Rise of the Constructicons
Bulkhead befriends a pair of construction vehicles brought to life by AllSpark energy. But the Decepticons have their scanners set on the duo for their latest construction project.
Summary
Stats
- Written by: Stan Berkowitz
- Directed by: Ben Jones, Irineo Maramba, & Shunji Oga
- Original airdate: May 17, 2008
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
Quotes
Hothead Blitzwing: I WILL POUND THEM INTO SHEETMETAL!
[changes into Random Blitzwing and finds a plate of sheetmetal]
Random Blitwing: OHHH! Oh wait! We've already got some!
- —Ah, good ol' Blitzwing.
[Scrapper bangs his shovel into Mixmaster]
Mixmaster: Hey, watch where you're pointing that thing, shovel-head!
Scrapper: Who you calling "shovel-head", cement-breath?!
Mixmaster: My name ain't "cement-breath", okay? It's...it's...uh...
Scrapper: Your little name tag says "Mixmaster".
Mixmaster: Nah, that's too long. Just call me "Mix".
Scrapper: All right, you got it, Mix. And you can call me...
[Sees a sign that says "scrap"]
Scrapper: Scrap.
Mixmaster: All right, that's too short. How 'bout "Scrapper"?
Scrapper: I like it.
- —The Constructicons come to life and name themselves. They had an easier time than Wreck-Gar.
"Where did Bulkhead find these two?"
"I've got a feeling it wasn't charm school".
- —Colour Prowl and Ratchet unimpressed.
[Blitzwing and Lugnut are pushing heavy supplies up a hill]
Icy Blitzwing: Ever notice that whenever there is heavy work to be done, Megatron is suddenly not around?
Lugnut': Bite your vocal synthesizer! Megatron will take us to new heights of glory!
[Blitzwing is nearly crushed under the supplies he is carrying when Mixmaster saves him]
Mixmaster: You okay, buddy?
Hothead Blitzwing: Do I look okay to you?!
Random Blitzwing: Or do these wing struts make me look fat?
- —Blitzwing focuses on the important stuff.
[Lugnut charges his "powerpunch" and sneaks up behind the Constructicons]
Megatron: "Wait."
[Lugnut loses his balance and stumbles into the mine, causing his punch to back fire on him]
Lugnut: "I'm OK."
- —Ah, good old Lugnut.
Bulkhead: But I thought we were friends.
Mixmaster: We are, Bulky, That's why we ain't gonna hurt you, as long as you hand over any bits you got of the...er...what did he call it again?
Scrapper: Uh, SparkAll? No, AllSpark, AllSpark.
Optimus: Over my offline body!
Mixmaster: All right, you know what? I have had enough of this dip stick in the mud!
[Mixmaster shoves Prime aside]
Bumblebee: Hey! He's our dip stick!
Ratchet: And nobody pushes him around!
- —The Autobots defend the honor of their Prime...and fail miserably.
Other notes
Continuity errors
Animation errors
- While Blitzwing is pushing the heavy load of construction equipment from a side profile, the animation is missing a line that separates his inner thigh from his crotch.
- As Megatron explains the Autobots 'cunning' to Mixmaster and Scrapper, the white outline around his insignia is not complete (either that or it's part of a shadow).
- Around the time Ratchet tells Bumblebee to "vamoose", Bumblebee has a red Decepticon insignia
Transformers references
- Megatron corrupting the Constructicons may also be a nod to Generation 1, where he did the same thing in "The Secret of Omega Supreme". Except, instead of using the Robo-Smasher, he got them robo-smashed...
- The two surveyors on top of the bridge are decked out in blue jeans, white shirts, tan jackets and yellow hard hats and boots, just like a disproportionate amount of humans from the Generation 1 cartoon.
- A construction crane which appears in a few scenes early in the episode is colored in the traditional Constructicon green-and-purple. Purple and green excavation vehicles were previously seen in "Nature Calls", and yet the Animated Constructicons themselves are yellow and grey, making them look more like the Generation 2 Constructicon Toys! Suck on that, fanboys!
- Bulkhead was saved from a falling I beam, reminescent of the misadventures which inroduced the Gigantion pro-CHARACTERS in the episode Giant.
Real-world references
- The Constructicons often hit on cars (which could be the equivalent for them to female 'bots...or something), just like real cartoon construction workers with passing women.
- The Constructicons beep as they back up.
- The whole plot seems to be pretty thoroughly cribbed from every after-school special on the dangers of peer pressure ever.
Miscellaneous trivia
- This episode first aired in Dubai, around two weeks before its English-language broadcast premiere in Canada.
- It seems that in animated-verse yellow eyes are the neutral position. Good to know if there is a Switzerland on Cybertron.
- The Constructicons first start off as Constructobots, a portmanteau of construction and Autobot, but later Megatron gives them a new name, formed from construction and Decepticon instead.
- Even assuming the Constructicons don't drink anything off-screen, they still consume what looks like half their weight in oil over the course of the episode. Where does it go?
- On second thought, don't think about it.
