Soldier (episode)
| "Soldier" redirects here. For the class from War for Cybertron, see Soldier (WFC). |
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 Listen to me, you're a soldier now! | ||||||
| "Soldier" (Senshi) "Military Man: Soldier" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-05 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | September 27, 2002 (English) 7 February 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Shōji Tonoike | |||||
| Director | Shigeki Awai | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
The Autobots and Decepticons battle over another Mini-Con, and we learn about why nobody talks crap about Red Alert.
Synopsis
At the Autobot base, Red Alert does some important technical work while Hot Shot plays tag with the kids and their Mini-Cons. They manage to outrun him, until Hot Shot requests some aid from Jolt, who quickly apprehends Carlos. Carlos, upset at losing, calls Jolt an eggbeater. The noise grabs the attention of Red Alert, who chews out Hot Shot for playing around while he should be working. When Optimus investigates the commotion, both Red Alert and Hot Shot dismiss their conflict. Alexis feels the tension in the air and has a bad feeling.
Hot Shot apologizes to the kids for making them watch himself and Red Alert bicker. Optimus then explains to Hot Shot and the kids how Red Alert's dedication to preparation was integral to winning many battles on Cybertron. Hot Shot understands that Red Alert is great, but doesn't see why Red Alert won't let himself have a personality. Suddenly the alarms go off, signifying that another Mini-Con panel has activated. The Autobots and their human friend quickly warp to the location of the panel: Antarctica.
In the ruins of the Mini-Con ship on the Moon, Megatron also detects the Mini-Con panel. Noticing Starscream's absence, Cyclonus speculates that Starscream has already left for Earth to rectify his lack of personal Mini-Con and Demolishor calls Starscream dumb. As Megatron tells his goons to be silent, Starscream holds a blade close beside Demolishor's head, revealing himself. Megatron sends the three Decepticon minions to Earth.
At the Antarctic, penguins! Lots of them! Also, Autobots and Decepticons.
The Autobots stop due to a drive system failure, and Optimus Prime's trailer converts into its command center mode in front of the astonished humans. Red Alert fixes Optimus's systems while Hot Shot is impatient. And jerky. After Prime is finished, Hot Shot and Carlos leave together (with a bit of assistance from Jolt).
Starscream searches for the Mini-Con by chopping icebergs to no avail, so he flies to search in a different area. Megatron, seeing Starscream from a distance, instructs his henchmen to follow. Eventually Starscream is the first to find the Mini-Con, embedded in the wall of an ice shelf. But before retrieving the Mini-Con he notices Hot Shot nearby and attacks, forcing the Autobot into a massive ice-crevice. Hot Shot is saved from certain death by his Mini-Con, Jolt, and together they ascend the ice wall to return to the battle, noticing the Mini-Con on the way up.
The other Decepticons notice the Mini-Con panel glowing and transform to retrieve it. Further away, the rest of the Autobots also notice the Mini-Con and Optimus heads over.
At the showdown between Starscream and Hot Shot, Hot Shot has the idea to jump his car mode directly into Starscream, air-bludgeoning the Decepticon. The other Decepticons attack Hot Shot, and verbally attack Starscream. Hot Shot drives away with the Decepticons after him. From within Red Alert, Rad sees Hot Shot under fire and is concerned, but Red Alert tells Rad to relax. Right then, Carlos is tossed out of Hot Shot into the abyss, but Jolt, like during the earlier game of tag, grabs onto Carlos and lifts him to safety. Cyclonus fires his "laser pulse attack" at Hot Shot. Hot Shot and Jolt return fire at the Decepticons. Megatron returns fire at Hot Shot.
Red Alert drops off the kids and tells them to find a safe area, and the two instead decide to find Carlos. When Cyclonus is about to finish-off Hot Shot at close ranger, but Hot Shot is saved when Red Alert uses his cable to violent pull Cyclonus backwards. Megatron takes Hot Shot hostage. Red Alert works his way out of the awkward situation by using his disc launcher, bouncing the flying disc off of Demolishor and into the back of Megatron. Optimus finally arrives, making the sides even. The three Decepticons retreat.
Starscream, using his sword to climb the ice wall to where the Mini-Con is, begins to punch the wall. This makes things difficult for Carlos, who can barely hang on to stop from plunging to his death. A punch from Starscream disrupts the terrain enough to send all three kids plunging to their demise, but Red Alert's colorful flying disc catches them. Starscream grabs the Mini-Con panel, but Red Alert swipes it away. Unwisely, Starscream opens fire, but as a result, plunges into the depth of the ice-canyon.
Back at the Autobot base, the Mini-Con is shown to be Jetstorm, who doesn't activate. Red Alert and Hot Shot make amends with each other, and Red Alert reveals that beneath his robocop-esque demeanor, he too, appreciates Hot Shot's abilities.
Featured characters
((Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quote
"I think I've pinpointed the glitch, sir."
"Good work, Red Alert. What was the problem with the CPU?"
"It seems the cold on this continent has caused a glitch."
- —Red Alert, who needs a thesaurus, and Optimus Prime, who has bad microprocessor thermal protection.
"Ahh nuts, I knew I should've brought along snow tires!"
- —Always on the ball Hot Shot, struggling to drive in snow and ice in the Antarctic.
"Oh, and hey Hot Shot? Do you mind cranking up the heat in here a touch? It's cold."
- —The ever-observant Carlos.
"Hellooooo... buh-bye!"
- —Cyclonus, as he prepares to execute Hot Shot.
"Red Alert! Thanks, pal!"
"Doing my job, and nothing more."
- —Hot Shot in Generation 1 Brawn butt-kisser mode, and Red Alert after the latter saves the former's life.
"I hope you like pain!"
- —Demolishor, reacting to the rescue as everybody else just stands around.
"Hahahaha... go ahead, boys, give me a reason..."
- —Demolishor, as the two Autobots are cornered.
"Uhh... yes... soon I'll have my very own pet…."
- —Starscream, who we assume is talking about a Mini-Con.
Notes
Differences with Micron Legend
- There's a noticeable amount of "flavor" dialogue slipped into the Armada versions of this episode, as the Micron Legend version is full of a lot of long, awkward silences as the characters slog around the Antarctic.
- The basic reason for Red's annoyance with Hot Shot's messing about at the start of the episode is the same in both Micron Legend and Armada (he thinks he should be working instead of goofing around), but he expresses it differently. In Micron Legend, he worries that the kids might get hurt playing tag with a giant robot; in Armada, he's mad about the fact that Hot Shot is actively shirking working he's meant to be doing, and that Red himself has had to pick up the slack on. The work's not mandatory in Micron Legend; Red just thinks it's a better use of their downtime.
- In Micron Legend, after Optimus interrupts Red and Hot Shot's argument to ask what's going on, Hot Shot addresses kids and suggests they leave to have fun elsewhere. Armada changes this to him replying to Optimus's statement, saying he and Red were "just talking." Armada has Optimus follow this exchange up with an order to get back to work; in Micron Legend, he is silent, because as already noted, the work's not mandatory.
- Following on from this, the last moments of this scene, in which Alexis looks over at Rad, then at Red Alert, differ between versions. In Micron Legend, she simply observes how Red Alert becomes so immersed in his work. Armada alters this, first by adding an extra line of dialogue when Alexis looks at Rad, that has her wonder "What's up with Optimus?" in response to his somewhat curt, Armada-added order for the 'bots to get back to work. She goes on to conclude the Autobots are in a rush to get back to their Mini-Con hunt, and worries that the Decepticons will soon strike back. Immediately after this, Carlos and Rad are heard wondering "what the big secret is" in Armada, as if Optimus was keeping something from them that was making him act that way; in Micron Legend, they're just openly worrying Red Alert doesn't like them.
- In Micron Legend, the conversation that follows between Optimus and Hot Shot is essentially Prime telling Hot Shot and the kids to appreciate Red Alert more, because he's a great warrior whose full capabilities none of them have yet seen. The entire conversation is warped for Armada to become about Hot Shot and how he is over-eager and should be more prepared like Red Alert, despite how unglamorous it makes him seem.
- When Starscream places his blade alongside the laughing Demolishor's head, Micron Legend has him threaten to make it so Demolishor can never laugh again. In Armada, the first portion of his dialogue—delivered from off-screen—is replaced with Megatron telling Demolishor and Cyclonus to be silent; the second portion is replaced with Starscream merely laughing, so he never speaks in the English-language version of the scene. Consequently, Megatron's subsequent order for them to go find the Mini-Con plays a little differently; in Armada, he's just giving a general order to the whole group, but in Micron Legend, in response to Starscream's indignation at being made fun of by Demolishor and Cyclonus for not having a Mini-Con, he's essentially telling him "well, go and get one, then."
- When the Autobots come to a stop after arriving in Antarctica, Rad asks Optimus Prime why they've done so, since the kids are riding in Prime's cab. Armada nonsensically changes it so he asks Hot Shot instead, but Prime is still the one who replies.
- Micron Legend blames a problem with the original Earth truck Optimus scanned for his drive system failure, while Armada changes it to blame the Antarctic cold. In Armada, as Red Alert affects repairs, Hot Shot is just generically impatient; in Micron Legend, he proposes Optimus just use his robot mode to get around, but Optimus refuses, since doing so means he won't be able to carry the kids in his cab and keep them safe.
- When Hot Rod and Carlos leave the others behind, the idea of the scene in Micron Legend is that he is going for a quick high-speed test drive in the frozen environment to make sure he can handle it, only to then reveal to Carlos that he already knows he can, and was just using that as an excuse to get some space from Red Alert, whose attitude is wearing on him. In Armada, the loud rev of his engine that aggravates the kids is the only "test" he performs, and his departure is then played as him genuinely splitting off from the rest of the group to go looking for the Mini-Con. When the pair reach the ocean, Micron Legend has Hot Shot observe that it's as good as time as any to turn back, since he'll get it in trouble if he's gone too long; in Armada, he just talks about how there's no way he'll be taking a dip in the freezing water.
- After Starscream slices the iceberg in half and takes off in jet mode, Armada has Demolishor and Cyclonus speak as if Starscream had previously separated from the other Decepticons, and they had then tracked him to that spot. This bit of nonsense seems to be a corruption of the Micron Legend dialogue, in which they observe Starscream is now going off on his own without orders.
- Likewise, when Demolishor and Cyclonus spot the light from the Mini-Con, in Armada, they still don't know where Starscream is, while in Micron Legend, they also spot both him and Hot Shot.
- After Optimus, Red, Rad, and Alexis spot the light from the Mini-con, in Micron Legend, Optimus tells the others to go investigate, while he will follow later. Armada warps this into Optimus saying he will go in for a look—when of course, he does nothing of the sort, and it is Red Alert, Rad, and Alexis who are first into action, only being joined by Optimus in the fight later.
- After Red launches his flying disc, Armada Cyclonus remarks "Sorry, you missed!" ...which, of course, Red didn't, as the disc successfully slams into Demolishor a second later. In Micron Legend, Cyclonus says "Your opponent is over here!", merely exploiting the fact Red has chosen to strike at Demolishor to get a blast of his own in.
- When Starscream opens fire on Red Alert after the Mini-Con is snatched out of his hand, he is cursing the Autobots in Micron Legend, but rather nonsensically laughing in Armada.
- Red Alert is virtually mute during the final sequence of the episode in Micron Legend, preferring to deflect Hot Shot's thanks by simply asking him how he is doing after the fight. In Armada, he's more vocal, repeatedly telling Hot Shot the thanks are unnecessary.
Animation and technical errors
- Pretty much all the weaponsfire effects in this episode are coloured yellow, instead of the standard red-for-Autobots, purple-for-Decepticons.
- During Optimus Prime's flashback lecture, while Red Alert correctly appears in his Cybertronic body, but Optimus incorrectly appears in his Earth body, sans the truck wheels on his legs.
- When Starscream holds his sword at Demolishor, he is seen with both wings on. This is irregular as Starscream's left wing becomes his sword. This is continued for the rest of the episode.
- When Demolishor, with Starscream's blade at his neck, turns to look back at Megatron, the "uhhh" he lets out is delivered by Starscream's actor, rather than Demolishor's own.
- When Carlos tells Hot Shot "It's pedal to the metal time!", the snow kicked up by Hot Shot's tires is miscoloured black and grey, making it appear that the jerkface Autobot is polluting the area.
- When Red Alert proposes investigating the light from the Mini-Con, Rad replies: "What about Carlos--?" but his inflections make it clear the sentence has been clipped down in editing, removing something from the end of it. He was mostly likely going to say "--and Hot Shot?", since Red replies "I'm sure they'll be all right," using a plural when Rad was only heard referring to the singular Carlos.
- When Starscream tells Hot Shot and Carlos to look behind, Carlos is miscolored like Rad (a brown-haired Caucasian!) and calls the Autobot 'Hot Rod', Hot Shot's Japanese name.
- Numerous times throughout the episode, Decepticons appear with purple Autobot insignias.
- Starscream's forearm is miscoloured red when Demolishor scolds him for "trying to be a one-man army."
- As he rescues Carlos, Jolt is seen carrying the human by the barrels of his gun. But in the next shot he is drawn as a completely different design of helicopter, rescuing Carlos with landing gear that Jolt does not have.
Trivia
- The kanji 武人 would normally be pronounced as "bujin", while "senshi" is used for the kanji 戦士.
- When the Autobots transform before going into the warp gate, the animation sequences are the same ones from the climax of episode 2, played in reverse.
- When Optimus tells the kids to put their seat-belts on, only Rad and Alexis comply. Tsk tsk.
- There is a nice touch when the Decepticons warp to the south pole—as soon as Megatron materialises, the iceberg they are all standing upon suddenly sinks in their direction due to the weight.
- This episode marks the first time we see Optimus Prime's container trailer transform into its base mode.
- This episode reveals that Starscream's engines are stored in his kneecaps.
- As Hot Shot slides toward the ice canyon during the Decepticon attack, he actually ejects Carlos into the canyon so he can transform! Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on the viewer's perspective), Carlos is rescued by Jolt.
- Red Alert uses some kind of strange little flying claw-drone thing to snatch the Mini-Con panel out of Starscream's hand. Why not the grapple-claw line he just used earlier in the episode?
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Red Alert" ("Red Alert")
- Original airdate: 5 December 2003
Hungarian
- Title: "Hideg nyom" ("Cold Tracks")
Polish
- Title: "Żołnierz" ("Soldier")
Portuguese
- Title: "Soldado" ("Soldier")
Korean
- Title: "진정한 전사" ("True Warrior")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 2 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Universal)
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Power of the Mini-Cons (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2005 — Transformers: Armada — Triple Collection (Universal)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Bumper Double DVD Collection (Universal)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
