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Transformers Animated season 4

2025-03-22T05:56:08Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Gallery */

[[File:AllSparkAlmanacII-SeasonFourAutobotLine-Up.jpg|right|thumb|upright=3.5|Mockup illustration for the season 4 Autobot lineup, modifying the character designs with influences from the [[Transformers (film)|live-action movie]]; Ratchet is recoloured, Ironhide's new body is based on Sentinel Prime's with his black Movie colors, while Optimus Prime gains a flame motif, and Bumblebee symmetrical racing stripes.]]'''''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''''' came to an end with its third season, but it wasn't always intended to be that way! Various plans existed for a '''fourth season''' that would have continued the story of the series and taken it in a new direction.

==Early plans==
When originally plotting what the show's fourth season would be about, story editor [[Marty Isenberg]] envisioned its action as being split between Cybertron and Earth. The majority of the season would be set on the Transformers' homeworld, but the appearance of new [[energon]] deposits on Earth caused by shards of the [[AllSpark]] would require the Autobots to continue defending the planet against the energon-starved Decepticons' evil intentions as well. With Megatron's story considered effectively finished after the third season, it was planned for [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] to serve as the season's major villain, having abandoned her search for a cure for her [[technorganic]] condition, and now seeking to transform the rest of the Cybertronian race into organic-machine hybrids like herself. Megatron, meanwhile, would have been a secondary villain, imprisoned after the events of the season three finale, but now manipulating [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] from behind bars, à la {{w|Hannibal Lecter}}, as the egotistical Autobot competed with [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] to become the deceased [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]]'s true successor and ruler of Cybertron.

Other plot threads running throughout the season would have included [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s ghost occasionally making contact with the Autobots from within the AllSpark; [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] struggling to find a place for himself on a Cybertron that saw him only as a weapon; and [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] beginning [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]]'s Cybertronian education.

Potential ideas for episodes discussed by Isenberg, [[Matt Youngberg]], and [[Derrick J. Wyatt]], at this early stage included:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Trial of Megatron"'''
|ShortSummary=A season premiere of potentially two or three episodes in length. Megatron tricks Sentinel Prime into making his trial a big, splashy public affair to create a cover for a new Decepticon plot he has masterminded from prison, which the Autobots only just manage to thwart.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Mirror Mirror"'''
|ShortSummary=While attempting to transwarp back to Earth, Optimus's team are catapulted into a [[Shattered Glass Animated|parallel universe]] where Autobots are evil and Decepticons are good. Based on the [[BotCon]]-original [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|''Shattered Glass'']] mirror universe concept, this idea was originally conceived for season three, but was dropped when "[[TransWarped]]" was expanded to three episodes.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"What a Tangled Web We Weave"'''
|ShortSummary=While Blackarachnia builds up her technorganic [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] army in the present, flashbacks tell the story of how she came to join the Decepticons in the past.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"S.T.E.A.M."'''
|ShortSummary=This episode would have revisited one of the earliest ideas Isenberg had for the show, which was included in the series bible even before the production of season one: the anti-robotic vigilante group, '''S'''ave '''T'''he '''E'''arth '''A'''nd '''M'''ankind, who believe [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Sumdac]]'s robot revolution and the coming of the Autobots to spell the end for humanity, and use steampunk technology to fight them. This adventure was to see them run afoul of the returning [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] (accompanied by some new minions), forcing the Autobots to save them.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Land of the Mini-Cons"'''
|ShortSummary=In this ''Gulliver's Travels'' pastiche, another transwarp mishap dumps [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] on a planet populated by [[Mini-Con]]s, who worship him as a god.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Total Devastation"'''
|ShortSummary=The [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] find a way to combine into [[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]], giving them the muscle to ensure their control over Earth's new energon deposits. They come up against competition from [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]], who has designs on using the energon to make herself Decepticon leader. The Autobots call on the help of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] to settle things. Though not mentioned in the original document, statements from multiple staff members all agree that their original plan for the ''Animated'' incarnation of Devastator was that Bulkhead would be captured by the Constructicons and forced to merge with them as an unwilling part of the combiner.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Bumble Prime"'''
|ShortSummary=A mysterious villain named the Time Trucker (based on Hasbro employee [[Steve Drucker]]) shows Bumblebee a possible future where he leads the Autobots in fighting side-by-side with the Decepticons—led by [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|Galvatron]]!—against the zombie-like Predacons, created by an AllSpark-powered technorganic virus that the Autobots must stop Blackarachnia unleashing in the present. This episode was another originally proposed for season three.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"It Came From Cybertron"'''
|ShortSummary=Previously proposed for both seasons two ''and'' three but dropped each time, this goofy adventure would have been about an Autobot coming to Earth with an important message for Optimus Prime. But after scanning a flying saucer as his alternate mode from a B-movie set, he suffers amnesia, and comes to believe he is really an alien invader named [[Cosmos (Animated)|Cosmos]].
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Energon Farm?"'''
|ShortSummary=Seeking to escape Optimus and Sentinel's fight for the position of Magnus for a while, Bulkhead returns to the Energon farm on which he was raised, with [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] tagging along, only to find the farm has become a Decepticon target.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Arachnus Prime"'''
|ShortSummary=The Time Trucker gives Optimus Prime the chance to alter the past, and save Elita-1 from ever becoming Blackarachnia. However, the end result is that ''Optimus'' becomes a technorganic spider-bot instead, creating a new future where Elita leads the Autobots.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Predacons Unite"'''
|ShortSummary=In the two-part season finale, Blackarachnia's Predacons attack Cybertron, and Sentinel agrees to ally with Megatron to defeat them. But Optimus realises that the Decepticon leader is only playing the Autobots and Predacons off against each other so that he and his forces can conquer the planet.
}}
|}

==Hasbro steps in==
The success of the [[Transformers (film)|first live-action movie]] quickly put a crimp in these plans (as well the poor sales of Blackarchnia's toy). To ride the wave of movie popularity, Hasbro executives [[Aaron Archer]] and [[Samantha Lomo]] pushed for the fourth season would have to maintain a degree of similarity to the film, which meant that Megatron had to be the main villain, and its action had to be predominantly set on Earth. Furthermore, the Autobot team membership had to be changed, removing [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and adding [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] and [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]], to match the Autobot line-up from the movie. Other Habsro mandates included a larger role for Mini-Cons as Trypticon Prison Guards, and Optimus and Megatron being upgraded into new forms based on toys that were in the process of being designed: Optimus would combine with his trailer into a "[[Powermaster]]" form, and Megatron would be rebuilt into a triple-changing body, called "Marauder Megatron."

Incorporating these requirements into their original plans for the season, the ''Animated'' team came up with a revised list of thirteen proposed episodes.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Trial of Megatron"'''
|ShortSummary=Using his trial as a cover to hide his scheming, Megatron seizes control of the Mini-Con guards of Kaon prison. At his command, the Mini-Cons reformat the city, allowing Megatron to launch Kaon itself into space, and head for Earth. While Bulkhead and Sari remain behind on Cybertron to help deal with the aftermath of the disaster, Optimus Prime (now equipped with Powermaster Armour) and the rest of his team, with Ironhide in tow, pursue Megatron back to Earth.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Turf War"'''
|ShortSummary=A reworked version of "Total Devastation," dropping Omega Supreme, and incorporating the concepts of Ironhide acclimating to life on Earth, Bumblebee adjusting to life without Bulkhead, and explicitly establishing that the rival faction of Decepticons is lead by Slipstream and a resurrected [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]. It's not clear exactly how the original concept for Devastator would have been made to fit with the season's revised setup, given Bulkhead was no longer on Earth to become part of the combiner.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"This is Why I Hate Organics"'''
|ShortSummary=Rattletrap finds himself on Earth, surrounded by the one thing he fears: organics. He manages to scan an Earth vehicle mode, but he quickly finds himself a target: the Autobots want to arrest him, while the Decepticons Megatron betrayed and abandoned during the events of "Trial of Megatron" want to use him to gain access to Kaon to take revenge on their former leader.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Mirror, Mirror"'''
|ShortSummary=Reworked from the earlier proposal for a ''Shattered Glass''-themed episode, this take on the concept saw Bulkhead and Sari transported to the mirror universe when attempting to rejoin the other Autobots who had already returned to Earth.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Gremlins in the Gears"'''
|ShortSummary=The Mini-Cons who run Kaon are on the loose and causing all kinds of havoc in Detroit by disassembling all machinery they come across, including the Autobots. To save their friends, Ratchet and [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] must team up to stop the renegade Mini-Cons.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"What a Tangled Web We Weave"'''
|ShortSummary=Modified from the original propsal for the episode, this version of Blackarachnia's story would have also detailed how she rebuilt [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] into a Triple Changer, planting the seeds for her to do the same to Megatron later in the season.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"S.T.E.A.M."'''
|ShortSummary=Essentially unchanged from the original proposal for the episode.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"It Came from Planet Cybertron"'''
|ShortSummary=In this version of the three-times-proposed Cosmos episode, the "important message" he was bringing to Optimus Prime apparently warned of a traitor in the Autobot ranks, setting up the events of later episode "Process of Elimination."
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Triple Threat"'''
|ShortSummary=Blackarachnia upgrades Megatron into a [[Megatron (Animated)#Other|new triple-changing form]], but like Blitzwing before him, the process leaves him with an unstable personality, and he becomes a one-'bot army, blowing away anything and anyone in his path, with the Autobots powerless to stop him.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Allspark-alypse Now!"'''
|ShortSummary=When Sentinel comes to Earth intending to use the AllSpark to kill Megatron, Prowl's ghost must possess the Cybertronians animated by shards of the AllSpark to warn Optimus that Sentinel's plan risks destroying the Earth itself.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Process of Elimination"'''
|ShortSummary=Bumblebee investigates a series of deadly attacks on his old boot camp platoon, who are being picked off by a mysterious assailant. All signs point to either [[Wasp|Waspinator]] or [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]... but when ''they'' too are attacked, the mystery deepens! It turns out the culprit is really [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]]; back when Shockwave was undercover in Autobot bootcamp, he uploaded a Trojan Horse virus into Cliffjumper that would compell him to eliminate all evidence if Shockwave was ever found out. Now, the virus is affecting his mind, and Bumblebee must stop him before he self-destructs!
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Megatron Must Be Destroyed!" Part 1'''
|ShortSummary=As Megatron's plan to reformat Earth into a new Decepticon homeworld reaches fruition, the Autobots must join forces with Slipstream and Starscream's Decepticons, Blackarachnia's Predacons, and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s to defeat Megatron once and for all. They seem to defeat Megatron... but it turns out that the Decepticon leader has created many duplicates of himself as a distraction!
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Megatron Must Be Destroyed!" Part 2'''
|ShortSummary=Powermaster Optimus Prime defeats the real Megatron, only for Megatron to then download his mind into the city of Kaon itself. Using Blackarachnia's technorganic virus, Megatron has the city begin to grow to cover Earth. Vague, unfinalised notes state that the episode would have wrapped up with Sari discovering a deeper connection between herself and Blackarachnia, Sentinel redeeming himself, and Optimus defeating Megatron and saving Earth once again.
}}
|}

=="Trial of Megatron" expanded==
[[File:Uplink and Trac-Tor concept.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Eric Seibenaler's designs for Uplink and Trac-Tor.]]

At Hasbro's request, Marty Isenberg expanded "Trial of Megatron," into a three-part premiere, for which he wrote a complete "outline" (an act-by-act, scene-by-scene breakdown describing the plot and story beats, action scenes, character arcs and sample dialogue). The outline made some notable changes to the story; most significantly, where Sari was originally intended to remain on Cybertron with Bulkhead, in the outline, she accompanies Prime's team back to Earth. How these changes would have affected subsequent episodes (in this case, "Mirror, Mirror") is unknown, as "Trial" was the only story developed beyond a basic premise.

Isenberg's outlines for these episodes went unseen until 2019, when he was invited to UK-based ''Transformers'' convention [[unofficial conventions|TFNation]], and it was arranged to turn the outlines into an exclusive pre-recorded "script-reading" event. Isenberg was able to get the entire regular cast of the cartoon (save for [[Tara Strong]], and guest star [[Judd Nelson]]) to reprise their roles, and [[Eric Siebenaler]] even created brand new designs for three new characters featured in the episodes—Uplink, Trac-Tor and an ''Animated'' version of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]]—which were used by the convention organisers to create artwork to accompany the reading. The script-reading was initially strictly exclusive to the convention, but two years later, the feature was livestreamed via YouTube as part of TFNation's 2021 "online convention" (held in place of a regular event due to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}), featuring even more accompanying artwork compared to the original recording. Thanks to these two events, TFWiki has been able to create full article write-ups for each of the three parts:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
{{Episode list
|Title='''"[[Trial of Megatron, Part 1]]"'''
|ShortSummary=His victory over Megatron had made Optimus Prime the popular choice to replace Sentinel as Cybertron's new, permanent Magnus, but Sentinel isn't afraid to play dirty to stay in power. Meanwhile, Sari begins her Cybertronian education under Arcee, raising new questions about her mysterious origins.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"[[Trial of Megatron, Part 2]]"'''
|ShortSummary=As Cybertron comes under attack from Strika's Decepticons, Sentinel arranges a public show trial for Megatron, which the cunning Decepticon leader uses to his advantage.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"[[Trial of Megatron, Part 3]]"'''
|ShortSummary=Megatron launches the city of Kaon from Cybertron and sets course for Earth, with a Powermaster-enhanced Optimus Prime and his new team in hot pursuit.
}}
|}

==Cancellation and legacy==
Ultimately, a combination of factors—not least of all, Hasbro's desire to launch [[Hub Network|their own network]] and develop a new show for it—led to ''Animated'' season 4 being cancelled, and the planned toys going unmade. In 2010, the ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II]]'' included information about several of the fourth season's unmade episodes; then, in 2016, an article written by Derrick J. Wyatt himself for [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 71|issue #71 of the Collectors' Club magazine]] provided the full run-down of episodes from the second, revised list of concepts after Hasbro changed the show's direction. These lists were supplemented over time by the creators' interviews and fan-interactions, until eventually, the full, original documents themselves were uncovered between 2022 and 2023.

However, it's important to state that these episode lists represent only ''ideas'' for what would have been in the season. There is no guarantee that they would have all met with Hasbro approval, or that they wouldn't simply have been altered and redrafted by the creators themselves as time went on, as perhaps best illustrated by the way Isenberg's "Trial of Megatron" outlines made changes that contradicted the premises of later episodes. Even the "Trial" outlines themselves would have been subject to alteration during production! Thus, it must be understood that what you see in this article does not necessarily represent exactly what would have been seen on TV, even if the season had gone ahead; in particular, the Collectors' Club magazine article lists ''fifteen'' proposed episodes (the thirteen concepts from the revised episode list, ''and'' the expanded three-part version of "Trial of Megatron"), and ''Animated'' seasons were only thirteen episodes in length, meaning two of them would almost certainly never have been made.

Derrick J. Wyatt was especially passionate about ''Animated'', and strove to keep it alive with new artwork and allusions to unseen stories that he posted online before his death in 2021. But again, it must be stressed that just because Derrick wanted to do an idea, that doesn't mean it would have been done. Perhaps the most notable example of this is that, while Wyatt claimed that he always knew exactly what he wanted Sari's true origin to be, in contrast, Isenberg says the team never definitively decided upon an answer. In the Club Magazine article, Wyatt specifically ''omitted'' information from the planning document; it stated that Sari discovered a connection between herself and Blackarachnia, but Wyatt removed Blackarachnia's name and mentioned only that Sari discovered a connection to "someone familiar." Of course, whether this represents Derrick having a different idea, or merely wanting to preserve a little more of the mystery around the story in the hopes of getting to tell it in full in the future, we'll sadly never know.

His passion, coupled with his distinctive art style being the most iconic aspect of the series, has led to a tendency among fans to treat Wyatt's word as more definitive that it ever truly was, as if he were the ultimate authority and had the final say on the world of ''Animated'', when that simply wasn't true. Additionally, it's apparent that Wyatt was always coming up with new ideas for ''Animated'' lore long after the show was cancelled, and that many tidibits of lore he mentioned in conversation online over the years were not actually conceived or discussed during the making of the show itself. None the less, several of his more recent works have been misinterpreted by fans as definite plans for the season; for instance, the designs of [[Inferno (Animated)|Inferno]] and [[Antagony (Animated)|Antagony]] featured in the AllSpark Almanac were not made for the show, but were invented years later as potential toy ideas for BotCon, which is why they were simply recolors of Waspinator with new heads. This continued BotCon-baiting method of character design created a recurring phenomenon in subsequent years wherein new ''Animated'' characters wound up often being retools/recolors of existing ones, when in reality, if they had ever been in the show, they would have had original designs of their own.

==Notes==
*Resurfaced documents mention that Sentinel Prime's face and shell would've been mangled following ''The Trial of Megatron'', but he'd have refused repairs, not wanting to forget who’s responsible, and become obsessed with taking Megatron offline. Derrick imagined him with an eyepatch, and his lance as a harpoon.
*Derrick had the idea that Sentinel may have hired Lockdown to hunt Megatron.
*In an early outline of "TransWarped", under its original title 'Homecoming', Sari would've come to suspect Megatron played a role in the her mysterious protoform that appeared in Sumdac's lab. This was originally envisioned to be followed up on early in ''The Trial of Megatron'', as Sari would've visited Megatron in prison to question him. The Decepticon leader would've denied having a protoform in his possession when he crashed to Earth. This scene was cut prior to ''The Trial of Megatron'''s outline, likely in response to the setup being cut from "TransWarped".

Other unproduced episode ideas spoken of over the years include:
*"Trukk. vs. Munky", in which Blackarachnia would have created [[Primal Major|Optimus Primal]] as a technorganic clone of Optimus Prime. Mentioned by Derrick J. Wyatt at during his panel at [[Unofficial conventions|Auto Assembly 2010]], this episode was actually proposed for the second season, and did not make it in any official lists of proposed episodes for the fourth season.
*A {{w|David Lynch}}-inspired episode featuring [[Buster Witwicky]] as a [[Sector Seven]] agent in the vein of [[Seymour Simmons]] and [[Metalhawk (G1)|Metalhawk]]. Also mentioned at Wyatt's Auto Assembly panel, indications are that he had this idea in mind for a while, but, again, it never made it into any official proposed lists.
*A Halloween episode that would pay homage to the ''Batman: The Animated Series'' episode 'Almost Got 'Im', which would've seen the Autobots sit around the campfire and tell ghost stories about [[Unicron]]. In a conversation between Aaron Archer and ''Animated'' superfan Keyan Carlile, Archer alleges artwork of the Autobots around the fire was even produced. Marty Isenberg, however, is adamant that he had never heard of this episode concept and suspects Derrick may have been shy to pitch it to him due to Isenberg's personal distaste for Unicron.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Tfa s4 original1.jpg|Page 1 of the original list of season 4 premilinary episode ideas.
File:Tfa s4 original2.jpg|Page 2 of the original list of season 4 premilinary episode ideas.
File:Tfa s4 original3.jpg|Page 3 of the original list of season 4 premilinary episode ideas.
File:Tfa s4 revised1.jpg|Page 4 of the revised list of season 4 episode ideas (pages 1-3 not available), featuring thumbnail sketches by Wyatt for the ''Collectors Club'' magazine article.
File:Tfa s4 revised2.jpg|Page 5 of the revised list of season 4 episode ideas, also with Wyatt sketches.
File:AllSparkAlmanacII-PowermasterPrime.jpg|Orthographic drawings of Powermaster Optimus Prime toy
File:MarauderMegatron.jpg|Resin prototype of "Marauder" Megatron toy.
File:Htcc-71.jpg|Marauder Megatron headshot by Wyatt.
File:Animated Earth mode Ironhide.jpg|Ironhide's Earth-mode design; an alternate design from the concept sketch above, but still influenced by the [[Ironhide (Movie)|movie version of the character]].
File:TFAs4 kaon.jpg|Concept illustrations of Kaon blasting off from Cybertron and settling in [[Lake Erie]].
File:AnimatedDevastator.jpg|[[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]] headshot.
File:Animatedtoy-HotShot.jpg|Resin prototype of [[Hot Shot (Animated)|Hot Shot]]'s toy.
File:TFAs4 bumbleprime.jpg|Wyatt's design for "Bumble Prime," which he would later submit as a possible look for the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' version of [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] when working on the early development of that show.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At0OmPh_JoA Animated Season 4: What Could Have Been] — Extensive video by Keyan Carlile breaking down everything we know about Season 4, with input from Isenberg and Wyatt's close friend [[Josh Perez]], including fanart conceptualizing each episode.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOaCXawoE94 Animated Season 4: What SHOULD'VE Been] — A follow-up video by Carlile featuring more information obtained since the first video's publication.
[[Category: Animated]]
[[Category: Things that don't exist]]

Transformers Animated season 4

2025-03-22T05:54:58Z

Keyan Carlile:

[[File:AllSparkAlmanacII-SeasonFourAutobotLine-Up.jpg|right|thumb|upright=3.5|Mockup illustration for the season 4 Autobot lineup, modifying the character designs with influences from the [[Transformers (film)|live-action movie]]; Ratchet is recoloured, Ironhide's new body is based on Sentinel Prime's with his black Movie colors, while Optimus Prime gains a flame motif, and Bumblebee symmetrical racing stripes.]]'''''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''''' came to an end with its third season, but it wasn't always intended to be that way! Various plans existed for a '''fourth season''' that would have continued the story of the series and taken it in a new direction.

==Early plans==
When originally plotting what the show's fourth season would be about, story editor [[Marty Isenberg]] envisioned its action as being split between Cybertron and Earth. The majority of the season would be set on the Transformers' homeworld, but the appearance of new [[energon]] deposits on Earth caused by shards of the [[AllSpark]] would require the Autobots to continue defending the planet against the energon-starved Decepticons' evil intentions as well. With Megatron's story considered effectively finished after the third season, it was planned for [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] to serve as the season's major villain, having abandoned her search for a cure for her [[technorganic]] condition, and now seeking to transform the rest of the Cybertronian race into organic-machine hybrids like herself. Megatron, meanwhile, would have been a secondary villain, imprisoned after the events of the season three finale, but now manipulating [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] from behind bars, à la {{w|Hannibal Lecter}}, as the egotistical Autobot competed with [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] to become the deceased [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]]'s true successor and ruler of Cybertron.

Other plot threads running throughout the season would have included [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]]'s ghost occasionally making contact with the Autobots from within the AllSpark; [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] struggling to find a place for himself on a Cybertron that saw him only as a weapon; and [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] beginning [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]]'s Cybertronian education.

Potential ideas for episodes discussed by Isenberg, [[Matt Youngberg]], and [[Derrick J. Wyatt]], at this early stage included:
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Trial of Megatron"'''
|ShortSummary=A season premiere of potentially two or three episodes in length. Megatron tricks Sentinel Prime into making his trial a big, splashy public affair to create a cover for a new Decepticon plot he has masterminded from prison, which the Autobots only just manage to thwart.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Mirror Mirror"'''
|ShortSummary=While attempting to transwarp back to Earth, Optimus's team are catapulted into a [[Shattered Glass Animated|parallel universe]] where Autobots are evil and Decepticons are good. Based on the [[BotCon]]-original [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|''Shattered Glass'']] mirror universe concept, this idea was originally conceived for season three, but was dropped when "[[TransWarped]]" was expanded to three episodes.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"What a Tangled Web We Weave"'''
|ShortSummary=While Blackarachnia builds up her technorganic [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] army in the present, flashbacks tell the story of how she came to join the Decepticons in the past.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"S.T.E.A.M."'''
|ShortSummary=This episode would have revisited one of the earliest ideas Isenberg had for the show, which was included in the series bible even before the production of season one: the anti-robotic vigilante group, '''S'''ave '''T'''he '''E'''arth '''A'''nd '''M'''ankind, who believe [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Sumdac]]'s robot revolution and the coming of the Autobots to spell the end for humanity, and use steampunk technology to fight them. This adventure was to see them run afoul of the returning [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] (accompanied by some new minions), forcing the Autobots to save them.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Land of the Mini-Cons"'''
|ShortSummary=In this ''Gulliver's Travels'' pastiche, another transwarp mishap dumps [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] on a planet populated by [[Mini-Con]]s, who worship him as a god.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Total Devastation"'''
|ShortSummary=The [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicons]] find a way to combine into [[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]], giving them the muscle to ensure their control over Earth's new energon deposits. They come up against competition from [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]], who has designs on using the energon to make herself Decepticon leader. The Autobots call on the help of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] to settle things. Though not mentioned in the original document, statements from multiple staff members all agree that their original plan for the ''Animated'' incarnation of Devastator was that Bulkhead would be captured by the Constructicons and forced to merge with them as an unwilling part of the combiner.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Bumble Prime"'''
|ShortSummary=A mysterious villain named the Time Trucker (based on Hasbro employee [[Steve Drucker]]) shows Bumblebee a possible future where he leads the Autobots in fighting side-by-side with the Decepticons—led by [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|Galvatron]]!—against the zombie-like Predacons, created by an AllSpark-powered technorganic virus that the Autobots must stop Blackarachnia unleashing in the present. This episode was another originally proposed for season three.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"It Came From Cybertron"'''
|ShortSummary=Previously proposed for both seasons two ''and'' three but dropped each time, this goofy adventure would have been about an Autobot coming to Earth with an important message for Optimus Prime. But after scanning a flying saucer as his alternate mode from a B-movie set, he suffers amnesia, and comes to believe he is really an alien invader named [[Cosmos (Animated)|Cosmos]].
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"How You Gonna Keep 'Em Down on the Energon Farm?"'''
|ShortSummary=Seeking to escape Optimus and Sentinel's fight for the position of Magnus for a while, Bulkhead returns to the Energon farm on which he was raised, with [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] and [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] tagging along, only to find the farm has become a Decepticon target.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Arachnus Prime"'''
|ShortSummary=The Time Trucker gives Optimus Prime the chance to alter the past, and save Elita-1 from ever becoming Blackarachnia. However, the end result is that ''Optimus'' becomes a technorganic spider-bot instead, creating a new future where Elita leads the Autobots.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Predacons Unite"'''
|ShortSummary=In the two-part season finale, Blackarachnia's Predacons attack Cybertron, and Sentinel agrees to ally with Megatron to defeat them. But Optimus realises that the Decepticon leader is only playing the Autobots and Predacons off against each other so that he and his forces can conquer the planet.
}}
|}

==Hasbro steps in==
The success of the [[Transformers (film)|first live-action movie]] quickly put a crimp in these plans (as well the poor sales of Blackarchnia's toy). To ride the wave of movie popularity, Hasbro executives [[Aaron Archer]] and [[Samantha Lomo]] pushed for the fourth season would have to maintain a degree of similarity to the film, which meant that Megatron had to be the main villain, and its action had to be predominantly set on Earth. Furthermore, the Autobot team membership had to be changed, removing [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and adding [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] and [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]], to match the Autobot line-up from the movie. Other Habsro mandates included a larger role for Mini-Cons as Trypticon Prison Guards, and Optimus and Megatron being upgraded into new forms based on toys that were in the process of being designed: Optimus would combine with his trailer into a "[[Powermaster]]" form, and Megatron would be rebuilt into a triple-changing body, called "Marauder Megatron."

Incorporating these requirements into their original plans for the season, the ''Animated'' team came up with a revised list of thirteen proposed episodes.

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Trial of Megatron"'''
|ShortSummary=Using his trial as a cover to hide his scheming, Megatron seizes control of the Mini-Con guards of Kaon prison. At his command, the Mini-Cons reformat the city, allowing Megatron to launch Kaon itself into space, and head for Earth. While Bulkhead and Sari remain behind on Cybertron to help deal with the aftermath of the disaster, Optimus Prime (now equipped with Powermaster Armour) and the rest of his team, with Ironhide in tow, pursue Megatron back to Earth.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Turf War"'''
|ShortSummary=A reworked version of "Total Devastation," dropping Omega Supreme, and incorporating the concepts of Ironhide acclimating to life on Earth, Bumblebee adjusting to life without Bulkhead, and explicitly establishing that the rival faction of Decepticons is lead by Slipstream and a resurrected [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]. It's not clear exactly how the original concept for Devastator would have been made to fit with the season's revised setup, given Bulkhead was no longer on Earth to become part of the combiner.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"This is Why I Hate Organics"'''
|ShortSummary=Rattletrap finds himself on Earth, surrounded by the one thing he fears: organics. He manages to scan an Earth vehicle mode, but he quickly finds himself a target: the Autobots want to arrest him, while the Decepticons Megatron betrayed and abandoned during the events of "Trial of Megatron" want to use him to gain access to Kaon to take revenge on their former leader.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Mirror, Mirror"'''
|ShortSummary=Reworked from the earlier proposal for a ''Shattered Glass''-themed episode, this take on the concept saw Bulkhead and Sari transported to the mirror universe when attempting to rejoin the other Autobots who had already returned to Earth.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Gremlins in the Gears"'''
|ShortSummary=The Mini-Cons who run Kaon are on the loose and causing all kinds of havoc in Detroit by disassembling all machinery they come across, including the Autobots. To save their friends, Ratchet and [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] must team up to stop the renegade Mini-Cons.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"What a Tangled Web We Weave"'''
|ShortSummary=Modified from the original propsal for the episode, this version of Blackarachnia's story would have also detailed how she rebuilt [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] into a Triple Changer, planting the seeds for her to do the same to Megatron later in the season.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"S.T.E.A.M."'''
|ShortSummary=Essentially unchanged from the original proposal for the episode.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"It Came from Planet Cybertron"'''
|ShortSummary=In this version of the three-times-proposed Cosmos episode, the "important message" he was bringing to Optimus Prime apparently warned of a traitor in the Autobot ranks, setting up the events of later episode "Process of Elimination."
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Triple Threat"'''
|ShortSummary=Blackarachnia upgrades Megatron into a [[Megatron (Animated)#Other|new triple-changing form]], but like Blitzwing before him, the process leaves him with an unstable personality, and he becomes a one-'bot army, blowing away anything and anyone in his path, with the Autobots powerless to stop him.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Allspark-alypse Now!"'''
|ShortSummary=When Sentinel comes to Earth intending to use the AllSpark to kill Megatron, Prowl's ghost must possess the Cybertronians animated by shards of the AllSpark to warn Optimus that Sentinel's plan risks destroying the Earth itself.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Process of Elimination"'''
|ShortSummary=Bumblebee investigates a series of deadly attacks on his old boot camp platoon, who are being picked off by a mysterious assailant. All signs point to either [[Wasp|Waspinator]] or [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]]... but when ''they'' too are attacked, the mystery deepens! It turns out the culprit is really [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]]; back when Shockwave was undercover in Autobot bootcamp, he uploaded a Trojan Horse virus into Cliffjumper that would compell him to eliminate all evidence if Shockwave was ever found out. Now, the virus is affecting his mind, and Bumblebee must stop him before he self-destructs!
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Megatron Must Be Destroyed!" Part 1'''
|ShortSummary=As Megatron's plan to reformat Earth into a new Decepticon homeworld reaches fruition, the Autobots must join forces with Slipstream and Starscream's Decepticons, Blackarachnia's Predacons, and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s to defeat Megatron once and for all. They seem to defeat Megatron... but it turns out that the Decepticon leader has created many duplicates of himself as a distraction!
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"Megatron Must Be Destroyed!" Part 2'''
|ShortSummary=Powermaster Optimus Prime defeats the real Megatron, only for Megatron to then download his mind into the city of Kaon itself. Using Blackarachnia's technorganic virus, Megatron has the city begin to grow to cover Earth. Vague, unfinalised notes state that the episode would have wrapped up with Sari discovering a deeper connection between herself and Blackarachnia, Sentinel redeeming himself, and Optimus defeating Megatron and saving Earth once again.
}}
|}

=="Trial of Megatron" expanded==
[[File:Uplink and Trac-Tor concept.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|Eric Seibenaler's designs for Uplink and Trac-Tor.]]

At Hasbro's request, Marty Isenberg expanded "Trial of Megatron," into a three-part premiere, for which he wrote a complete "outline" (an act-by-act, scene-by-scene breakdown describing the plot and story beats, action scenes, character arcs and sample dialogue). The outline made some notable changes to the story; most significantly, where Sari was originally intended to remain on Cybertron with Bulkhead, in the outline, she accompanies Prime's team back to Earth. How these changes would have affected subsequent episodes (in this case, "Mirror, Mirror") is unknown, as "Trial" was the only story developed beyond a basic premise.

Isenberg's outlines for these episodes went unseen until 2019, when he was invited to UK-based ''Transformers'' convention [[unofficial conventions|TFNation]], and it was arranged to turn the outlines into an exclusive pre-recorded "script-reading" event. Isenberg was able to get the entire regular cast of the cartoon (save for [[Tara Strong]], and guest star [[Judd Nelson]]) to reprise their roles, and [[Eric Siebenaler]] even created brand new designs for three new characters featured in the episodes—Uplink, Trac-Tor and an ''Animated'' version of [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]]—which were used by the convention organisers to create artwork to accompany the reading. The script-reading was initially strictly exclusive to the convention, but two years later, the feature was livestreamed via YouTube as part of TFNation's 2021 "online convention" (held in place of a regular event due to the {{w|COVID-19 pandemic}}), featuring even more accompanying artwork compared to the original recording. Thanks to these two events, TFWiki has been able to create full article write-ups for each of the three parts:

{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
{{Episode list
|Title='''"[[Trial of Megatron, Part 1]]"'''
|ShortSummary=His victory over Megatron had made Optimus Prime the popular choice to replace Sentinel as Cybertron's new, permanent Magnus, but Sentinel isn't afraid to play dirty to stay in power. Meanwhile, Sari begins her Cybertronian education under Arcee, raising new questions about her mysterious origins.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"[[Trial of Megatron, Part 2]]"'''
|ShortSummary=As Cybertron comes under attack from Strika's Decepticons, Sentinel arranges a public show trial for Megatron, which the cunning Decepticon leader uses to his advantage.
}}
{{Episode list
|Title='''"[[Trial of Megatron, Part 3]]"'''
|ShortSummary=Megatron launches the city of Kaon from Cybertron and sets course for Earth, with a Powermaster-enhanced Optimus Prime and his new team in hot pursuit.
}}
|}

==Cancellation and legacy==
Ultimately, a combination of factors—not least of all, Hasbro's desire to launch [[Hub Network|their own network]] and develop a new show for it—led to ''Animated'' season 4 being cancelled, and the planned toys going unmade. In 2010, the ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II]]'' included information about several of the fourth season's unmade episodes; then, in 2016, an article written by Derrick J. Wyatt himself for [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 71|issue #71 of the Collectors' Club magazine]] provided the full run-down of episodes from the second, revised list of concepts after Hasbro changed the show's direction. These lists were supplemented over time by the creators' interviews and fan-interactions, until eventually, the full, original documents themselves were uncovered between 2022 and 2023.

However, it's important to state that these episode lists represent only ''ideas'' for what would have been in the season. There is no guarantee that they would have all met with Hasbro approval, or that they wouldn't simply have been altered and redrafted by the creators themselves as time went on, as perhaps best illustrated by the way Isenberg's "Trial of Megatron" outlines made changes that contradicted the premises of later episodes. Even the "Trial" outlines themselves would have been subject to alteration during production! Thus, it must be understood that what you see in this article does not necessarily represent exactly what would have been seen on TV, even if the season had gone ahead; in particular, the Collectors' Club magazine article lists ''fifteen'' proposed episodes (the thirteen concepts from the revised episode list, ''and'' the expanded three-part version of "Trial of Megatron"), and ''Animated'' seasons were only thirteen episodes in length, meaning two of them would almost certainly never have been made.

Derrick J. Wyatt was especially passionate about ''Animated'', and strove to keep it alive with new artwork and allusions to unseen stories that he posted online before his death in 2021. But again, it must be stressed that just because Derrick wanted to do an idea, that doesn't mean it would have been done. Perhaps the most notable example of this is that, while Wyatt claimed that he always knew exactly what he wanted Sari's true origin to be, in contrast, Isenberg says the team never definitively decided upon an answer. In the Club Magazine article, Wyatt specifically ''omitted'' information from the planning document; it stated that Sari discovered a connection between herself and Blackarachnia, but Wyatt removed Blackarachnia's name and mentioned only that Sari discovered a connection to "someone familiar." Of course, whether this represents Derrick having a different idea, or merely wanting to preserve a little more of the mystery around the story in the hopes of getting to tell it in full in the future, we'll sadly never know.

His passion, coupled with his distinctive art style being the most iconic aspect of the series, has led to a tendency among fans to treat Wyatt's word as more definitive that it ever truly was, as if he were the ultimate authority and had the final say on the world of ''Animated'', when that simply wasn't true. Additionally, it's apparent that Wyatt was always coming up with new ideas for ''Animated'' lore long after the show was cancelled, and that many tidibits of lore he mentioned in conversation online over the years were not actually conceived or discussed during the making of the show itself. None the less, several of his more recent works have been misinterpreted by fans as definite plans for the season; for instance, the designs of [[Inferno (Animated)|Inferno]] and [[Antagony (Animated)|Antagony]] featured in the AllSpark Almanac were not made for the show, but were invented years later as potential toy ideas for BotCon, which is why they were simply recolors of Waspinator with new heads. This continued BotCon-baiting method of character design created a recurring phenomenon in subsequent years wherein new ''Animated'' characters wound up often being retools/recolors of existing ones, when in reality, if they had ever been in the show, they would have had original designs of their own.

==Notes==
*Resurfaced documents mention that Sentinel Prime's face and shell would've been mangled following ''The Trial of Megatron'', but he'd have refused repairs, not wanting to forget who’s responsible, and become obsessed with taking Megatron offline. Derrick imagined him with an eyepatch, and his lance as a harpoon.
*Derrick had the idea that Sentinel may have hired Lockdown to hunt Megatron.
*In an early outline of "TransWarped", under its original title 'Homecoming', Sari would've come to suspect Megatron played a role in the her mysterious protoform that appeared in Sumdac's lab. This was originally envisioned to be followed up on early in ''The Trial of Megatron'', as Sari would've visited Megatron in prison to question him. The Decepticon leader would've denied having a protoform in his possession when he crashed to Earth. This scene was cut prior to ''The Trial of Megatron'''s outline, likely in response to the setup being cut from "TransWarped".

Other unproduced episode ideas spoken of over the years include:
*"Trukk. vs. Munky", in which Blackarachnia would have created [[Primal Major|Optimus Primal]] as a technorganic clone of Optimus Prime. Mentioned by Derrick J. Wyatt at during his panel at [[Unofficial conventions|Auto Assembly 2010]], this episode was actually proposed for the second season, and did not make it in any official lists of proposed episodes for the fourth season.
*A {{w|David Lynch}}-inspired episode featuring [[Buster Witwicky]] as a [[Sector Seven]] agent in the vein of [[Seymour Simmons]] and [[Metalhawk (G1)|Metalhawk]]. Also mentioned at Wyatt's Auto Assembly panel, indications are that he had this idea in mind for a while, but, again, it never made it into any official proposed lists.
*A Halloween episode that would pay homage to the ''Batman: The Animated Series'' episode 'Almost Got 'Im', which would've seen the Autobots sit around the campfire and tell ghost stories about [[Unicron]]. In a conversation between Aaron Archer and ''Animated'' superfan Keyan Carlile, Archer alleges artwork of the Autobots around the fire was even produced. Marty Isenberg, however, is adamant that he had never heard of this episode concept and suspects Derrick may have been shy to pitch it to him due to Isenberg's personal distaste for Unicron.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Tfa s4 original1.jpg|Page 1 of the original list of season 4 premilinary episode ideas.
File:Tfa s4 original2.jpg|Page 2 of the original list of season 4 premilinary episode ideas.
File:Tfa s4 original3.jpg|Page 3 of the original list of season 4 premilinary episode ideas.
File:Tfa s4 revised1.jpg|Page 2 of the revised list of season 4 episode ideas (page 1 is not available), featuring thumbnail sketches by Wyatt for the ''Collectors Club'' magazine article.
File:Tfa s4 revised2.jpg|Page 3 of the revised list of season 4 episode ideas, also with Wyatt sketches.
File:AllSparkAlmanacII-PowermasterPrime.jpg|Orthographic drawings of Powermaster Optimus Prime toy
File:MarauderMegatron.jpg|Resin prototype of "Marauder" Megatron toy.
File:Htcc-71.jpg|Marauder Megatron headshot by Wyatt.
File:Animated Earth mode Ironhide.jpg|Ironhide's Earth-mode design; an alternate design from the concept sketch above, but still influenced by the [[Ironhide (Movie)|movie version of the character]].
File:TFAs4 kaon.jpg|Concept illustrations of Kaon blasting off from Cybertron and settling in [[Lake Erie]].
File:AnimatedDevastator.jpg|[[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]] headshot.
File:Animatedtoy-HotShot.jpg|Resin prototype of [[Hot Shot (Animated)|Hot Shot]]'s toy.
File:TFAs4 bumbleprime.jpg|Wyatt's design for "Bumble Prime," which he would later submit as a possible look for the ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' version of [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] when working on the early development of that show.
</gallery>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=At0OmPh_JoA Animated Season 4: What Could Have Been] — Extensive video by Keyan Carlile breaking down everything we know about Season 4, with input from Isenberg and Wyatt's close friend [[Josh Perez]], including fanart conceptualizing each episode.
*[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lOaCXawoE94 Animated Season 4: What SHOULD'VE Been] — A follow-up video by Carlile featuring more information obtained since the first video's publication.
[[Category: Animated]]
[[Category: Things that don't exist]]

Moving Violations

2025-02-16T23:55:59Z

Keyan Carlile: Removed Marty and Derrick's Editor credit. Marty says he didn't contribute to this story and the book itself never credited him or Derrick as editors. (I know Derrick helped with art but I believe that's still not an editor credit.)

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=[[Transformers Timelines (fiction)|''Transformers Timelines'']] preview comic
|prev=The Desert Heat!
|next=Invasion Prologue
|seriesissue2=''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]''
|prev2=Endgame, Part II
|next2=The Stunti-Con Job
|image=Moving_Violations.jpg
|caption=
|title="Moving Violations"
|publisher=[[Fun Publications]]
|date=[[March 9]], [[2011]]
|writers=[[Trent Troop]] & [[Greg Sepelak]]
|art=[[Greg Sepelak]]
|colors=[[Trent Troop]]
|letters=[[Jesse Wittenrich]]
|managing editor= [[Pete Sinclair]]
|continuity=[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]
}}
'''He's a catty cop who never lets a perp get away. He's a fishy desk jockey with no time for hot-headed traffic cops. They fight crime.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Cheetor (Animated)|Cheetor]] chases [[Crumplezone (Animated)|Crumplezone]] and [[Ransack (Animated)|Ransack]] through the streets of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], disrupting the daily activities of bystanders around them. Cheetor finally catches up to them when Crumplezone decides to fly off a ramp, accidentally landing on Ransack and creating a massive crater. Cheetor's declaration of their arrest prompts the question of what crime they committed.

At the TransTech offices, chief [[Depth Charge (Animated)|Depth Charge]] chews out Cheetor for his reckless endangerment, despite the speedster's claims that the duo were committing a "moving violation". As this is the sixth incident that Cheetor's gotten himself into, Depth Charge informs Cheetor that he has been transferred to Iacon Central. The [[Autobot]] doesn't take kindly to the prospects of being demoted to "beat cop", but Depth Charge tells him he shouldn't worry; after all, what trouble could he get into in a safe, secure city like [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]?

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Cheetor (Animated)|Cheetor]] (1)
* [[Pipes (Animated)|Pipes]] (2)
* [[Huffer (Animated)|Huffer]] (3)
* [[Crumplezone (Animated)|Crumplezone]] (4)
* [[Ransack (Animated)|Ransack]] (5)
* [[Road Rage (Animated)|Road Rage]] (6)
* [[Glyph (Animated)|Glyph]] (7)
* [[Excellion (Animated)|Excellion]] (8)
* [[Rosanna (Animated)|Rosanna]] (9)
* [[Zaur (Animated)|Zaur]] (10)
* [[Ramhorn (Animated)|Ramhorn]] (11)
* [[Autobot worker]]s (12 & 13)
* [[Stampy (Animated)|Stampy]] (14)
* [[Flashpoint]] (15)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Moscardo]] (16)
* [[Scrounge (Animated)|Scrounge]] (17)
* [[Strongarm (Animated male)|Strongarm]] (18)
* [[Chromia (Animated)|Chromia]] (19)
* [[Tap-Out (Animated)|Tap-Out]] (20)
* [[Air Raid (Animated)|Air Raid]] (21)
* [[Volks (Animated)|Volks]] (22)
* [[Dug Base]] (23)
* [[Chase (Animated)|Chase]] (24)
* [[Autotrooper (Animated)|Autotrooper]] (25)
* [[Stungun (Animated)|Stungun]] (26)
* [[Jackpot (Animated)|Jackpot]] (27)
* [[Hubcap (Animated)|Hubcap]] (28)
* [[Wasp]] (wanted poster, 29)
* [[Mudflap (Animated)|Mudflap]] (wanted poster, 30)
* [[Depth Charge (Animated)|Depth Charge]] (31)
{{!}}}
}}

==Notes==
* Characters mentioned but not seen include: [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]].

===Continuity notes===
* Pipes and Huffer are seen putting upadvertisement for "[[The Motor Master]]'s Stunt Convoy" (see "Trivia" below); obviously, these serve as set up for the [[BotCon 2011]] comic, "[[The Stunti-Con Job]]".
* The two generics who Crumplezone nearly crashes into were originally seen in "[[TransWarped]]" where they (or many others just sharing their bodytype) worked on creating [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]].
* A wanted poster is seen for Wasp; he's been wanted since escaping custody in "[[Autoboot Camp]]"; when last seen in-universe, he had been upgraded into the technorganic Waspinator, and was stuck on a primitive planet with [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]], as seen in "[[Predacons Rising (Animated)|Predacons Rising]]".

===Transformers references===
[[Image:Animated_Mudflap.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Somebody wants Mudflap? That's a first!]]
* [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] designed Cheetor with hexagonal spots to emulate the original [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] without looking overly organic, but the finished toy gives his vehicle mode a full-on organic-look cheetah spot pattern. If you look ''reeeal'' close, you'll spot the reason for the spots in this comic: when Pipes tumbles from his perch, he splatters black paint all over vehicle-mode Cheetor!
* Ramhorn, Volks and Chase were all designed for inclusion in the ''Animated'' cartoon, but didn't make it into any of its numerous crowd scenes. Troop and Sepelak seem to have gone out of their way to include them here in order to give them their only fictional appearances outside of ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II]]'', although HD releases of the third season of ''Animated'' would show that Chase did manage to barely make it into some crowd scenes.
* Plenty of new characters appear in this comic, including:
** Ransack and Crumplezone, based on the ''Cybertron'' incarnations of the characters. While those two were Decepticons, these incarnations of the characters are merely Autobot criminals, as the Decepticons have been banished from Cybertron. Ransack's body is a modified version of [[Rattletrap]]'s, who was based on the [[BotCon 2006]] [[Rattrap (BW)|Rattrap]] toy that was itself a redeco of the ''Cybertron'' [[Ransack (Cybertron)|Ransack]] toy; Crumplezone, meanwhile, is an all new design, based specifically on the Cybertron character's "[[Crumplezone (Cybertron)|Dark Crumplezone]]" upgrade.
** Road Rage, based on the [[e-HOBBY]] ''Generation 1'' [[Road Rage (G1)|character]]. Her body is a modified version of [[Tracks (Animated)|Tracks]]', just like how the ''Generation 1'' Road Rage was a redeco of her incarnation of [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]].
** Excellion, based on the ''Cybertron'' [[Excellion (Cybertron)|character]]. His body is a modified version of [[Hot Shot (Animated)|Hot Shot]]'s, as his ''Cybertron'' counterpart was a redeco of that line's [[Hot Shot (Armada)|Hot Shot]]. (See a pattern here yet?)
** Stampy, based on the ''Beast Wars Neo'' [[Stampy (BW)|character]]. A different looking Stampy had appeared in ''The AllSpark Almanac II''; here, his body is a modified version of Rattletrap's.
** Flashpoint, based on the 2007 live action movie incarnation of [[Inferno (Movie)|Inferno]], with elements of ''Generation 1'' [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]'s design. She can't used the name "Inferno", since ''The AllSpark Almanac II'' had established the name was taken by a [[Inferno (Animated)|Decepticon]] based on ''Beast Wars'' [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]]. Flashpoint's body modified version of [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]], whose inspiration, ''Armada'' [[Red Alert (Armada)|Red Alert]], served as the toy that ''Movie'' Inferno was redecoed from.
** Moscardo, an all new character, whose body-type is yet another a modified version of [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]'s Cybertronian form. He takes his name from ''Generation 1'' [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s Portuguese name.
** Strongarm, based on the ''Energon'' [[Strongarm (Energon)|character]]. He uses a modified version of [[Brawn (Animated)|Brawn]]'s body-type.
** Just barely visible is Scrounge, based on the ''Generation 1'' [[Scrounge (G1)|character]] who appeared in the Marvel ''The Transformers'' comics. ''The AllSpark Almanac II'' indicated he was thrown into the [[smelting pool]] by [[Straxus (Animated)|Straxus]] during the Great War; guess he survived!
** Chromia, based on the ''Generation 1'' [[Chromia (G1)|character]]. Her appearance is based on the blue [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee-styled]] body from the Japanese ''[[Transformers Cards]]'' game, rather than the more ''Generation 1'' inspired look from ''The AllSpark Almanac II''.
** Air Raid, based on ''Timelines'' [[Skyfall (Cybertron)|Skyfall]]. His appearance is based on the body-type worn by [[Powerglide (Animated)|Powerglide]]. A different [[Skyfall (Animated)|bearer]] of the Skyfall name would be mentioned in the bio BotCon 2011's [[Ironfist (Animated)|Fisitron]], based on the ''Generation 1'' [[Skyfall (G1)|Action Master]], which presumably resulted in the name change for Air Raid.
** Stungun, based on the ''TransTech'' [[Stungun (TransTech)|character]].
** Jackpot, based on the ''Generation 1'' [[Jackpot (G1)|Jackpot]]. He was previously mentioned in ''The AllSpark Almanac II''; his design here is intended to be the same body-type that [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] had before coming to Earth, and the kibble indicates it turns into the Cybertronian alt-mode that ''Generation 1'' [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] had in the [[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1|first episode]] of the original ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'' cartoon.
** Depth Charge, based on the ''Beast Wars'' [[Depth Charge (BW)|character]].
* Amidst the chaos of the accident, an unseen victim cries "My bumper! Look at what you did to my poor bumper!", paraphrasing [[Cyclonus (Armada)|''Armada'' Cyclonus]]'s quotable lament about his butt from the ''[[Transformers: Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' episode, "[[Overmatch]]".
* Aside from the wanted poster for Wasp, another is seen for Mudflap, based on the ''Cybertron'' [[Mudflap (Cybertron)|version]] of the character, who had defected to the Decepticons.
* Stungun is interrogating Jackpot and Hubcap at the station, just like his ''TransTech'' counterpart did to the ''Generation 1'' incarnations in another Sepelak and Troop-penned story, "[[Gone Too Far]]".
* Cheetor works at the TransTech Division; his toy is based on ''TransTech'' [[Cheetor (TransTech)|Cheetor]], who is also a cop, albeit much more experienced than this Cheetor.

===Real-world references===
* When Cheetor catches Ransack and Crumplezone, one of the crowdmembers repeatedly mutters the word "rhubarb". This is a common practice used by background actors in film and TV, as the word does not have any harsh consonant or clear vowel sounds, making it ideal to help create indistinct background conversation.

===Trivia===
* Various signs and posters written in [[Cybertronian languages|Ancient Autobot]] (a font created by [[Jim Sorenson]] based on the characters seen in ''The Transformers'' episode "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]") appear through out the story:
** Pipes and Huffer's sign is for "Motormaster's (sic) Stunt Convoy" with the starburst on the poster noting that it is "Live".
** The ramp Crumplezone flies off of is marked "Hazard"
** The (upside-down and busted-open) crates are labelled "Fragile"
** The wanted posters just say "Wanted" (duh) and list Wasp and Mudflap's names
** Depth Charge's door nameplate reads "Chief"
** The order Depth Charge shows Cheetor says "Transfer"

==External links==
*[http://transformersclub.com/_images/cheet_pg1.jpg Moving Violations page 1]
*[http://transformersclub.com/_images/cheet_pg2.jpg Moving Violations page 2]

[[Category:Animated issues]]
[[Category:Timelines issues]]

No Soldier Left Behind

2024-11-13T01:46:11Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: EarthSpark (cartoon)|Transformers: EarthSpark]]'' ep 40
|image=NoSoldierLeftBehind-OptimusMediates.jpg
|caption=
|prev=The Great Escape
|next=Fire and Ice
|title="No Soldier Left Behind"
|season=3
|season ep=4
|airdate=[[October 25]], [[2024]] (Paramount+) [[TBA]], [[2024]] (Nickelodeon)
|production company=[[Hasbro Entertainment]] [[Nickelodeon]]
|writer=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|animation studio=[[88 Pictures]]
|director=[[Vinton Heuck|Vinton T. Heuck]]
|video=https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/JGI91AezxbUjnnbHhB7H2YhowFR2VA_W/
|videosite=Paramount+
}}

'''A new Autobot arrives on Earth, but crash-lands in enemy territory.
'''

==Synopsis==
[[Twitch]], [[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]], [[Robby Malto|Robby]] and [[Mo Malto|Mo]] spy a spaceship rapidly descending as they drive along a road. The ship punches through the [[Chaos Dome]] and crashes inside. The kids arrive at the edge of the dome to find [[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]], [[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Dot Malto|their mom]] already waiting, thanks to advance warning from [[Cosmos (ES)|Cosmos]]. As it's an Autobot troop transport, it can only have come from the long-lost [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], so Optimus and Megatron launch into a argument over the all-important next step. Megatron is set on battering his way in, but Mo demonstrates her ability to create an opening in the dome. This naturally comes as a surprise to all else present bar Thrash, but the group moves into the dome. Megatron and Dot believe the kids should stay put, but Optimus has them accompany the group in case they need to make a quick exit.

They pause under the immobile [[Terratronus]] to admire the Titan and also [[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] still trapped behind her eye. Mo soon spots the smoke from the crashed ship, however [[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]]'s [[Decepticon]]s reach it first and open fire, intending to flush out whoever's inside. Optimus's group arrives, but stays concealed behind a boulder as Optimus believes the situation is in hand. Sure enough, a drone pops out of the ship and scans the area, at which point the Decepticons' faction symbols begin pulsing red and a pair of massive cannons appear from the ship's upper hull. The following barrage of firepower sends the Decepticons into an immediate retreat, to the delight of the watching Autobot team — Optimus explains that the guns are programmed to fire on Decepticons and then moments later has to shield Megatron from more blasts. While Megatron and Dot remain in cover, the others head to the ship and head inside, only to find it mostly empty except for the pilot, Optimus's "most trusted adviser" [[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]].

Optimus is eager for news from Cybertron, but Prowl says he left ages ago. The attempts to rebuild Cybertron were being hampered by the flaring up of Autobot/Decepticon hostilities and he lost all contact with the planet.The ship is out of [[Energon]] and though Optimus is keen to move out, Prowl says he has to stay and protect it as he's brought the [[Spark Regenerator Key]], an artifact capable of restoring an extinguished [[Spark]]. Prowl spots Megatron on the monitors outside, and before Optimus can stop him, rushes out to confront the former Decepticon leader. Megatron has been forced to leave cover to intercept [[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]], but loses his grip on the Con when Prowl tackles him. Optimus manages to stop Prowl before the fight becomes serious, and Megatron and Prowl come to a state of mutual distrust. Meanwhile the Decepticons spy on the discussion via [[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] and realize Prowl has come alone.

As they need to get the ship out of the dome somehow, the kids realize maybe they can harness the chaos lightning to provide the power. Robby and Mo can use their [[cyber-sleeve]]s to create a sort of jumper cable between the ship and Terratronus's helm. Prowl is skeptical that such a mission can be entrusted to a group of protoforms and Megatron, of all bots, but as the Decepticons pick that moment to attack, it's the plan they have to go with. As Megatron heads off with the rest of the team, Optimus and Prowl start defending the ship against the approaching Decepticons. Megatron is suddenly struck by chaos lightning as he approaches the Titan, causing his passengers to spill out, though he catches them on the way groundward. While the cable's still attached, Megatron's not able to fly any further so the kids instead cyber-sync to take it the rest of the way.

Though Optimus and Prowl do their best against superior numbers, the Decepticons are proving a challenge. The kids reach the top of Terratronus and hold the other end of the jumper cable high. The Decepticons finally get the upper hand when Shockwave restrains Prowl and the Cons take control of the ship. Meanwhile the jumper cable breaks, causing the kids to fall, though Megatron swoops in for a rescue. Though the cable's broken, it's done its job and the ship crackles with energy, allowing the Decepticons to pile aboard and lift off. Optimus and Prowl vainly cling to the boarding ramp as the ship punches through the dome, tailed by Megatron. Prowl falls and Megatron tells Optimus to let go as well, before landing on the boarding ramp and demanding Shockwave surrender. Shockwave offers Megatron a place on the ship, but when Optimus falls, Megatron opts to save his friend instead.

The ship streaks off into the sky. Optimus is unhappy Megatron chose him over securing the ship, while Thrash observes that at least they're free of the Decepticons at last, bar Starscream. Prowl is more concerned about the loss of the Spark Regenerator Key, but it turns out Mo swiped that earlier.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]] (23)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (ES)|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Skywarp (ES)|Skywarp]] (12)
*[[Nova Storm (ES)|Nova Storm]] (13)
*[[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]] (14)
*[[Breakdown (ES)|Breakdown]] (15)
*[[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]] (16)
*[[Frenzy (ES)|Frenzy]] (17)
*[[Skullcruncher (ES)|Skullcruncher]] (18)
*[[Swindle (ES)|Swindle]] (19)
*[[Hardtop (ES)|Hardtop]] (20)
*[[Bombshell (ES)|Bombshell]] (21)
*[[Shrapnel (ES)|Shrapnel]] (22)

|c3=
*[[Robby Malto]] (2)
*[[Mo Malto]] (4)
*[[Dot Malto]] (6)

|h4=[[Terran]]s||c4=
*[[Twitch]] (1)
*[[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]] (3)
*[[Terratronus]] (5)

|h5=Others||c5=
}}

==Quotes==
"Why are you traveling with the tiny bots and organics? Are they some kind of pets?"
:—'''Prowl'''

"I think I liked him better in the comics"
:—'''Robby Malto''' clearly having never read the IDW comics.

"Ah, hold still or you're going to learn what curiosity did to the cat."
:—'''Dot Malto''' versus Ravage

"Easy. Prowl is my friend." 
"I thought ''I'' was your friend."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron'''

"Cool, love this plan. And by love, I mean seriously question all of my life choices."
:—'''Thrash'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Mo's ability to open up the dome was first revealed in "[[The Need for Read]]"
===Transformers references===
*Prowl's shuttle resembles the Ark and its shuttles from the G1 continuity.
*The premise of this episode is reminiscent of the [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]] episode "[[New Recruit]]" which was also written by Marty Isenberg.
*When writing the episode, the script needed some kind of artifact aboard the Autobot ship and Marty Isenberg requested a key as a reference to the [[AllSpark Key]] in [[Transformers Animated]]. According to Marty, Mo (the show's little girl protagonist) being the one to mischievously grab it at the end is a deliberate nod to [[Sari Sumdac]]. He mentions he had Mo wear it on a chain with her house key in the script to further complete the reference, but it was cut out.
*Humans in the episode are referred to as "organics" and "pets", another frequent "Martyism".
*Robby saying he liked Prowl better in the comics could be an amusing jab at [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'s infamous characterization in the [[2005 IDW continuity]].

===Real-world references===
*
===Errors===

===Trivia===
*

[[Category:EarthSpark episodes]]

AllSpark Key

2024-11-13T01:44:54Z

Keyan Carlile: Marty told me this over text. Not sure how to cite that.

[[Image:AllSparkKey.jpg|right|250px|thumb]]
Originally just a security keycard, the '''AllSpark Key''' possessed by [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] holds a great power. Given a sliver of the power of the [[AllSpark]], the Key can be used to heal damaged [[Transformer]]s, give life to machines, and control the machines. Such an object holds great power, and [[Spider-Man|with great power, there must also come great responsibility]].

Sari had a little trouble getting a handle on that last part.

Oh, who are we kidding? She initially had ''no'' sense of responsibility when it came to the Key.

Fortunately, the Key itself has a better idea of when it should be used. Sometimes it can even overpower its owner to accomplish its own goals, even if they are contrary to Sari's wishes.

{{quote|Sari, how many times do I have to tell you: That key is not a toy!|[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], fighting a losing battle|"[[Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found]]"}}

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
[[Image:TFA TARO Key creation.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Huh...pretty sure this has never happened before.]]

After Sari Sumdac met the [[Autobot]]s, she convinced [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] to take her to [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|their ship]]. Once there, her inability to stay quiet forced the yellow and black bot to drop her down a shaft. She was deposited into the cargo hold where the AllSpark was located. Scanning Sari's mind, it channeled some of its power into the key, turning it into the AllSpark Key. [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] discovered Sari, but was forced to rush to the med bay, where [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] was dying. The Key began to glow, and she used it to heal his damaged circuits, saving his life. Several days later, Sari used the Key to restore Optimus Prime's [[spark]] after he was killed in the battle with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}}

While trying to get into [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|her father]]'s lab, Sari discovered that she could use the Key to control other machines. She activated the lock on the door, entering the lab, though Sumdac quickly moved her out of the room. The leftover energy, however, transferred itself to the head of [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]], restoring his higher functions. Sari then used her Key to short-circuit her [[Tutor Bot]] and get out of class early. (Don't pretend you wouldn't have.) {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}}

When Bumblebee and [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] were creating an [[electromagnetic pulse]] to counter the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], Sari used the Key to give Bumblebee's stingers a boost. The AllSpark energy was channeled into the Dinobots, granting them [[spark]]s. {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

When [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] arrived on Earth, she tried to use the AllSpark Key to purge her techno-organic body and restore her original form. However, the Key began to drain the life from everything organic in [[Detroit]], and it nearly killed Blackarachnia as well. Prime was forced to remove the Key to save everyone. Blackarachnia was noticeably displeased with this. {{storylink|Along Came a Spider}}

Megatron had been observing Sari for some time, including her free use of the Key. He built [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]] as [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Isaac Sumdac]]'s birthday gift for Sari. In fact, Megatron had designed Soundwave to evolve with each exposure to the Key, with the intention of using it as his new body. However, Megatron did not foresee that the Key would also grant Soundwave sentience. {{storylink|Sound and Fury}}

Sari used the Key to cheat at a game of street hockey with the Autobots. Later, the Key seemed to act as an early-warning system, projecting a beam of light whenever trouble for the Autobots appeared. When [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] appeared on Earth, it projected a beam of light targeting them. Later on, it projected a similar beam of light at a series of missiles launched at the Autobots. Once the Autobots eluded those and Ratchet safely got Sari to their ship, the Key prevented her from sabotaging the vessel so her friends couldn't leave, and aided in repairing the weapon systems. It also not-so-subtly gave Sari a little jolt to remind her of the power she wielded through it, working with the AllSpark to project holograms of Megatron. This scared her into a reconciliation with Ratchet and indirectly led her to realize how she'd been abusing the Key. This time, it looked like the lesson might stick. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

Unfortunately, Optimus Prime didn't learn the right lesson. Although Sari had been chosen as the guardian of the AllSpark Key, Prime was convinced by increasing Decepticon activity that it was no longer safe in Sari's care. He ordered Ratchet to confiscate it from her...and shortly thereafter, Ratchet was ambushed by Blitzwing and Lugnut, who stole the Key. They delivered it to Megatron, who used its power to rebuild himself, just as the foreboding vision had warned. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

In Megatron's hands, the AllSpark Key proved capable of ''harming'' machines as well as healing, used by the Decepticon leader to offline his traitorous second in command Starscream. Megatron was also able to use the Key as a beacon to the AllSpark itself. However, upon acquiring the AllSpark, Megatron was stunned by Dr. Sumdac and dropped the Key. Sari seized this opportunity and tossed the tiny object to Optimus Prime, who used it to shatter the shell that kept the AllSpark's energies in check. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

In the wake of the shattering of the AllSpark, the AllSpark Key proved effective in locating the scattered shards of the artifact. Unfortunately it also showed such endeavors to be a bit hazardous, as it could not be removed from a piece of equipment that had a shard lodged in its workings. Optimus Prime's axe was needed to destroy the machinery and free the Key. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

Sari's continued use of the Key grew to irritate Ratchet, who resented that his slower manual repair techniques might be viewed as obsolete. But Sari's reliance on the Key burned her one last time: after she discovered her true Cybertronian origin, she attempted to upgrade herself with the Key. It caused her to grow in size and apparent age, and also manifest many new combat features such as a helmet, wings, blades, and energy attacks; however, it also overloaded her systems and sent her on a destructive rampage. In the subsequent chaos, Sari badly injured Bumblebee, and when Ratchet attempted to use the Key to repair him, it was discovered that the Key had now been completely drained and was useless. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

===''Be the Hero'' books===
While infiltrating [[HomeTech]]'s main laboratory, Sari used her Key to try to unlock a door, only to set off an intruder alarm. It later allowed her to use a control sphere to control an army of [[Pixie-6]] bots. {{storylink|Prime Suspect (Animated)|Prime Suspect}}

It sometimes glowed when a Transformer was near. She also used it on an invisible force field, making it appear. {{storylink|Quest for the AllSpark}}

The Key proved useful in repowering the Autobot ship after it was disabled by [[Sparkseeker]] missiles. While caught in one of Blackarachnia's webs, Sari used it to zap the Decepticon, rendering her out cold. {{storylink|Web of Deception}}

===''TransTech''===
After a malfunction in [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Professor Sumdac]]'s [[Bi-directional Unified Transit Terminal|BUTT]] ''(and the Key having a 'strange reaction')'', [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]], [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus]], and [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] are sent to the city of [[Axiom Nexus]] on an [[Nexus 208.0 Epsilon|alternate version]] of [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] ruled by the [[Transcendent Technomorph|TransTechs]]. During the story, the Key was cited as a cosmic MacGuffin, against one of the many rules of the Axiom Nexus, and was coveted by a new friend: "[[Megatron (BW)|Joe Convoy]]".

However, everyone agreed to never discuss the incident again.{{storylink|Bee in the City}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
When Optimus Prime died in battle with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], Sari used her key to bring him back to life. Observing the events from a closed circuit camera, [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] became very interested in her key. How Sari ''got'' this key is anyone's guess. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 2|The Cool #2}}

==Notes==
*The AllSpark Key resembles the [[Key to Vector Sigma]] from Generation 1. Both artifacts grant access to the life giving power of their respective hosts, and both can have potentially disastrous results if misused.
*The Key also has cues taken from the [[Cyber Planet Key]]s, in that it can provide temporary boosts of power to Transformers and upgrade certain machines.
*In the show's [[Transform and Roll Out|pilot movie]], the Key changed shape when needed, allowing it to fit into any mechanism and interact with it. In the series proper, however, this idea was replaced (perhaps as a result of miscommunication?) with the Key actually causing the ''mechanisms'' to change shape in order to accommodate the Key's unchanging form.
*When Transformers Animated's head writer [[Marty Isenberg]] wrote the [[Transformers: EarthSpark|Transformers: EarthSpark (cartoon)]] episode [[No Soldier Left Behind]], the story needed some sort of Cybertronian relic aboard the ship and Marty requested a key as a nod to the AllSpark key. This would become the [[Spark Regenerator Key]].
*''Animated'' character designer and art director [[Derrick J. Wyatt|Derrick Wyatt]] has said that the ultimate role of the Key was to fuse with Sari, and with that accomplished and its power drained, it no longer appeared in the series after "[[TransWarped]]".<ref>Speaking of THE KEY, so now that Sari is a teen aged upgrade, have we seen the last of the key? derrickjwyatt: Yeah, that's it for the Key. It finally did what it was created to do. —[http://unicron-events-interviews.blogspot.com/2009/04/derrick-wyatt-interview.html Derrick Wyatt interview at Unicron.com]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Animated objects]]

No Soldier Left Behind

2024-11-13T01:41:48Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: EarthSpark (cartoon)|Transformers: EarthSpark]]'' ep 40
|image=NoSoldierLeftBehind-OptimusMediates.jpg
|caption=
|prev=The Great Escape
|next=Fire and Ice
|title="No Soldier Left Behind"
|season=3
|season ep=4
|airdate=[[October 25]], [[2024]] (Paramount+) [[TBA]], [[2024]] (Nickelodeon)
|production company=[[Hasbro Entertainment]] [[Nickelodeon]]
|writer=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|animation studio=[[88 Pictures]]
|director=[[Vinton Heuck|Vinton T. Heuck]]
|video=https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/JGI91AezxbUjnnbHhB7H2YhowFR2VA_W/
|videosite=Paramount+
}}

'''A new Autobot arrives on Earth, but crash-lands in enemy territory.
'''

==Synopsis==
[[Twitch]], [[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]], [[Robby Malto|Robby]] and [[Mo Malto|Mo]] spy a spaceship rapidly descending as they drive along a road. The ship punches through the [[Chaos Dome]] and crashes inside. The kids arrive at the edge of the dome to find [[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]], [[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Dot Malto|their mom]] already waiting, thanks to advance warning from [[Cosmos (ES)|Cosmos]]. As it's an Autobot troop transport, it can only have come from the long-lost [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], so Optimus and Megatron launch into a argument over the all-important next step. Megatron is set on battering his way in, but Mo demonstrates her ability to create an opening in the dome. This naturally comes as a surprise to all else present bar Thrash, but the group moves into the dome. Megatron and Dot believe the kids should stay put, but Optimus has them accompany the group in case they need to make a quick exit.

They pause under the immobile [[Terratronus]] to admire the Titan and also [[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] still trapped behind her eye. Mo soon spots the smoke from the crashed ship, however [[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]]'s [[Decepticon]]s reach it first and open fire, intending to flush out whoever's inside. Optimus's group arrives, but stays concealed behind a boulder as Optimus believes the situation is in hand. Sure enough, a drone pops out of the ship and scans the area, at which point the Decepticons' faction symbols begin pulsing red and a pair of massive cannons appear from the ship's upper hull. The following barrage of firepower sends the Decepticons into an immediate retreat, to the delight of the watching Autobot team — Optimus explains that the guns are programmed to fire on Decepticons and then moments later has to shield Megatron from more blasts. While Megatron and Dot remain in cover, the others head to the ship and head inside, only to find it mostly empty except for the pilot, Optimus's "most trusted adviser" [[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]].

Optimus is eager for news from Cybertron, but Prowl says he left ages ago. The attempts to rebuild Cybertron were being hampered by the flaring up of Autobot/Decepticon hostilities and he lost all contact with the planet.The ship is out of [[Energon]] and though Optimus is keen to move out, Prowl says he has to stay and protect it as he's brought the [[Spark Regenerator Key]], an artifact capable of restoring an extinguished [[Spark]]. Prowl spots Megatron on the monitors outside, and before Optimus can stop him, rushes out to confront the former Decepticon leader. Megatron has been forced to leave cover to intercept [[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]], but loses his grip on the Con when Prowl tackles him. Optimus manages to stop Prowl before the fight becomes serious, and Megatron and Prowl come to a state of mutual distrust. Meanwhile the Decepticons spy on the discussion via [[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] and realize Prowl has come alone.

As they need to get the ship out of the dome somehow, the kids realize maybe they can harness the chaos lightning to provide the power. Robby and Mo can use their [[cyber-sleeve]]s to create a sort of jumper cable between the ship and Terratronus's helm. Prowl is skeptical that such a mission can be entrusted to a group of protoforms and Megatron, of all bots, but as the Decepticons pick that moment to attack, it's the plan they have to go with. As Megatron heads off with the rest of the team, Optimus and Prowl start defending the ship against the approaching Decepticons. Megatron is suddenly struck by chaos lightning as he approaches the Titan, causing his passengers to spill out, though he catches them on the way groundward. While the cable's still attached, Megatron's not able to fly any further so the kids instead cyber-sync to take it the rest of the way.

Though Optimus and Prowl do their best against superior numbers, the Decepticons are proving a challenge. The kids reach the top of Terratronus and hold the other end of the jumper cable high. The Decepticons finally get the upper hand when Shockwave restrains Prowl and the Cons take control of the ship. Meanwhile the jumper cable breaks, causing the kids to fall, though Megatron swoops in for a rescue. Though the cable's broken, it's done its job and the ship crackles with energy, allowing the Decepticons to pile aboard and lift off. Optimus and Prowl vainly cling to the boarding ramp as the ship punches through the dome, tailed by Megatron. Prowl falls and Megatron tells Optimus to let go as well, before landing on the boarding ramp and demanding Shockwave surrender. Shockwave offers Megatron a place on the ship, but when Optimus falls, Megatron opts to save his friend instead.

The ship streaks off into the sky. Optimus is unhappy Megatron chose him over securing the ship, while Thrash observes that at least they're free of the Decepticons at last, bar Starscream. Prowl is more concerned about the loss of the Spark Regenerator Key, but it turns out Mo swiped that earlier.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]] (23)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (ES)|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Skywarp (ES)|Skywarp]] (12)
*[[Nova Storm (ES)|Nova Storm]] (13)
*[[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]] (14)
*[[Breakdown (ES)|Breakdown]] (15)
*[[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]] (16)
*[[Frenzy (ES)|Frenzy]] (17)
*[[Skullcruncher (ES)|Skullcruncher]] (18)
*[[Swindle (ES)|Swindle]] (19)
*[[Hardtop (ES)|Hardtop]] (20)
*[[Bombshell (ES)|Bombshell]] (21)
*[[Shrapnel (ES)|Shrapnel]] (22)

|c3=
*[[Robby Malto]] (2)
*[[Mo Malto]] (4)
*[[Dot Malto]] (6)

|h4=[[Terran]]s||c4=
*[[Twitch]] (1)
*[[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]] (3)
*[[Terratronus]] (5)

|h5=Others||c5=
}}

==Quotes==
"Why are you traveling with the tiny bots and organics? Are they some kind of pets?"
:—'''Prowl'''

"I think I liked him better in the comics"
:—'''Robby Malto''' clearly having never read the IDW comics.

"Ah, hold still or you're going to learn what curiosity did to the cat."
:—'''Dot Malto''' versus Ravage

"Easy. Prowl is my friend." 
"I thought ''I'' was your friend."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron'''

"Cool, love this plan. And by love, I mean seriously question all of my life choices."
:—'''Thrash'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Mo's ability to open up the dome was first revealed in "[[The Need for Read]]"
===Transformers references===
*Prowl's shuttle resembles the Ark and its shuttles from the G1 continuity.
*The premise of this episode is reminiscent of the [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]] episode "[[New Recruit]]" which was also written by Marty Isenberg.
*When writing the episode, the script needed some kind of artifact aboard the Autobot ship and Marty Isenberg requested a key as a reference to the [[AllSpark Key]] in [[Transformers Animated]]. According to Marty, Mo (the show's primary little girl) being the one to mischievously grab it at the end is a deliberate nod to [[Sari Sumdac]].
*Humans in the episode are referred to as "organics" and "pets", another frequent "Martyism".
*Robby saying he liked Prowl better in the comics could be an amusing jab at [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'s infamous characterization in the [[2005 IDW continuity]].

===Real-world references===
*
===Errors===

===Trivia===
*

[[Category:EarthSpark episodes]]

No Soldier Left Behind

2024-11-13T01:41:35Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Transformers references */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: EarthSpark (cartoon)|Transformers: EarthSpark]]'' ep 40
|image=NoSoldierLeftBehind-OptimusMediates.jpg
|caption=
|prev=The Great Escape
|next=Fire and Ice
|title="No Soldier Left Behind"
|season=3
|season ep=4
|airdate=[[October 25]], [[2024]] (Paramount+) [[TBA]], [[2024]] (Nickelodeon)
|production company=[[Hasbro Entertainment]] [[Nickelodeon]]
|writer=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|animation studio=[[88 Pictures]]
|director=[[Vinton Heuck|Vinton T. Heuck]]
|video=https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/JGI91AezxbUjnnbHhB7H2YhowFR2VA_W/
|videosite=Paramount+
}}

'''A new Autobot arrives on Earth, but crash-lands in enemy territory.
'''

==Synopsis==
[[Twitch]], [[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]], [[Robby Malto|Robby]] and [[Mo Malto|Mo]] spy a spaceship rapidly descending as they drive along a road. The ship punches through the [[Chaos Dome]] and crashes inside. The kids arrive at the edge of the dome to find [[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]], [[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Dot Malto|their mom]] already waiting, thanks to advance warning from [[Cosmos (ES)|Cosmos]]. As it's an Autobot troop transport, it can only have come from the long-lost [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], so Optimus and Megatron launch into a argument over the all-important next step. Megatron is set on battering his way in, but Mo demonstrates her ability to create an opening in the dome. This naturally comes as a surprise to all else present bar Thrash, but the group moves into the dome. Megatron and Dot believe the kids should stay put, but Optimus has them accompany the group in case they need to make a quick exit.

They pause under the immobile [[Terratronus]] to admire the Titan and also [[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] still trapped behind her eye. Mo soon spots the smoke from the crashed ship, however [[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]]'s [[Decepticon]]s reach it first and open fire, intending to flush out whoever's inside. Optimus's group arrives, but stays concealed behind a boulder as Optimus believes the situation is in hand. Sure enough, a drone pops out of the ship and scans the area, at which point the Decepticons' faction symbols begin pulsing red and a pair of massive cannons appear from the ship's upper hull. The following barrage of firepower sends the Decepticons into an immediate retreat, to the delight of the watching Autobot team — Optimus explains that the guns are programmed to fire on Decepticons and then moments later has to shield Megatron from more blasts. While Megatron and Dot remain in cover, the others head to the ship and head inside, only to find it mostly empty except for the pilot, Optimus's "most trusted adviser" [[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]].

Optimus is eager for news from Cybertron, but Prowl says he left ages ago. The attempts to rebuild Cybertron were being hampered by the flaring up of Autobot/Decepticon hostilities and he lost all contact with the planet.The ship is out of [[Energon]] and though Optimus is keen to move out, Prowl says he has to stay and protect it as he's brought the [[Spark Regenerator Key]], an artifact capable of restoring an extinguished [[Spark]]. Prowl spots Megatron on the monitors outside, and before Optimus can stop him, rushes out to confront the former Decepticon leader. Megatron has been forced to leave cover to intercept [[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]], but loses his grip on the Con when Prowl tackles him. Optimus manages to stop Prowl before the fight becomes serious, and Megatron and Prowl come to a state of mutual distrust. Meanwhile the Decepticons spy on the discussion via [[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] and realize Prowl has come alone.

As they need to get the ship out of the dome somehow, the kids realize maybe they can harness the chaos lightning to provide the power. Robby and Mo can use their [[cyber-sleeve]]s to create a sort of jumper cable between the ship and Terratronus's helm. Prowl is skeptical that such a mission can be entrusted to a group of protoforms and Megatron, of all bots, but as the Decepticons pick that moment to attack, it's the plan they have to go with. As Megatron heads off with the rest of the team, Optimus and Prowl start defending the ship against the approaching Decepticons. Megatron is suddenly struck by chaos lightning as he approaches the Titan, causing his passengers to spill out, though he catches them on the way groundward. While the cable's still attached, Megatron's not able to fly any further so the kids instead cyber-sync to take it the rest of the way.

Though Optimus and Prowl do their best against superior numbers, the Decepticons are proving a challenge. The kids reach the top of Terratronus and hold the other end of the jumper cable high. The Decepticons finally get the upper hand when Shockwave restrains Prowl and the Cons take control of the ship. Meanwhile the jumper cable breaks, causing the kids to fall, though Megatron swoops in for a rescue. Though the cable's broken, it's done its job and the ship crackles with energy, allowing the Decepticons to pile aboard and lift off. Optimus and Prowl vainly cling to the boarding ramp as the ship punches through the dome, tailed by Megatron. Prowl falls and Megatron tells Optimus to let go as well, before landing on the boarding ramp and demanding Shockwave surrender. Shockwave offers Megatron a place on the ship, but when Optimus falls, Megatron opts to save his friend instead.

The ship streaks off into the sky. Optimus is unhappy Megatron chose him over securing the ship, while Thrash observes that at least they're free of the Decepticons at last, bar Starscream. Prowl is more concerned about the loss of the Spark Regenerator Key, but it turns out Mo swiped that earlier.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]] (23)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (ES)|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Skywarp (ES)|Skywarp]] (12)
*[[Nova Storm (ES)|Nova Storm]] (13)
*[[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]] (14)
*[[Breakdown (ES)|Breakdown]] (15)
*[[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]] (16)
*[[Frenzy (ES)|Frenzy]] (17)
*[[Skullcruncher (ES)|Skullcruncher]] (18)
*[[Swindle (ES)|Swindle]] (19)
*[[Hardtop (ES)|Hardtop]] (20)
*[[Bombshell (ES)|Bombshell]] (21)
*[[Shrapnel (ES)|Shrapnel]] (22)

|c3=
*[[Robby Malto]] (2)
*[[Mo Malto]] (4)
*[[Dot Malto]] (6)

|h4=[[Terran]]s||c4=
*[[Twitch]] (1)
*[[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]] (3)
*[[Terratronus]] (5)

|h5=Others||c5=
}}

==Quotes==
"Why are you traveling with the tiny bots and organics? Are they some kind of pets?"
:—'''Prowl'''

"I think I liked him better in the comics"
:—'''Robby Malto''' clearly having never read the IDW comics.

"Ah, hold still or you're going to learn what curiosity did to the cat."
:—'''Dot Malto''' versus Ravage

"Easy. Prowl is my friend." 
"I thought ''I'' was your friend."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron'''

"Cool, love this plan. And by love, I mean seriously question all of my life choices."
:—'''Thrash'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Mo's ability to open up the dome was first revealed in "[[The Need for Read]]"
===Transformers references===
*Prowl's shuttle resembles the Ark and its shuttles from the G1 continuity.
*The premise of this episode is reminiscent of the [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]] episode "[[New Recruit]]" which was also written by Marty Isenberg.
*When writing the episode, the script needed some kind of artifact aboard the Autobot ship and Marty Isenberg requested a key as a reference to the [[Allspark Key]] in [[Transformers Animated]]. According to Marty, Mo (the show's primary little girl) being the one to mischievously grab it at the end is a deliberate nod to [[Sari Sumdac]].
*Humans in the episode are referred to as "organics" and "pets", another frequent "Martyism".
*Robby saying he liked Prowl better in the comics could be an amusing jab at [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'s infamous characterization in the [[2005 IDW continuity]].

===Real-world references===
*
===Errors===

===Trivia===
*

[[Category:EarthSpark episodes]]

No Soldier Left Behind

2024-11-13T01:41:22Z

Keyan Carlile: Marty told me this over text. Not sure how to cite that.

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: EarthSpark (cartoon)|Transformers: EarthSpark]]'' ep 40
|image=NoSoldierLeftBehind-OptimusMediates.jpg
|caption=
|prev=The Great Escape
|next=Fire and Ice
|title="No Soldier Left Behind"
|season=3
|season ep=4
|airdate=[[October 25]], [[2024]] (Paramount+) [[TBA]], [[2024]] (Nickelodeon)
|production company=[[Hasbro Entertainment]] [[Nickelodeon]]
|writer=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|animation studio=[[88 Pictures]]
|director=[[Vinton Heuck|Vinton T. Heuck]]
|video=https://www.paramountplus.com/shows/video/JGI91AezxbUjnnbHhB7H2YhowFR2VA_W/
|videosite=Paramount+
}}

'''A new Autobot arrives on Earth, but crash-lands in enemy territory.
'''

==Synopsis==
[[Twitch]], [[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]], [[Robby Malto|Robby]] and [[Mo Malto|Mo]] spy a spaceship rapidly descending as they drive along a road. The ship punches through the [[Chaos Dome]] and crashes inside. The kids arrive at the edge of the dome to find [[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]], [[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Dot Malto|their mom]] already waiting, thanks to advance warning from [[Cosmos (ES)|Cosmos]]. As it's an Autobot troop transport, it can only have come from the long-lost [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], so Optimus and Megatron launch into a argument over the all-important next step. Megatron is set on battering his way in, but Mo demonstrates her ability to create an opening in the dome. This naturally comes as a surprise to all else present bar Thrash, but the group moves into the dome. Megatron and Dot believe the kids should stay put, but Optimus has them accompany the group in case they need to make a quick exit.

They pause under the immobile [[Terratronus]] to admire the Titan and also [[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] still trapped behind her eye. Mo soon spots the smoke from the crashed ship, however [[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]]'s [[Decepticon]]s reach it first and open fire, intending to flush out whoever's inside. Optimus's group arrives, but stays concealed behind a boulder as Optimus believes the situation is in hand. Sure enough, a drone pops out of the ship and scans the area, at which point the Decepticons' faction symbols begin pulsing red and a pair of massive cannons appear from the ship's upper hull. The following barrage of firepower sends the Decepticons into an immediate retreat, to the delight of the watching Autobot team — Optimus explains that the guns are programmed to fire on Decepticons and then moments later has to shield Megatron from more blasts. While Megatron and Dot remain in cover, the others head to the ship and head inside, only to find it mostly empty except for the pilot, Optimus's "most trusted adviser" [[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]].

Optimus is eager for news from Cybertron, but Prowl says he left ages ago. The attempts to rebuild Cybertron were being hampered by the flaring up of Autobot/Decepticon hostilities and he lost all contact with the planet.The ship is out of [[Energon]] and though Optimus is keen to move out, Prowl says he has to stay and protect it as he's brought the [[Spark Regenerator Key]], an artifact capable of restoring an extinguished [[Spark]]. Prowl spots Megatron on the monitors outside, and before Optimus can stop him, rushes out to confront the former Decepticon leader. Megatron has been forced to leave cover to intercept [[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]], but loses his grip on the Con when Prowl tackles him. Optimus manages to stop Prowl before the fight becomes serious, and Megatron and Prowl come to a state of mutual distrust. Meanwhile the Decepticons spy on the discussion via [[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] and realize Prowl has come alone.

As they need to get the ship out of the dome somehow, the kids realize maybe they can harness the chaos lightning to provide the power. Robby and Mo can use their [[cyber-sleeve]]s to create a sort of jumper cable between the ship and Terratronus's helm. Prowl is skeptical that such a mission can be entrusted to a group of protoforms and Megatron, of all bots, but as the Decepticons pick that moment to attack, it's the plan they have to go with. As Megatron heads off with the rest of the team, Optimus and Prowl start defending the ship against the approaching Decepticons. Megatron is suddenly struck by chaos lightning as he approaches the Titan, causing his passengers to spill out, though he catches them on the way groundward. While the cable's still attached, Megatron's not able to fly any further so the kids instead cyber-sync to take it the rest of the way.

Though Optimus and Prowl do their best against superior numbers, the Decepticons are proving a challenge. The kids reach the top of Terratronus and hold the other end of the jumper cable high. The Decepticons finally get the upper hand when Shockwave restrains Prowl and the Cons take control of the ship. Meanwhile the jumper cable breaks, causing the kids to fall, though Megatron swoops in for a rescue. Though the cable's broken, it's done its job and the ship crackles with energy, allowing the Decepticons to pile aboard and lift off. Optimus and Prowl vainly cling to the boarding ramp as the ship punches through the dome, tailed by Megatron. Prowl falls and Megatron tells Optimus to let go as well, before landing on the boarding ramp and demanding Shockwave surrender. Shockwave offers Megatron a place on the ship, but when Optimus falls, Megatron opts to save his friend instead.

The ship streaks off into the sky. Optimus is unhappy Megatron chose him over securing the ship, while Thrash observes that at least they're free of the Decepticons at last, bar Starscream. Prowl is more concerned about the loss of the Spark Regenerator Key, but it turns out Mo swiped that earlier.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (ES)|Optimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Prowl (ES)|Prowl]] (23)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (ES)|Megatron]] (7)
*[[Starscream (ES)|Starscream]] (9)
*[[Laserbeak (ES)|Laserbeak]] (10)
*[[Soundwave (ES)|Soundwave]] (11)
*[[Skywarp (ES)|Skywarp]] (12)
*[[Nova Storm (ES)|Nova Storm]] (13)
*[[Ravage (ES)|Ravage]] (14)
*[[Breakdown (ES)|Breakdown]] (15)
*[[Shockwave (ES)|Shockwave]] (16)
*[[Frenzy (ES)|Frenzy]] (17)
*[[Skullcruncher (ES)|Skullcruncher]] (18)
*[[Swindle (ES)|Swindle]] (19)
*[[Hardtop (ES)|Hardtop]] (20)
*[[Bombshell (ES)|Bombshell]] (21)
*[[Shrapnel (ES)|Shrapnel]] (22)

|c3=
*[[Robby Malto]] (2)
*[[Mo Malto]] (4)
*[[Dot Malto]] (6)

|h4=[[Terran]]s||c4=
*[[Twitch]] (1)
*[[Thrash (ES)|Thrash]] (3)
*[[Terratronus]] (5)

|h5=Others||c5=
}}

==Quotes==
"Why are you traveling with the tiny bots and organics? Are they some kind of pets?"
:—'''Prowl'''

"I think I liked him better in the comics"
:—'''Robby Malto''' clearly having never read the IDW comics.

"Ah, hold still or you're going to learn what curiosity did to the cat."
:—'''Dot Malto''' versus Ravage

"Easy. Prowl is my friend." 
"I thought ''I'' was your friend."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron'''

"Cool, love this plan. And by love, I mean seriously question all of my life choices."
:—'''Thrash'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*Mo's ability to open up the dome was first revealed in "[[The Need for Read]]"
===Transformers references===
*Prowl's shuttle resembles the Ark and its shuttles from the G1 continuity.
*The premise of this episode is reminiscent of the [[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]] episode "[[New Recruit]]" which was also written by Marty Isenberg.
*When writing the episode, the script needed some kind of artifact aboard the Autobot ship and Marty Isenberg requested a key as a reference to the [Allspark Key]] in [[Transformers Animated]]. According to Marty, Mo (the show's primary little girl) being the one to mischievously grab it at the end is a deliberate nod to [[Sari Sumdac]].
*Humans in the episode are referred to as "organics" and "pets", another frequent "Martyism".
*Robby saying he liked Prowl better in the comics could be an amusing jab at [[Prowl (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Prowl]]'s infamous characterization in the [[2005 IDW continuity]].

===Real-world references===
*
===Errors===

===Trivia===
*

[[Category:EarthSpark episodes]]

List of Transformers Animated episodes

2024-05-27T19:23:21Z

Keyan Carlile: Not sure why Derrick was listed as an episode director for two episodes. That was never his role on the show and he's not credited as that on those episodes. If there's a reason he was listed there, let me know..

{{main|Transformers Animated (cartoon)}}
==Season 1: 2007–2008==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
!#!!Title!!Writer!!Director!!Original airdate!!Production code
{{Episode list
|Title="[[Transform and Roll Out#Part 1|Transform and Roll Out (Part One)]]"
|EpisodeNumber=1
|OriginalAirDate=December 26, 2007
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]], [[Minoru Yamaoka]], [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] and his small crew of [[Autobot]]s come into possession of the [[AllSpark]], a powerful [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]ian artifact that attracts the attention of their long-forgotten enemies—the [[Decepticon]]s—and sends them crashing to a strange and distant planet known as [[Earth]].
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Transform and Roll Out#Part 2|Transform and Roll Out (Part Two)]]"
|EpisodeNumber=2
|OriginalAirDate=December 26, 2007
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]], [[Minoru Yamaoka]], [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Transform and Roll Out#Part 3|Transform and Roll Out (Part Three)]]"
|EpisodeNumber=3
|OriginalAirDate=December 26, 2007
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]], [[Minoru Yamaoka]], [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Home Is Where the Spark Is]]"
|EpisodeNumber=4
|OriginalAirDate=January 5, 2008
|Aux1=[[Michael Ryan]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Autobots settle into their new home base, an abandoned automobile manufacturing plant, but the ancient assembly line machinery seems to have developed a mind of its own.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Total Meltdown]]"
|EpisodeNumber=5
|OriginalAirDate=January 19, 2008 (Canada) [[February 10]], 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Rich Fogel]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Naoto Hashimoto]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=A bio-engineering genius experiments with some of [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]'s hydraulic fluid and accidentally transforms himself into [[Meltdown (Animated)|Meltdown]], whose corrosive touch can melt anything—including Autobots!
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Blast from the Past]]"
|EpisodeNumber=6
|OriginalAirDate=January 12, 2008
|Aux1=[[Kevin Hopps]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Ben Jones]], [[Kentaro Mizuno]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=[[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Professor Sumdac]] upgrades a trio of animatronic dinosaurs from a local theme park, but the creatures develop minds of their own and become rampaging [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s, bent on destroying the Autobots.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[The Thrill of the Hunt]]"
|EpisodeNumber=7
|OriginalAirDate=January 19, 2008
|Aux1=[[Andrew Robinson]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=While the Autobots encounter a [[Lockdown (Animated)|mysterious muscle car]] creating havoc in [[Detroit]], [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] keeps flashing back to his "tour of duty" in the [[Great War (G1)|Great Autobot-Decepticon War]].
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec]]"
|EpisodeNumber=8
|OriginalAirDate=January 26, 2008
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Bumblebee's self-proclaimed title as "fastest thing on wheels" is threatened by [[Nanosec]], a super speedster crook on a deadly mission that could destroy all of Detroit.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Along Came a Spider]]"
|EpisodeNumber=9
|OriginalAirDate=February 16, 2008
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Irineo Maramba]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Bumblebee and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]]'s first Halloween turns even spookier when they encounter a giant spider that turns out to be the deadly Decepticon [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]].
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Sound and Fury]]"
|EpisodeNumber=10
|OriginalAirDate=February 23, 2008
|Aux1=[[Henry Gilroy]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=[[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]]'s new [[Soundwave (Animated)|toy musical robot]] seems to have an evil streak—and the ability to control other machines—but Bulkhead is the only one who sees it.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found]]"
|EpisodeNumber=11
|OriginalAirDate= March 1, 2008
|Aux1=[[Rich Fogel]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Autobots clash with Decepticons [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], who come to Earth searching for their missing leader, [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]].
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Survival of the Fittest]]"
|EpisodeNumber=12
|OriginalAirDate=March 8, 2008
|Aux1=[[Steven Granat]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Sari is kidnapped and the evidence points to the Dinobots. So [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] and Bulkhead head to a mysterious island to investigate—with a highly suspicious [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] on their tail.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Headmaster (episode)|Headmaster]]"
|EpisodeNumber=13
|OriginalAirDate=March 15, 2008
|Aux1=[[Michael Ryan]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=A [[Headmaster (Animated)|disgruntled Sumdac employee]] seeks revenge and profit by taking control of one of the Autobots and sending him on a rampage.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Nature Calls]]"
|EpisodeNumber=14
|OriginalAirDate=March 22, 2008
|Aux1=[[Todd Casey]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Bouakeo Thongkham]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Prowl, Bumblebee and Sari get more than they bargained for when they head out to the remote woods to investigate a mysterious energy signal.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Megatron Rising - Part 1]]"
|EpisodeNumber=15
|OriginalAirDate=March 29, 2008
|Aux1=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Ciro Nieli]], [[Kentaro Mizuno]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Prime begins to doubt his leadership abilities as the Decepticons mobilize for a big invasion of Earth.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Megatron Rising - Part 2]]"
|EpisodeNumber=16
|OriginalAirDate=April 5, 2008
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Ciro Nieli]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Autobots are decimated by the Decepticon invasion, but still must rally to prevent the AllSpark from falling into their clutches.
}}
|}

==Season 2: 2008==
{| class="wikitable" style="margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
!#!!Title!!Writer!!Director!!Original airdate!!Production code
{{Episode list
|Title="[[The Elite Guard]]"
|EpisodeNumber=17
|OriginalAirDate=April 12, 2008
|Aux1=[[Rich Fogel]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Irineo Maramba]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The [[Elite Guard|Cybertron Elite Guard]] arrives on Earth to retrieve the AllSpark and relieve Prime and his crew of their post, but they prove less than adept at blending in with the human world.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[The Return of the Headmaster]]"
|EpisodeNumber=18
|OriginalAirDate=April 19, 2008 (Canada) April 26, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Michael Ryan]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Optimus Prime is forced to team up with his rival [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] after Sentinel has a humiliating and potentially fatal encounter with the Headmaster.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Mission Accomplished]]"
|EpisodeNumber=19
|OriginalAirDate=April 26, 2008 (Canada) [[May 3]], 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Yoshio Frank Chatani|Yoshio Chatani]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Convinced there are no Decepticons left on Earth, the Elite Guard prepares to take Optimus Prime and his crew back to Cybertron, unaware of the increasing Decepticon activity taking place under their very noses.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Garbage In, Garbage Out]]"
|EpisodeNumber=20
|OriginalAirDate=May 3, 2008 (Canada) May 10, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=AllSpark energy turns a junk pile into a [[Wreck-Gar (Animated)|sentient robot]] who tries to help the Autobots, but ends up doing more harm than good.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Velocity (episode)|Velocity]]"
|EpisodeNumber=21
|OriginalAirDate=May 10, 2008 (Canada) May 17, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Len Uhley]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Christopher Berkeley]], [[Kenji Itoso]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Investigating [[Blurr (Animated)|a mysterious race car]], Bumblebee gets involved with an illegal underground street racing circuit, which also captures the attention of the Decepticons.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Rise of the Constructicons]]"
|EpisodeNumber=22
|OriginalAirDate=May 17, 2008 (Canada) May 24, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Stan Berkowitz]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Irineo Maramba]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Bulkhead befriends a pair of [[Constructicon (Animated)|construction vehicles]] brought to life by AllSpark energy. But the Decepticons have their scanners set on the duo for their latest construction project.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[A Fistful of Energon]]"
|EpisodeNumber=23
|OriginalAirDate=May 24, 2008 (Canada) May 31, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Andrew Robinson]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Matt Youngberg]], [[Makoto Fuchigami]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Prowl goes off on his own to capture the fugitive [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]], but finds some competition in the form of a Decepticon bounty hunter.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy]]"
|EpisodeNumber=24
|OriginalAirDate=May 31, 2008 (Canada) June 7, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Dean Stefan]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Ciro Nieli]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Aided by a [[Swindle (Animated)|mysterious benefactor]], Detroit's B-level villains team up to take down the Autobots once and for all.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Autoboot Camp]]"
|EpisodeNumber=25
|OriginalAirDate=June 3, 2008 (Canada) June 14, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Michael Ryan]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Christopher Berkeley]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=On the trail of an escaped Autobot [[Wasp|traitor]], Bumblebee flashes back to a previous encounter with the traitor when he first met Bulkhead in Autobot Boot Camp.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Black Friday (episode)|Black Friday]]"
|EpisodeNumber=26
|OriginalAirDate=June 4th, 2008 (Canada) June 21, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Rich Fogel]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Kentaro Mizuno]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Blackarachnia enlists Prometheus Black, also known as Meltdown, to aid her with a dangerous experiment, while Prime and [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] are forced to team up to stop them.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Sari, No One's Home]]"
|EpisodeNumber=27
|OriginalAirDate=June 5, 2008 (Canada) June 28, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Todd Casey]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Left alone in the Autobots' home base, Sari must defend it against an intrusion by the Constructicons.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[A Bridge Too Close, Part I]]"
|EpisodeNumber=28
|OriginalAirDate=June 28, 2008 (Canada) July 5, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|Aux2=[[Ben Jones]], [[Christopher Berkeley]], [[Shunji Ōga|Shunji Oga]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Decepticons kidnap Bulkhead to aid in [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron's]] ultimate plan to take over Cybertron.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II]]"
|EpisodeNumber=29
|OriginalAirDate=June 28, 2008 (Canada) July 5, 2008 (USA)
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|Aux2=[[Irineo Maramba]], [[Christopher Berkeley]], [[Noboro Huruse]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The fates of Cybertron and Earth lie in the balance as Optimus Prime and his Autobots battle Megatron and his Decepticons in a fight to the finish for the AllSpark.
}}
|}

==Season 3: 2009==
{| class="wikitable" style=margin: auto; width: 100%;"
|-
!#!!Title!!Writer!!Director!!Original Airdate!!Production code
{{Episode list
|Title="[[TransWarped]]"
|EpisodeNumber=30
|OriginalAirDate=March 14, 2009
|Aux1=[[Marty Isenberg]], [[Michael Ryan]], [[Marsha Griffin]]
|Aux2=[[Matt Youngberg]], [[Yoshio Frank Chatani]], [[Tetsurō Moronuki]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=As Sari and Dr. Sumdac deal with the fallout from her shocking discovery, the Autobots try to contact Cybertron to warn them of the traitor in their midst. Meanwhile, Megatron inadvertently stumbles upon a new plan to take over Cybertron, where an increasingly desperate Longarm attempts to cover his tracks.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Three's a Crowd]]"
|EpisodeNumber=33
|OriginalAirDate=March 21, 2009
|Aux1=[[Rich Fogel]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]], [[Tetsurō Moronuki]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Bulkhead seeks the help of the Constructicons for a vital construction project, but, thanks to their [[Dirt Boss (Animated)|new leader]], the Constructicons have bigger and deadlier plans.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Where Is Thy Sting?]]"
|EpisodeNumber=34
|OriginalAirDate=March 28, 2009
|Aux1=[[Todd Casey]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]], [[Shigeharu Takahashi]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=A crazed Wasp finds his way to Earth to exact his revenge on Bumblebee... but he doesn't count on the Elite Guard following him.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Five Servos of Doom]]"
|EpisodeNumber=35
|OriginalAirDate=April 4, 2009
|Aux1=[[Andrew Robinson]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]], [[Yoshio Frank Chatani]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=Sentinel Prime has incredible success capturing fugitive Decepticons, leading Prowl to suspect he's getting help.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Predacons Rising (Animated)|Predacons Rising]]"
|EpisodeNumber=36
|OriginalAirDate=April 11, 2009
|Aux1=[[Larry DiTillio]] [[Bob Forward]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]], [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=On the run from the Elite Guard, a fugitive wasp finds his way to Dinobot Island, where his fate takes an even stranger and deadlier turn.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Human Error, Part I]]"
|EpisodeNumber=37
|OriginalAirDate=April 18, 2009
|Aux1=[[Henry Gilroy]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]], [[Christopher Berkeley]], [[Naoto Hashimoto]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=With the Christmas season upon them, the Autobots are not quite themselves following a run-in with Porter C. Powell's new mass-produced Soundwave action figures.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Human Error, Part II]]"
|EpisodeNumber=38
|OriginalAirDate=April 25, 2009
|Aux1=[[Tom Pugsley]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]], [[Yosuke Hatta]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=While the Autobots are held captive by one of their deadliest foes, Sari must recruit a team of "Substitute Autobots" to rescue them.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Decepticon Air]]"
|EpisodeNumber=39
|OriginalAirDate=May 2, 2009
|Aux1=[[Michael Ryan]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Shigeharu Takahashi]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Decepticons aboard the Elite Guard ship decide to take down the Autobots that turned them in.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[This Is Why I Hate Machines]]"
|EpisodeNumber=40
|OriginalAirDate=May 9, 2009
|Aux1=[[Rob Hoegee]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Yutaka Hirata]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=A space bridge accident sends Ratchet and Captain Fanzone to Cybertron, right as the Decepticon-controlled Omega Supreme arrives.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Endgame, Part I]]"
|EpisodeNumber=41
|OriginalAirDate=May 16, 2009
|Aux1=[[Rich Fogel]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Kentaro Mizuno]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Autobots race to find an advantage over Megatron's control of Omega Supreme.
}}

{{Episode list
|Title="[[Endgame, Part II]]"
|EpisodeNumber=42
|OriginalAirDate=May 23, 2009
|Aux1=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|Aux2=[[Kalvin Lee]] [[Yoshio Frank Chatani]]
|ProdCode=
|ShortSummary=The Autobots fight to defend Detroit from Megatron and his clones of Omega Supreme.
}}
|}

[[Category: Animated episodes| ]]
[[Category:Episode lists|Animated]]

Megatron (Animated)

2024-04-15T06:27:11Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Notes */

{{factions|decepticon|hofsilver}}
{{disambig3|Megatron}}
:''Megatron is a [[Decepticon leader]] from the [[Animated continuity family]].''

[[File:Megatronanimated.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|[[GEEWUN|An insult to G1, we swear!]]]]
If you were to ask '''Megatron''' to describe himself in one word, he'd probably go with [[Megatron (SG)|"heroic"]]. He sees himself as a freedom fighter [[Decepticon leader|leading the Decepticons]] in a righteous struggle against "[[Autobot]] tyranny". The fact he's hoping to replace that with ''Decepticon'' tyranny isn't really a concern... to him, at least. A fanatic at [[spark]], he revels in every Autobot who suffers at Decepticon hands and doesn't register beings like [[human]]s as anything more than "collateral damage."

Megatron demands loyalty from the [[Decepticon]]s as a whole, loyalty he gains through his fear and awe-inspiring power and abilities. With the combined threat of a sharp mind, his signature [[fusion cannon]], a pair of deadly [[sword]]s and simple brute strength, there aren't many who would dare cross him. Still, he has no problem occasionally manhandling his troops as a gentle reminder.

The loss of [[Structure|his body]] and former glory was only a minor setback for him as Megatron proved himself a true master manipulator. He all-too-easily duped the rather absentminded [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Isaac Sumdac]] into helping him—and [[AllSpark Key|once Megatron was restored]] he turned the tables on his old captor.

He is extremely intolerant of treachery and deals with [[Starscream (Animated)|said treacherous bots]] using methods of vicious no-nonsense efficiency, [[Megatron (G1)|unlike other Decepticon leaders]]. He is also a shrewd strategist who [[Dinobot (Animated)|effortlessly]] [[Scrapper (Animated)|wraps]] [[Mixmaster (Animated)|others]] around his fingers.

{{bigquote|Decepticons... ''transform and rise up!''|Megatron puts a new twist on [[Roll out|an old saying]]|"[[Megatron Rising - Part 2]]"}}

==Fiction==
===Cartoon continuity===
====''Animated'' cartoon====
{{Idw-tfa}}
{{voiceactor|[[Corey Burton]] (English), [[Norio Wakamoto]] (Japanese)|[[Jan Spitzer]] (German), [[Mirosław Neinert]] (Polish), [[Raffaele Farina]] (Italian), [[Vincent Violette]] (French), [[Jun-seok Song|Junseok Song]] (Korean), [[Affonso Amajones]] (Portuguese), [[Mario Santander]] (Latin American Spanish, season 1 and 2), [[Alexander Páez]] (Latin American Spanish, season 3), [[Santiago Salorio]] (Castilian Spanish), [[Arto Nieminen]] (Finnish, [[Fredrik Hiller]] (Swedish)}}

[[File:Megatron Cybertron.jpg|left|thumb|Pointier than thou.]]
''Eons ago, Megatron overthrew the previous Decepticon leader [[Megazarak (Animated)|Megazarak]] and took control of the faction for himself. He gave speeches and wrote manifestos calling for the Decepticons to rise up and take control of both Cybertron and the [[AllSpark]] from the Autobots. Finally, on the [[Cycle of Infamy]], he took the Decepticons from mere rhetoric to outright war.''

''The Decepticons overran Autobot space, but the Autobots under [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] had one major advantage—[[space bridge]] technology which allowed them to move about the galaxy more easily. The Decepticon advance ground to a halt.'' {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}} However, Megatron's forces continued to fight on until the Autobots sent the AllSpark through the space bridge to random coordinates. Realizing that the AllSpark was the key to defeating the Autobots, Megatron abandoned the Cybertron theater and began searching the galaxy aboard his massive flagship the ''[[Nemesis (Animated)|Nemesis]]''. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}} Megatron also lost the codes to [[Project Omega]] when the bounty hunter [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] failed to bring him [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]]. {{storylink|The Thrill of the Hunt}} ''With the war going badly after this, Megatron tried a last-ditch attempt with the [[False Calm]] and sent his troops at sub-light speeds to Cybertron. During the [[Battle for Iacon]], Megatron destroyed [[Gamma Supreme]]. Ultimately, the attack failed and the Decepticons were finally forced to agree to an armistice and exile.'' {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

[[File:TFA TARO Decepticons attention.JPG|thumb|He's not planning on shaking Prime's hand...he's going to tear it off.]]
However, Megatron continued to search for the AllSpark. Four million years later, the ''Nemesis's'' crew discovered [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|a small Autobot repair vessel]] after detecting the AllSpark. When [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] volunteered to attack, Megatron saw his ambitions all too clearly, and pointedly remarked that he wasn't about to let four million solar cycles of searching for the AllSpark end with Starscream "[laying his] greasy wings on it". No, Megatron would strike the Autobot ship and take the AllSpark himself. Just prior to his departure, Starscream approached him again, ostensibly to wish him luck but actually to place an overload device on his leader's back. This device went off just as Megatron's fusion cannon was about to breach the hull of the Autobots' ship. The Autobot crew managed to steer the now-failing ship through an asteroid field and into a nearby [[space bridge]].

With the ship now plummeting through the Earth's atmosphere, a wounded Megatron still managed to thrash the crew soundly and nearly claimed the AllSpark. Quick thinking on the part of the ship's [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|captain]] sent the Decepticon leader out the cargo hatch and into free fall. Megatron [[Megatron (Movie)|fell from the sky and crashed]] in Paw Paw, [[Michigan]], where his head (and later, a hand) was found by a young [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Isaac Sumdac]].

Over the next fifty years, Sumdac built a robotics empire by reverse-engineering Megatron's components while Megatron's inert head remained secretly in Sumdac's private lab, the source of the human's engineering genius and also a secret shame. Megatron's severed hand was there as well, used by Sumdac as a piece of furniture. {{storylink|Transform and Roll Out}} {{storylink|Dispatches}}

[[File:AniMegsHead-TransformAndRollout.jpg|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Hey Megatron, don't lose your... oh.]]
After the Autobots re-awoke, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]]—Isaac's daughter—used her [[AllSpark Key]] to sneak into her father's lab. He stopped her from seeing anything it contained, but the Key's AllSpark energy was absorbed by Megatron's head, reawakening his spark and mind and bringing him back online. Confused and disoriented, he automatically brought up video footage of Starscream and the Autobots, footage in which Starscream admitted to his treachery. Furious both at Starscream's betrayal and the fact he didn't have the proper appendages to reach out and take the AllSpark which was finally within his relative grasp, he released a burst of energy which activated a small drone Prof. Sumdac had been working on. Megatron realized he could control the extremely primitive (by his race's standards) technology around him. Learning Sari was going to spend the night at the Autobot base, he secreted his drone into her backpack. Once she arrived Megatron sent the drone to look for the AllSpark but his search was fruitless. He decided to try a simpler method: [[Death|Kill]] the Autobots and extract the data from their lifeless corpses. Interfacing with the factory's assembly line, he attacked. As the Autobots fought back, he decided to cut out the middleman and knocked a hole in a fuel tank. [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] realized the factory was working via motion sensors and managed to get close to the control panel. To counter him, Megatron simply took over the factory arms and snatched up Prowl. However, he failed to stop [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], due to the primitive tools he was forced to use. With his plans foiled, Megatron was out of patience, refusing to work through these worthless proxy machines. He needed a body, which meant it was time to provide some more advanced technology to Sumdac... {{storylink|Home Is Where the Spark Is}}

[[File:Stiletto-Megatronsuccessfulfieldtest.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.5]]
''Megatron hired the industrial saboteur [[Stiletto (Animated)|Stiletto]] to steal from Sumdac enterprises a high-powered laser scalpel and an experimental metal alloy and then use them to collapse Detroit's Ambassador Bridge. In truth, Megatron didn't care much about whether or not she succeeded in collapsing the bridge, as he simply desired to see if the materials she had stolen would be suitable for his new body. He was satisfied with the results he saw broadcast on television.'' {{storylink|The Arrival issue 3|Stiletto}}

Megatron soon revealed to Isaac that he still functioned and, when Isaac guessed he was a friend of the Autobots, Megatron played along. He persuaded Isaac to keep his existence secret until Isaac had built him a new body, as then the Autobots would be more forgiving of how Isaac had reverse-engineered their friend. Megatron then helped construct the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobots]], deliberately programming them to go on a rampage and building fire-breath into them as a prototype for a planned army of drones. When they were defeated, Megatron despaired he might never gain a new body, but upon discovering they'd been turned into sentient Transformers, he quickly convinced them that cars, trucks and "[[Autobot|car robots]]" were evil beings that ate the fossil fuels supposedly derived from dinosaurs.

During their second rampage, Isaac realized Megatron had deliberately built weapons into the Dinobots. The tyrant feigned shame, saying he'd added experimental features out of a desire to have a body again. Isaac promised not to tell the Autobots and that Megatron would have a body again one day... {{storylink|Blast from the Past}}

[[File:TFA Nanosec Sumdac Megatron chill.JPG|upright=1.1|left|thumb|Rub it in, why don't you?]]
Soon, Dr. Sumdac began attempting to build him some new servos, but these proved inadequate. Megatron revealed that his body would need [[Destronium]] to work, but Isaac responded there was only a small amount available and that it would have to be delivered across town in less than 10 minutes or it would become unstable. Taking notice of an experimental turbo suit Sumdac's labs were developing (with flaws that possibly precluded Isaac considering it as a solution), Megatron manipulated computer systems so the suit was delivered to small-time hood [[Nanosec|Nino Sexton]]. Once Sexton began using the suit to commit crimes too quickly to be stopped, Megatron contacted him with an offer of much money out of Dr. Sumdac's private account if Sexton used the suit to steal and deliver the Destronium. Between Autobot interference and the suit aging him prematurely, Sexton failed. Worse, the Destronium was energized to a critical level, risking an explosion that would destroy [[Detroit]]. The Autobots barely managed to send the Destronium sample into the upper atmosphere before it exploded, and they were left to wonder why a human had tried to steal it in the first place. {{storylink|Nanosec (episode)|Nanosec}}

After Megatron learned of the power of Sari's AllSpark Key and the careless nature in which she used it, he attempted to trick her into assisting him. He designed [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]], a musical toy that was secretly meant to grow more powerful every time Sari used the Key upon it, until eventually it would be a suitable robotic body for Megatron himself. When the Key instead brought Soundwave to independent life, Megatron changed his plan and, with convincing logic, recruited Soundwave as a Decepticon warrior. {{storylink|Sound and Fury}}

When [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] and [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] arrived on Earth, Megatron, remembering Starscream's betrayal, was hesitant to act. After witnessing a battle between his soldiers and the Autobots, Megatron concluded that Blitzwing was too unstable, but Lugnut was genuinely loyal. He contacted Lugnut only, instructing him to locate the AllSpark, which would help restore him. Later, he also informed Lugnut about the Key. Unfortunately, Lugnut and Blitzwing were defeated and damaged by the Autobots, severing Lugnut's link with Megatron—and Megatron's only link to the outside world. {{storylink|Lost and Found (episode)|Lost and Found}}

[[File:Sumdac megatron's body.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|Yeah, it's a fixer-upper.]]
Although Megatron himself was not mentally involved, his headless body was infected with [[space barnacle]]s, causing the barnacles to mutate into a semi-sentient form. After absorbing two mining bots and attacking a [[Sparkplug (Animated human)|miner]], it was defeated by Bumblebee and Prowl. Later, the body was discovered (minus space barnacles) by Isaac Sumdac and most likely brought back to his laboratory. Sumdac remarked that Megatron would be ''very'' pleased with the find... {{storylink|Nature Calls}}

[[File:MegRisingRebuilt.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Don't call it a comeback; I've been here for years.]]
Sumdac attempted to rebuild Megatron, but progress was slowed by a power failure. Frustrated, Megatron again contacted Lugnut and ordered him to bring him the AllSpark Key. This communication triggered Starscream's curiosity, and the treacherous jet located Megatron. Starscream didn't have time to <s>finish his speech</s> slay Megatron before he was distracted by the Autobots—and Megatron used that distraction to take Starscream by surprise and eject him from the lab. When Blitzwing and Lugnut arrived with the Key, Megatron revealed his true identity to his human "friend". Sumdac, seized by the mechanical hand he had so long used as a chair, could only watch and wail in horror as the Decepticon tyrant used the power of the AllSpark to reconstruct himself, more powerful than ever. Finally restored, he burst through the roof of [[Sumdac Tower]], to the horror of the Autobots and Starscream, ready to unleash his vengeance on all of them. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 1}}

[[File:PayThePiper.JPG|upright=1.1|left|thumb|"Will anyone else attempt to fill his shoes?"]] Megatron's revenge was quick and brutal. Trashing the Autobots in short order, he called his Decepticons to him. As Starscream bootlicked, Megatron powered up his fusion cannon to destroy the one responsible for his defeat—then used the AllSpark Key to send a painful power surge through Starscream, extinguishing the traitor's spark and reinforcing his authority over Blitzwing and Lugnut. He commanded them to "transform and rise up," and the three Decepticons took to the sky, using the Key to track the AllSpark.

[[File:Megatron Rising 2 All Spark Megs boom.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|This is not good...]] Finding it aboard the Autobots' ship, the Decepticons caused the ship to crash on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]], where Megatron proceeded to beat the [[Slag (slang)|slag]] out of Optimus Prime. Getting into the ship, Megatron removed the AllSpark from its casing and placed it in his chest, preparing to devastate Earth before conquering Cybertron. However, Professor Sumdac used his knowledge of Megatron's circuitry to disrupt his equilibrium sensors, causing Megatron to drop the AllSpark Key. Optimus Prime used the Key to force a surge of power through the AllSpark within Megatron, causing it to explode and disperse its energy.

And yet, it was not a total loss for Megatron; despite the damage, he escaped and managed to abduct Sumdac. Once again, their fates were intertwined, only this time Sumdac was Megatron's prisoner. {{storylink|Megatron Rising - Part 2}}

Establishing a base deep underground in a mine, Megatron quickly adjusted his plans after the loss of the AllSpark. During his battle aboard the Autobot ship, he had managed to download a partial [[space bridge]] schematic from their computers. He planned to use the space bridge to teleport himself, Lugnut, and Blitzwing to Cybertron, then conquer the planet from within. To facilitate this plan, Megatron used the captive Professor Sumdac to reverse-engineer the space bridge and fill in the "gaps" within the schematics. However, when a service bot suddenly malfunctioned, it was revealed that a shard of the AllSpark was embedded within it. This gave Megatron hope that the AllSpark was not destroyed, but dispersed throughout the city of Detroit. {{storylink|The Elite Guard}}

[[File:Swordscream.JPG|upright=1.1|left|thumb|Yes, Starscream, and we'll keep doing it until you get it right!]]
Finding out about the AllSpark fragments, however, didn't seem to result in any changes in his plans. Megatron received word from a spy that the Decepticons had begun making random assaults on the Autobots. He realized that they needed to make a concentrated effort in order to secure his victory. He had Lugnut and Blitzwing steal a tachyon transmitter from the [[Elite Guard]] so he could send his message, but was interrupted during his transmission by a revived Starscream. After quickly beating him to a pulp, Megatron relayed his commands to the spacefaring 'Cons, only to be repeatedly attacked by a seemingly invincible Starscream. The renegade even attempted to draw Megatron out with an AllSpark fragment. Megatron emerged victorious every time and was informed by his spy that all was going as planned: With his [[Decepticon Uprisings|forces now drawing the Autobots away from Cybertron]], Megatron could attack a weakened Cybertron from within as soon as his space bridge was completed. {{storylink|Mission Accomplished}}

Later, while at the Decepticon base, Lugnut detected an AllSpark energy signal emanating from Detroit. Megatron quickly dispatched Lugnut to retrieve the AllSpark shard before the Autobots could. Lugnut proceeded to praise his master's "grand and glorious plan", but Megatron, fed up with the adulation to the point of involuntary optic-twitching, curtly commanded his enforcer to get going. {{storylink|Garbage In, Garbage Out}} As Lugnut failed to retrieve this fragment, Megatron tasked Blitzwing with retrieving the next one the Decepticons detected. The triple-changer proved just as incapable when it came to securing AllSpark fragments. {{storylink|Velocity (episode)|Velocity}}

[[File:RiseoftheConstructicons-Megatron'sprivateblend.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Gentlemen, to evil.]]
When Lugnut and Blitzwing brought the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructobots]] back to base, Megatron saw the advantage of keeping them alive, and he invited them to have a look at his space bridge schematics. Impressed by their knowledge, he decided to put them to work stealing supplies. After an encounter with [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]], the Constructobots became convinced of "the funny guy's" less-than-noble intentions, and they returned to the mine to confront him. Megatron calmly slammed them both against a rock face and asked them to explain. He feigned shock and brought them in to discuss things over his own private oil blend. Megatron showed himself to be a bit of an oil connoisseur, possessing stylish little goblets for it made of twisted oil drums, as well as a secret stash of top-quality oil and a chamber to drink it in. Megatron spoke of the glories they could achieve as Constructicons: the adulation, the statues in their honor...the barrels of oil they could down. Ever the shrewd worker, it didn't take much for him to convince them to join up and he promptly sent them to the Autobot base to retrieve the AllSpark fragments. {{storylink|Rise of the Constructicons}}

[[File:Rise Constructicons Megatron what.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|Constructicons say WHAAAAAT?]]
When Starscream escaped from the Elite Guard's ship, Megatron received [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]]'s alert to the Autobots thanks to the stolen tachyon transmitter. Megatron had placed a bounty on the traitor and [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] (with the unknowing aid of Prowl) pretty much took the opportunity to bring him to the Decepticon leader. Lockdown contacted Megatron to confirm that he had captured a purple-ish "Starscream" (who was acting quite odd and cowardly) and agreed to meet at an abandoned warehouse for the exchange. As "Starscream" was brought to Megatron, Prowl, who was hiding on a rafter high above, accidentally scuffed a small bolt, which grabbed the Decepticons' attention. Not too long after, the Autobots appeared with another, different-colored Starscream. Megatron intercepted Lockdown's escape and announced confusedly that no one was to leave until they found out which was the true Starscream. However, it soon turned out that ''both'' Starscreams were clones with bombs in their [[spark]] chambers designed to destroy Megatron and the Autobots in one go. Not content to stand by and be blown up, Megatron quickly blasted the skylight of the warehouse and called for his Decepticons to transform and rise up, leaving the soon-to-explode clones with the Autobots. This turned out to be a mistake, as Prowl used the upgrades given to him by Lockdown to send the [[Starscream clone (Animated)|clones]] into the air, and the fleeing Decepticons were caught in the wake of the blast. Still in one piece despite the explosion, Megatron later raised the bounty on Starscream—insisting on the ''real'' one this time. {{storylink|A Fistful of Energon}}

He was later contacted by [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]], who attempted to sell him a new weapon. Nothing came of this as Swindle was defeated before the deal could be closed. {{storylink|SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy}} Megatron also made some ''"secret"'' transmissions to [[Shockwave (Animated)|his double agent]] on Cybertron in order to settle his new plans for the coming Autobot-Decepticon war. {{storylink|Autoboot Camp}} Blitzwing also successfully retrieved the Constructicons for him. {{storylink|Sari, No One's Home}}

[[File:TFA ABTC1 Megatron Sumdac Hostage.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|"Did I tell you about the time I killed the cult leader?"]]
Megatron's plans finally seemed on the verge of fruition when Sumdac and the Constructicons completed the space bridge. However, some vital technical aspects made it inoperable. In order to remedy this, Megatron contacted Shockwave to learn who was Cybertron's leading [[space bridge technician]] which turned out to be the Autobot Bulkhead. Not wishing to leave Doctor Sumdac alone to sabotage the Constructicons' efforts, Megatron took him along as a hostage while he went to capture Bulkhead. Once he had the big Autobot in custody, Megatron threatened to use the [[Headmaster unit]] on him if he didn't help make the space bridge operational. To Megatron's satisfaction, Bulkhead agreed and finished the project. Just as the machine was activated both the Autobots and Starscream and his clone army attacked. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part I}}

The three-way free-for-all ironically forced Megatron and Optimus Prime to team up temporarily, but this quickly ended when Megatron used Prime's body as a shield against one of Starscream's clone's attacks. Despite putting up a decent resistance, Megatron was overwhelmed and held down by two of the Starscream clones. As the original Starscream gloated, he was head-jacked by Isaac Sumdac in the Headmaster unit. Sumdac prepared to fight the Decepticon leader himself but an unimpressed Megatron simply used his strength to throw the distracted Starscream clones at him then blasted the Headmaster unit off with his fusion cannon, quickly proving himself the victor. With Starscream incapacitated the clones sided with Megatron. He then made his own victory speech to his soldiers, declaring he would send Optimus through the bridge to test it. However, the Autobots got some reinforcements - in the form of their own ship, now revealed to be the surviving [[Omega Sentinel (Animated)|Omega Sentinel]] Omega Supreme. Megatron quickly ordered the majority of his forces to deal with this new menace while the Constructicons cleared the space bridge area of rubble. Grabbing Optimus, Megatron threw him into the portal but was frustrated when Prowl freed his leader in the nick of time at which point the bridge shut down. Bulkhead declared the power source wasn't strong enough to maintain the link for long so Megatron grabbed Starscream's AllSpark-powered head to maintain the gateway. However, this provided too much power, sending the space bridge portal out of control. An enraged Megatron decided to terminate Optimus Prime only for Optimus to slap [[stasis cuffs]] on him causing him to lose his grip and fall into the portal.

[[File:TFA ABTC2 Megatron Screamer End.jpg|upright=1.1|left|thumb|"Stop staring at me!"]]
With the overload having deleted the space bridge's receiving coordinates, the defeated Megatron was transported to some unknown sector of space. Still immobilized by the stasis cuffs, Megatron's only companion was now Starscream's head which a cruel twist of fate had deposited right next to him. Forced to remain face to face with his traitorous ex-lieutenant, Megatron could only trade verbal blows. A most cruel fate, indeed. {{storylink|A Bridge Too Close, Part II}}

After their bickering subsided, Starscream began trying to free Megatron from the stasis cuffs, but having no body was a hindrance. Megatron was only freed when Starscream revealed a previously unseen weapon from his mouth. Before they could react, Omega Supreme appeared, offline. Getting aboard him, Megatron was captured by Omega but was able to convince the simple processor-possessing behemoth to take him to Cybertron to face a war crimes tribunal. However, Omega Supreme's attempt to transwarp to Cybertron left them somewhere else in space but did drain Omega for the time being. Initially disgusted that he was trapped aboard the cause of the Decepticons' defeat without his weapons and only Starscream for company, Megatron soon realized that if he could reprogram Omega to serve him he would be at a great advantage.

Managing to hotwire the Autobot with the stasis cuffs and Starscream's AllSpark charged head, Megatron contacted Shockwave to give him a status report on the Earth space bridge. However, the situation was worse than Megatron realized: not only was the space bridge network shut down, but the Earth Autobots could expose Shockwave at any moment. Although Omega Supreme provided an advantage that could end both problems, Megatron decided that the space bridge invasion plan was a failure, and issued a fleet wide stand down order. Heading to Earth, Megatron attempted to use Omega to destroy the Autobots (even though he couldn't remember their names). However, Prowl and Optimus Prime managed to board Omega and sever Megatron's control over him. Unfortunately, Starscream managed to gain control over Omega Supreme, capturing Megatron again. Ever the manipulator, Megatron convinced Starscream that his time would be better spent conquering Cybertron. However, the Autobots managed to install the [[plasma dynamic thruster]] from Megatron's space bridge into Omega Supreme, sending Omega and the two Decepticons aboard warping through space randomly. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

When the Autobots became trapped in Soundwave's virtual reality, Megatron led the Decepticons into invading and attacking Detroit. As the Autobots realized what was going on Prowl was able to break free of Megatron's grip and severed his arm with a single swipe of his hand. He was later beaten by Optimus who destroyed his fusion cannon by tossing his axe at the cannon's barrel. {{storylink|Human Error, Part I}}

[[File:TFAni Decepticon Air Lugnut Megatron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Don't you just hate it when fanboys keep following you?]]
Later, as Lugnut was floating through space following his half-successful escape from the Elite Guard flagship, Omega Supreme transwarped to directly in front of him and he smashed into the bridge window. When Starscream asked Megatron if they were picking up hitchhickers, Megatron simply slapped his head off its position. That was for asking stupid questions.{{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

Soon thereafter, Megatron gained control of Omega Supreme's transforming mechanism, and by detaching the plasma dynamic thruster was also able to direct their transwarp jumps; however, he could not get the weapons online without the proper access codes. Megatron brought the ship to Cybertron, where they could do little but float helplessly in the air; Megatron reasoned—correctly—that the Autobots would not dare fire on their own most famous weapon (though [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel "Magnus"]] sure wanted to). Megatron ordered Shockwave to hurry up his search for the access codes; once Shockwave successfully abducted Arcee and boarded the ship, they transwarped into Earth orbit right before Sentinel opened fire. Megatron welcomed Shockwave aboard as his "most loyal" servant, to the great concern of Lugnut. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

Now on the moon, Megatron commanded Shockwave to extract the access codes from Arcee's mind. When Starscream re-attached his head to another clone body, Megatron pursued him and destroyed all the remaining clones, teasing Starscream for having always thought on a small scale. Megatron's ultimate plans for the protoforms aboard the ''Nemesis'' was to use them to create his own clone fleet of Omega Supremes—based on the personality template of his ''truly'' most loyal minion, Lugnut. That part of the plan went just fine, but Shockwave was still unable to get Arcee to do his bidding—perhaps because although she was fooled by his Longarm Prime persona, she saw the evil Megatron standing right behind him and refused to cooperate. After a few technical bypasses put Lugnut in mental command of the "[[Lugnut Supreme]]" fleet, Megatron ordered his new weapons to test their skills by destroying the Earthbound Autobots. {{storylink|Endgame, Part I}}

[[File:TFA-Endgame-PanAcrossEveryone.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.34|...No Comment]]
Observing from within one of the Lugnut Supremes, Megatron's first target for destruction was his former prison, Sumdac Tower. But when the tower's forcefield proved impenetrable and Optimus Prime was able to destroy the Lugnut Supremes he was riding in and severely damage the other two by using the [[Magnus Hammer]], Megatron settled on a new plan: destroying everything that wasn't him. He flew cover over the advancing Lugnut Supremes, directly engaging Optimus Prime (at first mistaken for [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]], then dismissed as a [[knockoff|"cheap imitation"]]) so Prime would not again be able to use the Magnus Hammer on the giants. As the battle raged and failures mounted, Megatron finally addressed Prime by his real name to the Autobot's bitter satisfaction. The two were later trapped within a prison of AllSpark energy—meant to seal in the timebomb that Starscream had secretly placed in one of the Lugnut Supremes.

[[File:StunticonJob-LugnutMegatronPrison.jpg|thumb|upright=1.3|right|'''[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]]''': Master, do you have anymore toilet paper? '''Megatron''': WE'RE GIANT ROBOTS YOU ''BLOATED BEAN BAG'' [[Humanization|WHY DO YOU EVEN ''NEED'' TOILET PAPER?!?]]]]
Undeterred, Megatron accepted that even if he himself had to die he could at least take Prime with him. But Prowl's [[ghost]] was having none of that and Megatron soon found himself left alone to be blown up. Though massively damaged, he survived this and turned to attack the Autobots once more. He was quickly defeated by Optimus Prime and when Megatron wearily invited Prime ''to kill him'', Prime retorted that that would be "the easy way out" which he claimed Megatron did not deserve. Megatron was placed in [[stasis cuffs]] and arrested, then brought back to Cybertron and displayed as a prisoner before the cheering Autobot masses. {{storylink|Endgame, Part II}}

''He was incarcerated in [[Trypticon Prison]] and [[Team Stunticon]] failed to rescue him.'' {{storylink|The Stunti-Con Job}} ''While this happened Shockwave's old [[Kremzeek]] program became active and began making its way to Fortress Maximus to destroy Cybertron. Megatron then questioned what could prompt Shockwave to create such a stupid program and the scientist meekly admitted that the program was only supposed to be activated if they were not on Cybertron.'' {{storylink|The Return of Blurr}}

''If [[Cyclonus (Animated)|Cyclonus]] is to be believed, Megatron will become '''Galvatron''' in the future and kill [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]].'' {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

====Titan ''Animated'' comic====
[[File:MegatronTitan23.jpg|thumb|"NIXON'S BAAACK!"|left]]
Apart from showing interest in the activities of [[Quake-Maker]], {{storylink|Animated Comic issue 1|Burnout!}} Megatron seemed idle... but what the Autobots were unaware of was that he'd constructed a Spark-less drone unit, [[Afterburn]], as a prototype of a future army, and then sent Afterburn off to spy on the Autobots.

He not only received repeated communications from his spy but gained directions to the Autobot base! Megatron entered with explosive results {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 23|Divebomb}} and then ''killed'' Afterburn while rubbing [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]]'s nose in it. He proceeded to summon the other Decepticons and thrash most of the Autobots with ease making some really bad puns along the way, only stopped when [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] secretly got him buried under a crane. Starscream then "saved" him, making Megatron think he'd turned over a new leaf and thus giving him temporary command until he got better. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 24|Megatron's Revenge}}
{{--}}

====''Animated'' shorts====
[[File:MockMegs-bunny.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|If only [[Cyclonus (Animated)|he]] was around to see this]]
While Megatron gave an inspirational speech to his Decepticons (which seemed to be very similar to [[Mission Accomplished|another message]] he'd sent out), Starscream proceeded to make fun of him behind his back—making faces, giving Megatron bunny ears, and shaking his butt at his leader. Megatron was suspicious of Starscream's actions, but each time he turned to look, his lieutenant was standing there innocently, doing nothing unseemly. Megatron apparently decided to let it go, as did the other Decepticons (even Lugnut), until he finally caught Starscream in mid-heckle and dealt with him by blasting him through a wall. {{storylink|Starscream Heckles Megatron}}

After the defeat of the Autobots, Megatron became the personal servant of new Decepticon leader Starscream. He was all too eager to accept the role, apologizing for never seeing Starscream's potential until now...or, at least, the imagined version in Starscream's dream did. The real Megatron punched Starscream awake, threatening to terminate him if he ever nodded off during a staff meeting again. {{storylink|Starscream's Fantasy}}
{{-}}
===''Quest for the AllSpark''===
Megatron took to hanging around [[Internet|online]] using the alias "Meg A. Tron". Masquerading thusly, he was able to recruit the unwitting help of [[Heinz Von Furstwartz|Professor Heinz Von Furstwartz]] in his scheme to sow confusion amongst the Autobots and get a hold of the AllSpark. He was also able to take control of Detroit's legion of robot workers forcing the Autobots to enact an elaborate plan to keep the AllSpark safe. {{storylink|Quest for the AllSpark}}

{{Note|As "Quest for the AllSpark" is a multipath adventure, some accounts of the events may vary.}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
[[File:TheCoolMegatronChokesPrime01.jpg|thumb|right|250px|All aboard the Crazy Train! ''Toot! Toot!'']]
Stumbling across Optimus Prime's band of Autobots, who had recently discovered the long-lost Allspark, Megatron pursued the Space Bridge repair crew relentlessly even after they lost the rest of Megatron's band of Decepticons by going through a Space Bridge gate. Having invaded the Autobot's ship, he beat down the entirety of its crew, save for their leader. Though already having all-but lost an arm in combat when he confronted Optimus, Megatron engaged in vicious melee combat, gloating all-the-while that when he claimed the AllSpark for himself, he would rule the Universe. Defiantly, Optimus managed to expulse Megatron from the ship's cargo bay door as the vessel was plummeting through the Earth's atmosphere, reducing the mighty Decepticon to a smoldering head, to be discovered by a young boy... {{storylink|The Cool Extra issue 3}}

At some point, [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] double-crossed Megatron and attempted to kill him. Unbeknownst to anyone, Megatron's head survived his destruction and had hooked into [[Detroit]]'s closed-circuit video surveillance system. Following the dispersion of the [[AllSpark]] (and Starscream's apparent demise), Megatron became intrigued by [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]]'s [[AllSpark Key|key]] after she used it to bring [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] back to life. Interests piqued, Megatron declared the time was right to initiate the next phase of his operation. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 2}}

Megatron eventually got his hands on the key and used its power to revive himself. After killing Starscream, Megatron engaged Optimus Prime in a sword-to-axe duel. The outcome of that fight is unknown though apparently the Autobots survived the day. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Megatron later hired [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] to capture the (somehow still alive) Starscream. Lockdown mistakenly captured [[Clone number 3370318|Clone #3370318]] instead while the Autobots captured [[Clone number 2716057|Clone #2716057]]. Megatron was met with both clones at his meeting place in a warehouse and demanded to know why there were ''two'' Starscreams. When the clones turned out to be bombs Megatron attempted to flee in helicopter mode only to be chased down by the explosives after [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] attached a pair of rockets to them. Megatron screamed in confusion as he was caught in the explosion. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 6}}

With the [[space bridge#Animated cartoon|Space Bridge]] nearly completed, Megatron was caught off-guard by a surprise attack from Optimus Prime and the Autobots. Clashing sword with Prime's axe, Megatron arrogantly told the Autobot he could never win, though his efforts were amusing. Megatron was then met by a second surprise: an attack by Starscream and his [[Starscream clone (Animated)|Clone Army]]. Megatron was forced to fight side by side with Optimus but quickly dissolved the partnership when he use Prime as a shield to block one of [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]]'s shots. Dropping Prime's smoking body, Megatron informed all listening that the universe belonged to him. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 7}}

[[image:TheCool10TitlePage01.jpg|thumb|250px|left]]
Megatron then installed the severed head of Starscream into the Space Bridge in order to power it with his AllSpark fragment. The fragment proved ''too'' powerful and caused the Space Bridge to overload. Optimus recovered and took Megatron's distraction as an opportunity to defeat the villain once and for all. Slapping a pair of stasis cuffs on him, Optimus kicked Megatron in the jaw and sent him hurtling into the vortex. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 8}}

Megatron found himself warped to the same coordinates as Starscream's head and Omega Supreme. Megatron attempted to use Starscream's [[spark]] to jumpstart Omega Supreme but the plan backfired and Starscream took control of Omega's systems. Starscream sized Megatron in his giant hand and, taunting him returned to [[Earth]] for vengeance against the Autobots. Megatron would not be so easily defeated however, and breaking free teamed with Optimus Prime to sever Starscream's connection to Omega. That dealt with, Megatron and Optimus then agreed to end their rivalry with a final battle. Flying off into the sky, the enemies clashed sword with hammer. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 9}}

Megatron found himself outmatched by Optimus's Wingblade and Magnus Hammer however, and chose to even the odds by blasting his foe with his fusion cannon powered by Starscream's AllSpark fragment! The blast blew Optimus to pieces, but just to be sure Megatron impaled his foe through the spark chamber with his sword anyway. Optimus refused to be beaten and absorbed the power of the AllSpark fragment into himself... somehow. Repaired and now apparently invincible, Prime mopped the floor with Megatron. The defeated [[Emperor of Destruction]] was then carted back to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] in shackles. {{storylink|The Cool Episode Final}}
{{--}}

==Games==
===Transformers Animated: The Game===
{{voiceactor|[[Corey Burton]] (English)|[[Marc Alfos]] (French)}}
[[File:TFAnimated Game Megatron.jpg|thumb|left|126px|Helmet design provided by Lego.]]
After completing a space bridge terminal in his hidden mine base on [[Earth]], Megatron began to prepare to attack Cybertron. He hired [[Lockdown (Animated)|Lockdown]] to collect [[AllSpark]] fragments to power his Space Bridge and obtained enough to do so, however while he was in the process of powering it up [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]]'s team found the base and attacked him. Though he boasted he could beat them easily without the use of weapons they used an electromagnet to defeat him and he was forced to escape by transwarping to Cybertron.
There, he was able to take control of some of the planetary defense systems driving the Autobots away from the [[Space Bridge Nexus]] and sent out a message ordering his forces to take control of the Space Bridges around the rim of the galaxy. [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] soon reported that they'd captured more than a dozen Space Bridges. Before Megatron could take control of the nexus, Optimus's team caught up with him. Commandeering some of the defense systems, they managed to defeat him. Growling that the Decepticons would rise again, Megatron transwarped out to parts unknown. {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The Game}}
{{-}}

===Transformers Animated: ''Action Packs''===
{{note|Megatron is featured as a playable game card. He is a silver card, has a value of 6 points and has the following power: "+1 to every Decepticon in play."}} {{storylink|Transformers Animated: Action Packs}}

===Transformers Battle Universe===
At the edge of time, when the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] needed a new host, Megatron was among several warriors (and [[Megatron (disambiguation)|Megatrons]]) summoned from the multiverse to battle for control of the prize. {{storylink|Transformers Battle Universe}}
{{--}}

==Toys==
===''Animated''===
====Deluxe Class====
[[File:TFAnimated Deluxe BattleBegins Megatron toy.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|SPAAAACE ROOOAAACH!]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1d1|'''Optimus Prime vs. Megatron: The Battle Begins''' (Entertainment Pack, 2008)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Bladed cannon
{{toydesigner|[[Eric Siebenaler]] (Hasbro)|[[Marcelo Matere]] (packaging artist)}}

: Megatron transforms into a sleek spacecraft with, er, VTOL turbofans (presumably designed to show some lineage with his eventual helicopter mode. It's best if you don't think about it too hard). His signature fusion cannon forms the central chassis and cockpit section of the spacecraft (officially, a "Fusion Fighter"); his sword sections mount on the sides of the cannon for storage, though the blade is unremovable and effectively useless. Like the [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Prime]] figure he comes with, he features a punching gimmick, having a spring-loaded waist that snaps back when twisted. Unfortunately, Megatron's balljoint hips and the swivel joints between his thighs and knees are rather loose, making it difficult to pose the figure in such a way that he stands on his own. The figure features a silver color scheme and battle damage paint applications. Also included was [[Transformers Animated (cartoon)/home video#Pack-in disc|a DVD]] featuring the first episode of ''Transformers Animated''.

: The design makes it impossible to mount his fusion cannon beneath his cockpit like in the show.

: If you want to be pedantic about it, the battle implied by the battle-pack pairing is technically a timeline impossibility, insofar as it depicts Cybertron Mode Megatron versus Earth Mode Optimus. It is also [[scale]]d incorrectly, as Megatron was shown as being notably larger than Optimus in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]".

: This mold was used to make the third prize of the [[Hasbro UK exclusive limited Edition Handmade Samples]].

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/BattleBeginsMegatron/megatron.htm More information on "The Battle Begins" Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|BattleInSpace}}
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1d1|'''Battle in Space''' (Deluxe 2-pack, 2008)}}</ul>

: This two-pack features an unchanged Battle Damaged Deluxe Megatron from the ''Battle Begins'' two-pack above, and unchanged Deluxe [[Prowl (Animated)#Deluxe Class|Prowl]].

: The bundle was a 2008 [[Walmart]]-[[exclusive]] [[Black Friday (event)|Black Friday]] release in 2008.

{{-}}{{anchor|TakaraVsOptimus}}
[[File:TF-Animated-VSF-Fight-of-Start-Megatron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1d1|'''The Beginning Showdown: Optimus Prime / Megatron''' (Multi-pack, 2010)}}</ul>
:*''Release date'': [[March 27]], 2010
:*''Accessories'': Bladed cannon

: Released in the first wave o TakaraTomy's [[Transformers Animated (toyline)#TakaraTomy Animated toyline|''Animated'' toyline]], "Battle Begins" Megatron is the Deluxe mold once again, but this time given a shiny metallic paint job (sans battle damage) and white-bordered purple Decepticon symbols, like the majority of the TakaraTomy ''Animated'' toys.

: The figure was only available in a "The Beginning Showdown" (始まりの対決, ''hajimari no taiketsu'', also called "Fight of Start" on English on the box-back) 2-pack with a redecoed version of the Deluxe-scale Cybertronian [[Optimus Prime (Animated)#TakaraVsMegatron|Optimus Prime]] from the "Optimus Prime vs. Megatron: The Battle Begins" set.

{{-}}{{anchor|GoldVersion}}
[[File:AniDXMegsGoldVersion.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4| All that glitters is gold.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Megatron Gold Version''' (Deluxe, 2011)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Bladed cannon

: An entirely-gold-chromed version of the Deluxe-class Battle Begins Megatron limited to 1,000 pieces, "Megatron Gold Version" was made available to residents of Japan via a lottery.

: There were several ways to enter the drawing for him: one could clip out and send in a barcode from a single standard ''Animated'' toy or a single standard ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)#TakaraTomy Autobot Alliance toyline|Autobot Alliance]]'' live action film series toy (or four ''[[EZ Collection]]'' barcodes), '''or''' send in five [[Sega]] Transformers trading cards, '''or''' cut out and send in the appropriate portion of the character cards included with volumes 4 or 5 of [[Paramount Pictures |Paramount of Japan]]'s ''Animated'' DVDs or the "[[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Transformers: Revenge]] Greatest Hits" DVD. The entry period of the drawing was [[November 1]]st, 2010 to [[January 16]]th, 2011.

: In 2014, Megatron Gold Version was one of the prize figures that were re-issued (probably remaining stock) again for the ''Transformers Celebration 2014'' event held at Ikebukuro Sunshine City store's [[Toys"R"Us]].
{{-}}

====Voyager Class====
[[File:Animated megatron voyager.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|Curse you, Earth's atmosphere! ''(Hasbro version pictured)'']]
[[File:TFA-TA06-Megatron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|''(TakaraTomy version pictured)'']]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Cybertron Mode Megatron''' (Voyager, 2008 / 2010)}}</ul>
:*''TakaraTomy name'': '''Megatron'''
:*''TakaraTomy ID number'': '''TA-06'''
:*''TakaraTomy release date'': [[March 27]], [[2010]]
:*''Accessories'': Missile
{{toydesigner|[[Eric Siebenaler]] (Hasbro)}}

: Part of the first wave of Hasbro ''Animated'' Voyager Class toys, this Megatron toy is a larger, bulkier, more detailed, and more gimmick-laden iteration of the same character design used in the Deluxe-scaled versus pack toy. While both modes of both toys look very similar, they have different transformation mechanisms and are not a simple upscaling/downscaling of each other. Where the Deluxe version is straight silver, this version has a pearl-gray paint scheme. The figure features an [[Automorph Technology|automorph]] gimmick in the chest, which closes like a clamshell in transforming to robot mode. A second automorph gimmick is built into the energon blades on the cannon, swinging them into place to form a polearm. Red translucent plastic is heavily used throughout the figure, including in the light piping for the head and the missile for the spring-loaded cannon. Even his ''fingers'' are made of energon, it seems. As with the smaller figure above, it's not possible to have the fusion cannon mounted in a way that's accurate to the show or the later Leader Class toy.

: This toy apparently had a safety modification done late on in the design process (late enough that it doesn't show up on the instructions), possibly as a result of drop test failure. The strut that holds his fusion cannon has been reinforced, and as a result, his cannon cannot be mounted flush against his arm. It is also noted that his cannon easily pops off.

: The (much later) TakaraTomy release, also in the first wave of their ''Animated'' toyline, much like the Deluxe Class figure released in the same country, coats much of his gray plastics in metallic silver overspray paint, and replaces the plain gold Decepticon symbol with a white-bordered purple one.

: Takara's Megatron was part of a pair of different store-exclusive [[campaign item|promotional giveaways]] in April. Buying him from [[AEON|JUSCO]] stores netted customers the [[EZ Collection]] [[Starscream (Animated)#ClearPurple|Starscream Clear Purple Ver.]] toy. Meanwhile, buying him from Apita stores got you the [[Prowl (Animated)#ClearSmokeLOC|Prowl Clear Smoke Ver.]] EZ Collection toy.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/VoyagerMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Cybertron Mode Megatron at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

====Leader Class====
[[File:Animated megatron leader.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"I kill you till you're dead!" ''(Hasbro Version pictured)'']]
[[File:TFA-TA26-Light-and-Sound-Megatron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|<big>'''''You UTTER FOOL! Metallic paint operations are the finest in the world!!!'''''</big> ''(TakaraTomy Version Pictured)'']]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Megatron''' (Leader, 2008 / 2010)}}</ul>
:*''TakaraTomy ID number'': '''TA-26'''
:*''TakaraTomy release date'': [[July 10]], 2010
:*''Accessories'': Missile, 2 rotor-swords
{{toydesigner|[[Eric Siebenaler]] (Hasbro)}}

: Part of the first wave of Hasbro's Leader-class toys, Megatron's "Earth" mode transforms into a high-tech dual-rotor assault helicopter, with his signature (spring-loaded missile launching) cannon mounted under the cockpit. Interestingly, it seems the alt-mode was originally intended to allow for the removal of the cannon without the removal of the bottom half of the fuselage. With a fair amount of force, the cannon can be popped off (and will reattach), but the cannon mount/fuselage lower half does not provide the front landing gear with sufficient clearance to fully extend. The fusion cannon is attached to the left arm out of the box, but it can be detached and put on either arm. It has wheels for use in vehicle mode, and if it is removed, then (undocumented) landing gear can be deployed to make up for the loss. Each rotor blade assembly becomes a sword for robot-mode use.

: The toy has a [[Gimmick|voice chip]], activated by pressing the Decepticon symbol on his chest. If used in robot mode it says one of three quotes: "Crush the Autobots!", "Where is the AllSpark?", and (glorious) evil laughter. All three lines are terrifically cheesy, as you might guess. In helicopter mode, it makes the sound of the rotors warming up, spinning, and powering down. When the cockpit is moved during transformation the classic G1/Animated [[Transformation#The noise|transformation noise]] is heard. While the toy is compatible with the [[Headmaster unit#Toys|Headmaster]] "helmet" that comes with Leader-class [[Bulkhead (Animated)#Leader Class|Bulkhead]], but it does not change his quotes.

: The instructions leave a couple of things out. First, the shoulders should be pushed backwards/upwards for vehicle mode. This lowers the wings down and aligns the front of the engines with the back. Second, the barrel of the cannon can be rotated 180 degrees (at a separate pivot from the one at its base) for robot mode, to better match how it looks in the cartoon, with the red stripes facing his arm. Considering how padded the instructions are to mask the relatively simple transformation (two whole steps just to move the rear landing gear), leaving all this out is quite a feat. Bad Hasbro.

: The TakaraTomy version of the toy, released in the fifth wave of the line (and the only item in said wave), adds a silver overspray to much of his gray plastic, changes his red paint to metallic red, and as per usual changes the faction symbol to the white-outlined full-color version. It also replaces the English voice clips with typically hammy Japanese ones by [[Norio Wakamoto]]: "I am Megatron" in Japanese and "Megatron, transform!" and "Fusion Cannon!" in English.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/Megatron/megatron.htm More information on Leader Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|ShadowBlade}}
[[File:SBAniMegs..jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|I defy the Unicron Trilogy. Defy it, I say!]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Shadow Blade Megatron''' (Leader, 2008)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': Missile, 2 rotor-swords
{{toydesigner|[[Eric Siebenaler]] (Hasbro)|[[Marcelo Matere]] (packaging artist)}}

: The only new item in the third wave of Hasbro Leader-class toys, "Shadow Blade Megatron" is a [[Black redeco|black]], grey and purple redeco of Megatron's Leader class mold with a slight remolding to the tail... that's NOT called [[Megatron (Armada)/toys|Galvatron]]. YeabuhWHA? He is cast entirely in black plastic except for his translucent parts. His nose is not painted, so whenever his lights light up... his nose glows red.

: Many units of this figure have a slight molding problem that prevents him from moving his face when the Decepticon logo is pressed. However, as many units are also unaffected, this may have been an inconsistent problem or corrected by a running change.

: This toy was repurposed as [[Black Megatron]] in ''[[Generations Selects Special Comic]]''.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2009/Decepticon/SBMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Shadow Blade Megatron at TFU.info]''
{{-}}

{{anchor|Marauder}}
[[File:MarauderMegatron.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Tonight, I dine on turtle soup!]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Marauder Megatron''' (Leader, <s>2010</s>)}}</ul>
:*''Accessories'': 2 missiles

: Based on the Megatron design for the ultimately-canceled fourth season of the show, a new toy of "Marauder Megaton" made it to a gray-resin sculpt before also being canceled.

: Now a [[Triple Changer]], he transforms into both a Cybertronian jet and a Cybertroian tank, armed with a pair of spring-loaded missile launching "fusion cannons" in all three modes. His robot mode head has a muzzle-like plate over the mouth in a homage to ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'' [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]. [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] also based the design on [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity#The Battlestars story pages and comic|Super and Ultra Megatron]] from ''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)#Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers: Return of Convoy|Return of Convoy]]''. [http://www.formspring.me/DerrickJWyatt/q/878717866] ''14 years later'', this canceled design was homaged in the concept art [[Studio Series]] toy for [[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]] [[Megatron (Movie)/toys#SSConcept|Megatron]].

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

====Activators====
{{anchor|Activator}}
[[File:TFA-Activators-Megatron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"Transform and shrink down!"]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Megatron''' (Activators, 2008)}}</ul>
{{toydesigner|[[Bill Rawley]] (Hasbro)}}

: Part of the fourth wave of [[Activators]], this version of Megatron is a very simplified, roughly-Basic-sized version of his Earth mode. His spring-loaded transformation from vehicle to robot mode is activated by a single switch on the back of his copter mode. A simplified transformation means most of his Helicopter kibble hungs on his back. Despite having a cannon on the bottom of his vehicle mode, he does not possess one on either arm in robot mode, and the robot mode art in the instructions still depict him possessing a detachable fusion cannon accessory.

: Unlike most Hasbro ''Animated'' Activators, Megatron features a sculpted insignia painted purple, rather than the standard gold/black.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/ActMegatron/megatron.htm More information on Activators Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{anchor|AnimatedSuperCollection}}
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1d1|'''Animated Super Collection Vol. 1''' (Multi-pack, 2010)}}</ul>
:*''Release date'': [[October 2]], 2010

: Released in the ninth wave of the TakaraTomy line, the "Animated Super Collection Vol. 1" giftset contains (some) (very) slight redecos of Activators Megatron, [[Optimus Prime (Animated)#Activators|Optimus Prime]], [[Lockdown (Animated)#Activators|Lockdown]] and [[Ratchet (Animated)#Activators|Ratchet]].

: While the overwhelming majority of Takara ''Animated'' toys have altered faction symbols, Megatron is actually unchanged from the Hasbro release, which had a purple symbol already.
{{-}}

===''Mini EZ Collection''===
[[File:TFA-Mini-EZ-Colle-Megatron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|"WHAT HAPPENED TO 2 AND 3!?" "I don't want to know, because a Con only needs to remember number 1 to live."]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Megatron''' (Mini EZ Collection, <s>2010?</s>)}}</ul>

: Intended to be released as part of TakaraTomy's new ''Mini EZ Collection'' line, Megatron is an all new, 2-inch mold that converts from robot into a futuristic helicopter, although the simplified transformation makes him looks like he's lying down.

: The figures were set for a November 2010 release, but were quietly canceled.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

====Fast Food toys====
{{anchor|McDonalds}}
[[File:McdonaldsAnimatedMegatron.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|right|Nope, it's still just a robot lying down.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Megatron''' (McDonald's Happy Meal Toys, 2008)}}</ul>
:*''McNumber'': '''2'''

: Part of the [[McDonald's]] ''Transformers Animated'' Happy Meal promotion, this is a very simple representation of Megatron in his Earth form. The robot mode seems to have taken priority in the design process, since the vehicle mode looks like his robot mode lying down. Megatron does not come with his signature arm cannon.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/2008/Decepticon/McMegatron/megatron.htm More information on McDonald's Megatron at TFU.info]''

{{-}}{{anchor|McLatin}}
[[File:TFA McD Megatron Jumpstarter.jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Look on the bright side: at least he has his arm cannon this time.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-d1|'''Megatron''' (McDonald's Happy Meal toys, 2008) }}</ul>

: This is very simplistic version of Megatron converts from non-articulated robot mode to a "folded" robot with three wheels (which is a very non-show-accurate alt-mode). Like the [[Jumpstarter]]s toys, he features a pull-back motor in vehicle mode that propels him forward on smooth surfaces; after a short run the latch that keeps his spring-loaded legs releases, causing him to flip forward and into upright robot mode.

: Like the rest of his assortment, this Megatron was only available in Brazil, Mexico and Venezuela.
{{-}}

==Merchandise==
[[File:TFA Battle Blaster Megatron .jpg|upright=1.4|thumb|Admit it, you're disappointed you can't pretend to blast Autobots with this.]]
*'''Megatron Battle Blaster''' (2009)

: This [[roleplay toys|roleplay toy]] would have been able to transform from helicopter mode by wrapping around the user's hand to become a vague version of Megatron's fist topped with a truncated version of his fusion cannon. Humorously, the actual fusion cannon from vehicle mode points backwards when in fist mode, pointing at the wearer. Due to it being unreleased it's unknown what, if any, voice lines or other sound effect it may have had. The Battle Blaster initially had stock photos sent out in [[February]] of [[2008]] by Hasbro<ref>https://news.tfw2005.com/2008/02/26/official-images-of-animated-leader-class-bulkhead-and-megatron-arm-blaster-164313</ref> and later appeared on the website of the store Boscov in [[January]] of [[2009]] <ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20090107043903/https://www.boscovs.com/StoreFrontWeb/Product.bos?quantity=1&itemNumber=31374&type=Product</ref> before ultimately going unreleased.

{{canceledtoy}}
{{-}}

===Transformers Cards===
* '''Megatron''' (2010?)
** ''Card number'': '''D-001'''
: Part of the ''[[Transformers Cards]]'' series used in the ''[[Transformers Animated: The Chase]]'' and ''[[Transformers Animated: The Shooting]]'' arcade card-reading games by [[Sega]].

:* ''Promotion number'': '''P-010''', '''P-010a''', '''P-031'''
: Also part of the Transformers Cards series in the Sega arcade games, except the art is mostly character art in motion.

{{-}}

===''Transformers Character Card''===
[[File:Transformers Character Card Animated Megatron and Wingblade OP.jpg|upright=1|thumb]]
*'''Optimus Prime & Megatron Set''' ([[February]], [[2024]])
**''ID number:'' '''77 & 78'''

:Released as part of the eleventh wave of the [[e-HOBBY]] exclusive ''[[Transformers Character Card]]'' series, this pair of holographic trading cards depict super-deformed art of [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron along with [[bio|character profiles]] and [[Tech Spec|tech specs]].
::*''[[Source:Transformers Character Card#78|Translation of ''Animated'' Megatron's Transformers Character Card]]''

{{comingsoontoy}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[File:AnimatedMegatronMovieHat.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|They moonlight as lawn darts.]]
[[File:AnimatedMegatronAltmode.jpg|upright=0.85|thumb|"''That's'' a ship?!" "Who cares, as long as it flies."]]
[[File:AniMegsKatana.jpg|thumb|upright=0.85|Where is my [[fusion cannon]]?! All Megatrons should have them! ALL OF THEM, I TELL YOU!!!]]

* Megatron's pre-Earth head has a rather pointed resemblance to the somewhat early head of 2007 movie's [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], which went unused in the actual movie but appeared on loads of promotional materials and merchandise. Also in common with Movie Megatron, ''Animated'' Megatron lay inert for many years while his technology was [[Sector Seven|reverse-engineered by humans]].
* Corey Burton cites Sir John Hurt as his vocal inspiration for Animated Megatron.
* Megatron's cannon makes the same sound as his [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Generation 1 counterpart]]'s weapon, except with additional effects mixed in to make it actually sound like a laser cannon and not a blender.
* Megatron's outer space alternate mode, shown for all of 20 seconds, has ''two'' toy molds devoted to it. Though these "Cybertron mode" toys resemble each other, neither looks anything like the alt mode of the pre-Earth Megatron seen on the show.
* Megatron is the only one of the original five Decepticons in ''Animated'' actually to have a Cybertronian vehicle mode design. Although the others have different robot mode kibble before they scan their Earth modes, none of them had an alt-mode created. Having a toy helps (this is in contrast to the Autobots, who all had Cybertronian-modes designed for them from the start, even if we didn't see them in the first episode).
* Sumdac found Megatron's head intact in its original Cybertronian mode. The head housed in his lab, however, is essentially a damaged version of his Earth-mode head. Presumably, this change is the result of Sumdac's destructive tinkering and research over the fifty years Megatron was in stasis lock.
* According to ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The Allspark Almanac]]'', Megatron's Earth mode cockpit seats five.
* When he was a disembodied head, Megatron had a pupil in his right eye, similar to the Autobots. Once he regained his body, this never appeared again.
* An early image of Megatron's Earth body had slight differences from the finished product, most notably the lack of a fusion cannon and the presence of a katana instead of his twin swords. This image originally appeared as part of an Amazon.com listing for [[Transformers Animated Volume 2|volume 2]] of [[IDW Publishing]]'s screenshot-based ''[[Transformers Animated (IDW)|Transformers Animated]]'' adaption series.
* In the initial planning phases of the never-greenlit [[Transformers Animated season 4|fourth season]], Megatron would have broken out of prison on Cybertron and become a [[Triple Changer]], as detailed in the ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The Allspark Almanac II]]''. This upgrade would have been courtesy of Blackarachnia and rendered him "unstable" for a time.
*In the Transformers Animated profile shorts, Megatron is introduced to the audience by Optimus in "[[Meet Megatron]]."

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Megatron''' (メガトロン ''Megatoron'')
*''Mandarin:'' '''Wēi Zhèn Tīan''' (威震天, "Extremely Prestigious", literally "Heaven-shaking Might")
*''Spanish:'' '''Megatrón''' (Latin America)

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Animated Decepticons]]
[[Category:Decepticon leaders]]
[[Category:Emperors of Destruction]]
[[Category:Engineers]]
[[Category:Hall of Fame characters]]
[[Category:McDonald's exclusives]]

TransWarped

2024-02-05T02:17:15Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Featured characters */

{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|series2=AniJapan
|image=TFA TransWarped Sari hands.jpg
|caption="I am... Iron <s>Man</s> Girl?"
|prev=A Bridge Too Close, Part II
|next=Three's a Crowd
|ep=30, 31 and 32
|ep2=27, 28 and 29
|prev2=A Bridge Too Close, Part II
|next2=Three's a Crowd
|title="TransWarped"
|airdate=[[March 14]], 2009
|season=3
|season ep=1–3
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]] [[Michael Ryan]] [[Marsha Griffin]]
|directed by=[[Matt Youngberg]] [[Yoshio Frank Chatani]] [[Tetsurō Moronuki]] [[Yutaka Kagawa]]
|animation studio=[[Mook]]
|continuity=[[Animated cartoon continuity]]}}

'''In the aftermath of the battle at the mine, Sari and her father's relationship takes a strange turn; the Autobots have their work cut out for them trying to contact Cybertron; and Megatron and Starscream find a new opportunity.'''

==Synopsis==
===Part I===
[[File:TransWarpedRodimusCosmicRust.jpg|thumb|left|No fair, I just got here!]]

Somewhere along the outer rim of the galaxy, the [[Autobot]] group, [[Team Athenia]], led by [[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]], defends [[space bridge 687-030]] against the [[Decepticon]]s' "[[Team Chaar]]," led by [[Strika (Animated)|Strika]]. She, [[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]], and [[Cyclonus (Animated)|Cyclonus]] strafe [[Brawn (Animated)|Brawn]], [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]], and [[Hot Shot (Animated)|Hot Shot]], badly injuring Hot Shot's leg and forcing team medic [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]] to perform an amputation. Before she can do so, however, she is swallowed up by [[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]], who explosively vomits her back at her team. Rodimus contacts the [[Elite Guard]] for backup, but the Autobot forces are spread much too thin, defending space bridges from Decepticon attacks all across the galaxy. Oil Slick and Cyclonus proceed to take down Brawn and Ironhide, leaving Rodimus on his own, at which point Blackout arrives and all but finishes the fight with a huge electromagnetic pulse. Rodimus still has some fight left in him, but it drains away when Oil Slick offlines him with a vial of [[Cosmic Rust (disease)|Cosmic Rust]]. Strika contacts [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], who informs her that nobody is to TransWarp to the planet until [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] himself arrives. But Megatron was supposed to be there megacycles ago...

[[File:TransWarpedStarscreamsScream.jpg|thumb|right|I'mma firin' mah lazhar!]]

Off in the depths of space, the disembodied head of [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] attempts to remove Megatron's stasis cuffs with his teeth as the Decepticon leader berates him all the while. As Starscream begins bellowing back at Megatron, the [[AllSpark#Animated continuity family|AllSpark]] fragment in his forehead begins to glow, and he undergoes a surprising transformation: His mouth converts into a sonic blaster that shoots the cuffs clean off Megatron's wrists. There is no time for the two villains to celebrate, however, as the giant form of [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] materializes above them. But after a moment, Megatron realizes that the colossus is offline...

[[File:TransWarpedProtoform.jpg|thumb|left|Hush little baby, don't say a word. Sumdac's gonna build you a mockingbird.]]

On [[Earth]], as the Autobots return to [[Detroit]], [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Professor Sumdac]] explains [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari's]] origins to her as best he can, revealing that he discovered her in his laboratory years ago, in the form of a small, liquid metal robot. Sari finds the story hard to believe, and her strained patience reaches its end when the group returns to [[Sumdac Tower]] and confronts [[Porter C. Powell]] and [[Headmaster (Animated)|Henry Masterson]]. Powell tries to smooth things over with Isaac, but Masterson's belligerent attitude dispels any attempts at peace, which is further ruined when he demands the Autobots return his Headmaster, or "heads will roll." Having entered the lab from the elevator behind them, Optimus picks up Masterson and asks for clarification on his threat. Isaac immediately fires both Powell and Masterson, but Masterson refuses to vacate the premises, and Powell takes another shot at Sari's disputed parentage.

[[File:TransWarped Pt1 Sari Freakout.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Emperor Palpatine|POWER!!! UNLIMITED POWER!!!]]]]

In a moment of anger, Sari's hands transform into energy projectors that hurl the two men into the building's elevator. This newest revelation pushes Sari over the edge, and she walks out on the man she can no longer even think of as her father, returning to the [[Autobot Earth Base|Autobots' base]] with her "fellow machines." While [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] examines Sari—deducing that she's basically human, but partially Cybertronian—Prowl departs to carry out some research of his own. With Ratchet lost in his memories of [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]], [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] head back to the Decepticons' destroyed mine base to salvage some equipment that will let them contact Cybertron and inform the Autobots there of the traitor in their midst.

On a small planetoid somewhere in space, [[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] is still trapped in a cement blob with Starscream's [[Thundercracker (Animated)|egomaniacal]] and [[Skywarp (Animated)|cowardly]] clones. Blurr proposes using sonic pulses to dissolve the glue, and the egomaniac takes the idea for his own and successfully frees them. Blurr immediately speeds off, launching into space and literally running across the galaxy, ricocheting off everything in his path (including the egomaniac) to get back to Cybertron and inform the Elite Guard of Megatron's invasion plan.

Megatron and Starscream force their way into Omega Supreme's body, but this action brings the giant Autobot back online, and his internal systems immediately seize the Decepticons. Megatron exploits Omega's simple processor and convinces the titan to take him back to Cybertron "to face justice." Omega transforms back into ship mode and TransWarps off toward Cybertron.

Back on Earth, Bumblebee and Bulkhead are searching through the ruins of the mine when Bumblebee discovers a [[plasma dynamic thruster]] space bridge component that abruptly TransWarps him away. While Bulkhead is wondering where his buddy went, he is suddenly attacked by Henry Masterson, who recovered his Headmaster unit and Starscream's headless body from the mine the night before.

At Sumdac Tower, Prowl shadows Sumdac into his laboratory, quickly accesses his computers, and scans the scientist in an attempt to learn more about Sari's origins. Ratchet is having distinctly less luck back at the Autobot base, where Sari refuses to let him perform an exploratory surgery. The whole unpleasant affair reminds Ratchet of his past on Cybertron, when he performed open-processor surgery on Arcee and discovered she was carrying the codes that were key to the creation of Omega Supreme. Prime snaps Ratchet out of his flashback with the news that he cannot contact Bumblebee and Bulkhead, and Ratchet heads out to the mine to investigate.

[[File:TFA TransWarped Headmaster Starscream power up.jpg|thumb|right|[[A Bridge Too Close, Part II|Here we go again...]]]]
With the other Autobots busy, Optimus Prime tries to patch up the Sumdac family feud by surreptitiously opening a comm channel to Professor Sumdac's laboratory and explaining loudly and at length to Sari that he is going to take her to [[Burger Bot]]. Sumdac catches on and heads out to meet them there, but Sari is furious at being set up and refuses to talk to him. Unfortunately, the Headmaster soon arrives, having picked up Prime's phone call through bugs left in Sumdac Tower, and threatens to unleash t0t47 0wN4ge!

===Part II===
[[File:TFAni TransWarped Headmaster PWN3D.jpg|left|thumb|Heads out.]]
Optimus Prime engages the Headmaster, binding him with his grapplers and dragging him around the Burger Bot parking lot before taking a moment to usher the Sumdacs to safety behind a dumpster. The fight carries the two combatants to an overhead roadway and back, with the Headmaster eventually downing Prime with a slab of concrete. Sumdac is forced to take action, and he hides Sari within the dumpster so that he can draw the Headmaster's attention and keep her safe. Touched by this, Sari unleashes her energy projectors on the Headmaster in defence of her father, though they do little to the villain other than draw his attention. Prime rejoins the battle just in time, ramming the villain in truck mode and goading the Headmaster into trying to transform Starscream's body as well. Infuriated by Prime's claim that a n00b such as he would find it difficult, the Headmaster tries to meet the challenge... only to find his Headmaster unit squeezed clean off Starscream's body by the transformation process. As Starscream's lifeless carcass spirals off into the river, the Headmaster is apprehended by Prime and handed over to [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]].

Back at Sumdac tower, Prowl reveals his findings to Prime, Sari and Sumdac: He believes that the body Sumdac found in his lab was, in fact, a Cybertronian [[protoform]] that scanned Professor Sumdac's genetic data. Sari takes the revelation in stride, although everyone else remains mystified as to how a protoform wound up on Earth in the first place. There is no time to dwell on the subject, however, as Ratchet radios Prime to inform him of Bulkhead's injuries and Bumblebee's disappearance.

Out in space, Omega Supreme re-emerges from TransWarp, and his systems all power down, having been sapped of energy by the effort of the teleport. Megatron attempts to escape from the confines of the giant Autobot's body, but without his weapons, he is unable. Starscream's new sonic blaster is similarly ineffective, and Megatron instead schemes to take control of Omega's very body.

[[File:TFAni TransWarped Blurr Crushed.jpg|right|thumb|"We... are going... to die!"]]
On Cybertron, Shockwave (in the form of Longarm Prime) is informed by [[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] that the space bridge network has been shut down to prevent a Decepticon invasion of the planet. Suppressing his frustration, Shockwave is promptly presented with an outlet for his anger when Blurr comes streaking out of the sky and crashes at his feet. Blurr informs him of the double-agent on Cybertron, whom he plans to identify by cross-referencing his voice-print with the Cybertron intelligence database, and Shockwave immediately attacks the speedster, intent on silencing him before his cover can be blown. Blurr streaks off into a series of nearby corridors, but his speed fails to carry him beyond Shockwave's reach: Using a control console, Shockwave seals off the tunnels, and Blurr is crushed between two walls.

Back on Earth, Ratchet's treatment of Bulkhead is interrupted by Sari, who volunteers use of her Key to fix the larger Autobot's wounds. Ratchet is indignant, insisting that just because something is new, it doesn't make it better, but Bulkhead requests the Key. While Sari goes to work on Bulkhead's injuries, the sullen medic is overtaken by his memories; he recalls the creation of Omega Supreme and how he was partnered with the newborn titan to serve as his mentor, teacher and friend. Ratchet is roused from his unpleasant trip down memory lane when discussion turns to the whereabouts of Bumblebee, and before long, Bulkhead figures out that the plasma dynamic thruster has TransWarped Bumblebee off across the galaxy. Bulkhead suggests using a [[retrieval beacon generator]] recovered from the mine ruins to pinpoint Bumblebee's location, and Sari uses her Key to fix it before Ratchet can even begin examining it.

Aboard Omega Supreme, Megatron uses his stasis cuffs to "hotwire" Omega's body and bring it back online. However, when the light from Omega's "headlights" falls upon a nearby asteroid, Megatron and Starscream are shocked to see the rock react to the light, transforming into a humanoid monster that immediately attacks the ship! As more asteroids transform around him, Omega transwarps away to safety...only for Bumblebee, cruising on the tail end of Omega's TransWarp field, to materialize in his place, right in the midst of the [[Rock Lord]]s! The largest creature swallows the tiny Autobot with a single gulp.

Simultaneously, on Earth, Bulkhead locks in on Bumblebee's position and teleports him back, but the Rock Lord he is inside comes with him and is immediately driven to a rampage by the blinding light of the [[Sun]]. Optimus Prime detects Bumblebee's signature within the creature, and the Autobots prepare to give chase as the alien stomps off through the city. Prowl is rather taken aback to see Ratchet wearing his EMP generator on his arm once more, while Prime has to deal with Sari's demands that she be allowed to join them in the fight now that she has powers. Prime refuses, and the Autobots zoom off after the rock monster, but Sari won't take no for an answer and is struck with inspiration: Give herself an upgrade! Sari concentrates, and a port opens in her chest, into which she inserts her Key...and in an explosion of energy, Sari's whole body transforms into a taller, older form, suited in combat armor!

[[File:TFAni TransWarped Screamer Hotwire OmegaSupreme.jpg|left|thumb|Name: Starscream Function: Jumper Cable]]
Meanwhile, Megatron has discovered that Omega Supreme has again expended all his power, and his stasis cuffs do not have the energy left to rectify the situation. He grabs Starscream's head and jams it into the circuits, where the traitor's AllSpark fragment energizes Omega's systems once more.

[[File:TransWarpedBumblebeeSari.jpg|thumb|right|So, kids, don't play with too many knives!]]
Back in Detroit, the Autobots are attempting to figure out how to stop the Rock Lord without hurting Bumblebee, when the upgraded Sari comes streaking onto the scene on jet skates. As the Autobots look on in shock, Sari begins attacking the alien with arm-blades and an energy-hammer that morph out of her arms. A single strike of the hammer reduces the alien to boulders, freeing Bumblebee, who is immediately struck by Sari's new look, but then shouts a warning: The smaller boulders surrounding the pair have transformed into small creatures. But the creatures pose no threat to Sari, and she pounds them into pebbles. As Sari basks in her triumph, Ratchet realizes with horror that she has used the Key on herself. The elderly Autobot's concern is soon proven valid, as the Key overloads Sari's systems, and she loses control of her body. With Sari attacking everything and everyone around her, the Autobots attempt to stop her with a variety of non-lethal strategies, but Sari counters everything they throw at her, including Prowl's processor-over-matter technique. Even as Prime and Sari tell Bumblebee to keep back, the young Autobot races to his friend's side...only for the out-of-control Sari to stab him through the chest! Frozen for a horrific moment, Bumblebee is then hurled back by an energy discharge, and the light dims from his optics...

===Part III===
Ratchet leaps to Bumblebee's aid, but without Sari's Key, Bulkhead fears his little buddy is done for. Ratchet denies that he requires the key to do his job, but his memories of when he was forced to place the dying Omega Supreme in stasis haunt him as he begins to operate on Bumblebee.

[[File:TFAni TransWarped Ratchet Repairs Bumblebee.jpg|left|thumb|'''D:''']]
Sari, meanwhile, is storming through the city streets, causing objects to explode when she comes into contact with them, and the Autobots head after her, seeking to remove the Key in hopes of bringing her back under control. They corral her with a wall of steel girders, affording Prowl the chance to get the drop on her and rip the Key from her chest, but Sari continues to rampage. With Bumblebee fading, Ratchet goes back on his previous claim and requests the Key be brought to him, but when Prowl complies, he discovers that the energy of the Key has been completely drained. Prowl assures Ratchet that he can accomplish the task without the Key, and the old medic gravely takes up the challenge and manages to bring Bumblebee back online.

Back with Sari, Prime and Bulkhead, Sari's energies are growing increasingly more out of control, as the street beneath her explodes with every step she takes. Bulkhead suggests just trying to "hold it in," but when Sari tries, things get even worse, as she begins to glow with so much energy that she is on the verge of exploding. Optimus summons Ratchet so that he can use his EMP generator to take Sari down, and while Ratchet is hesitant to do so, Sari begs him to stop her. Ratchet fires, and Sari collapses, her energy fading.

[[File:TFAni TransWarped LongArm Cliffjumper Cube.jpg|right|thumb|Kid's meal premiums aren't what they used to be.]]
On Cybertron, Longarm Prime has Cliffjumper dispose of the crushed remains of Blurr and is then contacted by Megatron. Learning that the space bridge network is down and that the Earth-based Autobots are poised to blow Shockwave's cover, Megatron orders the Decepticons to cease their attacks on the space bridges so that he can solve both problems his own way. Team Chaar receive the transmission and fall back, much to the Elite Guard's surprise.

In the Autobots' base, Ratchet completes a rewiring of Sari's systems, bypassing the circuits that caused her to run out of control. Professor Sumdac soon arrives, having been informed of the location of the base by Optimus Prime. The Autobots are a little upset by this, but Prime makes it clear that there are to be no more secrets in this "family". The Autobots step outside the plant to give the Sumdacs some time together, and are in the middle of catching Bumblebee up on recent events when the small Autobot suddenly begins to glow with TransWarp energies once more. Bulkhead quickly deactivates the plasma dynamic thruster, but the source of the TransWarp wave the thruster was picking up soon becomes apparent, as Omega Supreme materializes in the sky overhead. Much to the Autobots' surprise, the titan fires upon them before transforming to robot mode, revealing a projected image of Megatron's face upon his visor! The Decepticon leader is in complete control of Omega's body and begins attacking the Autobots, forcing Optimus Prime to consider unleashing an uncontrollable Sari on the giant. Before resorting to this desperate last resort, the Autobots attempt to lure Megatron away from the city. Ratchet even upgrades Bumblebee's stingers to a more powerful battle grade for the mission.

[[File:TFAni TransWarped Prowl Megs OSFight.jpg|left|thumb|I'm going to have to put you on the game grid.]]
Taking refuge in the nearby river, the Autobots attack Omega's legs, forcing open an access hatch through which Prime and Prowl enter Omega's body. Battling Omega's internal defences, Prowl taps into Omega's processor in order to help him fight off Megatron's control, and they succeed in forcing Megatron out of the system. Prime engages Megatron in order to keep Prowl safe, but as their battle rages, Starscream seizes control of Omega's mind and forcibly disconnects Prowl from Omega's processor. Prime and Prowl are unceremoniously ejected from Omega Supreme's body, but Starscream is not finished there; he uses Omega's internal defences to seize Megatron, and resumes attacking the Autobots all around him. Megatron manages to talk Starscream into an alliance, suggesting they forget Earth and conquer Cybertron together. Starscream struggles to activate Omega's TransWarp system, and while his attention is occupied with this task, Omega's consciousness fights its way to the surface and begs Ratchet to shut him down again. Ratchet regretfully unleashes his EMP generator upon Omega, but it has no effect, and Starscream transforms Omega into starship mode in order to begin the TransWarp. Bulkhead and Bumblebee hit upon the idea to plant the plasma dynamic thruster on Omega Supreme, and they hand it off to Prime to complete the task. Prime plants the thruster at the last second before Omega disappears into TransWarp, and Ratchet catches Prime with his magnets as he falls out of the sky.

Back at the Autobot base a little later, Sari comes to and admits to Ratchet that he was right about taking it slow. Sumdac apologizes for holding back the truth from Sari for so long, and Bumblebee thanks Ratchet for saving his tailpipe. Unfortunately, Bulkhead brings the mood down by reminding everyone that they still have to find a way to contact Cybertron.

[[File:TFA TransWarped lost in space.JPG|thumb|right|[[Ripped Up Space]]]]
On Cybertron, [[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] holds an Autobot council and announces that all the evidence points to a double agent on Cybertron. Longarm Prime implicates escaped convict [[Wasp]], and Ultra Magnus instructs [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] and [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] to put together a unit to hunt the fugitive down. Magnus also notes that he has to make contact with Optimus's crew on Earth, and Longarm hastily demands that all contact with them be filtered through him, responding to the council's wary looks by adding that it will be purely for security reasons.

In the sky above Cybertron, Omega Supreme materializes, and Starscream howls with glee...only for the Autobot spaceship to TransWarp away immediately to another random point in space...and another...and another...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Brawn (Animated)|Brawn]] (2)
*[[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]] (3)
*[[Hot Shot (Animated)|Hot Shot]] (4)
*[[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]] (7)
*[[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]] (9)
*[[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] (10)
*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (11)
*[[Ultra Magnus (Animated)|Ultra Magnus]] (12)
*[[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] (17)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (18)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (19)
*[[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]] (20)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (21)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (22)
*[[Mainframe (Animated)|Mainframe]] (27)
*[[Highbrow (Animated)|Highbrow]] (28)
*[[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] (29)
*[[Blurr (Animated)|Blurr]] (31)
*[[Wheeljack (Animated)|Wheeljack]] (33)
*[[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] (34)
*[[Cliffjumper (Animated)|Cliffjumper]] (36)
*[[Alpha Trion (Animated)|Alpha Trion]] (37)
*[[Warpath (Animated)|Warpath]] (38)
|c2=
*[[Cyclonus (Animated)|Cyclonus]] (1)
*[[Oil Slick (Animated)|Oil Slick]] (5)
*[[Strika (Animated)|Strika]] (6)
*[[Spittor (Animated)|Spittor]] (8)
*[[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm Prime / Shockwave]] (13)
*[[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] (14)
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (15)
*[[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] (16)
*[[Skywarp (Animated)|Skywarp]] (30)
*[[Thundercracker (Animated)|Thundercracker]] (32)
*[[Reflector (Animated)|Reflector]] (39)
|c3=
*[[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Isaac Sumdac]] (24)
*[[Headmaster (Animated)|The Headmaster]] (25)
*[[Porter C. Powell]] (26)
*[[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] (35)
|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] (23)
*[[Rock Lord]]s (38)
}}

==Quotes==
"'Bulkhead' and 'genius' in the same sentence? I'll never get used to that."
:—'''Bumblebee''' shows his high opinion of his best friend.

"I'll warn them even if I have to run halfway across the galaxy to Cybertron to do it!" 
:—'''Blurr''', who apparently does just that.

"Sari, I don't pretend to fully understand humans, but from what I've seen, being a father is far more than a simple organic bond. It has much more to do with the spark. With the heart."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' muses on the nature of family. Sadly, the [[fandom]] desires more [[Relatives|concrete answers]].

"Prepare for T-O-T! Total Ownage Time!"
:—'''Headmaster''' to Optimus Prime and the Sumdacs.

"You taught me to protect like an Autobot, but all I did was destroy like a Decepticon." 
"We do what we must, even if it sometimes doesn't make sense." 
:—'''Omega Supreme''' and '''Ratchet''', before the former is put into modified stasis

'''Ratchet''': Omega, what are you doing?! Don't you recognize your old friend?! 
'''Megatron''': The question should be, "Don't you recognize your old enemy?" 
'''Optimus Prime''': Megatron?! 
'''Megatron''': Ah, then you ''do'' remember my name. Pity I can't remember yours.
:—The Autobots learn that Megatron has taken control of Omega Supreme

"It appears you and I are destined to battle aboard this ship once more, Autobot." 
"Bring it on, Decepticon."
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime'''

"Starscream too powerful. Please, shut me down! I want to sleep again." 
"I already had to use this thing once today when I didn't want to. Don't make me use it again." 
"We do what we must, even if it sometimes doesn't make sense."
:—'''Omega Supreme''' tries to convince '''Ratchet''' to use his EMP Generator

"Someday I really have to learn how to fly."
:—Someday will come [[Endgame, Part I|soon]], '''Optimus Prime'''

==Notes==

===Continuity notes===
*As Sari dismisses Isaac Sumdac's story of her origin, she suggests that he should have told her how he found her "in a cabbage patch", or how "the stork" brought her. Similar ideas were suggested by Professors Bumblebee and Bulkhead in "[[The Return of the Headmaster]]". In that episode, the professors also suggested that Sari was really a robot, that she came to Earth in an egg, or that she could have fallen through a portal, ''all'' of which seem to have some nugget of truth to them: She ''is'' part-robot, she was contained in a strange pod, and she appeared in Sumdac's lab out of thin air. ''Foreshadowing!''
*After Sari mentions those theories, Optimus Prime recalls how Sari told him of human manufacturing, which occurred in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]".
*Starscream says Omega Supreme is "more powerful than I imagined...well, not AllSpark-powerful...", in reference to his use of the same phrase to describe the AllSpark way back in "Transform and Roll Out!"

===Transformers references===
[[File:TransWarped Pt1 Blurr Runs Rings.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*Bar Oil Slick, every member of the new squads harkens back to a previous series. Rodimus, Ironhide, Brawn and Cyclonus are heavily based off their Generation One counterparts. Red Alert and Hot Shot take after their Unicron Trilogy incarnations. Spittor and Strika are both modeled after Beast Era characters, and Blackout's design is heavily influenced by the live-action movie version.
*While lecturing Sari on taking it slow with her powers, Ratchet says that there's "more than meets the vis-scanners" on having powers, a clear reference to the time-honored Transformers tagline "[[More than Meets the Eye (disambiguation)|more than meets the eye]]".
*Arcee's open head [[:File:Spotlight Arcee cvrB.jpg|looks ''waaay'' too much]] like [[Alex Milne]]'s cover for [[IDW Publishing]]'s "[[Spotlight: Arcee]]" to be a coincidence.
*Blurr races along a Saturn-style planetary ring, as [[Blurr (G1)|his namesake]] had done in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)#Season 3|Generation 1 season 3]] [[title sequence]].
*The building in which the [[Autobot High Council]] have their meeting looks [[Metroplex (G1)|somewhat familiar]].
*Blackout seems to have retained his seismic stomp that was used by his [[Blackout (Movie)|movie counterpart]].
*Team Chaar gets its name from [[Chaar|the planet of the same name]].
*After being told by Optimus to stay behind, Sari tells Optimus that she is a Robot Hero now too.
*Ratchet says that he has been the team's medic for 4 Million Stellar-cycles.

===Real-world references===
* Megatron tells Optimus, "You have persistence, Autobot. I hate persistence." This is based on Lou Grant's well-known dialogue from the first episode of ''{{w|The Mary Tyler Moore Show}}''—"You know what, you've got spunk! … I hate spunk!"
* Sari's transformation sequence upon absorbing the power of the key is a nod to the transformation sequence of the title robot in ''{{w|Gurren Lagann}}''.
* Sari's use of a large hammer, sending it down with her buttocks in the air, references back to... about ninety billion different anime shows. Although they usually involve an upskirt of sorts that's very thankfully absent here.

===Technical or animation errors===
* When Megatron is first seen in space, parts of his helmet are miscolored red.
* Just before Omega Supreme is activated, Ultra Magnus accompanies Highbrow and Ratchet on a lift. In this shot, part of the Magnus Hammer's handle is missing.
* When Sari removes her key in order to place it in the homing beacon generator, the string doesn't actually go over her head... it just phases through her neck. Somehow.
* The damage to Starscream's body disappears during the commercial break.
* When Bumblebee tells Sari to watch out, her back kibble disappears for a moment. It reappears in the next shot.
* Once the key has been removed from Sari, the vaporized string attached to it mysteriously reappears.
* When Ratchet is talking to Bumblebee about Sari's condition, the side of his head is miscolored white.
* When Blackout attacks Rodimus, his chest is miscolored gray.
* After Bumblebee is slashed, there's a red spot on Bulkhead with an Autobot symbol inside it.

===Continuity errors===
* Megatron finds both of his rotors/swords after being freed from the stasis cuffs, despite leaving ''at least'' one behind when he was sucked into the space bridge in "A Bridge Too Close".
* If Sumdac was wearing gloves at the time he touched the protoform, how did it get his DNA? For that matter, how did Sari end up female?
** Given that protoforms in ''Beast Wars'' scanned animals that were nowhere near their pods, Sari may have not actually required physical contact to scan Sumdac. Also, the protoform may have already been female before being activated.
* It is revealed that the streak of white in Isaac's hair came from the shock he received when he approached the protoform that would become Sari. Pay no attention to the streak in the hair of his younger self appearing in "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", please...
* Sari's protruding robotic elbow disappears without explanation while she's sitting on Ratchet's repair table.
* When Bumblebee gets blown away in "Part II" after being stabbed by Sari, he lands on his back. When we cut back to him in "Part III", he appears on his side.
* Bumblebee's rocket boosters seemingly appear out of nowhere.
** The [[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|AllSpark Almanac II]] reveals that Ratchet installed the turbo boosters while he was repairing Bumblebee just in case he needed them.
** With Ratchet's upgrading of his stingers and now this, it seems that <s>Hasbro</s> the Autobots have gotten over their "upgrades are bad, m'kay" phase. Spending two seasons out-gunned will probably do that to you.

===Trivia===
*[[Derrick J. Wyatt]] confirmed via Twitter after the show aired that like the [[Transform and Roll Out|series pilot]], "TransWarped" was made "as one 70-minute movie", although it was also cut into 22-minute episodes for syndication.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=@FortMax We made it as one 70 minute movie, but it has also been cut into three 22s.|link=https://twitter.com/DerrickJWyatt/status/1329673450|name=Derrick J. Wyatt|site=Twitter|year=2009|month=03|day=15|(defunct=)}}</ref> Unlike the pilot, however, "TransWarped" counts as three episodes out of the thirteen allotted for the show's third season. While Cartoon Network aired all three episodes in movie form for their premiere, Canadian network YTV opted to debut them in episodic form, airing only the first two in a double-bill, and then screening the final part the following week.
*Originally the first two episodes of ''Animated''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s third season were "Homecoming" and "Upgrade". When the decision came to open the season with a three-part movie, the season's original third episode, "[[Three's a Crowd]]", was pushed back, as it didn't fit with the previous episodes. The solution was to create a new episode, which became "Transwarped Part III".<ref>The AllSpark Almanac II page 177</ref>
*Two subplots were dropped when "Homecoming" became part of "Transwarped": One would have featured Bulkhead annoyed when Bumblebee was unable to accept him as a space bridge expert; the other would have had Powell unofficially promise Masterson that he would get his job back if "something" happened to the Sumdacs. After Masterson was arrested, Powell would distance himself from Masterson, rather than bail him out again.<ref>The AllSpark Almanac II page 177</ref>
* Several scenes are known to have been storyboarded for this three-parter, only to wind up being cut for time. One of these scene would have included an appearance by [[Beachcomber (Animated)|Beachcomber]], who would have died at the hands of Shockwave. At the time, Isenberg asked Wyatt for an established character he would be able to kill without anyone getting mad, and Wyatt—apparently without hesitation—put forward Beachcomber.
**As originally planned, Beachcomber would have caught Shockwave converting from his Longarm disguise and disposing of Blurr, and would have said "Dude, not cool." Shockwave, raising his weapon, would have replied "I have a very simple explanation," to which Beachcomber would have responded, "I don't get it...", before being blown to bits by the double-agent to maintain his cover.
**Though Beachcomber turned up in crowd scenes later in the season, Isenberg would make another attempt on the Autobot's life in the unproduced season four episode "[[Trial of Megatron, Part 1]]".
*Another planned scene that was cut for time was an extended flashback to the [[Battle for Iacon|final battle of the Great War]], which would have featured [[Reflector (Animated)|Reflector]], [[Straxus (Animated)|Straxus]] and the myriad [[Omega Sentinel (Animated)|Omega Sentinels]].
**While Reflector had a bio in [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 26|issue #26]] of the [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|Transformers Collectors' Club magazine]], it would take until the publication of ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II]]'' over a year later before Straxus and the Sentinels would be revealed.
* The creatures that turn into rocks may be a reference to the [[Rock Lord]]s from the [[GoBots]] movie ''{{w|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords}}''; the creatures were later canonized as such via [[Ask Vector Prime#Facebook|Ask Vector Prime]] in 2015.
*Starscream gains a "sonic scream" as a head-mounted weapon in this episode. Coincidentally (or not?), in the initial [[Cartoon Network]] press release for ''Transformers Animated'', Starscream's profile claimed that he had a sonic scream he could use to send foes spinning through the air. This ability is never seen again.
*The Headmaster's appearance in this episode marks the only time a human villain is used in Season 3. And even then, he's relatively minor compared to a Decepticon-controlled Omega Supreme.
*In his last line, Shockwave seems to forget to use his American accent. Probably because he's getting worried about getting caught.
*This episode marks the first live appearance of Cybertron.

===Foreign localization===
'''Brazilian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transdobra'''" ("Transwarp")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Transmutation'''" ("Transmutation")
:*''Original airdate:'' ???

'''Spanish (Latin America)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Teletransportados'''" ("Teleported")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 6|6 October]] [[2009]] ''(Part 1)''
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 13|13 October]] [[2009]] ''(Part 2)'
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 20|20 October]] [[2009]] ''(Part 3)'''

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Sari no Himitsu'''" (Part 1, サリの秘密, "The Secret of Sari")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 2|2 October]] [[2010]]
::*For the opening pre-[[title sequence]] chatter, [[Tesshō Genda]] reprises his role as [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Generation 1 Optimus Prime]] in order to carry on a conversation with ''Animated'' Optimus Prime.

:*''Title:'' "'''Sari, Transform!?'''" (Part 2, サリ、トランスフォーム!?)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 9|9 October]] [[2010]]

:*''Title:'' "'''Megatron no Shōrai'''" (Part 3, メガトロンの襲来, "Megatron's Raid")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 16|16 October]] [[2010]]

==Home video releases==
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2011 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Vol. 8 ([[Paramount]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season Three ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers Animated'' — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2014 — ''Transformers Animated'' — Season Three ([[Madman Entertainment]])

==References==
<references/>

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transwarped}}
[[Category:Animated episodes]]

Reflector (Animated)

2024-02-05T02:17:04Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Animated cartoon continuity */

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Reflector}}
:''Reflector is / are (a) [[Decepticon|Decepticon(s)]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]] [[continuity family]]''

[[Image:Animated_reflector.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
You may not have seen '''Reflector''' yet, but he (they?) has seen you. This espionage expert is actually composed of three semi-autonomous component robots: '''Spectro''', '''Spyglass''', and their leader '''Viewfinder'''. The three have the ability to generate hard-light [[hologram]]s of themselves to fill out the Decepticon ranks.

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon continuity===
{{Idw-tfa}}

''Reflector and many of his clones were present at the [[Battle for Iacon]]. They mainly served as cannon-fodder. The original Reflector(s) survived the battle. [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] finds them creepy.'' {{storylink|Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II}}

Near the end of the war, after the Battle for Iacon, Ratchet walked past a Reflector unit's unconscious body while looking to help the heavily damaged Omega. {{storylink|TransWarped}}

==Notes==
[[Image:ReflectorAnimated-tank.jpg|right|thumb|300px]]
* This character was revealed in a [[Tech Spec]] and [[bio]] published in the ''[[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club (magazine)|Transformers Collectors' Club Magazine]]''. All other characters getting such treatment had gone on to appear in the ''Animated'' cartoon, and the same was planned for Reflector, who would have shown up in a flashback sequence in "[[TransWarped]]" depicting the [[Battle for Iacon]] at the conclusion of the [[Great War (Animated)|Great War]]. [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] explained that his appearance (and indeed, the whole scene) had to be edited out for timing reasons.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Cut for time, sorry.|link=https://twitter.com/DerrickJWyatt/status/1899400476|name=Derrick J. Wyatt|site=Twitter|year=2009|month=05|day=24|(defunct=)}}</ref>
* Yes, they had time for [[Searchlight (Animated)|Searchlight]], but not Reflector. Ouch.
* According to ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The Allspark Almanac II]]'', Viewfinder, Spectro, and Spyglass have a shared altmode: they combine to form a Cybertronian tank armed with a [[Photon T-34]] cannon. This altmode was apparently going to cameo in "[[Human Error, Part II]]", but was cut out for unknown reasons.

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Reflector''' (リフレクター ''Rifurekutā'')

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Almanac-only characters]]
[[Category:Animated Decepticons]]
[[Category:Fan Club-original characters]]
[[Category:Multi-component Transformers]]

Jetstorm (Animated)

2024-01-20T21:51:10Z

Keyan Carlile: /* Notes */

{{factions|autobot|eliteguard}}{{disambig3|Jetstorm}}
:''Jetstorm is a [[Autobot|comrade]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]] [[continuity family]].''
[[File:Jetstormanimatedboxart.jpg|300px|thumb|Still got the air superiority complex?]]
'''Jetstorm''' and his [[twin]] [[Relatives|brother]] [[Jetfire (Animated)|Jetfire]] are part of a risky Autobot [[Elite Guard]] experiment in duplicating the flight and combat abilities of the [[Decepticon]]s. While the experiment gave them incredible new powers, it did absolutely nothing to blunt their hyperactive, act-without-thinking natures. Jetstorm is capable of attacking with incredible bursts of wind in both robot and jet modes, creating focused cyclones with devastating force (if somewhat questionable accuracy). Luckily, he's one of the few bots who actually listens to [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], and stops his attack once his commander barks out his order to do so... though usually by that time, the damage has already been done.

The twins also have the ability to combine into a superjet ''and'' the powerful robot [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]]. Both modes greatly enhance their combat effectiveness... but not their wits, unfortunately.

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon continuity===
{{Idw-tfa}}
{{voiceactor|[[Phil LaMarr]] (English), [[Laura Hale]] ([[BotCon 2015]]), [[Wataru Takagi]] (Japanese)|[[Silas Borges]] (Portuguese), [[Nancy Cortés]] (Latin American Spanish, season 3), [[Vincent Violette]] (French)}}
[[File:Jetfirejetstormzackly.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He's just mad because he didn't think of the joke first.]]
''Jetstorm was a simple repair bot who, along with his brother Jetfire, nearly died in an on-site accident. Viewed by the [[Elite Guard]] as completely expendable, Jetstorm and his brother were chosen to have [[Decepticon]] coding (acquired from [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] during his time in custody) grafted onto their Autobot shells in hopes that the pair would gain the Decepticons' flight abilities. [[Wheeljack (Animated)|Wheeljack]], [[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] and [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]] did the necessary calculations and programming needed. After this, the pair's combat abilities were tested against [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]], whom they easily defeated.''

[[File:Jetstormdoesnotswing.jpg|200px|thumb|"Boot" is a sound effect?]]
''To try their combat skills against a Decepticon, Starscream's programming was scanned into a combat simulator. However, Starscream's programming overpowered the training system, and the battle became real. Starscream's strength and cunning were more than they expected; Jetfire briefly lost control of his flame throwers and began to burn up, only to be saved when Jetstorm's wind turbines put out the flames. With newfound determination, the two combined into Safeguard for the first time and destroyed the virtual Decepticon. After this performance, Jetstorm and his brother were inducted into the Elite Guard. {{storylink|First (and Second) in Flight}}''

Later, Jetstorm, along with his brother, Jazz, and [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], were sent by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm Prime]] to chase after the supposed Decepticon spy [[Wasp]]. The twins soon found a Wasp-disguised [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], whom Wasp intended to frame by swapping paint jobs, helmets and voices, but Jetstorm accidentally (and literally) blew Bumblebee away. They then were confronted by [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], who mistook them for Decepticons due to their ability to fly. After a one-on-one battle with Optimus & Ratchet (with Jetstorm facing Optimus and Jetfire facing Ratchet, respectively), the two combined into Safeguard to try and gain the upper hand, only to have the brawl end when Sentinel and Jazz arrived and cleared up the misunderstanding. Then, under Sentinel's orders, the twins set out to find Wasp once more.

[[File:WhereIsThySting-Jetstorm.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
They later found him with [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], who tried to convince them that Wasp had swapped places with Bumblebee, but to no avail. The twins assumed all three to be traitors and attacked them. The long battle was once again broken up by the others, who had become at least partly convinced of Bumblebee's true identity. The group quickly headed back to the Autobots' base to try and sort out the matter. During the fighting, however, Wasp had hacked into the Autobots' files on Bumblebee, allowing Wasp to know everything about him. Bulkhead decided to settle it with a game of ''Ninja Gladiator'' to determine the real Bumblebee. Jetfire and Jetstorm were so delighted by the concept of video games that they both shouted that they would play the winner. This would not happen, as Wasp revealed his true identity under the pressure. He swapped the paint jobs back and was able to escape. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

[[File:Jetstormpose.jpg|thumb|200px|Say cheeeeeese!]]
Later on, they were just as out of the loop as Jazz and Optimus when Sentinel was tracking down Decepticons, although they were considerably less cynical about the captures than the others. They did however combine to fight [[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] when Sentinel's stupid ego-trip backfired on him. {{storylink|Five Servos of Doom}}

Jetstorm, along with Jetfire, later proceeded to assist Sentinel Prime, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee in capturing Wasp, and when Wasp escaped, and was captured, Jetstorm, along with Jetfire, was tasked with carrying Sentinel all the way to [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]]. Once on Dinobot Island, Jetstorm and Jetfire were assigned with the task of diverting the Dinobots away from the entrance to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]'s lab. Jetstorm proceeded to distract [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] and [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]], while Jetfire handled [[Swoop (Animated)|Swoop]]. Just after they had defeated the Dinobots, [[Wasp]]inator and Blackarachnia suddenly emerged from the lab, and they (Jetfire & Jetstorm) helped Sentinel get to a safe distance, before Waspinator blew up. {{Storylink|Predacons Rising (Animated)|Predacons Rising}}

[[File:TFA-DecepticonAir-SJ3kStasisSuspensionRay.jpg|thumb|left|200px]]
While on the return trip to Cybertron, Sentinel decided to take the ship through a storm cloud, with Jetstorm ordered to "Maintain this heading". Unfortunately though, the electricity from the storm awakened [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]], who, in turn, freed the rest of the captive Decepticons. Jetstorm and Jetfire eventually ended up contained in a bubble from Swindle's "Stasis-Suspension Ray", and left in a prison-cell on the ''[[Sigma Supreme|Steelhaven]]'' to rot. However, Sentinel sent out a message to Optimus Prime for back-up, who managed to transwarp to the ship, and free all of the Autobots. Just then [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] managed to [[Punch of Kill Everything|P.O.K.E]] a hole in the ship, causing everyone (except Jazz) to be sucked into space. Jetstorm and Jetfire then proceeded to combine into Safeguard's jet mode, and take on Lugnut. After Sentinel was captured by [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]], they, along with Optimus Prime, surrendered. They were put into the decontamination chamber (which Optimus ordered Jazz to turn into a freezing unit), and as the Decepticons were about to freeze them, it was revealed that Jazz had set it so that anything outside the chamber would be frozen, and in this case, that was the Decepticons. The Elite Guard then proceeded to drop Optimus off on Earth, and Jetstorm and Jetfire witnessed Sentinel's Magnus inauguration parade. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

Jetstorm was later present when Sentinel Prime attempted to scold Ratchet and [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] for seemingly breaking Cybertronian curfew (Man, Sentinel's strict) and using a Space Bridge. He then, along with Jetfire, assisted in bringing Ratchet back to the [[Metroplex (Animated)|Metroplex]]. Jetstorm was later ordered to divert all energon to [[Fortress Maximus (Animated)|Fortress Maximus]], to be used as a weapon against the Decepticon-controlled [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]]. They did actually fire the weapon after [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] boarded the vessel with his hostage, [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]], but the giant Autobot transwarped away. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

[[File:StunticonJob-JazzandTwinsbox.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right]]
''Inside [[Fortress Maximus (Animated)|Fortress Maximus]], Jetfire and Jetstorm looked on in consternation as [[Kremzeek]] attempted to turn the main guns on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. Fortunately, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] and [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] arrived just in time to capture the creature. {{storylink|The Return of Blurr}}''

''Jetstorm and Jetfire were in the audience for the [[Team Stunticon|Stunt Convoy]]'s show, high-fiving each other in excitement.'' {{storylink|The Stunti-Con Job}}
{{-}}

====''Regeneration One''====
[[File:Gas skunk blackarachnia jetstorm leobreaker starscream war to end all wars.jpg|thumb|300px|right]]
In [[Zero Space]], as the Dark [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] creature tortured [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Circuit Smasher]] with visions of his [[Sparkplug Witwicky|dead father]], cracks began to appear in the membrane of infinite worlds. Through one, Jetstorm could be seen alongside [[Overhaul (Cybertron)|Leobreaker]], [[Gas Skunk]], [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] and [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]]. {{storylink|The War to End All Wars, Part 5}}
{{-}}

====''Legends'' comic====
Jetstorm and Jetfire attempted to apprehend [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] in the form of Safeguard, but were blasted apart by the Decepticon as she fled to the [[Legends World]]. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 16|Bonus Edition Vol. 16}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
[[File:TheCoolJetBrothers01.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Saa, omae no tsumi o kazoero!]]
Together with Jetfire, Jetstorm pursued the Decepticon [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] all the way to the [[Earth]] city of [[Detroit]]. Enthusiastic (and posing very, er, ''effeminately''), Jetstorm proceeded to attack Blackout in robot-mode, amused that the hulking brute was too big to fight back against such small, quick opponents. Jetstorm then combined with Jetfire into [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]] and proceeded to fight Blackout bruiser-to-bruiser. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 4}}

Jetstorm later hooked back up with the rest of the Elite Guard and joined in their inquiry as to why Optimus Prime and his crew had yet to return to Cybertron. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Jetstorm and his brother joined Sentinel and a throng of Autobots in welcoming the victorious Optimus Prime and his crew home. {{storylink|The Cool Episode Final}}
{{-}}

===Toy bio===
Jetfire and Jetstorm were clones created by the Autobots from techniques learned from Starscream. {{storylink|#Toys|Safeguard toy bio}}

==Toys==
===''Animated''===
[[File:AniJetstorm-toy.jpg|upright=1.67|thumb|Not to be confused with JetBlue...or Blue Jet.]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Jetstorm and Jetfire''' (Entertainment Pack, 2008)}}</ul>
{{toydesigner|[[Eric Siebenaler]] (Hasbro), [[Shogo Hasui]] (TakaraTomy)}}

: Available in the Hasbro ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Transformers Animated]]'' line only in a two-piece "Entertainment Pack" with his brother [[Jetfire (Animated)#Toys|Jetfire]], Jetstorm transforms into a sleek blue Cybertronian jet. In jet mode, he features an opening cockpit, which is pretty useless, but a nice little touch nonetheless. In robot mode, his forearms and boots feature pop-out clear-plastic "wind blades".

: He can combine with his brother in both modes; in vehicle mode, they form an odd super-jet simply by docking together along their undercarriages (yes, yes, har har, very droll), while Jetstorm's robot mode forms the left half of the super robot [[Safeguard (Animated)#Toys|Safeguard]].

: In a clever touch, both feet are sculpted on the back to look like fists (to make the toy more symmetrical), but only one leg actually can become an arm.

:The set comes with a bonus comic book, "[[First (and Second) in Flight|Rise of Safeguard]]", which details the creation of the twins. For some reason, the comic included ''in'' the box contradicts their [[bio]] printed ''on'' the box.

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

{{-}}{{anchor|Takara}}
[[File:TFA-JP-Jetfire-Jetstorm-Safeguard-packaging-arts.jpg|upright=1|thumb]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Jetstorm''' (Deluxe, 2010)}}</ul>
:*''ID number:'' '''TA-22'''
:*''Release date'': [[June 19]], 2010

: Released by himself in the fourth wave of TakaraTomy's [[Transformers Animated (toyline)#TakaraTomy Animated toyline|''Animated'' toyline]], this version of Jetstorm has his chest and lower legs coated in metallic blue paint. On top of that, both the real and "fake" combined-mode fists are now painted metallic silver.

<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Safeguard''' (2-pack, 2010)}}</ul>
:*''Release date'': [[June 19]], 2010

: Aside from their individual releases, Jetstorm and Jetfire were also available in a two-pack. Both toys are identical to their individual releases.
{{-}}

==Notes==
[[File:TFA Jetfire Jetstorm concept.jpg|200px|thumb|I'd love to listen to some Cybertron, Wind and Fire right about now...]]
*Both twins speak with a pronounced Eastern European [[accent]].<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Russian.|link=https://twitter.com/DerrickJWyatt/statuses/2212733768|name=Derrick J. Wyatt|site=Twitter|year=2009|month=06|day=17|(defunct=)}}</ref>
*Jetstorm's design, revealed at [[BotCon 2008]], contains numerous [[homage]]s to the ''[[Beast Machines: Transformers (franchise)|Beast Machines]]'' [[Vehicon general]] [[Jetstorm (BM)|Jetstorm]], particularly his helmet.
*Jetfire and Jetstorm's fire/wind theme has its roots in some of the earliest concepts of ''Animated''. [[Sean Galloway]], who had been commissioned to do early concept work for the series, revealed several pieces of this concept art long before the "final" [[Derrick J. Wyatt|Derrick Wyatt]]-designed characters were shown. Among these images were a pair of "fire and wind" robots who have a few features that made it into the jet-twins' final designs.
*The twins' method of combination is seemingly an intentional homage to Hyoryū and Enryū/Chōryūjin from the final installment of Takara's [[Brave (franchise)|Brave]] Series, ''King of Braves GaoGaiGar''.
* The twins' characterization in the series was inspired by Eastern European and/or Russian circus acrobats. [[Marty Isenberg]] described them to Hasbro as a cross between Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd’s ''Wild and Crazy Guys'' and the Hanson Brothers from ''Slapshot''.
*In the early stages of the toy's development, the end of the twins' combined vehicle mode was supposed to split apart and wings were supposed to slide out of the shins, so that the combined mode resembled an [[Luke Skywalker|X-wing fighter]].<ref>http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/09/hey-everybody-its-prowl.html</ref> However, this did not appear in the released instructions.
*Perceptor's dialogue in the "[[First (and Second) in Flight|Rise of Safeguard]]" comic implies that the twins were split from one [[protoform]], possibly indicating that Safeguard is their true form.
*In a conversation with one of his fans on a piece of fan art on his Deviantart page, The Boo, who worked on the first half of the "[[First (and Second) in Flight|Rise of Safeguard]]" comic, revealed that Jetfire and Jetstorm's original vehicle modes were similar to ATV's instead of cyclebots or other types of vehicles. He also said this was due to their working in the industrial sector.<ref>
[http://TheBoo.deviantart.com/art/Jetfire-Jetstorm-JoshColour-114084900 Jetfire Jetstorm JoshColour by !TheBoo]</ref>
*Unnamed robots based off Jetfire and Jetstorm make cameos as [[generic]] [[Devisiun (planet)|Devisien]]s in [[Windblade vol. 2 issue 6|issue #6]] of [[The Transformers: Windblade|''Windblade'' Volume 2]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Jetstorm''' (ジェットストーム ''Jettosutōmu'')

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Clones]]
[[Category:Elite Guard]]
[[Category:Legends Autobots]]
[[Category:Regeneration One Autobots]]

Jetfire (Animated)

2024-01-20T21:51:07Z

Keyan Carlile:

{{factions|autobot|eliteguard}}
{{disambig3|Jetfire}}
:''Jetfire is a [[Autobot|comrade]] from the [[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Animated]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Jetfireanimatedboxart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"Ready, Ronald?" "Ready when you are, Professor Stein."]]

'''Jetfire''' and his [[twin]] [[Relatives|brother]] [[Jetstorm (Animated)|Jetstorm]] are part of a risky Autobot [[Elite Guard]] experiment in duplicating the flight and combat abilities of the [[Decepticon]]s. What the Autobots got were two incredibly rambunctious, cocky, and oddly naive robots with devastating combat power and acrobatic skill. Jetfire, true to his name, has the ability to create massive bursts of flame in both robot and jet modes. However, his accuracy and judgment as to when to use this power are questionable at best. Thankfully, he actually listens to [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]]'s orders to throttle down once they get on his nerves (which is often).

The twins also have the ability to combine into a superjet, or into the robot [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]]... modes that makes them even more physically powerful, but no less prone to acting without thinking.

==Fiction==
===''Animated'' cartoon===
{{Idw-tfa}}
{{voiceactor|[[Tom Kenny]] (English), [[Laura Knapton]] ([[BotCon 2015]]), [[Kappei Yamaguchi]] (Japanese)|[[Igor Lott ]] (Portuguese), [[Nancy Cortés]] (Latin American Spanish, season 3), [[Frédéric Popovic]] (French)}}

[[Image:Jetfirejetstormzackly.jpg|left|200px|thumb|He probably thinks the "henbotway" joke is funny too.]]

''Jetfire was a simple repair bot who, along with his brother Jetstorm, nearly died in an on-site accident. Viewed by the Elite Guard as completely expendable, Jetfire and his brother were chosen to have [[Decepticon]] coding (acquired from [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]] during his time in custody) grafted onto their Autobot shells in hopes that the pair would gain the Decepticons' flight abilities. [[Wheeljack (Animated)|Wheeljack]], [[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] and [[Red Alert (Animated)|Red Alert]] did the necessary calculations and programming needed. After this, the pair's combat abilities were tested against [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]], whom they easily defeated.''

[[Image:Jetfirewilldestroyusall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|My goggles, they do nothing!]]

''To try their combat skills against a Decepticon, Starscream's programming was scanned into a combat simulator. However, Starscream's programming overpowered the training system, and the battle became real. Starscream's strength and cunning were more than they expected; Jetfire briefly lost control of his flame throwers and began to burn up, only to be saved when Jetstorm's wind turbines put out the flames. With newfound determination, the two combined into Safeguard for the first time and destroyed the virtual Decepticon. After this performance, Jetfire and his brother were inducted into the Elite Guard. {{storylink|First (and Second) in Flight}}''

Later, Jetfire, along with his brother, Jazz, and [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]], were sent by [[Shockwave (Animated)|Longarm Prime]] to chase after the supposed Decepticon spy [[Wasp]]. Pursuing their quarry to Earth, the twins soon found a Wasp-disguised [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]], whom Wasp intended to frame by swapping paint jobs, helmets and voices, and Jetfire was able to make at least one fireball attack before Jetstorm accidentally (and literally) blew Bumblebee away. They then were confronted by [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] and [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]], who mistook them for Decepticons due to their ability to fly. After a set of one-on-one battles with Optimus & Ratchet (with Jetstorm facing Optimus and Jetfire facing Ratchet, respectively), the two combined into Safeguard to try and gain the upper hand, only to have the brawl end when Sentinel and Jazz arrived and cleared up the misunderstanding. Then, under Sentinel's orders, the twins set out to find Wasp once more.

[[File:WhereIsThySting-JetfireWall.jpg|left|200px|thumb]]
They later found him with [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] and [[Prowl (Animated)|Prowl]], who tried to convince them that Wasp had swapped places with Bumblebee, but to no avail. The twins assumed all three to be traitors and attacked them. The long battle was once again broken up by the others, who had become at least partly convinced of Bumblebee's true identity. The group quickly headed back to the Autobots' base to try and sort out the matter. During the fighting, however, Wasp had hacked into the Autobots' files on Bumblebee, allowing Wasp to know everything about him. Bulkhead decided to settle it with a game of ''[[Ninja Gladiator]]'' to determine the real Bumblebee. Jetfire and Jetstorm were so delighted by the concept of video games that they both shouted that they would play the winner. This would not happen, as Wasp revealed his true identity under the pressure. {{storylink|Where Is Thy Sting?}}

[[File:PredaconsRising-Jetfire.jpg|200px|thumb]]
Later, Jetfire was asked by his brother to take a picture of him in front of the captured [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] for the "Femme-bots back home". Sentinel Prime then asked them to work on their ship's "sub-space guidance gyro-stabilizer", but they could not get it to work, and they discovered the replacement part was missing. They later witnessed Sentinel give Prowl a telling-off for accusing him of working with someone else to capture fugitive Decepticons, which Sentinel denied. That night, Prowl followed Sentinel to the Tigatron Stadium, and Jazz brought Jetfire, Jetstorm, and Optimus Prime as backup. When Sentinel was captured by [[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]], Jetfire & Jetstorm combined into Safeguard in order to help get their commander back from Decepticon clutches. {{storylink|Five Servos of Doom}}

Shortly afterward, Wasp went on a psycho-rampage through the city, so Jetfire, along with Jetstorm, Sentinel, Optimus Prime, and Bumblebee, went after him. During the pursuit, Jetfire and his brother tried unsuccessfully to prevent Wasp being abducted by [[Swoop (Animated) |Swoop]]. Sentinel then commanded them to launch an electromagnetic grapple, with which they hauled their commander all the way to Dinobot Island. Upon arriving (and dropping Sentinel head-first into the sand), Jetfire and Jetstorm were assigned to distract the Dinobots so Sentinel could gain entrance to [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]]'s base. While Jetstorm dealt with [[Grimlock (Animated)|Grimlock]] and [[Snarl (Animated)|Snarl]], Jetfire took on Swoop, engulfing the Dinobot in flames. When Waspinator was overloading with transwarp energy, Jetfire & Jetstorm helped get a weakened Sentinel Prime to safety. Later, Jetfire and his brother taunted Sentinel about his hatred of both Earth and organics, only to be ordered back aboard their ship. {{storylink|Predacons Rising (Animated)|Predacons Rising}}

[[File:TFA-DecepticonAir-SJ3kStasisSuspensionRay.jpg|thumb|200px|left]]
En route home, the Elite Guard flagship was about to head through a highly charged cloud of space debris, so Jetfire was commanded to watch the ship's energon readings to make sure the ship didn't run out of power. When the Decepticons managed to break into the bridge of the ship, [[Swindle (Animated)|Swindle]] easily managed to capture the twins in an energy bubble using a stasis-suspension ray. Thankfully, Optimus managed to transwarp onto the ship after getting an encrypted message from Sentinel, and he freed Jetfire and the rest of the Elite Guard from the stasis-cuffs the Decepticons had slapped on them. Later, after Lugnut managed to [[Punch of Kill Everything|P.O.K.E.]] a hole in the ship, Jetfire & Jetstorm combined into Safeguard's jet-mode in order to combat the Decepticons in space. Once Blitzwing had managed to capture Sentinel, Optimus convinced both Jetfire and Jetstorm to surrender, assuring them that things would be okay. The Decepticons placed Jetfire and the others into the ship's decontamination chamber to be frozen. It turned out that Optimus had secretly commanded Jazz to rewire the chamber so everyone OUTside it was frozen. Thus the Decepticons were re-captured and Jetfire was spared an icy incarceration. {{storylink|Decepticon Air}}

When Ratchet and Fanzone were transwarped to Cybertron, Jetfire and the rest of the Elite Guard found them outside of [[Maccadam's Old Oil House]]. Then a Decepticon-controlled [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] appeared over Cybertron, and Sentinel ordered that Ratchet and Fanzone be brought back to the [[Metroplex (Animated)|Metroplex]], so Jetfire and his brother proceeded to apprehend Ratchet. When Ratchet threatened Sentinel for suggesting firing on Omega Supreme, Jetfire and Jetstorm were ordered to arrest both Ratchet and Fanzone, but Fanzone's sneeze scared them so badly that Ratchet was able to knock them aside. Jetfire and Jetstorm were then ordered to divert all energon to [[Fortress Maximus (Animated)|Fortress Maximus]], in case Megatron attacked. When Shockwave got away with [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] and boarded Omega Supreme, Jetfire and his brother were ordered to fire on the giant Autobot, but Omega Supreme transwarped away. Jetfire and Jetstorm later witnessed Sentinel get a telling-off from [[Alpha Trion (Animated)|Alpha Trion]] and saw Ratchet and Fanzone commit "intergalactic grand theft" by taking the Magnus Hammer back to Earth with them. {{storylink|This Is Why I Hate Machines}}

[[File:StunticonJob-JazzandTwinsbox.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right]]
''Inside [[Fortress Maximus (Animated)|Fortress Maximus]], Jetfire and Jetstorm looked on in consternation as [[Kremzeek]] attempted to turn the main guns on [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]. Fortunately, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] and [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] arrived just in time to capture the creature. {{storylink|The Return of Blurr}}''

''Jetfire and Jetstorm were in the audience for the [[Team Stunticon|Stunt Convoy]]'s show, high-fiving each other in excitement.'' {{storylink|The Stunti-Con Job}}

===''The Cool'' comic===
[[Image:TheCoolJetBrothers01.jpg|thumb|100px|left|Heat! Trigger!]]

Together with Jetstorm, Jetfire pursued the Decepticon [[Blackout (Animated)|Blackout]] all the way to the [[Earth]] city of [[Detroit]]. Enthusiastic (and posing like he was in a rap video), Jetfire proceeded to attack Blackout in robot-mode, amused that the hulking brute was too big to fight back against such small, quick opponents. Jetfire then combined with Jetstorm into [[Safeguard (Animated)|Safeguard]] and proceeded to fight Blackout bruiser-to-bruiser. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 4}}

Jetfire then hooked back up with the rest of the Elite Guard and joined in their inquiry of Optimus Prime as to why he and his crew were still on Earth. {{storylink|The Cool Episode 5}}

Back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], Jetfire and his brother joined Sentinel and a throng of Autobots in welcoming the victorious Optimus Prime and his crew home. {{storylink|The Cool Episode Final}}

{{-}}

===Safeguard toy bio===
{{note|In the [[First (and Second) in Flight|comic]] included with the toy, Jetfire and Jetstorm were not clones, but already existed as refinery bots. They were upgraded into [[Elite Guard]] warriors.}}
Jetfire and Jetstorm were clones created by the Autobots from techniques learned from Starscream. {{storylink|#Toys|Safeguard toy bio}}

===''Legends'' comic===
Jetfire and Jetstorm attempted to apprehend [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]] in the form of Safeguard, but were blasted apart by the Decepticon as she fled to the [[Legends World]]. {{storylink|Legends Comic: Bonus Edition Vol. 16|Bonus Edition Vol. 16}}

==Toys==
===''Animated''===
[[Image:AniJetfire-toy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|I am the god of Jetfire! And I bring you...]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Jetstorm and Jetfire''' (Entertainment Pack, 2008)}}</ul>
{{toydesigner|[[Eric Siebenaler]] (Hasbro), [[Shogo Hasui]] (TakaraTomy)}}

: Available in the Hasbro ''[[Transformers Animated (toyline)|Transformers Animated]]'' line only in a two-piece "Entertainment Pack" with his brother [[Jetstorm (Animated)#Toys|Jetstorm]], Jetfire transforms into a sleek white and orange Cybertronian jet. In jet mode, he features an opening cockpit, which is pretty useless, but a nice little touch nonetheless. In robot mode, his forearms and boots feature pop-out clear-plastic "fire blades".

: He can combine with his brother in both modes; in vehicle mode, they form an odd super-jet simply by docking together along their undercarriages (Yes, yes, har har, very droll), while Jetfire's robot mode forms the right half of the super robot [[Safeguard (Animated)#Toys|Safeguard]].

: In a clever touch, both feet are sculpted on the back to look like fists (to make the toy more symmetrical), but only one of them actually can become an arm.

: The set comes with a bonus comic book, "[[First (and Second) in Flight|Rise of Safeguard]]", which details the creation of the twins. For some reason, the comic included ''in'' the box contradicts their [[bio]] printed ''on'' the box.

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

{{-}}{{anchor|Takara}}
[[File:TFA-JP-Jetfire-Jetstorm-Safeguard-packaging-arts.jpg|upright=1|thumb]]
<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Jetfire''' (Deluxe, 2010)}}</ul>
:*''Takara ID number'': '''TA-21'''
:*''Release date'': [[June 19]], 2010

: Released by himself in the fourth wave of TakaraTomy's [[Transformers Animated (toyline)#TakaraTomy Animated toyline|''Animated'' toyline]], this version of Jetfire has his chest and lower legs coated in metallic silver paint. On top of that, both the real and "fake" combined-mode fists are now painted metallic silver.

<ul class="iconlist">{{Bp-a1|'''Safeguard''' (2-pack, 2010)}}</ul>
:*''Release date'': [[June 19]], 2010

: Aside from their individual releases, Jetstorm and Jetfire were also available in a two-pack. Both toys are identical to their individual releases.
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==Notes==
* Both twins speak with a thick Eastern European [[accent]].<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Russian.|link=https://twitter.com/DerrickJWyatt/statuses/2212733768|name=Derrick J. Wyatt|site=Twitter|year=2009|month=06|day=17|(defunct=)}}</ref>
[[Image:TFA Jetfire Jetstorm concept.jpg|right|200px|thumb|CHEEKS!]]
* Jetfire and Jetstorm's fire/wind theme has its roots in some of the earliest concepts of ''Animated''. [[Sean Galloway]], who had been commissioned to do early concept work for the series, revealed several pieces of this concept art long before the "final" [[Derrick J. Wyatt|Derrick Wyatt]]-designed characters were shown. Among these images were a pair of "fire and wind" robots who have a few features that made it into the jet-twins' final designs.
* The twins' method of combination is seemingly an homage to Hyōryū and Enryū/Chōryūjin from the final installment of Takara's ''[[Brave (franchise)|Brave]] Series'', ''King of Braves GaoGaiGar''.
* The twins' characterization in the series was inspired by Eastern European and/or Russian circus acrobats. [[Marty Isenberg]] described them to Hasbro as a cross between Steve Martin and Dan Ackroyd’s ''Wild and Crazy Guys'' and the Hanson Brothers from ''Slapshot''.
* In the early stages of the toy's development, the end of the twins' combined vehicle mode is supposed to split apart and wings are supposed to slide out of the shins, so that the combined mode resembles an [[Luke Skywalker|X-wing fighter]].<ref>[http://derrickjwyatt.blogspot.com/2008/09/hey-everybody-its-prowl.html Derrick Wyatt blog post (read comments below)]</ref>
* [[Derrick J. Wyatt]] had no input over Jetfire's name, as the twins were largely the work of [[Eric Siebenaler]]; Wyatt only did a "once-over" of their aesthetics to match the rest of the series near the end of their development cycle. That's the reason why ''Animated'' Jetfire does not have a more "traditional" [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]] design. As such, Wyatt said that if he ever did an homage to the original Jetfire's design, he would gladly call the character "[[Skyfire (disambiguation)|Skyfire]]".
* Perceptor's dialogue in the "[[First (and Second) in Flight|Rise of Safeguard]]" comic implies that Jetfire and Jetstorm were split from one protoform, possibly making Safeguard their true form. Such a theory is supported by Safeguard's being unnaturally intelligent for a combiner, and his possessing of his own alternate mode.
* In a conversation with one of his fans on a piece of fan art on his Deviantart page, [[Boo]], who worked on the first half of the "[[First (and Second) in Flight|Rise of Safeguard]]" comic, revealed that Jetfire and Jetstorm's original vehicle modes were similar to ATVs instead of cycles or other types of vehicles. He also said this was due to their working in the industrial sector. <ref>[http://TheBoo.deviantart.com/art/Jetfire-Jetstorm-JoshColour-114084900 Jetfire Jetstorm art] on The Boo's Deviantart</ref>
*Unnamed robots based off Jetfire and Jetstorm make cameos as [[generic]] [[Devisiun (planet)|Devisien]]s in [[Windblade vol. 2 issue 6|''Windblade'' vol. 2 #6]].

===Foreign names===
*''Japanese:'' '''Jetfire''' (ジェットファイアー ''Jettofaiā'')

==References==
<references/>

[[Category:Animated Autobots]]
[[Category:Combiners]]
[[Category:Clones]]
[[Category:Elite Guard]]
[[Category:Legends Autobots]]