The Ultimate Doom, Part 1

"I love my Power Glove. It's so bad."

Megatron brings Cybertron into Earth orbit to harvest the energy from the destruction caused by Cybertron's gravity.

• Japanese title: "Day of Destruction," Part 1

Summary

The Decepticons kidnap Sparkplug to use him as a guinea pig for the experiments of the evil human scientist Doctor Arkeville. The Doctor has developed a mind-control device called a hypno-chip. Once Sparkplug is fitted with a hypno-chip, he becomes the Decepticons' slave.

The Autobots attack the Decepticon undersea base to rescue Sparkplug and return him to the Ark. They notice that Sparkplug is acting oddly, but before they can learn why, the Decepticons launch a surprise attack on the Ark. Spike realises that Sparkplug has sabotaged Teletraan I to let the Decepticons in undetected. He confronts his father, who appeals to Spike to join the Decepticons. When Spike refuses, he tells his son that when they next meet, they will be enemies. After Spike sets off the fire-retardant foam the Decepticons retreat, and Sparkplug willingly goes with them.

The Autobots then learn that the Decepticons have built a giant space bridge and enslaved many more humans. They roll out to investigate and discover that Megatron plans to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit. The gravity of Cybertron will cause natural disasters, and the Decepticons plan to harvest the energy and transport it to Cybertron.

Optimus Prime tries to stop the space bridge from being activated, but Megatron tells him that if he does, Cybertron will be catapulted into oblivion. Unwilling to sacrifice Cybertron, Optimus Prime activates the space bridge, bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit, but wonders if he is dooming Earth in the process.

Stats

Writer: Larry Strauss

Major Characters (in order of appearance): Optimus Prime, Megatron, Doctor Arkeville, Sparkplug Witwicky, Spike Witwicky

Minor Characters (in order of appearance): Starscream, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Soundwave, Rumble, Ravage, Laserbeak

Original Air Date: November 3, 1984

Notable Quotes

"Laserbeak, where are your manners? Our guest needs a seat."

—Megatron kicks a chair toward his captive, Sparkplug.

Skywarp: "I say Megatron's plan was brilliant."
Starscream: "And I say the diversionary attack on the solar power plant was a waste of energy."
Skywarp: "You waste more energy with your mouth!"

—More heart-warming Decepticon camaraderie.

"Into the ocean, let's be daring. The last one in is a rusty herring."

—Jazz.

"Have I saved Cybertron...only to doom the Earth?"

—Optimus Prime angsts over his decision to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit.

Notes

• This episode is subtitled "Brainwash" in scripts and other official materials.

Technical/Animation glitches

• Sparkplug's wrench looks different between shots.

• When Shockwave changes positions while talking to Megatron, there is an outline of his previous position on the screen.

• When the fake Optimus Prime appears at the Decepticon base, Skywarp speaks with Starscream's voice.

• When the Autobots are rescuing Sparkplug, Cliffjumper is colored as Bumblebee.

• When the Decepticons are showered with foam at the Ark, the shot cuts from Thundercracker to Skywarp by simply changing the colors on the character.

• When Starscream flies to the space bridge, his alt-mode is mistakenly colored as Skywarp.

• When the Autobots first see the slaves, there is one brief moment in which Optimus Prime is drawn without his faceplate.

Continuity errors

The Decepticons can be apparently easily damaged by fire-retardant foam, yet the Autobots are fine.

Transformers References

• References

Real-world references

• Reference

External links

• Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle
  
  
  From Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki, a Wikia wiki.