Cramp

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<tr style="font-size:14px;"> <td class="tti_buttonlink">« </td><td>Transformers: Armada ep <strong class="selflink">48 </strong>

</td><td class="tti_buttonlink">» </td></tr></table> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 12px; background-color:#ffffff;" align="center"> <img alt="" src="/w2/images2/thumb/d/d5/Cramp.JPG/300px-Cramp.JPG" width="300" height="223" border="0" /> </td></tr> <tr> <td colspan="2" style="font-size: 14px; background-color:#e7d492; color:black;font-weight:bold;" align="center"> "Cramp" <div style="font-size:x-small;font-weight:normal;">決死 (しんねん) - cramp <br />(Kesshi [Shinnen]) <br />"Preparedness for death (Conviction)"</div> </td></tr>

<tr> <td> Airdate </td><td> October 24, 2003 (NA)<br />September 29, 2003 (UK)<br />28 November 2003 (JP) </td></tr>

</table> Starscream prepares to do whatever it takes to convince Galvatron the threat of Unicron is real.

Detailed Synopsis

Galvatron blasts Starscream with his rarely seen armpit-laser.

Starscream pleads to Galvatron, hoping to convince his leader that the threat of Unicron is real (as Starscream has first hand experience in the beast's bowels) and that perhaps an Alliance between the Autobots and Decepticons is the safest course to ensure the survival of Cybertron. When Starscream refuses to stop pleading, Galvatron slaps his subordinate into a wall to silence him. The Decepticon leader is confident his military can overcome both the Autobots and Unicron. Starscream continues to stress the danger of Unicron, and Galvatron starts to swing his Star Saber.

The rest is... silence. Until he was brought back as a lobotomized, characterless zombie.

The Autobots are still optimistic, believing there's a chance a diplomatic conference could lead to a truce between the two sides. Which means the Autobots can't take aggressive action against the Decepticons, only defensive. Megatron, armed with the Star Saber and Tidal Wave, flies into battle, ready to negotiate with Prime using firepower. Prime responds by combining with Jetfire and Overload and heading away from the thick of the battle.

By a monolithic statue of Megatron, Starscream wonders who is he is and what he needs to do. Alexis' words of encouragement run through his head.

Away from the armies, Galvatron and Optimus send their men away, leaving the two leaders to battle one on one. Through the battle, Galvatron admits that he still considers Unicron to be an Autobot hoax, and with the Star Saber, he has the upper hand against Prime. As soon as Megatron breaks Prime's metal, an explosion disturbs the showdown. Starscream walks from the smoke.

The rest of the Autobots are struggling to hold their ground, unable to cause any real damage to the Decepticons. Alexis has faith that things will be okay. Thousands of miles away, Unicron's lunar shell peels off and the behemoth attacks the assembled Mini-Con cluster.

DAVID BLAINE taught Swindle how to sit on an invisible seat.

Starscream quits the Decepticons and challenges Galvatron to one-on-one combat. The two clash, quickly cutting into each other. Starscream displays a show of skill beyond the last time he battled Megatron. Lightning from Unicron carves into the landscape, but the two warriors ignore the weather and continue their struggle. But in an instant, the Star Saber plunges into Starscream's torso, and the impaled Decepticon falls.

Lying with the blade sticking out of him, Starscream speaks earnestly to Galvatron, pointing out that it was Megatron's own arrogance that drove the situation to be what it is. Despite his injury, Starscream stands up and reiterates his wishes for a truce between the two Cybertronian factions against Unicron. His final wish said, Starscream joins with his Mini-Con to fire his Proton-cannons upwards at Unicron. Unicron fires back, disintegrating Starscream.

DAVID BLAINE taught Alexis how to hit an almost-invisible wall.

Galvatron remembers all the experiences he had with Starscream, and finally decides to join forces with Optimus.... BUT from the crater Starscream died in, a dark cloud emerges and grabs the Star Saber! The cloud forms into Sideways, who escapes the two leaders and escapes through the underground portal, making sure to collapse them so he can't be followed.

Aboard the Axalon, Alexis's luck charm breaks, and she runs outside to look out the window to just see Starscream's laser blast fade away. Hearing news of Starscream's death over the video screen, Alexis, along with the others, breaks into tears. Rad does his best to console her.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

<table border="5" cellpadding="5" cellspacing="5" align="center" style="border:#800000"> <tr> <th style="background:#FFEEEE"> Autobots</th><th style="background:#EEEEFE"> Decepticons</th><th style="background:antiquewhite"> Humans</th><th style="background:#FFEEB8"> Mini-Cons</th><th style="background:#D8BFD8"> Others </th></tr> <tr> <td style="background:#FFEEEE" valign="top">

• Jetfire (8)
• Optimus Prime (9)
• Blurr (10)
• Side Swipe (14)
• Hoist (15)
• Hot Shot (16)
• Scavenger (17)
• Red Alert (18)
• Overload (20)

</td><td style="background:#EEEEFE" valign="top">

• Starscream (1)
• Galvatron (2)
• Cyclonus (3)
• Demolishor (4)
• Tidal Wave (5)
• Wheeljack (19)

</td><td style="background:antiquewhite" valign="top">

• Fred (6)
• Billy (7)
• Carlos (11)
• Alexis (12)
• Rad (13)

</td><td style="background:#FFEEB8" valign="top">

• Sureshock (22)
• Grindor (23)
• High Wire (24)
• Swindle (22)

</td><td style="background:#D8BFD8" valign="top">

• Unicron (21)
• Sideways (23)

</td></tr></table>

Quotes

"How long have we been adversaries, Optimus? It seems like since the beginning of time. And I suppose I do have a certain respect for you but I digress, you might have fooled Starscream with your little Truce ploy, but I am nobody's fool. Now let's end this charade, shall we?"<br />

—Galvatron faces off against Optimus Prime in the 'negotiations'.

"May I suggest that you have lost your mind?!"

—Galvatron to Starscream, who has just challenged him to a duel.

Cyclonus: "Am I nuts, or are they missing on purpose?"<br /> Demolishor: "The obvious answer, Cyclonus, is you're nuts!"<br /> Wheeljack: "Knock it off, you two!"

"Oh no, the horror! The horror!"<br />

—Fred, reacting to Unicron firing his lightning at the Mini-Cons

You'll miss me when I'm gone!

"I tried to gain favour from you. But nothing was ever good enough. No matter how many battles I fought, you always found fault. Then I saw how Optimus treated his men, and I realized he was a leader of integrity. Unlike you."<br /> "You were too weak to ever gain my respect."<br /> "None of that matters now. You must listen — do as Optimus says and join forces with the Autobots, or else every last one of us is doomed. Please sir... do it for me..."

—Starscream pours his spark out to Galvatron after being impaled by the Star Saber

"It's time to finish this once and for all! Activate Proton Cannon! You're all mine, Unicron!"<br />

—Starscream's last words as he rips the Star Saber out of his chest and fires his cannons at Unicron

Notes

• Optimus calls Starscream's Mini-Con Swindle instead of Zapmaster. So logically this means that Swindle received a color-change like Starscream did (instead of Starscream exchanging his Mini-Con for a new one in different colors).
• Starscream's photon cannon blasts don't even make it all the way up to Unicron. You can see them dissipate before Alexis's eyes before they reach him. Most heart-wrenching suicide ever?

Transformers references

• Starscream's death by crumbling into a pile of debris is very similar to the death scene of Generation 1 Starscream's in The Transformers: The Movie.

Real-world references

• Fred's "The horror!" line is from <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse_Now" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Apocalypse_Now">Apocalypse Now</a>.
• Megatron gives Starscream one last chance to not fight, and when Starscream declines, Megatron's "Is that your final answer?" line might be a reference to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire%3F" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:Who_Wants_to_Be_a_Millionaire?">Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?</a>

Miscellaneous trivia

• The english-language version of Cramp first aired in the United Kingdom on the SkyOne channel. As seen in two of the above screen captures, at the time the network was running a 24-hour a day promotion of American magician/"endurance artist" <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Blaine" class="extiw" title="wikipedia:David_Blaine">David Blaine</a>'s controversial London stunt, complete with an obnoxious DAVID BLAINE on-screen overlay.