Editing Trial of Megatron, Part 3

{{apocrypha}}
{{episode|
|series=Anitoon
|image=Animated-TrialOfMegatronPart3.jpg
|ep=45
|prev=Trial of Megatron, Part 2
|title="Trial of Megatron, Part 3"
|airdate=[[August 17]], [[2019]] ([[Unofficial conventions|TFNation 2019]])
|written by=[[Marty Isenberg]]
|continuity=[[Animated cartoon continuity]]}}
'''Megatron makes his ultimate play as he sets the Decepticon capital city, Kaon, on a collision course with Earth.'''
==Synopsis==
===Act I===
[[File:AllSparkAlmanacII-KaonBlastsOff.jpg|upright=1|left|thumb|<span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS, cursive, sans-serif; color: black">and there he goe's...<br>WE HAVE.</span><br><span style="font-family: Comic Sans MS, cursive, sans-serif; color: cyan; font-size:180%">'''''LIFDOFF'''''</span>]]
Inside [[Trypticon Prison]], [[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] is surrounded by Decepticons as [[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] gloats. When [[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] insists that everyone bows before their leader, a scuffle breaks out amongst the Decepticon troops. Megatron is forced to smack them back into order before explaining that he has learned to speak to the [[Mini-Con]]s. Not wanting to let Megatron escape, Sentinel locks down [[Kaon (polity)#Animated cartoon|Kaon]] with a shield. 

Megatron takes this opportunity to reveal that he has no plans to leave the Decepticon capital; after all, it is the state of the ''rest'' of [[Cybertron (planet)#Animated|Cybertron]] which disappoints him. The planet begins to rumble as massive boosters emerge from Trypticon Prison. Kaon tears itself free from the surface and rockets into space, leaving behind a volcanic pit. Many Autobots are trapped in rubble and the [[Sonic Canyons#Animated cartoon|Sonic Canyons]] are destabilized. If nothing is done, they pose a threat to the entire planet.

Meanwhile, [[Fortress Maximus (Animated)|Fortress Maximus]] has been thrown into chaos. The [[Autobot High Council]] instructs [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] to lead his crew and a rescue team led by [[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] to the crater. As part of the mission, they must bring the [[AllSpark#Animated continuity family|AllSpark]] to make a shield, allowing Perceptor's team to work on stabilizing the Sonic Canyons. Simultaneously, [[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]] is to lead the Elite Guard in pursuit of Kaon; [[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] is happy to learn that he will partake in the former operation, rather than the latter. Forced to choose between boarding Omega or the [[Elite Guard]]'s ships, [[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] nobly tears off his stripes and rejoins Optimus' crew. In response, Optimus removes his Eternal Flames.

In space, Rodimus makes contact with Megatron, demanding that Sentinel be released. When Megatron refuses, the fleet fires on Kaon. As the Decepticons start to lose power, Megatron uses his sword to cut off Lugnut's [[Punch of Kill Everything]] before asking an oblivious Rodimus for his word that they will not be harmed if he agrees to surrender Sentinel. Once Rodimus deactivates the fleet's weapons, Megatron returns Sentinel using a cannon, with the severed POKE strapped to his head.

===Act II===
Sentinel impacts the ship, and the resulting explosion causes some serious damage. By throwing the stolen [[Technorganic|techno-organic]] Energon into Kaon's fusion reactor, Megatron gives it the boost it needs to escape. [[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] identifies Kaon's destination as Earth. Rodimus requests the coordinates of the planet from Optimus, who simply points out that they will not make it there in time. As Optimus' crew begins boarding Omega, [[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] is forced to say goodbye to [[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]], who is remaining behind on Cybertron. Bumblebee's initial enthusiasm over the mission fades once he learns that Bulkhead will be staying behind at the Energon farm, and they too regretfully part ways. Joining the team is [[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]], who is still playing his part as Optimus' bodyguard. Omega Supreme takes off, and transwarps.

Kaon completes its hyperspace jump, arriving in Earth's vicinity, but is closely followed by Omega Supreme. After some encouragement from Ratchet, the Autobot ship transforms into robot mode to open fire. Trypticon brings more cannons to bear and fires back. Optimus notes that this altercation is just another distraction. Ratchet gives him Sentinel's Powermaster armor, allowing him to fly out into space (despite being a little too big for the door). Bumblebee, [[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari]], [[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]], and Ironhide follow Optimus under the cover of Omega Supreme's fire and touch down on Kaon.

Sari's technopathy lets her determine how to sabotage the ship's surge regulators. Splitting up to carry out the plan, Optimus and Bumblebee go one way while Sari, Jazz, and Ironhide go another. Megatron orders the Mini-Cons to concentrate fire on Omega's head. In response, Ratchet is forced to shut down Omega's higher functions and take manual control, converting him back to ship mode. Aboard Kaon, the Autobots succeed in their plan. With its surge regulators taken out, Kaon suddenly burns through all its fuel. Unfortunately, Optimus and Bumblebee stumble into the cell block, where they are immediately surrounded by several Decepticons.

===Act III===
[[File:Animated-TrialofMegatronPart3-Ramjet's-Death.jpeg|thumb|250px|YEET!]]
Desperately seeking to keep Kaon online, Megatron decides to throw the [[Starscream clone (Animated)|Starmscream clone]]s into the fusion reactor so that the AllSpark fragments in their spark chambers can provide the city with power. [[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]], a sycophant to the last, is sure to compliment Megatron on this course of action as he is tossed in. [[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] claims not to have a fragment of the AllSpark in his spark chamber, but Megatron pays him no heed and hurls the lying clone in too. With power temporarily restored, Megatron directs the ship to the location on Earth with the highest Energon concentration: the greater [[Detroit]] area.

The Decepticon prisoners overpower Optimus and Bumblebee, and throw them into their former cells. Recalling the Decepticons, Megatron tosses [[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] and [[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] into the reactor. Lugnut jumps in willingly. Even after the sacrifice of its crew, Kaon continues to lose power. Megatron goes to fetch Optimus Prime and Bumblebee, only to be blocked by an armored Ironhide and attacked by Jazz. [[Rattletrap]], who also had been thrown into the cells, vanishes during the battle.

In his Powermaster armour, Optimus stands eye-to-eye with Megatron for the first time. Megatron's swords are unable to penetrate the armor; he tosses aside his [[Fusion cannon#Animated cartoon|fusion cannon]], leading Optimus to do the same with the [[Magnus Hammer]]. They fight hand-to-hand as Kaon descends on [[Dinobot Island (Animated)|Dinobot Island]] (much to the horror of [[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]]). Right before it crashes, Optimus manages to fly the Autobots out.

Later, Sari reports that Kaon is sealed shut. Optimus decides that they should remain on Earth to monitor the situation. Ironhide is unsure of the mission, as he has not visited Earth before, but Jazz tells him he'll ''dig it.''

Unseen by all, a hatch on the exterior of Trypticon Prison opens and a Mini-Con peers out...

==Quotes==
"You wanted me to put you on trial! It was just another distraction!"<br>
"How could I have been so... deceptive?"
:—'''Sentinel Prime''' realises he's played into '''Megatron'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s hands.


"All hail Megatron!"<br>
"On your knees, infidel."
:—'''Lugnut''' and '''Shockwave''' pay homage while the latter chastises Blitzwing.


"I must admit my time in prison has severely eroded my patience."
:—'''Megatron''' puts a stop to his underlings' tomfoolery.


"I speak Mini-Con now. I find them much more efficient than my usual unreliable help."
:—'''Megatron''' sasses his minions.


"Sadly, seeing what your leadership has done to this planet, it is no longer worthy of the Decepticons."<br>
"If that's your attitude, why don't you just leave?"<br>
"My sentiments exactly..."
:—'''Megatron''' launches Trypticon Prison, to the surprise of '''Sentinel Prime'''.


"Ready to save some lives?"<br>
"Saving lives, not destroying them... that is how I want to fit in."
:—'''Ratchet''' encourages '''Omega Supreme'''.


"Lugnut, my loyal servant, is there anything you would not do for me...?"<br>
"Nothing, my liege."<br>
"Because I really need a hand right now."
:—'''Megatron''' gets the POKE from '''Lugnut'''.


"Let's go big guy!"<br>
"Sorry, little buddy. Not this time. There's too much work to be done here. They need me back on the energon farm."<br>
"I hate long goodbyes..."
:—'''Bumblebee''' and '''Bulkhead''' part ways.


"I still prefer saving lives."<br>
"There's about seven billion of them down on that planet you're saving right now."
:—'''Omega Supreme''' is persuaded by '''Ratchet''' to attack Kaon.


"Oh no, not again."
:—'''Scrapper''' watches Kaon bear down on him.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{collist|2|*[[Sentinel Prime (Animated)|Sentinel Prime]] (1)
*[[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] (6)
*[[Perceptor (Animated)|Perceptor]] (7)
*[[Rodimus Prime (Animated)|Rodimus Prime]] (8)
*[[Omega Supreme (Animated)|Omega Supreme]] (9)
*[[Bumblebee (Animated)|Bumblebee]] (10)
*[[Bulkhead (Animated)|Bulkhead]] (11)
*[[Arcee (Animated)|Arcee]] (12)
*[[Ratchet (Animated)|Ratchet]] (13)
*[[Jazz (Animated)|Jazz]] (14)
*[[Ironhide (Animated)|Ironhide]] (15)
*[[Rattletrap]] (19)}}
|c2=
*[[Megatron (Animated)|Megatron]] (2)
*[[Lugnut (Animated)|Lugnut]] (3)
*[[Shockwave (Animated)|Shockwave]] (4)
*[[Blitzwing (Animated)|Blitzwing]] (5)
*[[Sunstorm (Animated)|Sunstorm]] (17)
*[[Ramjet (Animated)|Ramjet]] (18)
*[[Scrapper (Animated)|Scrapper]] (20)
|c4=
*[[Sari Sumdac (Animated)|Sari Sumdac]] (16)
}}

==Notes==
===Continuity notes===
*At a first glance, this episode seems to rack up an unusually high body-count, and it is not exactly clear purely from the outline whether or not the Decepticons who are hurled into the reactor in this episode are actually offlined. In the case of the Starscream clones, at least, Megatron had previously been able to power Omega Supreme using the AllSpark fragment in [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]'s head back in "[[TransWarped]]" without killing Starscream, suggesting they might survive the process.
*Scrapper last appeared in "[[Human Error, Part II]]"; it was established in that same episode that he had been living on Dinobot Island since the events of "[[Three's a Crowd]]".

===Transformers references===
*Prime dons the Powermaster armour in this episode. Apparently, Hasbro had pushed for "Powermaster Prime", hoping to get a couple of new ''Animated'' toys out at higher price-points, so Isenberg worked the armour into his pitch.
*Isenberg has stated that they did plan to bring some of the Decepticons hurled into the reactor back over the course of the season. As such, it is reasonable to speculate that Lugnut, whose figure received [[Lugnut (Animated)#Atomic|an "Atomic" redeco]] late in the [[Transformers Animated (toyline)|''Animated'' toyline]], would survive the process.

===Real-world references===
*The appearance of the pit left behind by Kaon was (apparently) to be inspired by the firepits of the planet Apokolips from Jack Kirby's "{{w|Fourth World (comics)|Fourth World}}" comics. Two concept pieces for Kaon itself are included in ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II|The AllSpark Almanac II]]'', one of which depicts it blasting off from Cybertron while the second is of Kaon after crash-landing in [[Lake Erie]].

===Continuity errors===
*While this episode does show Bulkhead staying on Cybertron to protect the Energon farms from Decepticons, Sari is present on Earth with Optimus' team when it is said in the pitch for season 4 that she would be staying on Cybertron to continue her education and learn more about her origins.

===Subsequent episodes===
Both ''The AllSpark Almanac II'' and [[Hasbro Transformers Collectors' Club issue 71|issue #71 of the Collectors' Club magazine]] list a variety of episode pitches proposed for season 4. As the total number of proposed episodes exceeds the standard season length of 13, it's almost a certainly that not all of these would have been made had the season gone ahead, but in addition to the three parts of "Trial of Megatron," proposed stories included:

*"Turf War" - The Autobots find themselves in the midst of a "turf war" between the [[Constructicon (Animated)|Constructicon]]s and other Decepticons when [[Dirt Boss (Animated)|Dirt Boss]] discovers a new way of becoming the "big bot" of Detroit by gaining control of Energon deposists in the city. To this end, Dirt Boss unleashes his latest "project": [[Devastator (Animated)|Devastator]].
**''The AllSpark Almanac II'' confirms that [[Mixmaster (Animated)|Mixmaster]] and Dirt Boss survived the events of "Three's a Crowd" and alludes to something called "Devastator".

*"This is Why I Hate Organics" - Rattletrap finds himself on Earth, surrounding by the one thing he fears: organics. He manages to scan an Earth vehicle mode, but he quickly finds himself a target for both Autobots and Decepticons alike.
**Rattletrap makes a brief appearance in this episode, when he is locked in the cellblock along with Optimus and Bumblebee before vanishing mid-battle.

*"Mirror, Mirror" - Attempting to transwarp back to Earth to rejoin their friends, Bulkhead and Sari enter a mirror universe with [[Transformers: Shattered Glass (franchise)|evil Autobots and heroic Decepticons]].
**''[[Transformers Animated: The Complete AllSpark Almanac|The Complete AllSpark Almanac]]'' talks a bit about this mirror dimension, including some of its inhabitants.

*"Gremlins in the Gears" - The Mini-Cons who run Kaon are on the loose and causing all kinds of havoc in Detroit by disassembling all machinery they come across- including the Autobots. To save their friends, Ratchet and [[Carmine Fanzone|Captain Fanzone]] must team up to stop the renegade Mini-Cons.

*"What a Tangled Web We Have" - The circumstances of [[Blackarachnia (Animated)|Blackarachnia]] falling in with the Decepticons, as well as her connections with both Blitzwing and her new army of techno-organic "Predacons", are revealed.
**Blackarachnia's return following the events of "[[Predacons Rising (Animated)|Predacons Rising]]" and the Predacon army were first alluded to in ''The Complete AllSpark Almanac''; Blackarachnia was first revealed to have been responsible for Blitzwing's transformation into a [[Triple Changer]] in ''[[Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac|The AllSpark Almanac]]''; Blitzwing's appearance in the episode would confirm his survival in this one.

*"S.T.E.A.M." - The Autobots are forced to save their detractors when steampunk tool-using, anti-technological vigilantes called "Save The Earth And Mankind" fight back against what they think spells the end of humanity and run afoul of the returning [[Soundwave (Animated)|Soundwave]].
**Soundwave, and by extension [[Laserbeak (Animated)|Laserbeak]], would have returned following "[[Human Error, Part II]]".

*"It Came from (Planet) Cybertron" - An Autobot named [[Cosmos (Animated)|Cosmos]] has an important message for Optimus, and comes to Earth to tell him. After scanning a prop flying saucer from the set of a B-movie, hi-jinks ensue as Cosmos loses his memory and comes to believe he is a legitimate alien invader.
**The plot of this episode was [[Cosmos (Adventure)|briefly considered]] for the original version of ''[[Transformers: Prime (cartoon)|Prime]]'' season 3 before the theme was changed.

*"Triple Threat" - In his new Triple Changer form, Megatron proceeds to ruthlessly obtain Energon. However, this body has the tragic side effect of Megatron developing the unstable personality of a one-bot army blowing away anything and anyone in his path.
**Megatron's new body would essentially serve as the basis for the unproduced "[[Megatron (Animated)#Other|Marauder]] Megatron" toy.

*"Allspark-alypse Now!" - Sentinel comes to Earth and intends to use the AllSpark to kill Megatron. Using AllSpark fragments and Cybertronians empowered by them as a way of communicating from the Well of AllSparks, Prowl tells Optimus about the consequences of Sentinel's ideas.
**Sentinel is confirmed in the outline of this episode to have survived the POKE explosion, though it takes him out of commission.

*"Process of Elimination" - Bumblebee investigates a series of deadly attacks on his old boot camp platoon who are being picked off by a mysterious assailant. All signs point to either [[Wasp|Waspinator]] or Shockwave until they are also attacked, thus deepening the mystery.
**Shockwave's appearance in the episode would confirm his survival in this one; Waspinator would return following the events of "Predacons Rising".

*"Trukk vs. Munky" - Optimus faces off against one of Blackarachnia's loyal Predacon subjects: a failed cloning experiment named [[Primal Major]].

*"Megatron Must Be Destroyed! (Part 1)"- As Megatron's machinations of reformatting Earth into a new Decepticon homeworld reaches fruition and threaten the entire planet, unholy alliances arise between the Autobots, Decepticons under the command of [[Slipstream (Animated)|Slipstream]], Blackarachnia's Predacons, and the [[Dinobot (Animated)|Dinobot]]s to defeat Megatron once and for all with many casualties abound.
**Slipstream would have returned following "[[Endgame, Part I]]"; the Dinobots would have returned following "Human Error, Part II".

*"Megatron Must Be Destroyed! (Part 2)" - As a Powermaster-enhanced Optimus battles Megatron, Sari discovers a deeper connection between herself and someone familiar that may save the Earth and Cybertron.
**This episode would have ultimately closed the circle regarding Sari's origins.

Additionally, in an unknown and/or additional episode, [[Bludgeon (Animated)|Bludgeon]] was proposed for inclusion in this season.

===Trivia===
[[File:AllSparkAlmanacII-KaonInLakeErie.jpg|upright=1|thumb|''It's a Casio on a plastic beach...'']]
*[[Judd Nelson]] did not return to reprise his role of Rodimus Prime, whose voice was instead provided for the TFNation reading by Chris Finney.
*According to Isenberg, starting with the show's third season, there had been increasing pressure from the higher-ups to tell darker stories, to bring the show closer in line with other series that had aired on [[Cartoon Network]] at the time (such as ''{{w|Ben 10: Alien Force|Ben 10: Alien Force}}'' and ''{{w|Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008 TV series)|Star Wars: The Clone Wars}})''. Omega Supreme's origins were one product of this.

[[Category:Animated episodes]]
[[Category: Things that don't exist]]