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 Autobot base's exact position, 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 others can show Fred and Billy around, an alarm goes off, and Alexis, Carlos, and Rad rush to the control room, abandoning their friends. Billy has a 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 Hot Shot built into the place. 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 endangering the two boys. Optimus characteristically orders a ceasefire; Megatron assumes it must be a system malfunction and presses forward.

Megatron is really happy to see Hot Shot!

Red Alert determines 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.

On his own, Hot Shot 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 the window!

The Autobots use the chase to isolate each member of the Decepticons from the rest. Smokescreen lassos Demolishor while 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 Rad uses the Autobots' warp gate to teleport Cyclonus to someplace 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 brandishes 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, so Megatron opens fire. The torrent of energy blasts blows Hot Shot back, 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 for 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 lousy 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 Legends of the Microns

  • In Armada's opening scene, Cyclonus and Demolishor generally moan about the Autobot base being hard to find. In Legends of the Microns, Cyclonus complains about Blackout's search capabilities, and Demolishor defends his Mini-Con partner.
  • Instead of claiming that Sonar is detecting the Autobots, Megatron says Sonar detects the dormant Runway and Jetstorm. Rather than asking Demolishor if he can also understand the Mini-Con language, Megatron says, "You idiot! Can you even sense the atmosphere in here?" Cutting to Starscream, he says Demolishor is "too dense to get it."
  • Starscream receives the warp coordinates from Cyclonus, instead of those for the Autobot base. Then, in Armada, after finding the Autobot base, Megatron stops laughing before the scene cuts away to the shot of the Moon and Earth. In Legends of the Microns, his laugh is heard during both scenes just before the title card, and it sounds louder and more sinister.
  • In Armada, Fred worryingly tells Carlos he's not a fan of surprises, but Legends of the Microns has him ask Carlos if the more surprising part of the Autobot base is coming up in an excited tone. Alexis also says Carlos is now acting like Billy and Fred's "sempai."
  • Instead of Billy deciding he and Fred should explore the base independently, he says they should look for the others. Then Fred makes a point of their troubles worsening each time he listens to Billy.
  • Arriving in the Autobot base, Cyclonus 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."
  • Hot Shot explains that Smokescreen and Red Alert installed the 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, Billy mistakenly calls Megatron "Mega-Shield," before Fred says, "No, you mean Megatrog!" In Armada, Billy says, "Megafrog," and it's the only one used.
  • In Armada, Megatron asks Sonar to locate the other Mini-Cons when the scene focuses on Billy and Fred, and the scene of Sonar pointing the way is silent. In Legends of the Microns, as Sonar points ahead, Megatron says, "I see, so it's the way, then?" as an internal monologue.
  • When the defense systems cease-fire, Megatron rationalizes it as a systems malfunction in Armada; however, he just accepts it in Legends of the Microns.
  • Hot Shot says the Decepticons know where they are and want a fight in Armada but asks why they're coming towards the Command Center in Legends of the Microns.
  • In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot storms off determined to take Sonar from the Decepticons. In Armada, he seeks to punish them for intruding into the base.
  • Optimus doesn't tell the kids to stay in the Control Room until he turns to look at them. In Armada, Optimus says the line immediately. Then there's an awkward silence before he turns and continues.
  • 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. Legends of the Microns makes more sense as Hot Shot mocks Cyclonus's laughter and says that "tasteless laughing" is forbidden in the base. Armada has Hot Shot comment on Cyclonus's laugh being annoying even though the latter barely laughed a moment ago. Then the Autobot tells the Decepticons to leave since they take trespassers very seriously there.
  • Megatron acknowledges Hot Shot, who then says that "persistent fools" also aren't allowed in the base, and demands Megatron to hand over Sonar. Then Megatron calls Hot Shot a fool and extends his horns.
  • 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 Demolishor on the Moon.
  • When they split up, Demolishor and Starscream call out for Megatron. The only inner monologue heard is Starscream's as he thinks to himself that finding the Mini-Cons should take priority over Megatron, and Demolishor is "overly loyal." In Armada, after Starscream tells Demolishor to try blasting the door again, they both have internal dialogue: Starscream thinks about taking the Mini-Cons for himself, and Demolishor complains to himself about having to do all the work.
  • At the end of the scene where Red Alert traps Starscream, Red's line isn't about the Mini-Con panel being a fake; instead, he tells Starscream to sit quietly.
  • Legends of the Microns has Fred and Billy wondering if the Autobots or other kids will return for them instead of the Decepticons. They frantically apologize before Rad, Carlos, and Alexis reveal themselves. Depending on the dub, the dialogue that follows differs: In Armada, Billy tells the others never to leave him and Fred again abruptly. Then Carlos tells Billy and Fred that hanging out with him, Rad, and Alexis will bring many surprises. When Rad says they should leave, Carlos makes the classic "trouble just around the corner" joke just before Cyclonus shows up. Legends of the Microns has Billy ask the others why they didn't rescue them sooner, and Carlos answers that they had to stop the Decepticons from finding the Mini-Cons. When Cyclonus finds the kids, he muses about finding "something else fun to play with this time". The louder background music and Billy, Fred, and Cyclonus exaggeratedly shouting their lines increase the scene's comical nature.
  • After Cyclonus sets the record straight with Billy and Fred about his name, Fred says, "Yes, Sandstorm-sama!" and Billy says, "Forget about that! Run for it!" After Rad tells the other kids to hide, he has an extra line where he says he has an idea to get rid of Cyclonus. Cyclonus claiming that his sensors can detect the children's body heat isn't in Legends of the Microns.
  • Optimus tells Megatron outright that he fell into a trap; Megatron realizes that Hot Shot played him, and Hot Shot says Megatron didn't catch on quickly enough. As he gets electrocuted, Megatron says, "Don't underestimate me... I'll show you just why I'm Megatron-sama, the Emperor of Destruction!" Then, instead of Megatron's computer pun about "pixelating" the Autobots (quoted above), he says, "A worthless trick like this can't even be called a trap!"
  • With Hot Shot at his mercy, Megatron quips about the trap helping stretch his shoulders. When Optimus approaches, Megatron warns him to stay back unless he wants something to happen to Hot Shot.
  • In Armada, as the Star Saber forms, Megatron reacts with a gleeful "That's it!" In Legends of the Microns, he responds with a surprised "What!?" instead. After the Star Saber forms, Megatron says, "So this is the legendary power?!" instead of smugly claiming ownership of the blade. The Japanese dub also removes the transformation sound effect from the sequence.
  • After Hot Shot catches the Star Saber, Megatron demands him to return it, rambling about being the most powerful Transformer worthy of it in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron demands "his sword" back and calls Leader-1 to combine for his Full Blast Mode.
  • 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 Legends of the Microns, Megatron mocks the Autobot for being weak and unable to protect Optimus, provoking Hot Shot to attack, and he silently grunts after falling back.
  • A dramatic echo effect is added 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 like in Armada.
  • While Hot Shot uses the Star Saber to block his attack, Legends of the Microns has Megatron reveling the sword's power and desiring possession of it more than ever; Armada has him taken aback by the Autobot's ability to control the weapon.
  • After Hot Shot slices Megatron, the Decepticon leader reacts in shock to his horn being severed, and says that he'll remember this before retreating.
  • Instead of referring to Megatron as "Megatroy" before Carlos finally corrects him, Fred once again calls the Decepticon leader "Megatrog."
  • Alexis delivers the ending narration instead of Rad. The main difference between them is that Rad says the Star Saber ended up in Hot Shot's hands, while Alexis says it's how the sword came to be with Optimus's team.
  • In the last scene, Megatron's damaged horn is shown being restored. Megatron swearing revenge for his humiliation is slightly shortened so that it ends as the scene cuts to the close-up of his hand. In Armada, his scream holds a level tone and ends before the dissolve to the ending shot of the Moon. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron's yell starts at one level but intensifies as the shot dissolves and continues over the last shot.

Animation and technical errors

  • While searching for the Autobot base in the opening scene, Cyclonus's 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. In Legends of the Microns, it's fixed and recolored gray but appears red for a split-second before the scene cuts.
  • Immediately after this, the outline of Demolishor's right eye is so thick that it looks like he's squinting.
  • 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.
  • Before the Star Saber projection shot, Fred's potato chip bag partially changes color when he and Billy look at each other.
  • When Runway and Jetstorm react to Sonar's proximity by projecting the Star Saber's image, Carlos reacts to it by saying, "Hey! The Autobots shut off the force field! Follow me, you guys!" This line is presumably an error, as there was no force field present. No one reacts to the Star Saber's holographic projection in the Japanese dub, and Carlos continues Billy and Fred's tour of the base.
  • After Megatron warps into the Autobot base and instructs Sonar to find his partners, one of Sonar's chest panels is miscolored yellow.
  • 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 mistake happens again when Megatron realizes Optimus has the Mini-Cons.
  • As the base's defense system fires at the Decepticons, Billy and Fred aren't seen but suddenly appear in the bottom-right corner on the monitor in the next shot.
  • 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."
  • During Megatron's close-up after he shouts, "Horn attack mode!" the horns are toggled back and forth to create the illusion of them extending. However, this happens clumsily as the horns' tips repeatedly poke in and out of the edge of the screen, so it looks like Megatron is using them to rub his cheeks.
  • After Megatron drops Hot Shot after grabbing him with his horns, the horns aren't animated as returning to their standard size even though they have the sound effect. Legends of the Microns shows the horns shrinking down.
  • 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 Megatron blasts the door, Cyclonus's 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 Legends of the Microns.
  • After Starscream, Demolishor, and Cyclonus are separated from Megatron, the Decepticon insignias on Starscream's wings are upside down.
  • Cyclonus says, "I'll cut them off on the other side," but it's Starscream who, after suggesting they blast their way through, proceeds to do so while Cyclonus up and vanishes from Demolishor's side. Legends of the Microns fixes this with Starscream saying they should find another route, and then Cyclonus says, "I'll go this way, you go that way," with Cyclonus fully animated as exiting the shot.
  • Before attempting to blast open the door that separated them from Megatron, Demolishor says to stand back although Starscream and Cyclonus already left a moment ago. As explained above, this error doesn't happen in the Japanese dub.
  • When Smokescreen sneaks up behind Demolishor, it looks as if Demolishor faces a long corridor despite being in front of a door seconds ago.
  • It looks like Red Alert is in the mirror room with Starscream, and Starscream's mouth keeps moving after saying his line. Starscream strangely also doesn't cast a reflection on any of the glass even after shooting it to pieces. Legends of the Microns fixes these mistakes and makes the scene more elaborate as the room is reminiscent of an infinity mirror room, with Starscream facing multiple reflections of himself. When Starscream shoots the glass, he faces the screen in Armada, but in Legends of the Microns, he isn't visible as him blasting the glass happens from his POV.
  • Starscream's mouth not moving when he yells at Red Alert upon being trapped looks like an animation mistake because he says his line too early. The Japanese version has Starscream say his line as he looks up at Red Alert.
  • During the shot of Optimus and Hot Shot watching Megatron get electrocuted, the Autobots are obscured while Megatron's legs on either side of the frame are in focus. The Japanese dub corrects this by reversing the effect so that Megatron's legs in the foreground are blurred, and Optimus and Hot Shot are in focus.
  • After being blasted by Megatron and Leader-1, Hot Shot's visor is briefly miscolored yellow.
  • 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.
  • In Megatron's scene of shooting up the base, he looks superimposed since the poles on either side of him are so close together that his hands aren't clasped around them. Another mistake that Legends of the Microns fixes.
  • When Megatron commands Sonar to awaken his partners, Megatron's mouth doesn't move.
  • In the shot of Megatron holding the Star Saber, the sword is too bright to be seen clearly, and it blends into the background starburst. Legends of the Microns lowers the sword's brightness so that it's colored blue instead of white, and its outline can be made out.
  • The animation of Megatron demanding Hot Shot to hand over the Star Saber is reused from episode 3 when Megatron Powerlinx with Leader-1.
  • In the scene of Rad telling Hot Shot to Powerlinx with the Star Saber, his eyes are drawn looking at the upper right corner of the screen while the other kids look straight towards the camera and look like low-quality static models compared to Rad. They also don't blink and look like lifeless dolls. The Japanese version fixes it to have the other kids looking in the same direction as Rad. However, the other kids' bodies are still positioned towards the screen instead of to the right like Rad's.
  • After Rad speaks to Hot Shot, Leader-1 is miscolored purple to match Megatron. In Legends of the Microns, just before Hot Shot charges at Megatron, Leader-1's coloration is corrected.
  • After his horn is sliced off, Megatron doesn't have the shadow around his eyes, though they return before he retreats.
  • As he escapes from the pit just before the Decepticons retreat, the raised spots on Starscream arms are miscolored purple. In Legends of the Microns, he says that he finally managed to climb out, but his mouth doesn't move.
  • After the Decepticons retreat, Hot Shot's mouth doesn't move when he says using the Star Saber was intense; maybe this was meant to be internal dialogue. This part is silent in Legends of the Microns.
  • In his final shot, Megatron's treads look perfectly smooth.

Continuity notes

  • After learning of the Transformers' existence in "Carnival" and being openly included in the secret after being kidnapped in "Confrontation", Billy and Fred finally get to see the Autobot base for the first time.
  • Fred and Billy aren't the only two to learn of the Autobot headquarters. In a strange twist of fate, the Decepticons discover the base too.
  • In the Japanese dub, Alexis sarcastically dubs Carlos Billy and Fred's new "sempai". The last time any of the kids were called that term was in "Palace" when Optimus referred to the kids as the Autobots' sempai.
  • The last time anyone called Megatron the Emperor of Destruction in the Japanese dub was in the episode "Base".
  • Gadgets and powers:
    • Cyclonus Powerlinx with Crumplezone for the first time. Crumplezone forms his helicopter cockpit.
      • At the same time, Blackout somehow attaches to Cyclonus's undercarriage.
    • Sonar can track and activate his other team members, fitting for someone named after a kind of locator.
    • Megatron uses his "Horn Attack Mode" for the first time. He extends his antlers (or horns as they are called in this episode), to grab and throw around other Transformers.
    • Smokescreen's chest winch and hook are used as a lasso in robot mode.
    • Like in the episode "Palace", Starscream fires lasers from his lower chest again. His cockpit fins fold down out of the way of the lasers.
    • Apparently, Cyclonus's sensors can detect human body heat, in Armada at least.
    • Hot Shot Powerlinx with the Star Saber for the first time.
  • When he resumes firing at Hot Shot, it's another time Megatron tells a character to "Go to the Pit!" in Legends of the Microns.

Continuity errors

  • Cyclonus plans to capture the humans and trade them for the Mini-Cons, even though he already tried that plan four episodes ago. Legends of the Microns fixes this by having Cyclonus chase the kids, thinking they'll lead him straight to Hot Shot.
  • Why does Optimus tell Hot Shot to get Megatron after catching the Star Saber but stops him seconds later and gets himself injured? In Legends of the Microns, Optimus tells Hot Shot to look out since Megatron is about to unleash his Full Attack Mode, so he moves to save Hot Shot and gets wounded.

Transformers references

  • In Legends of the Microns, near the end, Megatron refers to himself as the Emperor of Destruction, a classic nod to the infamous title from Transformers lore.
  • Megatron again references the Pit in Legends of the Microns.

Real-world references

Trivia

  • The kanji 聖剣 would be pronounced as "seiken," while "tsurugi" is used for the kanji 剣.
  • This episode was probably meant to be named "Sword" instead of "Swoop," as this episode's events have pretty much nothing to do with "swooping" and just about everything to do with a sword. The episode's Japanese title supports this. Guess someone goofed and wrote the wrong five-letter "Swo--" word. Oops.
  • This episode is the first in which Jim Conrad, instead of Rad, narrates the opening.
  • The Autobot base's establishing shot is the same one seen in "Soldier."
  • Did Billy and Fred seriously 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. Though in fairness, Fred's guesses are closer than Billy's, especially in Legends of the Microns.
  • In Armada, Hot Shot is responsible for the Autobot base's internal defense systems, 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.
  • The Decepticons seemingly use paper.
  • At the end of the Japanese dub, Billy refers to Megatron as a "fork-head." Given that Megatron's head (and to some extent, his shoulders) looks like a huge tuning fork with those horns, Billy's not wrong.
  • This episode is one of the few without an opening narration.

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")

Portuguese

  • Title: "Investida" ("Strike")

Home video releases

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

Japan 2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — 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)
France 2007 — Transformers: Armada — Le combat recommence... (TFou Vidéo) — French audio only.
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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