Editing Darkness Rising, Part 1

{{episode|
|otherseries=''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Transformers: Prime]]'' ep 1
|next=Darkness Rising, Part 2
|image=DarknessRising1-Cliffjumperface.jpg
|caption=Hey look, it's a major character!
|title="Darkness Rising, Part 1"
|airdate=[[November 26]], [[2010]]
|written by=[[Duane Capizzi]]
|directed by=[[Dave Hartman|David Hartman]]
|animation studio=[[Polygon Pictures]]
|production company=[[Hasbro Studios]]
}}
'''Optimus Prime and the Autobots investigate the return of the Decepticons while being forced to account for a group of young humans who have unwittingly become involved in their centuries-old conflict.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:DarknessRising1-Starscreamsneer.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.67|Please allow me to introduce myself! I'm a man of wealth and taste...]]

[[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]] is on the open road, boasting to [[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] over the comm about how he's been messing with the [[human]]s, when he detects a large amount of energon nearby. As he goes to investigate, a [[Decepticon]] [[Trypticon (WFC)|ship]] appears over the crater and [[Vehicon (Prime)|Decepticon troopers]] drop down to attack him. Arcee alerts the rest of the [[Autobot]]s, who head back to base. Cliffjumper fights on, destroying several of the Decepticons, but their blasts detonate the energon, causing a huge explosion. They drag his defeated form back to the ship, where [[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] is upset about the loss of the energon. Cliffjumper is defiant, but Starscream executes him. The Autobots arrive at the crater via [[GroundBridge]], only to find the aftermath of the fight. Arcee picks up a horn Cliffjumper lost during the battle, and Ratchet reports that Cliffjumper's life signal has terminated.

Back on the Decepticon ship, Soundwave replays a recording of Arcee's comms talk, and Starscream decides she will be their next target.

[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus]] reminds the other Autobots that they must continue to survive in order to honor the memory of their fallen comrade. Arcee refuses to dwell on it and drives off. In [[Jasper]], [[Nevada]], [[Jack Darby]] is working at the [[KO Burger]] drive-thru. Arcee finds herself being chased by a couple of Decepticons, and she ducks into the KO Burger parking lot, where Jack mistakes her for a real motorcycle and, fantasizing about one day having a motorcycle of his own, hops on.

[[File:DarknessRising1-thisisjasper.jpg|thumb|upright=1.67|But can he make out with his girlfriend on the hood of it?]]
[[Sierra]] and a friend catch him apparently talking to the motorcycle, but while Jack has an awkward moment, the Decepticons spot Arcee. She takes off with a startled Jack still on board. After a short chase, she attempts to let Jack go, sending him down a side alley with a warning not to tell anyone what he's seen. As she speeds off, she spots one of the Decepticons heading after Jack and is forced to double back and pick him up. The chase moves onto the freeway, where [[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] arrives to help them out.

[[File:Bumblebee Bulkhead Arcee Darkness Rising 1.jpg|left|thumb|upright=1.4|I think they're the good guys]]
In a nearby drainage canal, [[Raf Esquivel|Rafael Esquivel]] is playing with a remote-controlled car when Arcee and Jack literally drop in. The Decepticons drop in as well, and first Arcee, then Bumblebee is blasted to the ground. Raf draws the 'cons' attention, which unfortunately works too well, and the two kids are forced to flee into a drain. While they make their escape, Bumblebee and Arcee stand defiant against the Decepticons and, as [[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] joins the fight, and the two Decepticons flee.

At Autobot headquarters, Optimus Prime informs the Autobots that since the Decepticons have seen the boys, the two humans may be targeted. At [[Memorial High School|high school]], Jack and Raf meet up again, and Bumblebee and Arcee come to take them to HQ. Though Raf roars off in Bumblebee, Jack walks away. [[Miko Nakadai]], sitting outside the school, draws Arcee, but when the motorcycle disappears, she peeks around the corner and spots Arcee in [[robot mode]] arguing with Jack. She takes both kids and catches up to Bumblebee. They drive to the Autobots' HQ, concealed in a mountain, where the three kids marvel at the rest of the Autobots and Optimus Prime gives them some exposition regarding the Transformers' war. Optimus fears the imminent return of [[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]].

Soundwave detects a transmission from deep space, and Starscream orders the [[space bridge]] activated. As it opens, Megatron emerges, announcing his return.

===Japanese additional segments===
====From the Cybertron Satellite, Transformers Division====
{{epstub}}

====Arms Micron Theater====
In a tiny little living room, [[O.P.]], [[R.A.]] and [[B.2]] chatter, then attempt to transform. It doesn't go so well.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Cliffjumper (WFC)|Cliffjumper]] (1)
*[[Arcee (WFC)|Arcee]] (2)
*[[Optimus Prime (WFC)|Optimus Prime]] (4)
*[[Ratchet (WFC)|Ratchet]] (5)
*[[Bulkhead (Prime)|Bulkhead]] (6)
*[[Bumblebee (WFC)|Bumblebee]] (7)

|c2=
*[[Vehicon (Prime)|Vehicons]] (3)
*[[Starscream (WFC)|Starscream]] (8)
*[[Soundwave (WFC)|Soundwave]] (9)
*[[Megatron (WFC)|Megatron]] (16)

|c3=
*[[Jack Darby]] (10)
*[[Jerky Teen]] (11)
*[[Sierra]] (12)
*[[Sierra's friend]] (13)
*[[Raf Esquivel]] (14)
*[[Miko Nakadai]] (15)

}}

==Quotes==
"Need backup?" <br> 
"Do I ever need backup?"
:—'''Arcee''' and '''Cliffjumper'''


"Scream, it's been a while. So, where's your master?"
:—'''Cliffjumper's''' last words


"Friend of yours?"<br>
"[[Relatives|Family]]."
:—'''Jack''' and '''Arcee''' on Bumblebee's arrival


"What are they?"<br>
"Talking cars that turn into robots. Or the other way around."
:—'''Rafael''' and '''Jack'''


"Dude, what are you waiting for? Go with!"
:—'''Miko''' says what the audience is thinking.


"I thought there were two?"<br>
"Haven´t you heard? Humans multiply."
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Arcee''' about the increasing of newcomers


"So, if you guys are robots, who made you...?"<br>
"Ugh! Puh-''leez''..."
:—'''Rafael''' and '''Ratchet'''


"We are autonomous robotic organisms from the planet Cybertron..."
:—'''Optimus Prime''' likes to [[Transformers (film)|repeat the same introduction over and over again]].


"Decepticons! I have ''returned''."
:—<s>[[Frank Welker]]</s> '''Megatron''' announces his grand return.

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
[[File:DarknessRisingpt1 different insignias.jpg|right|thumb]]
*When Ratchet attempts to scan for Cliffjumper's life signal, only five Autobots are shown on his screen, despite there being a total of six Autobots in the range of his scan (including the soon-to-be-dead Cliffjumper). This might be explained as being because Ratchet's own life signal doesn't appear on his own scanner.
*During the scene where Arcee attempts to talk to Jack in the alleyway, her rear end clips a bin.
*Upon this episode's original airing, the [[insignia]] on the floor of the Autobot base was the [[insignia#Live-action movie franchise|live-action movie Autobot insignia]], rather than the standard Autobot insignia used on the characters themselves. This however was swiftly changed upon the re-airing weeks later, suggesting the rendering team either originally took note in time to effect the change, or they REALLY DO read everything on this Wiki to make the show better. This is us waving at you! [[Ravage (SG)|*waves*]]
*In the credits, Cliffjumper's name is parsed "Cliff Jumper".
*When Cliffjumper detects the Energon deposit where he has his encounter with the Decepticons, it is shown as on the right side of the road on his scanner display, but when he turns off the road to investigate, he makes a left turn.

===Continuity errors===
*''[[Transformers: Exodus]]'' is the basis of the ''Prime'' continuity's backstory, according to [[Hasbro]]. However, ''Exodus'' has the split between Optimus and Megatron causing the war, whereas this episode implies with the line "In war, ideals change" that their split happened ''during'' the war. It's all neatly vague enough to imagine that "war" in this instance could have been a metaphorical summation of Optimus and Megatron's ideological conflict with the council, rather than actual battlefield warfare, and in any case, "[[One Shall Rise, Part 3]]" would later give a more detailed account of this period that [[retcon]]ned the characters' history back in-line with the depiction seen in ''Exodus''.

===Transformers references===
*Bumblebee and Bulkhead are big walking references to the [[Bumblebee (Movie)|movie Bumblebee]] and [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Animated Bulkhead]] respectively, looking near-identical and (in the former's case) sharing the same speech impediment. 
*Lots of references to "three years ago" as the last time the Decepticons and Megatron were seen. At the time the episode aired, three years ago was the year that ''[[Transformers (film)|Transformers]]'' came out in the cinema, by ''Prime'' showrunners [[Roberto Orci]] and [[Alex Kurtzman]]. [[File:Tfprime Vehicon Ready.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|Sup.]]
*Cybertron has been rendered uninhabitable by the war. This is not just established by ''Exodus'' and the ''[[Transformers: War for Cybertron (games)|War for Cybertron]]'' games, but was also part of the [[live-action film series]] canon and [[IDW Publishing]]'s earlier Generation 1 comics.
*The image of Cybertron from space that appears during Optimus's exposition reuses the model from ''War for Cybertron''.
*In this series, Energon is represented as a naturally growing blue crystal. This is [[Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)|not the first time]] it has been represented in this way.
*The Decepticon "drones" are extremely similar to the Decepticon troops in the Autobot campaign of ''War for Cybertron.''

===Real-world references===
*The kids' phones are all based on BlackBerry® Pearl 8220 model flip phones, reskinned in different colors.
*Jack's statement "The first rule of robot fight club is that you don't talk about robot fight club" is a reference to, well, ''[[Fight Club]]''.
*Miko's cellphone ringtone is a section of the sample tune "motocross" from the imovie library. Which was recorded in early 2010 at Abbey Road Studios.

===Trivia===
*Cliffjumper was presented as a key Autobot in the publicity material, and he had a starring role in the comic released before the show's premiere. That, combined with the fandom's excitement over the news of [[Dwayne Johnson|his voice actor]] (an announcement that was actually very low-key,<ref>[http://toynewsi.com/news.php?catid=1&itemid=16332 Toy News International's notes on a Hasbro investors' webcast]</ref> but you know, ''[[fandom]]s''), made his death in the opening minutes of this episode come as ''quiiiiiiite'' a shock to just about everyone. ''Prime''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s sister show, ''[[G.I. Joe (franchise)|G.I. Joe]]: Renegades'', pulled the same tactic with the hero Ripcord, although it would be revealed later on that he turned out fine.
*Adaptations of this episode include a prose version as part of ''[[Megatron Returns]]'', a storybook for younger readers as ''[[Meet Team Prime]]'', and a screen-capture-style comic as part of ''[[Transformers Prime: A Rising Darkness|A Rising Darkness]]''.
*The first set of parents we see is actually a still of Miko's host parents, having a profile picture in her phone.

===Foreign localization===
'''German''' 
:*''Title:'' "'''Die dunkle Macht erhebt sicht, Teil 1'''" (The Dark Force Rises, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 23|23 September]] [[2011]]

'''Hungarian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Közeleg a sötétség, 1. rész'''" ("The Darkness Is Nearing, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[January 9|9 January]] [[2012]]
:** On the Season 1 Volume 1 DVD, the 5-part pilot bore the title "'''Sötétségben'''" ("In Darkness")

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La rimonta delle tenebre, prima parte'''" ("Darkness Rising, First Part"), "'''L'Ascesa dell'Oscurità, Parte 1'''" ("The Arisal of Darkness, Part 1", 2017 airing)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[September 11|11 September]] [[2011]]

'''Indonesian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Kegelapan Bangkit, Bagian 1'''" ("Darkness Rising, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' 3 September [[2012]]

'''Japanese'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Kanzen Henkei! Transformer Tōjō'''" (完全変形! トランスフォーマー登場, "Perfect Transformation! Enter the Transformers")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[April 7|7 April]] [[2012]]

'''Korean''' 
:*''Title:'' "'''Ak ui Buhwal 1'''" (악의 부활 1, "Return of the Evil, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[August 29|29 August]] [[2011]]

'''Polish''' 
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[December 5|5 December]] [[2011]]

'''Portuguese''' 
:*''Title:'' ?
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

'''Spanish'''
:*''Title:'' "'''El regreso del mal, Parte 1'''" (America, "The Return of Evil, Part 1")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[November 7|7 November]] [[2011]]

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Darkness Rising ([[Shout! Factory]])<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Shout! Factory)<br>
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Folge 1: Die dunkle Macht erhebt sich ([[EDEL:kids]]) — English and German audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection ([[Madman Entertainment]])<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Volume 1: Darkness Rising (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Vol. 1 ([[Avex Trax]]) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One: Darkness Rising ([[Universal|Universal Pictures UK]])<br>
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1 Vol. 1: Le retour des Decepticons ([[Universal|Universal Pictures France]]) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Stagione 1 Vol. 1: La rimonta delle tenebre ([[Universal|Universal Pictures IT]]) — English, Italian, Dutch, French and Spanish audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of France.png|20px|France]] 2014 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Saison 1: L'intégrale (Universal Pictures France) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio.<br>
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2015 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Universal Pictures UK)<br>
;Blu-ray
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One (Shout! Factory)<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Season One Collection (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[File:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 2012 — ''Transformers Prime'' — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.<br>

==Footnotes==
{{Reflist}}

[[Category:Prime episodes]]