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Headmaster (technology)

2012-11-16T13:21:02Z

Parantelija: /* Marvel Comics */

{{picsneeded}}
{{disambig3|Headmaster}}
[[Image:Trialbyfire-headmaster-rollcall.jpg|right|300px|thumb|This probably hurts.]]
'''Headmasters''' are a type of symbiotic variation on the [[Transformer]] lifeform in which a smaller being, frequently but not exclusively organic, [[Transformation|transforms]] into the head of a larger robot. Headmaster bonding typically occurs between two sentient beings, but there have been cases in which the head or the body (such as the [[Transtector]]s or the [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] clones created by the [[Machination]]) is a non-sentient construct controlled entirely by the other partner.

When it occurs between two sentient beings, the benefits of the Headmaster procedure are many: The partner gains control of a larger, more powerful body, and the Transformer gains an extra perspective on the battlefield, the psychic [[binary bonding]] involved allowing him to draw on both his own ideas, tactics, and instincts as well as those of his partner as quickly as if they were coming from his own head (since they are). Agility, reaction speed, and targeting accuracy are often enhanced by the process.

The Headmaster process leaves its subject Transformers with one glaring disadvantage: when separated from their partners, they have no head. Most can continue to function as vehicles without their partners, but can do little in robot mode besides stand around.

In conversation, the term "Headmaster" can apply to both the small partner (the head) and the significant other (the body).

==Fiction==
{{note|Early promotional materials, including [[catalog]]s and toy [[commercial]]s, advertised the Decepticon Nebulan partners as "trainers" for their beastly companions, rather than equal partners. One [[commercial]] took this so far as to have the "trainers" holding whips and ordering Weirdwolf, et. al. to jump through hoops of fire.}}
===Marvel Comics===
[[Image:Fortmaxgiveshead.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Next step: Pez dispenser.]]
The Headmaster technology was primarily the invention of the [[Nebulan]] scientist [[Arcana]] and was designed originally to let Nebulans utilize the bodies of [[Autobot]]s to defend their world, something they did not trust the Autobots enough to let them do on their own.

The organic Nebulans of the Headmaster pairings were able to transform by use of a special suit of "intra-restruction armor" and a "cybernetic mindlink helmet" {{storylink|All or Nothing!}} that interfaced with bio-cybernetic augmentation in the surgically altered humanoid. As described by Arcana, the process as originally enacted allowed the Autobots (still separate, disembodied heads at that point) to radio control their old bodies, while the Nebulan partners observed and planned strategy. This joint cooperation of two minds allowed greatly increased agility and superior aim.

The technology was implemented under dire circumstances, as the Nebulan capital city of [[Koraja]] was under siege by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s Decepticons, who sought the surrender of five Autobots held in Nebulan custody. Five volunteer Nebulans underwent radical reconstructive surgery to allow them to bond with the five Autobots, including Fortress Maximus, Brainstorm, Hardhead, Chromedome and Highbrow. Now under Nebulan control, the Headmaster Autobots easily repulsed the Decepticon attack, despite being outnumbered two to one. {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}

The Decepticons reluctantly accepted the possible benefits of this cooperation with organics, and six of them underwent the Headmaster process, with Scorponok bonding to the Nebulan Lord [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]]. Luring Fortress Maximus's team into an ambush, Scorponok and his fellow Headmasters Mindwipe, Skullcruncher, Weirdwolf, Apeface and Snapdragon soon defeated their foes, blasting them unconscious, which caused their heads to disconnect and return to human form. {{storylink|Love and Steel!}} The Autobot-allied Nebulans were taken captive and strung up in a suspended animation prison, while Scorponok's Headmasters rampaged across Nebulos, leaving Nebulan ruins and Autobot corpses in their wake. Realizing that his mind was being re-written by Scorponok, Zarak used the last shreds of his sanity to free the Autobot Headmasters. Fortress Maximus and his band soon left Nebulos for Earth, with the Decepticons in pursuit. {{storylink|Brothers in Armor!!}}

[[Image:Trialbyfire-cerebros-headpitch.jpg|left|150px|thumb|The Headmaster Process: When your head absolutely positively has to get there overnight.]]
En route to Earth, Fortress Maximus was rebuilt into a larger form, with ''two'' Headmaster components: a small robot that transformed into his head, and his partner Galan, who now became the small robot's head.

The two squads of Headmasters soon faced off again on Earth, in a battle inside the cave that had previously held the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]]. During the battle, Fortress Maximus and Scorponok both used their smaller Headmaster components to travel through an increasingly tight series of tunnels. Doing so, however, exposed Fortress Maximus's partner Galan to attack, and he died saving the Earthling, Spike. With Galen killed while separated from Fortress Maximus, Spike demonstrated that it was possible for an organic to control/communicate with the larger robot's form with only the control helmet, as he took control of Fortress Maximus with nothing more than Galen's control helmet. Rejuvenated by their leader's attack, the Autobots soon drove off the Decepticon Headmasters. {{storylink|Trial by Fire!}}

The Headmasters largely stayed in the background during most of the Autobots' subsequent adventures, though Fortress Maximus remained a major player in the events leading up to the [[Underbase Saga|Underbase catastrophe]].

Later, a weakness of the ad hoc nature of the Headmaster partnership became apparent. As the partnerships continued, two minds could meld into one, or conflict on nearly every level. For example, Spike and Fortress Maximus were two separate minds sharing one body, with each dominant in his own form and able to converse with the other; while Lord Zarak and Scorponok seemed to reach some sort of fusion where he was both beings merged into one, with Scorponok to all intents and purposes becoming entirely subsumed by Zarak's personality (to the extent that, [[On the Edge of Extinction!|during the battle with Unicron]], "Scorponok"'s interior monologue identifies himself as being Zarak merely filling the role of Scorponok, implying that the original Scorponok psyche was essentially gone). A similar situation developed between Powermaster [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Hi-Q]], except in the reverse.

====Classics====
{{note| The ''Classics'' stories take place after the end of the original Marvel Comic, but in a [[splinter timeline]] that does not include the events of the Marvel UK-exclusive stories or Generation 2.}}
The Headmaster process is reversible. {{storylink|Cheap Shots}}

===''The Transformers'' cartoon===
[[Image:Rebirth 1 Autobot heads.JPG|right||thumb|*gasp* I promise you! You shall be avenged!]]
In this continuity, the Headmaster process was the brainchild of [[Brainstorm]], who had advocated that using an organic partner would be a good strategy in combat with the [[Decepticon]]s. It also seems much less invasive for the organic humanoid involved. No surgical alteration is apparently needed on their part, and the process seems to consist mainly of altering the Transformer's head to 1) have a control center for a partner to sit at inside and 2) transform around the partner into a fancy [[exosuit]]. While some who have undergone it have commented at feeling a closer bond with their respective partners, there is no reason to believe there is any true psychic connection between them as in the binary bonding of other continuities. Before detaching his head, the Transformer downloads his memory and personality into his auxiliary memory circuits in his chest. {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 1}}

===Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity===
Attempting to escape the wars on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], a group of diminutive Cybertronians (most of them only a little larger than human beings) fled the planet, only to have their ship crash on the hazardous, inhospitable planet [[Master (planet)|Master]]. The need for survival fostered several technological advances (helped in part by technology derived from a [[Fortress Maximus (RID)|time-traveling spaceship]] that crashed on the planet sometime later). Chief among them was the creation of "[[Transtector]]s": large, lifeless robot bodies which the smaller robots could connect to and control. The small Cybertronians had not yet actually mastered the art of [[transformation]], however, and had to undergo rigorous mental and physical training in order to become "Headmasters" (their name, obviously enough, derived from the planet itself).

The Headmasters subsequently migrated from Master and joined the Autobot and Decepticon forces on Cybertron and [[Earth]], leading to a lengthy conflict that ultimately resulted in both factions departing the Earth for a prolonged period of time. With easy access to Earth cut off, leaving its safety in doubt should it be attacked by Decepticons in the future, the Autobots on Master created [[Master-Brace]]s, technology that harnessed the mysterious [[Chōkon Power]] to transform humans and allow them to connect to Transtectors and become Headmasters themselves. A set of six Master-Braces and Transtectors were dispatched to Earth, but half the shipment was stolen by Decepticons, and both factions subsequently used the technology to turn three young human children into Headmasters in defense of Earth.

Cybertronian Headmasters possess numerous energy-manipulating superpowers. They are able to exchange Transtectors freely with their fellow Headmasters to increase their power levels and can link up with each other in the [[Head Formation]] for various destructive results. In contrast, human Headmasters do not possess any of these powers, but have their own natural physical strength and reflexes enhanced many times over by the energies filling their bodies. Their cellular structures undergo some form of ill-defined holistic transformation which allows them somehow to transform their actual, physical bodies into heads. However, unlike organic Headmasters in other continuities, they do not have to undergo any ''permanent'' alteration; they are capable of "turning off" their powers and becoming normal human beings with ease, the only drawback being that they are unable to remove the Master-Braces that give them their powers.

===Dreamwave ''Generation One'' continuity===
[[Image:Headmaster mech DW mtmte.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Did they include a bathroom in this thing?]]Headmaster technology was originally developed on Cybertron, to be used in conjunction with [[Micromaster]] technology. It would have allowed a normal-sized robot to transform its head into a small body to conserve [[Energon]]. The process was perfected on Nebulon to allow organic beings to act as the head of a Cybertronian body, using aspects of [[combiner]] technology.
The process was designed to put the Nebulon in control of the body, but the actual process as perfected by [[Brainstorm]] and [[Arcana]] resulted in a mental bonding and partnership, with the robot generally maintaining control. Modified organic beings are able to contort during transformation, though appear normal when not wearing the Headmaster armor. Out of their armor, they are indistinguishable from unmodified beings, though they possess improved strength and endurance.

Profile art depicted the Headmaster heads as larger "mecha" that the human partners pilot. {{storylink|Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|More than Meets the Eye}}

===IDW ''Generation 1'' continuity===
{{ongoing}}
[[Thinkbox]] was an ancient Headmaster, later retrieved by [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] from the [[Murkdipper]] on the planet [[Spindrift]]. {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 3}}

In the modern period, Headmaster technology is a product of the shadowy human organization known as the [[Machination]], using technology developed by [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] on the planet [[Nebulos]]. Following a tip offered to him by [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]], [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] found schematics for enhancing a biological entity with Cybertronian technology, in effect producing a "transformable man". Magnus was able to determine that Nebulan businessman [[Zarak (G1)|Mo Zarak]] had been subjected to this process shortly before Scorponok fled the premises. {{storylink|Spotlight: Ultra Magnus}}

Approximately 18 years later, the Machination captured [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] and [[Hunter O'Nion]]. They dismantled Sunstreaker and subjected Hunter to an extensive regimen of surgery and implants. Subsequently, they attempted to brainwash him into one of their soldiers. {{storylink|The Transformers: Escalation|Escalation}} Hunter resisted and was able to contact Sunstreaker, allowing him to become a Headmaster to fight for the Autobots. {{storylink|The Transformers: Devastation|Devastation}}

Initially, all Headmasters created by the Machination were non-sentient, guided by their human pilots. As well, all of these models were [[Sunstreaker clone|replicas]] of Sunstreaker, wired into the Autobot's actual head to help coordinate their movements. However, the success of these initial forays into the technology allowed for the first true binary-bond, enabling [[Abraham Dante]] to combine with his Decepticon master Scorponok to facilitate his rebirth. {{storylink|The Transformers: Devastation|Devastation}}

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:G1Brainstorm toy.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Brainstorm]]

* '''Autobot Headmasters''' (1987)
** [[Brainstorm]] with [[Arcana]]
** [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] with [[Stylor]]
** [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] with [[Duros]]
** [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] with [[Gort]]
:The four large Autobot Headmasters were sold boxed. They transform into futuristic/Cybertronian vehicles. Each has a vehicle mode compartment that the smaller Nebulan figure can ride in. Plugging in the transformed Nebulan in robot mode activates tumblers in the robot's chest, activating three Tech Spec readouts.

[[Image:G1FortressMaximus toy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Fortress Maximus]]
* '''Headmaster Autobot Base''' (1987)
** [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]] with [[Cerebros (G1)|Cerebros]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]]
:He's big. Yeah yeah yeah.

* '''Decepticon Headmasters''' (1987)
** [[Skullcruncher]] with [[Grax]]
** [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] with [[Vorath]]
** [[Weirdwolf]] with [[Monzo]]
:The three Decepticon Headmasters were sold boxed, and transform into mechanical creatures. Each has a beast-mode compartment that the Nebulan can ride in. Like their Autobot counterparts, their chests contain tumblers activated by plugging in a head-mode Nebulan, which reveal three Tech Spec graph readouts.

* '''Headmaster Horrorcons''' (1987)
** [[Apeface]] with [[Spasma]]
** [[Snapdragon (G1)|Snapdragon]] with [[Krunk]]
{{main|Horrorcon}}
:The Horrorcons change from jets to beasts to robots. The Nebulan partners become the head of both the robot and beast modes.

* '''Headmaster Decepticon Base''' (1987)
** [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] with [[Zarak (G1)|Zarak]]
:He's not small. No no no.

[[Image:Headmasterteens.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Autobot Master Warriors]]
* '''Autobot Master Warrior''' (1987)
**[[Kirk]]
**[[Rodney]]
**[[Loafer]]
**[[Lione]]
**[[Toraizer]]
**[[Shuffler]]
:These exclusive [[Autobot Master Warrior]]s represent Japanese-style Headmasters who have yet to receive Transtectors, though they are compatible with any of the other 1987 Headmasters' toys. They are extremely rare.

[[Image:G1Nightbeat toy.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Nightbeat]]

* '''Autobot Headmasters''' (1988)
** [[Hosehead]] with [[Lug]]
** [[Nightbeat (G1)|Nightbeat]] with [[Muzzle]]
** [[Siren]] with [[Quig]]
:The three 1988 Autobot Headmasters transform into Earthly land vehicles. Siren and Hosehead share a rescue vehicle theme, occasionally causing inattentive fans to mistake Nightbeat for a police car. The Nebulan companions are considerably smaller and simpler than those of the 1987 Headmasters, although they are backwards compatible with the previous year's figures. In fact, when plugged into 1987 Headmaster bodies, the 1988 Nebulan figures display the Tech Spec readouts for their 1988 robot counterparts, suggesting the simplification of the tumbler system on the Tech Spec readouts into a simple fixed display to have been a late design decision. Each comes with a "helmet" to complete the robot's head; the helmet doubles as a vehicle-mode "seat" for the figure to sit in. Two small pistols attach to the "helmet" in robot mode to complete the head.

[[Image:G1 frangry toy.jpg|right|thumb|200px|Fangry]]
* '''Decepticon Headmasters''' (1988)
** [[Fangry]] with [[Brisko]]
** [[Horri-Bull]] with [[Kreb]]
** [[Squeezeplay]] with [[Lokos]]
:The three small Decepticon Headmasters transform into fictional monsters. Like their Autobot counterparts, they feature smaller and simpler Nebulan figures than their 1987 predecessors, and are similarly backwards compatible with their larger forerunners, despite their smaller size. Unlike the Autobots, they do not sport additional "helmets" and pistol/antennae.

* '''Headmaster Juniors''' (1988)
** [[Cab]]
** [[Shūta Gō|Goshooter]]
** [[Minerva (Masterforce)|Minerva]]
** [[Bullhorn]]
** [[Cancer (Masterforce)|Cancer]]
** [[Wilder]]
:The 1988 Headmaster molds were released in Japan as the [[Headmaster Junior]]s, representing totally different characters though only Goshooter and Minerva were significantly [[Redeco|redecoed]] from the US versions.

[[Image:Blackzarak toy.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Black Zarak - meaner, and ''uglier''.]]

* '''Headmaster Autobot Base''' (1988)
** [[Grand Maximus]] with Grand, Gran and [[Cog (Masterforce)|Cog/Onomisu/Koka]]
:A redeco of Fortress Maximus with an additional [[Pretender]] shell. This Japanese exclusive represented Fortress Maximus's younger brother in ''[[Transformers: Super-God Masterforce (franchise)|Super-God Masterforce]]''.

* '''Headmaster Decepticon Base''' (1988)
** BlackZarak with Black Roritchi
:A redeco and [[retool]] of the Scorponok mold, this was another Japanese exclusive representing the same character, but ''meaner''.

==Merchandise==
===Super-God Masterforce===
*'''Headmaster-Braces—Goshooter''' (1988)

:Japanese exclusive role-play toys that represent the [[Master-Brace]]s used by the [[Headmaster Junior]] [[Shūta Gō|Shūta]]. They are packaged with a role-play communications device.

==Fiction-only Headmasters==
*'''Autobots'''
** [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]]/[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] {{storylink|The Rebirth, Part 3}}
** [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]/[[Galen]] {{storylink|Broken Glass!}}
** [[Playback]] {{storylink|The Big Shutdown!}}
** [[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]/[[Hunter O'Nion]] {{storylink|Devastation issue 4|Devastation issue 4}}
*'''Decepticons'''
** [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]/[[Abraham Dante]] {{storylink|Devastation issue 6|Devastation issue 6}}
*'''Others'''
** [[Thinkbox]] {{storylink|Heart of Darkness issue 3|Heart of Darkness #3}}

==Homages==
* The [[Unicron Trilogy]] featured a few examples of smaller robots ([[Mini-Con]]s) becoming the heads of larger ones.
** ''[[Transformers: Armada (franchise)|Armada]]'' [[Sideways (RID)|Sideways]] had two Mini-Con drivers, [[Rook (Armada)|Rook]] and [[Crosswise (Armada)|Crosswise]], for his motorcycle form that could become individual heads, or combine together into a [[Mirror|larger robot/driver]].
** ''Armada'' [[Overload (Armada)|Overload]]'s Mini-Con partner [[Rollout (Armada)|Rollout]] became the head (and part of the chest) of the larger robot, who could in turn become armor for [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]].
* ''[[Transformers: Energon (franchise)|Energon]] ''[[Omega Supreme (Energon)|Omega Supreme]] also had a Headmaster partner, Omega, which combined with two vehicles to form a large robot.
* The ''[[Transformers Animated (franchise)|Transformers Animated]]'' series features a supervillain named [[Headmaster (Animated)|Headmaster]] who can use a flying robotic head that aggressively removes another robot's head and replaces it with itself. The head itself can also transform into a small robot mode.

[[Category:Generation 1 subgroups]]
[[Category:Generation 2 subgroups]]
[[Category:Gimmicks]]
[[Category:Headmasters| ]]
[[Category:Super-God Masterforce subgroups]]
[[Category:Technology]]
[[Category:The Headmasters subgroups]]

Heavy Metal War

2012-11-16T12:45:22Z

Parantelija: converted a mixture of english and rōmaji into proper rōmaji

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=16
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=10
|prev2=Countdown to Extinction (episode)
|next2=Autobot Spike
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=5
|prev3=S.O.S. Dinobots
|next3=The Autobot Run
|image=HeavyMetalWar Primedefeated.jpg
|caption=The agony of defeat.
|title="Heavy Metal War"
|production code=#700-13
|airdate=[[December 15]], 1984
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Megatron challenges Optimus Prime to a one on one battle to end the war.'''

:''Japanese title:'' せイバートロン星の掟 (''Seibaatoron-sei no Okite'', "The Laws of Planet Cybertron")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Der Zweikampf'''" ("The Duel")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Guerra dos Metaleiros''' ("War of Metalheads")
:''Serbian title:'' '''Сукоб металних ратника''' (''Sukob metalnih ratnika'', "Battle of the metal warriors")
:''Italian title:'' '''Il duello''' ("The duel")
:''Russian title'': '''Война тяжёлого металла''' (''Voyna tyazhelogo metalla'', "Heavy Metal War")
:''Spanish title'': '''Fuerte Guerra de Metal''' ("Heavy Metal War")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Megatron invitation.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Silly Megs, tricks are for kids!]]
A busy construction site is attacked by driver-less construction equipment, and several components are stolen. The construction vehicles return to Decepticon headquarters and are revealed to be the newly built [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. The components they stole are parts to a machine that will allow [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] to absorb the [[power chip rectifier]]s from his [[Decepticon]] warriors.

While the final preparations are completed on the machine, Megatron flies to [[Autobot]] headquarters and makes [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] an offer he cannot refuse. Megatron offers the Autobot leader a one on one battle with the winner staying on [[Earth]] to do as he pleases, and the loser taking his army and exiling themselves to deep space. Confident in his own abilities, Prime accepts the challenge and sets the match.

[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Megatron powerup.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Fear me, for I have the power of... poo gas!!]]

Knowing that Prime would be unable to resist a chance to honorably end their conflict, Megatron returns to the Decepticon base and uses the newly completed machine to gain all of the special powers of his warriors. [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]'s teleportation, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]'s sonic boom, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]'s seismic attack, etc. Knowing that Megatron would now be unbeatable, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] voices concerns that the Autobot computer [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] would be able to detect what Megatron had done. Anticipating this problem, Megatron dispatches the Constructicons to take care of the computer.

The two armies arrive at the battle site, and the contest begins. Megatron unleashes a barrage of powers (while Starscream gives a running commentary), and Prime is outclassed at every step. Not knowing that he has been deceived, Prime concedes the fight and comments that he underestimated Megatron. The shocked Autobots begin the trek back to base, and the Decepticons follow to make sure they leave.

[[Image:Heavy Metal War Devastator.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Not Brawl.]]

Meanwhile, the Constructicons have nearly tunneled their way into the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and Teletraan I. Sensing the imminent danger, Teletraan I activates the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. The Dinobots respond and start pounding on the Constructicons, opening up a lava channel in the process. The battle not going in their favor, the Constructicons pull out one last trick and combine into the super warrior, [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The returning Autobots see the battle, but are unable to help. Inside the Ark, Teletraan I is able to show that Megatron cheated, and the Autobots rush outside to help the Dinobots.

[[Image:Heavy Metal War Decepticons beat.JPG|right|200px|thumb|You'd think Starscream would be used to this, but no...]]

Despite the arrival of the rest of the Autobots to the fight, Devastator is still too powerful to be defeated, so [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] distracts the monstrous Decepticon with a [[hologram]] of [[Halonix Maximus|a colossal Autobot]]. Stunned at the sudden appearance of a robot even bigger than he is, Devastator is shot by Optimus Prime and falls apart. The Constructicons try to drive away, but the Dinobots blast them into the lava. The other Decepticons are routed by the Autobots and also pushed or knocked back by gunfire into the lava. There is much rejoicing.

...Until Megatron rises from the lava, vowing that the Decepticons will rise again.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (13)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (14)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (15)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (16)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (20)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (21)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (24)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (25)
*[[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (27)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (28)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (29)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (30)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (31)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (32)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (33)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (36)
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (37)
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (38)
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (39)
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (40)
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (41)
*[[Halonix Maximus]] hologram (43)
|c2=
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (2)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (3)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (4)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (5)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (6)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (7)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (9)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (11)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (12)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (22)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (23)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (34)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (35)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (42)

|c3=
*Construction Workers (1)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (17)
*[[Chip Chase]] (18)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (19)
}}

==Quotes==
"Forgive me, but I believe your boast sounds vaguely familiar."
:—'''Starscream''', after hearing another of Megatron's promises to destroy the Autobots.

"Let's see how he likes my new [[Shock blast cannon|shockblast cannon]]! ''[The cannon explodes in his hands]'' Uhh... hnh... that's a shock, all right."
:—'''Wheeljack'''

"But I need my power chip rectifier. Besides, the Cybertron Code of Combat requires each warrior to fight as he is, without additional reinforcement. You wouldn't want to cheat, would you, Megatron?" 
"I will win by any means! At any cost! Even if it means terminating ''you'', Starscream!" 
"I was only raising a legal point..."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron'''

"Doesn't this remind you of the gladiatorial combats in ancient Rome?" 
"Maybe it would if I knew what you were talkin' about."
:—'''Chip''' and '''Ironhide''' on the duel between Optimus and Megatron.

"Sludge not see these Decepticons before." 
"Not see again either. Because we dino-mite them to pieces!" 
:—'''Sludge''' and '''Snarl''' vs. the Constructicons.

"It is ended." 
"Is it really over, Optimus? I mean, have we seen the end of this war? Forever?" 
"Who can say, Spike? In this vast universe, is anything truly forever?"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Spike''', with a question that is quickly answered, at least for the audience

==Notes==
===Technical or animation glitches===
====Minor coloring errors====
* As Long Haul deploys his missiles, his Decepticon symbol is red, and missing its "cheeks".
* The top of Hook's head is green as Scrapper bows to Megatron... and again in the very next shot.
* Scavenger's face is colored all-green as he welds. If it was a stylistic decision to show the light from his welding, then it should flicker along with the welding lights.
* As Scrapper directs the others working on the infuser, his head is green instead of black, and Mixmaster's drum and torso are purple instead of green.
* The top of Wheeljack's chest is colored glass-blue instead of white after the shock cannon blows up.
* During the pan across the Decepticons before the strength transfer, Soundwave is missing the line in the middle of his mask, and his yellow stripes are mostly colored blue.
* Megatron's waist is red instead of silver after the transfer.
* When Megatron talks to Starscream after that, Starscream's air vent "boobs" are colored white instead of black.
* The front of Scrapper's head is red instead of black as Megatron orders him to move out.
* As Scrapper transforms, his whole helmet is green.
* As Optimus explains the code to Spike, Ironhide's forehead isn't fully drawn in.
* "Defeat, Megatron?" Megatron's fusion cannon is white instead of black during this line.
* At the end of the across the Decepticons seating themselves, Soundwave's optic visor is blue instead of red.
* Laserbeak's head is light gray as he ejects from Soundwave.
* Megatron's faction emblem is missing before he teleports.
* And it's missing again as he says the Autobots must exile themselves.
* Starscream's right arm is colored dark gray for a moment, while he talks to Skywarp about the rectifiers.
* Wheeljack's missing one of the lines on his "ears" as he and the others listen to Optimus say he was not prepared.
* Prime's tires are light gray as he transforms to truck mode, and his headlights aren't colored in.
[[Image:Heavymetalwar constructicons target teletraan.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Oh, and Scavenger's chest shouldn't be purple, either.]]
* Scrapper's helmet is green in two shots as he and the others run into Autobot Headquarters.
* Scavenger's back is purple as he and the others back away from the Dinobots.
* Snarl's helmet is the same medium gray as his body as he joins Sludge.
* As Devastator walks toward the Dinobots, Swoop's head is white, while Sludge and Slag are block-colored gray.
* Devastator's hand is green instead of purple as he throws Grimlock.
* The top of Starscream's chest is red instead of gray as Megatron rants about the hologram.

====Art and character model errors====
* When Megatron comes to <s> lure Optimus into a trap </s> talk and Wheeljack and Ironhide fire their missiles, they exchange lines.
* It seems the artists might have had only script directions to go by when drawing the Constructicons' vehicular attack modes, and not actual character models. Both Long Haul and Mixmaster deploy weapons that are of similar description to their toys' attack forms (cab-mounted cannon, twin missile launchers), but look nothing like them.
* "Besides, the Cybertron code of combat requires..." Starscream's hand phases behind the transfer machine's light during his monologue.
* There's a discontinuity between shots as Megatron is infused; in one shot he's moving and reacting in visible pain to the power transfer; in the next, he's just standing there like a statue.
* Also in the above scene, when Megatron says "I now possess all your powers in addition to my own" his "helmet" is significantly wider than his usual onscreen character model's, and in the NEXT shot ("Optimus Prime and the Autobots... are FINISHED!! Huhuhwarhahahahaha!!") his helmet suddenly shrinks back to it's usual narrow width. It would therefore be reasonable to surmise the animators were using Megatron's G1 Toy as a drawing reference for the former shot, as his helmet IS significantly wider than the "normal" Megatron's onscreen model.
* After Megatron talks of the Constructicons destroying Teletraan I, he's suddenly no longer attached to the machine.
* When Megatron laughs maniacally after being infused with the power of the other Decepticons, his head is disproportionately small, and his Decepticon insignia moves independently of his body.
* When Starscream lands behind Megatron before the latter's duel with Optimus Prime, the animators forgot to animate the dust Starscream's feet stir up, so we can see that his legs are not fully drawn, and instead of feet, they end in paint blotches.
* Chip is drawn speaking Spike's line "It's Earth history, Ironhide!"
* During the duel, what are the Autobots supposed to be sitting on? Air?
* After the boulder Prime threw at Meagtron splits in two, it completely disappears before the shot ends.
* Huffer is drawn with six wheels instead of four as he takes Prime's trailer.
* How long's it take for the animators to forget that Prime isn't towing his own trailer? All of one shot! Huffer is nowhere to be seen as the 'bots leave the battlefield.
* Mixmaster's cab-weapon changes color and form between scenes (it's a gray sphere when the Constructicons start tunneling; it's a green gun when they reach Autobot Headquarters.)
* Mixmaster's acid-laser changes from pink to orange between shots. The weapon that fires it has gone back to gray in the second shot.
* The animation doesn't really show a hole ''melting'' in the floor; a section of the floor just vanishes and is replaced with a melted hole.
* Grimlock has his original head design in this episode, rather than the later, toy-based one he normally is drawn with.
* The Dinobots' voices are ''heavily'' processed in his episode, far beyond the norm, giving them a crunchy, gravely sound.
* The inside of Sludge's robot-mode mouth is glowing orange ''again''. Clearly this is part of his character model, but why and how did such a bizarre choice come about in the first place?
* As Scrapper clutches his wounded shoulder, he has two small eyes instead of a visor. (It makes him look a lot like [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]].)
* Much like [[A Plague of Insecticons|Kickback's insect head]], the cartoon could never quite make up its mind whether Devastator was supposed to have two small eyes or one big visor. This episode shows him with eyes as he monologues, then the visor shows up just a shot or two later.
* When the Autobots cheer inside their headquarters, [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]]'s insignia is missing, Wheeljack's ears aren't flashing, and Jazz's mouth is blinking on and off.
* As the hologram fades out, Hound isn't shown in the nearby cave from which he's supposed to be projecting it.
* When [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] finds out the "Giant [[Autobot]]" is a hologram, his cannon [[kibble]] is gone for a brief second.
* In the final closeup of Megatron's face, several of the lava streams are flowing ''behind'' his eyes and back out. OUCH!
* When we first see the Autobots in the Ark after the duel, Ironhide punches empty air, the whole screen shakes, and he says, “Uh, sorry about that” to no-one.

===Rhino DVD release===
More than most episodes, the [[Kid Rhino]] DVD version of this episode is full of animation errors that do not appear in the original broadcast version or prior home video releases (as a result of incomplete film masters being used for the DVD), as well as crude attempts made by Rhino to fix some of these errors.

Some are merely aesthetic complaints:
* In one shot, the camera pans sideways to follow the Constructicons, however they aren't moving, so they actually lag behind the screen. Then, as they round a corner, they are animated above the animation cel of the building they drive around, and you can see they are not fully drawn. Their vehicle modes end in unfinished lines and paint blotches until they come fully into view.
* As the Constructions make their big introductory transformations, the camera doesn't pan up with Bonecrusher, Long Haul, and Mixmaster, leaving them cut out of the shot from the thighs upward. Bonecrusher is also visibly floating above the ground.
* After Long Haul transforms, the equipment he's supposedly carrying simply pops into view. As the outlines tell us, it has been retroactively shopped into the image.
* The Rhino DVD portrays the power-chip smelter as a featureless rectangular smear, lacking all the light effects and animation that should be present.
* When Megatron says "Scrapper, you have your orders...", the Constructicons' eyes / eye visors no longer glow red in response.
* As he drives up to start digging, [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] is constantly jumping a bit back and forth while driving, as if the animation frames are not ordered properly.
* When the Autobots transform to leave base for the battlefield, Optimus Prime's left headlight blinks in and out a couple of times.
* Then, as they all drive out of the Ark, the screen freezes for a moment. The Autobots seem to have teleported after the animation finally continues.
* The sky behind Ironhide, when he is informing us of his ignorance of Earth's history, jumps noticeably at the beginning of the shot, and the shadowy outlines around him vibrate wildly.
* The audience isn't actually sitting on the edge of the pit, rather they are all somehow seated on the slopes.
* At two points during the duel with Optimus Prime (one of them recycled as him landing at Autobot Headquarters), Megatron is colored dark gray.
* When the miscolored Megatron blasts Prime away, the background isn't moving to simulate the camera pan, whereas Prime's animation is.
* The humans in one shot are drawn horribly off-model, with terrible looking teeth, may we add. Spike shows his pre-final print uppers again in a later shot.
* When Skywarp boasts that Megatron acquired the power of teleportation from him, he is colored like Starscream, who is seen sitting right next to him.
* During the Dinobots' fight scene with the Constructicons, some of the laser-firing animation is missing, leaving the characters with huge "holes" and gaps on their bodies where said laser shots should have been animated. This also renders the shot of Sludge firing his eye-beams completely pointless.
* And as Swoop fires his missiles, the background art isn't moving, making it look like he is floating.
* Also in one shot, the rock covering the Constructicons is missing from the foreground, and again, we see incomplete drawings instead of fully-drawn robots.
** However a later shot has a cave mouth drawn over the screen's outer rim, which shouldn't be there, as the scene takes place outside.

However, some of the screwups actually confuse the plot:
* When Rhino DVD Optimus Prime hurls a boulder at Megatron, Megatron still lights up to use Skywarp's teleportation ability to get out of the way... but after the teleporation glow effect fades, Megatron is ''still standing there''. The boulder ''flies straight through him'' with nobody seeming to care, including Megatron himself.
* When Megatron is talking to Starscream while the Constructicons are building the infuser machine, Starscream is colored like Skywarp.
** Speaking about the Constructicons being hard at work, this sequence is completely missing. We are instead treated to a shot of Megatron and Starscream standing silently for seconds.
* When [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] runs up and uses his [[glass gas]], he is coloured like [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]].
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Mixmaster spray.JPG|thumb|right|200px|That sure isn't a cave you're in there, Mixmaster.]]
* The animation sequence of Megatron landing at the Autobot base ''is missing entirely'', and is replaced by looped animation from later in the episode of Megatron landing after a jump, along with a recycled snippet of Cliffjumper looking elated after encasing Megatron in ice from just a few seconds earlier.
* When Megatron lands, there are two Optimus Primes and Ironhides there to greet him.
* As the Autobots help Prime make his decision, the camera pans are missing, and the scene is instead shown as multiple, separate shots. Secondly, Wheeljack's light effects are mis-aligned. Finally, the added lens-effects in Prime's optics makes him look like he's about to cry.
* When the Constructicons move out to dig the passage to the Autobot headquarters, they're all shown outdoors instead of inside the base.
* A transformation sequence for Trailbreaker, recycled from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", still retains its exterior background even though it's supposed to happen inside Autobot Headquarters.
* When the Autobots arrive at the pit in vehicle mode, Ironhide is seen transforming from robot mode to vehicle mode. Then, he is back in his robot form.
* Instead of using the finished shot, we see recycled animation of a standing Prime being hit when Megatron delivers his final blow. He should be lying on the ground.
* The animation of the lava is absent in a couple of shots.

But, uhhh, hey, that silver DVD case sure is shiny and pretty!

===Shout! Factory DVD release===
* Like "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]" before it, the sound effects of this episode are cranked down to near-inaudibility, compared to the music and vocal tracks.
* This episode is also one of several affected by Shout!'s inability to obtain complete master reels to restore the incomplete animation used in the Kid Rhino releases, resulting in 1-inch tape versions being used instead. Picture quality is thus all over the map. The scenes of Megatron approaching Autobot Headquarters are noticeably under-lit. Several scenes are in visibly softer focus compared to shots before and after, such as the pan of Autobots as Cliffjumper says "I don't trust 'im!"

===Continuity errors===
* This episode gives the first of [[Constructicon (G1)|three contradictory origins]] for the Constructicons.

* The building site that the Constructicons raid is a power plant. One of the construction workers states that it will be able to provide the whole planet with limitless energy, begging the question of why the Decepticons didn't raid such a powerful energy source for energon.

* So this head worker guy sees driverless, talking construction vehicles, that turn into giant malevolent thieving robots with the Decepticon symbol on 'em... but somehow he only figures out that they're Decepticons when Scrapper says they work for Megatron. Is Megatron's name more famous than all the defining aspects of his faction?

* Ironhide is apparently able to detect the Decepticons by himself, without relying on Teletraan I. However, in "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]", the Autobots were unable to detect the approaching Decepticons with Teletraan I sabotaged.

* Optimus Prime takes out Devastator with a single shot from his laser rifle, something rather at odds with the later portrayal of combiners as nigh-invulnerable. Maybe they were upgraded?

* It's a bit strange that Starscream of all mechs should be concerned with legalities and suggest that Megatron try to fight honorably... but there ''is'' a touch of sarcasm when he says "You wouldn't want to ''cheat'', would you, Megatron?"

* There is a rather ''huge'' hole in Megatron's "Destroy Teletrann I" plot: When the Autobots come back from Optimus Prime's defeat, wouldn't a burning-and-smoking Teletran I ''immediately'' scream "Megatron DID cheat" rather than cover that fact up?

* The Autobots return to headquarters as the Dinobots have begun their battle with Devastator. They have time enough to repair Optimus Prime and detect the Decepticon deception, and meanwhile, the Dinobots are ''still'' fighting Devastator.
** On that note the Autobots don't even try to tell the Dinobots that they were leaving and the fight was over. Were the Autobots going to leave the Dinobots behind and strand them on Earth!?

* Speaking of which, didn't anybody notice the big flaming hole in the floor of Autobot Headquarters?

* So the Decepticons couldn't '''FLY''' out of the lava when they fell in?

* Doesn't anybody notice Megatron down there floating in the lava?

===Continuity notes===
* This episode introduces the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]].
[[Image:Heavymeatlwar megatron powers.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This fist of mine glows with an awesome power chip rectifier!]]
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Scavenger.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This shovel of mine glows with an awesome sensor reading!]]
[[Image:Heavymetalwar constructicons target teletraan.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This computer of mine glows with an awesome lollipop!]]
* Gadgets and powers:
** The Constructicons show off a variety of armaments and abilities, such as Mixmaster melting a whole steam roller into goop and later firing a stream of rock-melting liquid, Long Haul having dump truck-mode missile launchers (perhaps a nod to his toy's "attack mode"), and Scavenger's shovel-based sensors.
** Long Haul has the rather ''amazing'' ability to fill up his cargo bed with a payload, transform to robot mode, then convert back to dump truck mode... and still have the cargo be there!
** Ironhide detects Megatron's approach using a sensor that displays on his chest, not unlike abilities he displayed in "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]" and "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]".
** Cliffjumper's [[glass gas]], if that's what it's supposed to be, acts a lot more like Ironhide's liquid nitrogen. He shoots a huge stream of it from his retracted wrists, and it encases Megatron in ice.
** Speaking of which, being encased in ice does not affect Megatron's ability to fly.
** Ironhide doesn't even bother retracting his fists; he just shoots lasers right out of them. It's an unusual conceit for ''Transformers'', though [[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2|not]] [[Dinobot Island, Part 2|unheard of]].
** As explained in this episode, [[power chip rectifier]]s are what give Transformers their unique special abilities.
** The episode gives us a showcase of the Decepticons' most notable abilities, as Megatron uses Starscream's [[cluster bomb]]s and null rays, Reflector's light-generating abilities, Rumble's earthquakes, Skywarp's teleportation, and Thundercracker's sonic abilities.
*** Incidentally, this is the first time said sonic abilities have been used explicitly. And it's not even by the guy they belong to.
** Optimus shows the strange ability to fire lasers out of his palm. He's blocking Megatron's shot with the other arm at the same time, almost like he's [[Optimus_Primal#Beast_Machines_cartoon|absorbing the energy and shooting it back]].
** Teletraan-1 can make up its own mind to wake up the Dinobots when a threat is detected.
** Snarl's sword can fire energy blasts from its tip.
*** This is also the first appearance of ''any'' of the Dinobots' swords in the cartoon, something that doesn't happen often. Instead of being red, as per the toy and comics, it uses the gray coloring it has in Snarl's package art.
** Hound projects one of his holograms out of both fists.
** Hey, turns out the Constructicons can turn themselves all into one big robot! Wonder if the toys can do that??
* When the Constructicons are tunneling, Scrapper refers to [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] as "[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]". In their [[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|''More than Meets the Eye'']] bio, Dreamwave would paint this as a deliberate derogatory term other Decepticons sometimes refer to him as.
* Soundwave totally pets Ravage on the head like a kittycat. Adorable!
* This episode is also the "source" of the aborted "Lava Bath Safety" deco for the original Megatron toy.
* The ''Law of Cybertron'' will be invoked again many years later, to resolve the Generation 2 War. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|The Autobots Triumph in the Battle of Good Vs. Evil!}}

===Real-world references===
* ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst/whine as the Constructions take off from the construction site.
** Same effect as Megatron leaves Autobot Headquarters.
** Lightsaber ignition sound when Megatron activates Reflector's light powers.
* Chip provides the episode's requisite dose of "Oh, it's ''educational''" by likening the leaders' combat to the gladiatorial matches of ancient Rome.
* Mixmaster gets in on the act by naming a couple of acids by formula: H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) and HCl (hydrochloric acid).
* Oh, and the construction site will make energy from the earth's magnetic field. "Magnetic field" sounds like science, right??

===Trivia===
[[Image:SnarlG1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|And we don't just mean the "horrible rape-related imagery" aspect, either.]]
* The art style of this episode has a distinctively Japanese flavor to it (in a handful of scenes), similar to that of "[[Roll for It]]". [[wikipedia:Masami Obari|Masami Obari]]'s believed to be involved with this episode.<ref>http://mimizun.com/log/2ch/ranime/1118994758/</ref>
* The animation pretty much gets Devastator's transformation spot-on. Enjoy it while you can; it [[The Core|won't]] [[The Autobot Run|last]].
* Storyboards for this episode indicate that at one point in the scripting process, power chip rectifiers were also tied into the ability to transform. Upon giving up their rectifiers, the Decepticons lose their ability to transform, and during the fight, Megatron transforms into a jet! <ref>[http://cartoonpaperwork.com/network/dt/003.shtml "Heavy Metal War" storyboards at CartoonPaperwork.com]</ref>
* Scenes and dialogue deleted from this episode include Wheeljack showing off the latest improvements he has made to the Dinobots outside Autobot Headquarters (during which Megatron arrives), Scavenger referring to Scrapper with the misnomer of "[[Gravedigger]]", and Megatron using Soundwave's mind-reading powers on Optimus Prime during their fight.
** An extended portion of dialogue is also cut from Megatron's address to Optimus Prime, resulting in the rather clumsy line in the finished episode, "Our war has gone on for millions of years — Decepticons fighting Autobots — in which opposing leaders — you and I, Optimus Prime — may do battle." In the episode's dialogue script, following "Decepticons fighting Autobots," Megatron finishes his first sentence by lamenting the endless nature of the war. Prime shares in his regret, but deems it necessary as long as Megatron continues his pursuit of conquest. Megatron then speaks again, raising the topic of the "age-old law of combat," then picking up the finished line from "in which opposing leaders..."
[[Image:RumbleisRed.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The "red robot" is clearly blue.]]
* During Teletraan I's montage of the sources of Megatron's acquired powers, the descriptions for the individual Decepticons are verbatim quotes from the [http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage34.html Transformers Series Bible's "Decepticon Rollcall" page] [dead link], albeit including several lost-in-translation typographical errors ("Decepticon Lider", "Decepticon Commicator", "Sky Warp"). The most notable of those is [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (misspelled as "Runble") being identified as a [[FIRRIB|"red robot"]]. Furthermore, the seemingly random numbers listed on those screens are actually Hasbro's product codes for the respective toys. Interestingly enough, [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] is given a product number, even though he was never released at mass retail. However, the renditions of the Decepticons are ''not'' the official [[character model]] poses for those characters, but rather all-new drawings.
* The head construction worker's cry as Scavenger drops him is recycled from "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]" (from when Laserbeak kidnaps two security guards.)
* The episode's ending sure seems intended as a potential conclusion to the series, just in case it wasn't renewed for a second season. Turns out that ''Transformers'' was a bit of a hit, so that whole falling-into-lava thing was ignored (though it was alluded to in the theme song animation for season two, as the Insecticons traverse in lava).
* The hologram image Hound projected went anonymous for 26 years until it received an identity at [[BotCon 2010]] as the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard member]] [[Halonix Maximus]].
* When the Autobots and Decepticons are getting ready to watch the fight, Soundwave lets Ravage out and Ravage then sits beside Soundwave and auidbly ''purrs'' while Soundwave pets him. This is both very cute and very creepy.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — Volume 10: "Heavy Metal War" ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Heavy Metal Wars / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — A Ghost in the Machine / Heavy Metal Wars (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — Heavy Metal Wars / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video|Abbey Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 6: Evolution Revolution ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers: Generation 2'' ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Original Series: Volume Three (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — First Season Collector's Edition ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume Three (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Classic Transformers'' — Series One: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 02: Stagione Uno Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/heavy_metal_war.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Heavy Metal War

2012-11-16T12:39:08Z

Parantelija: Corrected a factual error about the second season intro animation

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=16
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=10
|prev2=Countdown to Extinction (episode)
|next2=Autobot Spike
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=5
|prev3=S.O.S. Dinobots
|next3=The Autobot Run
|image=HeavyMetalWar Primedefeated.jpg
|caption=The agony of defeat.
|title="Heavy Metal War"
|production code=#700-13
|airdate=[[December 15]], 1984
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Megatron challenges Optimus Prime to a one on one battle to end the war.'''

:''Japanese title:'' セイバートロン星の掟 (''Cybertron-sei no Okite'', "The Laws of Planet Cybertron")
:''German ''Generation 2'' title:'' "'''Der Zweikampf'''" ("The Duel")
:''Brazilian title:'' '''Guerra dos Metaleiros''' ("War of Metalheads")
:''Serbian title:'' '''Сукоб металних ратника''' (''Sukob metalnih ratnika'', "Battle of the metal warriors")
:''Italian title:'' '''Il duello''' ("The duel")
:''Russian title'': '''Война тяжёлого металла''' (''Voyna tyazhelogo metalla'', "Heavy Metal War")
:''Spanish title'': '''Fuerte Guerra de Metal''' ("Heavy Metal War")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Megatron invitation.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Silly Megs, tricks are for kids!]]
A busy construction site is attacked by driver-less construction equipment, and several components are stolen. The construction vehicles return to Decepticon headquarters and are revealed to be the newly built [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. The components they stole are parts to a machine that will allow [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] to absorb the [[power chip rectifier]]s from his [[Decepticon]] warriors.

While the final preparations are completed on the machine, Megatron flies to [[Autobot]] headquarters and makes [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] an offer he cannot refuse. Megatron offers the Autobot leader a one on one battle with the winner staying on [[Earth]] to do as he pleases, and the loser taking his army and exiling themselves to deep space. Confident in his own abilities, Prime accepts the challenge and sets the match.

[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Megatron powerup.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Fear me, for I have the power of... poo gas!!]]

Knowing that Prime would be unable to resist a chance to honorably end their conflict, Megatron returns to the Decepticon base and uses the newly completed machine to gain all of the special powers of his warriors. [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]'s teleportation, [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]'s sonic boom, [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]]'s seismic attack, etc. Knowing that Megatron would now be unbeatable, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] voices concerns that the Autobot computer [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] would be able to detect what Megatron had done. Anticipating this problem, Megatron dispatches the Constructicons to take care of the computer.

The two armies arrive at the battle site, and the contest begins. Megatron unleashes a barrage of powers (while Starscream gives a running commentary), and Prime is outclassed at every step. Not knowing that he has been deceived, Prime concedes the fight and comments that he underestimated Megatron. The shocked Autobots begin the trek back to base, and the Decepticons follow to make sure they leave.

[[Image:Heavy Metal War Devastator.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Not Brawl.]]

Meanwhile, the Constructicons have nearly tunneled their way into the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] and Teletraan I. Sensing the imminent danger, Teletraan I activates the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]]. The Dinobots respond and start pounding on the Constructicons, opening up a lava channel in the process. The battle not going in their favor, the Constructicons pull out one last trick and combine into the super warrior, [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The returning Autobots see the battle, but are unable to help. Inside the Ark, Teletraan I is able to show that Megatron cheated, and the Autobots rush outside to help the Dinobots.

[[Image:Heavy Metal War Decepticons beat.JPG|right|200px|thumb|You'd think Starscream would be used to this, but no...]]

Despite the arrival of the rest of the Autobots to the fight, Devastator is still too powerful to be defeated, so [[Hound (G1)|Hound]] distracts the monstrous Decepticon with a [[hologram]] of [[Halonix Maximus|a colossal Autobot]]. Stunned at the sudden appearance of a robot even bigger than he is, Devastator is shot by Optimus Prime and falls apart. The Constructicons try to drive away, but the Dinobots blast them into the lava. The other Decepticons are routed by the Autobots and also pushed or knocked back by gunfire into the lava. There is much rejoicing.

...Until Megatron rises from the lava, vowing that the Decepticons will rise again.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (13)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (14)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (15)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (16)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (20)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (21)
*[[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]] (24)
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]] (25)
*[[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (27)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (28)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (29)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (30)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]] (31)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (32)
*[[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]] (33)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (36)
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (37)
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (38)
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (39)
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (40)
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (41)
*[[Halonix Maximus]] hologram (43)
|c2=
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (2)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (3)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (4)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (5)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (6)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (7)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (9)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (11)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (12)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (22)
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] (23)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (34)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (35)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (42)

|c3=
*Construction Workers (1)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (17)
*[[Chip Chase]] (18)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (19)
}}

==Quotes==
"Forgive me, but I believe your boast sounds vaguely familiar."
:—'''Starscream''', after hearing another of Megatron's promises to destroy the Autobots.

"Let's see how he likes my new [[Shock blast cannon|shockblast cannon]]! ''[The cannon explodes in his hands]'' Uhh... hnh... that's a shock, all right."
:—'''Wheeljack'''

"But I need my power chip rectifier. Besides, the Cybertron Code of Combat requires each warrior to fight as he is, without additional reinforcement. You wouldn't want to cheat, would you, Megatron?" 
"I will win by any means! At any cost! Even if it means terminating ''you'', Starscream!" 
"I was only raising a legal point..."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron'''

"Doesn't this remind you of the gladiatorial combats in ancient Rome?" 
"Maybe it would if I knew what you were talkin' about."
:—'''Chip''' and '''Ironhide''' on the duel between Optimus and Megatron.

"Sludge not see these Decepticons before." 
"Not see again either. Because we dino-mite them to pieces!" 
:—'''Sludge''' and '''Snarl''' vs. the Constructicons.

"It is ended." 
"Is it really over, Optimus? I mean, have we seen the end of this war? Forever?" 
"Who can say, Spike? In this vast universe, is anything truly forever?"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Spike''', with a question that is quickly answered, at least for the audience

==Notes==
===Technical or animation glitches===
====Minor coloring errors====
* As Long Haul deploys his missiles, his Decepticon symbol is red, and missing its "cheeks".
* The top of Hook's head is green as Scrapper bows to Megatron... and again in the very next shot.
* Scavenger's face is colored all-green as he welds. If it was a stylistic decision to show the light from his welding, then it should flicker along with the welding lights.
* As Scrapper directs the others working on the infuser, his head is green instead of black, and Mixmaster's drum and torso are purple instead of green.
* The top of Wheeljack's chest is colored glass-blue instead of white after the shock cannon blows up.
* During the pan across the Decepticons before the strength transfer, Soundwave is missing the line in the middle of his mask, and his yellow stripes are mostly colored blue.
* Megatron's waist is red instead of silver after the transfer.
* When Megatron talks to Starscream after that, Starscream's air vent "boobs" are colored white instead of black.
* The front of Scrapper's head is red instead of black as Megatron orders him to move out.
* As Scrapper transforms, his whole helmet is green.
* As Optimus explains the code to Spike, Ironhide's forehead isn't fully drawn in.
* "Defeat, Megatron?" Megatron's fusion cannon is white instead of black during this line.
* At the end of the across the Decepticons seating themselves, Soundwave's optic visor is blue instead of red.
* Laserbeak's head is light gray as he ejects from Soundwave.
* Megatron's faction emblem is missing before he teleports.
* And it's missing again as he says the Autobots must exile themselves.
* Starscream's right arm is colored dark gray for a moment, while he talks to Skywarp about the rectifiers.
* Wheeljack's missing one of the lines on his "ears" as he and the others listen to Optimus say he was not prepared.
* Prime's tires are light gray as he transforms to truck mode, and his headlights aren't colored in.
[[Image:Heavymetalwar constructicons target teletraan.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Oh, and Scavenger's chest shouldn't be purple, either.]]
* Scrapper's helmet is green in two shots as he and the others run into Autobot Headquarters.
* Scavenger's back is purple as he and the others back away from the Dinobots.
* Snarl's helmet is the same medium gray as his body as he joins Sludge.
* As Devastator walks toward the Dinobots, Swoop's head is white, while Sludge and Slag are block-colored gray.
* Devastator's hand is green instead of purple as he throws Grimlock.
* The top of Starscream's chest is red instead of gray as Megatron rants about the hologram.

====Art and character model errors====
* When Megatron comes to <s> lure Optimus into a trap </s> talk and Wheeljack and Ironhide fire their missiles, they exchange lines.
* It seems the artists might have had only script directions to go by when drawing the Constructicons' vehicular attack modes, and not actual character models. Both Long Haul and Mixmaster deploy weapons that are of similar description to their toys' attack forms (cab-mounted cannon, twin missile launchers), but look nothing like them.
* "Besides, the Cybertron code of combat requires..." Starscream's hand phases behind the transfer machine's light during his monologue.
* There's a discontinuity between shots as Megatron is infused; in one shot he's moving and reacting in visible pain to the power transfer; in the next, he's just standing there like a statue.
* Also in the above scene, when Megatron says "I now possess all your powers in addition to my own" his "helmet" is significantly wider than his usual onscreen character model's, and in the NEXT shot ("Optimus Prime and the Autobots... are FINISHED!! Huhuhwarhahahahaha!!") his helmet suddenly shrinks back to it's usual narrow width. It would therefore be reasonable to surmise the animators were using Megatron's G1 Toy as a drawing reference for the former shot, as his helmet IS significantly wider than the "normal" Megatron's onscreen model.
* After Megatron talks of the Constructicons destroying Teletraan I, he's suddenly no longer attached to the machine.
* When Megatron laughs maniacally after being infused with the power of the other Decepticons, his head is disproportionately small, and his Decepticon insignia moves independently of his body.
* When Starscream lands behind Megatron before the latter's duel with Optimus Prime, the animators forgot to animate the dust Starscream's feet stir up, so we can see that his legs are not fully drawn, and instead of feet, they end in paint blotches.
* Chip is drawn speaking Spike's line "It's Earth history, Ironhide!"
* During the duel, what are the Autobots supposed to be sitting on? Air?
* After the boulder Prime threw at Meagtron splits in two, it completely disappears before the shot ends.
* Huffer is drawn with six wheels instead of four as he takes Prime's trailer.
* How long's it take for the animators to forget that Prime isn't towing his own trailer? All of one shot! Huffer is nowhere to be seen as the 'bots leave the battlefield.
* Mixmaster's cab-weapon changes color and form between scenes (it's a gray sphere when the Constructicons start tunneling; it's a green gun when they reach Autobot Headquarters.)
* Mixmaster's acid-laser changes from pink to orange between shots. The weapon that fires it has gone back to gray in the second shot.
* The animation doesn't really show a hole ''melting'' in the floor; a section of the floor just vanishes and is replaced with a melted hole.
* Grimlock has his original head design in this episode, rather than the later, toy-based one he normally is drawn with.
* The Dinobots' voices are ''heavily'' processed in his episode, far beyond the norm, giving them a crunchy, gravely sound.
* The inside of Sludge's robot-mode mouth is glowing orange ''again''. Clearly this is part of his character model, but why and how did such a bizarre choice come about in the first place?
* As Scrapper clutches his wounded shoulder, he has two small eyes instead of a visor. (It makes him look a lot like [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]].)
* Much like [[A Plague of Insecticons|Kickback's insect head]], the cartoon could never quite make up its mind whether Devastator was supposed to have two small eyes or one big visor. This episode shows him with eyes as he monologues, then the visor shows up just a shot or two later.
* When the Autobots cheer inside their headquarters, [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]]'s insignia is missing, Wheeljack's ears aren't flashing, and Jazz's mouth is blinking on and off.
* As the hologram fades out, Hound isn't shown in the nearby cave from which he's supposed to be projecting it.
* When [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] finds out the "Giant [[Autobot]]" is a hologram, his cannon [[kibble]] is gone for a brief second.
* In the final closeup of Megatron's face, several of the lava streams are flowing ''behind'' his eyes and back out. OUCH!
* When we first see the Autobots in the Ark after the duel, Ironhide punches empty air, the whole screen shakes, and he says, “Uh, sorry about that” to no-one.

===Rhino DVD release===
More than most episodes, the [[Kid Rhino]] DVD version of this episode is full of animation errors that do not appear in the original broadcast version or prior home video releases (as a result of incomplete film masters being used for the DVD), as well as crude attempts made by Rhino to fix some of these errors.

Some are merely aesthetic complaints:
* In one shot, the camera pans sideways to follow the Constructicons, however they aren't moving, so they actually lag behind the screen. Then, as they round a corner, they are animated above the animation cel of the building they drive around, and you can see they are not fully drawn. Their vehicle modes end in unfinished lines and paint blotches until they come fully into view.
* As the Constructions make their big introductory transformations, the camera doesn't pan up with Bonecrusher, Long Haul, and Mixmaster, leaving them cut out of the shot from the thighs upward. Bonecrusher is also visibly floating above the ground.
* After Long Haul transforms, the equipment he's supposedly carrying simply pops into view. As the outlines tell us, it has been retroactively shopped into the image.
* The Rhino DVD portrays the power-chip smelter as a featureless rectangular smear, lacking all the light effects and animation that should be present.
* When Megatron says "Scrapper, you have your orders...", the Constructicons' eyes / eye visors no longer glow red in response.
* As he drives up to start digging, [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] is constantly jumping a bit back and forth while driving, as if the animation frames are not ordered properly.
* When the Autobots transform to leave base for the battlefield, Optimus Prime's left headlight blinks in and out a couple of times.
* Then, as they all drive out of the Ark, the screen freezes for a moment. The Autobots seem to have teleported after the animation finally continues.
* The sky behind Ironhide, when he is informing us of his ignorance of Earth's history, jumps noticeably at the beginning of the shot, and the shadowy outlines around him vibrate wildly.
* The audience isn't actually sitting on the edge of the pit, rather they are all somehow seated on the slopes.
* At two points during the duel with Optimus Prime (one of them recycled as him landing at Autobot Headquarters), Megatron is colored dark gray.
* When the miscolored Megatron blasts Prime away, the background isn't moving to simulate the camera pan, whereas Prime's animation is.
* The humans in one shot are drawn horribly off-model, with terrible looking teeth, may we add. Spike shows his pre-final print uppers again in a later shot.
* When Skywarp boasts that Megatron acquired the power of teleportation from him, he is colored like Starscream, who is seen sitting right next to him.
* During the Dinobots' fight scene with the Constructicons, some of the laser-firing animation is missing, leaving the characters with huge "holes" and gaps on their bodies where said laser shots should have been animated. This also renders the shot of Sludge firing his eye-beams completely pointless.
* And as Swoop fires his missiles, the background art isn't moving, making it look like he is floating.
* Also in one shot, the rock covering the Constructicons is missing from the foreground, and again, we see incomplete drawings instead of fully-drawn robots.
** However a later shot has a cave mouth drawn over the screen's outer rim, which shouldn't be there, as the scene takes place outside.

However, some of the screwups actually confuse the plot:
* When Rhino DVD Optimus Prime hurls a boulder at Megatron, Megatron still lights up to use Skywarp's teleportation ability to get out of the way... but after the teleporation glow effect fades, Megatron is ''still standing there''. The boulder ''flies straight through him'' with nobody seeming to care, including Megatron himself.
* When Megatron is talking to Starscream while the Constructicons are building the infuser machine, Starscream is colored like Skywarp.
** Speaking about the Constructicons being hard at work, this sequence is completely missing. We are instead treated to a shot of Megatron and Starscream standing silently for seconds.
* When [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] runs up and uses his [[glass gas]], he is coloured like [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]].
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Mixmaster spray.JPG|thumb|right|200px|That sure isn't a cave you're in there, Mixmaster.]]
* The animation sequence of Megatron landing at the Autobot base ''is missing entirely'', and is replaced by looped animation from later in the episode of Megatron landing after a jump, along with a recycled snippet of Cliffjumper looking elated after encasing Megatron in ice from just a few seconds earlier.
* When Megatron lands, there are two Optimus Primes and Ironhides there to greet him.
* As the Autobots help Prime make his decision, the camera pans are missing, and the scene is instead shown as multiple, separate shots. Secondly, Wheeljack's light effects are mis-aligned. Finally, the added lens-effects in Prime's optics makes him look like he's about to cry.
* When the Constructicons move out to dig the passage to the Autobot headquarters, they're all shown outdoors instead of inside the base.
* A transformation sequence for Trailbreaker, recycled from "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]", still retains its exterior background even though it's supposed to happen inside Autobot Headquarters.
* When the Autobots arrive at the pit in vehicle mode, Ironhide is seen transforming from robot mode to vehicle mode. Then, he is back in his robot form.
* Instead of using the finished shot, we see recycled animation of a standing Prime being hit when Megatron delivers his final blow. He should be lying on the ground.
* The animation of the lava is absent in a couple of shots.

But, uhhh, hey, that silver DVD case sure is shiny and pretty!

===Shout! Factory DVD release===
* Like "[[Countdown to Extinction (episode)|Countdown to Extinction]]" before it, the sound effects of this episode are cranked down to near-inaudibility, compared to the music and vocal tracks.
* This episode is also one of several affected by Shout!'s inability to obtain complete master reels to restore the incomplete animation used in the Kid Rhino releases, resulting in 1-inch tape versions being used instead. Picture quality is thus all over the map. The scenes of Megatron approaching Autobot Headquarters are noticeably under-lit. Several scenes are in visibly softer focus compared to shots before and after, such as the pan of Autobots as Cliffjumper says "I don't trust 'im!"

===Continuity errors===
* This episode gives the first of [[Constructicon (G1)|three contradictory origins]] for the Constructicons.

* The building site that the Constructicons raid is a power plant. One of the construction workers states that it will be able to provide the whole planet with limitless energy, begging the question of why the Decepticons didn't raid such a powerful energy source for energon.

* So this head worker guy sees driverless, talking construction vehicles, that turn into giant malevolent thieving robots with the Decepticon symbol on 'em... but somehow he only figures out that they're Decepticons when Scrapper says they work for Megatron. Is Megatron's name more famous than all the defining aspects of his faction?

* Ironhide is apparently able to detect the Decepticons by himself, without relying on Teletraan I. However, in "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]", the Autobots were unable to detect the approaching Decepticons with Teletraan I sabotaged.

* Optimus Prime takes out Devastator with a single shot from his laser rifle, something rather at odds with the later portrayal of combiners as nigh-invulnerable. Maybe they were upgraded?

* It's a bit strange that Starscream of all mechs should be concerned with legalities and suggest that Megatron try to fight honorably... but there ''is'' a touch of sarcasm when he says "You wouldn't want to ''cheat'', would you, Megatron?"

* There is a rather ''huge'' hole in Megatron's "Destroy Teletrann I" plot: When the Autobots come back from Optimus Prime's defeat, wouldn't a burning-and-smoking Teletran I ''immediately'' scream "Megatron DID cheat" rather than cover that fact up?

* The Autobots return to headquarters as the Dinobots have begun their battle with Devastator. They have time enough to repair Optimus Prime and detect the Decepticon deception, and meanwhile, the Dinobots are ''still'' fighting Devastator.
** On that note the Autobots don't even try to tell the Dinobots that they were leaving and the fight was over. Were the Autobots going to leave the Dinobots behind and strand them on Earth!?

* Speaking of which, didn't anybody notice the big flaming hole in the floor of Autobot Headquarters?

* So the Decepticons couldn't '''FLY''' out of the lava when they fell in?

* Doesn't anybody notice Megatron down there floating in the lava?

===Continuity notes===
* This episode introduces the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]].
[[Image:Heavymeatlwar megatron powers.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This fist of mine glows with an awesome power chip rectifier!]]
[[Image:HeavyMetalWar Scavenger.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This shovel of mine glows with an awesome sensor reading!]]
[[Image:Heavymetalwar constructicons target teletraan.jpg|thumb|right|200px|This computer of mine glows with an awesome lollipop!]]
* Gadgets and powers:
** The Constructicons show off a variety of armaments and abilities, such as Mixmaster melting a whole steam roller into goop and later firing a stream of rock-melting liquid, Long Haul having dump truck-mode missile launchers (perhaps a nod to his toy's "attack mode"), and Scavenger's shovel-based sensors.
** Long Haul has the rather ''amazing'' ability to fill up his cargo bed with a payload, transform to robot mode, then convert back to dump truck mode... and still have the cargo be there!
** Ironhide detects Megatron's approach using a sensor that displays on his chest, not unlike abilities he displayed in "[[S.O.S. Dinobots]]" and "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 1]]".
** Cliffjumper's [[glass gas]], if that's what it's supposed to be, acts a lot more like Ironhide's liquid nitrogen. He shoots a huge stream of it from his retracted wrists, and it encases Megatron in ice.
** Speaking of which, being encased in ice does not affect Megatron's ability to fly.
** Ironhide doesn't even bother retracting his fists; he just shoots lasers right out of them. It's an unusual conceit for ''Transformers'', though [[Megatron's Master Plan, Part 2|not]] [[Dinobot Island, Part 2|unheard of]].
** As explained in this episode, [[power chip rectifier]]s are what give Transformers their unique special abilities.
** The episode gives us a showcase of the Decepticons' most notable abilities, as Megatron uses Starscream's [[cluster bomb]]s and null rays, Reflector's light-generating abilities, Rumble's earthquakes, Skywarp's teleportation, and Thundercracker's sonic abilities.
*** Incidentally, this is the first time said sonic abilities have been used explicitly. And it's not even by the guy they belong to.
** Optimus shows the strange ability to fire lasers out of his palm. He's blocking Megatron's shot with the other arm at the same time, almost like he's [[Optimus_Primal#Beast_Machines_cartoon|absorbing the energy and shooting it back]].
** Teletraan-1 can make up its own mind to wake up the Dinobots when a threat is detected.
** Snarl's sword can fire energy blasts from its tip.
*** This is also the first appearance of ''any'' of the Dinobots' swords in the cartoon, something that doesn't happen often. Instead of being red, as per the toy and comics, it uses the gray coloring it has in Snarl's package art.
** Hound projects one of his holograms out of both fists.
** Hey, turns out the Constructicons can turn themselves all into one big robot! Wonder if the toys can do that??
* When the Constructicons are tunneling, Scrapper refers to [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] as "[[Scrounge (G1)|Scrounge]]". In their [[Transformers: More than Meets the Eye|''More than Meets the Eye'']] bio, Dreamwave would paint this as a deliberate derogatory term other Decepticons sometimes refer to him as.
* Soundwave totally pets Ravage on the head like a kittycat. Adorable!
* This episode is also the "source" of the aborted "Lava Bath Safety" deco for the original Megatron toy.
* The ''Law of Cybertron'' will be invoked again many years later, to resolve the Generation 2 War. {{storylink|Transformers: G-2 (story page)|The Autobots Triumph in the Battle of Good Vs. Evil!}}

===Real-world references===
* ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst/whine as the Constructions take off from the construction site.
** Same effect as Megatron leaves Autobot Headquarters.
** Lightsaber ignition sound when Megatron activates Reflector's light powers.
* Chip provides the episode's requisite dose of "Oh, it's ''educational''" by likening the leaders' combat to the gladiatorial matches of ancient Rome.
* Mixmaster gets in on the act by naming a couple of acids by formula: H2SO4 (sulfuric acid) and HCl (hydrochloric acid).
* Oh, and the construction site will make energy from the earth's magnetic field. "Magnetic field" sounds like science, right??

===Trivia===
[[Image:SnarlG1.jpg|thumb|right|200px|And we don't just mean the "horrible rape-related imagery" aspect, either.]]
* The art style of this episode has a distinctively Japanese flavor to it (in a handful of scenes), similar to that of "[[Roll for It]]". [[wikipedia:Masami Obari|Masami Obari]]'s believed to be involved with this episode.<ref>http://mimizun.com/log/2ch/ranime/1118994758/</ref>
* The animation pretty much gets Devastator's transformation spot-on. Enjoy it while you can; it [[The Core|won't]] [[The Autobot Run|last]].
* Storyboards for this episode indicate that at one point in the scripting process, power chip rectifiers were also tied into the ability to transform. Upon giving up their rectifiers, the Decepticons lose their ability to transform, and during the fight, Megatron transforms into a jet! <ref>[http://cartoonpaperwork.com/network/dt/003.shtml "Heavy Metal War" storyboards at CartoonPaperwork.com]</ref>
* Scenes and dialogue deleted from this episode include Wheeljack showing off the latest improvements he has made to the Dinobots outside Autobot Headquarters (during which Megatron arrives), Scavenger referring to Scrapper with the misnomer of "[[Gravedigger]]", and Megatron using Soundwave's mind-reading powers on Optimus Prime during their fight.
** An extended portion of dialogue is also cut from Megatron's address to Optimus Prime, resulting in the rather clumsy line in the finished episode, "Our war has gone on for millions of years — Decepticons fighting Autobots — in which opposing leaders — you and I, Optimus Prime — may do battle." In the episode's dialogue script, following "Decepticons fighting Autobots," Megatron finishes his first sentence by lamenting the endless nature of the war. Prime shares in his regret, but deems it necessary as long as Megatron continues his pursuit of conquest. Megatron then speaks again, raising the topic of the "age-old law of combat," then picking up the finished line from "in which opposing leaders..."
[[Image:RumbleisRed.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The "red robot" is clearly blue.]]
* During Teletraan I's montage of the sources of Megatron's acquired powers, the descriptions for the individual Decepticons are verbatim quotes from the [http://transformers.winterchill.com/bible/biblepage34.html Transformers Series Bible's "Decepticon Rollcall" page] [dead link], albeit including several lost-in-translation typographical errors ("Decepticon Lider", "Decepticon Commicator", "Sky Warp"). The most notable of those is [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (misspelled as "Runble") being identified as a [[FIRRIB|"red robot"]]. Furthermore, the seemingly random numbers listed on those screens are actually Hasbro's product codes for the respective toys. Interestingly enough, [[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]] is given a product number, even though he was never released at mass retail. However, the renditions of the Decepticons are ''not'' the official [[character model]] poses for those characters, but rather all-new drawings.
* The head construction worker's cry as Scavenger drops him is recycled from "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]" (from when Laserbeak kidnaps two security guards.)
* The episode's ending sure seems intended as a potential conclusion to the series, just in case it wasn't renewed for a second season. Turns out that ''Transformers'' was a bit of a hit, so that whole falling-into-lava thing was ignored (though it was alluded to in the theme song animation for season two, as the Insecticons traverse in lava).
* The hologram image Hound projected went anonymous for 26 years until it received an identity at [[BotCon 2010]] as the [[Cybertron Elite Guard|Elite Guard member]] [[Halonix Maximus]].
* When the Autobots and Decepticons are getting ready to watch the fight, Soundwave lets Ravage out and Ravage then sits beside Soundwave and auidbly ''purrs'' while Soundwave pets him. This is both very cute and very creepy.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — Volume 10: "Heavy Metal War" ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Heavy Metal Wars / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — A Ghost in the Machine / Heavy Metal Wars (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — Heavy Metal Wars / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video|Abbey Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 6: Evolution Revolution ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers: Generation 2'' ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Original Series: Volume Three (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — First Season Collector's Edition ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume Three (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 1: Series 1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Classic Transformers'' — Series One: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 02: Stagione Uno Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season One (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}
==External links==
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/heavy_metal_war.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]