Soldier (episode)
| "Soldier" redirects here. For the class from War for Cybertron, see Soldier (WFC). |
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 Listen to me, you're a soldier now! | ||||||
| "Soldier" (Senshi) "Military Man: Soldier" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-05 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | September 27, 2002 (English) 7 February 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Shōji Tonoike | |||||
| Director | Shigeki Awai | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
The Autobots and Decepticons battle over another Mini-Con and we learn about why nobody talks crap about Red Alert.
Synopsis
At the Autobot base, Red Alert does some important technical work while Hot Shot plays tag with the kids and their Mini-Cons. They manage to outrun him until Hot Shot requests some aid from Jolt, who quickly apprehends Carlos. Carlos, upset at losing, calls Jolt an eggbeater. The noise grabs Red Alert's attention, who chews out Hot Shot for playing around while he should be working. When Optimus investigates the commotion, both Red Alert and Hot Shot dismiss their conflict. Alexis feels the tension in the air and has a bad feeling.
Hot Shot apologizes to the kids for making them watch himself and Red Alert bicker. Optimus then explains to Hot Shot and the kids how Red Alert's dedication to preparation was integral to winning many battles on Cybertron. Hot Shot understands that Red Alert is great but doesn't see why he won't let himself have a personality. Suddenly, the alarms signify that another Mini-Con panel has activated. The Autobots and their human friends quickly warp to the panel's location: Antarctica.
In the ruins of the Mini-Con ship on the Moon, Megatron also detects the Mini-Con panel. Noticing Starscream's absence, Cyclonus speculates that Starscream has already left for Earth to rectify his lack of personal Mini-Con and Demolishor calls Starscream dumb. As Megatron tells his goons to be silent, Starscream holds a blade close beside Demolishor's head, revealing himself. Megatron sends the three Decepticon minions to Earth.
At the Antarctic, penguins! Lots of them! Also, Autobots and Decepticons. The Autobots stop due to a drive system failure, and Optimus Prime's trailer converts into its command center mode in front of the astonished humans. Red Alert fixes Optimus's systems while Hot Shot is impatient and jerky. After Prime's repairs are complete, Hot Shot and Carlos leave together (with a bit of assistance from Jolt).
Starscream searches for the Mini-Con by chopping icebergs to no avail, so he flies to search in a different area. Megatron, seeing Starscream from a distance, instructs his henchmen to follow. Eventually, Starscream is the first to find the Mini-Con, embedded in an ice shelf wall. But before retrieving the Mini-Con, he notices Hot Shot nearby and attacks, forcing the Autobot into a massive ice-crevice. Hot Shot is saved from certain death by his Mini-Con, Jolt, and together they ascend the ice wall to return to the battle, noticing the Mini-Con on the way up. The other Decepticons see the Mini-Con panel glowing and transform to retrieve it. Further away, the rest of the Autobots also notice the Mini-Con, and Optimus heads on over.
At the showdown between Starscream and Hot Shot, Hot Shot has the idea to jump his car mode directly into Starscream, air-bludgeoning the Decepticon. The other Decepticons attack Hot Shot and verbally attack Starscream. Hot Shot drives away with the Decepticons after him. From within Red Alert, Rad sees Hot Shot under fire and is concerned, but Red Alert tells Rad to relax. Then Carlos is tossed out of Hot Shot into the abyss, but Jolt, like during the earlier tag game, grabs onto Carlos and lifts him to safety. Cyclonus fires his "laser pulse attack" at Hot Shot. Hot Shot and Jolt return fire at the Decepticons, and Megatron fires at Hot Shot.
Red Alert drops off the kids and tells them to find a safe area, and the two instead decide to find Carlos. When Cyclonus is about to finish Hot Shot at close range, Red Alert saves Hot Shot by using his cable to pull Cyclonus backward. Megatron takes Hot Shot hostage, but Red Alert works his way out of the situation by using his disc launcher, bouncing the flying disc off of Demolishor, and into Megatron's back. Optimus finally arrives, making the sides even. The three Decepticons retreat.
Using his sword to climb the ice wall to where the Mini-Con is, Starscream begins to punch the wall, making things difficult for Carlos, who can barely hang on to stop from plunging to his death. A punch from Starscream disrupts the terrain enough to send all three kids falling to their demise, but Red Alert's colorful flying disc catches them. Starscream grabs the Mini-Con panel, but Red Alert swipes it away. Unwisely, Starscream opens fire, but as a result, plunges into the depth of the ice-canyon.
Back at the Autobot base, the Mini-Con is shown to be Jetstorm, but he doesn't activate. Red Alert and Hot Shot make amends with each other, and Red Alert reveals that beneath his robocop-esque demeanor, he too appreciates Hot Shot's abilities.
Featured characters
((Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quote
"I think I've pinpointed the glitch, sir."
"Good work, Red Alert. What was the problem with the CPU?"
"It seems the cold on this continent has caused a glitch."
- —Red Alert, who needs a thesaurus, and Optimus Prime, who has lousy microprocessor thermal protection.
"Ahh nuts, I knew I should've brought along snow tires!"
- —Always on the ball Hot Shot, struggling to drive in snow and ice in the Antarctic.
"Oh, and hey, Hot Shot? Do you mind cranking up the heat in here a touch? It's cold."
- —The ever-observant Carlos.
"Hellooooo... buh-bye!"
- —Cyclonus, as he prepares to execute Hot Shot.
"Red Alert! Thanks, pal!"
"Doing my job, and nothing more."
- —Hot Shot in Generation 1 Brawn butt-kisser mode, and Red Alert after the latter saves the former's life.
"I hope you like pain!"
- —Demolishor, reacting to the rescue as everybody else just stands around.
"Hahahaha... go ahead, boys, give me a reason..."
- —Demolishor, as the two Autobots are cornered.
"Uhh... yes... soon I'll have my very own pet…."
- —Starscream, who we assume is talking about a Mini-Con.
Notes
Differences with Legends of the Microns
- Rad's opening narration is Armada-exclusive. In the Japanese dub, Alexis gives it during a later scene.
- During the tag game, when Jolt intercepts and catches Carlos, Carlos is shouting at Hot Shot for cheating.
- The primary reason for Red's annoyance with Hot Shot messing around is the same in both dubs: He thinks Hot Shot should be working instead of wasting time, but he expresses it differently. In Legends of the Microns, he worries the kids might get hurt playing tag with a giant robot; in Armada, he's mad about Hot Shot actively evading work he's meant to be doing, which Red has had to pick up the slack on. The work isn't mandatory in Legends of the Microns, but Red Alert thinks it's a better use of their downtime.
- In Legends of the Microns, after Optimus interrupts Red and Hot Shot's argument to ask what's going on, Hot Shot addresses kids and suggests they all leave since they're "getting in the way." Armada changes this to him responding to Prime's statement, saying he and Red were "just talking." Armada has Optimus follow up this exchange with an order to get back to work; he is silent in the Japanese dub because, as already noted, the work's not mandatory.
- The last moments of this scene, in which Alexis looks at Rad and then Red Alert, differ between versions. Armada adds an extra line with Alexis asking Rad, "What's up with Optimus?" in response to his somewhat curt, Armada-exclusive order for the 'bots to get back to work. During her internal monologue, Alexis concludes that the Autobots are in a rush to resume their Mini-Con hunt, and she worries the Decepticons will soon strike back. In Legends of the Microns, this acts as Alexis giving the opening narration; it connects to the Red Alert subplot that Armada ignores, in which she observes how he becomes so immersed in his work.
- Immediately after this, Carlos and Rad wonder "what the big secret is" in Armada as if Optimus was keeping something from them that was making him act that way; in Legends of the Microns, they're just openly fretting that Red Alert doesn't like them.
- The following conversation is Prime telling Hot Shot and the kids to appreciate Red Alert more because he's a great warrior whose true capabilities they haven't seen yet. It's something Optimus knows well since he and Red Alert fought together long before Hot Shot was "born." Armada warps the entire conversation to become about how Hot Shot is overeager and should be more prepared like Red Alert, despite how unglamorous it makes him seem.
- In Legends of the Microns, Carlos alerts everyone about the new Mini-Con signal, but Armada gives the line to Optimus and extends it to fill the silence in the scene since the Japanese dub has Carlos say the line as the shot pans out.
- When Starscream places his blade by the laughing Demolishor's head, he threatens to make it so Demolishor can never laugh again in Legends of the Microns. In Armada, the first portion of his dialogue where he says that Demolisher and Cyclonus seem to be having fun—delivered off-screen—is replaced with Megatron telling Demolishor and Cyclonus to be quiet. The second part is replaced with Starscream merely laughing, so he never speaks in the scene's English version. Consequently, Megatron's subsequent order for them to find the Mini-Con plays a little differently: In Armada, he's giving a command to the whole group; but in Legends of the Microns, in response to Starscream's anger at Demolishor and Cyclonus ridiculing him for not having a Mini-Con, he's essentially telling him, "Well, go and get one, then."
- When the Autobots arrive in Antarctica, Armada adds Carlos's line as the kids look at the penguins to cover the Japanese dub's silence. When they later stop, Armada adds lines for Alexis and Carlos before Rad asks why they've stopped. Then Armada gives the kids extra lines after Prime's trailer finishes transforming into a base.
- For Prime's drive system failure, Legends of the Microns blames a problem with the original Earth truck he scanned, while Armada shifts the blame to the Antarctic cold. In Armada, as Red Alert does his repairs, Hot Shot is generically impatient. In Legends of the Microns, he proposes that Optimus use his robot mode to get around, but Optimus refuses since doing so means he can't carry the kids in his cab and protect them.
- When Hot Shot and Carlos ditch the others, the scene's purpose differs between the dubs: In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot's going for a quick high-speed test drive to make sure he can handle the frozen environment, only to reveal to Carlos that was just an excuse to distance himself from Red Alert, whose attitude is wearing on him. In Armada, the loud rev of his engine that aggravates the kids is the only "test" he performs, and his departure is then played as him genuinely splitting off from the rest of the group to look for the Mini-Con.
- When Carlos and Hot Shot reach the ocean, Legends of the Microns has Hot Shot observe that it's as good a time as any to turn back since he'll get it in trouble if he's gone too long. In Armada, he mentions detecting a signal before saying how there's no way he'll be taking a dip in the freezing water. Armada also adds Carlos's line about him asking Hot Shot to turn up the heat.
- Armada adds some filler dialogue to the scene of Starscream finding the Mini-Con.
- In Legends of the Microns, Starscream doesn't say anything to Hot Shot before shooting at him. Armada changes Starscream's line about not letting Hot Shot get the Mini-Con and gives him an extra line about locking onto the Autobot that replaces Hot Shot telling Carlos to hang on. Armada also moves Hot Shot's line to just as he and Carlos go off the ice's edge.
- Carlos and Hot Shot don't thank Jolt for saving them, and they don't talk again until spotting the Mini-Con panel. There's no dialogue between them when they return to the top of the ice wall and find Starscream waiting.
- When Demolishor and Cyclonus spot the light from the Mini-Con, in Armada, they still don't know where Starscream is, while in Legends of the Microns, they spot both him and Hot Shot.
- The transformation sound effect is removed from Red Alert transforming to take Rad and Alexis to Carlos and Hot Shot. It's also removed from when Optimus joins the fight near the end.
- Legends of the Microns has Megatron subtly announce his presence by calling Starscream a fool off-screen before firing at Hot Shot.
- Armada changes Megatron's line of telling Starscream to "just watch from over there and don't get in the way" to him telling Demolisher and Cyclonus to focus on capturing the Mini-Con. After this, Hot Shot speaks to the Decepticons before driving off, when in Legends of the Microns, he addresses Carlos.
- When Red Alert, Alexis, and Rad see Carlos and Hot Shot under attack, Red does not refer to Hot Shot and instead tells Alexis and Rad that they're moving in.
- When Hot Shot ejects Carlos, Carlos says, "Oh, shoot!" in Legends of the Microns but Armada removes it and has Carlos scream the whole time until Jolt saves him. After this, in Legends of the Microns, Cyclonus doesn't refer to Carlos and instead tells Hot Shot that it's the end of the line for him.
- Hot Shot doesn't thank Red Alert for saving him, and Red asks Hot Shot if he's alright.
- Instead of swearing revenge on "bolts for brains" Red Alert for sneaking up on him, Cyclonus says, "You wouldn't dare get in the way! Surrender, or we'll pay you back ten times...no, A HUNDRED TIMES over!" Legends of the Microns also changes Megatron's line from him asking Red Alert what Hot Shot is worth to him asking where Red Alert's previous momentum went. In Armada, Demolisher dares Red Alert to show him what he's got, an addition that the Japanese dub removes as Demolisher says his line about Red worrying about injuring Hot Shot during the overhead scene.
- After Red launches his flying disc, Armada has Cyclonus remark, "Sorry, you missed!" which, of course, Red didn't, as the disc successfully slams into Demolishor a second later. In Legends of the Microns, Cyclonus says, "Your opponent is over here!" merely exploiting the fact Red has chosen to strike at Demolishor to get in a blast of his own.
- The moment where Demolisher chuckles and tells Red Alert and Hot Shot to "give him a reason" is silent. The only sound heard is Optimus approaching from off-screen.
- When Starscream opens fire on Red Alert after he snatches the Mini-Con out of his hand, he curses the Autobots in Legends of the Microns, but pointlessly laughs in Armada.
- The scene of the hologram of Jetstorm appearing is silent.
- Red Alert is virtually mute during the episode's final sequence, preferring to deflect Hot Shot's gratitude by merely asking him how he's doing after the fight. He's more vocal in Armada, repeatedly telling Hot Shot the thanks are unnecessary.
- For the ending narration, in Armada, Rad reflects on Hot Shot learning a valuable lesson and how everyone? learned better teamwork after that day. Then Alexis says it's nice to see the two Autobots finally getting along and how, even though future battles will test them, they should all enjoy the moment. In Legends of the Microns, only Alexis is heard, and unlike the lighthearted English version, the Japanese version has a sincere tone. It connects to her opening narration and wraps up the Red Alert subplot; she states how she believes that maybe Red focuses on repairing things so much because it's his own "grieving requiem" for those who fall in battle.
Animation and technical errors
- During the tag game in the opening, when Jolt intercepts Carlos, Alexis, and Rad in the background are drawn with shoddy jagged lines. Plus, Alexis's hair and shirt are miscolored to match Carlos's. Carlos's mouth doesn't move as he tells Jolt to put him down because his line in the Japanese version is shorter, and Carlos finishes it before entering the frame.
- Pretty much all the weapons fire effects in this episode are colored yellow, instead of the standard red-for-Autobots and purple-for-Decepticons.
- During Optimus Prime's flashback lecture, he and Red Alert look very jagged and pixelated.
- When Starscream holds his sword at Demolishor, he is seen with both wings. This is irregular as Starscream's left wing becomes his sword. This mistake continues for the rest of the episode.
- When Demolishor, with Starscream's blade at his neck, turns to look back at Megatron, the "uhhh" he lets out is delivered by Starscream's actor, rather than Demolishor's. This doesn't happen in the Japanese dub.
- When the Autobots come to a stop, for some reason, Rad asks Hot Shot what's up, but it's Optimus who answers. Legends of the Microns corrects this with Rad asking Optimus since the kids are riding in his cab.
- When Carlos tells Hot Shot, "It's pedal to the metal time!" the snow kicked up by Hot Shot's tires is miscolored black and grey, making it appear that the jerkface Autobot is polluting the area.
- During the first face-off shot between Starscream and Hot Shot, a faint circle is seen around Jolt's rotors as though they're moving, although they aren't. It's gone in the next shot of them.
- Depending on the dub, when Demolishor and Cyclonus notice the Mini-Con panel's light, they either don't know where Starscream is, or they do see him as well as Hot Shot. However, neither Starscream nor Hot Shot is visible in the shot, although they should be, given their location in the previous shot.
- When Starscream tells Hot Shot and Carlos to look behind themselves, Carlos is miscolored like Rad (a light-brown-haired Caucasian!) and calls the Autobot 'Hot Rod', Hot Shot's Japanese name.
- After Hot Shot flies into Starscream and knocks him back while in car mode, the Decepticon symbols on the back of Starscream's wings disappear.
- As Starscream lies against the rock, the Decepticon symbol is seen on his miscolored arm. When he grabs the Mini-Con, the insignia returns.
- The stock footage of Hot Shot powerlinxing with Jolt is silent. It's corrected in Legends of the Microns.
- Numerous times throughout the episode, Decepticons appear with purple Autobot insignias.
- Starscream's forearm is miscolored red when Demolishor scolds him for "trying to be a one-man army."
- In the beginning, Jolt carries Carlos by the barrels of his gun. But as he rescues Carlos later, he is drawn with an entirely different helicopter design, saving Carlos with landing gear that Jolt doesn't have.
- For two shots after taking fire from Hot Shot, Megatron's cannon is miscolored dark gray and red as he fires back.
- When Red Alert's rainbow disc hits him, the part of Demolishor's chest with the insignia on it is miscolored purple with a pentagon outline around the symbol.
- When Optimus slides into the frame of Red Alert and Hot Shot, Hot Shot's neck is colored dark gray instead of yellow. The color changes back in their next scene.
- When Starscream is in the fissure going after the Mini-Con, his right arm's raised spot is miscolored purple in one shot.
Continuity errors
- During the Cybertron flashback, Red Alert correctly appears in his Cybertronic body, but Optimus incorrectly appears in his Earth-based design without the truck wheels on his legs.
- After Starscream slices the iceberg in half and takes off in jet mode, Demolishor and Cyclonus speak as if Starscream had previously separated from the other Decepticons, and they tracked him to that spot. This bit of nonsense seems to be a corruption of the Legends of the Microns dialogue, where they observe Starscream now going off on his own without orders out of desperation to claim the Mini-Con.
- After he and Hot Shot escape the ravine, why would Carlos be bothered by Starscream still being there? It's not like a Decepticon would leave an Autobot alone after finding a Mini-Con. Carlos doesn't say anything upon seeing Starscream waiting for them in the Japanese dub.
- When Red Alert proposes investigating the light from the Mini-Con panel, Rad replies: "What about Carlos--?" but his inflections make it clear the sentence has been clipped down in editing, removing something from the end of it. He was most likely going to say "--and Hot Shot?" since Red replies, "I'm sure they'll be all right," using a plural after Rad refers to the singular Carlos. In Legends of the Microns, Rad correctly refers to "Carlos and the others," the others being Hot Shot and Jolt.
- After Optimus, Red Alert, Rad, and Alexis spot the light from the Mini-Con, Optimus says he will go in for a look though he does nothing of the sort. It's Red Alert, Rad, and Alexis, who spring into action first, joined by Optimus in the fight later. Legends of the Microns fixes this by having Prime tell the others to investigate while he catches up with them later.
Real-world references
- Arriving in Antarctica, Rad identifies the penguins as Emperor Penguins in the Japanese dub.
Trivia
- The kanji 武人 would usually be pronounced as "bujin," while "senshi" is used for the kanji 戦士.
- When the Autobots transform before going into the warp gate, the animation sequences are the same ones from the climax of episode 2, played in reverse.
- When Optimus tells the kids to put their seat-belts on, only Rad and Alexis comply. Tsk tsk.
- There's a nice touch when the Decepticons warp to the south pole—when Megatron materializes, the iceberg they are all standing upon suddenly sinks in their direction due to the weight.
- This episode marks the first time we see Optimus Prime's container trailer transform into its base mode.
- This episode reveals that Starscream's engines are in his kneecaps.
- As Hot Shot slides toward the ice canyon during the Decepticon attack, he ejects Carlos into the canyon to transform! Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on the viewer's perspective), Carlos is rescued by Jolt.
- Red Alert uses some strange little flying claw-drone thing to snatch the Mini-Con panel out of Starscream's hand. Why not the grapple-claw line he just used earlier in the episode?
- This is one of the few episodes where the right music plays during each scene transition.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Red Alert" ("Red Alert")
- Original airdate: 5 December 2003
Hungarian
- Title: "Hideg nyom" ("Cold Tracks")
Polish
- Title: "Żołnierz" ("Soldier")
Portuguese
- Title: "Soldado" ("Soldier")
French
- Title: "Un travail d'équipe" ("A Teamwork")
Korean
- Title: "진정한 전사" ("True Warrior")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 2 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Universal)
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:02 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Power of the Mini-Cons (Rhino Entertainment)
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)
