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Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary

2010-12-18T03:14:12Z

216.254.157.123:

{{episode|
|series=Energon
|series2=Superlink
|ep=8
|prev=Megatron Raid
|next=Battle of the Asteroid Belt
|title=Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary
|japanese=謎の暗殺者ナイトスクリーム
|romaji=Nazo no Ansatsusha Nightscream
|translation=The Mysterious Assassin Nightscream
|image=E8_titlecard.jpg
|caption=Why are mercenaries always mysterious, eh?
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]]
|writer=[[Shōji Tonoike]]
|director=[[Mitsuru Kawasaki]]
|animation studio=[[Actas Inc.|Actas]], [[Studio A-CAT]] (3D)
|airdate=[[February 27|27 February]] [[2004]] (Japan) [[April 9]], 2004 (US)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy]]
}}

'''The ghostly Starscream stalks Optimus Prime, culminating in a battle on the Moon.'''

==Synopsis==
Ironhide and Inferno watch as Kicker restlessly rides around [[Ocean City]]. He finally realizes that someone or something is coming. Starscream's voice wanders down corridors, searching for his victim, Optimus Prime. Ironhide and Kicker both suspect something, but find no one. Worried for Optimus's safety, they head for HQ Central Ops. Signal Flare and Skyblast also sense something, but dismiss it.

Aboard Unicron's head, Alpha Q speaks to his new creation, Starscream—a warrior without physical form, who cannot be harmed. They ran out of [[energon (Energon)|energon]] while re-creating him, leaving him incomplete. They send him to destroy Optimus Prime, who's hoarding all the energon.

[[Image:Energon-Alpha-Q-Resurrects-Starscream.jpg|230px|thumb|left|Let's resurrect Starscream, that's always a good idea.]] Kicker senses Starscream and orders Ironhide to open fire, even though it seems like he's shooting at empty air. Starscream takes a shot at Optimus in the control center, misses, and retreats in the face of Ironhide's barrage of laser fire. The Autobots meet with Prime and voice their concerns, but Prime says he doesn't need a bodyguard. Kicker isn't happy about this.

Outside the city, Kicker and Ironhide receive orders from Hot Shot to secretly tail Optimus around the city. Prime's already aware of it, and orders Hot Shot to get back to work, over his protests. Prime remembers the mysterious entity that attacked him recently, and stops. He shouts a challenge to whoever it is that wants to take him on. Kicker, watching, senses the attacker and shouts a warning. Starscream attacks from the sky. The others arrive, only to find empty air. Prime leads his attacker away, intending to find out who it is.

[[Image:Energon-Kicker-Ironhide-Spy-Optimus.jpg|230px|thumb|right|Ohmigod ohmygod ohmygod, there he is!]] The other Autobots are baffled by Prime's disappearance, when a [[space bridge]] appears above them. Prime drives into it, followed by Starscream. Though delayed by Starscream, Kicker, Jetfire and Ironhide follow, heading for [[Lunar City]] on the [[Moon (moon)|moon]].

The pair meet with Lunar City's crew, who haven't seen a trace of Prime. Jetfire finds out that Prime has turned off his communicator—he wants to deal with this alone.

A horde of [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcon]]s approaches the moon. Cyclonus wonders how the Autobots figured out Optimus is on the moon. Megatron orders him to find Optimus and "that mindless menace" before the Autobots do. Within Unicron's body, Scorponok gives Demolishor a hard time over his recent defection.

Hot Shot observes the incoming Terrorcons and requests [[energon star]]s from the [[Omnicon]]s.

In an empty crater, Prime shouts another challenge at his invisible attacker, who responds dismissively. Hot Shot and Skyblast arrive to help out Prime. Prime manages to get a few hits in on Starscream, who tells him he's doing this to revive Unicron. Skyblast powers up the Autobots with energon stars and [[Energon Sword]]s, which Kicker finds rather heavy compared to the [[Energon Saber]].

[[Image:Energon-Blaster-1st-Appearance.jpg‎|230px|thumb|left|''Super Link'' and ''Energon'' give two different explanations for this image. Neither of them make any sense.]] Prime is rather irate at Starscream's plan to revive Unicron. Megatron finds Prime just as Starscream blasts him. As the invisible soldier drifts away, Megatron shouts angrily at him to identify himself. Kicker finds Prime down and inoperative, and completely freaks out. Skyblast revives him with a series of energon stars. Megatron breaks off pursuing Starscream and heads back to Prime's crater. Prime materializes "[[Energon Blaster|Hot Shot's blaster]]" and wonders why he's been granted it. The blaster holds Megatron off and sends him flying away.

Kicker is bummed about Lunar City getting trashed again, just as it was rebuilt. Prime tells him that lives are more important than cities, and to leave the worrying to him. Kicker says he'll always be there for backup.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|c1=
* [[Inferno (Energon)|Inferno]] (1)
* [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] (2)
* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] (7)
* [[Signal Flare (Energon)| Signal Flare]] (8)
* [[Strongarm (Energon)|Strongarm]] (9)
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] (11)
* [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (12)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] (6)
* [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] (15)
* [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] (16)
* [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave]] (17)
* [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] (18)
* [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] (19)

|c3=
* [[Kicker Jones]] (4)

|c4=
* [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] (5)
* [[Alpha Quintesson]] (10)
* [[Battle Ravage|Battle Ravage drones]] (13)
* [[Divebomb (Energon)|Divebomb drones]] (14)
* [[Scattor (Energon)|Scattor]] (20)
* [[Skyboom (Energon)|Skyboom]] (21)
* [[Wreckage (Energon)|Wreckage]] (22)
}}

==Quotes==
"Aw, Megatron, trying to find Optimus is a total waste of time!" 
"Scorponok will ''pay'' for this."
:—'''Cyclonus''' and '''Megatron''' aren't making any sense at all.

"Terrorcons. They're in attack mode again. We'd better beef up our defenses."
:—Neither is '''Hot Shot'''.

"Forgive me, men, but let me have a moment while my hard drive optimizes."
:—Neither is '''Optimus Prime''', as he prepares to fire "Hot Shot's blaster".

"I get the impression that Megatron has doubts about your loyalty, Demolishor." 
"He ordered me to stand guard. And that's exactly what I'm doing, Scorponok." 
"Up until yesterday, you were standing guard for the Autobots. That in itself would cast doubt upon you." 
"Come on, you can't be serious!" 
"Relax, I was just having some ''fun'' with you. Now let's try to get along, Demolishor; that would be the mature thing to do." 
"Why don't you go and leave me alone."
:—'''Scorponok''' picks on '''Demolishor'''.

"What's this? Hot Shot's blaster-- but why is he giving it to me?"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' is confused by the confusing confusion.

==Notes==
===Lost in translation===
* Upon hearing Starscream's disembodied voice, Ironhide wonders if Demolishor has returned, but the ''Energon'' dub warps it into him thinking that Demolishor is playing a joke on him (making it sound like he never left).
* The Decepticons arrive on the moon because Scorponok has told them that Optimus Prime is there, leading Cyclonus to wonder how he knows (the answer being that Alpha Q told Scorponok, since he knows that Starscream has lured him there). In ''Energon'', however, the line is screwed up into him wondering how the ''Autobots'' have located the missing Optimus Prime, making it sound as if the Decepticons were responsible for his disappearance, and erasing the actual explanation for their presence. However, the dub ''does'' accurately preserve the scene in which Megatron blames Scorponok for his inability to find Optimus, which consequently makes no sense within the dubbed episode.
* A silly little error occurs when Prime launches his [[Prime Force]] drones by uttering the command "Super Mode!" In ''Super Link'', he barked "Grand Force!" (the Japanese name for the drones), which the translators obviously mis-heard as "Grand ''Cross''" (Prime's Japanese super-mode combination phrase), and so it got replaced with its normal English equivalent.

[[Image:Mysteriousmercenary comparisons.jpg|right|180px|thumb|It's amazing how easy buildings and laser fire are misplaced without anyone noticing.]]
* The ''Energon'' version of this episode features some unfinished animation that was later completed for ''Super Link''. Although it is mostly minor stuff (a different background layout here, a close-up not zooming in as far there, a missing laser blast or two, see screenshots), one brief segment is fully missing—when Kicker asks Ironhide for the Energon Saber, Ironhide simply tosses it to him without argument, and Kicker hops up on top of it. The complete absence of this bit of animation in ''Energon'' (replaced second-for-second with a still frame of Kicker and Ironhide looking at each other) results in some nonsense being inserted into the script which sees Ironhide pout about giving up the sword. This is made even more nonsensical by Kicker's exasperated cry of "Never mind, I'll make do with this one"... as he flies off ''on the Energon Saber.'' ''Gnnnnn.''
* In one of the most notable instances of ''Energon'' just plain screwing something up in the most obvious way, Optimus Prime refers to the weapon which emerges from his chest as "Hot Shot's blaster," when Hot Shot has never been seen using such a weapon, and plays no hand in even ''giving'' it to Prime. In ''Super Link'', this weapon is referred to as the "Matrix Blaster," and Prime refers to it as "a token from the previous commanders", a distinctly Mcguffiny explanation that makes only the most rudimentary level of sense. This is the only reference to the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] in either ''Super Link'' or ''Energon''. The gun was, by the by, released as the ''Energon'' roleplay toy, "Optimus Prime [[Energon Blaster]]."

===Pain count===
* "Uh?": 15
* Stock footage: 2
* We need/they want energon: 2
* It's time to: 2
* We've gotta: 4
* Let's do it: 1

===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* Starscream apparently bashes Jetfire away from the space bridge, but at no point are they shown in the same frame together -- Starscream swings his arm at nothing, and a second later Jetfire bounces away from nothing.
* The animation of Ironhide and Jetfire's space bridge arrival on the moon is ''hilariously'' bad.
* When Optimus Prime deploys Copter Two in super mode, his normal mode's lower left arm assembly is missing.
* When we first see the Decepticons, they're flying directly above Tidal Wave (though it's not exactly clear from the animation that it's him.) A second later, the moon's surface is directly below Cyclonus instead.
* Megatron's final insult toward Starscream is a bit mis-timed, since he turns around and starts flying towards Prime before he's more than a word or two into the sentence.
* "Hot Shot's blaster" is not actually shown firing at Megatron; Megatron simply flies into a beam of red energy.

===Continuity errors===
* Why do Kicker and Ironhide have to "synchronize" their communicators?
* Demolishor is totally not voiced by [[Alvin Sanders]] in this episode.
* How does Prime's helicopter drone fly in the moon's vacuum?
* When Skyblast throws the sword he's holding to Kicker, Kicker struggles to hold it, despite being on the moon, where its weight should be less of an issue.
* When Kicker requests the Energon Saber, Ironhide says he "Just got it", despite the fact he is holding it in the everyone-stands-still-and-fires-blindly-at-Terrorcons scene just a bit before that.

===Trivia===
*This episode is a prime example of the general sloppiness that typifies the series. A lot of the dialog makes no sense at all, or doesn't correspond to the visuals. The scene editing jumps around rather randomly as well.
* Hot Shot apparently plays the card game "Yu-Gi-Oh!" and way too much; noting that the Terrorcons were in "Attack Mode" is a large part of that game's terminology.
*Paramount's home video releases list the title as "StarScream, the Mysterious Mercenary"; note the parsing of the name and the added comma.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 2: The Return of Megatron ([[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 2: The Return of Megatron (Paramount) 
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2004 — ''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 002 ([[Interchannel]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 2: The Return of Megatron (Paramount) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 2: The Return of Megatron (Paramount) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 2: The Return of Megatron (Paramount) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — The Ultimate Collection (Paramount)

[[Category:Energon episodes]]

A Heroic Battle

2010-12-18T02:32:31Z

216.254.157.123:

{{episode|
|series=Energon
|series2=Superlink
|ep=35
|ep2=36
|prev=Omega Supreme (episode)
|next=The Power
|title=A Heroic Battle
|japanese=壮絶! アルファQの戦い
|romaji=Sōzetsu! Alpha Q no Tatakai
|translation=Heroic! Alpha Q's Battle
|image=E35 yessonofadam.jpg
|caption=Yes, son of Adam?
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]]
|writer=[[Akira Okeya]]
|director=[[Shigenori Kurī]]
|animation studio=[[Actas Inc.|Actas]], [[Studio A-CAT]] (3D)
|airdate=[[September 10|10 September]] [[2004]] (Japanese) [[November 10]], 2004 (English)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy]]
}}

'''Megatron activates Unicron's body, which moves to reclaim its head.'''

==Summary==
From his control throne deep within [[Unicron]], [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] declares: "Next stop: Unicron."

Unicron is heading toward [[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]]; [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Prime]] orders the [[energon grid]] activated. As the [[energon tower (building)|towers]] on the various planets activate, Megatron simply laughs. [[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] questions [[Omega Supreme (Energon)|Omega Supreme]] about how he defeated Unicron before, but Omega says he's simply a soldier, here to follow Prime's orders. Kicker finds this less than satisfactory.

The [[Autobot]]s attack the surface of Unicron. Megatron intends to crash Unicron's body into the energon grid. The 'bots and 'cons fight on his surface.

[[Image:Unicron-Grasps-Energon-Sun.jpg|230px|thumb|left|Where's your head at?]] The humans note that Unicron is trapped inside the energon grid, which could cause the whole planet to explode. The Autobots attempt to retreat; [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] finds a way in, but Omega Supreme forces him to retreat.

Megatron commands Unicron to power through the grid. The other [[Decepticon]]s have their doubts, but in the end, Unicron breaks through and heads toward Alpha Q's energon orb.

Kicker tries to warn Alpha Q, who refuses to run—he's "come to terms with our fate". Alpha Q does lament failing to help all his planets. Prime intends to enter Unicron to go after Megatron, but the heat repels [[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]] and [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]], leaving him on his own. They send Omega in after Prime, who's been brought to a standstill by the sheer heat.

[[Image:Energon-Optimus-Sleep-Mode.jpg|230px|thumb|right|Believe it or not, [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|Optimus Prime isn't dead in this shot]].]] Kicker refuses to give up on Alpha Q, who finally relents and tells him to head toward a newly formed planet near Ocean Planet. [[Misha Miramond|Misha]] sends the ''[[Miranda II]]'' on its way.

Unicron grasps the [[Energon Orb]], but Alpha Q resists. As Unicron is peppered with hellfire and brimstone, Omega locates the damaged Optimus. With Unicron on the verge of exploding, the other Autobots retreat.

Kicker and Misha arrive on the planet and land. Kicker contacts Alpha Q for the next step, only to receive a romantic reminiscence about the past, as Alpha Q quietly accepts his fate. The Energon Orb dies out, restored to Unicron's head, which the titan soon restores atop his shoulders. Unicron is whole again!

As the Autobots work to restore Prime, Megatron orders Unicron to go forth and feed. But Unicron simply remains stationary, to Megatron's frustration. Rodimus suspects he's repairing damage, providing them with another chance. Omega Supreme reveals that he can link up with Optimus, and so the Autobots prepare to attack.

Aboard the ''Miranda II'', Kicker refuses to accept that Alpha Q is dead, and vows to find him.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] (3)
*[[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] (6)
*[[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] (7)
*[[Inferno (Energon)|Roadblock]] (8)
*[[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] (9)
*[[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]] (10)
*[[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]] (11)
*[[Prowl (Energon)|Prowl]] (12)
*[[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] (13)
*[[Bulkhead (Energon)|Bulkhead]] (14)
*[[Omega Supreme (Energon)|Omega Supreme]] (16)
*[[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] (17)
*[[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] (21)
*[[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] (22)
*[[Strongarm (Energon)|Strongarm]] (23)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Cyclonus (Armada)|Snow Cat]] (18)
*[[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] (19)
*[[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Mirage]] (24)
*[[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] (25)
*[[Divebomb (Energon)|Divebomb]] (26)
*[[Battle Ravage]] (27)
*[[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] (28)
*[[Shockblast (Energon)|Shockblast]] (29)

|c3=
*[[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] (15)
*[[Misha Miramond|Misha]] (20)

|c4=
*[[Unicron]] (2)
*[[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]] (5)
}}

==Quotes==
"It's time to rebuild Unicron once and for all!"
:—'''Megatron''' finally gets fed up with being a filler character

"IT'S ALIVE! The almighty planet Unicron survived and is still alive!"
:—'''Megatron''' demonstrates that he doesn't understand the meaning of the word "redundancy"

"You've gotta make a run for it! Unicron made it through the energon grid and is heading your way." 
"We know... but we will ''not'' run." 
"We must nurture our planets!" 
"You may be their sun, but if Unicron gets you there won't ''be'' any planets!" 
"Attempting to escape would be futile. We don't stand a chance against Unicron." 
"But you gotta try!" 
"We ''haven't'' given up, Kicker. We've just come to terms with our fate."
:—'''Kicker''' gets three contradictory statements in a row from '''Alpha Q'''

"Alpha Q, he's gone now."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' fills us in on events the animation failed to convey

==Notes==
===Lost in translation===
* Megatron's first line is supposed to be an order to Unicron to start moving. The dub warptifies this into "Next stop Unicron", which makes no sense as Megatron is already ''aboard'' Unicron's body. Unicron's head is currently morphed into the [[Energon Orb]], so this makes even less sense if you've missed an episode or three.
* For once, Unicron's growls aren't a dub addition. However, ''Super Link'' makes him more like one of the deep-throated, honest-to-god-scary Terror Dogs from ''Ghostbusters''. The dub makes him sound like that cornily-growling gray-painted Scorponok toy from the Micromaster [[commercial]]s. ''Rawrrrrrr!''
* A background of buildings and spires is missing from the dub animation as Snow Cat comes skiing in along Unicron's surface.
* A minor animation change: after Prowl and Hot Shot powerlink, Ironhide is shown getting out of the Terrorcons' way. The dub uses a still frame shot of Hot Shot and some others in the same place.
* Unicron isn't "trapped in the grid", as the dialog indicates; he's about to ram into it. The mistake is a dub artifact.
* The dub has Misha then saying "Look, Kicker! Unicron's passing right through the energon grid!" when he hasn't even ''reached'' it yet.
* Kicker's first conversation with Alpha Q (quoted above) makes a bit more sense in the original version. Alpha Q hasn't "accepted his fate"; he's "merely preparing himself". He also doesn't say that "we don't stand a chance against Unicron"; this dub-addition line obscures the fact that he's preparing to make a stand, rather than simultaneously making a stand/preparing to die passively/just giving up.
* The dub is missing a heat-shimmer effect that plays over all the scenes that are set on Unicron's super-heated surface, as Optimus attempts to enter Unicron.
* The dub omits Alpha Q's line explaining that he's releasing all his energon as Unicron grabs the Orb, thus ''obscuring the entire point of the climactic act of the whole episode''.
* The dub omits a line from Omega Supreme explaining that if Prime combines with him, it will "reduce his life". While the exact meaning of this is unclear, it does lend some weight to the proceedings. Without it, the scene just becomes a lot of strange Autobot waffling about "I am prepared to do this!" and "WE MUST SUCCEED!"

===Pain count===
* "Uh?": 0, amazingly
* "It's time to": 3
* "We've got a mission": 3
* "Let's do it!": 3
* Stock footage: 4

===Animation and technical errors===
* With no introductory scenes, it's really not clear at all where the various energon towers are.
* During Scorponok's short battle with Omega Supreme, he's given Megatron's voice.

===Continuity errors===
* "The third planet to the north of Ocean Planet"? Wha?? (note: not a dub error.)

===Trivia===
*Unicron's growls and grunts are ''hilariously'' pathetic, sounding a bit like he's having a difficult bowel movement.
*Paramount's home video releases list the title as "Heroic Battle," dropping the "A" from the name.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2005 — ''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 009 ([[Interchannel]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 4: Omega Supreme ([[Paramount Pictures|Paramount]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2008 — ''Transformers: Energon'' — The Ultimate Collection (Paramount)

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heroic Battle}}
[[Category:Energon episodes]]

Transformers: Energon (cartoon)

2010-12-18T02:22:26Z

216.254.157.123: /* Music */

{{nav-energon}}
[[Image:TransEnergonTitle.JPG|right|250px|thumb|Bringing you pain for far too long.]]

The '''''Energon''''' cartoon series was produced by [[Actas Inc.]] and [[Studio A-CAT]]. It aired in the US from January 2004 to June 2005 for <strike>52</strike> 51 episodes, in support of the toyline of the same name. It is a direct sequel to ''[[Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' and forms the second part of the "[[Unicron Trilogy]]".

The show takes place ten years after the finale of ''Armada'', opening in an age of peace on Cybertron and Earth which is destined not to last long. ''Energon'' pits the Autobots against an array of villains: the reborn [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], the barely functional [[Unicron]], and the mysterious [[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]] and his [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcon]] minions.

''Energon'', like ''Armada'', was written and animated in Japan and dubbed for US consumption. The series introduced to Transformers cartoons the technique of combining cel-shaded [[Computer-generated imagery|computer animation]] with 2D cel-animation, creating a fusion between the CGI of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''/''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Machines]]'' and traditionally animated series such as ''[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]''.

For ''Super Link'', "[[Taiyō no Transform!!]]" plays as its opening [[Japanese themes|theme]] and "[[Calling You]]" for its ending theme.

:''Preceded by: [[Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]''
:''Followed by: [[Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]''

==Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
'''Main Cast'''

* [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Garry Chalk]])
* [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] ([[Brent Miller]])
* [[Inferno (Energon)|Inferno/Roadblock]] ([[Michael Daingerfield]])
* [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] ([[Matt Hill]])
* [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] ([[Scott McNeil]])
* [[Wing Saber (Energon)|Wing Saber]] ([[Colin Murdoch]])
* [[Omega Supreme (Energon)|Omega Supreme]] (Scott McNeil)

'''Team Rodimus'''

* [[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]] ([[Paul Dobson]])
* [[Prowl (Energon)|Prowl]] ([[Alistair Abell]])
* [[Landmine (Energon)|Landmine]] ([[Ward Perry]])

'''Team Bulkhead'''

* [[Bulkhead (Energon)|Bulkhead]] ([[French Tickner]])
* [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Doron Bell Jr.]])
* [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] ([[Ty Olsson]])

'''Omnicons'''

* [[Arcee (Energon)|Arcee]] ([[Sharon Alexander]])
* [[Signal Flare (Energon)|Signal Flare]] ([[Michael Dobson]])
* [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblast]] ([[Terry Klassen]])
* [[Strongarm (Energon)|Strongarm]] (Scott McNeil)

'''Combiner teams'''

*[[Air Team]]
** [[Superion Maximus]] ([[Paul Dobson]])
** [[Storm Jet (Energon)|Storm Jet]]
** [[Sky Shadow (Energon)|Sky Shadow]]
** [[Terradive (Energon)|Terradive]]
** [[Treadshot (Energon)|Treadshot]]
** [[Windrazor (Energon)|Windrazor]]

'''Others'''
* [[Padlock]] ([[Ron Halder]])
* [[Autobot nurse]]s (?)
* [[Rhyming Omnicon fanboys]] ([[Tony Sampson]])

|c2=
'''Main Cast'''

* [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron/Galvatron]] ([[David Kaye]])
* [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus/Snow Cat]] ([[Don Brown]])
* [[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] ([[Alvin Sanders]])
* [[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] ([[Michael Dobson]])
* [[Tidal Wave (Armada)|Tidal Wave/Mirage]] ([[Doug Parker]])
* [[Shockblast]] ([[Brian Drummond]])
* [[Six Shot]] ([[Terry Klassen]])

'''Combiner teams'''

* [[Construction Team]]
** [[Constructicon Maximus]] (Don Brown)
** [[Steamhammer (Energon)|Steamhammer]]
** [[Bonecrusher (Energon)|Bonecrusher]]
** [[Duststorm (Energon)|Duststorm]]
** [[Sledge (Energon)|Sledge]]
** [[Wideload (Energon)|Wideload]]

* [[Destruction Team]]
** [[Bruticus Maximus (Energon)|Bruticus Maximus]] ([[Trevor Devall]])
** [[Barricade (Energon)|Barricade]]
** [[Blackout (combiner)|Blackout]]
** [[Blight (Energon)|Blight]]
** [[Kickback (Energon)|Kickback]]
** [[Stormcloud (Energon)|Stormcloud]]

|c3=
'''Regulars'''
* [[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] ([[Brad Swaile]])
* [[Misha Miramond]] ([[Ellen Kennedy]])
* [[Brian Jones (Energon)|Brian Jones]] ([[Ron Halder]])
* [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] ([[Tabitha St. Germain]])
* [[Carlos Lopez]] ([[Matt Hill]])
* [[Miranda Jones]] ([[Nicole Oliver]])
* [[Rad White]] ([[Kirby Morrow]])
* [[Sally Jones]] (Nicole Oliver)

|c4=
* [[Alpha Quintesson]] ([[Trevor Devall]])
* [[Primus]] ([[Ron Halder]])
* [[Unicron]] ([[Mark Acheson]])

'''Terrorcons'''

* [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]] ([[Colin Murdoch]])
* [[Battle Ravage]]/[[Command Ravage]]
* [[Divebomb (Energon)|Divebomb]]/[[Blackout (Terrorcon)|Blackout]]
* [[Cruellock]]
* [[Insecticon (Energon)|Insecticon]]
|nonumbering=true
}}

==Episodes==
{{main|List of Energon episodes}}

{{collist|4|
#[[Cybertron City (episode)|Cybertron City]]
#[[Energon Stars]]
#[[Scorpinok]]
#[[Megatron's Sword]]
#[[The New Cybertron City]]
#[[Megatron Resurrected]]
#[[Megatron Raid]]
#[[Starscream the Mysterious Mercenary]]
#[[Battle of the Asteroid Belt]]
#[[Energon Tower (episode)|Energon Tower]]
#[[The Legend of Rodimus]]
#[[Crisis in Jungle City]]
#[[Kicker Beware!]]
#[[Energon Grid]]
#[[Rodimus: Friend or Foe?]]
#[[Go for Unicron!]]
#[[The Return of Demolishor]]
#[[A Tale of Two Heros]]
#[[Battle Stations]]
#[[Alpha Q: Identity]]
#[[Shockblast: Rampage]]
#[[Survival Instincts]]
#[[Each One Fights...]]
#[[Unicron Unleashed]]
#[[Open Fire!]]
#[[Ripped Up Space]]
#[[Team Optimus Prime]]
#[[Protection]]
#[[Imprisoned Inferno|Improsoned Inferno]]
#[[Jungle Planet (episode)|Jungle Planet]]
#[[Bulkhead (episode)|Bulkhead]]
#[[Farewell Inferno]] [[Return! Our Scorponok]]
#[[Crash Course]]
#[[Omega Supreme (episode)|Omega Supreme]]
#[[A Heroic Battle]]
#[[The Power]]
#[[Optimus Supreme]]
#[[Unicron Perishes]]
#[[Ambition]]
#[[Wishes]]
#[[Galvatron!]]
#[[Break Through]]
#[[Distribution]]
#[[The Omega Train]]
#[[Decepticon Army|Deception Army]]
#[[Ironhide Team]]
#[[Formidable]]
#[[Galvatron Terror]]
#[[Destructive Power]]
#[[Spark (episode)|Spark]]
#[[The Sun]]
}}
"Return! Our Scorponok" was to be "Scorponok's Scars", but it never aired and was probably never dubbed. It is not considered to exist in the English version of the series.

==Criticisms==
{{bigquote|Something cool ''finally'' happened!|[[Alpha Quintesson|Alpha Q]] announces that the series is over.<ref>No, really! In every preview for ''Super Link'', Alpha Q promised the audience that "Something cool might happen" in the next episode. When the series ended, he finally declared that the promised coolness had, at last, come to pass. He might be crazy, but he's not ''entirely'' wrong in the head.</ref>}}

The [[Unicron Trilogy]] was a franchise that got off to a poor start, fictionally speaking. ''Armada'' (the predecessor to ''Energon'') suffered from a bad beginning that, in the eyes of many, condemned the entire show. Although it improved as it went along (with the "Unicron Battles" story arc regarded as fairly good in comparison), the sub-par start left it laboring under a bad reputation that it never escaped. Many fans had hopes that ''Energon'' would be a return to glory.

It was quite the proverbial [[brick]] to the testicles, then, that ''Energon'', the televisual representation of Transformers for its 20th anniversary year, turned out to be just the opposite — a series with a strong beginning, which slowly but surely degenerated into what is widely considered the worst Transformers cartoon broadcast in the U.S. In retrospect, the fans' positive initial reaction may have been simply because it wasn't ''Armada.''

===Conceptual and storytelling flaws===
====Plotting====
The primary flaw of ''Energon'' is that it simply does not have enough plot to fill 52 episodes. The first half of the series moves at a respectable pace, and around episode #20, the villains achieve their objective — the restoration of Unicron. However, because there are another 30 episodes to fill, an attack by the Autobots and their allies [[Battle Stations|deactivates Unicron]]. The storyline is then essentially ''repeated'' for twenty more episodes, until Unicron is reactivated ''again'' and [[Unicron Perishes|destroyed ''again'']]. But even then, there are ''still'' thirteen more episodes to go, and with the ''driving aspect of the plot'' destroyed, viewers are served up a virtually pointless storyline full of [[To sell toys|repaints and combiners]], which added nothing to what had already taken place.

Individual episodes are likewise padded out with time-killing scenes such as [[stock footage]] sequences, generally a minimum of three per episode. An ''incredible'' amount of time is consumed in communication and report scenes, in which the characters stand around in front of video screens and [[Team Optimus Prime|tell one another things that the viewers already know]].

====Character de-evolution====
The series takes a ''very'' dismissive attitude towards characters and their development. With the exception of [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] (who survives the series and resolves his long-running feud with [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]]), the writers seemed unable to carry personal sub-plots and conflicts through to any conclusion. Instead, they would either quietly drop these opportunities for character development, or (much more gallingly) the characters would die and/or get mindwiped, so the stories would not ''have'' to be resolved. Examples:

* Demolishor's uncertainty in the Decepticon cause? "Resolved" by having him sacrifice himself to save Megatron, then having Megatron resurrect him with no memories.
* Inferno's struggle against Megatron's Decepticon programming? Brought to an end by having him kill himself, then be resurrected, only to do ''absolutely nothing'' for the rest of the series.
* Kicker's hatred of Transformers? Vanishes with no explanation after roughly two episodes, save for the occasional kick to Ironhide.
* Rodimus and Optimus Prime's ideological feud over whether Unicron should be destroyed? Rodimus puts himself under Optimus's command for the mission to defeat Galvatron, and the argument never comes up again.
* Wing Saber's dedication to capturing Shockblast? Well, he captures him . . . but when Shockblast escapes again, Wing Saber doesn't say a word.

Many similar examples exist.

====Promoting toys====
Of course, any Transformers series exists [[to sell toys]], but in promoting the abilities and gimmicks of its toyline, ''Energon'' frequently ignored common sense to the most amazing degree in order to shoehorn these concepts into a setting and story where they didn't make sense.

[[Image:Carsinspace.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Their wheels spin and everything.]]
In choosing to set most of its action in the void of space, ''Energon'' foolishly robbed the Transformers of any real reason to ''transform.'' They can all happily fly in robot mode (in space, on planets, anywhere), inviting the question of why transformation is necessary. But, to promote the fact that the toys transform, characters would routinely change to vehicle mode anyway, even in outer space. Cue innumerable scenes of cars, trucks, and snowmobiles ''driving through space.'' Characters would even transform to vehicle mode on the ground, and then ''drive away into the air''. Everyone could control their flight with no problem in either form, completely invalidating the need for any variety in [[alternate mode]]. Conversely, on occasions when it might actually make sense to transform to a speedy vehicle form for fast or long-distance travel, characters often choose to run to where they're going instead.

Whereas the English version of the series takes its name from the central plot element (the collection of Energon) the Japanese version, ''Super Link,'' takes its name from the main thematic concept/[[gimmick]]: Autobots [[Powerlinx|powerlinxing]]. The Japanese version of the show contained a lot of waffling about the symbolic nature of this ("Even when one heart is weak, together, we are strong!"). Unfortunately, the fact remains that, almost without exception, these combinations are used in straight firefights, where combining two soldiers into one means ''fewer guns to fire at the enemy.'' Further, the resulting combined soldier rarely shows any sign of enhanced firepower.

Further failing to advertise the combining gimmick are the "Maximus" combiner teams. For about 90% of their screen time, the three giants are seen in ''only'' their combined super robot modes, rarely splitting into individual vehicles. The central torso units are seen as individual robots for perhaps 5 seconds in the entire series, and the show doesn't even acknowledge that the limbs could ''be'' individuals.

===Production flaws===
====Art and animation====

[[Image:Scorponok blacklines.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Rescale what now?]]
''Energon'', animated by [[Actas Inc.]] and [[Studio A-CAT]], introduced a new concept to Transformers cartoons: the blending of CGI with traditional cel animation. The animators rendered the Transformer characters in cel-shaded CGI, while animating humans and other aspects of the show through traditional means. On the plus side, this allowed for a consistently high level of cel animation quality (especially enjoyable after the often scattershot quality of ''Armada''). In particular, the show uses the CGI to show many characters in motion at once, often with a high frame rate that gives them a very fluid appearance (for example, the many charges of the [[Battle Ravage]] Terrorcon drones, replete with numerous stamping legs and bobbing heads and tails.)

On the other hand, the CGI animation is positively primitive. Characters possess no sense of weight and can not move in any manner but the most basic. Even ''walking'' is a challenge for characters with bulky models, like Ironhide, who is often reduced to swinging his arms and legs back and forth while sliding along a predetermined path. The black-line outlines of character models were often not rescaled for different shots, resulting in the characters sometimes appearing as indecipherable masses of heavy black lines.

[[Image:GuessIronhidesEmotion.jpg|right|250px|thumb|The above images feature: A horrified Ironhide witnessing Demolishor's death; a surprised Ironhide asking a question; a determined Ironhide charging into battle; and a fighting-mad Ironhide striking a decisive blow. Can you figure out which is which?]]
[[Image:Energon InfernoImprisoned torture.jpg|thumb|left|150px|Are you @&#%$ kidding me?!]]

Additionally, "emotion" is nonexistent; the blank-faced CGI models could not easily display any [[Dull surprise|facial expressions beyond "mouth open" and "mouth closed."]] Numerous characters don't ''have'' facial animation, even ones with mouths. Most prominent among these is Alpha Q, who has ''no facial animation at all'' despite the fact that he's basically nothing but four faces. In some cases, when it was necessary for a character to emote visibly (Megatron's pronounced yawning, Inferno's [[Imprisoned Inferno|tortured screaming]]), or to do something visually dynamic ([[Jungle Planet (episode)|acrobatic transformation]]), the CGI would actually be ''replaced'' with cel animation, because it just ''looked more impressive''. Does that seem ''right'' to you?

In addition, the show's CGI compares very poorly with ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Machines,'' both of which came out ''years'' previously, both of which were ''fully'' CGI (without the crutch of cel animation to fall back on), and both of which had characters who boasted complex, nuanced facial expressions and fluid, constant body language — even [[Diagnostic Drone|the ones with utterly inhuman faces and bodies]]. The only way to spare the animators' reputation is to assume that Energon's budget was miniscule in comparison.

Even within the limits of the animation, many bad editing, design, and lighting choices make the series difficult to follow visually. Unicron's body — primarily black, to match his ''Energon'' redeco toy — is frequently lost against the blackness of space. When Alpha Q energizes Unicron's head, it becomes the [[Energon Orb]], with no visual indication as to what it used to be. Scenes set underground or within Unicron's body are commonly underlit, to the point that the characters can't even be distinguished. Strange elements such as the [[Rift (Energon)|rift in space]] are inconsistently animated and described by the characters, making it difficult to figure out what they are.

====Editing====
At times, ''Energon'' tends to flow like a single feature-length film... a film that has been mercilessly chopped up into 22 minute segments. Thus, confusing, unclear elements like the [[Rift (Energon)|rift in space]] and [[Unicron]]'s dark, partially re-energized body are routinely shown in closeup without any introductory establishing shots, making it extraordinarily unclear what's happening or where for the viewer who's just watching one particular episode by itself. To be a ''little'' bit fairer, this "chopped-up film" sensation is not exactly uncommon in Japanese animated series with a defined length, but ''Energon'' is a good example of the method at its very worst.

The show's scene editing also tends to be very abrupt and choppy. Battle animation in particular routinely cuts between numerous, very short scenes, showing several simultaneous but unrelated events as if the viewer must be kept up to date on ''all'' of them in real time. This makes it difficult to grasp the significance of ''any'' of the events shown. When boiled down, this editing style often serves to mask the fact that not much is actually happening.

To make things worse for the credibility of the editors, "[[Scorpinok]]", "[[A Tale of Two Heros]]", "[[Imprisoned Inferno|Improsoned Inferno]]", and "[[Decepticon Army|Deception Army]]" all have blatant spelling errors '''''in the titles!''''' Making it more annoying is that only the latter two of those four were corrected for the DVD release.

====Music====
This is maybe the only good part of Energon... because the soundtracks for both versions are outstanding. The music created uses a combination of orchestral and synthesized sounds, and has pieces that can be used in any situation. Sadly one of the issues in Energon is the use of music that does not fit the tone of the scene; in [[Imprisoned Inferno]], the Episode ends with triumphant music despite being a very sombre event.

====Scripting and dubbing====
The original Japanese version of the show is, in short, sluggish and confusing... but at least the conversations make sense. Even that got lost when the show was ported for North American consumption.

The dub of ''Energon'' seems even ''more'' rushed than ''Armada,'' which was already known for being so hurried that dubbers were working with unfinished animation, got names wrong, and had moments of dialogue that didn't jibe with the action. ''Energon'' [[Battle of the Asteroid Belt|generally]] got completed animation, and ''usually'' got names right—but [[Misha Miramond|Misha]] gets three different names during the course of the show, and [[Downshift (Energon)|Downshift]] and [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|Cliffjumper]] are constantly confused.

The rushed dub script is full of mistranslations. Though some elements obviously needed to be altered to suit a Western audience, it seems that many portions of the dub were never checked to see if they made logical sense. As a result, the script is stilted, perfunctory, and repetitive, constantly throwing in cliche, time-killing phrases like "We've gotta [repeat the plot which everyone already knows]", "Let's do it!", and "It's time to [perform some action that's already blatantly obvious]". There is arbitrary new dialogue (that seems to exist purely due to writers' carelessness) which ''does not match what is occurring onscreen''. The final result is a show with some bizarre non-sequiturs and more than a few moments of ''genuine nonsense.''

To cite just one example: at the start of "[[Team Optimus Prime]]", Dr. Jones says, in a frustrated tone, "I ''can't'' get back the energon I sent to Kicker. That's ''impossible!''" The entire notion of "getting it back" is absurd on the surface, akin to trying to get back water that went down a drain; saying that not getting it back is ''impossible'' is even more ridiculous; and further, the original dialog is a passive lament, more along the lines of "It's not like that energon I sent is ever coming back." Similar examples exist in nearly every single episode of the show.

Outside of these accidents, there are also some strange ''deliberate'' changes, chief among them the tendency for [[Primus]] to be intermittently ignored. In one episode, Primus would be dubbed accurately, talking with other characters normally, while in the next, he would be deliberately edited out, with his lines erased or given to other characters, and references to him replaced with "the core". Other odd instances include Terrorcon drones having spoken lines randomly inserted in some scenes, never attributed to any one Terrorcon.

Given all of this, the quality of voice acting frequently suffers throughout the show. This can be a common result of the antiseptic [[ADR]] (Additional Dialogue Recording) environment, where actors perform solo, with no one to play off. But ''Energon'' is particularly bad in this regard. Lead talents such as [[Garry Chalk]] and [[David Kaye]] still turn in strong performances, but actors for many of the secondary characters clearly struggle to make something of the material they're given, often sounding flat and uninspired, or just confused. There are many times when ''all'' the actors clearly have no idea what their lines mean in the greater scheme of things, nor any idea of what they're really talking about; the Dr. Jones quote cited above is also an example of this problem.

There's also a pronounced amount of "filling dead air," with characters talking from offscreen simply to make noise where there was none originally. Take a drink every time someone goes "Uhh?" to break the silence, and you'll be hammered by the first commercial break.

{{bigquote|I really wish they would put this terrible series out on DVD. Not because I really want to watch it again, but because it would fill that unsightly gap between Armada and Cybertron with unsightly content.|The nicest words ever spoken about the Energon cartoon, [http://tinyurl.com/5tuucc "Gustavo!", August 2008]}}

==Home video releases==
===''Super Link''===
{{main|Interchannel}}
The ''Super Link'' version of ''Energon'' was released on DVD by Interchannel in [[Japan]] while the series was still on air.
[[Image:Tf superlink vol 01.jpg|thumb|150px|]]
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 001 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 002 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 003 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 004 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 005 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 006 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 007 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 008 (2004)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 009 (2005)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 010 (2005)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 011 (2005)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 012 (2005)
*''Transformer: Super Link'' — Volume 013 (2005)
{{-}}

===''Energon''===
[[Image:Energon Ultimate Collection DVD.jpg|thumb|100px|]]
{{main|Paramount Pictures}}
When Paramount Home Entertainment released a handful of ''Energon'' collections on VHS and DVD in 2004 and 2005, several episodes were re-dubbed to fix numerous mistakes that occurred in the episodes that were broadcast, as well as throwing in some new dialogue.
*''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 1: The Battle for Energon (2004)
*''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 2: The Return of Megatron (2004)
*''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 3: Shockblast Unleashed (2005)
*''Transformers: Energon'' — Volume 4: Omega Supreme (2005)
*''Transformers: Energon'' — The Ultimate Collection (2008)
{{-}}

==Footnotes==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9%E3%83%95%E3%82%A9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC_%E3%82%B9%E3%83%BC%E3%83%91%E3%83%BC%E3%83%AA%E3%83%B3%E3%82%AF ''Transformers: Super Link'' at the Japanese Wikipedia]

[[Category:Energon| Energon (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Television series]]