Swoop (episode)

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The name or term "Swoop" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swoop (disambiguation).
« Transformers: Armada ep 13 »

Sadly, Swoop received no royalties for this episode.
"Swoop"
聖剣 (つるぎ)
(Tsurugi)
"Holy Sword: Sword"
Production code TF: A-13
Production company TV Tokyo, NAS
Airdate November 29, 2002 (English)
4 April 2003 (Japanese)
Writer Isao Shizuya
Director Masayuki Motsumoto
Animation studio Actas Inc.
Continuity Unicron Trilogy

The Decepticons, intent on completing the Star Saber, invade the Autobot base.

Synopsis

"It says here the Dow Jones is down by 100 points!"

Patrolling the skies, Cyclonus searches for the exact position of the Autobot base, for which the Mini-Con Sonar was able to determine the general location. Demolishor is surprised that Megatron can understand the Mini-Cons' language. Cyclonus finds the base, and Megatron, having gained another advantage, has a hearty laugh.

Within the Autobot base, Alexis, Carlos and Rad start to give Billy and Fred the grand tour. But before the two can be shown around, an alarm goes off, and Alexis, Carlos, and Rad rush to the control room, abandoning their friends. Billy has the brilliant idea for himself and Fred to explore. Meanwhile, Optimus notes that a warp gate has opened within the base.

NUTSHOT!

Megatron and the Decepticons, along with Sonar, arrive in the Autobot base and are soon caught on security cameras. Red Alert activates some defense devices built into the base by Hot Shot. Billy, hopelessly lost as Fred predicted they would be, concedes that his navigational skills have failed him. The Decepticons walk by, not noticing the humans, and come under attack from the defense lasers, unwittingly putting the two humans into danger. Optimus characteristically orders a ceasefire, and Megatron assumes it must be a system malfunction and presses forward.

Megatron is really happy to see Hot Shot!

Red Alert determines that the Decepticons are tracking the Mini-Con storage panels containing the other two Star Saber Mini-Cons, and Hot Shot eagerly rushes to confront them. Optimus takes the panels elsewhere, drawing the Decepticons away from the control room. Alexis then uses the room's computer to track Billy and Fred's movements.

Hot Shot, on his own, attacks the Decepticons, but Megatron uses his antlers to grab Hot Shot's head, suspend the Autobot in the air, and then toss him aside. The other Autobots arrive, and Smokescreen activates a screen—of smoke!—to allow them to fall back into a separate chamber. By the time the Decepticons blast through the door, they only see Hot Shot drive away.

Out you pixies go, through the door or through the window!

The Autobots use the chase to isolate each member of the Decepticons from the rest. Smokescreen is able to lasso Demolishor. Red Alert baits Starscream into a hall of mirrors, his reflected taunts leading the seeker into a trap pit.

The three friendly human kids find their two jerky peers, and Cyclonus finds all five of them. The Decepticon intends to capture and ransom them for the Mini-Cons, but they use the Autobots' warp gate to teleport Cyclonus to some place far away.

You gotta eat lightning and crap thunder!

Megatron, the only Decepticon left, is double-teamed by Optimus and Hot Shot, but the skirmish leads to Megatron holding his cannon right up to Hot Shot's face. Sonar awakens his brethren, and Megatron seizes the Star Saber. But just as he holds his new weapon in the air, Optimus blasts it out of Megatron's hands, directly into Hot Shot's.

Megatron links with Leader-1 and offers Hot Shot one last chance to reconsider his side, which Hot Shot refuses. Megatron opens fire. The torrent of energy blasts blows back Hot Shot, but the coaching of his human friends gives him the inspiration he needs to use the Star Saber to resist Megatron's gunfire. After Hot Shot gets close enough to slice off one of Megatron's antlers, the Decepticon leader orders an immediate withdrawal.

Optimus lets Hot Shot keep possession of the Star Saber, and the children celebrate this victory. On the moon, Megatron wishes revenge so hard it hurts.

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots Decepticons Humans Mini-Cons

Quotes

"Maybe they ran out of ammo."
"Lasers don't run out of ammo!"

—Cyclonus and Starscream trade ideas on why the automatic defenses have stopped shooting.


"Man, that laugh of yours is really annoying."

—Hot Shot to Megatron.


"Try and download THIS!"

—Hot Shot risks attacking Megatron with a bad computer pun.


Billy: "Cyclo-butt!"
Fred: "That's Cyclonapus!"
Cyclonus: "It's Cyclonus!"
Billy: "...Thanks for clearing that up, mister."
Fred: "You have a nice day!"

—Billy, Fred, and Cyclonus in a rare purposeful Armada name mix-up


"Time for a SYSTEM CRASH!"

—Lame computer pun #2 from Hot Shot as he tackles Megatron.


Megatron: "Yes, this is more like it, I'm going to pixelate every one of you Autobots."
Optimus: "He's out of control."
Megatron: "Now you will do as I say, hand over all your Mini-Cons to me, or I'll have no choice but to re-format your friend's memory bank."
Hot Shot: "You... won't get anything from me!"
Megatron: "Then I'll have to execute your program."

—Megatron gets computer-pun vengeance on Optimus Prime and Hot Shot.


"For the last time: Access denied."

—Hot Shot tries something different for rejecting Megatron's offer of allegiance: a computer pun!

Notes

Differences with Micron Legend

  • In the opening scene in Armada, Cyclonus and Demolishor just generally moan about the Autobot base being hard to find; in Micron Legend, Cyclonus is complaining about Blackout's search capabilities, and Demolishor defends his Mini-Con partner.
  • Instead of claiming that Sonar detecting the Autobots, Micron Legend has Megatron say that Sonar detects the dormant Runway and Jetstorm.
  • Rather than asking Demolisher if he can understand the Mini-Con language as well, Megatron says "You idiot! Can you even sense the atmosphere in here?" Cutting to Starscream, he says Demolisher is "too dense to get it"; in Armada, Megatron asks if Demolisher can understand the Mini-Cons himself and the latter sheepishly replies that he can. Then Starscream mockingly says Demolisher is lying.
  • Starscream receives the warp coordinates from Cyclonus in Micron Legend instead of those for the Autobot base as in Armada.
  • In Armada, after finding the Autobot base, Megatron stops laughing before the scene cuts away to the shot of the Moon and Earth; in Micron Legend, his laugh is heard during both scenes just before the title card and it sounds louder and more diabolical.
  • In Armada, Fred worryingly tells Carlos he's not a fan of surprises but Micron Legend has him ask Carlos if the more surprising part of the Autobot base is coming up in an excited tone.
  • In Micron Legend, the children don't seem to see nor react to the holographic projection of the Star Saber, and Carlos continues Billy and Fred's tour of the base but the Armada dubbing team seems to misinterpret this as the Autobots deactivating some kind of force field.
  • In Micron Legend, instead of Billy deciding he and Fred should explore the base on their own, he says they should look for the others. Then Fred makes the point of their troubles worsening each time he listens to Billy.
  • Arriving in the Autobot base, Cyclonus mocks the security system. In Micron Legend, he gleefully says he's going to trash the place. After Megatron tells him to focus on the mission, Cyclonus says "You're no fun at all."
  • In Micron Legend, Hot Shot explains that Smokescreen and Red Alert installed the Autobot base's new internal defenses. In Armada, he claims to have invented and installed it himself.
  • Instead of Billy not knowing where they are in the base, he says he forgot where the exit is.
  • When Billy and Fred see the Decepticons in the base, Micron Legend has Billy mistake Megatron's name for "Mega-Shield" before Fred says, "No, you mean Megafrog!". In Armada, Billy says the "Megafrog" and it's the only one used.
  • In Armada, Megatron asks Sonar to locate the other Mini-Cons when the scene is focused on Billy and Fred and the scene of Sonar pointing the way is silent. In Micron Legend, as Sonar points ahead, Megatron says "I see, so it's the way, then?" as internal monologue.
  • When the defense systems cease fire, Megatron rationalizes it as a systems malfunction. In Micron Legend, he sort of just accepts it.
  • Hot Shot doesn't say that the Decepticons know where they are and want a fight in Armada but asks why they're coming towards the Command Center.
  • In Micron Legend, Hot Shot storms off determined to take Sonar from the Decepticons; in Armada he seeks to punish them for intruding into the base.
  • Cyclonus doesn't crack a joke about the Mini-Cons (or Autobots?) getting scared and running but talks about Sonar detecting the other Star Saber Mini-Cons and laughs. This makes more sense in Micron Legend as Hot Shot mocks Cyclonus' laugh and says that "tasteless laughing" is forbidden in the base. Armada has Hot Shot comment on Cyclonus' laugh being annoying even though the latter barely laughed a moment ago, and the Autobot tells the Decepticons to leave since trespassers are taken very seriously there.
  • In Micron Legend, Megatron acknowledges Hot Shot, who then says that "persistent fools" also aren't allowed in the base, and demands Megatron to hand over Sonar.
  • In Armada, after Megatron drops Hot Shot after grabbing him with his horns, the shot of his horns isn't animated showing them returning to normal size as well as they are in Micron Legend in which the horns are actually shown shrinking down.
  • After Cyclonus fails to transform in the corridor, Starscream says "Looks like sensing the atmosphere is too much for you as well", harkening back to what Megatron said to Demolisher on the Moon.
  • When they split up in Micron Legend, Demolisher and Starscream call out for Megatron, and the internal monologue belongs to Demolisher instead of Starscream. In Armada, Starscream thinks about taking the Min-Cons for himself but Demolisher thinks to himself that finding the Mini-Cons should take priority over Megatron, and Starscream is being "overly loyal".
  • In Armada, after Starscream falls for the first part of Red Alert's trap, he finds himself facing another false reflection of the Autobot. Micron Legend makes the scene more elaborate as Starscream finds himself in a room reminiscent of an infinity mirror room, with the Decepticon facing multiple reflections of himself. In Armada, Red Alert is in the foreground with Starscream in the background, and in Micron Legend, Starscream is in Red Alert's position. In addition, when Starscream shoots the glass, he is visible in Armada and he isn't in Micron Legend. His reflection also appears on the glass in the Japanese version.
  • In Armada, it looks as though Starscream's mouth not moving when he yells at Red Alert upon being trapped looks like an animation mistake. This is because his line is spoken too early. The Japanese version has Starscream say his line as he looks up at Red Alert. At the end of this scene, Red Alert line isn't about the Mini-Con panel being a fake, instead, he tells Starscream to sit quietly.
  • Micron Legend has Fred and Billy wondering if the Autobots or other kids will return for them instead of the Decepticons.
  • Armada has Carlos telling Billy and Fred that hanging out with him, Rad, and Alexis will bring many surprises. Micron Legend has him say that they had to stop the Decepticons from finding the Mini-Cons they came from. The Japanese version also doesn't have the classic "trouble just around the corner" joke that Armada has when Cyclonus finds the kids; instead, he muses about finding something new to play with.
  • After Cyclonus sets the record straight with Billy and Fred about his name, Fred and Billy say "Yes, Sandstorm-sama! Forget about that! Run for it!"
  • In Armada, Cyclonus plans to capture the humans and ransom them for the Mini-Cons, whereas in Micron Legend he chases them thinking they'll lead him straight to Hot Shot. Cyclonus is really stupid in thinking he can capture the kids and trade them for the Mini-Cons in Armada, after all, he already tried that four episodes ago!
  • After Rad tells the other kids to hide in Micron Legend, he has an extra line where he says he has an idea on how to get rid of Cyclonus.
  • In Armada, Cyclonus claims his sensors can detect the children's body heat. This detail isn't in Micron Legend.
  • In Armada, as he's being electrocuted, Megatron claims he will destroy the base and everyone in it. In Micron Legend, he says to Optimus and Hot Shot, "Don't underestimate me... I'll show you just why I'm Megatron-sama, the Emperor of Destruction!" A classic nod to the nefarious title from Transformers lore.
  • In the scene of Megatron shooting up the base, he looks superimposed because the poles on either side of him are so close together that his hands aren't clasped around them. Another mistake that Micron Legend fixes.
  • Instead of Megatron's computer pun about "pixelating" the Autobots, he says "A worthless trick like this can't even be called a trap!"
  • With Hot Shot at Megatron's mercy, Optimus says Hot Shot's name in a more urgent tone than he does in Armada.
  • In Armada, Megatron reacts with a gleeful "That's it!" as the Air Defense Mini-Con Team begins their combination. In Micron Legend, he reacts with a surprised "What!?" line instead, as if not knowing the three Mini-Cons would combine into a sword; after the Star Saber is formed, Megatron says "So this is the legendary power?!" instead of smugly claiming ownership of the Star Saber.
  • After Hot Shot catches the Star Saber, Megatron demands him to return it, rambling about being the most powerful Transformer worthy of it, with Optimus yelling for Hot Shot to strike in the dub. In Micron Legend, Megatron calls Leader-1 to combine for his Full Blast Mode, following with Optimus yelling at Hot Shot to look out.
  • Armada has Megatron give Hot Shot a proposal of allowing him to join the Decepticons by returning the Star Saber with the latter denying the offer and trying to attack, only to be pushed back, then thinking to himself about having to resist Megatron's power. In Micron Legend, Megatron mocks the Autobot for being weak and unable to protect Optimus, which provokes Hot Shot to attack, and he silently grunts to himself after falling back.
  • In the shot where Rad is instructing Hot Shot to use the Star Saber, his eyes are drawn looking at the upper right corner of the screen, while the other kids are looking straight towards the camera in Armada. The Japanese version of the shot is fixed to have the other kids looking in the same direction as him. However, the other kids' bodies are still positioned towards the screen instead of towards the right like Rad's.
  • After Rad speaks to Hot Shot, Leader-1 is miscolored purple to match Megatron. Just before Hot Shot charges at Megatron, Leader-1's coloration is corrected in Micron Legend but not in Armada.
  • The Japanese version adds a dramatic echo effect to the end of Megatron's line before Hot Shot charges at him. Then it takes a couple of seconds for Hot Shot to connect with the Star Saber, instead of a split-second as he does in Armada.
  • While Hot Shot uses the Star Saber to block his attack, Micron Legend has Megatron reveling the sword's power and desiring it to be his more than ever; Armada has him taken aback by the Autobot's ability to control the weapon.
  • In Armada, after Hot Shot slices Megatron, the Decepticon leader threatens that the Autobot will soon run out of luck; in Micron Legend, he instead reacts in shock to his horn being cut off.
  • In Micron Legend, Starscream proclaims that he finally managed to climb out of the Autobots' trap mere seconds before being ordered to retreat.
  • In Armada, after the Decepticons retreat, Hot Shot thinks to himself how intense it was using the Star Saber.
  • Instead of referring to Megatron as "Megatroy" before finally being corrected by Carlos, Micron Legend has Fred once again call the Decepticon leader "Megafrog".
  • Alexis delivers the ending narration instead of Rad in the Japanese version.
  • In Micron Legend, Megatron's damaged horn is shown being repaired. He is shown with a new horn immediately in Armada.

Animation and technical errors

  • While searching for the Autobot base in the opening scene, Cyclonus' canopy is missing.
  • Megatron's throne is off-model.
  • During the close-up of Sonar sitting upon Megatron's arm, Megatron's entire arm is miscolored red. It's fixed and recolored gray in Micron Legend.
  • After finding the Autobot base, the extreme close-up of Megatron's face is reused footage from when he appears on Earth in "First Encounter" except the colors aren't updated to match his new appearance.
  • When Runway and Jetstorm react to Sonar's proximity by projecting an image of the Star Saber, Carlos reacts to it by saying "Hey! The Autobots shut off the force field! Follow me, you guys!" This is presumably an error, as there was no force field present.
  • After Megatron warps into the Autobot base and instructs Sonar to find his partners, one of Sonar's chest panels is miscolored yellow.
  • Before running off to find the Decepticons, Hot Shot says, "You watch, I'll show them what it means to break into our face" No doubt this is meant to be "base".
  • After Red Alert says, "Now, Smokescreen" (signaling Smokescreen to release the smokescreen), Smokescreen is missing his antenna/horn. It proceeds to vanish and reappear in the scenes after as well.
  • After failing to transform in the corridor, Cyclonus is colored like Demolishor.
  • During a close-up of Megatron, the horn bits are clearly toggled back and forth to create the illusion of them extending. This is done clumsily, however, as the very tips of the horns are repeatedly poking in and out of the screen, so it just looks like Megatron is using them to rub his cheeks.
  • After being blasted by Megatron and Leader-1, Hot Shot's visor is briefly miscolored yellow instead of black.
  • Cyclonus says "I'll cut them off on the other side", but it is Starscream who then proceeds to do so while Cyclonus simply disappears.
  • There are multiple instances where Megatron's Decepticon symbols are missing, whether it is the one on his chest, the two on his shoulders, or all three.
  • Sonar disappears from Megatron's shoulder and reappears on it periodically.
  • During the scene where Megatron asks Sonar where the other Star Saber Mini-Cons are, he uses the singular pronoun "it" instead of the proper plural pronoun "them". This happens again when Megatron realizes that Optimus has the Mini-Cons.
  • After Megatron blasts the door, Cyclonus' chest has four windows on it instead of two.
  • After failing to transform in the corridor, Cyclonus is colored like Demolishor. This is corrected in Micron Legend.
  • After Starscream, Demolisher, and Cyclonus are seperated from Megatron, the Decepticon insignias on Starscream's wings are upside down.
  • When Smokescreen sneaks up behind Demolisher, it looks as if Demolisher is facing a long corridor despite being in front of a door a moment ago.
  • In the mirror room, Starscream strangely doesn't cast a reflection on any of the glass even after shooting it to pieces. Micron Legend fixes this.
  • In the scene of Rad telling Hot Shot to powerlinx with the Star Saber, the other kids look like low-quality static models compared to Rad. They also don't blink and look like lifeless dolls.
  • As he escapes from the pit just before the Decepticons retreat, the raised spots on Starscream arms are miscolored purple.

Trivia

  • The kanji 聖剣 would be pronounced as "seiken", while "tsurugi" is used for the kanji 剣.
  • Taking a wild stab in the dark, this episode was probably meant to named "Sword" instead of "Swoop", as the events of this episode have pretty much nothing to do with "swooping" and just about everything to do with a sword. This is supported by the episode's Japanese title. Guess someone goofed and wrote the wrong five-letter "Swo--" word. Oops.
  • This is the first episode in which the opening is narrated by Jim Conrad instead of Rad.
  • The establishing shot of the Autobot base is the same establishing shot seen in episode 5, "Soldier".
  • Did Billy and Fred really not realize the initial sirens going off inside the Autobot base meant danger? They can't be THAT clueless.
  • They also have weird difficulties remembering the names of the Decepticons, calling Megatron "Megafrog" (I mean, how would Fred associate Megs with frogs?) and later ”Megatroy”, and Cyclonus ”Cyclonopus", who quickly gets frustrated.
  • Megatron is shown being able to extend his horns, strong enough to grab and throw around other Transformers.
  • In Armada, it's revealed Hot Shot is responsible for the internal defense systems of the Autobot base, which explains a lot.
  • Smokescreen activates... a SMOKESCREEN! As his Japanese name is "Grap", this probably wasn't an intentional bit.
  • Starscream gets caught in Red Alert's trap kind of like another Starscream another time.
  • Cyclonus is really stupid in thinking he can capture the kids and trade them for the Mini-Cons, after all, he just did it!
  • Speaking of Cyclonus, this episode shows a rare moment of Crumplezone's cockpit mode combination with Cyclonus. At the same time, it's a moment of toy-inaccuracy as Blackout is somehow attached to Cyclonus's undercarriage.
  • The Decepticons apparently use paper.
  • When he resumes firing at Hot Shot, it's another time Megatron tells a character to "Go to the Pit!" in Micron Legend.

Foreign localization

German

  • Title: "Das Schwert der Mini-Cons" ("The Sword of the Mini-Cons")
  • 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: "Rajtaütés" ("Strike")


Polish

  • Title: "Uderzenie" ("Strike")

French

  • Title: "Une visite mouvementée" ("An Eventful Visit")

Korean

  • Title: "승리는 우리의 것" ("Victory is Ours")

Home video releases

All releases listed are in English audio unless otherwise noted.
DVD

Japan 2003 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 4 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
United States of America 2004 — Transformers: Armada — Best Of The Decepticons (Rhino Entertainment)
United States of America 2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
United Kingdom 2005 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:04 (Universal)
Germany 2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
United States of America 2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)

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