{{episode
|series=Masterforce
|ep=34
|image=Destroyerfromspace.jpg
|caption=You might wanna get that checked out.
|title="BlackZarak - Destroyer from Space"
|japanese=ブラックザラック・宇宙からの破壊者
|romaji=Black Zarack - Uchū Kara no Hakaisha
|production code=
|production company=[[TakaraTomy|Takara]], [[Toei]]
|airdate=[[December 20|20 December]] 1988
|writer=[[Yoshihisa Araki]]
|director=[[Atsutoshi Umezawa]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}
'''At last, BlackZarak arrives on Earth, and chaos follows in his wake, as Decepticon attacks spread thin the Autobot forces on Earth, and Ginrai and Grand Maximus fall victim to a deadly trap in space.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BlackZarakDestroyer Autobots trailer base.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"All right, everyone, keep an eye on the trailer. If it vanishes, we'll find out where the heck it goes."]]
Having hidden in deep space since his defeat at the hands of [[Ginrai|God Ginrai]], [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] has mastered localized gravity manipulation, enabling him to generate [[black hole]]s that will allow him to teleport directly to Earth. [[Devil Z]] informs [[Mega]] and [[Giga]] of this development, and instructs them to begin "[[Operation M1]]" as BlackZarak appears in the skies above [[New York City|New York]]!

Meanwhile, with their headquarters having been destroyed, the [[Autobot]]s have relocated to the [[Alps]] and radioed [[Grand Maximus]] out in space, with the intention of employing his battleship as a new base. Enough time passes that the Autobots begin to grow uneasy, and when Ginrai can't make contact with Grand, he chooses to head out into space himself to investigate.

Almost at the precise moment that Ginrai departs, however, the Decepticons' Operation M1 begins! [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] descends out of the sky into the heart of [[Paris]] and cuts a swathe of destruction through the city, decimating military resistance and destroying the [[Arc de Triomphe]], while BlackZarak rains chaos down on [[New York City|New York]], teleporting a squadron of attacking jet fighters away through a black hole. The patrolling [[Metalhawk]] happens upon the ruined New York and is about to contact the other Autobots, when [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]] radios him first, informing him of Overlord's attack on Paris, and the fact that Overlord is now moving east across Europe, while BlackZarak is moving west across the Pacific. Metalhawk alerts [[Lightfoot]] and the other Autobots to the situation, and they attempt to contact Ginrai, with no luck. Not wanting to imagine the worst, they put the thought from their minds and roll out for the disaster areas.

[[Image:BlackZarakDestroyer Ginrai Maximus in black hole.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"Well, this sucks." "Not the best time for jokes, Ginrai!" "I was just making an observation..."]]
Out in space, the reason for the Autobots' failure to contact Ginrai becomes clear when the commander himself arrives at Grand Maximus's last confirmed location, and discovers a black hole which immediately captures him in its gravity. Pulled into the dark recesses of the black hole, he spots Grand Maximus in the darkness, also a victim of the black hole's pull. Grand Maximus explains that the black hole is the work of BlackZarak, and that he is expending all of his energy just to hold steady against its gravity.

While passing over [[China]], Overlord sets down atop the [[Great Wall of China|Great Wall]] and delivers a message to the leaders of the world, telling them that they have three hours to surrender, or Overlord and BlackZarak will converge over [[Tokyo]] and reduce the city to a sea of fire. Within an hour, as he is flying across the sea towards [[Japan]], he is confronted by Metalhawk, [[Phoenix (Masterforce)|Phoenix]] and Diver, but dispatches them with ease and carries on his way.

[[Image:BlackZarakDestroyer Overlord BlackZarak rampage.jpg|thumb|left|200px| "Hahahaha...BWAHAHAHA! Ohohoho! This is ''delicious''!]]
Back in the grip of the black hole, Ginrai and Grand Maximus formulate an escape plan. Ginrai intends to blast the centre of the black hole with an even more powerful force—[[Chōkon Power]]! Drawing power from the electromagnetic waves of the black hole, they combine their energies and Ginrai funnels them through the Godcannon, blasting the heart of the black hole with one almighty beam. The black hole erupts in a massive explosion...

[[Image:BlackZarakDestroyer Preparing to fire on Ginrai Maximus.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Caught between a 'Con and...a stronger 'Con.]]
Meanwhile, off the coast of Japan, the Autobot [[Godmaster]]s and [[Headmaster Junior]]s stand poised to repel the approach of BlackZarak. The massive Decepticons soon appears overhead and blasts the assembled Autobots with lasers and lightning, at which point Overlord explodes onto the scene, and directs BlackZarak to forget them and join him in attacking Tokyo. The [[Seacon (Masterforce)|Seacons]], [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]], [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] and the Decepticon Headmaster Juniors all emerge to occupy the Autobots while Tokyo is demolished by BlackZarak and Overlord, but as the two Decepticons march through the city, the sight of something moving against the sun catches Overlord's eye. As he watches, denying the possibility of what he sees with every breath, Grand Maximus and Ginrai swoop down from the skies, ready to bring the destruction to an end! Ginrai and BlackZarak square off as Grand Maximus and BlackZarak match firepower, but eventually, Ginrai manoeuvres himself between the two Decepticons and dodges at the last second, causing them to blast each other. Ginrai and Maximus merge their energies one more time and deliver the final blast to the two damaged villains, crippling them and causing Devil Z to order the abortion of Operation M1, and the commencement of [[Operation M2]]. The Decepticons pull out, and in the aftermath of the battle the Autobots all welcome Ginrai back to the fold. Ginrai remains uneasy, however, and can sense that worse things are on the horizon... but for now, there's rescue work to be done!

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Godbomber]] (12)
* [[Metalhawk]] (17)
* [[Diver (Masterforce)|Diver]] (18)
* [[Grand Maximus]] (19)
* [[Phoenix (Masterforce)|Phoenix]] (20)

'''Human Autobots'''

* [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]] (5)
* [[Shūta Gō]] (6)
* [[Cab]] (7)
* [[Lightfoot]] (8)
* [[Road King]] (9)
* [[Ranger]] (10)
* [[Ginrai]] (11)

|c2=
* [[Scorponok (G1)|BlackZarak]] (1)
* [[Devil Z]] (2)
* [[Tentakil (Masterforce)|Tentakil]] (21)
* [[Lobclaw]] (22)
* [[Gulf]] (23)
* [[Overbite (Masterforce)|Overbite]] (24)

'''Human Decepticons'''

* [[Mega]] (3)
* [[Giga]] (4)
* [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]] (13)
* [[Hydra (Masterforce)|Hydra]] (25)
* [[Buster (Masterforce)|Buster]] (26)
* [[Bullhorn]] (27)
* [[Wilder]] (28)
* [[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]] (29)

|c4=
* [[United States Navy captain|Captain]] (14)
* Sailor A (15)
* Sailor B (16)
}}

==Quotes==
"The likes of you cannot hurt or even tickle me!"
:—'''Overlord''', under attack from Hawk and Phoenix.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
*When Lightfoot asks if something could have happened to Grand Maximus, the cabling on Ranger's suit is red.
*As Hawk flies over New York, he flies over a building, and his wingspan is at least three times the building's width, making him look huge.
*The "stars" being pulled into the black hole Ginrai finds are, on the other hand, tiny and completely inaccurate in terms of scale. Additionally any shot of space in this episode will show planets improbably close together.
*As the Headmaster Juniors discuss why Ginrai's not communicating, when Cab raises his arm, the shadow on Shūta's right leg reverses.
*In the following shot of Lightfoot, the cabling on Ranger's suit is colored red again.
*As BlackZarak attacks the Autobots, [[Ranger]]'s red parts are colored yellow.
*As Shūta announces that he'll defeat BlackZarak himself, the interior of his and Cab's mouths are white.

===Continuity notes===
*BlackZarak and Grand Maximus have both been fighting out in space since their last appearance in "[[God Ginrai - Showdown on the Surface of the Moon]]".
*The Autobot base was destroyed in the [[Disaster! The Autobot Base Explodes|previous episode]].
*This episode sees Ginrai's trailer transform to base mode for the first time in the series itself, but it did previously appear in a rather [[Raiden|odd scene]] in the show's first opening sequence.
*This is the second time that the [[Arc de Triomphe]] has been destroyed in the series (the first being in the episode "[[Expose the Decepticons' Dark Trap!]]"). The Japanese must really hate the French...

===Foreign dubbing===
'''English'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Destroyers from Deep Space'''" ([[Omni Productions]] dub)

===Trivia===
* This episode features the debut of the insert song, "[[Super Ginrai no Theme]]". It's coming in a bit late, mind you, since things are all about ''God'' Ginrai at this point in the series, but it's still a song that makes you sit up and go "I say! What is this I'm hearing now?"
[[Image:MF34_unusedshot.jpg|thumb|left|200px|]]
* A scene of Overlord launching a volley of missiles at Ginrai is re-used from the show's opening sequence.
* The preview for this episode features a scene cut from the episode itself, which involves BlackZarak attacking and destroying a castle, whilst a crowd point and gasp in horror. The crowd seem to be in a theme park, most likely meant to be a Disneyland knock-off, judging from the castle design and the Mickey Mouse style character on one of the children's shirts.
* A bit of footage from the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of this episode was included as part of some special features on the Kid Rhino DVD release of Generation 1 Season 1. Specifically, the title card (with the "Destroyers From Deep Space" narration) and a few seconds of the scene where God Ginrai and Grand Maximus almost get caught in the blast of the black hole exploding, which cuts right to a commercial bumper of Buster and Hydra combining (which was not the actual bumper used at that point in the episode; the BlackZarak underwater bumper was).

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote|jsubs}}
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2003 — ''Transformers: Super-God Masterforce'' — DVD Box 02 ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — The Takara Collection Vol 2 — ''Transformers: Super-God Masterforce'' ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Takara Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2008 — ''The Transformers: Super God Masterforce'' ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Japan Generation 1'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)

[[Category:Super-God Masterforce episodes]]

The Gambler

2012-11-18T20:02:29Z

Kervinle2500:

{{episode
|image=The Gambler title shot.JPG
|caption="On a warm summer's evenin', on a train bound for nowhere..."
|series=G1toon
|ep=47
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=36
|prev2=The Secret of Omega Supreme
|next2=The Girl Who Loved Powerglide
|title="The Gambler"
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production code=700-46
|airdate=[[November 11]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''On the return journey from Aron's world, the Autobots are captured by a gambling-addicted alien and traded away, leaving Smokescreen and the Autobot bounty hunter Devcon to rescue them.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ギャンブル惑星モナカス (''Gamble Wakusei Monacus'', "Monacus, the Planet of Gambling ")
:''Italian title, dub 1:'' '''Il giocatore d'azzardo''' ("The gambler")
:''Italian title, dub 2:'' '''Il giocatore''' ("The gambler")

==Synopsis==
{{note|This episode follows the events of "[[Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play]]".}}
[[Image:Gamblerautosintubes.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Every gambler knows that the secret to survivin' is knowin' what to throw away and knowin' what to keep.]]
The Autobots are returning to earth after their adventure on [[Brobdingnag]], when their "toy rocket" space ship suddenly comes to a halt. They are captured by an alien captain named [[Bosch]]. Bosch deactivates them and intends to sell the Autobots as slaves in exchange for energon. However, [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]'s tube malfunctions and he remains functional, though temporarily immobilized.

Smokescreen learns that Bosch is a gambler. After demonstrating his ability to manipulate a slot machine, he takes Bosch's proposition to go to [[Monacus]], a gambling asteroid, and win enough energon to repower Bosch's ship in exchange for the freedom of the rest of the Autobots.

Bosch and Smokescreen end up at the "Pit of Destruction" arena of [[Gyconi|Lord Gyconi]], a local swindler, where they use the Autobots as collateral for a very high-interest loan of energon chips. At a casino, Smokescreen builds up quite a stack of winnings and lets it all ride on one last bet, but one of the casino workers breaks his link with a slot machine and he loses everything. Unable to buy back his friends, Smokescreen vows that Gyconi hasn't seen the last of him.

[[Image:Gamblersmokescreenbets.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done.]]

Meanwhile, [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] and [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] arrive on the planet in [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] and head towards the city. They are followed by a mysterious blue Autobot.

In a local tavern, Smokescreen meets the mysterious Autobot, who introduces himself as [[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]]; he's a bounty hunter searching for Decepticons.

[[Image:Gamblerdevconslizardo.jpg|left|200px|thumb|For a taste of your whiskey, I'll give you some advice.]]

In Gyconi's lair, Ramjet and Dirge shake down the big green frogman for a share of his profits. He invites the two Decepticon planes to stay and watch the upcoming battle in his arena: the Autobots versus the Animaliens. Before the show, Gyconi fixes the fight by giving the Autobots unstable energon which will wear off and make them defenseless.

The fight begins as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], under Gyconi's control, takes on an ugly red lizard animalien. At first the Autobot leader holds his own, prompting a lot of patrons to bet on him, but then his power runs out and he's overcome. [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] is forced into the arena for the next match, but before it starts, Smokescreen fills the place with smoke and forces everyone out. Ramjet and Dirge chase him down, but he's saved by Devcon.

[[Image:Gambleranimalianfight.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The best that you can hope for is to die in your sleep.]]

Gyconi and the Decepticons load up Astrotrain with energon cubes in order to make a getaway, but Smokescreen, Devcon and Bosch confront them. During a fierce firefight, Smokescreen uses his smoke again to confuse the Decepticons. They take off aboard Astrotrain and Devcon chases after them, taking Slizardo with him as a partner.

The Autobots are returned to normal and Bosch offers to take them back to earth, but only after a quick stop at casino row.

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (1)
* [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (2)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (4)
* [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (5)
* [[Devcon (G1)|Devcon]] (14)
|c2=
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (11)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (12)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (13)
|c4=
* [[Bosch]] (6)
* Monacan loan shark (7)
* [[Animalien]] (8)
* [[Slizardo]] (9)
* [[Gyconi]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
"Arrrgh! I can't even beat my own machine anymore, and I had it fixed so I could cheat!"
:—'''Bosch''' has a stroke of bad luck.

"The name is Smokescreen, and I never walk when I can drive."
:—'''Smokescreen'''

"Ladies and gentlemen! Tonight for the first time anywhere in the galaxies, you will witness the pugilistic spectacle of the millennium!"
:—'''Lord Gyconi''' talks up his gladiator show.

"Now, prepare to meet my friend, Mr. Ionic Displacer."
:—'''Astrotrain'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
*When the Autobots are captured and Smokescreen's tube breaks, he's miscoloured. He's back to blue and red as he gets paralyzed by the guard.
*The animation of the tubes opening to release the brainwashed Autobots is just the shot of them closing played backwards — unfortunately this means that Smokescreen appears to be in one of the tubes when he shouldn't be.
*As the Autobots are returned to their original size, shouldn't the container they were in shatter? There's no breaking sound effect.
*The lowering platform in Gyconi's room is left unanimated, making the Autobots seem to lower into a paving stone.
*As Smokescreen goes "all in" at the casino, one shot shows the energon chips as all-black (rather than glowing pink). The same thing happens as the patrons at the arena grab their chips, and as the Autobots load Astrotrain with energon cubes.
*After Smokescreen loses the chips, the next shot of him (in Gyconi's room) has him colored entirely in blue.
*When Slizardo and Bosch approach Astrotrain, Slizardo's animation cell does not change, resulting in him appearing much smaller than Bosch.
*When Bosch and Smokescreen are walking together, they are about the same height, however, when Smokescreen transforms, Bosch rides inside him. Then again, mass-shifting is nothing new here.

===Continuity errors===
*In terms of airdates, this episode is ''definitely'' played out of order, as we've seen several of the characters that are still trying to escape from Aron's planet in "[[Child's Play (episode)|Child's Play]]" on Earth prior to this one. The series on Netflix corrects this.
*Apparently the Decepticons on Earth make trips to far away planets to take their cut of energon from their business partners. If Megatron's been (mostly) on Earth for 4 million years, when did he set these deals up?
*Both times Smokescreen shoots his smoke out, the Decepticons are shown coughing (even though, again, Transformers are robots and don't have real throats or lungs).
*At any point after the "temporary" paralyzing effects of Bosch's gun wears off, Smokescreen is given ample opportunities to simply force Bosch to free his friends. He is clearly more interested in this gambling trip than saving his friends... good thing for him that Prime was comatose when it all happened!

===Transformers references===
*Slizardo would eventually return in the season 3 episode "[[Grimlock's New Brain]]" alongside the [[Skuxxoid]].
*Devcon would later be featured in the [[Transformers: Universe (comic)|''Wreckers'' comic]].
*Astrotrain refers to his ionic displacer rifle by that name.

===Real-world references===
*[[wikipedia:Sheol|Sheol]], the name of Lord Gyconi's part of town, is a Hebrew word that means "the grave", and is sometimes used as a synonym or euphemism for Hell.
*When an alien turns down Bosch's offer of the Autobots as collateral, saying he's "got robots up to [his] eyeballs", he advises Bosch to go see someone named Asimov. [[wikipedia:Isaac Asimov|Isaac Asimov]] was a science-fiction writer known for his stories about robots (duh).
*Monacus is named for the real-world sovereign state of Monaco, famous for its casino.

===Trivia===
* This is one of the only two pre-movie episodes in which [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] does not appear, the other being "[[The God Gambit]]". Both have Astrotrain and two Seekers in them.
* Before the Botcon comic, the overwhelming majority of the fandom spelled Devcon's name Defcon, which is closer to the pronunciation given in the episode and has a real world meaning. Many in the fandom were up in arms about the spelling; however, the comic spelling is based on the original script and is now considered the "correct" spelling.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 5 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_gambler.html Dossier on the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gambler}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]