Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!
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 Star Blazers: The Next Generation | ||||||
| "Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever!!" (Daniel Shijō Saidai no Pinch!!) | ||||||
| Production company | Takara, Toei | |||||
| Airdate | December 4, 1987 | |||||
| Writer | Toyohiro Ando | |||||
| Director | Takao Yoshizawa | |||||
| Animation studio | Toei | |||||
| Continuity | Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity | |||||
Spike attempts to negotiate peace with Galvatron, but all is not as it seems as the Decepticons, now joined by the Horrorcons, plan their next evil scheme.
Synopsis
When the Decepticons' early warning system on Chaar detects two unidentified robots entering the planet's atmosphere, the Headmasters leap to the conclusion that the Autobots have launched an attack on them. The Headmasters open fire on the two jet mode robots, who land and transform into animal forms to battle the beast mode Headmasters, but the battle is soon halted by Galvatron, who reveals that these two new robots are the Horrorcons, Apeface and Snapdragon, who he has summoned to bolster their forces.
Autobot double-agent Punch informs the Autobots on Athenia of the Horrorcons' arrival, and the Autobot Headmasters recall how, on planet Master, the two villains had been allies of Scorponok and had been exiled to space for the crimes they committed. In the midst of this discussion, Spike suddenly makes an announcement—he wishes to arrange to personally negotiate with Galvatron, in hopes that the Autobots and Decepticons can work together to develop a new energy generation program. Spike expresses to Fortress his fear that further damage to the universe could be caused by the Decepticons' continued destruction of more planets, like Cybertron and Mars before them, but Fortress is unsure. When Shouki presents Fortress with tangible proof of that damage—noting that space bridge travel has already become unstable due to the disruption of the solar system's gravimetric balance caused by the loss of Mars—Fortress is convinced to allow Spike's plan.
"We'll make you command Fortress Maximus in the Hasbro version."
"... Alright. Deal."
A communication from the Autobots soon reaches Chaar, but Galvatron crumples it and tosses it away in utter disgust. Scorponok speaks up, however, suggesting that they use the Autobots' offer as a cover, using it to lure them into an attack, and Galvatron agrees. The response is sent back to Athenia, with one condition—that Spike bring Daniel and Carly with him. Perturbed by the request, the Headmasters come along as guards, and the Trainbots carry the group on an unpleasant, unsteady space bridge journey to Earth. They set down on Shangri-La Island in the South Pacific, where they are soon met by Galvatron, the Decepticon Headmasters and the Horrorcons. Galvatron reveals that either Carly and Daniel are to be held hostage by the Decepticons for the duration of the meeting as a safety measure, or the Decepticons will refuse negotiations. The pained Witwicky family agrees, and Galvatron warns the Headmasters not to interfere if they value the humans' lives.
Shortly, the talks between Spike and Galvatron begin, with Spike offering peaceful co-existence and a joint ownership of any new energy that their alliance will develop. Galvatron, on the other hand, insists on complete control of all energy, questioning Spike's allegedly neutral standing as an earthling by pointing out that he lives with the Autobots on Athenia and demanding that he return to Earth to prove that he is unbiased. Spike cannot comply, as his energy research requires that he remain on Athenia, so Galvatron offers an alternative—as a show of good faith, Spike must leave the thing which is most precious to him on Earth... his son, Daniel. A tearful Daniel agrees to the request, and Carly decides to stay with him.
Back on Chaar, in his Counterpunch guise, Punch is gathered with the other Decepticons in their base, but receives a rude shock when the doors open and Galvatron, supposedly in negotiations on Earth, enters! Galvatron reveals his new plan to ransack other planets for their energy, and Punch immediately reports to Athenia that the negotiations are being used as a distraction to cover this scheme. The news is relayed to the Autobots on Earth, and, not wanting to tip their hand, the Autobots have Shouki and Yukikaze stage an impromptu sumo match to distract the Decepticons while the Headmasters sneak away. Chromedome bursts in on the meeting, and the "Galvatron" negotiating with Spike reveals his true identity—a disguised Sixshot! With Highbrow having already seen to the rescue of Daniel and Carly, a battle erupts, ending when Galvatron orders the Decepticons to return to Chaar. The villains escape via the Decepticon space bridge, but as he vanishes through it, Sixshot prevents the Autobots from following by triggering an explosion that tears the bridge apart. The explosion causes a chain reaction throughout the space bridge, which destroys the Autobot installations linking Earth and Athenia as well, leaving the Autobots stuck on Earth.
On Chaar, the Decepticon army boards Scorponok, and the giant craft takes off, setting course for other energy-rich planets while the Autobots are fractured and unable to immediately pursue. Some time later, Fortress arrives on Earth with Battleship Maximus and gathers a team of Autobots to join him in following the Decepticons' trail. Furious and emotional over having had his family manipulated by the Decepticons, Daniel requests that he be allowed to go on the mission, and Fortress and Spike permit it. Battleship Maximus blasts off, marking the beginning of a new stage in the Headmasters' battle!
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Notes
Animation and technical errors
- When the Autobots are studying the computer information on the Horrorcons, Fortress is colored like Fortress Maximus.
- When Scorponok proposes attacking the Autobots, Soundblaster is colored in the traditional blue of Soundwave.
- As the Autobot Headmasters react to the Decepticons landing on Earth, Brainstorm's chest is white instead of dark blue. The same error occurs later when Chromedome's team receives the news that Galvatron is a fake.
- The very last shot of Fortress has him missing his chest Autobot insignia.
- As Spike, Carly and Daniel depart from Athenia aboard the Trainbots, the dark gray square on Fortress's chest is miscolored.
Continuity notes
- Cybertron was destroyed in "Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2".
- Mars met its end in "Explosion on Mars!! MegaZarak Appears".
- As The Headmasters crosses the halfway-point, this episode marks the beginning of a new story arc for the series. Running for the next half-dozen or so episodes, the Decepticons travel from planet to planet gathering energy for Galvatron's new, mysterious master plan, culminating in "The Emperor of Destruction Vanishes on an Iceberg".
- Teletraan I is mentioned by name as the computer the Autobots use to send their message to Galvatron. This is the first time Teletraan I has been seen or heard from since "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5" when it was (presumably) destroyed by Trypticon. It is never mentioned by name again in the series.
Trivia
- Jaar, the Japanese name of Chaar, is romanized in this episode as "Jarl".
- This episode is also known by the title "The Most Important Thing in the World". This title originates with the ancient list of The Headmasters episodes that has been on the Internet since man rode around on dinosaurs, but precisely how it came to be called this is a mystery that will likely never be solved, because, although it's perfectly appropriate as a title for the episode, it is not even close to the actual translation. Frustratingly, because this oh-so-old episode list was the basis for most online The Headmasters episode guides, this is actually the title that the episode is most frequently known by!
- This episode marks the destruction of the Space Bridge network, which is treated as a big deal. Its impact is questionable though, as by this point in the series practically every Autobot is able to fly (and seemingly break orbit) and they frequently use Broadside and the Trainbots, not least Maximus, for interstellar travel.
Foreign localization
English
- Title: "Danny, the Little Hero" (Omni Productions dub)
- Original airdate: November 15, 1992
- Mindwipe notes that the Horrorcons wear the Autobot symbol.
- In the Omni Productions dialogue script for this episode, Apeface is called "Sela", Snapdragon is referred to as "Wimpus" whilst Punch/Counterpunch is "Carter".
- Title: "Daniel Faces His Biggest Crisis Ever" (Shout! Factory sub)
Spanish
- Spanish: "La Trampa de Galvatrón" ("Galvatron's Trap")
- Original airdate: ?
- The Spanish translation of the Headmasters cartoon presents some problems with Snapdragon's name. On Snapdragon's first appearance, Galvatron himself calls him "Zela". (However, it's a bit hard to understand Galvatron; if you don't listen carefully, it sounds like he says "Zedda", which has caused further confusion.) Then Snapdragon presents himself as "Ozela", after which both the narrator and Chromedome call him "Zela". Later, Hardhead calls him "Zedda", and finally, Galvatron calls him "Zela" again. This would seem to make "Zela" his official name, since it's used the most frequently.
- Also, in the Spanish dub, Mindwipe mentions both Horrorcons have the Autobot symbol, just as the Horrorcons' Decepticon symbols shine.
Italian
- Title: "Un patto per salvare lo spazio" ("A pact to save space")
Mandarin
- Title: "Dānní'ěr de Tòngkǔ Juézé " (丹尼尔的痛苦抉择, "Daniel's Painful Choice")
Home video releases
1996 — Transformers: The Headmasters Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2002 — Transformers: The Headmasters — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2005 — The Takara Collection Vol 1 — Transformers: Headmasters (Metrodome)
2007 — Transformers — The Complete Takara Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers: Headmasters (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Japan Generation 1 — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2011 — Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters (Shout! Factory) — Japanese audio with optional English subtitles only.
2012 — Transformers: The Japanese Collection (Shout! Factory) — Japanese audio with optional English subtitles only.
