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Rock Bottom

2011-08-11T05:49:23Z

69.125.197.237: /* Synopsis */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 19
|prev=Metal Attraction
|next=Partners
|image=RockBottom-energonmine.jpg‎
|caption=That's Rock Bottom.
|title="Rock Bottom"
|airdate=[[July 16]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Tim Jones]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots, Jack and Miko find themselves trapped inside a cave with Megatron and Starscream.'''

==Synopsis==
Waiting outside [[Stripped energon mine|a mine]] opening, [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] complains loudly to [[Jack Darby|Jack]] that she'd rather be at the [[Slash Monkey]] metal concert she's been looking forward to. [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] emerge from the entrance, confused that the mine seems to be stripped, yet there's an [[energon (fuel)|energon]] signal coming from inside. While they're still discussing the conundrum, Miko runs into the mine to take a look, resulting in Bulkhead chasing her in and Jack persuading Arcee to let him go in as well. Moments after they step inside, [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] and [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] land at the mine entrance. Starscream is confused as to why have they come to an exhausted mine, but Megatron leads the way inside.

Bulkhead finds Miko testing the acoustics in a cavern. While she's whooping and yelling, Bulkhead's detector bleeps, and he attempts to contact Arcee. The comms, however, are useless due to interference from the rock surrounding them. Bulkhead decides to get a sample for [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] and begins breaking pieces off the rock he's found.

[[Image:RockBottom-Starscreamprays.jpg‎|250px|thumb|left|When this life makes you mad enough to kill.]]

Megatron and Starscream find [[Decepticon]] mining equipment. Starscream tries to blame its presence on an error by [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]], but Megatron plucks a chunk of energon from the wall and explains that he's been keeping up with Starscream's many plottings, thanks to Soundwave's spying. He's let Starscream continue until now for his own amusement, but enough's enough. Starscream pleads for his life...and it's this scene that Jack and Arcee stumble on. Megatron begins firing on the two newcomers and Starscream sees his chance to try to escape. Enraged, Megatron fires after him. Arcee takes advantage of Megatron's distraction and fires, causing him to discharge his [[fusion cannon]] into the ceiling, which gives way. Massive rocks fall on Megatron, causing the floor to start caving in as well, and both Arcee and Jack fall into a swiftly widening hole.

[[Image:RockBottom-Bulkheadpassion.jpg‎|250px|thumb|When you want something bad enough to steal.]]

In the cavern, Bulkhead protects Miko from the falling rocks.

Starscream, speeding through the mine in his jet mode, is hit by rocks and can only cry out as the tunnel to the mine entrance collapses.

In the aftermath, Jack struggles up to find himself alone in the cave and goes searching for the others.

Miko likewise picks herself up to find Bulkhead holding up a huge chunk of the ceiling from caving in on them. They have no idea as to what caused the cave-in, but Miko starts trying to clear the rocks away so they can get out.

Starscream pulls himself free of the mine and into the open air. He experiences a brief moment of triumph before realizing that Megatron has survived worse and if he doesn't make some attempt to rescue his leader, the other Decepticons surely will, which will mean problems for Starscream in the long run. Besides, he can take the credit if he succeeds.

Still searching, Jack stumbles upon one of the Decepticon mining drills.

As night falls outside, Miko is tiring from her work. Bulkhead points out there's limited oxygen, and she's using it faster by exerting herself. Despite Miko saying she has to get Bulkhead out, he says he's fine, though his creaking servos tell a different story.

Jack gets the mining drill working and begins guiding it to find the others.

Bulkhead and Miko hear drilling. Miko yells out weakly, and Bulkhead tells her to hit his foot with a rock to make a noise.

[[Image:RockBottom-Megstrapped.jpg|thumb|250px|left|When you feel like you have had it up to here.]]

Elsewhere, Jack uses the drill to clear a path only to uncover Megatron's face, the rest of him still pinned by fallen rock. Megatron suggests that Jack use the drill to finish him, but Jack doesn't believe [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] would want Megatron finished that way and drills off in another direction.

[[Image:RockBottom-Mikocries.jpg‎|250px|thumb|'Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tear.]]

Miko continues banging Bulkhead's foot, but a noise stops her and Bulkhead has to admit that his arms are starting to fail. She hits him a couple more times before someone starts to break through the wall. Unfortunately, their joy is short-lived as it turns out to be Starscream. Bulkhead asks him to let Miko go, but Miko refuses to leave Bulkhead. Starscream menaces her until Bulkhead gives him a solid kick. Starscream recovers from that, only to be knocked down by Jack's drill as it comes through the wall. Miko is quickly persuaded to hop aboard the drill, which she does tearfully, and the two humans back out, leaving Bulkhead and Starscream alone. Jack and Miko start trying to dig their way out, but Jack suddenly stops the drill dead as a large foot comes down in front of them.

Starscream is pleased. Now not only will he be able to rescue Megatron, but he'll have Bulkhead as a gift. Unfortunately for him, Arcee appears with a gun pointed at his head and tells him to raise his hands.

The Autobots exit the mine with the kids and briefly discuss finishing off the Decepticons. When they decide that Optimus wouldn't do it, they go home instead.

Starscream strains to hold up the rock that Bulkhead had been supporting when he spots Megatron leaning through the nearby opening. Starscream is reduced to begging for mercy once more and the Decepticon leader responds with a menacing look.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (3)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (6)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (1)
*[[Jack Darby]] (2)

}}

==Quotes==

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to see Slash Monkey?" 
"Uhh—" 
"''Forever!'' And it's their only U.S. date!" 
"Well, there's a shock. I mean, who doesn't love obscure Bulgarian shriek metal?"
:—'''Miko''' and '''Jack''' discuss rock concerts.

"She went in. Unbelievable." 
"Really? Have you...met her?"
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Jack''' watch Miko run into the cave.

"Do not take me for a fool, Starscream! I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning. Not only did you pluck the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark, but you tried to raise your own undead warrior with it. It's no secret that you lost an arm in the process, which you've since had replaced." 
"You know about that?!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' discuss the latter's endeavors.

"Roll out."
:—'''Jack''' being genre savvy as he activates some Decepticon mining equipment.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Think of the glory—seize the day! Optimus would." 
"No, he wouldn't. Not like this." 
"I will be sure to share the details of our little conversation with Optimus—the day I rip out his spark!"
:—A pinned '''Megatron''' is discovered by '''Jack''', who refuses to take advantage of the situation and kill him.

"If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, Starscream, forget it!" 
"Er, yes, begging for mercy would be quite pathetic, wouldn't it?"
:—'''Bulkhead''' unintentionally insults '''Starscream'''.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* When the cave-in begins, Bulkhead gets down on his hands and knees to shield Miko from the collapsing ceiling. In the next scene, however, he's standing upright and holding up a far larger piece of rock than he had been previously covered with.

===Continuity errors===
* Bulkhead has Miko hit him with a rock to signal Jack. Either he's devoting ''all'' his energon to holding up the rock, or he's forgotten about his sound system.
* Not so much an error as a curiosity, but based on the day/night cycle shown outside the cave, at least 12 hours passed during the episode. In all that time, the other Autobots made no apparent effort to look for their lost comrades. Considering Miko's concert was supposed to happen two hours after the start of the episode, they should have noticed something was amiss when no one came back.
* Even though the sounds of robots stomping around and yelling should echo throughout the cave, Megatron and Starscream go completely unnoticed until Arcee and Jack stumble upon them by accident. Furthermore, Megatron and Starscream enter the cave mere minutes after Arcee and Jack, yet somehow manage to get ahead of them in the tunnels undetected.

===Continuity notes===
* Megatron references the events of "[[Masters & Students]]" and "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]" while discussing Starscream's previous failed attempts at treachery.
* Starscream also refers to the events of "Masters & Students" when he remembers that Megatron has survived far worse than a simple cave-in.
* Miko loosely references the spacebridge battle from "[[Darkness Rising, Part 5]]" when Bulkhead reminds her that Autobots don't need to breathe.

===Transformers references===
*As Jack starts up the mining drill, he quietly says, "[[Roll out]]."

===Real-world references===
*Bulkhead's "Did I do that?" line is almost certainly a reference to Steve Urkel's catchphrase from ''Family Matters''.
*Starscream says "Rust in peace!" as in "Rest in peace". It is [[Sick Mind|not the first time]] Starscream uses a common human phrase. He is also not the only [[Terrorsaur (BW)|bad guy]] [[Double Dinobot|to use this line.]] [[Rumble (WFC)|Rumble]] also quotes this in a cut scene during ''War for Cybertron'', as well as [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] in "[[The Immobilizer]]".
*Bulkhead having to hold up the ceiling is reminiscent of the Greek titan Atlas being forced to hold up the sky.

===Trivia===
* Megatron seems awfully surprised that Starscream would run at the first opportunity. Did he think Starscream wouldn't care about his earlier death threat?
* Ratchet probably never got that rock sample. Too bad.
* This is the first episode where Jack meets Megatron face-to-face, though Raf beat him to being the first human to meet the Decepticon leader back in "[[Out of His Head]]".
* Starscream's wings folded up with alarm when he was overcome with fear.
* Miko exercises her right to charge into [[Darkness Rising, Part 3|situations]] that almost get her killed... [[Shadowzone|again]].

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Rock Bottom

2011-08-11T05:46:13Z

69.125.197.237: /* Synopsis */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 19
|prev=Metal Attraction
|next=Partners
|image=RockBottom-energonmine.jpg‎
|caption=That's Rock Bottom.
|title="Rock Bottom"
|airdate=[[July 16]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Tim Jones]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots, Jack and Miko find themselves trapped inside a cave with Megatron and Starscream.'''

==Synopsis==
Waiting outside [[Stripped energon mine|a mine]] opening, [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] complains loudly to [[Jack Darby|Jack]] that she'd rather be at the [[Slash Monkey]] metal concert she's been looking forward to. [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] and [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] emerge from the entrance, confused that the mine seems to be stripped, yet there's an [[energon (fuel)|energon]] signal coming from inside. While they're still discussing the conundrum, Miko runs into the mine to take a look, resulting in Bulkhead chasing her in and Jack persuading Arcee to let him go in as well. Moments after they step inside, [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] and [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] land at the mine entrance. Starscream is confused as to why have they come to an exhausted mine, but Megatron leads the way inside.

Bulkhead finds Miko testing the acoustics in a cavern. While she's whooping and yelling, Bulkhead's detector bleeps, and he attempts to contact Arcee. The comms, however, are useless due to interference from the rock surrounding them. Bulkhead decides to get a sample for [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] and begins breaking pieces off the rock he's found.

[[Image:RockBottom-Starscreamprays.jpg‎|250px|thumb|left|When this life makes you mad enough to kill.]]

Megatron and Starscream find [[Decepticon]] mining equipment. Starscream tries to blame its presence on an error by [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]], but Megatron plucks a chunk of energon from the wall and explains that he's been keeping up with Starscream's many plottings, thanks to Soundwave's spying. He's let Starscream continue until now for his own amusement, but enough's enough. Starscream pleads for his life...and it's this scene that Jack and Arcee stumble on. Megatron begins firing on the two newcomers and Starscream sees his chance to try to escape. Enraged, Megatron fires after him. Arcee takes advantage of Megatron's distraction and fires, causing him to discharge his [[fusion cannon]] into the ceiling, which gives way. Massive rocks fall on Megatron, causing the floor to start caving in as well, and both Arcee and Jack fall into a swiftly widening hole.

[[Image:RockBottom-Bulkheadpassion.jpg‎|250px|thumb|When you want something bad enough to steal.]]

In the cavern, Bulkhead protects Miko from the falling rocks.

Starscream, speeding through the mine in his jet mode, is hit by rocks and can only cry out as the tunnel to the mine entrance collapses.

In the aftermath, Jack struggles up to find himself alone in the cave and goes searching for the others.

Miko likewise picks herself up to find Bulkhead holding up a huge chunk of the ceiling from caving in on them. They have no idea as to what caused the cave-in, but Miko starts trying to clear the rocks away so they can get out.

Starscream pulls himself free of the mine and into the open air. He experiences a brief moment of triumph before realizing that Megatron has survived worse and if he doesn't make some attempt to rescue his leader, the other Decepticons surely will, which will mean problems for Starscream in the long run. Besides, he can take the credit if he succeeds.

Still searching, Jack stumbles upon one of the Decepticon mining drills.

As night falls outside, Miko is tiring from her work. Bulkhead points out there's limited oxygen, and she's using it faster by exerting herself. Despite Miko saying she has to get Bulkhead out, he says he's fine, though his creaking servos tell a different story.

Jack gets the mining drill working and begins guiding it to find the others.

Bulkhead and Miko hear drilling. Miko yells out weakly, and Bulkhead tells her to hit his foot with a rock to make a noise.

[[Image:RockBottom-Megstrapped.jpg|thumb|250px|left|When you feel like you have had it up to here.]]

Elsewhere, Jack uses the drill to clear a path only to find a pinned Megatron, his face the only part not covered. Megatron suggests Jack use the drill to finish him, but Jack doesn't believe [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] would want Megatron finished that way and leaves him by drilling in another direction.

[[Image:RockBottom-Mikocries.jpg‎|250px|thumb|'Cause you mad enough to scream but you sad enough to tear.]]

Miko continues banging Bulkhead's foot, but a noise stops her and Bulkhead has to admit that his arms are starting to fail. She hits him a couple more times before someone starts to break through the wall. Unfortunately, their joy is short-lived as it turns out to be Starscream. Bulkhead asks him to let Miko go, but Miko refuses to leave Bulkhead. Starscream menaces her until Bulkhead gives him a solid kick. Starscream recovers from that, only to be knocked down by Jack's drill as it comes through the wall. Miko is quickly persuaded to hop aboard the drill, which she does tearfully, and the two humans back out, leaving Bulkhead and Starscream alone. Jack and Miko start trying to dig their way out, but Jack suddenly stops the drill dead as a large foot comes down in front of them.

Starscream is pleased. Now not only will he be able to rescue Megatron, but he'll have Bulkhead as a gift. Unfortunately for him, Arcee appears with a gun pointed at his head and tells him to raise his hands.

The Autobots exit the mine with the kids and briefly discuss finishing off the Decepticons. When they decide that Optimus wouldn't do it, they go home instead.

Starscream strains to hold up the rock that Bulkhead had been supporting when he spots Megatron leaning through the nearby opening. Starscream is reduced to begging for mercy once more and the Decepticon leader responds with a menacing look.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (3)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (6)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (1)
*[[Jack Darby]] (2)

}}

==Quotes==

"Do you have any idea how long I've been waiting to see Slash Monkey?" 
"Uhh—" 
"''Forever!'' And it's their only U.S. date!" 
"Well, there's a shock. I mean, who doesn't love obscure Bulgarian shriek metal?"
:—'''Miko''' and '''Jack''' discuss rock concerts.

"She went in. Unbelievable." 
"Really? Have you...met her?"
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Jack''' watch Miko run into the cave.

"Do not take me for a fool, Starscream! I have been wise to your transgressions from the beginning. Not only did you pluck the Dark Energon from my chest in a failed attempt to snuff my spark, but you tried to raise your own undead warrior with it. It's no secret that you lost an arm in the process, which you've since had replaced." 
"You know about that?!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' discuss the latter's endeavors.

"Roll out."
:—'''Jack''' being genre savvy as he activates some Decepticon mining equipment.

"Well, what are you waiting for? Think of the glory—seize the day! Optimus would." 
"No, he wouldn't. Not like this." 
"I will be sure to share the details of our little conversation with Optimus—the day I rip out his spark!"
:—A pinned '''Megatron''' is discovered by '''Jack''', who refuses to take advantage of the situation and kill him.

"If you think I'm going to beg for mercy, Starscream, forget it!" 
"Er, yes, begging for mercy would be quite pathetic, wouldn't it?"
:—'''Bulkhead''' unintentionally insults '''Starscream'''.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* When the cave-in begins, Bulkhead gets down on his hands and knees to shield Miko from the collapsing ceiling. In the next scene, however, he's standing upright and holding up a far larger piece of rock than he had been previously covered with.

===Continuity errors===
* Bulkhead has Miko hit him with a rock to signal Jack. Either he's devoting ''all'' his energon to holding up the rock, or he's forgotten about his sound system.
* Not so much an error as a curiosity, but based on the day/night cycle shown outside the cave, at least 12 hours passed during the episode. In all that time, the other Autobots made no apparent effort to look for their lost comrades. Considering Miko's concert was supposed to happen two hours after the start of the episode, they should have noticed something was amiss when no one came back.
* Even though the sounds of robots stomping around and yelling should echo throughout the cave, Megatron and Starscream go completely unnoticed until Arcee and Jack stumble upon them by accident. Furthermore, Megatron and Starscream enter the cave mere minutes after Arcee and Jack, yet somehow manage to get ahead of them in the tunnels undetected.

===Continuity notes===
* Megatron references the events of "[[Masters & Students]]" and "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]" while discussing Starscream's previous failed attempts at treachery.
* Starscream also refers to the events of "Masters & Students" when he remembers that Megatron has survived far worse than a simple cave-in.
* Miko loosely references the spacebridge battle from "[[Darkness Rising, Part 5]]" when Bulkhead reminds her that Autobots don't need to breathe.

===Transformers references===
*As Jack starts up the mining drill, he quietly says, "[[Roll out]]."

===Real-world references===
*Bulkhead's "Did I do that?" line is almost certainly a reference to Steve Urkel's catchphrase from ''Family Matters''.
*Starscream says "Rust in peace!" as in "Rest in peace". It is [[Sick Mind|not the first time]] Starscream uses a common human phrase. He is also not the only [[Terrorsaur (BW)|bad guy]] [[Double Dinobot|to use this line.]] [[Rumble (WFC)|Rumble]] also quotes this in a cut scene during ''War for Cybertron'', as well as [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] in "[[The Immobilizer]]".
*Bulkhead having to hold up the ceiling is reminiscent of the Greek titan Atlas being forced to hold up the sky.

===Trivia===
* Megatron seems awfully surprised that Starscream would run at the first opportunity. Did he think Starscream wouldn't care about his earlier death threat?
* Ratchet probably never got that rock sample. Too bad.
* This is the first episode where Jack meets Megatron face-to-face, though Raf beat him to being the first human to meet the Decepticon leader back in "[[Out of His Head]]".
* Starscream's wings folded up with alarm when he was overcome with fear.
* Miko exercises her right to charge into [[Darkness Rising, Part 3|situations]] that almost get her killed... [[Shadowzone|again]].

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Metal Attraction

2011-07-10T17:52:26Z

69.125.197.237: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 18
|prev=Crisscross
|next=Rock Bottom
|image=MetalAttraction-stuck.jpg
|caption= Sadly they don't fuse into [[Tigerhawk|a powerful being.]]
|title="Metal Attraction"
|airdate=[[July 9]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Nicole Dubuc]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''The Autobots try to claim a magnetic weapon called a "polarity gauntlet" before the Decepticons get to it.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] reports to [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] that there's an incoming vehicle, which they initially assume to be a [[Decepticon]], but relax when it turns out to be [[June Darby]] in her car. Jack's less than enthusiastic that his mother's come to check up on him ''again''. Ratchet detects an unusual magnetic flux.

[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has also picked up the magnetic signature, which [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] recognizes as a Decepticon weapon. [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] volunteers to secure the invention and though Megatron is skeptical of Breakdown's abilities following [[Operation: Breakdown|certain recent events]], Breakdown insists.

[[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] and [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] arrive back at [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]] with [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]], but their high spirits drop when they realize Jack's mom is there. Arcee and Jack prepare to go conduct a routine diagnostic, but June's questioning about how safe it will be makes Arcee irritated. Ratchet asks Bulkhead to go and investigate the magnetic disturbance, and when Miko announces she's going too, Bulkhead is obliged to tell her to stay at base. Finally June's questions become too much for Arcee, and she opts to go with Bulkhead.

In a desert area, Breakdown breaks apart some rocks to find the device he's after. No sooner has he picked it up than [[Airachnid]] puts in an appearance, clouts him and grabs the weapon. Breakdown recovers quickly and begins fighting Airachnid, until she burrows up from beneath the earth and drags him down, leaving him buried. Though she picks up the device and is ready to leave, Breakdown pulls himself free of the ground, and the pair charge at each other.

Arcee and Bulkhead trudge through the rocks, discussing how Jack's mom is a killjoy, and Miko, who has quietly tagged along, asks if they can't ban her from the base. Arcee calls for a [[GroundBridge]], but Miko talks her out of it, and requests Bulkhead play some rock music. Arcee tells him to shut it off, as it's not exactly stealthy, and they soon find Breakdown and Airachnid fighting. Leaving Miko a safe distance behind, the two Autobots leap into combat, surprising Airachnid who has just gotten the upper hand. Bulkhead tosses Arcee into the air, and she shoots at the pair before charging at Breakdown, but Airachnid insists on facing Arcee herself. After a few minutes fighting, Bulkhead and Arcee overcome their opponents, but Breakdown grabs the weapon and activates it. Warning him that it isn't a toy, Airachnid retreats underground, and Arcee and Bulkhead find themselves being dragged towards each other. The weapon hoists them into the air before slamming them back against some rocks. Satisfied, Breakdown transforms to return to the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]''. Miko finds [[Miko's phone|her phone]] stuck to Bulkhead's chest and Arcee stuck to Bulkhead's back.

Driving along a road, Breakdown is ambushed and entangled in a web.

Ratchet realizes that the weapon Breakdown has is a [[polarity gauntlet]] and says their best bet to get Arcee unstuck is to get the gauntlet back. Arcee insists on Miko returning to base, and Miko complains loudly that she sounds just like Jack's mom, which naturally June hears over the Comm-Link.

At an old gas station, Airachnid tries on the gauntlet. Breakdown, securely webbed to the side of the building, suggests they could take it back to Megatron together, but she's not keen on rejoining the Decepticons and thinks the gauntlet will be perfect for keeping everyone else away. Bulkhead trudges up to the gas station to confront Airachnid, who tells him to put his hands up and turn around. He does so, and Arcee promptly opens fire, managing to shoot the gauntlet out of Airachnid's hand. The device activates, sucking everything metal towards it including Breakdown who is pulled free of the webbing and shuts the gauntlet down. Bulkhead and Arcee begin awkwardly fighting Breakdown and Airachnid. Bulkhead manages to deck Breakdown and turns to face Arachnid, but then Breakdown uses the gauntlet to drop an oil derrick on the 'Bots.

Pinned under an unconscious Bulkhead, Arcee is menaced by Airachnid. Fortunately Bulkhead comes around in time and the pair stand up, now separated. Arcee attacks Breakdown, but Bulkhead finds himself no match for Airachnid, who grabs the gauntlet and uses it to draw Arcee to her. Bulkhead blasts Breakdown into another oil derrick, while Arcee and Airachnid fight. Arcee eventually gets possession of the gauntlet and uses it to polarize everyone so that they repel metal. Airachnid uses her webbing to snatch the gauntlet back and transforms to escape, but Bulkhead grabs on to her helicopter mode and throws her into Breakdown. With the gauntlet secured, Arcee and Bulkhead head back to base where they give it to Ratchet, and June apologizes for being overprotective.

Megatron is unhappy when Breakdown returns apparently empty handed, but Breakdown reveals he has Airachnid stuck to his back. Airachnid claims she is happy to return.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (1)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (5)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (6)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (7)
*[[Airachnid]] (11)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (12)

|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (3)
*[[June Darby]] (4)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (10)

}}

==Quotes==
"So...where's Optimus?" 
"On a scouting mission with Bumblebee. Sorry to disappoint." 
"And I wore heels and everything..." 
:—'''June''' makes '''Ratchet''' uncomfortable with a few choice words.

"Allow me to redeem myself, master. What I have lost... is a constant reminder that I must never again fail you." 
:—'''Breakdown''' rather darkly references his new eyepatch.

"I heard a rumour about a rogue 'Con. How about I hogtie you and haul you in?" 
:—'''Breakdown''' has no sympathy for those who disrespect Megatron's rule.

"A scout should be silent but deadly."
:—'''Arcee''' unwittingly makes Bulkhead and Miko's day.

"Still up for a truce, muscles?" 
"Only because I hate Bulkhead more than I hate you." 
:—'''Airachnid''' and '''Breakdown''' decide to look at the bigger picture.

"Arcee; I think I owe you an apology." 
"You do?" 
"I worry...especially when I feel like I can't control things - which, with a teenager, is all the time." 
:—'''June''' admits the troubles of being a single mother to '''Arcee'''.

"Airachnid...it has been some time." 
"Lord Megatron - what can I say? It's good to be back." 
:—It would seem like the Autobots have a new problem to deal with...

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===
* Mere moments after Bulkhead states that he is polarised and can’t touch metal, he grabs Airachnid out of the air and throws her at Breakdown. Is she not made of metal, or did the gauntlet’s effects wear off that fast?

===Transformers references===
*Breakdown was bested by humans and lost his right optic in [[Operation: Breakdown|episode 16]].
*After Breakdown volunteers to retrieve the weapon, Megatron retorts, "If you can be bested by mere humans, [[Furmanism|what chance do you have]] against the Autobots?"
===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
* The episode title appears to be a belabored nod to the film ''[[wikipedia:Fatal Attraction|Fatal Attraction]]''.

===Trivia===
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] apparently didn't have any extra optics lying around to give Breakdown. [[Shadowzone (episode)|Sound familiar?]] Either that, or Megatron won't let him repair Breakdown as punishment for being captured by humans.
*Breakdown's new optic patch was hinted at during [[BotCon 2011]] when an artist from the series was requested to sketch Breakdown by [[Chris Ho|a certain Transformers fan]]: the artist asked what [[Operation: Breakdown|episode]] had just been screened, thought for a moment, and soon provided an image of Breakdown with an optic patch.<ref>Vangelus revealed this during the [http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/wtf-tfw-transformers-podcast/422249-wtf-primetime-14-operation-breakdown-june-22-2011-a.html "Operation: Breakdown"] episode of TFW2005's "WTF Primetime" podcast</ref>
*During this episode's original airing, the [[commercial bumper]]s were backwards: "we now return" was played at the start of each break and "we'll be right back" was played at the end.
*As of this episode, we finally have a mention of Jack's father having left him and June.
*This is the first episode that Bumblebee does not appear in (both present and in flashbacks); Arcee is now the only character to have been in all the episodes so far.

==Home video releases==

==External links==
<references />

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Silas

2011-07-02T22:01:47Z

69.125.197.237: /* Prime cartoon */

:''Silas is a [[human]] from the [[Transformers: Prime (franchise)| Prime]] portion of the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[Image:Prime-Silas.jpg|right|thumb|300px|You wanna know how I got these scars?]]

'''Silas''' is an agent of the [[MECH]] organization, bent on enforcing a ''newer'' world order.

{{quote|There'a a war brewing, between the new world order and the newest. The victor will be the side armed with the most innovative technology.|Silas|[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]}}

==Fiction==
===''Prime'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Clancy Brown]] (English)
From his helicopter, Silas shot down [[William Fowler]]'s plane transporting the [[Dynamic Nuclear Generation System]]. Soon, Fowler was transporting the device aboard a [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|civilian trailer truck]]. Fowler evaded Silas's men, and when they attempted to open the trailer door, a [[Arcee (Prime)|motorcycle driver]] drove onto one of their cars, causing it to flip over and explode. The convoy passed through a train tunnel, and as it emerged, [[Vehicon (Prime)|mysterious purple planes]] fired on the [[trailer]]. Since there was no radiation emanating from the explosion, Silas realized Fowler must've transferred the device onto the train. Then Silas witnessed the civilian convoy and planes [[transformation|transform]] into robots, and a fight ensued. Silas was pleased to confirm the rumors of [[Transformer|living technology]] on [[Earth]], but flew off to retrieve the DNGS.

A [[Raf Esquivel|hacker]] caused the train to diverge onto a forked track, but Silas's pilot cut the connection. Silas prepared to land on the train as his men finished cutting open the appropriate car's roof, but retreated when he saw the truck robot on the move. He wasn't going to let the enemy leave with his prize, and so fired on the train tracks to cause a crash. The truck robot managed to stop the train, and from the safety of his helicopter, Silas watched his new enemy stare back. He privately congratulated the alien visitor, but noted MECH had the home advantage and vowed to level the playing field, even if it meant dissecting the robot. Silas then flew off. {{storylink|Convoy (episode)|Convoy}}

[[Image:OperationBreakdown-WeAreMECH.jpg|thumb|left|250px|[http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/BlueAndOrangeMorality Blue and orange morality], blue and orange decor.]]
Silas had his men capture [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] during a battle on the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]], taking the captive 'Con to a makeshift base in a deserted railway tunnel so they could dismantle him in peace. He had one of Breakdown's eyes removed and converted into a two-way transmitter, leaving it somewhere obvious, so he could talk to Breakdown's rescuers, and was surprised when Optimus Prime came looking for the Decepticon. Though a bomb waylaid Prime's team, [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] broke into the tunnel and Silas retired to his helicopter outside, where he directed the MECH forces in an attempt to stop Bulkhead and Breakdown from escaping. He was forced to order a retreat when [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] arrived with Vehicons, however they had gained enough information from their examination of Breakdown that Silas could initiate [[Project Chimera]]. {{Storylink|Operation: Breakdown}}

{{spoiler|Crisscross|July 9, 2011}}
[[Image:Crisscross-AirachnidSilas.jpg|thumb|250px|]]
When MECH detected a Decepticon distress signal, Silas took a team to try to secure the Decepticon for MECH's use. Unfortunately it was bait, and [[Airachnid]] was the trap. Airachnid bargained with Silas — find [[Jack Darby]] and she would allow them to keep [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] after she was done with her. Silas used MECH technology and the web to find information on Jack and had his mother [[June Darby]] kidnapped. Arcee and Jack were lured to a temporary MECH base in a factory. While Airachnid played with Jack, Silas ordered his men to extract Arcee's heart. Though the Autobot escaped before they could extract the part and Jack stole Silas's radio to contact Fowler, Silas at least got to witness Airachnid [[scanning]] a new alternate mode. {{storylink|Crisscross}}
{{--}}

==Trivia==
* Silas is voiced by Clancy Brown, is essentially a supervillain, and opposes an [[Superman|alien being clad in red and blue]]. [[Wikipedia:Superman: The Animated Series|Where have we heard this before]]?

[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Prime humans]]
[[Category:Terrorists]]

June Darby

2011-06-27T00:29:45Z

69.125.197.237: /* Notes */

:''June Darby is a [[human]] from the [[Transformers: Prime (franchise)| Prime]] portion of the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[Image:JuneDarby.jpg|thumb|250px|She wants to know how you got the beans above the franks.]]

'''June Darby''' is a single mother with a sixteen-year-old son. Poor June Darby.

==Fiction==
===''Transformers: Prime'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Markie Post]]
June returned home from work late in the evening to find her son, [[Jack Darby|Jack]], standing with a [[Arcee (Prime)|motorcycle]] in their garage. She wondered how Jack had paid for the motorcycle, plus expressed her concern for his safety, but Jack was able to convince his mother that he was old enough and responsible enough to operate the vehicle. She made it very clear that he has to always wear his helmet.

Early the next morning, the motorcycle told Jack to leave a note for his mom when he left the house, to keep her from worrying. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 2}}

{{spoiler|Crisscross|July 9, 2011}}
[[Image:JunemeetstheAutobots.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]
Hearing rumors that Jack had been racing his motorcycle, and complaints that he'd been neglecting his work and school, June confronted him after curfew and grounded him from using the motorcycle. The next day, she took a break from the [[Jasper Hospital|hospital]] to go home and make Jack some dinner, but found the garage empty. She blew up at Jack, even though the motorcycle had somehow reappeared in the garage, and he spun some wild story about robots from space. Failing to believe him, June returned to the hospital. Later that night as she was leaving, she was grabbed and bundled into a vehicle by some [[MECH|masked goons]]. She recovered consciousness to find herself in a cocoon dangling from a building, while Jack tried to rescue her from a [[Airachnid|menacing robot]]. Then Jack's motorcycle turned up in robot form and fought the other robot. After [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] came to their rescue, he tried to explain that Jack was interning for him, but June didn't buy it. Jack introduced her to Arcee, and they all went to [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]] to meet the rest of the Autobots. {{storylink|Crisscross}}
{{-}}
==Notes==
* Nothing so far indicates that there's a Mr. Darby around, but it's not been stated outright that one is not. The way the second episode's dialog is written makes it very unlikely. Maybe when Jack asks Arcee not to wake up his mom, he just doesn't care if she wakes up his dad! For what it's worth, in "[[Crisscross]]", [[Silas]] calls her "Miss Darby", but [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] calls her "Mrs. Darby".
* She was to appear in a brief scene in "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]" but the scene was cut. It was later included in the script reading at [[BotCon 2011]].
* June Darby's [[license plate]] is "'''RPI-437'''".
* It seems that her idea of a good wholesome meal includes organic tofu.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, June}}
[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Prime humans]]

June Darby

2011-06-27T00:28:21Z

69.125.197.237: /* Notes */

:''June Darby is a [[human]] from the [[Transformers: Prime (franchise)| Prime]] portion of the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[Image:JuneDarby.jpg|thumb|250px|She wants to know how you got the beans above the franks.]]

'''June Darby''' is a single mother with a sixteen-year-old son. Poor June Darby.

==Fiction==
===''Transformers: Prime'' cartoon===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Markie Post]]
June returned home from work late in the evening to find her son, [[Jack Darby|Jack]], standing with a [[Arcee (Prime)|motorcycle]] in their garage. She wondered how Jack had paid for the motorcycle, plus expressed her concern for his safety, but Jack was able to convince his mother that he was old enough and responsible enough to operate the vehicle. She made it very clear that he has to always wear his helmet.

Early the next morning, the motorcycle told Jack to leave a note for his mom when he left the house, to keep her from worrying. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 2}}

{{spoiler|Crisscross|July 9, 2011}}
[[Image:JunemeetstheAutobots.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]
Hearing rumors that Jack had been racing his motorcycle, and complaints that he'd been neglecting his work and school, June confronted him after curfew and grounded him from using the motorcycle. The next day, she took a break from the [[Jasper Hospital|hospital]] to go home and make Jack some dinner, but found the garage empty. She blew up at Jack, even though the motorcycle had somehow reappeared in the garage, and he spun some wild story about robots from space. Failing to believe him, June returned to the hospital. Later that night as she was leaving, she was grabbed and bundled into a vehicle by some [[MECH|masked goons]]. She recovered consciousness to find herself in a cocoon dangling from a building, while Jack tried to rescue her from a [[Airachnid|menacing robot]]. Then Jack's motorcycle turned up in robot form and fought the other robot. After [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] came to their rescue, he tried to explain that Jack was interning for him, but June didn't buy it. Jack introduced her to Arcee, and they all went to [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]] to meet the rest of the Autobots. {{storylink|Crisscross}}
{{-}}
==Notes==
* Nothing so far indicates that there's a Mr. Darby around, but it's not been stated outright that one is not. The way the second episode's dialog is written makes it very unlikely. Maybe when Jack asks Arcee not to wake up his mom, he just doesn't care if she wakes up his dad! For what it's worth, in "[[Crisscross]]", [[Silas]] calls her "Miss Darby", but [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] calls her "Mrs. Darby".
* She was to appear in a brief scene in "[[Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone]]" but the scene was cut. It was later included in the script reading at [[BotCon 2011]].
* June Darby's [[license plate]] is "'''RPI-437'''".
* It seems that her idea of a good wholesome meal involves organic tofu.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darby, June}}
[[Category:Cartoon-only characters]]
[[Category:Prime humans]]

Crisscross (episode)

2011-06-26T22:11:55Z

69.125.197.237: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 17
|prev=Operation: Breakdown
|next=Metal Attraction
|image=Airachnid and Silas.jpeg
|caption=They'll make you jump, jump.
|title="Crisscross"
|airdate=[[June 25]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Joseph Kuhr]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Airachnid teams up with MECH to get revenge on Arcee and Jack.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Silas]] and three MECH soldiers are searching through a wooded area for a Decepticon. They jump into a web-shrouded ravine, but the three soldiers are snatched from the ground and stuck on a web by [[Airachnid]]. Silas takes a shot at Airachnid, and is promptly thrown against a rock wall and webbed there. The Decepticon threatens to eviserate him for what MECH did to [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]], but wants his help in finding [[Jack Darby]] and will give them [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]].

Jack arrives home with Arcee, to find [[June Darby|his mother]] mad that he's breaking curfew and neglecting his job and schoolwork. She believes he may have been racing his motorcycle and grounds him for the next few weeks — no motorcycle use. Arcee says she'll miss Jack for the next few weeks, but he points out that if she doesn't stay in the garage, his mom will think he's breaking her rules. Arcee promises she'll try to be back in the garage before his mom gets home each night.

[[Image:Motorcycle abuse.jpeg|thumb|left|300px|This must be some form of abuse, surely.]]
The next day, as Jack's leaving [[KO Burger]], he gets a call from his mother who is on her way home early to make dinner for him. He frantically contacts Arcee, who's with [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] in the middle of a fight with some [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s. Arcee leaves Bumblebee to it and [[GroundBridge|bridges]] out. June Darby arrives home to find the garage empty, and blows up at Jack as he arrives on his bicycle. Arcee bridges into the garage behind her, but this merely results in June thinking one of Jack's friends snuck the motorcycle in. Jack spills all about the Autobots, but when Arcee refuses to transform, Jack's mom asks if he's been hanging out with a science fiction club. She leaves to return to work, the conversation unfinished.

[[Image:MECH ambush.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|"Jehova's Witnesses, ma'am. Take a leaflet!"]]
Silas uses images from the black box from Airachnid's ship to track down information on Jack, including the identity of his mother. A MECH vehicle is soon picking June up as she leaves the [[Jasper Hospital|hospital]].

Jack arrives home on his cycle to find Arcee, but no mom. There's a package waiting for him, which turns out to be a MECH communicator. Silas tells the pair that MECH has June, and there are GPS coordinates that will lead them to the temporary MECH facility. Arcee attempts to contact base and gets an instant headache — as Silas explains, the communicator will scramble her brain as well as Autobot communications. Jack and Arcee follow the communicator's map to a disused factory, where they're met by Silas and a bunch of MECH goons. They race past the MECH guys to look for Jack's mom and instead find Airachnid. Airachnid webs Arcee, who is then zapped by a MECH goon. The 'Con tells Jack he has until midnight to rescue his mother. Jack tries to plead with Silas for help, but the MECH leader pushes him back. He leaves, running to find his mom, followed by Airachnid. Silas tells his men to start working on Arcee, as he suspects Airachnid will double-cross them.

Jack runs through the factory, but is unable to find June until Airachnid points her out, dangling in a web cocoon from a building. At this point, June comes around to discover both her predicament and to spy Airachnid. Jack tells Airachnid he's found his mom, but she points out the task was to ''rescue'' mom. Webbing Jack's hand to the ground, she prepares to move in.

The MECH surgeons finish cutting through the web holding Arcee, and Silas instructs them that as they only have time to take one part, go for the heart. Arcee has recovered consciousness by this point, and tosses the MECH guys aside before leaving to help Jack.

[[Image:Airachnidconcrete.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"Thanks a lot, [[Mixmaster]]."]]

As Jack continues to try to free his hand, Airachnid moves in on June. Before she can lay a hand on mom, Arcee comes barreling up a nearby roof and tackles her. Jack gets free and goes to help June, while Arcee and Airachnid battle on the factory superstructure. They eventually reach the ground, but Airachnid's laser fire damages the platform June is dangling from, and Jack has to scramble to avoid falling. Jack accidentally knocks a lever pouring concrete into a concrete truck on the ground. Arcee manages to kick Airachnid into a container nearby, and with Jack's help, pours concrete in on top of her. Airachnid starts climbing out, but is frozen by the quick-drying concrete. Arcee goes to help June, but the concrete wasn't enough, and Airachnid webs her back to the ground. Luckily the cavalry arrives in the form of [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] with three helicopters armed with chain guns.

Silas wonders how Fowler was alerted, and then realises Jack stole his radio earlier.

The helicopters stop firing, but this just allows Airachnid to [[scanning|scan]] Fowler's chopper and make her escape in her new [[alternate mode|altmode]]. Her scanning process is also observed by Silas.

Fowler introduces himself to June and attempts to weave a cover story, but June doesn't buy it. Jack introduces her to Arcee, and they go to the [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot base]] so she can meet the rest of the Autobots.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (5)
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (7)
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (12)
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (16)

|c2=
* [[Airachnid]] (3)
* [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (8)

|c3=
* [[Silas]] (1)
* [[MECH]] soldiers (2)
* [[Jack Darby]] (4)
* [[June Darby]] (6)
* MECH surgeon (9)
* [[William Fowler]] (10)
* Soldier (11)
* [[Miko Nakadai]] (14)
* [[Raf Esquivel]] (15)

}}

==Quotes==
"Ah, the mother lode." 
"Government database?" 
"Social networking page."
:—'''Silas''' teaches '''Airachnid''' the fastest way to track down a teenager.

"Now, I know we promised the spider-bot that she would have first crack at you, but something tells me she's going to turn our mutual crisscross... into a double-cross."
:—'''Silas'''

"Jack, your motorcycle?" 
"I can explain, Mom. Wait, I already did."
:—Even with '''June Darby''' in mortal peril, '''Jack''' can still crack wise.

"Oh, not again!"
:—'''Agent Fowler''' is exasperated at Decepticons copying his vehicles.

"So that's how it's done. Genius."
:—'''Silas''' on seeing how Airachnid scans a vehicle mode.

"Mom, meet my science fiction club!"
:—'''Jack''' introducing June to the Autobots

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*Airachnid scans Agent Fowler's helicopter, which resembles a [[wikipedia:Bell UH-1 Iroquois|UH-1 "Huey"]], but the alt-mode she adopts is of a completely different design, resembling a futuristic [[wikipedia:Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche|RAH-66 Comanche]].

===Continuity errors===

===Continuity notes===
*Airachnid wants revenge on Arcee and Jack for the events in "[[Predatory]]".
*Airachnid has heard of Breakdown's treatment by MECH, which happened in [[Operation: Breakdown|the previous episode]].
*Messages on Jack's social networking page refer back to "[[Speed Metal]]" (Sierra refers to a race) and "[[Con Job]]" (Miko's message about a monster truck rally references a line of dialog from that episode).
*Agent Fowler previously had a vehicle of his scanned for an alternate mode by Skyquake back in "[[Masters & Students]]".

===Transformers references===
*The final sequence of Arcee and Jack taking June to the Autobot base is an almost shot-for-shot replica of the first time Jack, Miko and Raf were taken there back in the pilot. Even the same musical piece "We Have Returned" is used.
*Trying to confess about Transformers and not being believed (along with an Autobot refusing to break cover) is also something that befell [[Coby Hansen]] and [[Lori]] way back in ''[[Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]''.

===Trivia===
*The name of the social networking page is partially obscured, but begins with "Some Social".
*Fowler got someone else to pilot his helicopter for him this time.
*Silas calls June Darby "Miss Darby", but Fowler calls her "Mrs. Darby".
*Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Raf, and Miko all cameo at the end, but have no lines.
*The way Airachnid says 'Transformer, was it', implies that Cybertronians don't use that term themselves and that it's mainly an invention of humans.
*This is the first time anyone from the Autobot's team meets Silas face to face.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Crisscross (episode)

2011-06-26T22:11:20Z

69.125.197.237: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 17
|prev=Operation: Breakdown
|next=Metal Attraction
|image=Airachnid and Silas.jpeg
|caption=They'll make you jump, jump.
|title="Crisscross"
|airdate=[[June 25]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Joseph Kuhr]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Airachnid teams up with MECH to get revenge on Arcee and Jack.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Silas]] and three MECH soldiers are searching through a wooded area for a Decepticon. They jump into a web-shrouded ravine, but the three soldiers are snatched from the ground and stuck on a web by [[Airachnid]]. Silas takes a shot at Airachnid, and is promptly thrown against a rock wall and webbed there. The Decepticon threatens to eviserate him for what MECH did to [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]], but wants his help in finding [[Jack Darby]] and will give them [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]].

Jack arrives home with Arcee, to find [[June Darby|his mother]] mad that he's breaking curfew and neglecting his job and schoolwork. She believes he may have been racing his motorcycle and grounds him for the next few weeks — no motorcycle use. Arcee says she'll miss Jack for the next few weeks, but he points out that if she doesn't stay in the garage, his mom will think he's breaking her rules. Arcee promises she'll try to be back in the garage before his mom gets home each night.

[[Image:Motorcycle abuse.jpeg|thumb|left|300px|This must be some form of abuse, surely.]]
The next day, as Jack's leaving [[KO Burger]], he gets a call from his mother who is on her way home early to make dinner for him. He frantically contacts Arcee, who's with [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] in the middle of a fight with some [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s. Arcee leaves Bumblebee to it and [[GroundBridge|bridges]] out. June Darby arrives home to find the garage empty, and blows up at Jack as he arrives on his bicycle. Arcee bridges into the garage behind her, but this merely results in June thinking one of Jack's friends snuck the motorcycle in. Jack spills all about the Autobots, but when Arcee refuses to transform, Jack's mom asks if he's been hanging out with a science fiction club. She leaves to return to work, the conversation unfinished.

[[Image:MECH ambush.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|"Jehova's Witnesses, ma'am. Take a leaflet!"]]
Silas uses images from the black box from Airachnid's ship to track down information on Jack, including the identity of his mother. A MECH vehicle is soon picking June up as she leaves the [[Jasper Hospital|hospital]].

Jack arrives home on his cycle to find Arcee, but no mom. There's a package waiting for him, which turns out to be a MECH communicator. Silas tells the pair that MECH has June, and there are GPS coordinates that will lead them to the temporary MECH facility. Arcee attempts to contact base and gets an instant headache — as Silas explains, the communicator will scramble her brain as well as Autobot communications. Jack and Arcee follow the communicator's map to a disused factory, where they're met by Silas and a bunch of MECH goons. They race past the MECH guys to look for Jack's mom and instead find Airachnid. Airachnid webs Arcee, who is then zapped by a MECH goon. The 'Con tells Jack he has until midnight to rescue his mother. Jack tries to plead with Silas for help, but the MECH leader pushes him back. He leaves, running to find his mom, followed by Airachnid. Silas tells his men to start working on Arcee, as he suspects Airachnid will double-cross them.

Jack runs through the factory, but is unable to find June until Airachnid points her out, dangling in a web cocoon from a building. At this point, June comes around to discover both her predicament and to spy Airachnid. Jack tells Airachnid he's found his mom, but she points out the task was to ''rescue'' mom. Webbing Jack's hand to the ground, she prepares to move in.

The MECH surgeons finish cutting through the web holding Arcee, and Silas instructs them that as they only have time to take one part, go for the heart. Arcee has recovered consciousness by this point, and tosses the MECH guys aside before leaving to help Jack.

[[Image:Airachnidconcrete.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"Thanks a lot, [[Mixmaster]]."]]

As Jack continues to try to free his hand, Airachnid moves in on June. Before she can lay a hand on mom, Arcee comes barreling up a nearby roof and tackles her. Jack gets free and goes to help June, while Arcee and Airachnid battle on the factory superstructure. They eventually reach the ground, but Airachnid's laser fire damages the platform June is dangling from, and Jack has to scramble to avoid falling. Jack accidentally knocks a lever pouring concrete into a concrete truck on the ground. Arcee manages to kick Airachnid into a container nearby, and with Jack's help, pours concrete in on top of her. Airachnid starts climbing out, but is frozen by the quick-drying concrete. Arcee goes to help June, but the concrete wasn't enough, and Airachnid webs her back to the ground. Luckily the cavalry arrives in the form of [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] with three helicopters armed with chain guns.

Silas wonders how Fowler was alerted, and then realises Jack stole his radio earlier.

The helicopters stop firing, but this just allows Airachnid to [[scanning|scan]] Fowler's chopper and make her escape in her new [[alternate mode|altmode]]. Her scanning process is also observed by Silas.

Fowler introduces himself to June and attempts to weave a cover story, but June doesn't buy it. Jack introduces her to Arcee, and they go to the [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot base]] so she can meet the rest of the Autobots.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (5)
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (7)
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (12)
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (13)
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (16)

|c2=
* [[Airachnid]] (3)
* [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (8)

|c3=
* [[Silas]] (1)
* [[MECH]] soldiers (2)
* [[Jack Darby]] (4)
* [[June Darby]] (6)
* MECH surgeon (9)
* [[William Fowler]] (10)
* Soldier (11)
* [[Miko Nakadai]] (14)
* [[Raf Esquivel]] (15)

}}

==Quotes==
"Ah, the mother lode." 
"Government database?" 
"Social networking page."
:—'''Silas''' teaches '''Airachnid''' the fastest way to track down a teenager.

"Now, I know we promised the spider-bot that she would have first crack at you, but something tells me she's going to turn our mutual crisscross... into a double-cross."
:—'''Silas'''

"Jack, your motorcycle?" 
"I can explain, Mom. Wait, I already did."
:—Even with '''June Darby''' in mortal peril, '''Jack''' can still crack wise.

"Oh, not again!"
:—'''Agent Fowler''' is exasperated at Decepticons copying his vehicles.

"So that's how it's done. Genius."
:—'''Silas''' on seeing how Airachnid scans a vehicle mode.

"Mom, meet my science fiction club!"
:—'''Jack''' introducing June to the Autobots

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*Airachnid scans Agent Fowler's helicopter, which resembles a [[wikipedia:Bell UH-1 Iroquois|UH-1 "Huey"]], but the alt-mode she adopts is of a completely different design, resembling a futuristic [[wikipedia:Boeing/Sikorsky RAH-66 Comanche|RAH-66 Comanche]].
*When Jack returns home and opens the package left for him in the garage, the garage door is open. But immediately afterwards when we see Jack and Arcee from front-view, the door is shown to be closed in the background.

===Continuity errors===

===Continuity notes===
*Airachnid wants revenge on Arcee and Jack for the events in "[[Predatory]]".
*Airachnid has heard of Breakdown's treatment by MECH, which happened in [[Operation: Breakdown|the previous episode]].
*Messages on Jack's social networking page refer back to "[[Speed Metal]]" (Sierra refers to a race) and "[[Con Job]]" (Miko's message about a monster truck rally references a line of dialog from that episode).
*Agent Fowler previously had a vehicle of his scanned for an alternate mode by Skyquake back in "[[Masters & Students]]".

===Transformers references===
*The final sequence of Arcee and Jack taking June to the Autobot base is an almost shot-for-shot replica of the first time Jack, Miko and Raf were taken there back in the pilot. Even the same musical piece "We Have Returned" is used.
*Trying to confess about Transformers and not being believed (along with an Autobot refusing to break cover) is also something that befell [[Coby Hansen]] and [[Lori]] way back in ''[[Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]''.

===Trivia===
*The name of the social networking page is partially obscured, but begins with "Some Social".
*Fowler got someone else to pilot his helicopter for him this time.
*Silas calls June Darby "Miss Darby", but Fowler calls her "Mrs. Darby".
*Optimus Prime, Ratchet, Bulkhead, Raf, and Miko all cameo at the end, but have no lines.
*The way Airachnid says 'Transformer, was it', implies that Cybertronians don't use that term themselves and that it's mainly an invention of humans.
*This is the first time anyone from the Autobot's team meets Silas face to face.

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Operation: Breakdown

2011-06-23T06:20:16Z

69.125.197.237: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 16
|prev=Shadowzone (episode)
|next=Crisscross
|image=OperationBreakdown-Consdontbreak.jpg
|caption=Now all he needs is an eye patch and a bottle of scrumpy.
|title="Operation: Breakdown"
|airdate=[[June 18]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Breakdown is captured by MECH, and the only ones who can save him are... Team Prime.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] is fighting [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] in a ghost town on the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]] in Eastern [[Russia]] after the two have a run-in while tracking an energon signature. Though Bulkhead fights valiantly, Breakdown lays him flat with a hammer blow. As Breakdown prepares to finish the unconscious Bulkhead off, he's zapped by a blast of energy from a helicopter, which lands and disgorges [[Silas]] and a pack of [[MECH]] troops. Silas instructs them to take Breakdown. Bulkhead comes around to find Breakdown missing and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] calling out to him on the comm. After he bridges back to base for repairs, everyone's confused about what happened to Breakdown. [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] has an idea who might be behind it.

On the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] relays news of Breakdown's capture to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. Starscream is keen to hunt down the [[human]]s responsible, but Megatron intends to leave Breakdown to his fate for being captured by those weaker.

[[Image:OperationBreakdown-WeAreMECH.jpg|thumb|left|300px|"No, Mister Bot, I expect you to die."]]

Breakdown recovers to find himself firmly attached to a metal slab. Silas introduces himself to the captive, who announces that Megatron will never pay a ransom, but Silas reveals they're not after money, just the technology in Breakdown's body.

Fowler fills the Autobots in — his intel has reported MECH activity in the Kamchatka Peninsula. While the other Autobots are happy for MECH to have Breakdown, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] decides to mount a rescue mission. The others are surprised, and Bulkhead wonders if Optimus believes Breakdown will switch sides if the Autobots rescue him, but Optimus says while that's unlikely, they can't let MECH get Cybertronian technology.

Meanwhile, MECH have disengaged Breakdown's pain receptors in preparation for the operation. Silas thanks their captive in advance for the service he is about to do them, and the heavy machinery moves in to take the Decepticon apart.

Miko tries to talk Bulkhead into going on the mission, but he's not keen, and Optimus agrees he would not be an asset on the mission. Optimus departs with [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]], [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]]. Miko looks disappointed, and Bulkhead suggests they watch a movie instead. [[Image:TFPep16DoubleCreatureFeature.jpeg|right|thumb|300px|"I know what'll make you feel better - watching a rip-off of an old Japanese movie!"]]

Prime's team arrives in the ghost town, to find it deserted. Though Bumblebee spots some vehicle tracks, Ratchet reports he's got an [[energon (fuel)|energon]] trace, and they go to look for the source.

Fowler has already fallen asleep in front of ''[[Dinolizard vs. Five-Headed Ape]]''. Miko isn't watching the movie though, as she's disappointed that Bulkhead isn't getting to face down his own arch-enemy. Bulkhead still doesn't want to rescue the 'Con, but Miko points out that if he doesn't, he won't get to have a rematch. Bulkhead takes the [[GroundBridge]] to [[Russia]].

Prime's team finds the energon reading — it's Breakdown's eye, sitting in the open.

Bulkhead follows a MECH car to a railway tunnel and, weapons primed, ventures inside.

Ratchet hooks Breakdown's eye up to his scanner so they can retrieve the last images it saw, however it turns out that Silas has turned the eye into a two-way video feed. Silas is surprised to see the Autobots, but shows off the work they're doing on Breakdown and points out the bomb the Autobots are standing virtually on top of. Prime's team just manages to get clear before the bomb explodes.

Silas passes on the news to Breakdown that his would-be rescuers are Autobots, much to the captive's confusion. At this point, Bulkhead breaks through an outer door and fights his way through the MECH goons to find Breakdown. Freeing the startled Decepticon, Bulkhead leads the way to the exit, but once outside they're confronted by the bulk of the MECH forces. Bulkhead calls for backup and their pair start fighting in earnest. Silas's 'copter begins firing bursts of energy, and Breakdown in an uncharacteristic act of altruism knocks Bulkhead out of the way of them. The fight continues, but [[MECH Navigator|Silas's copilot]] reports incoming signals, resulting in Silas ordering a general retreat. Arriving, however, is not Optimus's team, but Starscream and a bunch of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s. Starscream orders Breakdown to destroy Bulkhead, and though Breakdown is initially reluctant, Starscream sways him, and he attacks his Autobot rescuer. Bulkhead soundly pummels Breakdown before smashing Starscream and taking out the Vehicons with Breakdown's body. The Decepticons are forced to retreat as Optimus's team finally shows up. Optimus is impressed that Bulkhead has risen above his petty rivalries to rescue Breakdown, but the moment is spoiled by Bulkhead asking if they all saw how he bashed the Decepticons.

Breakdown pauses short of the ''Nemesis'', where Starscream informs him that he will repay his debt one day... when he must choose between Megatron's leadership and Starscream's.

Silas records that the information they gained from Breakdown was enough for them to start [[Project Chimera]]...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (7)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (8)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (2)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (11)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (12)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (13)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (15)
|c3=
*[[Silas]] (3)
*[[MECH Commando]] (4)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (5)
*[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] (10)
*[[MECH Navigator]] (14)
}}

==Quotes==

"As much as I'll miss our little reunions... ''hammer time''."
:—'''Breakdown''' before being captured by MECH

"You're making a very big mistake, little man. When I'm done with you they'll have to scrape you off the floor!"
:—'''Breakdown''' promises to make JaAm out of '''Silas'''.

"It's a trap!" 
"Would this be a 'roll out' kind of trap?"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' ackbars and '''Arcee''' continues to be genre savvy.

"'Marco!' You're supposed to say 'Polo!'"
:—'''Bulkhead''' plays with MECH.

"Never run when you can fight."
:—'''Breakdown'''

"One day, you will repay your debt to me, Breakdown... the day it comes time to choose sides." 
“Huh... between ‘Bots and ‘Cons?” 
“Between myself – and Megatron.”
:—'''Starscream''' informs a confused '''Breakdown''' of his plans for the future.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*Breakdown is seen being held down in MECH's base by metal bars welded around his hands. However, in all shots of his lower body, nothing is shown to be holding it down. Did MECH use another method to restrain his legs?

===Continuity errors===
* Moments after calling Optimus Prime by name and stating that he was expecting Megatron, Silas tells Breakdown about his "would-be rescuers" without moving from the same location from which he had just been talking to them - yet Breakdown seems to have no idea that they were Autobots. How did he not hear the conversation?
* Silas has Breakdown's pain receptors shut off so he doesn't make a lot of noise while being operated on. If this is the first Cybertronian they've managed to capture, much less dissect, how would his scientists know how to do such a thing?

===Real-world references===
*Miko plays the game "Marco Polo" with Bulkhead. Bulkhead later plays the game with MECH.
*''Dinolizard vs Five-Headed Ape'' is a parody of ''[[Wikipedia:King Kong vs. Godzilla|King Kong vs. Godzilla]]''.

===Trivia===
* MECH can carve up Breakdown with ease with their surgical lasers, but the guns they give their foot soldiers are not particularly effective on Transformers without pouring on massive amounts of firepower. Clearly MECH's soldiers should be equipped with surgical lasers instead.
*The episode was screened at [[BotCon 2011]] before its first airing on television.
*This is the first episode of the series that [[Jack Darby|Jack]] hasn't appeared in, leaving Arcee and Bumblebee the only characters at this point in the series to have appeared in every episode. Arcee, however, is the only one who appears ''in person'' in all episodes (Bumblebee was only in a flashback sequence in "[[Predatory]]").
*Starscream got a new arm. It's still not an upgrade.
*Miko seems to have [[Shadowzone (episode)|learned her lesson]]: she didn't follow Bulkhead this time.
*Human death ''must'' have occurred during Bulkhead and Breakdown's outdoor battle with MECH. Case in point: Breakdown throwing a car at a helicopter, causing a midair explosion.
*Despite being Breakdown's partner, Knock Out makes no appearance in his episode, leaving the audience to wonder if he didn't know about Breakdown's capture, or didn't care enough to bother rescuing him.
*The [[Wikipedia:Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka Peninsula]] is an actual place, with heavy volcanic activity. But if the show is placed in 2011, there are no recorded evacuations in 1991 due to volcanic activity.
*In the close up shots of Breakdown before MECH drills into his right eye, you can see it twitching along with the right corner of his mouth. Who knew Cybertronians had tics?

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Operation: Breakdown

2011-06-20T04:50:22Z

69.125.197.237: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 16
|prev=Shadowzone (episode)
|next=Crisscross
|image=OperationBreakdown-Consdontbreak.jpg
|caption=Now all he needs is an eye patch and a bottle of scrumpy.
|title="Operation: Breakdown"
|airdate=[[June 18]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Breakdown is captured by MECH, and the only ones who can save him are... Team Prime.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] is fighting [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] in a ghost town on the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]] in Eastern [[Russia]] after the two have a run-in while tracking an energon signature. Though Bulkhead fights valiantly, Breakdown lays him flat with a hammer blow. As Breakdown prepares to finish the unconscious Bulkhead off, he's zapped by a blast of energy from a helicopter, which lands and disgorges [[Silas]] and a pack of [[MECH]] troops. Silas instructs them to take Breakdown. Bulkhead comes around to find Breakdown missing and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] calling out to him on the comm. After he bridges back to base for repairs, everyone's confused about what happened to Breakdown. [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] has an idea who might be behind it.

On the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'', [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] relays news of Breakdown's capture to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. Starscream is keen to hunt down the [[human]]s responsible, but Megatron intends to leave Breakdown to his fate for being captured by those weaker.

[[Image:OperationBreakdown-WeAreMECH.jpg|thumb|left|300px|"No, Mister Bot, I expect you to die."]]

Breakdown recovers to find himself firmly attached to a metal slab. Silas introduces himself to the captive, who announces that Megatron will never pay a ransom, but Silas reveals they're not after money, just the technology in Breakdown's body.

Fowler fills the Autobots in — his intel has reported MECH activity in the Kamchatka Peninsula. While the other Autobots are happy for MECH to have Breakdown, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] decides to mount a rescue mission. The others are surprised, and Bulkhead wonders if Optimus believes Breakdown will switch sides if the Autobots rescue him, but Optimus says while that's unlikely, they can't let MECH get Cybertronian technology.

Meanwhile, MECH have disengaged Breakdown's pain receptors in preparation for the operation. Silas thanks their captive in advance for the service he is about to do them, and the heavy machinery moves in to take the Decepticon apart.

Miko tries to talk Bulkhead into going on the mission, but he's not keen, and Optimus agrees he would not be an asset on the mission. Optimus departs with [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]], [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]]. Miko looks disappointed, and Bulkhead suggests they watch a movie instead. [[Image:TFPep16DoubleCreatureFeature.jpeg|right|thumb|300px|"I know what'll make you feel better - watching a rip-off of an old Japanese movie!"]]

Prime's team arrives in the ghost town, to find it deserted. Though Bumblebee spots some vehicle tracks, Ratchet reports he's got an [[energon (fuel)|energon]] trace, and they go to look for the source.

Fowler has already fallen asleep in front of ''[[Dinolizard vs. Five-Headed Ape]]''. Miko isn't watching the movie though, as she's disappointed that Bulkhead isn't getting to face down his own arch-enemy. Bulkhead still doesn't want to rescue the 'Con, but Miko points out that if he doesn't, he won't get to have a rematch. Bulkhead takes the [[GroundBridge]] to [[Russia]].

Prime's team finds the energon reading — it's Breakdown's eye, sitting in the open.

Bulkhead follows a MECH car to a railway tunnel and, weapons primed, ventures inside.

Ratchet hooks Breakdown's eye up to his scanner so they can retrieve the last images it saw, however it turns out that Silas has turned the eye into a two-way video feed. Silas is surprised to see the Autobots, but shows off the work they're doing on Breakdown and points out the bomb the Autobots are standing virtually on top of. Prime's team just manages to get clear before the bomb explodes.

Silas passes on the news to Breakdown that his would-be rescuers are Autobots, much to the captive's confusion. At this point, Bulkhead breaks through an outer door and fights his way through the MECH goons to find Breakdown. Freeing the startled Decepticon, Bulkhead leads the way to the exit, but once outside they're confronted by the bulk of the MECH forces. Bulkhead calls for backup and their pair start fighting in earnest. Silas's 'copter begins firing bursts of energy, and Breakdown in an uncharacteristic act of altruism knocks Bulkhead out of the way of them. The fight continues, but [[MECH Navigator|Silas's copilot]] reports incoming signals, resulting in Silas ordering a general retreat. Arriving, however, is not Optimus's team, but Starscream and a bunch of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s. Starscream orders Breakdown to destroy Bulkhead, and though Breakdown is initially reluctant, Starscream sways him, and he attacks his Autobot rescuer. Bulkhead soundly pummels Breakdown before smashing Starscream and taking out the Vehicons with Breakdown's body. The Decepticons are forced to retreat as Optimus's team finally shows up. Optimus is impressed that Bulkhead has risen above his petty rivalries to rescue Breakdown, but the moment is spoiled by Bulkhead asking if they all saw how he bashed the Decepticons.

Breakdown pauses short of the ''Nemesis'', where Starscream informs him that he will repay his debt one day... when he must choose between Megatron's leadership and Starscream's.

Silas records that the information they gained from Breakdown was enough for them to start [[Project Chimera]]...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (7)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (8)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (2)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (11)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (12)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (13)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (15)
|c3=
*[[Silas]] (3)
*[[MECH Commando]] (4)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (5)
*[[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] (10)
*[[MECH Navigator]] (14)
}}

==Quotes==

"As much as I'll miss our little reunions... ''hammer time''."
:—'''Breakdown''' before being captured by MECH

"You're making a very big mistake, little man. When I'm done with you they'll have to scrape you off the floor!"
:—'''Breakdown''' promises to make JaAm out of '''Silas'''.

"It's a trap!" 
"Would this be a 'roll out' kind of trap?"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' ackbars and '''Arcee''' continues to be genre savvy.

"'Marco!' You're supposed to say 'Polo!'"
:—'''Bulkhead''' plays with MECH.

"Never run when you can fight."
:—'''Breakdown'''

"One day, you will repay your debt to me, Breakdown... the day it comes time to choose sides." 
“Huh... between ‘Bots and ‘Cons?” 
“Between myself – and Megatron.”
:—'''Starscream''' informs a confused '''Breakdown''' of his plans for the future.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*Who shut off the groundbridge after Bulkhead entered the Kamchatka Peninsula? There's no way Miko could have pulled that switch by herself. Unless it turns off by it's self after everyone goes through it.
*Breakdown is seen being held down in MECH's base by metal bars welded around his hands. However, in all shots of his lower body, nothing is shown to be holding it down. Did MECH use another method to restrain his legs?
**It should also be noted that when Bulkhead was removing Breakdown's restraints, the sounds of the two bars that held down his hands being ripped up were heard, but nothing else to indicate Bulkhead removing or deactivating anything for Breakdown's legs.

===Continuity errors===
* Moments after calling Optimus Prime by name and stating that he was expecting Megatron, Silas tells Breakdown about his "would-be rescuers" without moving from the same location from which he had just been talking to them - yet Breakdown seems to have no idea that they were Autobots. How did he not hear the conversation?. Unless the pain Breakdown was enduring at the time was to much for him to hear anything.
* Silas has Breakdown's pain receptors shut off so he doesn't make a lot of noise while being operated on. If this is the first Cybertronian they've managed to capture, much less dissect, how would his scientists know how to do such a thing?. Silas did get a picture revealing the component's pf Prime in [[Convoy]], they could of studied Prime's body in between this time.

===Transformers references===
This episode take place in Kamchatka Peninsula that was seen in [[The Headmasters]] episode [[I Risk My Life for Earth]].

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
*Miko plays the game "Marco Polo" with Bulkhead. Bulkhead later plays the game with MECH.
*''Dinolizard vs Five-Headed Ape'' is a parody of ''[[Wikipedia:King Kong vs Godzilla|King Kong vs Godzilla]]''.

===Trivia===
* MECH can carve up Breakdown with ease with their surgical lasers, but the guns they give their footsoldiers seemingly have no effect on Transformers. Clearly MECH's footsoldiers should be equipped with surgical lasers instead.
*The episode was screened at [[BotCon 2011]] before its first airing on television.
*This is the first episode of the series that [[Jack Darby|Jack]] hasn't appeared in, leaving Arcee the only character at this point in the series to have appeared in every episode.
*Starscream got better.
*Miko seems to have [[Shadowzone (episode)|learned her lesson]]: she didn't follow Bulkhead this time.
*Human death ''must'' have occurred during Bulkhead and Breakdown's outdoor battle with MECH. Case in point: Breakdown throwing a car at a helicopter, causing a midair explosion.
*Despite being Breakdown's partner, Knock Out makes no appearance in his episode, leaving the audience to wonder if he didn't know about Breakdown's capture, or didn't care enough to bother rescuing him.
*The [[Wikipedia:Kamchatka Peninsula|Kamchatka Peninsula]] is an actual place, with heavy volcanic activity. But if the show is placed in 2011, there are no recorded evacuations in 1991 due to volcanic activity.
*This episode has displayed a grand difference between Megatron and Starscream as leaders; Megatron has no regard for his servants if they go missing, especially if they're captured by humans, while Starscream values his teammates and is willing to go and rescue them against Megatron's orders. (Of course, Starscream subsequently ''uses'' this as blackmail to ensure Breakdown's loyalty to him against Megatron, but, well, still.)
*Ratchet's vehicular mode is making more frequent appearance now.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Operation: Breakdown

2011-06-19T02:21:10Z

69.125.197.237: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 16
|prev=Shadowzone (episode)
|next=Crisscross
|image=
|caption=
|title="Operation: Breakdown"
|airdate=[[June 18]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Breakdown is captured by MECH, and the only ones who can save him are... Team Prime.'''

==Synopsis==

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (5)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (7)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (8)
|c2=
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (2)
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (12)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (13)
|c3=
*[[Silas]] (3)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (4)
}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===

===Transformers references===

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
*Miko plays the game "Marco Polo" with Bulkhead. Bulkhead later plays the game with M.E.C.H.

===Trivia===
*The episode was screened at [[BotCon 2011]] before its first airing on television.
*This is the first episode of the series that Jack hasn't appeared in.
*Miko seems to have [[Shadowzone|learned her lesson]]: she didn't follow Bulkhead this time.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Operation: Breakdown

2011-06-19T00:46:41Z

69.125.197.237: /* Trivia */

{{comingsoon}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 16
|prev=Shadowzone (episode)
|next=Crisscross
|image=
|caption=
|title="Operation: Breakdown"
|airdate=[[June 18]], [[2011]]
|written by=
|directed by=
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Breakdown is captured by MECH, and the only ones who can save him are... Team Prime.'''

==Synopsis==

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

|c2=

|c3=

|c4=

}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===

===Transformers references===

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===

===Trivia===
*The episode was screened at [[BotCon 2011]] before its first airing.
*This is the first episode of the series to feature only [[Miko|one]] of the three [[Jack Darby|human]] [[Raf Esquivel|sidekicks]].
**This is also the first episode that Jack hasn't appeared in.
*Miko seems to have [[Shadowzone|learned her lesson]]: she didn't follow Bulkhead this time.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Dark Energon

2011-06-16T06:19:20Z

69.125.197.237: /* Effects */

:''Dark Energon is a form of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] from the [[Aligned continuity family]].''

[[Image:DarknessRising2-MegatronDarkEnergon.jpg|right|thumb|400px|I'm like a chocoholic, but for Dark Energon.]]

'''Dark Energon''' is a powerful, corrupted version of [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] which can be used as a violent weapon and explosive. As energon is the emanation of [[Primus]], from which all Transformer life and power is formed, Dark Energon is similarly the emanation of [[Unicron]], released after his first battle with the [[Thirteen original Transformers]]. Even the smallest particle of Dark Energon can corrupt any amount of regular energon.

{{quote|Dark Energon? I thought that was the stuff of legend!|[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]]|''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron]]''}}

==Effects==
The violet-glowing Dark Energon supercharges any Transformer who ingests it, making them stronger, faster, more powerful...and more aggressive. It turns pain into pleasure, rendering any blows inflicted on a user futile. However, it also acts as a powerful narcotic, filling the user with thrilling, dark sensations and causing addiction. Dark Energon withdrawal turns the user into a raving brute desperate to do anything for more. If the craving is not satisfied, the user devolves to a beast-like state and eventually dies.

Those who imbibe Dark Energon have been seen to project it from their bodies for various destructive purposes, such as attacking enemies, overloading computers, and bringing machines under their control. When a user is killed, the energy acts like a sentient thing (a worrying aspect for a force originating from Unicron) and flies from their corpse to empower any other user nearby.

Pieces of Cybertron infected by Dark Energon tend to turn purple and explode upward into twisted, sharp spikes and growths of metal. Some Dark Energon wielders have even shown the ability to detonate a cluster of these spikes in order to produce a group of mechanical spider-like creatures, which swarm anything nearby.

A Cybertronian corpse injected with Dark Energon will reanimate itself as a feral [[zombie]], intent on destroying all in its path. They are mostly mindless berserkers, but can be commanded by a living Cybertronian who has also been corrupted by the evil energy.
*It has been shown (in the cartoon series) that if part of a reanimated Cybertronian corpse is cut off from the main body, it loses its function to animate. So far in the show, two exceptions have been shown: Cliffjumper's corpse still moving even after being cut in half and Skyquake's arm moving on its own after falling off the body. (It is unknown whether the fact that each were revived by a single shard is a factor to these exceptions.)

==Fiction==
===''Exodus'' novel===
The gathering and storage of Dark Energon aboard the newly constructed [[Trypticon (WFC)|Trypticon]] was organized by an early assembly of the [[Autobot High Council|High Council]] that included [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Sentinel Prime]]. The station was guarded by [[Seeker (body-type)|Seeker]]s who were mostly unaware of the nature of Dark Energon. During the civil war, [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] claimed the station for the [[Decepticon]]s, but of fear he did not let [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] know about Trypticon's significance, and despite his allies' attempts they could not find much of the information about Trypticon on the [[DataNet]] had been censored (by [[Alpha Trion (WFC)|Alpha Trion]], who knew that knowledge of Dark Energon was dangerous).

During the last days of the war [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] found forgotten corners of the DataNet referring to "Sparks of Unicron". Megatron forgave Starscream, acknowledging his fears about Dark Energon's overly destructive use on the battlefield, and because the Air Commander had not tried to use it against him. [[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] forced two of Starscream's scientists to ingest Dark Energon and the explosive result led to the Darkening of all of Megatron's soldiers. Megatron and Starscream both found the substance invigorating, but a deprivation study of the first two subjects showed they had become rabid, and Megatron vowed he would kill all his soldiers before he was deprived. The Darkened Decepticons attacked the remaining Autobot outposts on Cybertron, but to the Autobots' advantage, whenever a battle was prolonged, the Decepticons would have to flee or risk having the Dark Energon run out.

Soundwave learned of the [[Geosynchronous Energon Bridge]], which could transport vast amounts of energon from Cybertron to Trypticon to be corrupted. Starscream activated it, but it proved futile in quenching the Decepticons' thirst. Soundwave recalled the [[Plasma energy]] Chamber within [[Teletraan-1]] and the [[Code Key]]s required to activate it. The Chamber would enable Megatron to corrupt Cybertron's [[core]] and flood the planet with Dark Energon. During the ensuing battle with [[Omega Supreme (WFC)|Omega Supreme]] for the Chamber, the more the Autobots killed the Decepticons, the more Dark Energon left their corpses to empower Megatron, who was able to knock Omega down and tear the Chamber from his chest.

After Megatron Darkened the core, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]], [[Jazz (WFC)|Jazz]] and [[Prowl (Prime)|Prowl]] launched a rescue of Sentinel Prime in [[Kaon]]. They were met with little resistance, aside from two gibbering guards. Optimus recognized the Dark Energon had taken its toll on Decepticon competence. Afterwards, he, [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Jetfire (WFC)|Jetfire]] ventured to the core to rid it of the poisonous Chamber. The Dark Energon briefly tempted Jetfire to try some, while it distressed Bumblebee to the point he physically tore out the corruption spikes on the core, though it allowed Optimus to remove the Chamber. The core told Optimus the Autobots would have to leave Cybertron while it healed the planet, and gave him the [[Matrix of Leadership]], which would one day act in concert with the core to restore their world. While leaving, Optimus chastised Megatron for turning his soldiers into addicts just to win the war. Starscream also vowed never to use the substance again. {{storylink|Transformers: Exodus}}

===''Prime'' cartoon===
Dark Energon is a known material but is so rare it's practically non-existant. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 3}}

[[Image:DarknessRising4-beholddarkenergon!.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Cue Vincent Price voiceover.]]

When Megatron returned from deep space after three years away, he revealed he'd found a new way to win the war: Dark Energon, a substance rumoured to be the blood of [[Unicron]] and possessing the power to raise the dead. A test with the corpse of [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|Cliffjumper]] proved it could indeed do this, turning the dead into berserker [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]]; it could also turn machinery into animalistic robots, and merely touching it could render a Transformer ill. Megatron, being Megatron, thought it'd be a jolly good idea to shove some into his own [[spark]]. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 2}} He survived and began to gibber and rant about the power and how it was like he could hear Unicron's thoughts...

Optimus Prime recognised what Dark Energon was, and [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] was stunned to learn that's what they were facing. They went to the site of an old Transformer battle, knowing Megatron would plan to raise the fallen as an undead army with the Dark Energon... but got there too late to stop the tyrant! {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 3}} Megatron showed off by sending waves of Terrorcons to exhaust the two, and then revealed that was not his endgame. Discovering the Decepticons had built a [[space bridge]], they realized Megatron intended to reawaken Cybertron's fallen soldiers, and send them to destroy Earth. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 4}} Megatron threw his store of Dark Energon crystals into the space bridge, but before the Terrorcons could cross the space bridge, the Autobots sabotaged it, causing it to collapse on itself, taking Megatron and the Terrorcons with it. {{storylink|Darkness Rising, Part 5}}

Luckily for Megatron, his Dark Energon infusion kept him alive until Starscream found him floating in space. Discovering the cause of his survival, Starscream ripped the Dark Energon crystal out and prepared to leave Megatron to die, only to have to take Megatron back to the ship when [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]]'s [[Deployer (Prime)|Deployer]] discovered them. {{storylink|Masters & Students}}

Megatron escaped from his own body into [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]]'s, and made him recover the Dark Energon crystal he had used to create the Terrorcon during the battle with Optimus and Ratchet, thereby facilitating his own body's revival. {{storylink|Out of His Head}}

While Megatron had revived himself, he had forgotten that Starscream possessed the original shard of Dark Energon ripped from him. Now back in a subordinate position, Starscream's previous opposition to using Dark Energon to raise an undead army vanished when he tried to raise [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] from the dead. Starscream broke the shard in half, one to raise Skyquake, the other to achieve symbiosis. While it managed to raise Skyquake, the new Terrorcon became trapped in the [[Shadowzone (dimension)|Shadowzone]], depriving Starscream of his new warrior. {{storylink|Shadowzone (episode)|Shadowzone}}

==Games==
===''Transformers: War for Cybertron''===
Dark Energon was discovered over ten thousand years ago. When the [[Cybertronian|Transformer]] race learned of its powerful yet volatile nature, it was sealed away in an orbital space station and placed under the watchful eye of the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]], including the scientific Jetfire and the former [[Sky Commander]], Starscream. At some point, experimentation on Dark Energon began, and a small quantity of the substance became unstable. The resulting explosion ripped apart an entire section of the space station; a level of destruction beyond any weapon known to the Cybertronians. The horrors of Dark Energon were noted by many, such as Jetfire, and it was deemed that it must remain sealed for the rest of time. This continued to be the case for centuries, causing the existence of Dark Energon to become a myth that few believed.

After learning the existence of this substance, Megatron took a fleet of cruisers to lay siege to the station, crashing his own ship into it to gain entrance. Once inside, he had to battle the forces of Starscream and Jetfire, both of whom attempted to dissuade him, claiming that Dark Energon was impossible to control. As Megatron drew closer to the storage chamber, Starscream attempted to destroy the last remnants of Dark Energon, but Megatron was able to breach the core before the Sky Commander could complete the destruction. When the dark substance was finally revealed, Megatron, believing himself to be worthy of such a weapon, confidently immersed himself in it.

Despite Starscream's insistence that Dark Energon destroyed everything it touched, the Decepticon leader managed to control it, emerging more powerful than ever. His first act was to infuse [[Brawl (WFC)|Brawl]] and [[Barricade (Prime)|Barricade]] with Dark Energon; claiming it was their birthright. His second act was to cut through the final defenses between himself and the Seekers in a matter of seconds, thanks to his new power. Seeing Dark Energon being tamed, Starscream offered his services to Megatron, claiming he knew of an Energon Bridge that could produce more of the substance. Seeing this as an act of betrayal, Jetfire escaped the station in order to inform [[Sentinel Zeta Prime|Zeta Prime]] of this treachery.

Shortly after this, Starscream, [[Skywarp (WFC)|Skywarp]], and [[Thundercracker (WFC)|Thundercracker]] travelled into the depths of Cybertron in order to reactivate the Energon Bridge. Facing many defenses and enemy [[Autobot]]s, they managed to corrupt the central generator of the Energon Bridge. Fending off the intial infection, the core attempted to defend itself and purge the Seekers, but the evil planes quickly brought it down. This allowed the Energon Bridge to activate and beam its contents to the orbital station, allowing mass production of Dark Energon.

With mass quantities of Dark Energon in his possession, Megatron sought to corrupt the whole of Cybertron by infesting the Core itself. To do so, he needed the [[Omega Key]] in order to get past the [[Omega Gate]] that barred entry to the centre of the Transformer homeworld. Thus, he assaulted [[Iacon (city-state)|Iacon]] in order to claim it from the [[Stellar Galleries]]. However, Zeta Prime learnt of this and spirited the key to his [[Vaults]]. During his journey to claim the Key, Megatron used his personal store of Dark Energon to corrupt doorways that blocked his entry, and his army made use of bombers carrying payloads tainted with the stuff. By this time, the Autobots had developed defenses against the Dark Energon (including auto-purging turrets and doors resistant to the energy), but the Decepticons were able to cut through them in short order.

Megatron eventually claimed the Omega Key, but this simply activated Omega Supreme: the true key to the Core of Cybertron. During the battle with the giant Autobot, Megatron made liberal use of Dark Energon to corrupt the Guardian of Iacon: first by tainting the Energon batteries he used to repair himself, and then by blasting a huge beam of Dark Energon straight into his damaged chest. Using him to open the Omega Gate, the Decepticons placed Corruptors into position and infected the Core itself, spreading Dark Energon all across the planet.

The effects were immediate; Dark Energon crystals began sprouting all around the planet. Megatron made frequent announcements to the remaining Cybertronian population, urging them to accept the "gift" of Dark Energon. Cybertronian repair arrays attempted to contain the damage, but they could not slow down its effects; even the planet's [[Space slug|natural cleansing organisms]] were incapable of stopping it. In fact, Dark Energon even corrupted one such beast, transforming it into a ghastly abomination that spread Dark Energon and fed on the corrupted Core.

Upon his appointment to the position of [[Prime (rank)|Prime]], [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] led the Autobots to free Omega Supreme from the Decepticons, curing him of his Dark Energon infection. Gaining entry past the Omega Gate, they went into the depths of Cybertron in order to reach the Core, where they aided the space slugs in clearing Dark Energon crystals and Decepticons alike. Eventually, they reached the Core and killed the corrupted slug, but the corruption had already taken its toll on the Core. In order to preserve itself, it had to enter into a hibernation mode that would last for millions of years, rendering the planet uninhabitable. {{storylink|Transformers: War for Cybertron}}

===''Transformers Prime: Terrorcon Defense''===
{{stub}}

==Notes==
*Dark Energon shares several aspects of its nature with [[Angolmois]]. At [[BotCon 2011]], the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)| Prime]]'' staff stated the similarity was a coincidence.

[[Category:Power sources]]
[[Category:Prime]]
[[Category:Substances]]
[[Category:Unicron]]
[[Category:War for Cybertron]]

Shadowzone (episode)

2011-06-03T05:19:41Z

69.125.197.237: /* Continuity errors */

{{disambig2|the episode|the dimension|Shadowzone (dimension)}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 15
|prev=Out of His Head
|next=Operation: Breakdown
|image=Shadowzone-shadow.jpg
|caption=Who zones? The Shadow zones.
|title="Shadowzone"
|airdate=[[May 14]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''After a GroundBridge failure, the kids are flung into another dimension with a reanimated Skyquake.'''

==Synopsis==

[[Image:Shadowzone-MegsStarscream.jpg|left|thumb|300px|"Baby, I don't ''want'' to hurt you!"]]

[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] lies in the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> lab, having taken a severe pounding from [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]. His leader pays a visit, mostly to gloat over how their positions have changed. Once he leaves, Starscream rips himself free of the cables feeding him. [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] is shocked to see Starscream up and about, but Starscream claims angrily that he feels fine and limps away. Starscream retrieves a shard of [[Dark Energon]]—the one he originally ripped from Megatron's body—from its hiding place and promises that his and Megatron's positions will be reversed.

At the [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|Autobot base]], [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] reports that he's detected a weak but rapidly moving Dark Energon signal, which the [[Autobot]]s assume is Megatron. [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] wonders if he plans to use it raise a new army of [[Terrorcon (Prime)|Terrorcons]] ([[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] seems thrilled at the prospect of zombie-cons) and [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] notes that it's possible, given the Dark Energon signal is moving to a familiar site.

[[Image:Shadowzone-purple.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"The Power Cosmic!"]]
Starscream arrives at the site of [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]]'s grave, announcing that this time the fallen warrior will be his servant. Breaking off a chunk of the Dark Energon and throwing it into the cairn, Starscream plunges the rest of it into himself and feels the power flowing through him.

Optimus Prime readies the Autobots to move out, though Ratchet's surprised that he's on the team. As Miko yells words of encouragement to [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]], [[Jack Darby|Jack]] and [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] observe that she's obviously up to something, since she's acting disinterested in coming along. Indeed, as the Autobots head through the [[GroundBridge]], Miko makes a break for the opening, and Jack and Raf give chase. Jack manages to grab her on the threshold, but she shakes loose and runs through, though [[Miko's phone|her cell phone]] is knocked from her belt. The three kids arrive on site just behind the Autobots and scramble up a nearby outcropping to watch the anticipated battle. The Autobots are surprised to find Starscream instead of Megatron, and he takes advantage by shooting at them and proclaiming his invulnerability. Optimus responds by shooting one of Starscream's arms off. As the Autobots close in, Starscream takes cover and shouts at Skyquake to hurry up and rise before panicking and requesting an emergency GroundBridge. The Autobots finally spot the kids when Miko shouts at Jack for making her lose her phone, just in time for [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] to call from base asking where the kids are. Optimus orders her to send a GroundBridge. Ratchet is surprised when ''two'' GroundBridge portals open, but orders the kids to go in. They do so, and Starscream likewise dives through the 'Con GroundBridge, but moments later, green energy begins swirling around everywhere. Bulkhead runs to save the kids, but is knocked back from the GroundBridge portal, which then explodes.

Starscream arrives back on the ''Nemesis'' and tells the [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] operator to keep his mouth shut. After leaving the GroundBridge room, he removes the chunk of Dark Energon from his chest.

The kids pick themselves up, as do the Autobots, but the kids quickly discover that the Autobots can't see them, and to Miko's alarm, Bulkhead steps right through her. Unaware, the Autobots speculate on what happened to the kids. Raf works out that he, Jack and Miko are in a sort of alternate dimension he calls a [[Shadowzone (dimension)|shadowzone]]. Optimus observes that Skyquake's grave is empty and requests a GroundBridge from Arcee. The kids spot Skyquake—now a Dark Energon zombie—heading towards the Autobots. Their cries of warning go unheard, but Skyquake's strike passes right through Bulkhead. The kids rapidly realize that Skyquake is in the same dimension as they are, and they and run for it. Raf trips and is carried to safety by Jack, but has lost his glasses. Miko makes an ill-advised recovery of the spectacles, and they continue their flight.

The Autobots are at a loss to locate the kids until [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] suggests calling them. Bulkhead rings Miko, only to discover her lost cellphone sitting on the floor in the Autobot base. Arcee rings Jack, and in the shadowzone, his phone rings, but there's too much interference for him and Arcee to communicate. The kids hit on the idea of sending a text message to Miko's phone but are forced to run as Skyquake finds them. Miko is just realizing that they've gone in a circle when they literally run into Starscream's lost arm.

Knock Out examines Starscream, who covers for his lost arm by saying it just fell off. The medic tries unsuccessfully to interest him in a replacement upgrade arm.

[[Image:Shadowzone_HappymusPrime.jpg|left|thumb|300px|What? Optimus is ''smiling''?! No! We're ''still'' in another dimension!]]

Meanwhile, the kids use Starscream's arm to fire a missile at Skyquake. They manage to blast Skyquake's arm off, but it promptly animates and starts charging towards them at high speed. The kids start running once again.

At base, Bulkhead notices that Miko's phone is flashing, and the Autobots finally get the kids' message. Ratchet sets about trying to locate where they are.

Starscream's piece of Dark Energon starts pulsing, which he takes to mean that Skyquake has risen. He tells Knock Out, returning with a new arm, that he's going to go and retrieve his old arm.

Ratchet pinpoints the kids to the location of Skyquake's grave and starts working on a way to return them to the normal dimension.

The kids find themselves back at Starscream's arm and are confronted by Starscream himself, come to find Skyquake. Luckily, he can't see them, but they're forced to run toward him when Skyquake's arm appears. A GroundBridge portal opens in front of them, and they run through at the last moment. Starscream is startled by the three humans running past, but then Skyquake's arm follows them through the portal and grabs Starscream's head. He has barely shaken the thing loose when Optimus, Bulkhead and Arcee arrive, and he has to request another emergency GroundBridge.

[[Image:Shadowzone-alone.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Zombies have no respect for personal space!]]
Back at base, Miko takes responsibility for the whole venture, much to Jack's surprise, but the Autobots decide she's been through enough. Bulkhead regrets she didn't get to take any pictures, but Miko asserts that the mental image of zombie Skyquake will be enough.

Knock Out performs more repairs on Starscream and enquires whether he retrieved his arm. Back in the shadowzone, Skyquake briefly tries Starscream's arm on for size before tossing it away.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (6)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (7)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)
|c2=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (1)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (2)
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (3)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] (12)
*[[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] (13)
|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (9)
*[[Jack Darby]] (10)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (11)
|c4=

}}

==Quotes==
"You cannot harm me while Dark Energon flows through my veins!" 
:—'''Starscream''', seconds before Optimus blows off his arm.

"I can't see without my glasses!" 
"What are you, ninety?" 
"Not. Helping!" 
:—A glasses-less '''Raf''', a jerky '''Miko''' and a frustrated '''Jack'''.

"Uhhh, Starscream, I don't quite understand how this could have happened." 
"And yet it DID! Can you imagine my horror? There I am, minding my own business, when my arm just falls off! Clearly, Megatron inflicted more damage upon me than you realize, ''doctor''..." 
"Well, on the bright side, this provides an excellent opportunity for an upgrade! Let's see...you could go with the Sonic Cannon. It's reliable, low-maintainence, but it lacks a certain flair. Personally, I prefer the Null Ray. It has just the right mix of flash and firepower!" 
"I DON'T WANT A NEW MODEL! I just want the same arm I had before!" 
"Starscream, your equipment is a bit...uh...obsolete. I'm not sure I have another one lying around. Of course, we COULD try to salvage yours. You kept it, didn't you?" 
"It was...beyond recovery." 

:—'''Knock Out''' treats '''Starscream''', who won't admit to what really happened.

"How can a zombie arm move faster than the actual zombie?"
:—That's a very good question, '''Miko'''.

"Look what I found in storage- What are you doing?!" 
"You were right, Knock Out; I'm much too attached to my original appendage! I WILL retrieve it!"
:—'''Knock Out''' gets more lies from '''Starscream''' while the viewers laugh ''their'' arms off.

"Ratchet, can we triangulate the geographical position of the cell phone signal?" 
"''In a parallel dimensional plane?!''... Let's find out."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' poses a challenge for '''Ratchet'''.

"Agh! Unhand me!" 
:—'''Starscream''' to Skyquake's hand. Sorry.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===
* Skyquake's arm continues to function even after being blasted off. When Ratchet severs a zombie's arm in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]", the arm is shown deactivating moments later. It is possible that this is due to Skyquake being somewhat 'fresher' than the zombies in Darkness Rising Part 4, the same way [[Cliffjumper (Prime)| Cliffjumper]] was still functional in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 2]]" despite being cut in half.
** It should also be noted that both Cliffjumper and Skyquake were revived with one shard of Dark Energon each while the zombies in Darkness Rising Part 4 were all revived by one single shard. This may mean that using a single shard on one corpse could make it more deadlier and harder to kill than a corpse revived with several others by one single Dark Energon shard.
* Jack [[Darkness Rising, Part 2|previously discovered]] that the Autobot base was shielded from cell-phone reception. This may have something to do with the "cell phone comlink patch" Raf mentions in "[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]".

===Continuity notes===
* Starscream attempts to raise Skyquake as a zombie the way Megatron raised an undead army in "[[Darkness Rising]]" parts [[Darkness Rising, Part 4|4]] and [[Darkness Rising, Part 5|5]]. He even quotes Megatron's exact line about symbiosis.
* Starscream stole the Dark Energon shard he uses from Megatron way back in "[[Masters & Students]]". Likewise, Skyquake made his previous appearance in the same episode, and the action in this episode happens around his burial site.

===Transformers references===
* This episode finally has the Autobots refer to the ''Nemesis'' by name. The name was previously given to the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon cruiser]] from Generation 1 in "[[Nemesis Part 1]]".
* When suggesting alternative arm weapons for Starscream, Knock Out makes a few references to past [[Starscream (disambiguation)|Starscreams]]: While he recommends a [[null-ray]], as sported by [[Starscream (G1)|Generation 1 Starscream]], he also proposes a "[[sonic cannon]]", in an apparent reference to [[Starscream (Animated)|''Animated'' Starscream]], whose arm cannons were referred to as sonic weapons in various places (though never the ''Animated'' show itself).

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
* Ratchet fears that the GroundBridges may have "crossed streams". [[Wikipedia:Ghostbusters|This is generally a very bad thing]].

===Trivia===
* Starscream is apparently obsolete in terms of equipment and systems. Stubborn refusal to upgrade is not unheard of among [[Spotlight: Kup|Transformers]].
* Despite Megatron being pretty ticked off at Starscream in the previous episode, Starscream is still alive (albeit heavily injured). Just like old times!
* [[Jeff Kline]] claimed that when they kill a character, the character stays killed. He wasn't exactly lying: Skyquake reappears, but only as a shambling zombie. He doesn't even get lines, except for groans and moans.
* So Starscream launches the missiles on his arms by flexing his index finger.
* Miko claims to have learned her lesson. Let's see how long that lasts.
* This is the first time since "[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]" that we've seen Ratchet in his vehicle mode.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Out of His Head

2011-05-08T00:45:57Z

69.125.197.237: /* Transformers references */

{{comingsoon}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 14
|prev=Sick Mind
|next=Shadowzone
|image=
|caption=
|title="Out of His Head"
|airdate=[[May 7]], [[2011]]
|written by=
|directed by=
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Megatron attempts to resurrect himself using Dark Energon by controling Bumblebee's mind .'''

==Synopsis==

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

|c2=

|c3=

|c4=

}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===
*Bumblebee is not only able to speak, but also able to produce Megatron's voice.

===Transformers references===
* Arcee hasn't forgotten her trip to the Arctic in "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]."
* Optimus Prime recalls their "end run on [[Polyhex]]."
* It seems that Megatron was conscious (and able to perfectly remember) when Starscream extracted the fragment of Dark Energon from his chest in "[[Masters & Students]]."

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
*Starscream [[Wikipedia:The A-Team|loves it when a plan comes together.]]

===Trivia===

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Out of His Head

2011-05-08T00:33:21Z

69.125.197.237: /* Transformers references */

{{comingsoon}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 14
|prev=Sick Mind
|next=Shadowzone
|image=
|caption=
|title="Out of His Head"
|airdate=[[May 7]], [[2011]]
|written by=
|directed by=
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''Megatron attempts to resurrect himself using Dark Energon by controling Bumblebee's mind .'''

==Synopsis==

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

|c2=

|c3=

|c4=

}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===
*Bumblebee is not only able to speak, but also able to produce Megatron's voice.

===Transformers references===
* Arcee hasn't forgotten her trip to the Arctic in "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]."
* Optimus Prime recalls their "end run on [[Polyhex]]."
* It seems that Megatron was conscious when Starscream extracted the fragment of Dark Energon from his chest in "[[Masters & Students (episode)|Masters & Students]]."

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
*Starscream [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_team| loves it when a plan comes together.]

===Trivia===

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Deus ex Machina

2011-03-12T08:03:51Z

69.125.197.237: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 10
|prev=Convoy (episode)
|next=Speed Metal
|image=DeusExMachina-Screamer grins.jpg
|caption="With this map, I shall find all of the [[Cyber Planet Key|Cyber Planet K]]- Wait. Wrong franchise."
|title="Deus ex Machina"
|airdate=[[March 11]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Nicole Dubuc]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''When Bulkhead makes a discovery in Greece, the race is on to recover an Energon Harvester.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] is failing to enjoy some detention when Bulkhead hauls up outside the school, blaring loud music. She takes advantage of an inattentive teacher to sneak out and join her Autobot buddy, who's obliged to act as her getaway car when a teacher approaches. They head for [[Autobot Outpost Omega-1|base]] while Bulkhead tries to explain to Miko that she'll never get into college if she flunks out. Ratchet reports he's found an [[energon (fuel)|energon]] pulse in [[Greece]].

Meanwhile [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] has arrived on the ''[[Nemesis (Prime)|Nemesis]]'' finally. [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] shows him to [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]]'s sick bed.

Bulkhead and Miko arrive at an excavation site in Greece, but to her disappointment, he's intending her to research her history report. Bulkhead says the humans have hit an energon vein, but then he spots something Cybertronian in an ancient fresco among the ruins.

[[Image:DeusExMachina-fourcons.jpg|left|thumb|300px|Would you say this episode has a... ''plethora'' of named Decepticons?]]

Starscream explains Megatron's condition to Knock Out, who says things would be easier with his assistant, but [[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] is on the trail of some energon.

Bulkhead identifies the object in the fresco as an [[Energon Harvester]], but as Miko snaps a picture, they're interrupted by the arrival of Breakdown. Wondering if Bulkhead's new pet plays fetch, Breakdown throws a pillar at Miko. Bulkhead intercepts the pillar and is tackled by Breakdown, who slams him into the fresco, shattering it. The Decepticon races off, but Miko shows Bulkhead the image she snapped of the fresco.

Back at base, [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] confirms that the depicted device is an Energon Harvester. The Autobots are relieved that the fresco was broken, as they think it means the Decepticons won't be able to find the Harvester, but [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] points out that there are photos of the thing online — the actual Harvester is held in a museum. The Autobots try to contact [[William Fowler|Agent Fowler]] for help, but he's away on a training retreat. Optimus says they'll have to obtain the Harvester themselves, and Miko volunteers the kids to help.

[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has found the same photo using Breakdown's description of the Harvester, and Starscream says Megatron's revival will have to wait.

The Autobots move into position around the museum before the kids move in via [[ground bridge]] on a motorized scissor lift. Miko deals with a security camera by taking a picture of the Harvester and balancing her phone on top of the camera. While they move towards the statue holding the Harvester, Optimus has an encounter outside with Knock Out and Breakdown, the latter of whom fires a missile at the museum. Optimus manages to catch the missile, but Knock Out shocks him with an energon staff. Breakdown barrels towards the museum entrance, with [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] and [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] failing to stop him. Bulkhead joins the fight as well, but the disturbance sets off the museum's alarms, alerting the security guard. The kids finally manage to get the Harvester onto their lift platform and head for the exit. Miko, scouting ahead on foot, is caught by the security guard who whisks her away. Raf and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] run towards the opening door, expecting Arcee, but instead it's Soundwave, who grabs the Harvester and departs. Knock Out and Breakdown spot him leaving and make their getaway as well. Meanwhile Miko attempts to spin a yarn to the security guard about how she got locked in the museum while researching her history report.

Believing that Starscream will attempt to use the Harvester to gather energon as quickly as possible, Optimus, Bumblebee and Arcee go out attempting to intercept them. [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] works on a replica Harvester to return to the museum in place of the stolen one, while Bulkhead realizes that the Decepticons might be intending to go after the energon seam in Greece.

Indeed, Starscream, Knock Out and Breakdown are at the excavation site. When the other two Decepticons attempt to correct him on who's to thank for the Harvester, Starscream demonstrates the device's effectiveness on a hapless [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] and the pair are suddenly a lot more submissive. While Starscream starts tapping the energon seam, Bulkhead attempts to sneak up behind the Decepticons but clumsily lets them know he's there. He manages to deal with Knock Out and Breakdown until Starscream turns the Harvester on him. Bulkhead struggles to stay upright, but reaches Starscream, smashes the 'Con in the face, and breaking the Harvester. He throws the device into the sky where it explodes. The Decepticons are about to move in and finish the weakened Bulkhead when the rest of the Autobots arrive and chase them off.

Miko is starting to run out of Greek history to bore the museum security guard with, however Fowler turns up to collect her. The guard is surprised when Fowler points out the replica Harvester in place on the statue. Outside, Miko is reunited with Bulkhead, and tells him all about how she's going to write her report on how the Autobots interacted with ancient Greece.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (6)
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (11)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (13)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (14)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (7)
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (8)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (9)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (15)
*A [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]] (17)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (1)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (2)
*[[Miko's teacher]] (3)
*[[Jack Darby]] (7)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (12)
*[[Museum security guard]] (16)
*[[William Fowler]] (18)

}}

==Quotes==
"Miko, listen. If you fail high school, you can't go to- uh...uni...kesa...colls...w-wait, what's that word again?" 
"Uh, college?"
:—'''Bulkhead''' tries to give '''Miko''' a lecture on academia

"It's about time, Knock Out. I do not enjoy being kept waiting!" 
"Ah, it was a long drive, Starscream. I'm still picking bugs out of my grille." 
"Yes, right, you're one of ''those''." 
"Come again?" 
"Never understood why any self-respecting Decepticon would choose automobile as his vehicle mode when he could have [[flight]]!" 
"I like the way I look in steel-belted radials," 
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Knock Out''' discuss an infraction of [[Autobot Cars|the]] [[Decepticon Planes|norm]]

"You've reached Special Agent William Fowler. I'm currently on an ''intensive training retreat'' and unavailable until Tuesday." 
"I hate talking to machines," 
:—'''Agent Fowler''''s answering machine and '''Ratchet''' pull off their own version of a [[Captain Fanzone]] gag

"(whistles) Sweet rims, 24 gauge... You're ''reeeeeeal'' heavy-duty! Just like my [[Breakdown (Prime)|friend]] here!"
:—[[Side Burn]]'s got red cars, '''Knock Out''''s got [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|red trucks]]

"Bulkhead, I NEEDED THAT!"
:—Poor '''Ratchet''' just can't catch a break.

"We're already trespassers and thieves. Why not add forgery to the list?"
:—'''Jack Darby'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
*When Optimus, Arcee and Bumblebee find Bulkhead lying on the ground, Arcee and Bumblebee's optics are dim, while Optimus' and Bulkhead's are not.

===Continuity errors===
*It's the same time at the museum as it is at the dig site in Greece.
*The police have the worst response time imaginable. The guard presumably called them right after the harvester was stolen, yet they never show up. Even accounting for the fact that Fowler would have called them off eventually, it should have only taken them minutes to get there.

===Transformers references===
*Breakdown keeps his bulky body from his earlier comic appearance, but he's been colored to look more like his Cybertronian body.
*At the construction site in Greece, there's a [[Constructicons (G1)|familiar-looking steamshovel and bulldozer]].

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===

===Trivia===
*Despite the initial descriptions of this episode saying that the Autobots were going to Greece to recover the Harvester, it's instead housed in an American museum.
**However, the Harvester does end up in Greece when the Decepticons take it there, so technically the Autobots do end up going to Greece in an attempt to recover it.
*Miko's teacher is reading a copy of ''[[The Jasper Daily]]''. The security guard at the museum is reading the same issue, despite the museum being located in a big city that is obviously not [[Jasper]].
*There is a painting of [[Big Rocks National Park]] in the security guard's office.
*Knock Out and Breakdown are the first Decepticons who weren't part of the main cast to unquestionably survive their debut episode. The first guest star Cybertronian to survive their own debut episode was [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]].
*Megatron's condition has been kept a secret from the rest of the Decepticons.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Deus ex Machina

2011-03-12T00:58:48Z

69.125.197.237: /* Featured characters */

{{comingsoon}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 10
|prev=Convoy (episode)
|next=Speed Metal
|image=
|caption=
|title="Deus ex Machina"
|airdate=[[March 11]], [[2011]]
|written by=
|directed by=
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}

'''The Autobots head to Greece to recover an Energon Harvester.'''

==Synopsis==

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (?)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (?)
*[[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (?)
*[[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (?)

|c2=
*[[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (?)
*[[Knockout (Prime)|Knockout]] (?)
*[[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] (?)
*[[Breakdown (Prime)|Breakdown]] (?)
*[[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (?)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (?)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (1)
*[[Jack Darby]] (3)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (?)
*Museum Security Guard (?)
*[[William Fowler]] (16)

}}

==Quotes==

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===

===Continuity errors===

===Transformers references===

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===

===Trivia===

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Con Job

2011-03-07T04:23:18Z

69.125.197.237: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 8
|prev=Scrapheap (episode)
|next=Convoy (episode)
|image=ConJob-getthispartystarted.jpg
|caption=Quick! They must [[A Prime Problem|have a race!]] Or [[Where Is Thy Sting?|play video games!]]
|title="Con Job"
|airdate=[[February 25]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Steven Melching]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Digitalscape]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Bulkhead awaits the arrival of his friend Wheeljack—what could go wrong?'''

==Synopsis==
With their chores done, [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] is looking forward to "dune bashing" with [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]], but he'd rather check out the monster truck rally in [[Jasper|town]]. Their plans are interrupted when [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] receives a signal from a starship headed for [[Earth]]. [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] wonders if it might be a [[Decepticon]] trap, but Bulkhead identifies the incoming [[Autobot]] as his old friend and [[Wrecker]] pal, [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]]. [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus]] sends landing coordinates for Wheeljack's landing the next day, and Bulkhead is excited to see his old friend.

On the [[Nemesis (Prime)|Decepticon ship]], [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] has monitored the conversation and it gives [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] the chance he needs. He orders [[Makeshift (Prime)|Makeshift]] to prepare for a mission.

The kids are excited to be getting to meet a new Autobot. Ratchet has problems getting the [[ground bridge]] working, due to the damage sustained during the [[Scraplet]] infestation. Their instruments pick up Decepticon signals closing on [[Wheeljack's ship]]. Indeed, the [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] manage to shoot down the ship, but Wheeljack emerges from the wreckage and starts smashing the tar out of them. Ratchet finally gets the ground bridge operational, and Bulkhead, Arcee and [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] storm through to find Wheeljack finishing off the last of the 'cons. Bulkhead greets his old friend with a massive bear hug, and the four Autobots return to base. Wheeljack hits it off with Miko right away, and checks in with Optimus. Ratchet's not as enthusiastic as the others with Bulkhead's friend, as he senses impending destruction.

Starscream discusses their success in getting a spy into the Autobot base as he and Soundwave pay a visit to their prisoner — the real Wheeljack. Now he's inside the Autobot base, Makeshift will be able to activate the ground bridge and reveal the base's location so Starscream can send the troops in. Wheeljack mocks Starscream, who's prevented from killing the prisoner by Soundwave since Wheeljack may yet be of use.

The Autobots and kids celebrate Wheeljack's arrival, Miko by breaking out her electric guitar and Bulkhead and "Wheeljack" by engaging in some [[Cybertronian_sport#Lobbing| Lobbing]]. After some encouragement by Miko, [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] busts some dance moves by doing The Robot, and Bumblebee joins in. Makeshift takes some time to fish for info on the ground bridge from Ratchet, who says it's in the middle of defragging and can't be used for a few hours.

Starscream wonders why Makeshift is taking so long to get the ground bridge activated, since he won't be able to keep the Autobots fooled for long.

Bulkhead tells the kids about a battle he and Wheeljack took part in, and Makeshift barely covers for his lack of knowledge. Bulkhead observes that his old friend seems different, but Makeshift writes this off as jet lag, and asks Miko to show him around the base. However Bulkhead's suspicions have been raised, and Arcee's suggestions don't allay them.

On the Decepticon ship, Wheeljack manages to kill his guard and get free from his bonds.

[[Image:ConJob-Makeshifthostage.jpg|right|thumb|300px|They're not dolls, they're action figures!]]

Miko wanders the base with Makeshift, and the 'con manages to get the location of the Autobot base out of her. Miko promises to show him the way out, and they return to the control center, where Bulkhead asks his "friend" to tell the story of the [[Battle of Darkmount Pass]]. Makeshift tells the story, but manages to get one crucial detail wrong — Bulkhead wasn't part of the battle. Realizing he's been made, Makeshift takes Miko as a hostage.

Starscream and Soundwave hang out on top of the Decepticon ship with a bunch of Vehicons, waiting for Makeshift to open the ground bridge. They're confronted by Wheeljack, who fights his way through a bunch of Vehicons and pounces on Starscream. As more 'cons rush towards Wheeljack, the ground bridge activates, courtesy of Makeshift. Makeshift's ready to enter the ground bridge at the Autobot end, when Wheeljack comes flying through it and lands on him. Ratchet shuts down the ground bridge before any Decepticons come through. The two Wheeljacks draw their swords and fight at length while the Autobots fail to keep track of who's who. Wheeljack, of course, triumphs.

Starscream is pleased when the ground bridge opens again and orders the Vehicons through, however it's only been reopened so Bulkhead can throw Makeshift through. The 'con lands on Starscream, who asks if Makeshift has obtained the location of the Autobot base. Makeshift's in the process of telling him when Starscream realizes that the grenade Makeshift is wearing has been primed and is about to explode, and he and Soundwave retreat as Makeshift explodes, taking a number of Vehicons with him.

The Autobots have another party, to Ratchet's pain. Bulkhead suggests they pick out a vehicle mode for Wheeljack, but Wheeljack says he's not staying now that his ship's fixed. The next morning, he offers to take Bulkhead with him, but Bulkhead's too attached to Earth and Miko to leave. Miko snaps a picture of the two Autobots with her cell phone before Wheeljack leaves.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
* [[Ratchet (Prime)|Ratchet]] (3)
* [[Optimus Prime (Prime)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
* [[Arcee (Prime)|Arcee]] (5)
* [[Bumblebee (Prime)|Bumblebee]] (8)
* [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] (9)

|c2=
* [[Soundwave (Prime)|Soundwave]] (10)
* [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]] (11)
* [[Makeshift (Prime)|Makeshift]] (12)
* [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (13)

|c3=
* [[Miko Nakadai]] (2)
* [[Jack Darby]] (6)
* [[Raf Esquivel]] (7)

}}

==Quotes==
"Do you not see that you are vastly outnumbered?" 
"I see fellas who might vastly enjoy watching me pound some dents into you."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Wheeljack'''

"I'm still picking shrapnel out of my backside!"
 "I'm not surprised, given the size of your backside."
:—'''Bulkhead''' reminisces, '''Arcee''' zings.

"If anything happens to my favourite Wrecker, I'm coming after you!"
:—'''Wheeljack''' tells Miko to take good care of his best bud for him.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical errors===
* When the camera angle moves to show Optimus saying that he knows Wheeljack by reputation only, the shadow of Miko's heel looks lightly separated from it, as if her leg were hovering over Bulkhead's armour plate.

===Continuity errors===
* When the alarm goes off, the monitor shows five bogies (Vehicons) approaching Wheeljack's ship. But in the next scene, when Wheeljack's ship is being attacked, there are six Vehicons.

===Continuity notes===
* The Autobots refer to their base as "[[Autobot Outpost Omega One]]."
* Ratchet mentions that the equipment's been kind of buggy since "[[Scrapheap (episode)|the infestation]]."

===Transformers references===
* Wheeljack and Bulkhead are former members of the [[Wrecker]]s. This is the team's first mention in a TV series.
* Wheeljack had fought in [[Darkmount]] near the [[smelting pool|smelting pit]]s.

===Foreign dubbing===

===Real-world references===
* Wheeljack's ship crashlands near a [[Egypt|trio of pyramids]].
* Raf and Bumblebee perform a dance called "The Robot", a street dance style popularized by the Jackson Five.
* Bumblebee can briefly be seen dancing like John Travolta in ''Saturday Night Fever''.

===Trivia===
* Just like with [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]], Wheeljack's robot mode clearly has Earth vehicle kibble, even though it's stated that he doesn't yet have a local [[alternate mode|altmode]].
*This is the third time [[Makeshift (Prime)|a character]] has been introduced only to be [[Cliffjumper (Prime)|killed]] [[Skyquake (Prime)|off]] before the episode's over. Wheeljack's currently the only Cybertronian who is not part of the main cast to survive his own debut episode.
* Starscream once again attempts to kill a prisoner (Wheeljack) the moment they insinuate he isn't in charge. Only this time, he is stopped by Soundwave.
* This is the first episode where Starscream uses one of the missiles attached to his forearms.
* Bulkhead mentions that Wheeljack has a public service record. Presumably, this is true for all Autobots in the military.
* While [[Skyquake (Prime)|Skyquake]] has been the first character shown with a hand held gun, Wheeljack is the first one shown with a pair of hand held melee weapons (in this case, two swords).
* Wheeljack beats up Starscream to the point where he [[humanization|coughs up Energon]]. ''Hard core!''
** When Makeshift, still disguised as Wheeljack, gets ready to fight the real Wheeljack, he puts his mask on; but if you look quickly before that, you can see that he's also coughed up Energon as well.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]