Editing Battle of Autobot City

The '''Battle of Autobot City''' refers to the protracted battle between the [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s at [[Autobot City]], the base of the Autobots on [[Earth]], taking place in the year 2005 in one reality.  By its end the leaders of both the Autobot and Decepticon forces were dead or dying, numerous combatants on both sides had been killed, and events were set in motion that would lead to the creation of [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] and, eventually, the passing of the [[Matrix of Leadership]].

{{quote|Let the slaughter commence!|[[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]|[[The Transformers: The Movie|TFTM]]}}

==Prelude==
The Decepticons had succeeded in driving the Autobot army off [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. However, the Autobots retained staging grounds on Cyberton's two moons and were in the final phase of preparations for their counterassault.  All that remained was the transport of a final shipment of [[Energon cube]]s from Autobot City's production facilities. [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] dispatched a shuttle to Earth for this purpose, interestingly crewed by most of his command staff.

[[Image:Tftm1986a.jpg|right|thumb|[[Brawn]] had a habit of smoking too much "purple haze" and redirecting his vapour output to another orifice entirely.]]

Unfortunately for the Autobots, the Decepticon spy [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] got wind of the Autobots' plans and warned [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]], ruler of the Decepticons.  In a move reminiscent of the Decepticons' boarding of the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] on their initial arrival on Earth, Megatron led a sizeable contingent of Decepticons against the small Autobot crew on the shuttle.  Heavily outnumbered and outmatched, the Autobots were overwhelmed.  [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Prowl (G1)|Prowl]] and [[Brawn]] all perished (or at least were deactivated) in this attack at the hands of Megatron and [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]].

Having taken control of the shuttle, Megatron's plan became clear: the shuttle was to be used as the perfect Trojan horse and convey the Decepticons for a surprise attack on Autobot City itself, which Megatron seemed to think would vanquish the Autobots forever.  On the other hand, Megatron was never really known for his tactical genius.

:''('''Note:''' There ''is'' a reason Megatron thought this - the original script makes it clear that Autobot City is, in fact, a massive energy-gathering facility, so if the Decepticons destroy this, the Autobots will be without an energy supply, pretty much crippling their war effort.)''

==The Battle==
===First Phase===
Megatron had calculated correctly in that the Autobot shuttle would not set off Autobot City's automated defences even if carrying a Decepticon crew.  It was sheer chance that [[Daniel Witwicky|a small human child]] noted there was a hole in the shuttle and alerted the young Autobot [[Hot Rod]], who divined the truth of the situation.  Having said that, Hot Rod wasn't exactly one for tactical acumen either, deciding to open fire on the shuttle alone and some distance away from Autobot City, rather than bother to tell anybody what was going on first.

At any rate, with the Decepticons' cover blown, Megatron ordered the Decepticons to debark and attack immediately.  A number of Decepticons transformed to alternate mode and commenced attacks on Autobot City and attempted to pick off those Autobots caught outside the city.

The Autobots, though surprised and outnumbered, quickly rallied to the defensive.  [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]], commanding the City, ordered [[Blaster]] to contact Optimus Prime on Cybertron's moon to obtain reinforcements, [[Springer]] to [[Transformation|transform]] Autobot City into its battle mode, and [[Blurr (G1)|the only Autobot with an amphetamine problem]] to assist in alerting Autobots as to the attack (if they weren't already clued in by hordes of Decepticons bringing the rain right down on their heads.)

Blaster did manage to make brief contact with the Cybertronian Autobots, but the signal was cut off by the intervention of [[Soundwave (G1)|Soundwave]] and the four henchmen he had with him: [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]], [[Ravage]], [[Frenzy (G1)|Frenzy]] and [[Ratbat]].  However, Blaster evened the odds by putting his own quartet of counterparts into the fight.

Meanwhile, Springer and [[Arcee (G1)|Arcee]] delayed transforming the city for as long as possible to try and allow Hot Rod and [[Kup]] to get back inside the city. Eventually running out of time, they began the transformation,  offering the city greater capability to hold off the Decepticon assault.  It also had the added bonus of taking off the Decepticon Starscream's right foot.

''('''Note:''' The events of "[[Five Faces of Darkness]]" imply that [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] was present at the battle, but unable to transform to robot mode because his [[transformation cog]] was damaged.  Some fiction suggests that Metroplex is part of (or the same thing as) Autobot City.)''

Unable to penetrate Autobot City's defences by conventional means, Megatron then ordered the [[Constructicons]] to merge into the [[gestalt]] [[Devastator]].  The giant robot quickly made his presence felt, penetrating the first line of defences by literally tearing them open, and shattering one attempt by Springer, Kup and Arcee to put him out of action.  But even so the two sides were so evenly matched that the battle drew out over the course of the remainder of the day and through the night.

===Second Phase===
Eventually, though, the next morning brought the breaking of the Autobot defences and the possibility of a mass slaughter.  It was at this crucial point that Autbot reinforcements commanded by Optimus Prime arrived.  The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] were deployed to attack Devastator, with only mild success, and did not stop the Decepticon advance into Autobot City.

That task fell to Optimus Prime, who decided it'd be a good idea to abandon a few million years' worth of military experience, tactical wisdom, and basic common sense by making a solo frontal assault against the massed firepower of a Decepticon assault force. Somehow, it worked out for him. In vehicular mode, he mowed down most of the [[Seeker]]s, and later in robot mode, his [[ion blaster]] singlehandedly scattered the Decepticon attack, fighting his way to engage Megatron in hand-to-hand combat.

[[Image:Tftm1986b.jpg|left|thumb|"Shall I compare thee to a summer's day...?"]]

The battle between the two leaders was brief and intense, but resulted in a seeming-victory for Prime. Only the foolishness of Hot Rod changed that result and let Megatron get the drop on the Autobots' greatest leader. Megatron inflicted what would be a fatal wound on Optimus Prime, only to be repaid with a haymaker that put Megatron off a ledge and into a fall that would prove almost-lethal.

The Decepticons seeing their leader conclusively defeated in this way broke their spirit. Starscream, taking interim command, ordered [[Astrotrain]] to transform and ferry the Decepticons away in a general retreat.  Gathering up their wounded, the Decepticons fled, leaving the Autobots to similarly gather up their own casualties.

==Aftermath==
Large numbers of Autobots and Decepticons had either been terminated or wounded as a result of the battle.  [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]], [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]], and [[Huffer]] were among the casualties, and even the mighty Optimus Prime soon succumbed to his wounds and perished, but not before passing the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus as his successor, unaware that the Matrix had chosen Hot Rod to become the new [[Prime (rank)|Autobot leader]].

[[Image:Tftm1986c.jpg|right|thumb|[[Galvatron]], or just plain old TRON?]]

The wounded Decepticons - including the [[Insecticon (G1)|Insecticons]], [[Skywarp (G1)|Skywarp]], [[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]], and Megatron - were thrown out of Astrotrain to lighten the load, where they would later be found by the Chaos-bringer [[Unicron]] and reshaped into Galvatron, [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]], [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]], and the [[Sweeps]].

==Notes==
*The battle is "act 1" of ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]].''
*Okay, we'll be honest here. The whole point of this battle is to off your favorite characters through violent ways, then replace them with newbies who we've never seen before. 

[[Category:Battles]]
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