Escape From Earth
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| "Escape From Earth" | ||||||
| Production company | Allspark Animation | |||||
| Airdate | September 14, 2019 (Australia/NZ) | |||||
| Writer | Mae Catt | |||||
| Director | Jean Texier | |||||
| Animation studio | Boulder Media Studio | |||||
The Autobots have the Allspark! Now they just have to get it off Earth...
Synopsis
Optimus Prime runs through a corridor that suddenly morphs into a pit, sending him crashing to the floor below. As he rises, he is surprised to find himself staring at the back of his deceased mentor Alpha Trion. Attempts to speak with the shade go unanswered, and as Optimus tries to turn Alpha around he finds himself facing Alpha's back again. And again. And again. Horrified, Optimus cries out...
And twitches to Bumblebee's relief. As he and the others rush Optimus to medical, Grimlock contacts Ratchet to receive them. Meanwhile, Starscream regains consciousness to find himself in the Ark's brig, where Prowl welcomes him to his new home. Starscream's attempt to attack using the power of the AllSpark results in nothing but mocking laughter from Rack'n'Ruin, and as a furious Starscream blames Optimus for the loss of his power Prowl warns him that he'd better hope Optimus recovers.
Ratchet correctly diagnoses Optimus' condition as having something to do with the Matrix of Leadership since he can't find anything wrong physically, proven when Cheetor expresses confusion as to why the AllSpark can't heal him. Sure enough, Optimus finds himself floating and confronted by a gigantic image of the Matrix.
While Optimus is incapacitated, Hot Rod decides to carry out a plan Optimus had already developed earlier. With Grimlock acting as mission control, Prowl, Bumblebee and Cheetor, Windblade, Jetfire and Autobot soldier "Red Five" all prepare to launch shuttles, intent on carrying the AllSpark through the Space Bridge high above Earth and back to Cybertron. As the five shuttles launch, Windblade goes over the plan one more time: four of the five shuttles are decoys and only the one with the AllSpark needs to reach the Space Bridge. It's clear it's is a suicide mission, as Windblade notes to stop them, the Decepticons would have to destroy all five shuttles.
Aboard the Nemesis, Megatron is happy to oblige and orders the Nemesis to take off in pursuit. Quickly catching up, the Nemesis deploys fighters in pursuit of the Autobots. The "battle" is as short as it is one-sided, as despite being able to take out a number of Decepticon fighters one-by-one the Autobot shuttles are destroyed. Jetfire and Windblade as the last to perish at the cannons of the Nemesis...
Or so it appears. With their remote controlled shuttles destroyed and the Decepticons suitably distracted with sifting the debris for the AllSpark, Hot Rod gives the order for the Ark to launch. Teletraan-X soon reports that the Ark is on a direct course to the Space Bridge and then to Cybertron. As the Autobots cheer, Bumblebee wishes Optimus could be celebrating with them. Optimus has his own concerns, however, for he is being drawn into the gigantic Matrix before him and vanishes into it as the talisman slams shut.
Shockwave reports that the AllSpark is not aboard any of the destroyed shuttles, but as Megatron comes to terms with this news not all is lost for the Decepticon cause: Sky-Byte, not fooled by the Autobot ploy, has launched a one-robot assault on the Ark. While he inflicts damage onto the bridge, Grimlock manages to knock the shark off the ship. But Sky-Byte has bought time for the Nemesis to arrive, and the Ark is soon bombarded by the warship's full destructive power.
As the smaller ship crumbles under firepower of the Nemesis, Starscream demands to speak to Cheetor, urging him to use the AllSpark. Seeing little choice, Cheetor obliges, the artifact repairing all the damage sustained thus far and restoring the Ark to pristine shape. With this second wind, the Ark outpaces the Nemesis and heads right for the Space Bridge.
An infuriated Megatron declares the Autobots must not use the Space Bridge, an assessment Shockwave agrees with as he promptly presses a button and causes the Space Bridge to explode. The stunned Autobots are shaken out of their despair by Optimus' return to the bridge. Taking his place on the captain's seat, he orders Teletraan-X to set course for Cybertron and the Ark quickly heads into deep space.
Meanwhile, Megatron demands to know why Shockwave resorted to destroying the Space Bridge, only for the cyclopean scientist to reply that he hadn't and that the Autobots had been fooled by his hard-light holograms. A pleased Megatron congratulates Shockwave and gives the order for the Nemesis to pass through the Space Bridge, intent on "welcoming" the Autobots when they reach Cybertron...
Featured characters
Characters in italic text appear only in dream sequences.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"The Decepticons will have to destroy us all if they want to stop us!"
"Destroy them all!"
- — Windblade and Megatron engage in a bit of comedic timing.
"Did you really think your ploy would fool me?"
- — Sky-Byte expresses his criticism of the Autobot decoy tactic.
Notes
Continuity notes
- Earth's space bridge was repaired and claimed by the Decepticons in "The Extinction Event."
- Wheeljack was trying to make the Ark space-worthy in "The Visitor." Evidently he got the Mega Fuel working.
Transformers references
Real-world references
- An Optimus experiencing visions from the Matrix following a near-death experience? Where has that been seen before?
- The red generic is referred to as "Red Five" and declares he is "standing by". This is a reference to the original Star Wars film, where Luke Skywalker went by the same callsign and said the same line during the attack run on the Death Star.
Trivia
Animation and technical errors
Foreign localization
Home video releases
- TBA
