Metamorphosis (Armada)
| This article is about the episode of Armada. For the Cloud story, see Metamorphosis (Cloud). |
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 Grindor phone home | ||||||
| "Metamorphosis" (Henshin) "Mimicry: Metamorphosis" | ||||||
| Production code | TF: A-02 | |||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS | |||||
| Airdate | August 23, 2002 (English) 17 January 2003 (Japanese) | |||||
| Writer | Ryō Motohira | |||||
| Director | Takashi Sano | |||||
| Animation studio | Actas Inc. | |||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy | |||||
Pursued by the Decepticons, Rad, Carlos, and Alexis find they have allies in the form of Optimus Prime and his Autobots.
Synopsis
"Aw, but I liked "Generations" more..."
Billy and Fred find that a cave-in has trapped them both underground. Above ground, the fight between Optimus Prime and Megatron continues. Rad, Carlos, and Alexis attempt to flee with their new Mini-Con friend, only to be cut off by two new robots teleporting in: Starscream and Demolishor. As Demolishor reaches for Rad and Carlos, two more robots appear, and the youngsters find themselves surrounded. Alexis begins to lead her friends away, but Starscream spots High Wire and moves to grab the Mini-Con. However, Hot Shot blocks him, and the pair grapples.
Alexis has enough time to spy the Autobot sigil on Hot Shot's shoulder before Rad announces they're heading for the caves. Before Demolishor can make a move to stop them, he's tackled by Red Alert and repeatedly pummeled so that his optical sensor is damaged. Megatron scornfully calls him "a weakling," but he is knocked down to the ground by Optimus Prime a moment later. Optimus demands that they surrender, but Megatron suddenly disappears, promising that he will return. The other two Decepticons quickly retreat via teleport, leaving three surprised Autobots. Optimus tells his troops they have to stop Megatron from getting hold of the Mini-Cons. Hot Shot points out the Decepticons are using short-warp equipment and must have a base nearby, which leads to Red Alert suspecting they're on the Moon.
The Decepticons are indeed using the crashed Mini-Con spaceship as a base. The three Decepticons arrive there, waking Cyclonus, who is taking a nap in a hallway. The latter immediately begins fawning over Megatron and is ignored. His inquiry over whether they found the Mini-Cons is met with glares, and Starscream suggests Megatron could put him in charge of finding them. Megatron agrees but makes the price of failure clear.
Back in the caves, Rad thinks they're safe, but Alexis is sure the giant robots will come after them, or, more specifically, High Wire. None of the kids can understand High Wire's speech, but they follow the Mini-Con into another chamber, and a door slowly slides closed behind them. Rad and Carlos assure Alexis this is a good thing. The lights come up, and the trio realizes they're standing on the threshold of a spaceship. Rad accesses the ship's computer, letting the kids learn about Megatron and Optimus Prime. Alexis recognizes the Autobot symbol from earlier.
On the Moon, Megatron stands outside the ship musing over how he will find the Mini-Cons and spies a glint of light on the Moon's surface.
High Wire goes nuts, much to the confusion of the three children. He opens a wall panel, revealing two Mini-Con storage panels, which Alexis and Carlos activate. The panels unveil an orange she-Mini-Con and a blue Mini-Con, who pair up with Alexis and Carlos, respectively.
On the Moon, Megatron has found another storage panel, which he activates to reveal his old Mini-Con Leader-1, filling Megatron with evil glee.
Fred and Billy finally manage to free themselves from the cave, only to panic upon seeing a giant footprint. Underground, Carlos and Alexis let the Mini-Cons scan their skateboard and scooter for alternate modes.
Back on the Moon, Megatron demands to know why Cyclonus was unable to detect a Mini-Con right under his nose. Cyclonus can offer no excuse, and Starscream's chuckle only enrages the Decepticon leader further. Megatron tells them to witness the power of his Mini-Con, prompting Leader-1 to show his firepower. The two Decepticons are frightened and astonished. Demolishor arrives to report with the news that two more Mini-Cons were activated on Earth. Megatron puts Cyclonus in charge of the recovery team and gives his troops new alt-modes based on Earth vehicles. Starscream transforms into a supersonic fighter jet; Demolishor can become a self-propelled gun; Cyclonus looks like a military helicopter, and Megatron himself transforms into a tank. They return to Earth.
Meanwhile, the three kids have a good time with their new Mini-friends. They race on the Mini-Cons through a forest, across water, and up a cliff. Then they unexpectedly run right into Megatron and his troops. They try to escape, but the Decepticons surround them, as does Megatron's triumphant laughter. It seems to Rad that they're done for... until Megatron is rammed into a rock wall by a big red-and-blue truck. Cyclonus and Starscream are so astonished that they remain poised in mid-air instead of doing anything. The truck pulls up by the three kids and asks them to get in; Alexis recognizes the Autobot symbol on its side and jumps right in. Rad and Carlos are more hesitant until Demolishor looms up behind them. The Decepticon attempts to stop the truck from leaving but gets shot repeatedly in the face and run over. Then a yellow sports car promptly rams him when trying to pursue.
Safely out of danger, the truck lets them out and transforms into robot mode — it's Optimus Prime, naturally. Likewise, Hot Shot and Red Alert appear in vehicle mode and transform into robots. The kids observe the oncoming Decepticon forces, and Optimus combines with his trailer to enter Super Mode. Rad reflects that the Autobots might need his help while on Earth, and the Autobots and Decepticons prepare to battle.
Featured characters
((Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Mini-Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"What a weakling."
- —Megatron is not impressed at Demolishor being taken down by Red Alert.
Hot Shot: They're using short-warp equipment, so they must have a base set up somewhere near here.
Red Alert: (looking at the Moon) They're up there.
- —200,000 miles is "near"?
"You had better not. If you do, I'll have you dismantled for scrap. Then I'll launch what's left of you straight into the sun, understand?"
- —Megatron on what will happen if Cyclonus fails.
"So he really is from outer space! I bet he came from some distant galaxy a long time ago to escape those big robots. Maybe they use small robots like him to increase their power or something. His ship must have crash-landed on Earth, and now they've tracked him down."
"Wow, you think so?"
"That's the only reason I can think of why those big robots would come after him."
- —Rad comes up with the most far-fetched, unbelievable explanation ever. Alexis is impressed.
"Hey, guess what? He understands me! He does, he really does!"
"Are you sure? This one's not reacting to anything I say. Aw, his batteries must be low. Maybe he needs to be recharged or something."
- —Alexis and Carlos on meeting their Mini-Cons.
"Shut your mouth, you worthless piece of junk!"
- —Megatron on Cyclonus' failure.
"Megatron! Uh... sir? What happened in here?"
- —Demolishor is surprised at Leader-1's redecorating.
Notes
Differences with Legends of the Microns
- In Legends of the Microns, Optimus and Megaton's face-off scene is silent until Rad's narration, where he says, "Now in retrospect...This is what started everything." In Armada, Rad recaps Megatron and Optimus appearing at the previous episode's end, mentioning that they're "bitter enemies from an ancient time" and how unbeknownst to him and his friends, they'd have an essential role in the Transformers' battle. The track "Let's Roll Out, Cybertrons!" plays during this scene in the Japanese dub, but Armada plays the Transformers theme.
- Billy asks what's happening outside, thinking there's another earthquake. After Fred starts crying, he tells him to stop since he doesn't want Rad and the others to hear him. Armada has Billy resign himself and Fred to their fate of being trapped in the cave, and he tells the crying Fred to get a grip.
- In Armada, when the kids and High Wire get surrounded, Carlos says they're in the middle of a showdown but says trying to run is useless in Legends of the Microns. After Hot Shot saves Alexis and High Wire from Starscream, Rad asks if Alexis is alright before saying they should return to the cave.
- Armada has Red Alert express concern for Optimus after the fight. But as is often the case with Autobots in Japanese fiction, they're all business in Legends of the Microns, where Prime goes straight to talking about short-range warp equipment, and Hot Shot notes the Decepticons being unable to build a warp device in such short time. The brief extension made to the conversation in Armada means Hot Shot gets the equipment line instead.
- The Decepticons' discussion in the Mini-Con ship is entirely different between the two versions of the show: In Armada, Megatron wants to know if Starscream had any luck finding Mini-Cons by scanning the planet. Starscream suggests that Cyclonus would do a better job, prompting the crazy 'copter to take up the task reluctantly. In Legends of the Microns, the exchange is about how Cyclonus fell asleep instead of searching the ship for Mini-Cons. Megatron tells him to get back to work but is far less threatening about it than in Armada since the Autobots don't know about the ship yet, and they can afford to take their time as they set it up as their base. The Japanese dub has Starscream telling Cyclonus to wipe some drool off his face and adds a sniffling sound when Cyclonus wipes his face.
- Once they take cover in the caves, the kids worry about the Transformers coming after them in Armada but want to tell people about them in Legends of the Microns. Then, rather than ask High Wire if the Transformers are after him as she does in Armada, Alexis decides against telling anyone about the Transformers since people would take High Wire away and asks him if "Mini-Con" is his real name. In Legends of the Microns, Rad translates that High Wire is a Mini-Con and that he leads Rad, Alexis, and Carlos into an elevator in the Mini-Con ship. When Alexis questions why only Rad can understand High Wire, Carlos says that it's maybe because Rad's the one who found High Wire.
- In Legends of the Microns, Rad claims High Wire said he and other Mini-Cons escaped from Cybertron four million years ago, and most of the flashback scene is silent. Then Alexis asks Rad if the Mini-Cons left Cybertron to escape war, and Rad tells her High Wire said Cybertron is far from Earth. The kids only learn Megatron and Optimus's names and that Megatron is a villain, and High Wire says they can trust Prime to protect them. They don't discover the Transformers' factions until the next episode.
- As he looks at the Earth, Megatron doesn't vow to find the Mini-Cons in Legends of the Microns; he's cursing Optimus for going there. Armada Megatron is relatively calm and collected.
- When High Wire goes crazy, Rad translates him as saying he has friends on the ship, and Alexis asks, "Who's calling?" as she and Carlos react to Sureshock and Grindor, making their link with the Mini-Cons more explicit than in Armada.
- When Billy and Fred exit the cave, Billy's "giant footprint" line is absent. He asks what it is instead.
- In Armada, Megatron recognizes Leader-1 when he emerges from his panel, saying that he was formerly his partner in the past. It's less clear in Legends of the Microns; he seems to recognize the Mini-Con, but later episodes imply the Decepticons also make up names for the Mini-Cons when they free them. However, the later episode, "Prehistory," would confirm Leader-1 was indeed partners with Megatron in the past and that it wasn't an Armada addition.
- While the kids merely whoop about how awesome their Mini-Cons are in Armada, in Legends of the Microns, Carlos shows Grindor his skateboard, already knowing the Mini-Cons can transform. Then Alexis tells Sureshock to scan her razor scooter and expresses distress over Sureshock's alternate mode, presumably referencing the fact she's turned into a moped instead.
- After Megatron admonishes Cyclonus for failing to find Leader-1 and Leader-1 beeps in seeming agreement, Cyclonus attempts to ask what the Mini-Con has just said. Most of the tirade Megatron delivers is demanding that Cyclonus refer to Leader-1 with the Japanese suffix "sama" to respect his leader's Mini-Con. When Cyclonus asks his question again with the appropriate suffix, Megatron quietly admits he doesn't know what Leader-1 said because he can't understand the Mini-Con anymore than they can, prompting Starscream to chuckle. Armada drops all of this and makes the scene an extended run of generic threats and insults from Megatron, while Cyclonus grovels and gives excuses, making it seem like Starscream is snickering at his teammate's plight.
- Instead of claiming a demo of Leader-1's power will inspire them to work harder, Megatron says they will operate as planned, although he can't understand Leader-1's speech yet. He later asks Cyclonus if he's ready rather than stating the latter is leading their recovery team.
- In Armada, while looking at the Decepticons' new vehicle modes, Demolisher wonders what Megatron has done, and he claims to have "modified" their alt-modes. Legends of the Microns changes the dialogue to have Demolisher impressed by the designs instead. Then Megatron says they will scan the vehicles since they're "the strongest military weaponry." He also doesn't mention the Mini-Cons increasing their strength in this scene.
- Armada adds Optimus's lines to the otherwise silent scene in Legends of the Microns, where he scans the semi-truck that becomes his vehicle form.
- Legends of the Microns changes the children's dialogue during their Mini-Cons' "test drive": Alexis tells Sureshock to go faster. Then Carlos reminds Rad of his previous comment about Alexis not being an excitable type, and Rad says that Alexis is only scary when she focuses on becoming president. After this, Alexis points out the forest ahead.
- When the kids run into Megatron, Carlos and Rad begin screaming during Alexis's close-up in Armada, but the kids all scream after the scene cuts to them and Megatron in the Japanese dub. After landing, Rad says Megatron's name and notes the latter's tank mode after he transforms.
- After Optimus transforms, Rad recognizes him and says his name. Red Alert doesn't have his sirens blaring when he arrives. After Optimus enters Super Mode, he doesn't address High Wire by name and instead says the Autobots will protect them (possibly referring to both the Mini-Cons and kids). Legends of the Microns removes the transformation noise.
- Rad's closing narration is about how the kids were excited as the Autobots surrounded them rather than scared. Armada takes a more lighthearted approach as Rad says he's ready to return the favor and help the Autobots.
- Red Alert tells Hot Shot not to get scared on him, to which Hot Shot asks if oldtimer Red Alert's lower back is alright.
Animation and technical errors
- The kids are missing from the previous episode's closing shot of Megatron and Optimus during the opening.
- The whites of Carlos's eyes appear multiple times throughout the episode.
- Megatron and Alexis refer to Mini-Cons as plural, although High Wire is the only one seen at that point. Legends of the Microns fixes it to the singular form.
- When the Autobots and Decepticons surround the kids early on, Alexis says, "Come on, follow me," but High Wire is the only one who responds and follows. Legends of the Microns explains this with Alexis specifically referring to High Wire.
- When he, Megatron, and Demolishor materialize in the warp gate, Starscream's head is miscolored red.
- When Megatron allows Cyclonus to try finding the Mini-Cons' location and threatens him with what will happen should he fail, Megatron's mouth stays shut the entire time he speaks.
- After Megatron threatens him, Cyclonus's hand changes color from its standard dark gray to the same yellow as his forearms and hips. The top half of his chest changes to dark gray like the lower half when he wipes his face.
- The close-ups of Hot Shot and Prime's Autobot symbols look very pixelated.
- When looking at Optimus's hologram in the Mini-Con ship, Alexis has an angry expression despite just saying that he tried to help High Wire and the kids. Legends of the Microns explains that it's because Alexis assumes Optimus is a villain like Megatron before Rad translates for High Wire and corrects her, saying that Prime is on their side.
- When Megatron turns after the kids fly past him, the colors of his eye and its surrounding area are reversed, with his eye appearing black and around it is red.
- Megatron's first on-screen transformation includes different animation hiccups: The animation of his arms folding into his shoulders is layered incorrectly; The arms appear to fold on top of his shoulders rather than inside them; Then as his animation model then moves his upper half outside the camera, his lower body is placed too low in the frame, showing that it's not attached to anything; lastly when his legs fold up, his crotch disappears for one frame.
- For some reason, David Kaye says, "Transform! Vehicle mode!" even though the second part of the line is pointless. Megatron only says, "Transform!" in the Japanese dub.
- After Rad sees the rest of the Decepticons transform, he jumps the gun and says the kids are surrounded moments before it happens. This mistake is fixed in Legends of the Microns as Rad exclaims in shock at the sight of the Decepticons transforming, and he says, "We're surrounded!" at the proper time.
- As the Decepticons surround the kids, Grindor is colored as all blue, missing his yellow markings.
- In Legends of the Microns, Optimus's truck horn isn't heard before he rams into Megatron.
- During the shot of Carlos, Grindor, Rad, and High Wire comically running towards the screen, Carlos's mouth doesn't move when he says, "Run for it!" The boys only scream like maniacs in the Japanese dub.
- In the same shot, High Wire's two bottom tires are miscolored.
- Grindor and Sureshock are off-model when exiting Prime's cab.
- Optimus's faceplate is briefly miscolored yellow during his Super Mode transformation sequence. This mistake will occur throughout the series.
Continuity notes
- Grindor and Sureshock debut in this episode, rounding out the Street Action Mini-Con Team.
- Cyclonus, Starscream, Demolishor, Red Alert, and Hot Shot make their debuts in their Cybertronian and alternate Earth modes.
- Megatron and Optimus Prime gain their alt modes.
- Starscream reaches for Alexis and High Wire when he tries to grab the Mini-Con and appears beside Alexis when the Decepticons surround the kids and their Mini-Cons. These moments can come across as nothing, but they could be some subtle foreshadowing of what happens between the girl and Decepticon in future episodes.
- The Decepticons warp to their base for the first time.
- This episode marks the beginning of the running gag of Cyclonus falling asleep, especially at inconvenient times on the job.
- Megatron reunites with his old partner Mini-Con, Leader-1.
- In Armada, Alexis refers to the female Sureshock as male. Then again, she doesn't indicate understanding anything Sureshock says either, so it's not surprising she has no indication.
- The so-called "giant footprint" that Fred and Billy find is the imprint of Megatron's back from when Optimus pins him down.
- After activating Leader-1, Megatron states that Leader-1 is his old Mini-Con partner. Optimus Prime says something similar upon activating Sparkplug in the episode "Comrade."
- Gadgets and powers:
- When Starscream first appears, he shows an ability akin to heat vision to detect Mini-Cons amongst humans on the battlefield, accompanied by retracting eyelids. After obtaining his new Earth alt-mode, he never shows this skill again for the rest of the series.
- This episode is the last time Mini-Cons awaken in their Cybertronian forms and scan Earth-based alternate modes, as, in future episodes, the ones that transform into minimized Earth vehicles have those modes applied upon awakening.
- High Wire, Sureshock, and Grindor can cross water in their alt-modes in this episode; however, we never see them do this again.
- Sureshock and Grindor establish a psychic link through touching fingers with Carlos and Alexis; this allows them to understand the Mini-Con binary language, a supposedly present feature among all Mini-Cons.
- However, Armada doesn't explore this nearly as well as Legends of the Microns or the Linkage comics (See below for a more in-depth explanation).
- Megatron shows off his ability to forcefully activate Mini-Con panels by firing an energy beam from his antlers for the first time.
- In later Legends of the Microns episodes, this supposedly has the same effect as the Mini-Cons scanning their Bulk's image.
- Much like the Mini-Cons, Optimus Prime shows off the ability to scan an alternate form without the aid of a ship computer or a stasis pod.
- Leader-1's chest panel that holds his Mini-Con insignia on it can flip around to reveal some energy weapon capable of firing fairly powerful beams. This ability is used quite frequently throughout the series.
- Optimus Prime deploys his missile pod from his trailer for the first time while trying to remove Demolishor's grip from his grill.
- Powerlinx forms:
- Optimus combines with his trailer to enter Super Mode for the first time.
Continuity errors
- Rad notes that Megatron and Optimus are "bitter enemies from an ancient time" in his opening narration, but he can't possibly know that yet unless he's psychic.
- Red Alert immediately figures the Decepticon base is on the Moon; this is a huge continuity error since the Autobots' lack of knowledge about the villains' base location factors into the plot on several occasions later. It's not an issue in Legends of the Microns since our heroes don't know where the Decepticons have gone.
- The reason why Cyclonus didn't appear with the other Decepticons on Earth in the opening fight goes unexplained in Armada. According to the Japanese dub, he was tasked to search the ship for Mini-Cons but fell asleep instead.
- Like in the previous episode's Japanese version, Rad is consistently able to translate all of High Wire's sounds, while in Armada, he can't since the English dub is anything but consistent. Though initially speaking for High Wire, Rad starts guessing stuff, making massive leaps of logic, reading from another source, or it's just padding, including the Mini-Cons' history, who the Autobots and Decepticons are, and why they want the Mini-Cons. This continuity error extends to the other kids too. In Legends of the Microns, Alexis expresses her surprise at understanding Sureshock, but in Armada, she's amazed at Sureshock's ability to understand her. Meanwhile, Carlos complains that Grindor is not reacting to him in Armada, while in Legends of the Microns, he repeats for the others what Grindor just told him: the Mini-Cons have been waiting four million years for the kids to arrive. This cryptic remark sets up a vital plot element that's explained near the end of the series.
- Megatron claims to have altered the Decepticons' vehicle modes though Optimus scanning his truck form afterward renders this detail pointless. Legends of the Microns corrects it to Megatron telling the others that they'll scan Earth military vehicles for their new alt modes.
Real-world references
- Leader-1 is named after Leader-1, leader of the Guardians from the GoBots cartoon and toyline.
Trivia
- The kanji 擬態 would usually be pronounced as "gitai," while "henshin" is the kanji 変身.
- Pre-Earth mode Optimus is standing on a ledge above as a truck passes below. When he's finished scanning, the truck passes by, and we cut back to Optimus, already in his truck alt-mode. You will see this again.
- Demolisher's eye tears up a little bit in a true anime-like fashion as he struggles to hold back truck-mode Optimus.
- This episode is the first one after "First Encounter" without the title sequence.
- However, it's the first one to have it in the Japanese dub before the opening song.
Foreign localization
German
- Title: "Transformation!" ("Transformation!")
- Original airdate: 2 December 2003
Hungarian
- Title: "Átalakulás" ("Transformation")
Polish
- Title: "Przemiana" ("Metamorphosis")
Portuguese
- Title: "Metamorfose" ("Metamorphosis")
French
- Title: "Métamorphoses" ("Metamorphoses")
Korean
- Title: "변신하는 초로봇 생명체" ("Transforming First Robots Living Beings")
Home video releases
- DVD
2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 1 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:01 (Universal)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Best Battles (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)
