TransWarped
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| "TransWarped" | ||||||
| Airdate | March 14, 2009 | |||||
| Written by | Marty Isenberg, Michael Ryan, Marsha Griffin | |||||
| Directed by | Matt Youngberg, Yoshio Frank Chatani, Tetsuro Moronuki, Yutaka Kagawa | |||||
In the aftermath of the battle at the mine, Sari and her father’s relationship takes a strange turn; the Autobots have their work cut out for them trying to contact Cybertron; and Megatron and Starscream find a new opportunity
Synopsis
Part 1
Somewhere along the outer rim of the galaxy, a contingent of Autobots led by Rodimus Prime defends a space bridge against the Decepticons' "Team Chaar", led by Strika. She, Oil Slick and Cyclonus strafe Brawn, Ironhide and Hot Shot, badly injuring Hot Shot's leg and forcing team medic Red Alert to perform an amputation. Before she can do so, however, she is swallowed up by Spittor, who explosively vomits her back at her team. Rodimus contacts the Elite Guard for backup, but the Autobot forces are spread much too thin, defending space bridges from Decepticon attacks all across the galaxy. Oil Slick and Cyclonus proceed to take down Brawn and Ironhide, leaving Rodimus on his own, at which point Blackout arrives and all but finishes the fight with a huge electromagnetic pulse. Rodimus still has some fight left in him, but it drains away when Oil Slick offlines him with a vial of Cosmic Rust. Strika contacts Shockwave on Cybertron, who informs her that nobody is to TransWarp to the planet until Megatron himself arrives. But Megatron was supposed to be there megacycles ago...
Off in the depths of space, the disembodied head of Starscream attempts to remove Megatron's stasis cuffs with his teeth as the Decepticon leader berates him all the while. As Starscream begins bellowing back at Megatron, the AllSpark fragment in his forehead begins to glow, and he undergoes a surprising transformation: his mouth converts into a sonic blaster that shoots the cuffs clean off Megatron's wrists. There is no time for the two villains to celebrate, however, as the giant form of Omega Supreme materializes above them. But after a moment, Megatron realizes that the colossus is offline...
On Earth, as the Autobots return to Detroit, Professor Sumdac explains Sari's origins to her as best he can, revealing that he discovered her in his laboratory years ago, in the form of a small, liquid metal robot. Sari finds the story hard to believe, and her strained patience reaches its end when the group returns to Sumdac Tower and confronts Porter C. Powell and Henry Masterson. When the two men refuse to vacate the premises, Sari's hands transform into energy projectors that hurl the villains to the building's elevator. This newest revelation pushes Sari over the edge, and she walks out on the man she can no longer even think of as her father, returning to the Autobots' base with her "fellow robots". While Ratchet examines Sari—deducing that she's basically human, but partially Cybertronian—Prowl departs to carry out some research of his own. With Ratchet lost in his memories of Arcee, Bumblebee and Bulkhead head back to the Decepticons' destroyed mine base to salvage some equipment that will let them contact Cybertron and inform the Autobots there of the traitor in their midst.
On a small planetoid somewhere in space, Blurr is still trapped in a cement blob with Starscream's egomaniacal and cowardly clones. Blurr proposes using sonic pulses to dissolve the glue, and the egomaniac takes the idea for his own and successfully frees them. Blurr immediately speeds off, launching into space and literally running across the galaxy, ricocheting off everything in his path (including the egomaniac) to get back to Cybertron and inform the Elite Guard of Megatron's invasion plan.
Megatron and Starscream force their way into Omega Supreme's body, but this action brings the giant Autobot back online, and his internal systems immediately seize the Decepticons. Megatron exploits Omega's simple processor and convinces him to take him back to Cybertron "to face justice". Omega transforms back into ship mode and TransWarps off toward Cybertron.
Back on Earth, Bumblebee and Bulkhead are searching through the ruins of the mine when Bumblebee discovers a plasmadynamic thruster space bridge component that abruptly TransWarps him away. While Bulkhead is wondering where his buddy went, he is suddenly attacked by Henry Masterson, who recovered his Headmaster unit and Starscream's headless body from the mine the night before.
At Sumdac Tower, Prowl shadows Sumdac into his laboratory, and quickly accesses his computers and scans the scientist in an attempt to learn more about Sari's origins. Ratchet is having distinctly less luck back at the Autobot base, where Sari refuses to let him perform an exploratory surgery. The whole unpleasant affair reminds Ratchet of his past on Cybertron, when he performed open-processor surgery on Arcee, and discovered she was carrying the codes that were key to the creation of Omega Supreme. Prime snaps Ratchet out of his flashback with the news that he cannot contact Bumblebee and Bulkhead, and Ratchet heads out to the mine to investigate.
With the other Autobots busy, Optimus Prime tries to patch up the Sumdac family feud by surreptitiously opening a comm channel to Professor Sumdac's laboratory and explaining loudly and at length to Sari that he is going to take her to Burger Bot. Sumdac catches on and heads out to meet them there, but Sari is furious at being set up and refuses to talk to him. Unfortunately, the Headmaster soon arrives, having picked up Prime's phone call through bugs left in Sumdac Tower, and threatens to unleash t0t47 pwN4ge!
Part 2
Optimus Prime engages the Headmaster, binding him with his grapplers and dragging him around the Burger Bot parking lot before taking a moment to usher the Sumdacs to safety behind a dumpster. A punch from the Headmaster knocks Prime into the roadway overhead, where he hides in vehicle mode until the villain turns his back. Prime hurls himself off the roadway and lands on the Headmaster, still in vehicle mode, and the pair crash back to the ground. Dazed, Prime is left open to a slab of concrete hurled by the Headmaster, which downs the Autobot leader. Sumdac is forced to take action, and hides Sari within the dumpster so that he can draw the Headmaster's attention and keep her safe. Sari unleashes her energy projectors on the Headmaster, though they do little other than pull his attention away from her father. As the Headmaster towers over Sari, the recovered Prime rejoins the battle, ramming the villain in truck mode. As the Sumdacs reunite, Prime goads the Headmaster into transforming Starscream's body, claiming that a n00b such as he would find it difficult. Enraged, the Headmaster tries to meet the challenge... only to find his Headmaster unit squeezed clean off Starscream's body by the transformation process. As Starscream's lifeless carcass spirals off into the river, the Headmaster is apprehended by Prime and handed over to Captain Fanzone.
Back at Sumdac tower, Prowl reveals his findings to Prime, Sari and Sumdac: he believes that the body Sumdac found in his lab was, in fact, a Cybertronian protoform that scanned Professor Sumdac's data. Sari takes the revelation in stride, although everyone else remains mystified as to how a protoform wound up on Earth in the first place. There is no time to dwell on the subject, however, as Ratchet radios Prime to inform him of Bulkhead's injuries and Bumblebee's disappearance.
Out in space, Omega Supreme re-merges from TransWarp, and his systems all power down, having been sapped of energy by the effort of the teleport. Megatron attempts to escape from the confines of the giant Autobots' body, but without his weapons, he is unable. Starscream's new sonic blaster is similarly uneffective, and Megatron instead schemes to take control of Omega's very body.
On Cybertron, Shockwave (in the form of Longarm Prime) is informed by Cliffjumper that the space bridge network has been shut down to prevent a Decepticon invasion of the planet. Suppressing his frustration, Shockwave is promptly presented with an outlet for his anger when Blurr comes streaking out of the sky and crashes at his feet. Blurr informs him of the double-agent on Cybertron, who he plans to identify by cross-referencing his voice-print with the Cybertron intelligence database, and Shockwave immediately attacks the speedster, intent on silencing him before his cover can be blown. Blurr streaks off into a series of nearby corridors, but his speed fails to carry him beyond Shockwave's reach: using a control console, Shockwave seals off the tunnels, and Blurr is crushed between two walls.
Back on Earth, Ratchet's treatment of Bulkhead is interrupted by Sari, who volunteers use of her Key to fix the larger Autobot's wounds. Ratchet is indignant, insisting that just because something is new, it doesn't make it better, but Bulkhead request the Key. While Sari goes to work on Bulkhead's injuries, the sullen medic is overtaken by his memories, and he recalls the creation of Omega Supreme, and how he was partnered with the new-born titan to serve as his mentor, teacher and friend. Ratchet is roused from his unpleasant trip down memory lane when discussion turns to the whereabouts of Bumblebee, and before long, Bulkhead figures out that the plasmadynamic thruster has TransWarped Bumblebee off across the galaxy. Bulkhead suggests using a homing beacon generator recovered from the mine ruins to pinpoint Bumblebee's location, and Sari uses her Key to fix it before Ratchet can even begin examining it.
Aboard Omega Supreme, Megatron uses his stasis cuffs to "hotwire" Omega's body and bring it back online. However, when the light from Omega's "headlights" falls upon a nearby asteroid, Megatron and Starscream are shocked to see the rock react to the light, transforming into a humanoid monster that immediately attacks the ship! As more asteroids transform around him, Omega TransWarps away to safety... only for Bumblebee, cruising on the tail end of Omega's TransWarp signature, to materialize in his place, right in the midst of the rock creatures! The largest creature swallos the tiny Autobot with a single gulp.
Simultaneously, on Earth, Bulkhead locks in on Bumblebee's position and teleports him back, but the rock creature he is inside comes with him, and is immediately driven to a rampage by the blinding light of the Sun. Optimus Prime detects Bumblebee's signature with the creature, and the Autobots prepare to give chase as the alien stomps off through the city. Prowl is rather taken aback to see Ratchet wearing his EMP generator on his arm once more, while Prime has to deal with Sari's demands that she be allowed to join them in the fight now that she has powers. Prime refuses, and the Autobots zoom off after the rock monster, but Sari won't take no for an answer, and is struck with inspiration: give herself an upgrade! Sari concentrates, and a port opens in her chest, into which she inserts the glowing device. In an explosion of energy, Sari's whole body transforms into a taller, older form, suited in combat armor!
Meanwhlie, Megatron has discovered that Omega Supreme has again expended all his power, and his stasis cuffs do not have the energy left to rectify the situation. He grabs Starscream's head and jams it into the circuits, where the traitor's AllSpark fragment energizes Omega's systems once more.
Back in Detroit, the Autobots are attempting to figure out how to stop the rock creature without hurting Bumblebee when the upgraded Sari comes streaking onto the scene on jet skates. As the Autobots look on in shock, Sari begins attacking the alien with arm-blades and an energy-hammer that morphs out of her arms. A single strike of the hammer reduces the alien to boulders, freeing Bumblebee, who is immediately struck by Sari's new look, but then shouts a warning: the smaller boulders surrounding the pair have transformed into small creatures. But the creatures pose no threat to Sari, and she pounds them into pebbles. As Sari basks in her triumph, Ratchet realizes with horror that she has used the Key on herself—and the elderly Autobot's concern is soon proven to be valid, as the Key overloads Sari's systems, and she loses control of her body. With Sari attacking everything and everyone around her, the Autobots attempt to stop her with a variety of non-lethal strategies, but Sari counters everything they throw at her, including Prowl's processor-over-matter technique. Even as Prime and Sari tell Bumblebee to keep back, the young Autobot races to his friend's size... only for the out-of-control Sari to stab him through the chest! Frozen for a horrific moment, Bumblebee is then hurled back by an energy discharger, and the light dims from his optics...
Part 3
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others |
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Quotes
"Bulkhead and genius in the same sentance? I'll never get used to that."
- —Bumblebee shows his high opinion of his best friend.
Masterson: Cut it out and fight like a robot!
[Optimus fully transforms]
Optimus: Why don't you try fighting like a jet? That is, unless you don't think you can handle transforming. It is pretty difficult. Especially for a "n00b" such as yourself.
Masterson: N-Nobody calls me a n00b! NOBODY!
- —Optimus hits the Headmaster where it hurts the most—his own vocabulary.
Ratchet: Last time I checked, I was this team's medic, and I've been doing it this way for over four million stellar cycles! Any bot got a problem with that?
Prowl: Uh, no, not really.
Bulkhead: No, I'm good.
- —Ratchet lays down the law on the Autobots.
Notes
Animation errors
- The damage to Starscream's body disappears during the commercial break.
- When Ratchet is talking to Bumblebee about Sari's condition, the side of his head is miscolored white.
- When Sari removes her key in order to place it in the homing beacon generator, the string doesn't actually go over her head... It just phases through her neck. Somehow.
- Once the key has been removed from Sari, the string attached to it mysteriously reappears.
Continuity errors
- When Bumblebee gets blown away in Part 1 after being stabbed by Sari, he lands on his back. When it starts again in Part 2, he appears on his side.
- Bumblebee’s rocket boosters seemingly appear out of nowhere. Maybe he had just stored them in his backpack?
- Sentinel is back in his Earth body, despite reverting to his original in "Autoboot Camp".
Transformers references
- Bar Oil Slick, every member of the new squads harkens back to a previous series. Rodimus, Ironhide, Brawn and Cyclonus are heavily based off their Generation One counterparts. Red Alert and Hot Shot take after their Unicron Trilogy incarnations. Spittor and Strika are both modeled after Beast Era characters and Blackout's design is heavily influenced by the live action movie version.
- As Sari dismisses Isaac Sumdac's story of her origin, she suggests that he should have told her how he found her "in a cabbage patch", or the "stork brought me". These same ideas were suggested by Professors Bumblebee and Bulkhead in "Return of the Headmaster". In that episode, the professors also suggested that Sari was really a robot, that she to Earth in an egg, and that she could have fallen through a portal, all of which seems to have some nugget of truth to them: she is a robot, she was contained in a strange pod, and she appeared in Sumdac's lab out of thin air. Foreshadowing!
- After Sari mentions those theories, Optimus Prime recalls how Sari told him of human manufacturing, which occurred in "Transform and Roll Out".
- While lecturing her on taking it slow with her powers, Ratchet says that there's "more than meets the vis-scanners" on having powers, a clear reference to the time honored Transformers tagline "More Than Meets the Eye."
- Starscream says Omega Supreme is "more powerful than I imagined... okay, not AllSpark-powerful...", in reference to his use of the same phrase to describe the AllSpark way back in "Transform and Roll Out!"
- Arcee's open head looks waaay too much like Alex Milne's cover for IDW Publishing's "Spotlight: Arcee" to be a coincidence.
- Blurr races along a Saturn-style planetary ring, as his namesake had done in the Generation 1 season 3 opening credits.
- The building in which the Autobot Elite Guard have their meeting looks somewhat familiar.
Real-world references
Miscellaneous trivia
- Derrick J. Wyatt confirmed via. Twitter after the show aired that it was made "as one 70 minute movie", although it was also cut into 22-minute episodes for syndication.[1]
- Ultra Magnus builds a living WMD and makes him purposefully stupid so he won't question his lot in life. Optimus considers throwing an overloading Sari at said death machine in the hopes that if the kid blows, she'll take it with her. Damn.
References
- ↑ Derrick J. Wyatt - http://twitter.com/DerrickJWyatt/status/1329673450 - "We made it as one 70 minute movie, but it has also been cut into three 22s".
