Divide and Conquer: Difference between revisions
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[[Image:DivideandConquer shutupHuffer.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Shut up, Rattrap.]] | [[Image:DivideandConquer shutupHuffer.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Shut up, Rattrap.]] | ||
It's more smoke and sparks than fiery blast, and Prime survives the explosion, though his energy is fading fast. His very [[laser core]] is at risk of snuffing out, and Ratchet needs a [[cosmotron]] to keep his Prime's energy levels from draining. Wheeljack only knows of one in existence, but | It's more smoke and sparks than fiery blast, and Prime survives the explosion, though his energy is fading fast. His very [[laser core]] is at risk of snuffing out, and Ratchet needs a [[cosmotron]] to keep his Prime's energy levels from draining. Wheeljack only knows of one in existence, but it is in his shop back on [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], which the Decepticons had placed under a computerized lock. The Autobots need to get back to their homeworld and pick this lock. Naturally, Chip Chase is the only one of them familiar enough with Cybertronian computers to make this possible. | ||
[[Image:DivideandConquer Farewellwarrior.jpg|right|150px|thumb|If I tell you go, then you GO!]] | [[Image:DivideandConquer Farewellwarrior.jpg|right|150px|thumb|If I tell you go, then you GO!]] | ||
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* A peculiar design in one shot has Optimus Prime's cab face sport a 45-degree slope. | * A peculiar design in one shot has Optimus Prime's cab face sport a 45-degree slope. | ||
* | * Starscream's voice is not electronically enhanced when he reacts to Optimus Prime barreling into the factory. | ||
* When the Autobots are shown talking to Optimus, and later arriving at the factory, Bumblebee is the only yellow Autobot shown. However, when the Autobots transform to go to the factory, Sunstreaker is shown transforming instead of Bumblebee. | * When the Autobots are shown talking to Optimus Prime, and later arriving at the factory, Bumblebee is the only yellow Autobot shown. However, when the Autobots transform to go to the factory, Sunstreaker is shown transforming instead of Bumblebee. | ||
* Because the background art moves around to simulate a camera tilt, the foreground animation of Prime's trailer receding into the background looks instead like it is [[Size changing|shrinking into nothingness]] in [[Subspace|midair]]. | * Because the background art moves around to simulate a camera tilt, the foreground animation of Optimus Prime's trailer receding into the background looks instead like it is [[Size changing|shrinking into nothingness]] in [[Subspace|midair]]. | ||
* Skywarp has the wrong voice (and an unusually fat head) when he accuses Laserbeak of being "chicken". | * Skywarp has the wrong voice (and an unusually fat head) when he accuses Laserbeak of being "chicken". | ||
* | * Brawn is shown standing inside when he enters the room where Optimus Prime is being worked on. | ||
* There | * There is a big nasty S-shaped hair in the center of the screen as Wheeljack describes his shop on Cybertron. | ||
* At the Space Bridge site, the camera pans across the scenery, but a painted foreground tree travels with the move, making it look like the tree is mobile. | * At the Space Bridge site, the camera pans across the scenery, but a painted foreground tree travels with the move, making it look like the tree is mobile. | ||
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* As Shockwave and a Reflector soldier unload the Space Bridge's shipment of Energon cubes, the Energon is not filled with an illumination effect, and appears as solid black bars. | * As Shockwave and a Reflector soldier unload the Space Bridge's shipment of Energon cubes, the Energon is not filled with an illumination effect, and appears as solid black bars. | ||
* The nitrogen pack that Ironhide uses in Shockwave's control center is labeled "NITRGEN". And Ironhide | * The nitrogen pack that Ironhide uses in Shockwave's control center is labeled "NITRGEN". And Ironhide should not have to use a pack anyway, since he has a built in liquid nitrogen projector. | ||
* | * A fourth Decepticon jet is shown when the Decepticons exit their base to attack the Autobots. Later, an extreme close-up of one of the jets' weapons shows a red "rainmaker". | ||
[[Image:Ironhideinblack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|So ''that's'' why [[Ironhide (Movie)|Movie Ironhide]] is black.]] | [[Image:Ironhideinblack.jpg|right|150px|thumb|So ''that's'' why [[Ironhide (Movie)|Movie Ironhide]] is black.]] | ||
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** Chase can crack a Cybertronian lock (apparently by just punching in every possible four-digit code combination until he stumbles on the right one.) | ** Chase can crack a Cybertronian lock (apparently by just punching in every possible four-digit code combination until he stumbles on the right one.) | ||
** Chip is immune to Cybertronian acid rain. | ** Chip is immune to Cybertronian acid rain. | ||
* Megatron's order to let the Autobots win really makes no logical sense. If his soldiers had beaten them, they | * Megatron's order to let the Autobots win really makes no logical sense. If his soldiers had beaten them, they had have been just as out of the way, and if they did not he could still try his acid rain plan. | ||
===Continuity notes=== | ===Continuity notes=== | ||
Revision as of 11:27, 29 March 2010
| This article is about the Generation 1 cartoon episode. For the Marvel UK comic, see Divide and Conquer!. |
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 "And I, Starscream, am now leader of the Autobots!" | |||||||||
| "Divide and Conquer" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-03 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | October 20, 1984 | ||||||||
| Written by | Donald F. Glut | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Toei | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
The Autobots must journey to Cybertron to retrieve a vital piece of technology to save the life of the critically wounded Optimus Prime.
- Japanese title: SOS! サイバトロン (SOS! Cybertron)
Synopsis
Earth factories are busily preparing weaponry for use against the Decepticon menace. Chip Chase is inspecting one such facility, where the administrators hope he can develop new methods to improve the efficiency of weapons production. The Decepticon Seekers suddenly attack the factory, breaching its walls and landing inside. They begin draining the factory of its energy, but have not noticed Chip, who sends out a distress signal to the Autobots.
Optimus Prime and Spike are on a search mission, fruitlessly looking for any trace of the Decepticon Space Bridge. Prime intercepts Chip's call for help, and orders the Autobots at the Ark to meet him at the munitions plant. Prime arrives at the scene first, and is outnumbered three-to-one. A stray shot hits one of the massive computer banks, which begins a critical meltdown and overload. Prime attempts to shield the humans from the inevitable explosion with his own body. The blast tears through Prime, and the Decepticons take advantage of his weakened state to nail him. Prime collapses under fire.
The Seekers hear the approach of the other Autobots, and following Megatron's orders, retreat with the energon cubes. The Autobots find Prime's badly damaged form and take it back to base. Prime’s power relays are fused. His mobility limited. His speech… slow… and labored. Part replacement… essential….
Wanting to confirm Prime's condition, Megatron dispatches Laserbeak to the Ark to spy on Ratchet and Wheeljack's efforts to repair Prime. Optimus's electropulse is fading. At Megatron’s command, Laserbeak attacks the incredibly vulnerable Prime, tearing into his exposed chest cavity and causing a tremendous explosion.
It's more smoke and sparks than fiery blast, and Prime survives the explosion, though his energy is fading fast. His very laser core is at risk of snuffing out, and Ratchet needs a cosmotron to keep his Prime's energy levels from draining. Wheeljack only knows of one in existence, but it is in his shop back on Cybertron, which the Decepticons had placed under a computerized lock. The Autobots need to get back to their homeworld and pick this lock. Naturally, Chip Chase is the only one of them familiar enough with Cybertronian computers to make this possible.
Chip uses Teletraan I to do what Optimus could not: triangulate the likely coordinates for the Space Bridge’s next appearance. Following Chip’s detective work, the Autobots drive into the woods and discover the Space Bridge site. Starscream and Rumble oversee the transport of a shuttle module filled with Energon cubes, with a hapless Reflector-type soldier sent to pilot it across the gulf of interstellar space. With the Autobots' arrival, a fray breaks out–and so does a sudden thunderstorm.
Surprisingly, Megatron (who has been monitoring the battle) orders the Decepticons to let the Autobots win. The thunderstorm has given him an idea, but he does not elaborate. The Autobots—Bumblebee, Bluestreak, Trailbreaker and Ironhide—drive into the Space Bridge and are teleported to Shockwave’s base. They blast their way past a shocked Shockwave and into Cybertron’s streets. Megatron orders the Rainmakers to destroy the Autobot infiltrators with acid rain.
At Wheeljack's workshop, Chip works his way past the locking mechanism, and Ironhide instantly finds the cosmotron. Outside, a trio of Seekers somehow seed the clouds over the workshop so they produce incredibly debilitating acid rain.
The acid rain shorts the circuitry of the Autobots, who collapse at the touch of the deadly downpour. Chip is immune to the rain’s effects, and implores the Autobots to continue. Trailbreaker musters up the energy to project his force-field, sheltering the Autobots from the rain, giving their automatic repair systems time to kick in. Bluestreak fires some blasts into the clouds overhead, dispersing the rainmaking seekers and the toxic clouds. Rejuvenated, the Autobots return to Shockwave’s tower and ride the Space Bridge back to Earth.
On Earth, Megatron recognizes that without Prime, the conquest of the Autobots is a foregone conclusion. He leads an attack on the Ark. The Autobots recognize the hopeless battle up ahead, but Spike musters up his courage, grabs Jazz's rifle, and rallies the troops. He even manages to inspire perpetual downer Huffer to take charge.
An enormous battle breaks out in front of the Ark, just as the Autobot mission returns from Cybertron. Chip and Spike race the cosmotron to Prime. Optimus emerges in time to personally challenge Megatron and soundly beats him, forcing the Decepticon leader to yield. With Megatron down, a self-satisfied Starscream orders the Decepticons to retreat.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Quotes
"Heh, I wonder if I'll ever get used to that."
- —Sparkplug witnessing the Autobots transform
"He's doomed. I know it. I can feel it in my databank."
- —Huffer, hoping the best for a dying Prime.
"They sure don't build 'em like that anymore."
- —Sparkplug, commenting on the fact Optimus Prime is still alive after his chest explodes.
"Just like Sherlock Holmes with floppy disks!"
- —Spike, hopelessly over his head when it comes to computer talk.
"No one's ever really disabled as long as he has courage."
- —Chip Chase, and that’s one to grow on.
"I'm sorry, Spike. Sometimes nothing you do makes any difference."
- —Sparkplug to Spike, which, if you don't read as the general you, is actually kind of mean and funny.
"We can't go down without trying! Prime would want us to go for it, no matter what the odds! Well, are you with me, or do I fight this battle alone?"
- —Spike gives an inspirational battle rally to the Autobots after taking Jazz's gun.
"Is there anyone in the universe who will challenge the might of Megatron?"
"There is one, Megatron! I, Optimus Prime, challenge you!"
- —Megatron is scared to death by a now healthy Optimus Prime.
Notes
Animation or technical glitches
- Due to a mix-up in animation models, the green-uniformed human soldiers protecting the weapons factory in one shot turn into hard-hat wearing factory workers in another shot.
- A teleporting Skywarp is mistakenly colored with Starscream's colors, and then Thundercracker's colors.
- To make matters worse, in the Japanese dub of this scene, Skywarp is also voiced by Starscream so that he is the one who teleports.
- A peculiar design in one shot has Optimus Prime's cab face sport a 45-degree slope.
- Starscream's voice is not electronically enhanced when he reacts to Optimus Prime barreling into the factory.
- When the Autobots are shown talking to Optimus Prime, and later arriving at the factory, Bumblebee is the only yellow Autobot shown. However, when the Autobots transform to go to the factory, Sunstreaker is shown transforming instead of Bumblebee.
- Because the background art moves around to simulate a camera tilt, the foreground animation of Optimus Prime's trailer receding into the background looks instead like it is shrinking into nothingness in midair.
- Skywarp has the wrong voice (and an unusually fat head) when he accuses Laserbeak of being "chicken".
- Brawn is shown standing inside when he enters the room where Optimus Prime is being worked on.
- There is a big nasty S-shaped hair in the center of the screen as Wheeljack describes his shop on Cybertron.
- At the Space Bridge site, the camera pans across the scenery, but a painted foreground tree travels with the move, making it look like the tree is mobile.
- Four Reflectors are shown when preparing the Space Bridge (though it could be argued it is a separate Reflector-like Decepticon).
- Rumble blinks out for a few moments when the Autobots arrive at the Space Bridge.
- In the shot of him still holding the tree after Megatron tells him to let the Autobots win, and emerging from Ironhide's deep freeze, Starscream is colored like Thundercracker.
- As Shockwave and a Reflector soldier unload the Space Bridge's shipment of Energon cubes, the Energon is not filled with an illumination effect, and appears as solid black bars.
- The nitrogen pack that Ironhide uses in Shockwave's control center is labeled "NITRGEN". And Ironhide should not have to use a pack anyway, since he has a built in liquid nitrogen projector.
- A fourth Decepticon jet is shown when the Decepticons exit their base to attack the Autobots. Later, an extreme close-up of one of the jets' weapons shows a red "rainmaker".
- When the Autobot away team races back to Shockwave’s tower, Ironhide is painted with Trailbreaker's colors, making him resemble a Diaclone incarnation of his toy.
- After returning to Earth, Bluestreak emerges from the Space Bridge painted as Prowl, but without police lights.
- In the carnage of the battle, a prone form of Ironhide is colored with Ratchet's white and red hue (Ratchet's inside the Ark) and Sideswipe has Shockwave's colors.
- Optimus Prime's mouthplate moves when Megatron concedes defeat.
Continuity errors
- It is unclear how Chip knows Skywarp's missile is of the heat-seeking variety before it does anything to suggest such.
- Optimus Prime somehow deflects the heat-seeking missile by hitting its warhead with his arm.
- Superhuman Spike:
- Superhuman
SpikeChip:- Chip somehow knows how to find the Space Bridge better than Optimus can, since Chip thinks to use Teletraan I, a tactic that somehow escaped Prime.
- Chase can crack a Cybertronian lock (apparently by just punching in every possible four-digit code combination until he stumbles on the right one.)
- Chip is immune to Cybertronian acid rain.
- Megatron's order to let the Autobots win really makes no logical sense. If his soldiers had beaten them, they had have been just as out of the way, and if they did not he could still try his acid rain plan.
Continuity notes
- Gadgets and powers:
- The Autobot Matrix of Leadership is nowhere to be found on Prime's chest when Wheeljack and Ratchet are repairing him.
- Reflector can emit a light that shorts out optic sensors.
- Reflector displays an odd ability in this episode: he can absorb his fellow units into his body.
- Ironhide's wrists can emit liquid glop launchers that trap the Decepticons to the surface with a thick adhesive.
- Autobots have built-in repair systems.
- Sideswipe is capable of emitting a smokescreen from his chest ... for little effect.
- Optimus Prime displays the unusual ability to fire energy beams out of his optics... right into Megatron's face.
- The Space Bridge, which first appeared in "Transport to Oblivion," reappears in this episode.
- The tetrahedron seeker jets return; they first appeared in "More Than Meets The Eye, Part 1."
- The Transformers have a personal battle code where customs dictate personal challenges be settled in personal combat.
- This is the only episode where Laserbeak displays any cowardice, a trait described in his original tech spec bio and usually associated with the character.
Real-world references
- A cosmotron is a real-world particle physics accelerator.
Trivia
- Brawn really is a dumbass to not notice Laserbeak sitting on his shoulder.
- Cybertron has an atmosphere breathable by humans.
- The Reflector-type Decepticon warrior that Starscream forces to pilot the Space Bridge transport has an oddly sympathetic and very human-sounding voice.
- The scene in which Shockwave opens fire on the Autobots when they first arrive on Cybertron was edited out of the Japanese version for time.
- The chapter stops on the Rhino DVD version of this episode are Opening / Weapon Factories / Off to Cybertron / New Age of Decepticons / Fight For Optimus / Optimus Saved!
Home video releases
- VHS
- 1985 — The Transformers — Volume 5: "Divide and Conquer" (Family Home Entertainment)
- 1995 — The Transformers — The Autobots vs. The Decepticons (Malofilm)
- 1995 — Transformers — Autobots vs. Decepticons (Malofilm) — French audio only.
- Laserdisc
- 1998 — The Transformers — Autobot Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
- 2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- 2002 — Transformers — Original Series: Volume Two (Maverick Entertainment)
- 2002 — Transformers — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Maverick Entertainment)
- 2002 — The Original Transformers — First Season Collector's Edition (Kid Rhino)
- 2002 — The Original Transformers — Volume Two (Kid Rhino)
- 2003 — Transformers — Collection 1: Series 1 (Madman Entertainment)
- 2004 — Transformers — Season 1 (Metrodome)
- 2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
- 2007 — Classic Transformers — Series One: Part One (Metrodome)
- 2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
- 2008 — Transformers — Volume 01: Stagione Uno Parte Prima (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
- 2009 — Transformers — Season One (Metrodome)
- 2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
- 2009 — The Transformers — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
- 2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
