MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Meltdown (Animated)

2010-11-13T06:21:16Z

64.189.19.96: /* Notes */

{{disambig3|Meltdown}}
:''Prometheus Black is a [[human]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Meltdownaproch.jpg|right|275px|thumb|Look what you've done! I'm melting! I'm melting!]]
'''Prometheus Black''' is an entrepreneur and business rival of [[Isaac Sumdac]]. Whereas [[Sumdac Systems]] focuses on robotics, Black's company [[Biotech Unbound]] is devoted to (of course) biotechnology. His constant loss of business in favor of Sumdac's [[automaton]]s has left Black bitter toward machines, especially the [[Transformer|sentient kind]]. While attempting to develop a new corrosive that would melt [[Autobot]] armor, Black fell victim to a laboratory accident that transformed him into the supervillain '''Meltdown'''.

Driven quite frankly bonkers, Black was left able to secrete an acidic liquid that melts anything he touches, and which can be fired in jets from his palms. Unable to "turn off" his powers, Black constantly secretes acid, and must wear protective suits that allow him to walk about and manipulate objects without melting them.

He employs shrimp/giant and altogether biochemical freak [[Colossus Rhodes]].

He also looks good in a pimp suit, which is the best superpower ever.

{{quote|Who better than the daughter of my arch-rival, the bane of my existence, the simpering fool who is unworthy to lick the mud off the heels of my platform-shoes—booga-looga-looga-looz—Professor Isaac Sumdac? Poetic, no?|—Meltdown vents some spleen regarding [[Isaac Sumdac]] and then gets [[Dancitron|his funk on]]|"[[Survival of the Fittest]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Peter Stormare]] (English), [[Rainer Doering]] (German), [[Fumihiko Tachiki]] (Japanese)

[[Image:TFA Prometheus Black.JPG|left|150px|thumb|"Oh, no. Promotheus." "''Prom'''e'''theus!]]
Prometheus Black's biotechnology business was highly successful because it played off the citizens of [[Detroit|Detroit's]] fear of <strike>illegal immigrants</strike> robots stealing their jobs. Much of his money was made on makeovers of some of the city's less physically gifted individuals, but he finally staged a promotion aimed at getting himself a contract with the city's police force. Pitting the seemingly frail old man Colossus Rhodes against [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], he hoped to win the support of [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] by showcasing the strength-inducing powers of his nano-technological steroids. Unfortunately, Rhodes proceeded to rampage out of control in the parking lot, convincing Fanzone to recommend canceling all of Black's contracts with the city, leaving Black financially ruined.

[[Image:Meltdown anim closeup.jpg|right|150px|thumb|The goggles...they do nothing!]]
In the wake of the parking lot brawl, Black discovered a small piece of Bumblebee's armor, which had been knocked off during the fight, coated in the Autobot's hydraulic fluid. Seeking to prove the superiority of his bio-tech creations over the Autobots, he fused the fluid with his steroids, creating an acid that would melt Transformer armor. Black presented his findings to his venture capital backers' representative, [[Porter C. Powell]], but Powell refused to supply him with any further money or test subjects. Enraged, Black smashed a rack of test tubes and beakers, scattering his acid across the laboratory. As the acid began eating through the counters and floor of the lab and alarms started blaring, Black inhaled the steroid-infused fumes as he staggered for the exit, and began to secrete acid through his pores.

Driven insane by the accident and now calling himself "Meltdown", Black donned a protective suit and decided to take his revenge on Sumdac, first by sabotaging a display of Sumdac's [[police drone]]s. Not content with simply damaging his rival's reputation, Meltdown next broke into [[Sumdac Tower]], intending to do away with Sumdac permanently. Thankfully, Bumblebee was able to save Sumdac at the eleventh hour, and proceeded to lure Meltdown to the ground floor of the tower, where he was trapped in a [[force field]] by [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]. {{storylink|Total Meltdown}}

[[Image:TFA Survival Fittest Meltdown panic.JPG|left|175px|thumb|Fanzone was right—he is one seriously twisted fruitcake.]]

When Meltdown next surfaced, he and Colossus Rhodes discovered the [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobots' island]], where Meltdown used his acidic powers to force the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]] into servitude. Additionally, Meltdown's encounter with the Autobots had left him thinking: If a robot could [[Transformation|transform]], why not a human being? Meltdown began concentrating on developing a "human transformer", but [[Fusion creature|his early experiments]] (one involving his lawyer) were failures. He attributed this to their bodies being too fixed by maturity and decided to try again, this time with the more flexible genetics of a child. He sent [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]] to kidnap [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]], Isaac's daughter, but [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and Captain Fanzone's interference not only put a stop to his plan, it also freed the Dinobots...whose first decision was to try and rend Meltdown limb from limb. Prowl gave him a choice: Dinobots or prison. Surprise, surprise, he chose prison. {{storylink|Survival of the Fittest}}

Meltdown was visited in prison by Sari, who wanted him to help provide evidence she could use against his old business partner, Porter C. Powell. That discussion was fruitless, but not long afterward, the Dinobots had a lot more success in breaking into the prison and kidnapping Meltdown at the behest of their new "friend", [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]. The shifty cyborg knew of Meltdown's genetic research and ordered him to cure her of her organic contamination.

[[Image:TFA Black Friday Meltdown melts.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Evil does not die...it...evolves.]]
Meltdown played along, explaining that he required a special [[genetic modifier]] from his old laboratory to purge Blackarachnia's organic half successfully. The device was retrieved by [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] and a blackmailed [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]], but as he strapped Blackarachnia down before beginning the process, Meltdown revealed that he would not be purging her organic half, but instead ridding her of her mechanical side in his latest attempt to create an organic Transformer. Prime managed to disrupt the experiment and rescue Blackarachnia. During the scuffle, Meltdown was hit by a massive energy discharge from the genetic modifier, and his body was melted away into a completely liquid state, leaking out of his containment suit and draining through the floor. His remains were left behind by Optimus, who believed him to be gone for good, but in reality, the villain was anything but. A short time later, his now-liquid body began reconstituting itself. {{storylink|Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
*Meltdown and Prometheus Black were originally conceived as separate characters. Meltdown and [[Nanosec]] would have been two of several bio-engineered humans made by Black.
*Meltdown is the only human villain to inflict grievous, often spark-threatening injury to any of the main cast, as well as hold his own in a fight against them on a fairly even level. He nearly melted off Bulkhead's arm and almost off-lined Bumblebee in "[[Total Meltdown]]", tormented the Dinobots into submission while critically injuring Bulkhead in "[[Survival of the Fittest]]", would have turned Blackarachnia into a [[Mutant (BW)| mutant]] and might have killed Optimus if the genetic modifier hadn't liquified him in "[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]". And he still gets owned by [[Carmine Fanzone|a human]].
*Although the final scene of "Black Friday" leaves open the possibility of a return, Meltdown is never seen again in the series.
* One of Meltdown's schemes is to create a completely organic transformer. [[Noble| If only he knew...]]

[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Humans]]
[[Category:Supervillains]]

Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4

2010-11-13T06:05:16Z

64.189.19.96: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=69
|series2=2010
|ep2=4
|prev2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3
|next2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
|image=FFOD4 Rodimus journey.JPG
|caption=What the hell did [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] give me?
|title="Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4"
|production code=#700-89
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|airdate=[[September 18]], 1986
|written by=[[Flint Dille]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}
'''Seeking answers about their mysterious new foes, Rodimus Prime takes a journey through the Matrix to learn the truth about the Quintessons... and the origins of the Transformers.'''

:''Japanese title:'' マトリクスの秘密 (''Matrix no Himitsu'', "The Secrets of the Matrix")
:''German title:'' "'''Die fünf Gesichter der Finsternis, Teil 4'''" ("The five Faces of Darkness, Part 4")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:FFOD4 Autobots no hit.JPG|left|200px|thumb|It's like they're being shot at by Decepticon Targetmasters.]]

On [[Goo]], the [[Decepticon]]s open fire on the [[Autobot]]s (and miss spectacularly). [[Judge Deliberata]] cheers them on, until Grimlock slams him into the goo. As they get closer, Galvatron arrives, intending to punish the Decepticons for their "disloyalty". Upon seeing (and being shot by) their long-lost leader, the Decepticons repledge their loyalty to Galvatron and tell him that they were bribed into following the [[Quintesson]]s for [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. Galvatron is not happy and decides to punish the Quintessons for their usurpation.

On Goo, the Autobots find the control center, and Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus find out that the planet is a garbage collection system for the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]. Contacting Wreck-Gar, they request assistance after managing to "talk [[Television|Teevee]]".

On [[Io]], Blurr and Wheelie are under attack by the [[lipole]]s, who are ferociously flapping their wings in the two Autobots' faces. Wheelie is overtaken, but tells Blurr to leave him and take Metroplex's [[transformation cog]]. Instead of leaving his comrade to die, Blurr heads right into the thick of the swarm. [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrives and manages to drive off the lipoles, but a number of them transform into missiles and destroy her ship. The three begin a search through the ship's wreckage, hoping that the communications are still working.

[[Image:FFOD4 Autobots lipoles.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"I'm Batman." "No, I'm Batman." "Hey, I'm Batman!" "I'm Man-bat."]]

Galvatron introduces himself by firing on the Quintesson ship. Realizing that Galvatron must be handled differently, the Quintessons offer an alliance with the Decepticons against the Autobots, but Galvatron says he never asked for their help. They offer Galvatron the [[Decepticon Matrix|Decepticon Matrix of Leadership]], but Galvatron simply demands it in exchange for letting them live. The Quintessons say that their lives are not enough, and that the Autobots must be destroyed.

Galvatron attacks the Autobots, but the Junkions arrive and melt the goo out from under the Autobots, sucking them right through the planet. Judge Deliberata winds up getting ejected in the process. Galvatron destroys Goo, but by the time he's done, the Junkions and Autobots have fled.

Heading back to the ship, Galvatron rants at the Quintessons, who counter that they would be powerful allies. Galvatron demands to know why the Quintessons haven't destroyed the Autobots themselves. They explain that the Autobots have been made unpredictable by their interactions with the [[human]]s. Sneering at the Quintessons' fear of the flesh creatures, Galvatron agrees to an alliance. The Decepticons cry "Hail Galvatron!" to affirm their support of their leader, and even the Quintessons give out a shout.

[[Image:RodimusBack.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No thanks, I can hold down this pile by myself.]]

On [[Junkion (planet)|the Planet of Junk]], Wreck-Gar restores Springer to life. However, Rodimus is not as cheered up as expected. He has questions about the Quintessons—about their hostility towards the Autobots, how they know so much about them, and about their intentions. Rodimus has become convinced that the answers behind the Quintessons lie in the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]], but he still doesn't know how to consult the wisdom of the ages. Springer makes a sarcastic suggestion, saying that he should just come close to death again. Although Arcee says not to do that, Springer assures her that Rodimus is not as stupid as he looks. Wandering off, the [[Supreme Commander|Autobot commander]] short-circuits himself and falls unconscious.

[[Image:Ancientrobot ffod.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]

Rodimus enters the Matrix, where he is greeted by the spirits of the [[Ancient Autobots]], who show him the face of the creators of the Transformers...the Quintessons! Eons ago, the Quintessons used [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as a factory to build two lines of robots: consumer goods and military hardware, who evolved into the Autobots and the Decepticons, respectively. Millennia of torturous abuse led the Autobots to rebel and drive the Quintessons off Cybertron. Afterwards, the Cybertronians warred with each other for control, which was ended when the Autobots developed the art of [[transformation]]. A [[Golden Age]] followed, which was ended when the Decepticons mastered transformation and created a new leader: [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. He killed the [[U-Haul Robot|Matrix-bearer]], who passed the Matrix to [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], one of the oldest among them. However, Alpha Trion did not take the Matrix for himself, but gave it another who would challenge Megatron. This was [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], who became the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] for the [[Great War (G1)|Third Cybertronian War]], which has raged for nine million years and continues to rage even now.

Rodimus reactivates to find Springer and Arcee seriously freaked out. Dismissing their concerns, he tells them that they need to get to Cybertron as soon as possible.

[[Image:FFOD4 Trypticon lives.JPG|left|200px|thumb|When a guy has cannons for a tongue, it's time to panic.]]

Near Cybertron, Galvatron and the Quintessons plot their strategy. They will attack on two fronts: [[Autobot City]] and Cybertron. On [[Earth]], the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] are making changes to a human city. At dawn, they activate a transformation sequence, and the city begins to change. As the humans flee, the dust settles to the ground. In the place of the city now stands...Trypticon!

On Cybertron, an [[Earth Defense Command]] ship requests emergency landing clearance. Perceptor warns that it might be a trick, but Kup refuses to allow a ship full of innocents to perish, giving them clearance to land. But the ship instead crashes into Cybertron's central power facility, shutting down the planet's defenses. Storming from the Quintesson ships, Galvatron leads the Decepticons in an attack. Aboard the vessels, the Quintessons are pleased, for soon the Autobots will be destroyed, and then they will deal with the Decepticons.

[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5|To be concluded...]]

{{-}}

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (5)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (6)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (7)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (8)
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (19)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (22)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (23)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (25)
* [[Hood Transformer]] (26)
* [[Pole vault Transformer]] (27)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (30)
* [[Primon]] (31)
* [[Prima]] (32)
* [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] (33)
* [[Prime Nova]] (34)
* [[Guardian Prime]] (36)
* [[Zeta Prime]] (38)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (47)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (48)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (51)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (52)

|c2=
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (1)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (2)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (3)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (12)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (13)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (14)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (15)
* [[Sweep]]s (16)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (17)
* [[Octane]] (28)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (29)
* [[Early Decepticon leader]] (35)
* [[Early Decepticons]] (37)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (39)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (40)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (41)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (42)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (43)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (44)
* Two nameless [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] (45)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (46)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (49)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (50)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (4)
* [[Marissa Faireborn]] (20)

|c4=
* [[Judge Deliberata]] (9)
* Various [[Quintesson]]s (24)
}}

==Quotes==
"Last big party of the summer, folks! Let's go out with a bang!" 
"Just once, couldn't your attitude reflect the gravity of the situation?!" 
"Not if I can help it!"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' and '''Ultra Magnus''' have rather different leadership styles.

"Yes! Yes! Even if it means my life is forfeit, destroy them! Destroy th—ooh!" 
''[Tail smack]'' 
"Me Grimlock say shut your faces!"
:—'''Judge Deliberata''' annoys '''Grimlock'''.

'''Galvatron''': Now, Decepticons, learn the price of your disloyalty! Attack! 
'''Cyclonus''': Attack whom? 
''[Galvatron shoots Cyclonus]'' 
'''Galvatron''': EVERYONE!
:—Galvatron isn't so good with specifics.

'''Wreck-Gar''': Bulletin: You are in danger of being canceled or losing your time slot. 
'''Ultra Magnus''': What's he talking about? 
'''Rodimus Prime''': We're gonna get killed.
:—Rodimus shows the value of knowing a second language.

"He ran right back into the danger! My digital watch is smarter than that!"
:—'''Marissa Faireborn''' isn't impressed with Blurr's tactics

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* [[Victor Caroli]]'s opening recap narration says that Quintessa "was detonated by the deadly Quintesson". Maybe a single Quint really did push the button all by himself, but the use of the singular is a bit odd.
* The first two shots, of the Decepticons pouring out of the Quintesson ship and firing at the Autobots, are loaded with too many screwups to count, as a mixture of made-up characters and off-model characters with the wrong color scheme pads out the background. An off-model Blitzwing colored like Air Raid is just one example.
* In the wide shot of the Autobots, Kup, Magnus, Arcee and Rodimus are in front. Grimlock and Deliberata are in back, and behind them are two guys that don't look like any of the Aerialbots (who remain AWOL throughout the sequence.)
* Just before Magnus starts to chastise Rodimus, Rodimus's torso is orange instead of red, and his waistline has climbed half way up his stomach, kinda like an old man being swallowed by his trousers.
* In the closeup shot of Rodimus and Magnus, yellow lasers are flying past them, despite the Decepticon lasers being pink in all the other scenes.
* How long do the Autobots intend to stand there without shooting back at the Decepticons? Why are they just strolling along without defending themselves?
* When Judge Deliberata is celebrating the impending destruction of the Autobots, [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] is shown with them, despite not being part of the group that landed on Goo.
* A subsequent shot gives us a better look at the crowd-filler Decepticons. In addition to Air Raid/Blitzwing, we have Ramjet missing most of his wings, with a black head, and one of his lasers on backwards. Every other character in the shot is entirely made up, though two of them appear to be using Octane's wing design.
[[Image:FFOD4 mass mistakes.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Dead End, are we the only ones here NOT colored wrong?" "Who cares, Blast Off? We're doomed either way."]]
* In the next shot, as [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] are discussing how easy it is to destroy the Autobots, [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] is colored like Kup, [[Octane]] is colored like Grimlock, and an off-model [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] shows up colored like Rodimus Prime. Also there is an early version of [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]'s [[character model]] with Cyclonus' color scheme right behind Kup-colored Motormaster. What's more, standing near the miscoloured Snarl is a Decepticon coloured like Wheelie. Yikes.
* Dead End and Blast Off's conversation is screwed up more ways than one:
** "We owe this grand opportunity entirely to our new allies" is about as obvious a statement as one could make, yet Blast Off has to ask for an explanation.
** The explanation seems to come from Swindle, but he's not in the shot.
** The pointless explanation ("He means that what opportunities--") is suddenly truncated by Galvatron's arrival. Maybe he sensed the scene was going nowhere.
* Galvatron's lower helmet rim is gray instead of purple as he first appears. Man, AKOM sure does that a lot.
* Why is Galvatron ''literally'' jogging through space right after the above shot?
* More Decepticon generics and off-models after Galvatron arrives. A shot of the tail end of the mob includes Soundwave, Scavenger, Swindle and Onslaught all in white, a generic with Octane's wings, a generic with what looks like Rodimus's spoiler, and several totally made-up generic guys.
* When Motormaster is blasted by Galvatron, a white and red Onslaught is in the background.
* Motormaster has the wrong voice as he reacts to Galvatron's return. He has the right voice in his next line ("Spare me and I'm yours to command!")
* When the Swindle and Motormaster fly up to pledge their allegiance to Galvatron, the Autobot [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] is with them for two different consecutive shots.
* During his "Sloppiness. Disorganization." line, Magnus has much smaller eyes than usual.
* Rodimus's spoiler ridge is so often colored yellow instead of orange that it's almost more noteworthy when they get it ''right''.
* After the Decepticons break off their assault, Rodimus and Magnus once again just walk right out of the inescapable goo.
* As Marissa's ship enters the Jovian system, it passes over what looks like a post-Movie Cybertron!
* Improbable viewpoints:
** Marissa's screen shows Blurr and Wheelie from a surface point of view, even though she's still high above the moon's surface. She reacts to this full-screen image of the two by saying "I think I've spotted them", as if there were some doubt.
* The inside of Blurr's mouth is blue as he frets over saving Wheelie.
* As Blurr charges back into the lipole swarm, most of the creatures aren't animated, despite being in the air.
* No wing-flapping in the shot of the lipoles surrounding Wheelie, either. They just magically bob up and down in the air.
* How does Marissa's jet pack support her in mid-air when she's upside-down?
* The jetpack's flames change from non-existent, to blue, to orange when Marissa lands.
* Galvatron is colored with a gray "goatee" after he blasts the Decepticon ship, and again as he climbs aboard. As he scoffs at the Quintessons, the whole area around his mouth is gray; the gray disappears as he turns and fires. The goatee returns as he rants at the Quintessons after destroying Goo. Then the beard returns as well.
* "Tell me? What?" The Quintesson in this shot is missing his energy beam.
* The Quintessons are pretty clearly mechanical, yet one of them makes a squishy noise when Galvatron slams him into the ship's deck.
* Deliberata is missing his energy beam as Kup takes aim at Galvatron.
* As Kup and company open fire on Galvatron, Bonecrusher is firing with them! In the background are two pipe-cleaner-thin generics.
* Galvatron rises back into the frame after destroying Goo, as if he just returned to robot mode, but there's no transformation noise.
* As Galvatron accepts the Quintessons as allies, his left hand goes from purple to gray and back.
[[Image:Generic palette swap.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* We see seven Sweeps aboard the Quintesson ship, the most we've seen so far in the whole mini-series. Some previous shots have indicated that there are as few as three.
* As the wimpy-sounding Decepticons hail Galvatron, two [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwaves]] are shown colored like [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], alongside a [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] colored like [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]].
* Seriously. No combination of known Decepticon voices would result in that chorus of "Hail Galvatron."
* On Junkion, Arcee continues to be without the bridgeline of her nose.
* When Arcee and the repaired Springer speak with Rodimus, the latter is drawn in his [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] form.
* The sprawled, unconscious Rodimus changes positions between the end of Act 2 and the opening of Act 3; specifically, his arms move from eagle-spread to down by his sides.
* The [[U-Haul Robot]]'s barbed mace phases through the foot of the [[Powerful Robot]] after it hits the ground.
* Vehicles based on Hook and Scavenger are used as generic construction vehicles during a shot showing the Transformers' freedom from the Quintessons (prior to inventing transformation). Or maybe all construction vehicles are green and purple on Cybertron.
[[Image:FFODHaul.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* When the Decepticons assemble Trypticon, [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] is colored like Octane and [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] is colored like [[U-Haul Robot]].
* When the Constructicons celebrate Trypticon's awakening, they're drawn as generics and colored like the core Movie Autobots: Magnus, Kup, Wheelie, and Arcee's color schemes are all visible.
* As Kup, Perceptor and Cosmos watch the incoming ship, Perceptor is colored like Grimlock, and Cosmos's arms are on backwards.
* Cosmos's voice lacks its usual reverberated echo.
* The Aerialbots who fly to intercept the ship are all colored the same light gray and medium blue. Only Silverbolt and Skydive are on-model.
* The horde of miscolored generic Decepticons is recycled for the attack on Cybertron.
* Really makes you wonder how [[AKOM]] actually gets work, doesn't it?

===Continuity errors===
* The lipoles have totally changed size since the last episode. Instead of a deep-throated growl, they now give off high-pitched squeaks. They aren't glowing anymore, either.
* The animation does absolutely nothing to tell us what's so bad about being swarmed by lipoles. From what we see in this episode, it would seem to be little more than a mild annoyance.
* Why doesn't Wheelie transform and drive to escape the lipoles?
* The animators and writers alike seem to have forgotten that Blurr's defining physical trait is that he's ''fast''. In this episode, he runs like a grandmother.
* Marissa's space suit has no visor or anything covering her face.
* Speaking of which, how can these creatures fly by flapping their wings when Io has only the thinnest of atmospheres?
* Marissa's demand that the lipoles "eat null rays" doesn't make much since, as an actual [[null-ray]] affects electronic circuits. Marissa's gun instead causes the lipoles to violently explode.
* On the other hand, her assertion that they are "bags of protoplasm" doesn't make much since either, since they can ''transform'' (complete with the transforming noise) into ''rocket-propelled missiles''.
* There appears to be some missing lines in the [[Ancient Robot]]'s monologue: "Now, the machines could manufacture themselves. And before long, they grew too lazy and greedy even for that. There were simpler ways to wring performance out of their slaves." The "they" in the second sentence clearly refers to the Quintessons, not the machines.
* How does one recycle a robot by dumping it into a molten vat?
* Where did those dancing robots get the cloth sheet things they're waving around?
* The ancient Autobot that gets knocked off of the motorcycle is a recycled character model; he was last seen standing alongside Wreck-Gar on the Junkion ship, just a few scenes ago!
[[Image:Megatronffod.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ve must have ze brain on ze table! Chop chop!]]
* One of the most famous continuity gaffs of the entire series comes as the Matrix journey wraps up. A scene showing Megatron's creation millions of years ago is illustrated with him surrounded by Constructions. It's problematic because, according to "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme]]", the Constructicons weren't actually ''evil'' until ''Megatron himself'' reprogrammed them to be Decepticons. And according to a one-off line in "[[Heavy Metal War]]", Megatron and the other Decepticons built the Constructicons on Earth in 1984!
* On top of that, there's eight Constructions! None of them are really on-model; three appear to be entirely made up.
[[Image:Alphatrionagesbackwards.jpg|thumb|right|150px| ]]
* Somebody forgot that we'd already seen an 11-million-years-younger Alpha Trion, back in "[[War Dawn]]"... and he looked visibly different than the elderly Trion of 1985! He is shown in his "elderly" design when he receives the matrix from the dying Autobot leader; chronologically, the events of "[[War Dawn]]" happen after this, but in that epiosde he's portrayed with a much younger look.
* The Constructicons build (or rebuild, depending on whether you're watching [[Transformers 2010 (franchise)|2010]]) [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] out of a human city overnight. And no one notices.
* The idea of rebuilding a human city into a Transformer only makes any sense if the city was made ''entirely of metal''.
* Trypticon is seemingly brought to life without the use of [[Vector Sigma]], which we were [[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1|previously assured]] is the only way to grant life and/or sentience and/or "cybernetic personalities" to new Transformers. Of course, it's not as if he is unique in that respect: the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were also made without the use of the computer, and Trypticon wound up being as dim as they are.
* Cybertron appears to have gotten a remodel since we saw it in the Movie. Who had time to patch up all those holes?

===Real-world references===
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** The [[Powerful Robot]] attacks the [[U-Haul Robot]] with the sound of Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader's lightsabers clashing aboard the Death Star, and Luke Skywalker's lightsaber deflecting seeker bolts aboard the ''Millennium Falcon''.
** The Powerful Robot launches against his Quintesson overseers with the same Death Star firing/Alderaan exploding sound effect that Galvatron used in Part 2.
* Wreck-Gar's lines are mostly based on generic sales pitches ("Batteries not included", "for a limited time, your money back," "Doors closing at midnight!" hilariously timed to coincide with Galvatron confronting a closing donut hole of goo). A few lines have more specific origins, though:
** "Glad you used the dial, wish everybody would." parodies the "Aren't you glad you used Dial?" soap ad campaign.
** "Why'd you come on down to Goo?" is based on the famous "Come on down, you're the next contestant on..." catch phrase of ''The Price is Right''.
** "Wreck-Gar will put you in good hands" references the "You're in good hands with Allstate" insurance ad campaign.
** "You'll have Springer back faster than Snap Crackle Pop", the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
** "I believe in me" would reoccur as a Junkion mantra in "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]".

===Trivia===
* This episode features the second and final instance of Rodimus referring to Springer with the nickname "Springo".
[[Image:Pretransformer ffod.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Some looks never go out of style!]]
* Apart from Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion, the ancient (pre-)Autobots that Rodimus meets in the Matrix are identified in the shooting script as:
** [[Ancient Robot]]
** [[Powerful Robot]]
** [[Brooding Robot]]
** [[Pre-Transformer (character)|Pre-Transformer]]
** [[New Narrator]]
** [[U-Haul Robot]]

* The entire Decepticon army fails to hit a single Autobot when they are all grouped together on Goo. My, how energon depletion affects the [[Sensors|optics]].

* The original video cassette release of this episode featured some odd audio edits to the final scene: all of Cosmos's lines were missing, as were the fake pilot's claim that their "engines have just gone critical", and the Quintesson's declaration that their decoy worked and that Cybertron is helpless. The [[Kid Rhino]] DVD of this episode restores all the missing lines, but they are all once again missing on the subsequent [[Shout! Factory]] release.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness ([[Family Home Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness (Family Home Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness: Parts 1-5 ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/five_faces_of_darkness_part_4.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4

2010-11-13T06:03:39Z

64.189.19.96: /* Animation or technical glitches */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=69
|series2=2010
|ep2=4
|prev2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3
|next2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
|image=FFOD4 Rodimus journey.JPG
|caption=What the hell did [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] give me?
|title="Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4"
|production code=#700-89
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|airdate=[[September 18]], 1986
|written by=[[Flint Dille]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}
'''Seeking answers about their mysterious new foes, Rodimus Prime takes a journey through the Matrix to learn the truth about the Quintessons... and the origins of the Transformers.'''

:''Japanese title:'' マトリクスの秘密 (''Matrix no Himitsu'', "The Secrets of the Matrix")
:''German title:'' "'''Die fünf Gesichter der Finsternis, Teil 4'''" ("The five Faces of Darkness, Part 4")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:FFOD4 Autobots no hit.JPG|left|200px|thumb|It's like they're being shot at by Decepticon Targetmasters.]]

On [[Goo]], the [[Decepticon]]s open fire on the [[Autobot]]s (and miss spectacularly). [[Judge Deliberata]] cheers them on, until Grimlock slams him into the goo. As they get closer, Galvatron arrives, intending to punish the Decepticons for their "disloyalty". Upon seeing (and being shot by) their long-lost leader, the Decepticons repledge their loyalty to Galvatron and tell him that they were bribed into following the [[Quintesson]]s for [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. Galvatron is not happy and decides to punish the Quintessons for their usurpation.

On Goo, the Autobots find the control center, and Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus find out that the planet is a garbage collection system for the [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]. Contacting Wreck-Gar, they request assistance after managing to "talk [[Television|Teevee]]".

On [[Io]], Blurr and Wheelie are under attack by the [[lipole]]s, who are ferociously flapping their wings in the two Autobots' faces. Wheelie is overtaken, but tells Blurr to leave him and take Metroplex's [[transformation cog]]. Instead of leaving his comrade to die, Blurr heads right into the thick of the swarm. [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrives and manages to drive off the lipoles, but a number of them transform into missiles and destroy her ship. The three begin a search through the ship's wreckage, hoping that the communications are still working.

[[Image:FFOD4 Autobots lipoles.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"I'm Batman." "No, I'm Batman." "Hey, I'm Batman!" "I'm Man-bat."]]

Galvatron introduces himself by firing on the Quintesson ship. Realizing that Galvatron must be handled differently, the Quintessons offer an alliance with the Decepticons against the Autobots, but Galvatron says he never asked for their help. They offer Galvatron the [[Decepticon Matrix|Decepticon Matrix of Leadership]], but Galvatron simply demands it in exchange for letting them live. The Quintessons say that their lives are not enough, and that the Autobots must be destroyed.

Galvatron attacks the Autobots, but the Junkions arrive and melt the goo out from under the Autobots, sucking them right through the planet. Judge Deliberata winds up getting ejected in the process. Galvatron destroys Goo, but by the time he's done, the Junkions and Autobots have fled.

Heading back to the ship, Galvatron rants at the Quintessons, who counter that they would be powerful allies. Galvatron demands to know why the Quintessons haven't destroyed the Autobots themselves. They explain that the Autobots have been made unpredictable by their interactions with the [[human]]s. Sneering at the Quintessons' fear of the flesh creatures, Galvatron agrees to an alliance. The Decepticons cry "Hail Galvatron!" to affirm their support of their leader, and even the Quintessons give out a shout.

[[Image:RodimusBack.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No thanks, I can hold down this pile by myself.]]

On [[Junkion (planet)|the Planet of Junk]], Wreck-Gar restores Springer to life. However, Rodimus is not as cheered up as expected. He has questions about the Quintessons—about their hostility towards the Autobots, how they know so much about them, and about their intentions. Rodimus has become convinced that the answers behind the Quintessons lie in the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]], but he still doesn't know how to consult the wisdom of the ages. Springer makes a sarcastic suggestion, saying that he should just come close to death again. Although Arcee says not to do that, Springer assures her that Rodimus is not as stupid as he looks. Wandering off, the [[Supreme Commander|Autobot commander]] short-circuits himself and falls unconscious.

[[Image:Ancientrobot ffod.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]

Rodimus enters the Matrix, where he is greeted by the spirits of the [[Ancient Autobots]], who show him the face of the creators of the Transformers...the Quintessons! Eons ago, the Quintessons used [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] as a factory to build two lines of robots: consumer goods and military hardware, who evolved into the Autobots and the Decepticons, respectively. Millennia of torturous abuse led the Autobots to rebel and drive the Quintessons off Cybertron. Afterwards, the Cybertronians warred with each other for control, which was ended when the Autobots developed the art of [[transformation]]. A [[Golden Age]] followed, which was ended when the Decepticons mastered transformation and created a new leader: [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. He killed the [[U-Haul Robot|Matrix-bearer]], who passed the Matrix to [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], one of the oldest among them. However, Alpha Trion did not take the Matrix for himself, but gave it another who would challenge Megatron. This was [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], who became the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] for the [[Great War (G1)|Third Cybertronian War]], which has raged for nine million years and continues to rage even now.

Rodimus reactivates to find Springer and Arcee seriously freaked out. Dismissing their concerns, he tells them that they need to get to Cybertron as soon as possible.

[[Image:FFOD4 Trypticon lives.JPG|left|200px|thumb|When a guy has cannons for a tongue, it's time to panic.]]

Near Cybertron, Galvatron and the Quintessons plot their strategy. They will attack on two fronts: [[Autobot City]] and Cybertron. On [[Earth]], the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] are making changes to a human city. At dawn, they activate a transformation sequence, and the city begins to change. As the humans flee, the dust settles to the ground. In the place of the city now stands...Trypticon!

On Cybertron, an [[Earth Defense Command]] ship requests emergency landing clearance. Perceptor warns that it might be a trick, but Kup refuses to allow a ship full of innocents to perish, giving them clearance to land. But the ship instead crashes into Cybertron's central power facility, shutting down the planet's defenses. Storming from the Quintesson ships, Galvatron leads the Decepticons in an attack. Aboard the vessels, the Quintessons are pleased, for soon the Autobots will be destroyed, and then they will deal with the Decepticons.

[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5|To be concluded...]]

{{-}}

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (5)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (6)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (7)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (8)
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (10)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (19)
* [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]] (21)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (22)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (23)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (25)
* [[Hood Transformer]] (26)
* [[Pole vault Transformer]] (27)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (30)
* [[Primon]] (31)
* [[Prima]] (32)
* [[Sentinel Prime (G1)|Sentinel Prime]] (33)
* [[Prime Nova]] (34)
* [[Guardian Prime]] (36)
* [[Zeta Prime]] (38)
* [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] (47)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (48)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (51)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (52)

|c2=
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (1)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (2)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (3)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (12)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (13)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (14)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (15)
* [[Sweep]]s (16)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (17)
* [[Octane]] (28)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (29)
* [[Early Decepticon leader]] (35)
* [[Early Decepticons]] (37)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (39)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (40)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (41)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (42)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (43)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (44)
* Two nameless [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] (45)
* [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] (46)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (49)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (50)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (4)
* [[Marissa Faireborn]] (20)

|c4=
* [[Judge Deliberata]] (9)
* Various [[Quintesson]]s (24)
}}

==Quotes==
"Last big party of the summer, folks! Let's go out with a bang!" 
"Just once, couldn't your attitude reflect the gravity of the situation?!" 
"Not if I can help it!"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' and '''Ultra Magnus''' have rather different leadership styles.

"Yes! Yes! Even if it means my life is forfeit, destroy them! Destroy th—ooh!" 
''[Tail smack]'' 
"Me Grimlock say shut your faces!"
:—'''Judge Deliberata''' annoys '''Grimlock'''.

'''Galvatron''': Now, Decepticons, learn the price of your disloyalty! Attack! 
'''Cyclonus''': Attack whom? 
''[Galvatron shoots Cyclonus]'' 
'''Galvatron''': EVERYONE!
:—Galvatron isn't so good with specifics.

'''Wreck-Gar''': Bulletin: You are in danger of being canceled or losing your time slot. 
'''Ultra Magnus''': What's he talking about? 
'''Rodimus Prime''': We're gonna get killed.
:—Rodimus shows the value of knowing a second language.

"He ran right back into the danger! My digital watch is smarter than that!"
:—'''Marissa Faireborn''' isn't impressed with Blurr's tactics

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* [[Victor Caroli]]'s opening recap narration says that Quintessa "was detonated by the deadly Quintesson". Maybe a single Quint really did push the button all by himself, but the use of the singular is a bit odd.
* The first two shots, of the Decepticons pouring out of the Quintesson ship and firing at the Autobots, are loaded with too many screwups to count, as a mixture of made-up characters and off-model characters with the wrong color scheme pads out the background. An off-model Blitzwing colored like Air Raid is just one example.
* In the wide shot of the Autobots, Kup, Magnus, Arcee and Rodimus are in front. Grimlock and Deliberata are in back, and behind them are two guys that don't look like any of the Aerialbots (who remain AWOL throughout the sequence.)
* Just before Magnus starts to chastise Rodimus, Rodimus's torso is orange instead of red, and his waistline has climbed half way up his stomach, kinda like an old man being swallowed by his trousers.
* In the closeup shot of Rodimus and Magnus, yellow lasers are flying past them, despite the Decepticon lasers being pink in all the other scenes.
* How long do the Autobots intend to stand there without shooting back at the Decepticons? Why are they just strolling along without defending themselves?
* When Judge Deliberata is celebrating the impending destruction of the Autobots, [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] is shown with them, despite not being part of the group that landed on Goo.
* A subsequent shot gives us a better look at the crowd-filler Decepticons. In addition to Air Raid/Blitzwing, we have Ramjet missing most of his wings, with a black head, and one of his lasers on backwards. Every other character in the shot is entirely made up, though two of them appear to be using Octane's wing design.
[[Image:FFOD4 mass mistakes.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Dead End, are we the only ones here NOT colored wrong?" "Who cares, Blast Off? We're doomed either way."]]
* In the next shot, as [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] and [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] are discussing how easy it is to destroy the Autobots, [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] is colored like Kup, [[Octane]] is colored like Grimlock, and an off-model [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] shows up colored like Rodimus Prime. Also there is an early version of [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]'s [[character model]] with Cyclonus' color scheme right behind Kup-colored Motormaster. What's more, standing near the miscoloured Snarl is a Decepticon coloured like Wheelie. Yikes.
* Dead End and Blast Off's conversation is screwed up more ways than one:
** "We owe this grand opportunity entirely to our new allies" is about as obvious a statement as one could make, yet Blast Off has to ask for an explanation.
** The explanation seems to come from Swindle, but he's not in the shot.
** The pointless explanation ("He means that what opportunities--") is suddenly truncated by Galvatron's arrival. Maybe he sensed the scene was going nowhere.
* Galvatron's lower helmet rim is gray instead of purple as he first appears. Man, AKOM sure does that a lot.
* Why is Galvatron jogging through space right after the above shot?
* More Decepticon generics and off-models after Galvatron arrives. A shot of the tail end of the mob includes Soundwave, Scavenger, Swindle and Onslaught all in white, a generic with Octane's wings, a generic with what looks like Rodimus's spoiler, and several totally made-up generic guys.
* When Motormaster is blasted by Galvatron, a white and red Onslaught is in the background.
* Motormaster has the wrong voice as he reacts to Galvatron's return. He has the right voice in his next line ("Spare me and I'm yours to command!")
* When the Swindle and Motormaster fly up to pledge their allegiance to Galvatron, the Autobot [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] is with them for two different consecutive shots.
* During his "Sloppiness. Disorganization." line, Magnus has much smaller eyes than usual.
* Rodimus's spoiler ridge is so often colored yellow instead of orange that it's almost more noteworthy when they get it ''right''.
* After the Decepticons break off their assault, Rodimus and Magnus once again just walk right out of the inescapable goo.
* As Marissa's ship enters the Jovian system, it passes over what looks like a post-Movie Cybertron!
* Improbable viewpoints:
** Marissa's screen shows Blurr and Wheelie from a surface point of view, even though she's still high above the moon's surface. She reacts to this full-screen image of the two by saying "I think I've spotted them", as if there were some doubt.
* The inside of Blurr's mouth is blue as he frets over saving Wheelie.
* As Blurr charges back into the lipole swarm, most of the creatures aren't animated, despite being in the air.
* No wing-flapping in the shot of the lipoles surrounding Wheelie, either. They just magically bob up and down in the air.
* How does Marissa's jet pack support her in mid-air when she's upside-down?
* The jetpack's flames change from non-existent, to blue, to orange when Marissa lands.
* Galvatron is colored with a gray "goatee" after he blasts the Decepticon ship, and again as he climbs aboard. As he scoffs at the Quintessons, the whole area around his mouth is gray; the gray disappears as he turns and fires. The goatee returns as he rants at the Quintessons after destroying Goo. Then the beard returns as well.
* "Tell me? What?" The Quintesson in this shot is missing his energy beam.
* The Quintessons are pretty clearly mechanical, yet one of them makes a squishy noise when Galvatron slams him into the ship's deck.
* Deliberata is missing his energy beam as Kup takes aim at Galvatron.
* As Kup and company open fire on Galvatron, Bonecrusher is firing with them! In the background are two pipe-cleaner-thin generics.
* Galvatron rises back into the frame after destroying Goo, as if he just returned to robot mode, but there's no transformation noise.
* As Galvatron accepts the Quintessons as allies, his left hand goes from purple to gray and back.
[[Image:Generic palette swap.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* We see seven Sweeps aboard the Quintesson ship, the most we've seen so far in the whole mini-series. Some previous shots have indicated that there are as few as three.
* As the wimpy-sounding Decepticons hail Galvatron, two [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwaves]] are shown colored like [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], alongside a [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]] colored like [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]].
* Seriously. No combination of known Decepticon voices would result in that chorus of "Hail Galvatron."
* On Junkion, Arcee continues to be without the bridgeline of her nose.
* When Arcee and the repaired Springer speak with Rodimus, the latter is drawn in his [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] form.
* The sprawled, unconscious Rodimus changes positions between the end of Act 2 and the opening of Act 3; specifically, his arms move from eagle-spread to down by his sides.
* The [[U-Haul Robot]]'s barbed mace phases through the foot of the [[Powerful Robot]] after it hits the ground.
* Vehicles based on Hook and Scavenger are used as generic construction vehicles during a shot showing the Transformers' freedom from the Quintessons (prior to inventing transformation). Or maybe all construction vehicles are green and purple on Cybertron.
[[Image:FFODHaul.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* When the Decepticons assemble Trypticon, [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] is colored like Octane and [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] is colored like [[U-Haul Robot]].
* When the Constructicons celebrate Trypticon's awakening, they're drawn as generics and colored like the core Movie Autobots: Magnus, Kup, Wheelie, and Arcee's color schemes are all visible.
* As Kup, Perceptor and Cosmos watch the incoming ship, Perceptor is colored like Grimlock, and Cosmos's arms are on backwards.
* Cosmos's voice lacks its usual reverberated echo.
* The Aerialbots who fly to intercept the ship are all colored the same light gray and medium blue. Only Silverbolt and Skydive are on-model.
* The horde of miscolored generic Decepticons is recycled for the attack on Cybertron.
* Really makes you wonder how [[AKOM]] actually gets work, doesn't it?

===Continuity errors===
* The lipoles have totally changed size since the last episode. Instead of a deep-throated growl, they now give off high-pitched squeaks. They aren't glowing anymore, either.
* The animation does absolutely nothing to tell us what's so bad about being swarmed by lipoles. From what we see in this episode, it would seem to be little more than a mild annoyance.
* Why doesn't Wheelie transform and drive to escape the lipoles?
* The animators and writers alike seem to have forgotten that Blurr's defining physical trait is that he's ''fast''. In this episode, he runs like a grandmother.
* Marissa's space suit has no visor or anything covering her face.
* Speaking of which, how can these creatures fly by flapping their wings when Io has only the thinnest of atmospheres?
* Marissa's demand that the lipoles "eat null rays" doesn't make much since, as an actual [[null-ray]] affects electronic circuits. Marissa's gun instead causes the lipoles to violently explode.
* On the other hand, her assertion that they are "bags of protoplasm" doesn't make much since either, since they can ''transform'' (complete with the transforming noise) into ''rocket-propelled missiles''.
* There appears to be some missing lines in the [[Ancient Robot]]'s monologue: "Now, the machines could manufacture themselves. And before long, they grew too lazy and greedy even for that. There were simpler ways to wring performance out of their slaves." The "they" in the second sentence clearly refers to the Quintessons, not the machines.
* How does one recycle a robot by dumping it into a molten vat?
* Where did those dancing robots get the cloth sheet things they're waving around?
* The ancient Autobot that gets knocked off of the motorcycle is a recycled character model; he was last seen standing alongside Wreck-Gar on the Junkion ship, just a few scenes ago!
[[Image:Megatronffod.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Ve must have ze brain on ze table! Chop chop!]]
* One of the most famous continuity gaffs of the entire series comes as the Matrix journey wraps up. A scene showing Megatron's creation millions of years ago is illustrated with him surrounded by Constructions. It's problematic because, according to "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme]]", the Constructicons weren't actually ''evil'' until ''Megatron himself'' reprogrammed them to be Decepticons. And according to a one-off line in "[[Heavy Metal War]]", Megatron and the other Decepticons built the Constructicons on Earth in 1984!
* On top of that, there's eight Constructions! None of them are really on-model; three appear to be entirely made up.
[[Image:Alphatrionagesbackwards.jpg|thumb|right|150px| ]]
* Somebody forgot that we'd already seen an 11-million-years-younger Alpha Trion, back in "[[War Dawn]]"... and he looked visibly different than the elderly Trion of 1985! He is shown in his "elderly" design when he receives the matrix from the dying Autobot leader; chronologically, the events of "[[War Dawn]]" happen after this, but in that epiosde he's portrayed with a much younger look.
* The Constructicons build (or rebuild, depending on whether you're watching [[Transformers 2010 (franchise)|2010]]) [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] out of a human city overnight. And no one notices.
* The idea of rebuilding a human city into a Transformer only makes any sense if the city was made ''entirely of metal''.
* Trypticon is seemingly brought to life without the use of [[Vector Sigma]], which we were [[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1|previously assured]] is the only way to grant life and/or sentience and/or "cybernetic personalities" to new Transformers. Of course, it's not as if he is unique in that respect: the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were also made without the use of the computer, and Trypticon wound up being as dim as they are.
* Cybertron appears to have gotten a remodel since we saw it in the Movie. Who had time to patch up all those holes?

===Real-world references===
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** The [[Powerful Robot]] attacks the [[U-Haul Robot]] with the sound of Ben Kenobi and Darth Vader's lightsabers clashing aboard the Death Star, and Luke Skywalker's lightsaber deflecting seeker bolts aboard the ''Millennium Falcon''.
** The Powerful Robot launches against his Quintesson overseers with the same Death Star firing/Alderaan exploding sound effect that Galvatron used in Part 2.
* Wreck-Gar's lines are mostly based on generic sales pitches ("Batteries not included", "for a limited time, your money back," "Doors closing at midnight!" hilariously timed to coincide with Galvatron confronting a closing donut hole of goo). A few lines have more specific origins, though:
** "Glad you used the dial, wish everybody would." parodies the "Aren't you glad you used Dial?" soap ad campaign.
** "Why'd you come on down to Goo?" is based on the famous "Come on down, you're the next contestant on..." catch phrase of ''The Price is Right''.
** "Wreck-Gar will put you in good hands" references the "You're in good hands with Allstate" insurance ad campaign.
** "You'll have Springer back faster than Snap Crackle Pop", the mascots of Rice Krispies cereal.
** "I believe in me" would reoccur as a Junkion mantra in "[[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (episode)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]]".

===Trivia===
* This episode features the second and final instance of Rodimus referring to Springer with the nickname "Springo".
[[Image:Pretransformer ffod.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Some looks never go out of style!]]
* Apart from Optimus Prime and Alpha Trion, the ancient (pre-)Autobots that Rodimus meets in the Matrix are identified in the shooting script as:
** [[Ancient Robot]]
** [[Powerful Robot]]
** [[Brooding Robot]]
** [[Pre-Transformer (character)|Pre-Transformer]]
** [[New Narrator]]
** [[U-Haul Robot]]

* The entire Decepticon army fails to hit a single Autobot when they are all grouped together on Goo. My, how energon depletion affects the [[Sensors|optics]].

* The original video cassette release of this episode featured some odd audio edits to the final scene: all of Cosmos's lines were missing, as were the fake pilot's claim that their "engines have just gone critical", and the Quintesson's declaration that their decoy worked and that Cybertron is helpless. The [[Kid Rhino]] DVD of this episode restores all the missing lines, but they are all once again missing on the subsequent [[Shout! Factory]] release.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness ([[Family Home Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness (Family Home Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness: Parts 1-5 ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/five_faces_of_darkness_part_4.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

An Explosive Situation

2010-11-12T08:32:16Z

64.189.19.96: /* Differences with Car Robots */

{{episode|
|series=RiD
|ep=2
|title="An Explosive Situation"
|japanese=高速バトル! ゲルシャーク
|romaji=Kōsoku Battle! Gelshark
|translation=High Speed Battle! Gelshark
|image=Explosive Situation Skybyte bomb.jpg
|caption=Nom nom nom
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]], [[Akira Katō]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|airdate=[[April 12]], [[2000]] (Japanese) [[September 10]], [[2001]] (English)
|continuity=
}}
'''Predacons need fuel.''' 
'''So they steal it from a car.''' 
'''[[Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom|Sound familiar?]]'''

==Synopsis==
A nighttime delivery of a power cell is ruined by [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], who devours the truck and steals away the cargo. But the energy he consumes doesn't satiate the [[Predacon (RID)|Predacon]]'s hunger.

[[Image:Explosive Situation Kojitai.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No Koji, this doesn't count as sex.]]
[[Koji Onishi]] receives a message from [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] and rushes outside to be retrieved by the [[Autobot]] leader, who brings Koji to the Autobots' secret underground headquarters. Prime introduces Koji to the "proactive cybernetic interface program" called [[T-AI]], the Tactical Artificial Intelligence. The two become quick friends, despite T-AI's lack of a solid body. Optimus explains that the Predacons have been responsible for various battery thefts. The three [[Autobot Brothers|Autobot brothers]], [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]], [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]], and [[X-Brawn]], patrol around in hopes of discovering a crime in progress (although Side Burn is easily distracted by his need to "rev up his engine").

[[Image:Explosive Situation Predaconbatteries.jpg|right|200px|thumb|They had to visit five Wal-Marts to collect this many.]]
Underwater, in his own hidden base, [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] mulls over his energy concerns. The Predacon trio arrives with a proposed solution: flashlight batteries. Megatron is unimpressed at how small his henchmen have been thinking. Sky-Byte uncloaks and presents his own, much better idea for powering the Predacons' base: They simply need to recover an energy bomb that some terrorists have hidden in a red sports car in [[Metro City]].

[[Image:Explosive Situation Kellyprowl.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Have you considered buying a hybrid?]]
At the docks, [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] is taking delivery of the last red sports car, which naturally contains the bomb. She takes it for a test drive, and before long is located by Sky-Byte. Unsurprisingly, Side Burn quickly arrives to hit on the car, prompting Sky-Byte to begin his attack. Prowl and Side Burn block the fish, but he swims/flies away and meets with the Predacon trio, who are trying to take the credit for recovering the bomb for themselves. Sky-Byte bites into the car to take it from [[Dark Scream]], shattering the car's structure. Trying to save the automobile, Side Burn unintentionally saves Kelly from certain death. Prowl apologizes to Kelly for letting the Predacons ruin her day.

With the explosive device in his teeth, Sky-Byte gradually floats back towards the Predacon command center, but X-Brawn steals the bomb right out of Sky-Byte's mouth. The rough handling causes the device to arm, and Sky-Byte warns X-Brawn of the impending explosion. Koji suggests taking the bomb somewhere high up, and X-Brawn uses his grappling hook to swing from building to building to the radio tower where he begins his ascent.

[[Image:Explosive Situation Skybyteinspace.jpg|right|200px|thumb|His bosses didn't like him so they shot him into space!]]
Realizing that the blast radius would be larger than the tower is tall, Optimus Prime rushes out of the base. In the city, X-Brawn tosses the bomb from the top of the tower as far upwards as he can. Using his "Power Stream" attack, Prime fires a blast of water at the bomb, carrying the explosive (and Sky-Byte) out of the Earth's atmosphere. Miles above the Earth, Sky-Byte triggers the explosive. The explosion fills the city's sky with a yellow glow, but no buildings are destroyed.

Once he's recovered, Sky-Byte begins a study of human culture but is frustrated by the combined power of the works of [[wikipedia:Charles_Dickens|Charles Dickens]] and [[wikipedia:William_Shakespeare|William Shakespeare]].

{{--}}
==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[T-AI]] (6)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (7)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (9)
*[[X-Brawn]] (10)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] (3)
*[[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] (11)
*[[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] (12)
*[[Dark Scream]] (13)
*[[Gas Skunk]] (14)

|c3=
*Truck Driver (1)
*Truck Passenger (2)
*[[Koji Onishi]] (4)
*[[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] (8)
*[[Dorie Dutton]] (15)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Megatron''': How is this energy being stored and how long will it take to convert? 
'''Dark Scream''': It's stored in little round canisters. 
'''Gas Skunk''': They're used in something called "flashlights" and we've got thousands of 'em! Ahahahahahahahahahaha! 
''(Prolonged evil laughter from Dark Scream, Gas Skunk, and Slapper)'' 
'''Slapper''': Great score, huh? Of course, we'll have to convert it to energon, and that'll take a while. 
'''Dark Scream''': I don't think it'll take more than a week or two. 
'''Gas Skunk''': Welllll... three at the most. 
'''Megatron''': SILENCE! We... need.... ''massive-quantities-of-energy-not-little-batteries!! 
'''Slapper''': Sorry, this is all we could find! 
'''Gas Skunk''': Anywhere! 
'''Megatron''': .........'''YOU HAVE FAILED ME!''' BEAST MODE! DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT THE ENERGY IN THESE PUNY BATTERIES WOULD BE ENOUGH TO RUN THIS BASE?! 
'''Slapper''': ....well.... yeah. Sorta. 
'''Megatron''': FOOLS! I SHOULD ADD ''YOUR'' ENERGY CORES TO THE CONVERSION VATS! 
'''Sky-Byte''': You've wasted your time, Megatron. One of those flashlights is brighter than the three of them combined. 
:-The '''Predacon Trio''' at about the height of their competence

"Here's a tip for you: Never ignore a warning from a shark!"
:—'''Sky-Byte'''

"Sorry, ma'am. I do apologize for the inconvenience. Are you all right?" 
"For someone who's been attacked by a giant flying squirrel and a huge toad, a maniacal shark and a monstrous skunk...sure, I'm just fine."
:—'''Prowl''' and '''Kelly'''

"What sort of nonsense is this? 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'? Best or worst, make up your mind!"
:—The subtleties of human literature are lost on '''Sky-Byte'''.

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===
*As Koji comes running out of his house at the start of the episode, ''Car Robots'' has him calling Optimus Prime on his communicator, while ''Robots in Disguise'' flips the scene, and has Koji responding to a summons from Prime.
*''Car Robots'' is set in [[Tokyo]], while ''Robots in Disguise'' is set in the fictional [[Metro City]]. As such, ''Robots in Disguise'' has to refrain from naming the tower X-Brawn scales, which is quite plainly the famous [[wikipedia:Tokyo Tower|Tokyo Tower]]. Later in the episode, T-AI gives the tower's height as 500 feet; Tokyo Tower is actually 1093 feet tall (333 meters).
*In ''Robots in Disguise'', X-Brawn merely scales the tower to get a better vantage point, and grumbles about his shocks as he takes the stairs in vehicle mode. In ''Car Robots'', on the other hand, he is actually just goofing around, and ''enjoys'' the "rough terrain" of the stairs. This is just how X-Brawn is in ''Car Robots'', as shown as early as last episode.
*''Car Robots'' explicitly identifies the nationality of the terrorists. They're Korean.
*In ''Car Robots'', Slapper, Gas Skunk and Darkscream are worried about human police. In ''Robots in Disguise'', they're more concerned with the bomb going off prematurely.
[[Image:Rid_ep2_cutscene.jpg|right|thumb|200px|G-G-G-G-Ghost shark!]]
*''Robots in Disguise'' cuts out two shots of Sky-Byte pursuing Kelly, probably because they involve the slightly confusing use of a "ghostly" image of Sky-Byte, to show the audience that he is underneath the bridge. A few moments later, though, the show extends the chase scene by repeating footage of him chomping at Kelly's car's tail.
*In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte doesn't realize Prowl and Side Burn are Autobots until they transform. In ''Robots in Disguise'', he recognizes them on sight.
*In ''Car Robots'', Side Burn extends his arm to catch Kelly and her sportscar ''before'' they fall. ''Robots in Disguise'' reorders the scene to place this shot after the she starts plummeting.
*In ''Car Robots'', rather than say she's okay after she's caught by Prowl, Kelly bemoans her fate as "The most miserable woman in the universe". Sorry, dear, this is just the start of it...
*''Robots in Disguise'' combines some pieces of footage to create a new scene of Prowl telling X-Brawn to take the bomb to the top of the tower; in ''Car Robots'', X-Brawn comes up with this plan on his own initiative.
*''Car Robots'' has X-Brawn turn his head and spot Optimus Prime just after Prime rolls up. ''Robots in Disguise'' moves the scene to just before the audience sees Prime arrive.
*In ''Robots in Disguise'', the Predacons make fun of Sky-Byte for reading human books and not understanding them. In ''Car Robots'', however, they're actually quietly impressed at his ability to survive the explosion, but they then giggle when Darkscream points out he's still a show-off (the implication being that Sky-Byte reading books is nothing new, and the failure to comprehend them being a creation of the dub). ''Robots in Disguise'' also extends the scene by repeating the shot of Sky-Byte leaning over his book and grumbling in the middle of the Predacons' whispered exchange.
*Scenes lengthened in ''Robots in Disguise'' by looped and repeated footage include:
**Koji's introduction to T-AI, allowing the show to make its well-known "daughter of [[Teletraan I (RID)|Teletraan I]]" reference
**Sky-Byte's explanation before he plays Dorrie Dutton's news report
**Slapper and company's worries about the bomb
**Sky-Byte's warning to Prowl
**Kelly and Prowl's exchange after he catches her
**X-Brawn and Sky-Byte's argument over the bomb

===Animation or technical errors===
* Megatron pronounces the Transformers' preferred [[energon (fuel)|fuel source]] as "ener-gone."
* The colors of most of Prowl's Autobot [[insignia]] are inverted when he catches Kelly, and full-on miscolored yellow-orange when tries to think what to do about the bomb.

===Real-world references===
*As Sky-Byte approaches the rear of the truck and begins to take bites out of it, the soundtrack starts playing ''Jaws'' music.
* The book Sky-Byte reads from is ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. It's also ''Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare. Even the book can't make up its mind!

===Transformers references===
* T-AI introduces herself as the daughter of the [[Teletraan I (RID)|Teletraan I]] program. She mispronounces it "Teletron" in typical [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'']] style.
* The Predacon base is powered by [[Transwarp]] cells.
* Megatron requests that the batteries be converted into [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]].

===Trivia===
* This episode about terrorist bombs in cities first aired the day before 9/11. It SO never aired again.
* Sky-Byte's dramatic entrance inside the Predacon base suggests a power of invisibility or teleportation, or both. Whatever it was, he never used it again.
* The truck delivering the fuel cell has a license plate G39-20.
* Kelly's car which is destroyed at the beginning of the episode has a license plate J38-57.
* Kelly's custom XZ-12 sports car, which she seems surprisingly willing to drive considering it's "the only one left that hasn't been searched" for a bomb, has a plate number J-68-85 (and sometimes J68-85).
* Side Burn is able to extend his arm while in vehicle mode.
* Optimus Prime's "[[Super Mode|battle mode]]" debuts in this episode, though he announces "Optimus Prime, Optimize!". For future episodes it's standardized to "Battle mode!"
*The highway damaged by Sky-Byte's entrance mysteriously disappears.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 1 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Volume One ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Battle Protocol (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Special Edition 2-Disc Set (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise / RoboCop: The Animated Series / M.A.S.K.'' (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season One (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-02-an-explosive-situation.php "An Explosive Situation" transcript on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Explosive Situation}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]

An Explosive Situation

2010-11-12T08:31:31Z

64.189.19.96: /* Differences with Car Robots */

{{episode|
|series=RiD
|ep=2
|title="An Explosive Situation"
|japanese=高速バトル! ゲルシャーク
|romaji=Kōsoku Battle! Gelshark
|translation=High Speed Battle! Gelshark
|image=Explosive Situation Skybyte bomb.jpg
|caption=Nom nom nom
|production code=
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]], [[Studio Gallop]]
|written by=[[Junki Takegami]] (Japanese) [[Tom Wyner]] (English)
|director=[[Yoshiaki Tsutsui]], [[Akira Katō]]
|animation studio=Studio Gallop
|airdate=[[April 12]], [[2000]] (Japanese) [[September 10]], [[2001]] (English)
|continuity=
}}
'''Predacons need fuel.''' 
'''So they steal it from a car.''' 
'''[[Buster Witwicky and the Car Wash of Doom|Sound familiar?]]'''

==Synopsis==
A nighttime delivery of a power cell is ruined by [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]], who devours the truck and steals away the cargo. But the energy he consumes doesn't satiate the [[Predacon (RID)|Predacon]]'s hunger.

[[Image:Explosive Situation Kojitai.jpg|left|200px|thumb|No Koji, this doesn't count as sex.]]
[[Koji Onishi]] receives a message from [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] and rushes outside to be retrieved by the [[Autobot]] leader, who brings Koji to the Autobots' secret underground headquarters. Prime introduces Koji to the "proactive cybernetic interface program" called [[T-AI]], the Tactical Artificial Intelligence. The two become quick friends, despite T-AI's lack of a solid body. Optimus explains that the Predacons have been responsible for various battery thefts. The three [[Autobot Brothers|Autobot brothers]], [[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]], [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]], and [[X-Brawn]], patrol around in hopes of discovering a crime in progress (although Side Burn is easily distracted by his need to "rev up his engine").

[[Image:Explosive Situation Predaconbatteries.jpg|right|200px|thumb|They had to visit five Wal-Marts to collect this many.]]
Underwater, in his own hidden base, [[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] mulls over his energy concerns. The Predacon trio arrives with a proposed solution: flashlight batteries. Megatron is unimpressed at how small his henchmen have been thinking. Sky-Byte uncloaks and presents his own, much better idea for powering the Predacons' base: They simply need to recover an energy bomb that some terrorists have hidden in a red sports car in [[Metro City]].

[[Image:Explosive Situation Kellyprowl.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Have you considered buying a hybrid?]]
At the docks, [[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] is taking delivery of the last red sports car, which naturally contains the bomb. She takes it for a test drive, and before long is located by Sky-Byte. Unsurprisingly, Side Burn quickly arrives to hit on the car, prompting Sky-Byte to begin his attack. Prowl and Side Burn block the fish, but he swims/flies away and meets with the Predacon trio, who are trying to take the credit for recovering the bomb for themselves. Sky-Byte bites into the car to take it from [[Dark Scream]], shattering the car's structure. Trying to save the automobile, Side Burn unintentionally saves Kelly from certain death. Prowl apologizes to Kelly for letting the Predacons ruin her day.

With the explosive device in his teeth, Sky-Byte gradually floats back towards the Predacon command center, but X-Brawn steals the bomb right out of Sky-Byte's mouth. The rough handling causes the device to arm, and Sky-Byte warns X-Brawn of the impending explosion. Koji suggests taking the bomb somewhere high up, and X-Brawn uses his grappling hook to swing from building to building to the radio tower where he begins his ascent.

[[Image:Explosive Situation Skybyteinspace.jpg|right|200px|thumb|His bosses didn't like him so they shot him into space!]]
Realizing that the blast radius would be larger than the tower is tall, Optimus Prime rushes out of the base. In the city, X-Brawn tosses the bomb from the top of the tower as far upwards as he can. Using his "Power Stream" attack, Prime fires a blast of water at the bomb, carrying the explosive (and Sky-Byte) out of the Earth's atmosphere. Miles above the Earth, Sky-Byte triggers the explosive. The explosion fills the city's sky with a yellow glow, but no buildings are destroyed.

Once he's recovered, Sky-Byte begins a study of human culture but is frustrated by the combined power of the works of [[wikipedia:Charles_Dickens|Charles Dickens]] and [[wikipedia:William_Shakespeare|William Shakespeare]].

{{--}}
==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[T-AI]] (6)
*[[Side Burn (RID)|Side Burn]] (7)
*[[Prowl (RID)|Prowl]] (9)
*[[X-Brawn]] (10)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]
|c2=
*[[Sky-Byte (RID)|Sky-Byte]] (3)
*[[Megatron (RID)|Megatron]] (11)
*[[Slapper (RID)|Slapper]] (12)
*[[Dark Scream]] (13)
*[[Gas Skunk]] (14)

|c3=
*Truck Driver (1)
*Truck Passenger (2)
*[[Koji Onishi]] (4)
*[[Kelly (RID)|Kelly]] (8)
*[[Dorie Dutton]] (15)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Megatron''': How is this energy being stored and how long will it take to convert? 
'''Dark Scream''': It's stored in little round canisters. 
'''Gas Skunk''': They're used in something called "flashlights" and we've got thousands of 'em! Ahahahahahahahahahaha! 
''(Prolonged evil laughter from Dark Scream, Gas Skunk, and Slapper)'' 
'''Slapper''': Great score, huh? Of course, we'll have to convert it to energon, and that'll take a while. 
'''Dark Scream''': I don't think it'll take more than a week or two. 
'''Gas Skunk''': Welllll... three at the most. 
'''Megatron''': SILENCE! We... need.... ''massive-quantities-of-energy-not-little-batteries!! 
'''Slapper''': Sorry, this is all we could find! 
'''Gas Skunk''': Anywhere! 
'''Megatron''': .........'''YOU HAVE FAILED ME!''' BEAST MODE! DID YOU REALLY THINK THAT THE ENERGY IN THESE PUNY BATTERIES WOULD BE ENOUGH TO RUN THIS BASE?! 
'''Slapper''': ....well.... yeah. Sorta. 
'''Megatron''': FOOLS! I SHOULD ADD ''YOUR'' ENERGY CORES TO THE CONVERSION VATS! 
'''Sky-Byte''': You've wasted your time, Megatron. One of those flashlights is brighter than the three of them combined. 
:-The '''Predacon Trio''' at about the height of their competence

"Here's a tip for you: Never ignore a warning from a shark!"
:—'''Sky-Byte'''

"Sorry, ma'am. I do apologize for the inconvenience. Are you all right?" 
"For someone who's been attacked by a giant flying squirrel and a huge toad, a maniacal shark and a monstrous skunk...sure, I'm just fine."
:—'''Prowl''' and '''Kelly'''

"What sort of nonsense is this? 'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times'? Best or worst, make up your mind!"
:—The subtleties of human literature are lost on '''Sky-Byte'''.

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Car Robots''===
*As Koji comes running out of his house at the start of the episode, ''Car Robots'' has him calling Optimus Prime on his communicator, while ''Robots in Disguise'' flips the scene, and has Koji responding to a summons from Prime.
*''Car Robots'' is set in [[Tokyo]], while ''Robots in Disguise'' is set in the fictional [[Metro City]]. As such, ''Robots in Disguise'' has to refrain from naming the tower X-Brawn scales, which is quite plainly the famous [[wikipedia:Tokyo Tower|Tokyo Tower]]. Later in the episode, T-AI gives the tower's height as 500 feet; Tokyo Tower is actually 1093 feet tall (333 meters).
*In ''Robots in Disguise'', X-Brawn merely scales the tower to get a better vantage point, and grumbles about his shocks as he takes the stairs in vehicle mode. In ''Car Robots'', on the other hand, he is actually just goofing around, and ''enjoys'' the "rough terrain" of the stairs. This is just how X-Brawn is in ''Car Robots'', as shown as early as last episode.
*''Car Robots'' explicitly identifies the nationality of the terrorists. They're Korean.
*In ''Car Robots'', Slapper, Gas Skunk and Darkscream are worried about human police. In ''Robots in Disguise'', they're more concerned with the bomb going off prematurely.
[[Image:Rid_ep2_cutscene.jpg|right|thumb|200px|G-G-G-G-Ghost shark!]]
*''Robots in Disguise'' cuts out two shots of Sky-Byte pursuing Kelly, probably because they involve the slightly confusing use of a "ghostly" image of Sky-Byte, to show the audience that he is underneath the bridge. A few moments later, though, the show extends the chase scene by repeating footage of him chomping at Kelly's car's tail.
*In ''Car Robots'', Sky-Byte doesn't realize Prowl and Side Burn are Autobots until they transform. In ''Robots in Disguise'', he recognizes them on sight.
*In ''Car Robots'', Side Burn extends his arm to catch Kelly and her sportscar ''before'' they fall. ''Robots in Disguise'' reorders the scene to place this shot after the she starts plummeting.
*In ''Car Robots", rather than say she's okay after she's caught by Prowl, Kelly bemoans her fate as "The most miserable woman in the universe". Sorry, dear, this is just the start of it...
*''Robots in Disguise'' combines some pieces of footage to create a new scene of Prowl telling X-Brawn to take the bomb to the top of the tower; in ''Car Robots'', X-Brawn comes up with this plan on his own initiative.
*''Car Robots'' has X-Brawn turn his head and spot Optimus Prime just after Prime rolls up. ''Robots in Disguise'' moves the scene to just before the audience sees Prime arrive.
*In ''Robots in Disguise'', the Predacons make fun of Sky-Byte for reading human books and not understanding them. In ''Car Robots'', however, they're actually quietly impressed at his ability to survive the explosion, but they then giggle when Darkscream points out he's still a show-off (the implication being that Sky-Byte reading books is nothing new, and the failure to comprehend them being a creation of the dub). ''Robots in Disguise'' also extends the scene by repeating the shot of Sky-Byte leaning over his book and grumbling in the middle of the Predacons' whispered exchange.
*Scenes lengthened in ''Robots in Disguise'' by looped and repeated footage include:
**Koji's introduction to T-AI, allowing the show to make its well-known "daughter of [[Teletraan I (RID)|Teletraan I]]" reference
**Sky-Byte's explanation before he plays Dorrie Dutton's news report
**Slapper and company's worries about the bomb
**Sky-Byte's warning to Prowl
**Kelly and Prowl's exchange after he catches her
**X-Brawn and Sky-Byte's argument over the bomb

===Animation or technical errors===
* Megatron pronounces the Transformers' preferred [[energon (fuel)|fuel source]] as "ener-gone."
* The colors of most of Prowl's Autobot [[insignia]] are inverted when he catches Kelly, and full-on miscolored yellow-orange when tries to think what to do about the bomb.

===Real-world references===
*As Sky-Byte approaches the rear of the truck and begins to take bites out of it, the soundtrack starts playing ''Jaws'' music.
* The book Sky-Byte reads from is ''A Tale of Two Cities'' by Charles Dickens. It's also ''Hamlet'' by William Shakespeare. Even the book can't make up its mind!

===Transformers references===
* T-AI introduces herself as the daughter of the [[Teletraan I (RID)|Teletraan I]] program. She mispronounces it "Teletron" in typical [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'']] style.
* The Predacon base is powered by [[Transwarp]] cells.
* Megatron requests that the batteries be converted into [[Energon cube|Energon cubes]].

===Trivia===
* This episode about terrorist bombs in cities first aired the day before 9/11. It SO never aired again.
* Sky-Byte's dramatic entrance inside the Predacon base suggests a power of invisibility or teleportation, or both. Whatever it was, he never used it again.
* The truck delivering the fuel cell has a license plate G39-20.
* Kelly's car which is destroyed at the beginning of the episode has a license plate J38-57.
* Kelly's custom XZ-12 sports car, which she seems surprisingly willing to drive considering it's "the only one left that hasn't been searched" for a bomb, has a plate number J-68-85 (and sometimes J68-85).
* Side Burn is able to extend his arm while in vehicle mode.
* Optimus Prime's "[[Super Mode|battle mode]]" debuts in this episode, though he announces "Optimus Prime, Optimize!". For future episodes it's standardized to "Battle mode!"
*The highway damaged by Sky-Byte's entrance mysteriously disappears.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2000 — ''Transformers: Car Robots'' — Vol. 1 ([[Pony Canyon]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Volume One ([[Maximum Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Battle Protocol (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Special Edition 2-Disc Set (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise / RoboCop: The Animated Series / M.A.S.K.'' (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Season One (Maximum Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers: Robots in Disguise'' — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)

==External links==
*[http://www.ridforever.info/transformers-transcripts/rid-episode-02-an-explosive-situation.php "An Explosive Situation" transcript on RiDForever.info]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Explosive Situation}}
[[Category:Robots in Disguise episodes]]

Hunt for the Decepticons

2010-11-08T17:43:59Z

64.189.19.96: /* Mission 1 */

[[Image:HFTD_logo.jpg|300px|right]]

'''Hunt for the Decepticons''' is a promotion associated with the 2010 [[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers toyline]].

==Fiction==
[[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] needs [[you]] and [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] to locate and battle Decepticons that are hidden on [[Earth]] in the Hunt for the Decepticons campaign. If you prove qualified by accomplishing three missions, you will be invited to train at a secret Autobot facility.

==Overview==
Unlock new missions by entering [[Coordinate Code]]s found on specially marked [[Transformers brand|Transformers]] products in the 2010 [[Transformers (2010 toyline)|''Transformers'' toyline]].

===Mission 1===
[[Axor]] was speeding in a tunnel next to a river in downtown [[Shanghai]]. [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]] went to stop him before he destroyed the tunnel and flooded the city. Bumblebee repeatedly crashed into him until he rolled over and stopped.

Alternate ending: Axor crashed into Bumblebee enough times that Bumblebee was forced to stop. You are then told that Axor is tough and to continue the pursuit.

===Mission 2===
[[Terradive (TF 2010)|Terradive]] was flying over the skies of [[Paris]], waiting to attack the city's landmarks. You took an Autobot fighter jet to stop him. He was quite agile and often evaded your sights while firing missiles at you, but you managed to shoot him down and drive him off before running out of fuel.

===Mission 3===
[[Starscream (Movie)| Starscream]] attacked a mine in South America in a bid to gather unbeatable amounts of energy. Bumblebee was sent in to fight him. The battle was fierce as Starscream was much more powerful, but fighting cautiously brought Bumblebee victory. With this mission, you gain Optimus Prime's trust and are allowed to join the ranks of the [[Autobots]].

{{stub}}

==Notes==
*In the intro Optimus Prime states that he needs you to help Bumblebee find and stop Decepticons. [[You]], however, aren't actually a character in the story. Optimus Prime must know he is in a video game.

==External links==
*[http://transformers.promotions.com/transformershunt Hunt for the Decepticons]

[[Category:Live-action film series]]
[[Category:Online games]]
[[Category:Transformers (2010)]]