MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Toxicity

2012-06-28T20:08:49Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 41
|prev=Triage
|next=
|image=toxiccrystal
|caption=uh bulkhead i think your butt is on fire
|title="Toxicity"
|airdate=[[May 26]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Scooter Tidwell]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

{{picsneeded}}
'''Bulkhead encounters life-threatening danger during the last relic hunt.'''

==Synopsis==
With other teams dispatched to find relics, [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] visits the [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] hive and calls for a volunteer. [[Hardshell]] steps forward and Megatron sends him and three others to find the fourth and final relic. The four Insecticons arrive in a volcanic region on the equator and immediately split up.

At the Autobot base, [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] watches [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] leave [[Jack Darby|with]] [[Bumblebee (Prime)|her]] [[Arcee (Prime)|team]] before he is dispatched to the area at the equator. Though he arrives at the correct coordinates, there's no relic there, but his search is interrupted by the approach of Hardshell. The Insecticon attacks Bulkhead and, after a brief exchange of words, the pair fight. Although he takes a few hits, the Wrecker flattens Hardshell, knocking a mandible off the Insecticon in the process. Bulkhead then heads downhill, realizing that an old lava flow may have taken the relic in the same direction. He keeps [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] updated back at base via radio. Meanwhile, Hardshell comes to and heads off with the other Insecticons to find their target.

Though leaking energon from his fight, Bulkhead manages to find the relic. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a toxic form of [[Energon]] known as [[Tox-En]], which Megatron could refine into a lethal bioweapon. Though Fowler suggests bringing it to base, Bulkhead realizes that he's going to have to dispose of it himself, "Wrecker style". Hardshell and the other Insecticons find the vessel shortly after, but as one of them goes to grab the small piece of Tox-En within, the grenade Bulkhead left behind explodes, leaving him fatally riddled with Tox-En shrapnel. Hardshell lets Megatron know about the Tox-En, but Megatron wants to know why Hardshell doesn't have the stuff yet.

Bulkhead, meanwhile, runs away from the volcano with the rest of the Tox-En, leaving a trail of leaking energon to throw off the Insecticons. As he turns and starts to head up the volcano, Bulkhead strikes up a conversation with Fowler about their past war-time careers and discovers they've more in common than they'd previously thought. However, as Bulkhead continues his journey, he begins to feel the effects of the toxic energon and almost succumbs to its spark-sapping properties. After Agent Fowler convinces him to keep going for the sake of duty and family, namely Miko, Bulkhead trudges on.

[[Image:Prime-Hardshellvolcanovent.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
Meanwhile, Hardshell figures out the false trail, and he and the other Insecticons fly uphill. They catch up to Bulkhead, who has just arrived at the volcano's mouth, and surround him. Bulkhead throws a grenade at one Insecticon and jabs the Tox-En into Hardshell. The third Insecticon charges in bug mode, but Bulkhead decks it with the Tox-En and jabs the chunk into its shell before turning back to face Hardshell. Receiving the news that Miko is safe, Bulkhead begins sparring with Hardshell, though they are both now weakened from the toxic energon. Though Hardshell manages to get the better of Bulkhead, as he moves to finish the Wrecker off, Bulkhead works up the strength to throw Hardshell over to the Tox-En before flinging the monster towards a hole in the caldera crust leading down into the molten lava. Bulkhead then throws the Tox-En to Hardshell, and the dizzied Insecticon falls into the volcano, destroying the toxic relic. As Bulkhead heads for the [[GroundBridge]], Hardshell climbs out of the volcano and shoots the Autobot in the back, sending him flying through the GroundBridge to land within the Autobot base, his back burning. Ratchet, Raf, and Fowler see the smoke coming out of Bulkhead and run to his aid.

==Featured characters==



{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (8)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticons]] (2)
*[[Hardshell]] (3)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (13)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (15) (flashback)
|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
*[[Jack Darby]] (10)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (11)
*[[William Fowler]] (12)
|c4=
*[[Scraplet]]s (14) (flashback)
}}



==Quotes==
"I can haz cheeseburger!"
:—Yes, '''Agent Fowler''' actually said that.

"When were you ever behind enemy lines?" 
"I wasn't always a 'Bot sitter." 
"Huh. Next you're gonna tell me that your mother doesn't tuck you in bed at night." 
"Not since basic training."
:—'''Bulkhead''' finds out that '''Agent Fowler''' knows things about being a soldier.

"Look soldier. You know as well as I do there's the mission. And the reason why you take the mission!..." 
"Honor... duty..." 
"Family. Which is why you need to do whatever it takes to finish this job and come home safely."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' tries to encourage a faltering '''Bulkhead'''.

"Wrecker! Put down the rock, and allow us to put you out of your misery!" 
(''Insecticons surround Bulkhead, who sighs and takes out a grenade'') 
"Gotta swat some flies..."
:—'''Hardshell''' confronts '''Bulkhead''' at the volcano's crater.

"Fowler... mission accomplished. Though you might have to... tuck me in."
:—Half-dead from Tox-En poisoning, and all '''Bulkhead''' needs is a nap? ''Hardcore''.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After Hardshell punches Bulkhead during their first fight, the latter's cannons transform into maces without the usual sound effects.
* In the establishing shot of the Tox-En before the commercial break, there are two samples in the container; the larger one which Bulkhead takes with him, and the smaller one he leaves as a booby trap. After the commercial break, the same shot shows only the larger sample.
* When Megatron receives Hardshell's report on the Tox-En, [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] is standing behind him, with his visor undamaged. This clashes with the continuity of the arc; Soundwave should either be absent from the ship (if he's still embroiled in his relic hunt) or sporting a cracked visor from his battle with [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]], as a later scene in this episode indicates that [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] is still on his own relic hunt.
* When Bulkhead incapacitates one of the Insecticons with the Tox-En ("Here, hold this!"), it is in its beetle alt-mode. After it manages to shake to Tox-En off of its body, it is suddenly in robot mode after the shot of the crystal rolling on the ground. Although he could have transformed off screen.
* Speaking of that Insecticon, its fate is somewhat ambiguous. It falls over in a way that suggests that it's unconscious or dead, but Hardshell acts as though it is still online. Either way, it doesn't appear for the rest of the episode.

===Continuity errors===
* In "[[Triangulation]]", Bulkhead is shown running through the GroundBridge for his mission. However, in this episode he is shown just walking through the bridge.
* It has been shown previously that Insecticons have blasters in their beetle mode (and, as Hardshell demonstrates at the end of the episode, in robot mode), and they show awareness of Tox-En's debilitating effects on their bodies... so why don't any of them try attacking Bulkhead from range, reducing the risk of Tox-En exposure? Even if they're trying to avoid hitting the Tox-En, they could certainly at least flank Bulkhead and attack from opposite sides.
* As Fowler tries to contact Bulkhead during the battle in the volcano's caldera, we see Ratchet and Raf downloading the Iacon database in the background (as seen in [[Triage|the previous episode]]). However, when the same scene was shown in "Triage", Fowler was silent for the duration of Ratchet and Raf's conversation.

===Continuity notes===
* This is the final episode of the four-part relic-hunting arc, all four parts of which happen concurrently. This episode focuses on Bulkhead and Fowler. Fowler's handling of [[Vogel]] in "[[Tunnel Vision]]" and the Antarctic research base in "[[Triangulation]]" are shown from his point of view. Raf is also seen programming the virus that Ratchet installs in [[Laserbeak (Prime)|Laserbeak]] in "[[Triage]]". The ending scene is the same as in "Triage".
* The room currently occupied by the Insecticon hive was previously used to store [[Dark Energon]] way back in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 2]]".
* During Bulkhead's first fight with Hardshell, the Insecticon delivers an attack that looks eerily similar to how [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] killed [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]. The actual hit is obscured (the camera is set behind Hardshell), but it doesn't seem to do any visible damage (although this could be why Bulkhead was leaking energon after the fight).
**At the end of the fight, Bulkhead clocks Hardshell with a wicked uppercut, knocking off one of his mandibles. The scene plays out in a suspiciously similar fashion to how [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] lost one of his horns to a [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]"; the mandible even sticks point-first in the ground.
* Fowler makes mention of his old Army Ranger days, which he first mentioned in "[[Nemesis Prime (episode)|Nemesis Prime]]".
* Bulkhead flashes back to scenes from previous episodes when Fowler is trying to get him to continue the mission. First, he remembers several instances where his life was threatened, including:
**Leading [[Scraplet]]s through the GroundBridge into the Arctic in "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]".
**Getting his Energon drained by the [[Energon Harvester|energon harvester]] in "[[Deus ex Machina]]".
**Clashing with [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] in "[[Out of His Head]]".
**Getting blown back by the malfunctioning GroundBridge in "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]".
**Protecting Miko from falling rocks in "[[Rock Bottom]]".
**Clashing with Breakdown in "[[Operation: Breakdown]]".
**Being wired to one of [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]]'s bombs in "[[Loose Cannons]]".
**Getting attacked by Scraplets in "Scrapheap".
* Shortly after the above, Bulkhead remembers several interactions with Miko, including:
**Miko assuring him that she's protected before Bulkhead heads down a slope in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 3]]".
**Bulkhead showing Miko a new battle scar in "[[Metal Attraction]]".
**Miko revealing herself from inside Bulkhead's chest in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]".
**Bulkhead trying to dissuade Miko from using him as a role model in "Deus ex Machina".
**An exhausted Miko trying to clear rubble in "[[Rock Bottom]]".
**Miko trying to get an amnesiac Bulkhead to remember her in "[[T.M.I.]]".
* Bulkhead's tactic of hiding a grenade in the Tox-En container is similar to the one proposed by Wheeljack in "Triage".

===Transformers references===
* Hardshell is the modern name for the G1 Insecticon [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]].
* During Bulkhead's flashback to the victims of Megatron's refined Tox-En weapon, one of the corpses in the foreground looks a lot like [[Ironhide (Animated)|an Ironhide from another continuity]]. The reddish one behind it looks similar to the [[generic]] impaled by Megatron during Ratchet's flashback to the beginning of the Great War in "[[One Shall Rise, Part 3]]".
* Hardshell says "yes" in a suspiciously familiar fashion, [[Megatron (BW)|yesss...]]
* Green-tinted energon that emits visible fumes and is toxic to Cybertronians was previously seen in ''[[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)| Energon]]''. Given Bulkhead's flashback, Megatron's refined, weaponized version of Tox-En may be a small-scale version of the energon gas that plagued that series' version of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]].

===Real-world references===
* While still recovering from the shock he received in "[[Flying Mind]]", Fowler blurts out "I can has cheeseburger", a popular cat-based internet meme.
* Considering its green coloration, mineral-like composition, and fatal effects from prolonged exposure, Tox-En is essentially Cybertronian Kryptonite.

===Trivia===
* Apparently, Bulkhead has been inside Decepticon barracks at some point (possibly on a mission for the Wreckers back on Cybertron). They are very, very smelly, but not as much as the landscape near an active volcano.
* In the past, the Wreckers have generally been a small, closely knit unit (despite their horrific attrition rates). However, Hardshell's comment that he's faced Wreckers numerous times suggests the team is much larger in the Aligned continuity.
* Bulkhead tells Fowler that the relic would likely survive a dip in molten rock while hunting for it in a cooled lava flow. Not only is this technically untrue (the Tox-En only survived its fall due to its container), but a drop into lava is exactly how Bulkhead disposes of the relic in the end.
* Despite having at least one more grenade on his person, Bulkhead doesn't attempt to leave the entire Tox-En cache in his Insecticon trap. Presumably, it wouldn't have been enough to completely destroy the toxic fuel, or it wouldn't have fit in the canister, giving Hardshell's team warning that something was up.
* Bulkhead finally finds something even ''worse'' than Scraplets. Incidentally, he saw the effects of both Scraplets and Tox-En during the war, and neither was a pleasant experience.
[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Toxicity

2012-06-28T20:07:01Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 41
|prev=Triage
|next=
|image=
|caption=uh bulkhead i think your butt is on fire
|title="Toxicity"
|airdate=[[May 26]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Scooter Tidwell]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

{{picsneeded}}
'''Bulkhead encounters life-threatening danger during the last relic hunt.'''

==Synopsis==
With other teams dispatched to find relics, [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] visits the [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] hive and calls for a volunteer. [[Hardshell]] steps forward and Megatron sends him and three others to find the fourth and final relic. The four Insecticons arrive in a volcanic region on the equator and immediately split up.

At the Autobot base, [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] watches [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] leave [[Jack Darby|with]] [[Bumblebee (Prime)|her]] [[Arcee (Prime)|team]] before he is dispatched to the area at the equator. Though he arrives at the correct coordinates, there's no relic there, but his search is interrupted by the approach of Hardshell. The Insecticon attacks Bulkhead and, after a brief exchange of words, the pair fight. Although he takes a few hits, the Wrecker flattens Hardshell, knocking a mandible off the Insecticon in the process. Bulkhead then heads downhill, realizing that an old lava flow may have taken the relic in the same direction. He keeps [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] updated back at base via radio. Meanwhile, Hardshell comes to and heads off with the other Insecticons to find their target.

Though leaking energon from his fight, Bulkhead manages to find the relic. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a toxic form of [[Energon]] known as [[Tox-En]], which Megatron could refine into a lethal bioweapon. Though Fowler suggests bringing it to base, Bulkhead realizes that he's going to have to dispose of it himself, "Wrecker style". Hardshell and the other Insecticons find the vessel shortly after, but as one of them goes to grab the small piece of Tox-En within, the grenade Bulkhead left behind explodes, leaving him fatally riddled with Tox-En shrapnel. Hardshell lets Megatron know about the Tox-En, but Megatron wants to know why Hardshell doesn't have the stuff yet.

Bulkhead, meanwhile, runs away from the volcano with the rest of the Tox-En, leaving a trail of leaking energon to throw off the Insecticons. As he turns and starts to head up the volcano, Bulkhead strikes up a conversation with Fowler about their past war-time careers and discovers they've more in common than they'd previously thought. However, as Bulkhead continues his journey, he begins to feel the effects of the toxic energon and almost succumbs to its spark-sapping properties. After Agent Fowler convinces him to keep going for the sake of duty and family, namely Miko, Bulkhead trudges on.

[[Image:Prime-Hardshellvolcanovent.jpg|left|thumb|250px]]
Meanwhile, Hardshell figures out the false trail, and he and the other Insecticons fly uphill. They catch up to Bulkhead, who has just arrived at the volcano's mouth, and surround him. Bulkhead throws a grenade at one Insecticon and jabs the Tox-En into Hardshell. The third Insecticon charges in bug mode, but Bulkhead decks it with the Tox-En and jabs the chunk into its shell before turning back to face Hardshell. Receiving the news that Miko is safe, Bulkhead begins sparring with Hardshell, though they are both now weakened from the toxic energon. Though Hardshell manages to get the better of Bulkhead, as he moves to finish the Wrecker off, Bulkhead works up the strength to throw Hardshell over to the Tox-En before flinging the monster towards a hole in the caldera crust leading down into the molten lava. Bulkhead then throws the Tox-En to Hardshell, and the dizzied Insecticon falls into the volcano, destroying the toxic relic. As Bulkhead heads for the [[GroundBridge]], Hardshell climbs out of the volcano and shoots the Autobot in the back, sending him flying through the GroundBridge to land within the Autobot base, his back burning. Ratchet, Raf, and Fowler see the smoke coming out of Bulkhead and run to his aid.

==Featured characters==



{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (8)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticons]] (2)
*[[Hardshell]] (3)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (13)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (15) (flashback)
|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
*[[Jack Darby]] (10)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (11)
*[[William Fowler]] (12)
|c4=
*[[Scraplet]]s (14) (flashback)
}}



==Quotes==
"I can haz cheeseburger!"
:—Yes, '''Agent Fowler''' actually said that.

"When were you ever behind enemy lines?" 
"I wasn't always a 'Bot sitter." 
"Huh. Next you're gonna tell me that your mother doesn't tuck you in bed at night." 
"Not since basic training."
:—'''Bulkhead''' finds out that '''Agent Fowler''' knows things about being a soldier.

"Look soldier. You know as well as I do there's the mission. And the reason why you take the mission!..." 
"Honor... duty..." 
"Family. Which is why you need to do whatever it takes to finish this job and come home safely."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' tries to encourage a faltering '''Bulkhead'''.

"Wrecker! Put down the rock, and allow us to put you out of your misery!" 
(''Insecticons surround Bulkhead, who sighs and takes out a grenade'') 
"Gotta swat some flies..."
:—'''Hardshell''' confronts '''Bulkhead''' at the volcano's crater.

"Fowler... mission accomplished. Though you might have to... tuck me in."
:—Half-dead from Tox-En poisoning, and all '''Bulkhead''' needs is a nap? ''Hardcore''.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After Hardshell punches Bulkhead during their first fight, the latter's cannons transform into maces without the usual sound effects.
* In the establishing shot of the Tox-En before the commercial break, there are two samples in the container; the larger one which Bulkhead takes with him, and the smaller one he leaves as a booby trap. After the commercial break, the same shot shows only the larger sample.
* When Megatron receives Hardshell's report on the Tox-En, [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] is standing behind him, with his visor undamaged. This clashes with the continuity of the arc; Soundwave should either be absent from the ship (if he's still embroiled in his relic hunt) or sporting a cracked visor from his battle with [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]], as a later scene in this episode indicates that [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] is still on his own relic hunt.
* When Bulkhead incapacitates one of the Insecticons with the Tox-En ("Here, hold this!"), it is in its beetle alt-mode. After it manages to shake to Tox-En off of its body, it is suddenly in robot mode after the shot of the crystal rolling on the ground. Although he could have transformed off screen.
* Speaking of that Insecticon, its fate is somewhat ambiguous. It falls over in a way that suggests that it's unconscious or dead, but Hardshell acts as though it is still online. Either way, it doesn't appear for the rest of the episode.

===Continuity errors===
* In "[[Triangulation]]", Bulkhead is shown running through the GroundBridge for his mission. However, in this episode he is shown just walking through the bridge.
* It has been shown previously that Insecticons have blasters in their beetle mode (and, as Hardshell demonstrates at the end of the episode, in robot mode), and they show awareness of Tox-En's debilitating effects on their bodies... so why don't any of them try attacking Bulkhead from range, reducing the risk of Tox-En exposure? Even if they're trying to avoid hitting the Tox-En, they could certainly at least flank Bulkhead and attack from opposite sides.
* As Fowler tries to contact Bulkhead during the battle in the volcano's caldera, we see Ratchet and Raf downloading the Iacon database in the background (as seen in [[Triage|the previous episode]]). However, when the same scene was shown in "Triage", Fowler was silent for the duration of Ratchet and Raf's conversation.

===Continuity notes===
* This is the final episode of the four-part relic-hunting arc, all four parts of which happen concurrently. This episode focuses on Bulkhead and Fowler. Fowler's handling of [[Vogel]] in "[[Tunnel Vision]]" and the Antarctic research base in "[[Triangulation]]" are shown from his point of view. Raf is also seen programming the virus that Ratchet installs in [[Laserbeak (Prime)|Laserbeak]] in "[[Triage]]". The ending scene is the same as in "Triage".
* The room currently occupied by the Insecticon hive was previously used to store [[Dark Energon]] way back in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 2]]".
* During Bulkhead's first fight with Hardshell, the Insecticon delivers an attack that looks eerily similar to how [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] killed [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]. The actual hit is obscured (the camera is set behind Hardshell), but it doesn't seem to do any visible damage (although this could be why Bulkhead was leaking energon after the fight).
**At the end of the fight, Bulkhead clocks Hardshell with a wicked uppercut, knocking off one of his mandibles. The scene plays out in a suspiciously similar fashion to how [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] lost one of his horns to a [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]"; the mandible even sticks point-first in the ground.
* Fowler makes mention of his old Army Ranger days, which he first mentioned in "[[Nemesis Prime (episode)|Nemesis Prime]]".
* Bulkhead flashes back to scenes from previous episodes when Fowler is trying to get him to continue the mission. First, he remembers several instances where his life was threatened, including:
**Leading [[Scraplet]]s through the GroundBridge into the Arctic in "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]".
**Getting his Energon drained by the [[Energon Harvester|energon harvester]] in "[[Deus ex Machina]]".
**Clashing with [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] in "[[Out of His Head]]".
**Getting blown back by the malfunctioning GroundBridge in "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]".
**Protecting Miko from falling rocks in "[[Rock Bottom]]".
**Clashing with Breakdown in "[[Operation: Breakdown]]".
**Being wired to one of [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]]'s bombs in "[[Loose Cannons]]".
**Getting attacked by Scraplets in "Scrapheap".
* Shortly after the above, Bulkhead remembers several interactions with Miko, including:
**Miko assuring him that she's protected before Bulkhead heads down a slope in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 3]]".
**Bulkhead showing Miko a new battle scar in "[[Metal Attraction]]".
**Miko revealing herself from inside Bulkhead's chest in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]".
**Bulkhead trying to dissuade Miko from using him as a role model in "Deus ex Machina".
**An exhausted Miko trying to clear rubble in "[[Rock Bottom]]".
**Miko trying to get an amnesiac Bulkhead to remember her in "[[T.M.I.]]".
* Bulkhead's tactic of hiding a grenade in the Tox-En container is similar to the one proposed by Wheeljack in "Triage".

===Transformers references===
* Hardshell is the modern name for the G1 Insecticon [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]].
* During Bulkhead's flashback to the victims of Megatron's refined Tox-En weapon, one of the corpses in the foreground looks a lot like [[Ironhide (Animated)|an Ironhide from another continuity]]. The reddish one behind it looks similar to the [[generic]] impaled by Megatron during Ratchet's flashback to the beginning of the Great War in "[[One Shall Rise, Part 3]]".
* Hardshell says "yes" in a suspiciously familiar fashion, [[Megatron (BW)|yesss...]]
* Green-tinted energon that emits visible fumes and is toxic to Cybertronians was previously seen in ''[[Transformers: Energon (cartoon)| Energon]]''. Given Bulkhead's flashback, Megatron's refined, weaponized version of Tox-En may be a small-scale version of the energon gas that plagued that series' version of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]].

===Real-world references===
* While still recovering from the shock he received in "[[Flying Mind]]", Fowler blurts out "I can has cheeseburger", a popular cat-based internet meme.
* Considering its green coloration, mineral-like composition, and fatal effects from prolonged exposure, Tox-En is essentially Cybertronian Kryptonite.

===Trivia===
* Apparently, Bulkhead has been inside Decepticon barracks at some point (possibly on a mission for the Wreckers back on Cybertron). They are very, very smelly, but not as much as the landscape near an active volcano.
* In the past, the Wreckers have generally been a small, closely knit unit (despite their horrific attrition rates). However, Hardshell's comment that he's faced Wreckers numerous times suggests the team is much larger in the Aligned continuity.
* Bulkhead tells Fowler that the relic would likely survive a dip in molten rock while hunting for it in a cooled lava flow. Not only is this technically untrue (the Tox-En only survived its fall due to its container), but a drop into lava is exactly how Bulkhead disposes of the relic in the end.
* Despite having at least one more grenade on his person, Bulkhead doesn't attempt to leave the entire Tox-En cache in his Insecticon trap. Presumably, it wouldn't have been enough to completely destroy the toxic fuel, or it wouldn't have fit in the canister, giving Hardshell's team warning that something was up.
* Bulkhead finally finds something even ''worse'' than Scraplets. Incidentally, he saw the effects of both Scraplets and Tox-En during the war, and neither was a pleasant experience.
[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 2

2012-06-22T15:25:02Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 2
|prev=Darkness Rising, Part 1
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 3
|image=DarknessRising2-letsgetyouhome.jpg
|caption=Ohh, Dark Energon brings back the dead, so ''that's'' how they're getting out of killiOH GOD ARRRRGGG! |title="Darkness Rising, Part 2"
|airdate=[[November 26]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Nicole Dubuc]]
|directed by=[[Dave Hartman|David Hartman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots try to get Cliffjumper back, unaware of what the Decepticons have done to him.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] shows off the massive [[energon]] deposit that the [[Decepticon]]s have located. After [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] reminds his subordinate who's boss, he shows off what ''he's'' found — [[Dark Energon]], the blood of [[Unicron]], which Starscream claims is said to have the power to resurrect the dead. Megatron inquires if Starscream is willing to volunteer to try it out, but it turns out they still have [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]'s corpse handy.

[[Image:DarknessRising2-Fowler.jpg|left|thumb|200px|He's not taking the words of a group of unaccountable aliens with their own agenda as gospel. ''Bastards!'']]
At Autobot HQ, Optimus Prime tells the kids that the Autobots will have to protect them, as the Decepticons will likely be interested in the Autobots' new allies. A proximity alert lets the Autobots know that Agent [[William Fowler|Fowler]], their liaison with the US government, is paying them a visit. Fowler is not happy with the Autobots' antics during the recent freeway chase, but [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] points out no humans were hurt. After Prime's assurances that the Autobots will take care of things, Fowler leaves.

Megatron uses the Dark Energon on Cliffjumper, who revives as a snarling, savage beast and immediately attacks a couple of Decepticon soldiers. The thing that was Cliffjumper then turns on Megatron, who slices him in two and announces that the Dark Energon is the key to a vast, indestructible army.

[[Image:Autobots Battle Darkness Rising 2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Starscream, this is the police! We have you surrounded!" "Oh crud!"]]

Ratchet reports that he's detected Cliffjumper's signal, and the chance that Cliffjumper's alive is too much for the Autobots to resist. Leaving the kids with Ratchet, they take the [[GroundBridge]] out. Ratchet explains the ground bridge to the amazed kids and threatens to send them to Tokyo. Meanwhile, the rest of the Autobots arrive in the energon mine and start fighting Decepticon drones. Starscream alerts Megatron, who feels he needs more time to prepare to face Optimus and orders the ship made ready for departure. He also orders Starscream to blow up the mine. As the battle rages, [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] spots Cliffjumper. The other Autobots cover her, and she reaches her fellow Autobot, or what's left of him, only to discover what the Decepticons have done. Starscream stops by to drop off a bomb before making a rapid exit. The Autobots race through the mine ahead of the explosion, back to their entry point, as Optimus radios Ratchet to order the opening of the ground bridge.

[[Image:DarknessRising2-girltrouble.jpg|thumb|250px|left|"That ''better'' not be Barry Manilow you're playing, Jack."]]

After the team arrives back at base, Arcee tells the others what she saw. She becomes dizzy, and Ratchet scans her and finds contamination on her wrist. While Arcee goes and gets cleaned up, the kids explain to Optimus that they really need to get home, or their relatives will send the cops out looking for them. Prime assigns Bulkhead to take [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] home, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] to take care of [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]], and Arcee to [[Jack Darby|Jack]]. Arcee and Jack arrive home shortly before [[June Darby|Jack's mother]] hauls up in her car. Mom's less than impressed that Jack appears to have bought a motorcycle, but Jack talks her around. The next morning, despite Jack's protests that it's a Saturday, Arcee insists that they need to get to HQ.

On the Decepticon ship, Megatron is skeptical that Optimus perished in the destruction of the energon mine. Starscream is concerned that Megatron is being affected by too much exposure to the Dark Energon, but Megatron responds by taking a sliver of the substance and plunging it into his own spark.

Ratchet's analysis of the Dark Energon sample he retrieved from Arcee is incomplete due to his lack of the necessary technology. As he moves the sample to another part of the lab, some of it drips on the manipulator arm Bulkhead broke earlier. Unseen by Ratchet, the arm twitches into life, turning into a one-eyed, spider-like creature.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=

*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (9)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (1)
*[[Decepticon Miner]]s (2)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (3)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (10)
*[[Jack Darby]] (11)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (12)
*[[William Fowler]] (13)
*[[June Darby]] (14)

|c4=
*[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] (4)
}}

==Quotes==
"Then, as your humble servant, shall I ready the space bridge to bring forth the Decepticon army you have surely gathered during your three years in space?"
:—'''Starscream''' drips with sarcasm.

"They have no protective shell! If they get underfoot, they will go...squish."
:—'''Ratchet''' on humans.

"Team Prime knows ''when'' to use force, and how ''much'' to use!" 
"Bulkhead, I ''NEEDED THAT''!"
:—'''Bulkhead''' destroys '''Ratchet'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s medical claw and starts a running gag.

"[[Maximum overdrive|MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!]]"
:—'''Optimus''' utters a soon-to-be infamous phrase.

"Blood of Unicron, how I might fathom the depths of your mystery, become worthy of wielding your astonishing power!"
:—'''Megatron''' in a private moment with his prize.

"Robots who get dizzy?" 
"Robots with emotions." 
"Robots who can [[death|die]]."
:—'''Miko''', '''Raf''' and '''Jack''' recognize the lasting appeal of Transformers.

"Well, if I don't call my mom, like, now, I'm pretty sure the cops will be out looking for me." 
"Have you broken a law?"
:—'''Jack''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

"You can watch cartoons back at base with Bumblebee." 
"Cartoons? I'm sixteen."
:—'''Arcee'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s suggestion of weekend entertainment meets '''Jack'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s disapproval.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* The Autobots have no shadows when they walk into the main mine.
* June parks her car in the driveway and goes to bed. In the morning it is moved. It could be explained by her going to work except that Jack says that she is still sleeping.

===Transformers references===
*Dark Energon is a central MacGuffin for Megatron in this continuity, first being used in the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|War for Cybertron]]'' games, as well as in the ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' novel. Megatron and Starscream's introductory conversation about the substance is ''very'' expository for the benefit of viewers who haven't read the book or played the game, to the extent that it sounds like neither of them has encountered it before, and neither Arcee nor Ratchet is indicated to have any familiarity with the substance, despite having seen it first-hand back during the war. And yet, Arcee does compare Decepticon experiments during the war on Cybertron to the substance's effect on Cliffjumper, without explicitly naming the stuff (though previously it didn't make anyone crazed zombies.... On the other hand, it was never used on a dead guy before (that we know of) - in fact, it always left deceased users and sought for living ones, which is kinda weird for a substance which could merely rise the user from the dead. Sorry, Cliff, them's the breaks). It's all a bit wobbly; while the cartoon almost certainly seems to have been written as if it is the characters' first encounter with Dark Energon, the dialogue does have enough wiggle room if you're obstinate, like us!
*The purple goo shares the property of changing ordinary machines into Transformers with the [[AllSpark]].

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 2'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 30|30 September]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 2. rész'''" ("The Darkness Is Nearing, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 10|10 January]] [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, seconda parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, Second Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 17|17 September]] [[2011]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ankoku Henkei!? Dark Energon'''" (暗黒変形!? ダークエネルゴン, "Dark Transformation!? Dark Energon")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 14|14 April]] [[2012]]
:**At the end of the episode, when the manipulator arm turns into the spider-like creature and begins crawling around, a self-aware joke was added to the script: Ratchet mentions that he thinks he hears the kids in the audience telling him to watch his back, but brushes their concerns off as unimportant.

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 2'''" (악의 부활 2, "Return of the Evil, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 30|30 August]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 6|6 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 2'''" ("The Return of Evil, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
* The energon mine is in Nebraska as Fowler will point out in the next episode.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 2

2012-06-22T15:24:19Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 2
|prev=Darkness Rising, Part 1
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 3
|image=DarknessRising2-letsgetyouhome.jpg
|caption=Ohh, Dark Energon brings back the dead, so ''that's'' how they're getting out of killiOH GOD ARRRRGGG! who is this
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 2"
|airdate=[[November 26]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Nicole Dubuc]]
|directed by=[[Dave Hartman|David Hartman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots try to get Cliffjumper back, unaware of what the Decepticons have done to him.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] shows off the massive [[energon]] deposit that the [[Decepticon]]s have located. After [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] reminds his subordinate who's boss, he shows off what ''he's'' found — [[Dark Energon]], the blood of [[Unicron]], which Starscream claims is said to have the power to resurrect the dead. Megatron inquires if Starscream is willing to volunteer to try it out, but it turns out they still have [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]'s corpse handy.

[[Image:DarknessRising2-Fowler.jpg|left|thumb|200px|He's not taking the words of a group of unaccountable aliens with their own agenda as gospel. ''Bastards!'']]
At Autobot HQ, Optimus Prime tells the kids that the Autobots will have to protect them, as the Decepticons will likely be interested in the Autobots' new allies. A proximity alert lets the Autobots know that Agent [[William Fowler|Fowler]], their liaison with the US government, is paying them a visit. Fowler is not happy with the Autobots' antics during the recent freeway chase, but [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] points out no humans were hurt. After Prime's assurances that the Autobots will take care of things, Fowler leaves.

Megatron uses the Dark Energon on Cliffjumper, who revives as a snarling, savage beast and immediately attacks a couple of Decepticon soldiers. The thing that was Cliffjumper then turns on Megatron, who slices him in two and announces that the Dark Energon is the key to a vast, indestructible army.

[[Image:Autobots Battle Darkness Rising 2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"Starscream, this is the police! We have you surrounded!" "Oh crud!"]]

Ratchet reports that he's detected Cliffjumper's signal, and the chance that Cliffjumper's alive is too much for the Autobots to resist. Leaving the kids with Ratchet, they take the [[GroundBridge]] out. Ratchet explains the ground bridge to the amazed kids and threatens to send them to Tokyo. Meanwhile, the rest of the Autobots arrive in the energon mine and start fighting Decepticon drones. Starscream alerts Megatron, who feels he needs more time to prepare to face Optimus and orders the ship made ready for departure. He also orders Starscream to blow up the mine. As the battle rages, [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] spots Cliffjumper. The other Autobots cover her, and she reaches her fellow Autobot, or what's left of him, only to discover what the Decepticons have done. Starscream stops by to drop off a bomb before making a rapid exit. The Autobots race through the mine ahead of the explosion, back to their entry point, as Optimus radios Ratchet to order the opening of the ground bridge.

[[Image:DarknessRising2-girltrouble.jpg|thumb|250px|left|"That ''better'' not be Barry Manilow you're playing, Jack."]]

After the team arrives back at base, Arcee tells the others what she saw. She becomes dizzy, and Ratchet scans her and finds contamination on her wrist. While Arcee goes and gets cleaned up, the kids explain to Optimus that they really need to get home, or their relatives will send the cops out looking for them. Prime assigns Bulkhead to take [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] home, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] to take care of [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]], and Arcee to [[Jack Darby|Jack]]. Arcee and Jack arrive home shortly before [[June Darby|Jack's mother]] hauls up in her car. Mom's less than impressed that Jack appears to have bought a motorcycle, but Jack talks her around. The next morning, despite Jack's protests that it's a Saturday, Arcee insists that they need to get to HQ.

On the Decepticon ship, Megatron is skeptical that Optimus perished in the destruction of the energon mine. Starscream is concerned that Megatron is being affected by too much exposure to the Dark Energon, but Megatron responds by taking a sliver of the substance and plunging it into his own spark.

Ratchet's analysis of the Dark Energon sample he retrieved from Arcee is incomplete due to his lack of the necessary technology. As he moves the sample to another part of the lab, some of it drips on the manipulator arm Bulkhead broke earlier. Unseen by Ratchet, the arm twitches into life, turning into a one-eyed, spider-like creature.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=

*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (9)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (1)
*[[Decepticon Miner]]s (2)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (3)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (10)
*[[Jack Darby]] (11)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (12)
*[[William Fowler]] (13)
*[[June Darby]] (14)

|c4=
*[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] (4)
}}

==Quotes==
"Then, as your humble servant, shall I ready the space bridge to bring forth the Decepticon army you have surely gathered during your three years in space?"
:—'''Starscream''' drips with sarcasm.

"They have no protective shell! If they get underfoot, they will go...squish."
:—'''Ratchet''' on humans.

"Team Prime knows ''when'' to use force, and how ''much'' to use!" 
"Bulkhead, I ''NEEDED THAT''!"
:—'''Bulkhead''' destroys '''Ratchet'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s medical claw and starts a running gag.

"[[Maximum overdrive|MAXIMUM OVERDRIVE!]]"
:—'''Optimus''' utters a soon-to-be infamous phrase.

"Blood of Unicron, how I might fathom the depths of your mystery, become worthy of wielding your astonishing power!"
:—'''Megatron''' in a private moment with his prize.

"Robots who get dizzy?" 
"Robots with emotions." 
"Robots who can [[death|die]]."
:—'''Miko''', '''Raf''' and '''Jack''' recognize the lasting appeal of Transformers.

"Well, if I don't call my mom, like, now, I'm pretty sure the cops will be out looking for me." 
"Have you broken a law?"
:—'''Jack''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

"You can watch cartoons back at base with Bumblebee." 
"Cartoons? I'm sixteen."
:—'''Arcee'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s suggestion of weekend entertainment meets '''Jack'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s disapproval.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* The Autobots have no shadows when they walk into the main mine.
* June parks her car in the driveway and goes to bed. In the morning it is moved. It could be explained by her going to work except that Jack says that she is still sleeping.

===Transformers references===
*Dark Energon is a central MacGuffin for Megatron in this continuity, first being used in the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|War for Cybertron]]'' games, as well as in the ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' novel. Megatron and Starscream's introductory conversation about the substance is ''very'' expository for the benefit of viewers who haven't read the book or played the game, to the extent that it sounds like neither of them has encountered it before, and neither Arcee nor Ratchet is indicated to have any familiarity with the substance, despite having seen it first-hand back during the war. And yet, Arcee does compare Decepticon experiments during the war on Cybertron to the substance's effect on Cliffjumper, without explicitly naming the stuff (though previously it didn't make anyone crazed zombies.... On the other hand, it was never used on a dead guy before (that we know of) - in fact, it always left deceased users and sought for living ones, which is kinda weird for a substance which could merely rise the user from the dead. Sorry, Cliff, them's the breaks). It's all a bit wobbly; while the cartoon almost certainly seems to have been written as if it is the characters' first encounter with Dark Energon, the dialogue does have enough wiggle room if you're obstinate, like us!
*The purple goo shares the property of changing ordinary machines into Transformers with the [[AllSpark]].

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 2'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 30|30 September]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 2. rész'''" ("The Darkness Is Nearing, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 10|10 January]] [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, seconda parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, Second Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 17|17 September]] [[2011]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ankoku Henkei!? Dark Energon'''" (暗黒変形!? ダークエネルゴン, "Dark Transformation!? Dark Energon")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 14|14 April]] [[2012]]
:**At the end of the episode, when the manipulator arm turns into the spider-like creature and begins crawling around, a self-aware joke was added to the script: Ratchet mentions that he thinks he hears the kids in the audience telling him to watch his back, but brushes their concerns off as unimportant.

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 2'''" (악의 부활 2, "Return of the Evil, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 30|30 August]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 6|6 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 2'''" ("The Return of Evil, Part 2")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
* The energon mine is in Nebraska as Fowler will point out in the next episode.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 1

2012-06-22T15:22:49Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 1
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 2
|image=darknessrisingpart1cliffjumperfacejpgcaption=Hey look, it's a major character!
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 1"
|airdate=[[November 26]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Duane Capizzi]]
|directed by=[[Dave Hartman|David Hartman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Optimus Prime and the Autobots investigate the return of the Decepticons while being forced to account for a group of young humans who have unwittingly become involved in their centuries-old conflict.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DarknessRising1-Starscreamsneer.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Please allow me to introduce myself! I'm a man of wealth and taste...]]

[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] is on the open road, boasting to [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] over the comm about how he's been messing with the [[human]]s, when he detects a large amount of energon nearby. As he goes to investigate, a [[Decepticon]] [[Nemesis (Prime)|ship]] appears over the crater and [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon troopers]] drop down to attack him. Arcee alerts the rest of the [[Autobot]]s, who head back to base. Cliffjumper fights on, destroying several of the Decepticons, but their blasts detonate the energon, causing a huge explosion. They drag his defeated form back to the ship, where [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] is upset about the loss of the energon. Cliffjumper is defiant, but Starscream executes him. The Autobots arrive at the crater via [[GroundBridge]], only to find the aftermath of the fight. Arcee picks up a horn Cliffjumper lost during the battle, and Ratchet reports that Cliffjumper's life signal has terminated.

Back on the Decepticon ship, Soundwave replays a recording of Arcee's comms talk, and Starscream decides she will be their next target.

[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] reminds the other Autobots that they must continue to survive in order to honor the memory of their fallen comrade. Arcee refuses to dwell on it and drives off. In [[Jasper]], [[Nevada]], [[Jack Darby]] is working at the [[KO Burger]] drive-thru. Arcee finds herself being chased by a couple of Decepticons, and she ducks into the KO Burger parking lot, where Jack mistakes her for a real motorcycle and, fantasizing about one day having a motorcycle of his own, hops on.

[[Image:DarknessRising1-thisisjasper.jpg|thumb|300px|But can he make out with his girlfriend on the hood of it?]]

[[Sierra]] and a friend catch him apparently talking to the motorcycle, but while Jack has an awkward moment, the Decepticons spot Arcee. She takes off with a startled Jack still on board. After a short chase, she attempts to let Jack go, sending him down a side alley with a warning not to tell anyone what he's seen. As she speeds off, she spots one of the Decepticons heading after Jack and is forced to double back and pick him up. The chase moves onto the freeway, where [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] arrives to help them out.

[[Image:Bumblebee Bulkhead Arcee Darkness Rising 1.jpg|left|thumb|250px|I think they're the good guys]]
In a nearby drainage canal, [[Raf Esquivel|Rafael Esquivel]] is playing with a remote-controlled car when Arcee and Jack literally drop in. The Decepticons drop in as well, and first Arcee, then Bumblebee is blasted to the ground. Raf draws the 'cons' attention, which unfortunately works too well, and the two kids are forced to flee into a drain. While they make their escape, Bumblebee and Arcee stand defiant against the Decepticons and, as [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] joins the fight, and the two Decepticons flee.

At Autobot headquarters, Optimus Prime informs the Autobots that since the Decepticons have seen the boys, the two humans may be targeted. At high school, Jack and Raf meet up again, and Bumblebee and Arcee come to take them to HQ. Though Raf roars off in Bumblebee, Jack walks away. [[Miko Nakadai]], sitting outside the school, draws Arcee, but when the motorcycle disappears, she peeks around the corner and spots Arcee in robot mode arguing with Jack. She takes both kids and catches up to Bumblebee. They drive to the Autobots' HQ, concealed in a mountain, where the three kids marvel at the rest of the Autobots and Optimus Prime gives them some exposition regarding the Transformers' war. Optimus fears the imminent return of [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]].

Soundwave detects a transmission from deep space, and Starscream orders the [[space bridge]] activated. As it opens, Megatron emerges, announcing his return.

===Japanese additional segments===
====From the Cybertron Satellite, Transformers Division====
{{epstub}}

====Arms Micron Theater====
In a tiny little living room, [[O.P.]], [[R.A.]] and [[B.2]] chatter, then attempt to transform. It doesn't go so well.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] (1)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (2)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (7)

|c2=
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (3)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (16)

|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (10)
*[[Jerky Teen]] (11)
*[[Sierra]] (12)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (13)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (14)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (15)

}}

==Quotes==
"Scream, it's been a while. Where's your master?"
:—'''Cliffjumper's''' last words

"Clean that up."
:—'''Starscream''' after killing Cliff and not washing his servos

"Scrap!"
:—'''Arcee''' showing her fluency with Cybertronian expletives

"Friend of yours?" 
"[[Relatives|Family]]."
:—'''Jack''' and '''Arcee''' on Bumblebee's arrival

"What are they?" 
"Talking cars that turn into robots. Or the other way around."
:—'''Rafael''' and '''Jack'''

"Dude, what are you waiting for? Go with!"
:—'''Miko''' says what the audience is thinking.

"I thought there were two?" 
"Haven´t you heard? Humans multiply."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Arcee''' about the increasing of newcomers

"So, if you guys are robots, who made you...?" 
"Ugh! Puh-''leez''..."
:—'''Rafael''' and '''Ratchet'''

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' likes to [[Transformers (film)|repeat the same introduction over and over again]].

"Decepticons! I have ''returned''."
:—'''Megatron''' announces his grand return.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
[[Image:DarknessRisingpt1 different insignias.jpg|right|thumb]]
*When Ratchet attempts to scan for Cliffjumper's life signal, only five Autobots are shown on his screen, despite there being a total of six Autobots in the range of his scan (including the soon-to-be-dead Cliffjumper). This might be explained as being because Ratchet's own life signal doesn't appear on his own scanner.
*During the scene where Arcee attempts to talk to Jack in the alleyway, her rear end clips a bin.
*Upon this episode's original airing, the [[insignia]] on the floor of the Autobot base was the [[insignia#Live-action_movie_franchise|live-action movie Autobot insignia]], rather than the standard Autobot insignia used on the characters themselves. This however was swiftly changed upon the re-airing weeks later, suggesting the rendering team either originally took note in time to effect the change, or they REALLY DO read everything on this Wiki to make the show better. This is us waving at you! [[Ravage (SG)|*waves*]]
*In the credits, Cliffjumper's name is parsed "Cliff Jumper".

===Continuity errors===
* ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' is the basis of the ''Prime'' continuity's backstory, according to [[Hasbro]]. However, ''Exodus'' has the split between Optimus and Megatron causing the war, whereas this episode says it happened ''during'' the war. But it's just not a proper Transformers continuity without early continuity divergences!

* [[One Shall Rise, Part 3]] will later give a more detailed explanation of Optimus and Megatron's background... and pretty much state that the split between the two ''was'' what led to the war, after all.

===Transformers references===
*Bumblebee and Bulkhead are big walking references to the [[Bumblebee (Movie)|movie Bumblebee]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Animated Bulkhead]] respectively, looking near-identical and (in the former's case) sharing the same speech impediment.
*Lots of references to "three years ago" as the last time the Decepticons and Megatron were seen. Three years ago was the year that ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' came out in the cinema, by ''Prime'' showrunners [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]]. [[Image:Tfprime Vehicon Ready.jpg|thumb|200px|Sup.]]
*Cybertron has been rendered uninhabitable by the war. This is not just established by ''Exodus'' and the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)| War for Cybertron]]'' games, but was also part of the [[live-action film series]] canon and [[IDW Publishing]]'s earlier Generation 1 comics.
*The image of Cybertron from space that appears during Optimus's exposition reuses the model from ''War for Cybertron''.
*In this series, Energon is represented as a naturally growing blue crystal. This is [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|not the first time]] it has been represented in this way.
*The Decepticon "drones" are extremely similar to the Decepticon troops in the Autobot campaign of ''War for Cybertron.''

===Real-world references===
* Jack's statement "The first rule of robot fight club is that you don't talk about robot fight club" is a reference to, well, ''[[Wikipedia:Fight Club|Fight Club]]''.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 1'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 23|23 September]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 1. rész'''" ("The Darkness Is Nearing, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 9|9 January]] [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, prima parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 11|11 September]] [[2011]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Kanzen Henkei! Transformer Tōjō'''" (完全変形! トランスフォーマー登場, "Perfect Transformation! Enter the Transformers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 7|7 April]] [[2012]]

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 1'''" (악의 부활 1, "Return of the Evil, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 29|29 August]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 5|5 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 1'''" (America, "The Return of Evil, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
* Cliffjumper was presented as a key Autobot in the publicity material, and a big deal was made of [[Dwayne Johnson|Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]] being his voice actor. That made him the ''last'' character you'd expect to be killed off in the first few minutes of his first episode (to the extent some fans thought he'd turn out to be fine in episode 2). ''Prime'''s sister show, ''G.I. Joe: Renegades'', pulled the same tactic with the hero Ripcord although in his case it would have been revealed that he turned out fine (albeit having the ability to "transform" into a Bio-Viper.)
* This episode was later adapted as a storybook under the name ''[[Meet Team Prime]]''.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Darkness Rising, Part 1

2012-06-22T15:20:17Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 1
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 2
|image=megatronreturnfromspace jpg.
|caption=Hey look, it's a major character!
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 1"
|airdate=[[November 26]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Duane Capizzi]]
|directed by=[[Dave Hartman|David Hartman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Optimus Prime and the Autobots investigate the return of the Decepticons while being forced to account for a group of young humans who have unwittingly become involved in their centuries-old conflict.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:DarknessRising1-Starscreamsneer.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Please allow me to introduce myself! I'm a man of wealth and taste...]]

[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] is on the open road, boasting to [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] over the comm about how he's been messing with the [[human]]s, when he detects a large amount of energon nearby. As he goes to investigate, a [[Decepticon]] [[Nemesis (Prime)|ship]] appears over the crater and [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon troopers]] drop down to attack him. Arcee alerts the rest of the [[Autobot]]s, who head back to base. Cliffjumper fights on, destroying several of the Decepticons, but their blasts detonate the energon, causing a huge explosion. They drag his defeated form back to the ship, where [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] is upset about the loss of the energon. Cliffjumper is defiant, but Starscream executes him. The Autobots arrive at the crater via [[GroundBridge]], only to find the aftermath of the fight. Arcee picks up a horn Cliffjumper lost during the battle, and Ratchet reports that Cliffjumper's life signal has terminated.

Back on the Decepticon ship, Soundwave replays a recording of Arcee's comms talk, and Starscream decides she will be their next target.

[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] reminds the other Autobots that they must continue to survive in order to honor the memory of their fallen comrade. Arcee refuses to dwell on it and drives off. In [[Jasper]], [[Nevada]], [[Jack Darby]] is working at the [[KO Burger]] drive-thru. Arcee finds herself being chased by a couple of Decepticons, and she ducks into the KO Burger parking lot, where Jack mistakes her for a real motorcycle and, fantasizing about one day having a motorcycle of his own, hops on.

[[Image:DarknessRising1-thisisjasper.jpg|thumb|300px|But can he make out with his girlfriend on the hood of it?]]

[[Sierra]] and a friend catch him apparently talking to the motorcycle, but while Jack has an awkward moment, the Decepticons spot Arcee. She takes off with a startled Jack still on board. After a short chase, she attempts to let Jack go, sending him down a side alley with a warning not to tell anyone what he's seen. As she speeds off, she spots one of the Decepticons heading after Jack and is forced to double back and pick him up. The chase moves onto the freeway, where [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] arrives to help them out.

[[Image:Bumblebee Bulkhead Arcee Darkness Rising 1.jpg|left|thumb|250px|I think they're the good guys]]
In a nearby drainage canal, [[Raf Esquivel|Rafael Esquivel]] is playing with a remote-controlled car when Arcee and Jack literally drop in. The Decepticons drop in as well, and first Arcee, then Bumblebee is blasted to the ground. Raf draws the 'cons' attention, which unfortunately works too well, and the two kids are forced to flee into a drain. While they make their escape, Bumblebee and Arcee stand defiant against the Decepticons and, as [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] joins the fight, and the two Decepticons flee.

At Autobot headquarters, Optimus Prime informs the Autobots that since the Decepticons have seen the boys, the two humans may be targeted. At high school, Jack and Raf meet up again, and Bumblebee and Arcee come to take them to HQ. Though Raf roars off in Bumblebee, Jack walks away. [[Miko Nakadai]], sitting outside the school, draws Arcee, but when the motorcycle disappears, she peeks around the corner and spots Arcee in robot mode arguing with Jack. She takes both kids and catches up to Bumblebee. They drive to the Autobots' HQ, concealed in a mountain, where the three kids marvel at the rest of the Autobots and Optimus Prime gives them some exposition regarding the Transformers' war. Optimus fears the imminent return of [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]].

Soundwave detects a transmission from deep space, and Starscream orders the [[space bridge]] activated. As it opens, Megatron emerges, announcing his return.

===Japanese additional segments===
====From the Cybertron Satellite, Transformers Division====
{{epstub}}

====Arms Micron Theater====
In a tiny little living room, [[O.P.]], [[R.A.]] and [[B.2]] chatter, then attempt to transform. It doesn't go so well.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] (1)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (2)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (7)

|c2=
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (3)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (16)

|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (10)
*[[Jerky Teen]] (11)
*[[Sierra]] (12)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (13)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (14)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (15)

}}

==Quotes==
"Scream, it's been a while. Where's your master?"
:—'''Cliffjumper's''' last words

"Clean that up."
:—'''Starscream''' after killing Cliff and not washing his servos

"Scrap!"
:—'''Arcee''' showing her fluency with Cybertronian expletives

"Friend of yours?" 
"[[Relatives|Family]]."
:—'''Jack''' and '''Arcee''' on Bumblebee's arrival

"What are they?" 
"Talking cars that turn into robots. Or the other way around."
:—'''Rafael''' and '''Jack'''

"Dude, what are you waiting for? Go with!"
:—'''Miko''' says what the audience is thinking.

"I thought there were two?" 
"Haven´t you heard? Humans multiply."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Arcee''' about the increasing of newcomers

"So, if you guys are robots, who made you...?" 
"Ugh! Puh-''leez''..."
:—'''Rafael''' and '''Ratchet'''

"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' likes to [[Transformers (film)|repeat the same introduction over and over again]].

"Decepticons! I have ''returned''."
:—'''Megatron''' announces his grand return.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
[[Image:DarknessRisingpt1 different insignias.jpg|right|thumb]]
*When Ratchet attempts to scan for Cliffjumper's life signal, only five Autobots are shown on his screen, despite there being a total of six Autobots in the range of his scan (including the soon-to-be-dead Cliffjumper). This might be explained as being because Ratchet's own life signal doesn't appear on his own scanner.
*During the scene where Arcee attempts to talk to Jack in the alleyway, her rear end clips a bin.
*Upon this episode's original airing, the [[insignia]] on the floor of the Autobot base was the [[insignia#Live-action_movie_franchise|live-action movie Autobot insignia]], rather than the standard Autobot insignia used on the characters themselves. This however was swiftly changed upon the re-airing weeks later, suggesting the rendering team either originally took note in time to effect the change, or they REALLY DO read everything on this Wiki to make the show better. This is us waving at you! [[Ravage (SG)|*waves*]]
*In the credits, Cliffjumper's name is parsed "Cliff Jumper".

===Continuity errors===
* ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' is the basis of the ''Prime'' continuity's backstory, according to [[Hasbro]]. However, ''Exodus'' has the split between Optimus and Megatron causing the war, whereas this episode says it happened ''during'' the war. But it's just not a proper Transformers continuity without early continuity divergences!

* [[One Shall Rise, Part 3]] will later give a more detailed explanation of Optimus and Megatron's background... and pretty much state that the split between the two ''was'' what led to the war, after all.

===Transformers references===
*Bumblebee and Bulkhead are big walking references to the [[Bumblebee (Movie)|movie Bumblebee]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Animated Bulkhead]] respectively, looking near-identical and (in the former's case) sharing the same speech impediment.
*Lots of references to "three years ago" as the last time the Decepticons and Megatron were seen. Three years ago was the year that ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' came out in the cinema, by ''Prime'' showrunners [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]]. [[Image:Tfprime Vehicon Ready.jpg|thumb|200px|Sup.]]
*Cybertron has been rendered uninhabitable by the war. This is not just established by ''Exodus'' and the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)| War for Cybertron]]'' games, but was also part of the [[live-action film series]] canon and [[IDW Publishing]]'s earlier Generation 1 comics.
*The image of Cybertron from space that appears during Optimus's exposition reuses the model from ''War for Cybertron''.
*In this series, Energon is represented as a naturally growing blue crystal. This is [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|not the first time]] it has been represented in this way.
*The Decepticon "drones" are extremely similar to the Decepticon troops in the Autobot campaign of ''War for Cybertron.''

===Real-world references===
* Jack's statement "The first rule of robot fight club is that you don't talk about robot fight club" is a reference to, well, ''[[Wikipedia:Fight Club|Fight Club]]''.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 1'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 23|23 September]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 1. rész'''" ("The Darkness Is Nearing, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 9|9 January]] [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, prima parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 11|11 September]] [[2011]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Kanzen Henkei! Transformer Tōjō'''" (完全変形! トランスフォーマー登場, "Perfect Transformation! Enter the Transformers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 7|7 April]] [[2012]]

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 1'''" (악의 부활 1, "Return of the Evil, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 29|29 August]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 5|5 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 1'''" (America, "The Return of Evil, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

===Trivia===
* Cliffjumper was presented as a key Autobot in the publicity material, and a big deal was made of [[Dwayne Johnson|Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson]] being his voice actor. That made him the ''last'' character you'd expect to be killed off in the first few minutes of his first episode (to the extent some fans thought he'd turn out to be fine in episode 2). ''Prime'''s sister show, ''G.I. Joe: Renegades'', pulled the same tactic with the hero Ripcord although in his case it would have been revealed that he turned out fine (albeit having the ability to "transform" into a Bio-Viper.)
* This episode was later adapted as a storybook under the name ''[[Meet Team Prime]]''.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Loose Cannons

2012-06-21T19:58:32Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 32
|prev=Operation Bumblebee, Part 2
|next=Crossfire
|image=LooseCannons Wheeljack Dreadwing splitscreen.jpg
|caption=help help help help this is ridiculas i thought you were going to help me shut up wheeljack never never never never go go go run run run you you you coward coward coward |title="Loose Cannons"
|airdate=[[March 24]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[David McDermott]]
|directed by=[[Scooter Tidwell]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Wheeljack returns to Earth to look for a new Decepticon, but Optimus finds that something is not right with the rogue Bot.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:LooseCannons Wheeljack fires back.jpg|thumb|left|250px|If I'm coming back, I'm coming back with a BANG!]]
[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] calls the Autobots, furious about a Transformer fight outside Omaha with possible collateral damage. As the Autobots are all at base, [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] suggests the [[Decepticon]]s are to blame, however a video feed reveals the combatants as a [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]]-type Decepticon and [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]]. Fowler demands that the situation be handled pronto.

Fowler reaches the battleground in his jet first and demands the pair stop, only to be fired on by Wheeljack. A [[GroundBridge]] opens up, and the Autobots step out to help Wheeljack. Outgunned, the Decepticon seizes the opportunity to scan Fowler's jet and make his escape. Wheeljack fires after him, blowing up a gas station. Though Wheeljack believes that [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] was to blame for the explosion, he's informed otherwise.

[[Image:LooseCannons Wheeljack undergoes repairs.jpg|thumb|right|250px|So... do I get a lollipop?]]
Back at base, Ratchet repairs Wheeljack, who apologizes for the damage and explains his pursuit of Dreadwing. He had found his fellow [[Wrecker]] [[Seaspray (Prime)|Seaspray]], only for his friend to be blown up by Dreadwing. After several solar systems worth of pursuit, Wheeljack caught up with the Decepticon on [[Earth]]. Optimus infers that Dreadwing has come to pay allegiance to Megatron. He tries to stem Wheeljack's hotheadedness, and Fowler arrives to admonish Wheeljack for nearly blowing their cover. Wheeljack doesn't take well to being called part of the team, and walks off, followed by Bulkhead who intends to placate him. Optimus does his best to smooth things over with Fowler.

Dreadwing rendezvous with the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]''. [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] welcomes his loyalty, but Dreadwing reveals he has come to Earth to avenge his [[spark]]-twin Skyquake. When Megatron confirms Skyquake's death, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] vows to make every Autobot on Earth pay, but Megatron would rather Dreadwing follow his orders.

As Wheeljack works on his [[Jackhammer (Prime)|ship]], Bulkhead attempts to change his mind about the planet. Inside the Jackhammer, a challenge comes through over the commlink from Dreadwing. Wheeljack straps in to meet the 'Con, and convinced Bulkhead to come as well.

[[Image:LooseCannons Dreadwing tricks Wheeljack.jpg|thumb|left|250px|He's right behind me, isn't he?]]
Dreadwing faces off against Wheeljack, both determined to finish their business. They exchange fire, and Dreadwing runs, leading Wheeljack past a series of proximity bombs that the Autobot evades. Dreadwing runs into a dead end, but it turns out to be a trap—as Bulkhead appears atop the crevice, a last bomb on the cliff face explodes, burying the two Wreckers under rubble as Dreadwing flies clear.

At base, Ratchet finds Bulkhead's transmission over a thousand miles away. At Optimus's inquiry, he says that no response has been made.

In the crevice, Optimus helps Wheeljack out of a pile of boulders and reprimands him for endangering Bulkhead. Ratchet informs Optimus over comm that Bulkhead's signal has moved.

Wheeljack and Optimus fly to Bulkhead's location, a shipping depot. They find him in an unfortunate predicament, strapped to a crate with a bomb wired into his chest. Wheeljack gets to work defusing the bomb. From the top of a crane, Dreadwing looks on. He receives a transmission from Megatron, and reveals what he's doing. Meanwhile, Bulkhead tries to stop Wheeljack from continuing his attempts to defuse the bomb and the pair notice that Optimus is gone.

Megatron allows Dreadwing to continue his plan, though he muses to Soundwave that he does not expect Dreadwing to come back. At the depot, Dreadwing notices Optimus is missing in time for the Autobot leader to appear nearby and appeal to Dreadwing's sense of honor. Dreadwing refuses the offer of defection, and fires upon Prime, who escapes into the maze of containers.

[[Image:LooseCannons Optimus pins Dreadwing.jpg|thumb|right|250px|What was that "safe word" again?]]
Realizing that Wheeljack is unlikely to defuse the bomb, Bulkhead takes matters into his own hands, punching out Wheeljack, tearing out of his restraints, and running away from his friend. Elsewhere, Dreadwing continues to spar with Optimus, but loses him from his sights. Bulkhead heads towards the water to muffle the explosion, but is stopped by Wheeljack, who has come to the realization that Optimus has the right idea—they need Dreadwing to defuse the bomb.

Searching the dock, Dreadwing is ambushed by Optimus crashing down on top of him with a shipping crane. Pinned, Dreadwing is surrounded by the three Autobots. Though he claims he would rather destroy himself if it will avenge his brother, Optimus calls his bluff, and he defuses the bomb. However, not about to leave empty handed, Dreadwing sets off the many bombs he had placed throughout the port, and flies off. Wheeljack wonders who will clean that up.

On the ''Nemesis'', Megatron gloats about Dreadwing's defeat, but seems mildly surprised that the Seeker still lives. Dreadwing, in the wake of his defeat, pledges his total loyalty to Megatron.

At the base, Wheeljack apologizes for his misjudgment about Optimus earlier. The Autobots, sans Ratchet, convince Wheeljack to stay on Earth, though he opts to explore the planet. He's soon driving away with a new alternate mode.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (5)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (6)
*[[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] (8)
*[[Seaspray (Prime)|Seaspray]] (11) (ship only)
|c2=
*[[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] (7)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (9)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (12)
*[[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] (flashback) (13)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (flashback) (14)
|c3=
*[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] (1)
}}

==Quotes==
"I don't care if [[Abraham Lincoln]] is back! We have to contain the situation before we all wind up on the eleven o'clock news."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' demands that the Autobots stop Wheeljack and Dreadwing.

"Not this again!"
:—'''Agent Fowler''' gets his vehicle scanned by a 'Con for a third time.

'''Wheeljack''': You know Wreckers don't call for backup. 
'''Wheeljack''' and '''Bulkhead''': They call for clean-up!
:—The remaining Wreckers provide an alternative to "Wreck and Rule!"

"If you will not take orders from me, that is one thing. But when you place one of my Autobots in danger..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' reprimands Wheeljack for compromising Bulkhead's safety before he is cut off by Wheeljack.

"I will be quite surprised if we ever set eyes upon Dreadwing again."
:—'''Megatron''' putting his faith into his soldier.

"Sorry, Jackie. It's 'cause I love ya."
:—'''Bulkhead''' shows the tough love.

"Sorry, fishies!"
:—'''Bulkhead''' runs towards water with a bomb attached.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* When Wheeljack faces Dreadwing in the forest, the scar on his left shoulder (that was inflicted by Dreadwing in their first showdown on Earth) seems to have disappeared. Few moments later it's there again.
* When Wheeljack is chasing Dreadwing through the chasm, his grenade can be seen on his hip, despite it having been used earlier.
* When Ratchet is fixing the scar on Wheeljack's arm, Wheeljack's shoulder clips through his chest.

===Continuity notes===
* This episode features the first on-screen use of the term [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcon]].
* Bulkhead brings up Optimus, Bee and Fowler's fight with Skyquake, and Arcee mentions his zombified resurrection at Starscream's hand which occurred in "[[Masters & Students]]" and "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]".
* Soundwave shows scenes of Optimus and Bumblebee's fight with Skyquake in "Masters & Students".

===Transformers references===
* Wheeljack namedrops former Wreckers [[Impactor (Prime)|Impactor]], [[Roadbuster (Prime)|Roadbuster]], [[Rotorstorm (Prime)|Rotorstorm]], and [[Pyro (Prime)|Pyro]]. The Generation 1 incarnations of these four characters are all Wreckers from various continuities: [[Impactor (G1)|Impactor]] and [[Roadbuster (G1)|Roadbuster]] were original members of the group when it was first introduced in "[[Target: 2006]]", while [[Rotorstorm (G1)|Rotorstorm]] and [[Pyro (G1)|Pyro]] joined in ''[[The Transformers: Last Stand of the Wreckers|Last Stand of the Wreckers]]''. Like their ''Prime'' counterparts, all four characters have indeed been seen to die while serving as Wreckers in one continuity or another. Seaspray being a Wrecker, meanwhile, is a new addition.
* Wheeljack namedrops the [[Dromedon System]] and the planets [[Maderan]] and [[Sandokan]].
* Dreadwing is referred to as a [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]].
* Dreadwing references [[Pit|The Pit]].
*Bulkhead called [[Seaspray (Prime)|Seaspray]] "ol' barnacle butt", which references the deceased Autobot's hovercraft-mode in the G1 continuity.
*Optimus explains how the [[Wrecker]]s are a separate team faction from the Autobots.

===Real-world references===
*Fowler compares the activities of the Wreckers to "black ops", a term for covert military operations. In popular culture, black ops are generally seen as being dirty business that regular soldiers aren't able to carry out, and units that carry them out are often independent of the normal chain of command. Describes the Wreckers pretty well.
*Fowler mentions [[Abraham Lincoln]].

===Trivia===
*Fowler ''really'' needs to stop flying that jet of his around Decepticons who look like they turn into jets. He seems to be getting tired of it.
*Wheeljack finally takes an Earth-based vehicle mode. Seems like he's on Earth to stay.
*Dreadwing's proximity bombs have plates resembling his wings.
*Optimus didn't look very comfortable in Wheeljack's ship.
*Megatron actually sounds irritated when he's warning Dreadwing against going after Optimus. Seems he's getting tired of 'cons getting themselves maimed or killed trying to go after the Prime.
[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Crossfire (Prime)

2012-06-21T19:52:03Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 33
|prev=Loose Cannons
|next=Nemesis Prime (episode)
|image=Crossfire Megatron and Insecticon close together.jpg
|caption=optimus help!(megatron starts crying) waaaah|airdate=[[March 31]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Airachnid and Starscream struggle to control an Insecticon warrior.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Crossfire MECH finds Breakdown.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"Finally I can get ahead in this organization."]]
[[Airachnid]] muses to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] about [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]]'s inevitable decryption of the [[Project Iacon|Iacon files,]] and requests for her tracking abilities to be enlisted in the search for the resulting coordinates. Megatron dismisses her, and Soundwave replays the audio of her suggestion to leave Megatron [[One Shall Rise, Part 2|earlier]]. He contacts [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]], who replies with an oath of loyalty. The leader orders him to perform a task he normally performs [[Rock Bottom|himself]], but now leaves to his first officer. The Seeker is confused, as Airachnid holds that position, but his mission becomes clear—he is to dispose of the treacherous spider.

[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]], Dreadwing, and Airachnid follow the trail of an unconfirmed [[energon]] deposit. Airachnid is amused at the heavy backup, and takes the opportunity to grill Breakdown on his lack of skill, and lack of eye. Dreadwing attempts to calm him, but another insult puts him into a frenzy. He jumps at the spider, but is webbed in the face. Dreadwing joins the fray, but is pinned to a tree by Airachnid's webbing, but not before he lets off a blast which collapses a tree on Airachnid, damaging one of her legs and forcing her to retreat. Breakdown gives chase, and finds her collapsed in a ravine, but as he raises his hammer to finish her, he is snagged by a webbing booby trap the renegade fembot has laid for him. Immobilized, Breakdown can do nothing to stop Airachnid from slicing him to pieces. She leaves his remains behind, which are presently discovered by a contingent of [[MECH]] soldiers.

[[Image:Crossfire Starscream and Airachnid plot.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"This is going to be awesome! With this Insecticon we can off Megatron and take over the whole thing!" "Insecticon, eat him."]]
In a cave, [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] pities his lot in life as he jumps for a meager scrap of energon. He is interrupted by a nearby rumbling that surprises him—it is an [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]], unearthing a large chunk of energon. He orders the brute to hand it over, but it attacks him, forcing him to hide. He witnesses the Insecticon bowing to another surprise—Airachnid. He makes himself known, and she makes her rogue status known, giving Starscream the idea to propose an alliance to overthrow Megatron with the help of her oversized herald. She proposes an alternative—she overthrows Megatron, and Starscream dies. She orders the Insecticon to kill him.

At the base, [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] receives another [[Orion Pax, Part 2|high frequency signal with an embedded message,]] again from Starscream, who promises valuable intel in exchange for medical aid. His intel proves none-too-relevant until he mentions the Insecticon, and provides Airachnid's location. Back at base, [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] berates Ratchet and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] for letting him go again, but [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] is confident in sparing helpless lifeforms, regardless of personal vendettas.

[[Image:Crossfire Optimus aims at Megatron.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"One shall stand, one sha-oh, wait, too late."]]
Airachnid contacts Megatron and proposes a challenge, which he accepts, forbidding Dreadwing to follow him. Making his way to the mine, the Decepticon leader is immediately assaulted by the Insecticon, who ignores Megatron's orders to stand down and begins to beat him down. Though he does not initially fare well, it does not take long for the former gladiator to put himself on equal footing with the beast. The Autobots bridge in, and Arcee goes for Airachnid, chasing her off into the adjoining tunnels while the other Autobots watch as Megatron triumphs over the Insecticon, tearing off its limbs and head. The Autobots surround Megatron as he falls, exhausted. Prime mulls over the idea of ending his life when suddenly, Dreadwing and a large detachment of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] descend into the cavern. Prime agrees to trade the Autobots' lives for Megatron's, but once the trade is made, Megatron orders the Vehicons to attack, and departs with Dreadwing, noting his appreciation for Dreadwing's disregard of orders.

[[Image:Crossfire Airachnid strings up Arcee.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
Arcee, meanwhile, follows Airachnid, but finds herself suddenly stuck in a trap. As her nemesis prepares to finish her, a missile streaks through the air and pushes Airachnid off Arcee. She escapes as Starscream—intent on payback—continues to fire. Now alone with Arcee, the Seeker recalls her decision to spare him earlier, and cuts her down to settle his debt.

Underground, even as she swears her vengeance, Airachnid comes upon the source of her warrior—an entire nest of Insecticons.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (10)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (11)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (12)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (13)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (14)
|c2=
*[[Airachnid]] (1)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (2)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (3)
*[[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] (4)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (5)
*[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] (9)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (15)
|c3=
*[[MECH|MECH soldiers]] (6)
*[[MECH Commando]] (7)
|c4=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"I know we've never seen ''eyes-to-eye'', but that doesn't mean we can't ''patch'' things up."
:—'''Airachnid''' baits Breakdown with extra-strength puns.

"You dare turn your back on a superior life-form? I am Commander Starscream!"
:—'''Starscream''' using his former position to get others to do what he wants...[[Orion Pax, Part 1|''again.'']]

"Nonetheless, I do not condone the termination of any defenseless life form."
:—'''Optimus Prime''', who ironically will almost terminate a defenseless and injured Megatron.

"You and your beast would do well to remember—''I honed my skills in the pits of [[Kaon]]!''"
:—'''Megatron''' reminds all that he is not so easily beaten.

"How right you were, Airachnid. Payback. Is. ''Sweet!''"
:—'''Starscream''' making Airachnid eat her own words.

"Never trust a 'Con. Kick Buckethead's bucket!"
:—'''Bulkhead''''s opinion on Dreadwing's offer to trade Megatron's life for the Autobots'.

"You disobeyed my orders in following me here. You will make a fine first lieutenant."
:—'''Megatron''' might have finally made a good choice for second-in-command.

==Notes==
=== Animation and technical errors ===
*When Bulkhead jumps out of the GroundBridge with Ratchet following behind, the wrecking ball on his left arm somehow transforms silently back to his hand.
*When the Insecticon throws Megatron into the air and slashes at him with its horn, it injures his shoulder and Energon is splattered from the wound. When Megatron recovers, the injury appears on his neck instead.
*When Megatron switches to his vehicle mode, the webbing on his cannon disappears. If this was intentional, why not just do it to fight off the Autobots?

===Continuity errors===
*Soundwave's trace of Airachnid's signal appears to locate her around about Bolivia, while the Autobot trace of the same signal places it on the north coast of [[South America]], in Guyana or Suriname.
*Megatron's blood/energon is colored blue when [[Stronger, Faster|it's been]] [[One Shall Fall|shown previously]] [[One Shall Rise, Part 1|to be purple]]. [[Darkness Rising, Part 4|He said so himself!]]
*Starscream's missiles reappear on his arms after he fires them.
*Bulkhead's remark that Starscream helped MECH steal Bumblebee's T-cog isn't entirely accurate, as MECH had already stolen Bumblebee's T-cog before Starscream had formed the alliance, in fact if Bumblebee hadn't arrived at the trap first it would have been Starscream who would have his T-cog stolen as he also was lured to the trap.

===Continuity notes===
*Arcee reminds the team yet again of how Airachnid took [[Tailgate (Prime)|Tailgate]] away from her, as well as how Starscream was responsible for [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper's]] demise.
*Starscream hasn't forgotten how Arcee let him live after their last encounter from "[[Partners]]".
*Soundwave plays dialogue from "[[One Shall Rise, Part 2]]" to remind Megatron what Airachnid thinks of him.
*MECH comes across the dismembered remains of Breakdown, and cites it as a "[[Operation: Breakdown|familiar face]]".
*Starscream contacts Ratchet the same way he did back in "[[Orion Pax, Part 2]]", and meets him and Bulkhead in what appears to be the same place. Both he and Bulkhead even reference the events of that episode. Arcee seems to have learned about it as well.
*The events of the two-part episode "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 1|Operation Bumblebee]]" are brought up while Starscream begs for treatment.
*The "task" Megatron normally performs himself—the disposal of treacherous soldiers—previously occurred in "[[Rock Bottom]]", where Starscream was the recipient.
*Megatron refers to his skills and training as a Kaon gladiator.

===Real-world references===
*When Megatron contacts Dreadwing about him killing Airachnid and taking her place as Megatron's 1st lieutenant, Dreadwing picks up and cocks what appears to be a stormtrooper rifle from the Star Wars movies.

===Trivia===
*Starscream's arm-mounted missiles still work even with his T-Cog missing, since there's no transformation involved in firing them.
*The Decepticons really didn't do a good job in stripping that mine, considering all the Insecticon had to do was push away a couple of rocks to find a huge clump of energon in the wall.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Nemesis Prime (episode)

2012-06-21T19:49:48Z

24.235.71.250:

{{disambig3|Nemesis Prime}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 34
|prev=Crossfire
|next=Grill
|image=NemesisPrime-NemesisPrime.jpg
|caption=bring me megatrons head on a stick now ! idiots|title="Nemesis Prime"
|airdate=[[April 7]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[David McDermott]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''When Optimus Prime appears to attack Agent Fowler, the Autobots discover MECH's ultimate plan.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:NemesisPrime truck vs car.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]
[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] drives out of a military base, listening to [[The Touch|a few tunes]], when a semi truck begins to tailgate him too close for comfort. He realizes that it's more than a case of road rage when the truck rams him. Fowler notices a familiar symbol on his attacker's grille-the [[Autobot]] [[insignia|symbol]]. He contacts the Autobot base, where [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] is not present. The apparent Optimus Prime continues to attack, and as Fowler comes upon a bridge, he pushes his car through the divider, where it hangs precariously. The Autobots receive his message and bridge in, causing Prime to flee and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] to give chase. [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] catches Fowler's car as it falls, but the bumper detaches, and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] catches it before it hits the ground. Arcee comes upon Optimus, but is knocked out when he runs her over.

The next thing she knows, she's back at base, being checked up on. [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] doubts Arcee's assertion that Optimus ran her down, and the big 'bot arrives at base. The team goes on guard, but as Optimus offers proof that he's been at an underground energon site, the team stands down.

[[Image:NemesisPrime Nemesis Prime truck in base.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
The other "Optimus" drives full speed into [[Alden Military Base]], wrecking helicopters and prompting chase until he stops. As soldiers surround him and open the door to find no driver, he transforms, and aims a weapon at them. Speaking in Prime's own voice, the double clearly announces himself as Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, before laying waste to the base around him. The other Prime tears through lines of soldiers, prompting Optimus, Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead to bridge to his position. The fake retreats, and arriving military helicopters fire on the Autobots. They retreat to base.

Fowler fields a call asking about the attack, and receives the news that all Transformers, regardless of allegiance, are to be shot on sight. The team realizes that [[MECH]] has finally succeeded in replicating Cybertronians, inside and out, using human-made parts after studying Transformer anatomy so carefully.

[[Image:NemesisPrime Silas at controls.jpg|thumb|left|250px]]
Meanwhile, the false Prime arrives at a MECH bunker, where it is revealed that the robot is a remotely operated drone unit, with [[Silas]] in the control seat, expressing extreme satisfaction at the test run.

In attempting to locate the MECH base, Optimus notes that, unlike them, the duplicate (dubbed "Nemesis Prime" by Miko) must rely on its vehicle mode to travel, having no access to a [[GroundBridge]]. This places its lair within driving distance of both incidents, giving a range for them to search. The 'bots fan out, and Bumblebee comes upon a large complex. Optimus and the rest plan to rendezvous at his position. He enters, while Silas watches him. He powers up Nemesis Prime, and sends it out. Bumblebee is briefly fooled by the fake, until Silas slips and reveals he cannot understand Bumblebee's speech. The scout attacks but is quickly overpowered by the more imposing robot.

The rest of the Autobots enter the compound, cautious of any lookalikes. Bulkhead and Arcee are both taken out individually, leaving Optimus for the final showdown with his doppelganger.

At base, Ratchet attempts to isolate the control frequency of Nemesis Prime to pinpoint the location of its operator. He does, and Fowler insists on bridging in, citing that he is the one best equipped to deal with the "human element".

[[Image:NemesisPrime Nemesis vs Optimus.jpg|thumb|right|250px]]
Nemesis squares off against Optimus, showing equal strength and agility. Fowler bridges in, and makes for the control bunker as the two Primes continue to spar. Nemesis catches Optimus, and shoves its blade into the Autobot leader. Silas gloats, commenting that he cannot feel pain through the robot, unlike his opponent, and revealing his intentions to build an army of these soldiers, when Fowler enters. They spar as well, and Fowler falls to Silas' superior hand-to-hand combat skills, only to reveal that he was just buying time for Optimus to beat the now-directionless copy. The real Prime dominates Nemesis, and their fight collapses the ceiling of the bunker, sending Silas's creation and a ton of rubble crashing down on top of him, putting Nemesis Prime out of commission in the process.

Optimus meditates on MECH's seemingly impaired functionality, now that it lacks a leader. However, Fowler brings him troubling news — in the pile of wreckage, no body was found.

Elsewhere, a group of MECH scientists monitor Silas' condition, noting that his injuries are terminal by normal standards — yet MECH is anything but, as they have the body of [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] all wired up to their leader.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (3)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (5)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (10)
|c2=
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (15)
|c3=
*[[William Fowler]] (1)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (7)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (8)
*[[Jack Darby]] (9)
*[[Silas]] (11)
*[[MECH|MECH soldiers]] (12)
*[[MECH Surgeon]] (13)
*[[MECH Commando]] (14)
|c4=
*[[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|Nemesis Prime]] (2)
}}

==Quotes==
"Yes, that's it. Follow the light." 
"Wait, what? Not the best choice of words, Ratchet."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Arcee'''

"I am Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and I bring you this message."
:—'''Nemesis Prime''' steals one of Optimus's catchphrases.

"They actually did it. Those butchers managed to crack the code!"
:—'''Ratchet''' realizes that [[Project Chimera]] has produced results.

"Be on your guard. My double could be anywhere." 
''*Bumblebee beeps a reply*'' 
"I'm sorry. What?"
:—'''Nemesis Prime''' tries and fails to fool Bumblebee.

"Look [[Ratchet (Prime)|doc]], I don't plan on dancing with any bots, but there's a human element in play here. And in case you haven't noticed, I happen to be a highly-trained, government-grade, human."
:—'''Agent Fowler'''; accept no substitutes!

"My robot chassis possesses all your strength, speed...and firepower!" 
''*Optimus lunges at Nemesis Prime, only to be thrown off with ease*'' 
"Add my extensive combat training, and MECH has clearly achieved the perfect meld of man and machine!"
:—'''Silas''' brags about his new toy.

"This is only the beginning. Imagine an army of transforming robots! No one will stand against the newly rebooted MECH!" 
"Think again, Sy!"
:—'''Silas''''s gloating is interrupted by '''Agent Fowler''''s arrival.

"The internal damage to his organs is massive, and beyond the scope of conventional medicine. Fortunately for our leader, MECH is [[Breakdown (Prime)|anything]] but conventional."
:—A '''MECH Surgeon''' on Silas's future.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*Due to model reuse, Fowler's car has the same [[license plate]] number as June Darby's.
*After calling the Autobots to ask about Optimus, Fowler is seen approaching a bridge at least a half mile away. But, when the camera shifts, it shows him already on the bridge.
*No matter what size, shape, weight, or speed a car is going, it will ''never'' be possible to break through a concrete barrier and come out with as little damage as Fowler's car had.
*Bulkhead is somehow able to fall faster than Fowler's car, despite dropping from the bridge later than it.
*Before Optimus Prime climbs the tower, you can't hear his blaster turn back into his hand.
*Despite being ordered by Optimus to go covert, Arcee does not have her holographic driver on when in her motorcycle form.
*How exactly did MECH extract Silas from under several tons of robot with the US military overhead and Fowler in the room?

===Continuity notes===
*With the construction of Nemesis Prime, MECH has finally yielded results from [[Project Chimera]].
*MECH has Breakdown's reassembled remains, which they collected after [[Airachnid]] killed him in "[[Crossfire]]".
*Ratchet recalls MECH's study of Breakdown in "[[Operation: Breakdown]]".
*Optimus recalls the theft of Starscream's T-Cog, which they learned about in "Crossfire" after it happened in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 2]]".
*Silas took a scan of Optimus at the end of "[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]", which is evidently how he was able to produce a nearly-identical copy of him in this episode.
*Silas learned how Transformers scan a vehicular form in "[[Crisscross]]", when he saw Airachnid scanning Agent Fowler's helicopter.
*MECH learned that their knockoff Transformer required Energon to function in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 1]]". This episode also showed that they had managed to duplicate the scanning process.
*Optimus's right sword, which was broken in "[[One Shall Fall]]" and last seen still broken in "[[Orion Pax, Part 3]]", has been repaired at some point.
*This is the [[One Shall Rise, Part 1|second time]] Bumblebee has tried and failed to save a car on screen. Only this time, someone was inside the car when he loses part of it.
*As this is Fowler's first time in the GroundBridge, he experiences nausea, similar to the effect on the children in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 5]]".

===Transformers references===
*Fowler listens to an instrumental version of "[[The Touch]]" on his car radio.
*The first transformation of the fake Prime on the military base is in a similar animation layout to [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|another Optimus Prime]]. The attack itself bears no small resemblance to [[Blackout (Movie)|Blackout]]'s attack on the [[SOCCENT Forward Operations Base|base]] in the first film.
*Miko and Ratchet refer to the false Optimus Prime as "Nemesis Prime", a name first established in ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' as indicating an evil version of Optimus Prime and used [[Nemesis Prime (disambiguation)|a number of times since]].

===Real-world references===
*The opening scene with Fowler references [[Steven Spielberg]]'s 1971 film ''Duel'', starring an evil truck.
*Nemesis Prime's eyes and weapons glow yellow, similar to the yellow glowing "eye" on K.A.R.R, the evil version of K.I.T.T from the TV show, ''Knight Rider''. (K.A.R.R was also, in one episode, voiced by Peter Cullen.)

===Trivia===
*Silas is a former member of the Special Tactics branch of the military, while Fowler is an ex-Army Ranger.
*Nemesis Prime's transformation uses a modified version of the regular transformation sound effect, which makes it sound as if the transformation is not as smooth as that of an actual Cybertronian.
*Nemesis Prime's body is tarnished and dirty-looking, with heavily faded colors. The overall effect makes it look [[Zombie|undead]], even though it is more of a puppet than anything.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Grill (episode)

2012-06-21T19:45:59Z

24.235.71.250:

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 35
|prev=Nemesis Prime (episode)
|next=Armada (episode)
|image=Grill Fowler sits back down.jpg
|caption= i am not crazy ' you think i am crazy ? well i am not ' you punk
|title="Grill"
|airdate=[[April 14]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Duane Capizzi]]
|directed by=[[Kevin Altieri]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Agent Fowler has some explaining to do under the threat of military tribunal and Team Prime's termination.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Grill too close private.jpg|thumb|left|250px|"Since I joined these bots, I've seen slag that would turn you '''white'''!"]]
[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] steps into [[Bryce|General Bryce]]'s office to provide some explanations. Bryce first asks about [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]]'s recent death, and Fowler clarifies that the body the military have is [[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|Nemesis Prime]], though Bryce has trouble swallowing it. Fowler explains a bit about [[MECH]] and wonders if some of MECH's men are special forces like [[Silas]]. Under further questioning, Fowler relates more about the [[Autobot]]s and their war, and his own involvement in helping [[Team Prime]]. Bryce asks him to run through the identities of the Autobots in Team Prime, and comes to the death of [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]. Bryce reiterates that all they have to go on regarding Optimus Prime's recent defection to the [[Decepticon]]s is Fowler's report, and the current debriefing is a result of concerns about the potential danger the Autobots pose, with the possibility of a military tribunal later and potentially the termination of Team Prime.

[[Image:Grill Optimus through window.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"Hey, Sam, you find those glasses ye- Oops. Wrong house."]]
Fowler insists that the Autobots are very careful about protecting [[human]]s, but lets slip about the kids. He quickly covers the mistake by claiming they're civilians working with the Autobots and valuable team members, carefully leaving out the fact that they're minors. Bryce seems mollified, but asks why [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] hasn't been terminated yet, which leads Fowler to mention [[Unicron]]. Bryce decides that Fowler needs a psychological evaluation, though after Fowler clarifies that he didn't say "[[unicorn]]", the evaluation is called off. Fowler also relays how both [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] and [[Airachnid]] have gone rogue, and that the Autobots have gained valuable intel from the former. Though he says Optimus thinks [[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]] could be converted, Fowler doesn't agree. When questioned about Optimus's recent defection, Fowler is confident that Optimus is firmly an Autobot. He mentions the current Decepticon hunt for ancient Transformer artifacts, and has Optimus himself look through the window and converse with Bryce. General Bryce is convinced and dismisses Fowler.

==Featured characters==
(Characters in ''italic text'' appear only in clips from previous episodes.) 
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
* ''[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]'' (12)
* ''[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]]'' (13)
* ''[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]]'' (17)
* ''[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]'' (19)
* ''[[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]''
* ''[[Tailgate (Prime)|Tailgate]]''

|c2=
*''[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]]'' (7)
*''[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]]'' (11)
*''[[Decepticon Miner]]s'' (18)
*''[[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]]'' (20)
*''[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]'' (21)
*''[[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]]'' (22)
*''[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]'' (25)
*''[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]]'' (27)
*''[[Airachnid]]'' (28)
*''[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]]'' (29)
*''[[Dreadwing (Prime)|Dreadwing]]'' (31)
*''[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]]'' (32)

|c3=
* [[William Fowler]] (1)
* [[Bryce|General Bryce]] (2)
* [[Daley|Private Daley]] (3)
* ''[[MECH Surgeon]]'' (6)
* ''[[Silas]]'' (8)
* ''[[MECH Commando]]'' (9)
* ''[[MECH Navigator]]'' (10)
* ''[[Miko Nakadai]]'' (14)
* ''[[Jack Darby]]'' (15)
* ''[[Raf Esquivel]]'' (16)
* ''[[Museum security guard|Guard]]'' (23)
* ''[[June Darby]]'' (24)

|c4=
* ''[[Nemesis Prime (Prime)|Nemesis Prime]]'' (5)
* ''[[Scraplet]]s'' (26)
* ''[[Unicron]]'' (30)
|}}

==Quotes==
"Soldier, too close."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' doesn't like close ups of his face

"It defies all logic, Bill. Dark energon? Then you go on record saying that you believe in magical horses with horns on their heads." 
"What?" 
"Do you deny previously reporting that Megatron helped defeat a unicorn?" 
"Oh? That's what you...? ''Unicron!'' The ultimate evil! Permission to strike this from the record." 
:—'''General Bryce''' makes the second unicron/unicorn joke in 25 years, and '''Agent Fowler''' avoids a psychological evaluation.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Being a [[clip show]], this episode shows bits from virtually every episode of the series up to this point.
* Like Miko in "[[One Shall Rise, Part 1]]", General Bryce mistakes "Unicron" for "unicorn".
* Fowler's dialogue makes a reference to the title of "[[Loose Cannons]]".
* This episode finally explains why Agent Fowler doesn't wear a flight suit.

===Transformers references===
* Fowler notes that Bumblebee got his voicebox torn out during the "[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (franchise)|war for Cybertron]]".
* At one point, Fowler refers to Nemesis Prime as a "[[knockoff]]".

===Trivia===
* As previously revealed on the package of the Ultimate Opponents Entertainment Pack, [[Silas]]'s real name is Leland Bishop. Newly revealed in this episode is his former military rank of Colonel.
* Aside from all the clips shown in this episode, the only Transformer appearing physically in this episode is Optimus Prime.
* A shot of Airachnid screaming Jack's name from "[[Predatory]]" is played without dialog, presumably to avoid having to pay [[Gina Torres]] an additional fee.
* We finally get an explanation for why Fowler can fly a jet without a flight suit. At some point (most likely before "[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]"), Ratchet modified the air pressure regulators in Fowler's jet. Fowler also makes a comment about the jet being a VTOL, which explains the maneuvers it made in "[[Loose Cannons]]".
* Interestingly enough, when Bryce asks Fowler for a headcount of the Autobots, [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] isn't mentioned despite Fowler's knowledge of his presence on Earth (he even had a face-to-face discussion with Jackie!). Maybe he thinks he left Earth? That, or he took Jackie's statement of "I'm not one of Optimus Prime's people" seriously.
* General Bryce mentions that the "five-stars" are upset. In real life, the [[Wikipedia:Five-star rank#US five-star ranks|five-star rank]] is not currently active in the United States military, being last awarded in 1950.

[[Category:Clip shows]]
[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Armada (episode)

2012-06-21T19:41:43Z

24.235.71.250:

15:41, 21 June 2012 (EDT)[[Special:Contributions/24.235.71.250|24.235.71.250]]ṂṚÆ{{disambig3|Armada}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 36
|prev=Grill
|next=Flying Mind
|image=Armada-clonessurroundMegatron.jpg
|caption=oh come on|title="Armada"
|airdate=[[April 21]], [[2012]]
|written by=[[Matt Wayne]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Bulkhead is trapped on the ''Nemesis'' amid dual attempts on Megatron's life.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] recovers consciousness, and realizes he's on the ''[[Trypticon (Prime)|Nemesis]]''. Unable to contact base, he begins to explore, but while hiding from [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]], he runs into [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]. Starscream is reluctant to help, and strikes at Bulkhead, so Bulkhead returns the favor by jumping on Starscream and literally beating the life out of him. Guiltily justifying his actions by muttering that Starscream left him no choice, Bulkhead returns to his exploration.

[[Image:Armada-protoforms.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Quick! Reprogram them into Combaticons!]]

Some 24 hours before, Starscream reaches the wreck of the ''[[Harbinger]]'' in his search for [[energon]]. Instead, he finds a laboratory containing five [[protoform]]s. Elsewhere, Bulkhead picks up a strong energon reading. Starscream finds information in the ''Harbinger''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> computer on cloning, and fires up the lab equipment. Soon, five [[Starscream clone (Prime)|duplicates of himself]] stand before him. Meanwhile Bulkhead, clambering into a hole he's found, realizes there's boxed energon at the bottom of it, and that the ''Nemesis'' is arriving overhead, ready to pick it up. As he struggles, he falls among the energon and, losing consciousness, is transported up to the Decepticon ship with it.

Starscream discovers that his clones are complete duplicates of himself, personality, memories, and all. The one significant difference seems to be that the clones have intact [[Transformation Cog]]s, and thus can fly. As the ''Harbinger'' is able to track where the ''Nemesis'' is, he sends his clones to eliminate [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] once and for all. The five clones board the ''Nemesis'' and split up, one of them running into Bulkhead, who terminates the clone. The original Starscream is dismayed to discover that he feels the same pain his clones feel. Bulkhead locates a comm unit and attempts to use it to contact the other Autobots, only to set off an alarm and bring Vehicons running. As he escapes, the Vehicons are distracted by another Starscream clone, but unbeknownst to anyone, Bulkhead has inadvertently triggered a Decepticon beacon.

The beacon is detected by [[Airachnid]], who releases her [[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticon]] army from their [[stasis pod]]s to go terminate Megatron. The activity is detected by the Autobots, and [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] [[GroundBridge]] to the location to investigate, discovering Airachnid in the middle of sending her troops. She sets some of the Insecticons after the trio, but Arcee bursts through the explosions and begins pursuing her. Optimus and Bumblebee begin mowing down Insecticons.

Bulkhead crawls through a service duct, and spots Megatron. Megatron starts heading for the bridge in response to reports that Starscream's there.

Arcee continues her pursuit of Airachnid, despite having to contend with two Insecticons. After the Insecticons are taken out, Airachnid disappears underground, and Arcee follows.

On the ''Nemesis'' bridge, Megatron finds himself face-to-faces with the four remaining Starscream clones. He offers to make them all [[second-in-command]] if they terminate Starscream for him, but the clones are stable enough to keep to the mission. Before they can open fire, the ship is attacked by Insecticons. The distraction is all Megatron needs, and he starts taking out clones. The last of the clones manages to escape as the Insecticon attack intensifies, and Megatron finally checks on what's going on outside.

[[Image:Armada-armadasurroundMegatron.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Megatron also remembers ''this'' from Tumblr.]]

Optimus and Bumblebee finish off the last of the Insecticons that were attacking them, and start looking for Arcee. Their comrade is currently deep underground hunting Airachnid. Arcee exchanges fire with her foe, and manages to manoeuvre Airachnid onto one of the open stasis pods, which promptly closes and puts the rogue Decepticon on ice. The Insecticons attacking the ''Nemesis'' all immediately stop their attack, drop on to the ship's hull, and proclaim their loyalty to a bemused Megatron.

Within the ''Nemesis'', Bulkhead finds the ship's power core, and severely damages it with his mace, causing it to explode. The ship slowly begins its descent. As he runs to the exit, Bulkhead encounters the Starscream clone, who promptly takes off. Bulkhead is puzzled at the fact that Starscream is alive and can transform. Once the ''Nemesis'' has crashed to earth, Bulkhead is able to drive off and speed away. He soon reaches base, where the Autobots are inspecting the stasis-locked Airachnid.

The last Starscream clone returns to the ''Harbinger'' and lets the original Starscream know the mission failed. He's about to shoot his progenitor, when Starscream turns and blasts him, complaining about the shared pain he experiences as he finally terminates him.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (7)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (10)
|c2=
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (2)
*[[Airachnid]] (5)
*[[Insecticon (Prime)|Insecticons]] (6)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (11)
|c4=
*[[Starscream clone (Prime)|Starscream clones]] (3)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (4)
}}

==Quotes==
"This is for [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]]! For [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]! For ''everything''."
:—'''Bulkhead''' delivers some much-deserved payback unto Starscream. Well, actually his clone, but what's the difference?

"You left me no choice."
:—'''Bulkhead''' pulling an [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus]].

"My genetic code provides my clones with a [[Transformation cog|T-Cog]] I no longer possess and all I get is their agony?!"
:—'''Starscream''' laments over the side-effects of cloning.

"Exterminating you was so gratifying the first three times."
:—'''Megatron''' approaching the last of Starscream's clones.

"When you extinguish my spark, make it hurt. You know I would extend that courtesy to you."
:—'''Airachnid''', creepy to the last.

'''Bulkhead''' (rushing inside the Autobot's base)''':''' Guys, you are not gonna believe the day I had! 
''Bulkhead spots Airachnid in stasis, then looks at Ratchet and Arcee'' 
'''Bulkhead:''' Oh, you too, huh?
:—It's been a busy day for everyone.

"AAAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUGHHH! ''Scrap'', that hurt!"
:—'''Starscream''' after killing the last clone.

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

===Continuity errors===
* Previously, one Insecticon was so powerful that it was able to fight toe-to-toe with Megatron (deprived of his fusion cannon). The Insecticons in this episode are considerably weaker, enough that several go down in one hit and another is taken out by crashing into a tree. You can do plenty of rationalizing—the Autobots have an open battlefield and their ranged weapons which Megatron did not, a lot of Insecticons die from crashing out the air rather than from attacks—but this downgrade is nothing special, being a [http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ConservationOfNinjitsu widely observed phenomenon] with armies of generic henchmen in fiction of all kinds.
*So where does Starscream keep getting those replacement missiles from, anyway?

===Continuity notes===
* Starscream returns to the ''[[Harbinger]]'', first seen in "[[Partners]]", the episode in which he defected.
* Starscream references sneaking on board the ''Nemesis'' and meeting Optimus Prime in "[[Orion Pax, Part 1]]".
* Starscream mentions [[Darkness Rising, Part 1|killing Cliffjumper]] and [[Crossfire|sparing Arcee's life]]... again.
* Bulkhead pounds Starscream (well, his clone really, but still...) for killing Cliffjumper and damaging Bumblebee's T-cog in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 2]]".
* Starscream laments over losing his T-cog in "Operation Bumblebee, Part 2".
* Airachnid had apparently repaired her [[Crossfire|severed limb]]. It didn't last.
* In "Grill", Agent Fowler said the next Arcee and Airachnid meet, only one is going to walk away. That's exactly what happen.

===Transformers references===
*Starscream follows in the footsteps of his [[Starscream (Animated)|''Animated'' predecessor]], who also once cloned [[Starscream clone (Animated)|multiple copies of himself]].
*Starscream's clones are mentally linked to him via [[binary bonding]].
*We see protoforms again.
*The crash of the ''Nemesis'' on a cliff edge resembles the one of [[Axalon (BW)|a certain other Transformer spacecraft]].

===Real-world references===
* Starscream's activation of the clones, with all the electricity and cackling, seems inspired by [[Frankenstein|''Frankenstein'']].
* The Nemesis has [http://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Jefferies_tube Jefferies tubes].

===Trivia===
* The Insecticons speak for the first time. They're still vermin, though.
* Soundwave, Knock Out, and Dreadwing do not seem to be on board the Nemesis to defend it from its Insecticon assailants for some unknown reason. While you could argue they were present and simply off-screen (e.g. when Megatron arrives, Vehicons are seen in the background firing on the Insecticons), considering how prominent the three of them are their absence is rather odd. Dreadwing, in particular, would most likely be heading the counterattack because of his position of second in command.
* Oddly, immediately after he laments the lack of energon on the Harbinger, and after spending episodes going on about how he needed to scrounge for scraps just to survive, Starscream, on finding the clones, takes some of his own energon from his arm to power the clones. Perhaps his ambitions got the better of his common sense, or he was counting on the clones winning and he could then resupply on the Nemesis.
* This is the second time Arcee has basically "saved" Megatron. Even though she couldn't think of a reason why she would want to stop that, Arcee's greater hatred towards Airachnid then starts a chase after her trying to kill her and Airachnid got trapped in a stasis egg freeing the Insecticons from her control, making them loyal to Megatron again. Arcee defeats Airachnid but saves Megatron and boosts the Decepticon ranks in the process.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]