Editing Head On!! Fortress Maximus

{{episode|
|series=Headmasters
|image=Headonfortmax.jpg
|caption=Apply directly to the forehead.
|ep=13
|title="Head On!! Fortress Maximus"
|japanese=ヘッドオン!! フォートレスマキシマス
|production code=
|production company=[[TakaraTomy|Takara]], [[Toei Animation|Toei]]
|airdate=[[October 2]], [[1987]]
|writer=[[Yoshihisa Araki]]
|director=[[Katsutoshi Sasaki]]
|animation studio=Toei
|continuity=[[Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Fortress must reveal his ultimate transformation when the Decepticons attack San Francisco with a carnivorous plant.'''

==Synopsis==
[[File:Buridanka.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"Bring Your Plant To Work" day goes tragically wrong.]]
The lack of recent Decepticon activity has [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] and the [[Headmaster (technology)|Headmasters]] restless and eager to hunt the villains down. Fortress warns them to cool off, pointing out that there's no reason to go looking for trouble during such a rare moment of peace.

Such peace, of course, does not last long, as, down on [[Earth]], an office building in [[San Francisco]] is suddenly and violently overwhelmed by a rapidly-growing alien plant that bursts through the ground beneath it. Local authorities open fire on the plant as it attempts to devour the citizenry, and [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] scrambles the [[Aerialbot (G1)|Aerialbots]], [[Technobot (G1)|Technobots]] and [[Trainbot]]s to help. An Autobot response has been anticipated by the authors of the event, however—[[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] and [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] lie in wait and spring an attack on the teams as they arrive on the scene. As Ultra Magnus calls upon the Headmasters for aid, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundblaster]] reports to [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] on [[Chaar]] that another of his plans to divert Autobot attention to Earth has succeeded. With Fortress having identified the plant as the [[buridanka]] species from the planet [[Darhos]], the Headmasters enter the fray on Earth. As they wrestle with the plant, and clash with the Decepticon Headmasters, the vicious vegetable uproots itself, becoming mobile!

[[File:HM13 Buridanka knocking.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.1|"We're not home! Come back later!"]]
Meanwhile, on [[Athenia]], Daniel is in the botanical gardens, tending to the seeds of a plant he brought from Earth, which have not yet sprouted. He soon discovers, however, that the Decepticons have replaced his seeds with those of the carnivorous plant, as it blooms with terrifying speed and attacks him and [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]]. Daniel calls upon his father for help, and when [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike]] sees the monstrous plant, he has [[Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]] help him identify it via the base computers. Spike realises that the Decepticons have used Daniel to bring the plant to Athenia, just as it uproots itself and attacks the base.

[[File:HM13 Master weed whacker.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.1|"I'm just a mean green mot...OW!"]]
As the situation worsens back on Earth, Fortress receives the report from Athenia just as Battleship Maximus becomes entwined in the still-growing plant's tendrils. As Scorponok celebrates the success of his plan for vengeance over Fortress, Fortress realises that he has no options left—he must unleash the power of the [[Master Sword]]. Reaching beneath his control console, he seizes the hilt of the weapon, only to find that it will not unsheathe, until the cries of the helpless Headmasters below ring out and he successfully draws the blade. Its energies course through Battleship Maximus, blasting the plant free, but this is only a fraction of the sword's power—to the shock of all onlookers, even Scorponok, Battleship Maximus ascends into space, and reveals itself to be a colossal [[Transtector]] by transforming into [[robot mode]]. Assuming head mode, Fortress connects to Battleship Maximus, forming the colossal [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress Maximus]]! With a huge version of the Master Sword forming in his hand, Fortress Maximus makes salad out of the buridanka in seconds, causing a chain reaction that destroys the plant menacing Athenia. As the Headmasters marvel at their commander's surprising new transformation, Scorponok prepares to destroy him with his own secret weapon, and the Headmasters head back to Athenia.
{{-}}
==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
{{{!}}border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="background:transparent"
{{!}}-
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Chromedome (G1)|Chromedome]] (1)
* [[Fortress Maximus (G1)|Fortress/Fortress Maximus]] (2)
* [[Hardhead (G1)|Hardhead]] (3)
* [[Highbrow (G1)|Highbrow]] (4)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (6)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (7)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (8)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (9)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (10)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (11)
* [[Getsuei]] (12)
* [[Shouki]] (13)
* [[Seizan]] (14)
{{!}}style="background:transparent; border-right: 0px" valign="top"{{!}}
* [[Suiken]] (15)
* [[Kaen]] (16)
* [[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]] (17)
* [[Afterburner (G1)|Afterburner]] (18)
* [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]] (19)
* [[Nosecone (G1)|Nosecone]] (20)
* [[Yukikaze (G1)|Yukikaze]] (21)
* [[Raiden]] (23)
* [[Brainstorm (G1)|Brainstorm]] (25)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (30)
* [[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]] (31)
* [[Computron (G1)|Computron]] (41)
* [[Arcee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Arcee]] (42)
{{!}}}
|c2=
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (22)
* [[Menasor (G1)|Menasor]] (24)
* [[Scorponok (G1)|Scorponok]] (26)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundblaster]] (27)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (32)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (33)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (34)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (35)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (36)
* [[Mindwipe (G1)|Mindwipe]] (37)
* [[Weirdwolf (G1)|Weirdwolf]] (38)
* [[Skullcruncher (G1)|Skullcruncher]] (39)

|c3=
* [[San Francisco Police|Police]] (5)
* [[Daniel Witwicky (G1)|Daniel Witwicky]] (28)
* [[Carly|Carly Witwicky]] (29)
* [[Spike Witwicky (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Spike Witwicky]] (40)
}}

==Quotes==
{{note|The following quotes are from the [[Omni Productions]] dub}}

"Now watch, a men-eating flower than can dance!"
:—'''Weirdwolf''' is weird.

==Notes==

===Continuity notes===
*Fortress's "head mode" was previously seen in "[[Rebellion on Planet Beast]]" and "[[The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok]]". Its true purpose is revealed in this episode. Given the surprise expressed by the Autobot Headmasters, despite the fact they were aware of his big head [[alternate mode]], they apparently never stopped to ask their leader what was up with that.
*The human helicopters which attack the plant are of a rather futuristic design, one of the few times that any of the Japanese ''Transformers'' carry on the futuristic theme seen in season 3 of the original series.

===Animation and technical errors===
*Daniel is so excited by his plant sprouting that he completely disappears for a couple of frames.
*When Battleship Maximus is smashed to the ground by the plant, Fortress is shown falling over inside his ship, and his chest Autobot [[insignia]] is missing.
*The Autobot insignia on Fortress Maximus's chest is missing its "jaw" during his transformation sequence. As this becomes stock footage for future transformations, the error repeats throughout the series.

===Continuity errors===
*The Headmasters are cruising around space, bored and wanting something to do. Hey, why not go check out that [[Zarak (planet)|mysterious planet]] you saw the Decepticons guarding and sending energy to [[The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok|two episodes ago]] and haven't mentioned since?
*Despite the fact he's seen it brush off Wheelie with no trouble, Daniel decides to later attack the man-eating planet again, alone, with nothing more than a stick. There is a point at which characters become too stupid to live.

===Trivia===
*Why Fortress is unable to draw the Master Sword at first is not explained in this episode. The situation repeats itself in the [[Explosion on Mars!! Maximus Is in Danger|next episode]], where the answer is given—to use the sword's power, his physical and mental energies must be in complete harmony. In the next episode, a cry for help from Chromedome is what galvanizes Fortress, synchronizing his energies — presumably, then, it is the calls for help from the Headmasters in this episode that allow him to draw the sword after his first failure.
*We're not told how exactly the Decepticons got the alien seeds into Daniel's packet. One can only assume some poor, early G1 third-stringer was forced to go undercover and run a flower shop on the off-chance Daniel stopped by.
*It sure looks like there was some actual human deaths among the helicopter and ground police.
*[[Raiden]] and [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] pull blades of their own out of nowhere for an impromptu laser sword duel somewhere in the general mayhem. This would go on to inspire the "Light Sword" accessory included with Raiden's [[Raiden#Masterpiece G Series|''Masterpiece'' toy]] some thirty years later.

===Foreign localization===
'''English'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Fortress Maximus's Gigantic New Being!'''" ([[Omni Productions]] dub)
:*''Original airdate:'' [[October 11]], [[1992]]


:*''Title:'' "'''Head On! Fortress Maximus'''" ([[Shout! Factory]] sub)
::*Fortress ("Cerebros" in the subtitles) bizarrely asks "What's that?" when confronted with the Master Sword. A better translation would have been "That...?"
::*Likewise, Soundblaster is apparently surprised at the existence of the carnivorous plant after it explodes. The original dialogue actually has him express surprise that it is destroyed.
::*The plant's name, "buridanka", is completely omitted from the subtitles, with the vegetation only being referred to as "carnivorous plant".


'''Mandarin'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Sàkè Jùrén duì Jùwúbà Fútè '''" (萨克巨人对巨无霸福特, "Scorponok vs. Fortress Maximus")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?


'''Russian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''Krepysh Maximus Obretayet Novouyu Silou'''" (Крепыш Максимус обретает новую силу, "Fortress Maximus Becomes More Strong")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?

'''Italian'''
:*''Title:'' "'''La potenza segreta di Fortress Maximus'''" ("Fortress Maximus's secret power")

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote|omni}}
;{{w|LaserDisc}}
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1996 — ''Transformers: The Headmasters'' Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[File:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2002 — ''Transformers: The Headmasters'' — DVD Box ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[File:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2005 — The Takara Collection Vol 1 — ''Transformers: Headmasters'' ([[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]] 2007 — ''The Transformers: Headmasters'' ([[Madman Entertainment]])<br>
[[File:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers: Japan Generation 1'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2011 — ''Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters'' ([[Shout! Factory]]) — Japanese audio with optional English subtitles only.<br>
[[File:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2012 — ''Transformers: The Japanese Collection'' (Shout! Factory) — Japanese audio with optional English subtitles only.


[[Category:The Headmasters episodes]]