Comrade
| ||||||
 Commie bastards! | ||||||
| "Comrade" (Shinka) "Union: Evolution" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-04 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | September 20, 2002[1] (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 awakened. Hot Shot is eager to head directly to the area, but first, Alexis plugs her personal computer into the Autobot mainframe. 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 he 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 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. Rad is left 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 dispute 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 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 harsh. 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 and 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 again, 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 boasting about the inevitable nature of the Decepticon's conquest. Optimus rebukes with, "That's what you think!" Then Megatron unveils his Mini-Con, and, thanks to his aid, he succeeds 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 disable both Starscream and Megatron briefly.
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 he disciplined Starscream as per Megatron's instructions. But he is surprised that the chastisement is so severe. Megatron explains to his lackey that he uses 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
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 Legends of the Microns
- In Armada, Carlos cautions Hot Shot against rushing into action without a plan. In Legends of the Microns, his specific concern is that people will see the Transformers if they do so.
- Legends of the Microns has Alexis thank Sureshock for her help, while Armada has her voice her desire to head out on the mission.
- After the kids get their suits, Armada has Alexis address Optimus. In Legends of the Microns, she speaks to Red Alert instead, who has a line absent from Armada that explains the suits are protective gear to guard the kids against injury. Alexis's line to Rad about her uniform being a bit itchy is changed to her asking Rad what he's complaining about now.
- Armada removes a whole subplot involving Rad: He's nervous about heading out without enough information and unsure about the idea of the kids accompanying the Autobots on missions at all. Alexis and Carlos argue that the Autobots will protect them, and they need the kids to help teach them about Earth. Rad isn't convinced but doesn't have any more points to argue on, reduced to throwing out how it'll take a day to reach Big Canyon and bringing up home and school as a final attempt to make them reconsider. In Armada, the travel time is all he's worried about, and Alexis and Carlos's counterarguments turn into them saying that if it's going to take a while, they need to hurry and leave.
- When the kids get into Prime's cab, he asks them if they're done talking, and Alexis answers yes. Then as Rad talks to Alexis and Carlos just before launching, the Autobots have lines of dialogue that overlap with his.
- Following the team's arrival at Big Canyon, Armada launches into an extended speech from Optimus about splitting up and searching full of filler dialogue. In Legends of the Microns, 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. Carlos rides with Red Alert so he won't have to worry about feeling sick, referring to the warp. After Rad grumbles about Carlos not waiting for him, Alexis says they can ride in Hot Shot.
- Optimus instructs Rad to ride with Hot Shot in Armada, but in Legends of the Microns, Prime asks him to wait at their present location while he surveys ahead. This detail explains why Hot Shot drives off without Rad, which looks like a rude move in Armada when it's unintended to be. The Japanese dub also removes Rad calling out to the heavens as he does in Armada after being abandoned.
- In the Decepticons' first scene, they're tracking the Autobots' movements, with Starscream advocating a quick strike (targeting Optimus because he lacks a Mini-Con) and Megatron calmly informing his men they can take their time. Cyclonus laughs at Starscream's impetuousness, telling him that it's why he hasn't acquired a Mini-Con yet, prompting an angry response that Megatron quickly shuts down, putting Starscream in his place by assigning him the role of backup in the coming battle.
- As Rad sits all by his lonesome, Legends of the Microns carries on with its subplot by giving him a moment of introspection, as he accepts that maybe he was a bit overcautious earlier. Armada has him moan about being abandoned. After Alexis and Hot Shot return, Alexis's whole attitude is different between the two versions: In Armada, she says she got carried away by Hot Shot's speed and power; however, in Legends of the Microns, it turns out Hot Shot isn't great at off-roading, so the experience wasn't fun for her, and then Hot Shot complains about Alexis having a big mouth. The following scene of the two kids panicking as Hot Shot roars across the landscape with them has Hot Shot laughing and joking in Armada but grumbling about the terrain in Legends of the Microns. Keeping with the episode's portrayal of Rad, Legends of the Microns has him stammering about the unpleasant experience and repeating, "Wait a second!" and Alexis telling him to knock it off.
- Carlos compares 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 into robot mode, Carlos questions why they have to stop, and Red explains that the only way he can progress is on foot. Armada twists the conversation into Carlos asking Red if transforming hurts, and Red telling him that Transformers do not "feel" pain as humans know it.
- The Armada dub makes changes to Hot Shot's off-roading capability, muddling the fact that when he pops his emergency brake claws and screeches to a halt in front of the fissure, he almost uncontrollably drives into it and narrowly saves himself, Alexis, and Rad. Legends of the Microns has Hot Shot telling the kids to pipe down before hitting the breaks and realizing the place is dangerous after all. Right after this, Rad chastizes Hot Shot for not listening to him and driving more carefully, after 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 look from the air.
- Armada has Alexis chuckle at the prospect of telling Carlos about how Rad was panicking during Hot Shot's wild ride. Legends of the Microns makes her amused at how Rad has proved his value and finally got beyond repeatedly saying, "Wait just a second!", with Rad unsure whether or not to take it as a compliment.
- Continuing from the earlier change about Laserbeak's purpose, Armada plays Hot Shot and the kids as following Laserbeak, who detects the Mini-Con's location, instead of using him to determine where the most comfortable places to drive are. As such, the conversation that follows during the drive differs between versions: Legends of the Microns has Rad continue urging Hot Shot to be careful. Simultaneously, the group talks about how they need to figure out a way to get to the canyon's bottom and search there. 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 tell the Mini-Cons that they're getting a transmission from Hot Shot. In Legends of the Microns, he only asks the small 'bots to continue searching, unaware of Hot Shot's impending message until it arrives. Further, Legends of the Microns has Optimus prepare to head to Hot Shot's location, while in Armada, he chooses to standby and wait for updates.
- In Armada, Carlos complains to Red Alert about getting lost before Red tells Carlos off for not learning that disrespecting his superiors is wrong. Then Carlos says they're supposed to be a team, and, for some reason, Red Alert seems confused about what a team is. In Legends of the Microns, Carlos is griping about "losing" to Hot Shot in the Mini-Con hunt, and Red tells him that he's not concerned about such petty things since they're all trying to do what's right. Then Carlos calls Red Alert a weirdo, and Red asks curiously if that's true.
- As Hot Shot, Alexis, and Rad head to the Mini-Con panel, Hot Shot continues to complain about the rough terrain, while Rad notes that they can't avoid them now. Conversely, in Armada, Rad tells him it is okay to open up and drive roughly as if the terrain is smooth.
- In Armada, when Cyclonus appears and attacks, Alexis becomes scared, and Rad calls her out for going against her earlier advice to him about not showing fear to the enemy. In Legends of the Microns, Alexis asks why the Decepticons are attacking now after all this time, Rad says they were waiting for the Autobots to find the Mini-Con first, and Alexis shouts about how unfair that is. Instead of Red Alert saying the 'Cons are doing the classic "divide and conquer" routine, he tells Carlos they're being followed just before Demolishor appears beside them.
- Just before Optimus heads into action, he has the Mini-Cons disembark, and he tells them to get to safety before going to help the others.
- As the Decepticons attack, Rad notices that Cyclonus is toying with them when he could have easily gotten the panel, giving Hot Shot the idea to lure the Decepticon away. Then they radio Red Alert and Carlos and get them to do the same with Demolishor, keeping both 'Cons distracted and giving Optimus a clear path to the panel. But when Optimus arrives at its location, Megatron appears, unfooled by the Autobots' diversionary tactics. Armada warps this entire concept, with the Autobots talking through the scene as if Optimus is on his way to back up the others, ending with Optimus being confused when he arrives at the panel site, and they're not there.
- As Megatron blasts Optimus, the latter warns him that he might damage the nearby panel. Megatron is more callous as he couldn't care less because losing out on one Mini-Con over the chance to destroy Optimus isn't a bad deal to him.
- In Armada, after Hot Shot gets trapped, Rad says he will get help, and Alexis thinks they can't leave Hot Shot since he's an easy target. In Legends of the Microns, Rad says he and Alexis have to go to Prime's location, and though Alexis says she thinks it won't do any good, she asks Hot Shot to cover their escape, explaining why he fires at Cyclonus.
- When Starscream appears, Megatron says that he'll bring back the Mini-Con and orders Starscream to obey him and stay back.
- Just before the Mini-Cons combine, the kids shout Optimus's name, but in Armada, each says something different. Then Megatron asks who Perceptor is instead of him cursing Starscream, and has an extra line that he says when Perceptor dodges him. Alexis expresses her surprise at the Mini-Cons combining, and it's Rad who notices the panel activating behind Optimus instead of her.
- As with Megatron and Leader-1 in "Metamorphosis," the Armada dub inserts the idea that Optimus and Sparkplug were partners in the past. The later episode, "Prehistory," confirms this is also true for Legends of the Microns. When Optimus activates the panel, Megatron curses.
- In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot radios for help to have the others come and haul him out from the rocks, but in Armada, Rad radios on his behalf.
- Rad's closing narration is a thematic tie-up to his subplot. He reflects on his earlier uncertainty, believing they stood no chance of winning, realizing that in times of great need, one's body will act and move when necessary, mostly to protect their friends, exemplified by the Mini-Cons' spontaneous combination. Then Rad assures they will always be ready to answer their comrades' call. In Armada, Rad delivers some generic gush about how the fight was scary, but they won, and that teamwork makes the dream work.
- In the final scene, Armada adds Megatron placing Starscream in detention as punishment for insubordination. Demolishor asks Megatron why he chose such a harsh penalty, so Megatron responds with some trite villainous dialogue about anyone who defies him getting the same treatment before blaming the Autobots for today's loss. In Legends of the Microns, nothing happens to Starscream, and the final scene involves Demolishor asking Megatron what he thought it was that cost them their victory. Megatron initially blames Starscream before quietly remarking that it's "the small things" that will be his downfall if he continues to underestimate them and their desperation.
Animation and technical errors
- The Decepticon insignia on Megatron's chest vanishes in some shots.
- When describing how cool 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.
- Demolishor doesn't say "Transform!" when he appears beside Red Alert and Carlos. Legends of the Microns corrects this.
- The shot of High Wire transforming is recycled from the first episode; the only difference is that Rad's old bike is removed.
- As Starscream suddenly arrives, insisting on finishing off Prime, Megatron's cannon is much larger than usual.
- In the shots of Starscream and Optimus, the raised spots on the Decepticons arms are miscolored purple.
- In some shots near the end of the episode, the Decepticon symbols on Starscream's wings look like purple pentagons.
Continuity errors
- Red Alert believes that his difficulty locking onto the Mini-Con signal is because someone is interfering with it, but who could be capable of that so early in the show? In Legends of the Microns, it's instead a case of the signal being too weak to pinpoint accurately. Further complicating Red's attempts to locate the Mini-Con is that the Autobots' newly constructed base's systems are currently out of date with Earth's geographical information.
- Alexis claims to "tap into the system" and loading the obscure location data Red has managed to obtain into her "locator" before Sureshock "boosts" the device's power to accomplish somehow what the base computers can't. Alexis is an esteemed computer whiz, but unless she's the series's Chip Chase, she can't be that smart to figure out alien technology so fast. She probably doesn't have access to the base's system yet, therefore making this scenario impossible. The Japanese dub fixes this mistake by having Alexis bring up the Mini-Con's location on a world map on her phone and having Sureshock transmit it to the base computers.
- According to Rad, High Wire says Big Canyon is at least 100 miles from the base. How would High Wire even know that? His line in the Japanese dub is changed to Rad asking Alexis and Carlos if they should be gathering more information before leaving the base.
- Carlos appears to be psychic, somehow knowing that Hot Shot, Rad, and Alexis are in trouble. In Legends of the Microns, he gives Red Alert a heads-up about the Decepticons instead.
- Before launching his grapple line, Red Alert tells Carlos to "open his door," setting up the opening door's visual and the line launching from it. However, Red is perfectly capable of opening his door without Carlos doing it for him. Legends of the Microns fixes this with Red telling Carlos to hold onto something instead.
- Why does Rad ask Alexis if she needs a ride when she already has Sureshock? The Japanese dub changes Rad's line to him, saying, "Okay then, Alexis..."
- Rad needlessly points out Laserbeak before he and Alexis follow him. Legends of the Microns changes their dialogue to Rad and Alexis counting on Laserbeak to lead them to Optimus.
- Megatron claims that Optimus didn't know about Leader-1 despite using him an episode earlier. In the Japanese dub, he is merely talking about how it is time to end the fight.
- After Rad calls out to Optimus, how is Prime supposed to know Rad is talking about the panel due to the awkward silence afterward? Legends of the Microns fixes this mistake by adding Rad telling Optimus to look behind him.
- When blaming Starscream for the mission's failure, Megatron looks frightened rather than angry. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron orders a hasty retreat in a scared voice.
- Optimus refers to his Mini-Con as Leader-1, which is the name of Megatron's Mini-Con. Rad's closing narration repeats this mistake. Get used to it. This dubbing error never happens in the Japanese version.
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 some firsts for the series:
- The kids' uniforms make their debut.
- It's the first time the Autobots use the warp gate facility to travel to distant locations from their base quickly.
- It also begins the Japanese dub's trend of Optimus being mostly silent on the warp gate until he gives the order to launch, and the other Autobots being silent while they warp. However, there are a few exceptions where there's slightly more dialogue but not much.
- 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's cabin, Carlos appears to sit on an armrest and doesn't put on a seatbelt.
- When Red Alert transforms into robot mode, it's the same stock animation seen in the second episode's climax.
- 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.
- The Toonami commercial for Armada, which aired before the series premiere, used Megatron's line, "You have no way to stop us." The commercial also featured G1 Optimus Prime voice actor, Peter Cullen, as the narrator.
- Why doesn't Hot Shot transform and climb over the rocks trapping him?
- In the Japanese dub, Carlos describes warping as "taking a bath from the inside out." Disturbing.
- In Legends of the Microns, after arriving in Big Canyon, Alexis says it feels like they've been there before, possibly referring to how the terrain resembles that from the previous three episodes.
- This is one of the few episodes without an opening narration.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Kameraden" ("Comrades")
- Original airdate: 4 December 2003
Hungarian
- Title: "Fegyvertárs" ("Brother in Arms")
Polish
- Title: "Towarzysze" ("Comrade")
French
- Title: "Camarades" ("Comrades")
Korean
- Title: "합체! 마이크론" ("Combine! Micron")
Portuguese
- Title: "Camarada" ("Comrade")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — 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)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Volume 1 (TFou Vidéo) — French audio only.
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)
2014 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (Shout! Factory)
