Editing Crisis! Ambush in the Desert

{{episode
|series=Victory
|ep=24
|image=Crisisdesertambush.jpg
|caption=OBJECTION!
|title="Crisis! Ambush in the Desert"
|japanese=危機! 砂漠の待ち伏せ
|romaji=Kiki! Sabaku no Machibuse
|production code=
|production company=[[TakaraTomy|Takara]], [[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|airdate=[[September 12|12 September]] 1989
|writer=[[Yoshihisa Araki]]
|director=[[Hiromichi Matano]]
|animation studio=[[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|continuity=[[Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}
'''The Brainmasters stumble into a Decepticon trap in the desert, but luckily for them, Greatshot is on hand to help.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:CrisisAmbushDesert Greatshot ThunderArrow sea.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left|Oh, like what guy ''doesn't'' have mornings like this?]]
Deciding to visit the [[Autobot]]s on [[Earth]], the weary [[Sixshot (G1)|Greatshot]] arrives on the planet and spends the night sleeping in a seaside cave. Awakening the next morning, he looks out over the ocean... only to have the ''[[Thunder Arrow]]'' suddenly burst out of the water!

Meanwhile, the Autobots, currently stationed on the Tibetan Plateau, receive word of an attack by the [[Dinoforce]] on an [[oil]] field in the desert. With [[Blacker]] confident that the Dinoforce will pose little problem, the [[Brainmaster]]s head out aboard [[Galaxy Shuttle]] with the [[Rescue Patrol Team]], while [[Star Saber (G1)|Star Saber]] remains on standby in the [[Shuttle Base]]. [[Goryu (G1)|Goryu]] immediately spots the airborne Autobots as they fly towards the oil field, but merely smirks, instructing the Dinoforce to carry on draining energy. The reason for his complacency soon makes itself clear, as [[Killbison]] and [[Drillhorn (G1)|Drillhorn]] burst out of the sand and blast the unsuspecting Galaxy Shuttle out of the sky. As the Brainmasters climb out of the wreck and return fire, the two [[Breastforce]] members turn tail, and the Autobot trio quickly transform and give chase. This, it turns out, is all part of the plan, as [[Laster]] and [[Braver]] find themselves unable to manoeuvre in the deep sand, leaving them wide open for enemy fire. As a dune buggy, Blacker is still able to move freely, and occupies Killbison while his team-mates transform and tackle the burrowing Drillhorn. 

[[File:CrisisAmbushDesert Fire vs Kakuryu.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1]]
Back at the oil field, the Rescue Team formulate a plan to rescue the captive workers, who are being guarded by the sleeping [[Kakuryu (G1)|Kakuryu]]. The approach they decide to take is a direct one—[[Fire]] transforms to [[alternate mode|vehicle mode]] and rolls right up to the prehistoric pea-brain, who awakens just in time to be blinded by a deluge of foam from Fire's cannons. The workers are rushed to safety aboard Galaxy Shuttle, as the foam-covered Kakuryu staggers away. He eventually finds his way to Goryu, and requests permission to wash himself off. 

[[File:CrisisAmbushDesert form Road Caesar.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|left]]
Out in the desert, Laster and Braver fall afoul of Drillhorn's subterranean scheme, as he lures them into a patch of loose sand, where they promptly sink up to their waists. As Blacker arrives to help, but can't because he will sink too if he transforms, [[Leozack]] and [[Guyhawk]] emerge from beneath the sand, cackling over the successful deployment of their plan. The Brainmasters merge into [[Road Caesar]] in an attempt to use his strength to break free, but the gestalt only winds up sinking faster, unable to even focus his energy thanks to the hail of Ice Needles Guyhawk rains down upon him. The trio are separated back into their component parts, and Blacker finds Killbison's blaster jammed into the side of his head. Thankfully, Greatshot chooses this moment to arrive, and Guyhawk immediately takes to the sky in search of revenge. Greatshot tricks him into colliding with Leozack, and the two villains are grounded, but they keep up the fight... or rather, they run as fast possible to avoid being run over by the six-changer's car mode. Suddenly, a chasm opens up in the desert sand and Greatshot tumbles in, finding himself on top of the rising ''Thunder Arrow'', which had concealed itself beneath the sand.

[[File:CrisisAmbushDesert Blacker flesh wound.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|All together now: "It's just a flesh wound!"]]
[[Deathsaurus (G1)|Deathsaurus]] appears to confront Greatshot himself, impaling his arm with an arrow from his [[Breast Animal]] weapon. [[Hellbat (G1)|Hellbat]] and [[Jallguar]] also appear and attack Greatshot from both sides, but at the last moment, Blacker leaps to his aid, and has his arm blown off in the effort. With one Autobot injured and two buried in sand, things look bad... but luckily, [[Jan Minakaze|Jan]] has called on Star Saber for help, and the [[Supreme Commander]] comes swooping down out of the sky to quickly airlift Braver and Laster out of the sand so they can get Blacker to safety. While Star Saber transforms to [[robot mode]] and clashes with Deathsaurus atop the ''Thunder Arrow'', Greatshot hacks his way through the Breastforce, forcing them to pull out—much to Guyhawk's frustration. With his opponents beating a retreat, Greatshot goes to Star Saber's aid, and together, the pair cripple the ''Thunder Arrow'' and leave Deathsaurus with no option but the better part of valor. At the same time, Braver and Laster leave Blacker in the care of the Rescue Team and return to the oil field, quickly disposing of the Dinoforce by blowing up their [[energon cube]]s.

As the Autobots get back together after the battle, everyone crowds around the injured Blacker.  Although he downplays the seriousness of his wounds, he admits that he was too careless in his strategy. Star Saber prefers to think of him as brave, but he can see that the Decepticons are growing desperate, and that Autobot resolve must tighten.

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Sixshot (G1)|Greatshot]] (1)
*[[Galaxy Shuttle]] (2)
*[[Star Saber (G1)|Star Saber]] (8)
*[[Braver]] (9)
*[[Laster]] (10)
*[[Blacker]] (11)
*[[Fire]] (12)
*[[Holi]] (14)
*[[Boater]] (15)
*[[Pīpō]] (16)
*[[Road Caesar]] (22)

|c2=
*[[Rairyu]] (3)
*[[Yokuryu]] (4)
*[[Gairyu]] (5)
*[[Kakuryu (G1)|Kakuryu]] (6)
*[[Goryu (G1)|Goryu]] (7)
*[[Doryu]] (17)
*[[Killbison]] (18)
*[[Drillhorn (G1)|Drillhorn]] (19)
*[[Leozack]] (20)
*[[Guyhawk]] (21)
*[[Bisonbreast]] (23)
*[[Hornbreast]] (24)
*[[Hawkbreast]] (26)
*[[Hellbat (G1)|Hellbat]] (27)
*[[Jallguar]] (28)
*[[Deathsaurus (G1)|Deathsaurus]] (29)
*[[Tigerbreast]] (30)

|c3=
*[[Jan Minakaze]] (13)

}}

==Quotes==
"I do not have time to play with you!"<br>
"You're still gonna play with us!"
:—'''Greatshot''' and '''Leozack'''


"I will not forgive a single interloper!"
:—'''Deathsaurus'''


"Huh? How dare they retreat without permission! I suppose there's no point in me straining myself..."
:—'''Deathsaurus''' noting he has achieved his evil deed quota for the week.

{{Note|The following quotes are from the Omni Productions dub}}

"Sure, chief, there's only the dinosaurs—that's no problem.  We'll take care of them very easily."
:—'''Blacker''' on the Dinoforce's fearsome reputation.


"OW, MY EYES HURT!! WHAT ARE YOU GONNA DO??!???"
:—'''Kakuryu''', after getting covered in foam.


"I don't get it! Our concentrated energy is being dissipated right now!"
:—'''Road Caesar'''


"Muahahahaha! Autobots, you won't see the sun tomorrow!"
:—'''Tigerbreast'''


"Sixshot again! That busybody!"
:—'''Guyhawk'''


"You evil swine!"
:—'''Star Saber'''

==Notes==
===Animation and technical errors===
* Normally, the Brainmasters and Breastforce are about the same size in vehicle mode, but Killbison is almost twice as large as Blacker when he's chasing him around.
* As Blacker blocks the attacks meant from Greatshot, his left arm is sent flying through the air. In all future scenes, it is the right arm that was destroyed.
*When Guyhawk suggests the Breastforce unite into Liokaiser, he has individual eyes instead of goggle eyes.
*The subtitled Shout Factory release of the series typically refers to Laster and Braver by their Japanese names. For some reason, this episode switches them to the names of their European Motorvater repaints, Flame and Lightspeed.

===Continuity errors===
* There is a short and positively ''bizarre'' scene dropped into the middle of this episode, in which Greatshot comes upon a bunch of dead Autobots in a demolished city the middle of the desert. He removes a photo of a robot family (!) from the hand of one corpse, and then crumples it, angrily demanding to know what the Decepticons are planning. The ''implication'', one supposes, is that he's followed the ''Thunder Arrow'' this way, and that the Decepticons have killed these robots. Which would be all well and good, except that it's got ''nothing'' to do with the rest of the episode. The Decepticons aren't planning ''anything'' that requires randomly killing some robots... and much more importantly, who the hell ''are'' these dead robots, anyway?! There's never been ''any'' indication that there are any Autobots on Earth except Star Saber's team!
* The sand is shown to be level around the hole which Greatshot falls into, yet after the buried ''Thunder Arrow'' rises into the air, there's clearly a huge section right behind said hole which should have been sticking out of the sand!

===Transformers references===
* Greatshot returns after his previous appearances in "[[Planet Micro - The Mysterious Warrior]]" and "[[Rescue! Guyhawk]]".
* Guyhawk's troubled past with Greatshot was covered in "Rescue! Guyhawk".

===Real-world references===
* Killbison refers to the impending destruction of the Brainmasters as the "end of the {{w|The Three Musketeers|Three Autobot Musketeers}}".

===Trivia===
* Yet another episode that does away with the standard ''Victory'' title cards, and presents the title as white text on a black screen.

===Foreign localization===
'''English'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Ambush in the Desert'''" ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 27]], [[1991]]
::* The narrator specifically mentions that Greatshot is on his way to Earth from [[Micro]].
::* While Galaxy Shuttle is crashing, Braver announces "Come on Decepticons, we're not scared of you!" instead of mentioning the important information that the landing gear is busted.
::* While applying first aid to Blacker, Pīpō reports that his "control computer" is undamaged.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote|jsubs}}
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2003 — ''Transformers: Victory'' — DVD Box 01 ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — The Takara Collection Vol 3 — ''Transformers: Victory'' ([[Metrodome]])<br>
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Takara Collection (Metrodome)<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2008 — ''The Transformers: Victory'' ([[Madman Entertainment]]) — Optional [[Omni Productions|Omni]] dub.<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Japan Generation 1'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) — Optional Omni dub.<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers: The Japanese Collection'' ([[Shout! Factory]])<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers Japanese Collection: Victory'' (Shout! Factory)

[[Category:Victory episodes]]