Editing Microbots

{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=34
|series2=SRLFtoon
|ep2=25
|prev2=Auto Berserk
|next2=Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1
|series3=''[[Generation 2 (cartoon)|The Transformers: Generation 2]]''
|ep3=33
|prev3=The Insecticon Syndrome
|next3=Blaster Blues
|image=Microbots shrink.JPG
|caption=In the '80s, every cartoon had to have a shrinking episode.
|title="Microbots"
|production code=#700-33
|airdate=[[October 7]], 1985
|written by=[[David Wise]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''Perceptor, Brawn, and Bumblebee must shrink themselves to go inside Megatron and retrieve an artifact, the Heart of Cybertron, that gives him enormous power.'''

:''Japanese title:'' ミクロの決死隊 (''Micro no Kesshi Tai'', "The Micro Suicide Squad")
:''Italian title:'' '''Microbots'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:NemesisMicrobots1.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"We've passed here for the past 20 years! How could we never have spotted this before?!"<br>"Every time we passed here, you pointed to that rock with the funny shape on the other side of the road, Mike."]]
<!--[[Cyberforceps]], [[Proton boots]]-->

While digging for Mayan artifacts in South America, a group of archaeologists stumble upon an ancient spacecraft. As news of the discovery is broadcast on the news, [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] recognize it as the [[Nemesis (G1)|Decepticon ship]] they traveled to Earth in four million years ago. Megatron states that there is something on that ship which he wants, and sets out to get it.

Meanwhile, at the [[Autobot]]s' [[Ark (G1)|headquarters]], [[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] is using a [[transmat reduction beam|shrinking-enlarging device]] to repair one of [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide's]] memory chips while being insulted by [[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] for not being a soldier. [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] walks in and tries to make him stop, when [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] orders Brawn and Bumblebee to follow him to South America along with [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]], to stop Megatron from obtaining what he wants.

[[Image:Microbots Megatron energy blasts.JPG|right|200px|thumb|Now you will experience the full power of the dark side.]]

As Megatron's troops blast their way through a rainforest in order to avoid satellite detection, [[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] manages to first miss blasting a tree and then get attacked by a giant snake, to the amusement of [[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] and the [[Constructicon (G1)|Constructicons]]. Meanwhile, [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] has met his match in the form of a real jaguar. The Autobots arrive and decide not to burn the forest down, because Optimus says "that's not our style".

Megatron gets through the forest first, and reaches the ship. Blasting it open, he retrieves the ship's energy core, the [[Heart of Cybertron]]. [[Hook (G1)|Hook]] implants it into Megatron's torso, vastly increasing his power level. Optimus Prime then arrives and orders the Autobots to attack, but they are all defeated by Megatron's new ability to continuously fire energy from his fingertips. The Autobots only manage to escape when Optimus orders [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] to generate a smokescreen, allowing them to bring a hill down on the Decepticons.

[[Image:Microbots Decepticons drunk.JPG|left|200px|thumb|Soundwave superior. Lightweights inferior.]]

After limping back to base, Wheeljack creates a force-field to keep Megatron at bay.   Perceptor hatches a plan to shrink himself, Brawn and Bumblebee to microscopic sizes in order to infiltrate Megatron's body and disconnect the Heart of Cybertron.

Meanwhile, the Decepticons sit around and get <s>plastered</s> overcharged on [[Energon (fuel)|energon]]. After Megatron rambles on about the "good ol' days" and passes out, [[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] delivers the tiny Autobots into his body. This causes him to wake up and go to destroy the Autobots himself, as the rest of his forces can't stay on their feet.

[[Image:Microbots Heart throw.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"Why don't we install it in Optimus, Perceptor?" "Because you're an idiot, Brawn."]]

Perceptor, Brawn and Bumblebee make their way through Megatron's body, avoiding his [[electro-sanitizer]]s, until they reach the Decepticon's brain. The others have to restrain Brawn from destroying the brain, since the fall would likely cause the Heart of Cybertron to explode. Megatron reaches Autobot headquarters and begins firing on the force field protecting Optimus Prime. The miniaturized trio ride one of Megatron's [[evil brain impulse]]s to the Heart of Cybertron, which Perceptor disconnects while dodging more brain impulses. Taking the heart, they make a dash for safety as the shrink-ray's effects begin to wear off. Megatron, deprived of his weapon and knocked flat by Optimus, is shocked by the sight of three rapidly-growing Autobots jumping out of his shoulder joint, and flies off.

Observing that the Heart of Cybertron has become unstable, Brawn tosses it two thousand miles into the sky, at which point Perceptor detonates it with a blast from his cannon. After this, Brawn shows much more respect for Perceptor.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
*[[Perceptor (G1)|Perceptor]] (6)
*[[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] (7)
*[[Brawn (G1)|Brawn]] (8)
*[[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]] (9)
*[[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (10)
*[[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] (11)
*[[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (19)
*[[Bluestreak]] (20)
*[[Huffer (G1)|Huffer]] (21)
*[[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]] (22)
*[[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] (23)
*[[Hoist (G1)|Hoist]] (24)
*[[Grapple]] (25)
*[[Gears (G1)|Gears]] (27)
*[[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] (28)
*[[Powerglide (G1)|Powerglide]] (29)
*[[Sideswipe (G1)|Sideswipe]] (30)
*[[Warpath (G1)|Warpath]] (31)

|c2=
*[[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (4)
*[[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (5)
*[[Bonecrusher (G1)|Bonecrusher]] {12)
*[[Starscream (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Starscream]] (13)
*[[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]] (14)
*[[Rumble (G1)|Rumble]] (15)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (16)
*[[Thundercracker (G1)|Thundercracker]] (17)
*[[Hook (G1)|Hook]] (18)
*[[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] (30)

|c3=
*[[Merrick]] (1)
*[[Jose (cartoon)|Jose]] (2)
*[[Joan]] (3)
*[[Sparkplug Witwicky]] (23)
}}

==Quotes==
"Nice scenery."<br>
"Yeah, let's waste it! I hate nice things."
:—'''Rumble''' and '''Scavenger'''


''[Starscream shoots at a tree and misses]''<br>
"Good shot, Starscream!"<br>
"Shut up or I'll blast ''you'', punk!"<br>
"Hey, hold that pose! I wanna remember you that way!"<br>
''[A snake wraps itself around Starscream's neck]''<br>
"Help! Get this thing off me!"<br>
"I think it looks stunning on ya!"
:—'''Rumble''' and the Constructicons laugh at '''Starscream'''.


"He'll blow us away if we attack."<br>
"He'll blow us away if we just stand here!  ''Charge!''"
:—'''Ratchet''' and '''Cliffjumper''' debate whether or not to attack the powered-up Megatron.


'''Brawn''': Are you ''defective?'' ''How''<nowiki>'</nowiki>re we gonna do ''that?!''<br>
'''Perceptor''': Simple!  We use my trans-mat reduction beam to shrink down to microscopic size. Then, we crawl into Megatron, and rip the blasted heart out!<br>
'''Optimus''': What do you think of his intelligence now, Brawn?<br>
'''Brawn''': Ahhh, I reserve judgment.
:—Brawn is just being pissy at this point.


'''Megatron''': Decepticons: a toast. To the imminent destruction of the accursed Autobots!<br>
''[The Decepticons begin drinking Energon]''<br>
'''Starscream''': Energy! We won't need to conserve it after tomorrow. We can bleed this planet dry!<br>
'''Rumble''': ''[hiccups]'' Boy, these are good. ''[hiccups]'' I needed to refuel. Energy!<br>
'''Megatron''': Energy! Energy!<br>
'''Thundercracker''': Hey! This stuff's the greatest! ''[passes out]''<br>
'''Megatron''': Ah, those were the good ol' days, back on Cybertron...Didn' hafta...sneak around in these...ugly Earth disguises, heh...<br>
''[Powerglide arrives]''<br>
'''Powerglide''': Time to cut the jets and glide! ...What in the world?<br>
'''Megatron''': Good ol' Cybertron! Land... of the metal moon!
:—the Decepticons give us what is quite possibly the funniest scene in the series. 


"How come it's so quiet?"<br>
"Because he isn't engaging any of his main brain functions."<br>
"Then I got a honey of an idea.  Let's bash brain!"
:—'''Brawn''' and '''Perceptor''' in Megatron's cranial chamber


"What are they?"<br>
"Brain impulses... ''evil'' brain impulses!"
:—'''Brawn''' and '''Perceptor''' discuss Decepticon neuroscience.


"It's all over, Prime!"<br>
"Not until every last Autobot program is erased, Megatron."
:—'''Megatron''' anticipates the destruction of the Autobots, as if it was a new thing.


"You filthy retro-rats!! Rrrarrgh!!"<br>
:—'''Megatron,''' realizing that three Autobots have been messing with his insides.

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
* The excavation site changes radically between shots.  When the archeologists first strike the Decepticon ship, they're digging downward into flat ground.  In the next shot, they've removed an entire hillside, while still standing on flat ground.  In the third shot ("this thing's been here longer than the hill!") the hill has become much bigger.
* As Perceptor unshrinks Ironhide's microchip, Perceptor has a red Decepticon symbol.
* Scavenger's head is colored light gray instead of dark gray as Rumble mocks him for missing.
* When the Constructicons laugh at Starscream, they use Rumble's laughter while Rumble is talking. This laughter is reused a second later by Rumble himself when he is done talking.
* Megatron gives the order to "'''''cut''''' [[Nemesis (G1)|the ship]] open".  Hook proceeds to blast a huge explosive hole in the vessel.
* After Megatron hands the Heart of Cybertron to Hook, Hook's head is white instead of black.
* Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
** In three different scenes, only Ratchet, Prime, Bumblebee and Brawn are shown making the journey to South America.  After the first commercial break, however, lots more Autobots just show up in the middle of the battle (Cliffjumper, Bluestreak, Ironhide, Huffer, Smokescreen, Windcharger, Hoist...)
* The doofy shot of Megatron firing upwards at the Autobots on the hill keeps getting re-used, even after the Autobots are no longer attacking from the hill.
* Optimus falls forwards down the hillside, but ends up on his back in the very next shot.
* One gun, many lasers:
** In the same sequence of shots, multiple beams of energy are streaking in towards the Autobots from multiple directions, despite Megatron only having two hands to fire the beams from.  (There's no on-screen evidence that the other Decepticons have joined in the firing at all.)
* When Smokescreen finds Prime, he's lying in a completely different spot than where he fell after getting knocked out.
* Perceptor's eyes are white instead of blue when he reacts to the damaged Autobots.
* The damaged Autobots include Ratchet and Hoist, who didn't have a mark on them when the battle concluded.   They also include Wheeljack and Gears, who weren't seen at the battle at all.
* While Perceptor is giving his monologue about shrinking down and going into Megatron, Optimus Prime's waist is red instead of white.
* When the Decepticons get drunk, Soundwave is seen drinking amongst the crowd, despite having a faceplate.  Maybe it can drop down like that of [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (as seen in "[[Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3]]").
* Flying Autobots:
** As Brawn leaps up to attack the electro-sanitizers, he has a flight sound effect.
* After he leaps back down, the top of his backpack is yellow instead of olive green.
* The animation of Megatron stepping aside to avoid Warpath's shells is played twice in a row, which means the first shell's explosion is missing in the second shot.
* In typical cartoon fashion, the energy shield shatters like glass, complete with breaking glass sound effects.  The [[dome of invulnerability]] went down the same way in "[[Atlantis, Arise!]]"
* When Prime opens fire on Megatron, his shots don't quite reach the whole, oh, maybe 50 feet of distance between him and Megatron.
* After Megatron falls, a closeup shot shows the joint in Megatron's shoulder.  The next shot is a tighter closeup; the joint has suddenly gone from solid to hollow (allowing us to see the Autobots running past.)
* As the three Autobots flee Megatron's interior and start to return to their normal size, the Heart of Cybertron grows right along with Brawn during the first growing spell.
* The line "But it's destabilizing.  It could explode at any second!" is voiced by Brawn, but Perceptor's mouth moves.  The line sure sounds like it was written for Percy.
* When the Heart of Cybertron is supposedly 1,500 miles above the ground, it's still in front of the night sky clouds.

===Continuity errors===
*The archaeologists at the beginning of the episode are digging for Mayan artifacts in South America, though in the real world the Maya civilization never reached further south than modern-day Honduras.
* Megatron rather strangely identifies the vessel as "''a'' Decepticon ship", as if he's never seen it before, despite later verifying that it is "our ship".
* Do the Decepticons ''really'' need to carve a path the size of an interstate highway?  Wouldn't a single-file pathway be a lot quicker?
* The Decepticons' ship was depicted as being the same size as the ship used by the Autobots in the opening episode, but here it's considerably smaller.
* Would the ship's vital, fragile power source really be that close to its exterior hull?  (said hull being quite vulnerable to a small hand-held weapon?)
* Was there ''nothing'' else in the ship that would be of value to the Decepticons?
* Why on Earth are the Decepticons sitting around in the middle of the desert somewhere?  And how does Powerglide know to find them there?
* Prime has "all available Autobots" move out to attack Megatron.  Responding to the call are... Cliffjumper, Windcharger and Warpath.  What happened to everybody else?!
* At one point, Brawn proposes killing Megatron from the inside (by PUNCHING HIS BRAIN TO PIECES).  Perceptor stops him, saying that if he fell while flying, the impact could detonate the Heart of Cybertron.  But while they're having this debate, Megatron lands, so it wouldn't seem to be a concern anymore.  Perhaps even a short fall would have been enough?  Maybe not, since Megatron falls right over when Prime shoots him a moment later!  Also, with Megatron's change in orientation, the room that Perceptor and company are in should really undergo a 90 degree gravity shift, but nothing changes.
* Why is it so hard for Perceptor to reach the wire that's right in front of him?  He's not damaged or anything!
* We're not doubting the strength of the almighty, indestructible Brawn or anything, but... can something as tiny and light as the Heart of Cybertron really be ''thrown'' 2,000 miles into space?
* For that matter, Perceptor's tracking report means the Heart is moving at about 250 miles ''per second''.  Wouldn't it have incinerated in the lower atmosphere at such speeds?
* And somehow Perceptor's missile can reach it in less than five seconds!

===Continuity notes===
* [[Nemesis (G1)|The Decepticon ship]] is the same one last seen in the series pilot episode, "[[More than Meets the Eye, Part 1]]".  A decade later, it would be given a name and a central role in the [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|''Beast Wars'']] cartoon episode "[[Nemesis Part 1]]".
[[Image:Microbots impulse ride.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Maybe this is how Teletraan I is able to detect "[[Attack of the Autobots|evil presences]]".]]
* We learn quite a bit about Megatron's physiology in this episode:
** He can fly at least 600 miles per hour (100 miles in ten minutes, per Prime's reading of [[Teletraan I (G1)|Teletraan I]].)
** He has an open spot amid his chest circuitry for the Heart of Cybertron, much like Ultra Magnus and Hot Rod have reserved spots (holes) for the Matrix.
** He has a wristwatch on his left wrist, which he looks at while flying around (causing concern for the Autobots within his shoulder joints). Oddly enough, this has [[Transport to Oblivion|precedent]].
** While drunk, Megatron rants about disliking his "ugly Earth disguise", yet in 2005, he still has the same alt-mode.  Surely he could have found time to change his gun mode if he really hated it that much!  Maybe he doesn't like his ''troops<nowiki>'</nowiki>'' alternate modes.
** [[Evil brain impulse]]s!
* Warpath actually fires shells from his cannon, rather than the usual lasers.
* Warpath's [[tech spec]] weakness comes into play: He is "helpless if upended".

===Real-world references===
* The pulsating sound heard when Perceptor and company approach the Heart of Cybertron within Megatron is the same one used for the [[Dalek]] control rooms in all episodes of ''Doctor Who'' since 1963.

===Trivia===
* "Microbots" features some of the most beautifully animated sequences in the entire series: Ratchet tumbling into the camera as he's shot, Soundwave trying to outrun the avalanche, Brawn ripping apart the electro-sanitizers, Cliffjumper getting hit by rocks, Warpath's shells closing on Megatron...
* Brawn's assertion that "five of us are functional" actually accords with the animation; Prime calls on Ratchet, Grapple and Hoist, and Bumblebee and Brawn are shown still standing in the preceding shot.  Amusingly, Grapple is never seen in the animation at all.
* Decepticons make funny, happy drunks.
* Writer David Wise reused scenes from "Microbots", almost word-for-word, in the parts of the ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles'' episode "Shredder and Splintered" involving the Turtles inside Krang's giant robot body. This would not be the [[Kremzeek!|only]] [[Auto-Bop|''Transformers'' episode]] Wise recycled concepts of for ''TMNT''.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 12: Size Matters ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1994 — ''Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers'' — Convoy Set ([[TakaraTomy|Takara]]) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1998 — ''The Transformers'' — Autobot Edition ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers'' — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2002 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 3 (Rhino Entertainment)<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2003 — ''Transformers'' — Season 2 Part 1 ([[Metrodome]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 2: Series 2.1 ([[Madman Entertainment]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)<br>
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[Image:Flag of Italy.png|20px|Italy]] 2008 — ''Transformers'' — Volume 04: Stagione Due Parte Seconda ([[Medianetwork Communication]]) — English and Italian audio.<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome)<br>
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition ([[Shout! Factory]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/microbots.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicles]

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]
[[Category:Generation 2 episodes]]