MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Triple Changer

2008-06-02T19:02:04Z

91.147.254.252:

[[Image:Blitzwingg1toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I'm a Triple Changer... and you're not.]]
The '''Triple Changers''' are a sub-group of [[Generation 1]] Transformers who have one robot mode and two alternate modes. Though there are countless Transformers with three modes, only a small number of them have been officially designated as "Triple Changers," beginning with the Triple Changers subgroup proper in 1986 and continuing with specific individuals thus marked in the years following.

:''Japanese name for Autobot Triple Changers:'' '''Triplebot'''
:''Japanese name for Decepticon Triple Changers:'' '''Tripletron'''
:''Hungarian name'': '''Triplaváltozók'''

==1985==
===Decepticons===
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]]
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]]

==1986==
===Autobots===
*[[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]
*[[Sandstorm (G1) (Autobot)|Sandstorm]]
*[[Springer]]
===Decepticons===
*[[Octane]]

==2004==
===Decepticons===
*[[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]]

==2005==
===Decepticons===
*[[Megatron (Armada)#Cybertron 2|Megatron]]

==2006==

===Decepticons===
*[[Scourge_%28Cybertron%29#Toys|Cryo Scourge]]

==2008==

===Decepticons===
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)#Animated|Blitzwing]]

[[Category:Toys]]
[[Category:Generation 1]]
[[Category:Energon]]
[[Category:Cybertron]]
[[Category:Subgroups]]
[[Category: Triple Changers| ]]
[[Category:Gimmicks]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

Swoop (G1)

2008-06-02T12:45:30Z

91.147.254.252:

{{disambig3|Swoop}}

:''Swoop is a [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] and [[Autobot]] in the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. He used to go by the name '''Divebomb''' and might someday call himself '''the Veteran'''.''

[[Image:SwoopUniverse1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Ugly, yes, but he has a ''great'' personality.]]

'''Swoop''' is the friendliest and most outgoing of the Dinobots. He's surprisingly good natured, kind, and upbeat. Few of his comrades realize this however, as his team's reputation and his alt-form, considered (for some reason) particularly "horrifying" to Transformer aesthetics, makes others wary of getting close enough to learn about the bot himself. Swoop is an excellent aerial combatant and bombardier, and has become skilled at using the fear his alt-mode creates in battle. He considers it his greatest weapon. Like all the Dinobots, Swoop tends to be arrogant, disobedient, and generally disagree with [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]'s leadership style. He's also a bit of a show-off.

:''Preliminary names'': '''Wing''', '''Divebomb'''
:''French-Canadian name'': '''Assailo'''<br>
:''Italian name'': '''Reptilo'''<br>
:''Hungarian name'': '''Roham''' (meaning Charge!)

== Fiction ==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
====Generation 1====
{{noteukonly}}

''On Cybertron, Swoop was once a member of the Autobots' [[Elite Flying Corps]] and named Divebomb. After disobeying orders from [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] he came into battle with the Predacon now called [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]], who defeated him and stole his name. {{storylink|What's in a Name?}} This began a continuing rivalry between the two. Millions of years later on Earth they clashed again intending to finish things between them once and for all, but their respective team mates interfered and the battle went unresolved. {{storylink|Grudge Match!}}''

Swoop was one of the original crew of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. After it crashed, [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] came to Earth in pursuit and landed in the [[Savage Land]]. The Ark rebuilt Swoop along with [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], [[Slag (G1)|Slag]], [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] and [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] into the Dinobots and sent them to the Savage Land to defeat Shockwave. {{storylink|The Last Stand}} The battle ended with the Dinobots submerged in a tar pit where they remained until they were dug out by Ratchet millions of years later. Swoop along with the other Dinobots then helped [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] defeat [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and reclaim the Ark and free the deactivated Autobots within. {{storylink|Repeat Performance!}}

[[Image:Swoopg1marvelukfirst.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Swoop intends to be the first to get his hands on a PlayStation 3!]]

''Upon their return to the Ark however Swoop was badly damaged and thought destroyed when he attempted to fly the booby trapped battle droid [[Guardian]] away from the Ark to prevent the explosion from destroying [[Mount St. Hilary]]. {{storylink|The Wrath of Grimlock!}}''

''In reality he was blown clear and crashed into a nearby lake where he was later found by [[Professor Morris]]. The professor had developed a machine capable of transferring his consciousness to a robot allowing him to take control of it. He recovered Swoop’s body and used the machine to take control of him. He used Swoop to attack the Autobots who he had mistakenly assumed were under the control of his company’s competitor [[G.B. Blackrock]]. Swoop’s personality eventually broke free of the professor’s control however. {{storylink|The Icarus Theory}}''

''Not long after this he went mad due to the burning out of his cybodendrons after being submerged in the tar pit for millions of years. He was subdued and went into a coma like state. This alerted the Autobots the danger that the other Dinobots were in and they set out to find them. {{storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}}''

''Swoop later recovered from his coma along with the other Dinobots. {{storylink|Second Generation!}} He and the other Dinobots left the Ark shortly afterwards to help Sludge save his friend Joy Meadows from both the Decepticons and Swoop’s former tormentor Professor Morris and his new robot [[Centurion (Marvel)|Centurion]], funded by [[Intelligence and Information Institute|Triple-I]]. {{storylink|In the National Interest}}''

''Swoop would later battle the future Decepticon Galvatron, being severely beaten in the process. {{storylink|Fallen Angel}}'' After the death of Optimus Prime, Swoop helped to battle [[Trypticon]] who had been sent from Cybertron by [[Ratbat]] to attack the Ark. Having driven Trypticon away Swoop and the Dinobots returned to the Ark where Grimlock was declared Autobot leader. {{storylink|King of the Hill!}}

Following the return of Optimus Prime as Autobot leader, Swoop and the other Dinobots were critically damaged by the [[Underbase]]-powered [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Dark Star!}} After being repaired by Ratchet using [[Pretender]] technology, Grimlock took Swoop and the Dinobots to [[Hydrus 4]] and restored them using [[Nucleon]]. Swoop and the Dinobots later returned to Cybertron and took part in the battle against [[Unicron]]. {{storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}}

=====Marvel UK future timelines=====

''In 2008, Swoop and the Dinobots were one of several special units unleashed on the Decepticon attack force when [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] and [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] led the 'Cons on a siege of the Autobots' main base on Cybertron. Autobot High Command soon learned this assault was only a distraction, however, engineered by [[Unicron]] himself who was reconstructing himself on the planet of [[Junk]]. When [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] returned from Junk with this news, [[Rodimus Prime]] gathered [[Scattershot]], Grimlock, and the rest of the Dinobots with him to make an assault on Junk. Much to Rodimus's dismay, Swoop and the Dinobots didn't hold back at all when attacking the [[Junkion]]s Unicron had mind-controlled into doing his bidding, and tore through them as if they were any other enemy. {{storylink|The Legacy of Unicron!}}''

=====Earthforce=====
{{earthforcefiction}}

''Swoop and his fellow Dinobots were brought back after the Underbase Saga by Grimlock, who found a mysterious off-world method of restoring them to life. Shockwave and his auxillary army of Decepticons wanted the secret, and so a fight broke out with the Dinobots. Swoop played with [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] for too long in the battle, and got shot in the wing as a result. Grimlock had to bail him out before the [[Battlecharger]] caused any further damage. {{storylink|Two Steps Back!}} Optimus Prime started to berate the Dinobots after the battle, for the brutality of their fighting style, and so an angry Grimlock threatened to take his Dinobots and leave the army entirely. Things became even more intense, and Prime and Grimlock actually started trading blows, to see who had the biggest chrome bearings. After a few minutes of sustaining combat, however, Swoop and Prime's lieutenant [[Getaway]] declared it a draw, as the combatants dropped to the floor, too tired to beat on one another anymore. Exhausted, Optimus Prime decided Grimlock could be put to better use than as a punching bag, and declared him Autobot Commander: Earth while Prime took the ''Ark'' and its crew into space to deal with Unicron. Swoop and the Dinobots joined several others long-time Autobots in forming Earthforce. {{storylink|Break-Away!}}''

''On April Fools' Day, the Dinobots played a prank on Grimlock, sending him out into a Canadian snowstorm to face Shockwave in single combat, only to find a snowman replica of the Decepticon leader and an autographed sign saying "April Fools!" Him Grimlock said "It's clobberin' time!" after that. {{storylink|Snow Fun!}}''

''Shortly after Autobot Earthbase was completed, the Decepticons discovered its location and staged a major offensive on the Autobot position. Grimlock took his Dinobots out on the front lines to defend their territory, and Swoop was seen making a bombing run on [[Breakdown]] and [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]. {{storylink|Divide and Conquer!}}''

''Every four million years (give or take), Slag's emotional dampeners break down for awhile, turning him from moderately savage to mindlessly savage. It was a secret the Dinobots had kept since they first formed, but unfortunately, this attack occurred when Optimus Prime came back to Earth to inspect the new base. While Grimlock kept Prime occupied, Swoop and the other Dinobots had the unenviable task of keeping the berserker in check so Prime wouldn't find out. Swoop tried to take the triceratops by the horns, but was rammed through a wall instead. The Dinobots managed to wrangle Slag long enough for him to burn himself out, and their secret was safe for another four million years. {{storylink|The 4,000,000 Year Itch!}}''

''In order to secure a compatible systems boost for Snarl (who was dying of [[corrodia gravis]]), Swoop and Earthforce had to seek out Starscream, Snarl's systems match, from the Louisiana Decepticon headquarters. {{storylink|External Forces!}} Of course, the [[Mayhem Attack Squad]] were right in the middle of an assassination attempt on Starscream's life, forcing the Autobots to reluctantly come to his aid. Grimlock sent Swoop and Sludge to defend Starscream from his attackers. With Swoop acting as a distraction, Starscream was able to belt [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] with a loose I-beam. With the help of the Dinobots, Starscream fended off his assailants and agreed to help Snarl, in exchange for a promise of aid in case the assassins ever came after him again. {{storylink|The Lesser Evil!}}''

''Snarl's health problems did not end there, however, and the corrodia gravis infection eventually returned. And this time, Snarl was too far gone to be repaired in his present body. The Dinobots attempted to locate the control crystal from the shuttle that originally brought them down to Earth, in the [[Savage Land]], hoping to store Snarl's mind in the crystal until a new body could be manufactured for him. Unfortunately, when they got there they found the crystal had been co-opted by a human scientist named Embrey, who was using it as a power source to prevent a disease from spreading throughout the dinosaurs, killing them. Unable to remove the crystal and thereby condemn the beasts to death, Swoop came up with an alternate plan. With the control crystal as a conduit, Snarl's mind was transfered into that of a normal stegosaurus, leaving him to wait in the Savage Land until his mind could be retrieved and placed in a new body.{{storylink|Destiny of the Dinobots!}}''

=====''Another Time and Place''=====

Several months after the golden age of Cybertron was reintroduced, Swoop and most of his fellow Dinobots had succumbed to the transfiguring effects of Nucleon and lost their ability to transform. When Grimlock received information that the Hydrus Four facilities had reopened, and discovered a means of reversing Nucleonic changes, the Dinobots jumped at the idea. Despite Prime's half-hearted warnings, Swoop and his teammates followed Grimlock back to Hydrus Four in the hopes of becoming Transformers once again. They were followed by the "exiled" Decepticons, however, and a battle with a huge native creature delayed the Dinobots long enough for Bludgeon's crew to get ahead of them and take over the Nucleon facility. The Dinobots were laid low by a [[Holocaust Trigger]], overloading their sensory circuits so that they were helpless before the Decepticons. Cruelly tortured, the Dinobots were still left alive so that they could witness the rebirth of Megatron, thanks to the Nucleon infusions Bludgeon was feeding him. For some reason, Swoop clearly got the worst of the treatment, with metal shredders taken to his wings, hooks gouged through his skin, and his leg tore almost completely out of joint.

Luckily, the Autobots had long since learned to become worried whenever the Dinobots were out of sight for too long, and had followed them to Hydrus Four. [[Roadhandler]], [[Tote]] and several [[Micromaster]]s managed to free the injured Dinobots, and an Autobot strike force brought down their Decepticon captors. Swoop managed to personally crawl over to the control console for some medical equipment, dropping a giant spidery set of waldoes on Bludgeon. In a matter of seconds, the machine tore apart the Decepticon leader, leaving nothing more than a few decentralized components. The Nucleon reversion process was a success, and Swoop and his comrades were restored to fully operational Transformers. {{storylink|Another Time and Place}}

====Generation 2====
Swoop and the Dinobots were fighting alongside Grimlock and a small group of Autobot firestormers when they uncovered the [[Cybertronian Empire]] and their terraforming measures. After calling in Optimus Prime and the rest of the Autobots, they became part of a major offensive against not only [[Jhiaxus]] and his ilk, but everything they represented. {{storylink|War Without End!}} Despite Prime serving as overall commander, however, Swoop and his buddies were still Dinobots first and foremost. So when Grimlock wanted to take first strike action against Prime's orders, there was no question who they'd follow. Swoop and the others were captured almost immediately, though, and only escaped thanks to the timely intervention of Optimus Prime and his more loyal group of soldiers. {{storylink|Devices and Desires!}}

Swoop continued to fight alongside the Autobots with his Dinobot comrades, on both Earth and [[Ethos]]. {{storylink|The Gathering Darkness}} {{storylink|Escalation!}} In the epic final conflict with the [[Swarm]], Swoop was seen manning one of the shield generators the united Autobot/Decepticon alliance was using to defend themselves. {{storylink|A Rage in Heaven!}}

====Classics====

{{note|The ''[[Classics (2006)|Classics]]'' story takes place in a post-Marvel Generation 1 comics universe where neither [[Generation 2]] nor the Marvel UK material happened.}}

After the defeat of Bludgeon's forces, the already nucleon infused Swoop was caught in a titanic explosion at a nucleon-processing plant and was drastically mutated. The quick reaction of the Autobot [[Mini-Con]]s saved him and ''boom''; Mini-Con Swoop was born. One would think a Dinobot would dislike being given such a small form, but Swoop is just as powerful as he ever was (if not more) and is now ''much'' faster and more precise. These augmented abilities are enough to make him quite satisfied with this state of affairs.

Swoop is part of Grimlock's crew on the ''[[Graviton (Classics)|Graviton]]''.

===Animated continuity===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Michael Bell]] (English), [[Yoku Shioya]] (Japanese)

While guarding a mysterious meteorite, the original Dinobots, Grimlock, Slag and Sludge, were fooled by Megatron into joining the side of the Decepticons. To counter the threat of their former comrades, the Autobots constructed two new Dinobots; Snarl and Swoop. Snarl and Swoop did battle with the original Dinobots but were only strong enough to force them into a stalemate. The original Dinobots chose to return to the Autobots after their leader, Grimlock, was saved from the exploding meteorite through a selfless act of heroism from Optimus Prime. {{storylink|War of the Dinobots}}

Swoop was rarely seen apart from the other Dinobots. Together, they fought the likes of [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] {{storylink|Heavy Metal War}} and moved to a bizarre island (later dubbed [[Dinobot Island]]) to hone their skills. {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 1}} {{storylink|Dinobot Island, Part 2}}

[[Image:G1 cartoon Swoop beast mode.JPG|thumb|right|200px|Me Swoop too close to ceiling! Me not care anyway!]]
Some time after that, the Dinobots chose to desert the Autobots during their time of need (the Autobots were dying from lack of [[Cybertonium]]) and go to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]], [[Spike Witwicky|Spike]], and [[Carly]] sought out the Dinobots to convince them to help, but Grimlock, angered that they had been followed, decided to crush them. Swoop, however, saved them, wanting to hear the "brilliant part" from the humans. Grimlock was convinced to go, but instead led the Dinobots to Cybertron itself {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1}}. All the Dinobots were captured by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]], reprogrammed and forced to work in the cybertonium mines at the planet's organic core. All, that is, except for Swoop. Swoop soon encountered Spike and Carly, the Autobots' human allies, deep within the bowels of the planet. The three teamed up and, after learning a brief history of the Transformer race, freed the Dinobots and returned to [[Earth]] with a shipment of Cybertonium. {{storylink|Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2}}

In 2005, Swoop and the other Dinobots fought Devastator during the battle of [[Autobot City]]. They didn't fare too well. They later evacuated the city (reluctantly) when [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] attacked. Swoop and the Dinobots became briefly stranded on [[Quintessa]] along with [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] and [[Kup]] when their ship was shot down. With help from [[Wheelie]], the Dinobots found their friends, with Swoop using [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s as bombs. The Autobots escaped Quintessa and rescued the remaining Autobots on the [[Junkion (planet)|Planet of Junk]] from a horde of confused [[Junkion]]s. Later, Swoop did one of his greatest life accomplishments when he bombed the butt of [[Unicron|a god]]. {{storylink|The Transformers: The Movie|TFTM}}

In the year 2006, Swoop and the other Dinobots spent much of their time on Cybertron fishing for robot fish (or organic fish, depending on which shot you're looking at). Swoop and the others briefly ostracized Grimlock when he attained super intelligence. Grimlock eventually returned to normal and was welcomed back among their ranks. Swoop and the Dinobots were also summoned by [[Oracle (G1)|Primacron's Assistant]] to do battle with [[Tornadron]], a creation of the villainous [[Primacron]]. Swoop failed to defeat the enrgy monster, but Grimlock managed to save the day just in the nick of time. {{storylink|Call of the Primitives}}

===Big Looker storybooks===
During an incomprehensibly heavy-handed Decepticon plot to steal a single fuel tanker, the Autobots - also oddly determined to protect this single tanker - found themselves outnumbered and outgunned. Swoop, still recovering from a previous battle, arrived to assist, and was fired on by Megatron. This so enraged the mild-mannered Autobot that he dropped an air-to-air missile launcher (?) with the power of 5000 pounds of TNT. Swoop comes across as uncharistically modest, and grateful just to be able to help Prime and pals. Also, Swoop has hair. {{storylink|Decepticon Hijack}}

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
Swoop was an Autobot once named Divebomb, though the circumstances sorrounding his name change are unspecified. When Optimus Prime and [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] disappeared, Swoop joined Grimlock's [[Lightning Strike Coalition]]. When Grimlock took the future Dinobots to execute [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] and Shockwave, Swoop argued that they should instead focus on [[Trypticon|the new battle base]] the Decepticons had built. Once the base was called away to rescue Shockwave, Swoop told him to come back and fight, then called him a coward (once the base was already leaving). Heading to the [[Neutral Territories]], they found no sign of Grimlock or Jetfire. Tracking Shockwave down, the LSC worked with the Decepticons to locate their missing members. {{storylink|The War Within: The Dark Ages}}

As with the other [[Dynobot]]s, they departed for [[Earth]] after the [[Insecticons]], most likely because they were running out of things to smash [[Cybertron (planet)|back home]]. They somehow ended up under [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s control and were used to blackmail [[Grimlock]] to serve the Decepticons again. Grimlock was able to eventually free them before they decided that all the fun was really back [[Cybertron (planet)|home]] where they basically crashed [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]'s party. Their rampage was so destructive that it required the intervention of the [[Omega Sentinel]]s to halt. He was last seen being briefed by [[Ultra Magnus]].

===3H comics continuity===

In a distant future of the [[Beast Wars]] timeline, the dark warlord known as [[Shokaract]] had conquered Cybertron and much of the galaxy. Only a handful of Maximals and Predacons survived to oppose him, under the command of the Predacon [[Sandstorm (BW)|Sandstorm]]. Among them was an ancient warrior known simply as the Veteran. Reflecting on his long history and all his many departed comrades, the Veteran began to wonder if he had survived so long as to become a ''figurative'' dinosaur.

The Veteran's finely honed skills and instincts allowed him to survive an assassination attempt by the Cub, one of Shokaract's servants. Returning in defeat, the Cub was severely wounded as punishment for his failure and left to die in the wilds of Cybertron. Before he could perish, however, Sandstorm's band of rebels recovered him. In an attempt to learn more about Shokaract's plans, the Veteran merged his Spark with that of the Cub, and thus was born the dual-Sparked [[Windrazor (BW)|Windrazor]].

Though Windrazor was essentially a new being, within him the Sparks of the Veteran and the Cub continued to grapple for control and dominance of their joined form.

{{note|Though never named specifically, it is strongly implied that the Veteran is Swoop. The Veteran also appears in Simon Furman's pseudo-canonical story "[[The Last Days Of Optimus Prime]]" and is depicted as having a pterosaur-like silhouette.}}

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
Swoop and the other Dynobots followed Grimlock to revenge themselves against Shockwave, who blew up a cache of [[energon]] they had stolen. When Shockwave traveled to [[Earth]], the Dynobots pursued him and reformatted themselves to transform into robotic dinosaurs with a synthetic skin as a defense against energon overload. Sadly, it did not protect the Dynobots from Shockwave's energy blasts, which melted the artificial skin and caused the Dynobots to go into [[stasis lock]] due to excessive [[energon radiation]]. Due to a deadman's switch, The Dynobots' ship (the ''[[Skyfire (ship)|Skyfire]]'') blasted a volcano that buried everyone in molten lava. {{storylink|Spotlight: Shockwave}}

Thousands of years later, the Dynobots were eventually excavated by [[Skywatch]], and though Grimlock was the first to be brought back online, he was freed from Skywatch's control through a virus implanted by a [[Machination]] spy (under orders from [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]). Scorponok wanted Grimlock to join him, but Grimlock refused, fought Scorponok and escaped, vowing to find and rescue Swoop and the other Dynobots. Scorponok, however, plans to take control of the Dynobots himself and use them to assassinate Grimlock. {{storylink|Spotlight: Grimlock}}
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Swoop''' (Dinobot, 1985/1986/1991/1992)
**''Japanese ID number'': '''30'''
**''Accessories'': "Thermal Sword", 2 missile launchers, 3 missiles

[[Image:G1_Swoop_toy.jpg|thumb|left|200px|Unlike others, who have [[energo-sword]]s, Me Swoop have thermal sword.]]

: Swoop's toy transforms into a robotic pteranodon. Swoop can stand on his dinosaur feet or lie on his stomach in this mode, but additionally has fold-out wheels located in his feet and chest (though one has to split his chest open to access the latter wheel). His beak and tail were rounded [[for safety reasons]] compared to the original ''[[Diaclone]]'' release. However, the remolding of the tail kept the tail sticker from fitting correctly. Interestingly, despite being a former ''Diaclone'' toy, Swoop is the only Dinobot not to have an obvious cockpit for a ''Diaclone'' driver figure.

:Swoop's die-cast metal chest is painted red, which is his ''Transformers'' color, as opposed to his cartoon color scheme which was based on the ''Diaclone'' toy. Along with his sword, he also comes with two spring-loaded missile launchers, the only Dinobot to have two projectile-launchers (and no non-firing gun to boot.)

: Swoop is notable for being one of the most fragile Generation 1 toys, and as such commands a respectable amount of money on the secondary market due to the difficulty in finding one intact.

: In Japan, Swoop and the other Dinobots were offered as mail-away items during ''[[Operation Combination]]''. Swoop cost 1800 yen (his original retail price, less than the other four) and two [[robot points]].

{{-}}

===Classics===
*'''Dinobots''' (Mini-Con Team, 2006)

: Swoop transforms into a robotic pteranodon. His jointing allows him to stand on his hind-feet as well as assume a normal "flying" position. He was only available in a Mini-Con Team set with [[Knockdown (Classics)|Knockdown]] and [[Terrorsaur (Classics)|Terrorsaur]].

: This mold was also used to make [[Reptix]].

{{-}}
==Trivia==
* Swoop was originally a ''[[Diaclone]]'' Dinosaur Robo Pteranodon type piloted mech. Whoever made Swoop's animation model used this ''Diaclone'' toy as a reference, as the Dinobot sports the pre-Transformer's blue chest, and gold lower beak, missiles, and dino feet. Swoop's box art has the Transformer toy's red chest, but keeps the gold parts from the Diaclone toy.

* This ''Diaclone'' incarnation of Swoop was also used as the model for the "restored" version of the Autobot [[Ravenus]] in the ''[[Armada|Micron Legend]]'' "[[Linkage (comic)|Linkage]]" mini-comics.

* Thanks to the ''[[Robo-Capers]]'' strip in the UK Comic, Swoop became the first and possibly only Transformer to defecate in a licensed and approved presentation.

[[Image:Swoop iconic.jpg|thumb|100px|right|New "Wildberry" Swoop is two, two, two flavors in one! ]]

* Swoop and Sludge's absence from ''Generation 2'' has never been fully explained, though rumors of what might have been persist. Recently, packaging art of both in new colors was unearthed, indicating what he ''might'' have looked like in the line. This art surfaced alongside a screaming yellow and turquoise Grimlock, so it is possible that the three were at one time planned for a second wave of Dinobots.

* The ''[[Energon (franchise)|Energon]]'' [[Swoop (Energon)|Swoop]] toy was originally intended to be the original Generation 1 character, and was to be released in ''[[Universe]]''. However, it was ultimately shunted into ''Energon'', reportedly for a combination of budgetary concerns and keeping the combination gimmick (since he combines with the packed-in [[Grimlock (Energon)|Grimlock]] to form a [[Mega-Dinobot|super robot]]) only in the main-line, which had combination as a central theme.

* Swoop is the only original Dinobot who is not technically a dinosaur. Following in his foot-steps are [[Terranotron (BM)|Terranotron]], [[Sludge (Dinobots)|Wal*Mart Sludge]], [[Paddles (character)|Paddles]], and two-thirds of [[Magmatron]].

* There are numerous [[paint application]] differences between the Classics Swoop pictured on the cardback and the final product. One possibility is that since the molds were originally intended to be in two-packs rather than three-packs, the number of available paint applications (which are carefully monitored) per piece was larger in the two-pack arrangement, necessitating some omissions for the three-pack release.

{{-}}
==External links==
* [http://tfu.info/1985/Autobot/Swoop/swoop.htm Swoop at TFU.info]

* [http://www.diaclone.net/orid/diadino/d090.html ''Diaclone'' Swoop at DIACLONE.net (Japanese-language site)]

[[Category: Autobots]]
[[Category: Classics characters]]
[[Category: Combiners]]
[[Category: Dinobots]]
[[Category: Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category: Headmasters characters]]
[[Category: Mail order items]]
[[Category: Mini-Cons]]
[[Category: Timelines characters]]
[[Category: Unreleased toys]]<div id="wikia-credits"><br /><br /><small>From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</small></div>

The Transformers: The Movie

2008-06-02T12:25:06Z

91.147.254.252: /* International versions */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Image:Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Featuring the deaths of all your favorite Transformers characters.]]

{{episodenav|g1|prev=B.O.T. (episode)|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1}}
'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on August 8, 1986.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", this film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. In particular, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] are all destroyed during the course of the film.

The movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

==Primary characters and cast==
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]...[[Peter Cullen]]
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]...[[Robert Stack]]
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]...[[Paul Eiding]]
*[[Hot Rod]]...[[Judd Nelson]]
*[[Kup]]...[[Lionel Stander]]
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]]...[[John Moschitta]]
*[[Springer]]...[[Neil Ross]]
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]...[[Susan Blu]]
*[[Wreck-Gar]]...[[Eric Idle]]
*[[Daniel Witwicky]]...[[David Mendenhall]]
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]...[[Frank Welker]]
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]...[[Chris Latta]]
*[[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]...[[Leonard Nimoy]]
*[[Unicron]]...[[Orson Welles]]

==Brief synopsis==

[[Image:Unicronplanet.jpg|left|thumb|That's no moon. It's a space station.]]

A [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron]] who eats other planets is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

{{-}}

==Full synopsis==

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|thumb|I have a bad feeling about this.]]

In the first sequence of the film, a mechanical planet called [[Unicron]] is shown travelling through the depths of space, then approaching and destroying another metal planet which has robotic inhabitants, much like [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. During the attack, robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock float off the surface of the planet and spiral into the large "mouth" on Unicron.

The scene then transitions to Cybertron, and the narrator explains that it is the year 2005, and that the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of the planet. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who reports back to Megatron. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and the [[Brawn (G1)|guy in the picture up there]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]

During the battle at Autobot City, both [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of other characters are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots has been severe.

''For an extensive synopsis of the battle, see [[Battle of Autobot City]].''

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest. One of the most severely injured Decepticons is Megatron. Starscream tosses him out and claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. Megatron agrees, and is [[reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep]]s. Unicron provides them with a [[Galvatron's ship|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]

Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons{{m-}}both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, [[Hot Rod]], [[Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]]s, find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson judge|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]]s. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson ship]].

[[Image:Tftm1986d.jpg|left|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]

The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots{{m-}}[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky|Spike]]'s son [[Daniel Witwicky|Daniel]]{{m-}}are then ambushed by [[Junkion]]s, the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix.

Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron, but is also unable to get it open. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|right|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]

In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where{{m-}}for unclear reasons{{m-}}the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].

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==Quotes==

"Such heroic nonsense."
:{{m-}}'''Megatron'''. The cons always get the best lines.

"Oh, how it pains me to do this."
:{{m-}}'''Starscream''', fighting back the tears.

==Significance in Transfandom==

''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which{{m-}}such as Unicron and the Matrix{{m-}}are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the G1 animated universe. The G1 cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the Generation 1 cartoon had gone off the air. Only a handful of series episodes were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well-known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

==Criticisms==
All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way beloved characters are killed{{m-}}sometimes gratuitously{{m-}}for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices{{m-}}[[Unicron]] and the [[Matrix]]{{m-}}have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Prime's possession all along (even though an X-ray of Optimus Prime's innards in the second season episode "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[Image:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|right|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]

The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels (Springer is a Han Solo-type and Arcee even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the Death Star... but it transforms!), and both feature a climactic battle where the young hero hears the voice of his wise mentor one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire -- though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England's]] need [[darkest hour|is greatest]].

Though most likely coincidental, the movie also bears many similarities to the Marvel Comics ''Fantastic Four'' story "The Galactus Trilogy":

* The presence of an enormous world-devouring cosmic entity that threatens to destroy the heroes' home planet (Galactus/Unicron).

* The presence of a single item that is the only thing that can stop said cosmic entity (Ultimate Nullifier/Matrix of Leadership).

* The presence of a herald of said cosmic entity, who ultimately betrays the entity (Silver Surfer/Galvatron).

==Trivia and controversies==

This film was one of the last professional performances by [[Orson Welles]], if not the very last. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on September 10 and 11 of 1985. Welles died on October 10 of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny... you cannot destroy my destiny...!") was recorded by another actor{{m-}}possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]{{m-}}because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally_burr_3.html]

The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie (maybe he was scared of getting killed off), even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. It is unclear why this is the case, but one possible explanation is that copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots, although he has no lines and no action.

Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
* Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
* Grapple is seen ''very'' briefly during the battle for Autobot City.
* The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
* Tracks, Red Alert and Smokescreen all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.

With the exception of Starscream, Unicron, and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered casualties in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. He does make some appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these may be examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Mags, and Mags is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding.

A number of other sequences were storyboarded but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Most notable among these was a scene that would have shown the Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back), and the Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron.

Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes. No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits are those [[#Formatting and Edits|listed below]].

See also [[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie'']].

==Animation Errors==
There are a few notable animation errors in the movie:

* When the Decepticons are killing the Autobots inside the Autobot shuttle, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him and kills Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this probably should have been Skywarp or Thundercracker). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots.

*During the Battle at Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My Foot!", but its his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him?

* When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit". (Some fans have joked that Mags was forcing the Matrix inside him, as another sign that it had chosen Hot Rod as the new leader and rejected him.)

* Swoop's lower leg appears for a brief second during the Autobot City battle, long before the rest of him gets there.

* When Devastator forms in Autobot City, his chest plate is the same green as the rest of him. In the next shot, it's the usual purple. However, it promptly turns green again in the next shot.

* Not so much an error, but if you watch Sludge when he's haymaker'ed by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in Looney Tunes fashion.

* When [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] sends out his casette troops, [[FIBRIR|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].

* Sunstreaker appears with Huffer, Bluestreak and Kup when they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.

* Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.

* When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is coloured black.

* Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junk]] is the most noticable, but Thundercracker and Skywarp can be seen at both Starscream's coronation and flying into Unicron's mouth in the [[RBFATE]].

* When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards was apparently achieved by recycling backgrounds from other animated TV shows or movies. If you go through the scene frame by frame, you will see what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings inside Unicron.

* There are a couple frames where you can see the inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.

* When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, there is another Matrix beneath it in his chest. (On which note, see also ''[[Matrix_of_Leadership#Universe|Matrix of Leadership, Universe comic]].'')

* Not technically an error, but definitely an animator's easter egg; in the Quintesson jail cell, robot debris ''strongly'' resembling the RX-178 MK II and the MSZ-006 mobile suits from 1985's ''Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam'', can be seen.

* In the battle for Autobot City, when Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing turns his head and its color changes to purple for a split second. However, when he turns it back its tan again.

*In the scene where Blaster ejects his tapes, He first ejects what looks like Eject. He stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects a another blue cassette, which after about a second, turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage. Suddenly [[Brawl (Movie)|Brawl/Devastator]] doesn't look so bad does he?

== Interesting Observations ==

* Why didn't anyone notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons?

* Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions. Maybe he got some on the ship. It's also possible that, when he told the Allicons "No more," he meant that he wasn't going to ''feed'' them anymore energon goodies, not that he didn't ''have'' anymore.

* So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?

* Before Unicron's arrival, what were the Autobots on Moonbase 2 planning on doing with a bomb powerful enough to destroy the entire moon?

* Astrotrain tells his fellow Decepticons to "jettison some weight" while flying through space, where there is no gravity.

==Formatting and Edits==
[[Image:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|thumb|300px|The widescreen picture (left) cuts the top and bottom off the fullscreen picture (right).]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

* In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.

* In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with a narrator reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.

* Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut. However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.

*Instead of DEG, the Rank Film "gong man" appears before the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors.

==International versions==

In Hungary, the movie has two dubs. One of them is ancient and unprofessional, the other more recent and more professional. Fans for hard wear counted a total of five actors in the original version (four men for random characters, while a female actress grants her voice to Arcee, Daniel, and Wheelie). Lip-sinc is practically non-existent, the actors continue talking even when another character is moving its lips, certain lines are missing (most notably Megatron's "Die, Autobots!" shout), Grimlock rhymes after meeting Wheelie instead of the latter, and Cliffjumper and Springer share the same name. While Blaster, for instance, changes his voice three times during one scene. Even so, this first version remains popular, and only those fans seem to hate it who have only recently been introduced to it. As for why the word Decepticon was translated to "Toad", well, that remains a mystery to this day.

The second and more disliked one has a reputation among the fans for including more profanities than the original version of the film. Although Spike's "Oh, shit!" line was cut, Ironhide, Galvatron and the Dinobots say terms akin to "assholes", "jerk", "stupid", "rotten", and "ass-wipes" (this one even twice, when referring to the Decepticons). Quite interesting, seeing as the dubs produced in that era have been known for freeing the movies of their swear words. These dubs are also infamous for using untranslated or incorrectly translated names, and random voice actors for random characters with random voice-pacing. These names include Unicornis (Unicron), Mega-robot (Devastator), Constructors (Constructicons), Deceptors (Decepticons), Jettison (Astrotrain, probably derived and mis-interpreted from the line "Jettison some weight."), Astro (again, Astrotrain), and Eject (this refers to no one, it was mistranslated from Soundwave's "Eject" call). The switching of voices is also common in this version. An interesting blooper occurs during the attack on the Autobot shuttle: Ironhide speaks his final words in Starscream's voice ("Please, have mercy!"), and curiously the translation of Megatron's "Such heroic nonsense" line corresponds with this sudden change of personality, as he says to (supposedly) Starscream "Death to all traitors" before blasting him... in reality Ironhide. Now ''this'' is a foreshadowing of later events.
The DVD case has G.I. Joe pictures printed on it, as well as on the DVD itself. Spiffy. It's also worth noting that Bumblebee in the 2007 movie has the same voice he had in the second dub of ''The Transformers: The Movie''. Probably a coincidence, since that guy supplied half of the voices for the cast back then. Both of these versions include the scrolling text and other European edits, the more recent one even has the "gong man".

Also in Germany, there are two dubs. The first one was made in 1994 for airing on TV (the movie was never shown in German theaters) as a pilot for the broadcasting of the G2 series. Even though the dub was made only three years after the G1 dub was made, only a few of the German voice actors returned. For example, the voice of Optimus Prime was dubbed by [[Thomas Rau]], who was the voice of Rodimus Prime, Blaster and Scourge on the original show. This version of the movie was only shown twice, on its premiere and one day later as a rerun, and was never released on VHS. In 2003, a new dub was made for the movie's DVD release.

German fans are still waiting for a release of the original dub, which features rather brutal translations, e.g.: ''One shall stand, one shall fall'' was translated as ''One shall live, one shall die,'' while [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s line ''I'll rip out your optics'' was translated as ''I'm going to blow your lights out.''

The Movie was released in Brazilian theaters almost simultaneously to the launch of the series on television. It was later released on home video on the late '80s, but on a very small scale, which made it very hard to find in video stores. The movie was aired on television just once and received a new dub for this. [[Brazilian dubs for the Movie|Which dubbing is the best]] is a regular debate topic among Brazilian fans.

For French-speaking audiences, who had thus far been given two separate dubs of the TV series (one done in France and one done in Quebec, a very common occurrence), a single dub was made for all French releases of the film. This release used a brand-new voice actor team rather than using either dub team from the series. Whereas the old dubs used the French names from the toy packages, the movie used all of the characters' English names. Two characters were given gender changes for this dub; Starscream and Shrapnel both become females. One notable change to the dialog occurs when Starscream asks "Megatron? Is that you?" Galvatron's original answer, "Here's a hint!", is now much more direct: "Yes, but stronger than before!"

In Poland, the movie was never professionally dubbed. In the only official (and cult classic) release on VHS in 1992, all the dialogue was read by a single voice-over actor, while the original sound was left intact and could be heard in the background. To this day, that characteristic form of "narrating" is a very popular solution in Poland when it comes to translating movies for TV or DVDs. Thanks to this method, you can both understand the story and hear all the original voices. In case of ''The Transformers: The Movie'' it also forced translators to leave (almost) all the original names intact. (Yay!)

The Japanese dub is notable for adding a lot of lines and voice effects. Whereas the shuttle attack scene didn't have much talking during combat in the English version, the Japanese dub adds numerous lines to many characters on both sides of the fight. Likewise, Prime's fight with Megatron has numerous grunts added in.

==Commercial Releases==

* The movie was originally released in North America on home video in 1987 by Family Home Entertainment, minus Spike's swear. Not long after, it was releasd in the UK by Video Gems. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was releaed on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hillcrane released a Laserdisc version alongside a VHS copy.

*The movie was realeased spottily in the 90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. Malofilm released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of Laserdisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.

*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm{{m-}}now Seville{{m-}}were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.

*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.

*In 2001 in the UK, Maverick Entertainment released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though notably included the [[StarTV]] dub version of the ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.

*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as [[The Touch]] music video and 80s TV spots.

[[Image:Tftm_uk_covers.jpg|right|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]

*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.

*In 2005, Metrodome released "Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed", a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".

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[[Image:Tftm_sony_covers.jpg|right|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]

*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony]] BMG released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, tv spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.

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[[Image:Tftm_madman_covers.jpg|right|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]

*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (2007)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, Scramble City (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and posters from Woolworths and Toys R Us. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.

*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. The picture is quite stunning and the sound very good. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with swear word.

*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.

==Comic Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel Comics)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in Issue #4 of the ''[[Transformers Universe (Marvel Comics)|Transformers Universe]]'' series.

*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (2007)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Promotions==
* The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
* The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV commercials, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy [[commercial]]s. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.

==Soundtrack==
Released on Scotti Bros. Records, the soundtrack to the movie was made available in both vinyl LP (long-playing) record form and audio cassette. At an undetermined point in the 90's, it was released on CD as well (there are no new markings on the CD booklet or outer case to indicate when the CD was released).

*1. The Touch - [[Stan Bush]]
*2. Instruments Of Destruction - [[N.R.G.]]
*3. Death Of Optimus Prime - [[Vince DiCola]]
*4. Dare - Stan Bush
*5. Nothin's Gonna Stand In Our Way - [[Spectre General]]
*6. The Transformers (Theme) - [[Lion]]
*7. Escape - Vince DiCola
*8. Hunger - Spectre General
*9. Autobot/Decepticon Battle - Vince DiCola
*10. Dare To Be Stupid - [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]

In 1997, the newly-formed [[3H]] produced as a [[BotCon 1997]] [[exclusive]] a double-CD set called ''[['Til All Are One (CD)|'Til All Are One]]''. The second disc contains the all of the background score (by Vince DiCola) that was not on the original soundtrack, including several "alternate" pieces for scenes that used songs from the original soundtrack, plus "[[Legacy]]", the audition piece that got Vince the job. Other albums released by 3H which include music from the movie are ''BotCon 97: The Concert'', ''The Protoform Sessions'', ''Artistic Transformations'', and ''Lighting Their Darkest Hour: The Complete Music Score''. All of these 3H albums are long since sold out.

On May 29, 2007, Legacy Recordings re-released the soundtrack in a 20th Anniversary Edition containing the above tracks from the original 1986 release plus these additional tracks:

*11. Unicron Medley - Vince DiCola
*12. Moon Base 2 - Shuttle Launch - Vince DiCola
*13. Megatron Must Be Stopped (Parts 1 and 2) - Vince DiCola
*14. The Transformers Theme (Alternate) - Stan Bush and Vince DiCola

==In the comic continuity==

The [[Generation 1 (Marvel Comics)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the move to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote [[Target: 2006]].
*In Target: 2006, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "Life Spark".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in [[Space Pirates!]] (set in 2008).

In addition Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in [[Rhythms of Darkness!]] and [[A Savage Circle]]. In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005.

==External links==
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm ''The Transformers: The Movie''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s box office domestic gross.]

* [http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie]

* [http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4 ''The Transformers: The Movie'' deleted storyboards]

[[Category: Films|Transformers: The Movie]]
[[Category: Generation 1|Transformers: The Movie]]
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