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Rock Bottom

2011-07-20T19:50:35Z

70.188.57.38: /* 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 at 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 way to know 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 on 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 stops the drill dead and stares at Megatron's uncovered face. 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 he continues drilling.

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

Miko continues banging at Bulkhead, but a noise makes her stop, and Bulkhead has to admit that his arms are starting to fail. She bangs on 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 [[Megatron (Prime)|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 or 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.

===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]]."

===Foreign dubbing===

===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.

==Home video releases==

==External links==

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Wheelie (ROTF)

2011-06-29T07:04:53Z

70.188.57.38: /* Dark of the Moon film */

{{factions|decepticonfilm|autobotfilm}}
{{disambig3|Wheelie}}
:''Wheelie is an Autobot and a Decepticon from the [[Revenge of the Fallen (franchise)|Revenge of the Fallen]] portion of the [[live-action film series|live-action film]] [[continuity family]]. He is sometimes known as '''Wheels'''.''
[[Image:ROTFWheelie.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Whaddaya lookin' at, [[Bonecrusher (dog)|slobberpuss]]?!]]
'''Wheelie''' is a sneaky little salvage and [[scrap drone]]<ref>Hasbro's online [http://www.hasbro.com/transformers/en_US/discover/TRANSFORMERS-Glossary.cfm Transformers glossary].</ref>, always underfoot when you least expect it. As a reconnaissance specialist, he's equipped to the teeth with mid-range surveillance equipment. But his real asset is stealth, tooling along unseen and unsuspected while he accomplishes his mission. Unfortunately for his mission, he often bites off more than he can chew—and ends up being the one chewed on!

Although he does seem to have a bit of a "mouth" on him, Wheelie isn't really a ''bad'' sort: a loving home and a little strict discipline could whip him into shape. Allow disgruntlement with the Autobots to grow, however, and he may get ''mean''...

{{quote|Easy, [[Mikaela Banes|Warrior Goddess]], I'm just a little salvage scrap drone.|Wheelie, shortly after earning the nickname "Blinky"|''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]''}}

==Fiction==
===Pre-''Revenge of the Fallen'' Titan Magazines===

[[Image:Titan5_Wheeliparatrooper.jpg|thumb|left|150px|"Are you sure this'll take my ''weeeiiiggggh-'' '''*KRNCH*''']]

During the Decepticon plot to frame [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] and [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]], Wheelie was parachuted onto their prison convoy by [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]]. Once there, he swiftly freed the twins and offered them a place in the Decepticons before he made good his escape.

Also, he totally [[:Image:Titan5_Wheeliethemurderer.jpg|murdered two people]]. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.6|Outlaw Blues}}

{{Note|The following is in Law and Disorder letters page continuity.}}

Ironhide really, really, ''really'' dislikes Wheelie. Optimus Prime stopped him using the guy as a 'target marker' {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.15|#15's Law and Disorder}} and he's asked the Decepticons to come collect (and torture) him. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.10|#10's Law and Disorder}}

{{-}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' film===
:Voice actor: [[Tom Kenny]] (English), [[Naoki Tatsuta]] (Japanese), [[Rainer Fritzsche]] (German), [[Luca Dal Fabbro]] (Italian), [[Sérgio Stern]] (Portuguese), [[Carlo Vázquez]] (Latin American-Spanish)
[[Image:Wheelie ROTF movie trailer.jpg|thumb|right|300px|No disassemble!]]

Disguised as a remote-controlled monster truck toy, Wheelie was ordered by [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]] to steal the [[AllSpark]] fragment that belonged to [[Mikaela Banes]]. Wheelie attempted to unlock the safe in her garage containing the fragment, but the noise he made in trying to avoid the various dangerous objects on the floor alerted her to his presence, so she picked him up with tongs and burnt out his left eye with a blowtorch. Mikaela then demanded to know what he was doing there, and Wheelie explained that he needed to bring the AllSpark shard to the Decepticons, or he'd be terminated, begging mercy of Mikaela, who he dubbed "Warrior Goddess". Despite his protests, Mikaela locked him inside a box, which she took to [[Princeton University]] when [[Sam Witwicky]] told her he had been having visions and breakdowns induced by the fragment. Although [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] later bisected Mikaela's car, Wheelie's box was undamaged and she retrieved and stored it in [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]]'s boot.

Wheelie was let out of the box at [[Seymour Simmons]]'s deli in [[New York City]]. Mikaela held him with a chain, but promised she would not hurt him if he promised to explain the [[Cyberglyphics]] Sam had been hallucinating about. Wheelie identified the symbols as the Language of the [[Dynasty of Primes|Primes]], and said that he couldn't read it. When he noticed the pictures of suspected Transformers, he identified them as the [[Seeker (ROTF)|Seekers]], saying they could read the language and he could tell them where to find them. Wheelie did, and he accompanied Mikaela, Sam, Simmons, [[Leo Spitz]], Bumblebee, [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]] to find [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]] at the Smithsonian. Wheelie told the humans that Jetfire was a living legend, like "chairman of the board" type, and instructed Sam to point the shard at the Blackbird.

[[Image:ROTF-Wheeliedryhumpsaleg.jpg|left|thumb|300px|This is the culmination of 25 years of Transformers fiction. You've come a long way, baby.]]
The surge of energon sent through Jetfire awoke the ancient Seeker, who was irritable and cantankerous, and Wheelie noted that Jetfire had not aged very well. As the larger Decepticon made his way outside, he inquired on the state of the civil war, and informed the group that he had defected years earlier. Wheelie was shocked by Jetfire's discussion of how he defected from the Decepticons to the Autobots, a thought which had never occurred to him, and decided he too would defect to Warrior Goddess, humping Mikaela's leg in joy. Sam objected, but Mikaela noted Wheelie was faithful, [[Alice|unlike]] her boyfriend. That did not stop Sam from punting Wheelie.

Wheelie was taken by Jetfire's [[space bridge]] to [[Jordan]], and from there he travelled with the humans and Autobots to the [[Pyramid]]s of [[Egypt]]. He was present in when Bumblebee was stopped by the Egyptian checkpoint officers. They arrived in Cairo, where he presumably decided to stay safely while everyone else searched for the [[Tomb of the Primes]]. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

{{Note|Wheelie is never seen again after entering the run-down building in Cairo with the human characters.}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' novelization===
In Egypt, Wheels stopped a police car by jumping onto its windscreen and smashing it, before Bumblebee and the Twins scared off the officers. After that he ripped off a wiper as a trophy, ran back to Mikaela and buried his face in her cleavage. Later, when the good guys had beaten the Decepticons, Wheelie spun around Sam and Mikaela happily in vehicle mode. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|Revenge of the Fallen}}
{{--}}

===Coloring books===
[[Image:Wheels rotfcoloringbook.jpg|thumb|Oh '''SNAP!''']]
{{-}}
{{charstubfiction}}

===Post-''Revenge of the Fallen'' Titan Magazines===

[[Image:Titan20_WheelieIronhide.jpg|thumb|left|150px|The answer was "on page 4".]]

It had been a year and a half since his defection, and the Autobots ''still'' didn't trust Wheelie (Ironhide in particular making no secret of his contempt) and he knew it. When he volunteered to help hit a Decepticon command hub and was rebuffed, Wheelie tore into the Autobots for how they would never trust him and how they were still waiting for him to backstab them. Bitter and angry, Wheelie went off... to backstab them, warning [[Bludgeon (ROTF)|Bludgeon]] of the Autobot/NEST strike team so they could be ambushed.

But Bludgeon was being backstabbed too, as Wheelie disabled the command hub's security features and summoned in [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] to Earth. Megatron welcomed him back into the fold {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.20|Divided Loyalties}} and Wheelie knew that, with the true leader back, he could come back in from the cold. Yes, it had all gone well for Wheelie... until [[Dead End (ROTF)|Dead End]], half dead and crazed for "SPARE... PARTS!", came into the command hub. The Autobots would turn up later and finds ''bits'' of Wheelie, sending them to Ratchet to see if there was anything he could do...{{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 2.21|A Short, Sharp Lesson!}}

{{-}}

===IDW ''Dark of the Moon'' comics===
Sam, Bumblebee and Wheelie took [[Brains]] to his college. But then the decepticons attacked. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 2}} In the battle that folowed, Wheelie alerted Sam that Brains was missing. This eventually let them to rescue Brains from [[Space Case (DOTM)|Space Case]]. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 3}} Wheelie then welcomed Brains to the autobots, causing Brains to cry. after the battle he and Brains moved to [[Washington D.C]] with Sam. {{storylink|Rising Storm issue 4}}

===''Dark of the Moon'' film===
:Voice actor: Tom Kenny (English)
dead!

==Toys==
===Revenge of the Fallen===
[[Image:Wheelie ROTF deluxe toy.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[http://www13.atpages.jp/pcwr/top15/log213.htm WHEEL•E]]]
*'''Autobot Wheelie''' (Deluxe, 2009)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''RA-09'''

: Wheelie transforms into a pretty generic "remote controlled" 4 wheel drive truck with oversized tires. his chest features a flip-around panel that shifts his allegiance from Decepticon to Autobot (and back). His eyes are on independent rotating swivels, giving him the ability to have somewhat different expressions. Each eye is also sculpted differently, with his left eye having less details than the right, a reference to when Mikaela blow-torched his eye.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Autobot/Wheelie/wheelie.htm More information on Wheelie at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|Legends}}
[[Image:ROTF-toy Wheelie.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Now a toy that actually matches my size.]]
*'''Autobot Wheelie''' (Legends, 2009)

: Part of the fifth wave of [[Legends Class]] figures, Wheelie transforms into a generic "remote controlled" 4 wheel drive pickup truck with oversized tires.You can see his eyes in vehicle mode, right where his rear window should be, yeah.

{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:ROTFWheelieprop.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Sadly, you can't buy the big one in stores.]]
*The physical prop for Wheelie's vehicle mode used for the [[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|movie]]<ref name="udvarhazy">[http://www.flickr.com/photos/curlrup Various ROTF props and toys on display at the Udvar-Hazy Center], July/August 2009</ref> is a modified monster truck version of a Ford F-350 pick-up truck, specifically a customized Tamiya F-350 High Lift RC toy including a grille guard<ref name="highlift">[http://www.tamiyausa.com/product/item.php?product-id=58372 Tamiya USA's page for the F-350 High Lift]</ref>, with the body slightly shortened and mounted on an HPI Wheely King chassis<ref name="wheely">[http://www.hpieurope.com/kit-info.php?partNo=10831&lang=en HPI's page for the Wheely King]</ref>. Other modifications include the use of Integy Alloy TVP chassis plates<ref name="alloy">[http://www.integy.com/st_prod.html?p_prodid=4943&p_catid=114 Team Integrity's page for the Alloy TVP chassis plates.]</ref>, HPI Spike Truck Wheels<ref name="hpispike">[http://www.hpiracing.com/products/en/3082/ HPI page for the Spike Truck Wheels]</ref> and (possibly scratch-built) fender add-ons for the truck body itself. A prop for one of Wheelie's feet, complete with an attached tire, was also made.<ref name="udvarhazy"/>

* Wheelie was a bit different in earlier drafts of the ''Revenge of the Fallen'' script. Originally, he was named "Wheels", and was a much more primitive little creature, speaking in a broken, simplistic dialogue—source of the "Warrior Goddess" epithet that seems fairly out of place with the fast-talking Italian accent he ultimately wound up with in the finished film. This version of the character appeared in the film [[Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] in the [[IDW Publishing|IDW]] [[Revenge of the Fallen (comic series)|comic adaptation]], since they were both based on the script; furthermore, [[Simon Furman]] rather oddly kept using this portrayal of the character in [[Titan Books|Titan]]'s [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|UK comic]] several months after the film had come out before knocking it off about a year-and-a-half later.

*In their audio commentary on the ''[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]'' DVD and Blu-ray release, screenwriters [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]] refer to Wheelie by his early working name, "Wheels". [[Michael Bay]], meanwhile, calls him by his toys' name.

*Seeing Mikaela for the first time, Wheelie describes her as "hot" but "not too bright." Interesting that a sentient machine would find a human [[Transformer romance|sexually attractive]]. He, in fact, humps her leg later in the movie.

*Nelson confirmed that Wheelie will be back in ''[[Dark of the Moon (film)|Dark of the Moon]]''. [[Titan Books|Titan Magazines]] and [[Hasbro UK]] may not have known this, since Wheelie defected back to the Decepticons - in a way that left an Autobot dead - in one issue and then had him eaten in the next! The Autobots are unaware he betrayed them and talk like Ratchet can patch him up, but that seems a last-minute "oh whoops" patch-up.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Wheelie''' (ホィーリー ''Hīrī'')
*''German:'' '''Wheeler''' (''Revenge of the Fallen'' dub)

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Dark of the Moon Autobots]]
[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Autobots]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen Decepticons]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Turncoats]]