During the battle that followed, Optimus Prime headed for Vector Sigma's chamber to try and bring the computer back under control, but without the Matrix—which remained hidden on Earth, its location known only to Prime himself—the only recourse would be to give up his own life. To stop Prime from making this sacrifice, Hot Rod led the Autobot [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] in a methodical search across Earth, checking every Autobot energy facility. {{storylink|The Mystery of Planet Master}} After successfully locating the Matrix in the last possible hiding place and evading his pursuers, Hot Rod returned to Cybertron, arriving in Vector Sigma's chamber just as Optimus Prime was facing off against the Decepticons. The ghost of Alpha Trion, who had survived the emptying of the Matrix and who had led Prime safely to the computer chamber, merged with the Matrix, restoring its lost lifeforce and giving it the power to once again transform Hot Rod into Rodimus Prime. The two Primes dispatched the Decepticons, but before Rodimus could use the Matrix to stabilize Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself by merging with the computer to bring it back under control. {{storylink|Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime}}

Some time later, when Cybertron was subsequently devastated thanks to the machinations of Decepticon Headmaster leader [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]], Rodimus Prime voyaged into space to search for a new homeworld for the Transformers, taking the Matrix with him. {{storylink|Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2}}
{{-}}

=====''The Headmasters'' comic=====

On his many travels through space, the Matrix gave Rodimus Prime courage to face every challenge that presented itself. In addition to the teachings of the ancient Autobots, the energy of Earth's lifeforce that now dwelled within the Matrix as well truly opened Rodimus's eyes to the beauty of Earth and humanity. Believing that Transformers should aspire to be more like human beings, he returned to Earth and announced his desire for humans and Transformers to live and work together to move forward and evolve. {{storylink|The Headmasters issue 8|The Headmasters #8}}

=====''G-2'' story pages and mini-comics=====

[[Image:G2StoryPageReconfigurationMatrix1.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]

Presumably, Rodimus Prime must have returned the Matrix to Optimus Prime when he was restored to life as Star Convoy, since Prime had the talisman back in his chest when he adopted his "Hero" body at the beginning of the renewed war against Megatron some number of years after 2025. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|G-2 Part 1}} A research team led by [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] later discovered new properties of the Matrix, which prompted Megatron to duel Optimus Prime in the [[Mirtonian constellation]] in order to steal the Matrix for himself. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|G-2 Part 4}} Megatron fatally wounded Prime, but the ancient Autobots within the Matrix were able to restore him thanks to the newly-discovered power Jetfire's team had learned of: the [[Reconfiguration Matrix]], which repaired and restored Prime in a new Laser Rod body. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|G-2 Part 5}}

=====e-HOBBY storyline=====
Having briefly held the Matrix, Ultra Magnus's spark was among the chosen few which retained autonomy within the Allspark. Sensing the threat [[Galvatron II]] posed to the universe with his fleet of [[Warworld]]s, Magnus used the powers of the Reconfiguration Matrix to resurrect himself in a new body based on Prime's Laser Rod form so that he could battle the Decepticon leader. It didn't go very well. {{storylink|Hybrid Style Convoy Black Version}}
{{-}}

===Start Your Own Decoy Collection===
[[Image:Decoy_comic_matrix.jpg|left|thumb]]
Through unknown means, the Decepticons were able to steal the Creation Matrix and holed it up in their headquarters. In order to stage a recovery, the Autobots created an army of [[Decoy]]s to distract the Decepticon forces, while Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, Kup and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] secretly penetrated the base. Fighting their way through a slew of [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]], the team discovered the Matrix in a transparent case. Blurr blasted it open at Hot Rod's direction, and the Autobots successfully escaped with the talisman back in their possession. {{storylink|Start Your Own Decoy Collection|The Decepticon Deception}}
{{-}}
===Beast Era===
====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
[[Image:OptimalSituation_spark_holder.jpg|right|thumb|The similarity between Prime's "spark holder" and the Matrix was a source of some confusion.]]
Several enigmatic references were made to the Matrix by the [[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Warriors]] at various points, though it is never precisely clear if they are referring to the Matrix of Leadership, the Allspark dimension, [[Matrix (facility)|the protoform production facility on Cybertron]] that also goes by that name, or some theoretical conglomeration of any of the above that they only speak of out of misconception.

When the body of Optimus Prime was fatally wounded by [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]], Optimus Primal opened Prime's chest compartment in order to take the Autobot leader's spark into his own body for safety. Prime's spark was shown to be contained within a holder shaped just like the Matrix of Leadership, and Rhinox remarked that Prime's spark had "the Matrix with it". {{storylink|Optimal Situation}}
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====3H comics====
While experiencing a swirl of visions from throughout history, the [[Covenant]] witnessed the Matrix being torn by the [[Liege Maximo]] from the body of the enigmatic [[Primon]], its first holder. {{storylink|Herald, Covenant, Schism, Paradox|Covenant}}

[[Image:Sparkholderprimevaldawn.jpg|left|300px|thumb|The Matrix, beneath Prime's "spark holder".]]

The confusion surrounding the Matrix-like "spark holder" in Prime's chest and its relation to the actual Matrix of Leadership was clarified when it was revealed that the Matrix was actually concealed in a compartment beneath Prime's own spark, a deception specifically designed to protect the Matrix and keep it from those who would misuse its power.

[[Image:Primevaldawn2 tarantulas matrix.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]

Following the end of the Beast Wars, the deceased [[Tarantulas (BW)|Tarantulas]] was resurrected, having harnessed the powers of the alien [[Vok]] with the intention of stealing the Matrix and delivering it to his master, Unicron. Seeking to keep the Matrix out of Tarantulas's hands, the Vok took the talisman from the sleeping Optimus Prime and used its power to transform the discarded control suit the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]] had previously used to manipulate Optimus Primal into [[Primal Prime]]. Primal Prime was made guardian of the Matrix, and filled with all the wisdom of the past leaders within it. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 1}} Unfortunately, the Vok had miscalcuated: While it was within Optimus Prime, the Matrix had been safe, but once they had broken the forces that had bound it to Prime in order to transfer it to their creation, it had become vulnerable. This was proven in drastic fashion when, in the following battle, Tarantulas was able to overpower Primal Prime and rip the Matrix from his body. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 2}} The shock threw Primal Prime into a comatose state, while Tarantulas took the Matrix back to his lab to await the completion of the [[Transwarp]] portal that would take him and his prize to Unicron. {{storylink|Primeval Dawn Part 3}}

{{note|"Primeval Dawn" was never finished as a result of [[3H Productions]] losing the Transformers license. Obviously enough, its finale would have seen our heroes recover the Matrix from Tarantulas and replace it in Optimus Prime's chest.}}
{{-}}

===Dreamwave ''Generation 1'' comics===
[[Image:Ancients.jpg|left|thumb|225px|The Matrix-shaped platform above the Oracle Tank.]]
Most modern Cybertronians eschew the mythology of the Matrix as set out by the [[Council of Ancients]], which claims that it is a conduit for the energies of Primus, choosing instead to believe in [[atechnogenesis]]. Despite this, Transformer society still holds the Matrix itself in great reverence, as, product of a deity or not, it is indisputably the most effective source of new Transformer life. Many conflicting stories and rumors swirl about the Matrix's true nature, born of claims that the Council actively prevented Alpha Trion from telling the general public more about it, but what ''is'' known about the talisman is that it is a virtually limitless source of energy. Only those with an affinity for the Matrix can wield its power; these Transformers are typically those chosen to be the next Prime, who often receive physical augmentation when the Matrix is taken into their bodies. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye #8}} The Ancients claim that the Matrix contains the wisdom of all sparks that return to it after death, though they do keep a more tangible version of that sort of thing in the form of a [[Golden Disk (council)|golden disk]] that holds the knowledge of past Primes. {{storylink|The War Within issue 6|The War Within #6}}
[[Image:TWW1 prime gets matrix.jpg|right|225px|thumb]]

The earliest known bearer of the Matrix was [[Primon|Alpha Prime]], who was succeeded by Guardian Prime, and then Sentinel Prime. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More Than Meets The Eye #8}} Around 8.2 million years ago, seeking to use the Matrix to power the planetary turbine engines he had discovered beneath Cybertron's surface, Megatron attacked and killed Sentinel Prime, only to discover upon tearing his victim open that the Matrix was gone, having already been given by Sentinel Prime to the Council of Ancients for unknown reasons (perhaps having foreseen his own death). The Council subsequently chose a data archivist named Optronix to be the new bearer of the Matrix, and brought him to the [[Oracle Tank]], in which both he and the Matrix were immersed. Optronix was enlarged and strengthened by the Matrix, and transformed into Optimus Prime. {{storylink|The War Within issue 1|The War Within #1}}

Soon after, Megatron attacked Prime in the catacombs beneath Cybertron and cracked open his form, exposing the Matrix. A blinding flash burst from the Matrix, showing Prime and Megatron visions of future conflicts on Earth and [[Nebulos]], but it was implied that Optimus somehow used the Matrix to force Megatron to forget these visions. How much knowledge he himself retained is unknown. {{storylink|The War Within issue 5|The War Within #5}}
[[Image:PrimeDirective2 spike replaces matrix.jpg|left|300px|thumb]]

Millions of years later, after their war on Earth, the Transformers were set to return to Cybertron aboard the [[Ark II]] in 1999, at which point Optimus Prime gave [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] a piece of the Matrix as a promise that he would be back. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}} The Ark II proved to have been sabotaged, however, and exploded in mid-flight, leaving the world to believe that the Transformers were dead until 2002, when the terrorist [[Lazarus]] recovered several of their bodies and reprogrammed them for use as weapons that he would sell on the black market. The American military recovered the body of Optimus Prime and [[Robert Hallo|General Hallo]] drafted Spike to help in bringing him back to life, {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 1|Prime Directive #1}} which Spike accomplished by returning the portion of the Matrix Prime had given him. Thus restored, Prime revived the other surviving Autobots by casting the light of the Matrix across the Arctic landscape where their bodies lay, melting away the ice that held them and bringing them back online. {{storylink|Prime Directive issue 2|Prime Directive #2}}
[[Image:G1 Vol.2 Issue6 2.jpg|right|thumb]]
When the Autobots and Decepticons were finally able to return to Cybertron, a chain of events ultimately led Optimus Prime into a confrontation with Shockwave in Vector Sigma's chamber. Knocking Prime out and blasting his chest open, Shockwave harnessed the energy of the Matrix and used it to access Vector Sigma's databanks in an attempt to learn all of the dark secrets at the heart of Cybertron. {{storylink|Countdown to Extinction (issue)|Countdown to Extinction}} Before Shockwave could complete his dark experiments, enemy forces converged on his lab, so the Decepticon logician tore the Matrix from Prime's body, intending to flee, only to be stopped and defeated by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. Grimlock recovered the Matrix and returned it to Prime, {{storylink|Revelation (War and Peace)|Revelation}} but the trauma of its forceful removal necessitated that Prime spend an extended session in a CR chamber to recover. {{storylink|Black Sunshine}}

====Keepers Trilogy novels====
Captured by the enigmatic aliens known as the [[Keeper (species)|Keepers]] and imprisoned inside their giant techno-organic bodies, Optimus Prime found himself forced into a suicide ploy, using a torrent of energon from the Matrix to destroy the creatures from within, willing to take himself with it. The gateway back to Earth was opened by Spike at the last moment, allowing Prime to hold off on his sacrifice, but unfortunately, the Keepers came through the portal as well. {{storylink|Hardwired}} During the battle that ensued against the Keepers in [[Las Vegas]], a pool of pure energon was uncovered beneath the city, which Prime combined with the energon of the Matrix to temporarily imbue himself with incredible power. Simultaneously, the American government launched a nuclear missile at Las Vegas in order to destroy both the Transformers and the Keepers, but the super-charged Prime was able to capture the missile's explosion in a net of Matrix energy, hurling it at the Keepers and blasting them through their portal. {{storylink|Annihilation}}

Following the Keepers' apparent defeat, Megatron called Prime in on a favour he had extracted from him in order to ensure his co-operation when they had been captives of the Keepers: Prime was to hand over the Matrix itself. Prime complied, partially out of honor, and partially due to the fact that he knew Megatron, as a Decepticon, would be unable to use the Matrix's power. Unfortunately, Prime had not reckoned with Megatron's giant soldier, [[Omega Sentinel (G1)|Omega Sentinel]], who was actually a reprogrammed Autobot whose non-Decepticon circuitry could interface with the Matrix to some extent. Omega Sentinel used his new Matrix-powered strength to destroy the White House, but the talisman's effect on his systems was immediately apparent by the fact that no life was lost in the attack. When the Sentinel refused to kill the Keeper-controlled [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] and Starscream on Megatron's orders, the Decepticon leader realized that the Matrix was influencing the giant and had him remove it from his body. The Matrix was recovered by the Keepers' agent [[Franklin Townsend]] and brought to the pocket-dimension into which the aliens had been transported, but Optimus Prime pursued Townsend and recovered the Matrix, once again intending to use it to destroy his alien enemies by collapsing the pocket dimension, at the cost of his own life. And once again the portal opened, leaving Prime content to force the Keepers back with the Matrix's light while he himself returned to Earth. However, Prime was unable to shut the portal off, required as he was to devote his attention to using the Matrix to keep the creatures from passing through the gateway. Salvation came in the form of the Omega Sentinel, the Matrix's effect on his systems persisting even after its removal: the giant threw himself and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] into the portal just as Prime shut off the Matrix, collapsing the gate and sealing the Keepers away forever. {{storylink|Fusion (novel)|Fusion}}

===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:ArtofWar1_matrix.jpg|left|thumb]]
Optimus Prime was formerly a simple data archivist until the Matrix chose him to be the new leader of the Autobots. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 2|The Art of War #2}}

Renegade military artificial intelligence [[Serpentor|Serpent O.R.]] learned about the Matrix whilst downloading information on the history of Cybertron from Soundwave, and ''really'' liked the bit about "bestowing great power". {{storylink|The Art of War issue 1|The Art of War #1}} He subsequently captured Optimus Prime and tried to convince him to give up the Matrix peacefully. From Serpent O.R.'s point of view, he was a great and respected leader too, so surely the Matrix would deem him a worthy bearer. In addition, he was sure the ancient relic would provide him with a spark so he could finally understand what life and death really meant. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 4|The Art of War #4}}
[[Image:ArtofWar5 hawk serpentor matrix.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
Unfortunately, Prime disagreed, so Serpent O.R. ended up having to take the Matrix by force. As he had planned, the Matrix did deem him worthy and did give him a soul, all while transforming him into a new form to boot. However, with his newfound wisdom, "Serpentor Prime" quickly saw the error of his ways, and would've committed suicide if it weren't for [[Cobra Commander]] hijacking his body. In order to stop the commander, [[Hawk (G.I. Joe)|Hawk]] tried to take the Matrix away from him, and was deemed worthy of it as well. This caused a power feedback that destroyed Serpent O.R., fried Cobra Commander's mind, and imbued Hawk with all the knowledge of the Matrix. While artifact was unharmed and was returned to Optimus Prime when everything was over, the knowledge that now filled Hawk's mind gave him visions of future conflicts to come. {{storylink|The Art of War issue 5|The Art of War #5}}

In addition to vision, the Matrix also gave Hawk the ability to control machinery with his mind, converse with Transformers telepathically, and force enough information into Transformers to incapacitate them with a single touch. Unfortunately, it also gave him recurring nightmares about an [[Unicron|angry god]]. {{storylink|Black Horizon, Part 1 of 2}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:DWTFJoe3 cobra commander matrix.jpg|left|thumb|125px]]
As the Autobots and Decepticons on Earth lay deactivated among the [[Fera Islands]], the Matrix was discovered by local [[human]]s, and became the sacred relic of a group of monks, who built it into the chest of a statue. Unfortunately, a rumour spread that the glowing blue orb possessed by the monks was an "ultimate weapon", and in 1938, [[Cobra]] massacred the monks and stole the Matrix. When [[Major Bludd]] touched the relic, the Decepticons who laid dormant on the island were reactivated. {{storylink|The Line}}

The Matrix subsequently came into the possession of [[Cobra Commander]], who learned that he could use it to hurt and weaken [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Using this method, he blackmailed the Decepticons into serving him. {{storylink|Trial by Fire}} In the end, Cobra Commander was killed, and [[Snake-Eyes]] grabbed the Matrix. By this time, the Autobots and [[G.I. Joe (team)|Joes]] were under attack by the unstoppable [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], so [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] urged Snake-Eyes to smash the Matrix, in hopes that the destruction of the life-giving artifact would take away Bruticus's lifeforce. Snake-Eyes complied and let Bruticus crush the Matrix with his wildly swinging fists, causing a flash of blue light that killed all Transformers present. {{storylink|The Iron Fist}}
{{-}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
The Matrix is carried by each successive generation of Primes, stretching back to the days of the legendary [[Knights of Cybertron]], who claimed it could create life, and so called it the "Creation Matrix". {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} For reasons unknown, the cruel supremacist [[Nova Prime]] did not take the Matrix with him on the fateful space voyage that ultimately led him to the [[Dead Universe]].<ref>Author Simon Furman has [http://simonfurman.wordpress.com/2007/12/12/another-quick-qa/ December 2007 Q&A on Simon Furman's blog implied] that in his original plans for this story, Nova ''did'' take the Matrix into the Dark Universe (Optimus Prime is never shown to carry it in Furman's stories), where it would have "become" something. Presumably, it was his intention for it to become the Darkness itself, which would not have been the separate entity it was in the finished story. These plans were cut short and wrapped up when Furman left the series, and subsequent writers established that Optimus had indeed been carrying the Matrix all along.</ref> There, Nova came into contact with the [[Darkness (G1)|Heart of Darkness]], a kind of "anti-Matrix" created by the ultimate evil of the Dead Universe, the [[D-Void]], to seek out Matrix-bearers and use them as agents to forge a link between the dead and living universes. {{storylink|Spotlight: Galvatron}} {{storylink|Spotlight: Sideswipe}}{{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}}

[[Image:AHM7 megs rips out matrix.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
The Matrix came to be held by [[Nominus Prime]], and although some Autobots like [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Orion Pax]] remained sceptical of its touted divinity, most embraced the religion surrounding it—Orion's co-worker [[Springarm]] even had an image of the Matrix "tattooed" on his helmet, and claimed that in moments of stress, he tried to calm himself by channeling the talisman's wisdom.

When rebel factions within the [[Senate]] arranged for an attack upon Nominus Prime in order to orchestrate the introduction of a draconian new planet-wide security regime that became known as the "[[Clampdown]]", they also moved Nominus into hiding so that they would have unfettered access to the Matrix, hoping to unlock the life-giving secrets the Knights spoke of. Learning of the corruption within the Senate, Orion Pax was imprisoned for speaking out, but an anonymous Senator, aware of the misdeeds of his fellows, arranged for his release. Moved by Orion's speech and realizing that greatness lay in his future, the senator secretly had a chamber built within Orion's chest to contain the Matrix. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}} It was not long after the initiation of the Clampdown that tensions exploded in the outbreak of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]; {{storylink|The Transformers: Megatron Origin|Megatron Origin}} when reflecting back on this time, Kup distilled the reasons behind the outbreak of the conflict down to blaming the Matrix as the root cause. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 6|All Hail Megatron #6}} The Matrix passed from Nominus to Sentinel Prime, then to Zeta Prime. The precise circumstances under which Orion Pax received the Matrix and became Optimus Prime are unknown, but years later, [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] would comment that to say Optimus was "given" the Matrix wouldn't be quite the right way to describe it. Prime admitted to experiencing great pain upon taking the Matrix into his body. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

After the Transformers' conflict moved to Earth in the present day, Megatron determined to separate Optimus Prime from the Matrix. He was unaware of what the Matrix was actually capable of, but viewed any unknown element as a potential threat, and rationed that even if he could not use it himself, it would still be safer in his hands than in those of his enemies. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}} To this end, Megatron staged a trap for the Autobots with the aid of the traitorous [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], catching them off-guard with his newly-created gestalt Devastator. Defeated, the Autobots were dumped via space bridge in the ruins of Cybertron, but not before Megatron tore the Matrix from Prime's chest himself. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 7|All Hail Megatron #7}}
[[Image:IDW13 hotrod starscream matrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]
When Megatron was defeated a year later and his forces were routed off of Earth, Starscream took up the role of leader and "inherited" the captive Matrix. Frustrated by his failure to find any "ultimate power" within it after several cycles of study, he decided to throw it away, only to be caught by [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] just before blowing it out an airlock. Scrabbling for an explanation as to why he had the Matrix and reminded by the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticon]] of its massive symbolic importance to the Autobots, Starscream claimed he had been "chosen" by the talisman and now wielded its power. He went on to make this declaration before all the Decepticons, boosting morale and rallying them beneath him, but immediately regretted the decision. {{storylink|All Hail Megatron issue 13|Uneasy Lies the Head}} And rightfully so: with the Matrix hung around his neck on a chain, its subtle influence on his mind over the next three years made the Decepticon air commander subdued and withdrawn, lost in contemplation of its mysteries, lashing out violently at any Decepticons who tried to touch it. This left him open to a brash attack by Hot Rod, who infiltrated the Decepticons' asteroid base in order to recover the Matrix. Hot Rod actually ''shot'' the Matrix to cause a discharge of energy that knocked Starscream out, then attempted to escape with the Matrix in hand, but was confronted by the newly-repaired Megatron. He proceeded to blast both the Matrix and Hot Rod through the base wall, setting them adrift in the void of space. {{storylink|Heart Like a Wheel}} Starscream's possession of the "potentially threatening" Matrix had previously made Megatron hesitant to take back leadership of the Decepticons, but with the artifact lost in space, he had nothing to fear and quickly reclaimed his position. {{storylink|Revenge of the Decepticons Part 2: Altered Carbon|Altered Carbon}}
[[Image:IDW19_matrix_in_chest.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
As they drifted through space together, the Matrix fused itself to Hot Rod's chest, keeping him alive and healing the damage Megatron had done. Eventually, Hot Rod crash-landed on the planet [[LV-118]], where he was taken captive by the [[Ilxian]] "[[Admiral]]", a stranded alien who sought to use the Matrix as a power source for his ship. With help from [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], another Autobot stranded on the planet, Hot Rod was able to seize control of the Admiral's ship, and allowed Wheelie to tap the energy of the Matrix to get them off the planet. {{storylink|Space Opera Part 1: The Stars My Destination|The Stars My Destination}} Knocked unconscious by the process, Hot Rod awoke some time later to find that Wheelie had been able to remove the Matrix from his chest, and had piloted the ship to Cybertron. Knowing that the planet was overrun by the [[Insecticon swarm]], Hot Rod tried to convince Wheelie that they needed to leave right away, but that proved impossible, as the Matrix had ceased providing power to the ship. Things on Cybertron turned out to be better than Hot Rod had thought, though, as they met up with [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], who provided a fuel cell for their ship. {{storylink|Space Opera Act 2: Out of the Silent Planet|Out of the Silent Planet}} The entire group returned to Earth, where Hot Rod made his first duty the return of the Matrix to Optimus Prime. {{storylink|Space Opera—Final Tableaux: Orphans of the Helix|Orphans of the Helix}}

Departing for Cybertron aboard [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] with Megatron a captive, Prime removed the Matrix from his chest in order to prove to himself that even without its wisdom, he still had the ability to make rational judgements under his own power. Ratchet watched over the talisman while Prime deliberated on Megatron's fate, and was holding it while he examined the damaged [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]], whose ability to walk was suddenly restored by its power. Although Prime ultimately concluded that Megatron's fate should be left for Megatron himself to decide, he did experience one disquieting revelation: Hot Rod revealed that when the Matrix had bonded with him, he had experienced not pain, as Optimus had felt, but unbridled elation. {{storylink|Chaos Theory Part 2}}

Upon the Autobots' return to Cybertron, they were faced with the threat of Galvatron, latest carrier of the Heart of Darkness, who combined it with Vector Sigma in order to allow the D-Void to emerge into the universe through Cybertron. To prevent this, Optimus Prime opened the Matrix, which succeeded in stopping the D-Void, but also left the Matrix not only spent, but its crystal core dark and split in two. {{storylink|Chaos Part Four: Genesis|Genesis}} With unrest growing between the Autobots and the unaligned Transformers in the process of returning to the planet, Prime brought the two halves of the Matrix to [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] for study, and the scientist discovered that the crystal was artificial, designed to [[photonic crystal|split in two]], and contained a map of the stars. [[Drift (G1)|Drift]] believed the map would lead the way to the long-lost Knights of Cybertron, and Rodimus elected to gather a crew and follow the path it charted, much to acting leader [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s consternation. Optimus Prime gave each of them one of the Matrix-halves, before departing Cybertron himself in hopes of ending the civil unrest. {{storylink|Transformers: The Death of Optimus Prime|The Death of Optimus Prime}}
{{-}}

===''Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun'' comic===
[[Image:Henkei11 matrix.jpg|thumb|left|IT BURNS!!]]

When the demented [[Galvatron (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic|Galvatron]] went on a rampage in [[Hoshinochō]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic|Optimus Prime]] and his Autobots were forced to abandoned the secrecy with which they had been operating on Earth in order to confront the villain and save the human lives he was threatening. Just as Galvatron targeted the Autobots' human ally [[Wataru Hoshinoumi]], Optimus Prime threw himself into the path of the villain's attack, and was knocked unconscious by the force of the attack. In addition to rendering Prime insensate, however, Galvatron's blow had also shattered his chest, exposing the Matrix of Leadership that was kept within. Responding to Wataru's ability to manipulate [[energon]], the Matrix surged to life, restoring Prime and boosting his strength. The light of the Matrix also revealed an unexpected deception: the Autobots were not merely fighting Galvatron, but [[Cyclonus (G1)#Henkei! Henkei! Bun Bun comic|Cyclonus]], possessed by Galvatron's disembodied spark! {{storylink|A Nightmare, Once Again}} Summoning up the Matrix's energy, Prime struck Cyclonus with one almighty Matrix-powered punch, utterly obliterating his body and causing Galvatron's spark to dissipate. {{storylink|To the Sea of Stars}}
{{-}}

===''Robot Heroes''===
[[Image:Robotheroes primus and matrix.jpg|right|thumb]]
The Matrix is a glowing crystal that gives the Autobots knowledge. It was created by the first Transformer, Primus, who gave it to Optimus Prime. {{storylink|I Am Optimus Prime (Robot Heroes)|I Am Optimus Prime}}
{{-}}

===''Wings Universe''===
{{stub}}

<hr>
===''Robots in Disguise''===
====''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon====
[[Image:PowerToBurn_prime_matrix.jpg|left|225px|thumb]]
[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] was chosen by Vector Sigma to be leader of the Autobots and to carry the Matrix. Less a physical object and more an energy that suffused his form, Prime could call on the power of the Matrix in moments of great emotion, at which point his body would glow with its green light. {{storylink|The Test (episode)|The Test}}
[[Image:TwoFaces magnus matrix.jpg|right|215px|thumb]]
Unfortunately for Prime, his brother [[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] was furious at being passed over for the leadership role, and about halfway through Prime's campaign against [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] on Earth, Magnus arrived on the planet with the intent to take the Matrix for himself. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus (episode)|Ultra Magnus}} When he attempted to absorb the energy of the Matrix from Prime's body, however, a bizarre fusion occurred instead, merging the two brothers into [[Omega Prime]] and revealing that the intention had always been for them to ''share'' the energy of the Matrix between them. {{storylink|Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion!}} Magnus later inadvertently used this link to channel the energy of the Matrix into the [[Autobot Brothers]], supercharging them. {{storylink|The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus}}

In the final battle against Megatron—now Galvatron—at the Earth's core, [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] channelled all his energy into Omega Prime to give his leader the power boost that he hoped would ensure triumph. The extra energy combined with that of the Matrix and it burst forth, coalescing into the colossal [[Matrix Blade]], which Omega Prime used to claim victory. {{storylink|The Final Battle (RID)|The Final Battle}}
{{note|In ''Car Robots'', the original Japanese version of ''Robots in Disguise'', Prime does ''not'' possess the Matrix of Leadership, instead carrying an [[Energon Matrix]].}}
{{--}}
====''Cybertron'' comic====
[[Image:OptimusPrimeRIDprimuschamber.jpg|right|thumb|250px]]
Teleported into the midst of a battle in another universe, Prime and Magnus found themselves on Cybertron, where the evil [[Nemesis Prime (Universe)|Nemesis Prime]] was attempting to use his [[Dead Matrix]] to destroy Primus. The brothers took him down, then separated so that Optimus could use his own Matrix to negate the evil energies released by the Dead Matrix. Opening the chamber in his Super Mode chest, he projected a beam of the Matrix's pure light into the Dead Matrix's swirling darkness, eliminating it. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}}
{{note|This was the first fictional use of the detail sculpted into the ''Robots in Disguise'' Prime toy's Super Mode chest as the Matrix; the ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon had opted to portray it as a power socket, and treated the Matrix as an energy, as noted above.}}
{{-}}
<hr>

===Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity===
{{note|Plot points derived only from the original Japanese versions of the Unicron Trilogy cartoons, lost to the slipshod dubbing that plagued the series, are in italics.}}
====''Armada'' cartoon====
[[Image:Crisis_Hot_Shot_Matrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]
When [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] threatened to destroy the Earth with the [[Hydra Cannon]], [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]], not expecting to survive the battle ahead, tried to pass the Matrix on to [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] before entering the conflict. Hot Shot refused, not feeling himself worthy, and Prime subsequently died throwing himself into the path of the Hydra Cannon blast meant for Earth. Prime's body was reduced to ashes, and the Matrix was all that remained, clung onto by his [[Mini-Con]] partner [[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]], floating helplessly until rescued. {{storylink|Crisis}}

[[Image:Miracle sparkplug and matrix.jpg‎|right|thumb|''in your eyes, the light, the heat 
''in your eyes, I am complete]]

Not long thereafter, as the Autobots and Decepticons battled in space on their way back to Cybertron, Sparkplug and [[Perceptor (Armada)|Perceptor]] presented the Matrix to the large armada of Mini-Cons who had joined the Autobots on their journey. Many Mini-Cons plunged themselves into the Matrix, using their powers to recreate Prime's body and restore him to life. {{storylink|Miracle}}

Some time later, in the midst of the Transformers' battle with Unicron, Optimus Prime was confronted by the evil demi-god with the suggestion that, on some level, he enjoyed the thrill of combat as much as Megatron did, ''and that the only difference between the two leaders was the Matrix in Prime's chest.'' {{storylink|Origin}} Following Unicron's defeat, when Megatron (now Galvatron) challenged Optimus to one final battle, these words led Prime to discard the Matrix, that he might battle Galvatron not as the leader of the Autobots, ''but as an individual, and the equal of his foe''.

[[Image:ArmadaMatrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px|A Unicorn designed this. (See the pretty rainbows?)]]

Prime flung the Matrix through Unicron's hide, out into space, where it later drifted by the two combatants as their fight moved to Unicron's surface. Soon, however, it became apparent that Prime and Galvatron's fight was sustaining and re-energizing Unicron, and Galvatron allowed himself to die into order to destroy the chaos-bringer. As the battered Prime hung in space afterwards, the Matrix floated past him. Prime turned to look at it, but, having revelled in his battle with Galvatron and in a way proven Unicron correct, shifted his glance away, pronouncing himself unworthy to carry it.

Prime did not return to his fellow Autobots immediately, as Cybertron was now at peace. Instead, he apparently embarked on some sort of soul-searching space voyage, seeking to find worthiness once again. {{storylink|Mortal Combat}}
{{-}}

====''Energon'' cartoon====
[[Image:MysteriousMercenary matrix generates blaster.jpg‎|right|thumb]]
Prime returned to reclaim the Matrix and leadership of the Autobots at some point over the next ten years. ''Despite the talisman being back in his hands once more, its power was employed but once during the war for [[energon]] of 2020, when Prime was badly injured by [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] during a battle on Earth's Moon and fell unconscious. When Prime was infused with a massive jolt of Energon in an attempt by the [[Omnicon]] [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] to revive him, the interaction of the element with the Matrix brought forth the [[Energon Blaster]], which coalesced out of a sphere of light that burst out of Prime's chest. Prime considered the weapon a gift from the previous commanders within the Matrix and fended off the Decepticons with it, then proceeded to never use or even mention it again.'' {{storylink|Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary}}
{{-}}
====''Cybertron'' cartoon====

[[Image:Cybertron matrix of leadership.jpg|left|thumb|225px|Good grief, Prime! There are KIDS present!]]

A further ten years later, during the quest to stop the [[Unicron Singularity]] in 2030, Optimus Prime used the Matrix of Leadership in concert with [[Vector Prime]]'s [[Rhisling|sword]] to open dimension gates to the various colony worlds that held the [[Cyber Planet Key]]s. It was only through the stabilizing powers of both objects that safe transit through the gates was made possible. {{storylink|Landmine (episode)|Landmine}} The Matrix influenced Optimus Prime's [[Cyber Key]], giving it a unique shape that mimicked the Matrix's own as opposed to the standard design shared by the other Autobots. {{storylink|Savage}}

[[Image:Unfinished matrix glow prime.jpg‎|right|thumb|225px]]

After the Autobots had obtained the Cyber Planet Keys from [[Velocitron]], [[Animatron|Jungle Planet]] and Earth and placed them in the [[Omega Lock]] on Cybertron, Optimus Prime substituted the energy of the Matrix for the still-missing fourth key. This proved enough to initiate Cybertron's transformation into the body of Primus, but without the key from [[Gigantion]], the god's power remained at an ebb, unable to close the black hole. {{storylink|Cybertron (episode)|Cybertron}} Before departing for Gigantion to obtain the final key, the Autobots were able to develop a method that allowed Primus to use the energy of the three keys and the Matrix to at least halt the singularity's growth, giving them the time the needed to complete their mission. {{storylink|Titans}} In order for the Autobots to safely traverse the tunnel in space-time that led to Gigantion, [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] created a "vaccine" program based on the stabilizing properties of the Matrix and Vector Prime's sword. {{storylink|Family}}

The Matrix would often glow with energy when Prime poised himself to unleash powerful combat moves; during his final battle with Galvatron, the golden glow of the Matrix surrounded Prime's entire body. {{storylink|Unfinished}}
{{-}}

===Ask Vector Prime===
Vector Prime claimed to have held the Matrix in Cybertron's past, during its [[Golden Age|golden age]]. He led for many years until he received a higher calling to become the protector of space and time. {{storylink|Ask Vector Prime}}

===''Galaxy Force'' comic===
[[Image:GFmanga_matrix.jpg|left|thumb|RESPECT MAH AUTHORITAH!]]
With the Earth besieged by the [[Ancient Decepticon]]s under the command of [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]], and the treacherous air commander himself transformed into a skyscraper-sized giant by the power of Primus, things were looking grim for the Autobots. Taking a direct hit from the giant Starscream, Optimus Prime's chest was smashed open, exposing the Matrix within. Reviving after only a few moments of unconsciousness to find that [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] had arrived on the planet with news that Primus had reawakened, Prime doubted how important he was to the battle if their god was now restored. Wing Saber pointed to his open chest, telling him that the Matrix within him signified him as the true leader of the Autobots, and Prime, his resolve restored, plucked the talisman from within himself and called upon its power to initiate his and Wing Saber's combination into Sonic Wing Mode for the first time. {{storylink|Galaxy Force Mission.9}}
{{-}}
<hr>

===Live-action ''Transformers'' film series===
[[Image:Tf2009 mol.jpg|thumb|250px|Now...how do you open this thing, dammit?]]
Created by the [[Dynasty of Primes]], the '''Matrix of Leadership''' is required to operate the [[Star Harvester]]. It can only be properly utilized by one who shares the lineage of the Primes.

====Sector Seven ARG====
The Matrix was mentioned in passing.{{fact}} {{storylink|Sector Seven (game)|Sector Seven}}

====Titan Magazines====
According to [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] carries the Matrix of Leadership. Not quite yet, he doesn't, Screamer! {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 8|Star Screams #2}}

====''Revenge of the Fallen'' film====
[[Image:ROTF Matrix crumbles.jpg|thumb|left|250px|And Unicron breathed a sigh of relief.]]
The [[Dynasty of Primes#Revenge of the Fallen movie|Seven Primes]] had agreed never to use a [[Star Harvester]] on a [[Sun]] that fed intelligent life. But in 17,000 BC, [[the Fallen]] chose to activate it on [[Earth]], for he hated [[human]]s, so the other Primes fought him and stole the Matrix. They sealed it away in a [[Tomb of the Primes|tomb]] made of their own bodies in a secret location. In 2009 AD, following the death of [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], the last Prime, the Fallen had returned to Earth and was seeking the Matrix to finish what he'd started.

[[Image:TheFallen-ROTFMatrix.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Hot Rod's gonna have trouble gettin' his fingers in this one.]]
[[Sam Witwicky]], having deciphered the only clue to the tomb's location, found the Matrix in [[Petra (Earth)|Petra]], but it crumbled to dust. He stuffed its remains into a sock and took it to the [[Pyramid]]s of [[Egypt]], where he still hoped it could resurrect Optimus, who was being protected by the human-Autobot alliance [[NEST]]. The Fallen's pupil, [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], shot and killed Sam, but the [[spark]]s of the Primes came and revived him. They also revealed the Matrix could not be found but only earned, and they restored its shape. Sam then used the Matrix to resurrect Optimus by shoving its sharp end into his chest. Almost immediately afterward, the Fallen teleported in and stole the Matrix, then used it to activate the harvester. {{storylink|Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

{{Note|The [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] reveals the Matrix was created by the AllSpark to help the Primes in their search for energon. After Sam Witwicky conversed with the Dynasty of Primes in the afterlife, the intent was that the power and knowledge of the AllSpark moved from his mind into the remains of the Matrix, reconstituting it; ''this'', then, was why it was able to bring Prime back to life. In turn, this essentially transforms this universe's version of the Matrix (initially entirely distinct from the other depictions of the object seen in this article) into the same life-giving, knowledge-holding object from other Transformers fiction. Additionally, Prime was to recover the Matrix from the sun harvester and carry it within himself in traditional Matrix fashion. While none of these events were seen to play out explicitly on-screen, the Matrix's continued presence in ''Dark of the Moon'', within Prime's body, and the reverence it receives suggests that these events still "happened" within the continuity of the films, even if they didn't explicitly talk about them.}}

====''Dark of the Moon'' film====
[[Image:DOTM-SentinelOptimusMatrix.jpg|left|300px|thumb]]
After the dormant body of [[Sentinel Prime (ROTF)|Sentinel Prime]] was retrieved from the [[Moon (moon)|moon]], the Autobots' former leader was brought to [[NEST]] headquarters on Earth. Optimus Prime removed the Matrix of Leadership from his chest (which he was able to manipulate as it hovered through the air) and inserted it into Sentinel Prime's chest, similarly to how Sam Witwicky used it to resurrect Optimus three years prior.

Optimus later offered it to Sentinel, as he felt that Sentinel was the rightful leader of the Autobots. Sentinel refused it, citing that he was the wiser on their own homeworld, but on this strange new planet, Optimus was the more experienced.

Megatron later explained to Starscream that he wanted Prime to use the Matrix on Sentinel as he was vital to Megatrons plan for invasion. {{storylink|Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon}}
{{-}}

----
===''Animated'' cartoon===
[[Image:Tfanimated_matrix.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Bling-bling baby!]]
Following [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]]'s successful reconstruction of a substantial portion of the shattered [[AllSpark#Animated|AllSpark]], [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] used the [[Magnus Hammer]] to forge a new containment vessel for the crystal sphere. He termed the resultant holder the "[[AllSpark Matrix]]", and wore it on a chain around his neck upon the Autobots' return to Cybertron. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Alamanc II}}
{{-}}

----

===''Exodus'' novel===
[[Image:TransformersVault-Prima.jpg|left|thumb|Prime lucked out. Feel bad for the guy who has to carry that blade around in his chest.]]
Originally the jewel in the hilt of Prima's [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]] sword in the distant past of Cybertron, the Matrix had been missing for billions of cycles by the time data clerk [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Orion Pax]] met the charismatic gladiator named [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. Unbeknownst to Orion, Megatron plotted revolution, and, desiring the Matrix's power to fuel his ambition, had [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] send [[Rumble (WFC)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (WFC)|Frenzy]] to search for the Matrix in [[Crystal City]] to no avail.

Later, when the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]] appointed Orion as Cybertron's leader, Optimus Prime, they ordered him to find the Matrix, and Megatron's true motives stood revealed as he also declared it would be his. War erupted across Cybertron and raged for millions of years, until, during the conflict's dying days, Optimus purged Cybertron's [[core]] of a [[Dark Energon]] infection that Megatron had wrought upon it. Speaking directly into Prime's mind, the core explained that Prime's predecessor, [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Sentinel Prime]] had been unworthy of the Matrix, but as long as he had survived in [[Kaon]]'s prisons, Optimus was technically not [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] and could not receive it. With Sentinel's death and the core's purification, however, the time had at last come: the Matrix emerged from the core, and Optimus accepted it into his body. Subsequently, the Autobots left Cybertron on the ''[[Ark (WFC)|Ark]]'', but Optimus knew that the Matrix would guide them home one day, where it would act in concert with the core to fully restore their ravaged homeworld. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus}}
{{-}}

===''Prime'' cartoon===

During the great war the core of Cybertron which contained the Spark of Primus, the creator of the Transformers became [[Dark Energon|poisoned]]. Orion Pax journeyed there hoping to cure the god, but instead was given the Matrix of Leadership by Primus himself. And so Orion Pax became [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] the last of the Primes. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

[[Image:PrimeMatrixboxart.jpg|thumb|"By the Power Of... have we done this joke yet?"]]
The Matrix of Leadership was the combined wisdom of all the Primes and it rested inside [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]]. [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] offered to take [[Team Prime]] to the Earth's core to destroy [[Unicron]] and Optimus believed that the only way that could destroy Unicron was to unleash all the power of the Matrix at Unicron's spark, although he had no idea what would happen when he did it. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 2}}

[[Image:OneShallRise3-unleash.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Care Bear Stare!]]
After much struggling and fighting through the body of Unicron himself, Optimus finally reached his spark.Optimus unleashed the full power of the Matrix unto the dark god, overwhelming him, putting him into stasis, and quite possibly extinguishing his spark. Unicron possessed Megatron and tried to stop him but the Matrix also put up a protective energy shield for the Autobot leader. However using the Matrix came at a cost. As Megatron tried to kill Prime, he asked he refereed to Megatron as "Megatronus" and didn't know where they were and didn't know who his own team mates were and believed himself to be Orion Pax. He went with Megatronus instead after playing along. Ratchet deduced that using the Matrix caused Optimus own memory to be wiped. {{storylink|One Shall Rise, Part 3}}

{{--}}

==Games==
===''The Transformers'' (PS2)===
[[Image:TFPS2_matrix.jpg|left|thumb|200px]]
The quest for the [[Zel Quartz]], a powerful crystal upon which the fate of the future hinged, led groups of Autobots and Decepticons from both the present day and time-travellers from the near-future to converge on the planet Zel Samine, culminating in a two-way showdown between Optimus Prime and Rodimus Prime and Megatron and Galvatron in the complex housing the planetary power generator [[ELTA]]. When the battle threatened to cause the computer to overload, it appeared that all four Transformers were doomed, until the twin Primes opened both their Matrices, using their power to bring the computer under control and win the day. {{storylink|The Transformers (PS2)|The Transformers}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers Battle Universe''===
[[Image:Netjetmatrix.jpg|right|thumb|200px]]
The Matrix would appear following the successful defeat of an opponent. Picking it up would initiate the next round of combat, accompanied by a burst of music from ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. {{storylink|Transformers Battle Universe}}
{{-}}

===''Transformers: War for Cybertron'' (Xbox 360/PS3/PC)===
[[Image:WFC Matrix of Leadership.jpg|left|thumb|200px|How are you supposed to hold it up and release its cleansing flame if the handles aren't even attached to the sphere?]]
Though [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] and his Autobots helped purge the [[Core|Core of Cybertron]] of the [[Dark Energon]] infection, its spark had been corrupted and had to shut itself down completely if it was to survive. For the millions of years that this process would take, Cybertron would be left cold and barren, meaning the Transformers would be forced to take to the stars. However, the Core bestowed a portion of its spark within the Matrix of Leadership to Optimus Prime, leader of the free Autobots. For as long as the Matrix survived, Cybertron's spark would remain. {{storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron (360/PS3/PC)|Transformers: War for Cybertron}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
{{main|Matrix of Leadership/toys}}

==Notes==
[[Image:G1toon matrix strings.jpg|right|thumb|Strings connect the Matrix's core to its holder in the Generation 1 cartoon.]]
*Bob Budiansky's original pitch for the Transformers comic book included an event known as the "[[Ceremony of the Unending Circuit]]", held by the Autobots every ten millennia to commemorate the passing of the Creation Matrix from one Autobot leader to the next, according to Autobot Law. Although the "ten millennia" bit made it into the comic, the ceremony itself was never realized.
*When asked about the visual design of the Matrix in an interview, [[Floro Dery]]'s reply was, "The inspiration for the Matrix of Leadership is a thermonuclear bomb."<ref>[http://transformersph.blogspot.com/2007/06/interview-with-floro-dery.html TransFormers Philippines: Interview With Floro Dery]</ref> "Light our darkest hour", indeed.
*Blink and you'll miss it—the crystal core of the original Generation 1 cartoon incarnation of the Matrix is connected to the two halves of its holder by a string! This oddity of design is visible during the two instances the Matrix is opened in the cartoon, in ''The Transformers: The Movie'' and "The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2".
* The body-mod shop "[[Swindle, Swindle & Swindle]]" has empty Generation 1 Matrix containers for sale, as seen in an illustration from the prose story "[[I, Lowtech]]".
*The Matrix of Leadership [[:Image:The Arrival 4 Lockdown's cabinet.jpg|makes a cameo]] as one of ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]]'' [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]]'s possessions in "[[The Arrival issue 4|A Few Loose Strands]]".

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Matrix''' (マトリクス ''Matorikusu''), '''Leader no Matrix''' (''Revenge'', リーダーのマトリクス, "Matrix of Leader")
*''English:'' '''Power Pack''' ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
*''German:'' '''Hauptprogramm''' ("Core Program", used once in fiction), '''Matrix der Führerschaft''' ("Matrix of Leadership")
*''Polish:'' '''Matryca Przywództwa''', '''Matryca Przywódcy''' (''War for Cybertron'' PC)
*''Portuguese:'' '''Matriz da Liderança'''
{{--}}

==Footnotes==
[[Image:DiamondStickerbookMatrixOfLight.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Not shown: Anything in the caption.]]
<references />

[[Category:Animated]]
[[Category:Armada]]
[[Category:Artifacts of the Primes]]
[[Category:Beast Wars]]
[[Category:Classics]]
[[Category:Cybertron franchise]]
[[Category:Energon franchise]]
[[Category:Generation 1 objects]]
[[Category:Generation 2]]
[[Category:Henkei! Henkei!]]
[[Category:Interjections]]
[[Category:MacGuffins]]
[[Category:Matrices]]
[[Category:Movie]]
[[Category:Prime]]
[[Category:Primus]]
[[Category:Religion]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen]]
[[Category:Robots in Disguise]]
[[Category:Transformers (2010)]]
[[Category:Universe (2003)]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron]]
[[Category:Wings Universe]]

The Human Element

2012-02-02T04:20:54Z

189.167.109.155: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=RiD
|ep=34
|series2=Transformers: Car Robots
|ep2=34
|next2=Gelshark's Blues
|image=Human Element Scourgemaximus.jpg
|title="The Human Element"
|japanese=ブレイブマキシマスの謎
|romaji=Brave Maximus no Nazo
|translation=The Mystery of Brave Maximus
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|airdate=[[November 22|22 November]] [[2000]] (Japanese) [[February 23]], [[2002]] (English)
|continuity=
}}
'''Scourge has Maximus''' 
'''How can the Autobots win?''' 
'''The Onishi plan'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Human Element Scourgecerebros.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Maybe if I buy him chocolates he'll obey me.]]
[[Megatron (RID)|Galvatron]] is unhappy that [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] failed to control [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]] and tasks the Decepticon with finding what went wrong. [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], hoping to ingratiate himself with Galvatron once more, spies on Scourge and [[Mega-Octane]] as they examine [[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]]. Scourge comes to the conclusion that Maximus obeyed [[Koji Onishi|Koji]] because of his humanity, and locates Maximus in Sector 18 (with some help from Cerebros and [[Movor]]).

At the Autobot base, [[T-AI]] has also been working on the problem of why Maximus obeyed Koji. [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] suggests that Koji might have some special power, but [[Kenneth Onishi|his father]] rubbishes the suggestion. Suddenly T-AI reports Decepticon activity in Sector 18, and [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus]] realises they're after Maximus. He and the [[Autobot Brothers]] rush there with Dr. Onishi and son.

[[Image:Human Element Maximusautobots.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Wow.]]
Scourge has already found Fortress Maximus by the time the Autobots arrive, and he has the other Decepticons form [[Ruination (RID)|Ruination]] to hold them off. Side Burn's left babysitting Koji and his father as [[X-Brawn]] and [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] try to take down Ruination with no success at all. Scourge announces that he's realised that Maximus will only obey humans—fortunately when he scanned in his Earth mode, as well as Optimus and the truck, he also scanned [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]], which gave him human bio-energy—bio-energy which he has magnified a hundred-fold. Sure enough, when Maximus transforms, Scourge is able to enter his command centre and control the giant. Sky-Byte, who's been lurking in the sands, laments that now he won't be able to redeem himself with Galvatron.

[[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] arrives and merges with Optimus, but even [[Omega Prime]]'s formidable arsenal is unable to shake Maximus. Koji believes he can still make Maximus obey him, and Side Burn takes the boy closer to allow him to try to issue commands. Scourge's control is too powerful, and Maximus kicks up a wave of sand which sends Side Burn flying into the air. Side Burn transforms in mid-air causing Koji to fall, but the boy is caught by the unwitting Sky-Byte. Sky-Byte flees in embarrassment at Koji's gratitude.

[[Image:Human Element Onishichildren.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I believe the children our are future, thats why I have them on the train]]
Although all seems lost, Dr. Onishi announces he has the answer—more human bio-energy. [[Team Bullet Train]] and the [[Build Team]] arrive via the [[Global Space Bridge]], carrying a thousand children between them. With the children all shouting at once for Maximus to stop, Scourge finds himself unable to make Maximus move, and is blasted out of the command centre by Omega Prime. Fortress Maximus sinks into the ground, but at the last moment Galvatron swoops down out of nowhere and carries Cerebros off.

Koji apologises for endangering himself to try to stop Maximus, but Dr. Onishi responds that he is proud of his son for risking everything to help his friends. Optimus says that they will get Cerebros back and defeat Galvatron's forces.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]] (5)
*[[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]] (7)
*[[T-AI]] (8)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (11)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (12)
*[[X-Brawn]] (13)
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
*[[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] (19)
*[[Omega Prime]] (20)
*[[Rapid Run (RID)|Rapid Run]] (21)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (22)
*[[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] (23)
*[[Wedge]] (24)
*[[Grimlock (RID)|Grimlock]] (25)
*[[Heavy Load (RID)|Heavy Load]] (26)
*[[Hightower (RID)|Hightower]] (27)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Megatron (RID)|Galvatron]] (1)
*[[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] (2)
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] (3)
*[[Mega-Octane]] (4)
*[[Movor]] (6)
*[[Ro-Tor (RID)|Ro-Tor]] (15)
*[[Rollbar (RID)|Rollbar]] (16)
*[[Armorhide (RID)|Armorhide]] (17)
*[[Ruination (RID)|Ruination]] (18)

|c3=
*[[Koji Onishi]] (9)
*[[Kenneth Onishi|Doctor Kenneth Onishi]] (10)
* 1,000 children (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"I'm not special, I'm just... me."
:—'''Koji''' is a humble boy.

"Nonsense. There's no evidence to support such an outlandish theory."
:—'''Doctor Onishi''' is somewhat blunt in ruling out his son's specialness.

"Koji, being able to eat three cheeseburgers in one meal is your special power."
:—'''Doctor Onishi''' on his son's specialness.

'''X-Brawn:''' Aren't you forgetting something? One of us has to stay with Koji and his father. 
'''Prowl:''' And we agreed that it would be you, remember?
:—What's the bet that "we" didn't include Side Burn?

"I was taking a nap, but your whining was so loud it woke me up. What's your problem, Side Burn?"
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' is not a morning person.

'''Koji''': Gee, Sky-Byte! Thanks for saving me again! 
'''Sky-Byte''': Ahhh?! It was an accident! A fluke, a fin, a flounder! Noooo! If Galvatron finds out I've saved you again, he'll -- I don't even want to think about it!
:—You can't keep a good shark down.

[[Image:Human Element Kojioptimus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Transformers (2007)|We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight...]] Wait, wrong speech.]]

'''T-AI''': When Dr. Onishi contacted me and asked me to send a thousand children into the desert, I thought he'd lost his marbles. But as it turns out, he was right all along.
:—The moral of this story is: when in doubt, send a thousand kids into the desert.

"We'll rid this planet of Galvatron and his gang of evil-doers, I promise you."
:—...did '''Optimus''' just say "evil-doers"?
{{-}}

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===

===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* The strange-looking eel/fish that swims across the opening shot of the ''[[Megastar]]'' is presumably supposed to be swimming close to camera, but it then passes ''behind'' the rock on which the ship is resting, making the creature appear absurdly gigantic.
* When Sky-Byte is half-buried in sand, his exposed flipper is wrongly coloured white instead of blue, and appears to be an uncomfortably large distance away from his main body.
* The children accompanying the Build Team in the finale are really, ''really'' small.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus says they found Maximus in Sector 18 (which appears to be in Libya), but Maximus was found underneath Metro City!

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Humanelement_clear_sideburn.jpg|right|thumb]]
* Scourge announces he's going to crush the Autobots like [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]].
* When Side Burn super-charges, he first turns transparent. This brief appearance is based on the "clear" redeco of his toy released as an exclusive at a few Japanese conventions, featuring body panels that turn clear while their flames remain colored, and coloured interior components (like his robot limbs) visible beneath them. The one major difference is that this is a clear version of his regular coloration, featuring blue highlights and visible parts, whereas the toy itself is a clear version of his super coloration, with orange highlights.

===Real-world references===
* As Scourge pilots Maximus forward to achieve the aforementioned crushing, he quips that it's "one step for Maximus, one giant leap for the Decepticons", an obvious reference to [[Neil Armstrong]]'s first words upon setting foot on the moon. Except with somewhat more evil.

===Trivia===
* Dr. Onishi gets a ride to the desert in X-Brawn. He sits in the passenger seat next to X-Brawn's head, which appears to be driving. ([[Show-accuracy|Toy accuracy]]!) X-Brawn's head isn't always there, or else Kelly would surely have noticed it by now.
* Once again, Ultra Magnus's demonstrates his uncanny knack of coincidentally showing up at the right place at the right time. He was taking a nap in the middle of a desert in central Africa? Yeah.
* Corralling trainloads of children and teleporting them into a Libyan desert is something the Autobots can just do at short notice, it seems.
* This episode shows one of the only times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. Rather than being either squished to death or torn to pieces by the moving metal parts, the passenger is ejected. The same thing happens in "[[The Secret of the Ruins]]". [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] survived inside [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] during his transformation in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]," but was not ejected. [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] in ''[[Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of The Moon]]'' also did this, with the passenger (in both cases [[Sam Witwicky]]) being ejected. This kinda defies logic but Transformers is for kids so....

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 9 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 2 of 2 ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season Two (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-34-the-human-element.php "The Human Element" transcript on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Element}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 5

2012-02-01T06:32:08Z

189.167.109.155: /* Transformers references */

{{picsneeded}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 5
|prev=Darkness Rising, Part 4
|next=Masters & Students
|image=DarknessRising5-OptimusStand.jpg
|caption=Spoilers: the good guys win.
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 5"
|airdate=[[December 3]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Joseph Kuhr]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots race to stop Megatron from raising an undead army on Cybertron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] imagines in dread what will happen if [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] uses the [[Dark Energon]] to raise an army of [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] and brings them to conquer [[Earth]].

[[Jack Darby|Jack]] arrives at [[KO Burger]] and encounters [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]], who muses that her recent loss of a [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|friend]] makes it hard for her to say goodbye to him. The Autobots have pinpointed Megatron's [[space bridge]] in Earth orbit and must use the [[ground bridge]] to reach it, despite the risks this poses. Arcee and Jack arrive back in time for Arcee to join the mission, and Optimus leads the team (minus [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]]) through the bridge. They land on the space bridge terminal and look up to see the [[Nemesis (Prime)|Decepticon ship]] moving into position. Megatron observes their presence, but [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] says that [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] is locking on to Cybertron's coordinates.

As the Autobots assume attack positions, Arcee notes that the Decepticons haven't done anything. Optimus scans the ship, and learns that Bulkhead damaged its interstellar navigation dish during [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]]'s rescue. Since a target as far as Cybertron needs pinpoint accuracy, the Decepticons will be unable to use it to aim the space bridge without an alternate targeting system. Raf reasons that the Decepticons may be using a radio dish array in [[Texas]], but Fowler is still too out of it to alert the array staff to the danger. [[Rafael Esquivel|Raf]] attempts to hack in, but the array's firewalls are too good. Jack thinks they should go on site, and they talk Optimus into letting them do it.

Meanwhile, Megatron sends out the Decepticon forces to attack the Autobots. Battle commences.

The kids ground-bridge to the array and sneak in. In a small, unused room, Raf finds a computer and determines that the Decepticons have also hacked in, but takes the opportunity to download their space bridge plans onto his flash drive. Little do the kids know that [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] is in the very next room, plugged into the computer system as well. He aligns the array, which sets the space bridge ready to use, but Raf promptly realigns it. Responding to Starscream's requests to know what's going on, Soundwave taps into the installation's security systems and locates the three kids. While the kids are discussing what the Decepticons could do, Soundwave's tentacle slithers into the room behind them and attacks. As it goes after Raf, [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] grabs an axe and strikes at it. She hits the tentacle with a clang, but the tentacle then strikes her backward before picking up the axe itself. Though the kids believe it's about to attack them with the weapon, the tentacle withdraws. The kids run to the next room, where they found Soundwave has realigned the dishes and used the axe to cut the hard line, making it impossible to undo his work. Miko then takes a [[Miko's phone|cell phone]] photo of Soundwave. Before Soundwave leaves, he takes a photo of them.

Starscream activates the space bridge, and Megatron physically throws a huge chunk of Dark Energon through. The Dark Energon strikes Cybertron, swiftly covering the planet and turning millions of dead Transformers into millions of Terrorcons. Optimus realizes that the only course of action left to them is to destroy the space bridge. Raf supplies the specs he downloaded earlier, and Ratchet sets about working out a way to do so with Raf's help. As Optimus faces Megatron, Bulkhead, Arcee and Bumblebee go to implement some sabotage.

[[Image:DarknessRising5-Megatronsword.jpg|right|thumb|220px|He can do the ''ultimate'' bird flip.]]

Megatron manages to defeat Prime, but as he raises his sword, Starscream alerts him to the actions of the other Autobots. Optimus takes advantage of the momentary distraction to block Megatron's killing blow, and blast him away, but the Decepticon leader transforms and flies off to find Prime's team. Arcee's team has succeeded in rigging the space bridge to blow when Megatron attacks and blasts her off into space. The Autobots jump into the ground bridge, Bumblebee collecting Arcee on the way. Seeing the potential damage the exploding space bridge would cause Starscream decides to pull the ship back, imploring Megatron to do the same. Overcome with regret over the loss of his army of Terrorcons as they begin to come through, the space bridge explodes in Megatron's face.

A short distance away in the ship, Starscream notes that Megatron's spark is now extinguished and all will hail him.
The Autobots make it back to their base. Though Arcee's in bad shape, she makes it out alright. Optimus announces that there's totally no way Megatron could have survived the space bridge explosion. Fowler thanks the Autobots for saving him, then leaves. Optimus gives a big speech and sends a signal into space to let the galaxy know that Earth is defended by the Autobots.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (2)
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (3)
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (6)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (9)
* [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (10)
* [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (11)
* [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (13)

|c3=
* [[Jack Darby]] (1)
* [[Miko Nakadai]] (7)
* [[Rafael Esquivel]] (8)
* [[William Fowler]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] (14)

}}

==Quotes==
"Optimus, if you leave me stranded on a planet teeming with humans, I will never forgive you."
:—'''Ratchet'''

"Optimus Prime never disappoints. Unlike YOU, Starscream!"
:—'''Megatron''', burning a disappointing '''Starscream'''

"Surely, Lord Megatron, the Autobots are up to something." 
"Really, Starscream?"
:—'''Starscream''' observes the Autobots and '''Megatron''' lays on the sarcasm.

"I hold no illusions about engaging your army, Megatron. But I might derail its objective...[[Decapitation|by removing its head.]]"
:—'''Optimus Prime's''' [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|solution to most problems]].

"One shall stand, one shall fall." 
:—'''Optimus Prime''' brings an old line back into style.

"Starscream! Where is my ship?!" 
"We would never make it, Lord Megatron! Don't be a fool! Take flight and ''retreat''!"
:—Showing remarkable amounts of common sense, '''Starscream''' urgently yet fruitlessly tries to get '''Megatron''' to flee the detonating space bridge.

"Decepticons, it is with deep sorrow that I note for the log...Megatron's spark...has been extinguished. All. Hail. Starscream."
:—'''Starscream''' praises himself as leader.

"Without a means of leaving this world, we Autobots take strength in the bonds we have forged with our three young friends - true warriors. If not in body, then in spirit. My name is Optimus Prime, and I send this message. Though we did not choose to be of Earth, it would seem that we are here to stay. If you approach this planet with hostile intent, know this: We will defend ourselves. We will defend humanity. We will defend... our home."
:—'''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
* The Terrorcons are able to leave Cybertron and pass through the space bridge despite the fact that it's in space. Even accounting for the fact that Decepticon corpses might have flight capabilities, it seems unlikely that every Terrorcon would.
* Despite Megatron being able to ''cut off half of Prime's blade'' earlier in their battle, when Optimus resisted, the other blade was nearly as resistant as Megatron's own blade.

===Astronomical errors===
* The Autobots somehow jump from the detonating space bridge straight into the waiting ground bridge vortex, which is positioned below the space bridge, even though there ''is no gravity in space!'' (Though a possible explanation for this is that the ground bridge creates its own gravity.)

===Transformers references===
* There are two references which are directly related to [[The Transformers: The Movie|the 1986 animated movie]]. First Ratchet says, "Then by all means, let us light our [[darkest hour]]." Later, Optimus exchanges with Megatron: "One shall stand, one shall fall."
* Optimus's Energon blade and Megatron's hidden fusion cannon blade are references to [[Optimus Prime (Movie)| their movie]] [[Megatron (Movie)|counterparts]].
* Optimus's speech at the end is similar to the ones Movie Optimus gives at the end of the three movies (except... you know... the [[Linkin Park]]'s background music).

===Real-world references===
[[Image:DarknessRising5-Michelangelo.jpg|thumb|250px|Or it could be another [[Steven Spielberg|Spielberg]] reference.]]
* Miko tries to use an axe on [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]]'s tentacle, which is the same tactic Tom Cruise's character tries on the Tripod tentacle in [[Steven Spielberg]]'s ''War of the Worlds''. Of course, both attempts fail.
* Miko refers to space as "the final frontier". "Space. The final frontier" is the first line of the opening credits of several ''[[Wikipedia: Star Trek|Star Trek]]'' TV shows. ''Prime'' show developers [[Alex Kurtzman]] and [[Roberto Orci]] are also the screenwriters of the current ''Star Trek'' movies.
* Megatron, when he rises out of the Decepticon ship with the boulder of Dark Energon on his back, is clearly meant to evoke the classic [[Wikipedia:Atlas|Atlas]] pose.
* The shot of Megatron reaching out to a Terrorcon before the space bridge implosion is reminiscent of [[Wikipedia:Michelangelo|Michelangelo]]'s ''[[Wikipedia:The Creation of Adam|The Creation of Adam]]''.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 5'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 21|21 October]] [[2011]]
'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, quinta parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, Fifth Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 1|1 October]] [[2011]]
'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 5'''" (악의 부활 5, "Return of the Evil, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 12|12 September]] [[2011]]
'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 9|9 December]] [[2011]]
'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]
'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 5'''" ("The return of evil, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
* Winged versions of the Vehicons make their appearance here.
* The Decepticons are unable to simply warp to Cybertron thanks to Bulkhead ripping off a vital piece of equipment in the previous episode.
* While it's unlikely anything from ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' applies to the cartoon, a number of Autobots, including [[Ultra Magnus (Prime)|Ultra Magnus]], [[Omega Supreme (Prime)|Omega Supreme]] and the [[Wrecker]]s, were left behind on Cybertron at the end of that book. Sure hope they weren't around when the Terrorcons came crawling. In a similar vein, [[Shockwave (Prime)|Shockwave]] is also still on Cybertron at the end of the novel. Granted, it's established fact that the war had continued on other worlds after Cybertron's shutdown, though (as stated by [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] in the [[Transformers: Prime (comic)|prequel comic]]) it's probable that all of them have since moved on to less hostile locales in the intervening years.
* When the kids arrive at the radio array, they note that the place seems deserted. A brief shadowy glimpse of a human slumped against the wall suggests that, like [[Blackout (Movie)| Blackout]], Soundwave isn't keen on leaving survivors or witnesses.
* When Starscream tries to convince Megatron to retreat, there is a surprising tone of concern in his voice. Either that, or he's a much better actor than certain other [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscreams]].
* It ''seems'' to take a lot longer for the Terrorcon army to come from Cybertron across the space bridge than it took for the Dark Energon to get there in the first place. [[Wikipedia:Doomsday (Doctor Who)|Must've been the sheer mass of all of them]].
* A short video showing a rehearsal or an earlier take of the confrontation between Optimus Prime and Megatron was screened at both [[BotCon 2010]] and San Diego Comic-Con 2010.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VvW4nsr3ZDo#t=2m53s "Transformers: Prime" panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2010]</ref> The dialogue was somewhat different, with Optimus referring to battle on an alien world when ordering the Autobots away, and lacking the "One shall stand, one shall fall" exchange. Instead, it had Megatron shouting Optimus's name in a rather exaggerated manner.
*The space battle was an idea [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]] had for the [[live-action film series]] but couldn't incorporate.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Pb3MeUDdY Roundtable interview with ''Prime'' staff at BotCon 2011]</ref>
*For some reason, Optimus only uses one of his hand blades when fighting Megatron rather than using both of them.

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

The Secret of the Ruins

2012-02-01T06:22:34Z

189.167.109.155: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=RiD
|ep=6
|title="The Secret of the Ruins"
|japanese=ギガトロンの襲撃!
|romaji=Gigatron no Shūgeki!
|translation=Gigatron's Raid!
|image=Thesecretoftheruins titlecard.jpg
|caption=This looks familiar...
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|airdate=[[May 10]], [[2000]] (Japanese) [[October 11]], [[2001]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
}}
'''Predacons attack.''' 
'''Invasion of the city.''' 
'''Sky-Byte finds ruins.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Bullettrain in city.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I'm telling you the cafe is right around here!]]
In daylight, in the middle of [[Metro City]], [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] and his [[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]] attack, hoping to draw out the [[Autobot]]s. [[T-AI]] contacts the [[Autobot Brothers]], but can only find [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] and [[X-Brawn]], who report they're busy looking for [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] and [[Koji Onishi|Koji]], who've gone to explore some old ruins. T-AI orders [[Team Bullet Train]] into the city instead. The three trainbots transform and walk through the city towards the Predacons, who immediately attack with [[Gas Skunk]]'s acid breath. [[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] uses missiles to ignite Gas Skunk's breath, and the incompetent skunk runs around, frying his two teammates. From the base, [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] notes that the Predacons apparently aren't trying to heist some energy supply, and he is suspicious that the attack might be more than meets the eye.

[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], who wasn't at Megatron's attack on the city, explores a mountain range, looking for [[Payuma ruins|mysterious ruins]], which the Predacons learned about by using the [[psycho-probe]] to take the information from the mind of [[Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]]. Sky-Byte spies Side Burn, who is in the area with Koji to search for the same ruins, which Koji explains were left by the "Piyuma" Native Americans.

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Sideburnkoji.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Koji, I can't see!]]
Koji and Side Burn find the ruins and enter inside on foot. Sky-Byte, who has followed the pair, fires missiles inside after them, trying to trap them inside. Side Burn detects the missiles in advance, and he tries to race through the cave (passing by [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]], who also happened to be exploring the ruins). After he eventually dodges the missiles, Side Burn radios a mayday message to base for help.

The Predacon Trio continue to get beaten by Team Bullet Train. Megatron, tired of waiting for Prime, engages the Autobots. Instead of helping out in the city, Prime goes to aid Side Burn.

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Skybyteoptimus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Jaws V: The Reconciliation]]
Sky-Byte, unaware that he's failed to kill Side Burn and his human friend, and also unaware that more Autobots are on the way, voyages into the ruins to find whatever made them so important to Dr. Onishi, assuming that it must be a source of power. Prime arrives and uses his [[Flying Fist]] to knock Sky-Byte down some stairs. Rather than fight Prime, Sky-Byte grabs the chest that holds the ruins' prize and races outside.

Megatron, hearing that Sky-Byte has completed his mission, calls off the urban attack. Instead of letting him escape unharmed, Team Bullet Train combine into [[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] and deliver a solid punch. The wounded Megatron retreats in his jet mode.

Exiting the ruins, Sky-Byte runs into the Autobot Brothers. The three blast Sky-Byte, who drops the chest in defeat. Prime catches the chest. With both Predacon attacks over, the Autobots open the chest and discover the prize: a photo of Koji and Dr. Onishi that the doctor stashed in the caves last time he and his son visited them. But more importantly, in the frame of the picture, the Autobots find a [[Doctor Onishi's microchip|microchip]] that could advance the plot.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (6)
*[[T-AI]] (7)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (8)
*[[X-Brawn]] (9)
*[[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] (10)
*[[Rapid Run (RID)|Rapid Run]] (11)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (12)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (15)
*[[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] (18)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Dark Scream]] (2)
*[[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] (3)
*[[Gas Skunk]] (4)
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] (13)

|c3=
*[[Dorie Dutton]] (5)
*[[Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]] (14)
*[[Koji Onishi]] (16)
*[[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] (17)
}}

==Quotes==
"It's the talking car. And guided missiles—but they didn't talk."
:—'''Kelly'''

"Now, Autobots... Let's see how you do against a real opponent. You'll soon discover that all your powers combined won't be enough to defeat me." 
"Do you talk this much all the time, or only when you've got two mouths?"
:—'''Megatron''' fails to intimidate '''Rapid Run'''.

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===
This episode's ''Robots in Disguise'' dub was completed prior to 9/11, but it was not set to air until a few days after the tragedy. Due to several scenes involving the mass destruction of buildings by the Predacons, the episode was promptly pulled before it reached air and underwent extensive re-editing and re-dubbing to make it appropriate for broadcast. Consequently, the episode did not air until much later, well into the multiple-episodes-per-week schedule the show was keeping at the time. The original English version of the episode has never been released in any form; this list notes all the differences between the original ''Car Robots'' episode and the heavily-modified second ''Robots in Disguise'' version.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_deletedscenes.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* The changes begin right away. The whole opening scene of the ''Car Robots'' version of this episode is original animation, depicting Megatron crashing through a building in [[Wikipedia:Shinjuku|Shinjuku]] late at night. Crowds of terrified onlookers watch as he declares that he will make them all kneel at his feet, after which the Predacon trio pop up on the roof of a building, then leap down. Gas Skunk unleashes a gas attack, melting and corroding a building, and the scene ends on a shot of the city's skyline, as black smoke rises up from it. This scene was almost entirely replaced for ''Robots in Disguise'', and a new opening was created by recycling clips of Megatron's arrival from "[[Battle Protocol!]]", sans any destruction. The only pieces of footage to survive from the ''Car Robots'' version of the episode are the cityscape, the Preadacons leaping down and Gas Skunk attacking; even the end of his attack is cut short, so as not to reveal the damaged building.
*In ''Car Robots'', Gas Skunk implies he ''could'' shoot gas out his butt if he wanted to, but chooses not to for decency's sake. ''Robots in Disguise'' plays it as him forgetting he's not a real skunk for a second.
*''Robots in Disguise'' once again replaces the Japanese toy ID numbers of the Autobot Brothers and Team Bullet Train with their names. The Spy Changers are briefly seen scrolling past, and ''Robots in Disguise'' just deletes their ID numbers without bothering to replace them.
*Everyone is just sort of... more... ''pissy'' in ''Car Robots''. Prowl is annoyed at Side Burn's disappearance, X-Brawn thinks he's chasing red sports cars, Optimus laments "I can't do anything with these guys!" and T-AI moans that the brothers' timekeeping is poor. In ''Robots in Disguise'', they have the decency to be ''worried'' about Side Burn, and Prowl suggests calling up Team Bullet Train to stand in for them while they search.
*As Team Bullet Train is summoned, ''Robots in Disguise'' adds a quick shot of the member select program screen before each character appears, with their names flashing. Got to remind the kids at home which toys to ask for!
[[Image:Rid_ep6_rockpaperscissors.jpg|right|thumb]]
*Railspike's intro scene is mirrored in ''Robots in Disguise'', which him driving across the screen from right to left, instead of left to right as we was in ''Car Robots''. The same is true of the scenes of the Predacons gathering on a rooftop, and Dark Scream spotting the Bullet Trains approaching.
*''Robots in Disguise'' adds one of its CGI POV targeting shots as Gas Skunk prepares to fire on the trains, and another as Railspike fires back.
*After Rapid Run and Railspike give each other a thumbs-up, ''Robots in Disguise'' cuts out a short scene in which Midnight Express mistakenly believes they're playing rock-paper-scissors, and gets yelled at by the others. The joke is repeated a little later into the episode, after the trains take down the Predacon trio, and is again cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
*The first rock-paper-scissors gag is followed by a [[scene transition]] that involves an Autobot symbol quickly filling up the scene and receding; it's the first time it has been used in ''Car Robots'', but it will be seen again. ''Robots in Disguise'' mostly excises these and uses its own CGI scene transitions, as it has been doing since the first episode.
*In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte perches himself on a rocky peak and scans the horizon. ''Robots in Disguise'' added a commercial break just before this, so the panning shot of the skyline is moved to ''before'' Sky-Byte sits down, to serve as an establishing shot for anyone just joining the show after the break, rather than as Sky-Byte's POV.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_kappa.jpg|right|thumb]]
* ''Robots in Disguise'' cuts a short scene of Japanese wordplay when Sky-Byte first sights the entrance to the ruins. In ''Car Robots'', the Payuma ruins are known as the real-life [[Wikipedia:Cappadocia|Cappadocia]] ruins, and Sky-Byte takes the name at face value, beliving it must have some connection to the mythical Japanese water monster known as the [[Wikipedia:Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]]. In two deleted shots, he mistakenly recalls the name as "Kappa's Navel" and "Kappa's Plate", imagining them in his patented comedy thought bubbles. The gag runs on into his flashback, where Megatron believes it's called "Kappa's Bellybutton", causing Sky-Byte to facefault, a brief action also cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
* Sky-Byte's flashback to Megatron giving him orders is also quite heavily altered for ''Robots in Disguise''. In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte asks Megatron why he is attempting to conquer an insignificant planet like Earth, prompting Megatron to tell him that there is [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|something important]] hidden somewhere on it (though the implication is that even Megatron doesn't know exactly what it is). In ''Robots in Disguise'', they just talk about prying "secret information" from Doctor Onishi's brain. The flashback is also shortened for ''Robots in Disguise'', as a long downward panning shot of the Megastar is removed.
* Side Burn and Koji's conversation about the ruins is shortened down for ''Robots in Disguise''. The ''Car Robots'' version also carried on the "kappa" gag, as Side Burn mispronounces "Cappadocia" as "[[wikipedia:sushi#Makizushi|Kappamaki]]", a kind of sushi roll with cucumber (he says he prefers tekkamaki, literally an "iron roll"). For ''Robots in Disguise'', this was changed to him mispronouncing "Payuma" as "pie humor," which he considers his preferred style of comedy.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_POV.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*Yet more POV shots! ''Car Robots'' includes some POV shots of its own, one when Sky-Byte watches Side Burn and Koji, and two more as his missiles track them. ''Robots in Disguise'' replaces them with their now-standard CGI efforts.
*Yet ''another'' POV shot is added to ''Robots in Disguise'' a minute later when Midnight Express targets Gas Skunk with his rifle. After he successfully blasts the Predacons, ''Car Robots'' has Midnight Express be very happy with himself, as it's his "first win". Railspike and Rapid Run give him a thumbs-up, and he sags, believing he has lost another round of rock-paper-scissors. The sag is cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
*In a rather obvious cock-up, ''Robots in Disguise'' takes shots of Megatron's shadow looming over the Bullet Trains, and of the trains looking up at the villain in claw mode, and moves them to ''after'' he transforms into dragon mode, creating a visual continuity error.
*In ''Car Robots'', Optimus thinks that the mayday signal causing his chest to glow is chest pains caused by worrying! Ha!
*One last time for now: ''Robots in Disguise'' adds a CGI POV targeting shot as the Autobot Brothers prepare to fire on Sky-Byte.
*Scenes that ''Robots in Disguise'' extends with looped and repeated footage include:
**Optimus asking T-AI to activate the member select program.
**T-AI doing so.
**Prowl telling T-AI they can't find Side Burn.
**Prime telling T-AI to call up Team Bullet Train.
**Railspike and Rapid Run watching as Midnight Express stumbles through traffic.
**Rapid Run and Railspike's banter about Railspike's aiming abilities.
**Rapid Run giving Railspike a thumbs-up.
**Prime remarking that something smells bad.

===Animation or technical errors===
* After Side Burn ditches the missiles and transforms, the smoke around his feet appears to move backwards and forwards.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus Prime describes Sky-Byte as "very clever."
* Dark Scream's "center laser" acts as a freeze-ray whereas it's never been used as such before.
* Speaking of Dr. Onishi, he has his glasses back — they were left behind when Megatron kidnapped him back in [[Battle Protocol!]].
* When Megatron arrives to battle Team Bullet Train, he transforms from his giant hand mode into his two-headed dragon mode. As he flies toward Team Bullet Train, he is suddenly in his hand mode again, and when he lands, he is back in his two-headed dragon form.

===Transformers references===
*Doctor Onishi is subjected to the mind-reading psycho-probe, a callback to the mind-reading device from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]". It is even noted to run at 90,000 volts per scan, as the original did.

===Real-world references===
* Images in Dr. Onishi's mind include the [[Statue of Liberty]], [[Arc de Triomphe]] and London's Tower Bridge.

===Trivia===
*One of the few factoids known about the original dub of this episode was that it featured Dorie Dutton making a reference to "robo-terrorism of the mid-1980s". Dorie's dialogue had to be re-recorded to remove this line when the episode was redubbed ("terrorism" having become a no-no word), but evidently regular actress [[Tifanie Christun]] wasn't available, as T-AI's voice actress [[Sandy Fox]] performed the role.
*Sky-Byte comments that at 90,000 volts, Dr. Onishi won't survive many attempts to probe him. It's amps that determine how lethal an electric current is (stopping the human heart requires around 1.5 amps, never mind 90,000), and volts determine the pain of the shock, the latter of which doesn't matter much if you're in a coma. It seems Sky-Byte is very considerate about the suffering of creatures...
*This episode shows one of the only times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. Rather than being squished to death, Koji is ejected. The same thing happens in "[[The Human Element]]". In ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] survived inside [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] during his transformation in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]," but was not ejected. Several episodes later, [[Agent Fowler]] similarly remains safely inside of the transforming [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]], but inexplicably winds up in his hand; in the movies this also happens, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] in ''[[Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of The Moon]]'' ejects [[Sam Witwicky]] during transformations.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 2 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Volume One ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Evil Intent (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Special Edition 2-Disc Set (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise / Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation / Action Man'' (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season One (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-06-the-secret-of-the-ruins.php "The Secret of the Ruins" on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of the Ruins}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]

The Secret of the Ruins

2012-02-01T06:22:13Z

189.167.109.155: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=RiD
|ep=6
|title="The Secret of the Ruins"
|japanese=ギガトロンの襲撃!
|romaji=Gigatron no Shūgeki!
|translation=Gigatron's Raid!
|image=Thesecretoftheruins titlecard.jpg
|caption=This looks familiar...
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|airdate=[[May 10]], [[2000]] (Japanese) [[October 11]], [[2001]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
}}
'''Predacons attack.''' 
'''Invasion of the city.''' 
'''Sky-Byte finds ruins.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Bullettrain in city.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I'm telling you the cafe is right around here!]]
In daylight, in the middle of [[Metro City]], [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] and his [[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]] attack, hoping to draw out the [[Autobot]]s. [[T-AI]] contacts the [[Autobot Brothers]], but can only find [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] and [[X-Brawn]], who report they're busy looking for [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] and [[Koji Onishi|Koji]], who've gone to explore some old ruins. T-AI orders [[Team Bullet Train]] into the city instead. The three trainbots transform and walk through the city towards the Predacons, who immediately attack with [[Gas Skunk]]'s acid breath. [[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] uses missiles to ignite Gas Skunk's breath, and the incompetent skunk runs around, frying his two teammates. From the base, [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] notes that the Predacons apparently aren't trying to heist some energy supply, and he is suspicious that the attack might be more than meets the eye.

[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], who wasn't at Megatron's attack on the city, explores a mountain range, looking for [[Payuma ruins|mysterious ruins]], which the Predacons learned about by using the [[psycho-probe]] to take the information from the mind of [[Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]]. Sky-Byte spies Side Burn, who is in the area with Koji to search for the same ruins, which Koji explains were left by the "Piyuma" Native Americans.

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Sideburnkoji.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Koji, I can't see!]]
Koji and Side Burn find the ruins and enter inside on foot. Sky-Byte, who has followed the pair, fires missiles inside after them, trying to trap them inside. Side Burn detects the missiles in advance, and he tries to race through the cave (passing by [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]], who also happened to be exploring the ruins). After he eventually dodges the missiles, Side Burn radios a mayday message to base for help.

The Predacon Trio continue to get beaten by Team Bullet Train. Megatron, tired of waiting for Prime, engages the Autobots. Instead of helping out in the city, Prime goes to aid Side Burn.

[[Image:Secret of the Ruins Skybyteoptimus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Jaws V: The Reconciliation]]
Sky-Byte, unaware that he's failed to kill Side Burn and his human friend, and also unaware that more Autobots are on the way, voyages into the ruins to find whatever made them so important to Dr. Onishi, assuming that it must be a source of power. Prime arrives and uses his [[Flying Fist]] to knock Sky-Byte down some stairs. Rather than fight Prime, Sky-Byte grabs the chest that holds the ruins' prize and races outside.

Megatron, hearing that Sky-Byte has completed his mission, calls off the urban attack. Instead of letting him escape unharmed, Team Bullet Train combine into [[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] and deliver a solid punch. The wounded Megatron retreats in his jet mode.

Exiting the ruins, Sky-Byte runs into the Autobot Brothers. The three blast Sky-Byte, who drops the chest in defeat. Prime catches the chest. With both Predacon attacks over, the Autobots open the chest and discover the prize: a photo of Koji and Dr. Onishi that the doctor stashed in the caves last time he and his son visited them. But more importantly, in the frame of the picture, the Autobots find a [[Doctor Onishi's microchip|microchip]] that could advance the plot.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (6)
*[[T-AI]] (7)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (8)
*[[X-Brawn]] (9)
*[[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] (10)
*[[Rapid Run (RID)|Rapid Run]] (11)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (12)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (15)
*[[Rail Racer (RID)|Rail Racer]] (18)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Dark Scream]] (2)
*[[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] (3)
*[[Gas Skunk]] (4)
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] (13)

|c3=
*[[Dorie Dutton]] (5)
*[[Kenneth Onishi|Dr. Onishi]] (14)
*[[Koji Onishi]] (16)
*[[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] (17)
}}

==Quotes==
"It's the talking car. And guided missiles—but they didn't talk."
:—'''Kelly'''

"Now, Autobots... Let's see how you do against a real opponent. You'll soon discover that all your powers combined won't be enough to defeat me." 
"Do you talk this much all the time, or only when you've got two mouths?"
:—'''Megatron''' fails to intimidate '''Rapid Run'''.

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===
This episode's ''Robots in Disguise'' dub was completed prior to 9/11, but it was not set to air until a few days after the tragedy. Due to several scenes involving the mass destruction of buildings by the Predacons, the episode was promptly pulled before it reached air and underwent extensive re-editing and re-dubbing to make it appropriate for broadcast. Consequently, the episode did not air until much later, well into the multiple-episodes-per-week schedule the show was keeping at the time. The original English version of the episode has never been released in any form; this list notes all the differences between the original ''Car Robots'' episode and the heavily-modified second ''Robots in Disguise'' version.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_deletedscenes.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* The changes begin right away. The whole opening scene of the ''Car Robots'' version of this episode is original animation, depicting Megatron crashing through a building in [[Wikipedia:Shinjuku|Shinjuku]] late at night. Crowds of terrified onlookers watch as he declares that he will make them all kneel at his feet, after which the Predacon trio pop up on the roof of a building, then leap down. Gas Skunk unleashes a gas attack, melting and corroding a building, and the scene ends on a shot of the city's skyline, as black smoke rises up from it. This scene was almost entirely replaced for ''Robots in Disguise'', and a new opening was created by recycling clips of Megatron's arrival from "[[Battle Protocol!]]", sans any destruction. The only pieces of footage to survive from the ''Car Robots'' version of the episode are the cityscape, the Preadacons leaping down and Gas Skunk attacking; even the end of his attack is cut short, so as not to reveal the damaged building.
*In ''Car Robots'', Gas Skunk implies he ''could'' shoot gas out his butt if he wanted to, but chooses not to for decency's sake. ''Robots in Disguise'' plays it as him forgetting he's not a real skunk for a second.
*''Robots in Disguise'' once again replaces the Japanese toy ID numbers of the Autobot Brothers and Team Bullet Train with their names. The Spy Changers are briefly seen scrolling past, and ''Robots in Disguise'' just deletes their ID numbers without bothering to replace them.
*Everyone is just sort of... more... ''pissy'' in ''Car Robots''. Prowl is annoyed at Side Burn's disappearance, X-Brawn thinks he's chasing red sports cars, Optimus laments "I can't do anything with these guys!" and T-AI moans that the brothers' timekeeping is poor. In ''Robots in Disguise'', they have the decency to be ''worried'' about Side Burn, and Prowl suggests calling up Team Bullet Train to stand in for them while they search.
*As Team Bullet Train is summoned, ''Robots in Disguise'' adds a quick shot of the member select program screen before each character appears, with their names flashing. Got to remind the kids at home which toys to ask for!
[[Image:Rid_ep6_rockpaperscissors.jpg|right|thumb]]
*Railspike's intro scene is mirrored in ''Robots in Disguise'', which him driving across the screen from right to left, instead of left to right as we was in ''Car Robots''. The same is true of the scenes of the Predacons gathering on a rooftop, and Dark Scream spotting the Bullet Trains approaching.
*''Robots in Disguise'' adds one of its CGI POV targeting shots as Gas Skunk prepares to fire on the trains, and another as Railspike fires back.
*After Rapid Run and Railspike give each other a thumbs-up, ''Robots in Disguise'' cuts out a short scene in which Midnight Express mistakenly believes they're playing rock-paper-scissors, and gets yelled at by the others. The joke is repeated a little later into the episode, after the trains take down the Predacon trio, and is again cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
*The first rock-paper-scissors gag is followed by a [[scene transition]] that involves an Autobot symbol quickly filling up the scene and receding; it's the first time it has been used in ''Car Robots'', but it will be seen again. ''Robots in Disguise'' mostly excises these and uses its own CGI scene transitions, as it has been doing since the first episode.
*In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte perches himself on a rocky peak and scans the horizon. ''Robots in Disguise'' added a commercial break just before this, so the panning shot of the skyline is moved to ''before'' Sky-Byte sits down, to serve as an establishing shot for anyone just joining the show after the break, rather than as Sky-Byte's POV.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_kappa.jpg|right|thumb]]
* ''Robots in Disguise'' cuts a short scene of Japanese wordplay when Sky-Byte first sights the entrance to the ruins. In ''Car Robots'', the Payuma ruins are known as the real-life [[Wikipedia:Cappadocia|Cappadocia]] ruins, and Sky-Byte takes the name at face value, beliving it must have some connection to the mythical Japanese water monster known as the [[Wikipedia:Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]]. In two deleted shots, he mistakenly recalls the name as "Kappa's Navel" and "Kappa's Plate", imagining them in his patented comedy thought bubbles. The gag runs on into his flashback, where Megatron believes it's called "Kappa's Bellybutton", causing Sky-Byte to facefault, a brief action also cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
* Sky-Byte's flashback to Megatron giving him orders is also quite heavily altered for ''Robots in Disguise''. In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte asks Megatron why he is attempting to conquer an insignificant planet like Earth, prompting Megatron to tell him that there is [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|something important]] hidden somewhere on it (though the implication is that even Megatron doesn't know exactly what it is). In ''Robots in Disguise'', they just talk about prying "secret information" from Doctor Onishi's brain. The flashback is also shortened for ''Robots in Disguise'', as a long downward panning shot of the Megastar is removed.
* Side Burn and Koji's conversation about the ruins is shortened down for ''Robots in Disguise''. The ''Car Robots'' version also carried on the "kappa" gag, as Side Burn mispronounces "Cappadocia" as "[[wikipedia:sushi#Makizushi|Kappamaki]]", a kind of sushi roll with cucumber (he says he prefers tekkamaki, literally an "iron roll"). For ''Robots in Disguise'', this was changed to him mispronouncing "Payuma" as "pie humor," which he considers his preferred style of comedy.
[[Image:Rid_ep6_POV.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
*Yet more POV shots! ''Car Robots'' includes some POV shots of its own, one when Sky-Byte watches Side Burn and Koji, and two more as his missiles track them. ''Robots in Disguise'' replaces them with their now-standard CGI efforts.
*Yet ''another'' POV shot is added to ''Robots in Disguise'' a minute later when Midnight Express targets Gas Skunk with his rifle. After he successfully blasts the Predacons, ''Car Robots'' has Midnight Express be very happy with himself, as it's his "first win". Railspike and Rapid Run give him a thumbs-up, and he sags, believing he has lost another round of rock-paper-scissors. The sag is cut from ''Robots in Disguise''.
*In a rather obvious cock-up, ''Robots in Disguise'' takes shots of Megatron's shadow looming over the Bullet Trains, and of the trains looking up at the villain in claw mode, and moves them to ''after'' he transforms into dragon mode, creating a visual continuity error.
*In ''Car Robots'', Optimus thinks that the mayday signal causing his chest to glow is chest pains caused by worrying! Ha!
*One last time for now: ''Robots in Disguise'' adds a CGI POV targeting shot as the Autobot Brothers prepare to fire on Sky-Byte.
*Scenes that ''Robots in Disguise'' extends with looped and repeated footage include:
**Optimus asking T-AI to activate the member select program.
**T-AI doing so.
**Prowl telling T-AI they can't find Side Burn.
**Prime telling T-AI to call up Team Bullet Train.
**Railspike and Rapid Run watching as Midnight Express stumbles through traffic.
**Rapid Run and Railspike's banter about Railspike's aiming abilities.
**Rapid Run giving Railspike a thumbs-up.
**Prime remarking that something smells bad.

===Animation or technical errors===
* After Side Burn ditches the missiles and transforms, the smoke around his feet appears to move backwards and forwards.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus Prime describes Sky-Byte as "very clever."
* Dark Scream's "center laser" acts as a freeze-ray whereas it's never been used as such before.
* Speaking of Dr. Onishi, he has his glasses back — they were left behind when Megatron kidnapped him back in [[Battle Protocol!]].
* When Megatron arrives to battle Team Bullet Train, he transforms from his giant hand mode into his two-headed dragon mode. As he flies toward Team Bullet Train, he is suddenly in his hand mode again, and when he lands, he is back in his two-headed dragon form.

===Transformers references===
*Doctor Onishi is subjected to the mind-reading psycho-probe, a callback to the mind-reading device from the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]] episode "[[The Girl Who Loved Powerglide]]". It is even noted to run at 90,000 volts per scan, as the original did.

===Real-world references===
* Images in Dr. Onishi's mind include the [[Statue of Liberty]], [[Arc de Triomphe]] and London's Tower Bridge.

===Trivia===
*One of the few factoids known about the original dub of this episode was that it featured Dorie Dutton making a reference to "robo-terrorism of the mid-1980s". Dorie's dialogue had to be re-recorded to remove this line when the episode was redubbed ("terrorism" having become a no-no word), but evidently regular actress [[Tifanie Christun]] wasn't available, as T-AI's voice actress [[Sandy Fox]] performed the role.
*Sky-Byte comments that at 90,000 volts, Dr. Onishi won't survive many attempts to probe him. It's amps that determine how lethal an electric current is (stopping the human heart requires around 1.5 amps, never mind 90,000), and volts determine the pain of the shock, the latter of which doesn't matter much if you're in a coma. It seems Sky-Byte is very considerate about the suffering of creatures...
*This episode shows one of the only times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. Rather than being squished to death, Koji is ejected. The same thing happens in "[[The Human Element]]". In ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] survived inside [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] during his transformation in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]," but was not ejected. Several episodes later, [[Agent Fowler]] similarly remains safely inside of the transforming [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]], but inexplicably winds up in his hand; in the movies this also happens, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] in ''[[Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of The Moon]]'' ejects [[Sam Witwicky]]) during transformations.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 2 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Volume One ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Evil Intent (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Special Edition 2-Disc Set (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise / Ninja Turtles: The Next Mutation / Action Man'' (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season One (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-06-the-secret-of-the-ruins.php "The Secret of the Ruins" on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Secret of the Ruins}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]

The Human Element

2012-02-01T06:17:59Z

189.167.109.155: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=RiD
|ep=34
|series2=Transformers: Car Robots
|ep2=34
|next2=Gelshark's Blues
|image=Human Element Scourgemaximus.jpg
|title="The Human Element"
|japanese=ブレイブマキシマスの謎
|romaji=Brave Maximus no Nazo
|translation=The Mystery of Brave Maximus
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|airdate=[[November 22|22 November]] [[2000]] (Japanese) [[February 23]], [[2002]] (English)
|continuity=
}}
'''Scourge has Maximus''' 
'''How can the Autobots win?''' 
'''The Onishi plan'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Human Element Scourgecerebros.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Maybe if I buy him chocolates he'll obey me.]]
[[Megatron (RID)|Galvatron]] is unhappy that [[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] failed to control [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]] and tasks the Decepticon with finding what went wrong. [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], hoping to ingratiate himself with Galvatron once more, spies on Scourge and [[Mega-Octane]] as they examine [[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]]. Scourge comes to the conclusion that Maximus obeyed [[Koji Onishi|Koji]] because of his humanity, and locates Maximus in Sector 18 (with some help from Cerebros and [[Movor]]).

At the Autobot base, [[T-AI]] has also been working on the problem of why Maximus obeyed Koji. [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] suggests that Koji might have some special power, but [[Kenneth Onishi|his father]] rubbishes the suggestion. Suddenly T-AI reports Decepticon activity in Sector 18, and [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus]] realises they're after Maximus. He and the [[Autobot Brothers]] rush there with Dr. Onishi and son.

[[Image:Human Element Maximusautobots.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Wow.]]
Scourge has already found Fortress Maximus by the time the Autobots arrive, and he has the other Decepticons form [[Ruination (RID)|Ruination]] to hold them off. Side Burn's left babysitting Koji and his father as [[X-Brawn]] and [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] try to take down Ruination with no success at all. Scourge announces that he's realised that Maximus will only obey humans—fortunately when he scanned in his Earth mode, as well as Optimus and the truck, he also scanned [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]], which gave him human bio-energy—bio-energy which he has magnified a hundred-fold. Sure enough, when Maximus transforms, Scourge is able to enter his command centre and control the giant. Sky-Byte, who's been lurking in the sands, laments that now he won't be able to redeem himself with Galvatron.

[[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] arrives and merges with Optimus, but even [[Omega Prime]]'s formidable arsenal is unable to shake Maximus. Koji believes he can still make Maximus obey him, and Side Burn takes the boy closer to allow him to try to issue commands. Scourge's control is too powerful, and Maximus kicks up a wave of sand which sends Side Burn flying into the air. Side Burn transforms in mid-air causing Koji to fall, but the boy is caught by the unwitting Sky-Byte. Sky-Byte flees in embarrassment at Koji's gratitude.

[[Image:Human Element Onishichildren.jpg|left|200px|thumb|I believe the children our are future, thats why I have them on the train]]
Although all seems lost, Dr. Onishi announces he has the answer—more human bio-energy. [[Team Bullet Train]] and the [[Build Team]] arrive via the [[Global Space Bridge]], carrying a thousand children between them. With the children all shouting at once for Maximus to stop, Scourge finds himself unable to make Maximus move, and is blasted out of the command centre by Omega Prime. Fortress Maximus sinks into the ground, but at the last moment Galvatron swoops down out of nowhere and carries Cerebros off.

Koji apologises for endangering himself to try to stop Maximus, but Dr. Onishi responds that he is proud of his son for risking everything to help his friends. Optimus says that they will get Cerebros back and defeat Galvatron's forces.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cerebros (RID)|Cerebros]] (5)
*[[Fortress Maximus (RID)|Fortress Maximus]] (7)
*[[T-AI]] (8)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (11)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (12)
*[[X-Brawn]] (13)
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
*[[Ultra Magnus (RID)|Ultra Magnus]] (19)
*[[Omega Prime]] (20)
*[[Rapid Run (RID)|Rapid Run]] (21)
*[[Midnight Express (RID)|Midnight Express]] (22)
*[[Railspike (RID)|Railspike]] (23)
*[[Wedge]] (24)
*[[Grimlock (RID)|Grimlock]] (25)
*[[Heavy Load (RID)|Heavy Load]] (26)
*[[Hightower (RID)|Hightower]] (27)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Megatron (RID)|Galvatron]] (1)
*[[Scourge (RID)|Scourge]] (2)
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] (3)
*[[Mega-Octane]] (4)
*[[Movor]] (6)
*[[Ro-Tor (RID)|Ro-Tor]] (15)
*[[Rollbar (RID)|Rollbar]] (16)
*[[Armorhide (RID)|Armorhide]] (17)
*[[Ruination (RID)|Ruination]] (18)

|c3=
*[[Koji Onishi]] (9)
*[[Kenneth Onishi|Doctor Kenneth Onishi]] (10)
* 1,000 children (28)
}}

==Quotes==
"I'm not special, I'm just... me."
:—'''Koji''' is a humble boy.

"Nonsense. There's no evidence to support such an outlandish theory."
:—'''Doctor Onishi''' is somewhat blunt in ruling out his son's specialness.

"Koji, being able to eat three cheeseburgers in one meal is your special power."
:—'''Doctor Onishi''' on his son's specialness.

'''X-Brawn:''' Aren't you forgetting something? One of us has to stay with Koji and his father. 
'''Prowl:''' And we agreed that it would be you, remember?
:—What's the bet that "we" didn't include Side Burn?

"I was taking a nap, but your whining was so loud it woke me up. What's your problem, Side Burn?"
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' is not a morning person.

'''Koji''': Gee, Sky-Byte! Thanks for saving me again! 
'''Sky-Byte''': Ahhh?! It was an accident! A fluke, a fin, a flounder! Noooo! If Galvatron finds out I've saved you again, he'll -- I don't even want to think about it!
:—You can't keep a good shark down.

[[Image:Human Element Kojioptimus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|[[Transformers (2007)|We live among its people now, hiding in plain sight...]] Wait, wrong speech.]]

'''T-AI''': When Dr. Onishi contacted me and asked me to send a thousand children into the desert, I thought he'd lost his marbles. But as it turns out, he was right all along.
:—The moral of this story is: when in doubt, send a thousand kids into the desert.

"We'll rid this planet of Galvatron and his gang of evil-doers, I promise you."
:—...did '''Optimus''' just say "evil-doers"?
{{-}}

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===

===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* The strange-looking eel/fish that swims across the opening shot of the ''[[Megastar]]'' is presumably supposed to be swimming close to camera, but it then passes ''behind'' the rock on which the ship is resting, making the creature appear absurdly gigantic.
* When Sky-Byte is half-buried in sand, his exposed flipper is wrongly coloured white instead of blue, and appears to be an uncomfortably large distance away from his main body.
* The children accompanying the Build Team in the finale are really, ''really'' small.

===Continuity errors===
* Optimus says they found Maximus in Sector 18 (which appears to be in Libya), but Maximus was found underneath Metro City!

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Humanelement_clear_sideburn.jpg|right|thumb]]
* Scourge announces he's going to crush the Autobots like [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]].
* When Side Burn super-charges, he first turns transparent. This brief appearance is based on the "clear" redeco of his toy released as an exclusive at a few Japanese conventions, featuring body panels that turn clear while their flames remain colored, and coloured interior components (like his robot limbs) visible beneath them. The one major difference is that this is a clear version of his regular coloration, featuring blue highlights and visible parts, whereas the toy itself is a clear version of his super coloration, with orange highlights.

===Real-world references===
* As Scourge pilots Maximus forward to achieve the aforementioned crushing, he quips that it's "one step for Maximus, one giant leap for the Decepticons", an obvious reference to [[Neil Armstrong]]'s first words upon setting foot on the moon. Except with somewhat more evil.

===Trivia===
* Dr. Onishi gets a ride to the desert in X-Brawn. He sits in the passenger seat next to X-Brawn's head, which appears to be driving. ([[Show-accuracy|Toy accuracy]]!) X-Brawn's head isn't always there, or else Kelly would surely have noticed it by now.
* Once again, Ultra Magnus's demonstrates his uncanny knack of coincidentally showing up at the right place at the right time. He was taking a nap in the middle of a desert in central Africa? Yeah.
* Corralling trainloads of children and teleporting them into a Libyan desert is something the Autobots can just do at short notice, it seems.
* This episode shows one of the only times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. Rather than being either squished to death or torn to pieces by the moving metal parts, the passenger is ejected. The same thing happens in "[[The Secret of the Ruins]]". [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] survived inside [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] during his transformation in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]," but was not ejected. [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] in [[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] in [[Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of The Moon]] also did this, with the passenger (in both cases [[Sam Witwicky]]) being ejected. This kinda defies logic but Transformers is for kids so....

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 9 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 2 of 2 ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season Two (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-34-the-human-element.php "The Human Element" transcript on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Human Element}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 4

2012-02-01T06:14:35Z

189.167.109.155: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 4
|prev=Darkness Rising, Part 3
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 5
|image=DarknessRising4-beholddarkenergon!.jpg
|caption=Decepticons, transform and rise up!...Well, if you still ''can''.
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 4"
|airdate=[[December 2]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''While Optimus and Ratchet battle Megatron's Terrorcon horde, the others attempt to rescue Agent Fowler.'''

==Synopsis==
As [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]'s army of [[Dark Energon]]-powered [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] march, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] are horrified at the desecration. The Dark Energon flowing through Megatron gives him control over this new army, and he directs them to destroy the two Autobots. When the Terrorcons keep getting up as fast as Optimus can blast them down, Ratchet discovers that dismemberment is a more effective way of dealing with them.

[[Image:darkrising4_botgroup.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Pretty sure war zones don't count for Bring Your <s>Daughter</s> Partner to Work Day, Bulky.]]

At the [[Nemesis (Prime)|Decepticon ship]], [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] rescues [[Jack Darby|Jack]] and [[Rafael Esquivel|Raf]], who are under fire from the [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon sentries]]. They explain they were worried about [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]], who pops up from Bulkhead's back seat. Bulkhead drops everyone off behind some cover before driving under the Decepticon ship, scaling a nearby cliff, and jumping on board. After dealing with a bunch of Decepticons, Bulkhead realizes that Miko's not with the other kids, and she pops out of his chest, having stowed away. Miko finds herself in the middle of the fight between Bulkhead and the cons, which the Autobot swiftly terminates with the help of a piece of deck plating. While the pair move into the ship, problems are occurring outside; Jack and Raf are captured by the Decepticons and taken on board the ship, where [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] abruptly appear and rescue them. The two parties run into each other in a corridor, and Jack and Raf let Arcee know where [[William Fowler|Fowler]] is, having heard their guard talking.

[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]'s interrogation of Fowler is finally beginning to bear fruit, when the distant sound of gunfire can be heard, and Fowler stops being helpful. Starscream gives him a jolt with the [[Energon prod]], stunning him into unconsciousness, and sends the two guards to find out what's going on.

Back at the Terrorcon battle, Ratchet notes that exposure to the Dark Energon is sapping their strength. The fight on, but first Optimus, then Ratchet disappear under piles of Terrorcons. Megatron laughs...but with a cry, Optimus breaks free and helps Ratchet up.

[[Image:Optimus Prime Ratchet Zombies Darkness Rising 4.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"Megatron has desecrated our ancestors, and ''I'' wanted to do that!"]]

The Autobots clear out a room on the Decepticon ship for the kids to hide in. Miko and Jack immediately begin arguing over their situation, which upsets Raf. Jack and Miko try to reassure him, before Jack notices a huge computer display. Raf thinks it has important information on it.

Fowler's interrogation is complicated by the man's now-dazed state. It's further complicated when Bulkhead and Bumblebee appear in the doorway. They aim their guns at Starscream, who aims his at Fowler, only to feel a tap on the head. He looks up to find Arcee is balanced in a shaft right above him, aiming her gun downwards.

The kids know they've found important information, but are at a loss as to how to get it back to Optimus. As Raf's contemplating using a flash drive, a Decepticon walks in. The kids dive for cover, but Raf goes back for his backpack and is spotted by the Decepticon.

The Mexican standoff in the brig is broken when Fowler distracts Starscream, and the Autobots start firing. Starscream decides discretion is called for, and he flies off down the nearest corridor.

The Decepticon starts firing on Raf. Jack heroically runs out and tackles Raf behind one of the Decepticon corpses, before instructing Miko to take a picture. She snaps a picture of the Decepticon, before Jack redirects her at the computer screen. The kids leg it from the room, followed by the Decepticon, who is promptly taken out by Bulkhead. Reunited, the kids and Autobots make their escape.

Optimus and Ratchet finish off the Terrorcon horde, and Optimus starts climbing up to Megatron. Megatron compliments Optimus on his performance, but boasts that the battle was simply a prelude to the main event and flies off. Ratchet wonders ominously what Megatron has in store for them.

[[Image:darkrising4_phonesnap.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Kay th-enx bay-eye?"]]

Back at base, Ratchet's damaged arm is tended to, and Optimus tells off Bulkhead for letting the kids accompany him into battle. Miko defends Bulkhead and tries to claim they were doing "recon" by showing the snapped schematics, but Jack's upset about the fact they were all almost killed and decides he wants out of the whole affair. After some sad farewells (except from Ratchet), they send him home by [[ground bridge]].

[[Image:Tfprimestarscreamsteppedon.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Just like [[The Transformers (cartoon)|old times!]]]]
Back on the Decepticon ship in orbit, Megatron abuses Starscream for disobeying his orders, which has resulted in damage to the ship, which threatens to delay Megatron's plans. Starscream manages to quell his master's anger by announcing he has a way to get their plans back on course.

Miko pays Jack a visit and tries to talk him into returning to the Autobots, but he's content to go back to his normal life.

Ratchet, meanwhile, is checking out the data Miko photographed, and he realizes that it's the specs for a [[space bridge]] part. Bulkhead thinks it's great that Megatron's thinking of leaving, but Optimus points out that he's probably intending to bring an army to [[Earth]] with it, and there's only one place he can find enough Transformer corpses to build a new army: [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]].

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (2)
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (10)
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (11)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (4)
* [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon drone]]s (5)
* [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (13)
* [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (14)

|c3=
* [[Jack Darby]] (6)
* [[Rafael Esquivel]] (7)
* [[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
* [[William Fowler]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] (1)

}}

==Quotes==
"Megatron has desecrated the resting place of our fallen ancestors... and his own!" 
"Not even the dead are free from his war-mongering."
:—'''Ratchet''' states the obvious in a slightly novel way while '''Optimus''' rues the depth of Megatron's evil.

[[Image:DarknessRising4-BulkheadandMiko.jpg|thumb|250px|[http://youtu.be/NNuHNcZaF2s?t=31s That's disturbing...]]]
"I heaved on your floor mats. Sorry!"
:—'''Miko'''

"Wake up, you pathetic lump of flesh!" 
"Grandma? Is it cookie time?"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Fowler'''

"I wouldn't." 
"Oh, but I MIGHT..."
:—'''Arcee''' threatens '''Starscream''', who doesn't feel very threatened.

"I like pie. Can we stop for pie?" 
"You found Fowler! ROCK ON!"
:—'''Fowler''' and '''Miko'''

"No point in long good-byes. Here's the door."
:—'''Ratchet''' showing he doesn't give a damn

"I've been raised to be responsible. To my schoolwork, to my mom, my job."
:—The Spectacular '''Jack''' Darby

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
*Did Optimus forget that Arcee was supposed to be in charge? He tells Bulkhead off, but Bulkhead wasn't supposed to be in charge in the first place. Of course, Optimus could simply have been referring to the fact Bulkhead got the kids in danger (which, admittedly, was in part his fault).
**Then again it's mostly Miko's fault: SHE snuck along with Bulkhead without him even knowing, after which Jack and Raf went to find her. So don't blame it all on Bulkie.

===Transformers references===
*As in part 1, Cybertron appears with the same model as that used in ''War for Cybertron''.
*Optimus's guns and swords look very similar to another [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]]'s.
*Optimus's response to Jack wanting to leave is very similar to the response Optimus Prime gave to [[Theodore Galloway]] in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 4'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 14|14 October]] [[2011]]
'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 4. rész'''" ("The Darkness is Nearing, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 12|12 January]] [[2012]]
'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, quarta parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, Fourth Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 25|25 September]] [[2011]]
'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 4'''" (악의 부활 4, "Return of the Evil, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 6|6 September]] [[2011]]
'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 8|8 December]] [[2011]]
'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]
'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 4'''" ("The Return of Evil, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
*While not the first time [[Flame (Marvel)|someone]] has used zombies as soldiers, Megatron seems intent on making them the bulk of his forces.
*The Terrorcons Optimus and Ratchet fight do not seem to be as tough as Cliffjumper's was (seeing as how he was still functioning despite being cut in half), but that could be chalked up to Cliff's corpse being "fresh".
*This episode shows one of the few times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. This has happened previously in "[[The Human Element]]" and "[[The Secret of the Ruins]]," even in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' and ''[[Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of The Moon]]'' films, but in all those cases the passenger was ejected during transformation. It will also happen later in [[Convoy (episode)|"Convoy"]], in which Agent Fowler somehow ends up in Prime's hand.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 4

2012-02-01T06:10:50Z

189.167.109.155: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 4
|prev=Darkness Rising, Part 3
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 5
|image=DarknessRising4-beholddarkenergon!.jpg
|caption=Decepticons, transform and rise up!...Well, if you still ''can''.
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 4"
|airdate=[[December 2]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''While Optimus and Ratchet battle Megatron's Terrorcon horde, the others attempt to rescue Agent Fowler.'''

==Synopsis==
As [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]'s army of [[Dark Energon]]-powered [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] march, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] are horrified at the desecration. The Dark Energon flowing through Megatron gives him control over this new army, and he directs them to destroy the two Autobots. When the Terrorcons keep getting up as fast as Optimus can blast them down, Ratchet discovers that dismemberment is a more effective way of dealing with them.

[[Image:darkrising4_botgroup.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Pretty sure war zones don't count for Bring Your <s>Daughter</s> Partner to Work Day, Bulky.]]

At the [[Nemesis (Prime)|Decepticon ship]], [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] rescues [[Jack Darby|Jack]] and [[Rafael Esquivel|Raf]], who are under fire from the [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon sentries]]. They explain they were worried about [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]], who pops up from Bulkhead's back seat. Bulkhead drops everyone off behind some cover before driving under the Decepticon ship, scaling a nearby cliff, and jumping on board. After dealing with a bunch of Decepticons, Bulkhead realizes that Miko's not with the other kids, and she pops out of his chest, having stowed away. Miko finds herself in the middle of the fight between Bulkhead and the cons, which the Autobot swiftly terminates with the help of a piece of deck plating. While the pair move into the ship, problems are occurring outside; Jack and Raf are captured by the Decepticons and taken on board the ship, where [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] abruptly appear and rescue them. The two parties run into each other in a corridor, and Jack and Raf let Arcee know where [[William Fowler|Fowler]] is, having heard their guard talking.

[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]'s interrogation of Fowler is finally beginning to bear fruit, when the distant sound of gunfire can be heard, and Fowler stops being helpful. Starscream gives him a jolt with the [[Energon prod]], stunning him into unconsciousness, and sends the two guards to find out what's going on.

Back at the Terrorcon battle, Ratchet notes that exposure to the Dark Energon is sapping their strength. The fight on, but first Optimus, then Ratchet disappear under piles of Terrorcons. Megatron laughs...but with a cry, Optimus breaks free and helps Ratchet up.

[[Image:Optimus Prime Ratchet Zombies Darkness Rising 4.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"Megatron has desecrated our ancestors, and ''I'' wanted to do that!"]]

The Autobots clear out a room on the Decepticon ship for the kids to hide in. Miko and Jack immediately begin arguing over their situation, which upsets Raf. Jack and Miko try to reassure him, before Jack notices a huge computer display. Raf thinks it has important information on it.

Fowler's interrogation is complicated by the man's now-dazed state. It's further complicated when Bulkhead and Bumblebee appear in the doorway. They aim their guns at Starscream, who aims his at Fowler, only to feel a tap on the head. He looks up to find Arcee is balanced in a shaft right above him, aiming her gun downwards.

The kids know they've found important information, but are at a loss as to how to get it back to Optimus. As Raf's contemplating using a flash drive, a Decepticon walks in. The kids dive for cover, but Raf goes back for his backpack and is spotted by the Decepticon.

The Mexican standoff in the brig is broken when Fowler distracts Starscream, and the Autobots start firing. Starscream decides discretion is called for, and he flies off down the nearest corridor.

The Decepticon starts firing on Raf. Jack heroically runs out and tackles Raf behind one of the Decepticon corpses, before instructing Miko to take a picture. She snaps a picture of the Decepticon, before Jack redirects her at the computer screen. The kids leg it from the room, followed by the Decepticon, who is promptly taken out by Bulkhead. Reunited, the kids and Autobots make their escape.

Optimus and Ratchet finish off the Terrorcon horde, and Optimus starts climbing up to Megatron. Megatron compliments Optimus on his performance, but boasts that the battle was simply a prelude to the main event and flies off. Ratchet wonders ominously what Megatron has in store for them.

[[Image:darkrising4_phonesnap.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Kay th-enx bay-eye?"]]

Back at base, Ratchet's damaged arm is tended to, and Optimus tells off Bulkhead for letting the kids accompany him into battle. Miko defends Bulkhead and tries to claim they were doing "recon" by showing the snapped schematics, but Jack's upset about the fact they were all almost killed and decides he wants out of the whole affair. After some sad farewells (except from Ratchet), they send him home by [[ground bridge]].

[[Image:Tfprimestarscreamsteppedon.jpg|thumb|right|275px|Just like [[The Transformers (cartoon)|old times!]]]]
Back on the Decepticon ship in orbit, Megatron abuses Starscream for disobeying his orders, which has resulted in damage to the ship, which threatens to delay Megatron's plans. Starscream manages to quell his master's anger by announcing he has a way to get their plans back on course.

Miko pays Jack a visit and tries to talk him into returning to the Autobots, but he's content to go back to his normal life.

Ratchet, meanwhile, is checking out the data Miko photographed, and he realizes that it's the specs for a [[space bridge]] part. Bulkhead thinks it's great that Megatron's thinking of leaving, but Optimus points out that he's probably intending to bring an army to [[Earth]] with it, and there's only one place he can find enough Transformer corpses to build a new army: [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]].

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (2)
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (10)
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (11)

|c2=
* [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (4)
* [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon drone]]s (5)
* [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (13)
* [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (14)

|c3=
* [[Jack Darby]] (6)
* [[Rafael Esquivel]] (7)
* [[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
* [[William Fowler]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] (1)

}}

==Quotes==
"Megatron has desecrated the resting place of our fallen ancestors... and his own!" 
"Not even the dead are free from his war-mongering."
:—'''Ratchet''' states the obvious in a slightly novel way while '''Optimus''' rues the depth of Megatron's evil.

[[Image:DarknessRising4-BulkheadandMiko.jpg|thumb|250px|[http://youtu.be/NNuHNcZaF2s?t=31s That's disturbing...]]]
"I heaved on your floor mats. Sorry!"
:—'''Miko'''

"Wake up, you pathetic lump of flesh!" 
"Grandma? Is it cookie time?"
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Fowler'''

"I wouldn't." 
"Oh, but I MIGHT..."
:—'''Arcee''' threatens '''Starscream''', who doesn't feel very threatened.

"I like pie. Can we stop for pie?" 
"You found Fowler! ROCK ON!"
:—'''Fowler''' and '''Miko'''

"No point in long good-byes. Here's the door."
:—'''Ratchet''' showing he doesn't give a damn

"I've been raised to be responsible. To my schoolwork, to my mom, my job."
:—The Spectacular '''Jack''' Darby

==Notes==
===Continuity errors===
*Did Optimus forget that Arcee was supposed to be in charge? He tells Bulkhead off, but Bulkhead wasn't supposed to be in charge in the first place. Of course, Optimus could simply have been referring to the fact Bulkhead got the kids in danger (which, admittedly, was in part his fault).
**Then again it's mostly Miko's fault: SHE snuck along with Bulkhead without him even knowing, after which Jack and Raf went to find her. So don't blame it all on Bulkie.

===Transformers references===
*As in part 1, Cybertron appears with the same model as that used in ''War for Cybertron''.
*Optimus's guns and swords look very similar to another [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]]'s.
*Optimus's response to Jack wanting to leave is very similar to the response Optimus Prime gave to [[Theodore Galloway]] in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 4'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 14|14 October]] [[2011]]
'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 4. rész'''" ("The Darkness is Nearing, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 12|12 January]] [[2012]]
'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, quarta parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, Fourth Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 25|25 September]] [[2011]]
'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 4'''" (악의 부활 4, "Return of the Evil, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 6|6 September]] [[2011]]
'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 8|8 December]] [[2011]]
'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]
'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 4'''" ("The Return of Evil, Part 4")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
*While not the first time [[Flame (Marvel)|someone]] has used zombies as soldiers, Megatron seems intent on making them the bulk of his forces.
*The Terrorcons Optimus and Ratchet fight do not seem to be as tough as Cliffjumper's was (seeing as how he was still functioning despite being cut in half), but that could be chalked up to Cliff's corpse being "fresh".
*This episode shows one of the few times a Transformer has switched to robot mode while carrying a human passenger. This has happened previously in "[[The Human Element]]" and "[[The Secret of the Ruins]]," even in ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' film, but in all those cases the passenger was ejected during transformation. It will also happen later in [[Convoy (episode)|"Convoy"]], in which Agent Fowler somehow ends up in Prime's hand.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]