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Operation Bumblebee, Part 1

2012-03-12T03:54:04Z

216.137.220.251: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{picsneeded}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 30
|prev=Orion Pax, Part 3
|next=Operation Bumblebee, Part 2
|image=
|caption=
|title="Operation Bumblebee, Part 1"
|airdate=[[March 10]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Bumblebee questions his worthiness to his team after he is compromised.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] stake out a [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] mining operation overseen by [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. Optimus isn't about to let Megatron have whatever gave off the signal that led him and Ratchet here, and he confronts Megatron just as the Vehicons break earth and hand the package to him. Megatron advises Optimus to stow his weapons; the device they've unearthed is a deadly [[spark extractor]], capable of sapping the spark from the body of every Cybertronian in its radius. He takes the opportunity to gloat about how Optimus—ahem, ''Orion''—led him to it before stepping through the [[GroundBridge]], and ordering the Vehicons to hold Ratchet and Optimus off. Close by, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] speeds over a cliff and through the attacking Vehicons, before driving into the GroundBridge. He transforms and grabs the package from Megatron's hand, before turning around and bolting. Megatron runs after him, but upon arriving outside the vortex, finds his troops destroyed and all three Autobots gone.

Back at base, Bumblebee brags about his vehicular acrobatics. Ratchet informs Optimus of the reason for the Autobot homing beacon on the device—it was sealed away in Iacon during the war, but was jettisoned offworld when the Decepticons raided the city. [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] asks if Optimus remembers if he transcribed any other coordinates, but Optimus regrets that he does not. Ratchet posits that Megatron said he decrypted multiple targets to play havoc with Optimus' psyche.

On the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', Megatron laments over the loss of the spark extractor, and regrets that he did no more than destroy Bumblebee's voicebox back on Cybertron. [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] reminds Megatron that there are still two contacts on Earth to investigate.

On the road, Bumblebee sounds off to [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] to rendezvous with him at the coordinates of the new distress beacon. Upon arriving, however, the only device present is an upright beacon. Suddenly, Bumblebee is stunned by a large electrical blast, and he falls unconscious. [[Silas]] and a [[MECH]] team emerge from the shadows, including a [[MECH Surgeon]] who starts work on Bumblebee. Unseen by the troops below, Starscream arrives and transforms on an overlooking cliff. As MECH spots Bulkhead incoming, the surgeon finishes his work, and the team departs in a helicopter. Bulkhead arrives and asks Bumblebee who did it, but Bumblebee doesn't recall. Bulkhead advises pursuit, and transforms to roll—but Bumblebee doesn't. Antsy at the hold-up, Bulkhead asks Bumblebee why he's not transforming, and Bumblebee replies that he can't.

Back at base, Ratchet scans Bumblebee and discovers that his [[transformation cog|T cog]] is missing. The Autobots quickly work out MECH is behind it, and Optimus tells Bumblebee he's going to have to rely on his friends for a while. Bumblebee is very depressed. Optimus is worried about what Megatron might unearth next.

MECH install Bumblebee's T cog into the robot they've built, but when they power it up and have it scan a helicopter, the robot is unable to transform. Starscream, who has been spying on them, reveals himself and proposes an alliance. He explains the T cog requires [[energon]] to work. He intends to supply MECH with information on energon so they can work out a way to find energon deposits.

Bumblebee is making a pain of himself bugging Ratchet, who asks [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] to keep him busy. Unfortunately all of their entertainment reminds Bumblebee of his missing vehicle mode. Raf makes another attempt to make Bumblebee feel better, but is undermined by Arcee and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] racing into the base at high speed. Ratchet has to stop Bumblebee from going out for a walk, but feels guilty at his inability to fix his fellow Autobot.

Some time later, Ratchet picks Raf up outside school, much to the boy's discomfort.

On monitoring duty, Bulkhead detects a signal, and Bumblebee insists on going with him to investigate.

Raf asks how Bumblebee's voice box was damaged, and Ratchet tells how Bumblebee was captured at [[Tyger Pax]] and given a working over by the Decepticons. Though a [[Ratchet (Prime)|field medic]] saved the scout, it wasn't enough to save his voice box.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee track the signal to a cave. [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] soon comes barreling out, closely followed by [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]]. While Bulkhead tackles the latter, Bumblebee attempts to chase Knock Out on foot. He soon finds he can't even transform his arms to deploy his guns, and is forced to continue the pursuit by using an old truck as an impromptu go-kart. Unfortunately it loses a wheel, and as Knock Out speeds off with the pilfered device, Bumblebee is sent flying off a cliff.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (2)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (17)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (18)
|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (6)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (7)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (8)
*[[Silas]] (11)
*[[MECH Surgeon]] (12)
*[[Sierra]] (14)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (15)
*[[Vince]] (16)

|c4=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"The new Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. It will transform it."
:—The '''commercial narrator''' hates Bumblebee.

"You want to ride with the siren on?"<br>
"No, thank you."
:—'''Ratchet''' attempts to cheer up '''Raf'''.

"Still don't know how you talked me into this. You're worse than Miko."
:—'''Bulkhead''' on Bumblebee's persuasiveness.

"Bumblebee, where's your famous horsepower? Show me some ''speed''!"
:—'''Knock Out''', unintentionally striking a nerve.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===

*The producers apparently can't make a decision on Starscream's eyes. They are yet again completely red, unlike the previous episode he appeared in.

===Continuity notes===
*This marks the first mention of Megatron being responsible for destroying Bumblebee's capacity to speak at [[Tyger Pax]], having been established in ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' for the Aligned continuity.
*Megatron calls Optimus by his pre-Prime name "Orion Pax" from the previous episodes. The three sets of coordinates the Decepticons are investigating here are likewise the fruits of [[Project Iacon]].
*We first heard about [[Project Chimera]] in "[[Operation: Breakdown]]", the events of which Starscream also makes mention of. Here we finally see what the project is—an attempt to create a MECH-designed Transformer.
*The old pickup truck Bumblebee uses to chase Knock Out was first seen in "[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]", and again in "[[Metal Attraction]]".
*Bulkhead brings up Breakdown's capture at the hands of MECH in [[Operation: Breakdown]]
*Arcee also bring's up her own capture at the hands of MECH in [[Crisscross]]
*Starscream bring's up his battle scar which was given to him by Arcee in [[Partners]]

===Transformers references===
*The ''device dú jour'' today is the spark extractor, courtesy of ancient Decepticons. However, unlike the [[spark extractor|original]], this one seems to be more of a bomb-like device, sapping the sparks of everyone in its radius. It might not be a coincidence that the device showed up in an episode written by [[Marty Isenberg]], given that he was one of the two showrunners of the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|series]] it originated from.
*The T-cog is a reference to the [[transformation cog]] of G1 lore. It was first referred to in the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'' episode "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]", in which the lack of a transformation cog meant that [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] was stuck in city mode.
*Ratchet also has to explain to Bumblebee that the Autobots are "Robots In Disguise", which is why he can't leave the base while his T-Cog is missing.

===Real-world references===
*Megatron uses the term "mutually assured destruction", a longtime slogan for the effect of nuclear war.
*Knock Out references Rent-A-Car, a real-world car rental service.

===Trivia===
*In a first for the series, Bumblebee's car mode is revealed as the [[Urbana 500]]. The Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. ''It'll transform it.''
*This is the first time a fight has happened ''inside'' the GroundBridge.
*Bumblebee, Ratchet and Starscream's Cybertronian modes, again, have Earth vehicle kibble.
*The title is a nod to a Season 1 episode "[[Operation: Breakdown]]".
*It was revealed that several artifacts were jettisoned into space during the war, explaining why earlier [[polarity gauntlet|devices]] were found there.
[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Operation Bumblebee, Part 1

2012-03-12T03:53:47Z

216.137.220.251: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{picsneeded}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 30
|prev=Orion Pax, Part 3
|next=Operation Bumblebee, Part 2
|image=
|caption=
|title="Operation Bumblebee, Part 1"
|airdate=[[March 10]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Bumblebee questions his worthiness to his team after he is compromised.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] stake out a [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] mining operation overseen by [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. Optimus isn't about to let Megatron have whatever gave off the signal that led him and Ratchet here, and he confronts Megatron just as the Vehicons break earth and hand the package to him. Megatron advises Optimus to stow his weapons; the device they've unearthed is a deadly [[spark extractor]], capable of sapping the spark from the body of every Cybertronian in its radius. He takes the opportunity to gloat about how Optimus—ahem, ''Orion''—led him to it before stepping through the [[GroundBridge]], and ordering the Vehicons to hold Ratchet and Optimus off. Close by, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] speeds over a cliff and through the attacking Vehicons, before driving into the GroundBridge. He transforms and grabs the package from Megatron's hand, before turning around and bolting. Megatron runs after him, but upon arriving outside the vortex, finds his troops destroyed and all three Autobots gone.

Back at base, Bumblebee brags about his vehicular acrobatics. Ratchet informs Optimus of the reason for the Autobot homing beacon on the device—it was sealed away in Iacon during the war, but was jettisoned offworld when the Decepticons raided the city. [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] asks if Optimus remembers if he transcribed any other coordinates, but Optimus regrets that he does not. Ratchet posits that Megatron said he decrypted multiple targets to play havoc with Optimus' psyche.

On the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', Megatron laments over the loss of the spark extractor, and regrets that he did no more than destroy Bumblebee's voicebox back on Cybertron. [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] reminds Megatron that there are still two contacts on Earth to investigate.

On the road, Bumblebee sounds off to [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] to rendezvous with him at the coordinates of the new distress beacon. Upon arriving, however, the only device present is an upright beacon. Suddenly, Bumblebee is stunned by a large electrical blast, and he falls unconscious. [[Silas]] and a [[MECH]] team emerge from the shadows, including a [[MECH Surgeon]] who starts work on Bumblebee. Unseen by the troops below, Starscream arrives and transforms on an overlooking cliff. As MECH spots Bulkhead incoming, the surgeon finishes his work, and the team departs in a helicopter. Bulkhead arrives and asks Bumblebee who did it, but Bumblebee doesn't recall. Bulkhead advises pursuit, and transforms to roll—but Bumblebee doesn't. Antsy at the hold-up, Bulkhead asks Bumblebee why he's not transforming, and Bumblebee replies that he can't.

Back at base, Ratchet scans Bumblebee and discovers that his [[transformation cog|T cog]] is missing. The Autobots quickly work out MECH is behind it, and Optimus tells Bumblebee he's going to have to rely on his friends for a while. Bumblebee is very depressed. Optimus is worried about what Megatron might unearth next.

MECH install Bumblebee's T cog into the robot they've built, but when they power it up and have it scan a helicopter, the robot is unable to transform. Starscream, who has been spying on them, reveals himself and proposes an alliance. He explains the T cog requires [[energon]] to work. He intends to supply MECH with information on energon so they can work out a way to find energon deposits.

Bumblebee is making a pain of himself bugging Ratchet, who asks [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] to keep him busy. Unfortunately all of their entertainment reminds Bumblebee of his missing vehicle mode. Raf makes another attempt to make Bumblebee feel better, but is undermined by Arcee and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] racing into the base at high speed. Ratchet has to stop Bumblebee from going out for a walk, but feels guilty at his inability to fix his fellow Autobot.

Some time later, Ratchet picks Raf up outside school, much to the boy's discomfort.

On monitoring duty, Bulkhead detects a signal, and Bumblebee insists on going with him to investigate.

Raf asks how Bumblebee's voice box was damaged, and Ratchet tells how Bumblebee was captured at [[Tyger Pax]] and given a working over by the Decepticons. Though a [[Ratchet (Prime)|field medic]] saved the scout, it wasn't enough to save his voice box.

Bulkhead and Bumblebee track the signal to a cave. [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] soon comes barreling out, closely followed by [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]]. While Bulkhead tackles the latter, Bumblebee attempts to chase Knock Out on foot. He soon finds he can't even transform his arms to deploy his guns, and is forced to continue the pursuit by using an old truck as an impromptu go-kart. Unfortunately it loses a wheel, and as Knock Out speeds off with the pilfered device, Bumblebee is sent flying off a cliff.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (2)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (17)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (18)
|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (6)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (7)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (8)
*[[Silas]] (11)
*[[MECH Surgeon]] (12)
*[[Sierra]] (14)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (15)
*[[Vince]] (16)

|c4=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"The new Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. It will transform it."
:—The '''commercial narrator''' hates Bumblebee.

"You want to ride with the siren on?"<br>
"No, thank you."
:—'''Ratchet''' attempts to cheer up '''Raf'''.

"Still don't know how you talked me into this. You're worse than Miko."
:—'''Bulkhead''' on Bumblebee's persuasiveness.

"Bumblebee, where's your famous horsepower? Show me some ''speed''!"
:—'''Knock Out''', unintentionally striking a nerve.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===

*The producers apparently can't make a decision on Starscream's eyes. They are yet again completely red, unlike they were in the previous episode he appeared in.

===Continuity notes===
*This marks the first mention of Megatron being responsible for destroying Bumblebee's capacity to speak at [[Tyger Pax]], having been established in ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' for the Aligned continuity.
*Megatron calls Optimus by his pre-Prime name "Orion Pax" from the previous episodes. The three sets of coordinates the Decepticons are investigating here are likewise the fruits of [[Project Iacon]].
*We first heard about [[Project Chimera]] in "[[Operation: Breakdown]]", the events of which Starscream also makes mention of. Here we finally see what the project is—an attempt to create a MECH-designed Transformer.
*The old pickup truck Bumblebee uses to chase Knock Out was first seen in "[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]", and again in "[[Metal Attraction]]".
*Bulkhead brings up Breakdown's capture at the hands of MECH in [[Operation: Breakdown]]
*Arcee also bring's up her own capture at the hands of MECH in [[Crisscross]]
*Starscream bring's up his battle scar which was given to him by Arcee in [[Partners]]

===Transformers references===
*The ''device dú jour'' today is the spark extractor, courtesy of ancient Decepticons. However, unlike the [[spark extractor|original]], this one seems to be more of a bomb-like device, sapping the sparks of everyone in its radius. It might not be a coincidence that the device showed up in an episode written by [[Marty Isenberg]], given that he was one of the two showrunners of the [[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|series]] it originated from.
*The T-cog is a reference to the [[transformation cog]] of G1 lore. It was first referred to in the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'' episode "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]", in which the lack of a transformation cog meant that [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] was stuck in city mode.
*Ratchet also has to explain to Bumblebee that the Autobots are "Robots In Disguise", which is why he can't leave the base while his T-Cog is missing.

===Real-world references===
*Megatron uses the term "mutually assured destruction", a longtime slogan for the effect of nuclear war.
*Knock Out references Rent-A-Car, a real-world car rental service.

===Trivia===
*In a first for the series, Bumblebee's car mode is revealed as the [[Urbana 500]]. The Urbana 500. It won't just rock your world. ''It'll transform it.''
*This is the first time a fight has happened ''inside'' the GroundBridge.
*Bumblebee, Ratchet and Starscream's Cybertronian modes, again, have Earth vehicle kibble.
*The title is a nod to a Season 1 episode "[[Operation: Breakdown]]".
*It was revealed that several artifacts were jettisoned into space during the war, explaining why earlier [[polarity gauntlet|devices]] were found there.
[[Category:Prime episodes]]