Heavy Metal War
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Megatron challenges Optimus Prime to a one on one battle to end the war.
Japanese title: "The Laws of Cybertron"
Summary
A busy construction site is attacked by driver-less construction equipment, and several components are stolen. The construction vehicles return to Decepticon headquarters and are revealed to be the newly built Constructicons. The components they stole are parts to a machine that will allow Megatron to absorb the power chip rectifiers from his Decepticon warriors.
While the final preparations are completed on the machine, Megatron flies to Autobot headquarters and makes Optimus Prime an offer he can’t refuse. Megatron offers the Autobot leader a one on one battle with the winner staying on Earth to do as he pleases, and the loser taking his army and exiling themselves to deep space. Prime, confident in his own abilities, accepts the challenge and sets the match.
Knowing that Prime would be unable to resist a chance to honorably end their conflict, Megatron returns to the Decepticon base and uses the newly completed machine to gain all of the special powers of his warriors. Skywarp’s teleportation, Thundercracker’s sonic boom, Rumble’s seismic attack, etc. Knowing that Megatron would now be unbeatable, Starscream voices concerns that the Autobot computer Teletraan I would be able to detect what Megatron had done. Anticipating this problem, Megatron dispatches the Constructicons to take care of the computer.
The two armies arrive at the battle site, and the contest begins. Megatron unleashes a barrage of powers, (while Starscream gives a running commentary) and Prime is outclassed at every step. Not knowing that he has been deceived, Prime concedes the fight and comments that he underestimated Megatron. The shocked Autobots begin the trek back to base, and the Decepticons follow to make sure they leave.
Meanwhile, the Constructicons have nearly tunneled their way into the Ark and Teletraan I. Teletraan I, sensing the imminent danger, activates the Dinobots. The Dinobots respond and start pounding on the Constructicons opening up a lava channel in the process. The battle not going in their favor, the Constructicons pull out one last trick and combine into the super warrior, Devastator. The returning Autobots see the battle, but are unable to help. Inside the Ark, Teletraan I is able to show that Megatron cheated, and the Autobots rush outside to help the Dinobots.
Distracted by one of Hound’s holograms, Devastator is shot by Optimus Prime and falls apart and into the lava. The other Decepticons are routed by the Autobots and also pushed into the lava. There is much rejoicing.
...Until Megatron rises from the lava, vowing that the Decepticons will rise again.
Notable quotes
"Forgive me, but I believe your boast sounds vaguely familiar."
- —Starscream, after hearing another of Megatron's promises to destroy the Autobots
"Let's see how he likes my new shockblast cannon! [The cannon explodes in his hands] Uhh...hnh...that's a shock, all right."
- —Wheeljack
"But I need my power chip rectifier. Besides, the Cybertron Code of Combat states that each combatant must fight as they are, without additional reinforcement. You wouldn't want to cheat, would you, Megatron?"
"I will win by any means! At any cost! Even if it means terminating you, Starscream!"
"I was only making a legal point..."
- —Starscream and Megatron
"It's bad news, Scrapper. They've brought out the heavy artillery."
"Then it's time we did the same! Only heavier!"
- —Hook and Scrapper as the Constructicons prepare to merge into Devastator for the first time
"Nothing defeats the Devastator! Nothing!"
"Nothing, little one? Ha ha ha! What would you say about me? HAHAHAHAHA!"
- —Devastator and a "Giant Autobot"
"It is ended."
"You mean it's over, Optimus? I mean, have we seen the end of this war? Forever?"
"Who can say, Spike? In this vast universe, is anything truly forever?"
- —Spike and Optimus Prime, with a question that is quickly answered, at least for the audience
"Uhhh... we shall rise... AGAIN."
- —Megatron floating in lava
Stats
Writer: Donald F. Glut
Major characters (in order of appearance): Constructicons, Megatron, Starscream, Optimus Prime
Minor characters (in order of appearance): Ironhide, Dinobots
Original air date: Saturday December 15, 1984
Other notes
Technical/animation glitches
- The Rhino DVD version of this episode is full of animation errors that do not appear in the original broadcast version or prior home video releases (as a result of incomplete film masters being used for the DVD), as well as crude attempts made by Rhino to fix some of these errors. Some of these are aesthetic complaints--such as when the Rhino DVD portrays the power-chip smelter as a featureless rectangular smear, lacking all the light effects and animation that should be present. Other new errors actually confuse the plot--perhaps most notably, when Rhino DVD Optimus Prime hurls a boulder at Megatron, Megatron now does not use Skywarp's teleportation ability to get out of the way, and the boulder flies straight through him with nobody seeming to care, including Megatron himself. Meanwhile, as the Constructicons are tunneling underground towards the Autobot base, the Rhino DVD visuals occasionally show them driving aboveground with a clear blue sky. But, uhhh, hey, that silver DVD case sure is shiny and pretty!
- When Megatron descends to speak to the Autobots, and at two points during the duel with Optimus Prime, he is colored dark grey.
- When Megatron laughs maniacally after being infused with the power of the other Decepticons, his head is disproportionally small, and his Decepticon insignia moves independently of his body.
- When Megatron talks to Starscream after that, the two rectangular things on Starscream's chest are colored white instead of black.
- In the Rhino DVD version, when the Constructicons move out to dig the passage to the Autobot headquarters, Mixmaster is constantly moving a bit back and forth while driving, as if the animation frames are not ordered properly.
- During the duel between Optimus Prime and Megatron, where are the Autobots seen in the background sitting, in midair?
- In the Rhino DVD version, when Skywarp boasts that Megatron acquired the power of teleportation from him, he is colored like Starscream, who is seen sitting right next to him.
- When the Autobots cheer inside their headquarters, Bumblebee's insignia is missing.
Continuity errors
- The Constructicons' origin would be one of the most confusing and inconsistent of the series. In "Heavy Metal War", Megatron states that they were recently built on Earth; however, in the second season episode The Secret of Omega Supreme, Omega reveals that millions of years earlier he befriended the then-benevolent Constructicons and that they would be subsequently reprogrammed by Megatron as a combining force for evil. Further complicating the Constructicons origins is a flashback in Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4 where the Constructicons are shown creating Megatron, which contradicts the origin of being built on Earth.
- Where were you on THAT one, Flint Dille?
- The building site ruined and from which the components were stolen from by the Constructicons was actually a power plant that one of the construction workers stated to be able to provide whole planet with limitless energy. Evidently wasting the opportunity to harvest endless energy and fighting petty duels with Optimus Prime while being able to cheat is much more fun in the optics of Megatron than sticking to the old plan of acquiring as many energon cubes as possible and conquering the universe.
- Ironhide is apparently able to detect the Decepticons by himself, without relying on Teletraan I. However, in "The Ultimate Doom, Part 1", the Autobots were unable to detect the approaching Decepticons with Teletraan sabotaged.
- Optimus Prime takes out Devastator with a single shot from his laser rifle. In later episodes he obviously couldn't take out the giant, or any giant (except Bruticus in one weak spot) without considerable help from multiple Autobots, and in those cases frontal assaults did not work. Of course, one can think of this moment whenever the question comes up for "The Ultimate Weapon" whether Ultra Magnus and Rodimus Prime can lay low Menasor by shooting him in the back.
- It's strange that Starscream should point out the legal standings on Megatron's cheating and suggest he try to fight honorably; Decepticons by their very nature are treacherous and manipulative (Starscream himself is the one of the worst), and even if he's afraid of empowering Megs even more, surely he couldn't pass up an opportunity to crush the Autobots (like the plan almost did, for a while).
- So the Decepticons couldn't FLY out of the lava when they fell in?
Transformers references
- This episode introduces the Constructicons and Devastator.
- This episode is also the "source" of the aborted "Lava Bath Safety" deco for the original Megatron toy.
Miscellaneous trivia
- During Teletraan's montage of the sources of Megatron's acquired powers, the descriptions for the individual Decepticons are verbatim quotes from the Transformers Series Bible's "Decepticon Rolecall" page, albeit including several lost-in-translation typographical errors ("Decepticon Lider", "Decepticon Commicator", "Sky Warp"). The most notable of those is Rumble (misspelled as "Runble") being identified as a "red robot". Furthermore, the seemingly random numbers listed on those screens are actually Hasbro's product codes for the respective toys. Interestingly enough, even Reflector is given a product number, even though he was never released at mass retail. However, the renditions of the Decepticons are not the official model sheets for those characters, but rather all-new drawings.
Real-world references
- Reference
