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Trans-Europe Express

2020-04-15T22:09:06Z

Norrisc761: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{episode
|image=TransEuropeExpress riding Wildrider.jpg
|caption=Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf dem Stunticon
|series=G1toon
|ep=60
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=47
|prev2=Aerial Assault
|next2=Cosmic Rust (episode)
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=51
|prev3=Countdown to Extinction (episode)
|next3=City of Steel (episode)
|title="Trans-Europe Express"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-59
|airdate=[[December 23]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}
'''In a plot to obtain a Cybertronian weather-controlling device, the Decepticons stage a fake race across Europe.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Trans-Europe Express race begins.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb|This has got to be the widest track ever.]]
[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is looking for the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]], and goes on a rampage through [[Istanbul]] to find the one person who knows where it is. After interrogating the sage [[Abdul Ben-F'aisal]], whom Megatron finds in Istanbul, and kidnapping archeologist [[Teranova|Professor Teranova]], Megatron finally zeros in on the location in the [[Galata Valley]] and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] digging to retrieve it.

Meanwhile, the [[Europa 2000]] is underway, and among the drivers in the race are the [[Autobot]]s: [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]], [[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]. They are hoping to win the million dollar grand prize to give to charity. Also in the competition is [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]], America's top driver, whose car is a custom design from [[Symultech Industries]]. The engine is made of a new energy-resistant alloy, and the Autobots have been instructed to keep an eye on Auggie, as his car may be a target for the [[Decepticon]]s. This is easier said than done, as Auggie's personality and driving style are both a bit uncouth, and it's not long before he's rubbing everyone the wrong way. At one point, Bumblebee literally has to yank him out of his car to criticize his behavior.

[[File:Trans-europe-express-stunticons-sideswipe-sunstreaker.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb]]
Aware of their proximity to the finish line, Megatron sends the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to take out the Autobots and steal Auggie's car. [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] and his group successfully put everyone but Bluestreak, Bumblebee, and Tracks out of commission and make off with the vehicle. While trying to evade the Stunticons, Bluestreak stumbles across Professor Teranova, who snuck away from the Decepticon camp and now explains to him what Megatron is up to. The Pearl of Bahoudin is a powerful jewel that can cause "worldwide disaster". The three remaining Autobots regroup along with Auggie, who insists on going with them to get his car back. They speed through the finish line, winning the race; though the race announcer eagerly anticipates their return for an interview, they keep right on going to the Decepticon camp.

[[File:TransEuropeExpress Bumblebee snatching pearl.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"Bumblebee! Hump that arm!"]]
Tracks, Bumblebee, and Bluestreak locate the Decepticons as Megatron finds the Pearl of Bahoudin. Megatron reveals to the Autobots that the content of the Pearl is, in fact, the power core of a weather satellite from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] that crashed on Earth millions of years ago. Unearthed and exposed to the atmosphere in the 14th century, its power caused terrible storms that threatened to destroy the land until a Persian seer encased it in a golden, bejeweled shell. Using the parts from Auggie's car, Megatron plans to build a device that will utilize the jewel's power to control the elements and rain destruction down on anyone who stands in his way.

[[File:BumblebeePearl.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|"By the power of Greyskull!"]]
The Autobots are attacked, though Bumblebee snatches the Pearl from Megatron. Seeing that they are outnumbered and outgunned, Bumblebee opens the Pearl, releasing its power and causing a massive twister that scatters everyone. The Pearl core itself is sucked up and lost in the storm. Megatron orders a retreat, saying that they can watch from the safety of their home base while the Earth is destroyed from the core's power. They leave behind [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], who proves to be more than a match for the three smaller Autobots. Auggie jumps in his car and takes off, seemingly to run away, but really to drive his car off a nearby cliff and into Menasor's head, delivering a crippling blow and knocking out the giant. Bumblebee has himself sucked up into the twister so that he can catch up with the Pearl. He finally scores a successful shot and destroys the jewel.

After things calm down, the Autobots conclude that Megatron must have set up the race from the beginning to snag Auggie's car, meaning that there's no prize money for anyone. Auggie remarks that he should take the gold casing of the jewel as payment for his destroyed car, but instead gives it to the Autobots to sell for charity, before walking off with a grudging farewell. Meanwhile, the race announcer is still waiting for that interview with the winners... but everyone else has gone home.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (10)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] (11)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (12)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]] (15)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]] (16)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (2)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (6)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (18)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (19)
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (20)
*[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (21)
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (22)
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (23)
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (24)
*[[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (26)
|c3=
*Turk No.1 (3)
*Turk No.2 (4)
*[[Abdul Ben-F'aisal]] (5)
*Announcer (7)
*[[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]] (13)
*Race official (14)
*[[Teranova]] (17)
*Race commentator (25)
}}
==Quotes==
''[Megatron and Soundwave smash their way into the sage's home]'' 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': So, you've come at last. 
'''Megatron''': You have five seconds to tell me the location of— 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': The Pearl of Bahoudin? I know. 
'''Megatron''': If you know so much, then you know it would be unwise to refuse me. 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': You have caused enough damage in Istanbul for one day. The legends say the Pearl is buried in the [[Galata Valley]], near the [[Alibey River]]. 
'''Megatron''': You have been wise to oblige me. 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': Perhaps. But...once you have dug up the Pearl, you may not find it so easy to put back...
:—Warning [[Masquerade|duly noted, Abdul. And IGNORED.]]

[[File:Trans-Europe Express Bumblebee road rage.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Lesson of the day: Never call Bumblebee short.]]
[[File:TransEuropeExpress DeadEnd carjack.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Everybody gets a turn!]]
"There's only one charity I care about: ME! I want that million bucks!"
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''', born to win

''[Bumblebee yanks Auggie right out of his fancy car and holds him aloft.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': Listen, you! Didn't anybody ever tell you about fair play? 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': I'm gonna win that million bucks! 
'''Bluestreak''': Keep driving like that, and you won't live long enough to win it. Not that that would be any great tragedy, but some decent people might get hurt! 
''[Bumblebee drops Auggie onto the ground.]'' 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': I got a race to win! 
''[Auggie jumps into his car and drives off.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': What a creep.
:—Bumblebee and Bluestreak totally road-rage the asshole Auggie Cahnay.

"So help me, if one more of those metal maniacs gets in my way..." ''[Motormaster blocks Auggie's way, and Dead End pulls the human out of his car.]'' "That does it, and I'm not takin' it anymore!" 
"That's right, 'cause ''we're'' taking your car."
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''' is car-jacked by '''Dead End'''.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* We get a brief flashback to the crash of the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon starship]]; its jungle crash site is reasonably consistent with the ship's location as shown in "[[Microbots]]".
* This episode has the final appearances of Bluestreak, Smokescreen and Sunstreaker with spoken dialogue. From here on, all of their appearances are as silent cameos.
* This episode is one of four prior to the 1986 movie in which [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] does not appear.
* Symultech Industries, the company that custom-built Auggie's car, would later be mentioned in [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]'s ''[[Binaltech]]'' story. According to Dead End's system description, Symultech was responsible for building the body that was originally intended for Sunstreaker, but ended up getting hijacked by the Decepticons to create ''Binaltech'' Dead End.
* [[Auggie Cahnay (RID)|Auggie Cahnay]] is mentioned in the American dub of the 2001 [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon)|the 2001 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon]] episode "[[Skid Z's Choice]]". There, he is stated as having been deceased, and [[Skid-Z (RID)|Skid-Z]] is seemingly possessed by his spirit. Likewise, that episode features a race called the [[Europa 400]], supposedly named after the [[Europa 2000]] from this episode.

===Real-world references===
[[File:TransEurope Istanbul.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|A flawless portrayal of Istanbul circa 1985, we're sure.]]
* According to writer [[David Wise]],<ref>http://therealmtoys.com/wordpressorg/5708/vintage-interview-david-wise/</ref> the title of this episode was directly taken from the {{w|Kraftwerk}} {{w|Trans-Europe Express (album)|album of the same name}} (which in turn is named after the former international railway service, more correctly known as {{w|Trans Europ Express}}).
* Megatron's first interrogation victim "swears by the beard of the Prophet", that prophet presumably being [[Muhammad]]. A moment later, the second interrogatee mentions a mosque.
* ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** [[X-wing Fighter|X-Wing]] engine whine and [[TIE Fighter]] roar as Megatron and Soundwave leave Abdul Ben-F'aisal's home and land at the valley.
** [[Death Star]] slamming door sound is used when Soundwave ejects Rumble.
** Deflected Seeker bolts and clashing [[lightsaber]]s as the Pearl is exposed to the atmosphere in Megatron's flashback.
** More lightsaber sounds as Bumblebee cracks open the Pearl's casing.

===Animation and technical errors===
* When Megatron fires a warning shot at his second interrogation victim, a missile-launching sound effect is used instead of the usual fusion cannon sound.
* Coloring errors:
** As Megatron asks the mystic about the pearl, his ab controls are uncolored.
** In the first shot of his scanning the valley for the pearl, Soundwave's chest is missing its gold frame. Two shots later, his arms are missing their red stripes. And the sound effect for his chest opening should be the "Star Trek door" effect, but since that's used for the scanner, a different sound plays.
** "There's only one charity I care about" - Tracks' rear window section (behind his head) is gray; only the top portion should be gray, while the rest should be blue.
*** The same error repeats much later, in the close shot of the three surrounded Autobots.
**** And a third time as the Autobots react to Auggie driving away.
** Smokescreen's forehead crest is blue instead of yellow as he and Tracks transform.
** In the overhead shot of the race's start, Tracks' whole roof is yellow.
** Sideswipe has light gray tires just before he and Sunstreaker get blown off the road.
** Dead End's head has too many yellow bits just before he transforms back to [[Alternate mode|car mode]].
** "This'll shake you off!" - Wildrider is light gray instead of his usual dark gray.
** After Scavenger picks up the Pearl's energy readings, Megatron's Decepticon sigil is colored red.
** As Dead End takes Auggie's car out of Motormaster, the "eyes" on Megatron's Decepticon symbol are painted in purple (they should be gray).
** As Bluestreak jumps to avoid Breakdown, his chest is almost entirely black. Breakdown's Decepticon sigil is coloured red.
** As Megatron and the other Decepticons chase after Bumblebee, Megatron's feet are coloured grey like the front of his legs.
** When Menasor initially marches up to the Autobots, Bluestreak is colored like Prowl.
*** The error repeats as the trio is cornered by Menasor.
** "The Pearl is lost!" - Soundwave's forehead has some white on it that shouldn't be there.
** Bluestreak's eyes are red instead of blue as he climbs the cliff to escape Menasor; when he turns to leap onto Menasor's arm, part of his hood/chest is missing.
** As Menasor prepares to smash the cornered Autobots, his inner arms are purple instead of light gray. Of course, they really shouldn't be there at all: Dead End and Drag Strip aren't supposed to ''attach to'' Menasor's arms; they're supposed to ''be'' his arms.
* When Wheeljack scans Auggie's car, the engine is located in the back. However, when the Decepticons try to remove the engine, all the work is being done in the car's front.
* As they transform to join the race, half of the Autobots (Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Bluestreak) have the ascending pitch sound effect instead of the descending effect.
[[File:Simultech car.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Someone's overcompensating for something.]]
* As Bumblebee catches up to Wheeljack and the camera angle changes to an overhead shot, the crookedly drawn background of the road continually edges close to Wheeljack, then pulls back as the animation loops, creating the impression that the image is jerking back and forth. In the same shot, Wheeljack is missing his green hood details.
* In the first shot of Scavenger and Scrapper, they both have misdrawn heads, and Scavenger's legs are fused together.
* As Soundwave reports to Megatron about the race, he has two eyes instead of the usual red visor.
* After running Bumblebee off the road, Auggie can be seen driving through a pack of cars that has the sheer cliff face on the right side of the screen, despite having just driven on a road that had the cliff edge on the left side. Additionally, Wildrider and a deformed Jazz are visible in the pack of human-driven cars.
* The reversed cel and background problems continue as Auggie pulls away from the rest of the drivers, but are fixed as Bumblebee and Bluestreak catch up to Auggie.
* As the Stunticons appear in Sunstreaker's rearview mirror, they continue rising from behind the horizon until they are floating above the road.
* Dead End's first shot uses Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect. After the commercial break, it has the usual (correct) Decepticon laser sound effect.
* Reversed cel problems continue during Wheeljack and Motormaster's chase scene. When Wheeljack initially appears on the location, the Black Sea is on the left side of the screen as he drives up the road, but as the chase progresses, the sea is now on the right side of the screen, as if they had turned around during the chase or were driving on the opposite coastline.
* Motormaster makes a U-turn on a two-lane cliffside highway. While this kind of crazy driving was specifically shown and explained to be part of the Stunticons' abilities, Motormaster actually achieves it by driving into the shot, shrinking in the process, until he's small enough relative to the background matte to make the turn!
* Tracks' scan of the Stunticons has Wild Rider labeled as "WIRD RIDER."
* After Drag Strip pushes Auggie's car into Motormaster's trailer, as the trailer door closes, Drag Strip's Decepticon sigil turns into a purple blob.
* Scavenger reports that "Hey! There's something glowing down here!", but no such thing is seen in the animation.
* When Bluestreak picks up Auggie from the side of the road, Professor Teranova is not present inside the Autobot. Yet when the Autobots arrive at the site of the Pearl's excavation, Teranova can be seen exiting Bluestreak along with Auggie.
* During Megatron's retelling of the Pearl's history, as the villagers dig it up in the fourteenth century, the animation depicts it as already having the "pure gold protective casing" that was made for it afterwards.
* When Breakdown hits the cliff after missing Bluestreak, despite an explosion being animated, no sound is heard.
* Megatron's mouth doesn't move when Bumblebee grabs the Pearl right out of his hand. Of course, he also just stands there while Bumblebee drives right up to him, leaps up onto his arm and grabs Pearl.
* After Menasor smashes the ground to stop Bumblebee from escaping with the Pearl, a large crack forms in the earth, yet it vanishes when Bumblebee reacts to the Pearl rolling away.
* As Megatron and the Decepticons fly away from the battle, Sideswipe is shown next to Megatron (it should probably be Soundwave). The same error happened in "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme (episode)|The Secret of Omega Supreme]]".
* When the Autobots react to Auggie's apparent escape, Bluestreak is animated mouthing Tracks's line.
* When Auggie jumps from his car (from the ''passenger side''), he is not wearing his helmet, but it reappears after Menasor is defeated.
* Auggie's car isn't nearly as long as it should be when it crashes into Menasor.
* Menasor starts falling over before Auggie's car actually hits him.
* Superhuman Auggie:
** After leaping from his car onto the cliff edge, Auggie lets go and drops about 30 feet onto solid rock, but lands on his feet like it's nothing.
* As Bumblebee drives towards the tornado, he's layered incorrectly. It looks like he's driving above the ground for a moment.
* The gold casing around the pearl clearly cracks in half, yet as Auggie and the Autobots walk away from the battle, it's back together (and still making the sound effect as if the pearl is still in it!).

===Continuity errors===
* Professor Teranova frees himself with some kind of lamp device that the 'cons have left sitting around... but we have no idea what the thing actually is or why it's there or anything.
* Somehow, Megatron knows much of the human history and legend surrounding the Pearl, yet still needs to speak to Abdul Ben-F'aisal to know where it is hidden.
* Auggie Cahnay is reputed to be the best driver in the US, and the implication is he's also one of the best drivers in the race, yet twice in the episode, he is seen having to barge his way through the pack from behind.
* Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Smokescreen all use "shortcuts" during the race. Doesn't seem very sporting, does it?
* Professor Teranova flees from the Decepticons, who are "two miles past the finish line". The finish line is in Istanbul. Bluestreak still hasn't made it ''to'' Istanbul when he finds Teranova; in fact he's still in the wilderness. So the good professor fled all the way into town and all the way back out the other side. No wonder he's collapsed in the dirt when Bluestreak finds him!
* On seeing the approaching Stunticons, Bumblebee somehow deduces that "Now they're after Auggie's car!" After he and Tracks avoid them, Bumblebee makes the rather non-sequitur observation that "Boy, they sure gave ''him'' the road!" The two lines seem to indicate that Auggie was supposed to be involved in the scene, but he's not shown.
* Auggie attacks Hook with a blowtorch. Where did it come from?
* Professor Teranova is last seen in the shot where Bumblebee loses the Pearl, not even reappearing in the post-battle scenes. Did he fall into Menasor's earthquake crevasse?
* The tornado that the Pearl and Bumblebee are sucked into is blowing over the Galata Valley while it is active, but when Bumblebee destroys the Pearl, it is suddenly over a huge forest, where he is eventually found in a tree.

===Geopolitical errors===
[[File:Europa 2000.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Not to Scale.]]
Quite a bit of real-world European geography pops up in the course of the episode, including the cities of Istanbul, Turkey; Paris, [[France]] (with the Eiffel Tower); [[Italy]]; and the Black Sea. Being the G1 cartoon, of course, this means a lot of it is portrayed wrongly in one form or another:
* Istanbul is drawn as though it were medieval [[Russia]], with lots of onion dome towers.
* Paris is shown with a number of skyscrapers around the Eiffel Tower. In real life, almost everything in the city is six stories or less.
* The Arc de Triomphe is shown at a regular intersection; it actually sits within a large traffic roundabout.
* Wheeljack says it's 2,000 miles total; because we are nitpicking here, we'll point out that the actual route is closer to 1,600 miles.
* The map of Europe is, erm, very inaccurate.

===Trivia===
* Auggie Cahnay's car has automatic transmission, which is unusual in a race car.
* At least one other car in the race appears to have "Citanes" endorsements.
* Apparently Soundwave's scanner thingy can't distinguish solid rock from ''not''-solid rock.
* This episode is one of several from late in Season 2 in which characters get severely smashed and beaten up - perhaps a precursor to the violent demise of several characters in the then-forthcoming [[The Transformers: The Movie|animated movie]]. Other such episodes include "[[Triple Takeover]]" with its throne made of smashed Autobots, "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]" in which Omega Supreme explodes, "[[Masquerade]]" which sees the Stunticons beaten to a pulp, and "[[War Dawn (episode)|War Dawn]]", where characters - both generic and otherwise - drop like flies.
*David Wise, [[David Wise#Recycle-o-matic|infamous for recycling ideas]] from old stories for his later work, reused the weather-control device climax of this episode for his ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1987) story "Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X".

===Foreign localization===
'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''La perla di Istanbul'''" ("The Istanbul Pearl")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Trans-Europe Express'''"
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Europa Ōdan Tokkyū'''" (ヨーロッパ横断特急, "Trans-Europe Express")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 6]], [[1986]]
::*The Pearl of Bahoudin is called the "Pearl of Jehuddin" in the Japanese dub. This was actually the pearl's preliminary name in early draft scripts of the episode. As such, it seems evident that the Japanese dub of the series used early scripts for dialogue translations rather than the actual broadcast scripts (which accounts for many of the numerous errors in the dub).

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Qìchērén Dàjiǎngsài '''" (汽车人大奖赛, "Autobot Grand Pix")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 7 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/season-2/synopses/700-59.html Episode Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GrSo2D3J1zNwDswcpGnrq_yZxRrBjsGb Episode dialogue script with deleted lines]

[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Trans-Europe Express

2020-04-15T22:04:05Z

Norrisc761: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{episode
|image=TransEuropeExpress riding Wildrider.jpg
|caption=Wir fahr'n fahr'n fahr'n auf dem Stunticon
|series=G1toon
|ep=60
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=47
|prev2=Aerial Assault
|next2=Cosmic Rust (episode)
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=51
|prev3=Countdown to Extinction (episode)
|next3=City of Steel (episode)
|title="Trans-Europe Express"
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-59
|airdate=[[December 23]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}
'''In a plot to obtain a Cybertronian weather-controlling device, the Decepticons stage a fake race across Europe.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Trans-Europe Express race begins.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb|This has got to be the widest track ever.]]
[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] is looking for the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]], and goes on a rampage through [[Istanbul]] to find the one person who knows where it is. After interrogating the sage [[Abdul Ben-F'aisal]], whom Megatron finds in Istanbul, and kidnapping archeologist [[Teranova|Professor Teranova]], Megatron finally zeros in on the location in the [[Galata Valley]] and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] digging to retrieve it.

Meanwhile, the [[Europa 2000]] is underway, and among the drivers in the race are the [[Autobot]]s: [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]], [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]], [[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]], [[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]], [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]]. They are hoping to win the million dollar grand prize to give to charity. Also in the competition is [[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]], America's top driver, whose car is a custom design from [[Symultech Industries]]. The engine is made of a new energy-resistant alloy, and the Autobots have been instructed to keep an eye on Auggie, as his car may be a target for the [[Decepticon]]s. This is easier said than done, as Auggie's personality and driving style are both a bit uncouth, and it's not long before he's rubbing everyone the wrong way. At one point, Bumblebee literally has to yank him out of his car to criticize his behavior.

[[File:Trans-europe-express-stunticons-sideswipe-sunstreaker.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb]]
Aware of their proximity to the finish line, Megatron sends the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] to take out the Autobots and steal Auggie's car. [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] and his group successfully put everyone but Bluestreak, Bumblebee, and Tracks out of commission and make off with the vehicle. While trying to evade the Stunticons, Bluestreak stumbles across Professor Teranova, who snuck away from the Decepticon camp and now explains to him what Megatron is up to. The Pearl of Bahoudin is a powerful jewel that can cause "worldwide disaster". The three remaining Autobots regroup along with Auggie, who insists on going with them to get his car back. They speed through the finish line, winning the race; though the race announcer eagerly anticipates their return for an interview, they keep right on going to the Decepticon camp.

[[File:TransEuropeExpress Bumblebee snatching pearl.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|"Bumblebee! Hump that arm!"]]
Tracks, Bumblebee, and Bluestreak locate the Decepticons as Megatron finds the Pearl of Bahoudin. Megatron reveals to the Autobots that the content of the Pearl is, in fact, the power core of a weather satellite from [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] that crashed on Earth millions of years ago. Unearthed and exposed to the atmosphere in the 14th century, its power caused terrible storms that threatened to destroy the land until a Persian seer encased it in a golden, bejeweled shell. Using the parts from Auggie's car, Megatron plans to build a device that will utilize the jewel's power to control the elements and rain destruction down on anyone who stands in his way.

[[File:BumblebeePearl.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|"By the power of Greyskull!"]]
The Autobots are attacked, though Bumblebee snatches the Pearl from Megatron. Seeing that they are outnumbered and outgunned, Bumblebee opens the Pearl, releasing its power and causing a massive twister that scatters everyone. The Pearl core itself is sucked up and lost in the storm. Megatron orders a retreat, saying that they can watch from the safety of their home base while the Earth is destroyed from the core's power. They leave behind [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]], who proves to be more than a match for the three smaller Autobots. Auggie jumps in his car and takes off, seemingly to run away, but really to drive his car off a nearby cliff and into Menasor's head, delivering a crippling blow and knocking out the giant. Bumblebee has himself sucked up into the twister so that he can catch up with the Pearl. He finally scores a successful shot and destroys the jewel.

After things calm down, the Autobots conclude that Megatron must have set up the race from the beginning to snag Auggie's car, meaning that there's no prize money for anyone. Auggie remarks that he should take the gold casing of the jewel as payment for his destroyed car, but instead gives it to the Autobots to sell for charity, before walking off with a grudging farewell. Meanwhile, the race announcer is still waiting for that interview with the winners... but everyone else has gone home.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (10)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] (11)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (12)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]] (15)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]] (16)
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (2)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (6)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (18)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (19)
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (20)
*[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (21)
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (22)
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (23)
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (24)
*[[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (26)
|c3=
*Turk No.1 (3)
*Turk No.2 (4)
*[[Abdul Ben-F'aisal]] (5)
*Announcer (7)
*[[Auggie Cahnay (G1)|Auggie Cahnay]] (13)
*Race official (14)
*[[Teranova]] (17)
*Race commentator (25)
}}
==Quotes==
''[Megatron and Soundwave smash their way into the sage's home]'' 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': So, you've come at last. 
'''Megatron''': You have five seconds to tell me the location of— 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': The Pearl of Bahoudin? I know. 
'''Megatron''': If you know so much, then you know it would be unwise to refuse me. 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': You have caused enough damage in Istanbul for one day. The legends say the Pearl is buried in the [[Galata Valley]], near the [[Alibey River]]. 
'''Megatron''': You have been wise to oblige me. 
'''Abdul Ben-F'aisal''': Perhaps. But...once you have dug up the Pearl, you may not find it so easy to put back...
:—Warning [[Masquerade|duly noted, Abdul. And IGNORED.]]

[[File:Trans-Europe Express Bumblebee road rage.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Lesson of the day: Never call Bumblebee short.]]
[[File:TransEuropeExpress DeadEnd carjack.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Everybody gets a turn!]]
"There's only one charity I care about: ME! I want that million bucks!"
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''', born to win

''[Bumblebee yanks Auggie right out of his fancy car and holds him aloft.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': Listen, you! Didn't anybody ever tell you about fair play? 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': I'm gonna win that million bucks! 
'''Bluestreak''': Keep driving like that, and you won't live long enough to win it. Not that that would be any great tragedy, but some decent people might get hurt! 
''[Bumblebee drops Auggie onto the ground.]'' 
'''Auggie Cahnay''': I got a race to win! 
''[Auggie jumps into his car and drives off.]'' 
'''Bumblebee''': What a creep.
:—Bumblebee and Bluestreak totally road-rage the asshole Auggie Cahnay.

"So help me, if one more of those metal maniacs gets in my way..." ''[Motormaster blocks Auggie's way, and Dead End pulls the human out of his car.]'' "That does it, and I'm not takin' it anymore!" 
"That's right, 'cause ''we're'' taking your car."
:—'''Auggie Cahnay''' is car-jacked by '''Dead End'''.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* We get a brief flashback to the crash of the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon starship]]; its jungle crash site is reasonably consistent with the ship's location as shown in "[[Microbots]]".
* This episode has the final appearances of Bluestreak, Smokescreen and Sunstreaker with spoken dialogue. From here on, all of their appearances are as silent cameos.
* This episode is one of four prior to the 1986 movie in which [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] does not appear.
* Symultech Industries, the company that custom-built Auggie's car, would later be mentioned in [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]'s ''[[Binaltech]]'' story. According to Dead End's system description, Symultech was responsible for building the body that was originally intended for Sunstreaker, but ended up getting hijacked by the Decepticons to create ''Binaltech'' Dead End.
* [[Auggie Cahnay (RID)|Auggie Cahnay]] is mentioned in the American dub of the 2001 [[Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2001 cartoon)|the 2001 ''Robots in Disguise'' cartoon]] episode "[[Skid Z's Choice]]". There, he is stated as having been deceased, and [[Skid-Z (RID)|Skid-Z]] is seemingly possessed by his spirit. Likewise, that episode features a race called the [[Europa 400]], supposedly named after the [[Europa 2000]] from this episode.

===Real-world references===
[[File:TransEurope Istanbul.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.1|A flawless portrayal of Istanbul circa 1985, we're sure.]]
* According to writer [[David Wise]],<ref>http://therealmtoys.com/wordpressorg/5708/vintage-interview-david-wise/</ref> the title of this episode was directly taken from the {{w|Kraftwerk}} {{w|Trans-Europe Express (album)|album of the same name}} (which in turn is named after the former international railway service, more correctly known as {{w|Trans Europ Express}}).
* Megatron's first interrogation victim "swears by the beard of the Prophet", that prophet presumably being [[Muhammad]]. A moment later, the second interrogatee mentions a mosque.
* ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** [[X-wing Fighter|X-Wing]] engine whine and [[TIE Fighter]] roar as Megatron and Soundwave leave Abdul Ben-F'aisal's home and land at the valley.
** [[Death Star]] slamming door sound is used when Soundwave ejects Rumble.
** Deflected Seeker bolts and clashing [[lightsaber]]s as the Pearl is exposed to the atmosphere in Megatron's flashback.
** More lightsaber sounds as Bumblebee cracks open the Pearl's casing.

===Animation and technical errors===
* When Megatron fires a warning shot at his second interrogation victim, a missile-launching sound effect is used instead of the usual fusion cannon sound.
* Coloring errors:
** As Megatron asks the mystic about the pearl, his ab controls are uncolored.
** In the first shot of his scanning the valley for the pearl, Soundwave's chest is missing its gold frame. Two shots later, his arms are missing their red stripes. And the sound effect for his chest opening should be the "Star Trek door" effect, but since that's used for the scanner, a different sound plays.
** "There's only one charity I care about" - Tracks' rear window section (behind his head) is gray; only the top portion should be gray, while the rest should be blue.
*** The same error repeats much later, in the close shot of the three surrounded Autobots.
**** And a third time as the Autobots react to Auggie driving away.
** Smokescreen's forehead crest is blue instead of yellow as he and Tracks transform.
** In the overhead shot of the race's start, Tracks' whole roof is yellow.
** Sideswipe has light gray tires just before he and Sunstreaker get blown off the road.
** Dead End's head has too many yellow bits just before he transforms back to [[Alternate mode|car mode]].
** "This'll shake you off!" - Wildrider is light gray instead of his usual dark gray.
** After Scavenger picks up the Pearl's energy readings, Megatron's Decepticon sigil is colored red.
** As Dead End takes Auggie's car out of Motormaster, the "eyes" on Megatron's Decepticon symbol are painted in purple (they should be gray).
** As Bluestreak jumps to avoid Breakdown, his chest is almost entirely black. Breakdown's Decepticon sigil is coloured red.
** As Megatron and the other Decepticons chase after Bumblebee, Megatron's feet are coloured grey like the front of his legs.
** When Menasor initially marches up to the Autobots, Bluestreak is colored like Prowl.
*** The error repeats as the trio is cornered by Menasor.
** "The Pearl is lost!" - Soundwave's forehead has some white on it that shouldn't be there.
** Bluestreak's eyes are red instead of blue as he climbs the cliff to escape Menasor; when he turns to leap onto Menasor's arm, part of his hood/chest is missing.
** As Menasor prepares to smash the cornered Autobots, his inner arms are purple instead of light gray. Of course, they really shouldn't be there at all: Dead End and Drag Strip aren't supposed to ''attach to'' Menasor's arms; they're supposed to ''be'' his arms.
* When Wheeljack scans Auggie's car, the engine is located in the back. However, when the Decepticons try to remove the engine, all the work is being done in the car's front.
* As they transform to join the race, half of the Autobots (Bumblebee, Wheeljack and Bluestreak) have the ascending pitch sound effect instead of the descending effect.
[[File:Simultech car.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Someone's overcompensating for something]]
* As Bumblebee catches up to Wheeljack and the camera angle changes to an overhead shot, the crookedly drawn background of the road continually edges close to Wheeljack, then pulls back as the animation loops, creating the impression that the image is jerking back and forth. In the same shot, Wheeljack is missing his green hood details.
* In the first shot of Scavenger and Scrapper, they both have misdrawn heads, and Scavenger's legs are fused together.
* As Soundwave reports to Megatron about the race, he has two eyes instead of the usual red visor.
* After running Bumblebee off the road, Auggie can be seen driving through a pack of cars that has the sheer cliff face on the right side of the screen, despite having just driven on a road that had the cliff edge on the left side. Additionally, Wildrider and a deformed Jazz are visible in the pack of human-driven cars.
* The reversed cel and background problems continue as Auggie pulls away from the rest of the drivers, but are fixed as Bumblebee and Bluestreak catch up to Auggie.
* As the Stunticons appear in Sunstreaker's rearview mirror, they continue rising from behind the horizon until they are floating above the road.
* Dead End's first shot uses Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect. After the commercial break, it has the usual (correct) Decepticon laser sound effect.
* Reversed cel problems continue during Wheeljack and Motormaster's chase scene. When Wheeljack initially appears on the location, the Black Sea is on the left side of the screen as he drives up the road, but as the chase progresses, the sea is now on the right side of the screen, as if they had turned around during the chase or were driving on the opposite coastline.
* Motormaster makes a U-turn on a two-lane cliffside highway. While this kind of crazy driving was specifically shown and explained to be part of the Stunticons' abilities, Motormaster actually achieves it by driving into the shot, shrinking in the process, until he's small enough relative to the background matte to make the turn!
* Tracks' scan of the Stunticons has Wild Rider labeled as "WIRD RIDER."
* After Drag Strip pushes Auggie's car into Motormaster's trailer, as the trailer door closes, Drag Strip's Decepticon sigil turns into a purple blob.
* Scavenger reports that "Hey! There's something glowing down here!", but no such thing is seen in the animation.
* When Bluestreak picks up Auggie from the side of the road, Professor Teranova is not present inside the Autobot. Yet when the Autobots arrive at the site of the Pearl's excavation, Teranova can be seen exiting Bluestreak along with Auggie.
* During Megatron's retelling of the Pearl's history, as the villagers dig it up in the fourteenth century, the animation depicts it as already having the "pure gold protective casing" that was made for it afterwards.
* When Breakdown hits the cliff after missing Bluestreak, despite an explosion being animated, no sound is heard.
* Megatron's mouth doesn't move when Bumblebee grabs the Pearl right out of his hand. Of course, he also just stands there while Bumblebee drives right up to him, leaps up onto his arm and grabs Pearl.
* After Menasor smashes the ground to stop Bumblebee from escaping with the Pearl, a large crack forms in the earth, yet it vanishes when Bumblebee reacts to the Pearl rolling away.
* As Megatron and the Decepticons fly away from the battle, Sideswipe is shown next to Megatron (it should probably be Soundwave). The same error happened in "[[The Secret of Omega Supreme (episode)|The Secret of Omega Supreme]]".
* When the Autobots react to Auggie's apparent escape, Bluestreak is animated mouthing Tracks's line.
* When Auggie jumps from his car (from the ''passenger side''), he is not wearing his helmet, but it reappears after Menasor is defeated.
* Auggie's car isn't nearly as long as it should be when it crashes into Menasor.
* Menasor starts falling over before Auggie's car actually hits him.
* Superhuman Auggie:
** After leaping from his car onto the cliff edge, Auggie lets go and drops about 30 feet onto solid rock, but lands on his feet like it's nothing.
* As Bumblebee drives towards the tornado, he's layered incorrectly. It looks like he's driving above the ground for a moment.
* The gold casing around the pearl clearly cracks in half, yet as Auggie and the Autobots walk away from the battle, it's back together (and still making the sound effect as if the pearl is still in it!).

===Continuity errors===
* Professor Teranova frees himself with some kind of lamp device that the 'cons have left sitting around... but we have no idea what the thing actually is or why it's there or anything.
* Somehow, Megatron knows much of the human history and legend surrounding the Pearl, yet still needs to speak to Abdul Ben-F'aisal to know where it is hidden.
* Auggie Cahnay is reputed to be the best driver in the US, and the implication is he's also one of the best drivers in the race, yet twice in the episode, he is seen having to barge his way through the pack from behind.
* Sunstreaker, Sideswipe and Smokescreen all use "shortcuts" during the race. Doesn't seem very sporting, does it?
* Professor Teranova flees from the Decepticons, who are "two miles past the finish line". The finish line is in Istanbul. Bluestreak still hasn't made it ''to'' Istanbul when he finds Teranova; in fact he's still in the wilderness. So the good professor fled all the way into town and all the way back out the other side. No wonder he's collapsed in the dirt when Bluestreak finds him!
* On seeing the approaching Stunticons, Bumblebee somehow deduces that "Now they're after Auggie's car!" After he and Tracks avoid them, Bumblebee makes the rather non-sequitur observation that "Boy, they sure gave ''him'' the road!" The two lines seem to indicate that Auggie was supposed to be involved in the scene, but he's not shown.
* Auggie attacks Hook with a blowtorch. Where did it come from?
* Professor Teranova is last seen in the shot where Bumblebee loses the Pearl, not even reappearing in the post-battle scenes. Did he fall into Menasor's earthquake crevasse?
* The tornado that the Pearl and Bumblebee are sucked into is blowing over the Galata Valley while it is active, but when Bumblebee destroys the Pearl, it is suddenly over a huge forest, where he is eventually found in a tree.

===Geopolitical errors===
[[File:Europa 2000.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Not to Scale.]]
Quite a bit of real-world European geography pops up in the course of the episode, including the cities of Istanbul, Turkey; Paris, [[France]] (with the Eiffel Tower); [[Italy]]; and the Black Sea. Being the G1 cartoon, of course, this means a lot of it is portrayed wrongly in one form or another:
* Istanbul is drawn as though it were medieval [[Russia]], with lots of onion dome towers.
* Paris is shown with a number of skyscrapers around the Eiffel Tower. In real life, almost everything in the city is six stories or less.
* The Arc de Triomphe is shown at a regular intersection; it actually sits within a large traffic roundabout.
* Wheeljack says it's 2,000 miles total; because we are nitpicking here, we'll point out that the actual route is closer to 1,600 miles.
* The map of Europe is, erm, very inaccurate.

===Trivia===
* Auggie Cahnay's car has automatic transmission, which is unusual in a race car.
* At least one other car in the race appears to have "Citanes" endorsements.
* Apparently Soundwave's scanner thingy can't distinguish solid rock from ''not''-solid rock.
* This episode is one of several from late in Season 2 in which characters get severely smashed and beaten up - perhaps a precursor to the violent demise of several characters in the then-forthcoming [[The Transformers: The Movie|animated movie]]. Other such episodes include "[[Triple Takeover]]" with its throne made of smashed Autobots, "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2]]" in which Omega Supreme explodes, "[[Masquerade]]" which sees the Stunticons beaten to a pulp, and "[[War Dawn (episode)|War Dawn]]", where characters - both generic and otherwise - drop like flies.
*David Wise, [[David Wise#Recycle-o-matic|infamous for recycling ideas]] from old stories for his later work, reused the weather-control device climax of this episode for his ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' (1987) story "Hot Rodding Teenagers from Dimension X".

===Foreign localization===
'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''La perla di Istanbul'''" ("The Istanbul Pearl")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Trans-Europe Express'''"
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Europa Ōdan Tokkyū'''" (ヨーロッパ横断特急, "Trans-Europe Express")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 6]], [[1986]]
::*The Pearl of Bahoudin is called the "Pearl of Jehuddin" in the Japanese dub. This was actually the pearl's preliminary name in early draft scripts of the episode. As such, it seems evident that the Japanese dub of the series used early scripts for dialogue translations rather than the actual broadcast scripts (which accounts for many of the numerous errors in the dub).

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Qìchērén Dàjiǎngsài '''" (汽车人大奖赛, "Autobot Grand Pix")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 7 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/season-2/synopses/700-59.html Episode Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=1GrSo2D3J1zNwDswcpGnrq_yZxRrBjsGb Episode dialogue script with deleted lines]

[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]

Ain't No Rat

2011-06-02T19:53:48Z

Norrisc761: As one of Jehovah's Witnesses and a Transformers fan I find the original caption offensive.

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Dreamwave Summer Special]]''
|prev=Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?
|next=Shell Game issue 1
|image=DW Summer Special BW panel.jpg
|caption="Dammit, I hope it's not something offensive!"
|title="Ain't No Rat"
|publisher=[[Dreamwave Productions]]
|date=[[July 8]], 2004
|coverdate=May, 2004
|story=[[James McDonough|Brad Mick]] with [[Adam Patyk]]
|pencils=[[Don Figueroa]]
|flats=[[Kenny Li]]
|inks=[[Elaine To]]
|colors=[[Espen Grundetjern]]
|letters=[[Shaun Linsao]]
|continuity=
}}
'''Rattrap dreams back to prehistoric Earth...'''

==Synopsis==
With [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] safely contained externally, the [[Maximal]]s aboard the [[Autobot shuttle]] take a much-deserved rest. Even [[Rattrap]] eventually falls asleep, to dream...

On [[Earth]], Rattrap panics, his self-contained vehicle compromised by the much larger [[Dinobot II|Dinobot 2]]. Dinobot 2 holds Rattrap in a painfully tight grip, despite Rattrap's attempts to appeal to any remnants of his attacker's former persona.

Suddenly, Rattrap is rescued by [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]], [[Optimus Minor]], and [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]]. Rattrap is full of questions, but Optimus Minor simply tells Rattrap that the three new Maximals do not wish to continue as combatants.

Rattrap wakes up aboard the Autobot shuttle. The nature of his dream is left as a mystery.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (3)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (5)
* [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (6)
* [[Rattrap]] (7)
* [[Optimus Minor]] (9)
* [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]] (10)
* [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Dinobot II|Dinobot 2]] (8)
}}

==Notes==
* There is quite a bit of [[Cybertronix]] in this issue. When Dinobot II confronts Rattrap, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]'s viewscreen displays Maximal characters reading "subject vermin orders terminate". When we see Rattrap's perspective a few panels later, it says "that's it were all gonna die", while words on the bottom of his perspective identify his view as "rat o vision".
* This story was originally meant to be part of a six-issue miniseries called [[Shell Game (Dreamwave)|''Shell Game'']]. However, the company went bankrupt before the whole series could be released, leaving "Ain't No Rat" the only story published from said series, as part of the ''[[Dreamwave Summer Special]]''.

[[Category:Beast Wars issues]]
[[Category:Dreamwave issues]]
[[Category:Stories]]

Talk:Ain't No Rat

2011-06-02T19:36:52Z

Norrisc761: New page: The reason I changed the caption is that I find the reference offensive.

The reason I changed the caption is that I find the reference offensive.

Ain't No Rat

2011-06-02T19:27:04Z

Norrisc761:

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Dreamwave Summer Special]]''
|prev=Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?
|next=Shell Game issue 1
|image=DW Summer Special BW panel.jpg
|caption="Dammit, I hope it's not the evil Wiki People!"
|title="Ain't No Rat"
|publisher=[[Dreamwave Productions]]
|date=[[July 8]], 2004
|coverdate=May, 2004
|story=[[James McDonough|Brad Mick]] with [[Adam Patyk]]
|pencils=[[Don Figueroa]]
|flats=[[Kenny Li]]
|inks=[[Elaine To]]
|colors=[[Espen Grundetjern]]
|letters=[[Shaun Linsao]]
|continuity=
}}
'''Rattrap dreams back to prehistoric Earth...'''

==Synopsis==
With [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] safely contained externally, the [[Maximal]]s aboard the [[Autobot shuttle]] take a much-deserved rest. Even [[Rattrap]] eventually falls asleep, to dream...

On [[Earth]], Rattrap panics, his self-contained vehicle compromised by the much larger [[Dinobot II|Dinobot 2]]. Dinobot 2 holds Rattrap in a painfully tight grip, despite Rattrap's attempts to appeal to any remnants of his attacker's former persona.

Suddenly, Rattrap is rescued by [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]], [[Optimus Minor]], and [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]]. Rattrap is full of questions, but Optimus Minor simply tells Rattrap that the three new Maximals do not wish to continue as combatants.

Rattrap wakes up aboard the Autobot shuttle. The nature of his dream is left as a mystery.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (3)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (5)
* [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (6)
* [[Rattrap]] (7)
* [[Optimus Minor]] (9)
* [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]] (10)
* [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Dinobot II|Dinobot 2]] (8)
}}

==Notes==
* There is quite a bit of [[Cybertronix]] in this issue. When Dinobot II confronts Rattrap, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]'s viewscreen displays Maximal characters reading "subject vermin orders terminate". When we see Rattrap's perspective a few panels later, it says "that's it were all gonna die", while words on the bottom of his perspective identify his view as "rat o vision".
* This story was originally meant to be part of a six-issue miniseries called [[Shell Game (Dreamwave)|''Shell Game'']]. However, the company went bankrupt before the whole series could be released, leaving "Ain't No Rat" the only story published from said series, as part of the ''[[Dreamwave Summer Special]]''.

[[Category:Beast Wars issues]]
[[Category:Dreamwave issues]]
[[Category:Stories]]

Ain't No Rat

2011-06-02T13:07:41Z

Norrisc761:

{{comicstory
|seriesissue=''[[Dreamwave Summer Special]]''
|prev=Ultra Magnus...to the Rescue?
|next=Shell Game issue 1
|image=DW Summer Special BW panel.jpg
|caption="Dammit, I hope it's not the Pope!"
|title="Ain't No Rat"
|publisher=[[Dreamwave Productions]]
|date=[[July 8]], 2004
|coverdate=May, 2004
|story=[[James McDonough|Brad Mick]] with [[Adam Patyk]]
|pencils=[[Don Figueroa]]
|flats=[[Kenny Li]]
|inks=[[Elaine To]]
|colors=[[Espen Grundetjern]]
|letters=[[Shaun Linsao]]
|continuity=
}}
'''Rattrap dreams back to prehistoric Earth...'''

==Synopsis==
With [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] safely contained externally, the [[Maximal]]s aboard the [[Autobot shuttle]] take a much-deserved rest. Even [[Rattrap]] eventually falls asleep, to dream...

On [[Earth]], Rattrap panics, his self-contained vehicle compromised by the much larger [[Dinobot II|Dinobot 2]]. Dinobot 2 holds Rattrap in a painfully tight grip, despite Rattrap's attempts to appeal to any remnants of his attacker's former persona.

Suddenly, Rattrap is rescued by [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]], [[Optimus Minor]], and [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]]. Rattrap is full of questions, but Optimus Minor simply tells Rattrap that the three new Maximals do not wish to continue as combatants.

Rattrap wakes up aboard the Autobot shuttle. The nature of his dream is left as a mystery.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters|h1=[[Maximal|Maximals]]|c1=
* [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] (2)
* [[Optimus Primal]] (3)
* [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] (4)
* [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (5)
* [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] (6)
* [[Rattrap]] (7)
* [[Optimus Minor]] (9)
* [[Bonecrusher (BW)|Bonecrusher]] (10)
* [[Wolfang (Maximal)|Wolfang]] (11)

|h2=[[Predacon (RID)|Predacons]]|c2=
* [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] (1)
* [[Dinobot II|Dinobot 2]] (8)
}}

==Notes==
* There is quite a bit of [[Cybertronix]] in this issue. When Dinobot II confronts Rattrap, the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]'s viewscreen displays Maximal characters reading "subject vermin orders terminate". When we see Rattrap's perspective a few panels later, it says "that's it were all gonna die", while words on the bottom of his perspective identify his view as "rat o vision".
* This story was originally meant to be part of a six-issue miniseries called [[Shell Game (Dreamwave)|''Shell Game'']]. However, the company went bankrupt before the whole series could be released, leaving "Ain't No Rat" the only story published from said series, as part of the ''[[Dreamwave Summer Special]]''.

[[Category:Beast Wars issues]]
[[Category:Dreamwave issues]]
[[Category:Stories]]

Blackout (Terrorcon)

2010-04-20T22:53:30Z

Norrisc761: /* Super Link */

{{factions|decepticon}}
{{disambig3|Blackout}}
:''Blackout is a [[Terrorcon (Energon)|Terrorcon]] from the [[Energon (franchise)|Energon]] portion of the [[Unicron Trilogy]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:BlackoutTerrorcon01.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The Bluebird of Unhappiness.]]
'''Blackout''' is one of the many servants of the [[Alpha Quintesson]] that transforms into a robotic bird of prey. He has been adapted for stealth operations.

:''Japanese name'': '''Shadow Hawk'''

==Fiction==
===''Energon'' cartoon===
Following the resurrection of [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]], many of the [[Battle Ravage ]] and [[Divebomb (Energon)|Divebomb]] models of Terrorcon came under the [[Decepticon]] leader's command thanks to his control of their general, [[Scorponok (Energon)|Scorponok]]. Others remained in the control of Alpha Quintesson, who equipped some of them for stealth, resulting in a difference in coloration. {{storylink|Crisis in Jungle City}} Blackout was one of these "stealthy" blue-hued Divebombs.

Evidently desperate for Energon, Blackout and another blue Divebomb took refuge in the Energon Tower located near [[Desert City]]. This somehow prevented the tower from reaching its maximum output, leaving Earth's Energon Grid unable to power up—a dangerous situation as Megatron was planning to bombard the planet with artificial comets.

At some point, Blackout and the other Divebomb apparently encountered a pair of [[Skyblast (Energon)|Skyblasts]] and took them offline.

[[Kicker Jones|Kicker]] and [[Ironhide (Energon)|Ironhide]] discovered Blackout and his comrade when they went to investigate the cause of the tower's malfunction. Blackout attacked them with his [[Energon weapon|Energy Raiden]], which Ironhide managed to blow up in mid-air. Alpha Q then communicated to Blackout that he should not attack, which Kicker somehow overheard.

[[Image:BlackoutTerrorcon02.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Caw.]]
Kicker then tried to lure the Divebombs out of the Energon Tower by using Ironhide's [[Energon chip]] as bait. Unfortunately, Blackout and his comrade were damaged to the point of being unable to move from the floor. Kicker then jumped down to bring the Energon to them—prompting the frightened Terrorcons to open fire on him.

Ironhide blocked their shots with his body, however, and Kicker continued forward, dropping the Energon chip in front of the Divebombs. After absorbing energy from it and healing, Blackout, the other Divebomb, Kicker and Ironhide withdrew from the tower to Desert City proper. Ironhide held the two Terrorcons in his arms as they watched the artificial comets explode against the Energon Grid, creating a fireworks-like display.

Not too long after, [[Rodimus (Energon)|Rodimus]] showed up in a spaceship to pick up the two Divebombs. Unbeknownst to the Terrorcons, though, Ironhide had placed a tracer on one of them... {{storylink|Energon Grid}}
{{--}}
==Toys==
===Super Link===
[[Image:En-toy ShadowHawkCosmo.jpg|right|300px|thumb|My life is a lie!]]
*'''Shadow Hawk Cosmo Type''' (Basic, 2004)
**''Japanese ID number:'' '''SD-13'''
**''Accessories:'' 2-piece "Energy Raiden", Decepticon-style energon chip

:A [[redeco]] of [[Divebomb (Energon)|Divebomb]], Shadow Hawk Cosmo Type transforms into a robotic bird of prey. Twin clear-plastic "energon" blades can attach to his bird-mode neck or be used as robot-mode claw-held weapons, held as either melee weapons (via the handle) or blasters (via the "connector" pegs). The blades can be combined together to form an "Ultimate [[Energon weapon|Energon Weapon]]", the hooked blade "[[energon weapon#Energy Raiden (Divebomb)|Energy Raiden]]". The [[spark crystal]] on his chest can accommodate an [[energon star|energon chip]].

:Shadow Hawk Cosmo Type was a somewhat-limited retail release during ''Super Link'', and arguably the hardest to come across (for a time, at least; apparently many surfaced at blowout prices towards the end of the line's retail run). Unlike Command Jaguar Desert Type/[[Command Ravage]], who also appeared in the ''Energon'' cartoon, Shadow Hawk Cosmo Type was not released by [[Hasbro]] as part of the ''Energon'' toyline, technically making Blackout one of the few ''Energon'' show characters not to have a North American toy release.

:This mold was also used to make the "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]" versions of [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]].

::*''[http://tfu.info/2004/Destron/ShadowHawkCosmic/shadowhawk.htm More information on Shadow Hawk Cosmo Type at TFU.info]''

==Notes==
* In the Japanese version of the episode, Blackout is referred to as "Shadow Hawk", the name of his base Terrorcon type. It would appear that his existence as an individual character was in reality a dub mistake. (For what it's worth, the "Divebomb"-type Terrorcons are in fact '''never''' called "Divebomb" during the course of the ''Energon'' dub, one of but a [[Armed City|myriad]] of [[Downshift (Energon)|recurring]] [[Cliffjumper (Energon)|errors]] [[Decepticon Army|found in]] [[Imprisoned Inferno|the show]].)

*Among the other differences between the Japanese and dubbed version of the episode featuring Blackout are...
** Originally, Kicker theorized that the Terrorcons had become trapped within the tower while scouting it out, rather than them coming to the tower in search of Energon.
** The confrontation between the Divebombs and Skyblasts was originally placed within the very recent past—they had been sent by [[Misha]] to investigate the same problem that Kicker and Ironhide were—rather than the nebulous "a fight happened a while ago" timeframe presented in the English dub.
** The Terrorcons ''themselves'' were originally presented as somehow causing the interference which made the Energon Tower malfunction. The point is not mentioned in ''Energon'', making it seem that Ironhide and Kicker did nothing to suddenly make the tower work.

* The original Divebomb-model inhabitants of [[Planet Q]] were shown to have had the Shadow Hawk Cosmo Type coloration in flashback.

[[Category:Drones]]
[[Category:Energon characters]]
[[Category:Terrorcons]]

Sunatoria

2010-01-26T02:09:17Z

Norrisc761:

{{picsneeded}}
:''Sunatoria is a country from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

'''Sunatoria''' (スナトリア) is one of 38 countries on the planet [[Beast (planet)|Beast]]. Its king is [[Battle Bear]], and its emperor is [[Crabhit]].

[[Category:Countries of Beast]]

Chaos (episode)

2010-01-24T23:37:40Z

Norrisc761: /* Synopsis */

{{disambig2|the Generation 1 cartoon episode|the alien creature featured in the episode|Chaos (alien)}}
{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep2=11
|image=G1 Chaos.JPG
|caption=Kup discovers a very distant cousin (twice removed) of [[that big green, fire-snortin' lizard]].
|ep=72
|title="Chaos"
|production code=700-92
|airdate=[[September 30]], 1986
|written by=[[Paul Davids]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''A discovery on Goo forces Kup to face a demon from his past.'''

:''Japanese title:'' デスクリスタル (''Death Crystal'')
:''German title:'' "'''Tödliche Kristalle'''" ("Deadly Crystals")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Chaos Blastoff Skuxxoid.jpg|left|200px|thumb|]]

Near Goo, a [[Skuxxoid]] is using a bazooka to fire strange crystals at random pieces of junk. However, [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] spots him and they start firing at each other. Cornering the Skuxxoid on Goo, Blast Off demands to know with what he was being shot. The Skuxxoid shows him the crystals. He says that they are hard to find, but he knows where the planet is.

On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] is telling a story about one of his encounters with an [[Ick-Yak]] to [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]. An Ick-Yak had cornered Kup on [[Dread]], but Kup managed to trick it into walking into the quickmud. Grimlock says he heard that a monster named [[Chaos (alien)|Chaos]] lived on Dread, and asks Kup if that's true. Kup freaks out and tells Grimlock never to speak of Chaos again. However, [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] contacts Cybertron, telling them of a discovery he made. Using [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], the [[Autobot]]s go to investigate. On [[Goo]], they discover that a destroyed [[Earth Defense Command]] station. Grimlock is shocked, as the station was made of the strongest metal in the galaxy. Kup, however, recognizes what did it: [[Death crystal]]s. The Autobots ask what death crystals are, but Kup is hesitant. At that moment, Blast Off appears with [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] riding on him, firing death crystals. Escaping on Sky Lynx, the two [[Transformer]] shuttles play a game of cat and mouse, until Runamuck destroys a comet, allowing Sky Lynx to escape.

[[Image:Chaos Kup prisoners.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]

After escaping, the Autobots demand answers. Kup explains that one hundred-thousand years ago, when he was on Dread, he was captured by [[Orb]]s, a slaver race. He was forced to work in the death crystal mines under extremely hazardous conditions, facing attacks by wrecks of [[shrikebat]]s. Kup managed to sneak away from his work detail, heading into the caves, where he found a group of imprisoned robots. As he was preparing to free them, Chaos appeared. Kup was so frightened that he fled, leaving the robots behind. He's never forgiven himself for leaving those other robots behind, and now the [[Decepticon]]s know about the death crystals. The Autobots resolve to stop the Decepticons before disaster should strike.

[[Image:Chaos Kup Predacons.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Kup's early years as a Lion Tamer weren't going too well]]

On Dread, it turns out that [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] is not content to use them merely as ammunition—he's building a [[Death crystal cannon|cannon]] that will fire death crystals at Cybertron, destroying the planet with one shot. Landing away from the Decepticon camp, Kup takes Blurr to do some recon. During their search, the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] arrive, with [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] and [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] taking on Kup, with the others knocking Blurr into the quickmud (which has the benefit of shutting him up). Grimlock, Wheelie, and Wreck-Gar head to help, while Sky Lynx separates. Heading for the two Autobots, Grimlock mauls Razorclaw as Wheelie and Wreck-Gar fire, while Sky Lynx rescues Blurr from the mud. As the Predacons retreat to inform Galvatron, Sky Lynx follows to further investigate.

[[Image:Chaos Kup enters cave.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"What's in there?" "Only what you take with you."]]

Heading for the camp, the other Autobots arrive to attack the Decepticons, and the Predacons form [[Predaking]], managing to get a lucky shot on Sky Lynx. Kup is trapped in the mines of [[Queeg Mountain]] due to a random shot, and immediately goes to find Chaos. Finding imprisoned robots, he frees them, just as Chaos arrives. The beast has death crystals embedded into his skin, but Kup has a plan. Using another opening in the volcano, Kup leads the robots to freedom, and uses Galvatron's death crystal cannon on Chaos, which also causes the volcano to erupt. Sky Lynx manages to rescue the Autobots, who flee into space. Sky Lynx has been injured, but Kup is sure that he'll be okay. It actually reminds him of the time he was riding the shuttle ''[[Jonagar]]'' and was trapped in a [[space whale]]. As the other Autobots bemoan another tale, Grimlock commands them to be quiet, as he loves Kup's war stories.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (3)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (4)
* [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] (5)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (6)
* [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (7)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (8)

|c2=
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (2)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (9)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (11)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (12)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (13)
* [[Headstrong]] (14)
* [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (15)
* [[Tantrum]] (16)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (17)
* [[Predaking]] (18)

|c4=
*[[Skuxxoid]] (1)
*[[Chaos (alien)|Chaos]] (10)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:Chaos SkyLynx liftoff.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Look, up in the sky! It's a bird! It's a plane! It's a lynx! It's Sky Lynx!"]]

"This could be the galaxy-busting case I've been waiting to sink my teeth into."
:—'''Kup''', thinking he's [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]].

"Secret-keepers always weepers! Tell a friend or heads will bend!"
:—'''Wheelie''' starts getting violent.

"Sky Lynx! If he's come after the cannon, he's gonna get himself obliterated!" 
"Obliterated? By you grubby Predacons? That'll be the day!"
:—'''Tantrum''' and '''Sky Lynx''' trade barbs.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* When Kup frees the imprisoned robots, one of them, round in shape, keeps appearing and disappearing between frames.

===Continuity errors===
*Wasn't [[Goo]] destroyed in a [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4|previous episode]]? Of course, this might not have been 8739B.

===Real-world references===
*The story of Jonagar and the space whale is a reference to the Biblical story of [[wikipedia:Jonah|Jonah and the Whale]]

===Trivia===
*This episode would be the last time [[Casey Kasem]] would ever voice a character in ''Transformers''.

[[Image:Kup model comparison Chaos.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Note his knees, belt and backpack.]]

*Like most movie characters, Kup had an alternate [[character model]]. In "Chaos", the animators cleverly used the alternate model for Kup's flashbacks.

*This is the second time that Kup would narrate an encounter with an [[Ick-Yak]]. He first mentions them in [[The Transformers: The Movie|the movie]].

*The Ick-Yak was not the only monster Kup mentioned in the movie to make an appearance. The bat creatures that harried Kup and the other slaves were labeled "[[shrikebat]]s" on their [[character model]]s.

*An early title for the episode (as well as the titular antagonist) was "Mayhem".

*The early script also called for organic alien slaves, who even had character models developed. The final, aired version replaced these organic slaves with robots. [[Jim Sorenson]] posted their designs on his [http://boltax.blogspot.com/2008/11/blogging-is-right-of-all-sentient.html blog]. These models did appear in the episode very briefly, as Kup frees the prisoners, and were reused as patrons of the diner that [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] and [[Octane]] stop at in "[[Starscream's Ghost]]".

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

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Function

2010-01-24T23:19:09Z

Norrisc761:

One of the recurring elements of [[Bio|toy bios]] is the characters' '''function''', typically a one-to-two-word encapsulation of the character's "job" on their team.

Most [[Franchise|franchises]] from [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] and onward have included a "function" listing at the top of the characers' bios. ''[[Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' was the first not to include it as part of the character's description.

Typical functions include:

* [[Brawn (G1)|Demolitions]]
* [[Grapple|Architect]]
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Scientist]]
* [[Tracks (G1)|Warrior]]
* [[Hubcap (G1)|Comunications]]
* [[Submarauder (G1)|Undersea Warfare]]
* [[Bludgeon (G1)|Electric Warrior]]
* [[Thundercracker (G1)|Rebel Warrior]]
* [[Skram|Crack Patrol]]
* [[Road Pig (Decepticon)|Autobot Harassment]]
* [[Sky-Byte (RID)|Shark]]

==See also==
*[[Air Commander]]
*[[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]]
*[[Decepticon leader]]
*[[Emperor of Destruction]]

{{stub}}

[[Category:Toys]]
[[Category:Functions| ]]

Doubledealer

2010-01-24T22:35:22Z

Norrisc761:

{{factions|autobot|decepticon}}
{{picsneeded|Toy image.}}
:''Doubledealer is an [[Autobot]] and a [[Decepticon]] [[Powermaster]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]]. In some continuities he goes by the separate names '''Double''' (as Autobot) and '''Dealer''' (as Decepticon) as well.''

[[Image:Doubledealer boxart.jpg|right|300px|thumb|"I've got something for you...the lowest-cost SR-22!"]]
'''Doubledealer''' is unique among Transformers as he holds a place in both the Autobot and Decepticon armies. The truth, however, is that this ruthless mechanoid is a mercenary loyal only to whomever is paying him, and then only if no better offer catches his eye. At times, even his own partners are unaware of all of Doubledealer's duplicitous dealings. His skills and power make him a valuable asset to both sides, but neither really trust him as far as they could throw a [[Guardian robot]].

Doubledealer is also almost unique among [[Powermaster]]s in possessing two [[Binary bonding|binary bonded]] partners, [[Knok]] and [[Skar]], a trait shared only with one version of [[Overlord (Masterforce)|Overlord]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{note|Events from the [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|UK-only]] comic stories are in italics.}}
[[Image:Doubledealerofthecentury.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Little does Roadhandler know that you can get faction symbols at reprolabels.com.]]
''A Decepticon named "Dealer" escaped with both [[Chainclaw]] and the secret Autobot plans he was carrying, despite the [[Micromaster]] [[Race Car Patrol]]'s efforts. A mysterious Autobot named "Double" immediately offered his services, explaining that it was his fault that Dealer got away with Chainclaw. After [[Roadhandler (G1)|Roadhandler]] scanned his [[Insignia|Autobrand]] for authenticity and [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] granted him [[energon cube]]s for the mission, Double left to redeem himself. Meanwhile, Dealer presented the Autobot plans to [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] and left.''

''Double arrived back to the Autobots with Chainclaw, but he appeared severely damaged. He told of how Dealer had taken both his energon and the plans, and pleaded for his forgiveness. Optimus Prime, the Race Car Patrol, and Chainclaw left, leaving Double alone. Surprise! The mystery figure is both Autobot and Decepticon, both Double and Dealer! Having conned each side from both the Energon cubes and the Autobot plans, he takes to the air in triumph.'' {{storylink|(Double) Deal of the Century!}}
{{-}}
===Dreamwave comics continuity===
[[Image:DoubledealerFalconDreamwave.jpg|200px|thumb|Who wouldn't hire this guy?]]
Doubledealer carefully chose his partners to best represent him to each faction. Neither Knok nor Skar knows of the other's existence, nor of their master's double life. His two partners are loyal to the Autobots and Decepticons respectively.

{{note|Doubledealer appears only in "[[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]]" in the [[Dreamwave Generation One continuity|Dreamwave continuity]]. His partners are drawn to appear totally robotic. The profile seems to suggest that they are Cybertronians themselves, and not organic beings as all other Powermaster partners have been portrayed. How exactly the Powermaster process would operate between mechanoids is unknown.}}
{{-}}
===IDW comics continuity===
[[Image:SpotlightHotRod DoubleDealer.jpg|left|300px|thumb|My gun keeps firing and I can't stop it!]]
A part of [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]]'s first command, the Autobot called Dealer was left to face a Decepticon ambush alone while Hot Rod, having already lost the rest of his team, escaped with the mission's objective, the [[Magnificence]]. Stricken with guilt, Hot Rod infiltrated the Decepticon Penal Colony [[Styx]] and evacuated Dealer. Though Hot Rod was at first uneasy around Dealer, considering their history, Dealer explained that he understood Hot Rod's need to complete the mission and leave without him and that he wished to become friends.

Unbeknownst to the young Autobot, however, Dealer was the true reason for the loss of Hot Rod's team. Dealer was an undercover agent working for the Decepticon mercenary [[Banzai-Tron (G1)|Banzaitron]] and in that capacity had sabotaged Hot Rod's equipment and staged the ambush. With the Magnificence stored in a location known only by Hot Rod, he befriended the Autobot with designs to learn its hiding place. Banzaitron, learning of his hire's double cross, renamed him Doubledealer. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hot Rod}}

"Doubledealer" attempted to persuade Hot Rod into bribing or coercing others into getting the two-faced double agent reassigned to [[Earth]], but Hot Rod responded noncommittally. {{storylink|Devastation issue 2|Devastation #2}} The traitor maintained contact with Banzai-Tron, selling him bits of information such as the existence of Transformer [[combiner]] warriors discovered by the Autobots, which the Decepticon used to track them to the penitentiary on [[Garrus-9]], staging a full-scale assault to acquire this revolutionary technology. {{storylink|Spotlight: Arcee}}

[[Image:Doubledealerdies.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Oh, yeah...he could still be okay.]]
When the Autobots were faced with the growing threat of [[Nova Prime|Nemesis Prime]] and his expansion project, Dealer saw opportunity in the chaos. Using their lack of knowledge about the current situation as an excuse, Dealer contacted Optimus Prime and suggested that the Magnificence could be the solution to their problems. {{storylink|Spotlight: Hardhead}} Agreeing with Dealer's suggestion, Prime sent him to Earth to make contact with Hot Rod and retrieve the Magnificence from its secret location. The two "old friends" returned to Ki-Aleta, as apparently Hot Rod had never removed the device from the very planet on which they acquired it. Seeing the Omega Bunker and the site of his greatest failure, however, made Hot Rod start ruminating about how everything went so wrong so fast on that fateful mission. Dealer did his best to console Hot Rod while still pushing him towards revealing the Magnificence's location. They eventually made it to the rocky mountain peak where the device was hidden, beneath a constant storm of ionic energy to mask its presence. As Hot Rod pulled the Magnificence from its hiding place at the summit, Doubledealer was prepared to shoot his former commander in the back and claim his prize. Unfortunately for Dealer, Hot Rod had finally pieced together enough of the evidence to suspect Dealer of foul play. Once the Magnificence confirmed his suspicions, he spun and shot down the treacherous Autobot first. Doubledealer's chest exploded under fire, and he fell the entire height of the mountain, only to smash into pieces at the base. {{storylink|Spotlight: Doubledealer}}
{{--}}
==Commercial appearances==
[[Image:Doubledealercommercial.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Piranacon we expect to fall for this. Hey, Prime...?]]

* Doubledealer features in his own 1988 [[commercial]]. Various Autobots wonder amongst each other who the new Transformer with Powermaster [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] could be. Turns out, it's Doubledealer, the Powermaster Mercenary! And, uh, he's also talking to [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]]! Well, we hope that's addressed at some point.
{{-}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
*'''Doubledealer with Knok & Skar''' (Powermaster, 1988)
**''Accessories'': Chestplate, two-part missile
: Doubledealer's "default" mode is an ICBM missile launcher truck with no visible [[Insignia|faction sigils]]. One engine can plug into the top of the truck, while the other can be stored in the chest plate/engine holder plugged into the back of the missile. By plugging [[Knok]] into the engine socket, his Autobot humanoid robot mode is unlocked. In this form, the ICBM splits up to form a handgun and shoulder-mounted (non-firing) launcher. Also, [[Skar]] can be stored by plugging him into the robot's butt. By plugging Skar into the socket in truck mode, his Decepticon "bird" mode is unlocked, and the missile splits into a pair of guns (one on his back and the other on his undercarriage). In bird mode, Knok can be stored in the chest plate/engine holder plugged into the back of the missile.

: This mold was used to make [[Clouder|Doubleclouder]].

::*''[http://tfu.info/1988/Decepticon/Doubledealer/doubledealer.htm More information on Doubledealer at TFU.info]''
{{--}}

==Notes==
* Doubledealer's packaging uses the Decepticon color scheme and logo, even though he's fictionally a "whichever".

* Though his toy bio and all other material describe his Decepticon bird mode as a "falcon", the head of the toy actually looks like a vulture, which would seem more fitting given his mercenary nature.

* In the [[Super-God Masterforce (cartoon)|''Super-God Masterforce'' cartoon]], [[Doubleclouder]] is colored as if he was Double''dealer'', rather than using the Doubleclouder toy's coloration. This isn't the only instance of the cartoon using [[Hasbro]] colorations over [[Takara]]'s; the Decepticon [[Sparkdash]] use Hasbro colors as well, rather than their Takara-released toy colors.

[[Category:Autobots]]
[[Category:Double agents]]
[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Spies]]
[[Category:Triple Changers]]

Skar (G1)

2010-01-24T22:33:23Z

Norrisc761: /* Commercial appearances */

{{picsneeded|toy}}
{{factions|decepticon}}
:''Skar is an [[Decepticon]] [[Powermaster]] partnered with [[Doubledealer]] from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Skar-mtmte.jpg|right|350px|thumb|Not Ratbat. Or Wingthing. (Or Mindwipe, or Nightscream, or Megatron, or Sonar...)]]
'''Skar''' is a [[Powermaster]] engine, binary-bonded to the Decepticon falcon creature [[Doubledealer]]. He helps Doubledealer run his various business affairs, but this loyal Decepticon would probably be appalled to learn the full extent of Doubledealer's dealings, which include having [[Knok|a second, Autobot-aligned Powermaster partner]] and even a humanoid robot mode solely for the Autobots' benefit.

==Commercial appearances==
Skar appears in the [[Commercial|television commercial]] for Doubledealer. As Doubledealer arrives in the Decepticon camp, [[Piranacon (G1)|Piranacon]] opens his fist, releasing Skar, who flies to Doubledealer, transforms to engine mode and connects to him.

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
* '''Doubledealer''' (Powermaster, 1988)

:Skar is one of two Powermaster engine figures that came with Doubledealer. As a bat-creature thing, his transformation consists of folding his wings in front of him, all Dracula-with-the-cape-like. After transforming into an engine, he plugs into Doubledealer's backside to unlock his Decepticon falcon mode.

:In Japan, this mold was slightly [[redeco]]ed to make [[Clouder]]'s Decepticon armor.

::*''[http://www.tfu.info/1988/Decepticon/Doubledealer/doubledealer.htm More information on Skar (with Doubledealer) at TFU.info]''

==Notes==
* Unlike most binary-bond partners, it is never stated that Skar is a [[Nebulos|Nebulan]] or even a flesh creature. ''[[More Than Meets The Eye (G1)|More Than Meets The Eye]]'' refers to both him and [[Knok]] as "Transformers".

[[Category:Decepticons]]
[[Category:Powermasters]]
[[Category:Toy-only characters]]