Underground (episode)
| This article is about the Armada episode. For the Cloud location, see Underground (Cloud). |
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 Not about the Autobots forming a rock group to stop Dr. Robotnik. | ||||||
| "Underground" (Chika) "Maze: Underground" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-10 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | November 1, 2002 (English) 14 March 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Isao Shizuya | |||||
| Director | Satoru Kusuda, Shigeki Hatayama | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
The battle for the Mini-Cons leads both forces underground, and another warrior enters the conflict.
Synopsis
Underground, in the Mini-Con ship's ruins, Red Alert and Hot Shot work to salvage what they can while the kids take a passive interest. Hot Shot whines that this kind of labor isn't his forte, and Rad offers to take his place. Just then, Optimus sends a message over the PA system, instructing everybody to return to the control room to prepare to find another activated Mini-Con panel. The computer determines the panel is in an urban area, and the kids suit up. The Autobots warp to their destination.
Within the ambiguous city, the Autobots determine the Mini-Con panel is underground, and Alexis finds an entrance into the subway system for the Autobots to utilize. A problem emerges when an active train heads directly for Optimus, who doesn't have enough room to maneuver out of its path. Only at the last second is Optimus able to turn away and avoid killing the astonished train operator. The danger passed, and the Autobots split up and explore the underground, searching for the Mini-Con.
Hot Shot casually drives by civilians in what appears to be an underground shopping area, confused as to why the bystanders find his presence irregular. Red Alert goes alongside a train, confusing some children. Optimus Prime observes that driving around the subway system is like exploring a maze. Elsewhere, the Decepticons have infiltrated the sewer system, to Cyclonus's distaste. When Megatron has trouble maneuvering, he and the Decepticons deploy their Mini-Cons to search for them.
Following a staircase Alexis found, the kids locate a subway station that is evidently out of commission, and Alexis declares her ambition to become President of the United States. Under her administration, no subway station will fall into disrepair. Indifferent to Alexis's political agenda, the Street Action Team Mini-Cons combine into Perceptor and locate the new Mini-Con within a ceiling panel. However, the panel is inches away from Perceptor's grasp, and he can't reach it. Using a ladder, Carlos gets a grip on the Mini-Con panel and pulls it out from the ceiling, getting caught by Alexis. Rad decides they should take the panel to the Autobots when the three come under a sudden attack from a blue hook.
Running from their new attacker, the kids run into an area where non-functional subway cars trap them. The kids jump into one of the cabs but find themselves trapped between their assailant and the Decepticons' Mini-Cons. Thinking quickly, the kids jump out a window and ride away, hiding in a cavern. Rad deploys Laserbeak to find Optimus.
Receiving information about the Mini-Con from Blackout, Megatron blasts his way into the sewer, while Optimus gets the same information from Laserbeak. Megatron and his cronies are the first to locate the kids, and they quickly surround them. Just then, the mysterious assailant from earlier saves the children. After the unknown robot transforms, the Decepticons manage to bury him, the Mini-Con panel, and the kids beneath some rubble.
The Autobots arrive just in time to see Cyclonus pick up the Mini-Con panel and activate it, revealing it to be Drill Bit. Having won the battle by default, the Decepticons retreat. The Autobots quickly prepare to try to unbury the kids to see if they're still alive when the orange assailant emerges from the dirt, having used his body to protect the children. Hot Shot identifies the bot as Smokescreen. Smokescreen apologizes for not meeting up with the Autobots earlier, and Rad is happy to have made a new friend, who was maybe only briefly trying to kill him.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"I can't even fly in here! What a rip-off!"
- —Cyclonus in the subway
"Once I become President, I'll change all that, you'll see! I'll put an end to the misuse of public property, and THEN I'll work on saving the environment, and I'll end world hunger."
- —Alexis, acting like a complete hippie
"Hello, kids, looks like you picked a "dead end", if you know what I mean!"
- —Cyclonus, trying to be funny but failing miserably
"Combat is not a spectator sport"
- —Says Starscream, except when it is
"Ha ha! Look at those pathetic fools! They've all been buried alive."
"Uh, that's great, sir, but the Mini-Con is buried too!"
"Then why don't you go and dig it out, you numbskull? Why is it I have to spell everything out for you?"
- —Megatron heaps abuse on Cyclonus again.
"Stay where you are, and nobody gets hurt. Once we have the Mini-Con, we'll be on our way. Then you Autobots can dig in the dirt all you like."
- —Demolishor
Notes
Differences with Legends of the Microns
- Armada has Hot Shot claim to detect a weak signal from the Mini-Con. Then Optimus pinpoints the Mini-Con's location as being underground. Hot Shot makes a sarcastic quip about doing more digging, and Red Alert says they risk drawing attention to themselves if they start excavating. Legends of the Microns has Hot Shot unable to get a signal. Then Red Alert says it's the same on his end before Optimus says likewise and that the Mini-Con should be close. After Hot Shot's quip, Red Alert reiterates that the Mini-Con is close.
- After barely avoiding the train, Carlos says he's glad Alexis is there to protect him in Armada. Legends of the Microns has him stating how he was afraid of almost dying instead. Also, in Legends of the Microns, Optimus credits the narrow train dodge to finding the side tunnel instead of a track switch.
- In Legends of the Microns, when he drives through the station, Hot Shot doesn't ask himself if people haven't seen a car on a sidewalk before.
- In Legends of the Microns, before Alexis points out the entryway to Carlos and Rad, the latter asks her what's got her attention. She only points it out in Armada.
- During Decepticons' first scene in the tunnel, instead of previously telling Cyclonus to be quiet, Starscream seemingly agrees with him that it's a pain they can't fly in the cramped space. Starscream's internal monologue isn't about getting the Mini-Con before Cyclonus but laughing at Megatron and Demolisher's expense as they barely have room to move in their vehicle modes.
- In Legends of the Microns, Megatron repeatedly swears about cramped space, rather hilariously.
- The scene of the kids and their partner Mini-Cons on the abandoned platform has some differences between the two versions, most of which is the dialogue.
- In Armada, Alexis guesses the city abandoned the platform for not fitting its plans or to replace it with a new train line. After she finishes her tirade about her presidential goals, she apologizes for getting carried away. However, in Legends of the Microns, Alexis says "poor land zoning," and improperly planned construction routes caused the platform's abandonment. After her ranting, she reflects on how it was probably beautiful in the past.
- The Transform sound effect isn't heard when the Mini-Cons combine into Perceptor in Legends of the Microns.
- Carlos suggests finding a ladder to help Perceptor reach the Mini-Con panel before seeing it in Armada. He sees the ladder first and then says he has an idea in Legends of the Microns. The Japanese dub also reanimates Carlos's mouth for his line of dialogue.
- During the shot of Carlos trying to get the panel while Alexis, Rad, and the Mini-Cons hold the ladder, Carlos is silent. Instead of encouraging Carlos, Rad tells him to hurry up to show that he is straining to hold the ladder, something Armada omits.
- Instead of remarking on how tightly the panel is wedged into the ceiling, Carlos says he can't hold on to it for long.
- In Armada, Carlos screams that he's falling, and as Alexis holds him, her face is animated to show her frustration more clearly. In Legends of the Microns, Carlos does generic screaming, it's shortened a bit, Alexis looks somewhat stoic, and her facial animation isn't exaggerated like it is in the English version. Meanwhile, Carlos repeats that he was scared of dying in Legends of the Microns, while in Armada, he thanks Alexis for "saving" him again. In Legends of the Microns, the animation for Carlos in the scene after he stops screaming is in reverse order. Additionally, the shot is tightly cropped in Legends of the Microns to have Alexis centered in the frame.
- After the kids send Laserbeak off, Armada uses the commercial bumper's music during the scene transition. Legends of the Microns corrects it and uses the Decepticon transition theme.
- Instead of noticing Rad holding the Mini-Con in his video message as he does in Armada, Hot Shot praises Rad's ingenuity.
- Megatron says he is sick of the children's games in Armada but orders the kids be smashed to bits in Legends of the Microns. It cuts to Cyclonus laughing maniacally instead of offering to show the kids "how the big boys play", as he does in Armada.
- In Legends of the Microns, Starscream draws his wing-blade and tells the kids it's the end of their cheerleading instead of combat not being "a spectator's sport."
- After Smokescreen saves the kids from Starscream, Megatron asks the Autobot for his identity, and Smokescreen responds with, "Who knows?" in a smart-aleck tone. Megatron is silent in Armada. Megatron doesn't say anything to Smokescreen as he runs away with the kids in Legends of the Microns.
- In Armada, Megatron snickers at Smokescreen and the children being buried alive but doesn't mention the kids in Legends of the Microns.
- Instead of Optimus demanding the Decepticons release the children, he asks what happened to them in Legends of the Microns. Rather than remarking how the children "brought the house down" as he does in Armada, Cyclonus teases that he is digging for them in the rubble, but finding the Mini-Con comes first.
- In Armada, Hot Shot demands to know where the kids are, and Cyclonus asks if Hot Shot will "blow a circuit" if he doesn't tell. After giving warning shots, Demolisher says they'll be on their way and let the Autobots play in the dirt after finding the Mini-Con; in Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot tells Cyclonus to move, and Cyclonus refuses. Demolisher then demands Hot Shot stay where he is unless he wants anything to happen to the kids.
- Legends of the Microns has Cyclonus finding Drill Bit in the rubble, activating him, and then demanding that he scan his image once he appears. But in Armada, he immediately says this before awakening the Mini-Con.
- In Armada, Megatron says the newly acquired Mini-Con is a waste, presumably because it bonds with Cyclonus. In Legends of the Microns, he says there's no longer a reason to stay now that the Decepticons have the Mini-Con.
- Smokescreen apologizes to the kids instead of asking if he scared them. Instead of Carlos claiming to know Smokescreen was on the Autobots' side, he calls Smokescreen bold for fighting off the Decepticons. Alexis tells Smokescreen how she thought he was a Decepticon, and he apologizes again. The kids are entirely redrawn in this scene with improved lighting and shading on their suits for added dimension and better facial expressions, and Alexis's hands no longer look short and wonky.
- After Rad's ending narration in Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot and Smokescreen's playful banter can be heard. Hot Shot says things could have been easier had Smokescreen arrived sooner, and the latter says he would have but got sidetracked.
Animation and technical errors
- The shot of Optimus and Hot Shot before the team leaves the base shows the monitor depicting the city behind them. Legends of the Microns corrects the background to be a part of the Control Room.
- The shot of Optimus's forward-facing transformation is animated rather absurdly, as his trailer parts visible behind his truck cab merge into his back as he stands up. Red Alert and Hot Shot's transformations also look weird in the shot in terms of perspective.
- As Cyclonus prepares to dig out the Mini-Con panel from the rubble, his head is drawn hideously off-model.
- Demolishor's forearms are absurdly long in the shot after he fires a warning shot at Hot Shot's feet.
- In Legends of the Microns, Carlos's mouth doesn't move when he speaks while Alexis holds him up.
- Just before Rad escapes the train car on High Wire, the rock encasing the Mini-Con panel disappears.
- In one shot in Armada, Rad's hair color changes to match that of Alexis.
- In the shots of Cyclonus and Starscream in the tunnel, Starscream's left wing is missing the Decepticon insignia. The right wing's emblem is badly drawn as a simple purple pentagon.
- In Legends of the Microns, Carlos's hands are miscolored in the close-up shot of him holding onto the Mini-Con panel as it comes out of the ceiling.
- In the shot of Smokescreen swinging himself at Starscream, the Decepticon symbol is missing from the Decepticon's wings.
- In the shot of Red Alert, Optimus, and Hot Shot before they transform after finding the Decepticons, their vehicle modes appear to be angled downward though they're on a flat surface.
- Carlos's eyes have whites in the shot of the kids talking to Smokescreen at the end in the Japanese dub.
Continuity notes
- Alexis never actually becomes President of the United States—or not that we know of, but she does have a pretty big success story following Armada:
- By 2020, Alexis becomes a diplomat on behalf of the Earth Federation.[1]
- By 2030, she becomes Secretary of State.[2]
- A multiversal newspaper called ALTernity Today revealed Alexis won the Whig Party primary for president in an unknown timeframe. She ran a platform to form a stronger alliance between Earth and Cybertron, with the conclusion left ambiguous.[3] Alexis dreamed big and achieved some pretty positive results—even gaining recognition outside of her universe! How's that for an inspirational story?
- Cyclonus now has two Mini-Cons that have "scanned his image".
- Gadgets and powers:
- Megatron stores Leader-1 inside the claw-like compartment on his tank mode's left side (right leg in robot mode).
- Blackout appears to drive out from behind Demolishor's turret, possibly hinting towards him using the turret's seat before being deployed. Then again, Starscream and Cyclonus's Mini-Cons seem to leap over their shoulders from out of nowhere, so...
- The episode "Palace" showed the last time Blackout used Demolishor's seat.
- Smokescreen can use his crane hook like a wrecking ball, even before wrecking balls became cool.
- Red Alert can deploy his left arm in vehicle mode. His laser scalpel also has a cable that extends out that can tap into Laserbeak.
- Cyclonus Powerlinx with Drill Bit for the first time, increasing his firepower in vehicle mode.
Continuity errors
- Why does Starscream want another Mini-Con after obtaining Swindle back in "Jungle", especially considering that Starscream never Powerlinx with another Mini-Con in a similar manner for the rest of the show?
- After the kids find the Mini-Con panel, Smokescreen attacking them is weird since Rad says they're taking it to the Autobots. An important detail that Armada neglects is Smokescreen revealing later that he attacked the kids by mistake. Legends of the Microns fixes this plot hole since Rad says the children should regroup with the others after finding the Mini-Con. This and the fact that he doesn't mention the children's allegiance to the Autobots until the Decepticons surround them help explain why Smokescreen is mysteriously threatening to the kids at first.
- When deploying their Mini-Cons, instead of Crumplezone, Cyclonus uses Longarm. When confronting the kids on the subway cart, instead of Longarm or Crumplezone, there's Bonecrusher. Crumplezone finally appears when the Decepticon Mini-Cons are running after the kids.
- In a single shot, Blackout disappears, and Wreckage appears in his place.
- After the shot of High Wire, Grindor, Sureshock, and the children facing Starscream after he pulls out his sword, the Mini-Cons vanish from the rest of the episode.
Real-world references
- When Powerlinxing with Drill Bit, Cyclonus calls out, "Let the good times roll!" Likely a reference to the song "Good Times Roll" by The Cars.
Trivia
- The kanji 迷路 would usually be pronounced as "meiro," while "chika" is used for the kanji 地下 in this episode's context.
- Hot Shot passes by a mother and child looking into a store window, and on display in the store is a toy car that is identical to his vehicle form.
- This episode is one of the few without an opening narration.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Der Mini-Con in der U-Bahn" ("The Mini-Con inside the Subway Station")
- 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: "A föld alatt" ("Under the Ground")
Polish
- Title: "Metro" ("Underground")
French
- Title: "Dans le métro" ("In the Underground")
Korean
- Title: "새친구 스모키" ("New Friend Smoky")
Portuguese
- Title: "Subterrâneo" ("Underground")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 3 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:04 (Warner Music Video)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Volume 2 (TFou Vidéo) — French audio only.
2005 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:03 (Universal)
2005 — Transformers: Armada — Triple Collection (Universal)
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
References
- ↑ Established in the Energon cartoon.
- ↑ Established in Ask Vector Prime during the events of the Cybertron cartoon.
- ↑ Established in the Transformers Animated: The AllSpark Almanac II.
