Prehistory

2010-10-20T17:48:47Z

98.30.46.220:

{{episode|
|series=Armada
|ep=12
|prev=Ruin
|next=Swoop (episode)
|title="Prehistory"
|japanese=理由 (いきさつ) - prehistory
|romaji=Riyū [Ikisatsu]
|translation=Reason (Whole Story)
|image=Prehistory-Autobots vs Decepticons.jpg
|caption=Attack of the Clones
|production code=TF: A-12
|production company=[[TV Tokyo]], [[Nihon Ad Systems|NAS]]
|writer=[[Shōji Tonoike]]
|director=[[Keisuke Ōnishi]]
|animation studio=[[Actas Inc.]]
|airdate=[[November 22]], [[2002]] (English) [[March 28|28 March]] [[2003]] (Japanese)
|continuity=[[Unicron Trilogy]]
}}

'''A Mini-Con is located on a volcanic island which soon erupts.'''

:''Polish title:'' "'''Prehistoria'''"

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Prehistory-Battlefront.jpg|left|155px|thumb|When faction symbols attack!]]
Standing over the [[Mini-Con storage panel|Mini-Con panel]] retrieved from [[Antarctica]], [[Rad White|Rad]] muses that at last he knows [[Ruin|what happened to Atlantis]].

Up on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] grumbles about the dormant [[Mini-Con]] they've picked up. Despite provoking some small amount of activity from it, he's unable to activate it.

Rad asks [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus]] if there's any way to stop the ongoing war with the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]], and the [[Autobot]] leader explains how the war began four million years ago when the Decepticons began overrunning [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] with their troops. Once the planet was divided into Decepticon and Autobot halves, the Mini-Con faction began to appear and join with both Decepticons and Autobots to increase their power. Realising that they were causing the war, the Mini-Cons opted to leave Cybertron. The Decepticons attempted to block them, but with the Autobots' help, the Mini-Con ship was able to escape. It crashed on Earth, and the rest is history. When Rad and Carlos found the first Mini-Con, they activated a signal which alerted the inhabitants of Cybertron, who sent teams to Earth.

The Mini-Con alarm goes off, and [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] quickly fixes the location of the latest Mini-Con on a volcanic island. The Autobots rush there with their young friends. The Decepticons also detect the Mini-Con.

[[Image:Prehistory-Panels made to last.jpg|right|155px|thumb|The world's first hot plate.]]
On the island, Rad asks if there's any way to avoid involving the Mini-Cons in the battle, but Optimus says use of the Mini-Cons is the only way they can effectively stop the Decepticons from gaining more Mini-Cons. While they're talking, Megatron appears and opens fire on them. The Autobots return fire, with Optimus using his [[trailer]] as a weapons platform. [[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] attempts to convince Rad and [[Carlos Lopez|Carlos]] that they should search for the Mini-Con, so Rad dispatches [[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeak]] to scout the island.

[[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] and Megatron powerlink with their Mini-Cons, prompting the Autobot-aligned Mini-Cons to man the weapons on Optimus's trailer. Everyone is surprised, but Carlos points out that they're just fighting back. Meanwhile, Laserbeak spots the Mini-Con panel they're searching for at the end of an incomplete rail tunnel. Optimus orders his men to cover him while he retrieves the Mini-Con, but the battle is interrupted by the volcano erupting. Lava erupts from the end of the rail tunnel, carrying the Mini-Con panel. Optimus finds himself falling into an opening fissure in the ground as the lava begins spread across the island.

Red Alert tells [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] to get the kids to higher ground and has [[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] dig a trench to divert the lava. Taken to safety, the kids spot the Mini-Con floating on top of the lava, but so do the Decepticons. Starscream prevents Hot Shot from getting it first, but the Decepticons are halted by a burst of energy from the newly arrived Optimus. [[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] grabs the Mini-Con but is fired on by [[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]], [[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] and [[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] and drops it. After Red Alert snatches the Mini-Con out of mid-air, the Decepticons retreat. Once the Mini-Con panel cools down, the kids watch as the ghostly form of a Mini-Con manifests over it.

[[Image:Prehistory-Even when he loses, he wins.jpg|right|155px|thumb|"Rumble, bring me a newspaper!"]]
Back at base, Red Alert says that the Mini-Cons may be the key to peace in the Universe. The only way to solve the riddle as to how is to collect all of them.

Megatron tries again to awaken the Mini-Con from the ruins and at last succeeds, revealing [[Sonar (Armada)|Sonar]], one of the [[Air Defense Mini-Con Team (Armada)|Air Defence team]] who form the [[Star Saber (Armada)|Star Saber]] sword. Megatron laughs in triumph.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]] (8)
*[[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]] (9)
*[[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] (10)
*[[Smokescreen (Armada)|Smokescreen]] (11)
*[[Laserbeak (Armada)|Laserbeak]] (18)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] (2)
*[[Demolishor (Armada)|Demolishor]] (12)
*[[Starscream (Armada)|Starscream]] (16)
*[[Cyclonus (Armada)|Cyclonus]] (17)

|c3=
*[[Rad White]] (1)
*[[Alexis Thi Dang|Alexis]] (6)
*[[Carlos Lopez]] (7)

|h4=[[Mini-Con|Mini-Cons]]|c4=
*[[Sureshock (Armada)|Sureshock]] (3)
*[[Grindor (Armada)|Grindor]] (4)
*[[High Wire (Armada)|High Wire]] (5)
*[[Longarm (Armada)|Longarm]] (13)
*[[Jolt (Armada)|Jolt]] (14)
*[[Sparkplug (Armada)|Sparkplug]] (15)
*[[Swindle (Armada)|Swindle]] (19)
*[[Leader-1 (Armada)|Leader-1]] (20)
*[[Sonar (Armada)|Sonar]] (21)
}}

==Quotes==
"Hurry up! Destroy those Autobots! You will not escape my wrath!" 
"We can't do that, Megatron! If we do, it'll give away our position!"

:—'''Megatron''' and '''Demolishor''', the latter of whom doesn't appear to notice that the Autobots already know where they are.

"Luckily, I fell into a chasm and the lava passed right over me. I had to dig my way out, but I'm all right."

:—'''Optimus''' explains how he survived the lava.

"They're fighting to protect the universe!"

:—'''Alexis''', '''Carlos''' and '''Rad''', in unison.

"Niiiice"

:—'''Smokescreen''' responds in awe to '''Red Alert''' and '''Hot Shot''' powerlinxing

"Fire away, gentlemen."

:—'''Megatron''' is uncharacteristically complimentary to his troops

"Cyclonus failed me again. That figures."

:—'''Megatron''' not surprised at '''Cyclonus's''' failure

==Notes==
===Differences with ''Micron Legend''===
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
[[Image:Prehistory-Jetfire in charge.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Gesundheit."]]
*Optimus leaves Cybertron in [[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]]'s hands. This seems quite odd to say the least, and no one shows any surprise or mentions any changing of sides when Thrust arrives in the present, on the Decepticon side and apparently having always been. Given Armada's problem with [[Leader-1 (Armada)|keeping names straight]], it's possible that "[[Thrust (Armada)|Thrust]]" is actually [[Jetfire (Armada)|Jetfire]] - "Thrust's" silhouette greatly resembles Jetfire without the shuttle wings removed.

===Continuity errors===
*Megatron wonders why the Mini-Con retrieved in the previous episode won't wake up, but when he collected it, he stated that there was a reason why it won't wake up.

[[Image:Prehistory-Smokescreen takes up gardening.jpg|right|200px|thumb|He found the secret zipper.]]
*Smokescreen's small hook makes a surprisingly large trench while diverting the lava

===Other errors===
*Optimus Prime says the lava passed over him while he was in a chasm. Somehow, this lava doesn't respond normally to gravity.

===Transformers references===
*Cybertron is seen in Prime's flashback, as well as practically everyone's Cybertronian form.
*In Optimus Prime's flashback, several G1 [[Character model|character models]] were used as [[Generic|generic]] Transformers, including those of [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] and [[Crosshairs (G1)|Crosshairs]].

===Real-world references===
*Rad seems to think the underwater city in the previous episode actually was [[Atlantis]].

===Trivia===
*Over a quarter of this episode is taken up with the flashback recounting the history of the war.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2003 — ''Transformers: Micron Legend'' — Volume 3 ([[Columbia Music Entertainment]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2003 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Vol:04 ([[Warner Bros.|Warner Music Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Flashbacks ([[Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2005 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Vol:04 ([[Universal]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2008 — ''Transformers: Armada'' — Volume One ([[New KSM]]) — English and German audio.

[[Category:Armada episodes]]

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Prehistory