Linkup

« Transformers: Armada ep 26 »
"Linkup" 合身 (りんくあっぷ) (Link Up) "Fusion: Link Up"
Production code	TF: A-26
Production company	TV Tokyo, NAS
Airdate	January 29, 2003 (UK, English premiere) January 31, 2003 (USA) 4 July 2003 (Japanese)
Writer	Isao Shizuya
Director	Osamu Kamijō
Animation studio	Actas Inc.
Continuity	Unicron Trilogy

With Optimus in the repair bay, Jetfire is the Autobots' best hope against the Decepticons.

Synopsis

Optimus Prime was critically damaged in a recent battle with the Decepticons, and the prognosis is uncertain. Red Alert tells the kids that Jetfire will fill in for Optimus while the leader is in the repair bay. Hot Shot is not impressed by Jetfire's overconfident bragging, and neither are the kids.

Demolishor is also unimpressed but at the failure of Thrust's plan. Its failure merely amuses Starscream and Cyclonus, and Thrust blames it on a miscalculation in the form of Jetfire. He says he'll develop a new plan and interprets some shooting stars as a sure sign of victory.

The Autobots discuss Thrust and how he led the Decepticons to victory on the planets: Vector, Orga, and Duke, almost wiping out the Autobots. Carlos thinks they have nothing to worry about on that score now that Jetfire is on their team. High Wire attempts to report to Jetfire, but the Autobot doesn't speak Mini-Con; Rad has to translate that there's a suspicious bot flying over the base. They soon recognize Thrust, and Jetfire immediately runs off to confront the Decepticon.

Thrust takes off as soon as he sees Jetfire coming, goading the Autobot into following. Unsurprisingly, they reach a zone where the Decepticons are waiting. The kids plead with Jetfire not to fire on the swarm of Mini-Cons accompanying them. He assures them he won't and shoots at Cyclonus, who protests that Thrust said the Autobot wouldn't fire with the Mini-Cons around. Thrust orders the Mini-Cons to attack, and soon Jetfire is being strafed with laser fire. Starscream closes in, but Jetfire dodges the Null Laser Cannon.

At base, the Autobots puzzle over how they're going to help Jetfire when Alexis spots an island near where the battle is taking place. Smokescreen, Hot Shot, and Blurr warp to the island, and Smokescreen prepares to fire his longarm cannon, but Demolishor and Sideways blast him. Demolishor boasts that Thrust plans to steal the Skyboom Shield and opens fire on the Autobots, forced to use the shield for cover.

Scavenger, still at the base, admires the Decepticons' trap, but the kids think he should take action. Rad contacts Red Alert in the repair bay and informs him of the situation, letting him know they need Optimus.

Megatron arrives on the island and tells his men to get on with it and demand the Shield. At Hot Shot's goading, Megatron summons the Star Saber and begins the attack anew. Hot Shot suggests they should withdraw; Smokescreen is confident the Skyboom Shield will protect them, but the other two Autobots talk him into fleeing. The trio begins their escape, hampered by the Decepticons' weapons fire.

Jetfire attempts to aid them but gets surrounded by the Air Military Mini-Con Team and is again almost blasted by Starscream. He flies towards the Decepticon, but a blast from the Null Laser Cannon grazes him. Jetfire is unable to shoot at Thrust when the Mini-Cons surround him again.

Red Alert reports that Optimus is almost combat-ready, and Carlos stresses the situation's urgency.

On the island, Megatron has Smokescreen pinned down while Blurr and Hot Shot are busy with Demolishor and Sideways.

While Red Alert and Scavenger are about to join the battle, an alarm indicates that someone's in the launch area: Optimus Prime! Though Red Alert and the kids protest that he's not ready, Optimus asks to be warped to Jetfire's coordinates.

As Thrust and Starscream prepare to annihilate Jetfire, Optimus appears overhead. The Autobot leader freefalls towards Jetfire, and the pair combine. After dealing with Starscream, Optimus flies to the island and knocks Megatron into the ocean. For an encore, he picks up Demolishor and drops the protesting Decepticon into the water as well. Sideways wisely retreats. The impressed kids cheer.

Optimus suggests to Jetfire that he might want to exercise more caution next time, to which the Autobot says he's learned his lesson.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Mini-Cons
Red Alert (1) Optimus Prime (2) Hot Shot (3) Jetfire (4) Smokescreen (15) Scavenger (16) Blurr (17) Laserbeak (21)	Demolishor (10) Thrust (11) Megatron (12) Cyclonus (13) Starscream (14) Sideways (24)	Billy (5) Fred (6) Carlos Lopez (7) Alexis (8) Rad White (9)	High Wire (18) Sureshock (19) Grindor (20) Air Military Mini-Con Team (22) Air Defense Mini-Con Team (23) Mirror (25)

Quotes

"He'll be signing autographs later."

—Hot Shot on Jetfire's smug boasting

"It's time for you to taste my plasma blaster. See if this makes your teeth whiter and brighter."

—Jetfire, shooting at Cyclonus

"I am Demolishor, the fierce Decepticon warrior!"

—Demolishor introduces himself 26 episodes too late.

"In your dreams! If you want it, why don't you come and get it? That is, unless you're a little bit of a wimp. Well, are ya?"

—Hot Shot taunts Megatron. Brave lad.

"They don't call him Starscream for nothing."

—Optimus, after Starscream falls screaming through the clouds

Notes

Differences with Legends of the Microns

• This is a rare instance of no title card(Where Optimus poses in a white background) appearing in Legends of the Microns, with the title instead appearing over Optimus getting repaired. This would later be done again in Cramp.
• In Armada, the opening narration (given by none of the characters) is how the Autobot team's greatest fear (Optimus being injured in battle) has been realized, and they're now unsure whether or not he'll recover. The Japanese dub lacks an opening narration and is silent until Fred speaks. He asks if Optimus is broken, so Billy calls him an idiot and says it's more accurate to say that Optimus is injured since he's still alive.
• Instead of Jetfire's "cocky superhero" dialogue, Legends of the Microns maintains the opening scene's overall tone to show Jetfire's overconfidence. It also adds that he was considered Optimus's "greatest right-hand Sub-Commander" on Cybertron. It changes Hot Shot's line about Jetfire signing autographs to him noting how the latter brags about himself, and Jetfire says it is one of his strengths.
• Demolishor addresses Thrust during his rant and even mentions the Air Military Mini-Con Team. Armada has an awkward silence after Demolishor stops talking; in Legends of the Microns, Demolishor's dialogue extends into the next scene, removing the silence.
• The camera pan from Demolishor to Starscream and Cyclonus is faster in Legends of the Microns.
• Thrust says he will form a new battleplan as defeating the Autobots has become more critical with Jetfire's arrival. Instead of threatening Thrust that his next plan better not fail, Megatron entrusts him with forming a new strategy.
• The first zoom out from Megatron as he laughs is faster while the second one is slower. He also doesn't start laughing until after the initial zoom out.
• The shots of the EKG and Optimus on the screen are silent.
• In Armada, the camera makes a nauseating continuous pan from Blurr to Hot Shot and then Scavenger and back to Hot Shot. Legends of the Microns removes the constant camera movement and quickly pans to Hot Shot and Scavenger when they speak, so their lines don't begin off-screen. Armada has Scavenger say Hot Shot would've been "too young to battle on Cybertron" to have heard of Thrust; Legends of the Microns fixes the wording so that Scavenger says Hot Shot would've been relatively young during that battle. Vector is the first planet Blurr mentions when he talks about Thrust in Armada; Legends of the Microns changes it to Babil, and the next three are Orga, Droi, and Duke. In Armada, Hot Shot says the Autobots were thrashed and almost wiped out due to Thrust. He asks Blurr if those other planets are where the Decepticons utterly crushed Autobots in Legends of the Microns.
• Legends of the Microns reanimates the scene of Billy and Jetfire talking. Now, Jetfire's finger comes up when Billy starts talking, and Billy's fist and Jetfire's finger line up for a moment before Jetfire lowers his finger. Carlos speaks to Jetfire after Billy finishes, and Jetfire talks after turning away. Jetfire is now animated to look down when he hears High Wire.
• Jetfire's "Ready or not, Thrust. Here I come," line is now "I can't stand it when someone else is flying over my head!"
• During the shot where Thrust gives the order to attack in Armada, Legends of the Microns gives Jetfire a line before him.
• A rainbow ring is added around Jetfire's shadow against the clouds.
• The camera zooms toward the monitor as Alexis warns Jetfire, and when the scene cuts back to the monitor later, it's silent. Legends of the Microns has the camera zoom away from the monitor, and Rad's line about telling Jetfire not to shoot at the Decepticons' Mini-Cons is heard during the monitor's second viewing. The Japanese dub also has the monitor show fully animated images similar to actual video footage instead of bright-colored stills as Armada has. The second shot of the monitor has some more room around the sides, making the buttons on the right in full view while Armada has them cut off.
• Legends of the Microns fixes the Air Military Mini-Con Team's jerky movement while flying ahead of Jetfire. The shot of Jetfire pulling back when they block his path is now a second longer than in the English dub.
• After Thrust calls for a cross-fire attack, there is a clear look at the Air Military Mini-Con Team. Jetfire is heard reacting to the shots as he takes them, and he also says, "So that's how you want to play this?" Cyclonus's line about getting payback is changed to "We'll just give it back to ya!"
• Cyclonus laughs after telling the Mini-Cons to follow him instead of before. He's also animated to move first instead of him and the Mini-Cons moving all at once.
• Rather than say that Thrust is right about underestimating him, Jetfire says he never hesitates to face the bad guys. Then, in Armada, Billy comments on how Jetfire is enjoying himself before Carlos cheers the Autobot on; in Legends of the Microns, Billy says Jetfire is too easy-going Carlos says he (himself) is enjoying what he sees before cheering for Jetfire.
• The Japanese dub adds a green filter effect to the shot of Starscream's crosshairs locking onto Jetfire, and just before firing his Null Laser Cannon, Starscream says, "Take this!"
• In Armada, after the clouds part and the Null Laser Cannon blasts approach Jetfire, it cuts to him dodging them and whites out. In Legends of the Microns, the shot doesn't cut away, the white-out effect is gone, and there's an added scene of the blasts hitting the ocean before panning to Jetfire.
• The bird's eye view of the island in Armada is a generic flat drawing with no detail, and the surrounding water is equally bland. In Legends of the Microns, they are fully detailed with depth in the colors.
• Instead of pointlessly introducing himself as he does in Armada, Demolisher announces himself as "The Decepticons' greatest warrior." The shot also focuses on Demolisher until he finishes cackling. After the camera pans from him to Sideways, the shot focuses on Sideways for a second shorter than it does in Armada.
• The shot of Scavenger admiring Thrust's plan is now a reanimated frontal close-up. Then Carlos tells Scavenger to quit admiring Thrust's handiwork.
• When Rad speaks to Red Alert on the monitor, the shot doesn't zoom in, and the lights in Optimus's dashboard come on slowly instead of blinking.
• Armada has Megatron act like he's taken aback by Hot Shot challenging him. Legends of the Microns has him offended by the Autobot being foolish enough to refuse his "only act of mercy."
• Instead of calling Smokescreen too weak to handle the Skyboom Shield, Megatron says Smokescreen can't handle the shield's power since Optimus isn't around.
• After this, Demolishor and Sideways agree to strike the Autobots with two simultaneous assaults in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, Demolisher asks the Autobots if they can handle another collision between the shield and the saber, and Sideways says the reaction this time might be bigger.
• Legends of the Microns flips the shot of Jetfire dodging Starscream's second Null Laser Cannon so that he's on the right rather than left. The Armada version is the correct one in this case.
• Armada merely shows a giant geyser from the Null Laser Cannon's impact before the scene flash cuts to Jetfire, while Legends of the Microns has the background glow purple as the impact makes a giant wave with the flash cut removed.
• After telling Jetfire he's trapped, Thrust says his plan will ensure that the Autobot stays that way, so Jetfire's body will have to hold out.
• When Jetfire gets hit by Starscream, the Null Laser Cannon beam is extended, and the clouds don't disappear when Jetfire falls.
• Before the cables attached to Optimus disconnect, Armada extends Carlos's line to cover the silence.
• The shot of Megatron facing an injured Smokescreen is cropped on the top and right so that half of Smokescreen is out of frame. Megatron looks a bit closer in the shot and more imposing.
• In Armada, when Rad asks Red Alert and Scavenger what will happen to Optimus if they leave and they don't answer, his body faces the side with his arms bent. He doesn't move again until Carlos says his lines about Optimus still being immobilized and that someone should stay behind. In Legends of the Microns, Rad asks Red Alert if Optimus is his top priority, repositioning himself when he finishes speaking. Red Alert tries to answer Rad before Carlos says Optimus is still inactive and that it's Red Alert's job to take care of Prime.
• In Armada, Alexis asks, "Who's that?" after which there is a "Humph" sound, and Alexis says someone's on the launching dock. In Legends of the Microns, Alexis asks, "What is that?" Then Scavenger asks what's going on, and Alexis says the launch gate has been activated.
• Optimus was in the repair bay for maintenance, and he's told not to leave to help Jetfire as the upkeep was incomplete and a lot of his central systems hadn't rebooted yet.
• When Optimus tells the others to trust him before Scavenger enters the coordinates, he says the line immediately in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, he says it two seconds after the scene cuts from Fred, reducing the scene's silence.
• Armada starts playing the theme song as Optimus heads out, and it ends after Jet Optimus drops Demolishor into the ocean. Legends of the Microns doesn't play the theme tune; the music changes when Optimus arrives in battle and again when he and Jetfire combine. It stops during the pan-up shot of the redrawn Jet Optimus.
• When Thrust tells Starscream to begin the final assault in Armada, the camera pans to the upper-left as soon as Thrust speaks and stays on his arm until he finishes his line. In Legends of the Microns, the camera moves after he says Starscream's name, and the shot ends as soon as Thrust extends his arm. Starscream responds in the next shot, but while he locks onto Jetfire in Armada. The shot of Starscream is also redrawn, with the jagged movement removed.
• Starscream's targeting crosshairs are brighter and easier to see. After Optimus appears, Starscream calls him out to Thrust by name, and Thrust is heard reacting.
• Thrust's laughter is extended into the shot of Optimus continuing to fall toward Jetfire. Then, as a subtle visual hint, Legends of the Microns adds a small white twinkle in Optimus and Jetfire's eyes as they trade glances before initiating their combination, during which they speak in unison.
• The reactionary dialogue of Thrust and Sideways concerning Optimus and Jetfire combining are altered as they're confused about what just happened; also, Red Alert only refers to Optimus instead of asking, "What is this?"
• The scene of Jet Optimus shooting Starscream down is heavily reanimated. The shot of Starscream now shows him flying to the left above the clouds. Jet Optimus, in his correct colors, flies into the frame and fires at the Decepticon. The shot of Jet Optimus firing at Starscream is now a wider shot with a clearer view of the Autobot. Instead of making the "Starscream" pun, Jet Optimus comments about having taken care of one pest.
• The shot of Starscream falling from the sky as Megatron sees him is sped up in Armada as Starscream is already out of frame by the time Megatron turns around. It's not an issue in Legends of the Microns since Starscream falls at a slower rate, so Megatron sees Starscream falling when he turns. Armada uses a bright flickering flash to portray Starscream getting shot in the clouds; Legends of the Microns changes this to a subtle glow effect. After this, Legends of the Microns adds the missing shadows around Megatron's eyes. As Jet Optimus approaches him, the shots of Prime coming in the distance are redrawn still images, and Jet Optimus isn't as close to Megatron in the shot of the latter trying to block him with the Star Saber. Furthermore, the shot of Megatron falling is slightly slowed down but is the same length as the Armada version.
• The close-up shot of Demolishor firing at Jet Optimus is cropped, and his lasers are more brightly colored so that his fingers aren't as visible in the Japanese dub. In this shot, he also asks who Jet Optimus is.
• In Armada, Demolishor says he hates water before Jet Optimus drops him while he yells that he's afraid of heights while he falls in Legends of the Microns.
• After the battle, as Thrust stands on the cloud and looks below him, he immediately fixes himself upright after saying he didn't know Optimus and Jetfire were capable of combining. He also laughs as he transforms and flies away.
• Alexis expresses relief instead of agreeing with the praises made by Carlos, Billy, and Fred. Then Scavenger notes how Optimus and Jetfire can combine and how he never imagined they could pull it off before congratulating them.
• In Legends of the Microns, Optimus chuckles and warns Jetfire to be more cautious after looking up. He speaks to Jetfire immediately in Armada. Jetfire mentions that he and Optimus fought together in the Air Brigade on Cybertron. After this, the shot of Optimus is entirely redrawn with him facing the camera, telling Jetfire not to let his guard down since they're on the front lines.
• Instead of Smokescreen snarking about Jetfire being lucky that Optimus showed up, he laments how he, Hot Shot, and Blurr couldn't save Jetfire themselves. After this, Hot Shot says what a pain it was on how Thrust toyed with them, and in agreement, Blurr states that he's upset about their lack of foresight.
• In Armada, after Jetfire says there's nothing to worry about now that he's here, Hot Shot snarks at him for forgetting his lesson to take things more seriously. In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot interrupts Jetfire, tells him not to get carried away, and asks if he's already forgotten that they are on the front lines.
• During Rad's ending narration, he says Jetfire is slightly overconfident but is raising the team's spirits despite his mistakes. For Armada, since the English dub ignores the subplot on Jetfire's overconfidence, Rad says the team would need Jetfire's "contagious optimism" to face future battles.

Animation and technical errors

U.S. version (left), Japanese version (right)

• Although Legends of the Microns has numerous minor animation changes, "Linkup" is one of the most prominent examples as the number of errors puts this episode up there with "Decisive Battle." Multiple scenes were entirely redrawn and reanimated with higher quality animation compared to the Armada version. Among the changes: Jet Optimus with his Super Mode colors and the wrong legs were fixed, while numerous close-up shots were also redrawn.
• When Red Alert tells the kids about Optimus's status in the opening scene, the headlights on his chest are miscolored; this happens again later when Rad contacts him, but only Red Alert's left headlight is miscolored.
• Static shots of Jetfire and the kids and a scene of Hot Shot from later in the episode are used during the opening dialogue. Legends of the Microns has fully animated scenes.
• During the close-up of Demolishor after zooming into the Decepticon base, the brown on the right side of his face "bleeds" into the outer yellow part.
• During Cyclonus and Starscream's scene of finding enjoyment in Thrust's plan from the previous episode, their mouths don't move, and Starscream's wings are missing. The Japanese dub fixes these errors.
• The background with the jagged edges surrounding Megatron while he laughs is mistakenly seen first since it's supposed to go over the background with the hole in the ship, as seen earlier while Demolishor was speaking; Legends of the Microns corrects this.
• When Megatron starts laughing on his throne, his face is miscolored as dark gray like his horns, and the black around his eyes are so thick they make his eyes look puny. The Japanese dub fixes Megatron's eyes but not his face color. For some reason, Legends of the Microns makes Megatron's throne a single color in the same scene.
• The Decepticon insignia on Megatron's chest disappears in several scenes.
• When Smokescreen says, "It's Thrust?" he lacks his antenna/horn. He's missing it again when the Autobots are looking at Thrust on a monitor, a third time when he says, "Optimus sir," and a fourth time when the Autobots laugh at the end. Smokescreen's right eye looks bigger than his left, similar to Demolishor's in the next shot.
• During the continuous shot, while Blurr, Hot Shot, and Scavenger discuss Thrust, a sound effect is heard when the camera moves to Hot Shot, but nothing is animated to justify it. Legends of the Microns reveals the sound effect is Blurr moving his blaster, and he is redrawn accordingly.
• When Rad translates what High Wire is trying to tell Jetfire, Rad says "They" (referring to High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor) instead of "He." In the Japanese dub, when Jetfire asks why High Wire didn't tell him earlier about the suspicious bot flying over the base, Rad translates that High Wire said he did say that before.
• After seeing Thrust on the monitor, Scavenger has a shadow under his right eye; Legends of the Microns removes it.
• In the shot of the children, Smokescreen, Jetfire, and Hot Shot looking at the monitor, the Autobot symbol on Jetfire's chest is missing.
• When Sureshock and Alexis speak, the scene cuts to a still of a later shot of Smokescreen, Jetfire, and Hot Shot; it's reused seconds later as they react to seeing Thrust on the monitor, and their mouths don't move. There's also an awkward silence before Jetfire leaves the scene. First, Legends of the Microns shows Sureshock while the kids are in the background. Then, in the later shot, the Autobots' mouths are animated with Hot Shot and Smokescreen having lines, and when Jetfire runs off, he goes entirely off-screen, and Hot Shot reacts to it.
• When Jetfire flies after Thrust, the Decepticon's glare is miscolored orange; Legends of the Microns changes it to white.
• One shot shows Jetfire flying towards the Decepticons and the Mini-Cons but no sign of Thrust in front of him, only for Thrust to suddenly return in the next shot; the Japanese dub fixes this by replacing Jetfire with Thrust.
• As Laserbeak flies behind Thrust, the Decepticon's underbelly stops moving, and despite going behind Thrust, Laserbeak is still able to get a clear picture of what's going on. The monitor shows a still image with Jetfire in the shot among the Decepticons, and later the monitor shows another still image of the 'Cons without Jetfire. In Legends of the Microns, Laserbeak goes under Thrust, whose underbelly doesn't stop moving.
• For most of the episode, whatever the Autobot HQ monitors display is a bright-colored picture similar to a first-person POV shot instead of images on a screen. They're all animated to look like live video feeds in Legends of the Microns.
• In the Japanese dub, Jetfire's profile shot while preparing to fire his Plasma Blaster at Cyclonus is now high-quality animation with proper coloring, shadows, and additional details.
• Jetfire's blast is a plain straight shot, but it's out of proportion, and wide enough to take up most of the two shots it's in; in Legends of the Microns, the red beam is narrower and has branches along the sides.
• When Thrust states that he didn't think Jetfire would attack, Thrust is miscolored orange.
• In one shot, Jetfire moves away from the camera before it zooms toward his leg for an extreme close-up, and he isn't animated. Legends of the Microns only has Jetfire come toward the camera, and as he does, we get an animated close-up of him from top to bottom. In the next shot, Armada has Jetfire unanimated over clouds moving in the background; Legends of the Microns has higher quality animation, has Jetfire moving away from the camera with his Plasma Blaster visible, and repositions his legs.
• During Thrust's cross-fire attack, Jetstorm is miscolored gray, and the shots fired by Cyclonus and the Mini-Cons are yellow instead of purple. They're fixed in the Japanese dub.
• When Rad calls Red Alert for an update on Optimus, Rad points at the console in Armada, but Legends of the Microns animates his arm going out of frame. Red Alert is entirely redrawn in the next shot.
• In the shot of Blurr, Smokescreen, and Hot Shot taking cover after Demolishor asks where Optimus is, Smokescreen's longarm cannon is miscolored as dark blue in Armada. The Japanese dub makes it the correct shade.
• Starscream's Null Laser Cannons are miscolored red, and they look like individual shots in the first shot of the blasts going through the clouds.
• While Hot Shot, Blurr, and Smokescreen take cover behind the Skyboom Shield as Demolisher fires at them, the shield glows in its close-up shot, but it isn't in the next one. Legends of the Microns fixes it so that the shield glows in both shots.
• In the overhead shot of Hot Shot, Blurr, and Smokescreen retreating, Smokescreen doesn't have the Skyboom Shield.
• In the shots after Megatron shows up with the Autobots in the background, Smokescreen's crane looks undamaged.
• Both shots with Megatron's legs on either side in the foreground are completely redrawn.
• Thrust refers to the Air Military Mini-Con Team as the Air Defense Team (which is concurrently busy being the Star Saber). He uses the correct term in Legends of the Microns.
• When Megatron attacks Smokescreen with the Star Saber, the Skyboom Shield is miscolored blue and orange like the Autobot's body. Smokescreen's arm is miscolored to match the shield; it's corrected in the Japanese dub.
• When setting the warp coordinates for Optimus, Scavenger refers to them as the "landing" coordinates, but there's no such thing as landing in midair. Legends of the Microns has Scavenger say "the arrival point" instead.
• After Optimus falls past Thrust while freefalling, Carlos and Fred let out cheerful and encouraging screams for Optimus despite having worried facial expressions; Carlos's mouth is always open while only Fred's mouth moves. In Legends of the Microns, they're afraid Optimus will get smashed to bits from the fall after Thrust dodges him; their mouths are also reanimated as Carlos speaks first and Fred talks after him. Billy looks shocked with his mouth agape in both versions.
• During the quick cuts as Prime approaches Jetfire, the area under Optimus's eye is miscolored red; the Japanese dub corrects it.
• An extra frame is added before each cut of Optimus closing in on Jetfire, so the movement appears jagged. Legends of the Microns removes the added frames, making Optimus's movement fluid by comparison.
• Jet Optimus is drawn incorrectly three times: when firing at Starscream, his chest is colored red instead of white and has a red Decepticon insignia; after that, as he grabs Demolishor, his legs are shown as those of his trailer; and later, when Jet Optimus is landing on the island, he is shown with his lower body being from his trailer, instead of them being Jetfire. Legends of the Microns fixes all of these errors.
• When Starscream falls through the clouds after he's shot down, the cloud wisps are miscolored to look like dark gray smoke. Legends of the Microns correct this.
• In the shot of Megatron falling, he doesn't have the Star Saber.
• Multiple times, Carlos's eyes have whites. Legends of the Microns removes them.
• In the shot of the Autobots at the end, Blurr's model is incomplete, Smokescreen's crane hook is miscolored gray, and Jetfire's face is partially miscolored white. Legends of the Microns only fixes the error with Blurr.

Continuity notes

• The beginning of Jetfire and Optimus's combination sequence, which remains in every appearance of the sequence afterward, results from the fact that their combination occurs midair. The toys can replicate the shield attaching to Optimus and the Plasma Blaster/thruster adhering to the shield.
• Jetfire says that he is unwilling to shoot the Decepticons' flight capable Mini-Cons, and does not shoot them. But didn't he shoot the Air Military Mini-Cons down in the previous episode?
• The Armada War is revealed to have taken place on countless other planets besides Cybertron and Earth. Three known planets that the Decepticons triumphed in battle with the Autobots under Thrust's leadership are Vector, Orga, and Duke.
• Optimus and Jetfire are the first Transformers to show the ability to Powerlinx (aside from the Mini-Cons) in the Unicron Trilogy. Ask Vector Prime would establish in 2015 that Rhinox made the combination modifications to Jetfire.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • Optimus Prime and Jetfire Powerlinx for the first time, forming Jet Optimus.
  • Jet Optimus uses Jetfire's Plasma Blaster.

Continuity errors

• Optimus didn't seem so severely damaged at the end of "Tactician" that he'd require a whole episode in the repair bay.
• In the Decepticons' first scene, when Demolishor complains about Thrust, he refers to him as a military "leader" though he's a tactician; Legends of the Microns corrects this.
• The color of Thrust's jet blasts alternates between orange and blue. Legends of the Microns corrects this and has them orange throughout the episode.
• During the shot of Jetfire and Billy talking, Rad is missing despite being there in the previous shot, but the Japanese dub fixes this.
• Hot Shot asks Scavenger how "they" are supposed to land to help Jetfire out at sea as if he refers to the Autobots excluding himself and Scavenger. In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot uses the correct word of "we."
• After stock footage of Smokescreen readying his launcher, the shot cuts to a reused close-up shot of his face until the sound of an explosion is heard, the screen then switching to Hot Shot and Blurr. Legends of the Microns adds an animated shot of Smokescreen getting his crane-arm blasted off; the Japanese dub also corrects Smokescreen's line and changes it from "Wait a second, who is that?" to "But who did that?!"
• When Megatron tries to strike the Autobots with the Star Saber, a big rock appears behind Smokescreen, and it's suddenly split in half; Legends of the Microns shows the Star Saber swipe across the scene and take out a chunk of the background.
• Optimus requests to be warped to Jetfire's coordinates but appears near Thrust instead. The Japanese dub fixes this error by having Prime ordering to be sent to Thrust's position instead of Jetfire's.
• As Optimus freefalls toward Thrust, there's a shot of him with his arms ahead of him like Superman, but Optimus's arms are at his sides again when Thrust dodges him in the next shot. Legends of the Microns corrects this by having Prime's arms at his sides the whole time.
• After the scene of Carlos and Fred's reaction, Optimus is seen with his thrusters active and cloud trails coming from his body. However, they are suddenly gone in the next shot of Optimus falling towards Jetfire. Legends of the Microns removes these details.
• At the start of Jet Optimus's combination sequence, Jetfire first throws his gun and then his shield to Optimus to give him a makeshift jetpack, but it's the shield that attaches to Prime's back before the gun.
• Optimus and Jetfire's combined form is referred to as "Jet Convoy" (the Japanese name for Jet Optimus) throughout the episode after its debut.
• As Jet Optimus flies toward Demolishor, the smoke in the foreground is miscolored blue; the Japanese dub corrects it and makes the smoke dark gray. For some reason, during this shot in Legends of the Microns, Demolisher's shots are fixed to be Decepticon purple instead of Autobot red as they are in Armada, yet they're red in the next shot. Armada has Demolishor's shots miscolored red throughout.
• In the shots of Jet Optimus carrying Demolisher, dropping him, and the shot afterward, Jet Optimus appears to be hovering in Armada; Legends of the Microns corrects this by adding the propulsion effect to Jet Optimus's feet.
• The shot of Sideways riding away after the battle is a recycled shot from Gale; the Japanese dub corrects it.
• In his ending narration for Armada, Rad refers to this episode as an intro to Jetfire, which is false. He could mean in terms of Jetfire's personality since he technically first appeared in the previous episode.

Trivia

• The kanji 合身 is pronounced as gasshin.
• "Linkup" first aired in the United States on January 31, 2003.
• Shooting stars on the Moon are impossible because it has no atmosphere to burn objects with.
• Jetfire is very cocky at times, especially in front of the kids. Amusingly, Scott McNeil also played another cocky character in 2003 for LEGO's BIONICLE: Mask of Light. That character is Tahu, the Toa Nuva leader, whom Scott plays using the same voice.

Foreign localization

German

• Title: "Der Powerlink" ("The Powerlink")
• Original airdate: This episode was never shown on TV but was dubbed in 2003. The dub premiered in 2009 with the German DVD release of the show.

Hungarian

• Title: "Csatlakozás" ("Joining")

Polish

• Title: "Połączenie" ("Link")

French

• Title: "Le remplaçant" ("The Substitute")

Korean

• Title: "스나이퍼 vs 제트파이어" ("Sniper vs Jetfire")

Portuguese

• Title: "Conexão" ("Connection")

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.

DVD

2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 7 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:09 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)