Attack of the Autobots (episode)
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 "This photo of us is terrible, Hound! You forgot the red-eye function again!" | |||||||||
| "Attack of the Autobots" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-19 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | October 4, 1985 | ||||||||
| Written by | David Wise | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
After a surprise attack (read: diversion) by the Decepticons, the Autobots repair themselves in their regeneration chambers, only to emerge...EVIL!
- Japanese title: サイバトロンの逆襲 (Cybertron no Gyakushū, "Cybertrons' Counterattack")
Synopsis
A Decepticon sneak attack on Autobot headquarters is actually a diversion while Megatron and Starscream use a temporary "invisibility spray" to sneak inside. Megatron sabotages the Autobots' recharging chamber with a personality destabilizer device. After the Autobots recharge the next day, they have a sudden change of heart and are now Decepticon slaves. Optimus Prime obeys Megatron's first order and smashes Teletraan I.
Jazz and Bumblebee, the only unaffected Autobots, are on their way back to Headquarters. Bumblebee makes it back first, and evil Bluestreak forces him into the recharging chamber. Jazz, Sparkplug and Spike arrive and save Bumblebee from being brainwashed. Sparkplug repairs Teletraan I, who tells them that the rest of the Autobots are now evil!
Meanwhile, Optimus leads the Autobots on an attack at the local Air Force base, where they begin trashing military jets. Spike and Bumblebee rush off to the base to stop them, and Sparkplug and Jazz stay behind to work on a cure. All of this mess was started just so Megatron could steal a human solar energy satellite being launched the same day. The Decepticons take over the rocket base and plan to take the rocket and satellite back to Cybertron.
At headquarters, Sparkplug cooks up a bunch of attitude exchangers that will "First, drain evil. Second, recharge good." He and Jazz round up Ratchet, Hound and Skyfire and change them back to good using the devices. Skyfire gives them a lift to the Air Force base, where they manage to change the rest of the Autobots, except for Optimus Prime. The devices pacify Prime’s Combat Deck and Roller, but Prime is still on a rampage. Bumblebee takes it upon himself to change the Autobot leader back and succeeds. Optimus gives him a nice, big hug for his trouble.
Back at the rocket base, Megatron and the Decepticons have boarded the reprogrammed rocket and take off. The Autobots intercept them aboard Skyfire. Prime and Ratchet detach the satellite while Jazz uses a "musical sonic boom' to disable the rocket. The Decepticons abandon it without any further resistance and retreat. Skyfire takes everyone into space and Prime throws the solar satellite into orbit.
Finally back at headquarters, Prime thanks everyone for helping out, especially Bumblebee. But then Ratchet gets jealous and claims credit for firing the attitude exchangers (which was actually Hound’s idea. Hmmm…). Jazz reminds everybody that they have to fix all of the jets that Optimus Prime smashed at the Air Force base. Spike breaks the tension with a lame joke that his dad finds hilarious and we fade to black.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"My warning diode is pulsating!"
- —Optimus Prime does his best to emulate Spider-Man
"Hey, come back! You didn't finish your nickel-plated knuckle sandwich!"
- —Brawn worries about the Decepticons' dietary needs.
"Autobots are noble. Your plan can never succeed."
- —Teletraan I to Megatron, right before Optimus shows the computer where to stick it
"Destroy, destroy, destroy! Let none stand against us!"
- —Evil Optimus Prime (No, it's not Nemesis Prime or any other evil Primes you know.)
Optimus: Well, there won't be any more trouble, thanks to you. And especially to you, Bumblebee.
Ratchet: Especially to him? I was the one who saved the satellite, and came up with the idea of firing those attitude exchangers!
Sparkplug: Oh, yeah? Well who helped you make 'em in the first place?
Ratchet: Why, you wouldn't know a micro-chip from a potato chip!
- —Optimus Prime's thanks to Bumblebee starts a little round of glory-hogging.
Notes
- This is one of two episodes (the other being "Day of the Machines") not initially aired in Japan during the run of Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers. The episode was eventually dubbed in 1990 and released on Pioneer's laserdisk set of the series. As such, it was retroactively added to the series official episode list as episode 73, a numbering reflected in Transformers Generations.
- Having been dubbed several years after Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers had ended, not all the original cast members were able to return. Frenzy (originally voiced by Ken Shiroyama), Bluestreak (originally voiced by Kōki Kataoka) and Wheeljack (originally voiced by Osamu Saka) were replaced by Katsumi Suzuki.
Animation or technical glitches
- At about 1:10 into the episode, when Prime says, "My warning diode is pulsating. Decepticon Jets!", Thundercracker and Skywarp swoop down, using the sound effect from Darth Vader's TIE Fighter, complete with his breathing! (A similar audio gaffe happened in "Megatron's Master Plan, Part 1", as well as G.I. Joe: The Movie. Guess you can't be too choosy when you crib sounds from Star Wars.)
Continuity errors
- Was this convoluted scheme really the best use Megatron could think of for invisibility spray?
- "Good" and "Evil" are apparently scientific states now...
- If the Decepticons could use a rocket to get back to Cybertron, why waste all the time building a spaceship in the pilot?
- Why did the Decepticons have to do what they did to the Autobots, instead of just knocking them out and having Bombshell use his Cerebro-shells?
Transformers references
- Optimus, Ratchet and Prowl can be seen flying in this episode.
Trivia
- We get to see all three of Optimus Prime's components in action, which is rare.
- Additionally, although this is the third appearance of the Combat Deck's interior cannon in the series, this is the only time it was drawn toy-accurate by the animators.
- Apparently, Autobots are only heroic because they are programmed to be.
- Prime's tech spec bio states that damage to his other two components can be felt by him. Conversely, this could be interpreted that the energy exchanger's effect on the other two components actually weakened Prime's evil state which is why he started fighting it right after. That is, if you want to apply his bio to the G1 cartoon.
