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Human Error, Part I

2009-04-20T19:14:02Z

82.155.102.81:

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|image=TFA Human Error Part 1 Automen.jpg
|caption=''Humans Animated'' is a very popular show on Cybertron.
|ep=37
|title="Human Error, Part 1"
|airdate=[[April 18]], 2009
|written by=[[Henry Gilroy]]
|directed by=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Naoto Hashimoto]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}
'''On Christmas morning, the Autobots wake up to an unpleasant surprise.'''

==Synopsis==

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Powell Soundwave.jpg|thumb|left|180px|He's actually worse than [[wikipedia:Billy Mays|Billy Mays]].]]
It's [[Christmas]] in Detroit, but [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] is not in a festive mood. The hottest toy of the year is Soundwave, being marketed by [[Porter C. Powell]], who acquired the schematics and patent when he ran [[Sumdac Systems]]. Observing a commercial for the new toy, Optimus notices a Soundwave running across the plaza near the trains. Trying to follow it, he is nearly run over by a train and finally decides that he may be obsessing.

At the plant, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] are interested in what they got for Christmas, but [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] tells them that Santa will know if they try to peek. As the two help Sari decorate, a Soundwave toy breaks out of the present and does something to the oilnog that Sari made for the Autobots. The toy is barely able to hide as Optimus, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] weigh in on Santa's ability to deliver presents to all the children. Sari tells them to just accept the holiday magic and be thankful for what they have, like family, leading to a toast of the spiked oil. Soon, the Autobots all begin to feel tired and decide to call it a night, as Sari heads back to [[Sumdac Tower]].

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Optimus Human.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Who would want to be a human in ''Transformers''? The [[Fandom|fans]] all hate them.]]
The next morning, Optimus wakes up, still woozy, and discovers something frightening—his hands are made of flesh! Falling off his bed in shock, Optimus looks into a mirror and discovers the horrifying truth: He's become a human! Optimus hears Bumblebee and Bulkhead cry out and discovers that all the other Autobots are human as well. A few scans by Ratchet are unable to determine the cause of the change. Looking for Prowl, the Autobots head outside, where they find the ninja is mostly at home with the situation, except he feels that something is wrong. Since they're unable to contact Sari, the Autobots decide to [[roll out|<s>roll ou—</s>]] er, walk to Sumdac Tower.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Sumdac dance.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Truly fun for all ages.]]
The Sumadcs, meanwhile, are exchanging Christmas presents, although Sari is less than impressed with the Soundwave toy she receives, having less-than-fond memories of her previous experience with the musical menace. The next present, a scooter, likewise fails to excite, until her father reveals that it also transforms into a jetpack! Thrilled at the gift, Sari takes off to show the Autobots, leaving her dad dancing and singing along with Soundwave.

On their way to Sumdac Tower, the Autobots stop at [[Burger Bot]] when Bulkhead experiences the odd sensation of "hunger". Before long, he is also experiencing the thrills and spills of "the bathroom", while Prowl makes the most of his new human form to play peek-a-boo with a greatly amused [[Jennifer Witwicky|baby]]. The light-heartedness is brought to an end by a sudden explosion outside, and the Autobots race onto the street to see an armada of airborne [[Decepticon]]s, with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] in the lead, opening fire on the city! As chaos erupts around them, more Decepticons led by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] come stomping up the street . A blast from Shockwave sets a nearby building on fire, and Prime orders the Autobots into action despite their frail new forms. While Bulkhead and Bumblebee fight the fire, Prime and Ratchet rescue a woman, and Prowl heads upstairs to save her [[Gary|son]]. At the last minute, Prowl dives out a window several stories up with the boy in his arms and lands with ease, prompting Bulkhead to wonder exactly how he accomplished such a seemingly impossible feat. Before any thought can go into the matter, Starscream transforms to robot mode and lands in front of them!

Carried by her new jetpack to the Autobot plant, Sari is surprised to discover it locked up tight, and even more surprised when the Autobots don't respond to her knocking. She flies into the plant through a skylight, but the whole building seems deserted, so she uses the computer to scan for the Autobots' energy signatures, which turn out to be coming from...inside the plant?

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Starscream Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|right|180px|GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!]]
As Starscream tears up the street and sends humans scattering in fear, Bulkhead and Bumblebee rather foolishly attempt to attack him, and the results are rather predictable. When Optimus tries slashing the Decepticon with an axe, Starscream backhands him into a wall, breaking his leg. Hearing the Autobots refer to each other by name, Starscream realizes who his opponents are, but is so busy smirking over things that he loses sight of them and finds that he can't tell one human from another! Dismissing them, he departs for more destruction elsewhere, leaving the Autobots to have their injuries tended to by paramedics. Requiring some of Professor Sumdac's technology to fight the Decepticons, the Autobots board a bus to get to the tower quickly.

Back at the Autobots' plant, Sari is still searching for her friends, when suddenly, a [[Laserbeak (Animated)|large, robotic bird]] flies out of a shaft in the floor, followed by a small army of Soundwave action figures! Sari blasts the evil toys and heads down the shaft to investigate.

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Bumblebee vs Blitzwing.jpg|thumb|180px|left|''You spin my head right 'round, right 'round''.]]
At the foot of Sumdac Tower, the Autobots have just stepped off the bus when suddenly, a huge shadow falls over Detroit. Looking up, the stunned Autobots see the entire planet of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself hanging in the sky. Sumdac tower is obliterated by a huge planetary laser weapon, and a full-scale Decepticon invasion force swarms the sky, led by [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] himself! The sheer impossibility of everything that is happening finally hits Optimus Prime and Prowl, who realize that whatever may be happening to them, none of it is real. Megatron seizes Prowl, but amazingly, the Autobot breaks free of his grip, and with a single swipe of his hand, severs Megatron's arm. Blitzwing attempts to crush Prowl beneath his foot, but Bulkhead runs forward and smashes straight through the [[Triple Changer]]'s leg. As Bumblebee pummels Blitzwing's faces and Prowl knocks out Starscream by phasing into his head, Optimus Prime beats Megatron with his own arm, then hurls his axe into the barrel of the Decepticon leader's cannon, causing it to explode. As the dust cloud fades, Cybertron and all of the Decepticons have vanished, and the Autobots come to the realization that they are trapped in some kind of virtual reality.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Part 1 Soundwave Superior.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Giant "Shattered Glass" Animated virtual Soundwave?]]
Sari makes the same discovery as the Autobots when she reaches the bottom of the secret shaft and discovers their bodies, plugged into machinery being operated by the full-size Soundwave, who is planning to use the illusion to reprogram the Autobots into Decepticons. Within the virtual world, the Autobots are able to will themselves back into robotic form (although Bulkhead has a little trouble), but before they can take any further actions, a gigantic arm bursts out of the ground beneath them, scooping them up in its hand. Soundwave's giant face looks down upon the Autobots, declaring escape impossible and shocking them all with blasts of purple energy. Soundwave also has his hands full in the real world, as Sari blasts a chunk out of his shoulder with one of her energy-balls,. Soundwave summons Laserbeak, the robotic bird Sari saw earlier, into his arms, where it transforms into a guitar and hits Sari with a powerful sonic shock wave. The wounded Sari retreats, promising to come back for her friends and leaving Soundwave to resume the final phase of his Autobot reprogramming with [[Ratbat (Animated)|another musical instrument]] that bathes the heroic robots in waves of sonic energy. As Soundwave gloats, Optimus Prime's eyes open and begin glowing Decepticon-red...

[[Human Error, Part 2|To be continued...]]

==Featured characters==
{{note|Characters in italics appear only as part of Soundwave's virtual reality scenario.}}
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] (5)
*''[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'' (12)
*''[[Lugnut]]'' (13)
*''[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]'' (14)
*''[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]'' (15)
*''[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]]'' (16)
*''[[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]]'' (17)
*''[[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]]'' (18)
*''[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]'' (22)
*[[Laserbeak (Animated)|Laserbeak]] (23)
*[[Ratbat (Animated)|Ratbat]] (24)
|c3=
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (6)
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (7)
*''[[Jennifer Witwicky]]'' (10)
*''[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]]'' (11)
*''[[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel Witwicky]]'' (19)
*''[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike Witwicky]]'' (20)
*''[[Gary]]'' (21)
|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Ratchet''': And I'm telling you, there is no way that this "Santa Claus" could deliver billions of presents in one night. 
'''Prowl''': I can think of at least one. Ho. Ho. Ho. 
''[Prowl projects holograms of himself]'' 
'''Optimus''': A sound theory, Prowl. I did see multiple Santas in the shopping district tonight.
:—The Autobots weigh in on the debate of how Santa does his job.

"We need to get to Sumdac Tower. Auto—er, men. Transfo—er, uh, roll—er, uh, oh, let's just go."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' has a few slips on his "[[roll out]]" command.

"Why would ze Autobots choose to be human?" 
"Not for the fashion sense, I can tell you that. A-ha-ha-ha!"
:—'''Icy Blitzwing''' and '''Random Blitzwing''', the next [[wikipedia:Tim Gunn|Tim Gunn]].

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a—''[Laserbeak flies out of the Autobrand on the floor]'' creepy robot bird?" 
:—'''Sari Sumdac''' adds a new twist to a classic Christmas tale.

"Oh, look! I have a hole in my rocket!"
:—Even horrible injury cannot faze '''Random Blitzwing'''.

"Hey, we're baaaaack!" 
"Not all of us!" 
"It might help you if you make the noise with your mouth like this: ''Choo-chuh-chah-chik''!" 
"Sounds silly... But, okay. Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik! ''Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik''!"
:— '''Bumblebee''' and '''Bulkhead''', making the transformation noise like so many of us did on moments of loneliness

"Escape is impossible. Autobots inferior; Soundwave superior."
:—'''Soundwave''', homaging like it's [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986]].

==Notes==

===Animation or technical errors===
* When Bulkhead sets down his Christmas present, the box is missing the horizontal ribbon it has in the preceding and following shots.
* When Ratchet scans Optimus, all the equipment is human-sized, instead of the much larger, Transformer-scaled size. Of course, it's not actually ''real'', but still.
[[Image:HumanError-DanielSpike.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The popular "Invisible Booster Seat" image from Lolbots.com.]]
* In the bus tram scene, Daniel is shown levitating over his seat.
* We first see [[Jennifer Witwicky]] for a few frames in the background next to a mom who isn't Carly. She's Carly later, though.
* After the explosion is heard outside the Burger Bot, Bulkhead's previously half-eaten burger is now whole.
* Bulkhead punches Starscream with his right hand...then screams and clutches his ''left'' hand...then after a scene cut, he is shown clutching his ''right'' hand...and later he gets a bandage put on his ''left'' hand. Of course, it's...oh, you get the idea.
* Of course, if this was real, we'd point out that the force with which Starscream smashed Optimus into the wall should probably have killed him, or at least caused a lot more damage than a broken leg. Good thing it's not, then.
* The elevator platform in the Autobots' base shrinks from Autobot-sized at the top (such that Sari is shown to be tiny in comparison to it) to human-sized at the bottom (such that Laserbeak couldn't fit through the door even if it had been open).
* Blitzwing's face changes from Icy to Random when he lifts up his leg, only to be Icy again when he's looking through the hole after the shot changes.
* When Optimus beats Megatron with his own severed arm, the arm is ''freaking colossal'', nearly as big as the rest of Megatron's body (Megatron's face also goes significantly off-model in the same scene).
* When being held by the giant Soundwave, Prowl is briefly missing his armor.
* The hole Sari blows in Soundwave's backpack comes and goes. Hey, this bit is real!

===Continuity errors===
*Presumably Soundwave tapped into the Autobots' memories in order to create images of the Decepticons. But if that's the case, what's [[Team Chaar]] doing there, as well as a full-body view of Shockwave (whom they only saw in facial close-up in "[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II]]")? The one who would be actually there would be Oil Slick, due to his past history with Prowl and Ratchet.
*Where did Sari's jetpack go while she was on the lift? (For that matter, why did she transform out of her robot mode at all?)
*Lugnut disappears with the other Decepticons, despite the fact none of the Autobots fought him.

===Transformers references===
*[[Derrick Wyatt]] stated this episode was a partial homage to a [[Only Human|"classic" Generation 1 episode]].
*Sari's transforming scooter-jetpack was an early idea that didn't make it into the series, but which was featured in a promotional reel for the ''Animated'' series (seen on the convention circuit in mid-2007 and featured on the DVD included with the "Optimus Prime and Megatron: The Battle Begins" action figure set). The version introduced with this episode is somewhat different from the original concept, which was a pedal-powered tricycle that transformed using the power of the [[Key]].
* The scooter's jetpack form is, in turn, based on the backpacks worn by the Acroyear/Acroyer, the villains from Takara's [[Microman]] toyline.
[[Image:HydraMartyCancer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|This is a winning sitcom concept right here.]]
*The [[Burger Bot]] patrons include series head writer [[Marty Isenberg]], [[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]], her baby daughter [[Jennifer Witwicky|Jennifer]] (who was close to being born during the Season 2 episode "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"), and ''Animated'' homages to the ''[[Super-God Masterforce]]'' characters [[Cancer]] and [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]]. Hydra, Marty, and Cancer are sitting together at one table, indicating a very interesting family.
*Starscream's missiles feature the shark-toothed smiley faces sculpted into the missile accessories that come with his toy.
*Cybertron was brought into Earth orbit twice in the [[Generation 1]] series: first in the multipart episode "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1|The Ultimate Doom]]", and then in the series finale, "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]".
*Soundwave's declaration that the Autobots are "inferior" while he is "superior" is a paraphrase of his Generation 1 namesake's famous line of dialogue from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'': "Soundwave superior, Constructicons inferior."
*The colors on the giant Soundwave in the virtual world come from Takara's "Sonic White" Soundwave MP3 player.

===Real-world references===
*Appropriately enough, the first act of this episode incorporates traditional Christmas songs "[[Wikipedia: Carol of the Bells|Carol of the Bells]]" and "[[Wikipedia:God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen|God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]" into the background music.
*Sari quotes from the Christmas poem, "[[Wikipedia: A Visit from St. Nicholas|A Visit from St. Nicholas]]" (more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), replacing the word "mouse" with "[[Laserbeak (Animated)|creepy robot bird]]".
*When Laserbeak chases Sari into the elevator, he makes sounds like a seagull.
*Bumblebee says "We're not in Detroit anymore," which is another twist on an oft-paraphrased line from ''The Wizard of Oz''.
* The scene of Cybertron blowing up [[Sumdac Tower]] is straight out of the mid-90s summer blockbuster ''Independence Day'', in which an alien mothership blows up the White House in a similar manner while using the [[Death Star]] sound effect from [[Star Wars]].
*The whole idea of the heroes acting in a virtual world where only those aware of its true nature can break the laws of physics is similar to [[Wikipedia: The Matrix (series)|the Matrix series]].

===Trivia===
*This episode features an unusually high amount of [[stock footage]] by ''Animated'' standards. Starscream's sequence is a few seconds longer than when it was last seen in "[[Megatron Rising - Part 1]]". Of course, all the sequences of the "human" Autobots transforming have been re-edited.
*Apparently, in future Detroit, you are allowed to use public transportation while bearing a giant axe. Well, it ''is'' Detroit...
*Back in "[[Sound and Fury]]", Soundwave's voice was modulated using only one tone, meaning it never rose or fell. With this episode, more tones are introduced into his voice, allowing it to rise and fall in the same manner as his [[Generation 1]] [[Soundwave (G1)|counterpart]].
*Sari's abilities include being capable of holding a full barrel of oil on each hand and surviving getting slammed into a wall by Laserbeak and Soundwave. Plus she makes a mean oilnog.
*Man, Professor Sumdac sure can ''dance''.
*Technically, since most of this episode wasn't real, most of the errors above can be dismissed. So nyah!

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Human Error, Part I

2009-04-20T19:11:31Z

82.155.102.81:

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|image=TFA Human Error Part 1 Automen.jpg
|caption=''Humans Animated'' is a very popular show on Cybertron.
|ep=37
|title="Human Error, Part 1"
|airdate=[[April 18]], 2009
|written by=[[Henry Gilroy]]
|directed by=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Christopher Berkeley]] [[Naoto Hashimoto]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
}}
'''On Christmas morning, the Autobots wake up to an unpleasant surprise.'''

==Synopsis==

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Powell Soundwave.jpg|thumb|left|180px|He's actually worse than [[wikipedia:Billy Mays|Billy Mays]].]]
It's [[Christmas]] in Detroit, but [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] is not in a festive mood. The hottest toy of the year is Soundwave, being marketed by [[Porter C. Powell]], who acquired the schematics and patent when he ran [[Sumdac Systems]]. Observing a commercial for the new toy, Optimus notices a Soundwave running across the plaza near the trains. Trying to follow it, he is nearly run over by a train and finally decides that he may be obsessing.

At the plant, [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] are interested in what they got for Christmas, but [[Sari Sumdac|Sari]] tells them that Santa will know if they try to peek. As the two help Sari decorate, a Soundwave toy breaks out of the present and does something to the oilnog that Sari made for the Autobots. The toy is barely able to hide as Optimus, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] weigh in on Santa's ability to deliver presents to all the children. Sari tells them to just accept the holiday magic and be thankful for what they have, like family, leading to a toast of the spiked oil. Soon, the Autobots all begin to feel tired and decide to call it a night, as Sari heads back to [[Sumdac Tower]].

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Optimus Human.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Who would want to be a human in ''Transformers''? The [[Fandom|fans]] all hate them.]]
The next morning, Optimus wakes up, still woozy, and discovers something frightening—his hands are made of flesh! Falling off his bed in shock, Optimus looks into a mirror and discovers the horrifying truth: He's become a human! Optimus hears Bumblebee and Bulkhead cry out and discovers that all the other Autobots are human as well. A few scans by Ratchet are unable to determine the cause of the change. Looking for Prowl, the Autobots head outside, where they find the ninja is mostly at home with the situation, except he feels that something is wrong. Since they're unable to contact Sari, the Autobots decide to [[roll out|<s>roll ou—</s>]] er, walk to Sumdac Tower.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Sumdac dance.jpg|thumb|left|180px|Truly fun for all ages.]]
The Sumadcs, meanwhile, are exchanging Christmas presents, although Sari is less than impressed with the Soundwave toy she receives, having less-than-fond memories of her previous experience with the musical menace. The next present, a scooter, likewise fails to excite, until her father reveals that it also transforms into a jetpack! Thrilled at the gift, Sari takes off to show the Autobots, leaving her dad dancing and singing along with Soundwave.

On their way to Sumdac Tower, the Autobots stop at [[Burger Bot]] when Bulkhead experiences the odd sensation of "hunger". Before long, he is also experiencing the thrills and spills of "the bathroom", while Prowl makes the most of his new human form to play peek-a-boo with a greatly amused [[Jennifer Witwicky|baby]]. The light-heartedness is brought to an end by a sudden explosion outside, and the Autobots race onto the street to see an armada of airborne [[Decepticon]]s, with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] in the lead, opening fire on the city! As chaos erupts around them, more Decepticons led by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] come stomping up the street . A blast from Shockwave sets a nearby building on fire, and Prime orders the Autobots into action despite their frail new forms. While Bulkhead and Bumblebee fight the fire, Prime and Ratchet rescue a woman, and Prowl heads upstairs to save her [[Gary|son]]. At the last minute, Prowl dives out a window several stories up with the boy in his arms and lands with ease, prompting Bulkhead to wonder exactly how he accomplished such a seemingly impossible feat. Before any thought can go into the matter, Starscream transforms to robot mode and lands in front of them!

Carried by her new jetpack to the Autobot plant, Sari is surprised to discover it locked up tight, and even more surprised when the Autobots don't respond to her knocking. She flies into the plant through a skylight, but the whole building seems deserted, so she uses the computer to scan for the Autobots' energy signatures, which turn out to be coming from...inside the plant?

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Starscream Bumblebee.jpg|thumb|right|180px|GET IT OFF GET IT OFF GET IT OFF!]]
As Starscream tears up the street and sends humans scattering in fear, Bulkhead and Bumblebee rather foolishly attempt to attack him, and the results are rather predictable. When Optimus tries slashing the Decepticon with an axe, Starscream backhands him into a wall, breaking his leg. Hearing the Autobots refer to each other by name, Starscream realizes who his opponents are, but is so busy smirking over things that he loses sight of them and finds that he can't tell one human from another! Dismissing them, he departs for more destruction elsewhere, leaving the Autobots to have their injuries tended to by paramedics. Requiring some of Professor Sumdac's technology to fight the Decepticons, the Autobots board a bus to get to the tower quickly.

Back at the Autobots' plant, Sari is still searching for her friends, when suddenly, a [[Laserbeak (Animated)|large, robotic bird]] flies out of a shaft in the floor, followed by a small army of Soundwave action figures! Sari blasts the evil toys and heads down the shaft to investigate.

[[Image:TFAni Human Error Part 1 Bumblebee vs Blitzwing.jpg|thumb|180px|left|''You spin my head right 'round, right 'round''.]]
At the foot of Sumdac Tower, the Autobots have just stepped off the bus when suddenly, a huge shadow falls over Detroit. Looking up, the stunned Autobots see the entire planet of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] itself hanging in the sky. Sumdac tower is obliterated by a huge planetary laser weapon, and a full-scale Decepticon invasion force swarms the sky, led by [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] himself! The sheer impossibility of everything that is happening finally hits Optimus Prime and Prowl, who realize that whatever may be happening to them, none of it is real. Megatron seizes Prowl, but amazingly, the Autobot breaks free of his grip, and with a single swipe of his hand, severs Megatron's arm. Blitzwing attempts to crush Prowl beneath his foot, but Bulkhead runs forward and smashes straight through the [[Triple Changer]]'s leg. As Bumblebee pummels Blitzwing's faces and Prowl knocks out Starscream by phasing into his head, Optimus Prime beats Megatron with his own arm, then hurls his axe into the barrel of the Decepticon leader's cannon, causing it to explode. As the dust cloud fades, Cybertron and all of the Decepticons have vanished, and the Autobots come to the realization that they are trapped in some kind of virtual reality.

[[Image:TFA Human Error Part 1 Soundwave Superior.jpg|thumb|right|180px|Giant "Shattered Glass" Animated virtual Soundwave?]]
Sari makes the same discovery as the Autobots when she reaches the bottom of the secret shaft and discovers their bodies, plugged into machinery being operated by the full-size Soundwave, who is planning to use the illusion to reprogram the Autobots into Decepticons. Within the virtual world, the Autobots are able to will themselves back into robotic form (although Bulkhead has a little trouble), but before they can take any further actions, a gigantic arm bursts out of the ground beneath them, scooping them up in its hand. Soundwave's giant face looks down upon the Autobots, declaring escape impossible and shocking them all with blasts of purple energy. Soundwave also has his hands full in the real world, as Sari blasts a chunk out of his shoulder with one of her energy-balls,. Soundwave summons Laserbeak, the robotic bird Sari saw earlier, into his arms, where it transforms into a guitar and hits Sari with a powerful sonic shock wave. The wounded Sari retreats, promising to come back for her friends and leaving Soundwave to resume the final phase of his Autobot reprogramming with [[Ratbat (Animated)|another musical instrument]] that bathes the heroic robots in waves of sonic energy. As Soundwave gloats, Optimus Prime's eyes open and begin glowing Decepticon-red...

[[Human Error, Part 2|To be continued...]]

==Featured characters==
{{note|Characters in italics appear only as part of Soundwave's virtual reality scenario.}}
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (1)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (2)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (3)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (9)
|c2=
*[[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] (5)
*''[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'' (12)
*''[[Lugnut]]'' (13)
*''[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]]'' (14)
*''[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]'' (15)
*''[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]]'' (16)
*''[[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]]'' (17)
*''[[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]]'' (18)
*''[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]]'' (22)
*[[Laserbeak (Animated)|Laserbeak]] (23)
*[[Ratbat (Animated)|Ratbat]] (24)
|c3=
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (6)
*[[Isaac Sumdac]] (7)
*''[[Jennifer Witwicky]]'' (10)
*''[[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]]'' (11)
*''[[Daniel Witwicky (Animated)|Daniel Witwicky]]'' (19)
*''[[Spike Witwicky (Animated)|Spike Witwicky]]'' (20)
*''[[Gary]]'' (21)
|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==

'''Ratchet''': And I'm telling you, there is no way that this "Santa Claus" could deliver billions of presents in one night. 
'''Prowl''': I can think of at least one. Ho. Ho. Ho. 
''[Prowl projects holograms of himself]'' 
'''Optimus''': A sound theory, Prowl. I did see multiple Santas in the shopping district tonight.
:—The Autobots weigh in on the debate of how Santa does his job.

"We need to get to Sumdac Tower. Auto—er, men. Transfo—er, uh, roll—er, uh, oh, let's just go."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' has a few slips on his "[[roll out]]" command.

"Why would ze Autobots choose to be human?" 
"Not for the fashion sense, I can tell you that. A-ha-ha-ha!"
:—'''Icy Blitzwing''' and '''Random Blitzwing''', the next [[wikipedia:Tim Gunn|Tim Gunn]].

"Not a creature was stirring, not even a—''[Laserbeak flies out of the Autobrand on the floor]'' creepy robot bird?" 
:—'''Sari Sumdac''' adds a new twist to a classic Christmas tale.

"Oh, look! I have a hole in my rocket!"
:—Even horrible injury cannot faze '''Random Blitzwing'''.

"Hey, we're baaaaack!" 
"Not all of us!" 
"It might help you if you make the noise with your mouth like this: ''Choo-chuh-chah-chik''!" 
"Sounds silly... But, okay. Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik! ''Choo-chuh-chah-chah-chik''!"
:— '''Bumblebee''' and '''Bulkhead''', making the transformation noise like so many of us did on moments of loneliness

"Escape is impossible. Autobots inferior; Soundwave superior."
:—'''Soundwave''', homaging like it's [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986]].

==Notes==

===Animation or technical errors===
* When Bulkhead sets down his Christmas present, the box is missing the horizontal ribbon it has in the preceding and following shots.
* When Ratchet scans Optimus, all the equipment is human-sized, instead of the much larger, Transformer-scaled size. Of course, it's not actually ''real'', but still.
[[Image:HumanError-DanielSpike.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The popular "Invisible Booster Seat" image from Lolbots.com.]]
* In the bus tram scene, Daniel is shown levitating over his seat.
* We first see [[Jennifer Witwicky]] for a few frames in the background next to a mom who isn't Carly. She's Carly later, though.
* After the explosion is heard outside the Burger Bot, Bulkhead's previously half-eaten burger is now whole.
* Bulkhead punches Starscream with his right hand...then screams and clutches his ''left'' hand...then after a scene cut, he is shown clutching his ''right'' hand...and later he gets a bandage put on his ''left'' hand. Of course, it's...oh, you get the idea.
* Of course, if this was real, we'd point out that the force with which Starscream smashed Optimus into the wall should probably have killed him, or at least caused a lot more damage than a broken leg. Good thing it's not, then.
* The elevator platform in the Autobots' base shrinks from Autobot-sized at the top (such that Sari is shown to be tiny in comparison to it) to human-sized at the bottom (such that Laserbeak couldn't fit through the door even if it had been open).
* Blitzwing's face changes from Icy to Random when he lifts up his leg, only to be Icy again when he's looking through the hole after the shot changes.
* When Optimus beats Megatron with his own severed arm, the arm is ''freaking colossal'', nearly as big as the rest of Megatron's body (Megatron's face also goes significantly off-model in the same scene).
* When being held by the giant Soundwave, Prowl is briefly missing his armor.
* The hole Sari blows in Soundwave's backpack comes and goes. Hey, this bit is real!

===Continuity errors===
*Presumably Soundwave tapped into the Autobots' memories in order to create images of the Decepticons. But if that's the case, what's [[Team Chaar]] doing there, as well as a full-body view of Shockwave (whom they only saw in facial close-up in "[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II]]")? The one who would be actually there would be Oil Slick, due to his past history with Prowl and Ratchet.
*Where did Sari's jetpack go while she was on the lift? (For that matter, why did she transform out of her robot mode at all?)
*Lugnut disappears with the other Decepticons, despite the fact none of the Autobots fought him.

===Transformers references===
*[[Derrick Wyatt]] stated this episode was a partial homage to a [[Only Human|"classic" Generation 1 episode]].
*Sari's transforming scooter-jetpack was an early idea that didn't make it into the series, but which was featured in a promotional reel for the ''Animated'' series (seen on the convention circuit in mid-2007 and featured on the DVD included with the "Optimus Prime and Megatron: The Battle Begins" action figure set). The version introduced with this episode is somewhat different from the original concept, which was a pedal-powered tricycle that transformed using the power of the [[Key]].
* The scooter's jetpack form is, in turn, based on the backpacks worn by the Acroyear/Acroyer, the villains from Takara's [[Microman]] toyline.
[[Image:HydraMartyCancer.jpg|right|thumb|150px|This is a winning sitcom concept right here.]]
*The [[Burger Bot]] patrons include series head writer [[Marty Isenberg]], [[Carly Witwicky (Animated)|Carly Witwicky]], her baby daughter [[Jennifer Witwicky|Jennifer]] (who was close to being born during the Season 2 episode "[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"), and ''Animated'' homages to the ''[[Super-God Masterforce]]'' characters [[Cancer]] and [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]]. Hydra, Marty, and Cancer are sitting together at one table, indicating a very interesting family.
*Starscream's missiles feature the shark-toothed smiley faces sculpted into the missile accessories that come with his toy.
*Cybertron was brought into Earth orbit twice in the [[Generation 1]] series: first in the multipart episode "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1|The Ultimate Doom]]", and then in the series finale, "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]".
*Soundwave's declaration that the Autobots are "inferior" while he is "superior" is a paraphrase of his Generation 1 namesake's famous line of dialogue from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'': "Soundwave superior, Constructicons inferior."
*The colors on the giant Soundwave in the virtual world come from Takara's "Sonic White" Soundwave MP3 player.

===Real-world references===
*Appropriately enough, the first act of this episode incorporates traditional Christmas songs "[[Wikipedia: Carol of the Bells|Carol of the Bells]]" and "[[Wikipedia:God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen|God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen]]" into the background music.
*Sari quotes from the Christmas poem, "[[Wikipedia: A Visit from St. Nicholas|A Visit from St. Nicholas]]" (more commonly known as "'Twas the Night Before Christmas"), replacing the word "mouse" with "[[Laserbeak (Animated)|creepy robot bird]]".
*When Laserbeak chases Sari into the elevator, he makes sounds like a seagull.
*Bumblebee says "We're not in Detroit anymore," which is another twist on an oft-paraphrased line from ''The Wizard of Oz''.
* The scene of Cybertron blowing up [[Sumdac Tower]] is straight out of the mid-90s summer blockbuster ''Independence Day'', in which an alien mothership blows up the White House in a similar manner while using the [[Death Star]] sound effect from [[Star Wars]].
*The whole idea of the heroes acting in a virtual world where only those aware of its true nature ca n break the laws of physics is similar to [[Wikipedia: The Matrix (series)|the Matrix series]].

===Trivia===
*This episode features an unusually high amount of [[stock footage]] by ''Animated'' standards. Starscream's sequence is a few seconds longer than when it was last seen in "[[Megatron Rising - Part 1]]". Of course, all the sequences of the "human" Autobots transforming have been re-edited.
*Apparently, in future Detroit, you are allowed to use public transportation while bearing a giant axe. Well, it ''is'' Detroit...
*Back in "[[Sound and Fury]]", Soundwave's voice was modulated using only one tone, meaning it never rose or fell. With this episode, more tones are introduced into his voice, allowing it to rise and fall in the same manner as his [[Generation 1]] [[Soundwave (G1)|counterpart]].
*Sari's abilities include being capable of holding a full barrel of oil on each hand and surviving getting slammed into a wall by Laserbeak and Soundwave. Plus she makes a mean oilnog.
*Man, Professor Sumdac sure can ''dance''.
*Technically, since most of this episode wasn't real, most of the errors above can be dismissed. So nyah!

[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Cosmic Rust (disease)

2009-04-20T18:50:18Z

82.155.102.81:

{{disambig2|the disease|the episode in which it first appears|Cosmic Rust (episode)}}
:''Cosmic Rust is a Cybertronian disease/chemical weapon from the [[Generation 1]] and [[Transformers Animated]] [[Continuity family|continuity families]].''

[[Image:Cosmicrustspores.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ewwww...]]
'''Cosmic Rust''' is a microorganism that devours Cybertronian metals. An infected Transformer starts growing a rust-like substance all over their body. Eventually, the corrosion causes the Transformer to waste away to nothing.

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon===
Cosmic Rust was first discovered in the ruins of an ancient [[Autobot]] colony in deep space, on the planet [[Antilla]]. The [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] who visited the planet were accidentally infected by the rust courtesy of a stray meteor. The radiation provided from a weapon found on the planet (known as The [[Lightning Bug]]) caused the virus to accelerate substantially.

The only cure for Cosmic Rust was a substance called [[corrostop]], invented by [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to remove corrosion of any form and protect substances from future corrosion. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

===''Binaltech''===
A new and improved 'Cosmic Rust' disease once again surfaced in the year 2003, thanks to [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]'s tampering. Here, the Decepticons flood the Earth with it, destroying the original bodies of most of the Autobot garrison stationed there—before apparently backfiring on the Decepticons once again. The bulk of both forces however was unaffected as the bulk of the war's fighting has shifted to the Cybertronian-Theater. The Rust itself is never cured, but thanks to a fusion of Cybertronian technology and human car manufacturers, new temporary-bodies were built for the damaged Autobots. While the Decepticons had to resort to Mind Control in order to trick the human engineers into building them bodies of their own. {{storylink|Binaltech}}

===Shattered Glass===
[[Nightbeat (Shattered Glass)|Nightbeat]], head of the [[Secret Police|Autobot Secret Police]], suffers from a chronic case of Cosmic Rust due to a failed assassination attempt. Though usually kept in check by an unspecified treatment, it can flare up and cause him to malfunction and become contagious if not monitored continually. {{storylink|Shattered Glass (comic)|Shattered Glass}}

===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{note|Events from [[IDW Publishing]] comics are in italics}}
''During the War, Cosmic Rust (technically called "Cyber-Oxidant") was created by [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] to infect both Autobots and Decepticons alike. Unfortunately for him, he was unintentionally infected himself. Luckily for him, he was found by [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], a medical officer who helped him create an antidote for the Cosmic Rust. Unluckily for Ratchet, Oil Slick showed gratitude the Decepticon way—by trying to kill him slowly with an infection of Cosmic Rust.'' {{storylink|'Bots of Science}}

[[Image:TransWarpedRodimusCosmicRust.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Perhaps [[Team Chaar|they]] wil dissasemble him to make bronze medals...]]
As [[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]] stood as they last line of defense between [[Team Chaar]] and the Autobot's [[Space Bridge]], [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] nonchalantly tossed a vial of Cosmic Rust at Rodimus's feet, infecting him. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Animated]]
[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]

Cosmic Rust (disease)

2009-04-20T18:49:41Z

82.155.102.81:

{{disambig2|the disease|the episode in which it first appears|Cosmic Rust (episode)}}
:''Cosmic Rust is a Cybertronian disease/chemical weapon from the [[Generation 1]] and [[Transformers Animated]] [[Continuity family|continuity families]].''

[[Image:Cosmicrustspores.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ewwww...]]
'''Cosmic Rust''' is a microorganism that devours Cybertronian metals. An infected Transformer starts growing a rust-like substance all over their body. Eventually, the corrosion causes the Transformer to waste away to nothing.

==Fiction==
===Generation 1 cartoon===
Cosmic Rust was first discovered in the ruins of an ancient [[Autobot]] colony in deep space, on the planet [[Antilla]]. The [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] who visited the planet were accidentally infected by the rust courtesy of a stray meteor. The radiation provided from a weapon found on the planet (known as The [[Lightning Bug]]) caused the virus to accelerate substantially.

The only cure for Cosmic Rust was a substance called [[corrostop]], invented by [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] to remove corrosion of any form and protect substances from future corrosion. {{storylink|Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust}}

===''Binaltech''===
A new and improved 'Cosmic Rust' disease once again surfaced in the year 2003, thanks to [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]]'s tampering. Here, the Decepticons flood the Earth with it, destroying the original bodies of most of the Autobot garrison stationed there—before apparently backfiring on the Decepticons once again. The bulk of both forces however was unaffected as the bulk of the war's fighting has shifted to the Cybertronian-Theater. The Rust itself is never cured, but thanks to a fusion of Cybertronian technology and human car manufacturers, new temporary-bodies were built for the damaged Autobots. While the Decepticons had to resort to Mind Control in order to trick the human engineers into building them bodies of their own. {{storylink|Binaltech}}

===Shattered Glass===
[[Nightbeat (Shattered Glass)|Nightbeat]], head of the [[Secret Police|Autobot Secret Police]], suffers from a chronic case of Cosmic Rust due to a failed assassination attempt. Though usually kept in check by an unspecified treatment, it can flare up and cause him to malfunction and become contagious if not monitored continually. {{storylink|Shattered Glass (comic)|Shattered Glass}}

===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{note|Events from [[IDW Publishing]] comics are in italics}}
''During the War, Cosmic Rust (technically called "Cyber-Oxidant") was created by [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] to infect both Autobots and Decepticons alike. Unfortunately for him, he was unintentionally infected himself. Luckily for him, he was found by [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], a medical officer who helped him create an antidote for the Cosmic Rust. Unluckily for Ratchet, Oil Slick showed gratitude the Decepticon way—by trying to kill him slowly with an infection of Cosmic Rust.'' {{storylink|'Bots of Science}}

[[Image:TransWarpedRodimusCosmicRust.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Perhaps [[Team Chaaar|they]] wil dissasemble him to make bronze medals...]]
As [[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]] stood as they last line of defense between [[Team Chaar]] and the Autobot's [[Space Bridge]], [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] nonchalantly tossed a vial of Cosmic Rust at Rodimus's feet, infecting him. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

[[Category:Alternators]]
[[Category:Animated]]
[[Category:Diseases]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]

Blitzwing (Animated)

2009-04-20T18:18:07Z

82.155.102.81:

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Blitzwing}}
:''Blitzwing is a [[Decepticon]] from the [[Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:AniBlitzwingPromoModel.jpg|right|250px|thumb|That's far enough, Dr. Jones.]]
'''Blitzwing''' not only has three modes (robot, jet, and tank), he also has three alternate personalities (an "icy" cold strategist, a short-tempered "hothead", and a total "random" nutcase) along with the faces rattling around in his head to go with them.<ref>Blitzwing's three personas are named "Icy", "Hothead" and "Random" on his [[Character model|model]] sheets.</ref> He's as liable to have a conversation with himself as he is to say a word to his fellow Decepticons. Pretty much the only thing that keeps him in line is that all three of his personalities are scared to death of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]].

Blitzwing's "dominant", icy personality is represented by a long, blue face with a monocle and speaks with quiet disdain. His easily angered hothead personality has a wide, red face, is gap-toothed,and tends to react angrily with violent threats towards almost anyone. Finally, his random personality's face looks like nothing so much as a black jack-o'-lantern, and may toss out bad puns and jokes, children's nursery rhymes, or random non sequiturs, mostly followed by a fanatic laughing. All three personalities speak with a pronounced German [[Accents|accent]] and apparently he has trouble flying in a straight line.

Blitzwing's armament varies depending upon which personality is dominant at the time. His calculating personality has an arsenal of ice weaponry, while the hothead predictably can turn up the heat. When his third personality is foremost, nearly anything can be dished out from either of his vehicle modes. Blitzwing's alt-mode is likewise usually dependent on which aspect is dominant at the time. His cold side uses the jet, his angry side uses the tank, and his insane side can use either. However it seems that if he changes personality while in his alt mode, that alt will change with him, and if that's a jet to tank change, he'll fall right out of the sky.

{{quote|Ze name iz Blitzwing, [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|insect]]—remember it! Cause it's ze last thing you're gonna hear before I—express my feelings in song!|—Blitzwing switching personalities like we switch shoes, "[[Transform and Roll Out!]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{ongoing}}
{{note|Events from [[IDW Publishing]] comic books are in italics.}}

:''Voice actor:'' [[Bumper Robinson]] (English), [[Rainer Doering]] (German)

[[Image:Animated blitzwing faces1.JPG|left|125px|thumb|"So Arnold, Dietrich, and Blot walk into a bar..."]]
Blitzwing was aboard the [[Nemesis (Animated)|''Nemesis'']] with the other Decepticons at the time of the [[AllSpark (Animated)|AllSpark]]'s re-discovery. He partially froze [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]'s arm, commenting on how her demeanor was as unpleasant as her organic beast mode. When Blackarachnia advised him to blow it out his actuator, Blitzwing angrily demanded that she refer to him by his proper name, or else he would...''express his feelings in song!'' His out-of-tune rendition of "The Itsy Bitsy Spider" got all the Decepticons arguing until Megatron entered, prompting Blitzwing to fall silent with the rest.

When it became clear the ''Nemesis'' was going to crash into an exploding space bridge, Blitzwing fled in an escape pod. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out!}}

''After Megatron's disappearance, the Decepticons held a funeral at [[New Kaon]]. Blitzwing gave the eulogy, in which he vowed that they would destroy the [[Autobots]] responsible for their leader's demise...and then paint mustaches on their faceplates. [[Lugnut]] was angry with the service, declaring that Megatron was alive and would return. When Blitzwing pointed out evidence to the contrary, Lugnut destroyed the statue of Megatron that Blitzwing had built. This angered Blitzwing, who'd spent six deca-cycles building it, and initiated an exchange of fire between him and Lugnut.'' {{storylink|The Arrival issue 1}}

Blitzwing placed a bounty on [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]], intending to punish him for destroying Megatron. Fifty stellar cycles later, the bounty hunter [[Lockdown]] contacted Blitzwing, saying he had Prime. Blitzwing promised that Lockdown would receive payment once Blitzwing received Prime — then his random side asked if he could ''please, please please'' see Prime turn into a firetruck. {{storylink|The Thrill of the Hunt}} ''His conversation was cut short however, when an enraged Lugnut slammed his face into the monitor for daring to commune with the bounty hunter. The pair began scrapping, and things were only made worse when [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] showed up, taking to opportunity to sell each of them a wide variety of weapons so they could pummel each other. It eventually culminated in him selling the pair of them doomsday weapons and unbreakable nemesis shields. Realizing they were being played, Lugs and Blitz put aside their anger, beat the holy hell out of Swindle and made friends again'' {{storylink|The Arrival issue 5}}

[[Image:LugnutBlitzwingNemesis.JPG|right|175px|thumb|"This was Megatron's ship!" "Oh, cool! Maybe my DVD collection's still in there."]]

Some time after this, Blitzwing and Lugnut followed a beacon to the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]] to find the wreckage of the ''Nemesis''. Noting that Starscream was bad at parking, Blitzwing also remembered that this quadrant was the last time they received an update from Lockdown. Concluding that the Autobots responsible for killing Megatron were nearby, the duo went to Earth. Landing at a construction site, the two had similar problems determining the dominant species on Earth as the Autobots did, mistaking Earth's automatons and machines for sentient beings. Lugnut's attempt to interrogate a crane ended up getting Blitzwing hit by the wrecking ball, which convinced the Decepticons to do a more time honored tactic—blow stuff up and hope it forces the Autobots to come out. It worked. During the battle with the Autobots, [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] were hard pressed to avoid Blitzwing's energy blasts, but his freeze beam did get Bumblebee off his feet. When Lugnut demanded information on Megatron's location, the Autobots mentioned that he had "turned into a fireball somewhere over [[Cleveland]]". Naturally, Lugnut was displeased, and he used his [[Punch of Kill Everything|super-punch]] to floor the Autobots—and bury himself and Blitzwing under the rubble. When Blitzwing unburied himself, he irritatedly reminded Lugnut of his oft-repeated request for a little warning before the punch.

Having observed the battle over a live feed, Megatron opted to radio Lugnut exclusively, leaving Blitzwing struggling to work out what exactly was going on. Blitzwing believed Lugnut was only listening to voices in his head, so Lugnut had to take him along forcibly. Uncertain of the number and strength of the Autobots' "reinforcements" (the Detroit Police Department), the pair scanned Earth vehicles for disguises so they could lay low. Icy Blitzwing wanted to scan a fighter jet, while Hothead wanted a tank. After a brief argument, Random suggested that they scan both. That evening, the two Decepticons followed the Autobots to [[Lake Erie]], where Blitzwing froze the lake. When the Autobots submerged, he followed them in tank form. Blitzwing was lured by the Autobots towards [[Autobot ship (Animated)|their ship]] and blasted by one of its weapons systems. He and Lugnut were left fragmented but functional and floated to the surface, only to be met by [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], who offered to repair them in exchange for a pledge of undying allegiance. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

Apparently, they chose to serve under Starscream, but still were bickering with each other. When Lugnut began receiving internal transmissions from Megatron again, Starscream was confused, and Blitzwing explained that it was a "technical glitch" that happened. A lot. When Starscream learned that Lugnut thought he was talking to Megatron, he felt threatened and scanned Lugnut, detecting the signals. Starscream ordered both Lugnut and Blitzwing to find the [[Key]] while he himself tracked the transmissions.

At the moment, the Key was in the hands of [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]]. Blitzwing used his ice guns to freeze Ratchet and rip off the arm that was carrying the Key. Afterward, they went to [[Sumdac Tower]] to find Megatron. In the process of greeting him, they revealed Megatron's true Decepticon nature to [[Isaac Sumdac|Prof. Sumdac]]. Blitzwing, now understanding what had been going on with Lugnut, inserted the Key into Megatron's head, restoring their true leader. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[Image:Megatron Rising 2 Blitzwing tank crash.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He's just as aerodynamic as the next tank.]]
As Megatron proceeded to beat up the Autobots, Blitzwing and Lugnut decided not to intervene and kept an eye on Professor Sumdac instead. When Megatron called his loyal troops to him, Blitzwing looked on as his leader made an example of Starscream. The Decepticons took to the air, locating and attacking the Autobots' ship as it travelled from the lake to the Tower, then from the Tower to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], where it was shot down. Blitzwing split off to tackle Prowl, Ratchet and Bumblebee, before being brought down by a combined EMP burst. As Blitzwing rolled around and shelled the Autobots, Prowl noticed that Blitzwing's personalities were connected to his alternate modes and powers. By this time, Blitzwing was back in the air, but Bumblebee taunted the Triple Changer enough that Hothead Blitzwing took over, transformed from jet to tank—and fell into the lake. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

[[Image:TFA Blitzwing Jet Altmode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I'm gunning for you, Snoopy.]]
The Decepticons set up a base in a mine containing carbon deposits, which would block their energy signatures so they could recover from their encounter with the Autobots without detection. When Megatron announced his new plan to conquer [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Blitzwing felt the plan was crazy, as neither he nor Lugnut had any idea how they would get there. He changed his mind when Megatron explained that they would build their own [[space bridge]] using the specs Megatron had downloaded from [[Teletran-1]] during one of the encounters with the Autobots. However, they would need the captured Prof. Sumdac to help them, as the specs were incomplete. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

After Isaac Sumdac developed a device that shielded their energy signatures from Autobot sensors, Blitzwing and Lugnut went to retrieve a tachyon transmitter from the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard's]] [[Elite Guard's ship|ship]]. When they presented it to Megatron, Starscream appeared, tried to kill Megatron—and was killed by Megatron. However, Starscream appeared to survive, and Blitzwing spent the rest of the evening dumping Starscream's body into the river. The next day, Blitzwing and Megatron responded to an AllSpark energy signature which turned out to be a trap laid by Starscream. Blitzwing and Megatron then pursued the traitor, offlining him again. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

Blitzwing was later sent by Megatron to track down an All Spark fragment, with an oddly disappearing energy signature. He froze [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and much of the surrounding landscape, destroyed a bridge, [[Captain Fanzone|Captain Fanzone's]] [[Captain Fanzone's car|car]], and [[Master Disaster|Master Disaster's]] truck before Sari Sumdac managed to make him leave using Master Disaster's remote. {{storylink|Velocity}}

Blitzwing and Lugnut wound up stuck with the dirty work, collecting supplies for the construction of the space bridge. Foiled by the Autobots, they tried again the next day, hauling heavy trailers up a hill. Blitzwing's foot slipped, and he was nearly offlined by the trailer sending him careening towards a wall. Bracing for impact, his demise was interrupted by the intervention of [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] and [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]]. Seeing a good opportunity in the brawny Constructibots, he tricked them into hauling the two trailers to the mine. Though Lugnut stated that Megatron would never stand for this, he reassured the huge Decepticon that the two newcomers would be offlined as soon as the work was done. True to his word, Blitzwing was about to have Lugnut dispatch the hapless bots when Megatron stepped in. He had bigger plans for them. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}

[[Image:TFA Sari no one home Blitzwing Ratchet hostage.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Verrry interesting...but shtupid.]]
When the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] resurfaced, Megatron dispatched Blitzwing to bring them back to the mine, giving him some oil to entice them, and instructing Blitzwing not to engage the Autobots. During his search, Blitzwing came across the Autobots. Although his Icy personality wanted to continue the search, his Hothead and Random personality decided to engage them. During the battle, Blitzwing utterly dominated the Autobots, and eventually took Ratchet hostage. At that point, Megatron ordered Blitzwing to disengage and resume his search. Finally locating the Constructicons, Blitzwing offered the two the oil barrels he was carrying, and led them back to base. {{storylink|Sari, No One's Home}}

Soon after the space bridge was near completion, the Autobots found the Decepticons' hideout and attempted to stop them. Blitzwing and Lugnut attacked the Autobots invading their underground base, but they ended up getting stasis cuffed by [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]]. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}} Blitzwing was later retrieved by Scrapper and joined in on the attack on [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]. His hothead side was unimpressed with the gargantuan Autobot, and he vowed to damage Omega Supreme so badly he'd need a GPS locator to help him find his still-attached exhaust port. Omega was equally unimpressed with the verbal posturing and headbutted Blitzwing to the horizon. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

[[Image:FiveServosOfDoom-CapturedDecepticons.jpg|thumb|right|150px|"So, how often do you transform them for display?"]]

When [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] hired [[Lockdown]] to capture Decepticons for him, Blitzwing was one of the bounty hunter's early victims. He was subsequently locked up in the Elite Guard flagship alongside [[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] and Swindle, and had mouth clamps placed on each of his faces to keep him quiet. {{storylink|Five Servos of Doom}}

{{-}}

==Toys==
===Animated===
[[Image:Ani blitz.JPG|right|250px|thumb|"WHY IS IT GETTING SO CROWDED IN HERE?!" "Oh, wait, it's me." "And me! AHAHAHAHAAA!!!"]]
*'''Blitzwing''' (Voyager, 2008)
*''Accessories'': 2 "flame" missiles

: Blitzwing transforms into a futuristic "Mech-Warrior"ish-tank with two large, spring-loaded anti-aircraft-like guns, and a squat jet with tracks. His tank-cannons become the jet's thrusters. The robot mode has three faces, which can be switched around via a knob on the back of the head. Surprisingly against the [[For safety reasons|norm]], Blitzwing's pointy nosecone is molded from rigid plastic.

: Sadly, his cannons cannot tilt forward over his shoulders when in robot mode. Though promotional photos showed the figure with a gold traditional Decepticon insignia, the final toy used the movie variant in the tampograph.

: Blitzwing also has a minor [[misassembly]] problem, in that his upper arms are swapped. This is the reason his wings cannot press down flush with the rest of the jet fuselage. This can be fixed by pulling off his arms, unscrewing the one screw visible on either forearm, then separating the upper arms and switching them. This makes for a much improved jet mode. It still doesn't explain the purpose of the spring-loaded purple panels on his forearms though...

[[Image:Blitzwinganimatedtoyfaces.jpg|left|250px|thumb|So people who buy enough toys to display them in every mode have to buy five of this guy, right?]]
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*'''Blitzwing''' (McDonald's Happy Meal toys, 2009)

: A very simplified (but well painted!) version of Blitzwing that has abandoned his triple changer aspect for simplicity's sake. Although this toy sports Blitzwing's "icy" face, he transforms into "hothead's" tank mode.

{{comingsoontoy}}

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==Trivia==
* When developing the character who would become Blitzwing, [[Marty Isenberg]] originally envisioned a character who could change into anything. Obviously enough, that idea proved unworkable in toy terms, so art director [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] proposed using [[Sixshot]] for the role. When Hasbro deemed a [[Six Changer]] to be too expensive, the Triple Changer Blitzwing was finally settled upon instead.<ref>http://www.cvcomics.com/artandstory/?p=242 Art & Story interview with Marty Isenberg]</ref> As fate would have it, Hasbro designer [[Eric Siebenaler]] had been itching to do a face-swapping Blitzwing since 2005. <ref>Blitzwing's long design history was detailed at [[BotCon 2008|BotCon 2008's]] Hasbro Design panel.</ref>
* His German accent was a last-minute improvisation by voice actor [[Bumper Robinson]], inspired by the character's name, that went on to influence his entire robot mode aesthetic; once Robinson had been cast in the role, Blitzwing was subsequently designed to "make him look really German"<ref>http://www.cvcomics.com/artandstory/?p=242 Art & Story interview with Marty Isenberg]</ref> , with his helmet an obvious nod to a World War II-era [[wikipedia:Stahlhelm|Stahlhelm]] helmet and goggles.
* Blitzwing's face-changing [[gimmick]] was in part inspired by [[wikipedia:Man-E-Faces|Man-E-Faces]] from ''Masters of the Universe.''<ref>According to [[Hasbro]] employees speaking at the 2007 Comic-ConInternational.</ref> He's not the first Transformers toy to feature multiple rotating faces; [[Alpha Q]], inspired by the five-faced Generation 1 [[Quintessons]], holds that distinction.

==Footnotes==
<references />

==External links==
* [http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Blitzwing/blitzwing.htm Blitzwing at TFU.info]

[[Category:Upcoming toy releases]]
[[Category:Animated characters]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]