Cramp
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| "Cramp" (Shinnen) "Prepared for Death: Conviction" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-48 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | September 29, 2003 (English, United Kingdom) 28 November 2003 (Japanese) December 8, 2003 (English, United States) | |||||
| Writer | Akira Okeya | |||||
| English adaptation | Terry Klassen | |||||
| Director | Osamu Kamijō, Mitsuru Kawasaki (asst. dir.) | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
Starscream prepares to do whatever it takes to convince Galvatron the threat of Unicron is real.
Synopsis
Starscream pleads to Galvatron, hoping to convince his leader that the threat of Unicron is real (as Starscream has first hand experience in the beast's bowels) and that perhaps an alliance between the Autobots and Decepticons is the safest course to ensure the survival of Cybertron. When Starscream refuses to stop pleading, Galvatron slaps his subordinate into a wall to silence him. The Decepticon leader is confident his military can overcome both the Autobots and Unicron. Starscream continues to stress the danger of Unicron, and Galvatron starts to swing his Star Saber.
The Autobots are still optimistic, believing there's a chance a diplomatic conference could lead to a truce between the two sides. Which means the Autobots can't take aggressive action against the Decepticons, only defensive. Galvatron, armed with the Star Saber and Tidal Wave, flies into battle, ready to negotiate with Optimus Prime using firepower. Prime responds by combining with Jetfire and Overload and heading away from the thick of the battle.
By a monolithic statue of Megatron, Starscream wonders who is he is and what he needs to do. Alexis's words of encouragement run through his head.
Away from the armies, Galvatron and Optimus Prime send their men away, leaving the two leaders to battle one on one. Through the battle, Galvatron admits that he still considers Unicron to be an Autobot hoax, and with the Star Saber, he has the upper hand against Prime. As soon as Megatron breaks Prime's metal, an explosion disturbs the showdown. Starscream walks from the smoke.
The rest of the Autobots are struggling to hold their ground, unable to cause any real damage to the Decepticons. Alexis has faith that things will be okay. Thousands of miles away, Unicron's lunar shell peels off and the behemoth attacks the assembled Mini-Con cluster.
Starscream quits the Decepticons and challenges Galvatron to one-on-one combat. The two clash, quickly cutting into each other. Starscream displays a show of skill beyond the last time he battled Megatron. Lightning from Unicron carves into the landscape, but the two warriors ignore the weather and continue their struggle. But in an instant, the Star Saber plunges into Starscream's torso, and the impaled Decepticon falls.
Lying with the blade sticking out of him, Starscream speaks earnestly to Galvatron, pointing out that it was Megatron's own arrogance that drove the situation to be what it is. Despite his injury, Starscream stands up and reiterates his wishes for a truce between the two Cybertronian factions against Unicron. His final wish said, Starscream joins with his Mini-Con to fire his Proton cannons upwards at Unicron. Unicron fires back, disintegrating Starscream, much to both Galvatron and Optimus's shock.
Realizing that Starscream was right about the threat of Unicron, Galvatron remembers all the experiences he had with him, and finally decides to join forces with Optimus Prime. He starts off by offering the Star Saber to Optimus.... BUT from the crater Starscream died in, a dark cloud emerges and grabs the Star Saber! The cloud forms into Sideways, who escapes the two leaders and escapes through the underground portal, making sure to collapse them so he can't be followed. Upon witnessing Sideways's escape, Optimus and Galvatron fear for the worst to come.
Aboard the Axalon, Alexis's luck charm breaks, and she runs outside to look out the window just to see Starscream's laser blast fade away. Hearing news of Starscream's death over the video screen, the kids become sad, most notably Alexis, who begins crying. She runs out of the room and slams her fist on the window that displays Unicron, in grief. When Rad appears behind her, she smacks his shoulders with her hands, asking why Starscream would do that. Rad does his best to try and console her.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons | Other |
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Quotes
"How long have we been adversaries, Optimus? It seems like since the beginning of time. And I suppose I do have a certain respect for you but I digress, you might have fooled Starscream with your little Truce ploy, but I am nobody's fool. Now let's end this charade, shall we?"
- —Galvatron faces off against Optimus Prime in the 'negotiations'.
"May I suggest that you have lost your mind?!"
- —Galvatron to Starscream, who has just challenged him to a duel.
"I tried to gain favour from you. But nothing was ever good enough. No matter how many battles I fought, you always found fault. Then I saw how Optimus treated his men, and I realized he was a leader of integrity. Unlike you."
"You were too weak to ever gain my respect."
"None of that matters now. You must listen — do as Optimus says and join forces with the Autobots, or else every last one of us is doomed! Please sir... do it for me..."
- —Starscream pours his spark out to Galvatron after being impaled by the Star Saber
Notes
Differences with Micron Legend
- In earlier episodes of Micron Legend, the title card usually shows up with Optimus against a white background. There's no title card in this episode; instead, the title appears over Starscream.
- Just before Galvatron impales Starscream, the animation is tweaked to make it clear the latter "switched off" his sword, having no intention of blocking the fatal blow. The two of them don't exchange any jibes here, they just say each other's names, and Galvatron kneels, realizing what Starscream has done.
- Starscream's final moments are subtly different between the two versions:
- Micron Legend has Starscream admire Galvatron as an ultimate warrior who he could never hope to beat. Galvatron acknowledges Starsceam's grown power while being visibly perplexed by his actions. After Starscream's demise, Galvatron has a montage of memories about Starscream's different moments of pleading and boasting throughout the series.
- In Armada, Starscream talks about his desperation to gain Galvatron's favor, while comparing him to Optimus as an unintegral leader (a monologue played again during the montage). Galvatron is more verbally hostile towards Starscream, calling him being too weak to be worthy of respect.
- The scenes of the kids reacting to the news of Starscream's death are silent.
Animation and technical errors
- In the first scene of the episode, Demolishor has four fingers and one thumb on each hand.
- When Hoist warns Blurr not to fire upon the Decepticons except in self-defense, Blurr's entire gun is colored one solid shade of orange.
- Jetfire shoots Tidal Wave in the eye...with the back of his rifle?
- As Megatron slaps Starscream during their duel, his right hand is drawn as a normal hand instead of its regular claw-looking design.
- Wheeljack says, "What's happening?" in Demolishor's voice.
Transformers references
- Starscream's death by crumbling into a pile of debris is very similar to the death scene of Generation 1 cartoon continuity Starscream's in The Transformers: The Movie.
- Many parts of Galvatron and Starscream's speeches are quotes from The Touch, like 'I'm nobody's fool' (see above), or Starscream's 'after all is said and done'.
Real-world references
- Fred's "The horror!" line is from Heart of Darkness, the novel adapted into the film Apocalypse Now.
- Galvatron gives Starscream one last chance not to fight, and when Starscream declines, Galvatron's, "Is that your final answer?" line might be a reference to Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?.
Trivia
- The English-language version of "Cramp" first aired in the United Kingdom on the Sky One channel, at the time the network was running a round-the-clock promotion of American magician/"endurance artist" David Blaine's controversial London stunt, complete with an obnoxious DAVID BLAINE on-screen overlay. It aired in the United States on December 8, 2003.
- Optimus calls Starscream's Mini-Con Swindle instead of Zapmaster. So logically, this means that Swindle received a color-change like Starscream did (instead of Starscream exchanging his Mini-Con for a new one in different colors).
- This is the first time Optimus combines with Overload in Jet Optimus configuration with Jetfire, with bonus stock transformation footage. However, Optimus combines with Jetfire to begin with only to fly a relatively short distance, making the combination with Overload pretty much pointless other than just to show that they can.
- Starscream's photon cannon blasts don't even make it all the way up to Unicron. You can see them dissipate before Alexis's eyes before they reach him. Most heart-wrenching suicide ever?
- Starscream's sword is surprisingly powerful in this episode, being durable enough to clash with Star Saber itself without any kind of visible damage. Due to the upgrade he received after his skidplate was kicked by Nemesis Prime? Nah.
- Tidal Wave is also significantly smaller and weaker than previously depicted. Jetfire, shown not much smaller than Tidal Wave, in a single movement, shoulder-blocks and lifts off with him.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Das Friedensangebot" ("Peace-Offering")
- Original airdate: 12 January 2004
Hungarian
- Title: "Párbaj" ("Duel")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:14 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Micron Legend — Volume 12 (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)
