Imprisoned Inferno

For God's sake.

Template:Episodenav Ambushed and alone, Inferno is taken to his limits and beyond by Megatron.

• Japanese title: "The Captured Inferno"

Detailed synopsis

On Iron Planet, Shockblast, chained up and guarded by the stoic and silent Inferno, is bored. He entertains himself by verbally harassing his guard. His taunts fall on deaf ears; finally Inferno stands, walks off, and nails a distant peak with one shot from his weapon, to Shockblast's puzzlement.

Alpha Q delights over one of his new planets, and laments Scorponok's fall. On the temperate surface of the planet, Ironhide, Kicker and Misha land the Miranda II in a lake. The planet's atmosphere is identical to Earth, to Misha's relief. She wonders if it's inhabited.

Inferno calls in a report to Optimus's team on the Miranda II, though he has little to tell them; he expects Rodimus to be along soon. Suddenly, Megatron radios Shockblast, taunting him for his betrayal.

Megatron expects Shockblast will come crawling back soon enough... and indeed, he radios a moment later, begging to be freed and promising loyalty. Megatron agrees. Inferno doesn't seem to notice.

Rodimus observes space debris from Unicron flying into the void. Elsewhere, on a planet, the two search team Autobots drive around and conclude that it's deserted. Downshift isn't happy about searching planet after planet, but Cliffjumper reminds him that that's what their orders are. Suddenly, they see a flash of light. Somewhere in space, Rodimus speaks to all Autobot warriors, telling them to use his flag as a beacon-guide if they've lost their way.

On Iron Planet, Inferno comes under heavy attack from Megatron's squad.

Misha observes a giant dragon fly, which freaks out Kicker. Kicker explains to Ironhide that the planet's so nutrient-rich that it's driving the eco-system to extremes. Jetfire reports that Inferno is under attack, and the Autobots prepare to move out. Ironhide is depressed, wondering if Scorponok will be there.

Inferno has retreated into a crevasse, defending himself from there. Megatron approaches the chained Shockblast; Mirage advises not releasing him, advise that Megatron considers. Desperate, Shockblast pleads for release, saying he'll capture an Autobot as proof of his loyalty. Inferno is still in the crevasse, waiting.

In space, Landmine, Prowl and Hot Shot fight their way through the debris-filled void. Through the void, they see Rodimus's glowing Autobot insignia-beacon, a sign of hope.

Shockblast is free; Mirage thinks it's a mistake. Inferno comes under attack from the sky, as Shockblast dives on him, firing. Starscream joins him.

Shockblast tries to flush out Inferno, but the Autobot just waits patiently, gun aimed. But Starscream gets behind him before can fire.

Scorponok flies through the void with a horde of Insecticon clones, as Rodimus observes.

The Autobots arrive and locate Inferno. Below, Megatron chews out Shockblast and sends him to join the others above in battling the Autobots, before interrogating his captive. Above, the Decepticons hold the Autobots at a standstill.

Megatron tortures Inferno, demanding to know where the energon is. When Inferno refuses, he stabs him with his sword and threatens to turn him into a Decepticon.

Scorponok and his Terrorcons arrive; Ironhide holds him off while Prime goes after Inferno, only to run into Mirage. Megatron forces an energy ball into Inferno's wound, saying that soon he'll be a Decepticon.

Ironhide confronts Scorponok over his changed allegiance. Scorponok simply states that his only master is Megatron.

Under torture, Inferno flashes back to the beauty of Earth, and refuses to yield. Hot Shot and Rodimus arrive and finally make it into the crevasse. Surrounded, Megatron retreats. Inferno lies damaged and inert. The Decepticons transform and fly/drive off into the sky. Ironhide is still angry over Scorponok's betrayal.

The Autobots fly Inferno away. Weak, Inferno asks about Kicker's status... and, unseen by all, his Autobot symbol morphs into a Decepticon one.

Stats

Written by: ???

Original airdate: 2nd November 2004

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans

Quotes

"I'm bored out of my mainframe here. ...What's wrong? Your batteries go dead? You're a regular riot, soldier boy! HEY! Mr. Happy! Would ya lighten up a little? Teh! You can guard me without being a jerk, y'know."

— the captive Shockblast taunts Inferno.

"Shockblast! Exactly what part of that order don't you understand? Starscream, Demolishor, Snowcat and Mirage rank above you. And I expect you to follow their orders, soldier!"

— Megatron lets Shockblast know exactly where he stands.

"Hey! You're Shockblast!"
"That's right... boss."
"Huh? Boss?!"
"That's right. At least, that's what Megatron tells me."
"Oh. In that case, I want you to destroy Optimus!"
"HUH?!"
"Huh -- uh -- I mean, if -- that's okay with you."

— Demolishor and Shockblast

Notes

Pain count

• "Uh?": 17
• Stock footage: 3
• Let's do it: 2
• You got it: 1

Animation and/or technical glitches

• What the hell, Voicebox?
• No, seriously, what the hell?
• Cliffjumper and Downshift have their names reversed. It won't be the last time.
• Rodimus's magic beacon-projecting flag flaps in the vacuum of space.
• The rift -- referred to here as "the void" -- is so badly animated that it's impossible to tell what or where it is. No establishing shots make clear where it sits in relationship to anything else in the show.

Continuity errors

• So... Rodimus and Optimus entered the rift after Hot Shot, Prowl and Landmine were sucked in. They made it all the way through, had a whole series of adventures and battles on Iron Planet, and meanwhile... Hot Shot's team still hasn't gotten through the rift? What've they been doing in there?

Miscellaneous notes

• During the torture scene, Megatron and Inferno's faces are both animated in traditional cell format, allowing them to emote beyond the level of "mouth open/mouth closed".

From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.