Starscream's Children
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 "Me and this army!" | ||||||
| "Starscream's Children" | ||||||
| Season | 2 | |||||
| No. in season | 8 | |||||
| Production company | Allspark Animation | |||||
| Airdate | September 1, 2019 (Australia/NZ) October 18, 2019 (CN app/website) October 26, 2019 (USA) | |||||
| Writer | Mae Catt | |||||
| Director | Ehud Landsberg | |||||
| Animation studio | Boulder Media Studio | |||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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A distress signal from Megatron leads Optimus and crew to the Nemesis, and into Starscream's waiting clutches.
Synopsis
Bumblebee leads a team of Autobots through the abandoned missile silo, only to find that the AllSpark is gone, as are Starscream and his Seekers. Regrouping back at the Ark, Optimus Prime suggest they expand their search, but are interrupted by Teletraan-X, who has received a distress call from the Nemesis. While the other Autobots are all too eager to see Starscream take care of the Decepticons for them, Optimus refuses to ignore Megatron's call for help. He leads Bumblebee, Windblade, Hot Rod and Cheetor to the Decepticon ship, finding it eerily quiet and dark inside. As they creep through the halls, a metallic tapping noise catches their attention. They investigate, finding a Decepticon soldier lying nearly motionless, tapping his finger against the floor. Windblade scans him as his tapping stops, finding that while his spark is intact, nearly all the energon has been drained from his body. Cheetor senses the AllSpark nearby and they press onward.
"Bug hunt."
Searching through the Nemesis they encounter Lockdown, Clobber, Shockwave, Shadow Striker and Soundwave, all of whom have been similarly drained of energon and frozen in place. It becomes clear that none of the Decepticons escaped Starscream's forces, with Cheetor sensing the AllSpark drawing nearer with each body they pass. As they notice the sounds of skittering around them, they turn to find a whole horde of Scraplets approaching. The group engages the creatures, fighting them off, but the Scraplets begin to overwhelm them with sheer numbers, forcing them to split up. Optimus and Windblade are pushed towards the ship's bridge, where the Scraplets manage to grab Optimus and begin draining his energy. Windblade destroys the parasites, but Optimus has already lost the use of his arm. Suddenly, the Scraplets fall back, and Optimus and Windblade discover Megatron laying before them, similarly drained. The captain's chair rotates, revealing Starscream, cackling smugly.
Cheetor, Hot Rod and Bumblebee continue to fight off the Scraplets. Though Cheetor admits he as not as strong as he was when he was one with the AllSpark, the others promise to have his back. Suddenly, a pair of Scraplets launch a surprise attack on Hot Rod, and begin to consume his energy. Bumblebee too falls, telling Cheetor to help Optimus as he blinks offline, and Cheetor runs off. Back on the bridge, Starscream tells Optimus that he will soon free their sparks, mockingly suggesting that Prime may come back as one of his "children". Optimus rebuts him, saying he has abused the AllSpark's power, but Starscream demands the Matrix of Leadership on behalf of "Alpha Trion", who supposedly has become one of his Scraplets. Windblade lunges at him, but the Scraplets drain her before her attack can land. On Starscream's orders, the Scraplets tackle Optimus and begin ripping his chest open to extract the Matrix.
Before Starscream can claim his prize, Cheetor arrives and begins fighting off the Scraplets. Cheetor declares that Starscream has never been to the AllSpark, and that his "children" are merely mindless abominations without sparks. He demands the AllSpark back, but Starscream refuses, defending against Cheetor's attacks with his spark armor. Though Cheetor appears outmatched, he begins to draw power from the AllSpark and transforms to beast mode. He rips Starscream's armor apart, finding the AllSpark embedded in his shoulder. Upon touching it, the AllSpark releases a wave of energy that restores everyone on the Nemesis and heals their wounds. His spark armor destroyed, Starscream swears vengeance on Cheetor and grabs the AllSpark, making a hasty retreat. Cheetor gives chase, but Starscream manages to escape. The Autobots thank Cheetor for saving them, and Megatron allows the group to leave unharmed.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Oh my. That sounds extra foreboding."
- —A very genre-savvy Teletraan-X
"You do not understand who and what you are fighting."
- —Cheetor prepares to lay the smack down.
"I will...permit you to leave now."
"You are welcome."
- —Megatron thanks Optimus Prime.
Notes
Continuity notes
- Starscream claims one of the Scraplets is Alpha Trion who wants the Matrix of Leadership back, referring to the first flashback of "Matrix of Leadership" where the dying Trion bequeathed the talisman to Optimus.
Transformers references
Real-world references
Trivia
- While Cyberverse Scraplets are based on their Prime counterparts, they function differently. In their prior appearances, they were ravenous, piranha-like creatures that swarmed and quite literally ate their victims alive, while these Scraplets only feed on their victim's energon, leaving them paralyzed.
Animation and technical errors
- As the Autobots enter the Nemesis, Hot Rod's handheld weapon is briefly rendered with brighter shade than it should be compared to darker lighting of the scene.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Les enfants de Starscream" ("Starscream's Children")
- Original airdate: September 22, 2019
German
- Title: "Eins mit dem Allspark"
- Original airdate: October 26, 2019
Indonesian
- Title: "Anak-anak Starscream" ("Starscream's Children")
- Original airdate: October 19, 2019
Japanese
- Title: "Decepticon kara no SOS" (ディセプティコンからのSOS, "SOS from the Decepticons")
- Original airdate: October 26, 2019
Portuguese
- Title: "Os Filhos de Starscream" ("The Sons of Starscream")
- Original airdate: November 5, 2019
Home video releases
- TBA
