Comrade
| ||||||
 Commie bastards! | ||||||
| "Comrade" (Shinka) "Union: Evolution" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-04 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | September 21, 2002 (English) 31 January 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Akira Okeya | |||||
| Director | Shigeki Hatayama | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
The Autobots race to the Big Canyon to find a new Mini-Con, but struggle with the superior numbers of the Decepticons.
Synopsis
At the Autobot base, sirens alert the Autobots and their lovable human pals that a new Mini-Con panel has been activated. Hot Shot is eager to head directly to the area, but first, Alexis plugs her personal computer into the Autobot mainframe, and Sureshock manages to pinpoint the Mini-Con's location, which Carlos recognizes as Big Canyon. The Autobots, humans, and Mini-Cons head out to claim the new panel, but first, Carlos and Alexis receive new Autobot suits that are easy for passing traffic to see at night. Rad is almost left behind, but eventually gets his own suit and catches up.
Rad worries about how the Autobots intend to get to Big Canyon quickly despite it being MILES away. Alexis suggests Rad just relax when Optimus startles the kids by informing them that the Autobots plan to warp to their destination. After the group arrives, Carlos decides to travel with his amigo Red Alert. Alexis hops into Hot Shot, and Optimus carries the Mini-Cons. This leaves Rad all on his own, and friendless.
On the moon, Megatron reasserts the Decepticon's objective of obtaining all the Mini-Cons. Starscream claims that Megatron's great leadership will be key to the Decepticon's success. After breaking up a squabble between Cyclonus and Starscream over who has dibs on the next discovered Mini-Con, Megatron has a hearty and evil laugh.
Back on Earth, Rad laments his lack of company. Eventually Alexis and Hot Shot return to pick him up. Alexis apologizes for forgetting Rad, she just became immersed in riding in Hot Shot, who really impressed her with his speed. Once Rad's inside, Hot Shot accelerates over rough terrain, causing severe discomfort to his human occupants who find him too rough. Rather than take care to be more gentle, Hot Shot torments the kids by going even faster.
Carlos meanwhile enjoys off-roading with Red Alert, but eventually Red Alert decides to stop having fun. Red Alert and Carlos continue on foot.
Hot Shot deploys his car mode's claws and stops suddenly, inches away from driving directly into a massive crevice. Hot Shot requests the Mini-Con's coordinates, but as Rad is ignorant of them, Laserbeak is deployed to relay visual data. Hot Shot apologizes for his aggressive driving, and Alexis mocks Rad's total lack of manliness. The three follow Laserbeak together. On the way, Alexis advises Rad that even if he has a low threat tolerance, he shouldn't let the Decepticons see his utter fear. Soon they discover an irregular rock formation that must signify the Mini-Con's location.
Red Alert and Carlos, lost, continue to bicker.
On the moon, Megatron detects the Mini-Con panel, and sends Demolishor and Cyclonus to retrieve it. Starscream notices that despite his earlier praise of Megatron, he is forgotten. He is ordered to stay behind at the base.
Cyclonus arrives on Earth and attacks Hot Shot. Demolishor attacks Red Alert. Optimus rushes to retrieve the inactive Mini-Con on his own and releases the Street Action Team to aid Red Alert and Hot Shot.
With a battle plan formed, Red Alert dramatically turns around and balances to pass Demolishor, who rotates his turret and opens fire. Red Alert turns around again and tries using his grappling line to pass Demolishor once more, but Demolishor's versatile aiming knocks the car off the rock face. Red Alert lands upside-down upon Demolishor and manages to continue on his course.
Cyclonus fires at the surrounding terrain to box Hot Shot in with rubble. Alexis and Rad abandon their friend. They see the three Mini-Cons Prime sent to support the Autobots and use them to ride to safety.
Prime finds the rock face with the Mini-Con panel embedded in it, when Megatron enters the battle and quickly opens fire while gloating about how inevitable the Decepticon's conquest is, but Optimus rebukes with "That's what you think!" Megatron unveils his own Mini-Con, and, thanks to his aid, he succeedes in gaining the upper hand and wounding Prime. But just as he is about to finish the Autobot leader, Starscream suddenly arrives. He declares himself to be mighty enough to destroy Prime on his own. Rad's yell of concern inspires the Street Action Team to combine into Perceptor, who manages to briefly disable both Starscream and Megatron.
With the Decepticons distracted, Prime activates the Mini-Con panel, which, to his disbelief, happens to be his old partner Sparkplug. Prime transforms into his Supermode and uses Sparkplug's power to knock the Decepticons away with his Maximum Blast. The four Decepticons promptly teleport back to their base.
With the Decepticon threat gone, the four kids and their Mini-Cons help free Hot Shot and Rad gives a voice over about the power of Optimus and Sparkplug's teamwork.
At the Decepticons' base on the Moon, Demolishor reports that, as per Megatron's instructions, he disciplined Starscream. But he is surprised that the chastisement is so severe. Megatron explains to his lackey that he is using a harsh punishment against Starscream to set an example to the other Decepticons to stay in line. He then laments the Autobots' victory.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Uh, hey! Hold on, you guys!"
"So, uh, what's the problem?"
"My suit itches too, but you'll get used to it."
- —Rad, Carlos, and Alexis.
"Uh... guys? ... Guys?!? ... ANYBODY?"
- —Rad, after being ditched by everybody.
"Hot Rod is an amazing vehicle. And once I was inside, the speed! The power! *sigh* I guess I got carried away..."
- —Alexis, who perhaps needs to tell us something.
"Does it hurt when you do that?"
"Don't worry Carlos. I am mechanical, so I do not feel the sensation of pain as you know it."
"You still feel pain though, right?"
"Sorry, your question is not relevant to our mission."
- —Carlos and Red Alert, on transformation
"You humans sure are a fearless species!"
- —Red Alert
Alexis: "Ahhh!"
Rad: "Uggghhh! Are you sure this is the right car for the job?"
Alexis: "This road is a little bumpy!"
Rad: "My teeth are rattling so much they're gonna bounce right out of my head!"
Alexis: "Stop talking or else you'll bite your tongue!"
Rad: "OW! I just did!"
Hot Shot: "What's the problem? I haven't even taken out of first gear yet."
Alexis: "You mean you can go faster?!?"
Rad: "I feel a whole lot safer on my BMX!"
Alexis: "I can't find the brake pedals!"
Rad: "You mean there's no way to stop?!?"
Hot Shot: "I'm really gonna open up now! Hold on!"
Alexis: "How can we go any faster than this?"
Rad: "Why did I ever come along to this crazy ride?!?"
- —Alexis, Rad and, Hot Shot.
"This is all YOUR fault, Starscream."
- —Megatron, after his defeat at the hands of Optimus Prime's Maximum Blast attack. Well, it seems that he had found a proper scapegoat at last…
Notes
Differences with Micron Legend
- In Armada, Red Alert believes that his difficulty in locking onto the Mini-Con signal is because someone is interfering with it, scrambling it. In Micron Legend, it's simply a case of the signal being too weak to properly hone in on.
- Further complicating Red's attempts to locate the Mini-Con in Micron Legend is the fact that the systems of the Autobots' newly-constructed base have not yet been updated with Earth's geographical information. Alexis solves the problem by calling up a world map on her phone, which Sureshock then transmits to the base computers, allowing them to provide a clear visual of the Autobots' destination. Armada warps this into Alexis "tapping into the system" and loading the vague location data Red has managed to obtain into her "locator," and Sureshock "boosting" the device's power to somehow accomplish what the base computers can't. Micron Legend has Alexis thank Sureshock for her help, while Armada just has her voice her desire to head out on the mission.
- In Armada, Carlos cautions Hot Shot against rushing into action without a plan. In Micron Legend, his specific concern is that humans will see the Transformers if they do so.
- After the kids get their suits, Armada has Alexis address Optimus Prime. In Micron Legend, she speaks instead to Red Alert, who has an additional line not in Armada that explains the suits are actually protective gear that will guard the kids against injury.
- There's a whole subplot with Rad that's basically cut out of the Armada version of this episode, in which he's skittish and unsure about the whole idea of the kids going on missions with the Autobots at all. Alexis and Carlos argue that the Autobots will be protecting them, and that they need the kids there to help teach them about Earth; Rad isn't convinced, but doesn't really have any more points to argue on, and is reduced to throwing out the length of time it'll take to reach Big Canyon as a final attempt to convince them not to go. In Armada, the travel time is all he's actively concerned about, and Alexis and Carlos's counter-arguments are turned into them pointing out that if it's going to take a long time, they need to hurry up and leave.
- Following the team's arrival at Big Canyon, Armada launches into an extended speech from Optimus Prime about splitting up and searching full of time-filling dialogue. In Micron Legend, additional lines are given to Red Alert as he tries to scan further for the Mini-Con, and his failure to do so is what prompts Optimus's decision to have the group split up.
- Optimus instructs Rad to ride with Hot Shot in Armada, but in Micron Legend, he just asks him to wait at their present location while he surveys ahead. That's why Hot Shot drives off without him, which looks like a d**k move in Armada that it's not intended to be.
- In the Japanese version of the Decepticons' first scene, the villains are tracking the Autobots' movements, with Starscream advocating a quick strike (targeting Optimus because he lacks a Mini-Con of his own), and Megatron calmly informing his men that they can take their time. Cyclonus laughs at Starscream's impetuousness, telling him that it is the reason he has not acquired a personal Mini-Con, prompting an angry response that Megatron quickly shuts down, putting Starscream in his place by assigning him the role of back-up in the coming battle. In the English dub, on the other hand, Megatron is the one to urge the Decepticons to move quickly as he talks about how time is "running out," while the other characters just spout generic dialogue about the power of Mini-Cons and what they'll accomplish with them. Starscream's anger toward Cyclonus is reimagined as him pre-emptively claiming ownership of the next Mini-Con they find, and Megatron's following dialogue is just more generic "power of the Mini-Cons/crush the Autobots" filler.
- As Rad sits on his own, Micron Legend carries on its subplot by giving him a moment of self-reflection, as he accepts that maybe he was being a bit over-cautious earlier in the episode. Armada just has him huff about being abandoned.
- After Alexis and Hot Shot return, Alexis's whole attitude is different between the two versions of the show. In Armada, she says she got a little carried away by the speed and power of Hot Shot's vehicle mode. In Micron Legend, on the other hand, it turns out Hot Shot is actually not very good at off-roading, and the experience was not fun for her at all. The following scene of the two kids panicking as Hot Shot roars across the landscape with them inside him has Hot Shot laughing and joking in Armada, but grumbling about the terrain in Micron Legend, and trying to get the humans to quiet down. In-keeping with how the episode is presenting Rad, the Japanese version has Rad keep stammering and repeating "Wait a second!" and Alexis telling him to knock it off.
- Micron Legend has Carlos compare riding off-road with Red Alert to riding a bucking bronco, and Red asks him to explain what that is. Armada replaces this exchange with Red expressing concern for Carlos's safety, and Carlos assuring him he can handle a few bumps. Subsequently, when Red transforms to robot mode, Carlos questions why they have to stop, and Red explains that the only way he can progress is on foot—a conversation that Armada strangely distorts into Carlos asking Red if transforming hurts, and Red telling him that Transformers do not "feel" pain as humans know it.
- The changes the Armada dub makes to Hot Shot's offroading capability somewhat obfuscates the fact that when he pops his claws and screeches to a halt in front of the crevice, he has in fact almost uncontrollably driven into it and has only managed to save himself by using his claws as emergency breaks. Right after this, Micron Legend has Rad chastize Hot Shot for not listening to him and driving more carefully, following which he deploys Laserbeak to map the area so they can identify a smoother path. Armada changes this to have Rad instruct Hot Shot to "turn on his locator" to search for the Mini-Con, and sends Laserbeak to scan for it from the air.
- While Armada has Alexis chuckle at the prospect of telling Carlos about how Rad was panicking during Hot Shot's wild ride, Micron Legend has her amused at how Rad has proved his usefulness and finally got beyond saying "Wait a second!" over and over. Rad is unsure whether to take it as a compliment or not.
- Continuing on from the earlier change about Laserbeak's purpose, Armada plays Hot Shot and the kids as following Laserbeak, who has detected the Mini-Con's location, instead of just using him to ascertain where the easiest places to drive are. As such, the conversation that follows during the drive differs between versions; Micron Legend has Rad continue urging Hot Shot to be careful, while the groups talks about how they need to figure out a way to get to the bottom of the canyon and search there; while Armada has them worrying about the Decepticons beating them to the Mini-Con, and Hot Shot running out of fuel before they get there.
- When the scene cuts to Optimus following Hot Shot, Rad, and Alexis's discovery, Armada has Optimus tells the Mini-Cons that a transmission from Hot Shot is coming through. In Micron Legend, he just asks the small 'bots to continue searching, unaware of Hot Shot's impending message until it arrives. Further, Micron Legend has Optimus get ready to head to Hot Shot's location, while in Armada, he instead chooses to standby and wait for updates.
- In Armada, Carlos complains to Red Alert about getting lost; in Micron Legend, he's griping about "losing" to Hot Shot in the Mini-Con hunt.
- As Hot Shot and the kids head down to the Mini-Con panel, Micron Legend has Hot Shot continue to complain about the rough terrain, while Rad notes that it can't be avoided now. Conversely, in Armada, Rad tells him it is okay to open up and drive roughly, as if the terrain is smooth.
- When the Decepticons arrive, Armada cuts out a whole plot element from the Micron Legend version. When Rad notices that Cyclonus is toying with them rather than finishing them off directly, he gets the idea to have Hot Shot lure the Decepticon away. They radio Red Alert and Carlos and get them to do the same with Demolishor, keeping both 'Cons distracted so Optimus can run up the middle and get to the panel. But when Optimus arrives at the panel's location, Megatron appears, not having been fooled by the Autobots' distraction tactics. Armada just erases this entire idea, with the Autobots talking all the way through the scene as if Optimus is on the way to back up the others, and Optimus being confused when he arrives at the panel site and they're not there.
- Just before Optimus heads into action, he has the Mini-Cons disembark. Micron Legend has him tell them to get to safety, while Armada has him suggest they help out Red Alert and Hot Shot.
- Before launching his grapple line, Armada has Red Alert tell Carlos to "open his door," setting up the visual of the door opening and the line launching from it. But because Red is, of course, perfectly capable of opening his own door without Carlos doing it for him, Micron Legend naturally just has him telling Carlos to hold onto something.
- Armada has Megatron claim that Optimus didn't know about his Mini-Con, Leader-1, which is nonsense, because he used him in the field in the previous episode for Optimus to see clearly. In Micron Legend, Megatron is simply talking about how it is time to end the fight.
- When Rad calls out just before the Mini-Cons combine, he cries Optimus's name in Micron Legend, but High Wire's in Armada.
- It is Alexis who notices the panel activating behind Optimus in Armada, but Rad who does so in Micron Legend.
- As with Megatron and Leader-1 in "Metamorphosis," the Armada dub inserts the explicit idea that Optimus Prime and Sparkplug were partners in the past.
- In Micron Legend, Hot Shot radios for help to get the others to come and haul him out from the rocks he is stuck between, but in Armada, Rad radios on his behalf.
- Rad's closing narration is totally different between versions. In Micron Legend, it's a thematic tie-up to his subplot, as Rad reflects on his earlier hesitancy, and how he has come to realize that, in times of great need—as exemplified by the Mini-Cons' spontaneous combination—one's body will act without thinking in defense of one's comrades. In Armada, he delivers some generic gush about how the fight was scary but they won, and that teamwork is great.
- In the final scene, Armada adds the idea that Starscream has been placed in detention as punishment for acting against orders. This causes Demolishor to ask Megatron why he chose such a harsh punishment, and Megatron responds with some rote villainous dialogue about anyone who defies him getting the same treatment, before segueing into blaming the Autobots for the day's loss. In Micron Legend, on the other hand, nothing has happened to Starscream; the final scene involves Demolishor asking Megatron what he thought it was that cost them their victory, and Megatron initially blames Starscream, before quietly remarking, no, it's the "small things" (the Mini-Cons) that will be his downfall if he continues to underestimate them.
Animation and technical errors
- When describing how amazing Hot Shot's abilities are, she calls him Hot Rod. Hot Rod is Hot Shot's Japanese name, and also a prominent Generation 1 character with whom Hot Shot shares several traits.
- Optimus Prime refers to his Mini-Con as Leader-1, which is the name of Megatron's Mini-Con. This mistake is repeated in Rad's closing narration.
Continuity Errors
- Megatron tells Optimus that he didn't know about his Mini-Con despite the fact that Megatron showed it to him an episode earlier.
Transformers references
- The sequence where Laserbeak flies over Hot Shot as the Autobot is driving along the Big Canyon's cliff edge is reminiscent of the scene in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" where Generation 1 Laserbeak chases after Hound and Cliffjumper.
Real-world references
- Optimus Prime's line "Engage the warp drive!" is a reference to Star Trek.
Trivia
- The kanji 合体 would be pronounced as "gattai", a familiar enough word heard, while "shinka" is used for the kanji 進化.
- This episode marks the first time the Autobots use the warp gate facility to quickly travel from their base to a distant location.
- Though it's easy to imagine that "Big Canyon" is an Engrish-mistranslation of "Grand Canyon," as that's the kind of language mangling the Armada dub excelled in, nope, it's called "Big Canyon" in both Japanese and English.
- When the kids get inside Optimus' cabin, Carlos appears to sit on an armrest and does not put on a seatbelt.
- When Red Alert transforms into robot mode, it is the same stock animation seen in the climax of the second episode.
- Hot Shot reveals in this episode that he does not run on gasoline, but fuel cells. He also notes that he has a backup cell in his trunk.
- This episode marks the first in the relatively few times we see Optimus Prime and Megatron's flashy stock transformation sequences.
- Megatron's line "You have no way to stop us" was used in the Toonami commercial for the Armada series, which was aired before the series premiere. This commercial was also narrated by Generation 1 Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen.
- Why doesn't Hot Shot simply transform and climb over the rocks blocking him in?
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Kameraden" ("Comrades")
- Original airdate: 4 December 2003
Hungarian
- Title: "Fegyvertárs" ("Brother in Arms")
Polish
- Title: "Towarzysze" ("Comrade")
Korean
- Title: "합체! 마이크론" ("Combine! Micron")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 1 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Universal)
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Warner Music Video)
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)
