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Grimlock's New Brain

2013-06-16T19:39:52Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|image=Grimlock's New Brain Grimlock Technobots.JPG
|caption=Me Grimlock make geeks!
|ep=89
|prev2=Nightmare Planet
|next2=Call of the Primitives
|title="Grimlock's New Brain"
|Japanese=
|production code=700-110
|airdate=[[November 14]], 1986
|written by=[[Paul Davids]]
|series2=2010
|ep2=25
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Grimlock gains tremendous intelligence and creates the Technobots.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:Grimlock's New Brain Skuxxoid Slizardo.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Purple stuff? Bah! I wanted Sunny D!]]

On [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], the [[Autobot|Autobots]] are unveiling a new generator that will better supply them with power. As [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] signals [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] to activate the machine, Grimlock causes a few missteps before Rodimus, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]], and [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] manage to switch the generator on. Grimlock points out that he is "smartest Dinobot of all," but Perceptor points out that the Dinobots have limited brains. Grimlock, mildly insulted, threatens to bash Perceptor's brain. Elsewhere, a [[Skuxxoid]] and [[Slizardo]] are sneaking into the generator to place [[anti-electron]]s inside the device, as [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] has paid them to deliver the anti-electrons to the generator, which would eventually kill the Autobots.

[[Image:Grimlock's New Brain Grimlock generator off.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Me Grimlock hate Windows Vista.]]

In space, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] are flying back to Cybertron, when their [[auto gyro]]s suddenly begin to malfunction, crashing into the planet. [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] tries to air lift Sky Lynx to safety, but also begins to malfunction. Perceptor concludes that the problem is originating in the generator and Rodimus, Magnus, Grimlock, and [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] head down to investigate. However, Grimlock breaks the [[Electro map|device]] that Perceptor gave them to navigate the tunnels, so they split up. Grimlock and Kup reach the generator's controls, and Kup begins to suffer memory malfunctions. Grimlock deactivates the generator with the ever-appropriate tactic of biting it, but immediately begins to act differently. He speaks in a proper manner, with an extended vocabulary, and appears to have lost his taste for combat. However, [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] has been observing them and reports back to Galvatron. Galvatron threatens to kill the Skuxxoid and Slizardo for ruining his plan, as the anti-electrons have already vaporized and were hard to find, but Slizardo reveals that there is another source of anti-electrons...in [[Unicron]]'s brain.

[[Image:Grimlock's New Brain Dinobots fishing.JPG|left|200px|thumb|"Rodimus, isn't that a public pond?" "Quiet, Magnus, this is the only way we can get them to bathe."]]

Back on Cybertron, Grimlock and the Autobots pass the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] fishing in a local pond. [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] invites Grimlock to join, but Grimlock declines, saying he has more important matters to attend to. The Dinobots are concerned, as they always fish together. Elsewhere, Grimlock concludes that anti-electrons were the source of the problem. As Galvatron's ship approaches Unicron's head, he cautions his soldiers, saying that Unicron may be quite powerful. On Cybertron, the Dinobots seek out Grimlock, who is building a new spaceship, and he asks for their help. [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] does not like Grimlock's change in attitude, and [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] declares that "Grimlock no fun". With their leader not acting like one of them, the Dinobots decide to go hunting without him. Later, Grimlock has taken Rodimus, Perceptor, and Kup to Unicron's head, having concluded that Unicron's body was the original source. However, Galvatron fires anti-electrons at the shuttle, causing it to crash and the Autobots to malfunction. Galvatron then unleashes the [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]] on the Autobots while Grimlock runs off. Grimlock then uses components of Unicron to build [[Nosecone (G1)|Nosecone]] and asks him to drill a hole into Unicron's brain.

[[Image:Grimlock's New Brain Computron Abominus.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Computron teaches Abominus to slow dance.]]

Elsewhere, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] are retrieving the anti-electrons when they reactivate Unicron. The Chaos Bringer's internal defenses activate, but [[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]], another robot built by Grimlock, destroys the defenses. Finally, Grimlock builds three more robots: [[Afterburner (G1)|Afterburner]], [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]], and [[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]], the last of whom he appoints as leader of the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobot]]s. He sends the Technobots to fight the Terrorcons, and they manage to destroy the anti-electrons as well, but the Terrorcons merge into [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]]. Retreating, the Technobots ask Grimlock for advice, and Grimlock reveals that they are also [[Combiner|Combiners]], commanding them to merge into [[Computron (G1)|Computron]]. The computational capacity held by the gestalt is massive, yet he claims that he lacks the intelligence to feed it. Grimlock connects a device to Computron's head which transfers his super-intelligence to Computron. Now armed with incredible intelligence, Computron is able to defeat Abominus and send the [[Decepticon]]s running.

On Cybertron, Rodimus is holding a celebration for the newly functioning generator, the creation of the Technobots, and Grimlock's efforts. However, Sludge reveals that Grimlock is fishing with the Dinobots. Grimlock says that being a genius all the time is no fun, and he'd rather be a regular Dinobot. The Autobots cheer his statement, apparently preferring their one-bot engines of destruction to be simple-minded.

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (1)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (2)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (4)
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (5)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (6)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (7)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (8)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (9)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (10)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (11)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (12)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (15)
* [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (16)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (17)
* [[Teletraan II]] (18)
* [[Nosecone (G1)|Nosecone]] (30)
* [[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]] (31)
* [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]] (32)
* [[Afterburner (G1)|Afterburner]] (33)
* [[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]] (34)
* [[Computron (G1)|Computron]] (36)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (37)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (38)
|c2=
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (19)
* [[Sweep]]s (20)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (21)
* [[Rippersnapper (G1)|Rippersnapper]] (22)
* [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (23)
* [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] (24)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (25)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (26)
* [[Hun-Gurrr]] (28)
* [[Cutthroat (G1)|Cutthroat]] (29)
* [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] (35)
|c4=
* [[Skuxxoid]] (13)
* [[Slizardo]] (14)
* [[Unicron]] (27)
}}

==Quotes==
"Can't be that one, must be one of these. Eenie Menie miny moe. This switch real rad, gonna pull!" 
"Grimlock, no!!!!! It's this one over here!" 
"Uhhh, that Grimlock's next choice."
:—'''Grimlock''' showing '''Rodimus''' why he should not have been given such an important task.

"Why you think Grimlock stupid? Me no stupid. Grimlock is smartest Dinobot of all." 
"Unfortunately, that's probably true. I just wish the Dinobots had more sophisticated brains." 
"Brains?! Grimlock know how to bash brains. Maybe bash yours."
:—'''Grimlock''' threatening to beat up '''Perceptor'''.

'''Grimlock''': What go wrong? 
'''Perceptor''': Something incapacitated their aerial capabilities. 
'''Grimlock''': Huh? 
'''Rodimus Prime''': He means they couldn't fly, so they crashed. 
'''Grimlock''': Me knew that!
:—Simplifying things for a Dinobot isn't that simple.

"Hey, how did you shut down that baby?" 
"I, Grimlock...used my rear molars." 
"Uh that makes good sense, good going. You what?!" 
"Is your hearing impaired, Kup? Ohh, with some Autobots, you have to explain everything."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Grimlock''' the latter of whom has just received a great deal of intelligence

"Antielectrons, of course! They attack our electrocircuits! Now why didn't I think of that?" 
"Perhaps because your mental abilities are so limited."
:—Oh snap! '''Perceptor''' just got dissed!

"That one mine! Give me!" 
"Rrr, me want that Autobot!"
:—'''Sinnertwin''' arguing with...himself.

"Are...are you my father?"
:—A newly awakened '''Nosecone''', the first Technobot created by Grimlock

'''Strafe''': Yahoo! It feels great to be a Technobot! My name is Strafe! 
'''Afterburner''': Far out! Fantastic! I'm Afterburner! I'm raring to burn neutrons and see some heavy action! 
'''Lightspeed''': Mellow out, Afterburner. 
'''Afterburner''': Says who? 
'''Lightspeed''': They call me Lightspeed, faster than a speeding photon. 
'''Grimlock''': And you, Scattershot, shall be the leader of the Technobots.
:—The newly created '''Technobots''' and '''Grimlock''' engage in a brief [[introdump]].

"Come on, Technobots! Let's show them the stuff Grimlock made us of!"
:—'''Afterburner''' as he attacks the Decepticons with his comrades

"Name: Computron. Primary goal: obliterate Decepticons."
:—'''Computron''' gives Galvatron a reason to run away.

"Me Grimlock say no fun to be genius all the time. Much more fun to be good old Dinobot Grimlock."
:—'''Grimlock''' on his recent bout with intelligence.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* In the opening scene, the inside of Magnus's mouth is red. (It's actually that way for most of the episode.) A long shot shows Perceptor's chest in all-red. Grimlock's neck is grey for a frame, and the back of it is grey in several shots (an error that occurs several times in the episode).
* When the Autobots activate the power generator, Springer is twice as tall as Kup and [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]].
* When he drops the container, Slizardo's eye is green.
* When Blaster is struck by the beam of light, his switch is missing its details. (It looks like one big switch instead of three small ones.)
* As Perceptor, Grimlock, and Rodimus walk forward to see Blaster's predicament, they seem to appear out of thin air.
* Teletraan II's report starts with a shot of space for some reason.
* The next shot shows a huge display in front of the Autobots instead of a framed screen.
* After Teletraan II's report, a shot is layered incorrectly, so Perceptor looks huge next to Rodimus Prime.
* Ratbat flies into one of the slots in Galvatron's terminal, but subsequent shots are missing the slots.
* Sludge's neck repeatedly flashes between yellow and grey for a few frames when Grimlock gives him orders.
* Rodimus notes that the Autobots have to reach Unicron's head "before they do," but nobody's mentioned the Decepticons yet.
* When Rodimus is grabbed by a Terrorcon, his spoiler is all-yellow. (It should be orange in the middle.)
* Cyclonus is missing the orange shapes on his chest and waist in several shots.
* Afterburner's Autobot logo moves up his chest (and has a black frame instead of white) as Lightspeed introduces himself. Lightspeed's own logo is missing in the same shot.
* An overhead shot shows the Autobots firing their weapons, but no beams coming out.
* During [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]]'s combination sequence, [[Hun-Gurrr]] transforms into [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] and [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] before combining with himself.
* As the Decepticons shoot Computron, Galvatron is shooting too, but we don't hear his cannon's sound effect.
* Computron shoots the Decepticons, but his laser is missing its beam.
* The Decepticons appear to be far too big when they leave Unicron's head.
* In the last shot of the episode, Blaster is missing his switches and Perceptor and Cosmos are missing their Autobot logos.
* Thanks to Roger C. Carmel's inconsistency with his voices, Unicron sounds similar to John Colicos's Apocalypse from the 1992 ''[[X-Men]]'' TV series (although it also sounds drunk).

===Continuity errors===
* If Grimlock has proven himself so incompetent, why does Rodimus bring him along to find the power generator? There are plenty of other Autobots, such as Springer, who can provide muscle.
* Also, why does Rodimus have Grimlock, of all 'bots, activate the generator at the beginning? Why not someone like Perceptor, who's even conveniently nearby when they decide to pull the switch?
* Where has Cosmos been? The Autobots could have used him for transport, to fight off the Dweller, etc.
* Perceptor's "electro-map" looks a lot like a compass!
* When the Autobots near the power generator, why are Kup and Rodimus affected, but Ultra Magnus and Grimlock aren't? It's possible that Grimlock may not be affected because being built on Earth made him that much different from the other Autobots (as in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1]]"), but this doesn't explain Magnus. Maybe Magnus could just deal with it at the moment.
* This isn't an error necessarily, but this episode marks the only time present-day Cybertron has any sort of standing water (in this case, the pool the Dinobots are "fishing" in).
* Speaking of the pond, are those real fish or robotic fish?
* Why isn't Swoop with the other Dinobots? The writers even bother to have Grimlock point out that Omega Supreme is away on a mission, and yet one of the Dinobots gets left out?
* Where did the Terrorcons come from? You'd think Galvatron would have used them before now.
* The second time Rodimus Prime's transformation systems malfunction, he reverts into Hot Rod. Most visibly, he transforms into his junior self's vehicle mode. Additionally, his coloring changes to Hot Rod's traditional magenta, and actor [[Dick Gautier]] raises his voice in pitch to his normal Hot Rod voice.
* Blurr can be seen numerous times fighting alongside the Autobots, despite him not being present on the shuttle ride over.
* Even being super-intelligent, Grimlock somehow creates the Technobots in what seems like a few minutes. He also creates the intelligence transfer helmet in no time at all!
* The origin of the Technobots seems to conflict with the events of "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1|The Key to Vector Sigma]]"; in those episodes, it is established that [[Vector Sigma]] is required to give personalities to Transformers, but here, the Technobots get personalities independently of it. Unlike other continuities, however, the cartoon eschews the use of "magic" objects and explanations to give Transformers life; Vector Sigma is simply treated as an advanced computer, and with this in mind, it's not beyond the realm of possibility that the super-smart Grimlock simply has the skill needed to program full, authentic cybernetic personalities into the Technobots on his own. With the introduction of the concept of [[spark]]s in much later fiction and the reclassification of Vector Sigma's capabilities, however, the events of this episode are called into question again. Of course, the Dinobots themselves are exceptions as well, so make of that what you will.
* Though logically speaking, it is correct showing Unicron's head suffering some sort of damage since it was blasted into outter space in "Ghost in the Machine". However, the damage shown in this episode is inconsistant than what it was shown in "Ghost in the Machine". In this episode, the left eye especially was gauged out and there are damage scarring along the right horn and face also when at the end of "Ghost in the Machine", at the bare minimum, both of Unicron's eyes were intact.

===Continuity notes===
* Final Appearance of Cosmos.
* Ratbat appears, but Soundwave isn't in the episode.
* Unicron's head is shown to no longer orbit Cybertron, after the events of "[[Ghost in the Machine]]" saw it blasted off into space. It's also looking substantially worse for wear than it was the last time we saw it, presumably a consequence of the explosives that were set off in its immediate vicinity in that episode.

===Foreign localization===
[[Image:GrimlockManga.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Meet Prof. Grimlock. Cheaters and plagiarists will not be expelled, merely eaten.]]

'''Brazilian'''
:*''Title:'' '''O Novo Cérebro de Grimlock''' ("Grimlock's New Brain")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Grimlocks neues Gehirn''' ("Grimlock's New Brain")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''グリムロックの新しい頭脳''' (''Grimlock no Atarashii Zunō'', "Grimlock's New Brain")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[May 29]], [[1987]]
:* Artwork for the episode featured in ''[[TV Magazine]]'' showed Grimlock wearing a mortarboard and lecturing on something complicated.
:*A (very short) "[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]" segment unique to Japan was attached to this episode. The segment focuses on [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]], [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. It replaces the original "Secret Files" segment used in the US broadcast which focused on [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]. The original segment was never used in the Japanese broadcast of the series.

===Trivia===

* While the episode is centered around Grimlock, he never once transforms out of his dinosaur mode. Then again, seeing a ''T. rex'' talk with such an extensive vocabulary is kinda funny.
*The device Grimlock invents to transfer his intelligence into Computron was later rendered in plastic and included with the [[Super Collection Figure]] PVC version of Grimlock. It would subsequently be recreated in plastic ''again'' for the ''[[The Transformers: Masterpiece| Masterpiece]]'' version of Grimlock, which dubbed the contraption the "[[Brainwave Transfer Device]]".
* Grimlock's voice actor, [[Gregg Berger]], has stated that while this was the most difficult episode for him to do (in that it required figuring out how an intelligent Grimlock should sound), it was also the episode he enjoyed working on the most, as it shows him using his Skyfire voice for Grimlock's intelligent voice.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''Transformers'' — Dark Awakening / Grimlock's New Brain ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1990 — ''Transformers'' — Dark Awakening / Grimlock's New Brain ([[Tempo Video|Abbey Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 9: Grimlock the Hero ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Ghost in the Machine (G1)

2013-06-16T15:45:21Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=80
|ep2=16
|prev2=Fight or Flee
|next2=Webworld
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=22
|prev3=Masquerade
|next3=The Ultimate Weapon
|image=GhostMachine Starscream Scourge Unicron.JPG
|caption=Screw you guys, I'm going home.
|title="Ghost in the Machine"
|production code=700-100
|airdate=[[October 21]], 1986
|written by=[[Joey Kurihara Piedra]] [[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Set on regaining a physical body, the ghost of Starscream possesses Scourge and makes a deal with the devil.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:GhostMachine Scourge approaches Unicron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Your ''break''fast, Sir!]]

On [[Chaar]], the [[Decepticon]]s are following [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], when [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]'s ghost appears and possesses [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Despite his better efforts, Starscream forces Scourge to fire on Galvatron, then flees with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] in pursuit. Cyclonus follows as far as [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where he breaks off, assuming that Scourge has defected to the [[Autobot]]s. But that is not Starscream's goal. He instead flies to the severed head of [[Unicron]]. Using Scourge to reactivate the Dark God, Starscream offers his services in exchange for a new body. Unicron agrees to restore him to life in exchange for three labors. The first labor is to bring [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Sensors|eyes]] to Unicron. With nowhere else to go, Scourge agrees to serve Unicron.

[[Image:GhostMachine Metroplex eye explode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|There are no eye-drops for this.]]

On Earth, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] arrives for an inspection of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], when Scourge and Starscream make their move. Destroying Metroplex's security system, the two Decepticons steal the eyes, but [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] cause Scourge to drop one, shattering it. Fleeing, Metroplex [[Transformation|transforms]], but cannot see, and begins firing on the Autobots. However, a photon bomb disables Metroplex, causing him to crash. Lacking one eye, the two head back for Chaar, where they dispatch the [[Battlecharger]]s, outwit Starscream's [[Seeker (body-type)|former soldiers]], and steal one of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s eyes. In addition, Starscream possesses [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] to serve as their ride home, where Astrotrain is left to the mercy of the Autobots. Upon learning of what happened, Galvatron reacts in a rational, controlled manner... for Galvatron.

[[Image:Dirge AlmostDeath.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Galvatron settles an old score with the wall.]]

Pleased with his new eyes, Unicron informs Starscream and Scourge of their next labor: bring Trypticon to Unicron (should have told them that before they left). Starscream heads off to complete the task. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] interrogates Astrotrain, who claims not to remember what happened, but [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] reveals that Unicron has his eyes back! [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] takes [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to investigate, but Unicron drives them off. Scourge is becoming nervous, but Unicron warns his creation that he can take what he has given. On Chaar, Galvatron orders the Battlechargers and [[Conehead|Coneheads]] to locate Starscream and Scourge, only for Trypticon to transform, under Starscream's control, and depart, with the Decepticons in pursuit.

As the Autobots prepare for the Decepticon assault, Unicron commands Starscream to remove Trypticon's [[transformation cog]] and place it in Unicron. The Decepticons arrive and attack, but Starscream uses Trypticon to disable their weapons. As the Decepticons flee, Unicron commands his minions to complete the third labor—connect Unicron's head to Cybertron, making it his new body. Scourge decides to book it, and Starscream is left to complete the task. Scourge tries to warn Galvatron, but he doesn't care. Scourge then heads to the Autobots, and warns them of Unicron's intentions.

[[Image:GhostMachine Unicron starscream jumpers.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Refusing to call Triple-A, Starscream prepares to jumpstart Unicron.]]

Within Trypticon, the Battlecharges and the Coneheads disable Starscream's control over Trypticon, so Starscream demands his body to complete the labors. Unicron restores his body, but Starscream (surprise, surprise), tells Unicron to connect himself to Cybertron. However, the Autobots manage to plant some [[energon cube]]s on Unicron's head. They detonate the [[energon]], causing Unicron's head to return to orbit and Starscream to go flying. Thrown past the Decepticons, Galvatron orders them to fire on Starscream. When their shots begin hitting him, Cyclonus wonders why Starscream's ghost has lost control.

On Cybertron, Rodimus agrees to allow Scourge and Astrotrain to leave, in exchange for their help. He then tells the Autobots of their new mission to retrieve Metroplex's eye, but then reveals that he was joking, saying that the eyes were probably destroyed in the explosion.

Unseen by the Autobots, Unicron's eye twinkles in the night...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (with [[Scamper]]) (9)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (10)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (11)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (13)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (14)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (16)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (17)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (19)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (26)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (27)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (28)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (29)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (30)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (31)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (cameo) (33)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (2)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (3)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (4)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (5)
* [[Headstrong]] (6)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (7)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (20)
* [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] (21)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (22)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (23)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (24)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (25)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (32)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Unicron|Unicron's head]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"THERE IS NO REASONING WITH HIM! DESTROY HIM! HE'S LOST HIS MIND!"
:—'''Galvatron''', calling [[Scourge (G1)|the kettle]] black.

"Aerialbots! Wait for... umm... nevermind."
:—'''Warpath''', getting left behind.

"Decepticon intruders IN MY BRAIN!"
:—'''Metroplex''', on the perils of being city-sized.

"Where are my eyes?!"
:—'''Metroplex''' would look around for them if he could.

"First, you two let Scourge and Starscream steal one of Trypticon's eyes. And then you two allowed Astrotrain to be used as their escape vehicle. So Scourge is helping Starscream voluntarily, and you four were unable to stop them! Well, all I can say is...BWWWAAAAAAA!"
:—'''Galvatron''', giving his outburst a rare preamble.

"Why did Galvatron have you attack Cybertron all by yourself? Are you stupid or just obedient?"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''', getting sassy with Astrotrain

"I don't have to show you no stinking passes."
:—'''Starscream''' has picked up some [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|Earth culture]].

"Starscream! You are a dead mechanism!" 
"Of course I'm dead, Galvatron! But not for much longer. And then are you going to be sorry!" 
"I'm already sorry!"
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Starscream''', bickering like [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|old times]].

"Unicron! If you want the connection made, you'd better give me a new body now!" 
"You shall have it." 
''(Unicron shoots lasers from his eyes, and Starscream's body is reformed)'' 
"I live again!" 
"Now, do my bidding. Complete the connection!" 
"Ha! Do it yourself!"
:—'''Unicron''' bet on the wrong pony, and '''Starscream''' just loves being a prick.

"Wait a minute, since when do ghosts tumble out of control through space?"
:—'''Cyclonus''', catching up with the plot.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Headstrong's gun sounds like Galvatron's cannon.
* In this episode, Cyclonus's eyebrows are purple. His chin is still grey, though.
* Unicron's helmet was all gold [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1| the last time we saw it]]. Now it's blue with gold horns.
* After entering Unicron, Scourge/Starscream lands and walks forward. Look at the background—it turns dark and suddenly flashes back to the previous background again.
* As he says, "Only three?," Starscream's eyes are suddenly huge.
[[Image:GhostInTheMachine Bumblebee huge wheels.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Top this Putt-Putt.]]
* When Bumblebee and Spike discover Scourge stealing Metroplex's eyes, Bumblebee has enormous wheels.
* Just before setting the charge inside Metroplex, Scourge's eyes are blue instead of red.
* After the bomb goes off, the next shot of the inside of Metroplex shows a star background on his monitor. A few shots later, it's the usual Earth sky.
* When Silverbolt says that he doesn't see any enemy, he and Skydive are both mouthing the words.
* As Scourge exits Astrotrain/Starscream to dig out Metroplex's eye, he's still carrying Trypticon's eye. It disappears in the next shot.
* As he re-enters Astrotrain/Starscream, Scourge just sort of clips into him through a solid wall.
* In a few scenes, Hot Spot has a mouth on his faceplate.
* The tops of Rodimus's shoulders are the same color as his arms in this episode. [[Fight or Flee|The last time we saw him]], they were white.
* The inside of Ultra Magnus's mouth is red for most of the episode.
* In a layering error, the "Unidentified craft" warning message that flashes up on Blurr's screen overlays his head.
* Groove has a totally different voice for his one line ("Locked and loaded!"), sounding somewhat like Beachcomber. Usually, he sounds more like a higher-pitched Trailbreaker.
* When he accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eyes, Magnus's whole face is blue.
* As Sky Lynx approaches him, Unicron's eyes are missing again.
* During Scourge's attack on him, Sky Lynx has a Decepticon symbol on his nose.
* Hot Spot says, "Look out, Scourge!" when he probably meant to say, "Look out, it's Scourge!"
* As he berates his troops, the tops of Galvatron's shoulders are missing their red squares.
* As Scourge is brought to Rodimus, an overhead shot shows Ultra Magnus with circular cogs on his shoulders instead of the usual white pillars.
* Magnus's line, "Let's plant the energon explosives and get out of here," is cut off in the middle.
* When Galvatron shoots at Starscream, his cannon sounds like a regular Decepticon laser.
* When Rodimus shakes Magnus's hand, Magnus has an Autobot symbol on his left shoulder. He should only have one on his right shoulder.
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, a reaction shot shows Magnus's other (right) shoulder. This ''should'' have an Autobot symbol, but doesn't!
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, one shot shows a solid wall behind him even though he's still standing in front of the display (showing space).
* ''After'' Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, Hot Spot is shown with Ultra Magnus's color scheme.

===Continuity errors===
* While Scourge makes a respectable attempt at fighting off Starscream's control of his body in this episode, he displayed no such strength of will when he was possessed by the latter at the end of "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". Of course, this time he could have been some what familiar with Starscream's forceful takeover techniques and able to mount a better resistance.
* Cyclonus won't go near Unicron's head because that would alert the Autobots, but they don't seem to notice Scourge approaching it.
* Putting one wire back together is enough to reactivate Unicron's mind! You'd think Rodimus would have done more to make it unrepairable.
* [[Triple Takeover|It's not unprecedented]] for Autobots to come back from being seriously injured, but Powerglide appears alive and well, even though he was blown up by the Quintessons [[Dark Awakening|the last time we saw him]].
* Starscream enters Kup's body and somehow immediately causes an explosion in a random wall that blows out Metroplex's ''entire'' security system.
* Following that scene, Scourge is already in Metroplex. Nobody noticed him fly to Earth? What happened to the Earth Defense Command satellites?
* What is Trypticon doing on that random planet? And why doesn't he notice Scourge stealing his eye?
* Although undoubtedly big, Metroplex and Trypticon's eyes should be ''way'' too small for Unicron to use as like-for-like replacements.
* Ultra Magnus accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eye'''s''', but Scourge/Starscream only took one (the other one broke).
* Why don't the Autobots just blast Unicron's repaired circuits as soon as they enter his head?
* When Scourge approaches Galvatron he says, "Galvatron, don't shoot!" Galvatron states he couldn't even if he wanted to, because Trypticon neutralized their weapons (somehow). Yet, when Starscream's out of control body flies past him, he begins firing on him.
* It's odd that Unicron wants Starscream to bring Trypticon to him just to get his transformation cog. Why not just steal the cog as they did in "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"?
* Why doesn't Rodimus just jump inside Unicron's head and open the Matrix again?
* After receiving his new body, Starscream completely blows Unicron off. Since Unicron was able to mentally torture Galvatron into compliance, he should have been able to be the same here.
* What happens to Trypticon (and the Decepticons inside him) when Unicron's head is blasted away?
* Why does Starscream "tumble through space" if he could just transform and fly away?
* Arcee appears in one shot of the episode, as the Autobots cheer when Unicron's head is blasted away.
* Warpath and Bumblebee appear (for one shot each) on the Autobots' base on Cybertron at the end of the episode. Is there some reason why they made the trip there from Earth?
* Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eye'''s''' from Unicron. One of the eyes is Trypticon's.
* So there is an obvious balatant connector point on the surface of Cybertron for Unicron to use. Question, who build that and why hasn't the Autobots even notice it? I mean, in the movie, Unicron gave the whole entire planet a huge "bitch slap". Surly someone could've discovered it during the reconstruction? Also, just who built the thing? how long have that connection point been in existance? And most importantly, why? These questions were never explained in the episode.
* To go with the above. Surely Unicron must have known about this connection all along. The fact that he suddenly just had a epiphany only in this episode is too far of a streach. If that is the case, why did he tried to "dismemberment" the planet in the movie? Surely, with a such an important spare, shouldn't he try and save it for a rainy day?
* Why did the Autobots, or Rodimus waited until Scourge's warning to act? As soon as they found out Unicron eyes were back, he was under constant survillance. Rodimus and gang watched Trypticon and Galvatron and gang fought each other so surely they watched Trypticon pushing Unicron slowly to the surface. And in fact, they have ways to fight back, those anti aircraft laser cannons (used to shoot down Astrotrain). So why wait? With Unicron's head inching closer to the surface, surely anyone can figure out bad stuff is about to happen. Surely Rodimus should have ordered those AAA lasers open up on him right away to get something that dangerous away from the surface.
* Why would Unicron need to connect with anything anyways? As shown in the episode, "Starscream Brigade". In order for Transformers to transform and rebuild something, all they need is to have their "essence" (Personality in the cartoons or as we will know later, their "sparks") to be in contact with any vehicle of a correct size and in that particular episode, the Combaticon will automatically revamp, reconstitute the vehicle, no matter how damaged, rusted or bent out of shape and reformat them into something brand new and far deadlier. Obviously, Unicron is still very much "alive", meaning his spark or personality is still functioning. So, shouldn't he be asking Starscream to push down his head and make contact with the planet? Surely if the Combaticons can do it, he can too.
* Ok, fine, to play along with above. Let's say Unicron can't make the revamp unless the connection has to happen for some reason. Why would he need Starscream's help? Right there in the eipsode, he reconsituted Starscream's body just by looking at him. With a being that powerful. Shouldn't he be able to generate two tractor beams from his eyes and tractor the line to the connectors? It is clearly shown that those lines were infront of him when Starscream threw them back at Unicron.
* It's obvious that Unicron head is huge (see the eyes thing above), with a mass of hundreds upon thousands, if not a few hundred thousand tons. This is why Unicron tasked Starscream to get Trypticon to move him down into the surface. In that case, only a few energon explosives were enough not only to blast Unicron's head away from the surface, but completely out of Cybertron's orbit as well (see Grimlock's New Brain)?
* Ok, again, to play along. Let's say those few explosive are so powerful, they can indeed blast a few hundred thousand tons out of orbit. Should't something that powerful blow the head completely apart instead? Take a look, Magnus just placed those explosive haphazardly close to Unicron, that is it. Ok, fine. Let's pretend Magnus placed those explosives in a spot just so happens where the explosive force can be focused enough to act like a rocket engine. Then the powerful back blast generated should at minimum, give Cybertron surface burn and heat damage, if not outright blow a small crater. And as shown, there was indeed a rather powerful back blast. Yet, the planet did not suffer any sort of damage at all. All of this leads to another question. If the Autobots possess something '''''THAT''''' powerful, why did Hotrod/Rodmus needs the matrix to destroy Unicron in the movie? Shouldn't the Autobots place those energon explosives inside Unicron's head and then blow it to hell?

===Transformers references===
* Only appearance of [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]].
* This episode is the second appearance of Starscream's ghost. His first appearance was in the G1 episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". His ghost makes a third appearance in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' episode "[[Possession]]" in which he takes over [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]].

===Real-world references===
* The title's literal meaning obviously applies to the events of the episode, but the phrase has a history in philosophical discourse. It was [[Wikipedia:Ghost in the machine|coined as a pejorative]] against the [[Wikipedia:Mind-body dichotomy|mind-body split]] of [[wikipedia:René Descartes|Cartesian]] dualism, and by the time this episode was made, it had also been used as the title of [[wikipedia:The Ghost in the Machine|a book]] and [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Machine (album)|a rock album]].
* Starscream delivers the line, "I don't have to show you no [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|stinking passes]]"

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der Geist im Roboter'''" ("The Ghost inside the Robot")
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Starscream kehrt zurück'''" ("Starscream Returns")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' スタースクリームの復活 (''Starscream no Fukkatsu'', "Starscream's Revival")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 13]], [[1987]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Prizrak v mashine'''" (''Призрак в машине'', "Ghost in the Machine")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* Scourge demonstrates an extraordinary level of willpower in this episode. Of all the Transformers Starscream is seen possessing in both this episode and "[[Starscream's Ghost]]", Scourge is the only one who puts up a fight for control of his own body and retains his memories of what happened while "under the influence". (This is admittedly inconsistent with the ending of the prequel to this episode, however.)
* Unicron displays the ability to electrocute the Autobots inside his head and expel them through his neck.
* Starscream is last seen tumbling away through space in his new body, possibly damaged from Galvatron's attacks but still very much alive. This is sometimes seen as a point of conflict with his appearance as a ghost in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Possession]]". Fans have reconciled this by speculating that he died again off-screen, or else traveled through time to the ''Beast Wars'' era (and back) before this episode took place chronologically. Alternatively, the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon does not follow strictly from any specific Generation 1 continuity, allowing the "error" to be dismissed entirely.
* This episode quite clearly shows that Galvatron's mind hasn't completely get bambozzled by his plasma bath. First off, he actually tried to explain his anger at Runabout and Runamuck before blasting them. Second, despite his threat to kill Scourge, once he learned that he was possessed like Cyclnous, he forgave him. This dispite him going to the Autobots to warn them of the danger. Same with Astrotrain as he was possessed also. Contrast this with Blitzwing and Octane.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Starscream's Ghost / The Nightmare Planet / The Ghost in the Machine ([[St. Michael Video Library]]) 
[[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]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — The Action Adventure Collection II (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

Ghost in the Machine (G1)

2013-06-16T15:34:19Z

StryderK: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=80
|ep2=16
|prev2=Fight or Flee
|next2=Webworld
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=22
|prev3=Masquerade
|next3=The Ultimate Weapon
|image=GhostMachine Starscream Scourge Unicron.JPG
|caption=Screw you guys, I'm going home.
|title="Ghost in the Machine"
|production code=700-100
|airdate=[[October 21]], 1986
|written by=[[Joey Kurihara Piedra]] [[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Set on regaining a physical body, the ghost of Starscream possesses Scourge and makes a deal with the devil.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:GhostMachine Scourge approaches Unicron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Your ''break''fast, Sir!]]

On [[Chaar]], the [[Decepticon]]s are following [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], when [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]'s ghost appears and possesses [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Despite his better efforts, Starscream forces Scourge to fire on Galvatron, then flees with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] in pursuit. Cyclonus follows as far as [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where he breaks off, assuming that Scourge has defected to the [[Autobot]]s. But that is not Starscream's goal. He instead flies to the severed head of [[Unicron]]. Using Scourge to reactivate the Dark God, Starscream offers his services in exchange for a new body. Unicron agrees to restore him to life in exchange for three labors. The first labor is to bring [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Sensors|eyes]] to Unicron. With nowhere else to go, Scourge agrees to serve Unicron.

[[Image:GhostMachine Metroplex eye explode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|There are no eye-drops for this.]]

On Earth, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] arrives for an inspection of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], when Scourge and Starscream make their move. Destroying Metroplex's security system, the two Decepticons steal the eyes, but [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] cause Scourge to drop one, shattering it. Fleeing, Metroplex [[Transformation|transforms]], but cannot see, and begins firing on the Autobots. However, a photon bomb disables Metroplex, causing him to crash. Lacking one eye, the two head back for Chaar, where they dispatch the [[Battlecharger]]s, outwit Starscream's [[Seeker (body-type)|former soldiers]], and steal one of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s eyes. In addition, Starscream possesses [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] to serve as their ride home, where Astrotrain is left to the mercy of the Autobots. Upon learning of what happened, Galvatron reacts in a rational, controlled manner... for Galvatron.

[[Image:Dirge AlmostDeath.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Galvatron settles an old score with the wall.]]

Pleased with his new eyes, Unicron informs Starscream and Scourge of their next labor: bring Trypticon to Unicron (should have told them that before they left). Starscream heads off to complete the task. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] interrogates Astrotrain, who claims not to remember what happened, but [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] reveals that Unicron has his eyes back! [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] takes [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to investigate, but Unicron drives them off. Scourge is becoming nervous, but Unicron warns his creation that he can take what he has given. On Chaar, Galvatron orders the Battlechargers and [[Conehead|Coneheads]] to locate Starscream and Scourge, only for Trypticon to transform, under Starscream's control, and depart, with the Decepticons in pursuit.

As the Autobots prepare for the Decepticon assault, Unicron commands Starscream to remove Trypticon's [[transformation cog]] and place it in Unicron. The Decepticons arrive and attack, but Starscream uses Trypticon to disable their weapons. As the Decepticons flee, Unicron commands his minions to complete the third labor—connect Unicron's head to Cybertron, making it his new body. Scourge decides to book it, and Starscream is left to complete the task. Scourge tries to warn Galvatron, but he doesn't care. Scourge then heads to the Autobots, and warns them of Unicron's intentions.

[[Image:GhostMachine Unicron starscream jumpers.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Refusing to call Triple-A, Starscream prepares to jumpstart Unicron.]]

Within Trypticon, the Battlecharges and the Coneheads disable Starscream's control over Trypticon, so Starscream demands his body to complete the labors. Unicron restores his body, but Starscream (surprise, surprise), tells Unicron to connect himself to Cybertron. However, the Autobots manage to plant some [[energon cube]]s on Unicron's head. They detonate the [[energon]], causing Unicron's head to return to orbit and Starscream to go flying. Thrown past the Decepticons, Galvatron orders them to fire on Starscream. When their shots begin hitting him, Cyclonus wonders why Starscream's ghost has lost control.

On Cybertron, Rodimus agrees to allow Scourge and Astrotrain to leave, in exchange for their help. He then tells the Autobots of their new mission to retrieve Metroplex's eye, but then reveals that he was joking, saying that the eyes were probably destroyed in the explosion.

Unseen by the Autobots, Unicron's eye twinkles in the night...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (with [[Scamper]]) (9)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (10)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (11)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (13)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (14)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (16)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (17)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (19)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (26)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (27)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (28)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (29)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (30)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (31)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (cameo) (33)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (2)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (3)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (4)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (5)
* [[Headstrong]] (6)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (7)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (20)
* [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] (21)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (22)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (23)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (24)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (25)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (32)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Unicron|Unicron's head]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"THERE IS NO REASONING WITH HIM! DESTROY HIM! HE'S LOST HIS MIND!"
:—'''Galvatron''', calling [[Scourge (G1)|the kettle]] black.

"Aerialbots! Wait for... umm... nevermind."
:—'''Warpath''', getting left behind.

"Decepticon intruders IN MY BRAIN!"
:—'''Metroplex''', on the perils of being city-sized.

"Where are my eyes?!"
:—'''Metroplex''' would look around for them if he could.

"First, you two let Scourge and Starscream steal one of Trypticon's eyes. And then you two allowed Astrotrain to be used as their escape vehicle. So Scourge is helping Starscream voluntarily, and you four were unable to stop them! Well, all I can say is...BWWWAAAAAAA!"
:—'''Galvatron''', giving his outburst a rare preamble.

"Why did Galvatron have you attack Cybertron all by yourself? Are you stupid or just obedient?"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''', getting sassy with Astrotrain

"I don't have to show you no stinking passes."
:—'''Starscream''' has picked up some [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|Earth culture]].

"Starscream! You are a dead mechanism!" 
"Of course I'm dead, Galvatron! But not for much longer. And then are you going to be sorry!" 
"I'm already sorry!"
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Starscream''', bickering like [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|old times]].

"Unicron! If you want the connection made, you'd better give me a new body now!" 
"You shall have it." 
''(Unicron shoots lasers from his eyes, and Starscream's body is reformed)'' 
"I live again!" 
"Now, do my bidding. Complete the connection!" 
"Ha! Do it yourself!"
:—'''Unicron''' bet on the wrong pony, and '''Starscream''' just loves being a prick.

"Wait a minute, since when do ghosts tumble out of control through space?"
:—'''Cyclonus''', catching up with the plot.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Headstrong's gun sounds like Galvatron's cannon.
* In this episode, Cyclonus's eyebrows are purple. His chin is still grey, though.
* Unicron's helmet was all gold [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1| the last time we saw it]]. Now it's blue with gold horns.
* After entering Unicron, Scourge/Starscream lands and walks forward. Look at the background—it turns dark and suddenly flashes back to the previous background again.
* As he says, "Only three?," Starscream's eyes are suddenly huge.
[[Image:GhostInTheMachine Bumblebee huge wheels.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Top this Putt-Putt.]]
* When Bumblebee and Spike discover Scourge stealing Metroplex's eyes, Bumblebee has enormous wheels.
* Just before setting the charge inside Metroplex, Scourge's eyes are blue instead of red.
* After the bomb goes off, the next shot of the inside of Metroplex shows a star background on his monitor. A few shots later, it's the usual Earth sky.
* When Silverbolt says that he doesn't see any enemy, he and Skydive are both mouthing the words.
* As Scourge exits Astrotrain/Starscream to dig out Metroplex's eye, he's still carrying Trypticon's eye. It disappears in the next shot.
* As he re-enters Astrotrain/Starscream, Scourge just sort of clips into him through a solid wall.
* In a few scenes, Hot Spot has a mouth on his faceplate.
* The tops of Rodimus's shoulders are the same color as his arms in this episode. [[Fight or Flee|The last time we saw him]], they were white.
* The inside of Ultra Magnus's mouth is red for most of the episode.
* In a layering error, the "Unidentified craft" warning message that flashes up on Blurr's screen overlays his head.
* Groove has a totally different voice for his one line ("Locked and loaded!"), sounding somewhat like Beachcomber. Usually, he sounds more like a higher-pitched Trailbreaker.
* When he accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eyes, Magnus's whole face is blue.
* As Sky Lynx approaches him, Unicron's eyes are missing again.
* During Scourge's attack on him, Sky Lynx has a Decepticon symbol on his nose.
* Hot Spot says, "Look out, Scourge!" when he probably meant to say, "Look out, it's Scourge!"
* As he berates his troops, the tops of Galvatron's shoulders are missing their red squares.
* As Scourge is brought to Rodimus, an overhead shot shows Ultra Magnus with circular cogs on his shoulders instead of the usual white pillars.
* Magnus's line, "Let's plant the energon explosives and get out of here," is cut off in the middle.
* When Galvatron shoots at Starscream, his cannon sounds like a regular Decepticon laser.
* When Rodimus shakes Magnus's hand, Magnus has an Autobot symbol on his left shoulder. He should only have one on his right shoulder.
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, a reaction shot shows Magnus's other (right) shoulder. This ''should'' have an Autobot symbol, but doesn't!
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, one shot shows a solid wall behind him even though he's still standing in front of the display (showing space).
* ''After'' Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, Hot Spot is shown with Ultra Magnus's color scheme.

===Continuity errors===
* While Scourge makes a respectable attempt at fighting off Starscream's control of his body in this episode, he displayed no such strength of will when he was possessed by the latter at the end of "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". Of course, this time he could have been some what familiar with Starscream's forceful takeover techniques and able to mount a better resistance.
* Cyclonus won't go near Unicron's head because that would alert the Autobots, but they don't seem to notice Scourge approaching it.
* Putting one wire back together is enough to reactivate Unicron's mind! You'd think Rodimus would have done more to make it unrepairable.
* [[Triple Takeover|It's not unprecedented]] for Autobots to come back from being seriously injured, but Powerglide appears alive and well, even though he was blown up by the Quintessons [[Dark Awakening|the last time we saw him]].
* Starscream enters Kup's body and somehow immediately causes an explosion in a random wall that blows out Metroplex's ''entire'' security system.
* Following that scene, Scourge is already in Metroplex. Nobody noticed him fly to Earth? What happened to the Earth Defense Command satellites?
* What is Trypticon doing on that random planet? And why doesn't he notice Scourge stealing his eye?
* Although undoubtedly big, Metroplex and Trypticon's eyes should be ''way'' too small for Unicron to use as like-for-like replacements.
* Ultra Magnus accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eye'''s''', but Scourge/Starscream only took one (the other one broke).
* Why don't the Autobots just blast Unicron's repaired circuits as soon as they enter his head?
* When Scourge approaches Galvatron he says, "Galvatron, don't shoot!" Galvatron states he couldn't even if he wanted to, because Trypticon neutralized their weapons (somehow). Yet, when Starscream's out of control body flies past him, he begins firing on him.
* It's odd that Unicron wants Starscream to bring Trypticon to him just to get his transformation cog. Why not just steal the cog as they did in "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"?
* Why doesn't Rodimus just jump inside Unicron's head and open the Matrix again?
* After receiving his new body, Starscream completely blows Unicron off. Since Unicron was able to mentally torture Galvatron into compliance, he should have been able to be the same here.
* What happens to Trypticon (and the Decepticons inside him) when Unicron's head is blasted away?
* Why does Starscream "tumble through space" if he could just transform and fly away?
* Arcee appears in one shot of the episode, as the Autobots cheer when Unicron's head is blasted away.
* Warpath and Bumblebee appear (for one shot each) on the Autobots' base on Cybertron at the end of the episode. Is there some reason why they made the trip there from Earth?
* Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eye'''s''' from Unicron. One of the eyes is Trypticon's.
* So there is an obvious balatant connector point on the surface of Cybertron for Unicron to use. Question, who build that and why hasn't the Autobots even notice it? I mean, in the movie, Unicron gave the whole entire planet a huge "bitch slap". Surly someone could've discovered it during the reconstruction? Also, just who built the thing? how long have that connection point been in existance? And most importantly, why? These questions were never explained in the episode.
* To go with the above. Surely Unicron must have known about this connection all along. The fact that he suddenly just had a epiphany only in this episode is too far of a streach. If that is the case, why did he tried to "dismemberment" the planet in the movie? Surely, with a such an important spare, shouldn't he try and save it for a rainy day?
* Why did the Autobots, or Rodimus waited until Scourge's warning to act? As soon as they found out Unicron eyes were back, he was under constant survillance. Rodimus and gang watched Trypticon and Galvatron and gang fought each other so surely they watched Trypticon pushing Unicron slowly to the surface. And in fact, they have ways to fight back, those anti aircraft laser cannons (used to shoot down Astrotrain). So why wait? With Unicron's head inching closer to the surface, surely anyone can figure out bad stuff is about to happen. Surely Rodimus should have ordered those AAA lasers open up on him right away to get something that dangerous away from the surface.
* Why would Unicron need to connect with anything anyways? As shown in the episode, "Starscream Brigade". In order for Transformers to transform and rebuild something, all they need is to have their "essence" (Personality in the cartoons or as we will know later, their "sparks") to be in contact with any vehicle of a correct size and in that particular episode, the Combaticon will automatically revamp, reconstitute the vehicle, no matter how damaged, rusted or bent out of shape and reformat them into something brand new and far deadlier. Obviously, Unicron is still very much "alive", meaning his spark or personality is still functioning. So, shouldn't he be asking Starscream to push down his head and make contact with the planet? Surely if the Combaticons can do it, he can too.
* Ok, fine, to play along with above. Let's say Unicron can't make the revamp unless the connection has to happen for some reason. Why would he need Starscream's help? Right there in the eipsode, he reconsituted Starscream's body just by looking at him. With a being that powerful. Shouldn't he be able to generate two tractor beams from his eyes and tractor the line to the connectors? It is clearly shown that those lines were infront of him when Starscream threw them back at Unicron.
* It's obvious that Unicron head is huge (see the eyes thing above), with a mass of hundreds upon thousands, if not a few hundred thousand tons. This is why Unicron tasked Starscream to get Trypticon to move him down into the surface. In that case, only a few energon explosives were enough not only to blast Unicron's head away from the surface, but completely out of Cybertron's orbit as well (see Grimlock's New Brain)?
* Ok, again, to play along. Let's say those few explosive are so powerful, they can indeed blast a few hundred thousand tons out of orbit. Should't something that powerful blow the head completely apart instead? Take a look, Magnus just placed those explosive haphazardly close to Unicron, that is it. Ok, fine. Let's pretend Magnus just so placed those explosives where the explosive force can be focused enough to act like a rocket engine. Then the powerful back blast should at minimum, give Cybertron surface burn and heat damage, if not outright blow a small crater. And as shown, there was indeed a rather powerful back blast. Yet, the planet did not suffer any sort of damage at all. All of this leads to another question. If the Autobots possess something '''THAT''' powerful, why did Hotrod/Rodmus needs the matrix? Shouldn't the Autobots place even more energon explosives inside Unicron's head and blow it to hell?

===Transformers references===
* Only appearance of [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]].
* This episode is the second appearance of Starscream's ghost. His first appearance was in the G1 episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". His ghost makes a third appearance in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' episode "[[Possession]]" in which he takes over [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]].

===Real-world references===
* The title's literal meaning obviously applies to the events of the episode, but the phrase has a history in philosophical discourse. It was [[Wikipedia:Ghost in the machine|coined as a pejorative]] against the [[Wikipedia:Mind-body dichotomy|mind-body split]] of [[wikipedia:René Descartes|Cartesian]] dualism, and by the time this episode was made, it had also been used as the title of [[wikipedia:The Ghost in the Machine|a book]] and [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Machine (album)|a rock album]].
* Starscream delivers the line, "I don't have to show you no [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|stinking passes]]"

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der Geist im Roboter'''" ("The Ghost inside the Robot")
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Starscream kehrt zurück'''" ("Starscream Returns")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' スタースクリームの復活 (''Starscream no Fukkatsu'', "Starscream's Revival")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 13]], [[1987]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Prizrak v mashine'''" (''Призрак в машине'', "Ghost in the Machine")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* Scourge demonstrates an extraordinary level of willpower in this episode. Of all the Transformers Starscream is seen possessing in both this episode and "[[Starscream's Ghost]]", Scourge is the only one who puts up a fight for control of his own body and retains his memories of what happened while "under the influence". (This is admittedly inconsistent with the ending of the prequel to this episode, however.)
* Unicron displays the ability to electrocute the Autobots inside his head and expel them through his neck.
* Starscream is last seen tumbling away through space in his new body, possibly damaged from Galvatron's attacks but still very much alive. This is sometimes seen as a point of conflict with his appearance as a ghost in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Possession]]". Fans have reconciled this by speculating that he died again off-screen, or else traveled through time to the ''Beast Wars'' era (and back) before this episode took place chronologically. Alternatively, the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon does not follow strictly from any specific Generation 1 continuity, allowing the "error" to be dismissed entirely.
* This episode quite clearly shows that Galvatron's mind hasn't completely get bambozzled by his plasma bath. First off, he actually tried to explain his anger at Runabout and Runamuck before blasting them. Second, despite his threat to kill Scourge, once he learned that he was possessed like Cyclnous, he forgave him. This dispite him going to the Autobots to warn them of the danger. Same with Astrotrain as he was possessed also. Contrast this with Blitzwing and Octane.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Starscream's Ghost / The Nightmare Planet / The Ghost in the Machine ([[St. Michael Video Library]]) 
[[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]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — The Action Adventure Collection II (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

Ghost in the Machine (G1)

2013-06-16T13:07:10Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=80
|ep2=16
|prev2=Fight or Flee
|next2=Webworld
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=22
|prev3=Masquerade
|next3=The Ultimate Weapon
|image=GhostMachine Starscream Scourge Unicron.JPG
|caption=Screw you guys, I'm going home.
|title="Ghost in the Machine"
|production code=700-100
|airdate=[[October 21]], 1986
|written by=[[Joey Kurihara Piedra]] [[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Set on regaining a physical body, the ghost of Starscream possesses Scourge and makes a deal with the devil.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:GhostMachine Scourge approaches Unicron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Your ''break''fast, Sir!]]

On [[Chaar]], the [[Decepticon]]s are following [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], when [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]'s ghost appears and possesses [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Despite his better efforts, Starscream forces Scourge to fire on Galvatron, then flees with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] in pursuit. Cyclonus follows as far as [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where he breaks off, assuming that Scourge has defected to the [[Autobot]]s. But that is not Starscream's goal. He instead flies to the severed head of [[Unicron]]. Using Scourge to reactivate the Dark God, Starscream offers his services in exchange for a new body. Unicron agrees to restore him to life in exchange for three labors. The first labor is to bring [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Sensors|eyes]] to Unicron. With nowhere else to go, Scourge agrees to serve Unicron.

[[Image:GhostMachine Metroplex eye explode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|There are no eye-drops for this.]]

On Earth, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] arrives for an inspection of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], when Scourge and Starscream make their move. Destroying Metroplex's security system, the two Decepticons steal the eyes, but [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] cause Scourge to drop one, shattering it. Fleeing, Metroplex [[Transformation|transforms]], but cannot see, and begins firing on the Autobots. However, a photon bomb disables Metroplex, causing him to crash. Lacking one eye, the two head back for Chaar, where they dispatch the [[Battlecharger]]s, outwit Starscream's [[Seeker (body-type)|former soldiers]], and steal one of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s eyes. In addition, Starscream possesses [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] to serve as their ride home, where Astrotrain is left to the mercy of the Autobots. Upon learning of what happened, Galvatron reacts in a rational, controlled manner... for Galvatron.

[[Image:Dirge AlmostDeath.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Galvatron settles an old score with the wall.]]

Pleased with his new eyes, Unicron informs Starscream and Scourge of their next labor: bring Trypticon to Unicron (should have told them that before they left). Starscream heads off to complete the task. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] interrogates Astrotrain, who claims not to remember what happened, but [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] reveals that Unicron has his eyes back! [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] takes [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to investigate, but Unicron drives them off. Scourge is becoming nervous, but Unicron warns his creation that he can take what he has given. On Chaar, Galvatron orders the Battlechargers and [[Conehead|Coneheads]] to locate Starscream and Scourge, only for Trypticon to transform, under Starscream's control, and depart, with the Decepticons in pursuit.

As the Autobots prepare for the Decepticon assault, Unicron commands Starscream to remove Trypticon's [[transformation cog]] and place it in Unicron. The Decepticons arrive and attack, but Starscream uses Trypticon to disable their weapons. As the Decepticons flee, Unicron commands his minions to complete the third labor—connect Unicron's head to Cybertron, making it his new body. Scourge decides to book it, and Starscream is left to complete the task. Scourge tries to warn Galvatron, but he doesn't care. Scourge then heads to the Autobots, and warns them of Unicron's intentions.

[[Image:GhostMachine Unicron starscream jumpers.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Refusing to call Triple-A, Starscream prepares to jumpstart Unicron.]]

Within Trypticon, the Battlecharges and the Coneheads disable Starscream's control over Trypticon, so Starscream demands his body to complete the labors. Unicron restores his body, but Starscream (surprise, surprise), tells Unicron to connect himself to Cybertron. However, the Autobots manage to plant some [[energon cube]]s on Unicron's head. They detonate the [[energon]], causing Unicron's head to return to orbit and Starscream to go flying. Thrown past the Decepticons, Galvatron orders them to fire on Starscream. When their shots begin hitting him, Cyclonus wonders why Starscream's ghost has lost control.

On Cybertron, Rodimus agrees to allow Scourge and Astrotrain to leave, in exchange for their help. He then tells the Autobots of their new mission to retrieve Metroplex's eye, but then reveals that he was joking, saying that the eyes were probably destroyed in the explosion.

Unseen by the Autobots, Unicron's eye twinkles in the night...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (with [[Scamper]]) (9)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (10)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (11)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (13)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (14)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (16)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (17)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (19)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (26)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (27)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (28)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (29)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (30)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (31)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (cameo) (33)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (2)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (3)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (4)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (5)
* [[Headstrong]] (6)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (7)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (20)
* [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] (21)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (22)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (23)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (24)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (25)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (32)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Unicron|Unicron's head]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"THERE IS NO REASONING WITH HIM! DESTROY HIM! HE'S LOST HIS MIND!"
:—'''Galvatron''', calling [[Scourge (G1)|the kettle]] black.

"Aerialbots! Wait for... umm... nevermind."
:—'''Warpath''', getting left behind.

"Decepticon intruders IN MY BRAIN!"
:—'''Metroplex''', on the perils of being city-sized.

"Where are my eyes?!"
:—'''Metroplex''' would look around for them if he could.

"First, you two let Scourge and Starscream steal one of Trypticon's eyes. And then you two allowed Astrotrain to be used as their escape vehicle. So Scourge is helping Starscream voluntarily, and you four were unable to stop them! Well, all I can say is...BWWWAAAAAAA!"
:—'''Galvatron''', giving his outburst a rare preamble.

"Why did Galvatron have you attack Cybertron all by yourself? Are you stupid or just obedient?"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''', getting sassy with Astrotrain

"I don't have to show you no stinking passes."
:—'''Starscream''' has picked up some [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|Earth culture]].

"Starscream! You are a dead mechanism!" 
"Of course I'm dead, Galvatron! But not for much longer. And then are you going to be sorry!" 
"I'm already sorry!"
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Starscream''', bickering like [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|old times]].

"Unicron! If you want the connection made, you'd better give me a new body now!" 
"You shall have it." 
''(Unicron shoots lasers from his eyes, and Starscream's body is reformed)'' 
"I live again!" 
"Now, do my bidding. Complete the connection!" 
"Ha! Do it yourself!"
:—'''Unicron''' bet on the wrong pony, and '''Starscream''' just loves being a prick.

"Wait a minute, since when do ghosts tumble out of control through space?"
:—'''Cyclonus''', catching up with the plot.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Headstrong's gun sounds like Galvatron's cannon.
* In this episode, Cyclonus's eyebrows are purple. His chin is still grey, though.
* Unicron's helmet was all gold [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1| the last time we saw it]]. Now it's blue with gold horns.
* After entering Unicron, Scourge/Starscream lands and walks forward. Look at the background—it turns dark and suddenly flashes back to the previous background again.
* As he says, "Only three?," Starscream's eyes are suddenly huge.
[[Image:GhostInTheMachine Bumblebee huge wheels.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Top this Putt-Putt.]]
* When Bumblebee and Spike discover Scourge stealing Metroplex's eyes, Bumblebee has enormous wheels.
* Just before setting the charge inside Metroplex, Scourge's eyes are blue instead of red.
* After the bomb goes off, the next shot of the inside of Metroplex shows a star background on his monitor. A few shots later, it's the usual Earth sky.
* When Silverbolt says that he doesn't see any enemy, he and Skydive are both mouthing the words.
* As Scourge exits Astrotrain/Starscream to dig out Metroplex's eye, he's still carrying Trypticon's eye. It disappears in the next shot.
* As he re-enters Astrotrain/Starscream, Scourge just sort of clips into him through a solid wall.
* In a few scenes, Hot Spot has a mouth on his faceplate.
* The tops of Rodimus's shoulders are the same color as his arms in this episode. [[Fight or Flee|The last time we saw him]], they were white.
* The inside of Ultra Magnus's mouth is red for most of the episode.
* In a layering error, the "Unidentified craft" warning message that flashes up on Blurr's screen overlays his head.
* Groove has a totally different voice for his one line ("Locked and loaded!"), sounding somewhat like Beachcomber. Usually, he sounds more like a higher-pitched Trailbreaker.
* When he accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eyes, Magnus's whole face is blue.
* As Sky Lynx approaches him, Unicron's eyes are missing again.
* During Scourge's attack on him, Sky Lynx has a Decepticon symbol on his nose.
* Hot Spot says, "Look out, Scourge!" when he probably meant to say, "Look out, it's Scourge!"
* As he berates his troops, the tops of Galvatron's shoulders are missing their red squares.
* As Scourge is brought to Rodimus, an overhead shot shows Ultra Magnus with circular cogs on his shoulders instead of the usual white pillars.
* Magnus's line, "Let's plant the energon explosives and get out of here," is cut off in the middle.
* When Galvatron shoots at Starscream, his cannon sounds like a regular Decepticon laser.
* When Rodimus shakes Magnus's hand, Magnus has an Autobot symbol on his left shoulder. He should only have one on his right shoulder.
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, a reaction shot shows Magnus's other (right) shoulder. This ''should'' have an Autobot symbol, but doesn't!
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, one shot shows a solid wall behind him even though he's still standing in front of the display (showing space).
* ''After'' Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, Hot Spot is shown with Ultra Magnus's color scheme.

===Continuity errors===
* While Scourge makes a respectable attempt at fighting off Starscream's control of his body in this episode, he displayed no such strength of will when he was possessed by the latter at the end of "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". Of course, this time he could have been some what familiar with Starscream's forceful takeover techniques and able to mount a better resistance.
* Cyclonus won't go near Unicron's head because that would alert the Autobots, but they don't seem to notice Scourge approaching it.
* Putting one wire back together is enough to reactivate Unicron's mind! You'd think Rodimus would have done more to make it unrepairable.
* [[Triple Takeover|It's not unprecedented]] for Autobots to come back from being seriously injured, but Powerglide appears alive and well, even though he was blown up by the Quintessons [[Dark Awakening|the last time we saw him]].
* Starscream enters Kup's body and somehow immediately causes an explosion in a random wall that blows out Metroplex's ''entire'' security system.
* Following that scene, Scourge is already in Metroplex. Nobody noticed him fly to Earth? What happened to the Earth Defense Command satellites?
* What is Trypticon doing on that random planet? And why doesn't he notice Scourge stealing his eye?
* Although undoubtedly big, Metroplex and Trypticon's eyes should be ''way'' too small for Unicron to use as like-for-like replacements.
* Ultra Magnus accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eye'''s''', but Scourge/Starscream only took one (the other one broke).
* Why don't the Autobots just blast Unicron's repaired circuits as soon as they enter his head?
* When Scourge approaches Galvatron he says, "Galvatron, don't shoot!" Galvatron states he couldn't even if he wanted to, because Trypticon neutralized their weapons (somehow). Yet, when Starscream's out of control body flies past him, he begins firing on him.
* It's odd that Unicron wants Starscream to bring Trypticon to him just to get his transformation cog. Why not just steal the cog as they did in "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"?
* Why doesn't Rodimus just jump inside Unicron's head and open the Matrix again?
* After receiving his new body, Starscream completely blows Unicron off. Since Unicron was able to mentally torture Galvatron into compliance, he should have been able to be the same here.
* What happens to Trypticon (and the Decepticons inside him) when Unicron's head is blasted away?
* Why does Starscream "tumble through space" if he could just transform and fly away?
* Arcee appears in one shot of the episode, as the Autobots cheer when Unicron's head is blasted away.
* Warpath and Bumblebee appear (for one shot each) on the Autobots' base on Cybertron at the end of the episode. Is there some reason why they made the trip there from Earth?
* Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eye'''s''' from Unicron. One of the eyes is Trypticon's.
* So there is an obvious balatant connector point on the surface of Cybertron for Unicron to use. Question, who build that and why hasn't the Autobots even notice it? I mean, in the movie, Unicron gave the whole entire planet a huge "bitch slap". Surly someone could've discovered it during the reconstruction? Also, just who built the thing? how long have that connection point been in existance? And most importantly, why? These questions were never explained in the episode.
* To go with the above. Surely Unicron must have known about this connection all along. The fact that he suddenly just had a epiphany only in this episode is too far of a streach. If that is the case, why did he tried to "dismemberment" the planet in the movie? Surely, with a such an important spare, shouldn't he try and save it for a rainy day?
* Why did the Autobots, or Rodimus waited until Scourge's warning to act? As soon as they found out Unicron eyes were back, he was under constant survillance. Rodimus and gang watched Trypticon and Galvatron and gang fought each other so surely they watched Trypticon pushing Unicron slowly to the surface. And in fact, they have ways to fight back, those anti aircraft laser cannons (used to shoot down Astrotrain). So why wait? With Unicron's head inching closer to the surface, surely anyone can figure out bad stuff is about to happen. Surely Rodimus should have ordered those AAA lasers open up on him right away to get something that dangerous away from the surface.
* Why would Unicron need to connect with anything anyways? As shown in the episode, "Starscream Brigade". In order for Transformers to transform and rebuild something, all they need is to have their "essence" (Personality in the cartoons or as we will know later, their "sparks") to be in contact with any vehicle of a correct size and in that particular episode, the Combaticon will automatically revamp, reconstitute the vehicle, no matter how damaged, rusted or bent out of shape and reformat them into something brand new and far deadlier. Obviously, Unicron is still very much "alive", meaning his spark or personality is still functioning. So, shouldn't he be asking Starscream to push down his head and make contact with the planet? Surely if the Combaticons can do it, he can too.
* Ok, fine, to play along with above. Let's say Unicron can't make the revamp unless the connection has to happen for some reason. Why would he need Starscream's help? Right there in the eipsode, he reconsituted Starscream's body just by looking at him. With a being that powerful. Shouldn't he be able to generate two tractor beams from his eyes and tractor the line to the connectors? It is clearly shown that those lines were infront of him when Starscream threw them back at Unicron.
* It's obvious that Unicron head is huge (see the eyes thing above), with a mass of hundreds upon thousands, if not a few hundred thousand tons. This is why Unicron tasked Starscream to get Trypticon to move him down into the surface. In that case, only a few energon explosives were enough not only to blast Unicron's head away from the surface, but completely out of Cybertron's orbit as well (see Grimlock's New Brain)?
* Ok, again, to play along. Let's say those few explosive are so powerful, they can indeed blast a few hundred thousand tons out of orbit. Should't something that powerful blow the head completely apart instead? Take a look, Magnus just placed those explosive haphazardly close to Unicron, that is it. Ok, fine. Let's pretend Magnus just so placed those explosives where the explosive force can be focused enough to act like a rocket engine. Then the powerful back blast should at minimum, give Cybertron surface burn and heat damage, if not outright blow a small crater. And as shown, there was indeed a rather powerful back blast. Yet, the planet did not suffer any sort of damage at all. All of this leads to another question. If the Autobots possess something '''THAT''' powerful, why did Hotrod/Rodmus needs the matrix? Shouldn't the Autobots place even more energon explosives inside Unicron's head and blow it to hell?

===Transformers references===
* Only appearance of [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]].
* This episode is the second appearance of Starscream's ghost. His first appearance was in the G1 episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". His ghost makes a third appearance in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' episode "[[Possession]]" in which he takes over [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]].

===Real-world references===
* The title's literal meaning obviously applies to the events of the episode, but the phrase has a history in philosophical discourse. It was [[Wikipedia:Ghost in the machine|coined as a pejorative]] against the [[Wikipedia:Mind-body dichotomy|mind-body split]] of [[wikipedia:René Descartes|Cartesian]] dualism, and by the time this episode was made, it had also been used as the title of [[wikipedia:The Ghost in the Machine|a book]] and [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Machine (album)|a rock album]].
* Starscream delivers the line, "I don't have to show you no [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|stinking passes]]"

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der Geist im Roboter'''" ("The Ghost inside the Robot")
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Starscream kehrt zurück'''" ("Starscream Returns")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' スタースクリームの復活 (''Starscream no Fukkatsu'', "Starscream's Revival")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 13]], [[1987]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Prizrak v mashine'''" (''Призрак в машине'', "Ghost in the Machine")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* Scourge demonstrates an extraordinary level of willpower in this episode. Of all the Transformers Starscream is seen possessing in both this episode and "[[Starscream's Ghost]]", Scourge is the only one who puts up a fight for control of his own body and retains his memories of what happened while "under the influence". (This is admittedly inconsistent with the ending of the prequel to this episode, however.)
* Unicron displays the ability to electrocute the Autobots inside his head and expel them through his neck.
* Starscream is last seen tumbling away through space in his new body, possibly damaged from Galvatron's attacks but still very much alive. This is sometimes seen as a point of conflict with his appearance as a ghost in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Possession]]". Fans have reconciled this by speculating that he died again off-screen, or else traveled through time to the ''Beast Wars'' era (and back) before this episode took place chronologically. Alternatively, the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon does not follow strictly from any specific Generation 1 continuity, allowing the "error" to be dismissed entirely.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Starscream's Ghost / The Nightmare Planet / The Ghost in the Machine ([[St. Michael Video Library]]) 
[[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]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — The Action Adventure Collection II (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

Ghost in the Machine (G1)

2013-06-16T13:01:53Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=80
|ep2=16
|prev2=Fight or Flee
|next2=Webworld
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=22
|prev3=Masquerade
|next3=The Ultimate Weapon
|image=GhostMachine Starscream Scourge Unicron.JPG
|caption=Screw you guys, I'm going home.
|title="Ghost in the Machine"
|production code=700-100
|airdate=[[October 21]], 1986
|written by=[[Joey Kurihara Piedra]] [[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Set on regaining a physical body, the ghost of Starscream possesses Scourge and makes a deal with the devil.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:GhostMachine Scourge approaches Unicron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Your ''break''fast, Sir!]]

On [[Chaar]], the [[Decepticon]]s are following [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], when [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]'s ghost appears and possesses [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Despite his better efforts, Starscream forces Scourge to fire on Galvatron, then flees with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] in pursuit. Cyclonus follows as far as [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where he breaks off, assuming that Scourge has defected to the [[Autobot]]s. But that is not Starscream's goal. He instead flies to the severed head of [[Unicron]]. Using Scourge to reactivate the Dark God, Starscream offers his services in exchange for a new body. Unicron agrees to restore him to life in exchange for three labors. The first labor is to bring [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Sensors|eyes]] to Unicron. With nowhere else to go, Scourge agrees to serve Unicron.

[[Image:GhostMachine Metroplex eye explode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|There are no eye-drops for this.]]

On Earth, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] arrives for an inspection of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], when Scourge and Starscream make their move. Destroying Metroplex's security system, the two Decepticons steal the eyes, but [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] cause Scourge to drop one, shattering it. Fleeing, Metroplex [[Transformation|transforms]], but cannot see, and begins firing on the Autobots. However, a photon bomb disables Metroplex, causing him to crash. Lacking one eye, the two head back for Chaar, where they dispatch the [[Battlecharger]]s, outwit Starscream's [[Seeker (body-type)|former soldiers]], and steal one of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s eyes. In addition, Starscream possesses [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] to serve as their ride home, where Astrotrain is left to the mercy of the Autobots. Upon learning of what happened, Galvatron reacts in a rational, controlled manner... for Galvatron.

[[Image:Dirge AlmostDeath.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Galvatron settles an old score with the wall.]]

Pleased with his new eyes, Unicron informs Starscream and Scourge of their next labor: bring Trypticon to Unicron (should have told them that before they left). Starscream heads off to complete the task. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] interrogates Astrotrain, who claims not to remember what happened, but [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] reveals that Unicron has his eyes back! [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] takes [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to investigate, but Unicron drives them off. Scourge is becoming nervous, but Unicron warns his creation that he can take what he has given. On Chaar, Galvatron orders the Battlechargers and [[Conehead|Coneheads]] to locate Starscream and Scourge, only for Trypticon to transform, under Starscream's control, and depart, with the Decepticons in pursuit.

As the Autobots prepare for the Decepticon assault, Unicron commands Starscream to remove Trypticon's [[transformation cog]] and place it in Unicron. The Decepticons arrive and attack, but Starscream uses Trypticon to disable their weapons. As the Decepticons flee, Unicron commands his minions to complete the third labor—connect Unicron's head to Cybertron, making it his new body. Scourge decides to book it, and Starscream is left to complete the task. Scourge tries to warn Galvatron, but he doesn't care. Scourge then heads to the Autobots, and warns them of Unicron's intentions.

[[Image:GhostMachine Unicron starscream jumpers.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Refusing to call Triple-A, Starscream prepares to jumpstart Unicron.]]

Within Trypticon, the Battlecharges and the Coneheads disable Starscream's control over Trypticon, so Starscream demands his body to complete the labors. Unicron restores his body, but Starscream (surprise, surprise), tells Unicron to connect himself to Cybertron. However, the Autobots manage to plant some [[energon cube]]s on Unicron's head. They detonate the [[energon]], causing Unicron's head to return to orbit and Starscream to go flying. Thrown past the Decepticons, Galvatron orders them to fire on Starscream. When their shots begin hitting him, Cyclonus wonders why Starscream's ghost has lost control.

On Cybertron, Rodimus agrees to allow Scourge and Astrotrain to leave, in exchange for their help. He then tells the Autobots of their new mission to retrieve Metroplex's eye, but then reveals that he was joking, saying that the eyes were probably destroyed in the explosion.

Unseen by the Autobots, Unicron's eye twinkles in the night...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (with [[Scamper]]) (9)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (10)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (11)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (13)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (14)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (16)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (17)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (19)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (26)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (27)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (28)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (29)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (30)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (31)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (cameo) (33)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (2)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (3)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (4)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (5)
* [[Headstrong]] (6)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (7)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (20)
* [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] (21)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (22)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (23)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (24)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (25)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (32)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Unicron|Unicron's head]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"THERE IS NO REASONING WITH HIM! DESTROY HIM! HE'S LOST HIS MIND!"
:—'''Galvatron''', calling [[Scourge (G1)|the kettle]] black.

"Aerialbots! Wait for... umm... nevermind."
:—'''Warpath''', getting left behind.

"Decepticon intruders IN MY BRAIN!"
:—'''Metroplex''', on the perils of being city-sized.

"Where are my eyes?!"
:—'''Metroplex''' would look around for them if he could.

"First, you two let Scourge and Starscream steal one of Trypticon's eyes. And then you two allowed Astrotrain to be used as their escape vehicle. So Scourge is helping Starscream voluntarily, and you four were unable to stop them! Well, all I can say is...BWWWAAAAAAA!"
:—'''Galvatron''', giving his outburst a rare preamble.

"Why did Galvatron have you attack Cybertron all by yourself? Are you stupid or just obedient?"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''', getting sassy with Astrotrain

"I don't have to show you no stinking passes."
:—'''Starscream''' has picked up some [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|Earth culture]].

"Starscream! You are a dead mechanism!" 
"Of course I'm dead, Galvatron! But not for much longer. And then are you going to be sorry!" 
"I'm already sorry!"
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Starscream''', bickering like [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|old times]].

"Unicron! If you want the connection made, you'd better give me a new body now!" 
"You shall have it." 
''(Unicron shoots lasers from his eyes, and Starscream's body is reformed)'' 
"I live again!" 
"Now, do my bidding. Complete the connection!" 
"Ha! Do it yourself!"
:—'''Unicron''' bet on the wrong pony, and '''Starscream''' just loves being a prick.

"Wait a minute, since when do ghosts tumble out of control through space?"
:—'''Cyclonus''', catching up with the plot.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Headstrong's gun sounds like Galvatron's cannon.
* In this episode, Cyclonus's eyebrows are purple. His chin is still grey, though.
* Unicron's helmet was all gold [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1| the last time we saw it]]. Now it's blue with gold horns.
* After entering Unicron, Scourge/Starscream lands and walks forward. Look at the background—it turns dark and suddenly flashes back to the previous background again.
* As he says, "Only three?," Starscream's eyes are suddenly huge.
[[Image:GhostInTheMachine Bumblebee huge wheels.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Top this Putt-Putt.]]
* When Bumblebee and Spike discover Scourge stealing Metroplex's eyes, Bumblebee has enormous wheels.
* Just before setting the charge inside Metroplex, Scourge's eyes are blue instead of red.
* After the bomb goes off, the next shot of the inside of Metroplex shows a star background on his monitor. A few shots later, it's the usual Earth sky.
* When Silverbolt says that he doesn't see any enemy, he and Skydive are both mouthing the words.
* As Scourge exits Astrotrain/Starscream to dig out Metroplex's eye, he's still carrying Trypticon's eye. It disappears in the next shot.
* As he re-enters Astrotrain/Starscream, Scourge just sort of clips into him through a solid wall.
* In a few scenes, Hot Spot has a mouth on his faceplate.
* The tops of Rodimus's shoulders are the same color as his arms in this episode. [[Fight or Flee|The last time we saw him]], they were white.
* The inside of Ultra Magnus's mouth is red for most of the episode.
* In a layering error, the "Unidentified craft" warning message that flashes up on Blurr's screen overlays his head.
* Groove has a totally different voice for his one line ("Locked and loaded!"), sounding somewhat like Beachcomber. Usually, he sounds more like a higher-pitched Trailbreaker.
* When he accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eyes, Magnus's whole face is blue.
* As Sky Lynx approaches him, Unicron's eyes are missing again.
* During Scourge's attack on him, Sky Lynx has a Decepticon symbol on his nose.
* Hot Spot says, "Look out, Scourge!" when he probably meant to say, "Look out, it's Scourge!"
* As he berates his troops, the tops of Galvatron's shoulders are missing their red squares.
* As Scourge is brought to Rodimus, an overhead shot shows Ultra Magnus with circular cogs on his shoulders instead of the usual white pillars.
* Magnus's line, "Let's plant the energon explosives and get out of here," is cut off in the middle.
* When Galvatron shoots at Starscream, his cannon sounds like a regular Decepticon laser.
* When Rodimus shakes Magnus's hand, Magnus has an Autobot symbol on his left shoulder. He should only have one on his right shoulder.
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, a reaction shot shows Magnus's other (right) shoulder. This ''should'' have an Autobot symbol, but doesn't!
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, one shot shows a solid wall behind him even though he's still standing in front of the display (showing space).
* ''After'' Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, Hot Spot is shown with Ultra Magnus's color scheme.

===Continuity errors===
* While Scourge makes a respectable attempt at fighting off Starscream's control of his body in this episode, he displayed no such strength of will when he was possessed by the latter at the end of "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". Of course, this time he could have been some what familiar with Starscream's forceful takeover techniques and able to mount a better resistance.
* Cyclonus won't go near Unicron's head because that would alert the Autobots, but they don't seem to notice Scourge approaching it.
* Putting one wire back together is enough to reactivate Unicron's mind! You'd think Rodimus would have done more to make it unrepairable.
* [[Triple Takeover|It's not unprecedented]] for Autobots to come back from being seriously injured, but Powerglide appears alive and well, even though he was blown up by the Quintessons [[Dark Awakening|the last time we saw him]].
* Starscream enters Kup's body and somehow immediately causes an explosion in a random wall that blows out Metroplex's ''entire'' security system.
* Following that scene, Scourge is already in Metroplex. Nobody noticed him fly to Earth? What happened to the Earth Defense Command satellites?
* What is Trypticon doing on that random planet? And why doesn't he notice Scourge stealing his eye?
* Although undoubtedly big, Metroplex and Trypticon's eyes should be ''way'' too small for Unicron to use as like-for-like replacements.
* Ultra Magnus accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eye'''s''', but Scourge/Starscream only took one (the other one broke).
* Why don't the Autobots just blast Unicron's repaired circuits as soon as they enter his head?
* When Scourge approaches Galvatron he says, "Galvatron, don't shoot!" Galvatron states he couldn't even if he wanted to, because Trypticon neutralized their weapons (somehow). Yet, when Starscream's out of control body flies past him, he begins firing on him.
* It's odd that Unicron wants Starscream to bring Trypticon to him just to get his transformation cog. Why not just steal the cog as they did in "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"?
* Why doesn't Rodimus just jump inside Unicron's head and open the Matrix again?
* After receiving his new body, Starscream completely blows Unicron off. Since Unicron was able to mentally torture Galvatron into compliance, he should have been able to be the same here.
* What happens to Trypticon (and the Decepticons inside him) when Unicron's head is blasted away?
* Why does Starscream "tumble through space" if he could just transform and fly away?
* Arcee appears in one shot of the episode, as the Autobots cheer when Unicron's head is blasted away.
* Warpath and Bumblebee appear (for one shot each) on the Autobots' base on Cybertron at the end of the episode. Is there some reason why they made the trip there from Earth?
* Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eye'''s''' from Unicron. One of the eyes is Trypticon's.
* So there is an obvious balatant connector point on the surface of Cybertron for Unicron to use. Question, who build that and why hasn't the Autobots even notice it? I mean, in the movie, Unicron gave the whole entire planet a huge "bitch slap". Surly someone could've discovered it during the reconstruction? Also, just who built the thing? how long have that connection point been in existance? And most importantly, why? These questions were never explained in the episode.
* To go with the above. Surely Unicron must have known about this connection all along. The fact that he suddenly just had a epiphany only in this episode is too far of a streach. If that is the case, why did he tried to "dismemberment" the planet in the movie? Surely, with a such an important spare, shouldn't he try and save it for a rainy day?
* Why did the Autobots, or Rodimus waited until Scourge's warning to act? As soon as they found out Unicron eyes were back, he was under constant survillance. Rodimus and gang watched Trypticon and Galvatron and gang fought each other so surely they watched Trypticon pushing Unicron slowly to the surface. And in fact, they have ways to fight back, those anti aircraft laser cannons (used to shoot down Astrotrain). So why wait? With Unicron's head inching closer to the surface, surely anyone can figure out bad stuff is about to happen. Surely Rodimus should have ordered those AAA lasers open up on him right away to get something that dangerous away from the surface.
* Why would Unicron need to connect with anything anyways? As shown in the episode, "Starscream Brigade". In order for Transformers to transform and rebuild something, all they need is to have their "essence" (Personality in the cartoons or as we will know later, their "sparks") to be in contact with any vehicle of a correct size and in that particular episode, the Combaticon will automatically revamp, reconstitute the vehicle, no matter how damaged, rusted or bent out of shape and reformat them into something brand new and far deadlier. Obviously, Unicron is still very much "alive", meaning his spark or personality is still functioning. So, shouldn't he be asking Starscream to push down his head and make contact with the planet? Surely if the Combaticons can do it, he can too.
* Ok, fine, to play along with above. Let's say Unicron can't make the revamp unless the connection happens has to happen for some reason. Why would he need Starscream's help? Right there in the eipsode, he reconsituted Starscream's body just by looking at him. With a being that powerful. Shouldn't he be able to generate two tractor beams from his eyes and tractor the line to the connectors? It is clearly shown that those lines were infront of him when Starscream threw them back at Unicron.
* It's obvious that Unicron head is huge (see the eyes thing above), with a mass of hundreds upon thousands, if not a few hundred thousand tons. This is why Unicron tasked Starscream to get Trypticon to move him down into the surface. In that case, only a few energon explosives were enough not only to blast Unicron's head away from the surface, but completely out of Cybertron's orbit as well (see Grimlock's New Brain)?
* Ok, again, to play along. Let's say those few explosive are so powerful, they can indeed blast a few hundred thousand tons out of orbit. Should't something that powerful blow the head completely apart instead? Take a look, Magnus just placed those explosive haphazardly close to Unicron, that is it. Ok, fine. Let's pretend Magnus just so placed those explosives where the explosive force can be focused enough to act like a rocket engine. Then the powerful back blast should at minimum, give Cybertron surface burn and heat damage, if not outright blow a small crater. And as shown, there was indeed a rather powerful back blast. Yet, the planet did not suffer any sort of damage at all. All of this leads to another question. If the Autobots possess something '''THAT''' powerful, why did Hotrod/Rodmus needs the matrix? Shouldn't the Autobots place even more energon explosives inside Unicron's head and blow it to hell?

===Transformers references===
* Only appearance of [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]].
* This episode is the second appearance of Starscream's ghost. His first appearance was in the G1 episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". His ghost makes a third appearance in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' episode "[[Possession]]" in which he takes over [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]].

===Real-world references===
* The title's literal meaning obviously applies to the events of the episode, but the phrase has a history in philosophical discourse. It was [[Wikipedia:Ghost in the machine|coined as a pejorative]] against the [[Wikipedia:Mind-body dichotomy|mind-body split]] of [[wikipedia:René Descartes|Cartesian]] dualism, and by the time this episode was made, it had also been used as the title of [[wikipedia:The Ghost in the Machine|a book]] and [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Machine (album)|a rock album]].
* Starscream delivers the line, "I don't have to show you no [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|stinking passes]]"

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der Geist im Roboter'''" ("The Ghost inside the Robot")
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Starscream kehrt zurück'''" ("Starscream Returns")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' スタースクリームの復活 (''Starscream no Fukkatsu'', "Starscream's Revival")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 13]], [[1987]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Prizrak v mashine'''" (''Призрак в машине'', "Ghost in the Machine")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* Scourge demonstrates an extraordinary level of willpower in this episode. Of all the Transformers Starscream is seen possessing in both this episode and "[[Starscream's Ghost]]", Scourge is the only one who puts up a fight for control of his own body and retains his memories of what happened while "under the influence". (This is admittedly inconsistent with the ending of the prequel to this episode, however.)
* Unicron displays the ability to electrocute the Autobots inside his head and expel them through his neck.
* Starscream is last seen tumbling away through space in his new body, possibly damaged from Galvatron's attacks but still very much alive. This is sometimes seen as a point of conflict with his appearance as a ghost in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Possession]]". Fans have reconciled this by speculating that he died again off-screen, or else traveled through time to the ''Beast Wars'' era (and back) before this episode took place chronologically. Alternatively, the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon does not follow strictly from any specific Generation 1 continuity, allowing the "error" to be dismissed entirely.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Starscream's Ghost / The Nightmare Planet / The Ghost in the Machine ([[St. Michael Video Library]]) 
[[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]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — The Action Adventure Collection II (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

Ghost in the Machine (G1)

2013-06-16T12:57:24Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=80
|ep2=16
|prev2=Fight or Flee
|next2=Webworld
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=22
|prev3=Masquerade
|next3=The Ultimate Weapon
|image=GhostMachine Starscream Scourge Unicron.JPG
|caption=Screw you guys, I'm going home.
|title="Ghost in the Machine"
|production code=700-100
|airdate=[[October 21]], 1986
|written by=[[Joey Kurihara Piedra]] [[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Set on regaining a physical body, the ghost of Starscream possesses Scourge and makes a deal with the devil.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:GhostMachine Scourge approaches Unicron.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Your ''break''fast, Sir!]]

On [[Chaar]], the [[Decepticon]]s are following [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]], when [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]]'s ghost appears and possesses [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]]. Despite his better efforts, Starscream forces Scourge to fire on Galvatron, then flees with [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] in pursuit. Cyclonus follows as far as [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where he breaks off, assuming that Scourge has defected to the [[Autobot]]s. But that is not Starscream's goal. He instead flies to the severed head of [[Unicron]]. Using Scourge to reactivate the Dark God, Starscream offers his services in exchange for a new body. Unicron agrees to restore him to life in exchange for three labors. The first labor is to bring [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s [[Sensors|eyes]] to Unicron. With nowhere else to go, Scourge agrees to serve Unicron.

[[Image:GhostMachine Metroplex eye explode.jpg|right|200px|thumb|There are no eye-drops for this.]]

On Earth, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] arrives for an inspection of [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], when Scourge and Starscream make their move. Destroying Metroplex's security system, the two Decepticons steal the eyes, but [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] cause Scourge to drop one, shattering it. Fleeing, Metroplex [[Transformation|transforms]], but cannot see, and begins firing on the Autobots. However, a photon bomb disables Metroplex, causing him to crash. Lacking one eye, the two head back for Chaar, where they dispatch the [[Battlecharger]]s, outwit Starscream's [[Seeker (body-type)|former soldiers]], and steal one of [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]'s eyes. In addition, Starscream possesses [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] to serve as their ride home, where Astrotrain is left to the mercy of the Autobots. Upon learning of what happened, Galvatron reacts in a rational, controlled manner... for Galvatron.

[[Image:Dirge AlmostDeath.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Galvatron settles an old score with the wall.]]

Pleased with his new eyes, Unicron informs Starscream and Scourge of their next labor: bring Trypticon to Unicron (should have told them that before they left). Starscream heads off to complete the task. Meanwhile, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] interrogates Astrotrain, who claims not to remember what happened, but [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] reveals that Unicron has his eyes back! [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] takes [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]], and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] to investigate, but Unicron drives them off. Scourge is becoming nervous, but Unicron warns his creation that he can take what he has given. On Chaar, Galvatron orders the Battlechargers and [[Conehead|Coneheads]] to locate Starscream and Scourge, only for Trypticon to transform, under Starscream's control, and depart, with the Decepticons in pursuit.

As the Autobots prepare for the Decepticon assault, Unicron commands Starscream to remove Trypticon's [[transformation cog]] and place it in Unicron. The Decepticons arrive and attack, but Starscream uses Trypticon to disable their weapons. As the Decepticons flee, Unicron commands his minions to complete the third labor—connect Unicron's head to Cybertron, making it his new body. Scourge decides to book it, and Starscream is left to complete the task. Scourge tries to warn Galvatron, but he doesn't care. Scourge then heads to the Autobots, and warns them of Unicron's intentions.

[[Image:GhostMachine Unicron starscream jumpers.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Refusing to call Triple-A, Starscream prepares to jumpstart Unicron.]]

Within Trypticon, the Battlecharges and the Coneheads disable Starscream's control over Trypticon, so Starscream demands his body to complete the labors. Unicron restores his body, but Starscream (surprise, surprise), tells Unicron to connect himself to Cybertron. However, the Autobots manage to plant some [[energon cube]]s on Unicron's head. They detonate the [[energon]], causing Unicron's head to return to orbit and Starscream to go flying. Thrown past the Decepticons, Galvatron orders them to fire on Starscream. When their shots begin hitting him, Cyclonus wonders why Starscream's ghost has lost control.

On Cybertron, Rodimus agrees to allow Scourge and Astrotrain to leave, in exchange for their help. He then tells the Autobots of their new mission to retrieve Metroplex's eye, but then reveals that he was joking, saying that the eyes were probably destroyed in the explosion.

Unseen by the Autobots, Unicron's eye twinkles in the night...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (with [[Scamper]]) (9)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (10)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (11)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (13)
* [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (14)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (16)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (17)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (18)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (19)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (26)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (27)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (28)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (29)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (30)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (31)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (cameo) (33)

|c2=
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (1)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (2)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (3)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (4)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (5)
* [[Headstrong]] (6)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (7)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (20)
* [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] (21)
* [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]] (22)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (23)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (24)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (25)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (32)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (12)

|c4=
* [[Unicron|Unicron's head]] (8)
}}

==Quotes==
"THERE IS NO REASONING WITH HIM! DESTROY HIM! HE'S LOST HIS MIND!"
:—'''Galvatron''', calling [[Scourge (G1)|the kettle]] black.

"Aerialbots! Wait for... umm... nevermind."
:—'''Warpath''', getting left behind.

"Decepticon intruders IN MY BRAIN!"
:—'''Metroplex''', on the perils of being city-sized.

"Where are my eyes?!"
:—'''Metroplex''' would look around for them if he could.

"First, you two let Scourge and Starscream steal one of Trypticon's eyes. And then you two allowed Astrotrain to be used as their escape vehicle. So Scourge is helping Starscream voluntarily, and you four were unable to stop them! Well, all I can say is...BWWWAAAAAAA!"
:—'''Galvatron''', giving his outburst a rare preamble.

"Why did Galvatron have you attack Cybertron all by yourself? Are you stupid or just obedient?"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''', getting sassy with Astrotrain

"I don't have to show you no stinking passes."
:—'''Starscream''' has picked up some [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|Earth culture]].

"Starscream! You are a dead mechanism!" 
"Of course I'm dead, Galvatron! But not for much longer. And then are you going to be sorry!" 
"I'm already sorry!"
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Starscream''', bickering like [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|old times]].

"Unicron! If you want the connection made, you'd better give me a new body now!" 
"You shall have it." 
''(Unicron shoots lasers from his eyes, and Starscream's body is reformed)'' 
"I live again!" 
"Now, do my bidding. Complete the connection!" 
"Ha! Do it yourself!"
:—'''Unicron''' bet on the wrong pony, and '''Starscream''' just loves being a prick.

"Wait a minute, since when do ghosts tumble out of control through space?"
:—'''Cyclonus''', catching up with the plot.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Headstrong's gun sounds like Galvatron's cannon.
* In this episode, Cyclonus's eyebrows are purple. His chin is still grey, though.
* Unicron's helmet was all gold [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1| the last time we saw it]]. Now it's blue with gold horns.
* After entering Unicron, Scourge/Starscream lands and walks forward. Look at the background—it turns dark and suddenly flashes back to the previous background again.
* As he says, "Only three?," Starscream's eyes are suddenly huge.
[[Image:GhostInTheMachine Bumblebee huge wheels.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Top this Putt-Putt.]]
* When Bumblebee and Spike discover Scourge stealing Metroplex's eyes, Bumblebee has enormous wheels.
* Just before setting the charge inside Metroplex, Scourge's eyes are blue instead of red.
* After the bomb goes off, the next shot of the inside of Metroplex shows a star background on his monitor. A few shots later, it's the usual Earth sky.
* When Silverbolt says that he doesn't see any enemy, he and Skydive are both mouthing the words.
* As Scourge exits Astrotrain/Starscream to dig out Metroplex's eye, he's still carrying Trypticon's eye. It disappears in the next shot.
* As he re-enters Astrotrain/Starscream, Scourge just sort of clips into him through a solid wall.
* In a few scenes, Hot Spot has a mouth on his faceplate.
* The tops of Rodimus's shoulders are the same color as his arms in this episode. [[Fight or Flee|The last time we saw him]], they were white.
* The inside of Ultra Magnus's mouth is red for most of the episode.
* In a layering error, the "Unidentified craft" warning message that flashes up on Blurr's screen overlays his head.
* Groove has a totally different voice for his one line ("Locked and loaded!"), sounding somewhat like Beachcomber. Usually, he sounds more like a higher-pitched Trailbreaker.
* When he accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eyes, Magnus's whole face is blue.
* As Sky Lynx approaches him, Unicron's eyes are missing again.
* During Scourge's attack on him, Sky Lynx has a Decepticon symbol on his nose.
* Hot Spot says, "Look out, Scourge!" when he probably meant to say, "Look out, it's Scourge!"
* As he berates his troops, the tops of Galvatron's shoulders are missing their red squares.
* As Scourge is brought to Rodimus, an overhead shot shows Ultra Magnus with circular cogs on his shoulders instead of the usual white pillars.
* Magnus's line, "Let's plant the energon explosives and get out of here," is cut off in the middle.
* When Galvatron shoots at Starscream, his cannon sounds like a regular Decepticon laser.
* When Rodimus shakes Magnus's hand, Magnus has an Autobot symbol on his left shoulder. He should only have one on his right shoulder.
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, a reaction shot shows Magnus's other (right) shoulder. This ''should'' have an Autobot symbol, but doesn't!
* As Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, one shot shows a solid wall behind him even though he's still standing in front of the display (showing space).
* ''After'' Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eyes from Unicron, Hot Spot is shown with Ultra Magnus's color scheme.

===Continuity errors===
* While Scourge makes a respectable attempt at fighting off Starscream's control of his body in this episode, he displayed no such strength of will when he was possessed by the latter at the end of "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". Of course, this time he could have been some what familiar with Starscream's forceful takeover techniques and able to mount a better resistance.
* Cyclonus won't go near Unicron's head because that would alert the Autobots, but they don't seem to notice Scourge approaching it.
* Putting one wire back together is enough to reactivate Unicron's mind! You'd think Rodimus would have done more to make it unrepairable.
* [[Triple Takeover|It's not unprecedented]] for Autobots to come back from being seriously injured, but Powerglide appears alive and well, even though he was blown up by the Quintessons [[Dark Awakening|the last time we saw him]].
* Starscream enters Kup's body and somehow immediately causes an explosion in a random wall that blows out Metroplex's ''entire'' security system.
* Following that scene, Scourge is already in Metroplex. Nobody noticed him fly to Earth? What happened to the Earth Defense Command satellites?
* What is Trypticon doing on that random planet? And why doesn't he notice Scourge stealing his eye?
* Although undoubtedly big, Metroplex and Trypticon's eyes should be ''way'' too small for Unicron to use as like-for-like replacements.
* Ultra Magnus accuses Astrotrain of stealing Metroplex's eye'''s''', but Scourge/Starscream only took one (the other one broke).
* Why don't the Autobots just blast Unicron's repaired circuits as soon as they enter his head?
* When Scourge approaches Galvatron he says, "Galvatron, don't shoot!" Galvatron states he couldn't even if he wanted to, because Trypticon neutralized their weapons (somehow). Yet, when Starscream's out of control body flies past him, he begins firing on him.
* It's odd that Unicron wants Starscream to bring Trypticon to him just to get his transformation cog. Why not just steal the cog as they did in "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]"?
* Why doesn't Rodimus just jump inside Unicron's head and open the Matrix again?
* After receiving his new body, Starscream completely blows Unicron off. Since Unicron was able to mentally torture Galvatron into compliance, he should have been able to be the same here.
* What happens to Trypticon (and the Decepticons inside him) when Unicron's head is blasted away?
* Why does Starscream "tumble through space" if he could just transform and fly away?
* Arcee appears in one shot of the episode, as the Autobots cheer when Unicron's head is blasted away.
* Warpath and Bumblebee appear (for one shot each) on the Autobots' base on Cybertron at the end of the episode. Is there some reason why they made the trip there from Earth?
* Rodimus jokes about recovering Metroplex's eye'''s''' from Unicron. One of the eyes is Trypticon's.
* So there is an obvious balatant connector point on the surface of Cybertron for Unicron to use. Question, who build that and why hasn't the Autobots even notice it? I mean, in the movie, Unicron gave the whole entire planet a huge "bitch slap". Surly someone could've discovered it during the reconstruction? Also, just who built the thing? how long have that connection point been in existance? And most importantly, why? These questions were never explained in the episode.
* To go with the above. Surely Unicron must have known about this connection all along. The fact that he suddenly just had a epiphany only in this episode is too far of a streach. If that is the case, why did he tried to "dismemberment" the planet in the movie? Surely, with a such an important spare, shouldn't he try and save it for a rainy day? Don't
* Why did the Autobots, or Rodimus waited until Scourge's warning to act? As soon as they found out Unicron eyes were back, he was under constant survillance. Rodimus and gang watched Trypticon and Galvatron and gang fought each other so surely they watched Trypticon pushing Unicron slowly to the surface. And in fact, they have ways to fight back, those anti aircraft laser cannons (used to shoot down Astrotrain). So why wait? With Unicron's head inching closer to the surface, surely anyone can figure out bad stuff is about to happen. Surely Rodimus should have ordered those AAA lasers open up on him right away to get something that dangerous away from the surface.
* Why would Unicron need to connect with anything anyways? As shown in the episode, "Starscream Brigade". In order for Transformers to transform and rebuild something, all they need is to have their "essence" (Personality in the cartoons or as we will know later, their "sparks") to be in contact with any vehicle of a correct size and in that particular episode, the Combaticon will automatically revamp, reconstitute the vehicle, no matter how damaged, rusted or bent out of shape and reformat them into something brand new and far deadlier. Obviously, Unicron is still very much "alive", meaning his spark or personality is still functioning. So, shouldn't he be asking Starscream to push down his head and make contact with the planet? Surely if the Combaticons can do it, he can too.
* Ok, fine, to play along with above. Let's say Unicron can't make the revamp unless the connection happens has to happen for some reason. Why would he need Starscream's help? Right there in the eipsode, he reconsituted Starscream's body just by looking at him. With a being that powerful. Shouldn't he be able to generate two tractor beams from his eyes and tractor the line to the connectors? It is clearly shown that those lines were infront of him when Starscream threw them back at Unicron.
* It's obvious that Unicron head is huge (see the eyes thing above), with a mass of hundreds upon thousands, if not a few hundred thousand tons. This is why Unicron tasked Starscream to get Trypticon to move him down into the surface. In that case, only a few energon explosives were enough not only to blast Unicron's head away from the surface, but completely out of Cybertron's orbit as well (see Grimlock's New Brain)?
* Ok, again, to play along. Let's say those few explosive are so powerful, they can indeed blast a few hundred thousand tons out of orbit. Should't something that powerful blow the head completely apart instead? Take a look, Magnus just placed those explosive haphazardly close to Unicron, that is it. Ok, fine. Let's pretend Magnus just so placed those explosives where the explosive force can be focused enough to act like a rocket engine. Then the powerful back blast should at minimum, give Cybertron surface burn and heat damage, if not outright blow a small crater. And as shown, there was indeed a rather powerful back blast. Yet, the planet did not suffer any sort of damage at all. All of this leads to another question. If the Autobots possess something '''THAT''' powerful, why did Hotrod/Rodmus needs the matrix? Shouldn't the Autobots place even more energon explosives inside Unicron's head and blow it to hell?

===Transformers references===
* Only appearance of [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]].
* This episode is the second appearance of Starscream's ghost. His first appearance was in the G1 episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]". His ghost makes a third appearance in the ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' episode "[[Possession]]" in which he takes over [[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]].

===Real-world references===
* The title's literal meaning obviously applies to the events of the episode, but the phrase has a history in philosophical discourse. It was [[Wikipedia:Ghost in the machine|coined as a pejorative]] against the [[Wikipedia:Mind-body dichotomy|mind-body split]] of [[wikipedia:René Descartes|Cartesian]] dualism, and by the time this episode was made, it had also been used as the title of [[wikipedia:The Ghost in the Machine|a book]] and [[wikipedia:Ghost in the Machine (album)|a rock album]].
* Starscream delivers the line, "I don't have to show you no [[wikipedia:Stinking_badges|stinking passes]]"

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Der Geist im Roboter'''" ("The Ghost inside the Robot")
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Starscream kehrt zurück'''" ("Starscream Returns")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' スタースクリームの復活 (''Starscream no Fukkatsu'', "Starscream's Revival")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 13]], [[1987]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Prizrak v mashine'''" (''Призрак в машине'', "Ghost in the Machine")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* Scourge demonstrates an extraordinary level of willpower in this episode. Of all the Transformers Starscream is seen possessing in both this episode and "[[Starscream's Ghost]]", Scourge is the only one who puts up a fight for control of his own body and retains his memories of what happened while "under the influence". (This is admittedly inconsistent with the ending of the prequel to this episode, however.)
* Unicron displays the ability to electrocute the Autobots inside his head and expel them through his neck.
* Starscream is last seen tumbling away through space in his new body, possibly damaged from Galvatron's attacks but still very much alive. This is sometimes seen as a point of conflict with his appearance as a ghost in the ''Beast Wars'' episode "[[Possession]]". Fans have reconciled this by speculating that he died again off-screen, or else traveled through time to the ''Beast Wars'' era (and back) before this episode took place chronologically. Alternatively, the ''Beast Wars'' cartoon does not follow strictly from any specific Generation 1 continuity, allowing the "error" to be dismissed entirely.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Starscream's Ghost / The Nightmare Planet / The Ghost in the Machine ([[St. Michael Video Library]]) 
[[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]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — The Action Adventure Collection II (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

The Burden Hardest to Bear

2013-06-07T14:41:49Z

StryderK: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=93
|series2=2010
|ep2=28
|prev2=The Face of the Nijika
|next2=Daniel's Adventure
|image=Matrix burden 2.jpg
|caption=You found me beautiful, once.
|title="The Burden Hardest to Bear"
|production code=700-114
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1986
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Overwhelmed by the burdens of leadership, Rodimus Prime doesn't care too much when the Decepticons steal the Matrix of Leadership away from him.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BurdenHardest Defensor Bruticus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|So, uh... If what it looks like is about to happen happens... does it count as an orgy?]]

At dawn, the people of [[Japan]] are awakening to do their daily tasks: fishing, going to shrines, and sword practice. Then, the [[Decepticon]]s show up to cause random trouble.

[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] begin harassing a few fishermen, but are chased off by [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]. [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] tries to ram a train head on (real smart) only to have the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] drive him away. [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] fight it out, when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep|Sweeps]] arrive, but are driven off by [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus]], [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. However, instead of thanking the [[Autobot|Autobots]] for saving many lives, the government of Japan is very upset, saying that the Autobots frightened people and ruined business (thankless bipeds). When [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrives and brings more problems to Rodimus, the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] loses patience, [[Transformation|transforms]], and drives off. Kup explains that Rodimus is merely strained under the burden of command, much like [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] was in his early days as leader, and Marissa decides to follow him, to let him have someone to talk to.

[[Image:Matrix burden 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Galvatron takes the brown acid.]]

Meeting up on the highway, however, the two are attacked by [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], who knock Marissa into a lake and force Rodimus off a cliff. When they inspect Rodimus, they find the Matrix. Realizing that [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] will be ''really'' happy, they steal it and return to [[Chaar]]. In his throne room, Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, but instead of making it even more powerful like he had hoped, visions of the [[Ancient Autobots]] (including Optimus Prime himself) seep out of the barrel and demand that Galvatron return the Matrix. Galvatron orders [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] to destroy the Matrix, believing it better to be destroyed if the Decepticons can't have it. Scourge, however, inserts the Matrix into himself, and becomes more powerful... but at a startling price.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod recover.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Augh... can't get the mental image of Bruticus/Defensor out!]]

Meanwhile, the Autobot leader wakes up, to learn that he's reverted to Hot Rod. [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] argue that they should go after the Decepticons, but Hot Rod feels that the Matrix isn't worth it, and jets off. Real smart idea, Roddy. On Chaar, Scourge challenges Galvatron, defeating him and Cyclonus easily, before leading the Decepticons off to Earth. Galvatron and Cyclonus still function, and set off in pursuit in the ''[[Revenge (G1)|Revenge]]''.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod retrieves matrix.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Yoink!]]

On Earth, Hot Rod, while watching a martial arts class, gets some perspective and some wisdom from the kendo instructor, and realizes that he needs to get the Matrix back. Meanwhile, Scourge arrives in Japan with his forces, tossing around the Autobots. Broadside tosses him to the ground and he frightens an elderly woman. Ozu, one of the kendo students, comes to her aid, attacking Scourge with a sword and he begins to chase the pair. He corners them in a blind alley, only for Hot Rod to arrive. Shocked at the changes the Matrix has wrought in Scourge, Hot Rod defeats the Decepticon and reclaims the Matrix, becoming Rodimus Prime once more. Galvatron and Cyclonus find a less powerful, and very frightened, Scourge. And they are none too happy with him...

As the Decepticons retreat, Rodimus realizes that he must deal with his missing part, as have those who came before him. Kup reminds him that no matter who carries the Matrix, he will retain that part forever.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (1)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (8)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (10)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (12)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (13)
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (14)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (21)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod]] (22)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (23)
* [[Ancient Autobots]] (35)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (36)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (37)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (38)

|c2=
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (2)
* [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (3)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (4)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (5)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (7)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (15)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (19)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (20)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (24)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (25)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (26)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (27)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (28)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (31)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (32)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (33)
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (34)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (39)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (40)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (41)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (42)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (43)

|c3=
* [[Ozu's sensei]] (16)
* [[Ozu (G1)|Ozu]] (17)
* [[Prime Minister of Japan]] (29)
* [[Marissa Faireborn]] (30)
* [[Old Japanese lady]] (44)
}}

==Quotes==
"Eh, you've had worse times." 
"Yeah, when do they get better? That's what ''I'' wanna know."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus'''

"[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|He done blowed up real good]]."
:—'''Wildrider''', master of grammar

"You dropped it, didn't you? You broke the Matrix, didn't you?!"
:—'''Galvatron'''

"Aren't you getting a little carried away here? I'm still me, you're still you: Matrix, schmatrix."
:—'''Hot Rod''' is flippant after losing a hand-me-down.

"I...still...function..."
:—'''Cyclonus''' in a call-back to [[The Transformers: The Movie]]

"We're too late, Galvatron! Scourge has already launched his assault!" 
"He doesn't know the meaning of the word assault, but he's going to learn!"
:—'''Cyclonus''' and '''Galvatron'''

"Oh no, we're trapped! We'll be killed!" 
"Remarkable! The woman is clairvoyant!" 
:-'''Scourge''' mocks his intended victim.

"The Matrix did this to you? Then I have to take it back. I see now it is my obligation. I belong to it... as much as it belongs to me."
:—'''Hot Rod'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s realization at last.

"Well, son of a gun. Found that missing part, huh?" 
"Not just the Matrix, Kup, a missing part of... myself."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Devastator is colored olive green rather than light green in the opening battle.
* A shot of Astrotrain from the human train's perspective shows no tracks on the ground.
* The first time we see Cyclonus, his nose cone is purple. In the next shot, part of it is grey.
* Rodimus' crest is missing the horizontal line during most shots in this episode.
* When Rodimus is called to the palace, he's missing his Autobot logo.
* Rodimus' spoiler should be orange in the middle, but many shots have it colored completely in yellow.
* As he says, "When do they get better, that's what I want to know," Rodimus' face becomes all glitched up.
* For some reason, the [[Earth Defense Command|EDC]] [[insignia|logo]] on Marissa Faireborne's shoulder has been replaced with "AOC".
* When Rodimus drives away from Marissa, his smoke trail appears behind Kup instead of in front of him. Also, Sky Lynx is missing in the shot.
* Rodimus' display shows a rear angle shot of Dead End and Wildrider, but he's in'' front'' of them.
* When Wildrider holds the matrix, it looks like a big yellow blob. The next shot shows it in the usual colors and configuration.
* While Rodimus is reverted to Hot Rod, he's still occasionally drawn using Rodimus Prime's [[character model]].
* When Galvatron is about to put the Matrix in his cannon, [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] are among the Decepticons present, and even though they are closer to the viewer, both are [[scale|smaller]] than Cyclonus, who is standing in front of them.
* Galvatron's throne changes color and design multiple times throughout one scene.
* In one shot of Optimus Prime's "ghost", he is colored completely blue.
* When Galvatron tosses the Matrix to Scourge, it's missing its handles.
* When Rodimus wakes and touches his forehead in the next scene, his face is partly purple.
* A few shots later (during the "Matrix, schmatrix..." lines), the depressions in Rodimus' shoulders are blue instead of white.
* Galvatron is missing the red squares on the tops of his shoulders in most shots.
* Cyclonus' gun fires a yellow laser. That's the Autobot color (it should be purple).
* The orange shapes on Cyclonus' chest are colored red in several shots.
* Galvatron's ship is gray instead of purple.
* The first shot of Galvatron aboard his ship has the whole bottom half of his face in dark gray instead of just his chin.
* When Galvatron opens the airlock door, one shot has "AIR LO'''O'''K" written on it.
* Hot Rod carries a gray laser gun rather than the usual red rifle. It has the standard sound effect instead of Prime's rifle sound effect.
* The Matrix is in Scourge's chest, but later Hot Rod pulls it out of his stomach.
* As Hot Rod holds the Matrix, one shot has his arm pipes clipping through it.
* Hot Rod sticks the Matrix into his chest without opening a compartment for it.
* As Galvatron and Cyclonus fly Scourge away from the city, Galvatron is mouthing something, but there's no dialogue.
* In the last shot of the episode, Ultra Magnus is missing his shoulder missiles and Kup is missing the white part of his chest.
* The version of this episode on the [[Shout! Factory]] DVDs features a glitch with an unstable horizontal line appearing at the top of the picture throughout the episode. The error appears to be on the episode's master copy, as the version included on the [[Rhino Entertainment|Kid Rhino]] DVDs has the picture slightly zoomed in order to avoid showing the offending line.

===Continuity errors===
* The Japanese-word "Giri" does not actually carry the rather-negative connotations of "The burden hardest to bear" implied by Kup's mistranslation. Rather, "Giri" more accurately means "Responbility/duty", which is a gladly accepted honor and virtue in Japanese culture rather than a painful annoyance. In the thematic/emotional context of this episode, "The ''duty'' hardest to bear" would have been a more fitting title. An even more appropriate word would have been ''Gimu'', meaning ''"obligation"'', as a ''gimu'' is something which '''must''' be done whether you wish to or not.
* It seems somehow unlikely that Rodimus turning around at speed and crashing into a stopped Wildrider would send him flying back hard and fast enough to go over a cliff.
* Galvatron says the Matrix eluded the Decepticons for year'''s''', but he had it for a while during the movie (which happened less than one year ago in the timeline).
* The ghost image of Optimus has two fog lights instead of four.
* We don't hear Optimus' voice during the "return the Matrix" chant.
* Speaking of the chant, why didn't the ancient Autobots chant when Galvatron had the Matrix during the movie? (Though, this could be explained by his not putting the Matrix inside himself in the movie, as we only see him wearing it on a chain.)
* After Galvatron tells Scourge to get rid of the Matrix, the [[scene transition]] has two Decepticon logos, but the next scene is of the Autobots.
* Just before he quits the Autobots, Hot Rod states that "this war has been going on now for a few dozen millennia". Back in "[[War Dawn]]", we learned that the Third Cybertronian War started nine million years ago, which is about ''750'' dozen millennia... assuming, of course, that we want to take Hot Rod's pointedly off-handed remark as being based on historical accuracy, which is kind of a stretch for a guy who's at the end of his rope and sarcastically railing about "the known universe and its outlying suburbs".
* Funny how the old lady with the cane ''runs'' away from Scourge during his attack!
* Ozu injures Scourge (a giant metal robot) with his sword.
* It's not really clear why Galvatron put the Matrix in his cannon rather than his chest, or why Scourge got all mutated. Or why Scourge is so powerful early on but is defeated by a ramming and three shots from Hot Rod's gun.
* Those government spokesmen who complained about the fighting in the beginning must be ''pissed'' after all the destruction we see at the end!

===Transformers references===
* When Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, he says "Now, [['Til all are one|all shall become one]], under Galvatron's rule!"
* Optimus Prime is among the Ancient Autobots.
* After he rams Scourge, Hot Rod transforms in a manner similar to one of his transformations from the movie.
* This episode marks the last appearance of Springer, Broadside, Astrotrain, Devastator and Marissa Faireborn in US continuity.

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Die Last der Verantwortung''' ("The Burden of Responsibility")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' 重すぎた使命 (''Omo Sugi ta Shimei'', "The Mission Too Heavy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 11]], [[1987]]
:*When they recover the Matrix of Leadership, [[Issei Masamune|the Narrator]] misidentifies [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] as [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] and [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]]. Which is very strange because the [[Battlecharger]]s weren't sold at Japanese retail, but the Stunticons were.
:* A "[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]" segment unique to Japan was attached to this episode. It focuses on the many battles between [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. It replaces the original "Secret Files" segment which focused on the Decepticons.

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' '''Samaya tyajkaya nosha''' (''Самая тяжкая ноша'', "The Heaviest Burden")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* While the episode order can vary, it's a little funny that the episode about Rodimus finally getting used to being leader of the Autobots was followed by the episode in which Optimus returns to replace him.
* Astrotrain actually travels on the railroad his locomotive mode was designed for in this episode.
* One of the "ghosts" emerging from the Matrix when Galvatron puts it into his chest is based on a [[generic]] character design that was previously seen in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]" and "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1]]". His colors have changed, though, and he dropped the antennas on the sides of his head he sported in "The Key to Vector Sigma".
* The yellow, the red and the orange-and-blue Matrix ghosts' character models were reused in the Japanese [[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|''The Headmasters'' cartoon]] as various generic Autobots.
* When Scourge starts mutating, at one point it looks like he's... crying?
* Wildrider seems to now have a very bad Southern accent.
* This episode marks the first time in Transformers fiction that the word [[Slag (slang)|slag]] is used as an insult.
* Isn't it convenient that Scourge launches his attack on Earth in Japan, where the Autobots happen to be located? Then again, he more than once stated that it will be him to destroy the Autobots and since the Autobots is located in Japan...
* The voice acting for several Japanese characters in this episode employs a very stereotypical Western view of Asian people and their pronunciation of English words.
* Cyclonus one minded loyalty certainly gets a full showing here. While the rest of the Decepticons cowered and left Galvatron to the mutated Scourge, it was only Cyclonus that stayed with him and suffered the same fate. And after he woke up, helped his crazy leader up, asked him if he's ok and reported the situation, what was Cyclonus's rewared? A huge, mighty, "SHEEENNNN-RUUU-OHHHH-KEEENNNN" punch that knocked him off of his feet and sent him flying! Personal punching bag indeed!

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden Hardest to Bear}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Burden Hardest to Bear

2013-06-07T14:32:25Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=93
|series2=2010
|ep2=28
|prev2=The Face of the Nijika
|next2=Daniel's Adventure
|image=Matrix burden 2.jpg
|caption=You found me beautiful, once.
|title="The Burden Hardest to Bear"
|production code=700-114
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1986
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Overwhelmed by the burdens of leadership, Rodimus Prime doesn't care too much when the Decepticons steal the Matrix of Leadership away from him.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BurdenHardest Defensor Bruticus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|So, uh... If what it looks like is about to happen happens... does it count as an orgy?]]

At dawn, the people of [[Japan]] are awakening to do their daily tasks: fishing, going to shrines, and sword practice. Then, the [[Decepticon]]s show up to cause random trouble.

[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] begin harassing a few fishermen, but are chased off by [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]. [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] tries to ram a train head on (real smart) only to have the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] drive him away. [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] fight it out, when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep|Sweeps]] arrive, but are driven off by [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus]], [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. However, instead of thanking the [[Autobot|Autobots]] for saving many lives, the government of Japan is very upset, saying that the Autobots frightened people and ruined business (thankless bipeds). When [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrives and brings more problems to Rodimus, the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] loses patience, [[Transformation|transforms]], and drives off. Kup explains that Rodimus is merely strained under the burden of command, much like [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] was in his early days as leader, and Marissa decides to follow him, to let him have someone to talk to.

[[Image:Matrix burden 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Galvatron takes the brown acid.]]

Meeting up on the highway, however, the two are attacked by [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], who knock Marissa into a lake and force Rodimus off a cliff. When they inspect Rodimus, they find the Matrix. Realizing that [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] will be ''really'' happy, they steal it and return to [[Chaar]]. In his throne room, Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, but instead of making it even more powerful like he had hoped, visions of the [[Ancient Autobots]] (including Optimus Prime himself) seep out of the barrel and demand that Galvatron return the Matrix. Galvatron orders [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] to destroy the Matrix, believing it better to be destroyed if the Decepticons can't have it. Scourge, however, inserts the Matrix into himself, and becomes more powerful... but at a startling price.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod recover.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Augh... can't get the mental image of Bruticus/Defensor out!]]

Meanwhile, the Autobot leader wakes up, to learn that he's reverted to Hot Rod. [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] argue that they should go after the Decepticons, but Hot Rod feels that the Matrix isn't worth it, and jets off. Real smart idea, Roddy. On Chaar, Scourge challenges Galvatron, defeating him and Cyclonus easily, before leading the Decepticons off to Earth. Galvatron and Cyclonus still function, and set off in pursuit in the ''[[Revenge (G1)|Revenge]]''.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod retrieves matrix.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Yoink!]]

On Earth, Hot Rod, while watching a martial arts class, gets some perspective and some wisdom from the kendo instructor, and realizes that he needs to get the Matrix back. Meanwhile, Scourge arrives in Japan with his forces, tossing around the Autobots. Broadside tosses him to the ground and he frightens an elderly woman. Ozu, one of the kendo students, comes to her aid, attacking Scourge with a sword and he begins to chase the pair. He corners them in a blind alley, only for Hot Rod to arrive. Shocked at the changes the Matrix has wrought in Scourge, Hot Rod defeats the Decepticon and reclaims the Matrix, becoming Rodimus Prime once more. Galvatron and Cyclonus find a less powerful, and very frightened, Scourge. And they are none too happy with him...

As the Decepticons retreat, Rodimus realizes that he must deal with his missing part, as have those who came before him. Kup reminds him that no matter who carries the Matrix, he will retain that part forever.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (1)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (8)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (10)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (12)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (13)
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (14)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (21)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod]] (22)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (23)
* [[Ancient Autobots]] (35)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (36)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (37)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (38)

|c2=
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (2)
* [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (3)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (4)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (5)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (7)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (15)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (19)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (20)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (24)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (25)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (26)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (27)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (28)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (31)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (32)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (33)
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (34)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (39)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (40)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (41)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (42)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (43)

|c3=
* [[Ozu's sensei]] (16)
* [[Ozu (G1)|Ozu]] (17)
* [[Prime Minister of Japan]] (29)
* [[Marissa Faireborn]] (30)
* [[Old Japanese lady]] (44)
}}

==Quotes==
"Eh, you've had worse times." 
"Yeah, when do they get better? That's what ''I'' wanna know."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus'''

"[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|He done blowed up real good]]."
:—'''Wildrider''', master of grammar

"You dropped it, didn't you? You broke the Matrix, didn't you?!"
:—'''Galvatron'''

"Aren't you getting a little carried away here? I'm still me, you're still you: Matrix, schmatrix."
:—'''Hot Rod''' is flippant after losing a hand-me-down.

"I...still...function..."
:—'''Cyclonus''' in a call-back to [[The Transformers: The Movie]]

"We're too late, Galvatron! Scourge has already launched his assault!" 
"He doesn't know the meaning of the word assault, but he's going to learn!"
:—'''Cyclonus''' and '''Galvatron'''

"Oh no, we're trapped! We'll be killed!" 
"Remarkable! The woman is clairvoyant!" 
:-'''Scourge''' mocks his intended victim.

"The Matrix did this to you? Then I have to take it back. I see now it is my obligation. I belong to it... as much as it belongs to me."
:—'''Hot Rod'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s realization at last.

"Well, son of a gun. Found that missing part, huh?" 
"Not just the Matrix, Kup, a missing part of... myself."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Devastator is colored olive green rather than light green in the opening battle.
* A shot of Astrotrain from the human train's perspective shows no tracks on the ground.
* The first time we see Cyclonus, his nose cone is purple. In the next shot, part of it is grey.
* Rodimus' crest is missing the horizontal line during most shots in this episode.
* When Rodimus is called to the palace, he's missing his Autobot logo.
* Rodimus' spoiler should be orange in the middle, but many shots have it colored completely in yellow.
* As he says, "When do they get better, that's what I want to know," Rodimus' face becomes all glitched up.
* For some reason, the [[Earth Defense Command|EDC]] [[insignia|logo]] on Marissa Faireborne's shoulder has been replaced with "AOC".
* When Rodimus drives away from Marissa, his smoke trail appears behind Kup instead of in front of him. Also, Sky Lynx is missing in the shot.
* Rodimus' display shows a rear angle shot of Dead End and Wildrider, but he's in'' front'' of them.
* When Wildrider holds the matrix, it looks like a big yellow blob. The next shot shows it in the usual colors and configuration.
* While Rodimus is reverted to Hot Rod, he's still occasionally drawn using Rodimus Prime's [[character model]].
* When Galvatron is about to put the Matrix in his cannon, [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] are among the Decepticons present, and even though they are closer to the viewer, both are [[scale|smaller]] than Cyclonus, who is standing in front of them.
* Galvatron's throne changes color and design multiple times throughout one scene.
* In one shot of Optimus Prime's "ghost", he is colored completely blue.
* When Galvatron tosses the Matrix to Scourge, it's missing its handles.
* When Rodimus wakes and touches his forehead in the next scene, his face is partly purple.
* A few shots later (during the "Matrix, schmatrix..." lines), the depressions in Rodimus' shoulders are blue instead of white.
* Galvatron is missing the red squares on the tops of his shoulders in most shots.
* Cyclonus' gun fires a yellow laser. That's the Autobot color (it should be purple).
* The orange shapes on Cyclonus' chest are colored red in several shots.
* Galvatron's ship is gray instead of purple.
* The first shot of Galvatron aboard his ship has the whole bottom half of his face in dark gray instead of just his chin.
* When Galvatron opens the airlock door, one shot has "AIR LO'''O'''K" written on it.
* Hot Rod carries a gray laser gun rather than the usual red rifle. It has the standard sound effect instead of Prime's rifle sound effect.
* The Matrix is in Scourge's chest, but later Hot Rod pulls it out of his stomach.
* As Hot Rod holds the Matrix, one shot has his arm pipes clipping through it.
* Hot Rod sticks the Matrix into his chest without opening a compartment for it.
* As Galvatron and Cyclonus fly Scourge away from the city, Galvatron is mouthing something, but there's no dialogue.
* In the last shot of the episode, Ultra Magnus is missing his shoulder missiles and Kup is missing the white part of his chest.
* The version of this episode on the [[Shout! Factory]] DVDs features a glitch with an unstable horizontal line appearing at the top of the picture throughout the episode. The error appears to be on the episode's master copy, as the version included on the [[Rhino Entertainment|Kid Rhino]] DVDs has the picture slightly zoomed in order to avoid showing the offending line.

===Continuity errors===
* The Japanese-word "Giri" does not actually carry the rather-negative connotations of "The burden hardest to bear" implied by Kup's mistranslation. Rather, "Giri" more accurately means "Responbility/duty", which is a gladly accepted honor and virtue in Japanese culture rather than a painful annoyance. In the thematic/emotional context of this episode, "The ''duty'' hardest to bear" would have been a more fitting title. An even more appropriate word would have been ''Gimu'', meaning ''"obligation"'', as a ''gimu'' is something which '''must''' be done whether you wish to or not.
* It seems somehow unlikely that Rodimus turning around at speed and crashing into a stopped Wildrider would send him flying back hard and fast enough to go over a cliff.
* Galvatron says the Matrix eluded the Decepticons for year'''s''', but he had it for a while during the movie (which happened less than one year ago in the timeline).
* The ghost image of Optimus has two fog lights instead of four.
* We don't hear Optimus' voice during the "return the Matrix" chant.
* Speaking of the chant, why didn't the ancient Autobots chant when Galvatron had the Matrix during the movie? (Though, this could be explained by his not putting the Matrix inside himself in the movie, as we only see him wearing it on a chain.)
* After Galvatron tells Scourge to get rid of the Matrix, the [[scene transition]] has two Decepticon logos, but the next scene is of the Autobots.
* Just before he quits the Autobots, Hot Rod states that "this war has been going on now for a few dozen millennia". Back in "[[War Dawn]]", we learned that the Third Cybertronian War started nine million years ago, which is about ''750'' dozen millennia... assuming, of course, that we want to take Hot Rod's pointedly off-handed remark as being based on historical accuracy, which is kind of a stretch for a guy who's at the end of his rope and sarcastically railing about "the known universe and its outlying suburbs".
* Funny how the old lady with the cane ''runs'' away from Scourge during his attack!
* Ozu injures Scourge (a giant metal robot) with his sword.
* It's not really clear why Galvatron put the Matrix in his cannon rather than his chest, or why Scourge got all mutated. Or why Scourge is so powerful early on but is defeated by a ramming and three shots from Hot Rod's gun.
* Those government spokesmen who complained about the fighting in the beginning must be ''pissed'' after all the destruction we see at the end!
* It would seem strange that Galvatron would not seem to remember anything about the Matrix considering less than a year ago, during the movies, The grandmaster himself, Unicron told him or his former self, Megatron that the Matrix is powerful enough to destroy him, thus, he should know how powerful it is. Ok, ok, you can say his plasma bath may have fried a few memory circuits along with his sanity, but still...If Scourge knows about it (he was also created by Unicron), then Cyclonus should too since he was also there. Why didn't he reminds Galvatron about this since he is supposed to be the most loyal soldier of them all....Was he afraid of becoming Galvatron's personal punching bag again? Well, it didn't help him cause right after both recovered after getting trashed by the mutated Scourge, the first thing Galvatron did was to knock him off his feet.
* Umm, let me get this stright. A mutated Scourge, when attacked easily reflected both Galvatron's and Cyclonus's blasts back at them and yet, when facing off agianst Rodim...urrrr...or in this case, Hotrod, a few blast and he's on the ground taking a nap...Ok, that makes a lot of sense!

===Transformers references===
* When Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, he says "Now, [['Til all are one|all shall become one]], under Galvatron's rule!"
* Optimus Prime is among the Ancient Autobots.
* After he rams Scourge, Hot Rod transforms in a manner similar to one of his transformations from the movie.
* This episode marks the last appearance of Springer, Broadside, Astrotrain, Devastator and Marissa Faireborn in US continuity.

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Die Last der Verantwortung''' ("The Burden of Responsibility")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' 重すぎた使命 (''Omo Sugi ta Shimei'', "The Mission Too Heavy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 11]], [[1987]]
:*When they recover the Matrix of Leadership, [[Issei Masamune|the Narrator]] misidentifies [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] as [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] and [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]]. Which is very strange because the [[Battlecharger]]s weren't sold at Japanese retail, but the Stunticons were.
:* A "[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]" segment unique to Japan was attached to this episode. It focuses on the many battles between [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. It replaces the original "Secret Files" segment which focused on the Decepticons.

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' '''Samaya tyajkaya nosha''' (''Самая тяжкая ноша'', "The Heaviest Burden")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* While the episode order can vary, it's a little funny that the episode about Rodimus finally getting used to being leader of the Autobots was followed by the episode in which Optimus returns to replace him.
* Astrotrain actually travels on the railroad his locomotive mode was designed for in this episode.
* One of the "ghosts" emerging from the Matrix when Galvatron puts it into his chest is based on a [[generic]] character design that was previously seen in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]" and "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1]]". His colors have changed, though, and he dropped the antennas on the sides of his head he sported in "The Key to Vector Sigma".
* The yellow, the red and the orange-and-blue Matrix ghosts' character models were reused in the Japanese [[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|''The Headmasters'' cartoon]] as various generic Autobots.
* When Scourge starts mutating, at one point it looks like he's... crying?
* Wildrider seems to now have a very bad Southern accent.
* This episode marks the first time in Transformers fiction that the word [[Slag (slang)|slag]] is used as an insult.
* Isn't it convenient that Scourge launches his attack on Earth in Japan, where the Autobots happen to be located?
* The voice acting for several Japanese characters in this episode employs a very stereotypical Western view of Asian people and their pronunciation of English words.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden Hardest to Bear}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Thief in the Night

2013-06-07T14:20:05Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=76
|ep2=6
|prev2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5
|next2=Starscream's Ghost
|image=ThiefNight Trypticon monuments.JPG
|caption=Looks more like a "Thief in the Day" to us.
|title="Thief in the Night"
|production code=700-96
|airdate=[[October 6]], 1986
|written by=[[Paul Davids]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Octane steals Trypticon in an attempt to use him to control the Decepticons.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:ThiefNight Seaspray Broadside.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Thundersub! Oh wait, wrong universe.]]

[[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]], [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], and the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] are reviewing the footage of [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]'s battle with [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Grimlock declares that he wants to see the "good part", where Metroplex destroyed Trypticon, but [[Teletraan II]] states that Trypticon survived the encounter. [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] and [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] travel to where Trypticon landed in the ocean, and learn that he walked underwater to avoid being caught.

Meanwhile, the [[Triple Changer]] [[Octane]] is nursing Trypticon back to health, using [[energon]] made from the [[oil]] of [[Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya|Carbombya]]. Octane hopes that with Trypticon to back him up, he can overthrow [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] and become [[Decepticon leader|leader]] of the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]. However, [[Abdul Fakkadi (G1)|Abdul Fakkadi]], the leader of the desert nation, is unhappy with Trypticon's constant consumption of oil. Fakkadi demands that the two Decepticons leave, or he will call the [[Autobot|Autobots]]. Octane offers to bring Fakkadi [[gold]] in exchange for being able to stay, but Fakkadi declares that it would take all the gold of the [[United States of America|United States]] to allow them to stay. The simple answer? Octane has Trypticon steal [[Fort Knox]].

Pacified, Fakkadi agrees to allow the Decepticons to remain in Carbombya until the next crescent moon, and Trypticon is put under strict ration of one thousand barrels a day. Octane declares that Trypticon will starve, and negotiates a new plan: give Fakkadi a new palace, and he will let them stay and have more oil. To make Fakkadi "more happy", Trypticon steals the [[Taj Mahal]].

[[Image:ThiefNight Autobots investigate.JPG|right|200px|thumb|What we looking at?]]

While the Autobots investigate the disappearance of Fort Knox ('cause that's something that directly involves the Autobots), Grimlock finds [[Energon cube|energon cubes]] which he says "smell different". As Perceptor begins analyzing the energon, Grimlock also smells [[Dinosaur transform static]], and fears one of his own [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] may have been involved. Metroplex decides to interrogate all the Dinobots.

At Carbombya, Fakkadi is pleased, declaring that with enough monuments, they will soon have a thriving tourist attraction. However, Galvatron has been tracking down Trypticon. He declares Octane a traitor, saying he stole Trypticon from [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]]. Thinking fast, Octane claims that he brought Trypticon to Carbombya to help him get better, with a more powerful form of energon, and tosses Galvatron a cube. As Trypticon says nothing to contradict the story, Galvatron takes a swig, and finds that it ''is'' stronger.

Meanwhile, [[Six-Gun]] and [[Scamper]] are interrogating the Dinobots, as well as [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], under the watchful eye of Metroplex. Sky Lynx angrily objects to being called a Dinobot, and refuses to participate. Perceptor runs in declaring that the energon Grimlock found was made via a Decepticon formula, with Carbombyan oil. Perceptor believes that Trypticon is responsible for the thefts. Broadside takes the Aerialbots to investigate, and spots the two stolen buildings. However, Trypticon surfaces, carrying the [[Eiffel Tower]]. Galvatron and Octane are explaining to Fakkadi that the Decepticons will supply Carbombya with more buildings, such as the [[Kremlin]], while they take over the oil fields. However, Trypticon spots the Aerialbots, and converts to battle mode, forcing the Aerialbots to retreat.

[[Image:ThiefNight Metroplex Kremlin.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to become a tall building in a single bound!]]

Having learned that Trypticon intends to take the Kremlin, the Autobots head to [[Moscow]], but Metroplex is late. In the night fog, Trypticon arrives and steals the Kremlin, but Metroplex interrupts him. Metroplex takes back the Kremlin while Trypticon flees, and the [[Soviet Union|Soviet government]] accuses the Autobots of the theft, as does [[India]]. Grimlock laments the Autobots' sad fate.

[[Image:ThiefNight Metroplex Trypticon.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Trypticon, I wouldn't trust you as far as I could thr—uh, wait..."]]

At Carbombya, Fakkadi is recording a message to send to the Autobots, authorizing them to invade Carbombya and attack the Decepticons. Galvatron, however, simply locks up the dictator. Rodimus, the Dinobots, the Aerialbots, Metroplex, and Broadside arrive to fight off the Decepticons, and Metroplex throws Trypticon into the ocean (again). Without Trypticon to even the odds, Galvatron orders the 'Cons to retreat. Metroplex returns the monuments, clearing the Autobots' name. Rodimus asks Fakkadi to never ally with the Decepticons again. Fakkadi promises the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] that he will not, swearing by the livestock of his various family members.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (2)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (4)
* [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (5)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (6)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (7)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (8)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (10)
* [[Teletraan II]] (11)
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (12)
* [[Seaspray (G1)|Seaspray]] (13)
* [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm]] (21)
* [[Slammer]] (28)
* [[Six-Gun]] (29)
* [[Scamper]] (30)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (31)
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (32)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (33)
* [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (34)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (35)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (40)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (41)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (42)
|c2=
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (1)
* [[Octane]] (16)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (22)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (23)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (24)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (25)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (26)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (27)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (39)
* [[Sweep]] (43)
|c3=
* Luxury Cruises captain (14)
* Luxury Cruises passengers (15)
* [[Abdul Fakkadi (G1)|Abdul Fakkadi]] (17)
* Fakkadi's lackeys (18)
* US Army officer (19)
* Private [[Dixson]] (20)
* Soviet army officer (36)
* Soviet news broadcaster (37)
* Indian news broadcaster (38)
}}

==Quotes==
"Trypticon and me wanna turn your country into a paradise!" 
"It already ''is'' a paradise"
:—'''Octane'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s offer elicits an icy response from '''Abdul Fakkadi'''.

'''Galvatron''': You're a traitor, Octane! You had no permission to take Trypticon away from Dinobot Island! I needed Trypticon for my plans of conquering the Earth. Now, thanks to you, he may never recover! 
'''Octane''': But you got it all wrong, Galvatron! Me and Trypticon found this fantastic new type of energon. It's helping Trypticon get all better real quick! Try some, you'll love it! 
'''Trypticon''': Drink! Drink and CRUSH! 
'''Galvatron''': That's good! Makes me feel stronger, more powerful!
:—Galvatron is soothed by Octane and Trypticon

"Why am I under investigation? I'm not a Dinobot." 
"Ya got Dinosaur electrons in yer circuits, Sky Lynx." 
"Never the less, I am ''definitely'' not a Dinobot! I refuse to participate in this...kangaroo court!"
:—'''Sky Lynx''' denounces '''Six-Gun''''s prosecution skills.

"Me Grimlock say this grim. Whole world thinks Autobots are building snatchers."
:—'''Grimlock''' laments the Autobots' sad fate.

==Notes==
* Considering that Fakkadi hired Trypticon and Octane to keep the American "imperialist fanatic" tourists away from Carbombya, it is rather unclear why he would desire his nation to become a tourist mecca via the appropriated world monuments. Did he suddenly realize the economic potential of having foreigners bringing their money to his country?

===Animation or technical glitches===
*In the second shot of the episode (people running away from Trypticon), the woman in orange is missing her eyes.
*In Teletraan II's recap (of "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4"), Metroplex is shown throwing Trypticon over an icy environment (it was actually more like a desert), and Trypticon slides over a flat-topped brown cliffside on his way into the ocean (he actually ''bounced'' over some ''grey'' cliffs).
*When Rodimus Prime, Perceptor, Grimlock, and the Aerialbots are watching the footage on the battle of Metroplex and Trypticon, Grimlock is seen in robot mode from behind. When he starts to talk, he is in dinosaur mode.
* Abdul's throne has five steps in front of it. When he starts talking to his men about Octane and Trypticon, he walks down three of the steps. Two shots later, he takes two steps forwards, and then the shot changes and he's suddenly only on the third step and needs to take three more to reach the main floor.
* Speaking of the steps, they start out as a small platform around his throne but are much larger a few shots later.
* Once again, the commercial bumpers have an extra second or two of music.
* Abdul's medals (especially the one with white and red stripes) change colors and shapes during his chat with Octane after the Fort Knox heist.
* As Grimlock notices the energon cubes around the Fort Knox site, the top of his head disappears a few times.
* As Octane notes their partnership, there are six lines around the top of his Decepticon logo instead of four.
* Trypticon clips through the left side of the Taj Mahal as he steals it.
* In the first shot of Galvatron's troops, Cyclonus is missing half his left leg (and the top half is blue instead of grey) and Dirge is colored as Beachcomber.
* A few shots later, there are two Ramjets behind Galvatron. Note that Ramjet does not appear in the rest of the episode.
* When we pan down from Metroplex (in robot mode) to see Six-Gun for his first (and only) animated appearance, Metroplex is still wearing the shoulder cannons that supposedly form Six-Gun's arms.
* As Perceptor notes that the Dinobots are innocent, his Autobot logo is framed in black instead of white.
* When the Autobots jump off Broadside, Grimlock disappears.
* When the Autobots are shown firing after Trypticon is hurled into the ocean, there are three Rodimus Primes, two Perceptors, and two [[Blurr (G1)|Blurrs]].
* Despite the dialogue, the building Trypticon attempts to steal from Moscow is not the [[wikipedia:Moscow_Kremlin|Kremlin]] but nearby [[wikipedia:Saint_Basil's_Cathedral|Saint Basil's Cathedral]].
*When the Decepticons fly into Carbombya to retrieve Trypticon, their ranks include [[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] miscolored as [[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]].
* After Galvatron shoots Octane's energon cube, in a shot there are two Thrusts walking behind him.

===Continuity errors===
* This episode is actually set before "[[Starscream's Ghost]]" as it explains why Galvatron has it in for Octane.
* The Luxury Cruises captain says that Carbombya is off the ship's starboard bow. The country is actually on the port side of the ship.
* First Trypticon crunches the energon cubes, then they melt in his mouth, then he drinks from them.
* Also, no matter if Trypiticon is "crunching" them or Octane is drinking from them. Once the Cubes are empty, notice they take on a rusted brownish color when previously, the Cubes becomes clear when empty, such as when the Decepticons, including Megatron got "over energized" on some during the episode "Microbots".
* ''Nobody'' noticed Trypticon as he just strolled up to Fort Knox? What about all the guards who are supposed to be around the main building?
* Given their need for the energon cubes, why did Octane and Trypticon just leave several laying there at Fort Knox?
* Abdul just gets away with helping the Decepticons. Even if he denied responsibility, what is his explanation for all those priceless buildings in his country? You'd think Rodimus would at least want to take him in to prove to the world that the Autobots weren't responsible for the thefts.

===Transformers references===
* Trypticon had been taken to [[Dinobot Island (G1)|Dinobot Island]] in an attempt to help him recover. When the Decepticons last [[Dinobot Island, Part 2|visited the island]], they had been attacked by the [[Dinosaur|natives]].

===Real-world references===
* While the title is a rather literal description of Trypticon's activities, the phrase comes from the [[Wikipedia:Bible|Bible]], regarding the second coming of [[Jesus]]: [http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1%20Thessalonians%204:16-5:2;&version=31; "The day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night."]

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Wie ein Dieb in der Nacht'''" ("Like a Thief in the Night")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' メトロフレックスVSダイナザウラー (''Metroflex VS Dinosaurer'')
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 19]], [[1986]]

===Trivia===
*This was one of twelve episodes of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]] released as audio adventures by the [[Germany|German]] company [[Karussell|Karussell Musik und Video]].
* It's pretty weird that Teletraan II didn't immediately inform the Autobots that a robot as dangerous as Trypticon was still alive.
* Trypticon is the most energy inefficient robot ever. Seriously.
* Amazing that the various buildings that Trypticon stole weren't damaged while he stole them.
* Amazing that Abdul wasn't held slightly accountable for the deaths of the soldiers crushed by the falling gold in Fort Knox.
* Amazing that after being carried by hand to a separate hemisphere the gold bars are still stacked neatly in Fort Knox.
* Amazing that all the gold of the United States was stacked so neatly when it was last seen falling on soldiers.
* Amazing that all the gold of the United States was not slathered in red, human blood after crushing and smashing American soldiers.
* Okay, seriously... [[dinosaur transform static]]? WTF?
* Although this episode is set in the year 2006, the [[Soviet Union]] still exists. In the real world, the Soviet Union dissolved in 1991.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''Transformers'' — Thief in the Night / Surprise Party ([[Tempo Video]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 2 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Transformers: The Movie

2013-06-07T13:46:09Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}

{{quote|Conceived in the epic tradition of ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]''...|[[Victor Caroli]] ain't just whistling Dixie|[[The Transformers: The Movie promo|''The Transformers: The Movie'' promo]]}}

{{episode|
|seriess=[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]
|prev=B.O.T. (episode)
|next=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|seriess2=[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers]]
|prev2=Scramble City: Mobilization
|next2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1
|title=''The Transformers: The Movie''
|image=Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg
|caption=Featuring the [[death]]s of all your favorite Transformers characters.
|production code=
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|writer=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''''The Transformers: The Movie''''' is an animated feature film based on the original Transformers toyline. It was released in the United States on Friday, August 8, 1986.

The film's storyline follows the same continuity as the ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|Transformers]]'' cartoon. It introduces a [[Scale|planet-sized Transformer]] called [[Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the Autobots and Decepticons have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on Earth which sees both Optimus Prime and Megatron mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to Ultra Magnus and dies, and Megatron is transformed by Unicron into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (briefly) assumes leadership of the Decepticons, but is killed when Galvatron arrives at Cybertron. Galvatron then chases the surviving Autobots on Earth across space, splitting them up and taking the Matrix. The Autobots find their way back to each other, and follow Galvatron to Cybertron just as Unicron transforms into robot mode and begins to eat their world. Travelling inside Unicron, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] recovers the Matrix, transforms into Rodimus Prime, and uses the Matrix to destroy Unicron.

Often referred to by fans simply as "the movie" or "TFTM", the movie was a step up in almost every area from the television series, with a more sophisticated plot, more serious treatment of war and violence, a hugely ambitious scope and a greatly increased animation budget with well-known celebrities providing voice work. For these reasons the film remains very popular with children of the 1980s.

The film opens with characters who had been featured in the first two years of the toyline and associated media (cartoons, comic books, etc.), but quickly introduces new characters and kills many of the old ones to make room. In particular, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], and [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] are all destroyed during the course of the film.

{{quote|The Japanese have funded a full-length animated cartoon about the doings of these toys, which is all bad outer-space stuff. I play a planet. I menace somebody called Something-or-other. Then I'm destroyed. My plan to destroy Whoever-it-is is thwarted and I tear myself apart on the screen.|Orson Welles<ref>[http://books.google.com/books?id=KlqsYy512WIC&source=gbs_navlinks_s "Orson Welles: A Biography"] page 522</ref>}}

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TFTM_Unicron_Lithone.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That's no moon.]]

A mechanical planet travels through the depths of space, attacking [[Lithone (planet)|a metal planet]] which has [[Lithone (species)|robotic inhabitants]]. Robots, vehicles, buildings, and even large chunks of rock are sucked off the surface and devoured by the monstrous planet.

It is the year 2005, and the [[Decepticon]]s are now in control of Cybertron. The [[Autobot]]s are preparing to launch an assault to retake the planet from hidden bases on two of Cybertron's moons. The Autobots launch a [[Autobot shuttle|shuttle]] to pick up a final shipment of [[energon]] from [[Earth]] before they strike.

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|200px|thumb|I have a bad feeling about this.]]

Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]], who reports back to [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]. The Decepticons attack the Autobot shuttle en route to Earth, wiping out its crew (including [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]]). Using the Autobots' own shuttle, the Decepticons are able to get very close to the Autobots' base on Earth, [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]], before they are detected, and begin a devastating surprise attack on the unprepared city.

During the battle at Autobot City, both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and Megatron suffer mortal injuries, and a number of others are also killed. Eventually the Decepticons retreat, but the damage suffered by the Autobots has been severe.

{{note|For an extensive synopsis of the battle, see [[Battle of Autobot City]].}}

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|200px|thumb|If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.]]

Shortly after the battle, Prime lies on his deathbed. He passes the reins of leadership to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] and gives him the [[Matrix of Leadership]]. (Though Hot Rod actually touches the Matrix before Magnus does.) Prime relates a prophecy: "One day, an Autobot shall rise from our ranks, and use the power of the Matrix to light our [[darkest hour]]." He then gives the oath, "[['Til all are one]]", and [[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|dies]]. This sequence of events is observed remotely by Unicron, who appears unusually concerned by the survival of the Matrix.

The Decepticons are making their escape aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], but are too heavy for him to get them all home under his own power. After putting the matter to a fair vote, the Decepticons decide to throw their injured members off the ship to better the chance of survival for the rest. One of the most severely injured Decepticons is Megatron. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] tosses him out and claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

Megatron and the other adrift Decepticons then encounter Unicron in interstellar space. Unicron offers to rebuild Megatron and his minions in exchange for their service. Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep]]s. Unicron provides them with a [[Revenge (G1)|ship]], and sends them to kill Ultra Magnus and destroy the Matrix, stating that the Matrix is the only thing which can stand in his way.

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't be too proud of this technological terror you've constructed.]]
Galvatron first stops at Cybertron to take his revenge by killing Starscream and reclaiming leadership of the Decepticons. Almost immediately afterwards, Unicron arrives in Cybertron's vicinity and devours at least two moons—both of the Autobots' moon bases are destroyed. Under coercion by Unicron, Galvatron finally heads to Earth to kill Ultra Magnus, but Magnus and the other surviving Autobots flee in a pair of shuttles. Eventually Galvatron manages to cause one shuttle to crash on yet another metal planet ([[Quintessa]]), and detonates the other with a volley of missiles. However, the Autobots in the second shuttle escape unnoticed by separating the front portion of their shuttle just before impact.

The Autobots in the crashed shuttle, [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]], [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup are captured by a squad of [[Allicon]]s and taken before a [[Quintesson]] [[Quintesson#Judges|judge]] and his court. While being held there, they learn the name and nature of Unicron from [[Kranix]], a survivor of the planet destroyed in the opening of the film, which he calls [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]]. Meanwhile, the Dinobots encounter and befriend a young, wild Autobot named [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] who has been living alone on Quintessa. Together, they crash the trial just as Hot Rod and Kup are fighting losing odds against the Quintessons' [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[Image:Tftm1986d.jpg|left|200px|thumb|What an incredible smell you've discovered!]]
The other group of Autobots has landed on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]] to make repairs, but are attacked yet again by Galvatron, who was tipped off to their survival by Unicron. During the battle, Ultra Magnus tries to open the Matrix to use its power, but is unable to do so, and instead is killed. Galvatron absconds with the Matrix, taking it away to Unicron. The remaining Autobots—[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike's]] son [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel]]—are then ambushed by [[Junkion (species)|Junkions]], the eponymous natives of Junkion, who are also giant transforming robots. This battle is cut short, however, by the arrival of Hot Rod's group in their Quintesson ship. After exchanging the [[universal greeting]] they all make friends, and the Junkions restore Ultra Magnus to life. Together, the whole group travels to Cybertron to try to recover the Matrix.

[[Image:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron, but is also unable to get it open. Unicron, not pleased with this attempted treachery, shocks Galvatron by transforming from a planet into a [[Scale|planet-sized robot]]. Unicron plucks Galvatron off his chest and swallows him, Matrix and all, and then begins attacking Cybertron itself. [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] scrambles the Decepticon forces to defend the planet, but they are ineffective against so large an enemy. Shortly the Autobots arrive from Junkion, and fly the Quintesson ship straight through Unicron's eye. This impact destroys the ship, and the Autobots fall out inside Unicron. Hot Rod, separated from the others, eventually runs into Galvatron. During their fight, Hot Rod gets his hands on the Matrix and hears Optimus's voice speak the words, "Arise, Rodimus Prime." Hot Rod grows in stature, adopts a much sterner demeanor, and quickly dispatches Galvatron by tossing him through Unicron's hull out into space. He then opens the Matrix, which fills Unicron with light and begins destroying him.

[[Image:Tftm1986e.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Use the Force, Luke.]]
In the meantime, the other Autobots inside Unicron have located some of their comrades from the moon bases who had been presumed dead, including [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] and Daniel's father, Spike. The Autobots, including Rodimus, escape through Unicron's remaining eye just as he begins to fall apart and explode. The scene then immediately shifts to the surface of Cybertron, where—for unclear reasons—the Autobots seem to be in charge again. Rodimus predicts an era of peace and prosperity, and the film closes with a shot of Unicron's severed head still floating in orbit around Cybertron.

[['Til all are one]].
{{-}}

==Quotes==
"Such heroic nonsense."
:—'''Megatron''' coldly finishes off Ironhide. The 'Cons always get the best lines.

"I've got better things to do tonight than die!"
:—'''Springer''', telling it like it is.

"One shall stand. One shall fall."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' uttering the most quoted line of the Movie. An ass kicker cometh.

"Why throw your life away so recklessly?" 
"That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron." 
"No! I'll crush you with my ''bare hands!''"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''', about to engage in one last battle to the death.

"You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of '''''sterner stuff'''''."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s trash talk is actually [http://www.enotes.com/shakespeare-quotes/sterner-stuff a lot cooler than it sounds].

"I would have waited an eternity for this! It's over, Prime." 
"'''''NEVER!'''''"
:—'''Megatron''' is about to learn that a wounded '''Optimus Prime''' has enough strength left for one good hit.

"Until that day...'til all are one..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''''s final words.

"Oh, how it ''pains'' me to do this." 
"Wait! I still function!" 
"Wanna ''bet''?"
:—'''Starscream''' fights back the tears as he throws '''Megatron''' out of Astrotrain.

"I have summoned you here for a purpose." 
"Nobody summons Megatron!" 
"Then it pleases me to be the first."
:—'''Unicron''' shows '''Megatron''' who's the boss.

"Who disrupts my coronation?" 
"Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy." 
"Megatron? Is that you?" 
"Here's a hint!"
:—'''Galvatron''' drops "hints" for '''Starscream''' like others drop anvils.

"Did we ''have'' to let them detonate three quarters of the ship?" 
"Seeing as how they would have detonated ''four'' quarters, I think it was a good choice."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Springer''', debating the launch of their emergency shuttle.

"For a time... I considered ''sparing'' your wretched little planet Cybertron. But now... you shall witness... its ''dismemberment''!"
:—'''Unicron''' really needs to work on his anger management skills...

"Let this mark the end of the Cybertronian Wars as we march forward into a new era of peace and happiness! 'Til all are one!" 
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' announces the end of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]]...yeah, right.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]]/Rodimus Prime ([[Judd Nelson]])
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] ([[Robert Stack]])
*[[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] ([[Lionel Stander]])
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] ([[Paul Eiding]])
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] ([[Buster Jones]])
*[[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Slag (G1)|Slag]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] ([[Scatman Crothers]])
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] ([[Casey Kasem]])
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] ([[Don Messick]])*
*[[Auto-combatant]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Eject (G1)|Eject]]
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]** ([[Walker Edmiston]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] ([[Leonard Nimoy]])
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] ([[Chris Latta]])
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] ([[Michael Bell]])
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] ([[Neil Ross]])
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] ([[Don Messick]])
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]]
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]]
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] ([[Hal Rayle]])
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] ([[Clive Revill]])
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] ([[Jack Angel]])
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]]
*[[Sweep]]s
*[[Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Rubbish]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Re-Cycle]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Trashbin]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[HAZMAT]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Ashtray]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
*[[Greasestain]] ([[Michael Bell|Bell]] and/or [[Frank Welker|Welker]])
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] ([[Corey Burton]])
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson]] leader ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Quintesson#Judges|Quintesson judge]] ([[Regis Cordic|Rege Cordic]])
*[[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
*Unnamed Red Alien (in Tribunal Quintessa)
|nonumbering=true
}}
<nowiki>*</nowiki>Credited, but may or may not have appeared.

<nowiki>**</nowiki>Credited, but did not appear.

==Animation errors==
* When Unicron is approaching Lithone at the start of the movie, at the line "Look, it's Unicron!", a [[Animation error#Sizing errors|cel stacking error]] results in Unicron's ring appearing in front of a building arch, [[Distribution|making Unicron look very tiny]] in that shot. In the next shot, it is clear that Unicron is several times larger than the entire planet of Lithone.
* The inside of one of the Lithonian ships being devoured by Unicron is visible for a couple of frames. The pilot of the ship appears to be Kranix, even though he apparently screams out Kranix's name, and Kranix appears later in the Quintesson prison.
* When Optimus Prime asks Jazz to report security status, it shows both Jazz and Cliffjumper. Cliffjumper is seen twiddling knobs above the actual drawn computer, as if a section was supposed to be present.
*When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
* When the Decepticons blow a hole through the Autobot shuttle to get in, it is a clean break. However, Megatron is still shown ripping through random ship components to get in.
* Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot.
* When the Decepticons are killing the Autobot shuttle crew, there is one of the common Starscream/Skywarp/Thundercracker miscolors. Megatron transforms into gun mode and Starscream catches him, killing Brawn. When they cut back to the Decepticons, Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this probably should have been Skywarp or Thundercracker). When they cut back to the Decepticons for the third time, Starscream has Megatron again and is finishing off the rest of the Autobots. In the shot of Starscream firing his own lasers, his wings are red instead of gray. Later when Hot Rod zooms in on the hole in the shuttle, the Seeker he sees is Thundercracker, but as he fires, the one standing in that spot falling on his face, is colored as Starscream.
* When the Decepticons fly to the shuttle's controls, all of the Autobots have changed positions from when they fell—Brawn is now on his back, for example, while Prowl is now face-down. Ironhide's chest is also completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
* When Hot Rod catches a fish, it is barely the size of his finger. When he releases it, it's [[Scale|suddenly huge]].
* Hot Rod has at least two totally different transformation schemes during the course of the film.
* When Kup and several Autobots at the roadblock react to Hot Rod's attack on the hijacked Autobot shuttle, Bluestreak is represented by Prowl's [[Character model|animation model]], in Bluestreak's grey and black colours.
* Sunstreaker appears with Kup's group on Earth as they observe Hot Rod firing on Ironhide's shuttle. Sunstreaker later appears as Optimus Prime's co-pilot when they arrive on Earth with the Dinobots, and is seen disembarking the shuttle along with Optimus Prime and Hound.
* In a wide aerial shot of the city under attack, a Reflector flies by in Ironhide's color scheme. Shockwave also makes his only appearance in the battle; considering both his role as Cybertron's guardian and his absence from any other scenes during the battle, his presence is probably an animation error. Rumble also flies past, despite being inside Soundwave at this point.
* Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to robot mode.
* A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
* In the big lineup of firing Decepticons, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
* When [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] sends out his cassette troops, [[FIRRIB|Rumble is the same color as Frenzy]].
* Blaster first ejects what looks like Eject, who stays blue up until he gets to the edge of the screen. He then turns black like Rewind. Then Blaster ejects another blue cassette, which after about a second turns black. This one gets through half his transformation colored black, then turns blue for a split second then turns black again. Then, when the cassettes are fighting each other, Eject runs in from the left and jumps over Perceptor. And then he runs in from the left ''again'' to shoot Ravage.
* As Springer runs up to the launcher, Wheeljack's body is visible, but he's in red, white and blue colors.
* While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
* When Devastator forms in Autobot City, his chest plate is the same green as the rest of him. In the next shot, it's the usual purple. However, it promptly turns green again in the next shot.
* As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
* While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
* Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
* Prime's dramatic transformation sequence far outlasts the transformation sound that's supposed to go with it. It's also the wrong sound (ascending pitch) for his robot-to-vehicle transformation. His trailer is also missing the Autobot logo, which reappears for the rest of the scene.
* When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's head is tan instead of purple. It becomes purple when he turns it, then goes back to tan again as he turns it back.
* Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
* The gun Megatron uses to fatally injure Optimus is blue and white for most of the shots it is seen in, but when Megatron screams "Fall! FALL!" while shooting Prime again, it is black.
* The gun Megatron fires uses the same sound effect as his fusion cannon.
* Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
* As he orders Astrotrain to take off, Starscream's face is gray instead of black.
* Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over Megatron.
* When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, there is another Matrix beneath it in his chest. (On which note, see also ''[[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|Matrix of Leadership, Universe comic]].'') Also, he initially grabs just the core of the Matrix, while the rest of the scene shows the entire assembly.
* When Ultra Magnus accepts the Matrix, he's seen inserting it into his chest twice, or at best readjusting its "fit".
* As the other Decepticons prepare to push him out, Bombshell's chest is rendered as a shapeless gray mass, rather than with its yellow canopy.
* The voice that says, "Brothers! Don't!" is nowhere close to the voices of any of the five Decepticons shown getting thrown out of Astrotrain.
* Starscream's got an extra yellow segment on his canopy as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
* Most of Megatron's chest emblem isn't colored in as he first speaks to Unicron. It might pass for battle damage, but a few shots later it's fully purple.
[[Image:TFTMStarscreamCoronationErrors.jpg|thumb|right|250px| *''trumpet fanfare''* ]]
* Even after the [[Battle of Autobot City]], characters who are supposedly dead continue to appear in crowd shots and battles. Shrapnel's role in the fight on [[Junkion (planet)|Junk]] is the most noticeable (and he was called for by name in the original script), but Thundercracker, Skywarp and Kickback can all be seen at Starscream's coronation. The two jets are later seen again, flying into Unicron's mouth.
* Hook has two eyes instead of a visor as he looks around in confusion during the trumpet scene.
* An early establishing shot clearly shows Cybertron with two and ''only'' two moons in low orbit. Yet a third moon is visible right after Unicron finishes eating the two Autobot bases.
* When Galvatron introduces himself to the Coronation party, Soundwave's chest window is drawn far too small.
* When Cyclonus is strafing the Autobot shuttle in space, he briefly flies offscreen, and during that time his laser blasts come from a point that in no way matches his flight path.
*During the wide shot of the Autobots in the crashed ship on Junk, Blurr's entire head is white.
* Daniel's lips don't purse when he whistles.
* Wreck-Gar's mouth doesn't move at all during his first lines, despite the camera pushing in all close on his face.
* The pistol Ultra Magnus fires uses the same sound effect as Optimus Prime's rifle.
* Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
* During the Junkion chase scene, Trashbin attacks Arcee. When she fights him off his motorcycle, his model is switched for Junkyard's when he falls down.
* When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is coloured black.
* When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.
* When Unicron transforms, the first hand we see (his right) is backwards relative to how the arm is shown on screen.
* After transforming, Unicron has all-white hands (instead of white with gold knuckles) and a white, rectangular chin (instead of the double-triangular chin with a goatee) he has later.
* As Hot Rod falls off one of Unicron's inner spikes, his lower body isn't drawn in. It looks like it should be blocked by our view of the spike, but is layered above it instead.
* Hot Rod's missing his Autobot symbol as he regains his footing inside Unicron.
* During the same sequence, we see a standard-looking control panel next to Hot Rod. It's unlikely Galvatron had time to create one inside Unicron, so where did it come from?
* As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact. (The left one had been shattered.)
* As the Dinobots fly away from Unicron, the spikes on Grimlock's right arm are gray instead of gold.
* The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[Image:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|right|250px|He used to bulls-eye womp-rats in his T16 back home.]]

* The Dinobot [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] is mysteriously absent from almost the entire movie, even though the Dinobots as a group are featured prominently. Copies of the script which have come into fans' hands repeatedly list the Dinobots, but never make mention of Snarl by name. In fact, at one point the script refers to "the four Dinobots". Despite this, Snarl does appear in three very brief shots{{m-}}in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
* Also curiously absent are the 1985 Autobot cars and Mini-Vehicles, such as Inferno, Smokescreen, Cosmos, Warpath, etc. It would seem that these characters were available at the time of the movie:
** Perceptor and Blaster both debuted at the same time in the cartoon as the 1985 cars, and both play prominent roles in the movie.
** Grapple is [[:Image:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City.
** The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
** [[:Image:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:Image:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger) all appeared in storyboards but not the finished film.
* Devastator is treated as ''the'' ultimate threat, while in the cartoon, his role (and apparent power) was already being [[Starscream's Brigade|severely diminished]], presumably because several other combiners had been introduced. In story terms, the absence of these newer combiners, not to mention the mighty Omega Supreme, is inexplicable. In real-life terms, those characters didn't exist when the film commenced production. (The [[Transformers: The Animated Movie]] adaptation shows Omega Supreme, Superion and Defensor guarding the Ark against an attack by Bruticus and Menasor, attempting to [[retcon]] the problem away.)
[[Image:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|right|250px|We'll be safe enough once we make the jump into lightspeed.]]
* The existence of Cybertron's moons is contentious ''at best''.
** On the one hand, in numerous close and distant shots of the planet throughout the first two seasons, not a single moon was seen. Ever. Even after it got knocked out of Earth's orbit.
** On the other hand, Megatron ''does'' refer to Cybertron as "land of the metal moon" (note the singular) during "[[Microbots]]", suggesting otherwise. The fact that he was overenergized at the time and lost consciousness in mid-sentence - just before he ''might'' have specified a plural number of moons, (in)conveniently enough - makes it unclear just how much credence we should lend this statement.
** The movie promptly introduces two (possibly three) moons over the planet. In continuity terms, they must either have highly elliptical orbits with periapsides (points in their orbits that bring them closest to the planet) that just happened to coincide with the timeframe of the movie or they were constructed sometime after 1986.
* During the Battle of Autobot City, Starscream gets his leg caught. He shoots downward and gets away while screaming "My foot!", but it's his shin that's smoking while his foot looks fine. Later he kicks Megatron with the same foot. Shouldn't that hurt, according to him? Note there is a time lapse between the "foot shooting" and the kicking, leaving the option of a battlefield repair.
* So Ultra Magnus just happens to have a ready-made Matrix chamber installed in his chest cavity? Is this standard issue for all Autobots?
* The cartoon had already established that Astrotrain increases his size when he transforms to shuttle mode, being large enough to carry a pair of Decepticons in his cockpit. However, within the movie itself, his size is [[scale|noticeably inconsistent]]: When he leaves Autobot City, he's just large enough for the Decepticon army to cram themselves in; later, he's so huge that the Constructicons can quite comfortably form Devastator inside him.
* Speaking of Astrotrain, his entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. While ''we'' applaud the [[toy-accuracy]], the Decepticons inside probably didn't.
* Soundwave is loyal enough to pick up a wounded Megatron and save him, but when Starscream goes to throw Megatron out, Soundwave doesn't try to intervene. He even tries to steal the leadership once Megatron is gone. The "loyalty" attribute that has pertained so strongly to Soundwave seems to be alienated from the character in this scene. Guess self preservation comes first.
* The number of minions created by Unicron changes throughout the film, with more Sweeps appearing as the story progresses. A second Cyclonus ("Cyclonus, the warrior, and [[Cyclonus's Armada|his armada]]") is shown being created but disappears shortly thereafter. At least ''seven'' new characters are shown at one point, created from only ''six'' Decepticons thrown from the shuttle.
*How can the Constructicons blow on those trumpets? Only [[Hook (G1)|three]] [[Bonecrusher (G1)|of]] [[Mixmaster (G1)|them]] have mouths. Do robots even ''need'' to breathe?
*Speaking of which, Galvatron was breathing hard when Unicron mentally tortured him.

[[Image:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|right|250px|"I've been looking forward to this for a long time." "Yes, I bet you have."]]
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] is capable of reducing [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] to ashes with a single shot from his cannon mode. Though in later episodes Galvatron is shown blowing up even small ''[[Thrull|planets]]'' with his cannon, his extraordinary killing power seems to be gone—like when he scores a direct hit in cannon mode on Ultra Magnus in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]" and Magnus isn't especially hurt at all, or how a similar blast against Scourge in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]" only leaves the latter temporarily incapacitated. [[Marvel Comics]] bios explain this by suggesting that Galvatron had nearly limitless power through Unicron... but then again, Galvatron himself claims to be "more powerful than ever" after Unicron is dead in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2]]". [[To sell toys|Who knows.]]
* Why didn't the Autobots notice Unicron until he was within devouring distance of Cybertron's moons? Why doesn't Shockwave, who is ''on Cybertron,'' react until after Unicron has eaten these moons, transformed into a giant robot, and ''smashed his hand into the planet's surface?''
* Despite running out of energon goodies on Quintessa, Hot Rod has at least one to offer to the Junkions. Maybe he got some on the ship. It's also possible that, when he told the Allicons "No more," he meant that he wasn't going to ''feed'' them any more energon goodies, not that he didn't ''have'' anymore.
* Daniel, who was just learning how to use his exo-suit, had to knock down the acid cover inside Unicron to save his loved ones. Why couldn't the more experienced Spike do the same with his suit from above? He had both of his arms free and a clear shot at the cover. On the other hand, the clamp holding him may well disable his exo-suit's weapons and movement abilities-if it didn't, Unicron probably wouldn't have eaten half as many victims by now...
* It's not clear how Rodimus Prime (carrying two humans) and the other Autobots survived their jump out of Unicron's eye and their plunge towards the surface of Cybertron.
* It's also unclear just how the dozen or so Autobots (and one shipload of Junkions) managed to retake the whole planet of Cybertron. Did Unicron really wipe out ''that'' many Decepticons?
* When the Autobots are repairing Autobot City, Blaster is present, but a few minutes later, he's nowhere to be seen. And he isn't seen getting on one of the shuttles. It is possible that they took off without him, but Daniel noticed Arcee was not on board. Guess he cares more about Arcee than Blaster.
* Ultra Magnus blows up, but later his parts are just in individual sections. The Junkions place them together and shine him up, and he's fine! No welding or reprogramming, no replacing damaged parts...
* Makes you wonder why they couldn't fly Prime's body over and repair it, too. At the end of season three, we find out the Matrix can be given back to him, so that's not the issue...
* The argubly biggest error though, is the fact in the movies, nearly all Transformers suddenly lost their invincibility and near invulnerability from the previous two seasons. For example, Optimus Prime alone from the previous two season got shot in his open chest by Laserbeak, survived. Got beaten to a red pulp by a super duper Megatron with every other Decepticon powers in "Heavy Metal Wars" and survived. Got chopped to piece and then pieced back together, yep! He survived. Yet, in one battle with Megatron, he got damaged enough to be fatally wounded and died later....This left a lot of people asking, to borrow a today term, "WTF!!!!" As if that's not enough, many of everyone's favorite character didn't even say a line, didn't even put up a fight and ended up very dead indeed! AKA, Wheeljack. His only onscreen appearance was a dead carcass with an unknown hole in his chest. Same with Windcharger and others. It seems they are dead because...they need to be dead and that was that. The Decepticons faired better, but barely so. Big example would be the Insecticons. They took more than one beating in the previous two seasons, up and including Shrapnel getting blown to bits by the Nova Power Core near the end of "The Insecticon Syndrome" but was quickly put back together by Bombshell a second later. Yet in the movie, they served nothing more as Optimus's target practice. One blast from his Fusion Rifle and they are basically gone to be reformatted by Unicron. Like Optimus, same with Megatron. He took far worse beatings than his fight with Prime in the previous two seasons and yet was defeated in the end after the short fight. As if this was not enough. When season three started, every surviving Transformers suddenly gain all their invincibility back again. For ex. Galvatron was able to blast Starscream to dust from head to shin with one blast. But when he did the same to Cyclonus while possed by the Ghost of Starscream, it only heavily damaged him. And in that same episode, Galvatron was betrayed by Octane and the same possed Cyclonus to Rodimus and a bunch of other Autobots but was able to make it out heavily damaged when if we go by the movie, he should've been torn to pieces. And in Five Face of Evil, Springer, again, got chopped to bits but was put back together quickly later. It's obvious that these characters, especially Optimus Prime did not need to die but did anyways, and to kids, for no particular reasons whatsoever other than they must be dead. That left a lot of sour tastes in people's, especially kids mouths. Hence, why all the angry letters afterwards.

===Not necessarily errors===
* Fans have noted throughout the years that Astrotrain, in his flight through zero-gravity space, should not have needed to "jettison some weight" in the literal sense. However, since the ejected Decepticons quickly fall behind Astrotrain instead of floating alongside him, he must still have been accelerating and thus would have needed to burn a greater amount of fuel in order to push a larger payload. Perhaps he should have said "jettison some ''mass''", but then again, just being a spaceship doesn't make him a rocket scientist.
* Starscream is shown just inside Astrotrain's cargo bay when he commands him to take off, but in the next shot (Astrotrain's door closing as his rocket engines ignite), Starscream is nowhere to be seen. It's possible that he walked further in, but he should still be at least partially visible.

==Continuity notes==
* The Movie has had a huge effect in shaping the mythos. Among the elements and characters which would reappear in many other iterations of Transformers are:
** The notion that Cybertron has moons
** The Matrix as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the Marvel Comics. Even the Marvel Comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
** Autobot City
** Unicron
** The notion of Megatron becoming Galvatron
** And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool!
* Gadgets and powers:
** Springer deploys a small flip-out twin laser from his wrist during the Autobot City battle.
** Arcee and Hot Rod both activate a long-distance scanner of some sort by lowering a red visor from under their helmets over their eyes.
** Hot Rod uses a saw blade that extends from his retracted wrist.
** Blurr has the same kind of hooked welding tip used by various Autobots as far back as "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 2]]".
** Arcee unleashes a nasty barbed post from her fender to fend off a Junkion.
** Grimlock shows the never-before seen ability to shoot lasers from his fists.
* '''[[The Revenge of Bruticus|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's <s>dead</s> almost dead!

==Real-world references and Easter eggs==
[[Image:TFTMUnicronSkyscrapers.jpg|thumb|]]
* When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards shows, for a split second, various environments in a state of ruin. A frame by frame viewing reveals what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings inside Unicron, some of which are upside-down.
* When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''[[Wikipedia:Looney Tunes|Looney Tunes]]'' fashion.
* Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''[[Wikipedia:Of Mice and Men|Of Mice and Men]]'', complete with Grimlock in the Lenny role asking Kup to "tell Grimlock about petrorabbits again".
* The Junkions speak almost entirely in pop culture quotes and pastiches. Littered among the generic phrases like "operators are standing by!", "Film at eleven" and "eliminate even the toughest stains" are more specific references, such as:
** "Don't look behind door #2, Monty!" - a reference to the game show ''[[Let's Make a Deal]]'' and its host, [[Monty]] Hall.
** "Ger-ronny-doo-ron-ron-ronny-mo!" - both the famous "[[Wikipedia:Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!]]" war cry, and the 1963 hit "[[Wikipedia:Da Doo Ron Ron|Da Doo Ron Ron]]".
** "You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for [[Wikipedia:Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel]] insect traps.
** "Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Esso]].
[[Image:Tftm rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg|thumb|You have ''no'' idea how long it took to identify all the pieces on these guys.]]
* The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling [[:Image:Tftm rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg#parts|several mobile suits]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''[[Wikipedia:Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam|Mobile Suit Zeta Gundam]]''.
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects (yes, even the high-budget Movie uses them):
** The ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst noise is used extensively throughout the film, over and over and over, almost any time a Decepticon takes flight.

** [[Luke Skywalker]]'s deactivating [[lightsaber]] is used as the sound of the Quintesson ship's ramp extending.
** Clashing lightsabers are used as Unicron fires eye-blasts at the attacking Transformers.

** An igniting lightsaber is used as Rodimus opens the Matrix.
* The ''[[Star Trek]]'' sliding door sound is used as Wreck-Gar pulls out his <s>iPhone</s> mini-TV.
* The sound used for the communicators on ''Star Trek'' is used when Daniel activates his blaster to save Spike

==Adaptations==
*[[Transformers: The Movie (Marvel comic)|A comic adaptation of the movie]] was published by [[Marvel Comics]] in 1986, concurrently with the movie's theater run. It was based off a non-finalized version of the script, and differs in many details from the final film. Additionally, most of the major character models (and possibly their unedited original character write-ups) appear in issue #4 of the ''[[The Transformers Universe|Transformers Universe]]'' series.
* [[Transformers the Movie (Ladybird adaptation)|A storybook adaptation]] was released in the UK by [[Ladybird Books]].
*A four-part adaptation was released in 2006/2007 by [[IDW Publishing]], as part of the film's 20th anniversary celebration. It was titled ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' to differentiate it from the [[Michael Bay]] [[Transformers (film)|live-action film]]. Unlike its predecessor, it adheres rigidly to the script and plot of the finished movie.

==Soundtrack==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack}}

==Promotions==
* Early in the movie's production, a [[The Transformers: The Movie promo|promotional trailer]] was made to sell the project to potential investors.
* The movie was advertised on related 1986 toy packages via the [[Decipher the Decepticon]] Sweepstakes, which included a pack-in poster and contest.
* The movie was heavily advertised directly by TV [[commercial]]s, and tail-end segments on Transformer toy ads. Portions of its story were also retold in altered fashion by animation segments of commercials for the movie character toys, such as a spot showing Springer doing battle with Wreck-Gar.

==In the comic continuity==
The [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|Marvel UK comic]] made extensive use of the Movie as the basis for a series of stories involving the Transformers in the future. However there are several differences between the events seen on screen and those referenced in the comic:

*The comic always dates the movie to 2006, following the date given in a treatment that was all [[Simon Furman]] had when he wrote [[Target: 2006]].
*In Target: 2006, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] states that he was previously "[[Life Spark]]".
*The Matrix is always called the "Creation Matrix" in the comic, a name that predates the "Matrix of Leadership" but which is now used for the same physical object.
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in [[Space Pirates!]] (set in 2008).

In addition, Shockwave definitely survives the attack by Unicron.

The US comic almost completely ignored the events of the Movie, though later in the run an alternative future is briefly shown in "[[Rhythms of Darkness!]]" and "[[A Savage Circle]]". In this timeline at least some of the events of the Movie took place such as the creation of Galvatron from Megatron, which is dated to 2005, though Prowl's death was overlooked. [[Prowl II|Wouldn't be the first time. Or the last.]]
*The US version of the future story [[The Big Broadcast of 2006 (issue)|The Big Broadcast of 2006]] implicitly has the events of the movie as part of its backstory. However, since the rest of the US series ignored the movie, this issue's place in the continuity is questionable.

==Edits==
Several English-language versions of the film exist, with the following differences in content from the American theatrical run:

* In some versions (notably the European version) the opening credits are replaced with a scrolling text ("''Star Wars'' style") which provides backstory.
* In some versions (notably the European version) the film ends with [[Victor Caroli|a narrator]] reassuring the audience that Optimus Prime will return.
* Instances of swearing in the film (there are two) were edited out; sometimes one, sometimes both. Those instances are: Spike yelling, "Oh shit, what are we gonna do now?" after the self-destructing Moon Base 2 fails to scratch Unicron, and Ultra Magnus growling, "Open, damn it, open!" while trying to open the Matrix to fend off Galvatron and the Sweeps on Junkion. The United Kingdom cinema version had the swearing included but, when it was released on VHS in the United Kingdom, Spike's line was cut ("damn" not being considered especially offensive in the UK). However it has been restored on all United Kingdom DVD releases.
* In some early FHE video releases, the shot of the Matrix falling out of Optimus Prime's hand and being caught by Hot Rod is edited so that it appears that Ultra Magnus simply takes the Matrix from Prime. Why this was done is not known, and the replay of the Hot Rod catch on Unicron's monitors was left intact.
*Instead of DEG, the [[Wikipedia:Rank Organisation|Rank Film]] "[[Wikipedia:Gongman|Gongman]]" appears before the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors.

None of these edits significantly affect the story. They should not be confused with various other sequences which were changed before the film's final release:

* Originally, Ultra Magnus's "death sequence" on Junkion called for him to be lassoed and drawn and quartered by the Sweeps' energy beams, but this was deemed too graphic for audiences, hence the less disturbing "shot to death" sequence seen instead. There is evidence that the original sequence had been fully animated when the decision was made, however; the Sweeps still kept their solid energy lassos when they fire upon Magnus, and Magnus is seen visibly straining against what appears to be said lassos (edited out and replaced with laser fire) before exploding. This also explains why the Junkions only have to put his limbs back on to repair him.
* A number of other sequences were illustrated as [[storyboard]]s but dropped, presumably without ever being animated. Among them were:
** A short scene showing Ironhide piloting the Autobot shuttle through ''huge chunks of ice'' from the tail of a passing comet, explaining how the Decepticons caught them unawares. In response to a reprimand by Prowl who prickishly disapproves of Ironhide's piloting shenanigans, Ironhide exclaims, "I can sure as shootin' dodge a couple of ice chunks". When the Autobots are suddenly jolted by the Decepticon strike force as Megatron and his troops attempt to enter the shuttle, Ironhide tells the others on board, "That was no ice chunk...". Heroic nonsense ensues...
** An extended sequence with Hot Rod and Daniel outside the city.
** A sequence of Mirage blasting Bombshell and being fired on by Megatron.
** The Autobots finally bringing down Devastator with a barrage of missiles (and the Constructicons subsequently shooting Red Alert in the back).
** The Decepticons dogpiling Optimus Prime, explaining why he seems to be standing up just before his fight with Megatron, and no longer holding his rifle. According to storyboards, Prime gets bum-rushed by Blitzwing (who causes Prime to drop his gun), Starscream, Astrotrain, and Skywarp. While it is not clear how Prime defeated the first four hand-to-hand combatants, Dirge is later shown attempting one final sneak attack (and gets his can handed back to him) as Prime is talking to Megatron before the two leaders' final fight.
** Trailbreaker is shown dead among the wreckage of Autobot City as the Decepticons begin their retreat.
:Some of these concepts were in earlier versions of the script, and hence made it into the comic adaptation.
* Rumors have occasionally circulated in the fandom of additional animated footage that was dropped from the film, such as ultra-violent battle scenes. No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits are those listed in this section.
:{{see|Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers#The Transformers: The Movie|Urban legends about ''The Transformers: The Movie''}}

==Reception==
{{quote|''The Transformers'', in which Orson Welles plays a planet, is pure headache material. Target audience of cartoon-watchers also will probably find the film unintelligible, noisy and unoriginal. Boxoffice prospects are dismal.|2=[http://books.google.com/books?id=DHNZAAAAMAAJ&q=Hasbro+Transformers&dq=Hasbro+Transformers&lr=&as_drrb_is=b&as_minm_is=1&as_miny_is=1983&as_maxm_is=12&as_maxy_is=2005&num=50&as_brr=0&cd=69 Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19]}}

{{quote|Obnoxious animated feature about the title good guys, who defend the universe against an evil planet (which has a voice of its own... provided by Orson Welles.) That deafening rock score certainly doesn't help. Little more than a feature-length toy commercial.|Leonard Maltin, ''1987 Movie & Video Guide''}}

{{quote|While all this action may captivate young children, the animation is not spectacular enough to dazzle adults, and the Transformers have few truly human elements to lure parents along, even when their voices are supplied by well-known actors. |2=[http://www.nytimes.com/1986/08/09/movies/screen-transformers-animation-for-children.html The New York Times]}}

{{quote|Transformers -- The Movie, a feature-length animated film inspired by the syndicated TV cartoon series inspired by the Hasbro toy imported from Japan, is utterly uninspired entertainment. |2=[http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=DM&p_theme=dm&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0ED3CE8EA8D40CCA&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM The Dallas Morning News]}}

{{quote|If you can swallow, without gagging, a large measure of sentimental and offensive religiosity - lines like "Do not grieve. Soon I will be one with the Matrix," whispered by a failing hunk of Autobot metal - then you have a better than even chance of leaving the theatre on your own two feet. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=01kiAAAAIBAJ&sjid=W6gFAAAAIBAJ&pg=2445,1286000&dq=transformers&hl=en The Montreal Gazette]}}

{{quote|Everything is poorly drawn and - when it's in focus - one dimensional. It is terribly hard to separate the robots from the backgrounds, and there is no easy way to tell the good guys from the bad guys. In an earlier movie based on the same sort of robot toys - "Go-Bots: The Battle of the Rock Lords" - the good guys were either white or colorful and the bad guys were dreary, and they had distinct personalities. Not this movie; everyone looks and sounds alike, except one pink robot who is a female good guy. Her tin voluptuousness makes her stand out. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=kw4wAAAAIBAJ&sjid=OgMEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6957,6334152&dq=transformers&hl=en The Toledo Blade]}}

{{quote|Even with an all-star cast doing the voice overs... and a rock music score, this is still nothing more than a ripoff of a successful toy line. |2=[http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=AYckAAAAIBAJ&sjid=dtsFAAAAIBAJ&pg=4192,1494652&dq=transformers&hl=en The Palm Beach Post]}}

{{quote|The great animated villains, like the Wicked Queen in Disney's "Snow White," had motivations as compelling as any live-action character. Unicron apparently destroys entire worlds because it has nothing else to do. |2=[http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/57996397.html?dids=57996397:57996397&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&type=current&date=Aug+8%2C+1986&author=CHARLES+SOLOMON&pub=Los+Angeles+Times+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=8&desc=%60THE+TRANSFORMERS%27%3A+STRETCHING+A+POINT The LA Times]}}

''The Transformers: The Movie'' was almost universally panned by professional critics upon its release.

Well-known film critic and animation enthusiast, Leonard Maltin, gave it a rating below 1 1/2 stars in his ''1987 Movie & Video Guide'', regarding it as a "bomb", then proceeded to write an unflattering blurb denouncing the film as a "feature-length toy commercial" (well, he was ''right'').

Caryn James of the ''New York Times'' admitted in the [[August 9]], 1986 edition of the paper that the film was intended for young children, pointing out that the kids in the audience were having a grand ole time with the ''Transformer'' toys and comics they brought with them to the theater, but derided the film as having little to no appeal to adults (''man-children'', on the other hand...).

''Variety's Film Reviews 1985-1986, Volume 19 '' was far less even-handed in their review, claiming the film had no appeal to adults ''or'' children. They predicted the film would perform poorly in the box office (and were correct, in that regard).

Carrie Rickey of the ''Dallas Morning News'' chided the film in the [[August 13]], 1986 issue of the paper, describing it as "essentially a cartoon ''Star Wars'' about robots from a toybox galaxy far, far away". She then went on to say that the film "never takes off" and derided it as "uninspired".

Janice Kennedy of the ''Montreal Gazette'' verbally disemboweled the film in the [[August 23]], 1986 edition of the paper, criticizing it as overly commercial, profane, loud, violent, humorless, heavy-handed in its religious messages and chaulk-full of gratuitous celebrity voice-overs. Her only compliment: "But ''The Transformers: The Movie'' does have at least one good thing going for it, a howlingly appropriate song by [["Weird Al" Yankovic]]. It's title? ''Dare to be Stupid''." ''Ouch''.

Nanciann Cherry in the August 13, 1986 edition of the ''Toledo Blade'' claimed the robots in the movie had little personality and faded into the background. She even went on to say that ''Challenge of the GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords'' was a superior film! Her review was filled with inaccuracies, however, citing characters such as "Unicon" and claiming that the destruction of Cybertron's moons by "Unicon" is what caused the Autobots to travel to Autobot City, at which point Megatron attacked. To be fair, she readily admits, "About 20 minutes into the film, I gave up on the plot and tried to count all the ideas that were stolen from other sources. Now that kept me busy." So she wasn't really paying attention, anyway.

Kathryn Buxton in the [[August 22]], 1986 edition of the ''Palm Beach Post'' gave the film a whopping ''one'' star, calling it "a ripoff of a successful toyline", whatever ''that'' means. In the same article, she also gave David Cronenberg's ''[[Fly|The Fly]]'' one star, just for reference.

In the August 8, 1986 edition of the ''LA Times'', critic Charles Solomon made clear his dislike for the film centered primarily on the fact that none of the characters had interesting or believable motivation. He stated, "Not even the best actor can create a character out of nothing. Not one of the robots has a reason for doing what he does." Solomon then pointed to Unicron specifically as an example of the lack of deep, multi-dimensional motivations in the characters.

Over time, however, the movie has acquired something of a cult following beyond the core base of [[fandom|Transformers fans]], particularly among children of the 80s. It is sometimes screened as a midnight movie at colleges. Online, it is not hard to find amateur reviews lauding everything about it as utterly awesome, from the premise to the soundtrack, and dismissing more critical views out of hand.

To date, the budget of the film has not been disclosed—at least, not in any place the [[fandom]] has found. According to most box office tracking sites,<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm</ref><ref>http://www.the-numbers.com/movies/1986/0TRTM.php</ref> ''The Transformers: The Movie'' made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with other animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''[[GoBots (franchise)|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords]]''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gobots.htm</ref> ($1,338,264) and ''Heathcliff: The Movie''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=heathcliff.htm</ref> ($2,610,686), it performed worse than the ''[[My Little Pony]]'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=mylittlepony.htm</ref> ($5,958,456) and the '''second''' ''Care Bears'' movie<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=carebearsmovie2.htm</ref> ($8,540,346). Bringing up ''The Great Mouse Detective''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=greatmousedetective.htm</ref> ($25,336,794) and ''An American Tail''<ref>http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=americantail.htm</ref> ($47,483,002) would really just be overkill.

==Significance in Transfandom==
''The Transformers: The Movie'' remains one of the most important elements of the entire Transformers brand, both within the fiction and from the perspective of the brand's popularity and "mindshare".

Fictionally, it established several story concepts that have been used repeatedly in the years since 1986, some of which—such as Unicron and the Matrix—are now central to the entire Transformers mythos. The movie is also the centerpiece of the most well-known Transformers continuity: the Generation 1 animated universe. The ''Transformers'' cartoon is split into "pre-movie" and "post-movie" sections which feature different characters and settings, and even somewhat different visual styles. (Most pre-movie episodes were animated by the studio [[Toei]], while most post-movie episodes were animated by [[AKOM]].)

On a practical note, it was widely available on videotape, and remained so long after the ''The Transformers'' cartoon had gone off the air. Only a [[Family Home Entertainment|handful of series episodes]] were available on video, making ''The Transformers: The Movie'' the logical choice for someone looking to pick up a ''Transformers'' cartoon; this made it far more well-known among fans than any particular cartoon episode.

To an entire generation of young fans, the movie was the most visually spectacular and narratively epic ''Transformers'' experience of their entire youth. Events such as the death of Optimus Prime are widely reported to have reduced many kids to tears. It is hardly a surprise that these emotional experiences embedded themselves deeply in many fans' memories.

==Criticisms==
[[Image:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|180px|left|thumb|Only [[Stormtrooper (SW)|Imperial Stormtroopers]] are so precise.]]

All this is not all to say that the movie is a "masterpiece", exactly. The film met with extremely harsh critical reviews on its release, and some of those criticisms still ring true today.

The film displays an arguably cynical attitude towards itself as [[To sell toys|a vehicle for advertising toys]], especially in the way beloved characters are killed—sometimes gratuitously—for sake of justifying the story's focus on a new group of toys. (Note that with the exception of Laserbeak and possibly Buzzsaw the poster at the top of this article features ''only'' new characters.)

Further, the two primary plot devices—[[Unicron]] and the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]]—have no prior establishment in the fiction. Unicron is given no backstory ([[Call of the Primitives|until season 3]]) or justification; he simply exists, is very dangerous, and is afraid of the Matrix, all for no adequately explained reason. The introduction of the Matrix itself is a heavy [[retcon]]. The story asks the audience to accept that this cosmically powerful artifact has been in Prime's possession all along (even though an X-ray of Optimus Prime's innards in the second season episode "[[A Prime Problem]]" show absolutely no signs of said Matrix), but has somehow never been relevant before. In fact, this lack of prior establishment is what led [[Simon Furman]] to develop the divinity backstory of Unicron and [[Primus]] in the UK comics run.

[[Image:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Your powers are weak, old man!]]
The movie bears many similarities to ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'': There are several character-parallels ([[Springer (G1)|Springer]] is a [[Han Solo]]-type and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron|but it transforms!]]), and both feature a climactic battle where the [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|young hero]] hears the voice of his [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|dead, wise mentor]] one last time before saving the day.

To be a bit more fair to ''The Transformers: The Movie'', however, most of these similarities are either superficial (Arcee's Leia-hair; Megatron's "lightsaber" he briefly uses in his duel against Optimus Prime) or can be seen as elements common to thousands of years worth of epic storytelling through human history, not just common to ''Star Wars''. As a simple example, the phenomenon of two charismatic leaders dealing each other mortal injuries in battle hearkens back to some versions of the "King Arthur" myth; in their final battle, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arthur]] and his arch-enemy [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sir Mordred]] deal one another lethal injuries and both apparently expire—though Arthur according to the legend will [[The Return of Optimus Prime|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England's]] need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].

==Formatting==
[[Image:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|right|300px|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right).]]
Although it was billed in some advertisements before its theatrical release as being "widescreen", the movie was in fact animated in a 4:3 (fullscreen) aspect ratio. For its theatrical screenings, the film was matted down in the projector by the projectionist to a 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen), chopping the top and bottom off the picture, but all video transfers of the movie were done without mattes, meaning that there was actually more picture visible in the fullscreen video and DVD releases than there would have been in theaters. Across 2006 and 2007, new editions of the DVD of the film were released by Sony BMG and [[Metrodome]] which applied the mattes in order to replicate the original theatrical presentation of the film for the first time in home entertainment. Some fans, however, didn't realize that the film wasn't actually ''animated'' in widescreen, and, hearing that the DVD was to be in widescreen, expected to see the fullscreen image with additional footage at the sides, causing them to complain that the top and bottom were cut off, thereby totally missing the point.

==International versions==
{{main|The Transformers: The Movie/dubs}}

==Commercial Releases==
[[Image:Tftm laserdisk cover.jpg|right|thumb|The cover image from the original Japanese home media release of the movie.]]
* The movie was originally released in North America on home video in 1987 by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Not long after, it was released in the UK by [[Video Gems]]. This version featured the opening text crawl and closing narration inherent to the UK version of the film. In Australia, the film was released on video by RCA/Columbia Pictures/Hoyts. In Japan, Hillcrane released a Laserdisc version alongside a VHS copy, both sporting a gorgeous painted cover that decorated many a fan's desktop back in the day.
*The movie was released spottily in the '90s, beginning with a budget VHS by Avid Home Entertainment in 1991. [[Malofilm]] released a VHS in Canada in 1995, notable for being the first home entertainment version to include Spike's swear. In 1998, Japanese company Pioneer produced another pair of Laserdisc and VHS releases. In 1999, things kicked off when American company [[Kid Rhino]] secured the Transformers license and released the film on VHS once again.
*The 21st century's flirtation with ''The Transformers: The Movie'' started with a UK budget VHS release of that country's version by [[Sony|Sony Wonder]], distributed by [[Maverick Entertainment]]. A Japanese company called CatCo followed this up with a VideoCD, and Malofilm—now Seville—were the first to release a DVD version of the film, though it was just a dump of their VHS version.
*In November 2000, ''The Transformers: The Movie'' got its first, full professional DVD release from Kid Rhino. This edition, labelled a "Special Collector's Edition", is the first to feature remastered video and audio, and several special features, including storyboards and an interview with [[Vince DiCola]]. Rhino concurrently released this version on VHS, sans extras.
*In 2001 in the UK, Sony Wonder released their own much-delayed DVD version of the film. It was the UK version of the film, but included Spike's swear. However, the release was burdened by badly interlaced video, though it notably included the [[Omni Productions]] dub version of the ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]" as an extra. This version (including the ''Headmasters'' episode) was simultaneously released on VHS.
*The movie was released on DVD in Australia in 2003 by [[Madman Entertainment]], using the same video as the Maverick version, but distinguished by some nifty new cover art by [[Don Figueroa]], and special features not seen on other editions, such as ''[[Stan Bush|The Touch]]'' music video and 80s TV spots.
[[Image:Tftm uk covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|The UK poster art (left) has been the most common DVD and VHS cover in its home country, but the Ultimate Edition featured new art by Andy Wildman (right).]]
*After acquiring the license to release ''Transformers'' DVDs in the UK, [[Metrodome]] focused on completing their run of series box sets before turning their attention to the movie properly, releasing only a cheap budget DVD of the UK version through Prism Leisure with no extras, and a UMD of the same version.
*In 2005, Metrodome released ''Transformers: The Movie - Reconstructed'', a new version of the film designed to expose as much of the animated picture as possible. This, however, only resulted in exposing the rough, unfinished edges of the animation, and an overly pale remaster was compounded by excessive interlacing due to an unnecessary NTSC to PAL transfer. This, coupled with a 5.1 remix from [[Magno Sound & Video]], featuring the same extra sound effects that they added to Rhino's season box sets, made this release both controversial and disappointing to many. This was the first time that the US version of the movie was released in the UK, and the first to feature the US poster art as a cover (although a Silverscreen store exclusive version of the disc included a reversible cover with the UK poster art as well). Extras include trailers, TV spots, the character biographies from the Madman release, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[Image:Tftm sony covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Sony's covers, by Don Figueroa.]]
*For the movie's 20th anniversary in 2006, new license holder [[Sony|Sony BMG]] released a two-disc special edition of the film, featuring both a high-quality widescreen remaster and the original fullscreen version, audio commentaries from crew and fans, several new featurettes interviewing those involved in the movie's production, storyboards, tv spots, American and Japanese commercials and more. Most notably, this version included the first Western release of "[[Scramble City: Mobilization]]", albeit silent and unsubtitled, featuring only audio commentary. This release featured two covers by Don Figueroa: one is of the '84-'85 cast that appear in the movie, and one is of the movie's new characters, available either as a lenticular hologram that switches between the two, or as a reversible sleeve with the images printed on either side.
[[Image:Tftm madman covers.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Madman's 2003 DVD cover (left), and their 2007 Special Edition cover (right).]]
*Delayed a bit to coincide with the hype for the 2007 [[Transformers (film)|live-action movie]], Metrodome also released a two-disc "Ultimate Edition" with a different widescreen master. Like "Reconstructed", this version used the US edition of the film, but this time, the UK version was also included, in fullscreen, on the second disc. Extras include TV spots, commercials, the Madman biographies, storyboards, commentary, "Scramble City" (with audio and subtitles), featurettes with [[Flint Dille]] and [[Peter Cullen]], and more. The double-disc edition was sold in a steel case featuring new art by [[Andrew Wildman]], with the UK poster art adorning the standard case inside. Various store exclusives were available, including postcards from Play.Com, a reversible cover with the US poster art from HMV, art cards from Virgin Megastore and [[posters]] from Woolworths and [[Toys"R"Us]]. It was also available in an extra-less single-disc version. This version was premiered at the Mid Ulster Film Festival in Ireland which was the only cinema showing of the remastered version of the film to date.
*The film was released in Full HD 1080p on Blu-ray in the UK in October 2007. The Blu-ray is not region-locked, so it will play anywhere in the world. It features a 2.0 soundtrack, 5.1 Dolby Digital track, and a full bitrate DTS 5.1 track. The master used was the same used by Sony for their US DVD. The picture is quite stunning and the sound very good. Sadly, there are no extras on the DVD. The version of the film on the Blu-ray is the US one, complete with curse words.
*Madman produced their two-disc special edition through some collaboration with Metrodome, and consequently it features much of the same content, with additional extras taking the form of The Touch music video and a bonus episode of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''. This release again features cover artwork by Don Figueroa, specifically the cover of [[IDW Publishing|IDW]]'s ''[[Transformers: The Animated Movie]]'' adaptation.

==Television Broadcasts==
Following an airing during Season Five in parts, the feature film was only ever aired on American television in 1989 via the Fox stations. Air dates and times were June 17 at Noon, July 30 at 11 A.M. and September 2 at 10 A.M. Of course, this was the language-edited video release from Family Home Entertainment.

The movie was aired on [[The Hub]] on February 18, 2012, following [[Orion Pax, Part 1|the Season 2 premier]] of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' on what was called "Transformers Mega Saturday". Uniquely, this version seemed to combine the European opening naration with the US scrawl-free opening credits, muted the two swear words, used the European closing narration at the end, and sped up the scroll of the end credits to cut it down for time, ending the lyrics of the theme song around the beginning of its second verse.

The American television airing of the feature film adds one extra sound effect, and it has never been heard in any other release. During the scene when Arcee is racing to jump aboard the departing Autobot shuttle, there is a distinctive sound effect when she jumps. In all other releases there is no sound effect.

==Notes==
* According to [[Buzz Dixon]], Hasbro's decision to kill off Optimus Prime was actually an attempt to maintain some brand-storytelling parity with ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'', as Dixon had just convinced them to allow the death of [[Duke (G.I. Joe)|Duke]] in ''[[wikipedia:G.I. Joe: The Movie|G.I. Joe: The Movie]]'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

* This film was the last professional performance by [[Orson Welles]], who died only a month later. According to production materials shown at [[BotCon 2000]] by Tim Finn, the voice recording sessions for ''The Transformers: The Movie'' were done on [[September 10]] and [[September 11|11]] of 1985. Welles died on [[October 10]] of that same year. It has often been speculated that Unicron's last line ("Destiny… you cannot destroy my destiny!") was recorded by another actor—possibly [[Leonard Nimoy|Nimoy]]—because it sounds different than the other lines. This speculation has been quashed by statements by Transformers voice director [[Wally Burr]].<ref>http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/wally-burr/wally_burr_3.html</ref>
[[Image:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Uncle Owen! Aunt Beru!!]]

* With the exception of Starscream and possibly Shockwave, only the Autobots suffered fatalities in the movie. All of the other "dead" Decepticons from the Autobot City battle were rebuilt into Galvatron's new troops, and although more Decepticons were shown taking heavy damage and suffering huge casualties while fighting Unicron, their identities and their final condition are uncertain. Additionally, both Starscream and Unicron survived in the post-movie series in some form or another. Shockwave's death in the finished film is highly uncertain, although in the script it is fairly strongly implied. He does make some miscolored appearances in crowd shots in later cartoon episodes, but these are probably examples of the fairly common animation errors in those episodes.

* Somewhat ironically, though only three of the original eighteen Autobots - [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]], [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]], and [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] - are definitively shown to have survived the movie, two would quite literally never be heard from again: [[Scatman Crothers]] passed away (though this didn't stop Jazz from making any number of background cameos) while Casey Kasem [[Casey Kasem#Notes|quit the show early in the third season]]. Fate's finger is fickle indeed.

*[[:Image:TFTM-MaybeBeachcomber.jpg|A robot resembling Beachcomber]] appears alongside Spike and the Autobots inside Unicron seconds before Daniel blasts the acid cover. Whether this was actually meant to be Beachcomber or just coincidental coloring is unknown, but regardless, Beachcomber shows up alive and well in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5]]".

==External links==
* [http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=transformers.htm ''The Transformers: The Movie'''s box office domestic gross.]
* [http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie]
* [http://www.wombatking.com/coppermine/thumbnails.php?album=4 ''The Transformers: The Movie'' deleted storyboards]

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 1 media]]
[[Category:MSTF]]
[[Category:Real world films]]

The Dweller in the Depths

2013-06-05T13:38:13Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|ep=87
|series2=2010
|ep2=18
|prev2=Webworld
|next2=The Quintesson Journal
|image=DwellerDepths Dweller surface.jpg
|caption=Cthulhu fhtagn!
|title="The Dweller in the Depths"
|production code=700-107
|airdate=[[October 30]], 1986
|written by=[[Paul Dini]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Quintessons, as part of a new attempt at regaining Cybertron, unleash the most dangerous creature known.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:QuintessonDepth.jpg|left|200px|thumb|We'll avoid the obvious two-faced jokes here.]]

On Cybertron, the [[Autobot]]s have just successfully activated [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]]'s new power core, which should be able to triple the planet’s energy reserves. A short distance away in their ship, the Quintessons watch, disgusted by the success and progress of their creations. One Quintesson unveils a plan to release the [[Dweller]], one of the early biomechanical experiments called [[Trans-Organic]]s that were developed by the Quintessons that predate the creation of the Transformers. Unable to even perform rudimentary assignments, the Trans-Organics were unstable monsters that were eventually sealed away in a hibernation chamber deep within Cybertron.

[[Image:ArceeDepth.jpg|right|200px|thumb|In true horror movie style, the girl grabs the most phallic weapon she can to defend herself.]]

On [[Chaar]], [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] is lamenting his [[Decepticon]] troops' incompetence when the Quintessons beam down to talk. The Quintessons inform Galvatron about the Autobots' new power core but purposely give him the wrong location. Galvatron, [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep]]s arrive on Cybertron, and break into the tunnel that leads below, soon pursued by [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]], [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]], [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], and [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]]. The Decepticons uncover the storage chamber of the Trans-Organics, and accidentally release them from their stasis pods. The creatures soon attack both the Decepticons and the Autobots. In trying to escape, the Decepticons open another chamber and release the most powerful of the monstrous experiments: The Dweller, a giant energy leech that drains their energy and turns the Transformers into [[energy vampire]]s. Running and fighting through the maze of chambers and tunnels in the dark depths of Cybertron, The Dweller quickly whittles down the Decepticon and the Autobot forces, leaving only Galvatron, Ultra Magnus, and Arcee to escape. Of course, many of the Decepticon losses can be attributed to Galvatron throwing his own soldiers at the Dweller to buy himself time.

[[Image:VampireDepth.jpg|left|200px|thumb|That container on the Dweller's back? Full of Worcestershire sauce.]]

The two Autobots make it back to headquarters where they update [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] and Perceptor on the situation, the energy vampires bursting in right behind them. Perceptor determines that the vampires are suffering from a unique form of energy depletion and that a power surge should restabilize their levels. The Autobots form a chain with Perceptor at the end, who plugs himself into the console and they inject the crowd of vampire with an [[energon]] surge. The surge returns the Autobots and Decepticons to normal. Cyclonus, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the other Sweeps quickly escape and rejoin Galvatron.

Meanwhile, The Dweller is breaking free to the surface, getting bigger from its energy absorption, and heading for Perceptor’s generator. Knowing that it will be unstoppable once it has attached itself to the generator, Perceptor uses the emergency eject switch to launch both the generator and The Dweller on top of it into space. Floating far away from Cybertron, The Dweller instead attaches itself to the ship of the Quintessons who started everything in the first place.

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (1)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (3)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (4)
*[[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (5)
*[[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (11)
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (12)
*[[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (15)
*[[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (16)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (7)
*[[Sweep|Sweeps]] (8)
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (9)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (10)

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]]s (6)
*[[Trans-Organic]]s (13)
*[[Dweller]] (14)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:GalvatronDepth.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Why can't I get any loyalty out of my troops that I'm always shooting at or throwing at big, slobbering monsters?!]]

"You cringy, cowardly, weak-willed fools! Why am I still stuck on this worthless, cosmic trash bin! Why have I not retaken Cybertron?! And most importantly, why have I been saddled with such a useless pile of rusting junk for followers!" 
"But, mighty Galvatron, we humble Sweeps need energon to—" 
"It's power you want?! I will give you power!"
:—'''Galvatron''' in his rage demands to know from '''Scourge''' and the Sweeps why he isn't victorious. He takes out his frustrations on them until the Quintessons arrive.

"Quintesson! You have betrayed us to the Autobots once before. Why should I trust you?" 
"Heh heh. Please, Galvatron, you can't lay one bad experience on the doorstep of the whole Quintesson race. Besides, how can you be so certain that we were the ones who betrayed you?" 
"Well...you all do look alike."
:—'''Galvatron''' and the '''Quintessons''' as the latter manipulate the Decepticon leader as part of their new plan to retake Cybertron

"YO, JOE! Here I come to save the day. Ayay-yaya-yai! Can this be...the end...of little Wreck-Gar? Oh, no!"
:—'''Wreck-Gar''' saves Ultra Magnus from the Dweller's energy-draining web, only to get trapped in it himself and be drained.

[[Image:DwellerDepth.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Cybertron has a C.H.U.D. problem too.]]

"Come on, Wreck-Gar, buddy! They haven't canceled your series yet!"
:—'''Springer''' frees the energy-drained Wreck-Gar from the Dweller's rear pouch.

"Be a good soldier, help him." 
"Galvatron, NO! I beg you!"
:—'''Galvatron''' sacrifices another '''Sweep''' to the energy vampires that are approaching.

"I don't know what that thing is back in the tunnels, but even if it gets me as well, I'll die with the satisfaction that the universe will have two more Autobots to mourn!"
:—'''Galvatron''' as he is about to attack Ultra Magnus and Arcee, not realising that the Dweller is fast approaching.

==Notes==
*This isn’t the only energy leech to plague the Transformers, as a few episodes later, [[Tornedron]] will make an appearance in "[[Call of the Primitives]]".

===Animation or technical glitches===
[[Image:Dwelleroptimusgeneric.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Maybe our disguises will fool him!]]
* Perceptor's cannon is on the wrong shoulder in the first shot he's in.
* Just after Springer places the power core, Arcee refers to Rodimus giving a signal. Springer is then shown in robot mode waving and speaks with Rodimus's voice. Rodimus is nowhere to be seen.
* As usual, Galvatron's chin changes from dark grey to grey throughout the episode.
* As the Quintesson scientist notes that the power core mission is a "peace offering" to Galvatron, the long-faced Quintesson's face is brown instead of green.
* When Galvatron and the Sweeps are entering the abandoned shaft, Galvatron has a small head.
* Just before a commercial break, as Cyclonus is being chased by a Trans-Organic, the rectangle on his chest isn't colored (it should be orange).
* As one of the Sweeps is killed by a Trans-Organic, his scream is in Galvatron's voice.
* Magnus' gun sounds like Prime's gun.
* When Galvatron throws the last Sweep at the group of "vampires," the Sweep's Decepticon logo has an overly large crest.
* After throwing Galvatron, Ultra Magnus is missing the Autobot logo on his shoulder.
* When Arcee and Magnus note that they'll come for Galvatron later, both of them are missing their Autobot logos (and most of their detailing as well).
* When Perceptor notes the "unknown force," his Autobot logo is lined in black instead of white. This happens several more times over the rest of episode.
* The next shot has the lights going dim, well before the Dweller has reached the power core.
* Ultra Magnus and Arcee arrive a shot later, Arcee's Autobot logo disappears for a frame.
* As Magnus says, "So what can we do about it?," Arcee is missing her "wings."
* When he hits the console with his arm tool, Perceptor's chest is white instead of red.
* When the Dweller reaches Cybertron's surface, Streetwise and Groove are seen shooting at it, but Streetwise is colored like Optimus Prime and Groove is colored like Wheelie.
* As he notes releasing the power core is the only way to stop the creature, Rodimus' helmet is missing its horizontal line.
* As the Dweller reaches the core, its eyes are black instead of glowing yellow.
* "Now!" - Rodimus' helmet is missing its horizontal line.
* As the Autobots watch the core blast off, Rodimus' spoiler is all-yellow (it should be orange in the middle).
* As Perceptor works on the auxiliary generator, his right hand can be seen ''through'' a pillar.
* In the next shot, Arcee's nose is missing its bridge.

===Continuity errors===
* When the Autobots are buried by Galvatron's shot, it takes Springer to blast them out of it, even though Ultra Magnus drove himself out of rubble in [[Carnage in C-Minor]].
* When the Dweller breaks the surface and is being attacked by a bunch of unamed generic Autobots to the energy reactor, in the extreme bottom left corner, Optimus Prime makes a cameo. Yes, yes, he could be a generic autobot, but his coloring and size and shape is too much of a coincedence.

===Transformer references===
* The Quintessons remark on the Autobots' ancestors being the ones responsible for their exile from Cybertron.
* When the Dweller drains all the energy from a Transformer, it turns grey (like Optimus Prime when he died).
* The shot of the Autobots watching the core get blasted away is very similar to the shot of them watching Unicron's head get blasted away (in [[Ghost in the Machine]]). Only, here they aren't cheering and Wreck-Gar is standing where Kup was.

===Real-world references===
* This episode is heavily influenced by the writings of [[wikipedia:H.P._Lovecraft|H.P. Lovecraft]].
* Wreck-Gar quotes the catchphrases of both the [[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]] team and [[wikipedia:Mighty Mouse|Mighty Mouse]].
**While "Ai-yai-yai" is a fairly generic cry of distress, his TV-mania almost certainly makes it a quote from Ricky Ricardo (Desi Arnaz) in ''[[wikipedia:I Love Lucy|I Love Lucy]]''.
**"Can this be...the end...of little Wreck-Gar?" parodies the dying words of Edward G. Robinson's title character in ''[[wikipedia:Little Caesar|Little Caesar]]''.

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Der Moloch der Tiefe''' (''The Dweller in the Depths'')
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' セイバートロン星の吸血鬼 (''Cybertron-sei no Kyūketsuki'', "The Vampires of Planet Cybertron")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 27]], [[1987]]

'''Latin American'''
:*''Title:'' '''El Morador de las Profundidades''' (''The Dweller in the Depths'')
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* When Cyclonus calls for help from Galvatron after the Dweller grabs him, Galvatron turns and...actually ''hesitates'' for a moment before moving on. Clearly he has ''some'' regard for Cyclonus, despite his usual disgust and abuse.
* Galvatron comments that all Quintessons look the same, yet this episode features some of the more disparate designs in place of the usual five-faced Quints.
* The Quintesson describing the Dweller's creation remarks that it lost one of its faces to the creature. It then reveals an otherwise hidden face that has been damaged. It seems likely that the script intended for him to be a standard five-faced Quintesson.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dweller in the Depths}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1

2013-05-31T12:45:22Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|prev=The Transformers: The Movie
|ep=66
|series2=2010
|ep2=1
|prev2=The Transformers: The Movie
|next2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2
|image=FHE-FFoD.jpg
|caption=Boy, I sure did love that part in "Five Faces of Darkness" where [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Powermaster Prime]], [[Mainframe (G1)|Mainframe]], [[Cloudburst]] and [[Rev]] fought a giant floating Quintesson head.
|title="Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1"
|production code=#700-86
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|airdate=[[September 1]], 1986
|written by=[[Flint Dille]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''In the wake of Unicron's defeat, the battered Decepticons struggle to survive, and the Autobots enjoy a period of peace and celebration. But peace never lasts...'''

{{TOCclear}}
==Synopsis==
''The closing scenes of [[The Transformers: The Movie]] show us the destruction of Unicron and the Autobots escape, along with their victory celebration on Cybertron.''

It is the year 2005. Autobots have reclaimed [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] while the Decepticons, now squabbling with each other for [[energon]], retreated to the planet [[Chaar]]. Astrotrain returns to the planet with a pitiful number of energon cubes, resulting in a tussle as the Decepticons fight for their share. Cyclonus realizes that to return the Decepticons to fighting form, they need drastic measures.

[[Image:Blurr watching jazz.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Blurr would have that not-Jazz eat his vapor trails... instead he gets a date with rhyming boy.]]

Somewhere else, the first [[Galactic Olympics]] are being held. Blurr is griping about being stuck in a mission with [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] when he wants to join the events. But [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] wants them to go to [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]] on Earth, to deliver the new [[transformation cog]] for Metroplex, as his old one was damaged during the [[Battle of Autobot City|battle]] the [[The Transformers: The Movie|year before]].

Meanwhile, the Galactic Olympics are being sabotaged. A [[Skuxxoid]] detonates the Olympic flame, raining smoke down on the area and allowing a group of Sharkticons to land. The Autobots fight back, but in the confusion, Spike, Kup and Ultra Magnus are kidnapped. Rodimus Prime immediately suspects Decepticon shenanigans and orders the planet quarantined, but they are unable to prevent the Skuxxoid's spaceship from taking off. [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] and [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] set off to find a spacecraft of their own so they can pursue it.

[[Image:FFOD1 Cyclonus in Unicron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Cyclonus is looking for free porn.]]

Cyclonus, Scourge and the Sweeps sneak into [[Unicron]]’s head, still orbiting Cybertron. They're able to access Unicron's memory banks and watch footage of Rodimus's battle with Galvatron, culminating in the Decepticon leader being flung into space. Cyclonus then does some fast calculations and works out that Galvatron would eventually have reached the planet [[Thrull]]. There they see their leader soaking in the hot lava pools.

On Earth, Blaster and Outback go to the [[Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya|Federated Republic of Carbombya]] to investigate [[Earth Defense Command|EDC]] reports of Decepticons in that country. Despite the country's ruler, Abdul Fakkadi, claiming that they would never harbour such criminals, the Autobots land. Outback, equipped with a “[[Decepticon detector]]”, then flushes out Dirge and Ramjet. The two Autobots get the coordinates of Chaar from them... which they report to Rodimus Prime who wants to go there to investigate.

[[Image:FFOD1 Springer Arcee threaten Skuxxoid.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Oh, boy, kill'em! Kill'em all!]]

Arcee and Springer, meanwhile, have pursued the Skuxxoid to an asteroid, which he ducks behind. The Autobots follow, only for their ship to be seized by a huge claw. They evacuate the ship, only to find that the "asteroid" is actually a [[Rockeroid|disguised spacecraft]]. Springer hijacks it from the Skuxxoid, who escapes in his smaller ship and then calls his benefactor to confirm that the Autobots indeed suspect the Decepticons to be behind the disruption. The [[Quintesson|tentacled, egg-shaped benefactor]] listens to the report and then tunes out as he sees their prisoners, Spike, Kup and Ultra Magnus, being led by a [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticon]].

[[Image:FFOD1 Cyclonus Astrotrain energon.jpg|right|200px|thumb|]]

Cyclonus, Scourge and the [[Sweep|Sweeps]] return to Chaar, where the rest of the Decepticons are convinced that the solution to their problems is to have a strong leader again. They cheer when they hear that Galvatron lives, and are desperate enough that they give their remaining scraps of energon for reviving him. Rodimus Prime and Grimlock are spying nearby. Rodimus almost pities them, while Grimlock finds it funny (giving a rather possessed-sounding chuckle). Rodimus realizes that the Decepticons are too down on their luck to be the ones responsible for the kidnappings. Their cover suddenly gets blown and the Decepticons attack.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (1)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (2)
* [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] (3)
* [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (4)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (5)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (6)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (7)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (11)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (12)
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (13)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (14)
* [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (15)
* [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (24)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (25)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (26)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (29)
* [[Outback (G1)|Outback]] (30)
* [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (34)

|c2=
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (16)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (17)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (17)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (17)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (17)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (17)
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (17)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (18)
* [[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] (19)
* [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] (20)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (21)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (22)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (23)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (28)
* [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (32)
* [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (33)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (35)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (36)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (37)
* [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (38)
* [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (39)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (40)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (41)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (42)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (43)
* [[Octane]] (44)
* [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] / [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (45)
* [[Tantrum]] (46)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (47)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (48)

|c3=
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (9)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (10)
* [[Carly]] (28)
* [[Abdul Fakkadi (G1)|Abdul Fakkadi]] (31)

|c4=
* [[Unicron]]'s head (8)
* [[Skuxxoid]] (27)
* [[Quintesson]]s (34)
}}

==Quotes==
"Let's do it!" 
"Didn’t you want to say something about concord and tranquility in the galaxy?" 
"Aww, give me a break. ''Start the games!''"
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' and '''Ultra Magnus''' open the Galactic Olympics

"Ah, Rodimus is missing a few chips." 
"Nah, I was the same way until I got blown apart a few times."
:—'''Ultra Magnus''' and '''Kup'''

[[Image:Grimlock happy.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Perceptor and Rodimus watch as Grimlock does a jaunty jig on the enemies' heads.]]
'''Cyclonus''': There’s nothing to fear; Unicron is dead. 
''[They hear a groan]'' 
'''Cyclonus''': Must be the wind. 
'''Scourge''': There ''is'' no wind in space. 
'''Cyclonus''': Quiet!
:—Cyclonus and Scourge learn that [[Unicron|daddy]]'s still home.

"Our charts don’t show any planets in that sector—no, wait. Here it is. I thought it was a smudge on the screen. 
"Yeah, that fits the description of Chaar."
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' and '''Outback'''

"I say we pulverowderize the Autobots! I say we powderulverize 'em!"
:—'''Rumble'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s inspirational rally.

"If we surrender our energon, we're doomed." 
"If we don't, we're doomed, too." 
"Face it. We're doomed."
:-'''Dead End''' and '''Breakdown''' realize they're screwed.

"These guys are hurtin'. I never thought I’d feel sorry for the Decepticons." 
"Me Grimlock, not feel sorry. Me Grimlock laugh!" ''[snickers]''
:—'''Rodimus Prime''' pities the Decepticons, while '''Grimlock''' mocks them with a disturbing chuckle.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
"Five Faces of Darkness" is one (five) of the most notoriously error-plagued episodes in the entire series. Brace yourself...
* Quite a few Transformer voices appear to be processed with a very heavy bass end in this episode, including Rodimus, Arcee, Outback, and Springer.
* Chaar's moon and sun are bizarre. If the opening animation is to be believed, the moon takes about 20 seconds to orbit the planet, yet when we see it again later, it's just sitting there. The moon also appears to set with the red dusk sky ''behind'' it. The red dusk sky is a red dusk sky despite the sun having passed overhead in the opposite direction. The red dusk sky is also visible along the horizon in all directions. Maybe Chaar sits in a nebula?
* Long Haul is missing when the Constructicons combine.
* After he knocks Astrotrain away from the energon cube, Devastator's mouth does some lip-flapping, but there's no dialog to go with it.
* Menasor's "hi-yah!" sword grunts aren't in his voice. He sounds more like an unprocessed Astrotrain or Bonecrusher. When he finally speaks a non-grunt line, he suddenly goes to his own voice, right after a generic-voice grunt.
* Devastator goes from his usual eyeband, to two large separate eyes as he grabs the energon cube, to two small separate eyes as Menasor whacks him apart.
* Menasor's first sword strike clearly knocks Devastator into his components (well, ''some'' components, anyway; none of them look like actual pieces of Devastator.) Devastator then re-forms with no transformation noise.
* When Menasor smashes Devastator apart the second time, only Bonecrusher, Scavenger, Hook and Long Haul are shown. Bonecrusher shouldn't be there (he didn't "have the energy to hang on"), and Scrapper and Mixmaster are totally unaccounted for.
* As a shot hits the energon cube next to him, Kickback grunts with the same generic voice that Menasor had earlier.
* Kickback is drawn with the more toy-centric version of his insect mode, wherein his robot face is clearly visible on the bottom of his insect head; he even visibly emotes and looks around with it. Most episodes portray him with his robot face concealed in his insect mode.
* The vehicle-mode Sweeps first show up in their incorrect "early" models, with their robot-mode heads sticking out of the top. This model would appear again and again and again through the series.
* As Cyclonus and company approach, Astrotrain finally completes his transformation to robot mode, but with no transformation noise.
* The first Sweep to transform and land is also missing his transformation sound.
* As Jazz races towards the finish line, the Autobot symbol on his hood is colored in reverse (it's white with red inlays).
* Jazz is shown winning the first race in the Galactic Olympics, but a few seconds later an announcer declares that "the winner is [[Munka Spanka]]." It's possible a generic character was intended for use in the scene and Jazz was mistakenly picked at random; however, given Jazz's prominent survival of the movie, it seems more likely that an editing mistake failed to portray the passage of time (and other races) after Jazz's win. Fans also have speculated that this was an intentional name change, prompted by the fact that [[Scatman Crothers]], Jazz's voice actor, had recently passed away, though why this would be necessary for a non-speaking part is unclear. It could also be that the announcer was announcing the winner of another competition not shown on screen.
* The Quintesson monitor shows Magnus and company against a blue sky, when they'd been standing against an orange wall a second earlier.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** How did the Quintessons get that footage of the Autobots, anyway?
** Okay, ''maybe'' Unicron can monitor and record events within his own body. But does he really have a camera ''outside'' himself to show things like Galvatron flying out of him and off into the distance?
* In addition to lighting up, the button that the Quintesson pushes changes shape when pushed.
* One of the scrambling Olympians walks right through a column during the torch attack.
* Arcee and Springer's "cooking my sensors" lines carry an echo that shouldn't be there, as if they were in a soundproof room.
* When Rodimus starts shooting, he gets the second half of Optimus Prime's laser rifle sound effect. A second later, he gets the whole sound effect. Later, his rifle has the generic laser sound.
* How are the Sharkticons so consistently in shadow when ''everyone'' else is not?
* Rodimus is missing the "age lines" on his face as he threatens to trash the Decepticons, which basically makes him Hot Rod.
* The center piece of Rodimus's spoiler is yellow instead of orange as he watches Springer and Arcee leave the stadium.
* Cybertron's appearance has changed a LOT since the movie. The first shot shows it looking like one of its own moons, with almost no detailing. The second shows it with much more detailing, but still very different than its previous appearance.
* Cyclonus is far too large as he stands on Unicron's face, taller than Unicron's eyes. He should be a speck at that distance.
* One of Scourge's helmet rims is white instead of blue as he says the "no wind in space" line.
* Unicron's snoozing groan is recycled as Scourge spots Galvatron's hand on Thrull. Is Scourge supposed to be hearing Galvatron snore from across millions of miles of space?
* The first time we see Blaster, his left eye has a line through it.
* The helmet rim around Outback's eyes is consistently colored blue instead of light gray. This could be an alternate model sheet, given its consistency. Later episodes would show him with his eyes the same color as the rest of his face.
* Rodimus's "smudge on the screen" is a sharp, glowing, blinking dot. He's also shown wiping it, but is too far away from it in the subsequent shot to have been able to reach it.
* As Perceptor tells Rodimus to take Grimlock with him to Chaar, his Autobot symbol is all-gray (it's usually red with a slim gray outline).
* The Skuxxoid's ship is white when it leaves the Olympics planetoid, but light orange as Arcee and Springer pursue it through space.
* In an odd moment of [[Humanization|humanizing]], Springer and Arcee clench their eyes shut when their ship is grabbed by the claw.
* Springer and Arcee's ship is clearly shown facing to the left of the claw before the commercial break, but afterward it's facing to the right.
* A repeat of the establishing shot of Chaar includes its moon (which, by the by, is a recycled Cybertron moon design.) This time, instead of warping around the planet, the moon is hanging in the sky, stationary.
* Two different pans across the assembled Decepticons show quite a few robots that don't correspond to any actual character. The characters are distant enough that the animators probably figured we wouldn't notice.
* Dirge is with the Decepticons on Chaar as they debate leadership. How'd he get back there from Earth? In the same shot, Soundwave's shoulder button is blue instead of white.
* Cyclonus has consistently had three Sweeps up to this point, but as they return to Chaar there's suddenly half a dozen of them.
* Drag Strip has a gray optic visor during the "I'll think of something" line. It should be red.
* The subsequent shots of cheering Decepticons are infamously screwed up. The first one features:
** Tantrum well before the Predacons have actually been introduced to the series. To be fair, the Predacons' later introduction is so ambiguous that it might not be a genuine screwup to have one of them present.
** An off-model non-conehead Seeker in Ramjet's colors
** Octane also makes his inauspicious debut here, without any sort of explanation or introduction, though it doesn't actually contradict anything to have him there.
* The second cheering shot has Soundwave with a malformed, half-colored visor.
* When Motormaster throws down his energon, Hook and Long Haul are standing nearby. When he falls over in the subsequent shot, they've both been replaced by generics in the same pose. Also, after the Energon is thrown, Motormaster's mouth moves without us hearing any dialog.
[[Image:Decepticons w galvatron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Yeah! We're going to save that guy on the left from the deadly lava pools of Thrull!]]
* The third cheering shot ("Giiiiive till it hurrrrts!") features two more made-up Seeker models, a random blue guy, and ''Galvatron himself'' cheering for his own imminent rescue.
* As the Decepticons rally to attack Rodimus and Grimlock, two Motormasters run past the camera.
* When Cyclonus fires on the rock outcrop, some guy in Fireflight's colors is behind him. The subsequent shot of charging Decepticons includes several made-up guys.
* The line of charging Decepticons at the end includes a Seeker in Silverbolt's colors.
* The final shot has Soundwave colored mostly in purple instead of blue. Also, his chest door disappears for a moment.

===Continuity errors===
* Most of the character screwups on Chaar are probably just cheap/lazy/screwed up animation; in fact, all the off-model and made-up designs could really be excused as generic Decepticons we've never met before, if one is so inclined (and one is prepared to accept that for some reason, we never see them again, either.) However, Kickback and Shrapnel have a whole sequence dedicated to them landing, trying to munch an energon cube, and then fleeing, which is far too long and explicit not to be a scripted appearance. Both characters were supposedly reformatted into Sweeps during ''Transformers: The Movie''.
* Why does Astrotrain wait until he's landed to gobble some of the energon he's struggling to reach?
* So why didn't Menasor grab and eat the energon cube he just fought so hard for?
* Perceptor's description of the transforming cog is rather confusing. He introduces it as ''Autobot City's'' transformation cog, but then says "it controls ''Metroplex'''s ability to transform". This begins an ongoing trend of the cartoon dialog treating the two as if they were one and the same, despite the animation showing them as two distinct (though [[:Image:G1 Autobot City.JPG|sometimes related]]) entities.
* "How we gonna find the Decepticons? It's like looking for a needle in a haystack!" It would be, Blaster, except that they conveniently left their Decepticon insignias in place for you to see.
* How do Arcee and Springer hear the Skuxxoid's voice? He's inside a ''space ship'', and they're on the outside. Does the ship have its own external atmosphere?
* Voice consistency for the show's more obscure characters took a nosedive after the movie, starting with this episode:
** Ramjet has nearly the right voice, but it lacks the clipped mannerism that characterized his speech throughout the second season. Instead of sounding like an enforcer, he sounds... cheerful. In fairness, he occasionally lost that mannerism during Season 2.
** Onslaught's lines, beginning with "I admire your passion, my friend...", are provided by [[Terry McGovern]] in this episode, as opposed to his regular actor, [[S. Marc Jordan]]. Jordan would later be replaced again by [[Steve Bulen]] for Onslaught's final line of the series in "[[The Rebirth, Part 3]]".
** Terry McGovern tries on a brand new voice for Wildrider's two lines. He'll also develop a hick accent that he didn't have before in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]".
* We never do find out why Cyclonus is carrying around a big black box. It's not present in the next episode. Used to store all the extra energon maybe. Hint, hint, hint! And when Cyclonus and the Sweeps used up all the energon to get to Thrull, guess where the black box go? That's right, right into the circular file!
* Starting from this episode, it is never explained why the Autobots suddenly forgot all about the Quentisons when just a few months ago, they encountered them during the Movie. And it was too obviously then that the "Quints" got a thing for Transformers. So with that fact, for Rodimus to go through all of that trouble to learn the truth is quite confusing.

===Continuity notes===
* This episode picks up an unspecified amount of time after ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' (which had played in theaters during the summer preceding this episode's debut), and draws directly on many of its events. References include the [[Battle of Autobot City]], Unicron's head orbiting Cybertron, the loss of Optimus Prime, the rise of Galvatron, and more.
* The episode even opens with some of the closing scenes from the movie. The scenes were re-soundtracked with the cartoon's standard background music for television airing. A second movie excerpt, also resoundtracked, is used to show the end of Rodimus's battle with Galvatron.
* First appearances: Outback, Octane, Tantrum (who probably shouldn't be here yet) and Abdul Fakkadi.
* Dirge's "Death comes to he who crosses me," line is a slight paraphrase of a line cut from the original ''[[The Transformers: The Movie|Transformers: The Movie]]'' script, "[http://www.physics.ohio-state.edu/~sstoneb/tf/tidbits/tftm_script.txt Death comes to anyone who crosses me.]" It was to be delivered aboard [[Astrotrain (G1)| Astrotrain]] as the Decepticons squabbled over leadership. Another iteration comes in the later episode "[[Starscream's Ghost]]" ("I know, I know - 'Death comes to anyone who hides behind my marker!'"), though Dirge is not mentioned by name.

===Real-world references===
* The [[Galactic Olympics]] are, obviously, based on the modern Olympic Games, including the opening parade of "nations" and the Olympic torch presiding over the events.
* Middle East tensions in the 1980s resulted in the poorly made (depending on [[Casey Kasem|whom you ask]]) spoof called [[Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya|Carbombya]].
* In one scene, Blurr asks why Metroplex's new [[transformation cog]] wasn't shipped via [[Galactic Express]], an allusion to the fact that [[John Moschitta]] had previously appeared in a series of Federal Express commercials.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** Kickback and Shrapnel fly in with ''Millennium Falcon'' engine whine, and take off with the ship's engine burst noise.
** Ramjet and Dirge get the TIE Fighter engine sound as they lose control amid Outback's explosive. Some ''Millennium Falcon'' engine whine can be heard as well.

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die fünf Gesichter der Finsternis, Teil 1'''" ("The Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Arata Naru Tatakai'''" (新たなる戦い, "The New War")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 14]], [[1986]]
:*In Japan, season 3 was rebranded as a new series titled ''[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 (franchise)|Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010]]''. As the title implies, the year was changed from 2006 to 2010.
:*''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'' was not released in Japan until 1989. In order to keep the kids at home up to date, the events of the movie were summarized in the pages of ''[[TV Magazine]]''.

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Pyatj likov tjmy (Chastj 1)'''" (Пять ликов тьмы (Часть 1), "Five Faces of Darkness (Part 1)")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
[[Image:FFoD01CastSparkplug.jpg|right|100px|thumb|]]
* In an interview with Flint Dille, he said that the Quintesson origin story came from "[[The Secret of Cybertron]]," an aborted script for the movie by him and his fellow writer, [[Jay Bacal]].<ref>[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/60-astrominutes/flint-dille/flint_dille_2.html Flint Dille interview on the Cybertron Chronicle]</ref>
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] is mentioned in the [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]] cast list for this episode—and the relevant [[dialogue script]] reveals that he was indeed supposed to make an appearance! He would have been with [[Outback (G1)|Outback]] and [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] aboard the [[Earth Defense Command|E.D.C.]] shuttle sent to investigate reports of Decepticon activity in [[Socialist Democratic Federated Republic of Carbombya|Carbombya]]. His one line—"How're we gonna find the Decepticons? It's like a needle in a haystack."—was reassigned to Blaster in the final cut of the episode.
* When originally aired, this and the other four parts of the story all had a unique set of opening credits. Unfortunately, the DVD release of the mini-series only includes this opening on parts 3 and 5.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness ([[Family Home Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness (Family Home Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness: Parts 1-5 (Sony Wonder) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482022/ IMDb's page for this episode]
* [http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/five_faces_of_darkness_part_1.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

The Burden Hardest to Bear

2013-05-30T14:06:56Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=93
|series2=2010
|ep2=28
|prev2=The Face of the Nijika
|next2=Daniel's Adventure
|image=Matrix burden 2.jpg
|caption=You found me beautiful, once.
|title="The Burden Hardest to Bear"
|production code=700-114
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1986
|written by=[[Michael Charles Hill]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Overwhelmed by the burdens of leadership, Rodimus Prime doesn't care too much when the Decepticons steal the Matrix of Leadership away from him.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:BurdenHardest Defensor Bruticus.jpg|left|200px|thumb|So, uh... If what it looks like is about to happen happens... does it count as an orgy?]]

At dawn, the people of [[Japan]] are awakening to do their daily tasks: fishing, going to shrines, and sword practice. Then, the [[Decepticon]]s show up to cause random trouble.

[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] and [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] begin harassing a few fishermen, but are chased off by [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]]. [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] tries to ram a train head on (real smart) only to have the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]] drive him away. [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] fight it out, when [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] and the [[Sweep|Sweeps]] arrive, but are driven off by [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus]], [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], and [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]]. However, instead of thanking the [[Autobot|Autobots]] for saving many lives, the government of Japan is very upset, saying that the Autobots frightened people and ruined business (thankless bipeds). When [[Marissa Faireborn]] arrives and brings more problems to Rodimus, the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] loses patience, [[Transformation|transforms]], and drives off. Kup explains that Rodimus is merely strained under the burden of command, much like [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] was in his early days as leader, and Marissa decides to follow him, to let him have someone to talk to.

[[Image:Matrix burden 1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Galvatron takes the brown acid.]]

Meeting up on the highway, however, the two are attacked by [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], who knock Marissa into a lake and force Rodimus off a cliff. When they inspect Rodimus, they find the Matrix. Realizing that [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] will be ''really'' happy, they steal it and return to [[Chaar]]. In his throne room, Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, but instead of making it even more powerful like he had hoped, visions of the [[Ancient Autobots]] (including Optimus Prime himself) seep out of the barrel and demand that Galvatron return the Matrix. Galvatron orders [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] to destroy the Matrix, believing it better to be destroyed if the Decepticons can't have it. Scourge, however, inserts the Matrix into himself, and becomes more powerful... but at a startling price.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod recover.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Augh... can't get the mental image of Bruticus/Defensor out!]]

Meanwhile, the Autobot leader wakes up, to learn that he's reverted to Hot Rod. [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] argue that they should go after the Decepticons, but Hot Rod feels that the Matrix isn't worth it, and jets off. Real smart idea, Roddy. On Chaar, Scourge challenges Galvatron, defeating him and Cyclonus easily, before leading the Decepticons off to Earth. Galvatron and Cyclonus still function, and set off in pursuit in the ''[[Revenge (G1)|Revenge]]''.

[[Image:BurdenHardest Hot Rod retrieves matrix.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Yoink!]]

On Earth, Hot Rod, while watching a martial arts class, gets some perspective and some wisdom from the kendo instructor, and realizes that he needs to get the Matrix back. Meanwhile, Scourge arrives in Japan with his forces, tossing around the Autobots. Broadside tosses him to the ground and he frightens an elderly woman. Ozu, one of the kendo students, comes to her aid, attacking Scourge with a sword and he begins to chase the pair. He corners them in a blind alley, only for Hot Rod to arrive. Shocked at the changes the Matrix has wrought in Scourge, Hot Rod defeats the Decepticon and reclaims the Matrix, becoming Rodimus Prime once more. Galvatron and Cyclonus find a less powerful, and very frightened, Scourge. And they are none too happy with him...

As the Decepticons retreat, Rodimus realizes that he must deal with his missing part, as have those who came before him. Kup reminds him that no matter who carries the Matrix, he will retain that part forever.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Broadside (G1)|Broadside]] (1)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (8)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (10)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (11)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (12)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (13)
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (14)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (21)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime/Hot Rod]] (22)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (23)
* [[Ancient Autobots]] (35)
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (36)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (37)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (38)

|c2=
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (2)
* [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (3)
* [[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (4)
* [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (5)
* [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (6)
* [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (7)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (15)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (18)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (19)
* [[Sweep|Sweeps]] (20)
* [[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (24)
* [[Onslaught (G1)|Onslaught]] (25)
* [[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (26)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (27)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (28)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (31)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (32)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (33)
* [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (34)
* [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (39)
* [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (40)
* [[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (41)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (42)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (43)

|c3=
* [[Ozu's sensei]] (16)
* [[Ozu (G1)|Ozu]] (17)
* [[Prime Minister of Japan]] (29)
* [[Marissa Faireborn]] (30)
* [[Old Japanese lady]] (44)
}}

==Quotes==
"Eh, you've had worse times." 
"Yeah, when do they get better? That's what ''I'' wanna know."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus'''

"[[Wikipedia:Second City Television|He done blowed up real good]]."
:—'''Wildrider''', master of grammar

"You dropped it, didn't you? You broke the Matrix, didn't you?!"
:—'''Galvatron'''

"Aren't you getting a little carried away here? I'm still me, you're still you: Matrix, schmatrix."
:—'''Hot Rod''' is flippant after losing a hand-me-down.

"I...still...function..."
:—'''Cyclonus''' in a call-back to [[The Transformers: The Movie]]

"We're too late, Galvatron! Scourge has already launched his assault!" 
"He doesn't know the meaning of the word assault, but he's going to learn!"
:—'''Cyclonus''' and '''Galvatron'''

"Oh no, we're trapped! We'll be killed!" 
"Remarkable! The woman is clairvoyant!" 
:-'''Scourge''' mocks his intended victim.

"The Matrix did this to you? Then I have to take it back. I see now it is my obligation. I belong to it... as much as it belongs to me."
:—'''Hot Rod'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s realization at last.

"Well, son of a gun. Found that missing part, huh?" 
"Not just the Matrix, Kup, a missing part of... myself."
:—'''Kup''' and '''Rodimus Prime'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Devastator is colored olive green rather than light green in the opening battle.
* A shot of Astrotrain from the human train's perspective shows no tracks on the ground.
* The first time we see Cyclonus, his nose cone is purple. In the next shot, part of it is grey.
* Rodimus' crest is missing the horizontal line during most shots in this episode.
* When Rodimus is called to the palace, he's missing his Autobot logo.
* Rodimus' spoiler should be orange in the middle, but many shots have it colored completely in yellow.
* As he says, "When do they get better, that's what I want to know," Rodimus' face becomes all glitched up.
* For some reason, the [[Earth Defense Command|EDC]] [[insignia|logo]] on Marissa Faireborne's shoulder has been replaced with "AOC".
* When Rodimus drives away from Marissa, his smoke trail appears behind Kup instead of in front of him. Also, Sky Lynx is missing in the shot.
* Rodimus' display shows a rear angle shot of Dead End and Wildrider, but he's in'' front'' of them.
* When Wildrider holds the matrix, it looks like a big yellow blob. The next shot shows it in the usual colors and configuration.
* While Rodimus is reverted to Hot Rod, he's still occasionally drawn using Rodimus Prime's [[character model]].
* When Galvatron is about to put the Matrix in his cannon, [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] are among the Decepticons present, and even though they are closer to the viewer, both are [[scale|smaller]] than Cyclonus, who is standing in front of them.
* Galvatron's throne changes color and design multiple times throughout one scene.
* In one shot of Optimus Prime's "ghost", he is colored completely blue.
* When Galvatron tosses the Matrix to Scourge, it's missing its handles.
* When Rodimus wakes and touches his forehead in the next scene, his face is partly purple.
* A few shots later (during the "Matrix, schmatrix..." lines), the depressions in Rodimus' shoulders are blue instead of white.
* Galvatron is missing the red squares on the tops of his shoulders in most shots.
* Cyclonus' gun fires a yellow laser. That's the Autobot color (it should be purple).
* The orange shapes on Cyclonus' chest are colored red in several shots.
* Galvatron's ship is gray instead of purple.
* The first shot of Galvatron aboard his ship has the whole bottom half of his face in dark gray instead of just his chin.
* When Galvatron opens the airlock door, one shot has "AIR LO'''O'''K" written on it.
* Hot Rod carries a gray laser gun rather than the usual red rifle. It has the standard sound effect instead of Prime's rifle sound effect.
* The Matrix is in Scourge's chest, but later Hot Rod pulls it out of his stomach.
* As Hot Rod holds the Matrix, one shot has his arm pipes clipping through it.
* Hot Rod sticks the Matrix into his chest without opening a compartment for it.
* As Galvatron and Cyclonus fly Scourge away from the city, Galvatron is mouthing something, but there's no dialogue.
* In the last shot of the episode, Ultra Magnus is missing his shoulder missiles and Kup is missing the white part of his chest.
* The version of this episode on the [[Shout! Factory]] DVDs features a glitch with an unstable horizontal line appearing at the top of the picture throughout the episode. The error appears to be on the episode's master copy, as the version included on the [[Rhino Entertainment|Kid Rhino]] DVDs has the picture slightly zoomed in order to avoid showing the offending line.

===Continuity errors===
* The Japanese-word "Giri" does not actually carry the rather-negative connotations of "The burden hardest to bear" implied by Kup's mistranslation. Rather, "Giri" more accurately means "Responbility/duty", which is a gladly accepted honor and virtue in Japanese culture rather than a painful annoyance. In the thematic/emotional context of this episode, "The ''duty'' hardest to bear" would have been a more fitting title. An even more appropriate word would have been ''Gimu'', meaning ''"obligation"'', as a ''gimu'' is something which '''must''' be done whether you wish to or not.
* It seems somehow unlikely that Rodimus turning around at speed and crashing into a stopped Wildrider would send him flying back hard and fast enough to go over a cliff.
* Galvatron says the Matrix eluded the Decepticons for year'''s''', but he had it for a while during the movie (which happened less than one year ago in the timeline).
* The ghost image of Optimus has two fog lights instead of four.
* We don't hear Optimus' voice during the "return the Matrix" chant.
* Speaking of the chant, why didn't the ancient Autobots chant when Galvatron had the Matrix during the movie? (Though, this could be explained by his not putting the Matrix inside himself in the movie, as we only see him wearing it on a chain.)
* After Galvatron tells Scourge to get rid of the Matrix, the [[scene transition]] has two Decepticon logos, but the next scene is of the Autobots.
* Just before he quits the Autobots, Hot Rod states that "this war has been going on now for a few dozen millennia". Back in "[[War Dawn]]", we learned that the Third Cybertronian War started nine million years ago, which is about ''750'' dozen millennia... assuming, of course, that we want to take Hot Rod's pointedly off-handed remark as being based on historical accuracy, which is kind of a stretch for a guy who's at the end of his rope and sarcastically railing about "the known universe and its outlying suburbs".
* Funny how the old lady with the cane ''runs'' away from Scourge during his attack!
* Ozu injures Scourge (a giant metal robot) with his sword.
* It's not really clear why Galvatron put the Matrix in his cannon rather than his chest, or why Scourge got all mutated. Or why Scourge is so powerful early on but is defeated by a ramming and three shots from Hot Rod's gun.
* Those government spokesmen who complained about the fighting in the beginning must be ''pissed'' after all the destruction we see at the end!
* It would seem strange that Galvatron would not seem to remember anything about the Matrix considering less than a year ago, during the movies, The grandmaster himself, Unicron told him or his former self, Megatron that the Matrix is powerful enough to destroy him, thus, he should know how powerful it is. Ok, ok, you can say his plasma bath may have fried a few memory circuits along with his sanity, but still...If Scourge knows about it (he was also created by Unicron), then Cyclonus should too since he was also there. Why didn't he reminds Galvatron about this since he is supposed to be the most loyal soldier of them all....Was he afraid of becoming Galvatron's personal punching bag again?

===Transformers references===
* When Galvatron inserts the Matrix into his cannon, he says "Now, [['Til all are one|all shall become one]], under Galvatron's rule!"
* Optimus Prime is among the Ancient Autobots.
* After he rams Scourge, Hot Rod transforms in a manner similar to one of his transformations from the movie.
* This episode marks the last appearance of Springer, Broadside, Astrotrain, Devastator and Marissa Faireborn in US continuity.

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Die Last der Verantwortung''' ("The Burden of Responsibility")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' 重すぎた使命 (''Omo Sugi ta Shimei'', "The Mission Too Heavy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 11]], [[1987]]
:*When they recover the Matrix of Leadership, [[Issei Masamune|the Narrator]] misidentifies [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] and [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] as [[Runabout (G1)|Runabout]] and [[Runamuck (G1)|Runamuck]]. Which is very strange because the [[Battlecharger]]s weren't sold at Japanese retail, but the Stunticons were.
:* A "[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]" segment unique to Japan was attached to this episode. It focuses on the many battles between [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]]. It replaces the original "Secret Files" segment which focused on the Decepticons.

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' '''Samaya tyajkaya nosha''' (''Самая тяжкая ноша'', "The Heaviest Burden")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* While the episode order can vary, it's a little funny that the episode about Rodimus finally getting used to being leader of the Autobots was followed by the episode in which Optimus returns to replace him.
* Astrotrain actually travels on the railroad his locomotive mode was designed for in this episode.
* One of the "ghosts" emerging from the Matrix when Galvatron puts it into his chest is based on a [[generic]] character design that was previously seen in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]" and "[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1]]". His colors have changed, though, and he dropped the antennas on the sides of his head he sported in "The Key to Vector Sigma".
* The yellow, the red and the orange-and-blue Matrix ghosts' character models were reused in the Japanese [[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|''The Headmasters'' cartoon]] as various generic Autobots.
* When Scourge starts mutating, at one point it looks like he's... crying?
* Wildrider seems to now have a very bad Southern accent.
* This episode marks the first time in Transformers fiction that the word [[Slag (slang)|slag]] is used as an insult.
* Isn't it convenient that Scourge launches his attack on Earth in Japan, where the Autobots happen to be located?
* The voice acting for several Japanese characters in this episode employs a very stereotypical Western view of Asian people and their pronunciation of English words.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 11: The Decepticon Possession ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burden Hardest to Bear}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Rattler

2013-05-30T11:51:38Z

StryderK: /* Notes */

:''Rattlers are aircraft from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Rattler.jpg|thumb|right|200px|They usually fly forward.]]

The [[Cobra]] '''Rattler''' is a Ground Attack jet that shares its design with the [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|A-10 Thunderbolt]], but features VTOL ('''V'''ertical '''T'''ake-'''O'''ff and '''L'''anding) engines on the pivoting primary wings and a gun turret behind the cockpit. It is one of the primary aircraft used by the terrorist organization, and the top pilot is [[Wild Weasel]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
[[Image:PowerStruggle_Cobra_aircraft.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Why are we called the Twenty-Minuters? Because the average life expectancy is twenty minutes! :)"]]

Several Rattlers were part of a squadron escorting the [[Doctor Mindbender|Dr. Mindbender]] controlled [[Power Station Alpha]] into Cobra headquarters. [[Ace]] and [[Lift-Ticket]] shot down a few of them, after which one fired on a passing boat as a diversion ordered by [[Serpentor]]. {{storylink|Power Struggle}}

Later, another squadron of Rattlers attacked the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] along with [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. Many of them were wrecked after making the mistake of firing upon [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], after which Serpentor ended the battle by remotely jamming Dirge's weapon, blowing him up. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}}

Yet another group of Rattlers joined the [[Autobot]]s and [[G.I. Joe (team)|Joes]] in the attack on the [[Decepticon]]s' island headquarters. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

{{-}}
===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Seeker.jpg|right|thumb|150px|In ''this'' universe, he turns into a ''jet!'']]
When [[Cobra]] took control of a group of [[Transformer]]s, the Decepticons [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and an unnamed [[Conehead]] were [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into Cobra Rattlers. During Cobra's first surprise attack, the [[United States Air Force]] were boggled by the speed and maneuverability of the aircraft, and even more so when they revealed themselves to be giant robots. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1}} Later, when the Transformers had been freed from Cobra's control, [[Major Bludd]] attempted to flee [[Cobra Island]] in a Rattler. Unfortunately for him, it was Skywarp. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4}}

{{-}}
===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:TFGIJoe2_Transformed_Rattler.jpg|thumb|left|200px|So does this mean the [[Skystriker]] looks like a Zero or a Stuka...? Actually, they are Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless]]
While patrolling the [[Fera Islands]], members of the G.I. Joe team came under attack by a squadron of Rattlers led by [[Wild Weasel]]. However, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] forced the fighter/bombers into retreat. {{storylink|Transformed}} Some [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] appeared to transform into Rattlers as well. {{storylink|Trial by Fire}}

{{note|As ''Transformers/G.I. Joe'' is set in 1939, these Rattlers are based on World War II-era planes such as the [[wikipedia:TBF_Avenger|TBF Avenger]] instead of the A-10 Thunderbolt.}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:OnlyHumanJap1.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Micro Machines!]]

* The ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Mini-Con]] [[Skyhammer (Universe)|Skyhammer]] shares his color pattern with the Cobra Rattler, though his [[Alternate mode|alt-mode]] is an A-10 Thunderbolt.
* Artwork for the episode "[[Only Human]]" published in ''[[TV Magazine]]'' showed [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]] ominously commanding several Cobra Rattlers and F.A.N.G.s, although neither vehicle actually appeared in the episode-itself.
{{--}}
* Rattler's VTOL ability is called a "Tilt-Wing" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tiltwing). Yes, this happened in real life. Check out Hiller's X-18. The only exception of course is that it uses propellers rather than jet engines. Although of course, jet engines also works. A kissing cousin of this concept is the "Tilt-Rotor". Check out the Bel MV-22 for this concept.

==External links==
*[http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/84/rattler/ Rattler at yojoe.com]

[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:Cobra]]
[[Category:Generation 1 vehicles]]

Rattler

2013-05-30T11:47:51Z

StryderK: /* Transformers/G.I. Joe */

:''Rattlers are aircraft from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Rattler.jpg|thumb|right|200px|They usually fly forward.]]

The [[Cobra]] '''Rattler''' is a Ground Attack jet that shares its design with the [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|A-10 Thunderbolt]], but features VTOL ('''V'''ertical '''T'''ake-'''O'''ff and '''L'''anding) engines on the pivoting primary wings and a gun turret behind the cockpit. It is one of the primary aircraft used by the terrorist organization, and the top pilot is [[Wild Weasel]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
[[Image:PowerStruggle_Cobra_aircraft.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Why are we called the Twenty-Minuters? Because the average life expectancy is twenty minutes! :)"]]

Several Rattlers were part of a squadron escorting the [[Doctor Mindbender|Dr. Mindbender]] controlled [[Power Station Alpha]] into Cobra headquarters. [[Ace]] and [[Lift-Ticket]] shot down a few of them, after which one fired on a passing boat as a diversion ordered by [[Serpentor]]. {{storylink|Power Struggle}}

Later, another squadron of Rattlers attacked the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] along with [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. Many of them were wrecked after making the mistake of firing upon [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], after which Serpentor ended the battle by remotely jamming Dirge's weapon, blowing him up. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}}

Yet another group of Rattlers joined the [[Autobot]]s and [[G.I. Joe (team)|Joes]] in the attack on the [[Decepticon]]s' island headquarters. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

{{-}}
===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Seeker.jpg|right|thumb|150px|In ''this'' universe, he turns into a ''jet!'']]
When [[Cobra]] took control of a group of [[Transformer]]s, the Decepticons [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and an unnamed [[Conehead]] were [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into Cobra Rattlers. During Cobra's first surprise attack, the [[United States Air Force]] were boggled by the speed and maneuverability of the aircraft, and even more so when they revealed themselves to be giant robots. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1}} Later, when the Transformers had been freed from Cobra's control, [[Major Bludd]] attempted to flee [[Cobra Island]] in a Rattler. Unfortunately for him, it was Skywarp. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4}}

{{-}}
===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:TFGIJoe2_Transformed_Rattler.jpg|thumb|left|200px|So does this mean the [[Skystriker]] looks like a Zero or a Stuka...? Actually, they are Douglas SBD Dauntless dive bombers. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntless]]
While patrolling the [[Fera Islands]], members of the G.I. Joe team came under attack by a squadron of Rattlers led by [[Wild Weasel]]. However, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] forced the fighter/bombers into retreat. {{storylink|Transformed}} Some [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] appeared to transform into Rattlers as well. {{storylink|Trial by Fire}}

{{note|As ''Transformers/G.I. Joe'' is set in 1939, these Rattlers are based on World War II-era planes such as the [[wikipedia:TBF_Avenger|TBF Avenger]] instead of the A-10 Thunderbolt.}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:OnlyHumanJap1.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Micro Machines!]]

* The ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Mini-Con]] [[Skyhammer (Universe)|Skyhammer]] shares his color pattern with the Cobra Rattler, though his [[Alternate mode|alt-mode]] is an A-10 Thunderbolt.
* Artwork for the episode "[[Only Human]]" published in ''[[TV Magazine]]'' showed [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]] ominously commanding several Cobra Rattlers and F.A.N.G.s, although neither vehicle actually appeared in the episode-itself.
{{--}}

==External links==
*[http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/84/rattler/ Rattler at yojoe.com]

[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:Cobra]]
[[Category:Generation 1 vehicles]]

Rattler

2013-05-30T11:46:22Z

StryderK: /* Transformers/G.I. Joe */

:''Rattlers are aircraft from the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Rattler.jpg|thumb|right|200px|They usually fly forward.]]

The [[Cobra]] '''Rattler''' is a Ground Attack jet that shares its design with the [[Popular Earth vehicle alternate modes|A-10 Thunderbolt]], but features VTOL ('''V'''ertical '''T'''ake-'''O'''ff and '''L'''anding) engines on the pivoting primary wings and a gun turret behind the cockpit. It is one of the primary aircraft used by the terrorist organization, and the top pilot is [[Wild Weasel]].

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
[[Image:PowerStruggle_Cobra_aircraft.jpg|thumb|left|200px|"Why are we called the Twenty-Minuters? Because the average life expectancy is twenty minutes! :)"]]

Several Rattlers were part of a squadron escorting the [[Doctor Mindbender|Dr. Mindbender]] controlled [[Power Station Alpha]] into Cobra headquarters. [[Ace]] and [[Lift-Ticket]] shot down a few of them, after which one fired on a passing boat as a diversion ordered by [[Serpentor]]. {{storylink|Power Struggle}}

Later, another squadron of Rattlers attacked the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] along with [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]]. Many of them were wrecked after making the mistake of firing upon [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]], after which Serpentor ended the battle by remotely jamming Dirge's weapon, blowing him up. {{storylink|Ashes, Ashes...}}

Yet another group of Rattlers joined the [[Autobot]]s and [[G.I. Joe (team)|Joes]] in the attack on the [[Decepticon]]s' island headquarters. {{storylink|...All Fall Down!}}

{{-}}
===''G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers''===
[[Image:GIJoevsTF1_Seeker.jpg|right|thumb|150px|In ''this'' universe, he turns into a ''jet!'']]
When [[Cobra]] took control of a group of [[Transformer]]s, the Decepticons [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] and an unnamed [[Conehead]] were [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into Cobra Rattlers. During Cobra's first surprise attack, the [[United States Air Force]] were boggled by the speed and maneuverability of the aircraft, and even more so when they revealed themselves to be giant robots. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 1|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #1}} Later, when the Transformers had been freed from Cobra's control, [[Major Bludd]] attempted to flee [[Cobra Island]] in a Rattler. Unfortunately for him, it was Skywarp. {{storylink|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers issue 4|G.I. Joe vs. the Transformers #4}}

{{-}}
===''Transformers/G.I. Joe''===
[[Image:TFGIJoe2_Transformed_Rattler.jpg|thumb|left|200px|So does this mean the [[Skystriker]] looks like a Zero or a Stuka...? Actually, they are [Douglas SBD Dauntless] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Douglas_SBD_Dauntlessdive bombers.]]
While patrolling the [[Fera Islands]], members of the G.I. Joe team came under attack by a squadron of Rattlers led by [[Wild Weasel]]. However, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] forced the fighter/bombers into retreat. {{storylink|Transformed}} Some [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] appeared to transform into Rattlers as well. {{storylink|Trial by Fire}}

{{note|As ''Transformers/G.I. Joe'' is set in 1939, these Rattlers are based on World War II-era planes such as the [[wikipedia:TBF_Avenger|TBF Avenger]] instead of the A-10 Thunderbolt.}}
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[Image:OnlyHumanJap1.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Micro Machines!]]

* The ''[[Transformers: Universe (2008 franchise)|Universe]]'' [[Mini-Con]] [[Skyhammer (Universe)|Skyhammer]] shares his color pattern with the Cobra Rattler, though his [[Alternate mode|alt-mode]] is an A-10 Thunderbolt.
* Artwork for the episode "[[Only Human]]" published in ''[[TV Magazine]]'' showed [[Cobra Commander|Old Snake]] ominously commanding several Cobra Rattlers and F.A.N.G.s, although neither vehicle actually appeared in the episode-itself.
{{--}}

==External links==
*[http://www.yojoe.com/vehicles/84/rattler/ Rattler at yojoe.com]

[[Category:Aircraft]]
[[Category:Cobra]]
[[Category:Generation 1 vehicles]]

Call of the Primitives

2013-05-29T14:53:30Z

StryderK: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=91
|series2=2010
|ep2=26
|prev2=Grimlock's New Brain
|next2=The Face of the Nijika
|image=PrimitiveCall.jpg
|caption=Prim and Proper
|title="Call of the Primitives"
|production code=700-112
|airdate=[[November 18]], 1986
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|directed by=[[Masami Obari]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=See ''Notes'' section
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''All Transformers with animal modes are summoned to battle a being called Tornedron, the little brother of Unicron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:AutobotsCall.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Having your energy drained changes your paint job.]]

Somewhere, an energy creature begins feeding off other forms of energy—slowly, at first. Then his creator gives him an [[energon cube]]. The creature grows and spreads out into the universe. Soon, it attacks [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The [[Autobot]]s attack it, but it simply drains their energy from them. The creature's creator is pleased with him, saying he's done better than his predecessor, [[Unicron]].

[[Image:Ejectcall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ravage, why are you running away?]]

On [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] is leading a group of Autobots against the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]. However, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]], [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], and the animal-form [[Mini-Cassette]]s are all summoned by a mysterious voice. They leave the battle, and [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] orders a retreat. Suddenly, the energy creature arrives and drains the energy from both Autobots and Decepticons (including Rodimus Prime and Galvatron), as well as Earth and the Moon and Cybertron.

Most of the departed Transformers are riding Trypticon. Naturally, tempers flare after [[Headstrong]] picks a fight with the Dinobots by insulting [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]], so [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] suggests they stomp him. The Preds stick with their teammate and fight the Dinobots, and the Terrorcons decide to fight everyone. At Sky Lynx's suggestion, Trypticon shakes himself and causes his passengers to stop fighting. They arrive on an ancient planet near the center of the galaxy. After touching down, Sky Lynx assumes command of the group, despite the objections of [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] and [[Hun-Gurrr]]. Finding a cave, they encounter [[Oracle (G1)|a strange entity]]. He explains that he summoned the [[Primitive|Primitives]], all animal-based Transformers, to come to fight [[Tornedron]], the energy being who was created by [[Primacron (G1)|Primacron]]. The entity, who was once Primacron's assistant, explains how Primacron created Unicron but was nearly destroyed by his creation. After Unicron's defeat, Primacron created Tornedron as a replacement. Primacron's assistant hopes that the Primitives' simple instincts will allow them to defeat Primacon's complex plans.

[[Image:Terrorconcall.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Ptooie]]

Suddenly, Tornedron arrives and drains Trypticon of his energy. Trypticon crashes, and Grimlock is believed destroyed. Sky Lynx attacks, only to have his energy drained as well. [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] leads the Dinobots in retreat, while the other Primitives split up, believing that Tornedron can't catch up to all of them if they go separate ways. Unfortunately, they prove to be wrong, as Tornedron separates into four parts to track them all down. He easily dispatches the Mini-Cassettes, chewing on [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] in the process. Headstrong declares that it would be better to [[Furmanism|fight and die]], and the Predacons form [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]], only to have their energy sucked away as well. The Terrorcons try to fight back, but are also drained. The Dinobots ambush Tornedron, but they too are dispatched. Declaring victory against the Primitives, Primacron orders Tornedron to return home back to his lab. Unknown to Tornedron and Primacron, however, Grimlock has survived his impact from Tyrpticon, and he secretly follows them.

[[Image:Tornedroncall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Two scoops of raisins]]

At his base, Primacron is having trouble controlling Tornedron, ordering him to stop. Tornedron refuses to take any more orders and declares that he intends to feed on Primacron, and that all of Primacron's failsafes have failed, realizing that Tornedron is rebelling against him. Grimlock breaks into Primacron's lab to find that Primacron is a tiny little monkey-like alien...thing. Grimlock grabs Primacron and orders him to reverse his damage, but Primacron declares that he's tried everything. Grimlock fixes things easily: He throws the reverse switch, which reverses Tornedron's energy polarity, destroying Tornedron and restoring the life energy to the drained Transformers and planets of the galaxy. In celebration, Grimlock destroys Primacron's lab, declaring it the "smartest" thing he's ever done.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (15)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (16)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (17)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (19)
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (20)
* [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (21)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (22)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (23)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (25)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (26)
* [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (27)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (28)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (29)
* [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (30)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (31)
* [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (32)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (36)
* [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]] (42)
* [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Sweep]]s (3)
* [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (4)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (5)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (6)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (7)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (8)
* [[Hun-Gurrr]] (9)
* [[Rippersnapper (G1)|Rippersnapper]] (10)
* [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] (11)
* [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (12)
* [[Cutthroat (G1)|Cutthroat]] (13)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (14)
* [[Tantrum]] (18)
* [[Headstrong]] (24)
* [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] (33)
* [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (34)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (35)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (37)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (38)
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (39)
* [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] (40)
* [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] (41)
|c4=
* [[Primacron (G1)|Primacron]] (1)
* [[Tornedron]] (2)
* [[Oracle (G1)|The Oracle]] (44)
* [[Unicron]] (45)
}}

==Quotes==
''Soundwave's chest opens and all of his cassettes eject, much to his surprise.'' 
"I'm malfunctioning! Ejection is self-activated!"
:—'''Soundwave''' deals with a very common problem among male bots.

''Blaster's chest opens and his cassettes leap out.'' 
'''Blaster''':"Hey, something's happened to me too, and it's not on the top 40!"
:—See! It wasn't ''just'' an inappropriate joke!

"Now remember, before you do anything, think, 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?', and you will not go far wrong."
:—'''Sky Lynx's''' sensible instructions to the rest of the Primitives.

"I have summoned you here to tell you a tale of long ago." 
"Oh, me Grimlock love long ago tale!" 
"Then allow me to tell it."
:—The '''Oracle''' slaps '''Grimlock''' into place.

"Suffer my rage, monster! I will show you no mercy! You will rue the day you crossed Sky—aaahhh!"
:—'''Sky Lynx'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s righteous fury at the deaths of Trypticon and Grimlock.

'''Headstrong''': Sky Lynx is destroyed! Who will lead us now? 
'''Slag''': I, Slag, lead Dinobots away, till I get better idea. 
'''Hun-Gurrr''': Best idea yet! We run too!
:—Strategy is not their strong suit.

'''Headstrong''': I detest fleeing, I would rather die fighting! 
'''Razorclaw''': He is right! Predacons, unite! 
''[The Predacons combine.]'' 
'''Predaking''': Tornedron... face Predaking! To the end!
:—The Predacons decide that [[Furmanism|it is better to fight and die than live with the knowledge that they ran]].

"Only you can save the world now, Grimlock." 
"Me Grimlock feel important!"
:—The '''Oracle''' rests the fate of... erm, the universe, on '''Grimlock's''' shoulders.

'''Grimlock''': ''[chuckles]'' "''You'' are creator?" 
'''Primacron''': "Unfortunately....yes." 
'''Grimlock''': "Grimlock laugh at little wimp who cause big trouble!"
:—'''Grimlock''', about to give '''Primacron''' a wedgie.

'''Primacron''': We are ''finished''!! I've amplified the energy parameters, minimized the drivormenter, redirected the ion flow! I've tried EVERYTHING! 
'''Grimlock''': Me Grimlock solve problem! Wuh! 
''[Reaches over and pushes switch]'' 
'''Primacron''': Of course, the '''reverse switch!''' Why didn't ''I'' think of that?!
:—The universe's greatest genius gets one-upped by....'''Grimlock'''. Wait. What?!

'''Grimlock''': Grimlock saved universe! Grimlock hero! [Grimlock stomps in victory, causing the place to begin to collapse] 
'''Primacron''': Stop it! You stupid—! 
'''Grimlock''': Why you call Grimlock stupid? 
'''Primacron''': You've ruined my lab! 
'''Grimlock''': Me Grimlock think that is smartest thing I ever done!
:—You know, that probably ''is'' the smartest thing he's ever done.

==Notes==
[[Image:Unicroncall.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Where am I from?]]
* The art style in this episode is very different from all others in the Generation 1 series, with highly stylized "anime-like" [[character model]]s and proportions. Although popularly claimed to be, the models are most assuredly ''not'' those designed by [[Studio OX]]; they're simply more stylized versions of the standard animation models, lacking the additional toyetic touches and copious mecha-greeblies found in the OX designs. It is widely believed that this lone episode was animated by [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha]], though little evidence has been found to confirm this. [[wikipedia:Masami Obari|Masami Obari]] is credited as the animation director.<ref>[[wikipedia:ja:大張正己]]</ref>

===Animation or technical glitches===
*In the second overhead shot of the Autobots during the opening battle, Rodimus is missing his (freakin' huge) spoiler.
*When we first see him, Wheelie is missing his Autobot logo.
*When Blades, Slingshot and Wheelie open fire on Tornedron, the first shot is fired before they even raise their weapons.
*As Tornedron in the form of a giant bug steps over the bodies of Blades, Slingshot and Wheelie, its glowing aura is on a lower cel than their bodies, making it appear to pass under them, despite the fact they're lying on the ground.
*When the Dinobots are being summoned, [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] is referred to as [[Sweep]].
*Galvatron's sporting a red Decepticon [[insignia]] when he calls in Trypticon.
*In the scene when Ravage and the other animal Mini-Cassettes eject from Soundwave, Cyclonus looks bigger than Galvatron due to wrong cel stacking (Galvatron should be on the background).
*Grimlock's whole neck is supposed to be gold, but the back of it is gray in several shots.
* As Sky Lynx tracks the signal, we see waves of energy expanding out towards him. In the next shot, they're flowing out'' from'' him.
*As the Predacons start firing on the Dinobots while inside Trypticon, one of the glowing effects doesn't quite match up with Headstrong's horn as it should (he moves his horn to the right position a moment later).
*Some of the Decepticon Primitives' lasers have the sound effect of Galvatron's cannon. So does Trypticon's laser later on.
*When Grimlock drops off the cliff, the other Autobots "slide" into the picture.
*When Sky Lynx tells the Dinobots to find the "alien" a star can be seen on his leg.
*When Tornedron drains Predaking's power and fall over, the Predacons transform on top of Predaking.
*When Grimlock gets out from under Trypticon, his forearms are huge and his chest looks more boxy than usual.
*Restoring the energy to the Moon also appears to rearrange all the craters.
*When Rodimus' team is restored, Rodimus is lying face up (he was face down), Ultra Magnus' shins are blue instead of white, and Blaster's chest is missing its detailing, switches and Autobot logo.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Windcharger-COTP01.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Look alive, people! Uh, no offense, Windcharger."]]
*The depressions on Rodimus's shoulders are white again in this episode.
*Rodimus also carries a gray gun (instead of red) that doesn't have the usual Prime rifle sound effect.
* Unicron's head is gray (like a rock) during a camera pass. [[Grimlock's New Brain|The last time we saw it]], it was in bad shape, but still had the usual coloring.
* When summoning the Primitives, they forgot all about[[Laserbeak (G1)| Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]! Instead, Soundwave unleashes two new cassette Decepticons: [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]]...who are then never seen again. Gee.
* Sky Lynx asks Grimlock if he's all right ''as he's falling down a cliff.''
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] is seen running around on Cybertron, despite having been killed in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. But hey, that [[Carnage in C-Minor|happens]] [[Wheeljack (G1)|all]] [[Prowl (G1)|the]] [[Ironhide (G1)|time]].

===Transformers references===
* This episode marks the last appearance of the Dinobots, Trypticon, Ravage, [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]], and [[Unicron]] in the western cartoon...bummer.
* A part of [[Oracle_(G1)|Primacron's assistant]] becomes the [[Autobot_Matrix_of_Leadership|Matrix of Leadership]]. How he ended up on Cybertron remains a mystery.

===Foreign localization===
[[Image:TVMagazineOverkill.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Eject—operation: Understudy."]]

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Das geheimnisvolle Orakel''' ("The Mysterious Oracle")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' 原始の呼び声 (''Genshi no Yobigoe'', "Primeval Call")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 5]], [[1987]]
:*Episode preview art published in [[TV Magazine]] inexplicably displays Slugfest and Overkill as if they were the stars of the episode.
:*In Japanese continuity, the scene where the Primitives encounter the [[Oracle (G1)|Oracle]] is set in the past; apparently, the Primitives arrived there via time travel. This is done to accommodate the idea that the Oracle later evolved into [[Vector Sigma]] and later [[Primus]].
:*A "[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]" segment unique to Japan was attached to the end of this episode. The segment focuses on the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s. It replaces the original "Secret Files" segment focusing on the [[Mini-Cassette]]s used in the Western broadcast. That segment was never used in the Japanese broadcast of the series.

===Trivia===
[[Image:Firecall.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Me Grimlock like Predacons and Terrorcons Cajun style]]
* Unicron's origin is a bit...random.
* When Grimlock uses his [[flame breath]] on the Predacons and Terrorcons, they start to ''[[Humanization#Coughing|cough]]''...cause that's what you do when you're being hit with fire reaching several hundred degrees.
* This is the first and only time in the cartoon Swoop fires his wing blasters.
* One of Grimlock's two [[packaging|on-packaging]] [[bio]] weaknesses comes into play in this episode: His lack of speed. He is unable to get clear of Trypticon's falling body even at his top speed. It ends up being a blessing in disguise, though, as it obscures him from Tornedron's vision.
* This episode seems to resolidify the Dinobots' position as freakishly powerful (which took a beating in Season 3), as Grimlock alone seems to be a match for three Terrorcons and two Predacons, and the only Autobot sent flying is Swoop, who takes a blast to the chest early on. Also, the Dinobots seem to handle Tornedron with the most finesse.
* If there is one episode that proves Grimlock's stupidity and dumbness is an act, then this is it (Grimlock's New Brain does not count). I mean come on! The dimmest bulb in the whole entire Autobots army push the right button on the first try? Saying destroying Primacron's lab as the "smartest thing he ever done"? Does those acts sound like dim wit to you?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''Transformers'' — Call of the Primitives / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — Fight or Flee / Call of the Primitives (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1992 — ''Transformers'' — Super Video (Tempo Video)
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Webworld

2013-05-29T14:32:04Z

StryderK: /* Synopsis */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|image=Webworld Galvatron psychiatrist.jpg
|caption="So, Galvatron, tell me about your mother". "She was delicious".
|ep=81
|series2=2010
|ep2=17
|prev2=Ghost in the Machine
|next2=The Dweller in the Depths
|title="Webworld"
|production code=700-101
|airdate=[[October 20]], 1986
|written by=[[Len Wein]] [[Diane Duane]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''In an attempt to cure Galvatron's madness, Cyclonus takes him to the medical planet Torkulon.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:GalvatronUltraWebworld.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Help! He's touching my special area!]]

The Decepticons approach an asteroid belt in deep space, searching for a material known as [[isidrite]]. As Galvatron rants about crushing his enemies and everyone else, Ratbat finds an isidrite deposit — already being mined by the Autobots. A battle ensues, during which Galvatron spends nearly as much time bashing his own troops aside as he does firing at the Autobots. With his "help", the bemused Autobots make a clean escape aboard Sky Lynx.

Back on Chaar, Motormaster, Swindle and later on Laserbeak have words (except Laserbeak. He doesn't talk as usual, just threaten) with Cyclonus: either do something about Galvatron's madness, or face rebellion. A holographic image of a Quintesson appears to Cyclonus, and advises him that there are planets which specialize in repairing damaged minds, such as [[Torkulon]]. Not knowing what else to do, Cyclonus considers the idea, while the Quintessons gloat among themselves that shortly they will have several less Transformers to deal with — including the "most dangerously unpredictable of them all."

[[Image:GalvatronWebworld.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Planet of the Psychiatrist Apes]]
Cyclonus lies to Galvatron, informing him that the Autobots are resting on Torkulon after their most recent skirmish; the deranged leader eagerly takes the bait, flying to the planet with Cyclonus and the Sweeps. Upon landing, Galvatron threatens several alien flesh creatures, demanding that they hand over Ultra Magnus. The intelligent Torkuli arrive shortly; when Galvatron predictably refuses their orders for non-violence, they restrain him. Galvatron quickly realizes Cyclonus has deceived him. Galvatron is carried away to begin his therapy, while Cyclonus fills out a small ream of paperwork.

As the therapy proceeds, Scourge has his doubts — "This is stupid! Let's get him out of here!" Cyclonus says to at least give it a chance. The Torkuli are unsuccessful in getting Galvatron to talk about his problems, and even less successful when they have him put together external objects to repair his damaged psyche: Galvatron builds himself a blaster and tries to escape. Finally they attempt "exo-drama" where patients act out their problems but a bouncing alien screaming at Galvatron finally causes him to snap further, shouting back that "I'll give you something to scream about!!" Galvatron becomes immune to the electromagnetic restraints of the Torkuli; they throw everything they have at him, restraining him for their last resort — the Alya solution.

The chief therapist reveals that Torkulon itself is a living planet, and can manifest itself in the form of insectoid creatures that consume the damaged portions of those who cannot be helped, in effect lobotomizing the planet's victims and leaving them mindless. Cyclonus protests and demands Galvatron's release, but he and Scourge are also restrained by the Torkuli.

[[Image:GalvatronAliaWebworld.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Should've chosen a BUPA home.]]

The Alya begin to feed on Galvatron who continues to resist: "You have no right to change what I am!" The Torkuli doctor informs him [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|"You've]] already been [[Unicron|changed]]; that's the problem." Cyclonus can barely watch as his leader's mind is invaded by Torkulon — but something goes wrong. The madness of Galvatron proves to be too strong for the living planet, causing it to malfunction. In the chaos, Galvatron, Scourge and Cyclonus are released from the planet's grasp. After taking a few shots at Cyclonus for getting him in this mess, Galvatron fights to the center of the planet, having seen into its mind while it was inside his. The planet fears Galvatron's madness and destructive potential and attempts to restrain him, but Galvatron powers his way through to its living-computer core. Several cannon mode blasts render the entire planet inoperable. Galvatron informs Cyclonus he will now destroy whatever is left, and warns Cyclonus against stopping him.

After the planet is reduced to smoke and rubble, Galvatron gloats over the beauty of "devastation wrought with precision and care," seemingly just a little more sane... until Cyclonus informs Galvatron that it will take the Torkuli centuries to rebuild. Galvatron decides his work isn't done if it's going to take "only centuries", but a weary Cyclonus suggests that the Autobots might be a more pressing concern. Galvatron smiles at the prospect of killing Ultra Magnus; the Decepticons flee the planet, leaving the Torkuli at the mercy of their former insane patients.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (7)
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (8)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (9)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (10)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (11)

|c2=
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (1)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (2)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (3)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (4)
* [[Sweep]]s (5)
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (6)
* [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (12)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (13)
* [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (14)

|c4=
* [[Quintesson]]s (15)
* [[Torkuli]] (16)
* [[Alya]] (17)
* [[Torkulon]] (18)
}}

==Quotes==
[[Image:GalvatronCyclonusWebworld.jpg|right|200px|thumb|We never talk anymore.]]

"Remarkable. Galvatron is doing most of the work for us." 
:—'''Perceptor''' watches Galvatron bash his way through his own troops

"I have no head...I have no head...I have no head...!"
:—A three-headed '''patient'''

"Just say whatever comes to mind." 
"Kill...smash...destroy!" 
"Err...yes...go on." 
"Rend...MANGLE...DISTORT!"
:—A '''therapist''' starts '''Galvatron''' on word association

"I'll destroy everything here—everything! And THEN, I'll destroy the Autobots!" 
"Yes...tell me about the Autobots." 
"I ''hate'' Autobots! I hate ''Cyclonus''! And I'm not very fond of ''you'', either!"
:—'''Galvatron''' ends word association, and attempts to end his '''therapist'''

"You cannot stop me! I am ''Galvatron!'' I am your ''destruction!''" 
"He ''is'' crazy."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Cyclonus'''. It took him long enough to notice it.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* Soundwave is missing all his yellow stripes as he looms up to eject Ratbat.
* Ratbat is given a high-pitched series of squeaks as he ejects...and another, lower-pitched caw at the same time, layered on top of the squeaks.
* Perhaps the script called for Galvatron's forehead to blaze with energies, as it's been seen to do on occasion. Instead, two random spots on his temples are animated lighting up like console buttons.
* As Ratbat flaps over the horizon, his wings are layered behind the planet's limb instead of above it.
*Soundwave's only line in this episode once again lacks the trademark harmonics processed by [[Scott Brownlee]], meaning it once again sounds like [[wikipedia:Dr. Claw|Dr. Claw]]. This marks [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|the]] [[Roll for It|fourth]] [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|time]] it is known to have happened.
* As he speaks that line, he's missing his yellow stripes again.
*The laser blasts' colors in this episode are...odd. When the Decepticons attack the Autobots on the asteroid, their blasts are yellow (usually an Autobot blast color), orange and red. Perceptor fires a blue laser blast at Galvatron, who fires blue lasers back at him! This is a trademark element seen in the ''[[G.I. Joe (team)|G.I. Joe]]'' cartoon, which is animated by the [[Toei|same company]]: The Joes' kid-friendly lasers are red while [[Cobra Commander|Cobra]] has blue kid-friendly lasers.
* After the Sweeps miss colliding with Springer, Sky Lynx is back on the ground and takes off a second time. He rather oddly leaves his lower half just standing there, rather than converting to lynx form. When he lands at the battle's end, he's once again combined with his lower portion.
* Scourge and his accompanying Sweeps are at least partially animated based on their older, "incorrect" [[character model]]s. Their heads are visible in their vehicle modes:
** when Sky Lynx grabs one of them in his claws.
** when they transform to leave Torkulon.
* Just before Galvatron jumps him, Magnus's shoulder superstructure is blue instead of white.
* Magnus has a white missile as he grapples with Galvatron.
* The last time he grapples with Galvatron, the top of Magnus's back is red instead of grey.
* Galvatron's gun mode is mostly purple instead of its usual gray as Sludge bashes him aside.
* As the Autobots flee, [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] can be seen among the damaged Sweeps, despite not being seen approaching the asteroid.
* In the wide shot of Cyclonus and company walking, they are sliding across the screen far more rapidly than the speed of their walk.
* Cyclonus's gun is white instead of gray as he points it at Swindle.
* Roger C. Carmel's inconsistency with the voice of Cyclonus starts to affect Motormaster. In this episode and "[[The Ultimate Weapon]]" (Motormaster's last speaking role in the series) his voice for Motormaster sounds weaker than before. The voice lacks most of its usual heavy flanging.
* In the second wide shot of Cyclonus speaking with the Quintesson, he's not quite standing flat on the ground.
* In the closeup of the Quintesson hologram, his mouth isn't animated as he speaks.
* Soundwave is missing his stripes and insignia as he watches Galvatron being repaired.
* Galvatron has a "goatee" in most shots, but is "clean-shaven" in others (his chin is sometimes dark grey, sometimes just grey).
* As Galvatron struggles against the inhibitor blast, the Sweeps behind him are set too low on the landscape, making them look like they only come up to Galvatron's knees.
* In the shot before Galvatron is sent to Advanced Treatment, the rectangle on Cyclonus's chest isn't colored orange. In the shot after, the "eyes" on his Decepticon symbol are colored in (purple) instead of blue.
* As he vows to destroy the planet, then the Autobots, Galvatron's shoulder pieces are dark grey. In the next shot, they're back to having light grey tops with red squares. A few shots later (as he shoots the gun he built), the red squares are missing.
* After he's immobilized on the arena floor, a few shots show Galvatron floating in mid-air above the steps.
* During the Torkuli's line, "That's why your friend brought you here," the rectangle on Cyclonus's chest is yellow instead of orange. A few shots later (just before the commercial break), it's not colored in at all.
* An odd edit cuts off the head therapist: "We cannot allow you to interfere. Besides."
* As he yells, "Free me!" a closeup shows outer space behind Galvatron's face instead of the ground (or the purple webbing that surrounds him).
* As he says, "He'll be nothing at all!" Cyclonus's eyebrows are white instead of grey.
* While Galvatron is being lobotomized, while begging Cyclonus to help him, he's completely light grey, missing the purple of his armour entirely.
* Cyclonus's eyes are black instead of red as he observes that the planet has become infected with Galvatron's madness.
* The Sweep that transforms after the planetary overload is inexplicably given an energy glow as he does so.
* In a closeup shot, Galvatron has two ragged holes in his forehead, but they're not seen in any other view.
* The white rectangle near Galvatron's elbow flashes between white and purple as he struggles with the web stuff in mid-air.
* Glavatron's emblem is missing just before he leaps into the crevasse.
* When Cyclonus says "He IS crazy," part of the Autobot symbol is on his chest.
* As he picks up the last Torkulon, the red squares on Galvatron's shoulders are missing.

===Continuity errors===
* Despite appearing in the group approaching the asteroid, Soundwave promptly disappears and doesn't play any part in the following battle.
* Galvatron is grappling with Magnus when the Sweep offers to help; when he bashes the Sweep aside in the very next shot, Magnus is nowhere to be seen.
* A wide shot shows Galvatron, Cyclonus, and three Sweeps arriving on Torqulon. The rest of the episode shows only two Sweeps, however.

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:LaserbeakWebworld.jpg|right|180px|thumb|He wants to know why Soundwave doesn't return his calls.]]

* Some allusion is made to Galvatron's former life as Megatron. While the Torkulons attempt to lobotomize the Decepticon leader, he states that they have "no right" to change what he is, to which the Torkulon doctor replies, "You have already been changed, that's the problem." On the other hand, this could also be taken to mean the change away from his saner personality from the movie. Speaking of which...
* The Torkuli diagnose Galvatron's madness as being caused by a plasma accident, presumably his plasma bath in "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]".
* This is the final appearance of [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] in the (US) Generation 1 cartoon continuity, and one of only two appearances in Season 3 (the first was a brief cameo in "The Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"). No, he doesn't perch on Galvatron's shoulder.

===Real-world references===
* A classic Looney Tunes sound effect (used for the Road Runner) shows up as the Decepticons fly across the title screen.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst: when Sky Lynx launches at the start of the battle; when he launches a second time during the battle; when he launches a third time to leave the battle; when Laserbeak flies off with Motormaster and Swindle; as Galvatron takes off to destroy the planetary core
** X-Wing diving whine: as Cyclonus follows Galvatron toward the core.

* Large portions of the episode, especially the therapy sessions, seem to parody real psychological treatment methods such as [[wikipedia:word association|word association]] and [[wikipedia:dramatherapy|dramatherapy]]. The intentions of the Alya to consume Galvatron's mind could also be taken as a reference to a [[wikipedia:lobotomy|lobotomy]], a process that can "cure" certain mental illnesses but removes significant parts of the patient's personality.

===Foreign localization===

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Galvatron dreht durch'''" ("Galvatron goes Crazy")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' クモの巣惑星 (''Kumo no Su Wakusei'', "The Planet of Spider's Nest")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[March 20]], [[1987]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mir pawootiny'''" (''Мир паутины'', "Webworld")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
* This is by far the most Decepticon-centric episode of the series; the Autobots are only onscreen for part of the first act.
* Twice in this episode (when Cyclonus takes him to Torkulon to look for the Autobots, and when leaving the planet in search of the Autobots), Galvatron says "Ultra Magnus", as if Magnus is the [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|leader of the Autobots]].
* It is ironic that [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] is the one to declare an ultimatum of rebellion against Galvatron to Cylonus, considering he was the first Decepticon to loyally donate Energon to help find Galvatron in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1]]".

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 8: Evil Experiments ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

Triple Takeover

2013-05-27T15:36:15Z

StryderK: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|image=TripleTakeover Blitzwing Astrotrain stadium.jpg
|caption=In which we learn exactly why Megatron is in charge of the Decepticons.
|series=G1toon
|ep=50
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=39
|prev2=Kremzeek!
|next2=Child's Play (episode)
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=18
|prev3=Kremzeek!
|next3=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Triple Takeover"
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production code=700-49
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Unknown Filipino animation studio]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Astrotrain and Blitzwing depose Megatron and Starscream, then proceed to wreak havoc.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TripleTakeover Mount Deceptimore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Admit it. That is pretty cool.]]
[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] are using their weapons to carve their faces along with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s into a mountainside. They agree one of the faces doesn't belong, then decide to band together and overthrow Megatron. Flying back to base, Blitzwing and Astrotrain decide who should lead Megatron into the trap, one of them suggesting Starscream while the other counters how the [[Air Commander]] has constantly been attempting to become leader of the [[Decepticon]]s and failed. Starscream retorts as usual and says he will do it, and the other two gloat about manipulating him.

Starscream leads Megatron into the sewers, stating that a secret [[Autobot]] energy base is present there, but the doors close around them. Megatron recognizes it's a trap but gets frozen. Starscream gloats and tries to escape through a hatch but finds out that it's been locked by his "allies". This leaves Astrotrain and Blitzwing as joint Decepticon leaders.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverblitzwingcoach.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Coach rivals Prowl, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus as "Best Sub-Commander ever".]]
Heading for a stadium, Blitzwing, in a display of great intelligence, drafts a [[football coach]] to be his [[second-in-command]] and demands tactical advice from him, keeping him stuffed in a locker when not needed. Blitzwing misinterprets the coach's suggestions of "zone defense" and "long bomb" and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build a massive highway maze, then begins firing "long bombs" from the stadium into the surrounding city. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] leads a group of Autobots to investigate, but they end up crashing into each other in the Constructicons' maze and getting mashed flat by Blitzwing in tank mode. Meanwhile, Astrotrain heads to a train station, where he "conscripts" the [[Astroforce]], human trains which are to be his army. He sends them into a tunnel to collect energy lines and convert them into [[energon]]. It actually goes quite well for Astrotrain. The Astroforce? Not so much.

[[Image:TripleTakeover Astrotrain trashedroforce.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You're embarrassing me in front of the guys!"]]
Meanwhile, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] flies over the maze, where [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] has built himself a throne... made of Prowl, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]. Guided by Powerglide from the air, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manage to rescue the Autobots, causing Blitzwing and Scrapper to crash into each other. At the train station, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] come to see how Astrotrain is doing. To his credit, he has gotten a lot of [[energon cube]]s, but his Astroforce has somehow gotten off their tracks and into a knot. Astrotrain urges one of the trains to gather some energy from a gas main, but it turns out to be a water main, which floods the tunnel. Worse, it heads into the tunnel in which Megatron and Starscream are trapped. Online again, Megatron accuses Starscream of another attempt at treason and begins the customary throttling. Starscream maintains that he was tricked. The pair go in search of the two traitorous triple-changers.

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] see the two Decepticons, only to be distracted by the water main flooding the city. Optimus rescues Spike after the boy is washed away, handing him off to Powerglide to take to safety. [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] uses his [[force field]] to push back the water, while Optimus and Ironhide seal the main. Heading for the station, Megatron and Starscream encounter Prime, who claims that he's looking for the real leaders of the Decepticons, implying it isn't the two of them. This really angers Megatron, who tries to kill the Autobot leader, but Prime escapes. Megatron leaves to put Astrotrain and Blitzwing in their place, while the Seekers watch and place bets on who will win. Optimus, however, is content to sit back and wait for the outcome.

At the stadium, the Constructicons demand a share of the power Blitzwing promised, but he refuses and tells them to go jump off a bridge. Bad idea, for the Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The flood from the water main finally dies out at the stadium, depositing Astrotrain, who decides to scrap Blitzwing as well.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverautobotthrone.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Unfortunately, the "Seatmaster" line never really took off...]]

Megatron and Starscream arrive, and Megatron beats his would-be usurpers senseless, but Devastator knocks out Megatron, then turns his sights on the Air Commander. Starscream manages to dodge Devastator, then Megatron slams the giant. Megatron, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Starscream, and Devastator then engage in a battle royale which sees Megatron emerge victorious. He decides to spare the traitors, saying the Decepticon cause is too important, but warns them never to betray him again.

As the Autobots look on, they're impressed that Prime knew that Megatron would handle the Decepticons for them. The previously injured Autobots form a throne for their commander to sit on, but Optimus Prime declares that he'd rather [[Roll out|roll]].

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (14)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (15)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (16)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (17)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (18)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (19)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (20)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (25)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (1)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (2)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (8)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (9)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (10)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (11)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (12)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (13)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (22)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (24)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (29)

|c3=
*[[football coach|Coach]] (5)
*Football players (6)
*Train conductor (7)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (27)
}}

==Quotes==
"No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream."
:—'''Astrotrain'''

"Coach, it's a tank! What do I do?" 
"GIVE HIM THE BALL!"
:—A hapless '''football player''' and his '''coach''' meet Blitzwing.

"Tell me what's on your mind, or I'll splatter it on the wall and see for myself!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' to <s>the football coach</s> his second-in-command.

"Scrapper calling Blitzwing. What is the purpose of this highway maze you ordered us to build?" 
"It's a ''zone defense'', you ignorant fool!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' explains the perfectly obvious to '''Scrapper'''

"Scrapper, how big is our zone defense?" 
"Can't tell. All the others are lost in it! All I know is, it's ''big!''"
:—Decepticon "leader" '''Blitzwing''' and '''Scrapper'''

"Astrotrain couldn't lead rats to a garbage can."
''(Other Decepticons snicker)''
:—Astrotrain gets no respect from '''Thrust'''.

"''You'' led me into this trap!!" 
"I was tricked! The Triple Changers! They told me it was a power station!" 
"You are either lying, or you're ''stupid!''" 
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' cut straight to the chase

''(Constructicons drive through scoreboard)'' 
'''Scrapper''': Victory is ours! 
'''Blitzwing''': What do you mean, ''ours''? You broke my scoreboard! 
'''Scrapper''': We built your maze. Now you keep your part of the bargain. 
'''Blitzwing''': What bargain? 
'''Scrapper''': You promised us a partnership in leading the Decepticons. 
'''Blitzwing''': Tell you what, guys. Why don't you go build a bridge...and ''jump off it''! 
'''Scrapper''': Constructicons... transform into Devastator! 
''(Constructicons form Devastator and advances menacingly on Blitzwing)'' 
'''Blitzwing''': Hey! No offense, big guy!
:—Blitzwing learns an important lesson: never shortchange the Decepticon team that can combine into a giant robot mode.

"Don't waste your time, Megatron. Incinerating you is of no interest to me. I'm looking for the leaders of the Decepticons." 
"''I'' am the Decepticon leader!" 
"You and Starscream are just a nuisance. A couple of metallic mosquitoes." 
"Mosquitoes?! Then feel my BITE!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' brilliantly manipulates '''Megatron'''.

'''Thundercracker''': I say Megatron will prevail! 
'''Thrust''': Three energon cubes says you're wrong! 
'''Thundercracker''': Make it four! 
'''Ramjet''': My money is on Devastator.
:—Who becomes new leader of the Decepticons? PLACE BETS NOW!

"Get this straight: ''I'' am Decepticon Leader. YOU are recyclable!"
:—'''Megatron''' disses Blitzwing and Astrotrain

"Megatron is a wimp!" 
"So is ''Starscream''!" 
:—'''Starscream''' finds that kissing up doesn't work so well on '''Devastator'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* The conspiracists' laser-sculpting is not very credible. Several shots in a row produce no effect, and then Megatron's face appears in the rock after one additional shot. The three Decepticons aren't even moving their arms as they shoot. They also keep firing after the four faces are already complete.
*As they fly in the beginning, Starscreams' chest is red when it should be white.
*As Starscream says, "I will get Megatron," Decepticon HQ is miscolored as white instead of purple.
* Starscream has only one wing emblem as he and Megatron walk through the sewer, and it's on right side up instead of the usual upside down.
*"Straight ahead, Megatron." Starscream's mouth isn't moving.
* Starscream's eyes are blue as Megatron yells at him for failing.
* When Blitzwing plows through the goal at the football stadium, the debris left behind vanishes in the next frame.
* Blitzwing's tank barrel is purple as he aims at the football player with the ball.
* Blitzwing's head is purple instead of yellow as the transforms after hitting the scoreboard.
* When Blitzwing grabs the football coach, the coach is yelling, "Okay! Okay....commander!", but ''Blitzwing'' is the one mouthing the words!
* The camera shot during whole conversation between Blitzwing and the Coach is strangely cropped, so that Blitzwing's head is cut off above the mouth.
* The train conductor makes the bizarre deduction that Astrotrain has no driver. Couldn't the driver just be on the other side of the cab, out of sight? Hard to tell, since Astrotrain's forward-facing windows are missing in the shot.
* Astrotrain rather flagrantly changes from all-purple to all-gray as he transforms.
* In the station, strange shot cropping again, as Astrotrain's head gets cut off for part of the shot.
* Astrotrain is missing his tail fin as he walks up to the trains. The trains have changed positions from where they were in the previous shot, when they were visible through the hole in the station wall.
* A line of Astrotrain's appears to have been cut between "Even soldiers need brains" and "Astrotrain can fix that". This was presumably an assessment that the trains have no brains.
* When Astrotrain wrests down a computer component to start work on his train army, the component vanishes as he rips out the engine. The vent he ripped off is still on the train a moment later. And for a brief moment afterward, it appears as if Astrotrain picks up thin air with his hands.
* The lockers that Blitzwing kicks open to stuff his "second in command" into are [[Scale|extremely huge]]. If one compares the size of the coach to one of those lockers, he would need to ''jump'' just to reach one of the handles.
* On that note, how ''exactly'' does Blitzwing kick the locker door open? By all rights, it should be a lump of scrap metal on the floor.
*The guy whose car falls off the bridge yells "Help!" in Spike's voice.
* Scrapper is seen scooping a load of dirt when he appears, but as he transforms, not only is the dirt gone, but he appears in an entirely different location.
* After the first commercial break, Blitzwing's cannon shots randomly change from having the Decepticon laser noise to Optimus Prime's rifle noise.
* As Blitzwing first runs over Prowl and Skids, the two Autobots have switched positions from where they were in the previous shot. Perhaps in an attempt by the colorists to fix this, their color schemes are switched.
* Blitzwing runs over Prowl and Skids twice from the same direction. The second time he runs over them with ''no'' sense of vertical motion, as if they were flat as paper. He couldn't possibly have crushed them ''that'' flat.
* For some reason, Astrotrain gets a red glowing effect as he transforms out of train mode in the tunnels.
* Despite Astrotrain's orders to do various things, the train just keeps doing the exact same thing over and over, courtesy of recycled animation.
* As the train backs up to bump into the pipe again, the glow effects of its headlights are floating in front of the headlights themselves.
* The Autobot throne changes quite a bit between shots. When we first see it, it's a lumpy pile of beat-up Autobots. When Hoist lassos it, it's mostly just Prowl and Skids, sitting back to back, undamaged. Prowl is even holding his gun!
* The side of Blitzwing's eyeband is white instead of red as Scrapper yells for help.
* Thrust is shown during Thundercracker's "Leader?! How do you figure that?" line.
* Thundercracker is colored as Starscream when the jets transform and land in the tunnel; not only is Starscream not part of the group, he is still frozen underground at this point.
* Two successive musical cues overlap for a second or two as the water comes bursting out of the tunnel.
[[Image:Tripletakeover megatron frozen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
* When the water bursts in and frees Megatron and Starscream, Starscream is standing upright. When he froze, he was crouching by the exit hatch. In the same shot, Megatron is missing his Decepticon insignia.
* After they unfreeze, Megatron floats past the camera three times in a row.
*When Spike is washed away, Optimus yells "Spike!," but Peter Cullen uses Ironhide's voice.
*Also, the animation used for those shots is strangely distorted, making Spike looking like a child for a few moments.
*When he finds Spike, Optimus sort of transforms around him. In the next shot, Spike is in the driver's seat but there's no steering wheel. And when Powerglide lowers his ladder, Prime's trailer has a red stripe on it rather than a white one.
* The depth of the water varies all over the place. In one shot, Trailbreaker drives it away from a building, revealing several floors that were completely inundated; in another shot, it's almost to the top of a streetlamp. In other shots, it's shallow enough for the Autobots to wade through. In one scene, Optimus is wading through water up to his shoulders, yet when he transforms, it only comes up to his fenders.
* A huge pipe is shown breaking when Optimus first tries to fix the broken water main. The pipe that he and Ironhide repair later, however, just has a tiny little crack in it, nowhere near enough to flood a tunnel, let alone a whole city.
*Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-colored rather than golden in this episode.
* Blitzwing's head is purple again (instead of yellow) as he chastises the Constructicons for breaking his scoreboard.
* Blitzwing is doing a strange little boogie before the Constructions smash his scoreboard, with electrical effects around his hand. It's not really clear what this is meant to be. Is it his endzone victory dance?
* Scrapper's cab roof is misdrawn during Blitzwing's "What bargain?" line.
* Megatron reaches off-screen during his confrontation with Optimus, and something electrical lights up; we never do see what it is, though.
*As Megatron and Starscream shoot at Optimus, Starascream suddenly shifts from behind Megatron to in front of him. This makes him look tiny for a moment.
* Megatron gets the standard Decepticon laser sound for his fusion cannon, layered on top of its normal sound effect.
* Someone mistook Prime's blinding headlights for a laser attack, and inserted his standard rifle sound effect a couple of times.
* Megatron's helmet is a shade lighter than the rest of him as he tells Starscream to shut up. It changes back to normal as they start walking off.
* Megatron is shown with foot thrusters as he and Starscream take off.
* Among the Decepticon jets following Prime to the stadium is an off-model Seeker (or maybe an off-model Blitzwing) colored like Astrotrain; this should be Thundercracker. The jets are flying extremely low; Thrust can't be more than 10 feet above the road.
* During the "Three energon cubes says you're wrong" profile shot, Thrust and Ramjet's color schemes are switched.
* As they fly toward Blitzwing's position, Ramjet and Thrust are flying alongside.... Blitzwing.
* As the Autobots stand on the building roof, the water lapping at the building's edge is drawn as though it were surf coming in on a flat beach; parts of it just drift right over the building parapet.
* The same scene is supposed to show Trailbreaker using his forcefield to push Astrotrain toward the stadium, but it's so badly drawn and edited that it's very easy to miss.
* Devastator and Blitzwing are almost the same size as they grapple.
* While Astrotrain and Blitzwing are grappling, Devastator stomps Astrotrain's train mode underfoot, crushing it flat. As Astrotrain is still grappling with Blitzwing in the next shot, it's not clear what this was supposed to be.
* Megatron's helmet is ''darker'' than the rest of his body as he says "Why not?" It changes to normal as Devastator picks him up.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Astroforce.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Astrotrain visits the railroad museum!]]
* Astrotrain reads the temperature in the trap room as "470 degrees below zero", but actual absolute zero is only 459 below zero (at least on the Fahrenheit scale, Astrotrain could conceivably be using some Cybertronian scale).
* A digital scoreboard wouldn't just add two points because it was hit by a flaming football.
*The coach is introduced commanding the team with the same colors as his own clothing, but by the time the game gets interrupted by Blitzwing, he's commanding the ''other'' team. Eh? It ''could'' be a scrimmage, which would explain the ''totally empty stadium'', but then why does the other team have its own uniforms with their own letter?
* The locomotives that Astrotrain recruits don't look like any locomotive that were operating in North America in 1985. They appear to be based on some of the experimental streamliner diesels from the 1930s, such as the [[:wikipedia: M-10000|Union Pacific's M-10000]] and the [[:wikipedia:Pioneer Zephyr|Burlington's ''Pioneer Zephyr'']]... all of which were scrapped or retired decades before. The only locomotive that was in use at the time resembles the [[:wikipedia: Pendolino|Italian ETR 401]].
* As Blitzwing is firing "long bombs" all over the place, isn't he the ''least'' bit concerned that he'll accidentally blow up the "zone defense" he's having the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build?
* The bridge that Hoist repairs is clearly blown in half, yet once Hoist leaps into the river to shore up its supports, traffic keeps rolling across it.
* There's really no reason the Autobots couldn't have simply gone ''around'' the highway maze.
* The four Autobots are pretty much destroyed by Blitzwing. Bluestreak explodes, and chunks of him (and three of his tires) go flying in different directions. Prowl, Skids, and Tracks all crash explosively and are all crushed under Blitzwing's tank treads. Unsurprisingly, none of them are nearly so damaged when they show up again later.
* Scrapper doesn't react ''at all'' to two Autobots driving into his throne room; he just continues sitting there on the Autobot throne, chilling out.
* He does react to Smokescreen's smoke cloud, however...by breaking out into a coughing fit! It's not [[Roll for It|the first time]] that [[The_Gambler|robots]] have been shown [[Humanization|to cough]].
* Why would a water main be positioned so low that a train could hit it? Why would it be exposed in a tunnel at all?
* Whatever the reason, it's the most amazing water main in the whole history of forever. Within minutes, it floods a good deal of a city, at some points the water being as high as a multi-story building.
* Trailbreaker is just sitting there on the roof of a building, not doing anything, until Powerglide suggests doing something about the water.
* As the huge flood consumes the city, Spike just calmly watches it alongside Prime and Ironhide, and then has the audacity to cry for help when it inevitably washes him away. He either craves attention or lacks basic danger comprehension abilities.
*Somehow Spike is revived after being swept away by a flood and crushed under boulders by Optimus ''blowing air conditioning on him''.
* We never find out what this random building is that Megatron and Optimus both wander into, or why they're there. It kinda resembles an art museum, but there's no art. Whatever it is, it's built to the same huge scale as the football locker room; the Transformers have no trouble standing upright, and Optimus is last seen ''driving'' out the door.
* Despite what he says, Astrotrain doesn't ''have'' any score to settle with Blitzwing.
* Where is [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] while this coup attempt is going on?

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Skids.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blink and you'll miss him! Unless you're Prowl, in which case you'll smash right into him.]]

* By this point in the series, Starscream's voice had gotten rather high-pitched, and this is one of the most notable instances.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Hoist unfolds an incredibly long length of telescoping crane to save a driver whose car ran into the river. No wonder they call him "Hoist"!
** Ironhide fires "supercool nitrogen" from his hand gun to patch the broken water main. It's a blue laser beam that solidifies as a dark blue substance.
** Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-coloured. Pretty! He fires them from his gun arm [[Dinobot Island, Part 1|again]].
* This is the second and last time that Skids shows up in the Generation 1 cartoon. He has a completely different voice than he did in "[[Quest for Survival]]".
* Where did the trailer go?
** Prime's trailer rolls in from off-screen when he transforms during the flood, and rolls away again when he returns to robot mode.
** The trailer follows him ''everywhere''! Even when he transforms inside a random human building, the trailer comes rolling in!
* Scrapper making a throne from the trashed Autobots is based on his bio, which says he incorporates defeated Autobots into his works.
* Devastator makes his first attempt at usurping control of the Decepticons from Megatron and actually attacks his former leader, something that goes against previous character portrayals, in which he was shown as a loyal follower (particularly notable in "[[The Core]]"). Also, how Megatron was able to defeat him is unknown, since the battle ended off-screen. Earlier on in the fight, Megatron's fusion cannon shots just bounced off him, so it's a big mystery.
* '''[[Dinobot Island, Part 2|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's gotten himself frozen! Unfortunately, so has Starscream. '''[[Starscream's Brigade|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* The weirdly improbable face carving is, of course, an homage to [[:wikipedia:Mount Rushmore|Mount Rushmore]].
* Astrotrain's line about "No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream" is a paraphrase of a famous quotation by early 20th Century satirist and journalist [[:wikipedia:H. L. Mencken|H. L. Mencken]].
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** Some ''Millennium Falcon'' engine rumble as the Seekers fly into the subway tunnel.
** The sliding door sound effect from the Death Star is used for the trains venting steam.
** More ''Falcon'' noise as Megatron and Starscream take off to attack Blitzwing.
** X-Wings diving, and faint TIE Fighter roar, as Megatron takes off from the stadium.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Der Aufstand'''" ("The Revolution")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''I Triplex ribelli'''" ("The Rebel Triple Changers")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Triplice congiura'''" ("Triple Conspiracy")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Triple Changer no Hanran'''" (トリプル・チェンジャーの反乱, "The Rebellion of the Triple Changers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 11]], [[1986]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Troynoy perevorot'''" (Тройной переворот, "The Triple Upheaval")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Blitzwing coach.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You're playing like the village idiot! You want people to think of you as the village idiot?"]]
* Blitzwing's takeover of a football stadium is nothing short of hilarious. First, he blasts right through the wall, and everybody continues on as if nothing happened. Then, when one of the football players ''finally'' notices a big tank turret aimed at his face, the coach's first order of action is to... tell him to give Blitzwing the ball. Wait.... '''''WHAT?!'''''
* And as if that isn't enough, "Blitzie" took those football strategies literally,
too literally! I mean, "Zone Defense and he had the Constructicons build a
"zone defense"? "Long Bomb" and he shoots "Bombs" a "long" way? Ohh lord have
mercy! What would happen if his "military advisor" ordered up a "Hail Mary"?
Will Blitzie kneel down and pray? WHAT IN THE WORLD? The writers missed a gold
mine on this one!
* In contrast, the conductor who appears when Astrotrain takes over the train station knows full well to hightail it and run when the latter reveals himself. Seeing as how everybody else just ''stood there'' despite him yelling for them to run for their lives, this officially makes him the only [[human]] in this entire ''episode'' with half a brain.
* In contrast, Astrotrain's "astroforce" ain't nearly as funny...They are just dumb
and stupid and nearly flooded the city too.
* For something that was extrapolated from a football coach's vague, irrelevant musings by a guy basically depicted as a moron throughout the episode, Blitzwing's strategy is surprisingly effective.
* Blitzwing's promise of a joint leadership with the Constructicons is amazingly nonsensical: if it happened, there would be more Decepticon leaders than there were Decepticons to be led.
* [[Transformers Comic issue 2.3|In an issue of Titan's Transformers comic]], the movie Decepticon [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] would reveal he's seen this episode.
* Signs in the city: STAR Daster, Hotel, Kend.
* Final score: Visitors 0; Blitzwing 1,569!

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

Triple Takeover

2013-05-27T15:33:47Z

StryderK: /* Trivia */

{{episode
|image=TripleTakeover Blitzwing Astrotrain stadium.jpg
|caption=In which we learn exactly why Megatron is in charge of the Decepticons.
|series=G1toon
|ep=50
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=39
|prev2=Kremzeek!
|next2=Child's Play (episode)
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=18
|prev3=Kremzeek!
|next3=Starscream's Brigade
|title="Triple Takeover"
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production code=700-49
|airdate=[[November 19]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Unknown Filipino animation studio]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Astrotrain and Blitzwing depose Megatron and Starscream, then proceed to wreak havoc.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:TripleTakeover Mount Deceptimore.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Admit it. That is pretty cool.]]
[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] and [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] are using their weapons to carve their faces along with [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]]'s into a mountainside. They agree one of the faces doesn't belong, then decide to band together and overthrow Megatron. Flying back to base, Blitzwing and Astrotrain decide who should lead Megatron into the trap, one of them suggesting Starscream while the other counters how the [[Air Commander]] has constantly been attempting to become leader of the [[Decepticon]]s and failed. Starscream retorts as usual and says he will do it, and the other two gloat about manipulating him.

Starscream leads Megatron into the sewers, stating that a secret [[Autobot]] energy base is present there, but the doors close around them. Megatron recognizes it's a trap but gets frozen. Starscream gloats and tries to escape through a hatch but finds out that it's been locked by his "allies". This leaves Astrotrain and Blitzwing as joint Decepticon leaders.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverblitzwingcoach.jpg|right|200px|thumb|The Coach rivals Prowl, Jazz, and Ultra Magnus as "Best Sub-Commander ever".]]
Heading for a stadium, Blitzwing, in a display of great intelligence, drafts a [[football coach]] to be his [[second-in-command]] and demands tactical advice from him, keeping him stuffed in a locker when not needed. Blitzwing misinterprets the coach's suggestions of "zone defense" and "long bomb" and has the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build a massive highway maze, then begins firing "long bombs" from the stadium into the surrounding city. [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] leads a group of Autobots to investigate, but they end up crashing into each other in the Constructicons' maze and getting mashed flat by Blitzwing in tank mode. Meanwhile, Astrotrain heads to a train station, where he "conscripts" the [[Astroforce]], human trains which are to be his army. He sends them into a tunnel to collect energy lines and convert them into [[energon]]. It actually goes quite well for Astrotrain. The Astroforce? Not so much.

[[Image:TripleTakeover Astrotrain trashedroforce.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You're embarrassing me in front of the guys!"]]
Meanwhile, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] flies over the maze, where [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] has built himself a throne... made of Prowl, [[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]], [[Skids (G1)|Skids]], and [[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]. Guided by Powerglide from the air, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manage to rescue the Autobots, causing Blitzwing and Scrapper to crash into each other. At the train station, the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] come to see how Astrotrain is doing. To his credit, he has gotten a lot of [[energon cube]]s, but his Astroforce has somehow gotten off their tracks and into a knot. Astrotrain urges one of the trains to gather some energy from a gas main, but it turns out to be a water main, which floods the tunnel. Worse, it heads into the tunnel in which Megatron and Starscream are trapped. Online again, Megatron accuses Starscream of another attempt at treason and begins the customary throttling. Starscream maintains that he was tricked. The pair go in search of the two traitorous triple-changers.

[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike]] see the two Decepticons, only to be distracted by the water main flooding the city. Optimus rescues Spike after the boy is washed away, handing him off to Powerglide to take to safety. [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] uses his [[force field]] to push back the water, while Optimus and Ironhide seal the main. Heading for the station, Megatron and Starscream encounter Prime, who claims that he's looking for the real leaders of the Decepticons, implying it isn't the two of them. This really angers Megatron, who tries to kill the Autobot leader, but Prime escapes. Megatron leaves to put Astrotrain and Blitzwing in their place, while the Seekers watch and place bets on who will win. Optimus, however, is content to sit back and wait for the outcome.

At the stadium, the Constructicons demand a share of the power Blitzwing promised, but he refuses and tells them to go jump off a bridge. Bad idea, for the Constructicons form [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]]. The flood from the water main finally dies out at the stadium, depositing Astrotrain, who decides to scrap Blitzwing as well.

[[Image:Tripletakeoverautobotthrone.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Unfortunately, the "Seatmaster" line never really took off...]]

Megatron and Starscream arrive, and Megatron beats his would-be usurpers senseless, but Devastator knocks out Megatron, then turns his sights on the Air Commander. Starscream manages to dodge Devastator, then Megatron slams the giant. Megatron, Blitzwing, Astrotrain, Starscream, and Devastator then engage in a battle royale which sees Megatron emerge victorious. He decides to spare the traitors, saying the Decepticon cause is too important, but warns them never to betray him again.

As the Autobots look on, they're impressed that Prime knew that Megatron would handle the Decepticons for them. The previously injured Autobots form a throne for their commander to sit on, but Optimus Prime declares that he'd rather [[Roll out|roll]].

{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (14)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (15)
*[[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] (16)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (17)
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]] (18)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (19)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (20)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (25)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (26)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (28)

|c2=
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (1)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (2)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (3)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (8)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (9)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (10)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (11)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (12)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (13)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (22)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (24)
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (29)

|c3=
*[[football coach|Coach]] (5)
*Football players (6)
*Train conductor (7)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)|Spike Witwicky]] (27)
}}

==Quotes==
"No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream."
:—'''Astrotrain'''

"Coach, it's a tank! What do I do?" 
"GIVE HIM THE BALL!"
:—A hapless '''football player''' and his '''coach''' meet Blitzwing.

"Tell me what's on your mind, or I'll splatter it on the wall and see for myself!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' to <s>the football coach</s> his second-in-command.

"Scrapper calling Blitzwing. What is the purpose of this highway maze you ordered us to build?" 
"It's a ''zone defense'', you ignorant fool!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' explains the perfectly obvious to '''Scrapper'''

"Scrapper, how big is our zone defense?" 
"Can't tell. All the others are lost in it! All I know is, it's ''big!''"
:—Decepticon "leader" '''Blitzwing''' and '''Scrapper'''

"Astrotrain couldn't lead rats to a garbage can."
''(Other Decepticons snicker)''
:—Astrotrain gets no respect from '''Thrust'''.

"''You'' led me into this trap!!" 
"I was tricked! The Triple Changers! They told me it was a power station!" 
"You are either lying, or you're ''stupid!''" 
"I'm stupid! I'm stupid!"
:—'''Megatron''' and '''Starscream''' cut straight to the chase

''(Constructicons drive through scoreboard)'' 
'''Scrapper''': Victory is ours! 
'''Blitzwing''': What do you mean, ''ours''? You broke my scoreboard! 
'''Scrapper''': We built your maze. Now you keep your part of the bargain. 
'''Blitzwing''': What bargain? 
'''Scrapper''': You promised us a partnership in leading the Decepticons. 
'''Blitzwing''': Tell you what, guys. Why don't you go build a bridge...and ''jump off it''! 
'''Scrapper''': Constructicons... transform into Devastator! 
''(Constructicons form Devastator and advances menacingly on Blitzwing)'' 
'''Blitzwing''': Hey! No offense, big guy!
:—Blitzwing learns an important lesson: never shortchange the Decepticon team that can combine into a giant robot mode.

"Don't waste your time, Megatron. Incinerating you is of no interest to me. I'm looking for the leaders of the Decepticons." 
"''I'' am the Decepticon leader!" 
"You and Starscream are just a nuisance. A couple of metallic mosquitoes." 
"Mosquitoes?! Then feel my BITE!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' brilliantly manipulates '''Megatron'''.

'''Thundercracker''': I say Megatron will prevail! 
'''Thrust''': Three energon cubes says you're wrong! 
'''Thundercracker''': Make it four! 
'''Ramjet''': My money is on Devastator.
:—Who becomes new leader of the Decepticons? PLACE BETS NOW!

"Get this straight: ''I'' am Decepticon Leader. YOU are recyclable!"
:—'''Megatron''' disses Blitzwing and Astrotrain

"Megatron is a wimp!" 
"So is ''Starscream''!" 
:—'''Starscream''' finds that kissing up doesn't work so well on '''Devastator'''

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
* The conspiracists' laser-sculpting is not very credible. Several shots in a row produce no effect, and then Megatron's face appears in the rock after one additional shot. The three Decepticons aren't even moving their arms as they shoot. They also keep firing after the four faces are already complete.
*As they fly in the beginning, Starscreams' chest is red when it should be white.
*As Starscream says, "I will get Megatron," Decepticon HQ is miscolored as white instead of purple.
* Starscream has only one wing emblem as he and Megatron walk through the sewer, and it's on right side up instead of the usual upside down.
*"Straight ahead, Megatron." Starscream's mouth isn't moving.
* Starscream's eyes are blue as Megatron yells at him for failing.
* When Blitzwing plows through the goal at the football stadium, the debris left behind vanishes in the next frame.
* Blitzwing's tank barrel is purple as he aims at the football player with the ball.
* Blitzwing's head is purple instead of yellow as the transforms after hitting the scoreboard.
* When Blitzwing grabs the football coach, the coach is yelling, "Okay! Okay....commander!", but ''Blitzwing'' is the one mouthing the words!
* The camera shot during whole conversation between Blitzwing and the Coach is strangely cropped, so that Blitzwing's head is cut off above the mouth.
* The train conductor makes the bizarre deduction that Astrotrain has no driver. Couldn't the driver just be on the other side of the cab, out of sight? Hard to tell, since Astrotrain's forward-facing windows are missing in the shot.
* Astrotrain rather flagrantly changes from all-purple to all-gray as he transforms.
* In the station, strange shot cropping again, as Astrotrain's head gets cut off for part of the shot.
* Astrotrain is missing his tail fin as he walks up to the trains. The trains have changed positions from where they were in the previous shot, when they were visible through the hole in the station wall.
* A line of Astrotrain's appears to have been cut between "Even soldiers need brains" and "Astrotrain can fix that". This was presumably an assessment that the trains have no brains.
* When Astrotrain wrests down a computer component to start work on his train army, the component vanishes as he rips out the engine. The vent he ripped off is still on the train a moment later. And for a brief moment afterward, it appears as if Astrotrain picks up thin air with his hands.
* The lockers that Blitzwing kicks open to stuff his "second in command" into are [[Scale|extremely huge]]. If one compares the size of the coach to one of those lockers, he would need to ''jump'' just to reach one of the handles.
* On that note, how ''exactly'' does Blitzwing kick the locker door open? By all rights, it should be a lump of scrap metal on the floor.
*The guy whose car falls off the bridge yells "Help!" in Spike's voice.
* Scrapper is seen scooping a load of dirt when he appears, but as he transforms, not only is the dirt gone, but he appears in an entirely different location.
* After the first commercial break, Blitzwing's cannon shots randomly change from having the Decepticon laser noise to Optimus Prime's rifle noise.
* As Blitzwing first runs over Prowl and Skids, the two Autobots have switched positions from where they were in the previous shot. Perhaps in an attempt by the colorists to fix this, their color schemes are switched.
* Blitzwing runs over Prowl and Skids twice from the same direction. The second time he runs over them with ''no'' sense of vertical motion, as if they were flat as paper. He couldn't possibly have crushed them ''that'' flat.
* For some reason, Astrotrain gets a red glowing effect as he transforms out of train mode in the tunnels.
* Despite Astrotrain's orders to do various things, the train just keeps doing the exact same thing over and over, courtesy of recycled animation.
* As the train backs up to bump into the pipe again, the glow effects of its headlights are floating in front of the headlights themselves.
* The Autobot throne changes quite a bit between shots. When we first see it, it's a lumpy pile of beat-up Autobots. When Hoist lassos it, it's mostly just Prowl and Skids, sitting back to back, undamaged. Prowl is even holding his gun!
* The side of Blitzwing's eyeband is white instead of red as Scrapper yells for help.
* Thrust is shown during Thundercracker's "Leader?! How do you figure that?" line.
* Thundercracker is colored as Starscream when the jets transform and land in the tunnel; not only is Starscream not part of the group, he is still frozen underground at this point.
* Two successive musical cues overlap for a second or two as the water comes bursting out of the tunnel.
[[Image:Tripletakeover megatron frozen.jpg|thumb|right|200px|]]
* When the water bursts in and frees Megatron and Starscream, Starscream is standing upright. When he froze, he was crouching by the exit hatch. In the same shot, Megatron is missing his Decepticon insignia.
* After they unfreeze, Megatron floats past the camera three times in a row.
*When Spike is washed away, Optimus yells "Spike!," but Peter Cullen uses Ironhide's voice.
*Also, the animation used for those shots is strangely distorted, making Spike looking like a child for a few moments.
*When he finds Spike, Optimus sort of transforms around him. In the next shot, Spike is in the driver's seat but there's no steering wheel. And when Powerglide lowers his ladder, Prime's trailer has a red stripe on it rather than a white one.
* The depth of the water varies all over the place. In one shot, Trailbreaker drives it away from a building, revealing several floors that were completely inundated; in another shot, it's almost to the top of a streetlamp. In other shots, it's shallow enough for the Autobots to wade through. In one scene, Optimus is wading through water up to his shoulders, yet when he transforms, it only comes up to his fenders.
* A huge pipe is shown breaking when Optimus first tries to fix the broken water main. The pipe that he and Ironhide repair later, however, just has a tiny little crack in it, nowhere near enough to flood a tunnel, let alone a whole city.
*Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-colored rather than golden in this episode.
* Blitzwing's head is purple again (instead of yellow) as he chastises the Constructicons for breaking his scoreboard.
* Blitzwing is doing a strange little boogie before the Constructions smash his scoreboard, with electrical effects around his hand. It's not really clear what this is meant to be. Is it his endzone victory dance?
* Scrapper's cab roof is misdrawn during Blitzwing's "What bargain?" line.
* Megatron reaches off-screen during his confrontation with Optimus, and something electrical lights up; we never do see what it is, though.
*As Megatron and Starscream shoot at Optimus, Starascream suddenly shifts from behind Megatron to in front of him. This makes him look tiny for a moment.
* Megatron gets the standard Decepticon laser sound for his fusion cannon, layered on top of its normal sound effect.
* Someone mistook Prime's blinding headlights for a laser attack, and inserted his standard rifle sound effect a couple of times.
* Megatron's helmet is a shade lighter than the rest of him as he tells Starscream to shut up. It changes back to normal as they start walking off.
* Megatron is shown with foot thrusters as he and Starscream take off.
* Among the Decepticon jets following Prime to the stadium is an off-model Seeker (or maybe an off-model Blitzwing) colored like Astrotrain; this should be Thundercracker. The jets are flying extremely low; Thrust can't be more than 10 feet above the road.
* During the "Three energon cubes says you're wrong" profile shot, Thrust and Ramjet's color schemes are switched.
* As they fly toward Blitzwing's position, Ramjet and Thrust are flying alongside.... Blitzwing.
* As the Autobots stand on the building roof, the water lapping at the building's edge is drawn as though it were surf coming in on a flat beach; parts of it just drift right over the building parapet.
* The same scene is supposed to show Trailbreaker using his forcefield to push Astrotrain toward the stadium, but it's so badly drawn and edited that it's very easy to miss.
* Devastator and Blitzwing are almost the same size as they grapple.
* While Astrotrain and Blitzwing are grappling, Devastator stomps Astrotrain's train mode underfoot, crushing it flat. As Astrotrain is still grappling with Blitzwing in the next shot, it's not clear what this was supposed to be.
* Megatron's helmet is ''darker'' than the rest of his body as he says "Why not?" It changes to normal as Devastator picks him up.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Astroforce.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Astrotrain visits the railroad museum!]]
* Astrotrain reads the temperature in the trap room as "470 degrees below zero", but actual absolute zero is only 459 below zero (at least on the Fahrenheit scale, Astrotrain could conceivably be using some Cybertronian scale).
* A digital scoreboard wouldn't just add two points because it was hit by a flaming football.
*The coach is introduced commanding the team with the same colors as his own clothing, but by the time the game gets interrupted by Blitzwing, he's commanding the ''other'' team. Eh? It ''could'' be a scrimmage, which would explain the ''totally empty stadium'', but then why does the other team have its own uniforms with their own letter?
* The locomotives that Astrotrain recruits don't look like any locomotive that were operating in North America in 1985. They appear to be based on some of the experimental streamliner diesels from the 1930s, such as the [[:wikipedia: M-10000|Union Pacific's M-10000]] and the [[:wikipedia:Pioneer Zephyr|Burlington's ''Pioneer Zephyr'']]... all of which were scrapped or retired decades before. The only locomotive that was in use at the time resembles the [[:wikipedia: Pendolino|Italian ETR 401]].
* As Blitzwing is firing "long bombs" all over the place, isn't he the ''least'' bit concerned that he'll accidentally blow up the "zone defense" he's having the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]] build?
* The bridge that Hoist repairs is clearly blown in half, yet once Hoist leaps into the river to shore up its supports, traffic keeps rolling across it.
* There's really no reason the Autobots couldn't have simply gone ''around'' the highway maze.
* The four Autobots are pretty much destroyed by Blitzwing. Bluestreak explodes, and chunks of him (and three of his tires) go flying in different directions. Prowl, Skids, and Tracks all crash explosively and are all crushed under Blitzwing's tank treads. Unsurprisingly, none of them are nearly so damaged when they show up again later.
* Scrapper doesn't react ''at all'' to two Autobots driving into his throne room; he just continues sitting there on the Autobot throne, chilling out.
* He does react to Smokescreen's smoke cloud, however...by breaking out into a coughing fit! It's not [[Roll for It|the first time]] that [[The_Gambler|robots]] have been shown [[Humanization|to cough]].
* Why would a water main be positioned so low that a train could hit it? Why would it be exposed in a tunnel at all?
* Whatever the reason, it's the most amazing water main in the whole history of forever. Within minutes, it floods a good deal of a city, at some points the water being as high as a multi-story building.
* Trailbreaker is just sitting there on the roof of a building, not doing anything, until Powerglide suggests doing something about the water.
* As the huge flood consumes the city, Spike just calmly watches it alongside Prime and Ironhide, and then has the audacity to cry for help when it inevitably washes him away. He either craves attention or lacks basic danger comprehension abilities.
*Somehow Spike is revived after being swept away by a flood and crushed under boulders by Optimus ''blowing air conditioning on him''.
* We never find out what this random building is that Megatron and Optimus both wander into, or why they're there. It kinda resembles an art museum, but there's no art. Whatever it is, it's built to the same huge scale as the football locker room; the Transformers have no trouble standing upright, and Optimus is last seen ''driving'' out the door.
* Despite what he says, Astrotrain doesn't ''have'' any score to settle with Blitzwing.
* Where is [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] while this coup attempt is going on?

===Continuity notes===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Skids.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Blink and you'll miss him! Unless you're Prowl, in which case you'll smash right into him.]]

* By this point in the series, Starscream's voice had gotten rather high-pitched, and this is one of the most notable instances.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Hoist unfolds an incredibly long length of telescoping crane to save a driver whose car ran into the river. No wonder they call him "Hoist"!
** Ironhide fires "supercool nitrogen" from his hand gun to patch the broken water main. It's a blue laser beam that solidifies as a dark blue substance.
** Trailbreaker's forcefields are rainbow-coloured. Pretty! He fires them from his gun arm [[Dinobot Island, Part 1|again]].
* This is the second and last time that Skids shows up in the Generation 1 cartoon. He has a completely different voice than he did in "[[Quest for Survival]]".
* Where did the trailer go?
** Prime's trailer rolls in from off-screen when he transforms during the flood, and rolls away again when he returns to robot mode.
** The trailer follows him ''everywhere''! Even when he transforms inside a random human building, the trailer comes rolling in!
* Scrapper making a throne from the trashed Autobots is based on his bio, which says he incorporates defeated Autobots into his works.
* Devastator makes his first attempt at usurping control of the Decepticons from Megatron and actually attacks his former leader, something that goes against previous character portrayals, in which he was shown as a loyal follower (particularly notable in "[[The Core]]"). Also, how Megatron was able to defeat him is unknown, since the battle ended off-screen. Earlier on in the fight, Megatron's fusion cannon shots just bounced off him, so it's a big mystery.
* '''[[Dinobot Island, Part 2|< <]]''' What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron's gotten himself frozen! Unfortunately, so has Starscream. '''[[Starscream's Brigade|> >]]'''

===Real-world references===
* The weirdly improbable face carving is, of course, an homage to [[:wikipedia:Mount Rushmore|Mount Rushmore]].
* Astrotrain's line about "No planet ever lost its orbit underestimating the stupidity of Starscream" is a paraphrase of a famous quotation by early 20th Century satirist and journalist [[:wikipedia:H. L. Mencken|H. L. Mencken]].
* ''[[Star Wars (film)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** Some ''Millennium Falcon'' engine rumble as the Seekers fly into the subway tunnel.
** The sliding door sound effect from the Death Star is used for the trains venting steam.
** More ''Falcon'' noise as Megatron and Starscream take off to attack Blitzwing.
** X-Wings diving, and faint TIE Fighter roar, as Megatron takes off from the stadium.

===Foreign localization===
'''German'''
:*''Title (Generation 2 dub):'' "'''Der Aufstand'''" ("The Revolution")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''I Triplex ribelli'''" ("The Rebel Triple Changers")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Triplice congiura'''" ("Triple Conspiracy")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Triple Changer no Hanran'''" (トリプル・チェンジャーの反乱, "The Rebellion of the Triple Changers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 11]], [[1986]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Troynoy perevorot'''" (Тройной переворот, "The Triple Upheaval")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
[[Image:TripleTakeover Blitzwing coach.jpg|thumb|right|200px|"You're playing like the village idiot! You want people to think of you as the village idiot?"]]
* Blitzwing's takeover of a football stadium is nothing short of hilarious. First, he blasts right through the wall, and everybody continues on as if nothing happened. Then, when one of the football players ''finally'' notices a big tank turret aimed at his face, the coach's first order of action is to... tell him to give Blitzwing the ball. Wait.... '''''WHAT?!'''''
*And as if that isn't enough, "Blitzie" took those football strategies literally, too literally! I mean, "Zone
Defense and he had the Constructicons build a "zone defense"? "Long Bomb" and he shoots "Bombs" a "long" way? Ohh
lord have mercy! What would happen if his "military advisor" ordered up a "Hail Mary"? Will Blitzie kneel down and
pray? WHAT IN THE WORLD? The writers missed a gold mine on this one!
* In contrast, the conductor who appears when Astrotrain takes over the train station knows full well to hightail it and run when the latter reveals himself. Seeing as how everybody else just ''stood there'' despite him yelling for them to run for their lives, this officially makes him the only [[human]] in this entire ''episode'' with half a brain.
*And again, Astrotrain's "astroforce" ain't nearly as funny...They are just dumb and stupid and nearly flooded the
city too.
* For something that was extrapolated from a football coach's vague, irrelevant musings by a guy basically depicted as a moron throughout the episode, Blitzwing's strategy is surprisingly effective.
* Blitzwing's promise of a joint leadership with the Constructicons is amazingly nonsensical: if it happened, there would be more Decepticon leaders than there were Decepticons to be led.
* [[Transformers Comic issue 2.3|In an issue of Titan's Transformers comic]], the movie Decepticon [[Barricade (Movie)|Barricade]] would reveal he's seen this episode.
* Signs in the city: STAR Daster, Hotel, Kend.
* Final score: Visitors 0; Blitzwing 1,569!

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 6 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

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

The God Gambit

2013-05-27T14:49:05Z

StryderK: /* Continuity notes */

{{episode
|image=GodGambit Astrotrain is god.jpg
|caption=When someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!
|series=G1toon
|ep=42
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=32
|prev2=The Golden Lagoon
|next2=Make Tracks
|title="The God Gambit"
|airdate=[[October 28]], 1985
|written by=[[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=#700-41
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Decepticons scheme to conquer a race of primitive humanoids by exploiting their religious beliefs.'''

==Synopsis==
The [[Titan (species)|people]] of [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] (one of [[Saturn]]'s moons), are slaving under the tyrannical rule of [[Jero]], the head [[astrologer priest]]. The time has come for the harvest offerings and the Titans bring their contributions to the feet of the statue of their "[[Sky God]]".

[[Image:Gambittitans&cosmos.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Roll out... the barrel!]]

[[Talaria]], a rebel who believes in "reason and common sense", leads a revolt, shatters the statue, and exposes Jero for using the Sky Gods as an "excuse for high taxes and harsh laws".

At the same time, Cosmos is being chased through space by [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], with [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] aboard. Cosmos calls Autobot headquarters on Earth and tells [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] about energy data he gathered. During the transmission he gets hit and falls towards the surface of Titan.

[[Image:Gambitastrotrain&scream.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Well, since Megatron isn't here, someone has to [[:Image:UltimateDoom2 Strangling Starscream.jpg|do it]].]]

The Titans have gathered around a fire while Talaria tries to convince her people that the Sky Gods are an illusion. At that very moment, Cosmos crashes nearby, and Jero, tied up along with his high priests, uses the strange event to reclaim his place as leader.

Astrotrain, Starscream, and Thrust land in front of the temple, overhearing the struggle between Talaria and Jero. Astrotrain spontaneously decides to pretend to be the Titans' supreme god in order to enslave them. Starscream protests, but relents without much effort.

Starscream and Thrust prop up the unconscious Cosmos in the temple as a new idol in place of the shattered statue. Astrotrain then removes Cosmos' data storage, and points out a disconnected cable that prevents the Autobot from calling for help. He fails to notice that Talaria has been watching him. Unseen by the [[Decepticon]]s she slips to Cosmos's side and reconnects the cable, re-establishing the communication to Optimus Prime on Earth. Prime tells her how to activate Cosmos' homing beam. In that moment, the Decepticons notice her, but she escapes, thanks to Cosmos who woke up just in time to fire at Starscream. Cosmos is, however, quickly disabled again by Astrotrain.

[[Image:Gambitastro&crystals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Ooh, pretty...]]

Back on Earth, Optimus Prime orders [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] to take a team to Titan and rescue Cosmos. Omega informs Prime that the trip will use up 97% of his energy, which will leave him unable to transform. The team includes [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], who will discover what the energy source was, and Optimus himself intends to go. However, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] warns Prime that as the [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot|Autobots]], they cannot afford to let Prime be killed or captured. [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] goes in Prime's place.

On Titan, Jero leads the Decepticons to a [[Fire God's lair|cave]] full of [[energy crystal|energy-rich crystal]]s. Astrotrain forces the Titans to harvest crystals and carry them to the temple.

In the meantime, the Autobots arrive, with Omega crash landing on the edge of an abyss. Jazz and Perceptor leave in search of Cosmos and his energy source. They meet with Talaria, who takes them to the temple and to Cosmos.

[[Image:Gambitsacrifice.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Now lie still while I try and remove that tooth."]]

Before they can repair Cosmos, they are attacked by Starscream and Thrust. Jazz quickly gets the upper hand on Starscream. But Astrotrain has the Titans fire the crystals at the Autobots, and they have to retreat, leaving Talaria to be captured by Astrotrain. Astrotrain orders her to be sacrificed as a means to further intimidate the rest of the Titans.

Jazz and Perceptor soon find the crystal cave, where Perceptor notes the instability of the crystallized energy, as did Starscream earlier. They meet a group of Titans there who tell them about the sacrifice. While Perceptor takes some of the crystals to refuel Omega Supreme, Jazz heads for the temple to rescue Talaria.

He is successful, and he manages to hold off the Decepticons long enough for Omega and Perceptor to arrive.

The Decepticons flee after realising that they can't fight Omega Supreme. Before they leave Titan, however, they blow up the crystals, starting a chain reaction that will destroy the temple and the surrounding area.

Omega Supreme helps the Titans to escape over the abyss that surrounds the temple mount, and the Titans thank the Autobots for their help. Jazz expresses relief that the Decepticons won't be messing around with the Titans' religion again.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (6)
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (7)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (9)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (12)

|c2=
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (10)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (11)

|h4=[[Titan (species)|Titans]]|c4=
*[[Jero]] (1)
*[[Talaria]] (2)
*[[Scrawney]] (3)
}}

==Quotes==
"Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!"
:—'''Starscream''', playing the role of [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]

"Sarcasm, not appreciated."
:—'''Omega Supreme''' to Jazz's remark that he should stay put after the larger Autobot crash lands on a precarious cliff edge.

"Not the slightest sign of Cosmos, but there is a native in that tree shooting arrows at us."
:—'''Perceptor''' isn't that concerned about Talaria's attack

"A heretic. What more fitting end than to be sacrificed."
:—'''Astrotrain''' needs Talaria's blood in order to be appeased.

"Sorry to bust up your revival, but the Lady ain't got her heart in it."
:—'''Jazz''' while saving Talaria from being sacrificed.

"Lord Astrotrain, what about me?!" 
"Die, like the worm you are!"
:—'''Jero''' learns that he shouldn't have worshipped '''Astrotrain'''

"They started the chain reaction!" 
"Don't ya just hate sore losers?"
:—'''Perceptor''' and '''Jazz''' are not amused by the Decepticons' actions.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After Jero announces "Look ye on his might and despair!", in the full shot of the Sky God statue, it's missing its lower legs.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** While relaying Cosmos's communications, Teletran One provides a camera view that tracks alongside him. (and in that view, Cosmos is flying sideways.)
* Shortly after Astrotrain blasts Cosmos, we get a back view of Astrotrain and the insignias on his wings are missing their cheek triangles.
* When Starscream questions Astrotrain's choice of himself as the "supreme god", the vents on the sides of his head aren't drawn in. In the next shot the lower segment of his canopy is colored yellow instead of gray.
* As Starscream and Thrust carry Cosmos up to the top of the platform in the temple, Starscream's wing insignias are right-side up when they should be upside down.
* As the pair reach the top of the platform, Starscream's left wing disappears for a split second.
* As Astrotrain joins them, the crest in the center of his head is the same purple as the rest of his helmet, instead of yellow. The error repeats when this shot is continued a moment later, as Astrotrain walks off.
* Starscream's first shot at Talaria uses Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect instead of the standard Decepticon laser noise. When the shot repeats after the commercial break, he's got the ''Autobot'' laser sound!
* Thrust's cockpit and chest are misdrawn as he traps Talaria, squared off and a bit overlarge.
* As Jazz lowers his arm after announce he likes shooting Decepticons, his bust size suddenly increases.
* The shot from space of Omega Supreme lifting off appears to show him originating from somewhere in [[Brazil]].
* Astrotrain's yellow crest is purple again as he examines the crystals.
* Just before Talaria starts shooting at Jazz and Perceptor, the wheel arch on Jazz's right leg keeps turning black as he walks.
* Talaria's arrows make an incredibly loud ''whoosh'' noise. One of them curves upwards as it passes Jazz.
* Shortly after Starscream tells Thrust to stand and fight, Thrust clips through the wall instead of using the temple door.
* After Starscream crashes and ends up lying upside down in his jet mode, part of his undersection is colored as his cockpit as Jazz runs up to grab him. It turns grey shortly before Starscream transforms.
* As Astrotrain transforms and lands after the crystal attack on the Autobots, he doesn't get a transformation sound. The roaring sound usually used for diving jets cuts off at its peak as he and the other 'cons land.
* Astrotrain's grip on Talaria doesn't seem to be very firm at all.
* As Starscream and Thrust search for the Autobots, their jet-mode shadows are seen tracking along the ground. Starscream's tail wings don't correspond to his actual design, seemingly having a single center tailfin instead of twin taifins.
* When Perceptor explains why Jazz using a rock to loosen up some energy crystals is a bad idea, he says in his own voice, "Set off one crystal, and a chain reaction..." and then continues, "...will blow us all up!" in ''Jazz's'' voice!
* As he watches Jazz start climbing to the temple, the rim around Perceptor's chest is red instead of white.
* The sound of Jazz firing comes about half a second before the knife is blasted out of Jero's hand. That's one slow-moving laser.
* Perceptor's shoulder cannon is all-red, rather than red with gray bands, as he staggers around following Omega's landing.
* Astrotrain's head crest is purple instead of yellow for a third time as Jero asks him about the false gods.
* Thrust and Starscream transform and land in the crystal cavern without the sound effect.
* As Jero runs around in front of Astrotrain to beg for his life, Astrotrain's front landing gear is inexplicably hovering about two feet off the ground.
* As Omega Supreme's tank and rocket cross the bridge, they pass a bunch of Titans, despite the next shot showing that both of them take up the whole width of the track.
* Cosmos's groans as he reactivates are missing his usual self-echo.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:GodGambit cheering Titan natives.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* The aliens speak English! True, Beachcomber once tried to translate a bird's chirping (in "[[The Golden Lagoon]]"), but here no one has to activate any special program to talk to the people on Titan.
* Omega Supreme can go to Cybertron and back without recharging, but a one-way trip to Saturn will use up 97% of his energy? Of course, he just may not be at his maximum energy level from the start, but that isn't mentioned anywhere.
* The crystals are said to be dangerously unstable, yet Omega Supreme is able to use them to power up (with no ill effects).
[[Image:Talariacharacter.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
*Talaria is a really horrible shot, isn't she? When firing arrows at the Autobots, she manages to miss Jazz ''twice'' despite the fact that he's a relatively big target '''and''' standing in place. The way the arrows arc (as well as the fact that one falls before hitting Perceptor) also indicate that she's not even putting any strength behind those shots.
*After landing and letting Jazz and Perceptor go, notice the cliff Omega is on has almost slid into the energy pool below. Yet, when Perceptor returned, it's back to normal again.
*Yes, we know the crystals are unstable, but four crystals is enough to bring Omega's energy back to regular levels, allowing him to fly away? Man those are some powerful, and I mean POWERFUL crystal sticks!!!

===Continuity notes===
*Gadgets and powers
**Cosmos has a signal beacon which the other Autobots can use to track him.
**The two rectangles on the cheek guards of Astrotrain's helmet are also lasers!
** Omega Supreme demonstrates, not for the first or last time, his ability to transform into robot mode out of nothing but his rocket components, hence all the theories about "Subspace Pockets" again.
** Omega can also extend his tank track like a bridge.
*Did Jero make it off the island? He disappears after the cave explodes and is never seen again!
*The inhabitants of Titan would never be seen again, but the moon would be [[Money Is Everything|revisited later]]. Apparently Titan had been "terraformed" in the meantime, which makes the unspoken fate of this civilization especially curious.
*This episode and "[[The Gambler]]" are the only episodes (pre-''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'') that [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] doesn't appear in.

===Real-world references===
[[Image:Titanmoon.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Titan, whose surface is ''completely shrouded by clouds''. Okay, so the animators didn't get that memo.]]
* In 1985, the proposition of life on Titan wasn't all ''that'' far out there, if you weren't paying too close attention; the actual moon does have a substantial atmosphere, which completely obscures its surface. The ''Voyager'' spacecraft had sent back the first substantial data on it just a few years prior, bringing Titan and its then-mysterious surface to popular attention.
* The episode also does a reasonably good job of portraying the perpetual dim lighting conditions that prevail at such great distances from the [[Sun]], though the characters themselves are brightly illuminated.
* "Look ye on his might, and despair!" is paraphrased from the 19th century poem "[[wikipedia:Ozymandias|Ozymandias]]" (the original line is "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!")
* Astrotrain's scanner as it shows Cosmos makes the same electronic throb noise used for [[Dalek]] technology in [[Doctor|Doctor Who]].
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] recites a [[human]] nursery rhyme. "Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!" He doesn't, however, do the hand gestures that go along with it.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst any time Omega's rocket mode flies.
** TIE Fighter roar as Starscream takes off inside the temple, followed by cockpit noises from Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, then ''Falcon'' engine whine as he crashes.
** X-Wing diving whine as Thrust and Starscream break off their search for the Autobots.

===Foreign localization===

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Il pianeta degli schiavi'''" ("The Slave Planet")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Falsi dei'''" ("False Gods")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Sky God'''" (スカイゴッド)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[February 14]], [[1986]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Igry bogov'''" (Игры богов, "The Gods' Games")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] seems out of character in this episode, especially with him ordering Starscream around. It would seem that this episode ''may have'' been originally written for [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] in the Astrotrain role and quickly re-written in order to feature Astrotrain (who was, not coincidentally, a new toy at the time). This would explain Starscream's deference (and apparent fear) of Astrotrain, plus Astrotrain's Megatron-esque dialogue.
*Like the previous episode, this one debuts a few new commercial bumpers: Shockwave and Grimlock.
*This was one of several episodes subjected to the [[MSTF]] treatment at [[BotCon 1999]].
*This is the first episode where [[Frank Welker]] doesn't voice anyone.
* Among [[Fandom|fans]], Astrotrain's proclamation that "These fools worship Transformers!" has gained near legendary status as a bit of humorous self-ribbing.

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

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_god_gambit.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808854/ IMDb's page for this episode]

{{DEFAULTSORT:God Gambit}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

The God Gambit

2013-05-27T14:47:32Z

StryderK: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|image=GodGambit Astrotrain is god.jpg
|caption=When someone asks you if you're a god, you say "YES"!
|series=G1toon
|ep=42
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=32
|prev2=The Golden Lagoon
|next2=Make Tracks
|title="The God Gambit"
|airdate=[[October 28]], 1985
|written by=[[Buzz Dixon]]
|production code=#700-41
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''The Decepticons scheme to conquer a race of primitive humanoids by exploiting their religious beliefs.'''

==Synopsis==
The [[Titan (species)|people]] of [[Titan (moon)|Titan]] (one of [[Saturn]]'s moons), are slaving under the tyrannical rule of [[Jero]], the head [[astrologer priest]]. The time has come for the harvest offerings and the Titans bring their contributions to the feet of the statue of their "[[Sky God]]".

[[Image:Gambittitans&cosmos.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Roll out... the barrel!]]

[[Talaria]], a rebel who believes in "reason and common sense", leads a revolt, shatters the statue, and exposes Jero for using the Sky Gods as an "excuse for high taxes and harsh laws".

At the same time, Cosmos is being chased through space by [[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]], with [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] and [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] aboard. Cosmos calls Autobot headquarters on Earth and tells [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] about energy data he gathered. During the transmission he gets hit and falls towards the surface of Titan.

[[Image:Gambitastrotrain&scream.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Well, since Megatron isn't here, someone has to [[:Image:UltimateDoom2 Strangling Starscream.jpg|do it]].]]

The Titans have gathered around a fire while Talaria tries to convince her people that the Sky Gods are an illusion. At that very moment, Cosmos crashes nearby, and Jero, tied up along with his high priests, uses the strange event to reclaim his place as leader.

Astrotrain, Starscream, and Thrust land in front of the temple, overhearing the struggle between Talaria and Jero. Astrotrain spontaneously decides to pretend to be the Titans' supreme god in order to enslave them. Starscream protests, but relents without much effort.

Starscream and Thrust prop up the unconscious Cosmos in the temple as a new idol in place of the shattered statue. Astrotrain then removes Cosmos' data storage, and points out a disconnected cable that prevents the Autobot from calling for help. He fails to notice that Talaria has been watching him. Unseen by the [[Decepticon]]s she slips to Cosmos's side and reconnects the cable, re-establishing the communication to Optimus Prime on Earth. Prime tells her how to activate Cosmos' homing beam. In that moment, the Decepticons notice her, but she escapes, thanks to Cosmos who woke up just in time to fire at Starscream. Cosmos is, however, quickly disabled again by Astrotrain.

[[Image:Gambitastro&crystals.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Ooh, pretty...]]

Back on Earth, Optimus Prime orders [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] to take a team to Titan and rescue Cosmos. Omega informs Prime that the trip will use up 97% of his energy, which will leave him unable to transform. The team includes [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]], who will discover what the energy source was, and Optimus himself intends to go. However, [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] warns Prime that as the [[Prime (rank)|leader]] of the [[Autobot|Autobots]], they cannot afford to let Prime be killed or captured. [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] goes in Prime's place.

On Titan, Jero leads the Decepticons to a [[Fire God's lair|cave]] full of [[energy crystal|energy-rich crystal]]s. Astrotrain forces the Titans to harvest crystals and carry them to the temple.

In the meantime, the Autobots arrive, with Omega crash landing on the edge of an abyss. Jazz and Perceptor leave in search of Cosmos and his energy source. They meet with Talaria, who takes them to the temple and to Cosmos.

[[Image:Gambitsacrifice.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Now lie still while I try and remove that tooth."]]

Before they can repair Cosmos, they are attacked by Starscream and Thrust. Jazz quickly gets the upper hand on Starscream. But Astrotrain has the Titans fire the crystals at the Autobots, and they have to retreat, leaving Talaria to be captured by Astrotrain. Astrotrain orders her to be sacrificed as a means to further intimidate the rest of the Titans.

Jazz and Perceptor soon find the crystal cave, where Perceptor notes the instability of the crystallized energy, as did Starscream earlier. They meet a group of Titans there who tell them about the sacrifice. While Perceptor takes some of the crystals to refuel Omega Supreme, Jazz heads for the temple to rescue Talaria.

He is successful, and he manages to hold off the Decepticons long enough for Omega and Perceptor to arrive.

The Decepticons flee after realising that they can't fight Omega Supreme. Before they leave Titan, however, they blow up the crystals, starting a chain reaction that will destroy the temple and the surrounding area.

Omega Supreme helps the Titans to escape over the abyss that surrounds the temple mount, and the Titans thank the Autobots for their help. Jazz expresses relief that the Decepticons won't be messing around with the Titans' religion again.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (6)
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (7)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (9)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (12)

|c2=
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (8)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (10)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (11)

|h4=[[Titan (species)|Titans]]|c4=
*[[Jero]] (1)
*[[Talaria]] (2)
*[[Scrawney]] (3)
}}

==Quotes==
"Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!"
:—'''Starscream''', playing the role of [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]

"Sarcasm, not appreciated."
:—'''Omega Supreme''' to Jazz's remark that he should stay put after the larger Autobot crash lands on a precarious cliff edge.

"Not the slightest sign of Cosmos, but there is a native in that tree shooting arrows at us."
:—'''Perceptor''' isn't that concerned about Talaria's attack

"A heretic. What more fitting end than to be sacrificed."
:—'''Astrotrain''' needs Talaria's blood in order to be appeased.

"Sorry to bust up your revival, but the Lady ain't got her heart in it."
:—'''Jazz''' while saving Talaria from being sacrificed.

"Lord Astrotrain, what about me?!" 
"Die, like the worm you are!"
:—'''Jero''' learns that he shouldn't have worshipped '''Astrotrain'''

"They started the chain reaction!" 
"Don't ya just hate sore losers?"
:—'''Perceptor''' and '''Jazz''' are not amused by the Decepticons' actions.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* After Jero announces "Look ye on his might and despair!", in the full shot of the Sky God statue, it's missing its lower legs.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** While relaying Cosmos's communications, Teletran One provides a camera view that tracks alongside him. (and in that view, Cosmos is flying sideways.)
* Shortly after Astrotrain blasts Cosmos, we get a back view of Astrotrain and the insignias on his wings are missing their cheek triangles.
* When Starscream questions Astrotrain's choice of himself as the "supreme god", the vents on the sides of his head aren't drawn in. In the next shot the lower segment of his canopy is colored yellow instead of gray.
* As Starscream and Thrust carry Cosmos up to the top of the platform in the temple, Starscream's wing insignias are right-side up when they should be upside down.
* As the pair reach the top of the platform, Starscream's left wing disappears for a split second.
* As Astrotrain joins them, the crest in the center of his head is the same purple as the rest of his helmet, instead of yellow. The error repeats when this shot is continued a moment later, as Astrotrain walks off.
* Starscream's first shot at Talaria uses Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect instead of the standard Decepticon laser noise. When the shot repeats after the commercial break, he's got the ''Autobot'' laser sound!
* Thrust's cockpit and chest are misdrawn as he traps Talaria, squared off and a bit overlarge.
* As Jazz lowers his arm after announce he likes shooting Decepticons, his bust size suddenly increases.
* The shot from space of Omega Supreme lifting off appears to show him originating from somewhere in [[Brazil]].
* Astrotrain's yellow crest is purple again as he examines the crystals.
* Just before Talaria starts shooting at Jazz and Perceptor, the wheel arch on Jazz's right leg keeps turning black as he walks.
* Talaria's arrows make an incredibly loud ''whoosh'' noise. One of them curves upwards as it passes Jazz.
* Shortly after Starscream tells Thrust to stand and fight, Thrust clips through the wall instead of using the temple door.
* After Starscream crashes and ends up lying upside down in his jet mode, part of his undersection is colored as his cockpit as Jazz runs up to grab him. It turns grey shortly before Starscream transforms.
* As Astrotrain transforms and lands after the crystal attack on the Autobots, he doesn't get a transformation sound. The roaring sound usually used for diving jets cuts off at its peak as he and the other 'cons land.
* Astrotrain's grip on Talaria doesn't seem to be very firm at all.
* As Starscream and Thrust search for the Autobots, their jet-mode shadows are seen tracking along the ground. Starscream's tail wings don't correspond to his actual design, seemingly having a single center tailfin instead of twin taifins.
* When Perceptor explains why Jazz using a rock to loosen up some energy crystals is a bad idea, he says in his own voice, "Set off one crystal, and a chain reaction..." and then continues, "...will blow us all up!" in ''Jazz's'' voice!
* As he watches Jazz start climbing to the temple, the rim around Perceptor's chest is red instead of white.
* The sound of Jazz firing comes about half a second before the knife is blasted out of Jero's hand. That's one slow-moving laser.
* Perceptor's shoulder cannon is all-red, rather than red with gray bands, as he staggers around following Omega's landing.
* Astrotrain's head crest is purple instead of yellow for a third time as Jero asks him about the false gods.
* Thrust and Starscream transform and land in the crystal cavern without the sound effect.
* As Jero runs around in front of Astrotrain to beg for his life, Astrotrain's front landing gear is inexplicably hovering about two feet off the ground.
* As Omega Supreme's tank and rocket cross the bridge, they pass a bunch of Titans, despite the next shot showing that both of them take up the whole width of the track.
* Cosmos's groans as he reactivates are missing his usual self-echo.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:GodGambit cheering Titan natives.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
* The aliens speak English! True, Beachcomber once tried to translate a bird's chirping (in "[[The Golden Lagoon]]"), but here no one has to activate any special program to talk to the people on Titan.
* Omega Supreme can go to Cybertron and back without recharging, but a one-way trip to Saturn will use up 97% of his energy? Of course, he just may not be at his maximum energy level from the start, but that isn't mentioned anywhere.
* The crystals are said to be dangerously unstable, yet Omega Supreme is able to use them to power up (with no ill effects).
[[Image:Talariacharacter.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
*Talaria is a really horrible shot, isn't she? When firing arrows at the Autobots, she manages to miss Jazz ''twice'' despite the fact that he's a relatively big target '''and''' standing in place. The way the arrows arc (as well as the fact that one falls before hitting Perceptor) also indicate that she's not even putting any strength behind those shots.
*After landing and letting Jazz and Perceptor go, notice the cliff Omega is on has almost slid into the energy pool below. Yet, when Perceptor returned, it's back to normal again.
*Yes, we know the crystals are unstable, but four crystals is enough to bring Omega's energy back to regular levels, allowing him to fly away? Man those are some powerful, and I mean POWERFUL crystal sticks!!!

===Continuity notes===
*Gadgets and powers
**Cosmos has a signal beacon which the other Autobots can use to track him.
**The two rectangles on the cheek guards of Astrotrain's helmet are also lasers!
** Omega Supreme demonstrates, not for the first or last time, his ability to transform into robot mode out of nothing but his rocket component.
** Omega can also extend his tank track like a bridge.
*Did Jero make it off the island? He disappears after the cave explodes and is never seen again!
*The inhabitants of Titan would never be seen again, but the moon would be [[Money Is Everything|revisited later]]. Apparently Titan had been "terraformed" in the meantime, which makes the unspoken fate of this civilization especially curious.
*This episode and "[[The Gambler]]" are the only episodes (pre-''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'') that [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] doesn't appear in.

===Real-world references===
[[Image:Titanmoon.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Titan, whose surface is ''completely shrouded by clouds''. Okay, so the animators didn't get that memo.]]
* In 1985, the proposition of life on Titan wasn't all ''that'' far out there, if you weren't paying too close attention; the actual moon does have a substantial atmosphere, which completely obscures its surface. The ''Voyager'' spacecraft had sent back the first substantial data on it just a few years prior, bringing Titan and its then-mysterious surface to popular attention.
* The episode also does a reasonably good job of portraying the perpetual dim lighting conditions that prevail at such great distances from the [[Sun]], though the characters themselves are brightly illuminated.
* "Look ye on his might, and despair!" is paraphrased from the 19th century poem "[[wikipedia:Ozymandias|Ozymandias]]" (the original line is "Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!")
* Astrotrain's scanner as it shows Cosmos makes the same electronic throb noise used for [[Dalek]] technology in [[Doctor|Doctor Who]].
* [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] recites a [[human]] nursery rhyme. "Here's the church. Here's the steeple. Open the doors and where are the people?!" He doesn't, however, do the hand gestures that go along with it.
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** ''Millennium Falcon'' engine burst any time Omega's rocket mode flies.
** TIE Fighter roar as Starscream takes off inside the temple, followed by cockpit noises from Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, then ''Falcon'' engine whine as he crashes.
** X-Wing diving whine as Thrust and Starscream break off their search for the Autobots.

===Foreign localization===

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Il pianeta degli schiavi'''" ("The Slave Planet")
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Falsi dei'''" ("False Gods")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Sky God'''" (スカイゴッド)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[February 14]], [[1986]]

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Igry bogov'''" (Игры богов, "The Gods' Games")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

===Trivia===
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] seems out of character in this episode, especially with him ordering Starscream around. It would seem that this episode ''may have'' been originally written for [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] in the Astrotrain role and quickly re-written in order to feature Astrotrain (who was, not coincidentally, a new toy at the time). This would explain Starscream's deference (and apparent fear) of Astrotrain, plus Astrotrain's Megatron-esque dialogue.
*Like the previous episode, this one debuts a few new commercial bumpers: Shockwave and Grimlock.
*This was one of several episodes subjected to the [[MSTF]] treatment at [[BotCon 1999]].
*This is the first episode where [[Frank Welker]] doesn't voice anyone.
* Among [[Fandom|fans]], Astrotrain's proclamation that "These fools worship Transformers!" has gained near legendary status as a bit of humorous self-ribbing.

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

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_god_gambit.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]
*[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0808854/ IMDb's page for this episode]

{{DEFAULTSORT:God Gambit}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:MSTF]]

Slag (slang)

2013-05-23T13:16:19Z

StryderK:

{{disambig3|Slag}}
"'''Slag'''" is one of the most versatile words in the Cybertronian vernacular. It is most commonly used as the general expletive, a use that originated during ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'', and it has caught on in most subsequent series. Its use is wide and varied:

*'''Exclamation:''' "Aw, slag!" (This form is the most common use of the word)
*'''Noun:''' "You sickening piece of slag!"
*'''Verb:''' "You got to be slaggin' me."
*'''Adjective:''' "Slaggin' Computer!"

It is therefore possible to build an entire sentence of this word:
*"Slaggit! The slaggin' slag-faced motha-slaggin' slagger slagged the slaggers."
[Provided you add "the".]

The term made its first appearance in the episode "[[The Immobilizer]]" of the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original series]] ([[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], when faced with the realization that the [[Autobot]]s are actually smart, said, "We should vaporize those Autobot fools and fuse their carcasses into slag!"). It was then used as an insult in "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2]]" of the original series ([[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] to the [[Hate Plague]]-infected [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]]: "Die, you worthless piece of slag!", right before he became infected himself).

==Notes==
* The literal meaning of slag is 'a vitreous mass left from the refining of metallic ores'. It can also refer to this mass while in its molten state, which floats atop the ore. Therefore, slag is a waste product useful for building roads, fertilizing fields, ballasting track, and for a good solid round of cursing. On [[Madman Entertainment]]'s ''Beast Wars Season 1'' commentary track for "[[Other Voices, Part 2]]", story editor [[Bob Forward]] confirmed that this was the origin for the swear word.
* In British English, it's also slang for "[[wikipedia:Slag_(slang)|slut]]". Hmm. Showings of ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] were on early morning magazine show GMTV, and the word was usually excised. ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]'' went without censorship for a while before first getting moved to 8:00 at night, and then to 5:30 with the slag lines (badly) edited out.
* Back in Generation 1, "[[Slag (G1)|Slag]]" was also the name of one of the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] and all was fine and dandy. In recent years, however, Hasbro's increased awareness of the international dual-meaning for the word has left "Slag" no longer viable as a Transformer name; Generation 1 Slag was renamed "Snarl" for the ''[[Robot Heroes (toyline)|Robot Heroes]]'' toyline, while the [[Snarl (Animated)|''Animated'' character]] based on him also took this new moniker. Subsequently, following ''Animated'', the use of "slag" as an expletive seems to have ceased, with the Transformers of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' opting to use "scrap" as their insult of choice.
* This one even made it outside of ''Transformers'', being used as an expletive in ''[[wikipedia:Batman_Beyond#Lexicon|Batman Beyond]]''. The series creators may have been inspired by ''Beast Wars''.{{fact}}
* Slag, or a close variation of it was used in the G1 cartoons. It was said by Cyclonus in "Five Faces of Darkness Part I" at the sight of Decepticons in dire straits on Charr. The phrase was Slarg.
==See Also==
* [[Frag]]

[[Category:Curses]]