MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

User:TankCatapult

2026-01-07T07:06:14Z

TankCatapult:

Hi, my name's TankCatapult, I'm 28 at time of writing, from and made of parts unknown.

My favorite Transformers is the blue one :)

Transformers: Devastation

2026-01-07T07:01:50Z

TankCatapult: /* Technical errors and oddities */

{{disambig3|Devastation}}
{{Nav-CombinerWars|logo=Transformers_Devastation_logo.jpg}}
{{videogame
|title=''Transformers: Devastation''
|image=Transformers Devastation cover.jpg
|caption=Like I said, kids are cruel, Jack. And I'm very in touch with my inner child.
|developer=[[PlatinumGames]]
|publisher=[[Activision]]
|writer=[[Andy Schmidt]]<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/06/19/andy-schmidt-confirmed-as-the-storyteller-for-transformers-devastation-293507 Andy Schmidt Confirmed As The Storyteller For Transformers: Devastation - TFW2005]</ref>
|additionalwriting=
|date=NA: [[October 6]], [[2015]] EU/AU: [[October 9]], [[2015]]
|platform=[[PlayStation]] 3, PlayStation 4, [[Xbox]] 360, Xbox One, PC
|ratings=ESRB: T PEGI: 7+ CB: M
|credits=Transformers: Devastation/credits
}}

'''''Transformers: Devastation''''' is a video game by [[PlatinumGames]], announced at E3 2015 and released in October of the same year. Billed as a tie-in to ''[[Combiner Wars (franchise)|Combiner Wars]]'',<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-forming-epic-storyline-toys-830399 'Transformers' Forming Epic Storyline with Toys, Comics and Video Games (Exclusive) - The Hollywood Reporter]</ref> ''Devastation'' is based in the [[Generation 1 continuity family]] and tells an original story, in which the [[Autobot]]s unite to prevent the [[Decepticon]]s from turning the [[Earth]] to metal. The game primarily draws inspiration from [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]], the [[2005 IDW continuity|IDW comics]], and the ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' toyline, among other sources, and features the return of some of the surviving voice actors from the original cartoon. The game was directed by [[Kenji Saito]], and the soundtrack was composed by [[Satoshi Igarashi]], [[Tetsuya Shibata]], and [[Jun Okubo]], with contributions by [[Vince DiCola]] and [[Kenny Meriedeth]].<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/06/16/watch-the-first-transformers-devastation-gameplay-live-183026 Watch the first Transformers Devastation gameplay! - TFW2005]</ref>

''Devastation'' was the final ''Transformers'' game published by [[Activision]]; following the expiration of their licensing agreement with [[Hasbro]], the game and its downloadable content were delisted from multiple digital storefronts on [[December 21]], [[2017]].<ref>[https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/22/16810202/platinum-games-transformers-devastation-legend-of-korra-steam-xbox-live-playstation-store Platinum’s Transformers and Korra games disappear from digital stores - Polygon]</ref> A [[Transformers: Devastation (soundtrack)|selection of the game's soundtrack]], comprising 11 tracks composed by Vince DiCola and Kenny Meriedeth, was announced at [[Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]] and released via digital streaming services on November 5, 2021.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtxJqrv-bI&t=1h47m57s Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]</ref> To date, they remain the only music tracks from the game ever to receive an official release.

{{TOCclear}}

==Plot==
===Chapter 1: City of Steel===
[[File:Devastation-Arrival.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Avengers]], Assemble!]]
In [[New York City]], a large explosion heralds the appearance of several giant mechanical claws emerging from the ground, causing mass destruction. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and his Decepticons land downtown and observe the swarm of [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] that has filled the air, with [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] also detecting traces of [[plasma energy]]. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] is hesitant, as no one has been able to control plasma energy since the [[Golden Age]], but Megatron rebukes him, intent on using the gift that they have been given. With the humans successfully evacuated from the city, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and his team of Autobots arrive to assess the threat and stop the Decepticons. After a brief run-in with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], Optimus and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] come face to face with Megatron himself. Optimus demands Megatron cease his attack on the city, but Megatron only laughs, saying that Optimus doesn't even realize the truth of who is really behind the attack, and declaring he only wants to make "improvements" to the city. Optimus and Bumblebee defeat Megatron, but he slips away as the two are distracted by the sudden appearance of a giant Steel Tower.

[[File:Devastation-SecretMessage.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Yes, it's coming to me..."Be sure to drink your Ovaltine?!"]]
The Autobots pursue Megatron to the tower, where he deduces that it is somehow directing the Insecticons before receiving a [[Cybertronian language#Aligned continuity family|stream of data]] encoded from the tower. He rides away on [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]], with the Autobots giving chase, and after [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] briefly battles Megatron, a hatch emerges from the ground leading below. Megatron enters, activating the security system to ensure the Autobots cannot follow. [[Teletraan I|Teletraan-1]] reveals that the hatch leads to the interior of an unknown ship buried below the city, requiring the shutdown of three sub-generators and a primary generator to gain access. With no other choice, the Autobots reach the sub-generators, each guarded by two of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], and shut them down. They return to the primary generator, but the Constructicons have beaten them there and reform Devastator. The team defeat the [[Combiner]], but a hologram of Megatron appears to reveal his plan: he now controls the Cybertronian ship known as the ''[[Proudstar]]'', and is using it to control the Insecticons, allowing him to [[cyberforming|cyberform]] the [[Earth]] into a new [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] within mere days at the cost of all native life.
{{-}}

===Chapter 2: The Proudstar===
[[File:Devastation-ProudstarComponents.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[SELECT YOUR WEAPON]]]
After chasing down a [[Sentry-Bot]] containing the key-code to enter, the Autobots enter the ''Proudstar''. Optimus explains that the ship is of Autobot origin, and was once captained by [[Nova Prime]] as part of the Mission of Cybertronian [[Expansion]]. Its goal was to make uninhabited planets suitable for Cybertronian life and preserve a record of their race's culture via the [[Colonnade of Cybertron]] placed aboard the ship's supercomputer, the [[Ferrotaxis]], which controls both the [[Plasma Core]] and the Insecticons. With so much of Cybertron's culture having been lost over the course of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], the Autobots make it their mission to retrieve the Ferrotaxis intact and shut down the Plasma Core, stopping the cyberforming. As they split up to explore, Optimus notes a feeling of darkness permeating the ship. The group briefly gets locked into a battle with Soundwave, but he is called away by Megatron for other matters, leaving them to be swarmed by Insecticons bursting from the many [[stasis pod]]s housed within the ship. The Autobots battle through the swarms, including several giant-sized Ancient Insecticons, as the voice of [[Teletraan Alpha]] cryptically hints at the [[The Transformers: The Movie|dark future events]] each Autobot will face, including prophesying that the Great War will come to an end without Optimus Prime there to see it. They reach the Plasma Core, but due to plasma energy's unpredictability, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] predicts blowing up the Core will cause an explosion that will take half the Earth with it. Defeating the Insecticon guards, they break the shielding protecting the Core, but the security system envelops the core in a protective casing and fires it away from the ship.
{{-}}

===Chapter 3: The Core===
[[File:Devastation-CoreDamage.jpg|thumb|250px|right|That electrical storm is dangerous. Everyone grab your [[yellow boots]]!]]
With the ship and Insecticons rendered inactive due to the loss of their power source, the Autobots seek to retrieve the Plasma Core before Megatron, as well as shut it down due to the potentially dangerous leak sprung in the previous encounter. Knowing Megatron will need someone to retrieve the core, they encounter and defeat [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], who believes plasma energy is too dangerous to be controlled by anyone and tells them the Core's location on the promise that they get rid of it. Making their way to the island where the Core landed, the Autobots encounter Decepticon defenses at [[Liberty Bridge]], stalling for time so that the leak may be patched before they move it. The team uses an explosive cube of [[Red Energon]] to clear the forces at the bridge's entrance, but Starscream arrives to replace them. The Autobots defeat him and begin to cross the bridge, only to come under fire by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] as they do so. They manage to hold him off until reaching the other side of the bridge, where they defeat him. Optimus approaches the badly-damaged Plasma Core container, but Starscream appears and carries it away before they have a chance to shut it down.
{{-}}

===Chapter 4: Possession===
[[File:Devastation-Menasor.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Great... AETHER!]]
Back at the tower, Soundwave reveals to Megatron that they were unable to patch the leak before Starscream took the Plasma Core, meaning its detonation is imminent. Only able to be repaired at a [[Plasma Energy Interface]] on Cybertron, Megatron orders Starscream to bring the unstable Core to the tower. The Autobots pursue him across the bridge, but the onset of a storm makes it difficult for Starscream to fly, causing him to lose his grip on the Core and drop it into the city. Optimus tracks Starscream's landing location, but Megatron sends [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] to the coordinates as well. The team race him to the crash site, barely beating him there, and fight him off. The Autobots follow the trail to the Plasma Core, and Wheeljack prepares to patch the leak while the others cover him. Just as he gets the case open, Motormaster and the rest of the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] arrive and form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. The Autobots defeat the Combiner and, in a fit of rage, he throws the Plasma Core case all the way to the tower. Megatron activates the [[space bridge]] to Cybertron and takes the Core and his troops through, ordering Starscream to hold off the Autobots.
{{-}}

===Chapter 5: To Cybertron===
[[File:Devastation-PlasmaEnergyInterface.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Well, there's your problem: you put the batteries in backwards!]]Optimus and his team follow the Decepticons through the space bridge, battling Starscream while in transit. They emerge on Cybertron just as Megatron leaves with the Plasma Core and Blitzwing appears for a rematch. The group defeat him and approach the Plasma Energy Interface, but before they can stop it, they are ambushed by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]. While ultimately defeated, Shockwave manages to hold the Autobots off long enough for [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] to finish repairing the Plasma Core and escape with Megatron. Bumblebee points out the insanity of their plan, but Shockwave argues that Nova Prime was the one who saw the need to cyberform populated planets, though Optimus refuses to believe it. Now back at the tower, Megatron orders the Plasma Core and the Ferrotaxis brought online, declaring the cyberforming process will be complete in less than one Earth day.
{{-}}

===Chapter 6: Ferrotaxis===
[[File:Devastation-Nova-Madness.jpg|thumb|250px|right|He took the cancellation of ''Animated''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s fourth season pretty hard.]]
Now patched and restored to the ''Proudstar'', the Plasma Core is put into overdrive, causing the Insecticons to restart the cyberforming process at a rapid rate, and the Autobots return to stop it. However, due to the poor repair job by the Constructicons, the Core ruptures and produces a gravitational anomaly that begins sucking the Autobots in. Retreating to a safe distance, Wheeljack deduces that if the core goes critical, it will lead to planetary extinction. Optimus decides that the only way to shut down both the Plasma Core and the Insecticons is by using the Ferrotaxis, which [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] points out is in Megatron's possession. However, Soundwave takes control of the ship's security systems, sabotaging their escape route. Barely evading his traps, the Autobots once again become aware of the darkness permeating the ''Proudstar''. Prime posits that while Nova Prime's mission may have initially been noble, cyberforming uninhabited planets to bring life to the galaxy, he and his crew were corrupted by some [[Unicron/Generation 1|unknown entity]] along the way, seeding darkness within his spark and driving him to insanity. The entity sought the destruction of Cybertron and its people, and still searches for the planet to this day, destroying all it encounters along the way. The Autobots head to the control room, but are blocked by Soundwave. Defeating him, the team prepares to storm the control room and take Megatron down once and for all.
{{-}}

===Chapter 7: Legacy===
[[File:Devastation-FinalBattle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|"You only want the Ferrotaxis because I'm using it." "Oh, yeah? Prove it." "Here." "Hey, man, I don't want your stupid Ferrotaxis."]]
As they approach the ''Proudstar''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s control room, the Autobots are beset by a legion of Decepticons seeking to defend it, including Motormaster, Thundercracker and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]. The Autobots enter the control room, where Megatron mocks them before leaving with the Ferrotaxis, ordering the Constructicons to finish them off. After battling all six individually, the Constructicons merge into Devastator, prompting another battle. However, it isn't long before Menasor shows up as well, forcing them to fight both Combiners at once. Eventually, both are knocked off the platform to their destruction, and the Autobots head for the surface. Emerging from below, the Autobots find Megatron watching in delight as the planet is ripped apart by the cyberforming, declaring their home will live once more and noting how much he and Optimus could have accomplished together as allies. Optimus demands that Megatron hand over the Ferrotaxis so that their culture might continue to be preserved and shared, but Megatron throws it away, declaring that they will have to defeat him to get it. The Autobots engage in battle in battle with Megatron and emerge victorious, with Optimus once again demanding the Ferrotaxis. Megatron declares that if he can't have it, no one can, launching it high into the sky with his fusion cannon. A swarm of Insecticons follows the Ferrotaxis into the air, and Optimus grabs hold of one of them to catch up, with Megatron in hot pursuit.

[[File:Devastation-Space.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Space...the final <s>boss battle</s> frontier...]]
Now in Earth's orbit as the Insecticons surround the Ferrotaxis, Optimus prepares to fire at the computer, only to be knocked from his perch by Megatron, forcing the two into a zero-gravity final battle. Megatron argues that he fights to restore Cybertron, the home that Optimus abandoned, and that life comes from servos, gyros, and fuel, not flesh. Optimus rejects this, however, believing that destroying other worlds to keep Cybertron on life-support can't be the only way. With one final blow, Optimus manages to knock Megatron out long enough to retrieve the Ferrotaxis, but cannot shut down the Insecticons due to a failsafe activated by Megatron. Megatron declares the only way to stop the Ferrotaxis is to destroy it at the cost of Cybertron's culture and history, and that Cybertron's fate is now in Optimus's hands. Optimus replies that he has the courage to make the right decision and fires upon the Ferrotaxis, destroying it. As a result, the Plasma Core shuts down and the Insecticons all fall lifelessly back to Earth. Megatron is mortified, but Prime is resolute in his decision, believing humanity should decide its own fate. As he falls back to Earth, he tells the other Autobots that while they have lived on Earth for years, they have never truly accepted it as their home, holding out hope of returning to a re-forged Cybertron. While that may someday occur, Prime declares that as of that day, the Earth is their true home, and they are to protect it no matter the cost.

[[File:Devastation-Nova-Awakens.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Oy! Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck.]]
Later, back at the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', a recovered Optimus discusses with Wheeljack if he has found a way to strengthen their forces, with Wheeljack deeming the process risky. As he reflects on what Teletraan Alpha told him aboard the ''Proudstar'', Teletraan-1 receives a transmission from [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], who throw their full support behind Optimus's plan. Deciding that this is the price he must pay to rid the world of the Decepticons, Optimus and Wheeljack examine schematics for the [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|project]]. Unbeknownst to them, one of the pods on the'' Proudstar'' has broken open. Nova Prime awakens...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
**[[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]<ref group=note name="DLC">Indicates character available only as downloadable content skin.</ref>
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
**Goldfire<ref group=note name="DLC"/>
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] ([[Michael Bell]])
**[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]<ref group=note name="DLC"/>
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] ([[Christopher Swindle]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] ([[Steve Blum]])
*[[Superion (G1)|Superion]] ([[Jamieson Price]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Scott Whyte]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Dave Boat]])
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] ([[André Sogliuzzo]])
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (Scott Whyte)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Darryl Kurylo]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (Christopher Swindle)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (Scott Whyte)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]]
*[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (Dave Boat)
**[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (Michael Bell)
**[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (André Sogliuzzo)
**[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (Jamieson Price)
**[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (Gregg Berger)
**[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (Steve Blum)
**[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (Jamieson Price)
*[[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] ([[James Arnold Taylor]])
**[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] ([[Liam O'Brien]])
**[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]<ref group=note name="vehicle">Indicates character who only appears in vehicle mode.</ref>
**[[Offroad (CW)|Offroad]]<ref group=note name="vehicle"/>
**[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]]<ref group=note name="vehicle"/>
**[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]<ref group=note name="vehicle"/>
*[[Ground Soldier]]s (Steve Blum, Darryl Kurylo, [[Jim Ward]])
*[[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] (James Arnold Taylor, André Sogliuzzo, Liam O'Brien)
*[[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] (Darryl Kurylo, Christopher Swindle, Dave Boat)
**[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]
**[[Shrapnel (G1)|Skrapnel]]
**[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
|c4=
*[[Teletraan I|Teletraan-1]] (Jim Ward)
*[[Teletraan Alpha]] (Jim Ward)
*[[Nova Prime]]
*[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]<ref group=note name="text">Indicates character who only appears in text-based log entries.</ref>
*[[Kranix (G1)|Kranix]]<ref group=note name="text"/>
*[[Kremzeek]]
|nonumbering=true
}}
<references group=note/>

==Quotes==
"But...but PLASMA energy is unstable! No one has been able to tame it since...since...the GOLDEN AGE!" 
"Then stand back Starscream, and watch me tame it, as I have tamed you."
:— '''Megatron''' made '''Starscream''' his patsy.

"Optimus... come to save the day, I presume?"
:— Just like old times for '''Megatron''' and Optimus Prime.

"Less talk, Autobot. More dying."
:— '''Megatron''' plays for keeps.

"They call me 'Goldfire'! ...Ridiculous, I know."
:— '''Bumblebee''' is less than impressed by his DLC costume.

"Scanning... Identified. Cybertronian Bumblebee. Beware the coming tide of chaos... You will evolve known by another name. In time, your spirit will be that of legend. Your monikers will be many: The World's Bridge. Goldbug. Race-Welder. And finally... Goldfire." 
"Well, that makes me feel special..."
:— '''Teletraan Alpha''' foresees '''Bumblebee''''s future.

"My loyalty only goes so far. Tampering with Plasma Energy? That's madness." 
"Wow, that took, like, no convincing at all. No wonder they call you ThunderCRACKER." 
"Very funny, pipsqueak."
:— Much to '''Thundercracker''''s dismay, '''Bumblebee''' learns the true meaning of his name.

"Last one there's the corroded diode, Autobots!"
:— '''Motormaster''' tells the Autobots to eat his dust.

"Starscream failed. Guess that makes me the new leader of the Decepticons! ...Anybody else want this job?"
:— All hail '''Skywarp'''!

"We should have been allies, you know. Imagine what we could have accomplished... But you never had the manifolds to do what needed to be done." 
"I have the manifolds to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves."
:— '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' talk motivation.

"Why must you always interfere?" 
"You would place Cybertron at the center of the universe." 
"Cybertron is the center of my universe. How is it not at the heart of yours?" 
"Cybertron is about all life. Destruction to keep Cybertron on life support--there must be another way." 
"Flesh isn't life. Servos, gyros and fuel--this is where life comes from! You're defending--''bi-product''--at best! I will restore Cybertron and retake the galaxy!" 
"That ambition will be your end."
:— '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus''' wax poetic as they battle in space.

"Behold, Optimus. A new Cybertron is being born..." 
"No, you are only destroying the Earth, not creating." 
"You don't really believe that, do you?" 
"It is the only thing I am sure I believe. You must be stopped." 
"You're welcome to try." 
"It will be my pleasure." 
"I'm not done yet!!"
:— The final battle between '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus''' comes to a head.

"Autobots. We have lived on Earth for decades. But I see now that we have not truly accepted Earth as our home, holding out some distant hope that we would return to a newly re-forged Cybertron. And maybe one day, that will happen, but we cannot continue to live in between worlds. From this day forward, we are no longer Cybertronians who are stranded on another world. Now we are a part of Earth. And we must treat Earth as though we were forged here. And we must protect our home...no matter the cost."
:— '''Optimus''' monologues as he falls back to Earth.

==Gameplay==
''Devastation'' is a fast-paced hack-and-slash brawler, similar to many of Platinum's other titles like ''Bayonetta'' and ''[[Solid Snake|Metal Gear]] Rising: Revengeance''. Players choose from five Autobots ([[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]) and battle Decepticons using a combination of light and heavy physical attacks, with players generally having to defeat an entire wave of enemies in order to proceed. Players can chain these attacks into a combo, as well as extend their combos and utilize new moves by strategically transforming back and forth between vehicle and robot modes during strings of attacks. Each of the Autobots is also equipped with a projectile-based weapon, allowing them to attack enemies they cannot normally reach, such as airborne [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. Players have multiple defensive options, being able to block, dodge, parry, and counterattack against enemy blows; similar to the "Witch Time" mechanic from ''Bayonetta'', dodging at just the right moment will induce "Focus" and cause time to slow down for the surrounding environment, giving players a chance to move in close and counterattack. Certain gameplay segments will encourage the use of vehicle mode over robot mode, such as chasing down escaping Decepticons on a highway or transforming back to robot mode at maximum speed to break an enemy shield.

Each of the five Autobots has a different set of moves and properties; Optimus is the most equally-balanced, Bumblebee focuses on quickness over attack strength, Sideswipe uses a hit-and-run attack style, Wheeljack is largely based around ranged combat and defense, and Grimlock deals in slow but powerful close-range strikes. Each character also possesses a unique ability that they can trigger in battle, such as Wheeljack's shield or Grimlock's grapple; this depletes energy from their Ability Gauge, which automatically refills over time. Attacking enemies will also fill the Ultimate Gauge; when full, this will allow players to use their character-specific Ultimate Attack, doing heavy damage to multiple foes.

The game also includes a player-customization system. Several different weapon types can be potentially dropped by enemies or found in weapons caches and vaults. Each type of weapon, such as axes, swords, or hammers, can only be used by certain characters, and new weapons can be synthesized by using the old ones as materials, allowing players to create stronger weapons of different types. Players can also spend in-game [[Galactic Credits|credits]] to develop [[T.E.C.H.]] that grants passive boosts to their characters, giving them bonuses such as auto-recovery or an increased credit drop rate; the strength of the T.E.C.H. developed varies depending on the amount of credits spent, as well as the player's success at a quicktime event during the synthesis process. Characters' individual stats can also be improved either through combat or by purchasing upgrades with credits. The Lab acts as the in-game store, allowing players to purchase additional weapons, temporary power-ups, and new moves for all five Autobots. Players can access all of these options by returning to the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', either between story chapters or by using one of several Teletraan uplinks in each stage, which also function as checkpoints.

The game features seven Story chapters. At the beginning, three difficulty levels are accessible ("Scout", "Warrior", and "Commander"), while two higher difficulties ("[[Magnus (rank)|Magnus]]" and "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]]") are unlocked after completing the lower ones. Players who go off the beaten path in the story chapters may find side missions and [[Transpacial Converters]] scattered about; completing these will reward players with additional weapons. In addition to the primary Story Mode, the game also includes a Challenge Mode with 50 stand-alone missions.

A Gallery mode allows players to view assorted art pieces, such as stage concept art and [[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]] [[package art|character art]]. New art can be unlocked by finding bouncing [[Kremzeek]]s and Mystery Objects in each stage, or shooting down Decepticon Flags and Spy Ops hovering in the sky. Collectible [[Source:Devastation info logs|info logs]] explaining various concepts and backstory elements can be found throughout the game as well. Completing the game will add the credits sequence to the gallery, viewable with or without the credits themselves, as well as a model viewer that allows players to view all of the 3D character models, accompanied by their respective themes. The model viewer includes a "Transform" command that lets you view both of their modes, and a "Try Me" button that plays some of their voice samples.

Players who pre-ordered the game received a downloadable content bundle that included character skins for Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe based on [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]], Goldfire, and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] respectively, as well as three new weapons: the [[Dark Star Saber]], the twin Golden Hunters, and the Photon Disruptor. This bundle was later made publicly available for a $5 purchase roughly a month following the game's release.

==Trophy/Achievement list==
When completing various goals and tasks during the game, the player will be rewarded as part of their console of choice's meta-goal system. Players can earn up to 31 Trophies on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and 30 Achievements on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The PlayStation versions' trophies come in four types: Bronze, which represent easier tasks and are worth the least experience; Silver, which are awarded for challenges of mid-level difficulty; Gold, which are given for harder tasks and worth more experience; and Platinum, the highest-level trophy unlocked only after earning all of a game's other trophies. On the Xbox versions, each achievement has a Gamerscore value that adds to the player's total Gamerscore across all games played; up to 1000 Gamerscore can be earned in ''Devastation''. These achievements can also be earned in the PC version as part of the Steam interface, but lack the individual values and weights from the console versions.

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
! Icon
! Achievement/Trophy name
! Achievement/Trophy description
! Gamerscore
! PS Trophy
! Icon
! Achievement/Trophy name
! Achievement/Trophy description
! Gamerscore
! PS Trophy
|-
| [[File:Devastation Till All Are One.jpg|60px]]
| [['Til all are one|Till All Are One]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Supreme Commander.jpg|60px]]
| [[Supreme Commander]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Optimus Prime.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Sting Like A Bee.jpg|60px]]
| Sting Like a Bee
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Bumblebee.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation The Wizard Of Iacon.jpg|60px]]
| The Wizard of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Wheeljack.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Raging Bull.jpg|60px]]
| Raging Bull
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Sideswipe.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation The King.jpg|60px]]
| The King
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Grimlock.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation All Clear.jpg|60px]]
| All Clear
| Complete all Challenge Mode missions on any difficulty.
| 85 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
| [[File:Devastation Halfway There.jpg|60px]]
| Halfway There
| Complete half of all Challenge Mode missions on any difficulty.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation No Stone Unturned.jpg|60px]]
| No Stone Unturned
| Collect all collectible items.
| 90 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
| [[File:Devastation Avid Collector.jpg|60px]]
| Avid Collector
| Complete half of all collectible items.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Synthesis 101.jpg|60px]]
| Synthesis 101
| Synthesize 10 weapons.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
| [[File:Devastation Full Throttle.jpg|60px]]
| Full Throttle
| Defeat 100 enemies with Vehicle/Dino Attacks.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Dont Hit The Brakes.jpg|60px]]
| (Don't) Hit the Brakes!
| Defeat 100 enemies with Rush Attacks.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
| [[File:Devastation Platinum.jpg|60px]]
| Platinum
| Complete all chapters, earning the highest rank, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater.
| 90 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Catch This.jpg|60px]]
| Catch this!
| Use parrying to catch the following from an enemy: a boulder, a missile, and both drill types.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Pedal To The Metal.jpg|60px]]
| Pedal to the Metal
| Use Focus 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Quick Reflexes.jpg|60px]]
| Quick Reflexes
| After dodging, quickly counter with a melee attack 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Bullet Storm.jpg|60px]]
| Bullet Storm
| After dodging, quickly counter with a ranged attack 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Hawkeyed.jpg|60px]]
| Hawkeyed
| Perform 100 successful head shots.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
| [[File:Devastation Flyswatter.jpg|60px]]
| Flyswatter
| Finish the lift battle in Chapter 2 without taking damage from Insecticons.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Urban Landscaping.jpg|60px]]
| Urban Landscaping
| In chapter 1, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, knock Devastator into a building 3 times.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
| [[File:Devastation Roadblock.jpg|60px]]
| Roadblock
| In chapter 4, defeat Motormaster while racing him.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Surround Sound.jpg|60px]]
| Surround Sound
| In chapter 6, on diff. COMMANDER or greater, defeat Soundwave without defeating any cassettes.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Wrecking Crew.jpg|60px]]
| Wrecking Crew
| In chapter 1, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Devastator without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Hard-Core.jpg|60px]]
| HARD-Core
| In chapter 2, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, destroy the shielding without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Triple Changer.jpg|60px]]
| [[Triple Changer]]
| In chapter 3, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Blitzwing without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Destruction Derby.jpg|60px]]
| Destruction Derby
| In chapter 4, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Menasor without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Dont Look Him In The Eye.jpg|60px]]
| Don't Look Him in the Eye
| In chapter 5, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Shockwave without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Broken Radio.jpg|60px]]
| Broken Radio
| In chapter 6, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Soundwave without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
| [[File:Devastation Emperor of Destruction.jpg|60px]]
| [[Emperor of Destruction]]
| In chapter 7, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Megatron without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation All Trophies.jpg|60px]]
| All Trophies
| Earned all other trophies.
|
| {{PS Platinum}}
|-
|}

==Technical errors and oddities==
*At the beginning of the game, Soundwave is not shown flying in the sky despite landing alongside Starscream, Blitzwing, and Megatron a moment later.
*In that same cutscene, the Decepticon flying next to Blitzwing is not Starscream, but one of the Warrior Seekers.
*''Also'' in the opening cutscene, the thick, comic book-style outline around Starscream's jaw doesn't move while he warns Megatron about plasma energy.
*In Chapter 1, after the first Devastator battle, Sideswipe's torso is seen twisted.
*In Chapter 1, Teletraan 1 pronounces "[[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]" as "Kai-on" when it should be "Kay-on".
*In Chapter 1, when the Constructicons form Devastator, you can see straight through Devastator's shoulder joint in the brief moment before Bonecrusher attaches. This is due to the model's arm joint not being capped off at the end as it is usually obscured by Devastator's arm, thus allowing the camera to see within the model where the polygon backfaces are not rendered.
*In Chapter 1, when Megatron enters the hatch leading underground, Optimus mispronounces Teletraan-1 as "Teltraan-1", omitting the second syllable.
*In Chapter 2, a second "the" is included in the subtitles when Optimus says "Autobots, welcome to the ''Proudstar''."
*In Chapter 3, when Optimus throws the Red Energon cube, it is inexplicably colored pink.
*In Chapter 4, when the Autobots find the location of the Plasma Core, Bumblebee is seen opening and closing his mouth repeatedly despite not having any dialogue.
*In Chapter 4, as Motormaster and his Stunticons intervene, a very scaled down model of his alternate mode can briefly be seen between his legs as Breakdown and Offroad attach onto them.
*In Chapter 4, after Starscream crashes in the Decepticon hangar, the faction symbols on all the other Decepticons suddenly pulse as one.
*Throughout the campaign, many shots in the cutscenes show some characters such as Starscream and Soundwave having their hand textures being swapped with Wheeljack's.
*The description for Sideswipe's "Launcher Barrage" ability states that the player needs to press the fire button repeatedly, while in actuality the attack will fire on its own.
*When using the single sword weapon type, the attack sequence, "light, pause, light (hold)" can give the player an extra jump.
*Grimlock uses the ascending (Dino-to-robot) transformation sound effect whenever the player gets him to transform from robot to ''T. rex'' mode while moving, as opposed to the descending (Robot-to-dino) sound effect that the other player characters use.

==Transformers references==
===Weapons===
All of the player weapons are derived from those used in past ''Transformers'' series:

====Generation 1 inspired weapons====
*Optimus carries both his standard [[energon-axe]] and [[ion blaster]].
*Bumblebee's blasters are based on the [[Generic Autobot laser pistol|weapon]] included with his [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|first ''Masterpiece'' toy]]. Bumblebee's melee weapons are his "gloves", which are just his fists.
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe's]] primary melee weapons are silver swords identical to the one included with his [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|G2 ''Masterpiece'' toy]]. His standard [[flare gun]] and [[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|G2 comic]] GZS-3 and MA685 blasters are also unlockable throughout the game.
*Wheeljack's wrenches are based on the accessories included with his [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
*Grimlock wields his [[galaxial rocket launcher]] packaged with his [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Generation 1|original toy]], though it is physically modeled after his Twin Stunner Laser. Much like Bumblebee, his melee weapons are his gloves, but his [[energo weapon|Energo-sword]] can be unlocked.
*The Piercing Rifle series of weapons and Golden Hunters associated with Goldfire are based on [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s blaster.
*The Heavy Spreadshot series of weapons and Photon Disruptor associated with Red Alert are based on [[Getaway]]'s [[plasma-shell shotgun]].
*After defeating Megatron, you unlock his classic [[fusion cannon]].
*Defeating Starscream unlocks his [[null-ray]]s.
*The Shockwave Blaster is based on Shockwave's blaster mode.
*The drills Bonecrusher and Devastator use (both melee and ranged) can be unlocked after they are defeated. Both versions are based on the spring-loaded drills that came with their G1 toys.
*The Solar Beam Rifle is based on [[Devastator (G1)/toys|Devastator's]] weapon (called a [[magna laser]] in his and Mixmaster's [[instructions]] but a [[solar energy beam rifle]] in his [[bio]]).
*Motormaster/Menasor's classic Ionizer Sword and Cyclone Rifle can be unlocked after they are defeated.
*The Small Blasters are based on those wielded by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]].
*The four basic Machineguns {{sic}} are based on [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]'s "Electrothermic Blast Tube" (AKA the gun his G1 figure came with). Fittingly, the Kickback fought in Chapter 2 wields one of these.
*The Basic Blaster is based on [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]'s [[photon rifle]].
*The Basic Spreadshot is based on the animation model of [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s hologram gun.
*The grenade launchers, four basic missile launchers, and Grappling Hook are all based on the missile launchers in [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] & [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]'s [[Onebox component]]s.
*The Adhesive and Slow Gel Guns, as well as the Rust, Confuse & Weakening Spreadshots, all resemble the missile launcher that came with [[Sludge (G1)#Toys|Sludge]] (specifically, how it appeared in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]).
*The Heavy Blaster is based on the animation model for [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]'s photon missile launcher.
*The heavy sniper rifles are modeled after [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s [[Electro-scrambler]].
*The basic swords are slightly scaled-down versions of [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]]'s [[Sonic sword]].
*The Battle Cutters are dead ringers for the saw weapon [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] briefly used in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*The Photon Eliminator, Rodimus Prime's classic weapon, can be acquired after Magnus mode is unlocked.
*The Magna Shot blaster is a signature weapon of [[Dai Atlas (G1)|Dai Atlas]].

====Other continuties inspired weapons====
*All of the "middle-weight" launchers (Delay Launcher, 6 Shot Missiles, etc.) are based on ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing's]] shoulder-mounted gatling gun.
*The Battle Swords resemble [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]]'s swords. They are often dual-wielded in the game by Elite Seekers in Primal's original colors.
*The basic hammer weapons bear a striking resemblance to the [[Magnus Hammer]].
*Some of the weapons originate from ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers Prime]]'', such as the [[Star Saber (Thirteen)|Star Saber]], the [[Dark Star Saber]], and the [[Forge of Solus Prime]]. The Battle Hammer version of the Forge resembles the one included with ''[[Ultra Magnus (WFC)#Beast Hunters|''Beast Hunters'' Ultra Magnus toy]].
*The Wrecking Ball resembles [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]'s melee weapon.
*The four "knuckle" weapons resemble the "Combat Claw" that came with the ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)|Prime]]'' [[Megatron (WFC)/toys#Prime|Voyager Megatron]] toy.
*The Loudspeaker is based on ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]] [[Transformers (2010 toyline)#Hasbro Reveal the Shield subline|Reveal the Shield]]'' Deluxe Class [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Transformers (2010)|Special Ops Jazz]]'s weapon (itself based on [[Classic Pretender]] [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Pretender|Jazz]]'s weapon) in its combined form with the figure's loudspeaker accessories attached.
*The Assault Rifles are modeled after the large rifle that came with [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr's]] [[Blurr (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
*The basic sniper rifles are based on [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s [[musket laser]] included with his [[Kup (G1)/toys#Generations|2011 ''Generations'' figure]].
*The MOD Fusion Cannon and Battle Blade are based on [[live-action film series|live action]] [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s weapons, respectively.
*Heavy hammers, such as the Energon and Shock Hammer, are based on ''Age of Extinction'' [[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]'s mace.

===Other===
*While the character designs are based off of the animation models from ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'', many feature designs elements from their modern toys. Bumblebee has some inspiration from his [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Classics|''Classics'' toy]], Sideswipe's from his [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|2008 ''Universe'' toy]], and Wheeljack from his [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]]. Motormaster, the Stunticons, Devastator, Megatron, Defensor, Superion, and Optimus Maximus are influenced by their concurrent ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' toys, to varying degrees. Unlike their cartoon models, Optimus's truck mode has the white stripe and Bombshell's robot mode torso is purple, like many of their toys.
*The Warrior and Sergeant Ground Soldiers are based on the [[Battlecharger]]s, and reuse parts from Wheeljack's model, referencing the Battlecharger's [[Battlecharger#Timelines|''Timelines'' toys]]. The generic Seekers are based on [[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]].
*The first chapter is named after a [[City of Steel (episode)|Generation 1 episode]].
*Wheeljack's Ultimate attack involves building an [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] from "[[The Immobilizer]]".
*The Repair Kits bear a fair resemblance to [[Diagnostic Drone]]s.
*The weapon crates scattered throughout each level bear a resemblance to the [[AllSpark]]'s container from ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.
*The attempted [[cyberforming]] of Earth by the Decepticons has been used as a plot point in several past ''Transformers'' stories.
*The hurricane wind generators may be a reference to the [[Devastator Winds]] that have inspired Devastator's name in a few continuities.
*Concept art in the game shows that the cyberforming claws found throughout New York City and the ''Proudstar'' are based on [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s claws/hands, though the final design has ''slightly'' different details.
*In the ''Ark'', one of the monitors behind Sideswipe displays a schematic of [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]], sporting his ''Combiner Wars'' design.
*Sideswipe declares he's ready to [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|bust some Deceptichops]].
*Megatron's appearance mixes his general G1 design with his ''Combiner Wars'' [[Megatron (G1)/Generations toys#Combiner Wars|figure]] (tank tread shins, pointed shoulders, tank alt. mode).
*Megatron generates an energy-based shield from his fusion cannon arm, an ability he previously exhibited in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]".
*Several billboards advertise [[S. Witwicky Auto Repairs & Tow Service|S. Witwicky's Auto Shop]] and [[Prim Cola]]. Also visible is the "Creamy Cream" billboard from "[[Prime Target (G1)|Prime Target]]", renamed to the less-snigger-inducing "Bluebird Lotion". An IDW-inspired billboard easter egg is a sign advertising, "[[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's Motor Oil]]."
*Shops found around the city include [[Becky's Coffee Shop]] from "[[I, Robot-Master!]]"; Lander's Beverages, named in homage to [[Lander]]'s love of wines; and a jewelry store named Bahoudin's, referencing the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]] from "[[Trans-Europe Express]]". [[Burger House]] was also planned to appear, but PlatinumGames had to change the sign for legal reasons, instead advertising a "Mega Burger Combo".<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124183053/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/12/20/the-abundant-easter-eggs-of-transformers-devastation.aspx|name=Matt Miller|title=The Abundant Easter Eggs Of Transformers Devastation|site=Game Informer|year=2015|month=12|day=20}}</ref>
*The message Megatron receives from the tower uses "[[Cybertronian language#The Transformers cartoon|Ancient Autobot]]" characters, first seen in "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]".
*Bumblebee comments on the unlikely odds that another Cybertronian ship besides the ''Ark'' and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' would have crash-landed on Earth millions of years ago... unaware that the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' and ''[[Darksyde (BW)|Darksyde]]'' did exactly that in ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.
*The Insecticons are treated as a swarm similar to the clones from the Generation 1 cartoon and the Infestation from the IDW comics, with infologs stating that these Insecticons were bred specifically for use on the ''Proudstar'' without the faction alignment, speech or distinct personalities of the primary Insecticons.
*Like his IDW self, Nova Prime traveled through the [[Benzuli Expanse]].
*One of Kranix's logs makes mention of [[Ore-13]].
*Teletraan Alpha alludes to Wheeljack and Optimus's unfortunate demises in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*Teletraan Alpha also tells Bumblebee that he will eventually be known as "The World's Bridge", "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|Goldbug]]", "Race-Welder", and "Goldfire".
*Sideswipe asks Teletraan Alpha if he's been talking to [[Sunstreaker (G1)|his brother]].
*Teletraan Alpha cannot read Grimlock's aura due to the Dinobot [[S.O.S. Dinobots|not being completely Cybertronian]].
*[[Red Energon]] appears, only here it's a volatile explosive, not a speed enhancer.
*Blitzwing uses ice in his jet mode and fire in his tank mode, in the vein of his [[Blitzwing (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]].
*Shockwave has the ability to generate duplicates of himself, in an ''insanely'' specific reference to a power mentioned in the original animated series [[production bible]], which was never used in the cartoon itself ([[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1#Continuity notes|except maybe once]]). The duplicates have the grey color scheme of the original "Astro Magnum" toy Shockwave was based on.
*Megatron states that he thought Optimus was [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|made of sterner stuff]].
*Optimus defeats Megatron with the same haymaker he used in their final battle in the [[Battle of Autobot City]].
*Defensor, Superion, and Optimus Maximus's appearances at the end of the game are taken directly from their ''Combiner Wars'' designs, although their limb configurations do not match their standard setups.
*The end credits theme, "Face the Devastation", features a sequence of chords borrowed from [[The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|''The Transformers: The Movie''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s musical score]], also composed by Vince DiCola.
*In one of his unused voice lines, Thundercracker claims to be "The Scourge of the [[Mithril Sea|Mithric Sea]]".
*In unused dialogue of Sideswipe's encounter with Megatron, he says that he [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|could've waited an eternity for this]].

==Toys inspired by this game==
As mentioned, ''Transformers: Devastation'' was intended as a tie-in of sorts to the concurrent ''Combiner Wars'' toyline — however, no figures were actually released with any co-branding relating to the game.

It would only be a decade later in [[2025]] when characters directly based on ''Transformers: Devastation'' would be sold under the ''[[Studio Series]]'' toyline, featuring an all-new Optimus Prime mold and a handful of redecoes of other figures based on their in-game appearances. While not technically a ''Devastation'' release, it is worth noting said Optimus toy was meant to scale with the concurrently released ''The Transformers: The Movie'' [[Devastator (G1)/toys#Studio Series|Devastator]], whose design is generally close to his video game counterpart.

{| style="margin-left:1em;" width="100%"
|width="20%" valign="top"|'''Deluxe Class'''
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-a1|[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generations toys#SSDevastation|Devastation Optimus Prime]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Studio Series|Sideswipe]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Studio Series|Wheeljack]]}}
{{Bp-a1|[[Bumblebee_(G1)/toys#Studio_Series|Bumblebee]]}}
</ul>
|
|width="20%" valign="top"|'''Multi-packs'''
<ul class="iconlist">
{{Bp-d1|[[Air Warrior#Studio Series|Elite Seeker]] / [[Ground Soldier#Studio Series|Ground Soldier]]}}
</ul>
|
|width="20%" valign="top"|
|
|width="20%" valign="top"|
|
|width="20%" valign="top"|[[File:TF-SS-Devastation-Ground-Soldier.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Deluxe Class Ground Soldier]]
|}
{{--}}

==Notes==
[[File:Devastation-Ratbat.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Who dares disturb my beauty sleep? Have you not heard? This movie's already over! Captain Blue is defeated, and we are victorious!]]
*[[FIRRIB|Frenzy is blue, Rumble is red]].
*According to an interview at E3 2015, Kenji Saito stated his favorite character to design was Grimlock, as he found him the most unique and interesting from both a character and gameplay perspective.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://youtu.be/P-9rVBCogS4?si=UgBfBxO3sRuHIks-&t=473|quote=Stage Demo: Transformers: Devastation - E3 2015|name=GameSpot|year=2015|month=6|day=18}}</ref>
*Although Frank Welker reprised his roles as both Megatron and Soundwave from the original cartoon, he did not voice Superion, Mixmaster, Skywarp, Rumble, or Frenzy, despite having originated all of those roles. Similar can be said of Michael Bell, who did not voice Bombshell and Bonecrusher as in the original cartoon (albeit, the latter was for only one episode). Additionally, of the other characters in the game whose voice actors were still alive, [[Corey Burton]], [[Arthur Burghardt]], [[Neil Ross]], [[Clive Revill]], and [[Hal Rayle]] did not return to voice Shockwave, Devastator, Hook, Bonecrusher, Kickback, or Skrapnel, respectively.
*Originally, the second phases of each boss battle were intended to feature vocals in their backing music tracks, as Platinum had previously done for the boss fights in ''Metal Gear Rising''. However, due to time constraints and other commitments, the decision was made to add in secondary guitar leads for the second phases instead.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/PG_saito/status/970259344007643136|quote=ほんとはボーカルも入れたかったんだけど開発期間とほかイロイロあって難しい状態だったのでかわりにギターに歌ってもらってます。ボスが本気状態になるとギターがのってくる演出になっとります。かっこいいですよー。|name=Kenji Saito|site=Twitter|year=2018|month=3|day=4}}</ref>
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] was planned to appear as part of the boss fights with Soundwave, but was removed during development. However, his unused character model and textures can still be found within the game's files.
*Nova Prime reuses parts from Motormaster's model and most robot mode models share the same hands.
*The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con poster for ''Devastation'' features Menasor in his original Generation 1 design rather than his ''Combiner Wars'' design, suggesting the game design changed at some point during development.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/Guido_Guidi/status/824390786670297088/|quote=Unused G1 accurate Menasor from the SDCC "Transformers: Devastation" game poster (final version featured Combiner Wars inspired design)|name=Guido Guidi|site=Twitter|year=2017|month=01|day=25}}</ref>
*Megatron's [[Energon mace|Energon Mace]], Sideswipe's Pile Drivers, and Blitzwing's [[Electron scimitar|Electron Scimitar]] were all featured in early concept art as potential unlockable weapons. However, none of these made it into the final game.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/platinumgames/status/667870090369470465|quote=Transformers: Devastation is packed full of all kinds of weapons. Here are some concepts for just a few.|name=PlatinumGames|site=Twitter|year=2015|month=11|day=20}}</ref>
*During the final battle in space, the player always fights as Optimus Prime even if another playable character was in use, but Prime will fight using the previous character's gear. For example, if Wheeljack was using his wrenches to fight Megatron on the ground, Prime will ''somehow'' have those wrenches with him in space. This also applies to the "Nemesis Prime" DLC skin, which will revert to the standard Optimus, despite being the same character.
*A slightly different version of the ending cutscene can be found hidden within the game's files. While mostly identical, this early version ends before it can display the full schematics for Optimus Maximus, making the reveal much more vague.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZWtAZcT3Co|quote=Transformers Devastation secrets|name=Running Sky|year=2020|month=11|day=30}}</ref>
*At the 2015 [[San Diego Comic-Con]], Microsoft held a sweepstakes to win one of 20 custom-painted Xbox One consoles with designs based on several upcoming games, including one based on ''Devastation''.<ref>[https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2015/07/02/xbox-sdcc-collectible-xbox-one-console-sweepstakes/ Win one of 20 Custom Painted Xbox Ones at SDCC 2015 - Xbox]</ref>
* A ''Devastation''-branded faceplate for PlayStation 4 was designed with the intention of being sold as part of a console bundle in China. However, by all accounts, no evidence exists that they were ever sold. An ''extremely'' limited number of the faceplates ended up in the hands of a few PlatinumGames' staff members, including former creative producer JP Kellams, who revealed the faceplate's existence before later auctioning his off for charity.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Next up is the #Transformers Devastation PS4 faceplate. This one is officially licensed by Sony and super rare. I think it never came out, so this is likely one of only a few in existence.|link=https://twitter.com/synaesthesiajp/status/1653892008560189441|name=JP Kellams|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=05|day=03}} {{citesocial|quote=Created for a potential Transformers PS4 bundle in China, but I've never seen proof that this was actually released. A few got dispersed to the PG team which is how I got mine. I've NEVER seen another one of these in the wild and my suspicion is that there are very few of these.|link=https://twitter.com/synaesthesiajp/status/1653892327423762437|name=JP Kellams|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=05|day=03}}</ref>
* Devastator's first appearance as he looks over the building is an identical shot to the Colossal Titan's first appearance in ''{{w|Attack on Titan}}''.
* The final shot of Menasor's second phase transition resembles the "[[Brave (franchise)|''Brave'' Perspective]]".

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://open.spotify.com/album/1WhigvyyE6rQyFlFV5wmwP ''Transformers: Devastation'' soundtrack selection on Spotify]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devastation}}
[[Category:Generation 1 video games]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]

The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

2025-08-20T20:39:22Z

TankCatapult: /* Continuity notes */

{{Disambig3|Key to Vector Sigma}}

{{episode
|image=Stunticons.jpg
|caption=Megatron's latest addition to his troops. He's really going to regret this one...
|series=G1toon
|ep=56
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=42
|prev2=The Search for Alpha Trion
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
|title="The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1"
|season=2
|season ep=40
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-55
|airdate=[[November 25]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAn3Z1Q6lZY
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''After being beaten by the Autobots once again, Megatron hatches a plan to create a team of Decepticons that will give him supremacy over the roads.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Rumble carjack.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Rumble makes an excellent carjacker. Why are we not surprised?]]

The [[Autobot]]s are escorting a convoy of tankers which carry a new [[superfuel]] which the government has given to the Autobots. Things have been quiet so far, but [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] is wary. [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] thinks that the [[Decepticon]]s are unaware of the superfuel, when they take that moment to attack. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sends the [[Conehead]]s to attack, but they are unable to follow them into the tunnels and canyons on the road. Megatron himself decides to destroy the superfuel, but [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manages to distract him, while Optimus and Prowl drive Megatron off.

Megatron is furious that the Autobots beat them, and decides to rectify the situation. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] is sent to steal cars of various models, and [[Possum Brown]]'s truck, all of which Megatron alters with Decepticon technology, such as anti-gravity boosters and automatic [[force field]]s. Using a remote control, Megatron tests the cars' abilities. Rumble is amazed with their stunt driving, and Megatron decides that it's a good name. Bringing them about, he has them [[Transformation|transform]] into [[robot mode]], and dubs them the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].

[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Alpha wall.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|"I'm not quite dead."]]

Learning that the Decepticons are making new soldiers, Prime realizes they'll need Cybernetic personalities to truly live, and there is only one way to do that. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] takes a group of Autobots to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where Megatron is informed by [[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] that he has located [[Vector Sigma]], the megacomputer that gave the [[Transformer]]s life. But they will require the [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]] to activate it. The Key is in the possession of [[Alpha Trion]], and the Decepticons head for [[Alpha Trion's base‎|his lab]]. After a brief struggle, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] locates the Key and gives it to Megatron.

Arriving on Cybertron, the Autobots hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, only to find a dying Alpha Trion. [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] are able to save his life, and he explains to Optimus what Megatron intends to do. The Autobots head into the tunnels for Vector Sigma.

[[File:Centurions.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|We came, we saw, we kicked some ass.]]

In the tunnels, the Decepticons encounter [[Centurion droid]]s, which Megatron discovers he can control with the Key, and instructs them to attack the Autobots. The Autobots encounter the drones and, unable to destroy their attackers, retreat to a derelict hangar. Heading to Vector Sigma, Megatron activates the super computer, which gives [[Spark|life]] to the Stunticons: [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. The Decepticons return to Earth, where the Stunticons are set loose on human roads.

[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Wildrider fly.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|This isn't gonna end well.]]
In the hangar, Ratchet and Wheeljack set about repairing the damaged [[maintenance drone]]s which are scattered around, sending them out to fight the Centurions, with little success. Finally a column of maintenance drones marches off a cliff, and the Centurion drones blindly follow them. The Autobots reach Vector Sigma, learning that it already gave the Stunticons life. Optimus plans to use a series of ancient rockets and have them rebuilt as Earth style jets, planning to fight the Decepticons in the air.

At a human base, the Stunticons arrive attempting to make another attempt to steal the superfuel, and the soldiers believe they're being attacked by the Autobots.

[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (1)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (3)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] (20)
*[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (22)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (23)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (24)
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (25)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] (26)
*[[Alpha Trion]] (27)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (6)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (7)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (8)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (9)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (12)
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (13)
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (15)
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (17)
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (18)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] (21)
*[[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ravage]] (28)

|c3=
*Tanker drivers (2)
*Race commentator (11)
*Robbers (14)
*Truck driver (16)
*Soldiers (32)

|c4=
*[[Teletraan I]] (19)
*[[Centurion droid]]s (29)
*[[Vector Sigma]] (30)
*[[Maintenance drone]]s (31)
}}

==Quotes==
"So much for your security, Prowl."
:—'''Smokescreen''', as the Decepticons attack

"I knew I'd never make it."
:—'''Dirge''', accepting his lot in life.

"No, Megatron, you'll have to blow us all up, and frankly, I don't think you have the guts."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' goads Megatron to shoot at the super fuel.

"Annnnd Mueller takes it! ...What in the world?" 
"You mean ''Rumble'' takes it!"
:—'''Race track announcer''' and '''Rumble''', who proceeds quite literally to take it

"Incredible! Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving." 
"Stunt driving...yes! Behold—the ''Stunticons!''"
:—'''Rumble''' gives '''Megatron''' an inspiration.

"This can't be the way those Deceptigoons came." 
"On the contrary, it definitely is." 
"What makes you so sure?" 
"Because who else would have sent ''them'' to kill us?"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Alpha Trion''' as the Centurion droids approach

[[File:Vector sigma.jpg|right|thumb|The early concept of the disco mirror ball, which the humans stole, millions of years later.]]
"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, I was! Who reactivates me?"
:—'''Vector Sigma'''

'''Megatron''': I am Megatron, your leader. Declare yourselves to me. 
'''Motormaster''': I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you! 
'''Dead End''': I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say. 
'''Breakdown''': I'm... I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too. 
'''Drag Strip''': I am Drag Strip. I ''live'' to obey! 
'''Wildrider''': I'm Wildrider! And I wanna bust something up!
:—The '''Stunticons''' speak [[Introdump|their first words]].

"Big ''and'' stupid."
:—'''Blaster''' on the Centurion droids who, in their zealousness, ran off a cliff to chase the maintenance robots.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
[[File:G1tf56-shuttleships.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67]]
*In the scene where the Autobots walk through a chamber with lots of destroyed Transformers in it, there are two [[generic]]s in the foreground. The same character models previously appeared during the "[[Early war history records Transformers|historic footage]]" segment in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]". The green and yellow generic retained his color scheme, whereas [[Internuncio|the blue one]] is now one solid shade of blue. The model will appear again in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]", again in different colors.
*Gadgets and powers:
**Soundwave actually uses that gun on his shoulder while fighting the Centurion drones.
**Soundwave extends a lock-picking electrical widget from his fingertip.
**The newly-built Stunticons show off their ridiculously fancy driving abilities - they smash through trees, buildings and solid rock, they launch themselves into the air, spinning and flipping while doing so, and they make hairpin 180-degree turns.
*Following his beatdown in [[Hoist Goes Hollywood|the previous episode]], Starscream is noticeably absent from this and the next '''''four''''' episodes. We don't see him again until "[[War Dawn]]." Just what did Megatron even ''do'' to him?!

===Real-world references===
*Vector Sigma's line "Before Cybertron was, I was" is a paraphrase of what Jesus says in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208:58&version=KJV John 8:58].
*For robots that have never been exposed to human culture, the Centurion droids demonstrate surprising proficiency in pro-wrestling, performing moves such as the German Suplex, body slam, headlock and Irish Whip.
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
**[[TIE Fighter]] roar as the coneheads dive to attack the superfuel convoy.
**''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine roar as the coneheads follow them into the canyon.
**Truncated [[lightsaber]]-vs-seeker-ball as Megatron inserts the key.

===Animation and technical errors===
*Coloring errors:
**As Prime notes how quiet it's been, his headlights and bumper are red instead of white and gray.
**The back of Megatron's leg is colored blue during his "Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, after them!" line; apparently the colorists thought it was part of the sky.
**Ramjet's wings are white instead of maroon as he emerges from the canyon.
**When Thrust transforms to rescue Ramjet, it's actually Dirge's animation model with Thrust's deco.
**"If it weren't for those accursed Autobots..." - Megatron's left arm is colored white instead of gray, and his forehead is missing its detailing.[[File:KeytoVectorSigmaPt1 stealing DragStrip.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
**Rumble's visor flashes between white and red when he steals the F1 car which will become Drag Strip. Oddly enough, it's stable red when the Autobots review the same sequence on Teletraan I later on!
**Blue eject button on Soundwave as Megatron prepares to test his newly upgraded cars.
***And again after he exists the space bridge.
**Omega Supreme's head is red instead of gray as he transforms to rocket mode outside Autobot Headquarters.
**Omega's visor is gray instead of clear as he reverts to [[robot mode]] on Cybertron.
**"Let's roll!" - the inside of Prime's cheekguard changes from gray to blue.
**As he dives into the Vector Sigma tunnel, Blaster's forehead changes from red to its correct white.
**As he watches Vector Sigma rise, Soundwave's cheekguards are blue instead of gray.
**As Megatron welcomes the Stunticons to Earth, his waist is light gray instead of its usual dark gray.
*The coneheads don't have the standard Decepticon laser noise as they dive to attack.
*When Ramjet crashes, he reverts to robot mode without the transformation sound.
*As the Autobots open fire on Megatron, they get a weird mix of Prime's laser noise and the standard Decepticon laser noise.
*One of the bank robbers, the getaway driver and the lorry driver are all wearing [[hard hat]]s; have Spike and Sparkplug started a fashion trend?
*As Rumble steals the semi truck, two of his shots start with Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect and end with the usual Decepticon laser effect.
*The establishing shot of Cybertron is very different than the stock shot usually used on the show; it's a greatly simplied version of the planet, without all the giant holes and war damage (maybe it's just "the other side".) Still another version can be seen briefly as Omega Supreme flies toward the planet, much closer to the usual stock shot but still not the same model.
*The inside of the space bridge elevator continues glowing pink after the doors open.
*As the Autobots race towards Alpha Trion's lab, Omega Supreme actually clips through Blaster.
*"Good grief!" - the illumination of Wheeljack's "ears" doesn't quite line up with the ears themselves.
*In the first shot of their approach, the Centurion droids are walking in place rather than advancing.
*When the Centurion droids attack, Megatron's nose is colored dark gray.
*Soundwave's Decepticon insignia is missing as he avoids a Centurion's fist.
*After the Autobots leave the hanagar, Blaster's mouth is jumping up and down independently of his face.
*"Soon! Very soon." - Megatron's voice is missing its robotic processing.

===Continuity errors===
*The central premise of this episode—that bringing new Transformers to life requires the supercomputer Vector Sigma—is highly problematic in the context of.... well, every other episode before or since in which new Transformers are created:
**The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were simply built on Earth.
**The [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], in their first episode, are likewise described as having been built on Earth (though that's [[Constructicon (G1)#Origin inconsistency|a whole can of worms]] in itself.)
**Later episodes would likewise contradict it, showing [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]] being brought to life without Vector Sigma.
**Megatron emphatically declares that Vector Sigma gave ''all'' his contemporaries life, and introduces himself to the computer as "one of your own creations". In "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]", Megatron is shown being built on a table by the evil Constructicons, with Vector Sigma nowhere in sight (the same Constructicons who would later be turned evil, and still later be built on Earth).
**"Five Faces of Darkness" also presents the Quintessons as the original creators of the Transformers. Vector Sigma was apparently involved, as Alpha Trion states that he was a first generation product of Vector Sigma, and he also led the Transformer rebellion against the Quintessons. It is possible that Vector Sigma was ''built'' by the Quintessons.
***Optimus ''sort of'' explains most of this by saying "There's no place on Earth to give them cybernetic personalities like we have", the "like we have" part perhaps insinuating that personalities from Earth would end up with low intelligence. For Trypticon and the Dinobots at least, this appears to be correct; the Technobots, meanwhile, were built by a temporarily super-intelligent Grimlock, using parts of Unicron, so... who knows.
*Why does Warpath drop out of the convoy? Why doesn't he return fire? Was he supposed to have been damaged by the first assault? If so, the animation doesn't show it.
[[File:Ktvs1 megs builds breakdown.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
*Megatron apparently builds the Stunticons by himself. Where are the Constructicons, who were useful in creating the robotic cars in "[[Make Tracks]]"?
*Rather than launching an assault to commandeer the [[space bridge]] as they've previously done in "[[Divide and Conquer]]" (and [[The Revenge of Bruticus|will do again]]) to instantly transport themselves back home, Optimus Prime calls for Omega Supreme to fly them to Cybertron the long way. Naturally, this facilitates the Omega Supreme subplot which will ultimately result in the Aerialbots dropping their bad attitude, but it's still an odd choice considering the urgency of the situation.
[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Trion's base interior.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
*In "[[The Search for Alpha Trion]]", Alpha Trion was introduced as an enigmatic old Transformer hiding in an underground base. This episode ignores the brunt of that. For starters, [[Alpha Trion's base]] is no longer underground and doesn't appear to be secret anymore. Nor does Alpha Trion himself. For some reason, the Decepticons know that Alpha Trion still lives, that he has the Key to Vector Sigma and what the location of his laboratory is. Wheeljack makes the situation even more peculiar by remarking that Alpha Trion's base is messier than it's ever been, insinuating that he's been there before. On a sidenote, in "The Search for Alpha Trion", Alpha Trion's lab was neat and tidy.
*"It's a miracle we survived that blast" - see Trivia notes below for more on Prime's non sequitur line.
*Speaking of urgency - despite the repeated need for speed, the Autobots never use their [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s on Cybertron - not to hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, not to rush to the Vector Sigma tunnel, not to travel IN that tunnel, not to get away from the slow-moving Centurion droids...

===Trivia===
*According to episode writer [[David Wise]] at various conventions (such as [[BotCon 2009]]), he was instructed to include Vector Sigma when writing this episode as part of the [[Hasbro]] episode mandates. Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed story editor [[Bryce Malek]], who in turn had to go to Hasbro to learn that Vector Sigma was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities". This caused Malek to respond: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!"
*At the script stage, this episode had the uninspired sub-title "Creation of the Stunticons".
*The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
**"That blast" mentioned by Prime in the finished episode actually happens.
**While the other Autobots are busy down in the tunnels, Omega Supreme battles Shockwave on the planet's surface throughout the second act of the episode. Shockwave refers to Omega as his "old enemy," and is on the losing end of the fight until he gets his hands on a "cyberbomb," which he uses to defeat Omega, leaving him very badly damaged. There is a vestigial reference to this battle in Part 2, and further scenes relating to its consequences are removed from that episode, altering the nature of its turning point quite a bit.
*The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the [[MOBAT]] and the Armadillo from the ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series.
*Rumble is shown capturing a Tyrrell P34 during a Formula 1 race, the year presumably being 1986. In actuality, the six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 was retired after the 1977 season, and did not appear again on any race circuit until 1999.
*When the Stunticons first veer into traffic, several Earthen cars swerve to avoid them - and they're all in the Stunticons' color schemes. The beige one even has a purple patch where Breakdown's Decepticon insignia is.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title (European French broadcast):'' "'''La clé de Victor Segma'''" ("Vector Sigma's Key")
:*''Title (European French DVD release):'' "'''La clé du succès - Partie 1'''" ("The Key to Success - Part 1")
:*''Title (Canadian French broadcast):'' "'''La clé pour Vecteur Sigma, partie 1'''" ("The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*The annoying alien voice effect is still here, despite being less violent in this episode.
::*[[Albert Augier]] is back! But for some reason, [[Georges Atlas]] keeps Soundwave for this episode.
::*The race commentator saying "What in the world?" is translated differently in the original event ("That's unbelievable! What's happening?") and when Optimus Prime and Ratchet watch the video ("What's happening this time?") as if it was happening again.
::*Missing lines:
:::*Optimus Prime's lines "See what I mean? Let's move it! So much for your security Prowl!" are missing.
:::*The dialogue between Smokescreen and Optimus Prime driving is missing.
:::*Dirge's lines "I knew I'd never make it!" and "Gotta get him out of here for repairs." are missing, as well as many Coneheads lines in plane mode.
:::*Smokescreen's line "Eat my smoke!" is missing.
:::*Rumble's lines "You mean Rumble takes it!" and "I just need the car!" as he steals the vehicles are missing.
:::*Soundwave's lines as he's looking for the key are missing.
:::*Megatron's line "Welcome Stunticons!" as they admire the landscape is missing.
::*Name-dodging:
:::*As a the classic name-dodging situation, Megatron's line "Thrust! Dirge! Ramjet! After them!" is replaced by "Get that fuel! I need it!".
:::*Optimus Prime's line "Hoist! Ratchet! Can you repair him?" is replaced by simply saying "Do you think you can repair him if you both work on it?".
:::*Instead of saying their names, the Stunticons all make little speeches about pledging allegiance to Megatron.
::*Ratchet describing the Stunticons as "Megatron's new car group" is replaced by "Megatron's new mentally ill guys". Wow.
::*In order to write the "To be continued" in French, it was added at the end of the episode while the Stunticons are invading the base. The original one was removed, making the music cut abruptly.

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Gli Stunticons'''" ("The Stunticons")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''La chiave di Vector Sigma - Prima parte'''" ("The Key of Vector Sigma - First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Vector Sigma no Kagi PART I'''" (ベクターシグマの鍵 PART I, "The Key of Vector Sigma PART I")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[May 2]], [[1986]]

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mólì Shénqiú (Shàng)'''" (魔力神球(上), "The Magic Ball, Part I")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''A Chave Para Vector Sigma, Primeira Parte'''" ("The Key to Vector Sigma, First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Klyuch ot Sigma Comp'yutera'''" (Ключ от Сигма Компьютера, "The Key to Sigma Computer")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma ([[Video Gems|Little Gems Video Club]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 7 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 13 ([[Déclic Images]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — Le Journal des Quintessons ([[UFG Junior]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20200217143800/http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/season-2/synopses/700-55.html Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=19SAt1ANZYlItgpSj_ZXbblAZdMdQNfj7 Episode dialogue script with deleted lines]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dLMrVzTr_92WQ8nHBXIkT9m2o9LYs1vd/view?usp=drive_link Episode model sheets]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}
[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]

The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

2025-08-19T23:51:24Z

TankCatapult: /* Continuity notes */

{{Disambig3|Key to Vector Sigma}}

{{episode
|image=Stunticons.jpg
|caption=Megatron's latest addition to his troops. He's really going to regret this one...
|series=G1toon
|ep=56
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=42
|prev2=The Search for Alpha Trion
|next2=The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2
|title="The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1"
|season=2
|season ep=40
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production code=700-55
|airdate=[[November 25]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SAn3Z1Q6lZY
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''After being beaten by the Autobots once again, Megatron hatches a plan to create a team of Decepticons that will give him supremacy over the roads.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Rumble carjack.JPG|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Rumble makes an excellent carjacker. Why are we not surprised?]]

The [[Autobot]]s are escorting a convoy of tankers which carry a new [[superfuel]] which the government has given to the Autobots. Things have been quiet so far, but [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] is wary. [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] thinks that the [[Decepticon]]s are unaware of the superfuel, when they take that moment to attack. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] sends the [[Conehead]]s to attack, but they are unable to follow them into the tunnels and canyons on the road. Megatron himself decides to destroy the superfuel, but [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] manages to distract him, while Optimus and Prowl drive Megatron off.

Megatron is furious that the Autobots beat them, and decides to rectify the situation. [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] is sent to steal cars of various models, and [[Possum Brown]]'s truck, all of which Megatron alters with Decepticon technology, such as anti-gravity boosters and automatic [[force field]]s. Using a remote control, Megatron tests the cars' abilities. Rumble is amazed with their stunt driving, and Megatron decides that it's a good name. Bringing them about, he has them [[Transformation|transform]] into [[robot mode]], and dubs them the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]].

[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Alpha wall.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|"I'm not quite dead."]]

Learning that the Decepticons are making new soldiers, Prime realizes they'll need Cybernetic personalities to truly live, and there is only one way to do that. [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] takes a group of Autobots to [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], where Megatron is informed by [[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] that he has located [[Vector Sigma]], the megacomputer that gave the [[Transformer]]s life. But they will require the [[Key to Vector Sigma|circuit key]] to activate it. The Key is in the possession of [[Alpha Trion]], and the Decepticons head for [[Alpha Trion's base‎|his lab]]. After a brief struggle, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] locates the Key and gives it to Megatron.

Arriving on Cybertron, the Autobots hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, only to find a dying Alpha Trion. [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] and [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] are able to save his life, and he explains to Optimus what Megatron intends to do. The Autobots head into the tunnels for Vector Sigma.

[[File:Centurions.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|We came, we saw, we kicked some ass.]]

In the tunnels, the Decepticons encounter [[Centurion droid]]s, which Megatron discovers he can control with the Key, and instructs them to attack the Autobots. The Autobots encounter the drones and, unable to destroy their attackers, retreat to a derelict hangar. Heading to Vector Sigma, Megatron activates the super computer, which gives [[Spark|life]] to the Stunticons: [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]], [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]], [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]], [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]], and [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]]. The Decepticons return to Earth, where the Stunticons are set loose on human roads.

[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Wildrider fly.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|This isn't gonna end well.]]
In the hangar, Ratchet and Wheeljack set about repairing the damaged [[maintenance drone]]s which are scattered around, sending them out to fight the Centurions, with little success. Finally a column of maintenance drones marches off a cliff, and the Centurion drones blindly follow them. The Autobots reach Vector Sigma, learning that it already gave the Stunticons life. Optimus plans to use a series of ancient rockets and have them rebuilt as Earth style jets, planning to fight the Decepticons in the air.

At a human base, the Stunticons arrive attempting to make another attempt to steal the superfuel, and the soldiers believe they're being attacked by the Autobots.

[[The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 2|To be continued...]]
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (1)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (3)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] (20)
*[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (22)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (23)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (24)
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (25)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]] (26)
*[[Alpha Trion]] (27)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (6)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (7)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (8)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (9)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (10)
*[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (12)
*[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (13)
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (15)
*[[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (17)
*[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (18)
*[[Shockwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] (21)
*[[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ravage]] (28)

|c3=
*Tanker drivers (2)
*Race commentator (11)
*Robbers (14)
*Truck driver (16)
*Soldiers (32)

|c4=
*[[Teletraan I]] (19)
*[[Centurion droid]]s (29)
*[[Vector Sigma]] (30)
*[[Maintenance drone]]s (31)
}}

==Quotes==
"So much for your security, Prowl."
:—'''Smokescreen''', as the Decepticons attack

"I knew I'd never make it."
:—'''Dirge''', accepting his lot in life.

"No, Megatron, you'll have to blow us all up, and frankly, I don't think you have the guts."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' goads Megatron to shoot at the super fuel.

"Annnnd Mueller takes it! ...What in the world?" 
"You mean ''Rumble'' takes it!"
:—'''Race track announcer''' and '''Rumble''', who proceeds quite literally to take it

"Incredible! Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving." 
"Stunt driving...yes! Behold—the ''Stunticons!''"
:—'''Rumble''' gives '''Megatron''' an inspiration.

"This can't be the way those Deceptigoons came." 
"On the contrary, it definitely is." 
"What makes you so sure?" 
"Because who else would have sent ''them'' to kill us?"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Alpha Trion''' as the Centurion droids approach

[[File:Vector sigma.jpg|right|thumb|The early concept of the disco mirror ball, which the humans stole, millions of years later.]]
"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, I was! Who reactivates me?"
:—'''Vector Sigma'''

'''Megatron''': I am Megatron, your leader. Declare yourselves to me. 
'''Motormaster''': I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you! 
'''Dead End''': I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say. 
'''Breakdown''': I'm... I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too. 
'''Drag Strip''': I am Drag Strip. I ''live'' to obey! 
'''Wildrider''': I'm Wildrider! And I wanna bust something up!
:—The '''Stunticons''' speak [[Introdump|their first words]].

"Big ''and'' stupid."
:—'''Blaster''' on the Centurion droids who, in their zealousness, ran off a cliff to chase the maintenance robots.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
[[File:G1tf56-shuttleships.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67]]
*In the scene where the Autobots walk through a chamber with lots of destroyed Transformers in it, there are two [[generic]]s in the foreground. The same character models previously appeared during the "[[Early war history records Transformers|historic footage]]" segment in "[[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2]]". The green and yellow generic retained his color scheme, whereas [[Internuncio|the blue one]] is now one solid shade of blue. The model will appear again in "[[The Burden Hardest to Bear]]", again in different colors.
*Gadgets and powers:
**Soundwave actually uses that gun on his shoulder while fighting the Centurion drones.
**Soundwave extends a lock-picking electrical widget from his fingertip.
**The newly-built Stunticons show off their ridiculously fancy driving abilities - they smash through trees, buildings and solid rock, they launch themselves into the air, spinning and flipping while doing so, and they make hairpin 180-degree turns.
*Following his beatdown in "[[Hoist Goes Hollywood]]", Starscream is noticeably absent from this and the next '''''four''''' episodes. We don't see him again until "[[War Dawn]]." Just what did Megatron even ''do'' to him?!

===Real-world references===
*Vector Sigma's line "Before Cybertron was, I was" is a paraphrase of what Jesus says in [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John%208:58&version=KJV John 8:58].
*For robots that have never been exposed to human culture, the Centurion droids demonstrate surprising proficiency in pro-wrestling, performing moves such as the German Suplex, body slam, headlock and Irish Whip.
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
**[[TIE Fighter]] roar as the coneheads dive to attack the superfuel convoy.
**''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine roar as the coneheads follow them into the canyon.
**Truncated [[lightsaber]]-vs-seeker-ball as Megatron inserts the key.

===Animation and technical errors===
*Coloring errors:
**As Prime notes how quiet it's been, his headlights and bumper are red instead of white and gray.
**The back of Megatron's leg is colored blue during his "Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, after them!" line; apparently the colorists thought it was part of the sky.
**Ramjet's wings are white instead of maroon as he emerges from the canyon.
**When Thrust transforms to rescue Ramjet, it's actually Dirge's animation model with Thrust's deco.
**"If it weren't for those accursed Autobots..." - Megatron's left arm is colored white instead of gray, and his forehead is missing its detailing.[[File:KeytoVectorSigmaPt1 stealing DragStrip.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
**Rumble's visor flashes between white and red when he steals the F1 car which will become Drag Strip. Oddly enough, it's stable red when the Autobots review the same sequence on Teletraan I later on!
**Blue eject button on Soundwave as Megatron prepares to test his newly upgraded cars.
***And again after he exists the space bridge.
**Omega Supreme's head is red instead of gray as he transforms to rocket mode outside Autobot Headquarters.
**Omega's visor is gray instead of clear as he reverts to [[robot mode]] on Cybertron.
**"Let's roll!" - the inside of Prime's cheekguard changes from gray to blue.
**As he dives into the Vector Sigma tunnel, Blaster's forehead changes from red to its correct white.
**As he watches Vector Sigma rise, Soundwave's cheekguards are blue instead of gray.
**As Megatron welcomes the Stunticons to Earth, his waist is light gray instead of its usual dark gray.
*The coneheads don't have the standard Decepticon laser noise as they dive to attack.
*When Ramjet crashes, he reverts to robot mode without the transformation sound.
*As the Autobots open fire on Megatron, they get a weird mix of Prime's laser noise and the standard Decepticon laser noise.
*One of the bank robbers, the getaway driver and the lorry driver are all wearing [[hard hat]]s; have Spike and Sparkplug started a fashion trend?
*As Rumble steals the semi truck, two of his shots start with Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect and end with the usual Decepticon laser effect.
*The establishing shot of Cybertron is very different than the stock shot usually used on the show; it's a greatly simplied version of the planet, without all the giant holes and war damage (maybe it's just "the other side".) Still another version can be seen briefly as Omega Supreme flies toward the planet, much closer to the usual stock shot but still not the same model.
*The inside of the space bridge elevator continues glowing pink after the doors open.
*As the Autobots race towards Alpha Trion's lab, Omega Supreme actually clips through Blaster.
*"Good grief!" - the illumination of Wheeljack's "ears" doesn't quite line up with the ears themselves.
*In the first shot of their approach, the Centurion droids are walking in place rather than advancing.
*When the Centurion droids attack, Megatron's nose is colored dark gray.
*Soundwave's Decepticon insignia is missing as he avoids a Centurion's fist.
*After the Autobots leave the hanagar, Blaster's mouth is jumping up and down independently of his face.
*"Soon! Very soon." - Megatron's voice is missing its robotic processing.

===Continuity errors===
*The central premise of this episode—that bringing new Transformers to life requires the supercomputer Vector Sigma—is highly problematic in the context of.... well, every other episode before or since in which new Transformers are created:
**The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were simply built on Earth.
**The [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], in their first episode, are likewise described as having been built on Earth (though that's [[Constructicon (G1)#Origin inconsistency|a whole can of worms]] in itself.)
**Later episodes would likewise contradict it, showing [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] and the [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]] being brought to life without Vector Sigma.
**Megatron emphatically declares that Vector Sigma gave ''all'' his contemporaries life, and introduces himself to the computer as "one of your own creations". In "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4]]", Megatron is shown being built on a table by the evil Constructicons, with Vector Sigma nowhere in sight (the same Constructicons who would later be turned evil, and still later be built on Earth).
**"Five Faces of Darkness" also presents the Quintessons as the original creators of the Transformers. Vector Sigma was apparently involved, as Alpha Trion states that he was a first generation product of Vector Sigma, and he also led the Transformer rebellion against the Quintessons. It is possible that Vector Sigma was ''built'' by the Quintessons.
***Optimus ''sort of'' explains most of this by saying "There's no place on Earth to give them cybernetic personalities like we have", the "like we have" part perhaps insinuating that personalities from Earth would end up with low intelligence. For Trypticon and the Dinobots at least, this appears to be correct; the Technobots, meanwhile, were built by a temporarily super-intelligent Grimlock, using parts of Unicron, so... who knows.
*Why does Warpath drop out of the convoy? Why doesn't he return fire? Was he supposed to have been damaged by the first assault? If so, the animation doesn't show it.
[[File:Ktvs1 megs builds breakdown.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
*Megatron apparently builds the Stunticons by himself. Where are the Constructicons, who were useful in creating the robotic cars in "[[Make Tracks]]"?
*Rather than launching an assault to commandeer the [[space bridge]] as they've previously done in "[[Divide and Conquer]]" (and [[The Revenge of Bruticus|will do again]]) to instantly transport themselves back home, Optimus Prime calls for Omega Supreme to fly them to Cybertron the long way. Naturally, this facilitates the Omega Supreme subplot which will ultimately result in the Aerialbots dropping their bad attitude, but it's still an odd choice considering the urgency of the situation.
[[File:KeyVectorSigma1 Trion's base interior.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
*In "[[The Search for Alpha Trion]]", Alpha Trion was introduced as an enigmatic old Transformer hiding in an underground base. This episode ignores the brunt of that. For starters, [[Alpha Trion's base]] is no longer underground and doesn't appear to be secret anymore. Nor does Alpha Trion himself. For some reason, the Decepticons know that Alpha Trion still lives, that he has the Key to Vector Sigma and what the location of his laboratory is. Wheeljack makes the situation even more peculiar by remarking that Alpha Trion's base is messier than it's ever been, insinuating that he's been there before. On a sidenote, in "The Search for Alpha Trion", Alpha Trion's lab was neat and tidy.
*"It's a miracle we survived that blast" - see Trivia notes below for more on Prime's non sequitur line.
*Speaking of urgency - despite the repeated need for speed, the Autobots never use their [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]s on Cybertron - not to hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, not to rush to the Vector Sigma tunnel, not to travel IN that tunnel, not to get away from the slow-moving Centurion droids...

===Trivia===
*According to episode writer [[David Wise]] at various conventions (such as [[BotCon 2009]]), he was instructed to include Vector Sigma when writing this episode as part of the [[Hasbro]] episode mandates. Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed story editor [[Bryce Malek]], who in turn had to go to Hasbro to learn that Vector Sigma was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities". This caused Malek to respond: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!"
*At the script stage, this episode had the uninspired sub-title "Creation of the Stunticons".
*The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
**"That blast" mentioned by Prime in the finished episode actually happens.
**While the other Autobots are busy down in the tunnels, Omega Supreme battles Shockwave on the planet's surface throughout the second act of the episode. Shockwave refers to Omega as his "old enemy," and is on the losing end of the fight until he gets his hands on a "cyberbomb," which he uses to defeat Omega, leaving him very badly damaged. There is a vestigial reference to this battle in Part 2, and further scenes relating to its consequences are removed from that episode, altering the nature of its turning point quite a bit.
*The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the [[MOBAT]] and the Armadillo from the ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]'' animated series.
*Rumble is shown capturing a Tyrrell P34 during a Formula 1 race, the year presumably being 1986. In actuality, the six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 was retired after the 1977 season, and did not appear again on any race circuit until 1999.
*When the Stunticons first veer into traffic, several Earthen cars swerve to avoid them - and they're all in the Stunticons' color schemes. The beige one even has a purple patch where Breakdown's Decepticon insignia is.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title (European French broadcast):'' "'''La clé de Victor Segma'''" ("Vector Sigma's Key")
:*''Title (European French DVD release):'' "'''La clé du succès - Partie 1'''" ("The Key to Success - Part 1")
:*''Title (Canadian French broadcast):'' "'''La clé pour Vecteur Sigma, partie 1'''" ("The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*The annoying alien voice effect is still here, despite being less violent in this episode.
::*[[Albert Augier]] is back! But for some reason, [[Georges Atlas]] keeps Soundwave for this episode.
::*The race commentator saying "What in the world?" is translated differently in the original event ("That's unbelievable! What's happening?") and when Optimus Prime and Ratchet watch the video ("What's happening this time?") as if it was happening again.
::*Missing lines:
:::*Optimus Prime's lines "See what I mean? Let's move it! So much for your security Prowl!" are missing.
:::*The dialogue between Smokescreen and Optimus Prime driving is missing.
:::*Dirge's lines "I knew I'd never make it!" and "Gotta get him out of here for repairs." are missing, as well as many Coneheads lines in plane mode.
:::*Smokescreen's line "Eat my smoke!" is missing.
:::*Rumble's lines "You mean Rumble takes it!" and "I just need the car!" as he steals the vehicles are missing.
:::*Soundwave's lines as he's looking for the key are missing.
:::*Megatron's line "Welcome Stunticons!" as they admire the landscape is missing.
::*Name-dodging:
:::*As a the classic name-dodging situation, Megatron's line "Thrust! Dirge! Ramjet! After them!" is replaced by "Get that fuel! I need it!".
:::*Optimus Prime's line "Hoist! Ratchet! Can you repair him?" is replaced by simply saying "Do you think you can repair him if you both work on it?".
:::*Instead of saying their names, the Stunticons all make little speeches about pledging allegiance to Megatron.
::*Ratchet describing the Stunticons as "Megatron's new car group" is replaced by "Megatron's new mentally ill guys". Wow.
::*In order to write the "To be continued" in French, it was added at the end of the episode while the Stunticons are invading the base. The original one was removed, making the music cut abruptly.

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Gli Stunticons'''" ("The Stunticons")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''La chiave di Vector Sigma - Prima parte'''" ("The Key of Vector Sigma - First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Vector Sigma no Kagi PART I'''" (ベクターシグマの鍵 PART I, "The Key of Vector Sigma PART I")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[May 2]], [[1986]]

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mólì Shénqiú (Shàng)'''" (魔力神球(上), "The Magic Ball, Part I")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''A Chave Para Vector Sigma, Primeira Parte'''" ("The Key to Vector Sigma, First Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Klyuch ot Sigma Comp'yutera'''" (Ключ от Сигма Компьютера, "The Key to Sigma Computer")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1986 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|A.M.T. Video Gems]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn ([[Video Gems|V.I.P. Video Gems]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''The Transformers'' — The Key to Vector Sigma ([[Video Gems|Little Gems Video Club]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1995 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 7 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 13 ([[Déclic Images]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — Le Journal des Quintessons ([[UFG Junior]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20200217143800/http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/season-2/synopses/700-55.html Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=19SAt1ANZYlItgpSj_ZXbblAZdMdQNfj7 Episode dialogue script with deleted lines]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dLMrVzTr_92WQ8nHBXIkT9m2o9LYs1vd/view?usp=drive_link Episode model sheets]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1}}
[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]

Speed Metal

2025-07-21T00:40:45Z

TankCatapult: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 11
|prev=Deus ex Machina
|next=Predatory
|image=SpeedMetal-startyourengines.jpg
|caption=Temptation, thy name is woman!
|title="Speed Metal"
|season=1
|season ep=11
|airdate=[[April 9]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Dean Stefan]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Allspark (company)|Hasbro Studios]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xdTp961BQOY
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''Knock Out and Jack are both drawn into the world of street racing.'''

==Synopsis==
Cruising along a road at night, [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] listens to a news report about illegal street racing. Switching it off, he pulls up alongside three other cars waiting to race. The [[Fast Willy|driver of one]] decides to put a long scratch in Knock Out's paintwork, rousing the [[Decepticon]]'s ire. After the race starts, Knock Out runs the other driver off the mountain road, informing the stunned human, "You scratch my paint, I scratch yours," before racing off.

[[File:SpeedMetal-whispering.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|There are so many captions for this, all of them dirty.]]

Outside the [[Memorial High School|high school]], [[Jack Darby|Jack]] encounters school bully [[Vince]], who mocks [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]]'s vehicle mode. Jack and Arcee leave, but while stopped at a traffic light, Jack's called out to by [[Sierra]], who's keen on a ride. Before Jack can answer, Vince pulls up and challenges him to a race. Jack's still thinking about it when the light changes and Arcee takes off, reminding Jack of the rules about abusing their power. Vince catches up with them at the next light and insults Arcee's motorcycle mode, goading her to suspend the rules, just this once. The pair let Vince know they're ready for the race, and Sierra and [[Sierra's friend|her friend]] turn out at an old dirt road to spectate. Arcee's driving abilities far outstrip Vince's, and they win easily, but Arcee turns down Jack's suggestion that they should offer Sierra a lift.

On the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'', [[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] is buffing the comatose [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]]. [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] wanders in to check on the patient and wonders aloud where Knock Out's got to. The 'Con himself walks in a few moments later, complaining about the scratch some "skinjob" put in his finish. Starscream is most disapproving that Knock Out's been street racing again, though what ''really'' annoys him is Knock Out's failure—and glib refusal—to refer to Starscream as "Lord".

Back at [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]], Arcee reminds Jack not to tell anyone about the race, but it turns out [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] and [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] already know, having heard about it at school. Jack swears them to secrecy.

At school, Sierra tells Jack she was impressed with the outcome of the race, but Vince challenges Jack to race again, this time at the circuit. Jack's compelled to agree, but Arcee flatly refuses to race.

Knock Out is out cruising a road somewhere near [[Jasper]], when a speeding street racer car gets his attention, and he heads toward the town.

Jack asks Raf if he can borrow [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] so he can go street racing. Raf isn't so sure (much to Bumblebee's dismay), but Miko and Jack talk him into it. Jack and Bumblebee haul up at the race track, as does Knock Out. As the race begins and Bumblebee and Vince jostle for lead position, Knock Out recognizes Bumblebee and begins chasing the Autobot while firing. Jack finds he has problems overcoming the communications barrier with 'Bee.

Back at base, Miko and Raf are playing a [[Generic racing game|video game]] when Arcee asks them if they've seen Jack. They attempt to cover for their friend, but Arcee immediately works out what's up, and a short time later, Bumblebee's distress call comes though.

Bumblebee dumps some [[oil]] to slow Knock Out down, then ducks under a bridge. At first, it seems they've lost the Decepticon, but Vince hauls in to confront Jack and demand he finish the race. Jack tries to warn Vince of the danger, but Vince's headlights have attracted Knock Out, who grabs the boy, renders him unconscious, drives off. Knock Out contacts Breakdown to announce he's captured Bumblebee's human "friend". Arcee and Bulkhead join Bumblebee, but before Arcee can start a lecture, Jack tells her about Vince, and they head off to mount a rescue.

[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] walks into the base and wonders where everyone else is. Raf and Miko give him the least convincing replies ever.

[[File:PrimeScreamer'sFingerOfDoom.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|"Not the gumdrop buttons!"]]

The three Autobots track Knock Out to a warehouse area, and Bulkhead and Bumblebee stroll in while Arcee scales a nearby water tower. Bulkhead and Bumblebee are ambushed by Breakdown. Just as Knock Out is wondering where Arcee is, she jumps on top of him. Knock Out decides to bail, but at least has the courtesy to radio Breakdown and let him know. Unfortunately, the call distracts Breakdown long enough for Bulkhead to deck him with a street lamp. Knock Out streaks down a road with Arcee in pursuit, but is suddenly sideswiped by Optimus, who knocks him onto the embankment. With the 'Con unable to flee, Optimus rips his door off and retrieves the unconscious Vince. Knock Out is outraged at the damage done to him, but retreats when the rest of the Autobots arrive. Vince finally recovers in Bumblebee on the way back to his car, and Jack spins a story to cover the whole thing.

Starscream is ''very'' upset with Knock Out's disobedience. Knock Out assures Starscream that he's learned his lesson and been punished sufficiently, but once again addresses Starscream as 'Commander'. Angered, Starscream informs him that his punishment will be complete when ''he'' says so, and gives him more scratches to his paint job.

At school again, Sierra asks Jack for a ride, but he turns her down. Arcee, however, is feeling more accommodating—just this once—and soon Jack and Sierra are zooming through town.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] (5)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (14)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (15)
*[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] (16)

|c2=
*[[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] (1)
*[[Breakdown (WFC)|Breakdown]] (9)
*[[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] (10)
*[[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] (11)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (17)

|c3=
*[[Starter Guy]] (2)
*[[Fast Willy]] (3)
*[[Jack Darby]] (4)
*[[Vince]] (6)
*[[Sierra]] (7)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (8)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (12)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (13)
}}

==Quotes==
"Uh, Jack? A lady's vital stats are her own business."
:—'''Arcee''' doesn't want Jack bragging about the different aspects of her body.

"Winning isn't enough, Jack. You want to make him ''cry''."
:—'''Arcee''' explains her method of getting even.

"No worries, ''Herr Kommandant''." 
"It is 'Lord' to you." 
"Only if Megatron takes a nosedive." 
"''Hhhnnn.'' The day our master emerges from stasis, I will graciously relinquish the title. But I believe that outcome is unlikely. Something to do with the quality of medical care around here. So continue ''buffing''. We do want Megatron looking his best for the memorial." 
(''Starscream leaves the room.'') 
"Buff ''this''."
:—'''Knock Out''' and '''Starscream''' don't exactly see optic-to-optic.

'''Arcee''': Have you guys seen Jack? 
'''Miko''': ...not since we last saw him. 
'''Arcee''': They're racing, aren't they? 
'''Raf''': Just this once. 
'''Arcee''': Did you know about this? 
'''Bulkhead''': NO. Maybe. A little.
:—No one on [[Team Prime]] can lie.

"'Bee, do not engage. Your first priority is to keep Jack safe. [''murmurs''] Until I get my hands on him."
:—'''Arcee''' is a scary guardian.

[[File:SpeedMetal-OptimusEyebrow.gif|thumb|upright=1.8|[[Triple Takeover|"You're either lying or you're stupid."]]]]

'''Raf''': We should just tell Optimus the truth. 
'''Miko''': Absolutely not! We made a deal. Just act completely normal. 
'''Optimus''': Raf, Miko, do either of you know where the others have gone? 
'''Miko''': Why, no, sir. We do not know. 
'''Raf''': ''(stiffly)'' Miko is correct. We do not know. 
'''Miko''': Why would we know? 
'''Optimus''': Hmm...
:—Seriously, it's a minor miracle the kids haven't blown their cover with their parents yet.

"Do you know how hard that is to replace?!"
:—'''Knock Out''' loses a door to Optimus Prime.

"Knock Out! Was I not clear? You have defied my orders yet again!" 
"My mistake, Commander Starscream. But, I've learned my lesson... and paid the price. 
"It. Is. '''LORD'''! And you have paid when I say you have paid! ''[extends a sharpened finger]'' Do not worry, your punishment shall be merely... cosmetic." 
"No, not the finish! Anything but the finish! ''[the "cosmetic punishment" begins offscreen]'' NNNNOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"
:—<s>Commander</s> '''LORD Starscream''' reminds '''Knock Out''' where he stands.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Jack claims to recognize Knock Out in vehicle mode, referencing their museum encounter in the previous episode.
* Sierra remembers Jack’s motorcycle ride offer from all the way back in the first episode.

===Real-world references===
* Knock Out calls Fast Willy a "skinjob," a derogatory slang term used to refer to the human-like {{w|Cylon (reimagining)|Cylons}} in the 2004 re-imagining of ''{{w|Battlestar Galactica (2004 TV series)|Battlestar Galactica}}'', itself an homage to ''{{w|Blade Runner}}''.
* Vince refers to Jack as "Ponch", a motorcycle-based reference to Erik Estrada's cycle-riding cop character from ''{{w|CHiPs}}''.
* Knock Out calls Starscream "Herr Kommandant", a reference to {{w|Nazi Germany}}.
* "Drucker's Ranch" is presumably a reference to [[Steve Drucker]], longtime [[Hasbro]] creative person.

===Errors===
* During the whole scene where Knock Out crashes Fast Willy, we can see that Knock Out's rims are red and silver instead of his yellow rims, after that they are back to their usual color.
* Sierra and her friend hold their books back-to-front. This is not [[The Jasper Daily|uncommon]].
* When Jack and Arcee stop at the second traffic light, Arcee's front wheel is shown not moving at all, as if it were sliding on the asphalt instead of spinning.
* When Arcee and Jack drive along the street (while debating Jack's decision to accept Vince's second challenge), all the traffic lights are shown as if they were upside down; red lights are in the place of green lights and vice versa.
* Vince challenges Jack to a race on a "dirt road", but the road they race on is sealed and marked.
* Like in the [[Deus ex Machina|previous episode]], the clear parts of Arcee's chest are pink.
* While Knock Out drives away (after kidnapping Vince), and Jack turns to talk to Bumblebee, the former's rear-lights are white instead of red.
* Simply driving on oil, or bumping into another car, would not make any car instantly spin out, despite what decades of television and movies say.
* Despite school just getting out, when Jack, Vince, and Sierra are talking, the roads are empty.

===Trivia===
* This is the first episode to premiere on a Saturday.
* Several of the other street racing cars in this episode are simply recolored variations of Bumblebee and [[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]]'s alternate modes (sans horns in the case of the latter). Hello, easy [[redeco]]es!
* At least two of said cars never actually leave the starting line once the race begins.
* Sierra's friend continues to remain nameless, despite having appeared in more episodes than Sierra herself at this point. This girl really needs to introduce herself!
* Bumblebee's [[license plate]] is "936 SOH". Vince's is "281 DIL".
* In point-of-fact, it may have been better for Knock Out to stay with Breakdown rather than leave, seeing as he lost a door in addition to a nasty scratch.
* Adaptations of this episode include a prose version as part of ''[[Bulkhead's Biggest Battle]]''.
* This was the final episode in which G1 veteran [[Susan Blu]] served as voice director.
* Knock Out reacts more painfully to his finish getting scratched than his door getting ripped off.
* Fast Willy's car appears to be modeled after a 1968-1972 {{w| Chevy Nova}}, with modifications similar to the Dodge Charger driven by Vin Diesel in the first {{w|Fast & Furious}} movie. Fitting, since this episode heavily involves street racing.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''À toute vitesse !'''" ("Full Speed!")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 26|26 November]] [[2011]]
::*Coincidentally, the title is the same than the one used for the ''[[Transformers: Cybertron (cartoon)|Cybertron]]'' episode "[[Rush (episode)|Rush]]".

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Nur dieses eine Mal!'''" ("Only Once This Time!")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 2|2 December]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Gyorsulási verseny'''" ("Drag Race")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 23|23 January]] [[2012]]

'''Indonesian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Balapan Liar'''" ("Wild Racing")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 14|September 14]] [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Gare su strada'''" ("Road Races"), "'''La Gara'''" ("The Race", 2017 airing)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 30|30 October]] [[2011]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Kasoku Henkei! Speed Shōbu!'''" (加速変形!スピード勝負!, "Acceleration Transformation! Speed Match!")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 16|16 June]] [[2012]]

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Jilju Bonneung'''" (질주 본능, "Instinct for Speed")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 3|3 October]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 19|19 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Racha'''" ("The Street Race")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 16|16 January]] [[2012]]

'''Spanish (Spain)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Velocidad metal'''" ("Speed Metal")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 5|5 November]] [[2011]]

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Folge 3: Nur dieses eine Mal ([[EDEL:kids]]) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Volume 3: Alien Threat (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Vol. 6 ([[Avex Trax]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1 Vol. 3: L'attaque des Decepticons ([[Universal|Universal Pictures France]]) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Vol. 3: La furia dei Decepticons ([[Universal|Universal Pictures IT]]) — English, Italian, Dutch, French and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One: Decepticons Unleashed ([[Universal|Universal Pictures UK]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1: L'intégrale (Universal Pictures France) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Universal Pictures UK)
;Blu-ray
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio. 

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Convoy (episode)

2025-07-20T18:50:25Z

TankCatapult: /* Trivia */

{{disambig3|Convoy}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 9
|prev=Con Job
|next=Deus ex Machina
|image=TFP Convoy highway hijack.jpg
|caption=Ain't it a beautiful sight?
|title="Convoy"
|season=1
|season ep=9
|airdate=[[March 4]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Joseph Kuhr]]
|directed by=[[Todd Waterman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Allspark (company)|Hasbro Studios]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBU_gmEY0Q8
|videosite=YouTube
}}
'''The Autobots assist Fowler with transporting a nuclear device.'''

==Synopsis==
The Autobots get an angry call from [[William Fowler|Fowler]]. [[Fowler's V-tol|His plane]]'s been shot down while transporting the hi-tech [[Dynamic Nuclear Generation System]], or the "Dingus", a volatile nuclear device, and he needs help in completing his mission. [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus]] says that using the [[GroundBridge]] to transport it would be too dangerous, so instead they'll have to take it by road. They soon have it loaded into a [[trailer]] which Prime starts hauling, with [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] as an escort. Fowler's disappointed he doesn't get to drive. [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] and the kids monitor their journey from [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]].

Optimus is irritated by Fowler's enthusiasm with the horn. Unknown to any of them, the convoy is being observed by a helicopter. Fowler and Optimus are discussing whether there was any evil on Earth before the Decepticons came, when they spot the helicopter, which Fowler believes is a [[Decepticon]]. Five green sportscars move in on the convoy, but Optimus warns everyone to maintain their cover and stay in [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]]. Ratchet's surprised that they're not showing up on his sensors. All is made clear when one of the cars draws level with Optimus's cab, and a masked human aims a gun at Fowler. Optimus orders the other Autobots to use non-lethal force only. Bumblebee knocks one of the cars, flipping it over, but another drives up alongside Optimus. One of the masked goons climbs onto Optimus and starts attempting to sever the trailer. After Prime knocks the car off the mountainside road, Fowler climbs out and grabs the masked goon, but loses him before he can start the interrogation.
[[File:Prime-Silas.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|I want this mission high and tight. I wanna be home for dinner.]]
The fellow in the helicopter makes contact over the walkie and introduces himself as [[Silas]], part of the [[MECH]] organization, who intend to steal the Dingus for their own use. One of the cars pulls up behind Optimus and the MECH goons blow the trailer's back door open, only for [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] to jump out in motorcycle mode and flip their car, causing it to explode. While Optimus warns Fowler not to take Silas lightly (due to [[Megatron (WFC)|personal experience]]), Ratchet informs them they're nearing the rendezvous point.

On the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'', [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] has intercepted the communications, and [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] sends a bunch of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] to join the party.

The Autobots reach the rendezvous point and duck into a rail tunnel alongside a train. Bulkhead seals off the incoming end. A short time later, they and the train emerge from the other end of the tunnel, and Silas continues to follow the Autobots. As luck would have it, the Vehicons take this opportunity to appear and open fire on the convoy. The Autobots avoid getting hit, but Prime's trailer is shaken loose and explodes. The Vehicons transform and move in, forcing Optimus to inform Fowler that they're going to have to break cover to survive. Silas observes the fight and notes that the rumors he's heard of living technology are true. He lets Fowler know that he's aware the Dingus was transferred onto the train while the Autobots were in the tunnel, and the helicopter moves off to intercept the cargo. Unfortunately, while Fowler's giving Optimus the bad news, the Autobot leader takes a tree trunk to the face and falls off a nearby cliff.

The kids have a frantic discussion about a plan B. [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]]'s in favor of Ratchet ground-bridging the kids onto the train so they can fight the MECH goons. With [[Raf Esquivel|Raf's]] help, [[Jack Darby|Jack]] and Miko are soon on the train. As the MECH helicopter tries to land on top of the train, Raf flips a point switch to make the train go off along another line. In response, the helicopter's pilot hacks Raf's laptop, causing it to short out. On the second try, the helicopter lands atop the carriage the Dingus is in, and the MECH guys start cutting through the carriage roof.

Not far away, the Autobots continue their fight with the Vehicons. Optimus comes around and sees the train in trouble.
[[File:Convoy-trainstop.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|More powerful than a locomotive!]]
Miko and Jack grab weapons, which they wave at the MECH guys when the ceiling's opened. Back in the chopper, Silas spots Optimus running alongside and sounds a retreat. As the helicopter heads away, he fires a missile and takes out the track ahead of the train. Due to Raf's laptop being out of commission, Ratchet no longer has the train's coordinates and can't bridge the kids out. They prepare to jump, but Optimus zooms past, grabs the front of the train and brings it to a halt in the nick of time. Hovering in the helicopter nearby, Silas promises that next time the playing field will be leveled. Optimus reports back to Ratchet that the kids and the Dingus are safe, but notes that a new player has entered the game...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] (2)
*[[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] (3)
*[[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (9)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] (13)
*[[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] (14)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (15)

|c3=
*[[William Fowler]] (1)
*[[Jack Darby]] (5)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (6)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (7)
*[[MECH]] goons (10)
*[[Silas]] (11)
*[[MECH Navigator]] (12)

}}

==Quotes==
"Ah-ah, no need, Agent Fowler. I will handle the driving." 
"It's going to be a long trip."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' lets '''Agent Fowler''' in on his no-touch policy.

"Agent Fowler. Is that really necessary?" 
"Oh, don't tell me you're one of them 'textbook drivers'."
:— '''Optimus Prime''' isn't very keen on '''Agent Fowler's''' use of the horn.

"You know, you're saving my bacon here, Prime." 
"I am proud to be of service." 
"Of course, not like I'd need your help if you and the 'cons stuck to tearing up your own corner of the galaxy." 
"Are you suggesting no evil existed on your world before we arrived?" 
"Well... it was a different evil."
:— '''Agent Fowler''' and '''Optimus Prime'''.

"How about some radio? You seem like a Nashville sound kinda guy."
:—'''Agent Fowler''' to Optimus Prime.

"That's the one! The 'Con who shot me down! Who is he? Wingnut? Dingbat? Skyguy?"
:—'''Fowler''' shares some awesome Transformer name ideas.

"Gentlemen, stop their engines."
:—'''Silas'''

"Is that so? Tell me, Sy, what's the market price for a Dingus these days?" 
"What makes you think we intend to sell it, Agent Fowler?"
:—'''Agent Fowler''' and '''Silas''' discussing the value of Fowler's Dingus.

"After a long road trip, feels good to get out of the car, stretch my legs, and kick some tailpipe!"
:—'''Bulkhead''', the reigning king of one-liners.

"You want me to not only bridge you into a confined space, but one traveling at 90 miles per hour? I can't even count the number of things that can go wrong—mass displacement trauma, twisted limbs, metal burn!... Well, maybe not the last one."
:—Overly-attached '''Ratchet''' to the kids.

"First rule of combat: Never leave the enemy with the spoils."
:—'''Silas'''

"Maximum overdrive!"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' coining a new catchphrase.

"Maybe we should jump?" 
"At 90 miles an hour?!" 
"It's the impact or the meltdown, take your pick."
:—'''Miko''' lets '''Jack''' choose between two spectacular ends.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* The plane Fowler was transporting the Dingus on is the same one he had in "[[Masters & Students]]". And he's ''still'' flying without any kind of pilot gear on. Dude is ''hard core''.
* Miko makes reference to that episode when she follows up Fowler's comment that he had been shot out of the sky with an "again?"
* This episode is the first to feature a human enemy to the Cybertronians (both Autobots and Decepticons). However, they do not meet the leader, Silas, until much later; the Autobots only hear him speak this episode.
* On board the train, Jack and Miko each pick a "weapon" of choice to face the MECH goons. Miko happens to take an axe, like she did [[Darkness Rising, Part 5|to face Soundwave's tentacle]], while Jack takes a [[fire extinguisher]], like he did [[Scrapheap (episode)|a couple of episodes ago]].

===Transformers references===
* Optimus's [[trailer]] is adorned with the same paint scheme as his [[Optimus Prime (G1)|''Generation 1'' counterpart]]'s [[Combat Deck (G1)|trailer]].
* "[[Convoy (rank)|Convoy]]" is the usual Japanese equivalent to the English "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]]".

===Real-world references===
* This episode is the first in ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' to feature a reproduction of an actual real-world vehicle: the locomotive depicted hauling the 'Phase II' train is a very accurate model of a four-axle GP series model produced in La Grange, Illinois (Later London, Ontario) by {{w|Electro-Motive Diesel}}.

===Animation and technical errors===
* At the beginning of the episode, when Ratchet asks Agent Fowler why Starscream would bother with "such primitive technology" (i.e., the Dingus), a small light can be seen inside his open mouth, as if the light coming from his left optic sensor can be seen through it.
* While Silas delivers his last line, the straps that cross his chest clip into each other.

===Continuity errors===
* On the monitor inside the Autobot base, the fork is shown to be on the right side of the rails. When the scene changes to show the running train, it is shown to be on the left.
* The number of MECH cars is somewhat inconsistent, as are their positions. Three cars initially pull up behind and to the sides of Bulkhead. An additional car appears to replace the one that pulls ahead to block Bumblebee, and another appears to replace the one that pulls up to Optimus' driver side to force him to pull over. When the Autobots begin applying force, the car that was in front of Bumblebee has moved to Optimus' passenger side. After this, four of the pursuing cars are dispatched through various means, leaving only one, yet three cars are chasing the Autobots when they reach the train tunnel. The cars vanish from the story completely after this.
* When the Autobots first transform in front of the platoon of Eradicon Jets and reveal themselves to MECH in the process, there is no plateau near their right side to safely place Fowler on, but in the very next shot, it is right next to them, even though the Autobots never moved from their position.
* Upon seeing the Silas destroy the track, the locomotive driver would have released the air from the brake lines, applying maximum braking force to the train. With a train as short as the one carrying the Dingus, emergency braking would likely have stopped it before reaching the site of the explosion, however the train shows no signs of attempting to slow down.

===Trivia===
[[File:Convoy-kablooie.jpg|thumb|upright|"I used minimum force. That was the minimum force necessary to ensure they ''never bother us again.''"]]
* The Autobots have a curious definition of "minimum force". During the short battle, they flip over three cars and blow up a fourth. The latter most likely killed the passengers. It's amazing the others came out unharmed, considering one was hanging out of the sunroof of his car at the time.
* The train set piece germinated from [[Alex Kurtzman]]'s desire to have a Train Transformer, which would have been too expensive. Had the budget been there, they would have been an Autobot.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=21Pb3MeUDdY Roundtable interview with ''Prime'' staff at BotCon 2011]</ref>
* The fact that the Autobots were battling humans rather than Decepticons - a not insignificant twist in the plot - was spoiled by the next-episode preview shown during the Hub's airing of "Con Job". What is this, [[Ultra Magnus Dies!!|Japan?]]
* As was previously featured in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 4]]", this episode features an Autobot transforming while carrying a human passenger. Fowler somehow ends up sitting in Optimus's hand rather than inside him, though.
* Silas deems the Autobots' use of the train tunnel a tactical error because it only has one exit, but then makes no effort to stop them on the other side.
* In the beginning of the episode Optimus tells Fowler he will handle the driving but later on in the episode we see Fowler driving. It might be that Agent Fowler just kept his hands on the steering wheel or that Optimus was just being kind.
[[File:JackFireExtinguisherMikoAxe.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|So I married an axe murderer.]]
* When Jack and Miko grab the fire extinguisher and the fire axe to fight MECH, they apparently forget that there is a gun on the floor, dropped by the immobilized soldier. However, neither (presumably) has had firearms training, and it's unlikely that Optimus would appreciate trigger-happy allies.
* Silas' attempt to destroy the Dingus at the end of the episode seems a bit reckless, given its nuclear core. However, there's no indication he's aware of just how nasty that thing going up would be; when the decoy trailer goes up, the MECH pilot merely indicates there's no detectable radiation. If they knew about the five-state irradiation deal, they'd probably be just a ''wee'' bit more on edge and wondering why they weren't dead.
* This episode may contain human [[death]]. After Arcee jumps off one of MECH's vehicles, it rolls right into another vehicle and the two explode. No humans are seen exiting the vehicles during the accident, so it is likely that they perish in the explosion.
* Optimus Prime has a cup holder. Whether this is a default part of his [[alt mode]] or for Fowler's benefit is unspecified.
* Adaptations of this episode include a prose version in ''[[Optimus Under Threat]]'' titled "Off the Rails", and a storybook version for younger readers as ''[[Optimus Prime and the Secret Mission]]''.
* Raf asks a pretty good question at the beginning of the episode - Just what state ''is'' Fowler in? He says that he's aiding in the Dingus' transportation to the coast, but never specifies whether that means the West Coast or East Coast. The mountainous terrain and greenery suggests that he's somewhere in the Pacific Northwest, possibly Washington State or Oregon.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Le SGDN'''" ("The DNGS")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 23|23 November]] [[2011]]

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Konvoi'''" ("Convoy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 25|25 November]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Konvoj'''" ("Convoy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 19|19 January]] [[2012]]

'''Indonesian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Pengamanan Senjata Penghancuran Masal'''" ("Saving of the Weapon of Mass Destruction")
:*''Original airdate:'' 12 September [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Convoglio'''" ("Convoy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 22|22 October]] [[2011]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''Bōsō Henkei! Dingus o Mamore!''' (暴走変形!ディンガスを守れ!, ''Reckless Transformation! Protect the Dingus!'')
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 2|2 June]] [[2012]]

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Hosong Jakjeon'''" (호송 작전, "Operation Convoy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 26|26 September]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 15|15 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Comboio'''" ("The Convoy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 4|4 January]] [[2012]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 2|2 January]] [[2012]]

'''Spanish (Spain)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Convoy'''" ("Convoy")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 29|29 October]] [[2011]]

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Folge 2: Meister und Schüler ([[EDEL:kids]]) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Volume 2: Unfamiliar Enemies (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Vol. 5 ([[Avex Trax]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1 Vol. 2: Terrain miné ([[Universal|Universal Pictures France]]) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Stagione 1 Vol. 2: Terre Pericolose ([[Universal|Universal Pictures IT]]) — English, Italian, Dutch, French and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One: Dangerous Ground ([[Universal|Universal Pictures UK]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1: L'intégrale (Universal Pictures France) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Universal Pictures UK)
;Blu-ray
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio. 

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Minus One

2025-07-20T07:59:59Z

TankCatapult: /* Continuity notes */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 62
|image=MinusOne-facereflection.jpg
|caption=It took a Decepticon to show him the truth: Ratchet DOES have crazy-looking eyes.
|prev=Evolution
|next=Persuasion
|title="Minus One"
|season=3
|season ep=10
|airdate=[[July 5]], [[2013]]
|written by=[[Michael Cassutt]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Allspark (company)|Hasbro Studios]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb2wiL4VKpo
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''The Autobots question a captured enemy for information regarding Megatron's plans.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] explains to [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] that the combination of elements in the [[Living metal#Aligned continuity|cyber-matter]] that was accidentally created in his lab would allow them to [[cyberforming|cyberform]] entire planets. [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] mocks what sounds like another "Shockwave plan", until Shockwave grabs him with an angry reminder about how Starscream recently left him to the mercy of the [[Autobot]]s. Megatron does not object as Shockwave forces Starscream's face closer and closer to a jagged protrusion of cyber-matter. Scrambling for a defense, Starscream notes that his actions made their current situation possible. Shockwave accepts the logic of this and lets Starscream go. Without missing a beat, Megatron asks Shockwave why the cyber-matter appears so chaotic, and the scientist pledges to correct the instability of the elements. Megatron notes that they will require a launch mechanism from which to use the cyber-matter, and declares that they will focus their resources on reconstructing the [[Omega Lock]].

[[File:MinusOne-UltraMagnus.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Oh no! My Me Time hand!]]

At the [[Hangar E|Autobot base]], [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] finishes his repair of [[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]]' mangled right hand. Due to a lack of equipment and spare parts, the repair consists of an unsightly hook appendage that Ratchet says will be functional, but potentially unfit for battle. [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] tries to assure [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] that Ultra Magnus will overcome this setback. [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] bets that the hook will become Magnus' signature, making a comparison to [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]]'s [[voice box]] that the scout doesn't appreciate. Bumblebee buzzes angrily and storms off. [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] explains to [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] that Bumblebee still misses the sound of his old voice. [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] tries to lighten the mood by focusing on the defeat of the [[Predacon (Prime)|Predacon]] cloning project, but [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] reminds them all of [[Predaking (Prime)|the Predacon who recently revealed his abilities in transformation]].

Aboard the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'', Megatron tells Predaking that they will soon punish the Autobots for destroying his brethren. Predaking vows that revenge will come, but that Project Predacon was only ever a starting point. He says that if Megatron truly wishes to restore [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], this should include resurrecting the entire Predacon race from the remains that lie there, so that Predaking can lead them against their shared enemies. Megatron regards this request with skepticism.

Shockwave reports that they've salvaged the wreckage of the Omega Lock, but that the damage was severe, and Earth technology will be needed to retrofit its systems. Megatron orders Starscream to acquire whatever materials Shockwave requires.

The next day, [[William Fowler|Fowler]] reports that [[Decepticon]]s stole twenty tons of control rods from a nuclear plant during the night. Optimus wonders gravely what they're attempting to build.

Shockwave reports to Megatron that the [[Synthetic Energon|synthetic energon]] formula provided by [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] is incomplete, resulting in the instability of the cyber-matter. Megatron tells him to complete it quickly, citing the need for enough cyber-matter to restore Cybertron and cyberform [[Earth]]. Shockwave respectfully asks what the logic is in ruling two planets, to which Megatron replies that the two are linked, one [[Unicron]] and the other [[Primus]], and to rule only one would be ruling neither.

Fowler reports another Decepticon theft in progress. Ratchet opens a [[GroundBridge]], but stops Ultra Magnus when he tries to go through, citing the need for further rehabilitation. Optimus says that Ratchet has the final word in medical matters, to which Ultra Magnus reluctantly agrees. Wheeljack watches the exchange with discomfort.

[[File:MinusOne-staredown.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|So, you Autobots about ready to give up yet?]]

The Autobots arrive on the scene and immediately advance on squad of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s, who are carrying away their spoils. [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] emerges from the sky in alt-form, opening a GroundBridge directly in front of the retreating Vehicons. [[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] is deployed, and Optimus transforms and takes to the air with his [[jet pack]] to engage them both. The Vehicons escape through the bridge, but Optimus' gatling gun is able to bring Soundwave crashing to the ground. Laserbeak escapes, and Optimus contacts Ratchet to let him know they will be returning with a prisoner.

At the Autobot base, Soundwave finds himself secured to a table. Ratchet notes that the base's shielding will prevent the Decepticon from contacting his ship. Wheeljack gleefully says that they have all the time in the world to make Soundwave talk, and Miko wonders if he even does talk.

On the ''Nemesis'', Starscream asks Megatron if he's worried about what the captive Soundwave might say. Megatron states his confidence in Soundwave's ability to withhold information.

[[File:Soundwave Mocks.jpg|thumb|left|I punch those numbers into my calculator and it makes a happy face.|upright=1.4]]
Optimus asks Soundwave why the Decepticons have been stealing human technology. Soundwave mockingly plays back a remix of the question set to music, and punctuates it with a smiley face emoticon on his visor. Optimus threatens a less civil method of interrogation, and Soundwave broadcasts a sonic pulse throughout the room that causes humans and Autobots alike to double over in pain. Ratchet angrily suggests opening Soundwave up to get the information they need, but the Decepticon responds by erasing data directly from his own drives. With a final taunt spoken in his own voice, he says, "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior." His visor blinks out and he slumps down on the table, off-line. An astonished Ratchet reports that the Decepticon's vital signs are stable, but that he crashed his own drives rather than allow them to be read.

Shockwave locates the only item on Earth with enough raw tonnage to power the rebuilt Omega Lock; a particle collider synchrotron. However, his efforts to complete the synthetic energon formula have met with less success. Megatron recalls that Knock Out obtained the formula from Ratchet, and muses that the simplest solution is to recruit him. Shockwave says that Laserbeak can upload the order to Soundwave after reconnecting with him, but Starscream notes that they don't know the location of the Autobot base. Shockwave recalls that Soundwave kept surveillance records on all the Autobots' human allies, not just the children.

From his car phone, Fowler tells Optimus that he's on his way to a meeting with [[Bryce|General Bryce]] about the recent Decepticon heists, and that he'll be back to the base as soon as possible. Behind the car, Laserbeak follows from the sky.

Megatron orders Predaking to be present at the Decepticons' next objective, as they expect the Autobots will interfere. Predaking says that he looks forward to facing the [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] again. This cavalier attitude enrages Megatron, who screams at the Predacon about their dwindling forces. Predaking merely states that he will have to fight twice as hard.

On his way back to the base, Fowler contacts the Autobots and reports that the Decepticons are attacking the Solaris particle collider project at the South Pole. Optimus readies the Autobots for action. Ratchet attempts to hold Ultra Magnus back again, but Wheeljack declares that the commander is ready. Wearily, Ratchet relents and opens a GroundBridge. Optimus commands Bulkhead and Smokescreen to stay behind and help Ratchet guard Soundwave, then he and the others depart. While the younger Bots comment on the prone Decepticon, Ratchet wonders what Megatron wants with a device powerful enough to open a [[black hole]].

Outside, Fowler parks in front of the base, still followed by Laserbeak.

[[File:MinusOnePredaking.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67|''I am the shadow on the moon at night'' ''Filling your dreams to the brim with fright!'']]
It dawns on Ratchet that enough power to swallow a world could also be enough power to create one. He contacts Optimus at the South Pole and relays his suspicion that Megatron plans to rebuild the Omega Lock. He wonders if they should let him, but Optimus knows Megatron will use the Lock to cyberform Earth as well as Cybertron. Disappointed, Ratchet says he understands.

Just then, Predaking strikes from the sky, firing blasts of flame breath that send the Autobots scattering. Optimus returns fire and orders the Autobots to stop the Decepticons from obtaining the collider while he faces the Predacon alone. As the Autobots race to the Solaris building, Optimus draws his gatling gun and engages in an aerial duel with the Predacon. Optimus pours on the firepower, but is unable to keep the beast at bay. With a final, savage swipe of his tail, Predaking sends Optimus crashing down to the ground far below.

Inside the building, the other Autobots find a squad of Vehicons lying in wait for them. As the two groups exchange fire, Shockwave oversees the retrieval of the particle collider in the next room.

At the Autobot base, Smokescreen is trying to convince Ratchet that they'll restore Cybertron somehow when Fowler walks in. He is followed a moment later by Laserbeak crashing through the window. The [[Deployer (WFC)|Deployer]]'s lasers keep the Autobots at bay long enough for him to sever Soundwave's bonds. Smokescreen returns fire, hitting Laserbeak's wing, but is unable to prevent the bird from reuniting with his master. Soundwave springs back to life and effortlessly dispatches Smokescreen, Bulkhead, and Fowler with his tentacles before advancing on Ratchet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (7)
*[[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] (8)
*[[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] (9)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (10)
*[[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] (2)
*[[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] (3)
*[[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] (15)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (17)
*[[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] (18)
*[[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] (19)

|c3=
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (12)
*[[Jack Darby]] (13)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (14)
*[[William Fowler]] (16)
}}

==Quotes==
"Master! Are you going to allow one lieutenant to harm another? Master?!" 
"I'm thinking."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron'''

"I am tempted to force you to share my ''perception'' of things."
:—'''Shockwave''' really hates or really loves having one eye, as he tells Starscream

"Exemplary teamwork."
:—'''Megatron''', after Starscream convinces Shockwave not to share his perspective

"It has taken me quite some time to fully comprehend that Earth and Cybertron have always been linked. Two halves of one whole; Primus and Unicron. And that to rule only one, would be to never truly rule either."
:—'''Megatron'''

''"Soundwave superior. Autobots inferior."''
:—'''Soundwave''' breaks his code just this once

"Can't we throw a tarp over him? He's creeping me out." 
"Yeah, it's like he's watching. No matter where you go."
:—'''Bulkhead''' and '''Smokescreen'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* The [[Omega Lock]] was destroyed by Optimus the last time Megatron tried using it to cyberform Earth, in "[[Darkest Hour (episode)|Darkest Hour]]".
* Ultra Magnus's hand was mangled by [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] in the [[Evolution|previous episode]].
* The story of how Bumblebee lost his vocoder was established in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 1]]" and the novel ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]''.
* Megatron recalls how the formula for synthetic energon was collected from Ratchet in "[[Stronger, Faster]]".
* Unicron was discovered to be buried within the Earth in "[[One Shall Rise, Part 1]]".
* The Decepticons tried to extract the location of the Autobot base from Fowler in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 3]]".
* Ultra Magnus still wears the back hook for the [[Forge of Solus Prime]] as Optimus used for the [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]], the latter having been made by Ratchet in "[[Alpha/Omega]]".
* Optimus has learned his lesson about letting Laserbeak sneak up behind him as he did in "[[Project Predacon]]".
* In [[Regeneration (Prime)| Regeneration]], [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] stepped in and disposed of [[Dreadwing (Prime) |Dreadwing]] when the latter tried to kill [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]. Here he simply stands and watches as [[Shockwave (Prime)|Shockwave]] attempts to impale Starscream for not warning him about the incoming [[Autobots]] in the [[Evolution|previous episode]]. Most likely because he knew Shockwave wasn't actually going to kill Starscream.

===Transformers references===
* Speaking with his own voice for the first time in the entire series, Soundwave paraphrases one of his most famous lines, directly from the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 movie]]. He is voiced by his original G1 voice actor, [[Frank Welker]], using the same Dr. Claw-esque tone used for Soundwave's [[Soundwave (ROTF)|live-action counterpart]] in the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|second]] and [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|third]] films. The Soundwave from ''Transformers Animated'' states the same line only backwards, "Autobots inferior, Soundwave superior," in the episode "[[Human Error, Part I]]", and Aligned Soundwave previously uttered it (several times) in the ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron]]'' video game.
* Bulkhead and Smokescreen's quoted fretting about Soundwave is near identical to [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Professor Sumdac]]'s fretting about the [[Headmaster unit]] in "[[Three's a Crowd (episode)|Three's a Crowd]]" from ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.

===Animation and technical errors===
* After the Vehicons get away during the Autobots' first call out, the other Autobots sit motionless in vehicle mode while Optimus engages Soundwave and Laserbeak, only transforming after Soundwave is shot down. What are they doing?
* [[Captain Fanzone's car|Fowler must have a bunch of the same car.]] It was wrecked back in "[[Nemesis Prime (episode)|Nemesis Prime]]", but the one he's seen driving sports the same [[license plate]].
* Smokescreen damages Laserbeak's wing, but the damage disappears once Laserbeak reattaches to Soundwave.

===Trivia===
* Ultra Magnus appears unable to use the blaster in his right arm with his hand destroyed. This is similar to ''Animated'' [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] who could not use his hand if his wrecking ball cable was severed.
* Fowler wields a fire extinguisher against Soundwave, previously Jack's weapon of choice in both "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]" and "[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]".
* The particle collider base has halls high enough to accommodate Transformers.
* Transformers' rear-view mirrors in their vehicle modes function as [[Sensor|optical sensors]]. This has previously been seen in episodes such as "[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]" and "[[Speed Metal]]".
* This is the last episode of the series to use an [[theme song|opening theme]]; all following episodes only show the show's title and the showrunners' names much like the pilot.
* Despite directly continuing the story from "Evolution", this episode features no recap sequence as the majority of episodes that formed a story arc had. This was no doubt cut to save time for the actual episode itself, due to the serialized plot coming to a close with the end of the series being nigh.
* UK TV guides for this episode incorrectly call Soundwave "Shockwave".

===Foreign localization===

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Menos Um'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 7|7 December]] [[2013]]

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Complot planétaire'''" ("Planetary Conspiracy")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Minus Eins'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 11|11 October]] [[2013]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mínusz egy'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 13|13 September]] [[2013]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Il più piccolo'''" ("The smallest")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 6|6 September]] [[2013]]

'''Spanish (Spain)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Menos uno'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 27|27 October]] [[2013]]

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season 3 Volume 3: Omega Lock ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season 3 Volume 2: Race for Salvation ([[Primal Screen]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Saison 3 Volume 2: L'ultime affrontement (Primal Screen) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Staffel 3 Teil 2: Auf zur Rettung (Primal Screen) — English, German, Dutch and French audio. 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Intégrale Saison 3 (Primal Screen) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — The Complete Season 3 (Primal Screen) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Die komplette Staffel 3 (Primal Screen) — English, German, Dutch and French audio. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — The Complete Season 3 (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.
;Blu-ray
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2016 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three Collection (Madman Entertainment) 

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Minus One

2025-07-20T07:58:42Z

TankCatapult: /* Continuity notes */

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 62
|image=MinusOne-facereflection.jpg
|caption=It took a Decepticon to show him the truth: Ratchet DOES have crazy-looking eyes.
|prev=Evolution
|next=Persuasion
|title="Minus One"
|season=3
|season ep=10
|airdate=[[July 5]], [[2013]]
|written by=[[Michael Cassutt]]
|directed by=[[Vinton Heuck]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Allspark (company)|Hasbro Studios]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eb2wiL4VKpo
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''The Autobots question a captured enemy for information regarding Megatron's plans.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] explains to [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] that the combination of elements in the [[Living metal#Aligned continuity|cyber-matter]] that was accidentally created in his lab would allow them to [[cyberforming|cyberform]] entire planets. [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] mocks what sounds like another "Shockwave plan", until Shockwave grabs him with an angry reminder about how Starscream recently left him to the mercy of the [[Autobot]]s. Megatron does not object as Shockwave forces Starscream's face closer and closer to a jagged protrusion of cyber-matter. Scrambling for a defense, Starscream notes that his actions made their current situation possible. Shockwave accepts the logic of this and lets Starscream go. Without missing a beat, Megatron asks Shockwave why the cyber-matter appears so chaotic, and the scientist pledges to correct the instability of the elements. Megatron notes that they will require a launch mechanism from which to use the cyber-matter, and declares that they will focus their resources on reconstructing the [[Omega Lock]].

[[File:MinusOne-UltraMagnus.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.66|Oh no! My Me Time hand!]]

At the [[Hangar E|Autobot base]], [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] finishes his repair of [[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]]' mangled right hand. Due to a lack of equipment and spare parts, the repair consists of an unsightly hook appendage that Ratchet says will be functional, but potentially unfit for battle. [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] tries to assure [[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] that Ultra Magnus will overcome this setback. [[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] bets that the hook will become Magnus' signature, making a comparison to [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]]'s [[voice box]] that the scout doesn't appreciate. Bumblebee buzzes angrily and storms off. [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]] explains to [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] and [[Jack Darby|Jack]] that Bumblebee still misses the sound of his old voice. [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] tries to lighten the mood by focusing on the defeat of the [[Predacon (Prime)|Predacon]] cloning project, but [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] reminds them all of [[Predaking (Prime)|the Predacon who recently revealed his abilities in transformation]].

Aboard the ''[[Trypticon (WFC)|Nemesis]]'', Megatron tells Predaking that they will soon punish the Autobots for destroying his brethren. Predaking vows that revenge will come, but that Project Predacon was only ever a starting point. He says that if Megatron truly wishes to restore [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], this should include resurrecting the entire Predacon race from the remains that lie there, so that Predaking can lead them against their shared enemies. Megatron regards this request with skepticism.

Shockwave reports that they've salvaged the wreckage of the Omega Lock, but that the damage was severe, and Earth technology will be needed to retrofit its systems. Megatron orders Starscream to acquire whatever materials Shockwave requires.

The next day, [[William Fowler|Fowler]] reports that [[Decepticon]]s stole twenty tons of control rods from a nuclear plant during the night. Optimus wonders gravely what they're attempting to build.

Shockwave reports to Megatron that the [[Synthetic Energon|synthetic energon]] formula provided by [[Knock Out (Prime)|Knock Out]] is incomplete, resulting in the instability of the cyber-matter. Megatron tells him to complete it quickly, citing the need for enough cyber-matter to restore Cybertron and cyberform [[Earth]]. Shockwave respectfully asks what the logic is in ruling two planets, to which Megatron replies that the two are linked, one [[Unicron]] and the other [[Primus]], and to rule only one would be ruling neither.

Fowler reports another Decepticon theft in progress. Ratchet opens a [[GroundBridge]], but stops Ultra Magnus when he tries to go through, citing the need for further rehabilitation. Optimus says that Ratchet has the final word in medical matters, to which Ultra Magnus reluctantly agrees. Wheeljack watches the exchange with discomfort.

[[File:MinusOne-staredown.jpg|thumb|upright=1.66|So, you Autobots about ready to give up yet?]]

The Autobots arrive on the scene and immediately advance on squad of [[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s, who are carrying away their spoils. [[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] emerges from the sky in alt-form, opening a GroundBridge directly in front of the retreating Vehicons. [[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] is deployed, and Optimus transforms and takes to the air with his [[jet pack]] to engage them both. The Vehicons escape through the bridge, but Optimus' gatling gun is able to bring Soundwave crashing to the ground. Laserbeak escapes, and Optimus contacts Ratchet to let him know they will be returning with a prisoner.

At the Autobot base, Soundwave finds himself secured to a table. Ratchet notes that the base's shielding will prevent the Decepticon from contacting his ship. Wheeljack gleefully says that they have all the time in the world to make Soundwave talk, and Miko wonders if he even does talk.

On the ''Nemesis'', Starscream asks Megatron if he's worried about what the captive Soundwave might say. Megatron states his confidence in Soundwave's ability to withhold information.

[[File:Soundwave Mocks.jpg|thumb|left|I punch those numbers into my calculator and it makes a happy face.|upright=1.4]]
Optimus asks Soundwave why the Decepticons have been stealing human technology. Soundwave mockingly plays back a remix of the question set to music, and punctuates it with a smiley face emoticon on his visor. Optimus threatens a less civil method of interrogation, and Soundwave broadcasts a sonic pulse throughout the room that causes humans and Autobots alike to double over in pain. Ratchet angrily suggests opening Soundwave up to get the information they need, but the Decepticon responds by erasing data directly from his own drives. With a final taunt spoken in his own voice, he says, "Soundwave superior, Autobots inferior." His visor blinks out and he slumps down on the table, off-line. An astonished Ratchet reports that the Decepticon's vital signs are stable, but that he crashed his own drives rather than allow them to be read.

Shockwave locates the only item on Earth with enough raw tonnage to power the rebuilt Omega Lock; a particle collider synchrotron. However, his efforts to complete the synthetic energon formula have met with less success. Megatron recalls that Knock Out obtained the formula from Ratchet, and muses that the simplest solution is to recruit him. Shockwave says that Laserbeak can upload the order to Soundwave after reconnecting with him, but Starscream notes that they don't know the location of the Autobot base. Shockwave recalls that Soundwave kept surveillance records on all the Autobots' human allies, not just the children.

From his car phone, Fowler tells Optimus that he's on his way to a meeting with [[Bryce|General Bryce]] about the recent Decepticon heists, and that he'll be back to the base as soon as possible. Behind the car, Laserbeak follows from the sky.

Megatron orders Predaking to be present at the Decepticons' next objective, as they expect the Autobots will interfere. Predaking says that he looks forward to facing the [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] again. This cavalier attitude enrages Megatron, who screams at the Predacon about their dwindling forces. Predaking merely states that he will have to fight twice as hard.

On his way back to the base, Fowler contacts the Autobots and reports that the Decepticons are attacking the Solaris particle collider project at the South Pole. Optimus readies the Autobots for action. Ratchet attempts to hold Ultra Magnus back again, but Wheeljack declares that the commander is ready. Wearily, Ratchet relents and opens a GroundBridge. Optimus commands Bulkhead and Smokescreen to stay behind and help Ratchet guard Soundwave, then he and the others depart. While the younger Bots comment on the prone Decepticon, Ratchet wonders what Megatron wants with a device powerful enough to open a [[black hole]].

Outside, Fowler parks in front of the base, still followed by Laserbeak.

[[File:MinusOnePredaking.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.67|''I am the shadow on the moon at night'' ''Filling your dreams to the brim with fright!'']]
It dawns on Ratchet that enough power to swallow a world could also be enough power to create one. He contacts Optimus at the South Pole and relays his suspicion that Megatron plans to rebuild the Omega Lock. He wonders if they should let him, but Optimus knows Megatron will use the Lock to cyberform Earth as well as Cybertron. Disappointed, Ratchet says he understands.

Just then, Predaking strikes from the sky, firing blasts of flame breath that send the Autobots scattering. Optimus returns fire and orders the Autobots to stop the Decepticons from obtaining the collider while he faces the Predacon alone. As the Autobots race to the Solaris building, Optimus draws his gatling gun and engages in an aerial duel with the Predacon. Optimus pours on the firepower, but is unable to keep the beast at bay. With a final, savage swipe of his tail, Predaking sends Optimus crashing down to the ground far below.

Inside the building, the other Autobots find a squad of Vehicons lying in wait for them. As the two groups exchange fire, Shockwave oversees the retrieval of the particle collider in the next room.

At the Autobot base, Smokescreen is trying to convince Ratchet that they'll restore Cybertron somehow when Fowler walks in. He is followed a moment later by Laserbeak crashing through the window. The [[Deployer (WFC)|Deployer]]'s lasers keep the Autobots at bay long enough for him to sever Soundwave's bonds. Smokescreen returns fire, hitting Laserbeak's wing, but is unable to prevent the bird from reuniting with his master. Soundwave springs back to life and effortlessly dispatches Smokescreen, Bulkhead, and Fowler with his tentacles before advancing on Ratchet.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Smokescreen (Prime)|Smokescreen]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (7)
*[[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] (8)
*[[Wheeljack (Prime)|Wheeljack]] (9)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (10)
*[[Ultra Magnus (WFC)|Ultra Magnus]] (11)

|c2=
*[[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] (1)
*[[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] (2)
*[[Shockwave (WFC)|Shockwave]] (3)
*[[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] (15)
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicon]]s (17)
*[[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] (18)
*[[Laserbeak (WFC)|Laserbeak]] (19)

|c3=
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (12)
*[[Jack Darby]] (13)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (14)
*[[William Fowler]] (16)
}}

==Quotes==
"Master! Are you going to allow one lieutenant to harm another? Master?!" 
"I'm thinking."
:—'''Starscream''' and '''Megatron'''

"I am tempted to force you to share my ''perception'' of things."
:—'''Shockwave''' really hates or really loves having one eye, as he tells Starscream

"Exemplary teamwork."
:—'''Megatron''', after Starscream convinces Shockwave not to share his perspective

"It has taken me quite some time to fully comprehend that Earth and Cybertron have always been linked. Two halves of one whole; Primus and Unicron. And that to rule only one, would be to never truly rule either."
:—'''Megatron'''

''"Soundwave superior. Autobots inferior."''
:—'''Soundwave''' breaks his code just this once

"Can't we throw a tarp over him? He's creeping me out." 
"Yeah, it's like he's watching. No matter where you go."
:—'''Bulkhead''' and '''Smokescreen'''

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* The [[Omega Lock]] was destroyed by Optimus the last time Megatron tried using it to cyberform Earth, in "[[Darkest Hour (episode)|Darkest Hour]]".
* Ultra Magnus's hand was mangled by [[Predaking (Prime)|Predaking]] in the [[Evolution|previous episode]].
* The story of how Bumblebee lost his vocoder was established in "[[Operation Bumblebee, Part 1]]" and the novel ''[[Transformers: Exodus]]''.
* Megatron recalls how the formula for synthetic energon was collected from Ratchet in "[[Stronger, Faster]]".
* Unicron was discovered to be buried within the Earth in "[[One Shall Rise, Part 1]]".
* The Decepticons tried to extract the location of the Autobot base from Fowler in "[[Darkness Rising, Part 3]]".
* Ultra Magnus still wears the back hook for the [[Forge of Solus Prime]] as Optimus used for the [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]], the latter having been made by Ratchet in "[[Alpha/Omega]]".
* Optimus has learned his lesson about letting Laserbeak sneak up behind him as he did in "[[Project Predacon]]".
* In [[Regeneration (Prime)]], [[Megatron (Prime)|Megatron]] stepped in and disposed of [[Dreadwing (Prime) |Dreadwing]] when the latter tried to kill [[Starscream (Prime)|Starscream]]. Here he simply stands and watches as [[Shockwave (Prime)|Shockwave]] attempts to impale Starscream for not warning him about the incoming [[Autobots]] in the [[Evolution|previous episode]]. Most likely because he knew Shockwave wasn't actually going to kill Starscream.

===Transformers references===
* Speaking with his own voice for the first time in the entire series, Soundwave paraphrases one of his most famous lines, directly from the [[The Transformers: The Movie|1986 movie]]. He is voiced by his original G1 voice actor, [[Frank Welker]], using the same Dr. Claw-esque tone used for Soundwave's [[Soundwave (ROTF)|live-action counterpart]] in the [[Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (film)|second]] and [[Transformers: Dark of the Moon (film)|third]] films. The Soundwave from ''Transformers Animated'' states the same line only backwards, "Autobots inferior, Soundwave superior," in the episode "[[Human Error, Part I]]", and Aligned Soundwave previously uttered it (several times) in the ''[[Transformers: Fall of Cybertron|Fall of Cybertron]]'' video game.
* Bulkhead and Smokescreen's quoted fretting about Soundwave is near identical to [[Isaac Sumdac (Animated)|Professor Sumdac]]'s fretting about the [[Headmaster unit]] in "[[Three's a Crowd (episode)|Three's a Crowd]]" from ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.

===Animation and technical errors===
* After the Vehicons get away during the Autobots' first call out, the other Autobots sit motionless in vehicle mode while Optimus engages Soundwave and Laserbeak, only transforming after Soundwave is shot down. What are they doing?
* [[Captain Fanzone's car|Fowler must have a bunch of the same car.]] It was wrecked back in "[[Nemesis Prime (episode)|Nemesis Prime]]", but the one he's seen driving sports the same [[license plate]].
* Smokescreen damages Laserbeak's wing, but the damage disappears once Laserbeak reattaches to Soundwave.

===Trivia===
* Ultra Magnus appears unable to use the blaster in his right arm with his hand destroyed. This is similar to ''Animated'' [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] who could not use his hand if his wrecking ball cable was severed.
* Fowler wields a fire extinguisher against Soundwave, previously Jack's weapon of choice in both "[[Scrapheap (episode)|Scrapheap]]" and "[[Convoy (episode)|Convoy]]".
* The particle collider base has halls high enough to accommodate Transformers.
* Transformers' rear-view mirrors in their vehicle modes function as [[Sensor|optical sensors]]. This has previously been seen in episodes such as "[[Darkness Rising, Part 1]]" and "[[Speed Metal]]".
* This is the last episode of the series to use an [[theme song|opening theme]]; all following episodes only show the show's title and the showrunners' names much like the pilot.
* Despite directly continuing the story from "Evolution", this episode features no recap sequence as the majority of episodes that formed a story arc had. This was no doubt cut to save time for the actual episode itself, due to the serialized plot coming to a close with the end of the series being nigh.
* UK TV guides for this episode incorrectly call Soundwave "Shockwave".

===Foreign localization===

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Menos Um'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 7|7 December]] [[2013]]

'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Complot planétaire'''" ("Planetary Conspiracy")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Minus Eins'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 11|11 October]] [[2013]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Mínusz egy'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 13|13 September]] [[2013]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Il più piccolo'''" ("The smallest")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 6|6 September]] [[2013]]

'''Spanish (Spain)'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Menos uno'''" ("Minus One")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 27|27 October]] [[2013]]

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season 3 Volume 3: Omega Lock ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season 3 Volume 2: Race for Salvation ([[Primal Screen]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Saison 3 Volume 2: L'ultime affrontement (Primal Screen) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Staffel 3 Teil 2: Auf zur Rettung (Primal Screen) — English, German, Dutch and French audio. 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Intégrale Saison 3 (Primal Screen) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — The Complete Season 3 (Primal Screen) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Die komplette Staffel 3 (Primal Screen) — English, German, Dutch and French audio. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — The Complete Season 3 (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.
;Blu-ray
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2016 — ''Transformers Prime: Beast Hunters'' — Season Three Collection (Madman Entertainment) 

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

The Transformers: The Movie

2025-06-24T08:36:15Z

TankCatapult: /* Animation errors */

{{disambig3|Transformers: The Movie}}
{{movie|
|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=A long time ago in a galaxy far far away....
|production code=4034
|production companies=[[Sunbow Productions]] [[Marvel Productions]]
|distributor=[[Dino De Laurentiis|De Laurentiis Entertainment Group]]
|executive producer=[[Tom Griffin]] [[Joe Bacal]]
|screenplay by=[[Ron Friedman]]
|directed by=[[Nelson Shin]]
|cinematography by=[[Masatoshi Fukui]]
|edited by=[[David Hankins]]
|music by=[[Vince DiCola]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|release date=[[August 8]], [[1986]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|runtime=85 minutes
|budget=$5–6 million
|box office=$2.6–5.8 million
|credits=The Transformers: The Movie/credits
}}
{{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]]}}

'''''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/Generation 1|Unicron]] who eats other planets, and is approaching [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. As part of their continuing wars, the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s have a [[Battle of Autobot City|fierce battle]] on [[Earth]] which sees both [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] mortally wounded. Prime passes the [[Matrix of Leadership]] to [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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. Of particular note, Optimus Prime and Starscream are both 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==
[[File:TFTM Unicron Lithone.jpg|left|thumb|That's no moon.]]
[[Unicron/Generation 1|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 (planet)|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.

[[File:Tftm1986a.jpg|thumb|Commander, tear this ship apart until you've found those plans. And bring me the passengers; I want them alive!]]
Plans for the attack are overheard by [[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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 of Autobot City|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 is severe.

[[File:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|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 (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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, the monstrous planet, 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, including the mortally wounded Megatron. Too injured to save himself, Megatron is tossed out into space by [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], who claims leadership of the Decepticon army.

[[File:TFTM Starscream chucks Megatron.jpg|thumb|Into the garbage chute, flyboy.]]
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. After some coercion on the planetoid's part, Megatron agrees, and is [[Reformatting|reformatted]] into [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. The other Decepticons are turned into [[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]], [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], and the [[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]]. 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.

[[File:Tftm1986c.jpg|left|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 (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, [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]], and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], find themselves separated and in a hostile environment. Hot Rod and Kup battle a [[Sea squid|giant squid]], are captured by a pack 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 (G1)|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 (species)|Sharkticons]]. The tide is turned, and the Autobots commandeer a [[Quintesson Cruiser]].

[[File:Tftm1986d.jpg|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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]], [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]], [[Springer (G1)|Springer]], [[Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]], and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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 and destroy Unicron.

[[File:TFTM Unicron smashes cybertron.jpg|thumb|left|Rebel base in range. You may fire when ready.]]
Galvatron attempts to open the Matrix to use its power against Unicron and force his master into submission, but is unable to open it. 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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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.

[[File:Tftm1986e.jpg|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]].
{{--}}

==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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]] ([[Susan Blu]])
*[[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] ([[John Moschitta]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (Peter Cullen)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (Michael Bell)<ref group="fc" name="crednolines">Credited and appeared, but had no speaking lines.</ref>
*[[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]])<ref group="fc" name="creduncertain">Credited, but may or may not have appeared through an animation error.</ref>
*[[Auto-combatant]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Eject (G1)|Eject]]
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]]
*[[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]]
*[[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]]
*[[Wheeljack (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Wheeljack]]
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]]
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]]
*[[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]]
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]]
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]]
*[[Hound (G1)|Hound]]
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]]
*[[Bluestreak (G1)|Bluestreak]]
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]]<ref group="fc" name="crednoapp">Credited, but did not appear.</ref> ([[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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]] ([[Roger C. Carmel]])
*[[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] ([[Stan Jones]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Devastator (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Devastator]] ([[Arthur Burghardt]])
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (Michael Bell)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (Neil Ross)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (Neil Ross)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (Don Messick)<ref group="fc" name="appearnocredit">Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.</ref>
*[[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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Shockwave]] (Corey Burton)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] ([[Bud Davis]])<ref group="fc" name="crednolines"/>
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Ed Gilbert]])
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] (Chris Latta)<ref group="fc" name="appearnocredit">Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.</ref>
*[[Ravage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ravage]] (Frank Welker)<ref group="fc" name="appearnocredit">Appeared and had speaking lines, but not credited.</ref>
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]]
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]]
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]]
*[[Skywarp (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Skywarp]]
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]]
*[[Reflector (G1)|Reflector]]
*[[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]]
*[[Cyclonus's Armada (G1)|Cyclonus's Armada]]
|h3=[[Junkion (species)|Junkions]]|c3=
*[[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] ([[Eric Idle]])
*[[Junkyard (G1)|Junkyard]] (Bell)
*[[Scrapheap (G1)|Scrapheap]] (Welker)
*[[Rubbish]]
*[[Re-Cycle]]
*[[Trashbin]]
*[[HAZMAT]]
*[[Ashtray]]
*[[Wasteoid Gamma]]
*[[Greasestain]]
|h4=Others|c4=
'''[[Human]]s'''
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (Corey Burton)
*[[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] ([[David Mendenhall]])

'''[[Lithone (species)|Lithones]]'''
*[[Kranix (G1)|Kranix]] ([[Norman Alden|Norm Alden]])
*[[Arblus]]

'''[[Quintesson]]s'''
*[[Quintesson Prosecutor|Quintesson leader]] (Roger C. Carmel)
*[[Quintesson Judge (G1)|Quintesson Judge]] ([[Regis Cordic]])
*[[Quintesson Executioner (G1)|Quintesson Executioner]]
*[[Quintesson Bailiff]]
*[[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticons]]
*[[Allicon]]s

'''Other'''
*[[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]] ([[Orson Welles]])
|nonumbering=true
}}
<references group="fc"/>

==Quotes==
[[File:TFTM European intro.jpeg|thumb|upright=1.4|It is a period of civil war. Rebel spaceships, striking from a hidden base, have won their first victory against the evil Galactic Empire.]]
"Now all we need is a little energon and a lot of luck." 
"More than you imagine, Optimus Prime."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' and '''Megatron''' tempt fate.

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

"First, we crack the shell... then we crack the nuts inside."
:—'''Rumble''' bravely raids Autobot City.

"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." 
:—'''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.

"Soundwave superior, Constructicons inferior."
:—'''Soundwave''' insults the combiner team.

"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.

"Oh shit! What are we gonna do now!"
:—'''Spike''' says the movie’s most infamous line.

"Kup and Hot Rod just bought it!" 
"I can't deal with that now!"
:—'''Springer''' and '''Ultra Magnus''' assess the situation.

"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.

"Spare me this mockery of justice!"
:—'''Kranix''' is upset at being found innocent.

"You check in, but you don't check out."
:—'''Wreck-Gar''' making a reference to the tagline from the "Roach Motel." commercials

"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...

"Destiny... You cannot... destroy... my... destiny!"
:—'''Unicron'''{{'}}s final words.

"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]]...for now.

==Season 5==
When ''The Movie'' was broadcast in [[The Transformers (cartoon)#Season 5|the fifth season]] of ''The Transformers'', it was broken into 5 parts (designated "Days") and given new bookending segments with original story material.

===Day One===
[[File:TommyPrimeSeason5BumperMovie.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|You just watch yourself. We're wanted men. I have the death sentence on twelve systems.]]
[[Tommy Kennedy|Tommy]] meets up with [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] in the barren wasteland and Prime is concerned with the black eye and many bruises Tommy is sporting. Tommy explains that some "big guys" at school tried to rough him up (and by all visual evidence, succeeded). Tommy asks Prime if he'd ever faced any "big guys" in his many adventures and Prime decides to tell him about the time he faced the "biggest guy" of them all, [[Unicron/Generation 1|Unicron]]...

Optimus leaves off at the point during the [[Battle of Autobot City]] when Megatron broke their defenses to let the slaughter begin. Optimus gruesomely teases his own death scene to a very confused and concerned Tommy, but reassures him that until he can be revived as a Powermaster, the Matrix must be passed on to someone else who is worthy. Tommy wants to hear all about it, but Optimus doesn't have the time. Apparently, he needs to meet up with [[Joyride (G1)|Joyride]] and help him [[Space bridge technician|repair]] the [[Space bridge]]. Tommy asks if he can tag along and Optimus tells him that if he can lift one of their two-ton screwdrivers, he can even help. They summarily blast off into space.
{{-}}

===Day Two===
[[File:PrimeExplodingMemoryChip.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|I've lost R2!]]
Tommy and Optimus meet up in the barren wasteland, though Prime isn't sure what Tommy wants. Tommy reminds him that he promised to tell him more about Unicron and Prime concedes that he's been having trouble with his memory chip, lately. Tommy tells him all about the Battle of Autobot City, but none of it rings a bell for Optimus. Prime asks Tommy to open up an access panel in the back of his head and check the circuit. Tommy repairs the circuit, jogging Prime's memory...

Prime leaves off at the point where [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] and [[Cliffjumper (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cliffjumper]] are eaten by Unicron. Tommy demands to hear more of the story, but Prime's memory chip explodes and smoke pours from the side of his head. All he sees are brief flashes of the further adventures of [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hot Rod]] and the rest. The furthest he can see, though, is the "death" of [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] when his shuttle is blown up by [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Tommy expresses discontent, citing that the Autobots are "too cool to die". Prime says he knows there's more to the story, but with his faulty memory chip, he can't access the details. Tommy insists they get his chip fixed and so they blast off into space to do just that.
{{-}}

===Day Three===
[[File:TommyKennedyTraumatized.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|I can't even see. How am I supposed to fight?]]
Tommy finishes the repairs on Prime's memory chip, much to Prime's relief. Tommy asks Prime to test it out by continuing his story about the battle against Unicron. Prime indulges Tommy's request...

Prime leaves off at the point where [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] and Hot Rod are taken to the [[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticon]] pits and watch as the survivors of [[Lithone (planet)|Lithone]] are executed. Tommy begs Prime to stop, claiming that the story thus far is too intense and depressing for him to handle. Prime asks if he wants to hear about how Kup and Hot Rod are fed to the Sharkticons, how the Autobots are menaced by "aliens made of junk" or how Ultra Magnus is blown to pieces by [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. Tommy suddenly changes his mind and demands to hear all the gory, macabre details. Prime sets Tommy back down in the barren wasteland and promises to return soon to transform his day into an adventure. He then blasts off into space.
{{-}}

===Day Four===
[[File:PrimeTommyStopMotion.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|If there's a bright center to the universe, you're on the planet it's farthest from.]]
Tommy and Optimus meet up once again in the barren wasteland. Tommy asks why Prime is so late for their appointment and Prime confesses that [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] took a wrong turn on the way over. Prime wishes he hadn't let the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] fly the shuttle. Tommy asks if Prime has enough time to tell him more of the story and Prime assures him there's time enough...

Prime leaves off at the point where the Autobots team up with the [[Junkion (species)|Junkion]]s to battle Unicron. Tommy is incredulous, wondering what a bunch of aliens made of junk could possibly contribute to the battle against Unicron. Prime informs him that great adversities often bring out the best in people, citing Hot Rod as an example. Tommy begs to hear how the story ends, but Prime says that he must first take Grimlock to have his "brain circuits" upgraded. Setting Tommy down, Prime promises to be back soon to transform his day into an adventure. Then he blasts off into space.
{{-}}

===Day Five===
[[File:StanBushTheTouchMusicVideoRecordLabelNotes.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|He made a fair move. Screaming about it won't help you.]]
Meeting again in the barren wasteland, Optimus asks Tommy if he's ready to hear the end of the story. Contrary to all the enthusiasm Tommy has shown during past storytimes, the human child laments that he's forgotten most of the tale thus far (offering the flimsy excuse that his lack of an electronic brain makes remembering so many details impossible). Prime gives him "a quick rundown" (that takes ''four minutes'') and then proceeds to finish the epic yarn...

Prime finishes the story with the destruction of Unicron, the ascension of Rodimus Prime and the exile of the Decepticons. Prime asks Tommy if he's satisfied, but Tommy just has more questions. Like what was up with the [[Quintesson]]s? Did they drop Grimlock on his head when he was a kid? And how did they ever bring Prime back to life? Prime tells Tommy to slow down. He has to attend an interstellar peace conference, but until he returns, he leaves Tommy with... [[The Touch|THE TOUCH!!!]]
{{--}}

==Production timeline==
* First script outline by Ron Friedman: revisions from 15th August 1984 to 19th September 1984
* [[The Transformers: The Movie (first draft)|First draft script]] by Ron Friedman: submitted November 12th 1984. Revised February 13th 1985.
* Reference photos of Powered Convoy toy designated as Ultra Magnus, provided to Ron Friedman: Taken 18th March 1985
* Second script outline by Ron Friedman: revised 28th March 1985
* [[The Transformers: The Movie (second draft)|Second draft script]] by Ron Friedman: completed 27th April 1985. Revised 2nd May 1985
* Model sheets approved 14th June 1985: Cyclonus, Galvatron (Marvel model with revised head), Hot Rod, Kranix (the pre-final model, can be seen with Granix name on it), Quintesson Judge (colour approved on 18th November 1985 by J. Bacal), Rodimus Prime, Scourge/Sweep, Sharkticon, Unicron robot mode, Wheelie, Wreck-gar
* Model sheets approved 24th June 1985: Ultra Magnus robot mode(first Powered Convoy version)
* Model sheets approved 2nd July 1985: Ultra Magnus (Initial Toei design. Colour revised on 20th July 1985)
* Model sheets approved 19th July 1985: Arblus robot mode, Spike (final model), Ultra Magnus vehicle mode(first Powered Convoy version)
* Model sheets approved 29th July 1985: Quintesson Prosecutor (a.k.a Quintesson leader. Approved by J. Bacal on 18th December 1985)
* Model sheets approved 31st July 1985: Arblus spaceship mode
* Voice actor auditions for Wheelie: 4th September 1985
* Model sheets approved 6th September 1985: Rewind flip side of the cassette mode
* Dialogue recording (main sessions): 10th and 11th September 1985
* Model sheets approved 3rd October 1985: Rewind and Eject
* Model sheets approved 8th October 1985: Lithonian Scientist, Lithonian Woman no.1

* Storyboard sequence 1 (Attack on Lithone): Final 31st October 1985
* Storyboard sequence 2 (Title sequence): Final 31st December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 3 (2005): Final 31st October 1985
* Storyboard sequence 4 (More Than You Imagine): Final 31st October 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985.
* Storyboard sequence 5 (Attack On The Shuttle): Final 31st October 1985
* Storyboard sequence 6 (Gone Fishin'/Dare): Final 4th November 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 7 (Battle Of Autobot City, part 1): Final 14th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 8 (Battle Of Autobot City, part 2): Final 31st October 1985. Revised Final 14th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 9 (Death Of Optimus Prime): Final 7th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 10 (Witness To A Funeral): Final 7th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 11 (Contest For Leadership): Final 4th November 1985. Revised Final 13th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 12 (Transformation): Final 11th November 1985. Revised Final 26th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 13 (Coronation): Final 10th December 1985. Revised Final 18th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 14 (Destruction Of Moonbase One): Final 10th December 1985. Revised Final 19th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 15 (Escape): Final 16th December 1985. Revised Final 24th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 16 (Pursuit): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 17 (Nothin's Gonna Stand In Our Way): Final 11th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 18 (Arrival On Junk): Final 12th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 19 (Unwelcome Visitors): Final November 14th 1985. Revised Final 27th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 20 (The Matrix Survives): Final 12th November 1985. Revised Final 25th November 1985
* Storyboard sequence 21 (An Unexpected Friend): Final 18th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 22 (Destruction Of Moonbase Two): Final 17th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 23 (Ambush): Final 11th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 24 (Judgement/Rescue): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 25 (Another Leader Dies): Final 9th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 26 (Unusual Allies): Final 19th December 1985. Revised Final 31st December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 27 (The Enemy Revealed): Final 12th December 1985. Revised Final 26th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 28 (Confrontation): Final 19th November 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 29 (United Against The Enemy): Final 20th November 1985. Revised 4th December 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 30 (In The Belly Of The Monster): Final 20th November 1985. Revised 3rd December 1985. Revised Final 6th December 1985
* Storyboard sequence 31 (Their Darkest Hour): Final 2nd December 1985. Revised 19th December 1985. Revised Final 31st December 1985

==Animation errors==
[[File:TFTM Unicron Small.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|We’re doomed.]]
*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.
*Coloring errors:
**When the closeup of Cliffjumper doing his countdown is shown, his shoulders are blue (like his windows) instead of red.
**Scavenger's head is white instead of black as he ducks from Prowl's shot aboard the shuttle.
**Blaster's forehead is red instead of white after his "look out and shout!" line, and again after he returns to [[robot mode]].
**In the big lineup of firing Decepticons in Autobot City, Soundwave's cheek guards are blue instead of white.
**When Blaster asks Perceptor "What's shakin'?", a Dirge-colored Seeker flies by the window. However, it appears to be the standard Starscream/Thundercracker/Skywarp design, instead of having Dirge's unique wings.
**As Devastator lays into the walls, Shrapnel is white where he should be black.
**Megatron's pelvis is white instead of black as he gives the "let the slaughter begin!" order.
**When the Dinobots jump out of Optimus Prime's Shuttle, the shuttle is colored like the first shuttle, which Megatron boarded, instead of red-highlighted scheme of Prime's shuttle.
**When Prime says "No matter the cost", the shuttle is painted completely orange, when the front should have red and white highlights.
**In the shot of Decepticons running in Autobot City prior to them being crashed through by Optimus, Ramjet can be seen sporting Dirge's wings, albeit in red just like Ramjet's. Or maybe this is Dirge incorrectly painted in Ramjet's colours. Who knows?
**When Prime drives up behind the Decepticons, Blitzwing's helmet is purple instead of yellow. Prime's trailer is missing its Autobot symbol as well.
**After Megatron asks, "Why throw away your life so recklessly?", Optimus' left hand is colored red instead of blue when he replies "That's a question you should ask yourself, Megatron".
**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.
**Prime's antennae are white as he tries to stand after knocking Megatron off the ledge.
**Starscream's whole nosecone, rather than just the canopy, is yellow as he looms over the fallen Megatron.
**In the shot of the Decepticons jettisoning Thundercracker, Skywarp and the Insecticons from Astrotrain, Ramjet and Dirge have their colours swapped.
**As Starscream prepares to toss Megatron out the door, Soundwave's eyes are painted white like his mask rather than red. (Maybe he was sleeping, his excuse for not stopping Starscream)
**Starscream's cockpit shell nearest his head is colored like a canopy rather than gray, as he nominates himself for leadership. Man, even the A-list animation team couldn't keep this straight.
**The red stripes on Starscream's wings are noticeably absent during most of the Coronation scene.
**When dragging Arcee into the shuttle and two shots later when flying into space Magnus's Shuttle has Blue highlights instead of Red.
**After Springer runs past him, Perceptor's gun changes from red to white for a few frames.
**When Cyclonus is strafing what appears via editing to be Hot Rod's shuttle, it has red highlights instead of blue.
**When Hot Rod's ship is being watched by Galvatron trailing smoke it has red highlights instead of blue.
**In the shot after Magnus announces that he cannot deal with that now, his ship has blue highlights instead of red.
**Shrapnel's lower legs are white when he lands on Junk, instead of black. Must be a side effect of being dead.
**When Hot Rod tells the Junkions the universal greeting, the Autobot insignia on his chest is colored black.
**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 the Autobots fly through space after exiting Unicron's eye, Rodimus is painted in Ultra Magnus' colors (inverted).
*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.
*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 moves back to avoid the Autobots' fire, and a ''second'' Starscream is in front of the Constructicons without Megatron and is firing one of his arm rifles (this was probably meant to be Skywarp, as he flies into the shuttle and takes a seat at the controls once the Autobots are defeated). 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.
*When Brawn is shot, it can be seen for one frame that he is initially hit in the top of his chest. As he falls, the wound has moved to the front rounded part of his chest. Additionally, the wound changes from black to red for one frame.
*Per his standard cartoon appearance, Ratchet should have a [[Red Cross]] symbol on each shoulder. When he turns in his seat as Brawn is shot down, we can see one on his right shoulder, but when he stands to return fire on the Decepticons, the right shoulder's cross has vanished, and he's only got one on his left shoulder. Then, when he falls, the cross is missing from ''both'' shoulders.
*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 completely intact, despite having a bunch of holes blown in it.
**Prowl, who turned gray as he fell (evidently dead before he even hit the floor) seems to be back in his normal colors.
*The reflections of Hot Rod and Daniel in the lake rarely line up with where they should be.
*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 Hot Rod begins to shoot at the hijacked Autobot shuttle, the yellow light on his forehead is misaligned.
*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 gray and black colors.
*Hound and Sunstreaker appear in Kup's group at the foot of Lookout Mountain 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 the movie's storyboard, only Hound is shown present with Kup during the roadblock scene. Sunstreaker's only appearance in the storyboard is when he exits the shuttle, meaning that his presence during the roadblock scene is purely an animation addition. Hound being in both places ''is'', however, an error in both the movie and the storyboard—''unless'', Optimus Prime and the Dinobots picked up Hound and Sunstreaker from Lookout Mountain enroute to Autobot City? Now there's an idea for the old [[Personal canon|headcanon]]!
**In a deleted scene from the storyboard that would've shown Hot Rod and Kup meeting up with Ultra Magnus inside Autobot City, Sideswipe is shown running alongside Wheeljack in the background. However, Sideswipe is mistakenly referred to as "Sunstreaker" in the script (how ''[[Sideswipe (G1)#Notes|ironic]]''). Whether this mislabelling had any bearing over Sunstreaker being present with the roadblock crew is anyone's guess.
[[File:ShockwaveBattleAutobotcity.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|We've picked up a new group of signals... enemy fighters heading your way.]]
*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.
*When Shrapnel and Kickback are eating the door, Shrapnel only has one antenna.
*A laser blast that should be behind Blaster is instead layered in front of him as he acknowledges Perceptor's orders.
[[File:TFTMRumbleFrenzytwored.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|[[FIRRIB|What]] about that [[R2-D2|blue one]]? We'll take that one.]]
*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 the red, white and blue color scheme of Smokescreen - who, in the storyboards of this sequence, was intended to be the one lying there dead.
*While Springer and Arcee are trying to move the launcher into place, Springer's face is the same color as his helmet.
*During Devastator's combination sequence in Autobot City, his chest plate, portions of his pelvis, his forearms, and Bonecrusher's treads are all green. The chestplate and pelvis should be purple, as should Bonecrusher's treads (they're ''normally'' green when Bonecrusher is separate, but they turn purple when he combines), and his forearms should be black.
*For almost the entirety of his screen time during the battle in Autobot City, the "jet engine" on top of Devastator's chest plate is misinterpreted as a trapezoidal block. The only time it appears in its proper shape is when he high-kicks Grimlock. It appears as it should during the scuffle on Astrotrain.
*While Perceptor and Grapple are shooting, Swoop's lower half runs by in the foreground, long before the rest of him gets there.
*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.
*Prime is missing the transformation sound as he blasts back to robot mode.
**If one listens ''very'' closely, the back half of one of the faster transformation sounds can be heard as his trailer disconnects from his body.
*The gun Megatron fires uses the same sound effect as his fusion cannon.
*When Optimus Prime takes the Matrix out of his chest to give to Ultra Magnus, the animators forgot to remove the cel of the Matrix inside his chest, as it's still in there even as he's holding it in his hands. Since it's not supposed to be there, the luminous effect for the Matrix's core is missing from the duplicate in his chest, creating a visual trick that makes it look like Optimus might just have removed the core itself. (The [[Matrix of Leadership#Universe|''Universe'' comic]] would later use this error as a springboard to reconcile the visuals of Optimus's chest interior with their depiction in ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.)
*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.
*When Megatron says "Nobody summons Megatron" his chest emblem is colored gray like his chest. It looks like it should have been painted as a darker shade of purple, as it's the shadowed section. But was painted gray instead.
[[File:TFTMStarscreamCoronationErrors.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4| *''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.
*In the establishing shot of Starscream's coronation, there are only five Constructicons (Bonecrusher had better things to do tonight) and they are miscolored as purple and white rather than their usual purple and green color scheme.
*Hook has two eyes instead of his normal 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 Galvatron says "Decepticons, to Earth!", aside from his mouth being partially open, his mouth doesn't move. I guess being reformatted by Unicron gives you the ability to talk without moving your mouth?
*In the scene where Bumblebee and Spike are in the [[Autobot frigate]] and escaping Moonbase Two's destruction, when the two are cheering after believing that Unicron has been destroyed, Bumblebee's on the left side of Spike's seat. However, after Spike expresses his "colorful" reaction to Unicron remaining completely unscathed, and when the frigate is about to get sucked into Unicron, Bumblebee is on the right side of Spike's seat.
*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. Also so is Daniels head, which is drawn as an indistinct incomplete circle.
*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.
*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. And his head then flickers between colors when mounting Junkyard.
*When Grimlock gets kissed, his eyes are round instead of triangular.(Probably intentional expression)
*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.
*As the Dinobots fly around Unicron, both his eyes are intact. (The left one had at this point been shattered.)
*The third smelting victim (who looks a lot like another Bumblebee) doesn't fall from the conveyor belt; he simply vanishes.

== Continuity errors ==
[[File:G1TFTM Snarl cameo.JPG|thumb|upright=1.4|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—in which at least one other Dinobot (Swoop in one, Sludge in another) is entirely absent. Hmm.
** On the other hand, the original production ''storyboards'' for the scene where Snarl first appears in the movie only mentions "the Dinobots", not a specific amount of them. Additionally, Snarl also seems to have been in the scene with Kup telling the Dinobots a story in at least ''one'' version of the film; the Japanese trailer for the movie has finished footage of this scene...but it's very different from the one in the film; the Dinobots are all in their robot modes, and Snarl is present in the scene instead of Slag. It's completely unknown why Snarl's appearance in this scene was cut.
*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 [[:File:BattleAutobotCity.jpg|seen ''very'' briefly]] during the battle for Autobot City. Or maybe it's [[Hauler]].
**The 1985 Decepticons (Astrotrain, Dirge, etc.) appear in the film.
**[[:File:TFTM-SideswipeRedAlertTracks.jpg|Tracks]], [[:File:TFTM-RedAlertDown.jpg|Red Alert]] (who was shot in the back by the Constructicons; his gun is the one Megatron uses against Optimus), and Smokescreen (who was supposed to be the corpse in place of Wheeljack next to Windcharger, Wheeljack instead surviving the battle and being part of a scrapped Earth-based subplot) 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.)
*Possibly the biggest example of the film's tonal shift from the cartoon, shots from firearms that would previously knock another character down at best have since become lethal, best demonstrated when Brawn and Prowl are each killed with a single shot by the Decepticons during the movie's first act.
[[File:Cyclonus armada tftf.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|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?
*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. Perhaps he continued expanding when transforming from train to shuttle mode?
*Speaking of which, Astrotrain's entire body flips over when he transforms from train to space shuttle to escape from Autobot City. While ''we'' applaud the [[Show-accuracy|toy-accuracy]], the Decepticons inside probably didn't.
*The damage suffered by Skywarp, Thundercracker, and the Insecticons basically appears out of nowhere when it's time for them to be jettisoned. While Shrapnel and Kickback are shown taking a beating early on, they appear shiny and new later in the battle, as do the two Seekers.
*Soundwave is loyal enough to pick up a wounded Megatron and save him, but then votes "aye" to jettisoning the wounded Decepticons, and 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.
*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.
*Given his relative position, Starscream's single shot through the trumpets defies all geometry.
[[File:SSBQ.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|"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]]'' and being able to take down [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] with one shot from 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.
*How did Hot Rod and Kup know to fly from Quintessa to Junk?
[[File:TFTMStarscreamVsUnicron.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Let me see your identification.]]
*When the Decepticons on Cybertron launch a counterattack on Unicron, all three of the first-year Seekers are seen fighting alongside the Coneheads. Given that all three were either explicitly killed earlier in the movie (Starscream) or have been turned into Galvatron's troops by this point (Thundercracker and Skywarp), they're obviously not supposed to be ''around'' in these forms anymore; of course, they could also just be [[generic]]s reusing their colors...but, as noted above, Thundercracker and Skywarp ''also'' appear at Starscream's coronation.
*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.
*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?
* Unicron's invincibility is extremely inconsistent; Moments before becoming Galvatron, Megatron creates visible damage to Unicron's horns simply by attempting to hold into something. Later, he doesn't suffer even a dent when one of Cybertron's moons is detonated in his mouth. Near the end, the Dinobots are capable of punching their way through his "skin", and Rodimus Prime just casually throws Galvatron into space through Unicron's side. Even without the Matrix, the small group of Autobots did pretty well against him.

===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.
*Springer escapes from Unicron's eye by transforming into helicopter mode and flying through outer space, where there shouldn't be an atmosphere for his rotors to provide lift. Maybe Unicron was still within Cybertron's atmosphere?

==Continuity notes==
*''The Transformers: 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 brand|Transformers]]'' are:
**The notion that [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] has moons.
**The [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] as a physical object, rather than the computer program previously depicted in the [[Marvel Comics|Marvel]] [[The Transformers (Marvel comic)|comics]]. Even the Marvel comics would eventually shoehorn this one in.
**[[Autobot City (disambiguation)|Autobot City]].
**[[Unicron]].
**The notion of [[Megatron (disambiguation)|Megatron]] becoming [[Galvatron (disambiguation)|Galvatron]].
**The idea of "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]]" being a rank rather than simply a given name.
**[[The many deaths of Optimus Prime|And it killed off Optimus Prime before it was cool]]!
*Cybertron's appearance in the post-titles establishing shot shows some major changes to the planet since our last look at it in Season 2. Many of the same buildings from the cartoon's stock image of the planet are there, but the giant pit near the planet's equator is mostly covered over, and the shredded portion of its southern hemisphere has been completely rebuilt.
*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.
**Megatron uses an "[[Lightsaber|Energy Dagger]]"<ref>[https://twitter.com/walruslaw/status/1204860124898181123 Reference sheets for various weapons used or planned for use in ''The Transformers: The Movie''] - TFRaw.com on Twitter</ref> during his one-on-one battle with Optimus Prime.
**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 [[GoBots|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==
[[File:TFTMUnicronSkyscrapers.jpg|thumb|I felt a great disturbance in the Force, as if millions of voices suddenly cried out in terror and were suddenly silenced.]]
*When the inside of Unicron is shown after he devours Lithone, the "blinking energy" effect of Unicron's innards shows, for a split second, what appear to be several images of post-apocalyptic buildings. These images look to be recycled background paintings from ''{{w|Fist of the North Star (1986 film)|Fist of the North Star}}'', a film [[Toei Animation|Toei]] had animated the same year. Regardless of animation efficiency/corner-cutting, the flashing images of ruined civilizations are eerily appropriate for Unicron.
[[File:TFTM Sludge Devastator.jpg|thumb|Your eyes can deceive you. Don't trust them.]]
*When Sludge gets haymakered by Devastator, his eyes pop out of their sockets in ''{{w|Looney Tunes}}'' fashion.
*Kup's storytelling sequence aboard the shuttle is drawn from the novel ''{{w|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 "{{w|Geronimo (exclamation)|Geronimo!}}" war cry, and the 1963 hit "{{w|Da Doo Ron Ron}}".
**"You check in, but you don't check out" - a parody of the tagline for {{w|Roach Motel (insect trap)|Roach Motel}} insect traps.
**"Breep, drit, aw rootie!" - part of {{w|Tutti Frutti (song)|"Tutti Frutti, aw rooty!"}}, from the 1955 song.
**"Happy motoring!" - the slogan of gas company [[Esso]].
**"Kill the Grand Poobah!" - a {{w|Grand Poobah|satirical term}} originating from {{w|Gilbert and Sullivan}}'s ''{{w|The Mikado}}'', likely referencing its use as the title of leaders of pseudo-Masonic lodges in ''{{w|The Flintstones}}'' and ''{{w|Happy Days}}''.
[[File:Tftm rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg|thumb|Easy? You call that ''easy!?'']]
*The Quintesson jail cell includes robot debris ''strongly'' resembling [[:File:Tftm rosencrantz-and-guildenstern.jpg#parts|several mobile suits]] from 1985 Japanese animation ''{{w|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.
**An AT-AT foot stomp sound is heard as the Autobot shuttle crash lands on Junk.
**The whir of an AT-AT's leg hydraulics can be heard part way through Unicron's transformation.
*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.
*[[Ziploc]] sandwich bags featuring an iron-on patch in boxed to advertise the movie. Each box contained one of eight potential characters.

==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)/Marvel Comics continuity|Wheeljack]] both survive the events, both later appearing in "[[Space Pirates!]]" (set in [[2008]]).

In addition, [[Shockwave (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|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 (G1)|Galvatron]] from [[Megatron (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Megatron]], which is dated to 2005, though [[Prowl (G1)/Marvel Comics continuity|Prowl]]'s death was overlooked. [[Prowl (TM2)|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.
*The original FHE video release of the film painted out all instances of Megatron's green-colored "bleeding" from the end of the battle of Autobot City up to his meeting with Unicron.
*Instead of DEG, the {{w|Rank Organisation|Rank Film}} "{{w|Gongman}}" appears before the British release of the film, as Rank were the United Kingdom distributors. Ironically, the DEG logo at the beginning uses the "Gongman" sounds, rather than its own fanfare, possibly due to a plastering mistake.

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.<ref>https://groups.google.com/g/alt.toys.transformers/c/B0ZMv7tdDMk?hl=en#8aee0b30765b2b4a</ref> No evidence has ever surfaced to back these claims; the only known edits of any storyline or character importance 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 and box office==
{{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]}}

{{quote|A surprisingly dark, emotional, and almost excessively cynical experience for Transformers fans.|2=[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_the_the_movie/ Rotten Tomatoes]}}

''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".

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.

''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 ''[[GoBots]]: {{gb|GoBots: Battle of the Rock Lords|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. ''The Transformers: The Movie'' currently holds a 62% "fresh" rating based on 25 professional reviews at online review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/transformers_the_the_movie/</ref> In response to the film's cult following, several reviewers have compared the film in a favourable light to the [[Live-action film series|live-action film]]s (prior to the unprecedented critical success of ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]''), stating that they lack the heart or nostalgia of the '86 movie.<ref>https://www.inverse.com/article/7309-6-enduring-legacies-of-1986-s-animated-the-transformers-the-movie</ref><ref>https://slate.com/culture/2007/07/transformers-why-the-original-animated-movie-is-still-the-best.html</ref><ref>https://www.cinemablend.com/new/Sorry-Michael-Bay-Why-1986-Transformers-Movie-Best-43582.html</ref>

===Box office===
An [[August 30]]th, 1987 ''Los Angeles Times'' article on the decline and fall of the DeLaurentiis Entertainment Group listed ''The Transformers: The Movie'' as grossing $2.6 million in the United States on a $5 million budget.<ref>https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-08-30-fi-5144-story.html</ref> Both it and ''My Little Pony: The Movie'' (which earned $2.8 million on a $5.5 million budget per that same article) were financial failures, together losing Hasbro about $10 million in an otherwise profitable year.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=... we just accidentally found the budget for The Transformers: The Movie while skimming a book about My Little Pony. Thanks, @sherilyn! https://t.co/epw3GW83lE|link=https://twitter.com/tfwiki/status/895169922678042625|name=TFWiki|site=Twitter|year=2017|month=08|day=09|(defunct=)}}</ref>

Confusingly, in comparison to the ''Los Angeles Times'' article, modern 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> list ''The Transformers: The Movie'' as having made $5,849,647 in domestic (e.g., United States) theaters. Comparing this with the other online box office takes from animated films of 1986, the results are not particularly charitable; while it did better financially than ''{{gb|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 1986 ''[[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 Animation|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.

Latter-day ''Transformers'' stories have made uncountable references (though [[The Transformers: The Movie/references|we're trying]]) to the movie, lifting or borrowing elements of its [[Minus One|dialogue]], [[The Transformers: Autocracy|fight sequences]], [[A Flash Forward|subplots]], [[Heavy Is the Head|details]], [[Less Than Zero|settings]] and more, as writers have discovered that a shout-out to the movie is a quick and easy way to win cheers from [[GEEWUN|some segments]] of [[Fandom|their audience]]. Even Hasbro and Takara themselves have gotten in on the act, producing a variety of toys based on the minutia of the film: [[Starscream (Armada)#Cybertron|Starscream's crown]], [[Galvatron (G1)/toys#United|Galvatron's creation]], the awakening of [[Hot Rod (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|Rodimus Prime]], and more. The fandom, for their part, pores over new ''Transformers'' fiction, often latching on to even the most tangential of details as a [[The Search for Alpha Trion#Quotes|"reference"]] to the movie, [[The Burden Hardest to Bear|coincidental or not]]. Call-outs, real or perceived, were once a rare treat - but now are so common that many fans are more likely to groan than cheer whenever some version of Optimus Prime declares that "[[One Shall Fall|One shall stand...]]" or a damaged character states that "[[Unfinished|I still function]]" or a vengeful blast is preceded by "[[The Illusion of Control|Here's a hint]]" or yet another Soundwave says yet another variation of "[[Human Error, Part II|Soundwave superior]]", or... well... this:

<center><gallery>
File:Transformersanimatedfilmposter.jpg|'86
File:TFTM1.jpg|'86 again
File:Botcon2000-movieposter.jpg|2000
File:TFvol1 31cvrRI.jpg|2010
File:Timelines10 diamonded.jpg|2014
File:Echoes and Fragments cover.jpg|2016
File:LL1 Riptcvr.jpg|2018
</gallery></center>

In 2016, thirty years after the release of the film, [[Optimus Prime (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Optimus Prime]] gave us perhaps one of the most meta comeback lines in franchise history. When [[Galvatron (G1)/2005 IDW continuity|Galvatron]] declares that "Today — one shall stand, and two shall fall!", Optimus simply punches him in the face with a flat "No cliches, Galvatron", voicing once and for all just how sick we've gotten of '86 quotes. {{storylink|All Hail Optimus Part 6: No Fair Fights|No Fair Fights}}

{{quote|...wait, I only just noticed something. Did they actually manage to go the entire episode without quoting the 86 movie?|[http://www.allspark.com/forums/topic/94625-episode-65-beast-hunters-episode-13/page-4#entry2360303 Allspark poster Unit Eleven]}}

==Criticisms==
[[File:TFTM Ratchet dies.jpg|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 [[The Transformers (cartoon)/cast|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/Generation 1|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 Optimus Prime's possession all along (even though Prime's open-chested repair scene in "[[Divide and Conquer]]" and his X-ray scene in "[[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.

[[File:Megatronlightsaber.jpg|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)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]] even has Princess Leia's hairdo!), the primary threat is similar (it's the [[Death Star]]... [[Unicron/Generation 1|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, Part 1|return]] when [[Cybertron (planet)|England]]'s need [[Darkest hour|is greatest]].
{{--}}

==Formatting==
[[File:Tftm widescreenesque.jpg|upright=1.66|thumb|The "widescreen" picture (left) actually ''cuts off'' the top and bottom of the fullscreen picture (right). Your eyes can deceive you; don't trust them.]]
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==
[[File:TFTM LaserDisc cover.jpg|thumb|The cover image from the original Japanese home media release of the movie.]]
*The movie was originally released in North America on VHS and Beta on [[September 17]], 1987<ref>http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1964&dat=19870911&id=YhAuAAAAIBAJ&sjid=Ls8FAAAAIBAJ&pg=3198,2881581</ref> by [[Family Home Entertainment]], minus Spike's swear. Just days before, on [[September 14]], 1987<ref>https://www.britishnewspaperarchive.co.uk/viewer/bl/0003579/19870910/016/0016</ref>, 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, [[Sohbi Kikaku|Hill Crane]] released a {{w|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 [[Rhino Entertainment|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.
[[File:Tftm uk covers.jpg|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 [[PlayStation|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, a looped version of the Lion ''Transformers'' theme on the main menu, and a subtitled version of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]".
[[File:Tftm sony covers.jpg|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. Also very notable is that this version includes an actual deleted scene from the animated film as an extra, though it is more of interest as a curiosity than anything it actually contains, being an approximately 2-second-long aerial view of the Autobots running towards the critically damaged Optimus Prime. 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.
[[File:Tftm madman covers.jpg|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.
[[File:ShoutFactory TFTM BluDVD.jpg|thumb|Shout! Factory's 2016 Blu-ray cover.]]
*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. 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.
*For the film's 30th Anniversary, and after being out of print in the US for 10 years, the film was rereleased on Region 1 DVD and given its first Region A Blu-ray release on [[September 13]], [[2016]] by [[Shout! Factory]]. Both versions are sourced from a brand-new 4K transfer which underwent extensive color-correction and remastering, and a Steelbook packaging variant of the Blu-ray was also made available.<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/film/action-adventure/the-transformers-the-movie-limited-edition-30th-anniversary-steelbook The Transformers: The Movie Limited Edition 30th Anniversary Steelbook]</ref> The Steelbook Blu-ray was released in the UK by [[Manga Entertainment]] as a limited edition on December 12, 2016, followed by a standard edition release a year later.
*On September 27, 2018, Fathom Events screened the movie at select theaters in the United States. The movie was preceded by an interview with [[Travis Knight]] and [[Hailee Steinfeld]] and a preview of a scene from ''[[Bumblebee (film)|Bumblebee]]'', and followed by a short featurette of Stan Bush discussing the music he contributed to the movie and performing acoustic versions of ''The Touch'' and ''Dare''.<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2018/08/01/1986-transformers-movie-hitting-theaters-one-night-only-369314 1986 Transformers Movie Hitting Theaters One Night Only!]</ref> Cineplex would later show the movie in Canadian theaters on October 4.
*For the 35th anniversary, Shout! Factory produced the first 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray release of the movie — presented in widescreen only — and a remastered fullscreen 1080p Blu-ray. Feature-length storyboards and the Stan Bush featurette from the 2018 Fathom Events screening were added as new bonus features. The two discs were first made available in a limited edition SteelBook with four art cards on [[August 3]], [[2021]]<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-limited-edition-steelbook?product_id=7636 The Transformers: The Movie [35th Anniversary Limited Edition Steelbook]]</ref>; a wide release in standard packaging followed on [[September 28]]<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-edition?product_id=7668 The Transformers: The Movie [35th Anniversary Edition]]</ref>, as did a third set comprised of the new fullscreen Blu-ray and a widescreen DVD<ref>[https://www.shoutfactory.com/product/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-edition-1?product_id=7667 The Transformers: The Movie [35th Anniversary Edition]]</ref>. Cover art for the new releases was created by [[Matt Ferguson]].
**Region B versions of the Shout! Factory 35th Anniversary discs were distributed by Funimation and released on [[October 25]], and an additional collector's edition set was made exclusive to Zavvi, packaging the 4K and Blu-ray discs with an art book, poster and six art cards.<ref>[https://www.zavvi.com/blu-ray/the-transformers-the-movie-35th-anniversary-zavvi-exclusive-4k-ultra-hd-limited-collectors-edition-includes-blu-ray/13169855.html The Transformers: The Movie 35th Anniversary - Zavvi Exclusive 4K Ultra HD Limited Collectors Edition (Includes Blu-ray)]</ref> Zavvi also partnered with Ferguson to release a line of art prints and apparel featuring his cover art.
*Fathom Events once again returned the film to select theaters on [[September 26]]–[[September 27|27]], 2021, accompanied by a set of [[The Transformers: The Movie 35th Anniversary Stop Motions|stop-motion comedy videos]] inspired by the film.

==Television broadcasts==
Following a segmented, five-part broadcast during [[The Transformers (cartoon)#Season 5|the fifth season of ''The Transformers'']], the complete feature film was aired on American television in 1989 via 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 [[Hub Network|The Hub]] on February 18, 2012, following [[Orion Pax, Part 1|the Season 2 premiere]] of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' on what was called "Transformers Mega Saturday". Uniquely, this version combined the European opening narration with the US scrawl-free opening credits, muted the two swear words (rendering the lines as "It isn't even dented! ...What do we do now?!" and "Open... ''Open!''"), 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 ("Strong enough to break the bravest heart..."). Subsequent re-airings on The Hub aired this version of the movie.

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.

A July 4, 2014 Hub broadcast of the movie markets it as ''Transformers: The Animated Movie'', distinguishing it from that computer animation/live action [[Transformers (film)|hybrid film]] with the similar title made two decades and one year later.

==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 ''{{w|G.I. Joe: The Movie}}'' and both films were in production at the same time.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20151215034944/http://www.joeheadquarters.com/interviews_dixon.shtml</ref>

*After reading [[Ron Friedman]]'s [[The Transformers: The Movie (first draft)|first draft]] of the movie's script, [[Flint Dille]] and [[Jay Bacal]] hastily wrote and proposed a script of their own, "[[The Secret of Cybertron]]", which later informed the cartoon five-parter "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]". Elements of this script also supposedly made it into the finished film, but no copy of the script has ever surfaced.

*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>
[[File:Windcharger wheeljack otp.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|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. Regardless, Shockwave was originally intended to appear in the immediate post-movie story "Five Faces of Darkness", serving in the role that was ultimately given to Blitzwing, before an internal [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]] memo clarified that his character had been dropped from the series.<ref>[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bid3TK_q2HxH7NR5MDAlGsKe5AlcbBnU/view Partial outline of "Five Faces of Darkness", covering Parts 3 to 5]</ref> Shockwave 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)#Generation 1 cartoon continuity|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.

*The Dinobots spend the majority of the film in their dinosaur modes, a practice that would eventually carry into season 3 of the cartoon. Swoop is the only one to spend extended amounts of time in robot mode, due to the anatomical issues of walking in a flight-based mode. However, there are some instances where they're briefly shown in robot mode for blink-and-you-miss-it moments, for no reason whatsoever. Additionally, despite his constant presence among the Dinobots, Sludge has no lines in the film at all.

*Unicron's roars in the movie were stock vocalizations originally created for Marvel Productions' 1982 ''The Incredible Hulk'' animated series and performed by voice actor Bob Holt, who voiced the [[Hulk]] in that show. Holt otherwise never voiced a character in the Marvel/Sunbow Transformers series (although he was a regular member of the ''{{gb|Challenge of the GoBots (cartoon)|Challenge of the GoBots}}'' cast as the original voice of [[Cop-Tur (GoBots)|Cop-Tur]]), and had passed away the year before ''The Transformers: The Movie'' was released in 1986. Thus, Unicron has the distinction of featuring ''two'' posthumous performances for the same Transformers character in a single production.

*[[:File: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]]".

*Pieces of music from the movie would later be used in the [[Commodore 64]] version of ''Turrican''. For instance, basically unaltered bits of "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWFx-Go6Y6A Escape]" make up [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w6jjpwpDVNY Subsong Two of the game's title theme].
*The shot of Unicron slamming his hand onto the surface of Cybertron would later be used for the toy commercial of his Armada self.
{{--}}

===Foreign names===
*''German:'' '''''Transformers: Der Kampf um Cybertron''''' ("Transformers: The Battle for Cybertron", TV airings only)
*''French:'' '''''La Guerre des Robots''''' ("The War of the Robots")
*''Japanese:'' '''''トランスフォーマーザ・ムービー''''' ("Transformers: The Movie")

==External links==
*[https://www.boxofficemojo.com/release/rl3212281345/weekend/ ''The Transformers: The Movie''{{'}}s box office domestic gross]
*[https://sunbowmarvelarchive.blogspot.com/p/mp-4034-transformers-movie-sunbow.html ''The Transformers: The Movie'' outlines, scripts, storyboards, concept art and model sheets]
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20211021062746/http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/movie/movie.html ''The Transformers: The Movie'' Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[http://web.archive.org/web/20080426020409/http://www.tftm.net/ ''The Transformers: The Movie'' "Unofficial Fansite", an extremely thorough site about the movie] (archived)
*[http://zobovor.tripod.com/transformers_the_movie_bloopers.html ''The Transformers: The Movie'' bloopers]

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Transformers: The Movie}}

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

Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5

2025-06-22T04:20:23Z

TankCatapult: /* Continuity errors */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=70
|series2=2010
|ep2=5
|prev2=Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4
|next2=Thief in the Night
|title="Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5"
|image=FFOD5_Galvatron_lever.jpg
|caption=How can he possibly resist the diabolical urge to pull the lever that could erase his very existence?
|season=3
|season ep=5
|airdate=[[September 19]], 1986
|written by=[[Flint Dille]]
|production code=700-90
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[AKOM]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBNvcUWzlpg
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''With Earth and Cybertron under joint Decepticon-Quintesson assault, the Autobots raise a last stand against their old enemies... and the race which created them.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:FFOD5 Decepticons attack.JPG|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Galvatron, can he join my armada?]]

The [[Decepticon]]s open a sortie against the [[Autobot]]s on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], and the initial attack took out the whole defense system. [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] tells the others to go, while he holds them off. [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] says that Magnus's courage will be remembered. Unsaid is the possibility that there will be no one to remember it. From their ship, the [[Quintesson]]s calculate that it will take less than a day to completely defeat the Autobots. After all, they've given [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] something worth fighting for...

On Earth, the new Decepticon battle station heads for [[Ark (G1)|Autobot headquarters]]. [[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] and [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] lead a counter offensive, but their efforts are stymied when the station [[Transformation|transforms]] into [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]]. Warpath orders [[Teletraan I]] to activate the defense systems, but Trypticon causes [[Mount St. Hilary|the volcano]] to collapse on the ship, destroying it. With his task there complete, Trypticon heads to his next target: [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]].

[[File:FFOD5 Predacons.JPG|right|upright=0.85|thumb|Know that there are five Predacons. The other guys are posers!]]

On [[Io]], [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] hurries to rescue [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]], [[Blurr (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blurr]], and [[Marissa Faireborn]] from certain death from the natives. However, the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]] arrive to steal the [[Transformation cog|Transformation Cog]] intended for [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]]. Initially, the Predacons turn out to be all bark with no bite. However, they merge into [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]], and manage to disorient Wheelie, Blurr, and Faireborn. However, Sky Lynx attacks Predaking, and causes him to separate. Sky Lynx orders the others to board him, and Wheelie discovers the cog.

Meanwhile, Galvatron orders [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] to give a status report to the Quintessons. However, Blitzwing overhears that the Quintessons don't have the [[Decepticon Matrix]]. What's worse, they want the [[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticons]] to pull a [[large switch]] which will deactivate the [[Transformer]]s all over the galaxy. Blitzwing tries to tell Galvatron, but the psychotic [[Decepticon leader]] merely beats him. Blitzwing realizes that there is one other option... side with the Autobots to stop the Quintessons.

[[File:FFOD5 Metroplex Trypticon.JPG|left|upright=0.85|thumb|Godzilla vs. Megazord!]]

On Earth, Trypticon has arrived at Autobot City, but Wheelie is able to get the cog to Pipes, who installs it in Metroplex. Coming online, Metroplex and Trypticon throw down. Their battle extends into another city (which everyone manages to evacuate from). Finally, Metroplex manages to overwhelm Trypticon, and throws Trypticon a great distance, where he lands in the ocean and sinks.

On Cybertron, Blitzwing, Rodimus Prime, and [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] manage to stop the Sharkticons, but Galvatron, thinking the switch is the key to the Decepticon Matrix, pulls it. With the Transformers offline, the Quintessons land on Cybertron. As the Quintessons enjoy how great it is to be home, Spike grabs Rodimus' weapon, and destroys the lever. Reactivating, an incredibly angry Galvatron begins chasing the Quintessons, who manage to escape. Galvatron then prepares to fight Rodimus, but Blitzwing pulls his weapon on Galvatron, telling him that this has to end. Galvatron banishes Blitzwing from the Decepticons, and orders the Decepticons to retreat.

[[File:FFOD5 Rodimus victory speech.JPG|right|upright=0.85|thumb|Optimus would have given a more rousing speech.]]

Rodimus notes that the battle is over for now, but the Autobot leader also notes that the Transformers may well have met their greatest enemies...
{{-}}

==Featured Characters==
{{featuredcharacters|c1=
*[[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (5)
*[[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (6)
*[[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (9)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (12)
*[[Pipes (G1)|Pipes]] (13)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (14)
*[[Swerve (G1)|Swerve]] (15)
*[[Tailgate (G1)|Tailgate]] (16)
*[[Outback (G1)|Outback]] (17)
*[[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (18)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (19)
*[[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (20)
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (21)
*[[Eject (G1)|Eject]] (22)
*[[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] (23)
*[[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (24)
*[[Blurr (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blurr]] (26)
*[[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (27)
*[[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]] (30)
*[[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (31)
*[[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (32)
*[[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (33)
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (48)
*[[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (49)

|c2=
*[[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (1)
*[[Cyclonus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cyclonus]] (2)
*[[Scourge (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Scourge]] (3)
*[[Sweep (G1)|Sweeps]] (4)
*[[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (11)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (28)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (29)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (34)
*[[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (35)
*[[Headstrong (G1)|Headstrong]] (36)
*[[Tantrum (G1)|Tantrum]] (37)
*[[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (38)
*[[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (39)
*[[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (30)
*[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (31)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (32)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (33)
*[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (34)
*[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (35)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (38)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (36)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] (37)
*[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (39)
*[[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (40)
*[[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] (41)
*[[Vortex (G1)|Vortex]] (42)
*[[Blast Off (G1)|Blast Off]] (43)
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] (44)
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] (45)
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (46)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (47)

|c3=
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (7)
*[[Marissa Faireborn]] (25)
*Cornpone
*Cornpone's Wife

|c4=
*[[Quintesson]]s (10)
*[[Deliberata]]
*[[Sharkticon (species)|Sharkticons]] (35)

}}

==Quotes==
"Why do you not flee? Did our last encounter teach you nothing?" 
"Not cowardice, certainly."
:— '''Galvatron''' and '''Ultra Magnus''' meet for the first time after the movie.

"Olé, sucker!" 
:—'''Wheelie''' the bullfighter!

'''Sky Lynx''': "If that is the worst the Predacons can do, we have little to fear from..." 
''[the Predacons combine into Predaking]'' 
'''Marissa Faireborn''': "You don't suffer from... overconfidence or anything?" 
'''Predaking''': "He does! But, he will suffer more at the hands of ''Predaking!''" 
:— Predaking makes his entrance

"Mighty Galvatron... there is no Decepticon Matrix!" 
[''smacks him away''] "Tell it to the Autobots!"
:—'''Blitzwing''' gets some inspiration from '''Galvatron'''.

"Faster, Pipes, faster faster faster faster faster! You gotta work faster because if you don't Trypticon's gonna stomp us and that's why we're gonna get..." 
"Blurr... shut up!"
:—'''Blurr''' annoys '''Pipes'''.

"This planet's not big enough for the both of us." 
"Me crush Metroplex!"
:—'''Metroplex''', the gung-ho cowboy, meets '''Trypticon''', the ravaging dinosaur.

"ENOUGH! This battle ends now, or I shall write its conclusion!" 
"You will never be welcome in the ranks of the Decepticons again!" 
"Sometimes it's better to be known for one's enemies."
:—'''Blitzwing''' is officially done with your scrud, '''Galvatron'''.

"We Transformers have looked into the face of our creators... and seen the face of an enemy."
:—'''Rodimus Prime'''

==Season 5==
{{note|When this episode was rebroadcast in [[The Transformers (cartoon)#Season 5|the fifth season]] of ''The Transformers'', it contained new bookending segments with original story material.}}

[[File:PrimeEmergencyBeaconMohawk.jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|right|Prime's mohawk has many practical functions you never knew about.]]

[[Tommy Kennedy|Tommy]] and [[Powermaster]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] meet in the barren wasteland and Tommy wants to know why Optimus is late again. Optimus explains that [[Darkwing (G1)|Darkwing]] and [[Dreadwind (G1)|Dreadwind]] slowed him down, but not to worry, he "demolished them". However, the whole sector is currently on alert, just in case they come back. Despite all this danger, Tommy asks Prime to finish the story...

In the end, Tommy is thrilled to hear that it took a ''human'' to ultimately save the day. Optimus says that the Autobots owe the humans their lives and Tommy volunteers to help him out next time there are any Decepticons to fight. Suddenly, Prime's flashing red emergency mohawk beacon goes off: The Decepticons are back! Optimus tells Tommy to get ready for battle and Tommy begins to renege on his offer to help fight. Prime accuses Tommy of being frightened which spurs the youth into declaring "let's do it!" Together, they blast off into space to meet the Decepticons in deadliest combat.

{{--}}

==Notes==
===Production information===
* Miniseries outline revised: 18th February 1986 (edited by [[Steve Gerber]])
* Voice actor call sheet prepared: 6th May 1986
* Dialogue recording session: 16th May 1986

===Continuity notes===
*The [[large switch]] was located at "coordinates omega-zero-one" within Cybertron. The Quintesson's emergency escape pod was on "level 14".
*Pipes cites the late Optimus Prime and quotes his catchphrase, "Transform and [[roll out]]!"
*Gadgets and powers:
**Bumblebee is shown with a rooftop cannon in [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] during the first attack run on Trypticon. The weapon appears to be based on that of Outback.
*Galvatron makes reference to his last meeting with Ultra Magnus, on the planet [[Junkion (planet)|Junkion]].
*This episode is the first and only appearance of Tailgate. Swerve would later reappear briefly in "[[Forever Is a Long Time Coming (episode)|Forever Is a Long Time Coming]]".
*The [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]]s make their debut (excepting an anomalous appearance by [[Tantrum (G1)|Tantrum]] in [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1|Part 1]]). They are either newly created, or have not been encountered by the Autobots before, as neither Blaster nor Sky Lynx are familiar with them. There's no indication of their origin; a Quintesson simply states that "We shall see how your Sky Lynx fares against... the Predacons." The team then arrives on Io in balls of fire.
**An origin for the Predacons' sudden arrival, as well as their affiliation with the Quintessons, was provided by ''[[TV Magazine]]'' in their [[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 (story page)|''Transformers 2010'' story pages]]. Evidently, the Predacons were built by the Quintessons during their alliance with the Decepticons.
**There's also an easy-to-miss gag there - the Quintessons intercept Blaster's statement that Sky Lynx is on his way to Io, and presumably pass it along to the Predacons. The egotistical Sky Lynx expresses surprise when the Predacons actually show up, saying they must not have received "Blaster's warning", that presumably being the intercepted transmission about Sky Lynx himself!
*[[Teletraan I]] would apparently survive destruction, in Japanese continuity, anyway. It would appear one final time in ''[[Transformers: The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'' episode "[[Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!]]".

===Real-world references===
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
**Laserbeak and Thrust emerge from Trypticon's chest with the sound of the ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'''s engine burst.
**[[Luke_Skywalker|Luke]]'s [[X-wing_Fighter|X-wing]] crashing on Dagobah can be heard as the Sweeps and Cyclonus spin into each other.
*It must be more than coincidence that the force attacking the city-scale Trypticon is made up entirely of characters from the Mini Vehicle range (plugging the new Decepticon's playset potential).

===Animation and technical errors===
[[File:Cyclonus oddity armadaesque.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.25|The worst part is, somebody in charge looked at all this and said, "Great job! AKOM, we're giving you the rest of Season 3!"]]
[[File:FFoDPart5Sandstorm.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|Hey look, it's a G1 version of [[Airlift Andy]].]]
*During the recap, Galvatron's "Very well, Junkions" line is not flanged.
*AKOM episode. Wrong color models. Colored mouths. You know the drill:
**Rodimus and Galvatron are both consistently colored using outdated color models; Rodimus's shoulder indentations are red instead of white, his pelvis-windshield details are white instead of light burgundy, while Galvatron has pale purple "underpants." Rodimus's gun is back to being the same odd blue/gray combo he had in Part 2; AKOM usually colors it red, though it should be black. It's also missing its "wings" when Spike borrows it.
**Blurr's mouth is blue. Almost everyone else, shockingly enough, has the normal grayish-black.
**Soundwave has a white backpack (visible as Sky Lynx flattens him.)
*The generic Decepticon army:
**In the opening pan, the entire Decepticon army seems to be made up of randomly recoloured Sweeps and Cyclonuses. Among the more visible examples are Sweeps colored like Breakdown and Wildrider.
**As Magnus turns to open fire, the foreshortening of his arm is bizarrely misdrawn.
**As Galvatron continues to descend and fire, an extra Cyclonus appears in Dirge's colors, alongside the actual Cyclonus.
***A Dirge-colored Cyclonus strafes Cybertron after the first commercial break.
*Coloring errors:
**Rodimus's spoiler ridge is colored yellow instead of orange as Kup laments the loss of the defense system.
**Scrapper's faceplate changes from grey to red as he listens to Bonecrusher.
**"We have no choice but to make our stand here" - one of Bumblebee's horns is drawn and colored as though it was part of Swerve's leg, which is behind it.
**In the second shot of Warpath's team of [[Mini Vehicle]]s outside Autobot Headquarters, Beachcomber is colored like Wildrider.
**As the Autobots watch Trypticon walk off, Warpath's back is grey rather than red.
**Ultra Magnus punches Ramjet, who spirals out of control. When he hits a wall and explodes, he's colored like Dirge. The error is particularly visible since Dirge himself gets the same punch-and-explode treatment a second later.
**The Autobot firing next to Perceptor and Slingshot appears to be [[Sandstorm (G1)|Sandstorm's]] [[character model]] in the color scheme of [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]]. He ''definitely'' shouldn't be there, as he's not introduced in-story until "[[Fight or Flee (episode)|Fight or Flee]]", but at least the miscoloration gives him an "out"!
**As he delivers the "Meet your fate valiantly, Autobots!" line, Perceptor's Autobot logo is all grey rather than just a grey outline.
**As Blaster despairs over Sky Lynx's absence, his helmet is white instead of red.
**Headstrong's [[beast mode]] head has a huge swath of black on it in two different shots.
**As Blurr throws the cog, Thrust flies past in Laserbeak's colors. This was probably intended to be Laserbeak himself, since Thrust just got swatted.[[File:FFOD5 Insecticons.png|right|thumb|upright=1.1|Maybe Cyclonus ''was'' [[Skywarp (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Skywarp]]. Or [[Insecticon clone|a clone.]]]]
**When Wheelie faces off against the big line of Decepticon troops, all three Insecticons are present, including two Shrapnels. Bombshell's eyes aren't colored in. Blast Off and Swindle are also in the lineup, despite appearing on Cybertron at the start of the attack there.
***When Sky Lynx jumps over/through the lined up Decepticons, the second Shrapnel is replaced by Soundwave.
**The late Ratchet is among the Autobots cheering Metroplex's victory, in Blaster's colors. Alongside him are Cliffjumper in Jazz's colors, what may be Ironhide in white and black, Sunstreaker in Bumblebee colors, and somebody colored like Blast Off.
**Springer and Arcee are shown among the frozen Autobots on Earth, despite being on Cybertron. Sludge is shown in the same shot in Grimlock's colors (and possibly with Grimlock's head.)
**As the Quintessons venture onto Cybertron, a frozen Sweep is shown with red (pink?) wings.
**A second later, the Quintessons walk past a frozen [[Rewind (G1)|Rewind]] (or [[Eject (G1)|Eject]]), drawn at the size of an ordinary Transformer and colored like [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]].
**Blitzwing's helmet is missing its yellow bits as he starts off after Galvatron and the fleeing Quintessons.
*Springer changes places between shots, going from Magnus's right to directly behind him (and back again when the first shot is recycled.)
*The click sound of the button pushed by the Quintesson to activate his monitor doesn't coincide with the actual push of the button.
*The Quintessons' view of Earth initially shows partly cloudy skies... then Trypticon just appears out of nowhere against the same sky. We'll be kind and not count this monitor view under "Improbable Viewpoints".
*Warpath neither moves his faceplate nor flashes his cheek blinkers when he speaks.
[[File:FFoD5 MiniVehicles.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4]]
*From shot to shot, Swerve's head goes from pink helmet and visor, to pink helmet and blue visor, to red helmet and blue visor.
*Swerve disappears after the initial shot of the Autobot ambush, and is replaced by Beachcomber.
[[File:Giantscamper.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4]]
*An establishing shot of Metroplex shows him sitting in the desert all by himself, without [[Autobot City (G1)|Autobot City]] anywhere in sight. He also has Scamper sitting in his "garage", drawn to toy-based scale... which means he'd be a hundred foot long car.
*Sky Lynx flies behind a smooth, featureless reddish celestial body. If it's supposed to be Io, it's ''waaaaaay'' too small, not more than a couple hundred feet across. In fact it's too small to be a regular round body.
*Io has changed colors; an establishing shot shows it to be red instead of the gray it was last time. Of course, the ''real'' Io actually ''is'' red.
*In the first shot of Blurr, Wheelie, and Marissa fighting the lightpoles, none of them is standing on Io's surface; they're floating several feet above it.
*Also, Marissa's ship is intact, but it was blown up in the previous episode.
*Improbable viewpoints:
**How does Blaster get an eye-level view of Marissa fighting on Io?
*Sudden starry night:
**The view of Trypticon smoking and damaged is set against a starry night sky, despite the scene occurring during the daytime.
**When Wheelie loses the transforming cog, three of the next four shots are shown against a blue sky with clouds, rather than the night sky of Io.
**Night sky is shown behind Marissa as she orders Blurr to "stop babbling"...
***And again behind Blurr as he prepares for his "lateral"...
****And again behind the cog as Wheelie throws it to Sky Lynx...
*****And again behind Sky Lynx as he flattens the Decepticon lineup...
*Once again, the animation fails to convey that the lightpoles are an actual threat.
*Powerglide gets a descending-pitch transformation sound as he changes to his plane mode and takes off. Launching aerial Transformers normally get the rising-pitch version.
*The Constructicons watching Trypticon on the hill are much larger than they should be.
*Five Autobots drive toward Trypticon, but the next shot shows only three getting kicked away.
*Pipes and Swerve seem to be firing lasers right out of their windshields.
*As Trypticon approaches Autobot Headquarters, the ship only has two engines sticking out rather than three.
*The sound effect for the shot that Trypticon fires at the camera lags behind the shot itself.
[[File:Cycloni ffod5.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4]]
*Cyclonus and his Armada:
**Four Cyclonuses are shown strafing Cybertron after the first commercial break.
**The next shot shows two Cyclonuses.
**While retreating from Cybertron, there are five Cyclonuses flying with Galvatron.
*When Galvatron transforms to fire on Ultra Magnus, his arm cannon flies off screen, and a new one comes out of his head to take its place in cannon mode. (Again!)
*Magnus and Galvatron's voices are muffled as if they were speaking by radio, even though there's no reason for them to do so. Dirge and Ramjet suffer from a similar though less obvious effect in the same scene.
*Bumblebee and Powerglide are briefly visible fighting alongside Perceptor against the Sweeps on Cybertron, despite being on Earth at the time.
*Blitzwing's voice isn't properly flanged as he acknowledges Galvatron's command to report to the Quintessons.
*Throughout the episode, the area around Blitzwing's Decepticon symbol changes. Sometimes it has lines above and below it, sometimes only above, sometimes none. Sometimes red, sometimes purple.
*In the establishing shot before Sky Lynx arrives, Marissa and the 'bots aren't even trying to fight off the lightpoles! Incidentally, Io's gone back to being gray.
*Sky Lynx's first transformation sequence lacks any transformation sound.
*The squawks that Sky Lynx lets loose after transforming are not by his voice actor! (The whole animal noise shtick for him would be dropped after this episode.)
*The Predacons get some bizarre use of the transformation noise. It plays as they emerge from the balls of fire that carried them to Io (a means of transport that they never used again.)
*Headstrong and Tantrum arrive carrying their guns, but a second later they charge into battle with their swords. They then proceed not to use either weapon.
*Sky Lynx's transporter section transforms to lynx mode, but is back in transporter mode when Blurr and Marissa run away from it.
*Blurr lacks a transformation noise as he changes modes to cross the canyon.
*Predaking gets the transformation sound ''every time he moves''.
*Sky Lynx's transporter section lacks the transformation sound as it converts to lynx mode again. Apparently, Predaking sucked up all the transformation noises from the whole scene.
*When Predaking fires his foot weapons, a laser emerges. The weapon's effect, however, is shown as a windstorm.
*Sky Lynx's combining sequence is a little messed up; his lynx legs are shown unfolding, but since his lower half was already in lynx mode, they should be unfolded already.
*Predaking's head is on backwards as Sky Lynx wraps his tail around it.
*As Trypticon approaches Autobot City, the city is shown in a barren desert. It had [[The Transformers: The Movie|previously been shown]] to be located in a lush mountain valley, and is shown that way again at the end of the episode.
*Slingshot is seen running about in Autobot City as it transforms, even though he was last seen on Cybertron with Perceptor.
*Scrapper's mouthplate continues moving even as Mixmaster gives the order to fire. (And why is Mixmaster giving the orders, anyway?)
*As the Autobots exit Sky Lynx, the transforming cog is shown as a large gear wheel, instead of an orb-shaped device. Sky Lynx's windows aren't colored in, either.
*As the Constructicons try to tackle Wheelie, they're shown on a metal floor, despite the preceding and following shots being shown in the desert. Motormaster likewise goes from desert to metal floor as he accidentally tackles Bonecrusher.
*Sky Lynx clearly throws the cog horizontally, yet it somehow arcs so high that Trypticon can't catch it. As Trypticon lunges for the cog, it's the size of his fist—the same fist that easily held Outback earlier in the episode.
*When the Autobots are celebrating the safety of the transformation cog after the little game of catch with the Decepticons, two Constructicons and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] appear to be seen "raising the roof" along with them. The "Constructicons" are in fact Beachcomber colored like Long Haul and Groove colored like Scrapper, while "Frenzy" is really the Eject/Rewind [[character model]] in Frenzy's colors. Slingshot shows up again, too, alongside a Streetwise colored like Dead End.
*Metroplex is back in city mode as Trypticon prepares to stomp him.
*The hand that topples Trypticon does not come from the actual location where Metroplex's arms are stored in city mode.
*When Metroplex transforms, Autobot City is nowhere in sight.
*Metroplex's single line is delivered in a different voice than that of his later appearances.
*Who knew Trypticon was so aerodynamic? After Metroplex throws him, he falls ''up'' in the second shot of him sailing over the landscape.
*The [[large switch]] stops glowing after the Sharkticons arrive.
*For some reason, a view of Cybertron is used as an establishing shot for Earth.
[[File:FFoD Part5 Frozen Metroplex.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4]]
*Blitzwing is shown with a purple Autobot insignia while being offered membership in their ranks by Rodimus Prime.
*The energy beams of the fleeing Quintessons don't line up with their bodies.
*Rodimus's gun disappears after Spike shoots the switch, but several shots later Rodimus suddenly has it again.
*As the Quintessons blast off in the escape pod, we see a group of generic Transformers who look a lot like those seen in Rodimus's flashback during the previous episode!
*Mixmaster and Scrapper are seen on Cybertron as the Quintessons escape, despite the Constructicons being on Earth.
*Sky Lynx is far too small as he and the others watch Rodimus on screen.
*Although both the [[Rhino Entertainment|Kid Rhino]] and [[Shout! Factory]] versions of this episode contain the correct unique opening titles for the story (one of only two parts of "Five Faces of Darkness" on DVD that do), the Shout! version incorrectly uses the soundtrack to the standard season three opening as now found on the broadcast masters to all five parts.

===Continuity errors===
*The opening pan over Cybertron shows it with two moons, even though Unicron ostensibly devoured both of Cybertron's moons during ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. One moon appears again as the Quintessons make their battle projection.
*Superhuman Spike:
**Survives a blast that trashes the room he's in and sends his Autobot friends flying.
**Has amazingly little trouble hoisting Rodimus's gun onto his shoulder.
*Powerglide notes that Trypticon has "''another'' transform," but at this point he's only seen it in the battle platform mode.
*So if everyone actually retreated to Level 2, per Rodimus's order, then who are all those Decepticons firing at? How long would it take them to gang up and overpower Magnus, if he's really the only one left?
*The answer comes a moment later, when Perceptor and company are seen to have ignored that order.
[[File:G1 FFODPart5 UltraMagnus punch Dirge.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.4]]
*Dirge and Ramjet both appear to explode rather fatally after Magnus punches them. Both will nevertheless show up alive and well in later episodes. Considering they were already seen eaten by Unicron in the Movie, this is not so surprising.
*Despite the absence of the transforming cog, both Autobot City ''and'' Metroplex are showing transforming to their respective battle station modes. Apparently, Metroplex only needs the cog to change into [[robot mode]].
*Most of the battle on Cybertron is shown happening on the surface, with no ceilings and blue night skies, despite Rodimus's order to retreat below ground. Yet Blitzwing still flies underground to report to Galvatron.
*Most of the Constructicons' appearances shows that Scrapper leads the team, so why the hell is Mixmaster giving the orders?
*There appears to be a human city quite close to Autobot city, but previously in the [[The Transformers: The Movie|Movie]], there were no signs or suggestions of a human city being nearby. In addition, this poses the question of why the Autobots or humans built their cities so near to each other despite the fact that Autobot City is often under attack by Decepticons.
*The Quintessons' wariness over the humans, previously touched upon in [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2|Part 2]] and [[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4|Part 4]], appears to have been well-founded, as Spike single-handedly foils their plan. Considering the nature of their endgame and that they were aware of the Autobots' "association with these humans," it begs the question of why the master manipulators never factored human intervention - and [[Large switch|kill switch]] immunity - into their schemes. On the other hand, it's not clear why Spike waited for the Quintessons to land and make their way "deep into Cybertron" before destroying the switch. Unless it was just his way of making a particularly showy point to both Galvatron and the Quintessons.
*Why exactly does the lever that causes every Cybertronian to shut down cause ''Grimlock'' to shut down? He and the other Dinobots were built on Earth!

===Trivia===
*Just from the episode alone, it's impossible to tell who the line "It'll be passing above us soon" is being spoken by, as it doesn't correspond to any of the known voices of the Autobots present. This just left Swerve and Tailgate as possible candidates for the line (since neither was ever seen to speak any other lines, it could have been either of them). The episode's script would later confirm that the line belonged to Tailgate, and was delivered by the eternally overlooked [[Ted Schwartz]].
*Scrapper's first line was written as the inexplicably Brooklyn-esque "Wot's da point? We're supoifluous" in the [[dialogue script]]. Actor [[Michael Bell]] delivered it as normal.
*This episode is the last appearance of the volcano, Autobot Headquarters, and Teletraan I. The computer would be replaced later in the season by [[Teletraan II]].

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Les cinq visages du mal, partie 5'''" ("The Fives Faces of Evil, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*This episode is one of those that has never been released on DVD in French.
::*Concerning the European French dub:
:::*The narrator mistakenly calls Marissa Fairborne "Marissa Fairnborne".
:::*Sky Lynx is called "Salvatron" in this episode. This name will most likely never be used again in the series.
:::*Despite being regularly named in previous seasons, Teletraan-1 is called "Command post" in this episode.
:::*For some reason, Rodimus Prime speaks ''extremely'' loudly for his ending speech.
:::*The final line "We Transformers have looked into the face of our creators, and seen the face of our enemy" was translated in a weird way: "We have managed to look our enemies in the face, and more importantly, our creator". In addition, it sounds like there is only one creator.
:::*Missing lines:
::::*The entirety of Powerglide's lines are absent. He fights in silence.
::::*Dirge and Ramjet's lines are missing as they attack the Autobots.
::::*The dialogue between the spinning Sweeps and Cyclonus are absent.
::::*Several lines from Sky Lynx are missing as he fights.
::::*Marissa's line "You don't suffer from overconfidence or anything?" is absent.
:::*Dodged names:
::::*The Quintessons do not name the Sharkticons.
::::*When launching the transformation cog, the Autobots simply says "On you!" or "Attention!" instead of naming each other.
::::*Galvatron's line "Blitzwing! What are you doing here?" is dubbed by "What? What are you doing here with them?".

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Die fünf Gesichter der Finsternis, Teil 5'''" ("The five Faces of Darkness, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (first dub):'' "'''I cinque volti del male, Parte 5'''" ("The Five Faces of Evil, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*Blurr says "meteorites" instead of "meteors".
:*''Title (second dub):'' "'''Le cinque facce dell'oscurità, Parte 5'''" ("The Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' クインテッサ星人の陰謀 (''Quintessa Seijin no Inbō'', "Conspiracy of the Quintessons")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 12]], [[1986]]
::*[[Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers 2010 (story page)|Part 3]] of the ''Transformers 2010'' [[story page]]s published in ''[[TV Magazine]]'' crafts an origin to explain the sudden existence of the [[Predacon (G1)|Predacon]]s in this episode. According to the story page, the Predacons were built by the [[Quintesson]]s during their brief alliance with the Decepticons to aid their allies in battle.
::*When Pipes's name caption appears onscreen, though the narrator correctly refers to him as "Pipes", the caption misspells his name as パイプ (''Paipu'' "Pipe") instead of パイプス (''Paipusu'' "Pipes").

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Wǔmiànguài (5)'''" (五面怪 (五), "Five-Faced Monsters (5)")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''A Desforra, Quinta Parte'''" ("The Rematch, Fifth Part")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Pyatj likov tjmy (Chastj 5)'''" (Пять ликов тьмы (Часть 5), "Five Faces of Darkness (Part 5)")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness ([[Family Home Entertainment]])
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1990 — ''The Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness (Family Home Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2002 — ''Transformers'' — Five Faces of Darkness: Parts 1-5 ([[Maverick Entertainment|Sony Wonder]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 4: Series 3.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20230305021906/http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/season-3/synopses/700-90.html Episode Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bid3TK_q2HxH7NR5MDAlGsKe5AlcbBnU/view?usp=sharing Miniseries outline, covering parts 3 to 5]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aYoDgowwMMtdozkbRivxA7JJ7c3pIhMh/view?usp=sharing Full episode script]

[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]

User:TankCatapult

2025-06-14T19:58:51Z

TankCatapult: Created page with "Hi, my name's TankCatapult, I'm 27 at time of writing, from and made of parts unknown. My favorite Transformers is the blue one :)"

Hi, my name's TankCatapult, I'm 27 at time of writing, from and made of parts unknown.

My favorite Transformers is the blue one :)

Scrapheap (episode)

2025-06-14T06:57:31Z

TankCatapult: /* Errors */

{{disambig2|the ''Prime'' episode|the Generation 1 Junkion|Scrapheap (G1)}}
{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 7
|prev=Masters & Students
|next=Con Job
|image=PrimeScrapletsEp7.gif
|caption=Aw, look at the cute little—
|title="Scrapheap"
|season=1
|season ep=7
|airdate=[[February 18]], [[2011]]
|written by=[[Marsha Griffin]]
|directed by=[[Shaunt Nigoghossian]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Allspark (company)|Hasbro Studios]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Odf6Si4u-Pw
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''While Optimus and Arcee are trapped in the Arctic, the base is invaded by deadly Scraplets.'''

==Synopsis==
Trudging through the [[Arctic]], [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] and [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] locate a huge pod buried in the snow. They take it back to [[Autobot Outpost Omega One|base]], where their systems are checked over by [[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]]. [[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus]] asks about the pod, but Ratchet says it can't be opened while it's still frozen. Even as it sits defrosting in another part of the base, the pod cracks open from the inside.

[[File:Scrapheap-adorableScraplet.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.1|Leprosy was never this adorable. As far as we know.]]

Optimus and [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] prepare to travel to the Arctic to look for more clues regarding the pod's origins, and Ratchet gives them some temperature sensors so they can tell when their core temperatures drop to dangerous levels. The kids arrive in time to see them off, and [[Jack Darby|Jack]]'s initially keen on going with them, until he finds out where they're headed. [[Raf Esquivel|Raf]]'s still interested in seeing some snow, but Optimus says the conditions are too harsh. No sooner have Prime and Arcee stepped through the [[GroundBridge]] than the ground bridge system goes down. While the Autobots start trying to repair it, Jack and [[Miko Nakadai|Miko]] start playing [[Generic racing game|video games]], and Raf wanders off. He's playing "being in the Arctic" in a corridor when he stumbles on a tiny, cute metal critter. He plays Fetch with it using a bolt...which it promptly eats. Happy with his new pet, he heads back to the control room, unaware that there's a sparking hole in the equipment behind him.

Ratchet's just dug out a GroundBridge component damaged by bite-marks, when Raf returns with his find. The Autobots react in terror to the tiny critter. The kids are surprised at the reaction to what the Autobots are calling a [[Scraplet]], but then the creature starts chowing down on Bumblebee, and Raf has to beat it to death with a crowbar. Ratchet's suspicions as to the Scraplet's origin are confirmed when they check the Arctic pod and find it's been broken open — thousands of Scraplets now infest the base.

In the Arctic, Optimus and Arcee find their core temperatures have dropped into the danger zone, but Optimus is unable to contact base to request use of the ground bridge.

[[File:Scrapheap-Ratchetinfected.jpg|right|thumb|upright=1.4|{{w|Botfly|Ro-botflies}}]]

Ratchet discovers that the Scraplets have now broken the comm system. Bulkhead and Bumblebee are in favor of bugging out, but doing so will mean certain doom for Optimus and Arcee. After hearing Bulkhead's detailed description of what Scraplets can do to a 'bot, the kids volunteer to help. Since the Scraplets aren't interested in eating them, they pair off with the three Autobots, Jack helping Ratchet repair the ground bridge while the others hunt for the Scraplets. Miko and Bulkhead explore the corridors where Raf saw the first Scraplet, and after an embarrassingly girly scream and an encounter with a bunch of overhead cables, Bulkhead is set upon by the little monsters. Elsewhere, Raf and Bumblebee likewise run into a group of the things. Ratchet has meanwhile finished repairing the ground bridge, but it still refuses to function. As he investigates further, a swarm of Scraplets enter the main control room via a vent and begin flying overhead. They attack the terrified Ratchet, but Jack uses a nearby [[fire extinguisher]] to freeze them off. There are many more of the pests flying overhead, however, and as the others return from their search, the Scraplets attack and easily overwhelm the Autobots.

[[File:Scrapheap-huddleforwarmth.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.67|And not a tauntaun for miles.]]

While Arcee and Optimus try to keep themselves conscious and functional by talking, the kids manage to eliminate the Scraplets attacking their friends. However, from the sounds elsewhere in the base, it's clear there are many more lurking about. They come up with a plan to send the Scraplets to the Arctic by getting the ground bridge working, and Ratchet works out there must be an [[energon]] fuel line breach preventing the system from starting. The three kids take a tool kit and go to fix the breach. They're just finishing when the Scraplets decide it's time for lunch and break into the main control room, again attacking the Autobots.

Back in the Arctic, Arcee bemoans the frozen death that apparently awaits her and Optimus, especially after all they've survived so far. Optimus offers what words of philosophical comfort he can, and she says it's an honour to serve with him.

At the base, the kids rush back to the command room and let Ratchet know that the GroundBridge is back online. He opens the bridge to the Arctic before collapsing, and Bulkhead acts as bait, leading the Scraplets through. He arrives in the Arctic to see Optimus and Arcee staggering towards the bridge, and the Scraplet horde bursts through behind him. Optimus braces for attack, but the Scraplets rapidly freeze in the air and bounce harmlessly off him.

Back at base, Ratchet supervises repairs on Bumblebee and Bulkhead. He and Optimus pay tribute to the strength of their human allies, but just then Miko spots a spider and runs away screaming.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (1)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (2)
*[[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] (3)
*[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] (5)

|c3=
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (6)
*[[Jack Darby]] (7)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (8)

|c4=
*[[Scraplet]]s (9)

}}

==Quotes==
"The Arctic? I've always wanted to see snow." 
"I would invite you to join, Rafael, but the conditions are much too extreme, even for we Autobots." 
"I understand..." 
"But I will bring you back a snowball."
:—'''Raf''' is snow deprived and '''Optimus''' says things you would not expect a giant alien robot to say.

"If we don't eradicate these creatures immediately, they will reduce the entire base to a scrapheap!" 
"Well, I say we bug outta here and let 'em keep it!" 
''(Bumblebee buzzes in agreement)''
:—'''Bulkhead''' reminds '''Ratchet''' that there are times when you just run.

"Bulkhead, you ''never'' run!" 
"Miko, you haven't seen a swarm of these things devour a bot. I ''have''. They pick you apart from the inside out, going for the small, juicy bits first—fuse by fuse, circuit by circuit, 'til there's nothing left, and I mean ''nothing''...not even your optics."
:—'''Miko''' gets some nightmare fuel from '''Bulkhead'''.

"I get to be your bodyguard for once. How cool is that?!" 
"Raf found the first one here, right?" 
''(the lights turn off for a second and Bulkhead screams loudly)'' 
"Did you just scream like a little girl?" 
"No! ... Maybe. ... Can we talk about this later?"
:—'''Miko''' and '''Bulkhead''' searching, and a more hilarious reversal of roles cannot be found.

"What do you suggest? Wait. How about a game? Let's play 'Who Screwed Things Up Back at Base?'" 
"Our predicament could be the result of a simple malfunction." 
"Caused by Bulkhead."
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Optimus''' prove that when things go wrong, blame it on Bulkhead.

"Bulkhead may be...too large for this world, but his inner strength is without bounds. One should not be measured by size alone."
:—'''Optimus''' gives us a life lesson while finding a nice way to call Bulkhead fat.

"You know the worst part? After battling 'Cons all these years, smacked down, shot at, blown up, this is how our lights go out?" 
"Arcee, this may not be the finish that we had planned, but if this is indeed the end, if we are to be come one with the [[Transformer afterlife|Allspark]]..." 
"It's been an honor serving with you, Optimus Prime". 
:—'''Optimus''' and '''Arcee''' prepare to accept their supposed end. [[Thirst|Hey, look! (Almost all) These words repeated again!]]

"Ready for the main course? Come and get it!"
:—'''Bulkhead''', king of one-liners.

"I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess."
:—Seriously, give '''Bulkhead''' a crown.

"We're just fortunate that this infestation happened...on a Saturday."
:—'''Ratchet''' finds there's an upside to having human companions.

(''Miko screams loudly'') 
"Scraplet?!" 
"Spider! Is it on me?!" (''Miko runs away screaming'') 
"Did she just scream like a little girl?" 
:—'''Jack''' and '''Bulkhead''' learn that even '''Miko''' has her fears.

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
* Raf never did get that snowball. Guess Optimus was too busy dying to scoop some up.

===Transformers references===
* To everyone's surprise, these Scraplets behave similar to their [[Scraplet|namesakes]], but are closer in appearance to [[Mecannibal]]s.
* At the episode's conclusion, Bumblebee is hooked up to an "[[electropulse]]" monitor, a feature of Transformer biology that got its first and only previous mention waaaay back in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original ''The Transformers'' cartoon]] episode, "[[Divide and Conquer]]", when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] declared his to be fading.
* Arcee mentions Bulkhead running into power lines shortly after arriving on Earth, which recalls a different [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]]'s [[Transformers (film)|"tingly" encounter]].

===Real-world references===
* The initial search for the scraplets is called a "{{w|Aliens (film)|bug hunt}}".

===Errors===
* After Ratchet tries to communicate with Optimus and turns to look at the rest of the Autobots, the white part of his shoulder plate seems to slightly clip through his chest.
* When Jack, Miko and Raf reach the damaged energon fuel line, the breach on the duct is shown beneath, where the energon is seen dripping. When the kids seal the duct, they are shown doing so only on its side.
* When Optimus promises Raf that he'll bring him a snowball from the Arctic, his faceplate is deployed. In the previous shot of Optimus, as he explains that the Arctic is too harsh for humans and Autobots, it was retracted.

===Trivia===
* A sequence from this episode (from the start of Miko and Bulkhead exploring up to Bulkhead's arm thrusting into the air) was shown to the attendees of [[Toy Fair 2011]] prior to the episode's premiere.
* Miko's hair moves during this episode. When Bulkhead first screams, the shadow of her twin buns can be seen jumping up. After, when she screams thinking she saw a spider, the buns ''and'' her ponytail curl up.
* This is the first episode not to feature any [[Decepticon]]s.
* It is not an error that the Autobots can freeze in the [[Arctic]] but not in space. The idea that being in space will immediately freeze you up like a popsicle is a [http://www.universetoday.com/77070/how-cold-is-space/ lie perpetuated by bad science fiction]. This isn't the [[Fire in the Sky|first time]] [[Megatron (Movie)|it's happened]].
* The entire plot of this episode is very similar to an episode from Prime's fellow [[Hasbro]]-sponsored show, ''[[My Little Pony]]: Friendship Is Magic,'' namely the episode ''Swarm of the Century''. Both episodes revolved around a character bringing in an innocuous-looking creature that proceeded to rapidly multiply and cause havoc by devouring various things, and the characters themselves trying (and failing) to remove the threat. However, fitting the difference in tone between the two series, Scraplets are significantly more dangerous than Parasprites; they pose a direct threat to the heroes themselves, it takes more than a jaunty polka tune to deal with them, and they're a fair bit less cute (at least, when they open their mouths). Both plots are likely inspired by the famous ''[[Star Trek]]'' episode ''The Trouble With Tribbles''.
* This episode was later adapted as a storybook under the name ''[[Attack of the Scraplets!]]''.

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Les Dévoreurs'''" ("The Devourers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 19|19 November]] [[2011]]

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Invasion der Scraplets'''" ("Invasion of the Scraplets")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 4|4 November]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Scraplet-ek'''" ("Scraplets"); "'''Roncskupac'''" ("Scrapheap") on the Season 1 Volume 2 DVD
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 17|17 January]] [[2012]]

'''Indonesian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Invasi Scraplet'''" ("Scraplet Invation")
:*''Original airdate:'' 11 September [[2012]]

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Schegge'''" ("Slivers"), "'''Guai Graffianti'''" ("Scratchy Troubles", 2017 airing)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 9|9 October]] [[2011]]
:**Due to the lack of a proper word to translate "Scraplet" with, the Scraplets have been renamed "Schegge" (singular: "Scheggia"), which means "slivers" or "fragments".

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' '''Gokkan Henkei!? Minicon no Kyōfu''' (極寒変形!?ミニコンの恐怖, ''Freezing Transformation!? Terror of the Minicons'')
:*''Original airdate:'' [[May 19]], [[2012]]

'''Korean'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Gongpo ui Seukeurepeullit'''" (공포의 스크레플릿, "Scraplets of Terror")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 19|19 September]] [[2011]]

'''Polish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 13|13 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Ferro Velho'''" ("The Scrapheap")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 20|20 December]] [[2011]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 20|20 December]] [[2011]]

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Folge 2: Meister und Schüler ([[EDEL:kids]]) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Volume 2: Unfamiliar Enemies (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Vol. 4 ([[Avex Trax]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1 Vol. 2: Terrain miné ([[Universal|Universal Pictures France]]) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio. 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Stagione 1 Vol. 2: Terre Pericolose ([[Universal|Universal Pictures IT]]) — English, Italian, Dutch, French and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2013 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One: Dangerous Ground ([[Universal|Universal Pictures UK]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1: L'intégrale (Universal Pictures France) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Ultimate Autobots (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Universal Pictures UK)
;Blu-ray
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio. 

[[Category:Prime episodes]]

Transformers: Devastation

2025-06-11T08:53:04Z

TankCatapult: /* Errors */

{{disambig3|Devastation}}
{{videogame
|title=''Transformers: Devastation''
|image=Transformers Devastation cover.jpg
|caption=Like I said, kids are cruel, Jack. And I'm very in touch with my inner child.
|developer=[[PlatinumGames]]
|publisher=[[Activision]]
|writer=[[Andy Schmidt]]<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/06/19/andy-schmidt-confirmed-as-the-storyteller-for-transformers-devastation-293507 Andy Schmidt Confirmed As The Storyteller For Transformers: Devastation - TFW2005]</ref>
|additionalwriting=
|date=NA: [[October 6]], [[2015]] EU/AU: [[October 9]], [[2015]]
|platform=[[PlayStation]] 3, PlayStation 4, [[Xbox]] 360, Xbox One, PC
|ratings=ESRB: T PEGI: 7+ CB: M
|credits=Transformers: Devastation/credits
}}

'''''Transformers: Devastation''''' is a video game by [[PlatinumGames]], announced at E3 2015 and released in October of the same year. Billed as a tie-in to ''[[Combiner Wars (franchise)|Combiner Wars]]'',<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-forming-epic-storyline-toys-830399 'Transformers' Forming Epic Storyline with Toys, Comics and Video Games (Exclusive) - The Hollywood Reporter]</ref> ''Devastation'' is based in the [[Generation 1 continuity family]] and tells an original story, in which the [[Autobot]]s unite to prevent the [[Decepticon]]s from turning the [[Earth]] to metal. The game primarily draws inspiration from [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]], the [[2005 IDW continuity|IDW comics]], and the ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' toyline, among other sources, and features the return of some of the surviving voice actors from the original cartoon. The game was directed by [[Kenji Saito]], and the soundtrack was composed by [[Satoshi Igarashi]], [[Tetsuya Shibata]], and [[Jun Okubo]], with contributions by [[Vince DiCola]] and [[Kenny Meriedeth]].<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/06/16/watch-the-first-transformers-devastation-gameplay-live-183026 Watch the first Transformers Devastation gameplay! - TFW2005]</ref>

''Devastation'' was the final ''Transformers'' game published by [[Activision]]; following the expiration of their licensing agreement with [[Hasbro]], the game and its downloadable content were delisted from multiple digital storefronts on [[December 21]], [[2017]].<ref>[https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/22/16810202/platinum-games-transformers-devastation-legend-of-korra-steam-xbox-live-playstation-store Platinum’s Transformers and Korra games disappear from digital stores - Polygon]</ref>

{{TOCclear}}

==Plot==
===Chapter 1: City of Steel===
[[File:Devastation-Arrival.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Avengers]], Assemble!]]
In [[New York City]], a large explosion heralds the appearance of several giant mechanical claws emerging from the ground, causing mass destruction. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and his Decepticons land downtown and observe the swarm of [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] that has filled the air, with [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] also detecting traces of [[plasma energy]]. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] is hesitant, as no one has been able to control plasma energy since the [[Golden Age]], but Megatron rebukes him, intent on using the gift that they have been given. With the humans successfully evacuated from the city, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and his team of Autobots arrive to assess the threat and stop the Decepticons. After a brief run-in with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], Optimus and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] come face to face with Megatron himself. Optimus demands Megatron cease his attack on the city, but Megatron only laughs, saying that Optimus doesn't even realize the truth of who is really behind the attack, and declaring he only wants to make "improvements" to the city. Optimus and Bumblebee defeat Megatron, but he slips away as the two are distracted by the sudden appearance of a giant Steel Tower.

[[File:Devastation-SecretMessage.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Yes, it's coming to me..."Be sure to drink your Ovaltine?!"]]
The Autobots pursue Megatron to the tower, where he deduces that it is somehow directing the Insecticons before receiving a [[Cybertronian language#Aligned continuity family|stream of data]] encoded from the tower. He rides away on [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]], with the Autobots giving chase, and after [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] briefly battles Megatron, a hatch emerges from the ground leading below. Megatron enters, activating the security system to ensure the Autobots cannot follow. [[Teletraan I|Teletraan-1]] reveals that the hatch leads to the interior of an unknown ship buried below the city, requiring the shutdown of three sub-generators and a primary generator to gain access. With no other choice, the Autobots reach the sub-generators, each guarded by two of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], and shut them down. They return to the primary generator, but the Constructicons have beaten them there and reform Devastator. The team defeat the [[Combiner]], but a hologram of Megatron appears to reveal his plan: he now controls the Cybertronian ship known as the ''[[Proudstar]]'', and is using it to control the Insecticons, allowing him to [[cyberforming|cyberform]] the [[Earth]] into a new [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] within mere days at the cost of all native life.
{{-}}

===Chapter 2: The Proudstar===
[[File:Devastation-ProudstarComponents.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[SELECT YOUR WEAPON]]]
After chasing down a [[Sentry-Bot]] containing the key-code to enter, the Autobots enter the ''Proudstar''. Optimus explains that the ship is of Autobot origin, and was once captained by [[Nova Prime]] as part of the Mission of Cybertronian [[Expansion]]. Its goal was to make uninhabited planets suitable for Cybertronian life and preserve a record of their race's culture via the [[Colonnade of Cybertron]] placed aboard the ship's supercomputer, the [[Ferrotaxis]], which controls both the [[Plasma Core]] and the Insecticons. With so much of Cybertron's culture having been lost over the course of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], the Autobots make it their mission to retrieve the Ferrotaxis intact and shut down the Plasma Core, stopping the cyberforming. As they split up to explore, Optimus notes a feeling of darkness permeating the ship. The group briefly gets locked into a battle with Soundwave, but he is called away by Megatron for other matters, leaving them to be swarmed by Insecticons bursting from the many [[stasis pod]]s housed within the ship. The Autobots battle through the swarms, including several giant-sized Ancient Insecticons, as the voice of [[Teletraan Alpha]] cryptically hints at the [[The Transformers: The Movie|dark future events]] each Autobot will face, including prophesying that the Great War will come to an end without Optimus Prime there to see it. They reach the Plasma Core, but due to plasma energy's unpredictability, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] predicts blowing up the Core will cause an explosion that will take half the Earth with it. Defeating the Insecticon guards, they break the shielding protecting the Core, but the security system envelops the core in a protective casing and fires it away from the ship.
{{-}}
===Chapter 3: The Core===
[[File:Devastation-CoreDamage.jpg|thumb|250px|right|That electrical storm is dangerous. Everyone grab your [[yellow boots]]!]]
With the ship and Insecticons rendered inactive due to the loss of their power source, the Autobots seek to retrieve the Plasma Core before Megatron, as well as shut it down due to the potentially dangerous leak sprung in the previous encounter. Knowing Megatron will need someone to retrieve the core, they encounter and defeat [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], who believes plasma energy is too dangerous to be controlled by anyone and tells them the Core's location on the promise that they get rid of it. Making their way to the island where the Core landed, the Autobots encounter Decepticon defenses at [[Liberty Bridge]], stalling for time so that the leak may be patched before they move it. The team uses an explosive cube of [[Red Energon]] to clear the forces at the bridge's entrance, but Starscream arrives to replace them. The Autobots defeat him and begin to cross the bridge, only to come under fire by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] as they do so. They manage to hold him off until reaching the other side of the bridge, where they defeat him. Optimus approaches the badly-damaged Plasma Core container, but Starscream appears and carries it away before they have a chance to shut it down.
{{-}}
===Chapter 4: Possession===
[[File:Devastation-Menasor.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Great... AETHER!]]
Back at the tower, Soundwave reveals to Megatron that they were unable to patch the leak before Starscream took the Plasma Core, meaning its detonation is imminent. Only able to be repaired at a [[Plasma Energy Interface]] on Cybertron, Megatron orders Starscream to bring the unstable Core to the tower. The Autobots pursue him across the bridge, but the onset of a storm makes it difficult for Starscream to fly, causing him to lose his grip on the Core and drop it into the city. Optimus tracks Starscream's landing location, but Megatron sends [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] to the coordinates as well. The team race him to the crash site, barely beating him there, and fight him off. The Autobots follow the trail to the Plasma Core, and Wheeljack prepares to patch the leak while the others cover him. Just as he gets the case open, Motormaster and the rest of the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] arrive and form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. The Autobots defeat the Combiner and, in a fit of rage, he throws the Plasma Core case all the way to the tower. Megatron activates the [[space bridge]] to Cybertron and takes the Core and his troops through, ordering Starscream to hold off the Autobots.
{{-}}
===Chapter 5: To Cybertron===
[[File:Devastation-PlasmaEnergyInterface.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Well, there's your problem: you put the batteries in backwards!]]Optimus and his team follow the Decepticons through the space bridge, battling Starscream while in transit. They emerge on Cybertron just as Megatron leaves with the Plasma Core and Blitzwing appears for a rematch. The group defeat him and approach the Plasma Energy Interface, but before they can stop it, they are ambushed by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]. While ultimately defeated, Shockwave manages to hold the Autobots off long enough for [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] to finish repairing the Plasma Core and escape with Megatron. Bumblebee points out the insanity of their plan, but Shockwave argues that Nova Prime was the one who saw the need to cyberform populated planets, though Optimus refuses to believe it. Now back at the tower, Megatron orders the Plasma Core and the Ferrotaxis brought online, declaring the cyberforming process will be complete in less than one Earth day.
{{-}}
===Chapter 6: Ferrotaxis===
[[File:Devastation-Nova-Madness.jpg|thumb|250px|right|He took the cancellation of ''Animated''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s fourth season pretty hard.]]
Now patched and restored to the ''Proudstar'', the Plasma Core is put into overdrive, causing the Insecticons to restart the cyberforming process at a rapid rate, and the Autobots return to stop it. However, due to the poor repair job by the Constructicons, the Core ruptures and produces a gravitational anomaly that begins sucking the Autobots in. Retreating to a safe distance, Wheeljack deduces that if the core goes critical, it will lead to planetary extinction. Optimus decides that the only way to shut down both the Plasma Core and the Insecticons is by using the Ferrotaxis, which [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] points out is in Megatron's possession. However, Soundwave takes control of the ship's security systems, sabotaging their escape route. Barely evading his traps, the Autobots once again become aware of the darkness permeating the ''Proudstar''. Prime posits that while Nova Prime's mission may have initially been noble, cyberforming uninhabited planets to bring life to the galaxy, he and his crew were corrupted by some [[Unicron/Generation 1|unknown entity]] along the way, seeding darkness within his spark and driving him to insanity. The entity sought the destruction of Cybertron and its people, and still searches for the planet to this day, destroying all it encounters along the way. The Autobots head to the control room, but are blocked by Soundwave. Defeating him, the team prepares to storm the control room and take Megatron down once and for all.
{{-}}
===Chapter 7: Legacy===
[[File:Devastation-FinalBattle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|"You only want the Ferrotaxis because I'm using it." "Oh, yeah? Prove it." "Here." "Hey, man, I don't want your stupid Ferrotaxis."]]
As they approach the ''Proudstar''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s control room, the Autobots are beset by a legion of Decepticons seeking to defend it, including Motormaster, Thundercracker and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]. The Autobots enter the control room, where Megatron mocks them before leaving with the Ferrotaxis, ordering the Constructicons to finish them off. After battling all six individually, the Constructicons merge into Devastator, prompting another battle. However, it isn't long before Menasor shows up as well, forcing them to fight both Combiners at once. Eventually, both are knocked off the platform to their destruction, and the Autobots head for the surface. Emerging from below, the Autobots find Megatron watching in delight as the planet is ripped apart by the cyberforming, declaring their home will live once more and noting how much he and Optimus could have accomplished together as allies. Optimus demands that Megatron hand over the Ferrotaxis so that their culture might continue to be preserved and shared, but Megatron throws it away, declaring that they will have to defeat him to get it. The Autobots engage in battle in battle with Megatron and emerge victorious, with Optimus once again demanding the Ferrotaxis. Megatron declares that if he can't have it, no one can, launching it high into the sky with his fusion cannon. A swarm of Insecticons follows the Ferrotaxis into the air, and Optimus grabs hold of one of them to catch up, with Megatron in hot pursuit.

[[File:Devastation-Space.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Space...the final <s>boss battle</s> frontier...]]
Now in Earth's orbit as the Insecticons surround the Ferrotaxis, Optimus prepares to fire at the computer, only to be knocked from his perch by Megatron, forcing the two into a zero-gravity final battle. Megatron argues that he fights to restore Cybertron, the home that Optimus abandoned, and that life comes from servos, gyros, and fuel, not flesh. Optimus rejects this, however, believing that destroying other worlds to keep Cybertron on life-support can't be the only way. With one final blow, Optimus manages to knock Megatron out long enough to retrieve the Ferrotaxis, but cannot shut down the Insecticons due to a failsafe activated by Megatron. Megatron declares the only way to stop the Ferrotaxis is to destroy it at the cost of Cybertron's culture and history, and that Cybertron's fate is now in Optimus's hands. Optimus replies that he has the courage to make the right decision and fires upon the Ferrotaxis, destroying it. As a result, the Plasma Core shuts down and the Insecticons all fall lifelessly back to Earth. Megatron is mortified, but Prime is resolute in his decision, believing humanity should decide its own fate. As he falls back to Earth, he tells the other Autobots that while they have lived on Earth for years, they have never truly accepted it as their home, holding out hope of returning to a re-forged Cybertron. While that may someday occur, Prime declares that as of that day, the Earth is their true home, and they are to protect it no matter the cost.

[[File:Devastation-Nova-Awakens.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Oy! Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck.]]
Later, back at the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', a recovered Optimus discusses with Wheeljack if he has found a way to strengthen their forces, with Wheeljack deeming the process risky. As he reflects on what Teletraan Alpha told him aboard the ''Proudstar'', Teletraan-1 receives a transmission from [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], who throw their full support behind Optimus's plan. Deciding that this is the price he must pay to rid the world of the Decepticons, Optimus and Wheeljack examine schematics for the [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|project]]. Unbeknownst to them, one of the pods on the'' Proudstar'' has broken open. Nova Prime awakens...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
**[[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]*
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
**Goldfire*
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] ([[Michael Bell]])
**[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]*
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] ([[Christopher Swindle]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] ([[Steve Blum]])
*[[Superion (G1)|Superion]] ([[Jamieson Price]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Scott Whyte]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Dave Boat]])
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] ([[André Sogliuzzo]])
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (Scott Whyte)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Darryl Kurylo]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (Christopher Swindle)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (Scott Whyte)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]]
*[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (Dave Boat)
**[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (Michael Bell)
**[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (André Sogliuzzo)
**[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (Jamieson Price)
**[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (Gregg Berger)
**[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (Steve Blum)
**[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (Jamieson Price)
*[[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] ([[James Arnold Taylor]])
**[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] ([[Liam O'Brien]])
**[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]**
**[[Offroad (CW)|Offroad]]**
**[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]]**
**[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]**
*[[Ground Soldier]]s (Steve Blum, Darryl Kurylo, [[Jim Ward]])
*[[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] (James Arnold Taylor, André Sogliuzzo, Liam O'Brien)
*[[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] (Darryl Kurylo, Christopher Swindle, Dave Boat)
**[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]
**[[Shrapnel (G1)|Skrapnel]]
**[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
|c4=
*[[Teletraan I|Teletraan-1]] (Jim Ward)
*[[Teletraan Alpha]] (Jim Ward)
*[[Nova Prime]]
*[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]†
*[[Kranix (G1)|Kranix]]†
*[[Kremzeek]]
|nonumbering=true
}}

:''*Indicates character available only as downloadable content skin.''
:''**Indicates character who only appears in vehicle mode.''
:''† Indicates character who only appears in text-based log entries.''

==Quotes==
"But...but PLASMA energy is unstable! No one has been able to tame it since...since...the GOLDEN AGE!" 
"Then stand back Starscream, and watch me tame it, as I have tamed you."
:— '''Megatron''' made '''Starscream''' his patsy.

"Optimus... come to save the day, I presume?"
:— Just like old times for '''Megatron''' and Optimus Prime.

"Less talk, Autobot. More dying."
:— '''Megatron''' plays for keeps.

"They call me 'Goldfire'! ...Ridiculous, I know."
:— '''Bumblebee''' is less than impressed by his DLC costume.

"Scanning... Identified. Cybertronian Bumblebee. Beware the coming tide of chaos... You will evolve known by another name. In time, your spirit will be that of legend. Your monikers will be many: The World's Bridge. Goldbug. Race-Welder. And finally... Goldfire." 
"Well, that makes me feel special..."
:— '''Teletraan Alpha''' foresees '''Bumblebee''''s future.

"My loyalty only goes so far. Tampering with Plasma Energy? That's madness." 
"Wow, that took, like, no convincing at all. No wonder they call you ThunderCRACKER." 
"Very funny, pipsqueak."
:— Much to '''Thundercracker''''s dismay, '''Bumblebee''' learns the true meaning of his name.

"Last one there's the corroded diode, Autobots!"
:— '''Motormaster''' tells the Autobots to eat his dust.

"Starscream failed. Guess that makes me the new leader of the Decepticons! ...Anybody else want this job?"
:— All hail '''Skywarp'''!

"We should have been allies, you know. Imagine what we could have accomplished... But you never had the manifolds to do what needed to be done." 
"I have the manifolds to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves."
:— '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' talk motivation.

"Why must you always interfere?" 
"You would place Cybertron at the center of the universe." 
"Cybertron is the center of my universe. How is it not at the heart of yours?" 
"Cybertron is about all life. Destruction to keep Cybertron on life support--there must be another way." 
"Flesh isn't life. Servos, gyros and fuel--this is where life comes from! You're defending--''bi-product''--at best! I will restore Cybertron and retake the galaxy!" 
"That ambition will be your end."
:— '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus''' wax poetic as they battle in space.

"Behold, Optimus. A new Cybertron is being born..." 
"No, you are only destroying the Earth, not creating." 
"You don't really believe that, do you?" 
"It is the only thing I am sure I believe. You must be stopped." 
"You're welcome to try." 
"It will be my pleasure." 
"I'm not done yet!!"
:— The final battle between '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus''' comes to a head.

"Autobots. We have lived on Earth for decades. But I see now that we have not truly accepted Earth as our home, holding out some distant hope that we would return to a newly re-forged Cybertron. And maybe one day, that will happen, but we cannot continue to live in between worlds. From this day forward, we are no longer Cybertronians who are stranded on another world. Now we are a part of Earth. And we must treat Earth as though we were forged here. And we must protect our home...no matter the cost."
:— '''Optimus''' monologues as he falls back to Earth.

==Gameplay==
''Devastation'' is a fast-paced hack-and-slash brawler, similar to many of Platinum's other titles like ''Bayonetta'' and ''[[Solid Snake|Metal Gear]] Rising: Revengeance''. Players choose from five Autobots ([[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]) and battle Decepticons using a combination of light and heavy physical attacks, with players generally having to defeat an entire wave of enemies in order to proceed. Players can chain these attacks into a combo, as well as extend their combos and utilize new moves by strategically transforming back and forth between vehicle and robot modes during strings of attacks. Each of the Autobots is also equipped with a projectile-based weapon, allowing them to attack enemies they cannot normally reach, such as airborne [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. Players have multiple defensive options, being able to block, dodge, parry, and counterattack against enemy blows; similar to the "Witch Time" mechanic from ''Bayonetta'', dodging at just the right moment will induce "Focus" and cause time to slow down for the surrounding environment, giving players a chance to move in close and counterattack. Certain gameplay segments will encourage the use of vehicle mode over robot mode, such as chasing down escaping Decepticons on a highway or transforming back to robot mode at maximum speed to break an enemy shield.

Each of the five Autobots has a different set of moves and properties; Optimus is the most equally-balanced, Bumblebee focuses on quickness over attack strength, Sideswipe uses a hit-and-run attack style, Wheeljack is largely based around ranged combat and defense, and Grimlock deals in slow but powerful close-range strikes. Each character also possesses a unique ability that they can trigger in battle, such as Wheeljack's shield or Grimlock's grapple; this depletes energy from their Ability Gauge, which automatically refills over time. Attacking enemies will also fill the Ultimate Gauge; when full, this will allow players to use their character-specific Ultimate Attack, doing heavy damage to multiple foes.

The game also includes a player-customization system. Several different weapon types can be potentially dropped by enemies or found in weapons caches and vaults. Each type of weapon, such as axes, swords, or hammers, can only be used by certain characters, and new weapons can be synthesized by using the old ones as materials, allowing players to create stronger weapons of different types. Players can also spend in-game [[Galactic Credits|credits]] to develop [[T.E.C.H.]] that grants passive boosts to their characters, giving them bonuses such as auto-recovery or an increased credit drop rate; the strength of the T.E.C.H. developed varies depending on the amount of credits spent, as well as the player's success at a quicktime event during the synthesis process. Characters' individual stats can also be improved either through combat or by purchasing upgrades with credits. The Lab acts as the in-game store, allowing players to purchase additional weapons, temporary power-ups, and new moves for all five Autobots. Players can access all of these options by returning to the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', either between story chapters or by using one of several Teletraan uplinks in each stage, which also function as checkpoints.

The game features seven Story chapters. At the beginning, three difficulty levels are accessible ("Scout", "Warrior", and "Commander"), while two higher difficulties ("[[Magnus (rank)|Magnus]]" and "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]]") are unlocked after completing the lower ones. Players who go off the beaten path in the story chapters may find side missions and [[Transpacial Converters]] scattered about; completing these will reward players with additional weapons. In addition to the primary Story Mode, the game also includes a Challenge Mode with 50 stand-alone missions.

A Gallery mode allows players to view assorted art pieces, such as stage concept art and [[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]] [[package art|character art]]. New art can be unlocked by finding bouncing [[Kremzeek]]s and Mystery Objects in each stage, or shooting down Decepticon Flags and Spy Ops hovering in the sky. Collectible [[Source:Devastation info logs|info logs]] explaining various concepts and backstory elements can be found throughout the game as well. Completing the game will add the credits sequence to the gallery, viewable with or without the credits themselves, as well as a model viewer that allows players to view all of the 3D character models, accompanied by their respective themes. The model viewer includes a "Transform" command that lets you view both of their modes, and a "Try Me" button that plays some of their voice samples.

Players who pre-ordered the game received a downloadable content bundle that included character skins for Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe based on [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]], Goldfire, and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] respectively, as well as three new weapons: the [[Dark Star Saber]], the twin Golden Hunters, and the Photon Disruptor. This bundle was later made publicly available for a $5 purchase roughly a month following the game's release.

==Trophy/Achievement list==
When completing various goals and tasks during the game, the player will be rewarded as part of their console of choice's meta-goal system. Players can earn up to 31 Trophies on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and 30 Achievements on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The PlayStation versions' trophies come in four types: Bronze, which represent easier tasks and are worth the least experience; Silver, which are awarded for challenges of mid-level difficulty; Gold, which are given for harder tasks and worth more experience; and Platinum, the highest-level trophy unlocked only after earning all of a game's other trophies. On the Xbox versions, each achievement has a Gamerscore value that adds to the player's total Gamerscore across all games played; up to 1000 Gamerscore can be earned in ''Devastation''. These achievements can also be earned in the PC version as part of the Steam interface, but lack the individual values and weights from the console versions.

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
! Icon
! Achievement/Trophy name
! Achievement/Trophy description
! Gamerscore
! PS Trophy
|-
| [[File:Devastation Till All Are One.jpg|60px]]
| [['Til all are one|Till All Are One]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Supreme Commander.jpg|60px]]
| [[Supreme Commander]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Optimus Prime.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Sting Like A Bee.jpg|60px]]
| Sting Like a Bee
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Bumblebee.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation The Wizard Of Iacon.jpg|60px]]
| The Wizard of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Wheeljack.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Raging Bull.jpg|60px]]
| Raging Bull
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Sideswipe.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation The King.jpg|60px]]
| The King
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Grimlock.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation All Clear.jpg|60px]]
| All Clear
| Complete all Challenge Mode missions on any difficulty.
| 85 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Halfway There.jpg|60px]]
| Halfway There
| Complete half of all Challenge Mode missions on any difficulty.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation No Stone Unturned.jpg|60px]]
| No Stone Unturned
| Collect all collectible items.
| 90 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Avid Collector.jpg|60px]]
| Avid Collector
| Complete half of all collectible items.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Synthesis 101.jpg|60px]]
| Synthesis 101
| Synthesize 10 weapons.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Full Throttle.jpg|60px]]
| Full Throttle
| Defeat 100 enemies with Vehicle/Dino Attacks.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Dont Hit The Brakes.jpg|60px]]
| (Don't) Hit the Brakes!
| Defeat 100 enemies with Rush Attacks.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Platinum.jpg|60px]]
| Platinum
| Complete all chapters, earning the highest rank, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater.
| 90 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Catch This.jpg|60px]]
| Catch this!
| Use parrying to catch the following from an enemy: a boulder, a missile, and both drill types.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Pedal To The Metal.jpg|60px]]
| Pedal to the Metal
| Use Focus 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Quick Reflexes.jpg|60px]]
| Quick Reflexes
| After dodging, quickly counter with a melee attack 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Bullet Storm.jpg|60px]]
| Bullet Storm
| After dodging, quickly counter with a ranged attack 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Hawkeyed.jpg|60px]]
| Hawkeyed
| Perform 100 successful head shots.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Flyswatter.jpg|60px]]
| Flyswatter
| Finish the lift battle in Chapter 2 without taking damage from Insecticons.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Urban Landscaping.jpg|60px]]
| Urban Landscaping
| In chapter 1, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, knock Devastator into a building 3 times.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Roadblock.jpg|60px]]
| Roadblock
| In chapter 4, defeat Motormaster while racing him.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Surround Sound.jpg|60px]]
| Surround Sound
| In chapter 6, on diff. COMMANDER or greater, defeat Soundwave without defeating any cassettes.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Wrecking Crew.jpg|60px]]
| Wrecking Crew
| In chapter 1, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Devastator without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Hard-Core.jpg|60px]]
| HARD-Core
| In chapter 2, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, destroy the shielding without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Triple Changer.jpg|60px]]
| [[Triple Changer]]
| In chapter 3, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Blitzwing without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Destruction Derby.jpg|60px]]
| Destruction Derby
| In chapter 4, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Menasor without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Dont Look Him In The Eye.jpg|60px]]
| Don't Look Him in the Eye
| In chapter 5, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Shockwave without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Broken Radio.jpg|60px]]
| Broken Radio
| In chapter 6, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Soundwave without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Emperor of Destruction.jpg|60px]]
| [[Emperor of Destruction]]
| In chapter 7, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Megatron without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation All Trophies.jpg|60px]]
| All Trophies
| Earned all other trophies.
|
| {{PS Platinum}}
|-
|}

==Notes==
===Errors===
*At the beginning of the game, Soundwave is not shown flying in the sky despite landing alongside Starscream, Blitzwing, and Megatron a moment later.
*In that same cutscene, the Decepticon flying next to Blitzwing is not Starscream, but one of the Warrior Seekers.
*''Also'' in the opening cutscene, the thick, comic book-style outline around Starscream's jaw doesn't move while he warns Megatron about plasma energy.
*In Chapter 1, after the first Devastator battle, Sideswipe's torso is seen twisted.
*In Chapter 1, Teletraan 1 pronounces "[[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]" as "Kai-on" when it should be "Kay-on".
*In Chapter 1, when the Constructicons form Devastator, you can see straight through Devastator's shoulder joint in the brief moment before Bonecrusher attaches. This is due to the model's arm joint not being capped off at the end as it is usually obscured by Devastator's arm, thus allowing the camera to see within the model where the polygon backfaces are not rendered.
*In Chapter 1, when Megatron enters the hatch leading underground, Optimus mispronounces Teletraan-1 as "Teltraan-1", omitting the second syllable.
*In Chapter 2, a second "the" is included in the subtitles when Optimus says "Autobots, welcome to the ''Proudstar''."
*In Chapter 3, when Optimus throws the Red Energon cube, it is inexplicably colored pink.
*In Chapter 4, when the Autobots find the location of the Plasma Core, Bumblebee is seen opening and closing his mouth repeatedly despite not having any dialogue.
*In Chapter 4, as Motormaster and his Stunticons intervene, a very scaled down model of his alternate mode can briefly be seen between his legs as Breakdown and Offroad attach onto them.
*In Chapter 4, after Starscream crashes in the Decepticon hangar, the faction symbols on all the other Decepticons suddenly pulse as one.
*Throughout the campaign, many shots in the cutscenes show some characters such as Starscream and Soundwave having their hand textures being swapped with Wheeljack's.
*The description for Sideswipe's "Launcher Barrage" ability states that the player needs to press the fire button repeatedly, while in actuality the attack will fire on its own.
*When using the single sword weapon type, the attack sequence, "light, pause, light (hold)" can give the player an extra jump.

===Transformers references===
*All of the player weapons are derived from those used in past ''Transformers'' series:
**Some of the weapons originate from ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers Prime]]'', such as the [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]], the [[Dark Star Saber]], and the [[Forge of Solus Prime]]. The Battle Hammer version of the Forge resembles the one included with ''[[Ultra Magnus (WFC)#Beast Hunters|''Beast Hunters'' Ultra Magnus toy]].
**Optimus carries both his standard [[energon-axe]] and [[ion blaster]].
**[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe's]] primary melee weapons are silver swords identical to the one included with his [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|G2 ''Masterpiece'' toy]]. His standard [[flare gun]] and [[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|G2 comic]] GZS-3 and MA685 blasters are also unlockable throughout the game.
**Bumblebee's blasters are based on the [[Generic Autobot laser pistol|weapon]] included with his [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|first ''Masterpiece'' toy]]. Bumblebee's melee weapons are his "gloves", which are just his fists.
**Wheeljack's wrenches are based on the accessories included with his [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
**Grimlock wields his [[galaxial rocket launcher]] packaged with his [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Generation 1|original toy]], though it is physically modeled after his Twin Stunner Laser. Much like Bumblebee, his melee weapons are his gloves, but his [[energo weapon|Energo-sword]] can be unlocked.
**The Piercing Rifle is based on [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s blaster.
**The Small Blasters are based on those wielded by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]].
**The MOD Fusion Cannon and Battle Blade are based on [[live-action film series|live action]] [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s weapons, respectively.
**The basic hammer weapons bear a striking resemblance to the [[Magnus Hammer]].
**Heavy hammers, such as the Energon and Shock Hammer, are based on ''Age of Extinction'' [[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]'s mace.
**The Wrecking Ball resembles [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]'s melee weapon.
**The Basic Blaster is based on [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]'s [[photon rifle]].
**The Heavy Blaster is based on the animation model for [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]'s photon missile launcher.
**The basic swords are slightly scaled-down versions of [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]]'s [[Sonic sword]].
**The Battle Cutters are dead ringers for the saw weapon [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] briefly used in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
**The Photon Eliminator, Rodimus Prime's classic weapon, can be acquired after Magnus mode is unlocked.
**The Battle Swords resemble [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]]'s swords. They are often dual-wielded in the game by Elite Seekers in Primal's original colors.
**The four "knuckle" weapons resemble the "Combat Claw" that came with the ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)|Prime]]'' [[Megatron (WFC)/toys#Prime|Voyager Megatron]] toy.
**The Loudspeaker is based on ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]] [[Transformers (2010 toyline)#Hasbro Reveal the Shield subline|Reveal the Shield]]'' Deluxe Class [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Transformers (2010)|Special Ops Jazz]]'s weapon (itself based on [[Classic Pretender]] [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Pretender|Jazz]]'s weapon) in its combined form with the figure's loudspeaker accessories attached.
**The Magna Shot blaster is a signature weapon of [[Dai Atlas (G1)|Dai Atlas]].
**After defeating Megatron, you unlock his classic [[fusion cannon]].
**Defeating Starscream unlocks his [[null-ray]]s.
**The Shockwave Blaster is based on Shockwave's blaster mode.
**The Solar Beam Rifle is based on [[Devastator (G1)/toys|Devastator's]] weapon (called a [[magna laser]] in his and Mixmaster's [[instructions]] but a [[solar energy beam rifle]] in his [[bio]]).
**The drills Bonecrusher and Devastator use (both melee and ranged) can be unlocked after they are defeated. Both versions are based on the spring-loaded drills that came with their G1 toys.
**Motormaster/Menasor's classic Ionizer Sword and Cyclone Rifle can be unlocked after they are defeated.
**The Basic Spreadshot is based on the animation model of [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s hologram gun.
**The Heavy Spreadshot series of weapons are (appropriately) based on [[Getaway]]'s [[plasma-shell shotgun]].
**The four basic Machineguns {{sic}} are based on [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]'s "Electrothermic Blast Tube" (AKA the gun his G1 figure came with). Fittingly, the Kickback fought in Chapter 2 wields one of these.
**The Assault Rifles are modeled after the large rifle that came with [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr's]] [[Blurr (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
**The basic sniper rifles are based on [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s [[musket laser]] included with his [[Kup (G1)/toys#Generations|2011 ''Generations'' figure]].
**The heavy sniper rifles are modeled after [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s [[Electro-scrambler]].
**The grenade launchers, four basic missile launchers, and Grappling Hook are all based on the missile launchers in [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] & [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]'s [[Onebox component]]s.
**The Adhesive and Slow Gel Guns, as well as the Rust, Confuse & Weakening Spreadshots, all resemble the missile launcher that came with [[Sludge (G1)#Toys|Sludge]] (specifically, how it appeared in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]).
**All of the "middle-weight" launchers (Delay Launcher, 6 Shot Missiles, etc.) are based on ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing's]] shoulder-mounted gatling gun.
*The eight upgradeable stats for each Autobot (Strength, Courage, Speed, Fireblast, Skill, Endurance, Intelligence, and Rank) are based directly on the classic G1 [[Tech Spec]]s.
*While Optimus Prime and Grimlock's alternate modes are based off of their animation models from ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'', the other playable characters' alternate modes are based off of pre-existing toys. Bumblebee's alternate mode is based off of his [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Classics|''Classics'' toy]], Sideswipe's is based on his [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|2008 ''Universe'' toy]] and Wheeljack's is from his [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
*Wheeljack's Ultimate attack involves building an [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] from "[[The Immobilizer]]".
*The Repair Kits bear a fair resemblance to [[Diagnostic Drone]]s.
*The weapon crates scattered throughout each level bear a resemblance to the [[AllSpark]]'s container from ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.
*The attempted [[cyberforming]] of Earth by the Decepticons has been used as a plot point in several past ''Transformers'' stories.
*The hurricane wind generators may be a reference to the [[Devastator Winds]] that have inspired Devastator's name in a few continuities.
*Concept art in the game shows that the cyberforming claws found throughout New York City and the ''Proudstar'' are based on [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s claws/hands, though the final design has ''slightly'' different details.
*Sideswipe declares he's ready to [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|bust some Deceptichops]].
*Megatron's appearance mixes his general G1 design with his ''Combiner Wars'' [[Megatron (G1)/Generations toys#Combiner Wars|figure]] (tank tread shins, pointed shoulders, tank alt. mode).
*Megatron generates an energy-based shield from his fusion cannon arm, an ability he previously exhibited in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]".
*Several billboards advertise [[S. Witwicky Auto Repairs & Tow Service|S. Witwicky's Auto Shop]] and [[Prim Cola]]. Also visible is the "Creamy Cream" billboard from "[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]", renamed to the less-snigger-inducing "Bluebird Lotion". An IDW-inspired billboard easter egg is a sign advertising, "[[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's Motor Oil]]."
*Shops found around the city include [[Becky's Coffee Shop]] from "[[I, Robot-Master!]]"; Lander's Beverages, named in homage to [[Lander]]'s love of wines; and a jewelry store named Bahoudin's, referencing the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]] from "[[Trans-Europe Express]]". [[Burger House]] was also planned to appear, but PlatinumGames had to change the sign for legal reasons, instead advertising a "Mega Burger Combo".<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124183053/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/12/20/the-abundant-easter-eggs-of-transformers-devastation.aspx|name=Matt Miller|title=The Abundant Easter Eggs Of Transformers Devastation|site=Game Informer|year=2015|month=12|day=20}}</ref>
*The message Megatron receives from the tower uses "[[Cybertronian language#The Transformers cartoon|Ancient Autobot]]" characters, first seen in "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]".
*Bumblebee comments on the unlikely odds that another Cybertronian ship besides the ''Ark'' and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' would have crash-landed on Earth millions of years ago... unaware that the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' and ''[[Darksyde (BW)|Darksyde]]'' did exactly that in ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.
*The Insecticons are treated as a swarm similar to the clones from the G1 cartoon and the Infestation from the IDW comics, with infologs stating that these Insecticons were bred specifically for use on the ''Proudstar'' without the faction alignment, speech or distinct personalities of the primary Insecticons.
*Like his IDW self, [[Nova Prime]] traveled through the [[Benzuli Expanse]].
*One of Kranix's logs makes mention of [[Ore-13]].
*Teletraan Alpha alludes to Wheeljack and Optimus's unfortunate demises in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*Teletraan Alpha also tells Bumblebee that he will eventually be known as "The World's Bridge", "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|Goldbug]]", "Race-Welder", and "Goldfire".
*Sideswipe asks Teletraan Alpha if he's been talking to [[Sunstreaker (G1)|his brother]].
*Teletraan Alpha cannot read Grimlock's aura due to the Dinobot [[S.O.S. Dinobots|not being completely Cybertronian]].
*[[Red Energon]] appears, only here it's a volatile explosive, not a speed enhancer.
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] uses ice in his jet mode and fire in his tank mode, in the vein of his [[Blitzwing (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]].
*The [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] appear in their ''Combiner Wars'' [[Stunticon (G1)#Generations|designs]], with Offroad replacing [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]], while Menasor's appearance is a combination of his G1 and CW designs. Notably, [[Blackjack (G1)|Blackjack]] forms on Menasor's chest, though he does not appear among the separated Stunticons. Also, the Stunticons actually fuse with Motormaster's limbs like in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].
*Shockwave has the ability to generate duplicates of himself, in an ''insanely'' specific reference to a power mentioned in the original animated series [[production bible]], which was never used in the cartoon itself ([[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1#Continuity notes|except maybe once]]). The duplicates have the grey color scheme of the original "Astro Magnum" toy Shockwave was based on.
*Megatron states that he thought Optimus was [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|made of sterner stuff]].
*In one of his voice lines, Thundercracker claims to be "The Scourge of the [[Mithril Sea|Mithric Sea]]"
*In unused dialogue of Sideswipe's encounter with Megatron, he says that he [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|could've waited an eternity for this]].
*Optimus defeats Megatron with the same haymaker he used in their final battle in the [[Battle of Autobot City]].
*Defensor, Superion, and Optimus Maximus's appearances at the end of the game are taken directly from their ''Combiner Wars'' designs, although their limb configurations do not match their standard setups.
*The end credits theme, "Face the Devastation", features a sequence of chords borrowed from [[The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|''The Transformers: The Movie''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s musical score]], also composed by Vince DiCola.

===Real-world references===
* Devastator's first appearance as he looks over the building is an identical shot to the Colossal Titan's first appearance in ''{{w|Attack on Titan}}''.

===Trivia===
[[File:Devastation-Ratbat.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Who dares disturb my beauty sleep? Have you not heard? This movie's already over! Captain Blue is defeated, and we are victorious!]]
*[[FIRRIB|Frenzy is blue, Rumble is red]].
*According to an interview at E3 2015, Kenji Saito stated his favorite character to design was Grimlock, as he found him the most unique and interesting from both a character and gameplay perspective.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://youtu.be/P-9rVBCogS4?si=UgBfBxO3sRuHIks-&t=473|quote=Stage Demo: Transformers: Devastation - E3 2015|name=GameSpot|year=2015|month=6|day=18}}</ref>
*Although Frank Welker reprised his roles as both Megatron and Soundwave from the original cartoon, he did not voice Superion, Mixmaster, Skywarp, Rumble, or Frenzy, despite having originated all of those roles. The same can be said of Michael Bell, who did not voice Bombshell and Bonecrusher as in the original cartoon (albeit, the latter was for only one episode). Additionally, of the other characters in the game whose voice actors were still alive, [[Corey Burton]], [[Arthur Burghardt]], [[Neil Ross]], [[Clive Revill]], and [[Hal Rayle]] did not return to voice Shockwave, Devastator, Hook, Bonecrusher, Kickback, or Skrapnel.
*Originally, the second phases of each boss battle were intended to feature vocals in their backing music tracks, as Platinum had previously done for the boss fights in ''Metal Gear Rising''. However, due to time constraints and other commitments, the decision was made to add in secondary guitar leads for the second phases instead.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/PG_saito/status/970259344007643136|quote=ほんとはボーカルも入れたかったんだけど開発期間とほかイロイロあって難しい状態だったのでかわりにギターに歌ってもらってます。ボスが本気状態になるとギターがのってくる演出になっとります。かっこいいですよー。|name=Kenji Saito|site=Twitter|year=2018|month=3|day=4}}</ref>
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] was planned to appear as part of the boss fights with Soundwave, but was removed during development. However, his unused character model and textures can still be found within the game's files.
*The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con poster for ''Devastation'' features Menasor in his original "Generation 1" design rather than his ''Combiner Wars'' design, suggesting the game design changed at some point during development.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/Guido_Guidi/status/824390786670297088/|quote=Unused G1 accurate Menasor from the SDCC "Transformers: Devastation" game poster (final version featured Combiner Wars inspired design)|name=Guido Guidi|site=Twitter|year=2017|month=01|day=25}}</ref>
*Megatron's [[Energon mace|Energon Mace]], Sideswipe's Pile Drivers, and Blitzwing's [[Electron scimitar|Electron Scimitar]] were all featured in early concept art as potential unlockable weapons. However, none of these made it into the final game.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/platinumgames/status/667870090369470465|quote=Transformers: Devastation is packed full of all kinds of weapons. Here are some concepts for just a few.|name=PlatinumGames|site=Twitter|year=2015|month=11|day=20}}</ref>
*During the final battle in space, the player always fights as Optimus Prime even if another playable character was in use, but Prime will fight using the previous character's gear. For example, if Wheeljack was using his wrenches to fight Megatron on the ground, Prime will ''somehow'' have those wrenches with him in space. This also applies to the "Nemesis Prime" DLC skin, which will revert to the standard Optimus, despite being the same character.
*A slightly different version of the ending cutscene can be found hidden within the game's files. While mostly identical, this early version ends before it can display the full schematics for Optimus Maximus, making the reveal much more vague.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZWtAZcT3Co|quote=Transformers Devastation secrets|name=Running Sky|year=2020|month=11|day=30}}</ref>
*At the 2015 [[San Diego Comic-Con]], Microsoft held a sweepstakes to win one of 20 custom-painted Xbox One consoles with designs based on several upcoming games, including one based on ''Devastation''.<ref>[https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2015/07/02/xbox-sdcc-collectible-xbox-one-console-sweepstakes/ Win one of 20 Custom Painted Xbox Ones at SDCC 2015 - Xbox]</ref>
* A ''Devastation''-branded faceplate for PlayStation 4 was designed with the intention of being sold as part of a console bundle in China. However, by all accounts, no evidence exists that they were ever sold. An ''extremely'' limited number of the faceplates ended up in the hands of a few PlatinumGames' staff members, including former creative producer JP Kellams, who revealed the faceplate's existence before later auctioning his off for charity.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Next up is the #Transformers Devastation PS4 faceplate. This one is officially licensed by Sony and super rare. I think it never came out, so this is likely one of only a few in existence.|link=https://twitter.com/synaesthesiajp/status/1653892008560189441|name=JP Kellams|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=05|day=03}} {{citesocial|quote=Created for a potential Transformers PS4 bundle in China, but I've never seen proof that this was actually released. A few got dispersed to the PG team which is how I got mine. I've NEVER seen another one of these in the wild and my suspicion is that there are very few of these.|link=https://twitter.com/synaesthesiajp/status/1653892327423762437|name=JP Kellams|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=05|day=03}}</ref>
*A selection of the game's soundtrack, comprising 11 tracks composed by Vince DiCola and Kenny Meriedeth, was announced at [[Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]] and released via digital streaming services on November 5, 2021.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtxJqrv-bI&t=1h47m57s Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]</ref> To date, they remain the only music tracks from the game ever to receive an official release.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://open.spotify.com/album/1WhigvyyE6rQyFlFV5wmwP ''Transformers: Devastation'' soundtrack selection on Spotify]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devastation}}
[[Category:Generation 1 video games]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]

Transformers: Devastation

2025-06-11T08:51:52Z

TankCatapult: /* Errors */

{{disambig3|Devastation}}
{{videogame
|title=''Transformers: Devastation''
|image=Transformers Devastation cover.jpg
|caption=Like I said, kids are cruel, Jack. And I'm very in touch with my inner child.
|developer=[[PlatinumGames]]
|publisher=[[Activision]]
|writer=[[Andy Schmidt]]<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/06/19/andy-schmidt-confirmed-as-the-storyteller-for-transformers-devastation-293507 Andy Schmidt Confirmed As The Storyteller For Transformers: Devastation - TFW2005]</ref>
|additionalwriting=
|date=NA: [[October 6]], [[2015]] EU/AU: [[October 9]], [[2015]]
|platform=[[PlayStation]] 3, PlayStation 4, [[Xbox]] 360, Xbox One, PC
|ratings=ESRB: T PEGI: 7+ CB: M
|credits=Transformers: Devastation/credits
}}

'''''Transformers: Devastation''''' is a video game by [[PlatinumGames]], announced at E3 2015 and released in October of the same year. Billed as a tie-in to ''[[Combiner Wars (franchise)|Combiner Wars]]'',<ref>[http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/transformers-forming-epic-storyline-toys-830399 'Transformers' Forming Epic Storyline with Toys, Comics and Video Games (Exclusive) - The Hollywood Reporter]</ref> ''Devastation'' is based in the [[Generation 1 continuity family]] and tells an original story, in which the [[Autobot]]s unite to prevent the [[Decepticon]]s from turning the [[Earth]] to metal. The game primarily draws inspiration from [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]], the [[2005 IDW continuity|IDW comics]], and the ''[[Combiner Wars (toyline)|Combiner Wars]]'' toyline, among other sources, and features the return of some of the surviving voice actors from the original cartoon. The game was directed by [[Kenji Saito]], and the soundtrack was composed by [[Satoshi Igarashi]], [[Tetsuya Shibata]], and [[Jun Okubo]], with contributions by [[Vince DiCola]] and [[Kenny Meriedeth]].<ref>[http://news.tfw2005.com/2015/06/16/watch-the-first-transformers-devastation-gameplay-live-183026 Watch the first Transformers Devastation gameplay! - TFW2005]</ref>

''Devastation'' was the final ''Transformers'' game published by [[Activision]]; following the expiration of their licensing agreement with [[Hasbro]], the game and its downloadable content were delisted from multiple digital storefronts on [[December 21]], [[2017]].<ref>[https://www.polygon.com/2017/12/22/16810202/platinum-games-transformers-devastation-legend-of-korra-steam-xbox-live-playstation-store Platinum’s Transformers and Korra games disappear from digital stores - Polygon]</ref>

{{TOCclear}}

==Plot==
===Chapter 1: City of Steel===
[[File:Devastation-Arrival.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[[Avengers]], Assemble!]]
In [[New York City]], a large explosion heralds the appearance of several giant mechanical claws emerging from the ground, causing mass destruction. [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] and his Decepticons land downtown and observe the swarm of [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] that has filled the air, with [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] also detecting traces of [[plasma energy]]. [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] is hesitant, as no one has been able to control plasma energy since the [[Golden Age]], but Megatron rebukes him, intent on using the gift that they have been given. With the humans successfully evacuated from the city, [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] and his team of Autobots arrive to assess the threat and stop the Decepticons. After a brief run-in with [[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]], Optimus and [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] come face to face with Megatron himself. Optimus demands Megatron cease his attack on the city, but Megatron only laughs, saying that Optimus doesn't even realize the truth of who is really behind the attack, and declaring he only wants to make "improvements" to the city. Optimus and Bumblebee defeat Megatron, but he slips away as the two are distracted by the sudden appearance of a giant Steel Tower.

[[File:Devastation-SecretMessage.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Yes, it's coming to me..."Be sure to drink your Ovaltine?!"]]
The Autobots pursue Megatron to the tower, where he deduces that it is somehow directing the Insecticons before receiving a [[Cybertronian language#Aligned continuity family|stream of data]] encoded from the tower. He rides away on [[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]], with the Autobots giving chase, and after [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] briefly battles Megatron, a hatch emerges from the ground leading below. Megatron enters, activating the security system to ensure the Autobots cannot follow. [[Teletraan I|Teletraan-1]] reveals that the hatch leads to the interior of an unknown ship buried below the city, requiring the shutdown of three sub-generators and a primary generator to gain access. With no other choice, the Autobots reach the sub-generators, each guarded by two of the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]], and shut them down. They return to the primary generator, but the Constructicons have beaten them there and reform Devastator. The team defeat the [[Combiner]], but a hologram of Megatron appears to reveal his plan: he now controls the Cybertronian ship known as the ''[[Proudstar]]'', and is using it to control the Insecticons, allowing him to [[cyberforming|cyberform]] the [[Earth]] into a new [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] within mere days at the cost of all native life.
{{-}}

===Chapter 2: The Proudstar===
[[File:Devastation-ProudstarComponents.jpg|thumb|250px|right|[SELECT YOUR WEAPON]]]
After chasing down a [[Sentry-Bot]] containing the key-code to enter, the Autobots enter the ''Proudstar''. Optimus explains that the ship is of Autobot origin, and was once captained by [[Nova Prime]] as part of the Mission of Cybertronian [[Expansion]]. Its goal was to make uninhabited planets suitable for Cybertronian life and preserve a record of their race's culture via the [[Colonnade of Cybertron]] placed aboard the ship's supercomputer, the [[Ferrotaxis]], which controls both the [[Plasma Core]] and the Insecticons. With so much of Cybertron's culture having been lost over the course of the [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], the Autobots make it their mission to retrieve the Ferrotaxis intact and shut down the Plasma Core, stopping the cyberforming. As they split up to explore, Optimus notes a feeling of darkness permeating the ship. The group briefly gets locked into a battle with Soundwave, but he is called away by Megatron for other matters, leaving them to be swarmed by Insecticons bursting from the many [[stasis pod]]s housed within the ship. The Autobots battle through the swarms, including several giant-sized Ancient Insecticons, as the voice of [[Teletraan Alpha]] cryptically hints at the [[The Transformers: The Movie|dark future events]] each Autobot will face, including prophesying that the Great War will come to an end without Optimus Prime there to see it. They reach the Plasma Core, but due to plasma energy's unpredictability, [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] predicts blowing up the Core will cause an explosion that will take half the Earth with it. Defeating the Insecticon guards, they break the shielding protecting the Core, but the security system envelops the core in a protective casing and fires it away from the ship.
{{-}}
===Chapter 3: The Core===
[[File:Devastation-CoreDamage.jpg|thumb|250px|right|That electrical storm is dangerous. Everyone grab your [[yellow boots]]!]]
With the ship and Insecticons rendered inactive due to the loss of their power source, the Autobots seek to retrieve the Plasma Core before Megatron, as well as shut it down due to the potentially dangerous leak sprung in the previous encounter. Knowing Megatron will need someone to retrieve the core, they encounter and defeat [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], who believes plasma energy is too dangerous to be controlled by anyone and tells them the Core's location on the promise that they get rid of it. Making their way to the island where the Core landed, the Autobots encounter Decepticon defenses at [[Liberty Bridge]], stalling for time so that the leak may be patched before they move it. The team uses an explosive cube of [[Red Energon]] to clear the forces at the bridge's entrance, but Starscream arrives to replace them. The Autobots defeat him and begin to cross the bridge, only to come under fire by [[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] as they do so. They manage to hold him off until reaching the other side of the bridge, where they defeat him. Optimus approaches the badly-damaged Plasma Core container, but Starscream appears and carries it away before they have a chance to shut it down.
{{-}}
===Chapter 4: Possession===
[[File:Devastation-Menasor.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Great... AETHER!]]
Back at the tower, Soundwave reveals to Megatron that they were unable to patch the leak before Starscream took the Plasma Core, meaning its detonation is imminent. Only able to be repaired at a [[Plasma Energy Interface]] on Cybertron, Megatron orders Starscream to bring the unstable Core to the tower. The Autobots pursue him across the bridge, but the onset of a storm makes it difficult for Starscream to fly, causing him to lose his grip on the Core and drop it into the city. Optimus tracks Starscream's landing location, but Megatron sends [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] to the coordinates as well. The team race him to the crash site, barely beating him there, and fight him off. The Autobots follow the trail to the Plasma Core, and Wheeljack prepares to patch the leak while the others cover him. Just as he gets the case open, Motormaster and the rest of the [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] arrive and form [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]]. The Autobots defeat the Combiner and, in a fit of rage, he throws the Plasma Core case all the way to the tower. Megatron activates the [[space bridge]] to Cybertron and takes the Core and his troops through, ordering Starscream to hold off the Autobots.
{{-}}
===Chapter 5: To Cybertron===
[[File:Devastation-PlasmaEnergyInterface.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Well, there's your problem: you put the batteries in backwards!]]Optimus and his team follow the Decepticons through the space bridge, battling Starscream while in transit. They emerge on Cybertron just as Megatron leaves with the Plasma Core and Blitzwing appears for a rematch. The group defeat him and approach the Plasma Energy Interface, but before they can stop it, they are ambushed by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]]. While ultimately defeated, Shockwave manages to hold the Autobots off long enough for [[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] to finish repairing the Plasma Core and escape with Megatron. Bumblebee points out the insanity of their plan, but Shockwave argues that Nova Prime was the one who saw the need to cyberform populated planets, though Optimus refuses to believe it. Now back at the tower, Megatron orders the Plasma Core and the Ferrotaxis brought online, declaring the cyberforming process will be complete in less than one Earth day.
{{-}}
===Chapter 6: Ferrotaxis===
[[File:Devastation-Nova-Madness.jpg|thumb|250px|right|He took the cancellation of ''Animated''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s fourth season pretty hard.]]
Now patched and restored to the ''Proudstar'', the Plasma Core is put into overdrive, causing the Insecticons to restart the cyberforming process at a rapid rate, and the Autobots return to stop it. However, due to the poor repair job by the Constructicons, the Core ruptures and produces a gravitational anomaly that begins sucking the Autobots in. Retreating to a safe distance, Wheeljack deduces that if the core goes critical, it will lead to planetary extinction. Optimus decides that the only way to shut down both the Plasma Core and the Insecticons is by using the Ferrotaxis, which [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] points out is in Megatron's possession. However, Soundwave takes control of the ship's security systems, sabotaging their escape route. Barely evading his traps, the Autobots once again become aware of the darkness permeating the ''Proudstar''. Prime posits that while Nova Prime's mission may have initially been noble, cyberforming uninhabited planets to bring life to the galaxy, he and his crew were corrupted by some [[Unicron/Generation 1|unknown entity]] along the way, seeding darkness within his spark and driving him to insanity. The entity sought the destruction of Cybertron and its people, and still searches for the planet to this day, destroying all it encounters along the way. The Autobots head to the control room, but are blocked by Soundwave. Defeating him, the team prepares to storm the control room and take Megatron down once and for all.
{{-}}
===Chapter 7: Legacy===
[[File:Devastation-FinalBattle.jpg|thumb|250px|right|"You only want the Ferrotaxis because I'm using it." "Oh, yeah? Prove it." "Here." "Hey, man, I don't want your stupid Ferrotaxis."]]
As they approach the ''Proudstar''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s control room, the Autobots are beset by a legion of Decepticons seeking to defend it, including Motormaster, Thundercracker and [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]]. The Autobots enter the control room, where Megatron mocks them before leaving with the Ferrotaxis, ordering the Constructicons to finish them off. After battling all six individually, the Constructicons merge into Devastator, prompting another battle. However, it isn't long before Menasor shows up as well, forcing them to fight both Combiners at once. Eventually, both are knocked off the platform to their destruction, and the Autobots head for the surface. Emerging from below, the Autobots find Megatron watching in delight as the planet is ripped apart by the cyberforming, declaring their home will live once more and noting how much he and Optimus could have accomplished together as allies. Optimus demands that Megatron hand over the Ferrotaxis so that their culture might continue to be preserved and shared, but Megatron throws it away, declaring that they will have to defeat him to get it. The Autobots engage in battle in battle with Megatron and emerge victorious, with Optimus once again demanding the Ferrotaxis. Megatron declares that if he can't have it, no one can, launching it high into the sky with his fusion cannon. A swarm of Insecticons follows the Ferrotaxis into the air, and Optimus grabs hold of one of them to catch up, with Megatron in hot pursuit.

[[File:Devastation-Space.jpg|thumb|250px|left|Space...the final <s>boss battle</s> frontier...]]
Now in Earth's orbit as the Insecticons surround the Ferrotaxis, Optimus prepares to fire at the computer, only to be knocked from his perch by Megatron, forcing the two into a zero-gravity final battle. Megatron argues that he fights to restore Cybertron, the home that Optimus abandoned, and that life comes from servos, gyros, and fuel, not flesh. Optimus rejects this, however, believing that destroying other worlds to keep Cybertron on life-support can't be the only way. With one final blow, Optimus manages to knock Megatron out long enough to retrieve the Ferrotaxis, but cannot shut down the Insecticons due to a failsafe activated by Megatron. Megatron declares the only way to stop the Ferrotaxis is to destroy it at the cost of Cybertron's culture and history, and that Cybertron's fate is now in Optimus's hands. Optimus replies that he has the courage to make the right decision and fires upon the Ferrotaxis, destroying it. As a result, the Plasma Core shuts down and the Insecticons all fall lifelessly back to Earth. Megatron is mortified, but Prime is resolute in his decision, believing humanity should decide its own fate. As he falls back to Earth, he tells the other Autobots that while they have lived on Earth for years, they have never truly accepted it as their home, holding out hope of returning to a re-forged Cybertron. While that may someday occur, Prime declares that as of that day, the Earth is their true home, and they are to protect it no matter the cost.

[[File:Devastation-Nova-Awakens.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Oy! Ten thousand years will give you such a crick in the neck.]]
Later, back at the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', a recovered Optimus discusses with Wheeljack if he has found a way to strengthen their forces, with Wheeljack deeming the process risky. As he reflects on what Teletraan Alpha told him aboard the ''Proudstar'', Teletraan-1 receives a transmission from [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] and [[Superion (G1)|Superion]], who throw their full support behind Optimus's plan. Deciding that this is the price he must pay to rid the world of the Decepticons, Optimus and Wheeljack examine schematics for the [[Optimus Maximus (G1)|project]]. Unbeknownst to them, one of the pods on the'' Proudstar'' has broken open. Nova Prime awakens...
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{Featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] ([[Peter Cullen]])
**[[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]]*
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] ([[Dan Gilvezan]])
**Goldfire*
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] ([[Michael Bell]])
**[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]]*
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] ([[Christopher Swindle]])
*[[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] ([[Gregg Berger]])
*[[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] ([[Steve Blum]])
*[[Superion (G1)|Superion]] ([[Jamieson Price]])
|c2=
*[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]] ([[Frank Welker]])
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] ([[Scott Whyte]])
*[[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] (Frank Welker)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] ([[Dave Boat]])
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] ([[André Sogliuzzo]])
*[[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]] (Scott Whyte)
*[[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] ([[Darryl Kurylo]])
*[[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] (Christopher Swindle)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (Scott Whyte)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]]
*[[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]
*[[Devastator (G1)|Devastator]] (Dave Boat)
**[[Scrapper (G1)|Scrapper]] (Michael Bell)
**[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (André Sogliuzzo)
**[[Mixmaster (G1)|Mixmaster]] (Jamieson Price)
**[[Long Haul (G1)|Long Haul]] (Gregg Berger)
**[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] (Steve Blum)
**[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (Jamieson Price)
*[[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] ([[James Arnold Taylor]])
**[[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] ([[Liam O'Brien]])
**[[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]]**
**[[Offroad (CW)|Offroad]]**
**[[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]]**
**[[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]]**
*[[Ground Soldier]]s (Steve Blum, Darryl Kurylo, [[Jim Ward]])
*[[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] (James Arnold Taylor, André Sogliuzzo, Liam O'Brien)
*[[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]] (Darryl Kurylo, Christopher Swindle, Dave Boat)
**[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]
**[[Shrapnel (G1)|Skrapnel]]
**[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]]
|c4=
*[[Teletraan I|Teletraan-1]] (Jim Ward)
*[[Teletraan Alpha]] (Jim Ward)
*[[Nova Prime]]
*[[Jhiaxus (G2)|Jhiaxus]]†
*[[Kranix (G1)|Kranix]]†
*[[Kremzeek]]
|nonumbering=true
}}

:''*Indicates character available only as downloadable content skin.''
:''**Indicates character who only appears in vehicle mode.''
:''† Indicates character who only appears in text-based log entries.''

==Quotes==
"But...but PLASMA energy is unstable! No one has been able to tame it since...since...the GOLDEN AGE!" 
"Then stand back Starscream, and watch me tame it, as I have tamed you."
:— '''Megatron''' made '''Starscream''' his patsy.

"Optimus... come to save the day, I presume?"
:— Just like old times for '''Megatron''' and Optimus Prime.

"Less talk, Autobot. More dying."
:— '''Megatron''' plays for keeps.

"They call me 'Goldfire'! ...Ridiculous, I know."
:— '''Bumblebee''' is less than impressed by his DLC costume.

"Scanning... Identified. Cybertronian Bumblebee. Beware the coming tide of chaos... You will evolve known by another name. In time, your spirit will be that of legend. Your monikers will be many: The World's Bridge. Goldbug. Race-Welder. And finally... Goldfire." 
"Well, that makes me feel special..."
:— '''Teletraan Alpha''' foresees '''Bumblebee''''s future.

"My loyalty only goes so far. Tampering with Plasma Energy? That's madness." 
"Wow, that took, like, no convincing at all. No wonder they call you ThunderCRACKER." 
"Very funny, pipsqueak."
:— Much to '''Thundercracker''''s dismay, '''Bumblebee''' learns the true meaning of his name.

"Last one there's the corroded diode, Autobots!"
:— '''Motormaster''' tells the Autobots to eat his dust.

"Starscream failed. Guess that makes me the new leader of the Decepticons! ...Anybody else want this job?"
:— All hail '''Skywarp'''!

"We should have been allies, you know. Imagine what we could have accomplished... But you never had the manifolds to do what needed to be done." 
"I have the manifolds to stand up for those who cannot stand for themselves."
:— '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus Prime''' talk motivation.

"Why must you always interfere?" 
"You would place Cybertron at the center of the universe." 
"Cybertron is the center of my universe. How is it not at the heart of yours?" 
"Cybertron is about all life. Destruction to keep Cybertron on life support--there must be another way." 
"Flesh isn't life. Servos, gyros and fuel--this is where life comes from! You're defending--''bi-product''--at best! I will restore Cybertron and retake the galaxy!" 
"That ambition will be your end."
:— '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus''' wax poetic as they battle in space.

"Behold, Optimus. A new Cybertron is being born..." 
"No, you are only destroying the Earth, not creating." 
"You don't really believe that, do you?" 
"It is the only thing I am sure I believe. You must be stopped." 
"You're welcome to try." 
"It will be my pleasure." 
"I'm not done yet!!"
:— The final battle between '''Megatron''' and '''Optimus''' comes to a head.

"Autobots. We have lived on Earth for decades. But I see now that we have not truly accepted Earth as our home, holding out some distant hope that we would return to a newly re-forged Cybertron. And maybe one day, that will happen, but we cannot continue to live in between worlds. From this day forward, we are no longer Cybertronians who are stranded on another world. Now we are a part of Earth. And we must treat Earth as though we were forged here. And we must protect our home...no matter the cost."
:— '''Optimus''' monologues as he falls back to Earth.

==Gameplay==
''Devastation'' is a fast-paced hack-and-slash brawler, similar to many of Platinum's other titles like ''Bayonetta'' and ''[[Solid Snake|Metal Gear]] Rising: Revengeance''. Players choose from five Autobots ([[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]], [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], [[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]]) and battle Decepticons using a combination of light and heavy physical attacks, with players generally having to defeat an entire wave of enemies in order to proceed. Players can chain these attacks into a combo, as well as extend their combos and utilize new moves by strategically transforming back and forth between vehicle and robot modes during strings of attacks. Each of the Autobots is also equipped with a projectile-based weapon, allowing them to attack enemies they cannot normally reach, such as airborne [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]]. Players have multiple defensive options, being able to block, dodge, parry, and counterattack against enemy blows; similar to the "Witch Time" mechanic from ''Bayonetta'', dodging at just the right moment will induce "Focus" and cause time to slow down for the surrounding environment, giving players a chance to move in close and counterattack. Certain gameplay segments will encourage the use of vehicle mode over robot mode, such as chasing down escaping Decepticons on a highway or transforming back to robot mode at maximum speed to break an enemy shield.

Each of the five Autobots has a different set of moves and properties; Optimus is the most equally-balanced, Bumblebee focuses on quickness over attack strength, Sideswipe uses a hit-and-run attack style, Wheeljack is largely based around ranged combat and defense, and Grimlock deals in slow but powerful close-range strikes. Each character also possesses a unique ability that they can trigger in battle, such as Wheeljack's shield or Grimlock's grapple; this depletes energy from their Ability Gauge, which automatically refills over time. Attacking enemies will also fill the Ultimate Gauge; when full, this will allow players to use their character-specific Ultimate Attack, doing heavy damage to multiple foes.

The game also includes a player-customization system. Several different weapon types can be potentially dropped by enemies or found in weapons caches and vaults. Each type of weapon, such as axes, swords, or hammers, can only be used by certain characters, and new weapons can be synthesized by using the old ones as materials, allowing players to create stronger weapons of different types. Players can also spend in-game [[Galactic Credits|credits]] to develop [[T.E.C.H.]] that grants passive boosts to their characters, giving them bonuses such as auto-recovery or an increased credit drop rate; the strength of the T.E.C.H. developed varies depending on the amount of credits spent, as well as the player's success at a quicktime event during the synthesis process. Characters' individual stats can also be improved either through combat or by purchasing upgrades with credits. The Lab acts as the in-game store, allowing players to purchase additional weapons, temporary power-ups, and new moves for all five Autobots. Players can access all of these options by returning to the ''[[Ark (G1)|Ark]]'', either between story chapters or by using one of several Teletraan uplinks in each stage, which also function as checkpoints.

The game features seven Story chapters. At the beginning, three difficulty levels are accessible ("Scout", "Warrior", and "Commander"), while two higher difficulties ("[[Magnus (rank)|Magnus]]" and "[[Prime (rank)|Prime]]") are unlocked after completing the lower ones. Players who go off the beaten path in the story chapters may find side missions and [[Transpacial Converters]] scattered about; completing these will reward players with additional weapons. In addition to the primary Story Mode, the game also includes a Challenge Mode with 50 stand-alone missions.

A Gallery mode allows players to view assorted art pieces, such as stage concept art and [[Transformers: Generations (toyline)|Generations]] [[package art|character art]]. New art can be unlocked by finding bouncing [[Kremzeek]]s and Mystery Objects in each stage, or shooting down Decepticon Flags and Spy Ops hovering in the sky. Collectible [[Source:Devastation info logs|info logs]] explaining various concepts and backstory elements can be found throughout the game as well. Completing the game will add the credits sequence to the gallery, viewable with or without the credits themselves, as well as a model viewer that allows players to view all of the 3D character models, accompanied by their respective themes. The model viewer includes a "Transform" command that lets you view both of their modes, and a "Try Me" button that plays some of their voice samples.

Players who pre-ordered the game received a downloadable content bundle that included character skins for Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Sideswipe based on [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]], Goldfire, and [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] respectively, as well as three new weapons: the [[Dark Star Saber]], the twin Golden Hunters, and the Photon Disruptor. This bundle was later made publicly available for a $5 purchase roughly a month following the game's release.

==Trophy/Achievement list==
When completing various goals and tasks during the game, the player will be rewarded as part of their console of choice's meta-goal system. Players can earn up to 31 Trophies on PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, and 30 Achievements on the Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The PlayStation versions' trophies come in four types: Bronze, which represent easier tasks and are worth the least experience; Silver, which are awarded for challenges of mid-level difficulty; Gold, which are given for harder tasks and worth more experience; and Platinum, the highest-level trophy unlocked only after earning all of a game's other trophies. On the Xbox versions, each achievement has a Gamerscore value that adds to the player's total Gamerscore across all games played; up to 1000 Gamerscore can be earned in ''Devastation''. These achievements can also be earned in the PC version as part of the Steam interface, but lack the individual values and weights from the console versions.

{| border=1 cellspacing=0 cellpadding=5
! Icon
! Achievement/Trophy name
! Achievement/Trophy description
! Gamerscore
! PS Trophy
|-
| [[File:Devastation Till All Are One.jpg|60px]]
| [['Til all are one|Till All Are One]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Supreme Commander.jpg|60px]]
| [[Supreme Commander]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Optimus Prime.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Sting Like A Bee.jpg|60px]]
| Sting Like a Bee
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Bumblebee.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation The Wizard Of Iacon.jpg|60px]]
| The Wizard of [[Iacon (polity)|Iacon]]
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Wheeljack.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Raging Bull.jpg|60px]]
| Raging Bull
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Sideswipe.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation The King.jpg|60px]]
| The King
| Complete all chapters on any difficulty using Grimlock.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation All Clear.jpg|60px]]
| All Clear
| Complete all Challenge Mode missions on any difficulty.
| 85 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Halfway There.jpg|60px]]
| Halfway There
| Complete half of all Challenge Mode missions on any difficulty.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation No Stone Unturned.jpg|60px]]
| No Stone Unturned
| Collect all collectible items.
| 90 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Avid Collector.jpg|60px]]
| Avid Collector
| Complete half of all collectible items.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Synthesis 101.jpg|60px]]
| Synthesis 101
| Synthesize 10 weapons.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Full Throttle.jpg|60px]]
| Full Throttle
| Defeat 100 enemies with Vehicle/Dino Attacks.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Dont Hit The Brakes.jpg|60px]]
| (Don't) Hit the Brakes!
| Defeat 100 enemies with Rush Attacks.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Platinum.jpg|60px]]
| Platinum
| Complete all chapters, earning the highest rank, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater.
| 90 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Gold}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Catch This.jpg|60px]]
| Catch this!
| Use parrying to catch the following from an enemy: a boulder, a missile, and both drill types.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Pedal To The Metal.jpg|60px]]
| Pedal to the Metal
| Use Focus 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Quick Reflexes.jpg|60px]]
| Quick Reflexes
| After dodging, quickly counter with a melee attack 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Bullet Storm.jpg|60px]]
| Bullet Storm
| After dodging, quickly counter with a ranged attack 100 times.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Hawkeyed.jpg|60px]]
| Hawkeyed
| Perform 100 successful head shots.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Flyswatter.jpg|60px]]
| Flyswatter
| Finish the lift battle in Chapter 2 without taking damage from Insecticons.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Urban Landscaping.jpg|60px]]
| Urban Landscaping
| In chapter 1, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, knock Devastator into a building 3 times.
| 15 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Bronze}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Roadblock.jpg|60px]]
| Roadblock
| In chapter 4, defeat Motormaster while racing him.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Surround Sound.jpg|60px]]
| Surround Sound
| In chapter 6, on diff. COMMANDER or greater, defeat Soundwave without defeating any cassettes.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Wrecking Crew.jpg|60px]]
| Wrecking Crew
| In chapter 1, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Devastator without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Hard-Core.jpg|60px]]
| HARD-Core
| In chapter 2, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, destroy the shielding without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Triple Changer.jpg|60px]]
| [[Triple Changer]]
| In chapter 3, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Blitzwing without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Destruction Derby.jpg|60px]]
| Destruction Derby
| In chapter 4, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Menasor without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Dont Look Him In The Eye.jpg|60px]]
| Don't Look Him in the Eye
| In chapter 5, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Shockwave without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Broken Radio.jpg|60px]]
| Broken Radio
| In chapter 6, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Soundwave without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation Emperor of Destruction.jpg|60px]]
| [[Emperor of Destruction]]
| In chapter 7, on difficulty COMMANDER or greater, defeat Megatron without taking damage.
| 30 {{gamerscore}}
| {{PS Silver}}
|-
| [[File:Devastation All Trophies.jpg|60px]]
| All Trophies
| Earned all other trophies.
|
| {{PS Platinum}}
|-
|}

==Notes==
===Errors===
*At the beginning of the game, Soundwave is not shown flying in the sky despite landing alongside Starscream, Blitzwing, and Megatron a moment later.
*In that same cutscene, the Decepticon flying next to Blitzwing is not Starscream, but one of the Warrior Seekers.
*''Also'' in the opening cutscene, the thick, comic book-style outline around Starscream's jaw doesn't move while he warns Megatron.
*In Chapter 1, after the first Devastator battle, Sideswipe's torso is seen twisted.
*In Chapter 1, Teletraan 1 pronounces "[[Kaon (polity)|Kaon]]" as "Kai-on" when it should be "Kay-on".
*In Chapter 1, when the Constructicons form Devastator, you can see straight through Devastator's shoulder joint in the brief moment before Bonecrusher attaches. This is due to the model's arm joint not being capped off at the end as it is usually obscured by Devastator's arm, thus allowing the camera to see within the model where the polygon backfaces are not rendered.
*In Chapter 1, when Megatron enters the hatch leading underground, Optimus mispronounces Teletraan-1 as "Teltraan-1", omitting the second syllable.
*In Chapter 2, a second "the" is included in the subtitles when Optimus says "Autobots, welcome to the ''Proudstar''."
*In Chapter 3, when Optimus throws the Red Energon cube, it is inexplicably colored pink.
*In Chapter 4, when the Autobots find the location of the Plasma Core, Bumblebee is seen opening and closing his mouth repeatedly despite not having any dialogue.
*In Chapter 4, as Motormaster and his Stunticons intervene, a very scaled down model of his alternate mode can briefly be seen between his legs as Breakdown and Offroad attach onto them.
*In Chapter 4, after Starscream crashes in the Decepticon hangar, the faction symbols on all the other Decepticons suddenly pulse as one.
*Throughout the campaign, many shots in the cutscenes show some characters such as Starscream and Soundwave having their hand textures being swapped with Wheeljack's.
*The description for Sideswipe's "Launcher Barrage" ability states that the player needs to press the fire button repeatedly, while in actuality the attack will fire on its own.
*When using the single sword weapon type, the attack sequence, "light, pause, light (hold)" can give the player an extra jump.

===Transformers references===
*All of the player weapons are derived from those used in past ''Transformers'' series:
**Some of the weapons originate from ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers Prime]]'', such as the [[Star Saber (Prima)|Star Saber]], the [[Dark Star Saber]], and the [[Forge of Solus Prime]]. The Battle Hammer version of the Forge resembles the one included with ''[[Ultra Magnus (WFC)#Beast Hunters|''Beast Hunters'' Ultra Magnus toy]].
**Optimus carries both his standard [[energon-axe]] and [[ion blaster]].
**[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe's]] primary melee weapons are silver swords identical to the one included with his [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|G2 ''Masterpiece'' toy]]. His standard [[flare gun]] and [[Transformers: Generation 2 (Marvel)|G2 comic]] GZS-3 and MA685 blasters are also unlockable throughout the game.
**Bumblebee's blasters are based on the [[Generic Autobot laser pistol|weapon]] included with his [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Masterpiece|first ''Masterpiece'' toy]]. Bumblebee's melee weapons are his "gloves", which are just his fists.
**Wheeljack's wrenches are based on the accessories included with his [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
**Grimlock wields his [[galaxial rocket launcher]] packaged with his [[Grimlock (G1)/toys#Generation 1|original toy]], though it is physically modeled after his Twin Stunner Laser. Much like Bumblebee, his melee weapons are his gloves, but his [[energo weapon|Energo-sword]] can be unlocked.
**The Piercing Rifle is based on [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]]'s blaster.
**The Small Blasters are based on those wielded by [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]].
**The MOD Fusion Cannon and Battle Blade are based on [[live-action film series|live action]] [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] and [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]]'s weapons, respectively.
**The basic hammer weapons bear a striking resemblance to the [[Magnus Hammer]].
**Heavy hammers, such as the Energon and Shock Hammer, are based on ''Age of Extinction'' [[Grimlock (AOE)|Grimlock]]'s mace.
**The Wrecking Ball resembles [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]]'s melee weapon.
**The Basic Blaster is based on [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]'s [[photon rifle]].
**The Heavy Blaster is based on the animation model for [[Jetfire (G1)|Jetfire]]'s photon missile launcher.
**The basic swords are slightly scaled-down versions of [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]]'s [[Sonic sword]].
**The Battle Cutters are dead ringers for the saw weapon [[Hot Rod (G1)|Hot Rod]] briefly used in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
**The Photon Eliminator, Rodimus Prime's classic weapon, can be acquired after Magnus mode is unlocked.
**The Battle Swords resemble [[Optimus Primal (BW)|Optimus Primal]]'s swords. They are often dual-wielded in the game by Elite Seekers in Primal's original colors.
**The four "knuckle" weapons resemble the "Combat Claw" that came with the ''[[Transformers: Prime (toyline)|Prime]]'' [[Megatron (WFC)/toys#Prime|Voyager Megatron]] toy.
**The Loudspeaker is based on ''[[Transformers (2010 toyline)|Transformers]] [[Transformers (2010 toyline)#Hasbro Reveal the Shield subline|Reveal the Shield]]'' Deluxe Class [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Transformers (2010)|Special Ops Jazz]]'s weapon (itself based on [[Classic Pretender]] [[Jazz (G1)/toys#Pretender|Jazz]]'s weapon) in its combined form with the figure's loudspeaker accessories attached.
**The Magna Shot blaster is a signature weapon of [[Dai Atlas (G1)|Dai Atlas]].
**After defeating Megatron, you unlock his classic [[fusion cannon]].
**Defeating Starscream unlocks his [[null-ray]]s.
**The Shockwave Blaster is based on Shockwave's blaster mode.
**The Solar Beam Rifle is based on [[Devastator (G1)/toys|Devastator's]] weapon (called a [[magna laser]] in his and Mixmaster's [[instructions]] but a [[solar energy beam rifle]] in his [[bio]]).
**The drills Bonecrusher and Devastator use (both melee and ranged) can be unlocked after they are defeated. Both versions are based on the spring-loaded drills that came with their G1 toys.
**Motormaster/Menasor's classic Ionizer Sword and Cyclone Rifle can be unlocked after they are defeated.
**The Basic Spreadshot is based on the animation model of [[Hound (G1)|Hound]]'s hologram gun.
**The Heavy Spreadshot series of weapons are (appropriately) based on [[Getaway]]'s [[plasma-shell shotgun]].
**The four basic Machineguns {{sic}} are based on [[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]]'s "Electrothermic Blast Tube" (AKA the gun his G1 figure came with). Fittingly, the Kickback fought in Chapter 2 wields one of these.
**The Assault Rifles are modeled after the large rifle that came with [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr's]] [[Blurr (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
**The basic sniper rifles are based on [[Kup (G1)|Kup]]'s [[musket laser]] included with his [[Kup (G1)/toys#Generations|2011 ''Generations'' figure]].
**The heavy sniper rifles are modeled after [[Blaster (G1)|Blaster]]'s [[Electro-scrambler]].
**The grenade launchers, four basic missile launchers, and Grappling Hook are all based on the missile launchers in [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] & [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]'s [[Onebox component]]s.
**The Adhesive and Slow Gel Guns, as well as the Rust, Confuse & Weakening Spreadshots, all resemble the missile launcher that came with [[Sludge (G1)#Toys|Sludge]] (specifically, how it appeared in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|Generation 1 cartoon]]).
**All of the "middle-weight" launchers (Delay Launcher, 6 Shot Missiles, etc.) are based on ''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (franchise)|Generation 2]]'' [[Dreadwing (G2)|Dreadwing's]] shoulder-mounted gatling gun.
*The eight upgradeable stats for each Autobot (Strength, Courage, Speed, Fireblast, Skill, Endurance, Intelligence, and Rank) are based directly on the classic G1 [[Tech Spec]]s.
*While Optimus Prime and Grimlock's alternate modes are based off of their animation models from ''[[The Transformers (cartoon)|The Transformers]]'', the other playable characters' alternate modes are based off of pre-existing toys. Bumblebee's alternate mode is based off of his [[Bumblebee (G1)/toys#Classics|''Classics'' toy]], Sideswipe's is based on his [[Sideswipe (G1)/toys#Universe (2008)|2008 ''Universe'' toy]] and Wheeljack's is from his [[Wheeljack (G1)/toys#Generations|2010 ''Generations'' toy]].
*Wheeljack's Ultimate attack involves building an [[Wheeljack Instant Immobilizer|Immobilizer]] from "[[The Immobilizer]]".
*The Repair Kits bear a fair resemblance to [[Diagnostic Drone]]s.
*The weapon crates scattered throughout each level bear a resemblance to the [[AllSpark]]'s container from ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Transformers Animated]]''.
*The attempted [[cyberforming]] of Earth by the Decepticons has been used as a plot point in several past ''Transformers'' stories.
*The hurricane wind generators may be a reference to the [[Devastator Winds]] that have inspired Devastator's name in a few continuities.
*Concept art in the game shows that the cyberforming claws found throughout New York City and the ''Proudstar'' are based on [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]]'s claws/hands, though the final design has ''slightly'' different details.
*Sideswipe declares he's ready to [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|bust some Deceptichops]].
*Megatron's appearance mixes his general G1 design with his ''Combiner Wars'' [[Megatron (G1)/Generations toys#Combiner Wars|figure]] (tank tread shins, pointed shoulders, tank alt. mode).
*Megatron generates an energy-based shield from his fusion cannon arm, an ability he previously exhibited in "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 3]]".
*Several billboards advertise [[S. Witwicky Auto Repairs & Tow Service|S. Witwicky's Auto Shop]] and [[Prim Cola]]. Also visible is the "Creamy Cream" billboard from "[[Prime Target (episode)|Prime Target]]", renamed to the less-snigger-inducing "Bluebird Lotion". An IDW-inspired billboard easter egg is a sign advertising, "[[Maccadam's Old Oil House|Maccadam's Motor Oil]]."
*Shops found around the city include [[Becky's Coffee Shop]] from "[[I, Robot-Master!]]"; Lander's Beverages, named in homage to [[Lander]]'s love of wines; and a jewelry store named Bahoudin's, referencing the [[Pearl of Bahoudin]] from "[[Trans-Europe Express]]". [[Burger House]] was also planned to appear, but PlatinumGames had to change the sign for legal reasons, instead advertising a "Mega Burger Combo".<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://web.archive.org/web/20221124183053/https://www.gameinformer.com/b/features/archive/2015/12/20/the-abundant-easter-eggs-of-transformers-devastation.aspx|name=Matt Miller|title=The Abundant Easter Eggs Of Transformers Devastation|site=Game Informer|year=2015|month=12|day=20}}</ref>
*The message Megatron receives from the tower uses "[[Cybertronian language#The Transformers cartoon|Ancient Autobot]]" characters, first seen in "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]".
*Bumblebee comments on the unlikely odds that another Cybertronian ship besides the ''Ark'' and the ''[[Nemesis (G1)|Nemesis]]'' would have crash-landed on Earth millions of years ago... unaware that the ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'' and ''[[Darksyde (BW)|Darksyde]]'' did exactly that in ''[[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]''.
*The Insecticons are treated as a swarm similar to the clones from the G1 cartoon and the Infestation from the IDW comics, with infologs stating that these Insecticons were bred specifically for use on the ''Proudstar'' without the faction alignment, speech or distinct personalities of the primary Insecticons.
*Like his IDW self, [[Nova Prime]] traveled through the [[Benzuli Expanse]].
*One of Kranix's logs makes mention of [[Ore-13]].
*Teletraan Alpha alludes to Wheeljack and Optimus's unfortunate demises in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''.
*Teletraan Alpha also tells Bumblebee that he will eventually be known as "The World's Bridge", "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|Goldbug]]", "Race-Welder", and "Goldfire".
*Sideswipe asks Teletraan Alpha if he's been talking to [[Sunstreaker (G1)|his brother]].
*Teletraan Alpha cannot read Grimlock's aura due to the Dinobot [[S.O.S. Dinobots|not being completely Cybertronian]].
*[[Red Energon]] appears, only here it's a volatile explosive, not a speed enhancer.
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] uses ice in his jet mode and fire in his tank mode, in the vein of his [[Blitzwing (Animated)|''Animated'' counterpart]].
*The [[Stunticon (G1)|Stunticons]] appear in their ''Combiner Wars'' [[Stunticon (G1)#Generations|designs]], with Offroad replacing [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]], while Menasor's appearance is a combination of his G1 and CW designs. Notably, [[Blackjack (G1)|Blackjack]] forms on Menasor's chest, though he does not appear among the separated Stunticons. Also, the Stunticons actually fuse with Motormaster's limbs like in the [[The Transformers (cartoon)|original cartoon]].
*Shockwave has the ability to generate duplicates of himself, in an ''insanely'' specific reference to a power mentioned in the original animated series [[production bible]], which was never used in the cartoon itself ([[Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 1#Continuity notes|except maybe once]]). The duplicates have the grey color scheme of the original "Astro Magnum" toy Shockwave was based on.
*Megatron states that he thought Optimus was [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|made of sterner stuff]].
*In one of his voice lines, Thundercracker claims to be "The Scourge of the [[Mithril Sea|Mithric Sea]]"
*In unused dialogue of Sideswipe's encounter with Megatron, he says that he [[The Transformers: The Movie#Quotes|could've waited an eternity for this]].
*Optimus defeats Megatron with the same haymaker he used in their final battle in the [[Battle of Autobot City]].
*Defensor, Superion, and Optimus Maximus's appearances at the end of the game are taken directly from their ''Combiner Wars'' designs, although their limb configurations do not match their standard setups.
*The end credits theme, "Face the Devastation", features a sequence of chords borrowed from [[The Transformers: The Movie - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack|''The Transformers: The Movie''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s musical score]], also composed by Vince DiCola.

===Real-world references===
* Devastator's first appearance as he looks over the building is an identical shot to the Colossal Titan's first appearance in ''{{w|Attack on Titan}}''.

===Trivia===
[[File:Devastation-Ratbat.jpg|thumb|250px|right|Who dares disturb my beauty sleep? Have you not heard? This movie's already over! Captain Blue is defeated, and we are victorious!]]
*[[FIRRIB|Frenzy is blue, Rumble is red]].
*According to an interview at E3 2015, Kenji Saito stated his favorite character to design was Grimlock, as he found him the most unique and interesting from both a character and gameplay perspective.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://youtu.be/P-9rVBCogS4?si=UgBfBxO3sRuHIks-&t=473|quote=Stage Demo: Transformers: Devastation - E3 2015|name=GameSpot|year=2015|month=6|day=18}}</ref>
*Although Frank Welker reprised his roles as both Megatron and Soundwave from the original cartoon, he did not voice Superion, Mixmaster, Skywarp, Rumble, or Frenzy, despite having originated all of those roles. The same can be said of Michael Bell, who did not voice Bombshell and Bonecrusher as in the original cartoon (albeit, the latter was for only one episode). Additionally, of the other characters in the game whose voice actors were still alive, [[Corey Burton]], [[Arthur Burghardt]], [[Neil Ross]], [[Clive Revill]], and [[Hal Rayle]] did not return to voice Shockwave, Devastator, Hook, Bonecrusher, Kickback, or Skrapnel.
*Originally, the second phases of each boss battle were intended to feature vocals in their backing music tracks, as Platinum had previously done for the boss fights in ''Metal Gear Rising''. However, due to time constraints and other commitments, the decision was made to add in secondary guitar leads for the second phases instead.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/PG_saito/status/970259344007643136|quote=ほんとはボーカルも入れたかったんだけど開発期間とほかイロイロあって難しい状態だったのでかわりにギターに歌ってもらってます。ボスが本気状態になるとギターがのってくる演出になっとります。かっこいいですよー。|name=Kenji Saito|site=Twitter|year=2018|month=3|day=4}}</ref>
*[[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] was planned to appear as part of the boss fights with Soundwave, but was removed during development. However, his unused character model and textures can still be found within the game's files.
*The 2015 San Diego Comic-Con poster for ''Devastation'' features Menasor in his original "Generation 1" design rather than his ''Combiner Wars'' design, suggesting the game design changed at some point during development.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/Guido_Guidi/status/824390786670297088/|quote=Unused G1 accurate Menasor from the SDCC "Transformers: Devastation" game poster (final version featured Combiner Wars inspired design)|name=Guido Guidi|site=Twitter|year=2017|month=01|day=25}}</ref>
*Megatron's [[Energon mace|Energon Mace]], Sideswipe's Pile Drivers, and Blitzwing's [[Electron scimitar|Electron Scimitar]] were all featured in early concept art as potential unlockable weapons. However, none of these made it into the final game.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://twitter.com/platinumgames/status/667870090369470465|quote=Transformers: Devastation is packed full of all kinds of weapons. Here are some concepts for just a few.|name=PlatinumGames|site=Twitter|year=2015|month=11|day=20}}</ref>
*During the final battle in space, the player always fights as Optimus Prime even if another playable character was in use, but Prime will fight using the previous character's gear. For example, if Wheeljack was using his wrenches to fight Megatron on the ground, Prime will ''somehow'' have those wrenches with him in space. This also applies to the "Nemesis Prime" DLC skin, which will revert to the standard Optimus, despite being the same character.
*A slightly different version of the ending cutscene can be found hidden within the game's files. While mostly identical, this early version ends before it can display the full schematics for Optimus Maximus, making the reveal much more vague.<ref>{{citesocial|link=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XZWtAZcT3Co|quote=Transformers Devastation secrets|name=Running Sky|year=2020|month=11|day=30}}</ref>
*At the 2015 [[San Diego Comic-Con]], Microsoft held a sweepstakes to win one of 20 custom-painted Xbox One consoles with designs based on several upcoming games, including one based on ''Devastation''.<ref>[https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2015/07/02/xbox-sdcc-collectible-xbox-one-console-sweepstakes/ Win one of 20 Custom Painted Xbox Ones at SDCC 2015 - Xbox]</ref>
* A ''Devastation''-branded faceplate for PlayStation 4 was designed with the intention of being sold as part of a console bundle in China. However, by all accounts, no evidence exists that they were ever sold. An ''extremely'' limited number of the faceplates ended up in the hands of a few PlatinumGames' staff members, including former creative producer JP Kellams, who revealed the faceplate's existence before later auctioning his off for charity.<ref>{{citesocial|quote=Next up is the #Transformers Devastation PS4 faceplate. This one is officially licensed by Sony and super rare. I think it never came out, so this is likely one of only a few in existence.|link=https://twitter.com/synaesthesiajp/status/1653892008560189441|name=JP Kellams|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=05|day=03}} {{citesocial|quote=Created for a potential Transformers PS4 bundle in China, but I've never seen proof that this was actually released. A few got dispersed to the PG team which is how I got mine. I've NEVER seen another one of these in the wild and my suspicion is that there are very few of these.|link=https://twitter.com/synaesthesiajp/status/1653892327423762437|name=JP Kellams|site=Twitter|year=2023|month=05|day=03}}</ref>
*A selection of the game's soundtrack, comprising 11 tracks composed by Vince DiCola and Kenny Meriedeth, was announced at [[Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]] and released via digital streaming services on November 5, 2021.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjtxJqrv-bI&t=1h47m57s Hasbro Pulse Con 2021]</ref> To date, they remain the only music tracks from the game ever to receive an official release.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
* [https://open.spotify.com/album/1WhigvyyE6rQyFlFV5wmwP ''Transformers: Devastation'' soundtrack selection on Spotify]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Devastation}}
[[Category:Generation 1 video games]]
[[Category:Combiner Wars]]

Quest for Survival

2025-06-02T02:11:14Z

TankCatapult: /* Animation and technical errors */

{{episode
|image=QuestForSurvival Blaster repels morphobots.jpg
|caption=The Morphobots raise the roof.
|series=G1toon
|ep=45
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=34
|prev2=Make Tracks
|next2=The Secret of Omega Supreme (episode)
|title="Quest for Survival"
|season=2
|season ep=29
|written by=[[Reed Robbins]] and [[Peter Salas]]
|production code=700-44
|airdate=[[November 5]], 1985
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxgpOOj0lno
|videosite=YouTube
}}

'''The Autobots find themselves outnumbered when facing an Insecticon Clone Army and look to find a robotic insecticide to destroy them. However, their problems are just going to get bigger when spores from alien plants on Cosmos begin to grow rapidly...'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:QuestForSurvival Insecticon swarm incoming.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|''Here we come to eat the haaaay The Insecticons are on their way'']]
The [[Decepticon]]s have turned the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]]' cloning ability to new heights, to be an unstoppable force that will devour Earth's food resources and convert it into [[energon]]. Like a horde of mechanical locusts, they swarm Earth's crops, from Asia to the United States to the tropics - with the potential to cause the human race to starve to death. The Autobots make an attempt to stop the Insecticons, but they are too many in number, and the Autobots are forced to retreat. At [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]], the Autobots explain what happened to [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]], when [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]], [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]], and [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] contact Prime, saying that they found some [[robotic insecticide]] on [[Floron III]]. As they leave, however, something grabs hold of Cosmos, and he is barely able to escape.

Returning to the [[Decepticon Headquarters (G1 Earth)|Decepticon base]], the Insecticons convert the food they've eaten into energon, but only get one [[energon cube]] each. [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] claims that this is because of the costly energy conversion process, but in another room, the Decepticons are busily converting massive amounts of energy into energon. Megatron muses that the Insecticons would be deadly if they weren't so stupid.

[[File:QuestForSurvival Spike surveys damage.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|I ''told'' you not to pick up those hitchhikers.]]

On his approach to Earth, Cosmos discovers that spores from whatever attacked him are growing across his hull, and he is losing control of his systems. Bumblebee and Spike manage to abandon ship before Cosmos crashes and go to get help. Arriving back at the base, Bumblebee discovers that spores are attached to his body, but [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] manages to get them off. Prime attempts to contact Cosmos, only to discover that the valley he crashed in has been overtaken by the plant-like machines. As the Autobot leader leads a rescue mission, [[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] learns of the insecticide, and reports it to [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]]. Megatron takes a team to retrieve it before the Autobots can...and in case he might need the insecticide himself.

[[File:Blaster Amogus.JPG|right|upright=1.1|thumb|Blaster Amogus, since he's half-transformed.]]

At the base, [[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]] and [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] discover that the spores are [[Morphobot]]s, a plant-like species that the [[Transformer]]s believed was extinct. They contact Prime, warning him that the Morphobots are particularly fond of robotic lifeforms. Elsewhere, [[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] is overseeing the Insecticons, when Megatron orders him to warn the Insecticons to stay away from the valley. The Insecticons suspect that Megatron is hiding something, and attack Thrust, after which they take the entire clone army to the valley.

[[File:Primequestforsurvival.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|LA LA LA LA, NOT LISTENING!]]

At the valley, the Decepticons arrive first, only to discover the Morphobots. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] fires first, only to have the blast from his [[null-ray]] deflected right back at him. Before Megatron can properly admonish Starscream, Soundwave detects the Autobots. Megatron decides to let Prime do the work of getting the insecticide for him. [[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] fires a blast, but gets nowhere; [[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]]'s liquid nitrogen only freezes them momentarily. [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] begins broadcasting, which causes the Morphobots to recoil. Bumblebee, Ironhide, [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], and Blaster take Cosmos out of the field.

[[File:G1 QuestforSurvival Morphobot eats Bombshell.jpg|right|upright=1.1|thumb|The venus fly trap from outer space.]]

Once they're out, Megatron and the Decepticons attack, destroying the insecticide. However, the Morphobots also attack the Decepticons. As things get bad, the Insecticons arrive. Megatron believes the noble creatures are coming to save them. Obviously his [[Circuits|logic circuits]] fail to tell him just how many things are wrong with his idea. Believing them to be food, the Insecticon clones fly straight into the field, and the Morphobots consume all the clones. The original Insecticons manage to escape, and the Decepticons follow.

At their base, the Autobots have loaded the Morphobots into a shuttle, intended to take them to a world with a large robotic insect population. However, Perceptor requests that a second shuttle be prepared as soon as possible, as the Morphobots he has been studying have become a little too friendly for his tastes.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (6)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (7)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (8)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (9)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (10)
*[[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (11)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (12)
*[[Grapple (G1)|Grapple]] (13)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (14)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (15)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (16)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] (25)
*[[Perceptor (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Perceptor]] (26)
*[[Beachcomber (G1)|Beachcomber]] (27)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (30)
*[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (34)
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (35)

|c2=
*[[Insecticon clone]]s (2)
*[[Bombshell (G1)|Bombshell]] (3)
*[[Kickback (G1)|Kickback]] (4)
*[[Shrapnel (G1)|Shrapnel]] (5)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (19)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (20)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (21)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] (22)
*[[Skywarp (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Skywarp]] (23)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (24)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Laserbeak]] (28)
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (29)
*[[Thrust (G1)|Thrust]] (31)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (32)
*[[Blitzwing (G1)|Blitzwing]] (33)

|c3=
*Farmers (1)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (17)

|c4=
*[[Morphobot]]s (18)
}}

==Quotes==
"Robotic Insecticide?"
:—'''Skids''' makes his debut by asking what everyone else is thinking.

"Muahah. If the Insecticons had ''brains'', they'd be ''dangerous!''"
:—'''Megatron''' reflects on the Insecticons' gullibility.

"Hmm. Very interesting." 
"What is it?" 
"Hmm? What is what?"
:—'''Perceptor''' and '''Prowl''', a typical conversation with a scientist.

"Where is your courage, Megatron?"
:—'''Starscream''' should practice what he preaches.

"Who says plants aren't intelligent? The Morphobots are repelled by your music."
:—'''Optimus Prime''', being a little ungrateful to Blaster, who is repelling the Morphobots

"Just don't stand there with your cockpits open, you fools!"
:—'''Megatron''', being dragged along the ground by a Morphobot.

"The Insecticons! Those noble creatures have come to save us, despite the danger to their own lives."
:—'''Megatron''', seriously overestimating his allies.

[[File:G1 QuestforSurvival Bombshell Kickback.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
"Our friend Megatron is in trouble." 
"If I wasn't so ''hungry'', I'd stop to help him out. HAHAHAHAHAH!"
:—'''Kickback''' and '''Bombshell''' both showing how an 'ally' should act.

"You didn't tell us they'd bite back!"
:—'''Kickback''', realizing that plants do bite back.

==Notes==
===Production information===
First draft script submitted: 17th April 1985

===Continuity notes===
[[File:QuestforSurvival bee carries blaster.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
[[File:QuestForSurvival-SkidsRoboticInsecticide.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1]]
* First appearance of [[Skids (G1)|Skids]] (out of only [[Triple Takeover|two in the whole cartoon!]]).
* Optimus Prime says Blaster's music is "frying his brain transmitters".
* The possibility that the Morphobots will drive the Earth to starvation just breaks Megatron's "[[energon convertor]]". Not!
* Gadgets and powers:
** Tracks actually uses his missile launchers!
** Cosmos has something called an "Auxiliary laser jet". Because jets and lasers are totally the same thing! (Maybe it's just a backup {{w|HP LaserJet|printer?}})
** Ironhide shoots some kind of gray graphite lookin' stuff from his retracted fingertips, which forms a hard shell around its target.
** Later he shoots nitrogen in the same fashion, freezing the Morphobots in place.
** Blaster transforms into a halfway form between his cassette player form and his [[robot mode]]. Later, he transforms into his boom box mode without shrinking at all.
* Blaster repulses the Morphobots with an instrumental version of the song "[[Cold Slither (song)|Cold Slither]]" played in the ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe: A Real American Hero]]'' episode of the same name.
*Tracks actually uses his [[Black beam gun]] to blind Megatron, Dirge and Blitzwing.
* This episode marks one of only two instances in which Soundwave laughs (the other being "[[Auto-Bop]]"). He chuckles along with Megatron when Starscream is knocked on his can, and again after Megatron destroys the insecticide.

===Real-world references===
* The opening scene is set in an unspecified Asian country; the [[dialogue script]] notes the farm worker has a Chinese accent, but whether the attack actually takes place in [[China]] or not is hard to say.
* The farmer's accents in the next scene suggest it's set somewhere in the American south.
* ''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
** [[TIE Fighter]] roar as Thrust swoops over the grassy plain.
** [[Death Star]] super laser as he lands in the field.
** ''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst as he retreats from the Insecticons, and again as the Insecticons take off after him.

===Animation and technical errors===
[[File:QuestForSurvival Inferno puts out Tracks.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|I'm burning! burning!]]
* Shrapnel is not on-screen when he says "I'm starved"; instead, Kickback is prominently in the foreground.
* In the overhead shot of the two farm vehicles, one is cutting a path through the corn, while the other is not. When the drivers abandon the vehicles a moment later, both have paths behind them.
* The two vehicle-driving farmers switch places at the start. The fellow in blue overalls is driving the tractor, but is shown running from the combine harvester, trading vehicles with his pal.
* Tracks has Bombshell's vocal processing effect when he gives the order to transform, and again when he is set on fire.
* Coloring errors:
** In the line-up of newly transformed Autobots, Smokescreen's headcrest is blue instead of yellow, and his feet are dark gray when they should be blue.
** Insect mode Kickback has a white mouthplate as he flees from Tracks' missile.
** As Smokescreen explains the retreat to Optimus, his forehead crest is blue again, and his chest is squared off instead of rounded.
** In the first shot of him struggling against the plants, Cosmos' Autobot symbol is a featureless black shape - like a [[rubsign]]!
** Bumblebee's nose is yellow as Cosmos struggles against the Morphobots.
** And again as Cosmos orders Spike and Bumblebee to eject.
** "Where's Cosmos?" - Prime's running lights are blue instead of red.
** After the Insecticons leave their transfer chambers, Bombshell's chest compartment is gray instead of yellow.
** Laserbeak's wings are all red (missing their black and light gray bits) as he observes the traveling Autobots.
** As Kickback kicks Thrust, Bombshell's shoulders are maroon, and his eyes aren't colored in.
** As the Decepticons arrive at the valley, Starscream's left wing is missing its red stripe. In the same shot, Blitzwing is flying with his landing gear down.
** The Decepticon jets fire on the Autobots with the Autobot laser sound.
** Soundwave's forehead flashes between white and blue as he laughs at Starscream's pratfall.
** In the shot of the newly arrived Autobots, Ironhide's helmet is gray instead of red.
** The edge of Ironhide's helmet is the same color as his face in a couple of shots, notably when he reacts to the Morphobots shrugging off his nitrogen.
** Tracks has white tires as he walks behind Bumblebee through the Morphobot field.
** Blitzwing's helmet is purple instead of yellow as he lands to attack.
** And again as he runs to assist Megatron.
** Gun mode Megatron is all dark gray when Soundwave releases him.
** Dirge's face is white instead of dark gray after he's been thrown by the Morphobots.
** Ironhide's shoulders are gray instead of red as he agrees with Optimus about disposing of the Morphobots.
* Just before the Autobots retreat, Tracks fires a couple of missiles... but his launchers aren't empty after he does so.
* The area around Autobot Headquarters looks different in this episode. It's sitting flush with a plateau off to the side, not the usual rocky cliffside.
* At Decepticon Headquarters, Kickback - or a clone - transforms without any transformation sound.
* As Megatron greets the Insecticons, Dirge is missing his wings.
* As they speak to Cosmos post-crash, Spike gestures as if he's trying to project his voice across the cliff, but Bumblebee is the one yelling.
* Spike is in the driver seat whenever Bumblebee is rolling, but he exits - and re-enters - from the passenger side.
* When Bumblebee transforms to go for help, his windows change from glass-blue to completely transparent. Then his seats, rear windows and interior appear out of nowhere when he starts to drive off.
* Improbable viewpoints:
** How the heck did Teletraan One get a camera inside the energon production room of Decepticon Headquarters? Even the Insecticons couldn't get in there!
** Megatron brings up a view of Thrust flying along.
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
** Beachcomber and Ratchet are in the group of Autobots who set out for the crash site, but when the group gets there, Ironhide and Hoist are there instead. Nonetheless, Beachcomber gets a line of dialogue (in response to Blaster's music).
** Windcharger is also there for one shot, but disappears from the rest of the show.
** Blaster doesn't appear at all until after Ironhide and Warpath have tried to destroy the Morphobots. Maybe he was hiding in someone's back seat?
* Perceptor and Prowl should really have some radio muffling as they contact Prime, but it's just their normal voices.
* The problem of Kickback's insect head shows up as the Insecticons react to Thrust's arrival. Up to now, he's been shown with the correct plain black insect head, but throughout this whole scene, he's got his full robot face on display, even getting a closeup of it as he speaks a line.
* When Warpath replies to Optimus Prime's request for a path to be blasted through the Morphobots, he's lacking the glowing blue effects on his mouthplate-slits that Toei gave him when he talked in every other episode of theirs. This is his only on-screen robot-mode line in the episode.
* When Megatron transforms to shoot the insecticide, he doesn't make the transformation noise (nor does he when he transforms back, for that matter). His shot doesn't make the usual fusion cannon sound, either.
* The second time Soundwave laughs, his voice is missing its usual synthesizer effect, [[Roll for It|and not for the first time]].
* As Megatron is thrown by the Morphobots, his voice sounds different and is missing its metallic effect.
* Several times towards the end of the episode, the triangles on Megatron's forehead are drawn wrong (sometimes one or the other is a square or cut-off polygon).
* When Perceptor is struggling with the Morphobots, his mouth isn't quaking with the rest of his body.
* The color on a handful of scenes is visibly grayed and desaturated, such as when Perceptor calls Prime for help.
* The instrumental flourish over the [[Sunbow Productions|Sunbow]] and [[Marvel Productions]] logos in the credits briefly rewinds, as if it's been scratched.

===Continuity errors===
[[File:QuestForSurvival Cosmos ejects escape pod.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|This thing fits inside Cosmos. Spike and Bumblebee fit inside this thing. But when Cosmos transforms, he's like one head taller than Bumblebee.]]
* The Morphobots repeatedly show the ability to grow out of, well, nothing. The specimens on Cosmos, and the ones that Perceptor studies, both blossom into huge vines without actually consuming any matter.
* Who's in charge of the first Autobot excursion? Tracks gives the order to transform, but Smokescreen gives the order to retreat.
* Why does Cosmos need Spike to fire his emergency jet? Can't he do it himself?
* Cosmos' interior is ''huge'' in this episode, big enough to carry Bumblebee, Spike and their cargo in relative comfort, not to mention an ''ejection chamber'' which is ''also'' capable of carrying the same occupants. It was similarly large in "[[Sea Change]]", but considerably smaller in "[[Blaster Blues]]" and "[[Cosmic Rust (episode)|Cosmic Rust]]".
* When the Morphobots penetrate into Cosmos' cabin, there is no indication of decompression from his pressurized and vacuum-sealed hull being breached.
* How does Laserbeak figure out what the Autobots are up to in order to report back to Soundwave? Prime and the others leave and nobody says anything about where they are going, Laserbeak doesn't see them until after they have already left headquarters, yet he flies back to Soundwave and has complete details about where they are going and knows about the instecticide.
* In "[[A Plague of Insecticons]]", the Insecticons are shown to be able to convert organic food directly into energy by themselves. What, from the Insecticons' point of view, is the logic behind extracting energon from them and converting it to energon cubes, from which it would have to be consumed again?
* Similarly, in their debut episode, the Insecticon clones were shown to be eliminated with [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker's]] [[force field]], cutting off the control beam and causing them to disintegrate. Why is Robotic Insecticide now required?
* Megatron's orders to Thrust appear to have been moved - he brings up Thrust's image on a viewscreen but does not say anything to him; several scenes later, completely off-screen, he orders Thrust to contact the Insecticons - ''after'' Thrust has already located them and is flying over them!
*After Megatron and the other Decepticons have been freed from the Morphobots' tentacles and are laying on the ground, Tracks walks right up to them and uses his Black beam gun to blind them. Yet in the very next shot, he's standing behind the other Autobots, and the Decepticons are not only standing, but aren't blinded at all.
* If the Morphobots can't be harmed by explosives and laser fire, and they can hogtie Megatron in a matter of seconds and sling him around like a bag of bolts, how did the Autobots manage to round them up and put them inside the rocket ship? (Blaster's music could have played a part.)

===Trivia===
[[File:RoboticInsecticide.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|Comes in Small, Medium, Large and Combiner sizes.]]

* To get rid of the Morphobots, the Autobots send them to a planet inhabited by their prey, robotic insects. While that's nice for the plants, isn't it kinda mean to the robotic insects? Won't it screw up the ecology of the planet? Isn't it kinda... morally borderline at best? We only have to hope the Autobots are exporting them to another civilization with a robotic pest outbreak, and not just dropping them off in any random mechanical wilderness.
* Okay, seriously... ''robotic insecticide?''

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La lutte pour la survie'''" ("The Struggle for Survival")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*A lot of lines are missing in the first scene. The Insecticons don't say anything as they launch the attack on the field. The line "They're tryin' to wreck our picnic!" is also absent, resulting in a shot in which Autobots and Insecticons stare at each other in silence.
::*Cosmos' line "The plants from Floron III seem to have hitched a ride" is absent.
::*[[Francis Lax]] says "What's that on your back, Bumblebee?"... with his Bumblebee voice.
::*The dialogue between Optimus Prime, Perceptor and Prowl about the origins of the Morphobots is very partial. Actually, only Prowl says his line "Also Prime, we have reason to believe that they are capable of devouring any robotic form", the rest is missing.

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''L'insetticida robotico'''" ("The Robotic Insecticide")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*This is the first episode in which Optimus Prime is voiced by [[Angelo Nicotra]] (not considering ''[[The Golden Lagoon (episode)|The Golden Lagoon]]'', since it's unknown who voiced him in that episode, if the episode was ever dubbed at the time). Still, [[Piero Tiberi]] would later voice him again in a few other episodes.
::*At the beginning of the episode, a guy calls the Insecticons "Mini-Insecto", despite their Italian name being "Mini-Insecto'''r'''". Based on the voice, it look like the actor who voiced the line is the same who voiced Spike in ''[[The Autobot Run]]'' (and in this episode too), where he said "Memo" instead of "Memor". It looks like that actor dislikes R-ending words...
::*Broadcasting-wise, starting with this episode Perceptor is called "Supervisor" instead of "Supervista" as before. He will regain his old name in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie|The Movie]]'' and in season 3.
::*At the end of the episode, Megatron pluralizes the word "Distructor" (Italian name of the Decepticons) as "Distructors", although normally the word "Distructor" is used for both singular and plural in this series.
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Lotta per la sopravvivenza'''" ("Fight for Survival")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Survival Sakusen'''" (サバイバル作戦, "Operation: Survival")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[February 28]], [[1986]]

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Shírén Zhū '''" (食人株, "Cannibal Plant")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Busca da Sobrevivência'''" ("Search for Survival")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2003 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 5 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 2 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 3: Series 2.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 10 ([[Déclic Images]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2014 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==External links==
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bF9iWqbaQ05Z4P8BwYZ276G8KB4y_4N1/view?usp=sharing Full episode script]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1-VOFltXP1r7CMyP1nGZGif2LbdaOg1gd/view?usp=drive_link Episode model sheets]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=1o4YSkLfbaYsR_ZOPHOzc9lxckRlqBUtF Episode dialogue script]

[[Category:The Transformers episodes]]

Blaster Blues

2025-05-03T23:28:58Z

TankCatapult: /* Real-world references */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=39
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=50
|prev2=The Core
|next2=Prime Target (episode)
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=34
|prev3=Microbots
|next3=Sea Change
|image=BlasterBlues Megatron threatens Blaster.jpg
|caption=''I woke up this mornin' Feelin' like I been used, And you know by that I Got these ol' Blaster blues''
|title="Blaster Blues"
|season=2
|season ep=23
|production code=#700-38
|airdate=[[October 23]], 1985
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssYDHaF0Ba4
|videosite=YouTube
}}
'''The Decepticons hijack Earth's airwaves. Yet somehow, you are still able to watch this episode.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Blasterbluesconcertcrowd.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Did Spike and Carly take an Autobot on all of their dates?]]
[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike]] and [[Carly (G1)|Carly]] are at a rock concert, having taken [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] along for the music. Enjoying the concert, Spike wishes that the rest of the [[Autobot]]s could hear the music, so Blaster begins transmitting to all of them. Off in space, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] gets a real kick out of the music.

At the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] are observing [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]'s target practice on [[Teletraan I]], when Blaster's music from the concert begins playing on their channel. Sparkplug and most of the Autobots are not enjoying the overwhelming volume, but [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] gets the chance to show off his dancing skills.

At the [[Haley Observatory]], [[Haley|Professor Haley]] introduces his new creation, the [[Voltronic Galaxer]], to his fellow scientists. The device is intended to translate Earth's recordings into other languages and broadcast them into space, in search of intelligent life. Seemingly, the Transformers don't count. During his first test of the device, the scientist is quite surprised when he gets a response... which turns to horror when he sees it's the Decepticons. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], as he is oft wont to do, begins firing randomly, but [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] orders him to stop, saying that they need the Voltronic Galaxer.

At the Autobot base, Optimus Prime is so annoyed by the music that he outright tells Blaster to "shut up", but to no avail. Only a distress call from the scientist finally gets Blaster to stop. After the Autobots arrive at the observatory, they find that the Decepticons have already fled with their prize. Optimus Prime vows to find it and bring the Voltronic Galaxer back.

[[File:Blasterbluesprimedirectstraffic.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Prime's day job]]
Splitting up into groups, the Autobots begin the search. [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], Spike and Carly have already searched half the hemisphere, while Cosmos and Blaster are searching outer space. They locate the Decepticons in a [[Decepticon lunar dome base|base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], where Megatron is plotting to take control of Earth's radio airwaves. Blaster and Cosmos are caught, however, before they can contact the Autobots. Blaster is forced into use as a transcrambler, while Cosmos powers the device. Megatron orders the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] to return to Earth as the radio blackout commences.

On Earth, the communications blackout is scrambling even the Autobots' radio channels. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] barely manage to stop a forest fire, while [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] free motorists trapped on a frozen highway, where [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] attack.

[[File:Blasterbluespgcarriesprime.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|I'm not paid enough to carry this around.]]
At an airport, Powerglide is attempting to land, when Ramjet and Thundercracker attack, damaging both Powerglide and Optimus Prime. Spike manages to strap a [[jet pack]] onto Powerglide, giving him some extra boost. As Megatron begins broadcasting his demands to Earth, Blaster plays music from the concert on the same channel. Carly recognizes the tunes and manages to track the transmission back to the Moon. They head for the Autobot base. Carly does some quick repairs on Optimus then the two teens and Powerglide load Prime onto Omega, who takes them to space.

Once Omega lands on the Moon, Megatron and Astrotrain attack him. Omega manages to get his hand on Megatron, but Astrotrain rams Omega in train mode, causing him to release Megatron. Astrotrain then flees and Omega transforms into rocket mode and follows. Seeing Optimus Prime defenseless, Megatron decides to hit him while he's down, only for the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] to reactivate just in time to defend himself.

[[File:Blasterbluesop&mdance.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|One shall stand; one shall get tossed around a little bit and run away crying "Retreat!!"]]
With no one to guard them, Blaster and Cosmos cause the voltronic galaxer to receive feedback and explode. Seeing his latest technology ruined, Megatron retreats. After freeing them, Blaster mentions that he could rebuild the Decepticon moonbase into a new Autobot base. Cosmos likes the idea, as it would give him some company. Optimus agrees, but orders him to keep an eye on his volume.

Soon, however, Blaster is back to transmitting loud rock music over the air waves again. Some stereos never learn.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (3)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (6)
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (8)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (9)
*[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (14)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] (15)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cliffjumper]] (16)
*[[Hound (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hound]] (17)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (18)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]] (19)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]] (20)
*[[Mirage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mirage]] (21)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (22)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (24)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (25)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (26)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (30)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (31)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (33)
|c2=
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] (11)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (12)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (13)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (35)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (36)
|c3=
*[[Carly (G1)|Carly]] (1)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (2)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (7)
*[[Haley|Professor Haley]] (10)
*Air Traffic Controllers (27)
*Pilot (28)
*Railroad workers (29)
*Meteorologist (31)
*Motorists (34)
}}

==Quotes==
[[File:BlasterBlues Professor Haley.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Hey, everyone, it's Tuuuuuuesday, and you're listening to the Giant Botcast...]]
"Where are you? In another galaxy?" 
"''Much'' closer than ''that!!'' Huhu~hwa~ha~hahaha~haha~hahaha!!"
:—'''Professor Haley''' contacts '''Megatron''', the master of dry wit.

'''Optimus''': My audio receptors! What is that noise?! 
'''Hoist''': Humans call it 'music'. 
'''Sparkplug''': Not ''this'' human! 
'''Jazz''': Sounds all right to me!
:—Sparkplug and the Autobots share their opinions on Blaster's choice in music.

"The Earth is but a speck on the arm of the universe."
:—'''Human scientist''' bolstering his race's importance in the cosmos.

"Blaster! Decrease volume! ... Blaster! '''SHUT UP!'''"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' in another fine example of subordinate management.

'''Ironhide''': Where did the call originate? 
'''Optimus''': I don't know! All I can hear is that blasted Blaster!
:—[[Peter Cullen]]'s annoyance at Blaster's loud music.

[[File:BlasterBlues blaster altmode.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Today on Capitol Hill, the fish was delish, and according to [[United Nations|UN]] Secretary Council members, it made quite a dish. You are listening to member-supported public radio.]]
"Hey, talk about no place. I can't even get a bottom 40 station out here."
:—'''Blaster''' doesn't enjoy outer space duty inside Cosmos.

"It's Blaster!" 
"Why that son of an 8-track."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Trailbreaker'''

"Release Autobots, Megatron!" 
"Never!" 
"Reeeelease them!"
:—'''Omega Supreme''' adds some "hands on" pressure to dealing with '''Megatron'''

"Looks like the big boy needs a little training!"
:—'''Astrotrain''', proving the pun is indeed mightier than the sword. Unfortunately, it's not as mighty as Omega Supreme.

==Notes==
===Production information===
*First draft script: [[March 13|13th March]] [[1985]]
*Script revised by [[Ron Friedman]]: [[March 18|18th March]] 1985
*First draft storyboards completed: 13th March 1985
*Dialogue recording: 16th April 1985
*Storyboards revised: 26th April 1985
*Storyboards slugged: 1st May 1985 (by [[John Walker]])
*Final storyboard revision: 17th May 1985
*Shipped to [[Toei Animation|Toei]]: 20th May 1985

===Deleted scenes===
Changed scenes
* The order of some scenes in Act II is changed from the draft script. Red Alert and Inferno’s scenes of firefighting and coming under attack are combined and moved to happen immediately after the train crash (originally placed after the Autobots roll out from HQ). Likewise, the scene of Blaster and Cosmos watching Megatron give his broadcast is moved until after Ratchet’s group are buried by the avalanche. Allowing all of the action in the mountains to flow as one continuous scene.
* When Omega Supreme grabs Megatron and demands “RELEASE THEM!”, he picks him up by the fusion cannon, crushing it in his fist. Hence why Megatron is limited to hand-to-hand combat during his fight with Prime.

Deleted scenes
* Omega Supreme’s target practice consists of firing “benign darts” at Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, who are racing around in auto mode. Cliffjumper radios Bumblebee that he’s going to use him for a ramp. Thanks to Blaster’s rock broadcast, 'Bee can’t hear this and hits the brakes, causing the speeding Cliffjumper to collide with him. Megatron has been watching all of this through a monitor and gets the idea to jam Earth’s communications.
* Optimus Prime arrives at the airport and offers to help Powerglide with guiding the planes to their runways. The boastful Autobot plane replies “I’ve got everything under control, Prime!” before immediately having to drop low to avoid crashing into another plane “Then on second thought, I suppose it couldn't hurt!”. Prime uses his gun to laser the words “LAND HERE” into the sky with accompanying arrows.
* Once Blaster and Cosmos have overloaded the Voltronic Galaxer, we cut back to Red Alert and Inferno, lying charred and damaged amid the spreading forest fire. Once they realise that their radios work again, Red Alert calls fire control for assistance, much to Inferno’s chagrin. “You’re calling for Earth firefighters? What am I…a toy fire truck?!
* With Prime having won the fight and holding him at gunpoint, Megatron radios Astrotrain for assistance, only to receive static as Blaster is using the circuits he is plugged into in order to “run a little interference – on a local channel!”

===Continuity notes===
[[File:Blasterbluestrailerchase.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Last one out of the parking lot gets stuck with the check.]]
[[File:Trailbreakerdance.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[https://shortpacked.com/comic/iammegatron '''''I... AM... TRAILBREAKER!!!''''']]]
*Jazz has righteous moves, but they are limited by his bulky body.
*Gadgets and powers:
**Blaster's boom box mode in the opening scenes is as tall as a human.
**Red Alert's "horns" flash to indicate Decepticon activity, just like in "[[Auto Berserk]]". This time they're orange, though.
**Ratchet and the rest can deploy tire studs to deal with snow-covered roads.
**Hoist deploys a long snakey tentacle with a claw at the end to catch a falling motorist. How many devices can he [[Auto Berserk|carry]], anyway??
**This time, Trailbreaker's forcefield just kind of radiates out of thin air in front of his head. He's able to form it into a dome, which he can then place where he wants it... but, to his later misfortune, he remains outside the dome himself.
**Powerglide can deploy a suction cup line capable of carrying wounded Autobots around like limp ragdolls, leaving them flapping in the breeze.... say, aren't you supposed to ''not move'' the injured?
**Omega Supreme clearly leaves most of himself behind when he launches for the Moon. When he arrives there, he lands in rocket mode amid a cloud of smoke... and when the smoke clears, the left-behind bits have appeared. Later, he transforms out of just the rocket (conveniently off-screen) while in mid-flight.
*Where's the trailer go?:
**During the scene at the observatory, Optimus transforms and drives away, and there is an extended moment where his trailer drives off after him to catch up.
*Omega Supreme actually uses whole sentences in this episode. That's just crazy.

===Real-world references===
[[File:BlasterBlues Haley Observatory.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*The names of Professor Haley and his eponymous observatory are likely inspired by {{w|Halley's Comet}}, which was beginning its once-every-76-years trip through the inner solar system when the episode aired in late [[1985]].
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
**''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst is strangely repurposed as the burning fires at the observatory as the Decepticons close in.
**[[X-wing Fighter|X-Wings]] diving, ''Falcon'' engine burst, and [[Death Star]] superlaser all in a row as the Decepticons launch from the observatory.
**''Falcon'' engine burst as Megatron takes off from Astrotrain
**X-Wings diving as the 'cons fly aboard Astrotrain
**Death Star superlaser as Astrotrain pursues Cosmos.
**[[TIE Fighter]] engine as Cosmos evades.
**The Death Star door slide is used as a steam engine sound effect.
**A [[Stormtrooper (SW)|Stormtrooper]]'s laser gun is used to soundtrack Ramjet and Thundercracker's attack on Inferno and Red Alert, possibly taken from when [[Luke Skywalker|Luke]] & [[Han Solo|Han]] ambush the stormtroopers aboard the ''Falcon''.
**''Falcon'' engine burst as Megatron launches from the Moon.
*Trailbreaker mentions {{w|8-track tape|8-track}}s. Did kids in 1985 even know what an 8-track is?
**Considering 8-track cartridges had only been pulled from mass retail sale in the US in '82 and '83, kids who were well within the cartoon's target demographic would have definitely known of them.
*"Bang, zoom, to the Moon!" - Powerglide's line is a play on a signature line of Ralph Kramden from ''[[The Honeymooners]]''...whose actor Jackie Gleason was also the inspiration for Powerglide's voice.
*"Parting is such sweet sorrow!" - Megatron prepares to kill Prime while quoting one of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] most famous lines.

===Animation and technical errors===
*The rock band at the concert is playing ''two songs at once'', both "[[Cold Slither (song)|Cold Slither]]" and the generic big band/hard rock song. "Cold Slither" is missing a moment later when Blaster sends the music to the Autobots.
*The guitarist is seen 'playing' his guitar with only his right arm, as his left (which should be doing the fretwork) is up in the air.
*The arena's seats have more than a seat's width between them. The owners must've been expecting some ''seriously'' fat patrons.
*Cosmos's voice in his first couple of lines lacks his usual self-echo.
*As Megatron gloats on top of the observatory, his laugh plays over itself (i.e., the same laugh twice).
*Improbable viewpoints:
**So Blaster sends the music from the concert to the Autobots. How does he manage to send a 3rd-person view of ''himself'' at the same time?
**Do Tracks and Huffer have a video camera with them to report in to Prime?
**Does Prime have a camera stationed at the city docks to show Powerglide flying in aimless circles?
*The reporter at the observatory has already written down Professor Haley's words before he's finished saying them.
*Recycled footage:
**Prime's trailer rolling in from offscreen seems to be recycled from "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]".
**The shot of Ironhide, Trailbreaker and Hound converting to [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] is lifted from "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
**The pan of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe transforming comes right out of "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".
**The same "MTMTE1" scene is mined again to show Trailbreaker transforming as the Autobots deploy to deal with the loss of radio communications.
*Astrotrain has no transformation sound effect as he leaves the tunnel and converts from train to shuttle.
[[File:Blasterbluesprowlcarries.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Coloring error not included.]]
*Coloring errors:
**Trailbreaker's eyeband is black instead of blue as Optimus quizzes the professor about the Voltronic Galaxer. The points of his cheeks are colored blue instead.
**Cosmos's "cap" is green instead of red as he lands on the Moon.
**Prowl's head crest is white instead of red as he closes Ratchet's passenger compartment (and can't Ratchet do that himself?)
**Blaster's forehead is red instead of white as Megatron threatens him.
**Cosmos's helmet is green instead of red as Prime frees Blaster (which, by the way, seems to consist of just helping him to his feet, rather than freeing him from any "welding" done by Astrotrain.)
*Appearing/disappearing Autobots: Prime's initial squad fluctuates all over the place.
**The initial group receiving the transmission is Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Hoist & Cliffjumper.
**Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Hound show up to transform prior to rolling out, and are not seen again. Trailbreaker shows up at the same time.
**Bumblebee, Wheeljack, and Prowl (or maybe Bluestreak) show up as the Autobots depart.
**The group that finally arrives at the observatory is Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Hoist, Bumblebee & Trailbreaker, which means we've lost seven guys.
*When the Autobots drive away from the observatory, a shot of the Autobots from the front shows them driving over bare rock rather than the asphalt road.
*Powerglide's cockpit has changed from a fighter-plane-like single-seater (seen in "[[Dinobot Island, Part 1]]"), to a side-by-side like a passenger jet.
*When Megatron is first shown setting down the Voltronic Galaxer in their moon base, Thundercracker is to his left, Starscream to his right. In the very next panning shot showing Cosmos' approach through the window, Thundercracker is to Megatron's right.
*"This your idea of a joke?" Blaster's line lacks the usual processing.
*Red Alert's "horns" flash orange. Last time, they flashed blue.
*Despite knowing about the pending aerial attack, Red Alert keeps shooting at the trees. It seems likely that the animators recycled previous footage, perhaps not realizing he should be aiming skyward.
*Whatever damage Powerglide sustained from Ramjet pretty much disappears after Spike puts the jetpack on him.
*Blaster first pushes his left-most button. Later, it's the middle two that are deployed. After Megatron kicks him, all but one are engaged.
[[File:Omegasupreme astrotrain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Pretty damn big, that's how much.]]
*The whole sequence of Megatron discovering Blaster's subterfuge is a bit wonky. Blaster sniggers loudly, Megatron suddenly says "What was that?", then there's a beep and the rock music is heard. The animators/sound guys seem to have not quite gotten the sequence of events down correctly.
*When Spike cheers on Omega Supreme, both his lips ''and'' Carly's are moving.
*When Astrotrain rams Omega Supreme's leg, Omega holds still for two seconds, then drops Megatron.
*If Astrotrain is big enough to hold all the Decepticons, then how big does that make Omega Supreme in the picture to the right here?
*One gun, many lasers:
**When Optimus fires at the fleeing Megatron, he only has one gun, yet four or five lasers streak past Megatron.
*Blaster has four small switches on his chest for most of the episode (clearly seen when Megatron kicks him towards the end), but is drawn with three large ones after Prime frees him.
*At the end of the episode, Blaster seemingly is supposed to be playing his rock tune yet again, complete with Prime yelling at him for it and the other Autobots chasing Blaster off into the sunset... but the music is missing. Oops!

===Continuity errors===
[[File:Blasterbluesonthemoon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"No no, it is totally worth risking the complete failure of the plan to have gloating rights over a couple of guys whose names I probably can't remember!"]]
[[File:BlasterBlues Carly Spike in spacesuits.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*You have to wonder if Megatron thought out all the parts to this plan, given that it would be a lot easier for human society to adapt to life without radio, than life without electricity, petroleum and fossil fuels, and so on... Actually, how would we ''use'' said radio waves, without the power resources the 'Cons would strip out of the planet in exchange for ceasing their jamming?
*Furthermore, one might question the wisdom of leaving two conscious Autobots right across from the critical device... with one of them ''fully armed''. The episode's teleplay explains this a bit better: in it, Cosmos is not treated so dismissively by Megatron, who needs his "magnificent super-sonic engines" to power the transmitter, and at the episode's climax, Cosmos was not supposed to ''shoot'' the transmitter, but rather, exploit his function as a power source to help Blaster overload the machine. Still, there doesn't appear to be any good reason they couldn't have done this a ''lot'' sooner.
*In a world full of Transformers running around on the evening news (and showing up in arcades, research labs, dams, power plants, and basically everywhere), why would a scientist still speak of alien life as though it were some unproved hypothesis?
*One of the journalists in the crowd that's listening to Prof. Haley explain the voltronic galaxer has a portion of the speech ("...enabling alien life to translate them to their own language.") already written on his notepad before the professor even finishes speaking that line.
[[File:BlasterBlues Megatron voltronic galaxer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit!]]
*In a rare instance of a falling human seeming to incur some actual injury, Professor Haley is apparently knocked unconscious by falling off the Voltronic Galaxer. Of course, he's up and (literally) running by the time the Autobots arrive (and still hanging out inside the burning building, apparently).
*The joy of size changing: Blaster rides inside Cosmos to the Moon, and in the next scene Cosmos and Blaster are side by side and Blaster is almost twice as tall as Cosmos. Cosmos's improbably large interior has just enough room for Blaster to sit inside. "[[Sea Change]]" and "[[Quest for Survival]]" will portray it as even larger, with room for multiple passengers to walk around.
*The passenger jets at the airport are shown swerving and maneuvering as though they were small-scaled fighters.
*Maybe Astrotrain's alternate mode ''does'' make sense in the bizarre world of cartoon Earth... because the railroad workers are trying to clear the track for a ''steam locomotive''.
*One of the railroad men says he will "radio [the train] to the auxiliary track", but no other track is actually shown.
*Only one guy leaps clear of the steam engine. Where's the fireman?
*Okay, so it's great that Optimus is directing traffic at this one airport, but... what about the hundreds of other airports out there? Much like "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]", the Autobots seem to lack a plan to deal with the actual ''cause'' of the problems.
*If Carly can trace the source of Megatron's transmissions, she really didn't need to wait until they heard Blaster's music.
*If Powerglide's [[jet pack]] is ''out of fuel'', then ''how does he keep flying??''
*Ratchet's team was mostly in [[robot mode]] when they were buried. They emerge from the snow in vehicle mode. Also, all the buried and exploded cars have vanished.
*Does Omega Supreme just keep some human-sized space suits handy? 'Cause Spike and Carly suddenly pop up in space suits when it's time to go to the Moon.

===A loony lunar lineup of astronomical errors===
*As with every other outer space episode in the series, Cosmos, Astrotrain, and all the rest get full sound effects in outer space and on the Moon's surface. Of course, media of far higher caliber than ''The Transformers'' have made the same error, generally because it'd be pretty boring to watch a bunch of silent ships fly around, so we'll let this one slide.
*The depicted activities of any Transformer on the Moon do not bear any resemblance to the movements of creatures under gravity one-sixth that of Earth's own.
*Cosmos really shouldn't have to switch off his engines once he reaches the Moon; he should have just switched them off as soon as he escaped Earth's gravity well.
*Blaster somehow manages to ''listen'' in on the Decepticons across the airless surface of the Moon.
*The burning [[Decepticon lunar dome base]] continues burning and trailing smoke as if it were in an atmosphere.
*Carly: "I've never been to the Moon before!" NO. REALLY??
**And she was just on Cybertron in the last episode. Wouldn't that have been a bigger deal?

===Trivia===
*Throughout the script, '''Trailbreaker''' is referred to as '''Trailblazer''', a name which popped up during "[[A Prime Problem]]".
*Seriously. "I've never been to the Moon before!"

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title (Canadian and European French broadcasts):'' "'''La grande catastrophe'''" ("The Great Disaster")
:*''Title (European French DVD release):'' "'''Blaster a le blues'''" ("Blaster has the blues")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*The robotic voice effect is absent on Blaster's first line.
::*For some reason, instead of "Prepare for target practice!", Optimus Prime says "Ready to do the tests with ''Olé''". Why "Olé", nobody knows, and Omega Supreme's real name is used normally throughout the rest of the episode.
::*Blaster's name is ''never'' pronounced:
:::*Instead of saying "Blaster! Decrease volume! Blaster!", Optimus Prime says "Hurry! Decrease volume! Do you hear me?".
:::*Ratchet's line "It's Blaster!" is replaced by "It's the music lover!".
:::*Instead of saying "If Blaster's on the Moon...", Powerglide says "If the music madman is on the Moon...".
:::*Powerglide's line "Hurry! We gotta save Blaster and Cosmos!" is absent from the dub.
::*Prowl's line "Convert to snow tires!" is missing.
::*The Autobots' lines as they drive away from the snow after recognizing Blaster are missing.
::*Instead of giving Blaster a lesson about the use of his music, Optimus Prime tells Blaster that Megatron's plan was pretty good and that they will have to work on a parade to prevent him from doing it again.
::*Blaster's dialogue during the last shot is missing.

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Linee di raggruppamento'''" ("Meeting up Lines")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*Broadcasting-wise, not production-wise (keep this in mind), the actors in this episode are different from the previous ones, being the first to use a second group of voice actors. Mainly, [[Piero Tiberi]] replaces [[Diego Reggente]] as Optimus Prime, [[Mario Milita]] replaces [[Gino Donato]] as Megatron and [[Leo Valeriano]] replaces [[Claudio De Davide]] as Starscream. With this group of actors, Powerglide's name, which should be Jumbo, is bronounced "Joombo", despite being pronounced correctly in the episodes using the first group of actors.
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Il blues di Blaster'''" ("The Blues of Blaster")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Broadcast Blues'''" (ブロードキャスト・ブルース, "Blaster Blues")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 27]], [[1986]]

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Lándiào Lùyīnjī '''" (蓝调录音机, "Blues Recorder")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Ataque'''" ("The Attack")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] [[1995]] — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] [[1999]] — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] [[2001]] — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] [[2002]] — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 4 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] [[2003]] — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] [[2004]] — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 8 ([[Déclic Images]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] [[2006]] — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] [[2007]] — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] [[2008]] — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] [[2009]] — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] [[2011]] — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] [[2014]] — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==External links==
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sSKWucY2fCoV3acIOVeW0qDL_HeX_w5B/view?usp=sharing First draft script, originally submitted 13th March 1985]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=155SvBA7NOPYzRivn6VOt0lqIUrwZTjv0 Full episode script, as revised by Ron Friedman 18th March 1985]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WSAmiAWbqHtJZG74g6OGMxOT6rfHnt9i/view?usp=drive_link Model sheets and background layouts]
*[https://sunbowmarvelarchive.blogspot.com/p/the-transformers-mp-700-38-blaster.html Gallery of revised storyboards]

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

Blaster Blues

2025-05-03T06:17:01Z

TankCatapult: /* Real-world references */

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=39
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=50
|prev2=The Core
|next2=Prime Target (episode)
|series3=''[[Transformers: Generation 2 (cartoon)|Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=34
|prev3=Microbots
|next3=Sea Change
|image=BlasterBlues Megatron threatens Blaster.jpg
|caption=''I woke up this mornin' Feelin' like I been used, And you know by that I Got these ol' Blaster blues''
|title="Blaster Blues"
|season=2
|season ep=23
|production code=#700-38
|airdate=[[October 23]], 1985
|written by=[[Larry Strauss]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
|video=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ssYDHaF0Ba4
|videosite=YouTube
}}
'''The Decepticons hijack Earth's airwaves. Yet somehow, you are still able to watch this episode.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Blasterbluesconcertcrowd.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|Did Spike and Carly take an Autobot on all of their dates?]]
[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike]] and [[Carly (G1)|Carly]] are at a rock concert, having taken [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] along for the music. Enjoying the concert, Spike wishes that the rest of the [[Autobot]]s could hear the music, so Blaster begins transmitting to all of them. Off in space, [[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] gets a real kick out of the music.

At the [[Ark (G1)|Autobot base]], [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Sparkplug Witwicky|Sparkplug]] are observing [[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]]'s target practice on [[Teletraan I]], when Blaster's music from the concert begins playing on their channel. Sparkplug and most of the Autobots are not enjoying the overwhelming volume, but [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] gets the chance to show off his dancing skills.

At the [[Haley Observatory]], [[Haley|Professor Haley]] introduces his new creation, the [[Voltronic Galaxer]], to his fellow scientists. The device is intended to translate Earth's recordings into other languages and broadcast them into space, in search of intelligent life. Seemingly, the Transformers don't count. During his first test of the device, the scientist is quite surprised when he gets a response... which turns to horror when he sees it's the Decepticons. [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]], as he is oft wont to do, begins firing randomly, but [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] orders him to stop, saying that they need the Voltronic Galaxer.

At the Autobot base, Optimus Prime is so annoyed by the music that he outright tells Blaster to "shut up", but to no avail. Only a distress call from the scientist finally gets Blaster to stop. After the Autobots arrive at the observatory, they find that the Decepticons have already fled with their prize. Optimus Prime vows to find it and bring the Voltronic Galaxer back.

[[File:Blasterbluesprimedirectstraffic.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Prime's day job]]
Splitting up into groups, the Autobots begin the search. [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]], Spike and Carly have already searched half the hemisphere, while Cosmos and Blaster are searching outer space. They locate the Decepticons in a [[Decepticon lunar dome base|base]] on the [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], where Megatron is plotting to take control of Earth's radio airwaves. Blaster and Cosmos are caught, however, before they can contact the Autobots. Blaster is forced into use as a transcrambler, while Cosmos powers the device. Megatron orders the [[Seeker (body-type)|Seekers]] to return to Earth as the radio blackout commences.

On Earth, the communications blackout is scrambling even the Autobots' radio channels. [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] and [[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] barely manage to stop a forest fire, while [[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]], [[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]], [[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]], and [[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] free motorists trapped on a frozen highway, where [[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] and [[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] attack.

[[File:Blasterbluespgcarriesprime.jpg|left|upright=1.1|thumb|I'm not paid enough to carry this around.]]
At an airport, Powerglide is attempting to land, when Ramjet and Thundercracker attack, damaging both Powerglide and Optimus Prime. Spike manages to strap a [[jet pack]] onto Powerglide, giving him some extra boost. As Megatron begins broadcasting his demands to Earth, Blaster plays music from the concert on the same channel. Carly recognizes the tunes and manages to track the transmission back to the Moon. They head for the Autobot base. Carly does some quick repairs on Optimus then the two teens and Powerglide load Prime onto Omega, who takes them to space.

Once Omega lands on the Moon, Megatron and Astrotrain attack him. Omega manages to get his hand on Megatron, but Astrotrain rams Omega in train mode, causing him to release Megatron. Astrotrain then flees and Omega transforms into rocket mode and follows. Seeing Optimus Prime defenseless, Megatron decides to hit him while he's down, only for the [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]] to reactivate just in time to defend himself.

[[File:Blasterbluesop&mdance.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|One shall stand; one shall get tossed around a little bit and run away crying "Retreat!!"]]
With no one to guard them, Blaster and Cosmos cause the voltronic galaxer to receive feedback and explode. Seeing his latest technology ruined, Megatron retreats. After freeing them, Blaster mentions that he could rebuild the Decepticon moonbase into a new Autobot base. Cosmos likes the idea, as it would give him some company. Optimus agrees, but orders him to keep an eye on his volume.

Soon, however, Blaster is back to transmitting loud rock music over the air waves again. Some stereos never learn.
{{--}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (3)
*[[Cosmos (G1)|Cosmos]] (4)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (5)
*[[Omega Supreme (G1)|Omega Supreme]] (6)
*[[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (8)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (9)
*[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] (14)
*[[Ratchet (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ratchet]] (15)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Cliffjumper]] (16)
*[[Hound (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Hound]] (17)
*[[Trailbreaker (G1)|Trailbreaker]] (18)
*[[Sunstreaker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sunstreaker]] (19)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Sideswipe]] (20)
*[[Mirage (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Mirage]] (21)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (22)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (24)
*[[Tracks (G1)|Tracks]] (25)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (26)
*[[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]] (30)
*[[Inferno (G1)|Inferno]] (31)
*[[Prowl (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Prowl]] (33)
|c2=
*[[Thundercracker (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Thundercracker]] (11)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (12)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (13)
*[[Astrotrain (G1)|Astrotrain]] (23)
*[[Ramjet (G1)|Ramjet]] (35)
*[[Dirge (G1)|Dirge]] (36)
|c3=
*[[Carly (G1)|Carly]] (1)
*[[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (2)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (7)
*[[Haley|Professor Haley]] (10)
*Air Traffic Controllers (27)
*Pilot (28)
*Railroad workers (29)
*Meteorologist (31)
*Motorists (34)
}}

==Quotes==
[[File:BlasterBlues Professor Haley.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Hey, everyone, it's Tuuuuuuesday, and you're listening to the Giant Botcast...]]
"Where are you? In another galaxy?" 
"''Much'' closer than ''that!!'' Huhu~hwa~ha~hahaha~haha~hahaha!!"
:—'''Professor Haley''' contacts '''Megatron''', the master of dry wit.

'''Optimus''': My audio receptors! What is that noise?! 
'''Hoist''': Humans call it 'music'. 
'''Sparkplug''': Not ''this'' human! 
'''Jazz''': Sounds all right to me!
:—Sparkplug and the Autobots share their opinions on Blaster's choice in music.

"The Earth is but a speck on the arm of the universe."
:—'''Human scientist''' bolstering his race's importance in the cosmos.

"Blaster! Decrease volume! ... Blaster! '''SHUT UP!'''"
:—'''Optimus Prime''' in another fine example of subordinate management.

'''Ironhide''': Where did the call originate? 
'''Optimus''': I don't know! All I can hear is that blasted Blaster!
:—[[Peter Cullen]]'s annoyance at Blaster's loud music.

[[File:BlasterBlues blaster altmode.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Today on Capitol Hill, the fish was delish, and according to [[United Nations|UN]] Secretary Council members, it made quite a dish. You are listening to member-supported public radio.]]
"Hey, talk about no place. I can't even get a bottom 40 station out here."
:—'''Blaster''' doesn't enjoy outer space duty inside Cosmos.

"It's Blaster!" 
"Why that son of an 8-track."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Trailbreaker'''

"Release Autobots, Megatron!" 
"Never!" 
"Reeeelease them!"
:—'''Omega Supreme''' adds some "hands on" pressure to dealing with '''Megatron'''

"Looks like the big boy needs a little training!"
:—'''Astrotrain''', proving the pun is indeed mightier than the sword. Unfortunately, it's not as mighty as Omega Supreme.

==Notes==
===Production information===
*First draft script: [[March 13|13th March]] [[1985]]
*Script revised by [[Ron Friedman]]: [[March 18|18th March]] 1985
*First draft storyboards completed: 13th March 1985
*Dialogue recording: 16th April 1985
*Storyboards revised: 26th April 1985
*Storyboards slugged: 1st May 1985 (by [[John Walker]])
*Final storyboard revision: 17th May 1985
*Shipped to [[Toei Animation|Toei]]: 20th May 1985

===Deleted scenes===
Changed scenes
* The order of some scenes in Act II is changed from the draft script. Red Alert and Inferno’s scenes of firefighting and coming under attack are combined and moved to happen immediately after the train crash (originally placed after the Autobots roll out from HQ). Likewise, the scene of Blaster and Cosmos watching Megatron give his broadcast is moved until after Ratchet’s group are buried by the avalanche. Allowing all of the action in the mountains to flow as one continuous scene.
* When Omega Supreme grabs Megatron and demands “RELEASE THEM!”, he picks him up by the fusion cannon, crushing it in his fist. Hence why Megatron is limited to hand-to-hand combat during his fight with Prime.

Deleted scenes
* Omega Supreme’s target practice consists of firing “benign darts” at Bumblebee and Cliffjumper, who are racing around in auto mode. Cliffjumper radios Bumblebee that he’s going to use him for a ramp. Thanks to Blaster’s rock broadcast, 'Bee can’t hear this and hits the brakes, causing the speeding Cliffjumper to collide with him. Megatron has been watching all of this through a monitor and gets the idea to jam Earth’s communications.
* Optimus Prime arrives at the airport and offers to help Powerglide with guiding the planes to their runways. The boastful Autobot plane replies “I’ve got everything under control, Prime!” before immediately having to drop low to avoid crashing into another plane “Then on second thought, I suppose it couldn't hurt!”. Prime uses his gun to laser the words “LAND HERE” into the sky with accompanying arrows.
* Once Blaster and Cosmos have overloaded the Voltronic Galaxer, we cut back to Red Alert and Inferno, lying charred and damaged amid the spreading forest fire. Once they realise that their radios work again, Red Alert calls fire control for assistance, much to Inferno’s chagrin. “You’re calling for Earth firefighters? What am I…a toy fire truck?!
* With Prime having won the fight and holding him at gunpoint, Megatron radios Astrotrain for assistance, only to receive static as Blaster is using the circuits he is plugged into in order to “run a little interference – on a local channel!”

===Continuity notes===
[[File:Blasterbluestrailerchase.jpg|upright=1.1|thumb|Last one out of the parking lot gets stuck with the check.]]
[[File:Trailbreakerdance.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[https://shortpacked.com/comic/iammegatron '''''I... AM... TRAILBREAKER!!!''''']]]
*Jazz has righteous moves, but they are limited by his bulky body.
*Gadgets and powers:
**Blaster's boom box mode in the opening scenes is as tall as a human.
**Red Alert's "horns" flash to indicate Decepticon activity, just like in "[[Auto Berserk]]". This time they're orange, though.
**Ratchet and the rest can deploy tire studs to deal with snow-covered roads.
**Hoist deploys a long snakey tentacle with a claw at the end to catch a falling motorist. How many devices can he [[Auto Berserk|carry]], anyway??
**This time, Trailbreaker's forcefield just kind of radiates out of thin air in front of his head. He's able to form it into a dome, which he can then place where he wants it... but, to his later misfortune, he remains outside the dome himself.
**Powerglide can deploy a suction cup line capable of carrying wounded Autobots around like limp ragdolls, leaving them flapping in the breeze.... say, aren't you supposed to ''not move'' the injured?
**Omega Supreme clearly leaves most of himself behind when he launches for the Moon. When he arrives there, he lands in rocket mode amid a cloud of smoke... and when the smoke clears, the left-behind bits have appeared. Later, he transforms out of just the rocket (conveniently off-screen) while in mid-flight.
*Where's the trailer go?:
**During the scene at the observatory, Optimus transforms and drives away, and there is an extended moment where his trailer drives off after him to catch up.
*Omega Supreme actually uses whole sentences in this episode. That's just crazy.

===Real-world references===
[[File:BlasterBlues Haley Observatory.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*The names of Professor Haley and his eponymous observatory are likely inspired by {{w|Halley's Comet}}, which was beginning its once-every-76-years trip through the inner solar system when the episode aired in late [[1985]].
*''[[Star Wars (franchise)|Star Wars]]'' sound effects:
**''[[Millennium Falcon]]'' engine burst is strangely repurposed as the burning fires at the observatory as the Decepticons close in.
**[[X-wing Fighter|X-Wings]] diving, ''Falcon'' engine burst, and [[Death Star]] superlaser all in a row as the Decepticons launch from the observatory.
**''Falcon'' engine burst as Megatron takes off from Astrotrain
**X-Wings diving as the 'cons fly aboard Astrotrain
**Death Star superlaser as Astrotrain pursues Cosmos.
**[[TIE Fighter]] engine as Cosmos evades.
**The Death Star door slide is used as a steam engine sound effect.
**A [[Stormtrooper (SW)|Stormtrooper]]'s laser gun is used to soundtrack Ramjet and Thundercracker's attack on Inferno and Red Alert, possibly taken from when [[Luke Skywalker|Luke]] & [[Han Solo|Han]] ambush the stormtroopers aboard the ''Falcon''.
**''Falcon'' engine burst as Megatron launches from the Moon.
*Trailbreaker mentions {{w|8-track tape|8-track}}s. Did kids in 1985 even know what an 8-track is?
**Considering 8-track cartridges had only been pulled from mass retail sale in the US in '82, and '83, kids who were well within the cartoon's target demographic would have definitely known of them.
*"Bang, zoom, to the Moon!" - Powerglide's line is a play on a signature line of Ralph Kramden from ''[[The Honeymooners]]''...whose actor Jackie Gleason was also the inspiration for Powerglide's voice.
*"Parting is such sweet sorrow!" - Megatron prepares to kill Prime while quoting one of [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare's]] most famous lines.

===Animation and technical errors===
*The rock band at the concert is playing ''two songs at once'', both "[[Cold Slither (song)|Cold Slither]]" and the generic big band/hard rock song. "Cold Slither" is missing a moment later when Blaster sends the music to the Autobots.
*The guitarist is seen 'playing' his guitar with only his right arm, as his left (which should be doing the fretwork) is up in the air.
*The arena's seats have more than a seat's width between them. The owners must've been expecting some ''seriously'' fat patrons.
*Cosmos's voice in his first couple of lines lacks his usual self-echo.
*As Megatron gloats on top of the observatory, his laugh plays over itself (i.e., the same laugh twice).
*Improbable viewpoints:
**So Blaster sends the music from the concert to the Autobots. How does he manage to send a 3rd-person view of ''himself'' at the same time?
**Do Tracks and Huffer have a video camera with them to report in to Prime?
**Does Prime have a camera stationed at the city docks to show Powerglide flying in aimless circles?
*The reporter at the observatory has already written down Professor Haley's words before he's finished saying them.
*Recycled footage:
**Prime's trailer rolling in from offscreen seems to be recycled from "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]".
**The shot of Ironhide, Trailbreaker and Hound converting to [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] is lifted from "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
**The pan of Sunstreaker and Sideswipe transforming comes right out of "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".
**The same "MTMTE1" scene is mined again to show Trailbreaker transforming as the Autobots deploy to deal with the loss of radio communications.
*Astrotrain has no transformation sound effect as he leaves the tunnel and converts from train to shuttle.
[[File:Blasterbluesprowlcarries.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Coloring error not included.]]
*Coloring errors:
**Trailbreaker's eyeband is black instead of blue as Optimus quizzes the professor about the Voltronic Galaxer. The points of his cheeks are colored blue instead.
**Cosmos's "cap" is green instead of red as he lands on the Moon.
**Prowl's head crest is white instead of red as he closes Ratchet's passenger compartment (and can't Ratchet do that himself?)
**Blaster's forehead is red instead of white as Megatron threatens him.
**Cosmos's helmet is green instead of red as Prime frees Blaster (which, by the way, seems to consist of just helping him to his feet, rather than freeing him from any "welding" done by Astrotrain.)
*Appearing/disappearing Autobots: Prime's initial squad fluctuates all over the place.
**The initial group receiving the transmission is Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Hoist & Cliffjumper.
**Mirage, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker and Hound show up to transform prior to rolling out, and are not seen again. Trailbreaker shows up at the same time.
**Bumblebee, Wheeljack, and Prowl (or maybe Bluestreak) show up as the Autobots depart.
**The group that finally arrives at the observatory is Prime, Jazz, Ratchet, Ironhide, Hoist, Bumblebee & Trailbreaker, which means we've lost seven guys.
*When the Autobots drive away from the observatory, a shot of the Autobots from the front shows them driving over bare rock rather than the asphalt road.
*Powerglide's cockpit has changed from a fighter-plane-like single-seater (seen in "[[Dinobot Island, Part 1]]"), to a side-by-side like a passenger jet.
*When Megatron is first shown setting down the Voltronic Galaxer in their moon base, Thundercracker is to his left, Starscream to his right. In the very next panning shot showing Cosmos' approach through the window, Thundercracker is to Megatron's right.
*"This your idea of a joke?" Blaster's line lacks the usual processing.
*Red Alert's "horns" flash orange. Last time, they flashed blue.
*Despite knowing about the pending aerial attack, Red Alert keeps shooting at the trees. It seems likely that the animators recycled previous footage, perhaps not realizing he should be aiming skyward.
*Whatever damage Powerglide sustained from Ramjet pretty much disappears after Spike puts the jetpack on him.
*Blaster first pushes his left-most button. Later, it's the middle two that are deployed. After Megatron kicks him, all but one are engaged.
[[File:Omegasupreme astrotrain.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Pretty damn big, that's how much.]]
*The whole sequence of Megatron discovering Blaster's subterfuge is a bit wonky. Blaster sniggers loudly, Megatron suddenly says "What was that?", then there's a beep and the rock music is heard. The animators/sound guys seem to have not quite gotten the sequence of events down correctly.
*When Spike cheers on Omega Supreme, both his lips ''and'' Carly's are moving.
*When Astrotrain rams Omega Supreme's leg, Omega holds still for two seconds, then drops Megatron.
*If Astrotrain is big enough to hold all the Decepticons, then how big does that make Omega Supreme in the picture to the right here?
*One gun, many lasers:
**When Optimus fires at the fleeing Megatron, he only has one gun, yet four or five lasers streak past Megatron.
*Blaster has four small switches on his chest for most of the episode (clearly seen when Megatron kicks him towards the end), but is drawn with three large ones after Prime frees him.
*At the end of the episode, Blaster seemingly is supposed to be playing his rock tune yet again, complete with Prime yelling at him for it and the other Autobots chasing Blaster off into the sunset... but the music is missing. Oops!

===Continuity errors===
[[File:Blasterbluesonthemoon.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|"No no, it is totally worth risking the complete failure of the plan to have gloating rights over a couple of guys whose names I probably can't remember!"]]
[[File:BlasterBlues Carly Spike in spacesuits.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
*You have to wonder if Megatron thought out all the parts to this plan, given that it would be a lot easier for human society to adapt to life without radio, than life without electricity, petroleum and fossil fuels, and so on... Actually, how would we ''use'' said radio waves, without the power resources the 'Cons would strip out of the planet in exchange for ceasing their jamming?
*Furthermore, one might question the wisdom of leaving two conscious Autobots right across from the critical device... with one of them ''fully armed''. The episode's teleplay explains this a bit better: in it, Cosmos is not treated so dismissively by Megatron, who needs his "magnificent super-sonic engines" to power the transmitter, and at the episode's climax, Cosmos was not supposed to ''shoot'' the transmitter, but rather, exploit his function as a power source to help Blaster overload the machine. Still, there doesn't appear to be any good reason they couldn't have done this a ''lot'' sooner.
*In a world full of Transformers running around on the evening news (and showing up in arcades, research labs, dams, power plants, and basically everywhere), why would a scientist still speak of alien life as though it were some unproved hypothesis?
*One of the journalists in the crowd that's listening to Prof. Haley explain the voltronic galaxer has a portion of the speech ("...enabling alien life to translate them to their own language.") already written on his notepad before the professor even finishes speaking that line.
[[File:BlasterBlues Megatron voltronic galaxer.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit!]]
*In a rare instance of a falling human seeming to incur some actual injury, Professor Haley is apparently knocked unconscious by falling off the Voltronic Galaxer. Of course, he's up and (literally) running by the time the Autobots arrive (and still hanging out inside the burning building, apparently).
*The joy of size changing: Blaster rides inside Cosmos to the Moon, and in the next scene Cosmos and Blaster are side by side and Blaster is almost twice as tall as Cosmos. Cosmos's improbably large interior has just enough room for Blaster to sit inside. "[[Sea Change]]" and "[[Quest for Survival]]" will portray it as even larger, with room for multiple passengers to walk around.
*The passenger jets at the airport are shown swerving and maneuvering as though they were small-scaled fighters.
*Maybe Astrotrain's alternate mode ''does'' make sense in the bizarre world of cartoon Earth... because the railroad workers are trying to clear the track for a ''steam locomotive''.
*One of the railroad men says he will "radio [the train] to the auxiliary track", but no other track is actually shown.
*Only one guy leaps clear of the steam engine. Where's the fireman?
*Okay, so it's great that Optimus is directing traffic at this one airport, but... what about the hundreds of other airports out there? Much like "[[The Ultimate Doom, Part 2]]", the Autobots seem to lack a plan to deal with the actual ''cause'' of the problems.
*If Carly can trace the source of Megatron's transmissions, she really didn't need to wait until they heard Blaster's music.
*If Powerglide's [[jet pack]] is ''out of fuel'', then ''how does he keep flying??''
*Ratchet's team was mostly in [[robot mode]] when they were buried. They emerge from the snow in vehicle mode. Also, all the buried and exploded cars have vanished.
*Does Omega Supreme just keep some human-sized space suits handy? 'Cause Spike and Carly suddenly pop up in space suits when it's time to go to the Moon.

===A loony lunar lineup of astronomical errors===
*As with every other outer space episode in the series, Cosmos, Astrotrain, and all the rest get full sound effects in outer space and on the Moon's surface. Of course, media of far higher caliber than ''The Transformers'' have made the same error, generally because it'd be pretty boring to watch a bunch of silent ships fly around, so we'll let this one slide.
*The depicted activities of any Transformer on the Moon do not bear any resemblance to the movements of creatures under gravity one-sixth that of Earth's own.
*Cosmos really shouldn't have to switch off his engines once he reaches the Moon; he should have just switched them off as soon as he escaped Earth's gravity well.
*Blaster somehow manages to ''listen'' in on the Decepticons across the airless surface of the Moon.
*The burning [[Decepticon lunar dome base]] continues burning and trailing smoke as if it were in an atmosphere.
*Carly: "I've never been to the Moon before!" NO. REALLY??
**And she was just on Cybertron in the last episode. Wouldn't that have been a bigger deal?

===Trivia===
*Throughout the script, '''Trailbreaker''' is referred to as '''Trailblazer''', a name which popped up during "[[A Prime Problem]]".
*Seriously. "I've never been to the Moon before!"

===Foreign localization===
'''French'''
:*''Title (Canadian and European French broadcasts):'' "'''La grande catastrophe'''" ("The Great Disaster")
:*''Title (European French DVD release):'' "'''Blaster a le blues'''" ("Blaster has the blues")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*The robotic voice effect is absent on Blaster's first line.
::*For some reason, instead of "Prepare for target practice!", Optimus Prime says "Ready to do the tests with ''Olé''". Why "Olé", nobody knows, and Omega Supreme's real name is used normally throughout the rest of the episode.
::*Blaster's name is ''never'' pronounced:
:::*Instead of saying "Blaster! Decrease volume! Blaster!", Optimus Prime says "Hurry! Decrease volume! Do you hear me?".
:::*Ratchet's line "It's Blaster!" is replaced by "It's the music lover!".
:::*Instead of saying "If Blaster's on the Moon...", Powerglide says "If the music madman is on the Moon...".
:::*Powerglide's line "Hurry! We gotta save Blaster and Cosmos!" is absent from the dub.
::*Prowl's line "Convert to snow tires!" is missing.
::*The Autobots' lines as they drive away from the snow after recognizing Blaster are missing.
::*Instead of giving Blaster a lesson about the use of his music, Optimus Prime tells Blaster that Megatron's plan was pretty good and that they will have to work on a parade to prevent him from doing it again.
::*Blaster's dialogue during the last shot is missing.

'''Italian'''
:*''Title (dub 1):'' "'''Linee di raggruppamento'''" ("Meeting up Lines")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?
::*Broadcasting-wise, not production-wise (keep this in mind), the actors in this episode are different from the previous ones, being the first to use a second group of voice actors. Mainly, [[Piero Tiberi]] replaces [[Diego Reggente]] as Optimus Prime, [[Mario Milita]] replaces [[Gino Donato]] as Megatron and [[Leo Valeriano]] replaces [[Claudio De Davide]] as Starscream. With this group of actors, Powerglide's name, which should be Jumbo, is bronounced "Joombo", despite being pronounced correctly in the episodes using the first group of actors.
:*''Title (dub 2):'' "'''Il blues di Blaster'''" ("The Blues of Blaster")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Broadcast Blues'''" (ブロードキャスト・ブルース, "Blaster Blues")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 27]], [[1986]]

'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Lándiào Lùyīnjī '''" (蓝调录音机, "Blues Recorder")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Brazilian Portuguese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''O Ataque'''" ("The Attack")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] [[1995]] — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Megatron Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] [[1999]] — ''The Transformers'' — Decepticon Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] [[2001]] — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] [[2002]] — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 4 (Rhino Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] [[2003]] — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] [[2004]] — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 8 ([[Déclic Images]]) — European French audio only. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] [[2006]] — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] [[2007]] — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] [[2008]] — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio. 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] [[2009]] — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome) 
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] [[2011]] — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] [[2014]] — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory) 
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2014 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

==External links==
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1sSKWucY2fCoV3acIOVeW0qDL_HeX_w5B/view?usp=sharing First draft script, originally submitted 13th March 1985]
*[https://drive.google.com/open?id=155SvBA7NOPYzRivn6VOt0lqIUrwZTjv0 Full episode script, as revised by Ron Friedman 18th March 1985]
*[https://drive.google.com/file/d/1WSAmiAWbqHtJZG74g6OGMxOT6rfHnt9i/view?usp=drive_link Model sheets and background layouts]
*[https://sunbowmarvelarchive.blogspot.com/p/the-transformers-mp-700-38-blaster.html Gallery of revised storyboards]

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

File:AutoBerserk Ironhide Not RedAlert.jpg

2025-04-13T01:43:10Z

TankCatapult: Just a quick little edit to correct the spelling of Lamborghini.

{{G1cap|[[Ironhide (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ironhide]] mistakenly picks up an ordinary Fire Chief's Lamborghini Countach. DVD screencap taken from [[Madman Entertainment]]'s ''Transformers Complete Collection'' set.|Auto Berserk|5}}