Threaten
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| "Threaten" (Hydra Cannon) "Threat: Hydra Cannon" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-38 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | August 18, 2003 (English, Canada) September 23, 2003 (Japanese) October 3, 2003 (English, United States) | |||||
| Writer | Shōji Tonoike | |||||
| English adaptation | Ward Perry | |||||
| Director | Masayuki Motsumoto | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
With the Star Saber, Skyboom shield and Requiem Blaster in their possession, the Decepticons combine the three weapons into the Hydra Cannon.
Synopsis
The kids are understandably upset that Starscream has betrayed them, taking the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield with him. Carlos and Billy both throw down the stones which the Decepticon had brought back from Mars. While Alexis and Rad both try to calm them, Fred drops his huge lump of rock and howls. Hot Shot silently leaves, watched by Optimus.
On the Moon, Megatron thanks Starscream for bringing him the two Mini-Con weapons, though Thrust wants to check they're real. Once Starscream hands them over, Megatron holds him at swordpoint before chuckling and suggesting the Decepticon take some time off. He then instructs Thrust to make sure the "project" is completed.
Side Swipe tries to interrupt Hot Shot's target practice, but is stopped by Jetfire, who suggests they let Hot Shot get it out of his system. Alexis also mopes and is comforted by Sureshock.
Demolishor, Wheeljack and Cyclonus are busy working on the Decepticon spaceship when Thrust lets them know he's going out. Starscream tails Thrust, dragging the Decepticon aside, but the pair have been seen by Demolishor, who hurries off to tell Megatron. Megatron is too busy admiring his new toys to care and tells Demolishor to get back to work. Starscream demands Thrust tell him what the mysterious project is, and Thrust is happy to enlighten him: They plan to harness the combined power of the three Mini-Con weapons. Once Thrust manages to convince Starscream that they're allies, Starscream leaves...and Sideways appears to congratulate Thrust on his performance.
The kids are all at home—Rad channel surfing, Carlos snoring, and Alexis pondering Starscream. At base, Hot Shot believes they should act now before the Decepticons attack. Jetfire thinks there's a way they can get the three weapons back, but Side Swipe reports that the Decepticon warp gate is locked tight. They realise that the only way to get there is via the spacecraft they've been working on, which means they have to finish it fast. Jetfire offers to pilot the ship, but Optimus wants him to stay behind due to his anger towards Starscream.
The Decepticon project is complete—the Hydra Cannon. Thrust explains it is named Hydra because it harnesses nine Mini-Cons, and the Hydra had nine heads. Megatron is keen to try it out, and Thrust suggests a test in space to avoid any risk to themselves.
The kids find the Autobots frantically working to complete their spaceship and wonder why they're in such a hurry to leave Earth. Hot Shot explains they're working to get back the Mini-Con weapons. The kids' conversation turns to Starscream, and they resolve not to talk about him again, though Rad observes that Alexis seems saddened by their comments. Fred announces that they should go see a comet. Rad apologises to Alexis, but she says she's OK.
The Decepticon spaceship launches from the Moon, but falters. Demolishor reports they don't have enough power to reach escape velocity, but they push the engines to maximum and are able to lift off. Thrust apologises that his calculations must have been inaccurate, and Megatron hopes that the calculations for the Hydra Cannon aren't so.
Kelly Bomgartner from Channel 4 is covering the comet and complains to her cameraman about the crowd of people. At the Cosmoscope Research Center, a couple of technicians look bored.
The Decepticons have also spotted the comet and decided it would make an excellent target for their testing of the Hydra Cannon. At Megatron's command, Starscream readies the cannon for firing. The front of the ship unfolds and the cannon extends.
Near the Autobot base, the five kids manage to spot the comet. Alexis, depressed, tells them she's going home, and is followed by Rad.
Starscream hits the big purple button to fire the cannon and, after an extended build-up of energy, a fiery beam erupts from the front of the ship. The Decepticons struggle to keep the ship from flying backwards from the recoil, then watch as the comet explodes in a blaze of light.
On Earth, the kids look up in shock as the sky lights up with the comet's destruction. The computers at the research center all shut down, and Kelly has to prompt her cameraman to point his camera in the right direction. The Autobots have seen the destruction too, and Side Swipe manages to locate the Decepticon ship. On the Moon, Sideways looks up at the devastation and laughs.
The Decepticons celebrate the success of their weapon, and Thrust suggests they return to Cybertron and conquer it. Megatron, however, says they have some unfinished business to take care of first and tells Starscream to target the Autobot base. Though Starscream points out that will destroy the entire Earth, Megatron is determined. They turn the ship towards Earth, and Starscream struggles to make a decision whether to save the Earth or obey his leader.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons | Misc |
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Quotes
"I've always been your ally, Starscream. I just had to hide it from the others so they wouldn't get suspicious."
- —Thrust is unconvincing to everyone but Starscream.
"Hot Shot has been more than a handful lately. Besides, don't give up on Starscream just yet. There's no doubt he's a hardened Decepticon, but he's still a Transformer. He still could come around, and I'm hoping that all Transformers will make peace with each other someday."
- —Optimus Prime, dreamer
"Throughout Human history, they believed a comet was a sign of bad luck, but good luck for us when we blow it to pieces!"
- —Thrust
Notes
Differences with Micron Legend
Animation and technical errors
- Megatron says Starscream has brought the three most powerful weapons with him, but Megatron already had the Requiem Blaster.
- Alexis is wearing long-sleeved pajamas, but in the closeup shot of the Mars rock on her desk, her arms are bare.
- In the high-shot of the Autobot control center, Side Swipe is miscoloured.
- Optimus says the energy wave which destroyed the comet came from the Moon when it came from the Decepticon ship.
- Thrust says the Autobot base is on the other side of the planet from them, but the comet was apparently visible from its location.
Continuity errors
- The Decepticons were building their spaceship long before they knew that the three Mini-Con weapons could combine into the Hydra Cannon, so how did they know to design the ship to accommodate it?
- Kelly calls her cameraman Jimmy in this episode, however he was called Roger in his previous appearance in "Vacation".
Continuity notes
- Kelly and her cameraman, as noted above, were previously introduced way back in "Vacation".
Trivia
- Alexis gets Sureshock's name right!
- For some reason, this was the only episode to not air in the usual Friday slot during Micron Densetsu's original run; rather, it aired on a Tuesday.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Die Drohung" ("The Threat")
- Original airdate: This episode was never shown on TV, but was dubbed in 2003. The dub premiered in 2009 with the German DVD release of the show.
Hungarian
- Title: "Fenyegetés" ("Threat")
Home video releases
- DVD
2004 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 10 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2006 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part Two (Rhino Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Armada — The Collector's Edition (Universal)
2009 — Transformers: Armada — Volume Two (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
