Energon Stars
The Autobots prepare for the Terrorcons' second strike, but it's not where they expected.
- Japanese title: "Shine! Energon Star"
Detailed synopsis
Alexis, now an official of some importance, is driven into Cyber City on Earth. She meets Sally, but can't stay and chat—she has a meeting, much to Sally's disappointment.
Meanwhile, Kicker is marveling at his new armour in his room, when an alarm sounds. He panics, and trips over a conveniently placed bench—then realizes, much to his frustration, that the alarm is sounding for the meeting.
At the meeting, Prime, Hot Shot, Demolishor and others watch a satellite transmission showing a motionless Tidal Wave, repeating his name and being carried away by a swarm of Terrorcon jaguars. A closeup reveals that the creatures eat energon. Alexis explains that the Terrorcons are high-tech androids, called... Terrorcons. Optimus deduces that the Terrorcons' next target will be the energon mines on Earth, and Alexis agrees. However, to fight the Terrorcons would go against the Earth Federation Treaty, which forbids Transformers to take up arms against other Transformers. Kicker doesn't take well to this, of course, interrupting the meeting.
Alexis concludes that the only option is to evacuate Cybertron City. Kicker starts shouting and arguing, demanding that nobody take him away from Earth. Optimus allows him to stay on Earth with the Transformers, but tells him he'd better learn to follow orders. Strongarm wonders if the Omnicons will be evacuated too, but before he can get an answer, Skyblast verbally drags him away to get back to work.
As the evacuation of the city proceeds, Kicker watches Sally leave and comments on how strange it will be without them. Ironhide informs him that he is is now Kicker's guardian. Neither Kicker nor Ironhide are particularly happy about the situation.
Optimus Prime sends a radio transmission informing the other troops that they are moving to Defcon level 4 and that they know very little about their enemy. All the humans have been evacuated except for Mika and Kicker as the city submerges.
Ironhide grumbles about having to guard a boring human and vows that one day he'll get his Spark of Combination... then reality sets in and Ironhide deflates.
On the Moon, Cyclonus can hardly wait for the battle to start, already firing off his guns. His shots are answered as a horde of Terrorcons attacks. Prime is taken by surprise, having anticipated an attack on Earth. Jetfire prepares to take the Space Bridge to the Moon as an initial reinforcement, and Kicker insists on coming along, to Ironhide's relief.
Cyber City raises, activating the space bridge. Hot Shot assures Ironhide that Prime will hear about it if he does well. The Omnicons power up Prime's team with Energon cells, and the team then drives off into the sky.
On the Moon, Jetfire and Kicker have their hands full. Prime's team arrives and counterattacks, while Ironhide heads for the energon mines. After passing several fallen Transformers near the entrance, Ironhide heads down the elevator shaft, interrupting the Terrorcons at work there. Despite his energon star running out, he holds his own against them for a while, till Kicker and the others arrive to back him up. The surviving Terrorcons retreat.
The Autobots return to Earth with the damaged Ironhide, who blames himself for the loss. Kicker starts to storm off, but Prime forcefully reminds him that Ironhide's his partner, so the human tries to cheer him up—by kicking him and arguing with him, of course. It works.
Demolishor asks what happened on the Moon and if they saw Cyclonus there. The Autobots report that there was no trace of him, to Demolishor's concern. Prime starts to remember something, but stops short of sharing it with the others.
Alpha Q muses that his army will soon be more powerful even than the Decepticons, as Scorponok arises...
Stats
Written by: January 16, 2004 (Japan); February 7, 2004, (North America)
Original airdate:
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
Quotes
"I ordered you to team up with Ironhide! Or did you forget that."
"Aw, gimme a break."
"If you want to ignore my orders, then I have no choice but to send you back to your mother."
"You wouldn't!"
"Try me."
- —Optimus knows how to push Kicker's buttons
Other notes
Lost in Translation
- Alexis doesn't just tell Sally about a meeting; she has her help assemble everyone. Sally is a bit unsure about telling her brother.
- Alexis identifies the attackers as Transformers, not Terrorcons.
- Kicker is outraged because the Earth government has declared the battle to be entirely between Transformers, and hence is unwilling to interfere. That is why he abruptly blows his stack at Alexis and everyone else.
- Subtitles in the Superlink version identify Plains City, Jungle City, and Desert City during Prime's evacuation announcement. They remain unnamed in the dub.
- Superlink Ironhide is more angry that Kicker gets to leave ahead of him than relieved at being rid of him.
- Optimus originally tells the overconfident Ironhide not to rely too heavily on the Energon Star, a point lost in the dub.
Pain Count
- "Uh?": 5
- Stock footage: 3
Animation and/or technical glitches
Continuity errors
- Is it "Cyber City" or "Cybertron City"?
- Is she "Misha" or "Mika"?
- Are they energon cells per the dialog, or stars per the title?
- Ironhide doesn't even fire a shot before his energon star fades out.
- Prime is initially fine with Kicker running off with Jetfire, yet later berates him for not teaming up with Ironhide.
