Editing Call of the Primitives

{{disambig2|the cartoon episode|the ''[[Transformers Legends (mobile game)|Legends]]'' event|Call of the Primitives (Legends)}}
{{episode
|series=G1toon
|ep=91
|series2=2010
|ep2=26
|prev2=Grimlock's New Brain
|next2=The Face of the Nijika
|image=PrimitiveCall.jpg
|caption=Prim and Proper
|title="Call of the Primitives"
|production code=700-112
|airdate=[[November 18]], 1986
|written by=[[Donald F. Glut]]
|directed by=[[Eiji Suganuma]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=See ''Notes'' section
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''All Transformers with animal modes are summoned to battle a being called Tornedron, the little brother of Unicron.'''

==Synopsis==
[[Image:AutobotsCall.jpg|left|200px|thumb|They're not dead! Dead is gray. This is white.]]

In an ancient-looking laboratory, a sinister voice describes the process of creation as he brings an energy creature into being: first feeding off flame, then an [[energon cube]], growing in size and power. "[[Tornedron]]" is more than his creator could have hoped; he flies forth into the universe, as his creator gloats that he will succeed where "the other" failed. Touching a comet, Tornedron leaves it dark and bereft of energy. Soon, it attacks [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. The [[Autobot]]s attack it, but it simply drains their energy from them. The creature's creator is pleased with him, saying he's done better than his predecessor, [[Unicron]].

[[Image:Ejectcall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Ravage, why are you running away?]]

On [[Earth]]'s [[Moon (moon)|Moon]], [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] is leading a rather badly outnumbered group of Autobots against the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]]. However, the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]], [[Predacon (G1)|Predacons]], [[Terrorcon (G1)|Terrorcons]], [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]], [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]], and the animal-form [[Mini-Cassette]]s are all summoned by a mysterious voice. They stop fighting and board Trypticon, who - with Sky Lynx alongside him - rockets off into space, leaving behind a puzzled Rodimus and an infuriated [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]]. As the Decepticons take off in pursuit, Tornedron arrives and drains the energy from the Moon - and the remaining Autobots along with it. Galvatron's Decepticons in space are next, followed by the entire planet Earth.

Aboard Trypticon, it doesn't take long for tempers to flare after [[Headstrong (G1)|Headstrong]] picks a fight with the Dinobots by insulting [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]]. [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] suggests they stomp him. The Preds stick with their teammate and fight the Dinobots, and the Terrorcons decide to fight everyone. At Sky Lynx's suggestion, Trypticon shakes his passengers up a bit to put an end to the squabbling. The group arrives on [[Methuselah|an ancient planet]]<ref>[[Transformers_Animated:_The_AllSpark_Almanac_II]]</ref> near the center of the galaxy. After touching down, Sky Lynx assumes command of the group, despite the objections of [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] and [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gurrr]]. Finding a cave, they encounter [[Oracle (G1)|a strange entity]]. He explains that he summoned the [[Primitive|Primitives]], all animal-based Transformers, to come to fight [[Tornedron]], the energy being who was created by [[Primacron (G1)|Primacron]]. The entity, who was once Primacron's assistant, explains how Primacron created Unicron but was nearly destroyed by his creation. After Unicron's defeat, Primacron created Tornedron as a replacement. Primacron's assistant hopes that the Primitives' simple instincts will allow them to defeat Primacon's complex plans.

[[Image:Terrorconcall.jpg|left|200px|thumb|How bright are all these guys? Well, the freaking ''Terrorcons'' were the first and only ones to figure out that shooting the energy creature doesn't work and try something else. So, not real bright.]]

Suddenly, Tornedron arrives and drains Trypticon of his energy. Trypticon crashes, and Grimlock is believed destroyed. Sky Lynx attacks, only to have his energy drained as well. [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] leads the Dinobots in retreat, while the other Primitives split up, believing that Tornedron can't catch up to all of them if they go separate ways. Unfortunately, they prove to be wrong, as Tornedron separates into four parts to track them all down. He easily dispatches the Mini-Cassettes, chewing on [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] in the process. Headstrong declares that it would be better to [[Furmanism|fight and die]], and the Predacons form [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]], only to have their energy sucked away as well. The Terrorcons try to fight back, but are also drained. The Dinobots ambush Tornedron, but they too are dispatched. Declaring victory against the Primitives, Primacron orders Tornedron to return [[Protos|home back to his lab]]<ref>[[Transformers_Animated:_The_AllSpark_Almanac_II]]</ref>. Unknown to Tornedron and Primacron, however, Grimlock has survived his impact from Tyrpticon, and he secretly follows them.

[[Image:Tornedroncall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Two scoops of raisins]]

At his base, Primacron is having trouble controlling Tornedron, ordering him to stop. Tornedron refuses to take any more orders and declares that he intends to feed on Primacron, and that all of Primacron's failsafes have failed, realizing that Tornedron is rebelling against him. Grimlock breaks into Primacron's lab to find that Primacron is a tiny little monkey-like alien...thing. Grimlock grabs Primacron and orders him to reverse his damage, but Primacron declares that he's tried everything. Grimlock fixes things easily: He throws the reverse switch, which reverses Tornedron's energy polarity, destroying Tornedron and restoring the life energy to the drained Transformers and planets of the galaxy. In celebration, Grimlock destroys Primacron's lab, declaring it the "smartest" thing he's ever done.
{{-}}

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Springer (G1)|Springer]] (15)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Ultra Magnus]] (16)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Rodimus Prime]] (17)
* [[Slag (G1)|Slag]] (19)
* [[Snarl (G1)|Snarl]] (20)
* [[Grimlock (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Grimlock]] (21)
* [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] (22)
* [[Blaster (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Blaster]] (23)
* [[Kup (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Kup]] (25)
* [[Cliffjumper (G1)|Cliffjumper]] (26)
* [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (27)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (28)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (29)
* [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (30)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (31)
* [[Swoop (G1)|Swoop]] (32)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (36)
* [[Ramhorn (G1)|Ramhorn]] (42)
* [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (43)
|c2=
* [[Sweep]]s (3)
* [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (4)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (5)
* [[Galvatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Galvatron]] (6)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (7)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (8)
* [[Hun-Gurrr (G1)|Hun-Gurrr]] (9)
* [[Rippersnapper (G1)|Rippersnapper]] (10)
* [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] (11)
* [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (12)
* [[Cutthroat (G1)|Cutthroat]] (13)
* [[Divebomb (G1)|Divebomb]] (14)
* [[Tantrum (G1)|Tantrum]] (18)
* [[Headstrong (G1)|Headstrong]] (24)
* [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] (33)
* [[Predaking (G1)|Predaking]] (34)
* [[Trypticon (G1)|Trypticon]] (35)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (37)
* [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]] (38)
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (39)
* [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] (40)
* [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]] (41)
|c4=
* [[Primacron (G1)|Primacron]] (1)
* [[Tornedron]] (2)
* [[Oracle (G1)|The Oracle]] (44)
* [[Unicron]] (45)
}}

==Quotes==
[[File:CotP-BlasterEject.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
''Soundwave's chest opens and all of his cassettes eject, much to his surprise.''<br>
"I'm malfunctioning! Ejection is self-activated!"
:—'''Soundwave''' deals with a very common problem among male bots.


''Blaster's chest opens and his cassettes leap out.''<br>
'''Blaster''': Hey, something's happened to me too, and it's not on the top 40!
:—See! It wasn't ''just'' an inappropriate joke!


"Now remember, before you do anything, think, 'Is this what Sky Lynx would do in my position?', and you will not go far wrong."
:—'''Sky Lynx's''' sensible instructions to the rest of the Primitives.


"I have summoned you here to tell you a tale of long ago."<br>
"Oh, me Grimlock love long ago tale!"<br>
"Then allow me to tell it."
:—The '''Oracle''' slaps '''Grimlock''' into place.


[[File:CallofthePrimitives SkyLynx ruetheday.jpg|thumb|right|200px|So how's that whole 'rue the day' think workin' out for ya there, Sky Lynx?]]
"Suffer my rage, monster!  I will show you no mercy!  You will rue the day you crossed Sky—aaahhh!"
:—'''Sky Lynx'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s righteous fury at the deaths of Trypticon and Grimlock.


'''Ramhorn''': Sky Lynx is destroyed! Who will lead us now?<br>
'''Slag''': I, Slag, lead Dinobots away, till I get better idea.<br>
'''Hun-Gurrr''': Best idea yet! We run too!
:—Strategy is not their strong suit.

[[[[File:Predaking primatives.jpg|thumb|right|200px|He is power. He is fear. He is awe-inspiring might. He is... dead in about 5 seconds.]]
'''Headstrong''': I detest fleeing! I would rather die fighting!<br>
'''Razorclaw''': He is right! Predacons, unite!<br>
''[The Predacons combine.]''<br>
'''Predaking''': Tornedron... face Predaking! ''To the end!''
:—The Predacons decide that [[Furmanism|it is better to fight and die than live with the knowledge that they ran]].


"Grimlock here to save universe!"
:—'''Grimlock''' has an elegantly simple mission statement


"''[chuckles]'' "''You'' are creator?"<br>
"Unfortunately....yes."<br>
"Grimlock laugh at little wimp who cause big trouble!"
:—'''Grimlock''', about to give '''Primacron''' a wedgie.


[[File:CallofthePrimitives Grimlock Primacron.jpg|thumb|right|200px| ]]
'''Primacron''': We are ''finished''!! I've amplified the energy parameters, minimized the drivormenter, redirected the ion flow! I've tried EVERYTHING!<br>
'''Grimlock''': Me Grimlock solve problem! Wuh!<br>
''[Reaches over and pushes switch]''<br>
'''Primacron''': Of course, the '''reverse switch!''' Why didn't ''I'' think of that?!
:—The universe's greatest genius gets one-upped... by Grimlock.


'''Grimlock''': Grimlock saved universe! Oh, Grimlock hero!! [Grimlock stomps in victory, causing the place to begin to collapse]<br>
'''Primacron''': Stop it! You stupid—!<br>
'''Grimlock''': Why you call Grimlock stupid?<br>
'''Primacron''': You've ruined my lab!<br>
'''Grimlock''': Me Grimlock think that is smartest thing I ever done!
:—You know, that probably ''is'' the smartest thing he's ever done.

==Notes==
===Animation or technical glitches===
"Call of the Primitives" is reknowned for its highly stylized and often very detailed artwork. Many fans regard it as head and shoulders above every other episode in the series (admittedly not a terribly high bar). More objectively, it is one of the least error-prone episodes of the entire show:
*Rodimus carries a gray gun (instead of red) that doesn't have the usual Prime rifle sound effect.
*In the second overhead shot of the Autobots during the opening battle, Rodimus is missing his (freakin' huge) spoiler.
*When we first see him, Wheelie is missing his Autobot logo.
*When Blades, Slingshot and Wheelie open fire on Tornedron, the first shots are fired before they even raise their weapons.
*As Tornedron in the form of a giant bug steps over the bodies of Blades, Slingshot and Wheelie, its glowing aura is on a lower cel than their bodies, making it appear to pass under them, despite the fact they're lying on the ground.
[[Image:Windcharger-COTP01.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Look alive, people!  Uh, no offense, Windcharger."]]
* [[Windcharger (G1)|Windcharger]] is seen running around on Cybertron, despite having been killed in ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]''. But hey, that [[Carnage in C-Minor|happens]] [[Wheeljack (G1)|all]] [[Prowl (G1)|the]] [[Ironhide (G1)|time]].
*When the Dinobots are being summoned, [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]] is referred to as [[Sweep]].
*Galvatron's sporting a red Decepticon [[insignia]] when he calls in Trypticon.
*When Ravage and the other animal Mini-Cassettes eject from Soundwave, Cyclonus is shown several heads taller than Galvatron and Soundwave. While some scale guides ''do'' show him as larger than the average Transformer (reflecting his original role as Galvatron's transport), the cartoon generally shows him about the same height as Galvatron.
*Grimlock's whole neck is supposed to be gold, but the back of it is gray in several shots.
* As Sky Lynx tracks the signal, we see waves of energy expanding out towards him. In the next shot, they're flowing out'' from'' him.
*As the Predacons start firing on the Dinobots while inside Trypticon, one of the glowing effects doesn't quite match up with Headstrong's horn as it should (he moves his horn to the right position a moment later).
[[File:Calloftheprimitives trypticon vs tornedron.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Pictured: wrong sound effect.]]
*Some of the Decepticon Primitives' lasers have the sound effect of Galvatron's cannon. So does Trypticon's laser later on.
*When the Primitives rush to peer over the cliff that Grimlock falls off of, they slide statically into the frame.
*When Sky Lynx tells the Dinobots to find the "alien" a star can be seen on his leg.
*When Tornedron drains Predaking's power and fall over, the Predacons transform back to robot mode... but the image of Predaking is still there, layered beneath them.
*When Grimlock gets out from under Trypticon, his forearms are huge and his chest looks more boxy than usual.
*Restoring the energy to the Moon also appears to rearrange all the craters.
*When Rodimus' team is restored, Rodimus is lying face up (he was face down), Ultra Magnus' shins are blue instead of white,  and Blaster's chest is missing its detailing, switches and Autobot logo.

===Continuity errors===
* Unicron's head is gray (like a rock) during a camera pass. [[Grimlock's New Brain|The last time we saw it]], it was in bad shape, but still had the usual coloring.
* Sky Lynx asks Grimlock if he's all right ''as he's falling down a cliff.''

===Continuity notes===
[[File:Primacron.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Grimlock laugh at little wimp who cause big trouble! Unfortunately, so did the audience.]]
[[Image:Firecall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Me Grimlock like 'cons Cajun style!]]
* We get our first official origin story for Unicron, painting him as the creation of an obsessive scientist guy. It's... a bit lackluster, especially considering the demi-god nature of the character depicted in the contemporaneous Marvel UK comics. That god-style origin would carry over into the Marvel US comics in 1989, and later media would use it almost exclusively, quietly ignoring poor Primacron.
* [[Oracle_(G1)|Primacron's assistant]] is an enigma. What is supposed to be his essence leaving his body is rather inexplicably portrayed looking just like the [[Matrix of Leadership]].
* "Sweeps 6 and 7" identify themselves at the start of the moon battle, the only time any Sweeps had any sort of individual designation. Fun Publications would later produce toys of these characters.
* The rollcall of known Primitives isn't quite complete, omitting [[Laserbeak (G1)| Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. Instead, Soundwave unleashes two new cassette Decepticons: [[Slugfest (G1)|Slugfest]] and [[Overkill (G1)|Overkill]]...who are then never seen again. Gee. 
* When Grimlock uses his [[flame breath]] on the Predacons and Terrorcons, they start to ''[[Humanization#Coughing|cough]]''...cause that's what you do when you're being hit with fire reaching several hundred degrees.
* This is the first and only time in the cartoon Swoop fires his wing blasters.
* This episode seems to resolidify the Dinobots' position as freakishly powerful (which took a beating in Season 3), as Grimlock alone seems to be a match for three Terrorcons and two Predacons, and the only Autobot sent flying is Swoop, who takes a blast to the chest early on.
* Gadgets and powers:
** Grimlock can fly in T.Rex mode! All his past flying has been done in robot mode, apart from some falling-with-style back ''Transformers: The Movie''.
* This episode marks the last appearance of the Dinobots, Trypticon, Ravage, [[Jazz (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Jazz]] (he is seen running by in the background during the red alert on Cybertron), and [[Unicron]] in the western cartoon...bummer.
* Neither the Moon nor Earth are mentioned by name. Nor do we see anything to suggest what happens when the entire planet - and every human being on it - is drained of energy; we may surmise that it's non-fatal.

===Real-world references===
* ''Star Wars'' sound effects:
** ''Falcon'' engine burst as Trypticon launches into the moon battle, then again as Sky Lynx takes off to answer the call.
** Death Star superlaser as Galvatron & co. take off after Trypticon.
** Lightsaber ignition as Tornedron takes off from Earth.
** Seeker ball bolts as Tornedron starts his attack on Trypticon.
** TIE Fighter roar from Swoop as the Dinobots flee.
** Lightsabers slashing equipment and sparking as Tornedron takes down the cassette crew, and as he approaches the Terrorcons and Dinobots.

===Trivia===
[[Image:Unicroncall.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Where am I from?]]
* The art style in this episode is very different from all others in the Generation 1 series, with highly stylized "anime-like" [[character model]]s and proportions. Although popularly claimed to be, the models are most assuredly ''not'' those designed by [[Studio OX]]; they're simply more stylized versions of the standard animation models, lacking the additional toyetic touches and copious mecha-greeblies found in the OX designs. It is widely believed that this lone episode was animated by [[Tokyo Movie Shinsha]], though no evidence has been found to confirm this. [[Masami Ōbari]] was popularly cited as the animation director.<ref>[[wikipedia:ja:大張正己]]</ref> However, Ōbari was asked on Twitter regarding the episode and he himself did not know! This led to animator [[Eiji Suganuma]] chiming in<ref>https://twitter.com/LandSoda/status/487278887332638721</ref> to say that in fact he was the animation director for the episode and to explain that the money shot of the combined Predaking was animated by [[Shin Matsuo]], who ''was'' a member of Studio OX, and brought much of their artistic aesthetic to the standard animation models, accounting for the widespread misassumption that the actual Studio OX character models were used in this episode.

===Foreign localization===
[[Image:TVMagazineOverkill.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Eject—operation: Understudy."]]

'''German'''
:*''Title:'' '''Das geheimnisvolle Orakel''' ("The Mysterious Oracle")
:*''Original airdate:'' ?


'''Japanese''' 
:*''Title:'' 原始の呼び声 (''Genshi no Yobigoe'', "Primeval Call")
:*''Original airdate:'' [[June 5]], [[1987]]
:*Episode preview art published in [[TV Magazine]] inexplicably displays Slugfest and Overkill as if they were the stars of the episode.
:*In Japanese continuity, the scene where the Primitives encounter the [[Oracle (G1)|Oracle]] is set in the past; apparently, the Primitives arrived there via time travel. This is done to accommodate the idea that the Oracle later evolved into [[Vector Sigma]] and later [[Primus]].
:*A "[[Secret Files of Teletraan II]]" segment unique to Japan was attached to the end of this episode.  The segment focuses on the [[Combaticon (G1)|Combaticon]]s.  It replaces the original "Secret Files" segment focusing on the [[Mini-Cassette]]s used in the Western broadcast.  That segment was never used in the Japanese broadcast of the series.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''Transformers'' — Call of the Primitives / The Girl Who Loved Powerglide ([[Tempo Video]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — Fight or Flee / Call of the Primitives (Tempo Video)<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1992 — ''Transformers'' — Super Video (Tempo Video)
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.<br>
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[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]] 2006 — The Best of ''The Transformers'' (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2007 — ''Transformers'' — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome)<br>
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)<br>
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (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'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]])<br>
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

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

==References==
{{reflist}}

[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]