Arcee (G1)
| The name or term "Arcee" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Arcee (disambiguation). |
- Arcee is a female Autobot from the Generation 1 continuity family.
Arcee is usually found in the same general area as her friends and fellow Autobots Hot Rod and Springer, both of whom she cares for deeply. The level-headed and logical one of the three, it is usually Arcee who needs to rein in the other two when their egos or attitudes are getting out of control. In addition to being a fierce warrior and talented gunner, she also just might be one of Rattrap's relatives.[1]
- Hungarian name: Arszi
- Hungarian movie name, first dub only: RC
- Italian name: Saturnia (Headmasters dub only)
Fiction
Cartoon continuity
Generation 1 cartoon
- Voice actress: Susan Blu (English), Masako Katsuki → Yōko Kawanami (Japanese), Carmen Sheila (Portuguese)
During the assault on Autobot City Arcee was instrumental in helping Springer transform the fortress to repel the Decepticon invaders, buying precious time for reinforcements and likely saving many lives. She was among the few Autobots to survive Megatron's savage blitz on the city and to form the small army sent to engage the planet eater, Unicron, who was threatening Cybertron at the time. Although she was nearly left behind when Unicron’s minion Galvatron attacked, she, along with Autobot leader Ultra Magnus, and his small attack force managed to hold their own against the villain long enough to befriend the citizens of the planet Junk, reunite with their lost Autobot comrades, and fight their way into the depths of Unicron where Hot Rod was finally able to open the power of the Matrix and kill the giant foe. Throughout the entire affair, one of Arcee's top priorities was the protection and care of young Daniel Witwicky, a human friend of Hot Rod who had wound up on the adventure with her. The Transformers: The Movie
After the Matrix chose Hot Rod to become the new leader of the Autobots, Rodimus Prime, Arcee remained as one of his closest soldiers. She helped fight a surprise attack on the first Galactic Olympics. When Ultra Magnus, Kup, and Spike Witwicky were discovered missing, she and Springer took off after the perceived kidnapper. Although they were successful in capturing their quarry, the Skuxxoid, and taking his ship, he deceived them about the identity of his employer. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 1 This still turned out to be beneficial as they arrived in time to save Rodimus Prime and Grimlock from being pummeled by a mob of Decepticons. When Rodimus learned that the Quintessons were the real ones behind the kidnapping, she partook in the rescue mission on Quintessa, saving Magnus, Kup and Spike seconds before the planet was detonated. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2 She, along with the others, were sent by the explosion to the planet of Goo where they were stranded until the Junkions were called in to salvage them. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 3 Although she was only briefly seen in the aftermath, it was assumed she returned to Cybertron with the others, and fought when Galvatron waged a full scale assault on the planet. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4
Arcee was among the small group of Autobots that managed to stop a Quintesson plot to use the resurrected body of Optimus Prime as a sort of sleeper agent to lure the rest of the Autobots into a trap. Dark Awakening She was also seen among the other Autobots cheering when Unicron’s plan to connect himself to Cybertron failed. Ghost in the Machine
Later she accompanied a squad sent after Galvatron and his troops who had broken into a secret chamber on Cybertron. This too would turn out to be a Quintesson trap. This time, the Decepticons were fooled into releasing the Quintessons’ dangerous experiments, the Trans-Organics, and their most powerful member The Dweller, a giant energy leech that turned all Transformers into energy vampires. After trying to fight off both Galvatron and the Dweller in the dark tunnels, only she and Ultra Magnus were able to escape and warn Rodimus Prime and Perceptor in time to stop the Dweller and turn the other Transformers back to normal. The Dweller in the Depths
She, along with Rodimus Prime, Ultra Magnus, and Springer became the targets of crime lord Victor Drath after busting one too many of his operations. With the help of Old Snake, the four Autobots were captured. Their minds were transferred from their bodies into the forms of synthoid humans. They managed to escape disposal by Drath’s men, and Arcee eventually made it back to Autobot City in an attempt to warn their comrades that their former bodies were going to be used to blow up the city. Being an unrecognizable human, no one believed her, and she was locked in a detention cell instead. Luckily when Ultra Magnus and Springer managed to foil Drath’s plan all four Autobots were subsequently returned to their rightful bodies. Only Human
The almost maternal connection between Daniel and Arcee was a powerful one, which was only strengthened some time later when Galvatron tried his most ambitious plan. Using the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, Galvatron tried to release its destructive power. Arcee, along with Hot Rod, Kup, and a large Autobot crew, managed to snatch the key away and escaped to the far off planet of Nebulos. There, they became embroiled in the Nebulons' struggle for freedom against their own oppressors, the Hive. In an effort to combat both the Hive and the Decepticons that had tracked them down, the Autobots and the Nebulons agreed to become partners and developed the Headmaster and Targetmaster processes. Having been critically injured trying to save her from Snapdragon, Arcee chose Daniel to partner with as he now needed an exosuit to survive and was her ”dearest friend”. The Rebirth, Part 1
Binary bonded, the two proved quite effective in combat as did all the Autobots and, later, Decepticons who became Headmasters and Targetmasters. The Rebirth, Part 2 Trying to escape with the key, Arcee and Daniel were captured by Scorponok and held prisoner until Spike and Cerebros were able to break them out of the Decepticon City just before it was blown out into the deep reaches of space by a blast of energy from the Plasma Energy Chamber. The Rebirth, Part 3
Japanese cartoon continuity
MC Axis comic
On Cybertron, following a devastating battle, Firestar and Moonracer observed their enemies retreating and presumed that things would be quiet for a while. Suddenly, they were attacked from behind by a massive Decepticon. Arcee immediately saved them by killing the villain with a single shot. Arcee reminded the two Female Autobots that war is especially tough on females. They then pondered whether danger is tripled when three beautiful women are involved. MC Axis pack-in comic
The Story of Super Robot Lifeforms comic
The Headmasters cartoon
- Voice actor: Yōko Kawanami (Japanese)
In 2011, Arcee either lost her taste for combat or was slapped into her place by the male Autobots, so she acted as Fortress Maximus's secretary, filing reports, working computers, and monitoring events. Four Warriors Come out of the Sky
At one point, she wanted to go with Rodimus Prime, Blurr and Kup to search for a new homeworld after Cybertron blew up, but Rodimus told her to stay because she's a girl, and girls are worthless. Cybertron Is in Grave Danger, Part 2
During a party shortly afterward, she slow-danced with Chromedome, and the pair had something resembling a mutual attraction. The Shadow Emperor, Scorponok
At one point, Chromedome became aroused at seeing her transformation from a car. Return of the Immortal Emperor
Marvel UK comics future timelines
Arcee was constructed by the Autobots in an alternate future 1995 as a good-will attempt to placate angry humans who thought that they were "sexist" for having no women in their group. After trying multiple times to explain that Autobots, being robots, had no gender, Optimus Prime surrendered and ordered Wheeljack and Ratchet to make a new Autobot who would meet the humans' demands for sexual equality. However, when Arcee was unveiled at a public ceremony, her pink, skinny, pink, curvaceous, and pink form enraged the very audience Prime intended to placate. Shockwave, Horri-Bull, Fangry and Squeezeplay who immediately attacked, looking to crush the "secret weapon" that was promised. Prime warned Arcee to stay back, lest she get hurt in battle, but the female Autobot, rightfully annoyed at the Autobots' lack of faith in her equal ability, singlehandedly forced the Decepticons into a retreat. Hot Rod thought that was pretty hot. The feminists were enraged beyond words. Prime's Rib!
Arcee and Hot Rod became quite friendly, but with his ascension to Prime status in 2006, they began to drift apart. She was stationed at Autobot City on Earth and got bored by her duties. The Quintessons attacked in 2008, stringing out the city's population to the wall and using a wounded Arcee as bait to attract Rodimus; when he tried to use the Matrix to heal her, they stole it and he reverted to Hot Rod. Despite her injuries, she assisted him in awakening Metroplex and devastating the Quintesson fleet. Space Pirates!
In 2009, Arcee tracked down Soundwave and the Terrorcons on Earth, where they were planning to use a laser bore to leech energy right from the planet's core. Joining a small Autobot detachment, they destroyed the drill and returned to Autobot City to face the greater threat: a timestorm that threatened 20 years of history with destruction. As Galvatron had spent months back in the 20th century, the universe was unraveling from the anomaly. Arcee, Rodimus and several other Autobots traveled back in time to 1989 in order to retrieve the Decepticon villain. Unfortunately, Galvatron had acquired some allies in the past: Scourge, Ravage, and the mighty Megatron. She joined Kup and Ultra Magnus in trying to triple-team Megatron, but was only swatted aside like a bothersome insect. Arcee survived, however, and managed to take a few cheap shots at Galvatron later on in the fight. Eventually, the timestorm asserted itself on the battle, and consumed Galvatron utterly, ending the temporal distortion. Time Wars
Arcee and the Autobots returned to their time only to find it had reset so Galvatron never time-jumped and had instead conquered Cybertron. Their resistance movement was quickly crushed, and the Autobots were forced to leave their homeworld. Aspects of Evil! Arcee joined a hundreds-strong Autobot team in fleeing to Earth to regroup. When the Matrix-imprisoned Unicron possessed Rodimus, Arcee showed a more ruthless side in being the only one of the Autobots to advocate using lethal force on him. The Void White Fire As Unicron would go on to possess Rodimus again and devastate Cybertron in 2010—an event she witnessed—her ruthless attitude appears to have been the right one all along. Yes, Rodimus Prime managed to contain Unicron again, but at what price...? Aspects of Evil!
Beast Era
Beast Wars cartoon
After digging his way out from underneath a sudden rockslide caused by an unexpected energy surge from a damaged stasis pod, Rattrap demanded know what in the name of his Great Aunt Arcee was going on. Transmutate
Universe: Featuring the Wreckers
During a battle against a horde of killer Nightbirds, Wheelie and Daniel (now an adult) sacrificed their lives to end the threat. The death of Daniel took a serious toll on Arcee, who became reclusive, preferring to sit alone with images of her former Headmaster partner. Over time, she slipped away from her friends entirely, disappearing within Cybertron. After an unspecified event, she took on the form of a techno-organic spider, and learned the skills of both Crystalocution and the previously lost art of Tekkaido. She strongly believed that she had premonitions of her friends' deaths before they would happen, and this knowledge had driven her insane. She hid herself away, hoping to spare herself the pain of experiencing this phenomenon.
Hundreds of stellar cycles later, when Predacon Megatron returned from Earth's past and conquered Cybertron with his army of Vehicons, Arcee's solitude spared her from the onslaught. Hot Rod, now known as simply Rodimus, had helped form a new team of Wreckers and wished to enlist Arcee. But Arcee rejected his offer as she was still too embittered by her experience, though she was touched by the Wrecker Fractyl's words. Rodimus's Wreckers were followed by Megatron's new Vehicon generals, Quake and Blastcharge, causing a battle that resulted in Fractyl's near-death. Refusing to lose another, Arcee used her spark to save Fractyl, also reformatting him into a Transmetal body. Arcee agreed to depart with the rest of the Wreckers, and she and Fractyl assisted them in defeating a vast Vehicon army in order to reach an old Autobot shuttle. Departure
But the Autobot bounty hunter Devcon had snuck aboard their ship and attacked some of their group. Arcee and the others raced to the rescue, and Arcee was quickly felled by Devcon, despite his new, smaller Vehicon body. After things were sorted out, Arcee tended to Fractyl, whose new Transmetal form was wildly unstable. At Arcee's insistence, Apelinq created a crude medical bot, CatSCAN, to assist Fractyl's recovery. Arcee was oddly unable to foresee the deaths of Spittor and Sonar, a result of a yet-unknown saboteur amongst their ranks, as she happily watched CatSCAN discover himself while working on Fractyl. Their ship set down on their Oracle-given destination, the remote planet of Archa Nine. Arcee stayed behind with a few others to repair damage to their ship by their mysterious saboteur, who turned out to be fellow Wrecker Cyclonus. Cyclonus stole the Divine Light, the artifact the Wreckers were searching for, and returned to his true master, Cryotek. Betrayal
Arcee blamed herself, as she hadn't been able to foresee death since she saved Fractyl. Demoralized, Arcee and the Wreckers left Archa Nine and headed to another planet at the insistence of their divinely-inspired leader, Primal Prime. They landed on a small icy planet, and a small scout team, including Arcee, was sent to investigate. After searching for hours, they stumbled upon Al-Badur, a Quintesson scientist. Arcee immediately readied her weapon, as she and Rodimus had had enough of the Quintessons for several lifetimes, but Primal Prime asked her to lower them. Al-Badur was a somewhat welcome source of information regarding their quest, and before they could leave the planet with him, they were under attack by a horde of Sharkticons sent by Cryotek. Arcee and Rodimus quietly bonded as they battled the Sharkticons; it was just like old times. Slowly but surely, Arcee's demeanor had lightened. After the Sharkticons were defeated, Al-Badur explained their problem. The Divine Light was an ancient Quintesson piece of technology that allowed them to tap directly into the power of Primus, and now Cryotek had it! Disclosure
But when they returned to Cybertron, it had changed during their absence into a technorganic paradise by the Great Reformatting. Quintessons had seized the opportunity to invade the planet, but Primal Prime assured Arcee and the others that Cryotek was their only concern. Primal Prime, Apelinq, Ramulus and Tigatron left them to find Cryotek, leaving Arcee and the others to take their injured to safety before joining the counterattack forces on the ground. Instead, their shuttle took heavy damage and was descending in a ball of fire and smoke. Arcee, grabbing Fractyl's body and what life support she could, abandoned ship with the rest. Disregarding Primal Prime's orders, Arcee suggested they find Cryotek and help the other Wreckers defeat him. Descending into the layers of Cybertron, they met Cheetor, who joined them on their journey.
Finding the battleground between Cryotek and Sentinel Maximus (the combined form of Apelinq and Primal Prime, newly merged by Primus), Arcee reluctantly set aside Fractyl and his life support to join the fight. She helped Devcon defeat Cryotek's mutated pet Chro, using her weblines to hold the monster still so the bounty hunter could shoot at it. But Cyclonus and Rodimus had disappeared beneath some rubble, so Arcee, Fractyl (who had been magically repaired by Tigatron expending all of his Vok powers) and the others went digging for him... and instead found Botanica, Nightscream... and Arcee's nephew, Rattrap. They avoided each other's glance awkwardly.
They found Rodimus, but he was in rough shape, having fought nearly to the death with Cyclonus. Arcee and the others agreed to follow Al-Badur's instruction in defeating Cryotek, and helped direct the battle between Sentinel Maximus and Cryotek to a chamber deep within Cybertron. Arcee asked Fractyl to keep on Rodimus, who was extremely weak. Their group arrived in the desired chamber, but Arcee had a bad feeling about the place. It seemed familiar. She recognized it too late. It was a Quintesson banishment chamber, and Al-Badur had activated the containment shield within, locking Sentinel Maximus, Cryotek, and himself inside a forcefield bubble that fed into a strongly gravitational portal into nothingness. To Arcee's initial horror, despite her pleas, Rodimus stood up to deal with the situation. She knew that his next action would kill him in his weakened state, but after his assurances, she resigned herself to the outcome. Rodimus and Cheetor, both Matrix Templars, used their skills to drain Cryotek of his Primus-stolen powers. As expected, this was too much for Arcee's long-time friend, and though they succeeded in saving Cybertron, Rodimus was dead.
But death isn't an ending, she realized. It was just another change. "And change is what we do." Arcee and Fractyl gathered his body to take it to a secret burial ground that Arcee knew of. She promised that this time, she wouldn't disappear forever. Wreckers: Finale Part II
Dreamwave comics
Arcee can be seen as a member of Hot Rod's underground rebellion team on Cybertron, battling the forces of Shockwave. Passive Aggression Both Hot Rod and Springer appeared to be in love with her, though she seemed rather uninterested in both of them. In reality, Arcee was a sleeper agent for the Quintessons.
G.I. Joe vs Transformers
She had a mutual attraction to Bumblebee and was devastated when Serpent O.R. killed him.
IDW comics continuity
Arcee was an early test subject of the mad genius Jhiaxus, after he decided to introduce gender into the Transformers just to see the results. Her fundamental CNA was altered, giving her a "maddening maelstrom of contradictory sensory input" and causing all other Transformers to sense a fundamental difference about her and inadvertently use feminine pronouns around her, something that she loathes. (It also gave her fangs and permanent lipstick for some unknown reason.)
She didn't meet Jhiaxus' standards and was dumped. Dangerously unstable and driven by an implacable homing instinct towards her creator's experiments, Arcee cut a mech-fluid swath of carnage across several planets in her obsession with destroying everything Jhiaxus created. She was eventually taken down by Tyrest Accord enforcer Ultra Magnus and incarcerated on the Autobot penitentiary on Garrus-9.
Her spark was kept separate from her body within the penitentiary, as were those of all prisoners. In this limbo, she found a kind of peace. Unfortunately, when the Decepticons attacked to seize the new inmate Monstructor (another Jhiaxus experiment), warden Fortress Maximus freed her as a last resort to stop the attack. She was able to carve her way through the invaders, but not before they left with their target. She headed off to intercept them, with Jetfire convincing Maximus to allow this. Arcee apparently knows of the Expansion and Jhiaxus's part in it, and refers to herself as the "servo-wrench in the works". Spotlight: Arcee
Later, on the Decepticon Battle Platform Zuska, Arcee tortured an unnamed Decepticon until he agreed to tell her where Banzaitron had taken the gestalts. Spotlight: Cyclonus She tracked them down, only to find the Dead Universe Transformers had activated Monstructor and taken him to places unknown, decimating the Decepticons in the process. She agreed to assist the wounded Banzai-Tron in getting to the Monstructor-Six, reasoning it would lead to Jhiaxus... Spotlight: Hardhead
As Arcee assisted Banzai-Tron and his team in trying to recapture Monstructor, Skram arrived through a Space Bridge portal with the means to go to where Jhiaxus was. Slicing off his arm and murdering her way through Micromasters, she finally cornered him and was surprised to find he wouldn't die—thanks to coming from the Dead Universe, he was effectively immortal. Which meant she could kill him over and over.
And she lived happily ever after. Jhiaxus? Not so much. Spotlight: Sideswipe
Toys
Generation 1
- Despite her being a major character in the movie, no actual transforming toy of Arcee in her original cartoon model was ever made. (Maybe it's because she's a pink girl — nah, couldn't be.) Images of a hand-sculpted prototype have appeared in several Japanese publications, but it appears the toy never progressed beyond that stage.
- The Japanese Transformers Generations book shows a piece of concept artwork of the Headmaster Chromedome car in pink and white labeled "Arcee", a proposal for a redeco of the toy as Headmaster Arcee from "The Rebirth". (Presumably, then, this was a Hasbro-initiated idea.) The idea does not appear to have gone any farther.
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Beast Machines
- Arcee (Mega, 2001)
[[Image:Botconarceetoy.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Don't underestimate me, I'm more than just a pretty face. Arcee, MAXIMIZE!
- The very first true transforming Arcee toy is a redeco and minor retooling of the Beast Wars Transmetal 2 Blackarachnia, transforming into a malformed mish-mash of machine and organic parts in the form of a large spider. The spider-mode fangs become a grappling weapon for her robot mode which extend on a retractable string. She has a special spark crystal that changes her faction symbol from Autobot to Maximal when rotated. The robot mode also features a spring-powered waist-swivel for "power kick" action. Arcee lacks the Blackarachnia toy's additional chest armor, and the oddly-placed holes in her... well, chest, that keep the armor in place.
- Arcee was available only as an exclusive to BotCon 2001, and along with Tigatron was the first time since the inception of 3H that they were allowed to use pre-existing characters for convention exclusives. Arcee is also the first convention toy to feature retooling. Preorders received their Arcees with a bonus; the box contained a light-sensitive sound chip featuring voice actress Susan Blu's voice saying "Don't underestimate me, I'm more than just a pretty face. Arcee, MAXIMIZE!". These chips are VERY light-sensitive. Many won't shut up to this day.
Titanium Series
- A 6" transforming Arcee toy was designed and displayed at BotCon 2007, but Titanium Series was canceled before its tooling could be completed.
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Binaltech
- Arcee (2008)
- Japanese ID number: BT-21
- Accessories: Engine/gun
- Arcee is a redeco of Alternators Decepticharge (himself a retool of Windcharger/Overdrive), using Honda's "Pearl White" for the car bodywork. The figure transforms into a "street performance" Honda S2000. Her hardtop roof can be removed for an open-top vehicle mode and used as a shield in robot mode. The engine and driveshaft may be removed and used as a long-barreled rifle (as the toy is Japanese issue and not subject to the same issues that removed the long barrel from the Hasbro versions of the mold).
- In spite of fan speculation, no retooling has been applied to the mold to enhance character resemblance or make her look less butch.
- This mold was used as the base model for the non-toy car-form Legion.
Merchandise
Super Hybrid Model
- Arcee (1987)
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MC Axis Kit
- Arcee (1996)
- This Japanese "garage kit", an unpainted resin model, was made by MC Axis and was also the first official product of Arcee that got a retail release. Included among its paperwork is a comic strip starring Arcee.
Super Collection Figure
- Arcee (2000)
Heroes of Cybertron
- Arcee (2002)
MyClone
- Arcee (2003)
- ID number: MTF005
- A tiny "super deformed" Arcee was created as part of the first wave of MyClone Transformers in Japan. Thanks to a generic base body, these toys could be disassembled and their parts mixed-and-matched.
Palisades statues
- Arcee (2004)
- Inspired by a Dreamwave pin-up lithograph/poster by Rob Armstrong,[2] this statue features looks-right-at-only-one-angle perspective and a face so flat you'd swear she'd flown into a window. The sculpt is based on the Studio Ox character model, with its obnoxious shoulder-armor rig.
- It was later repainted into Paradron Medic.
Robot Heroes
- Arcee vs. Rumble (2008)
- Part of the second wave of Universe Robot Heroes, Arcee is packaged with Rumble as part of the "Generation 1 Series." She is sculpted as running across a patch of mechanical flooring, and she has articulation at the head and shoulders.
Transformers - Mini Bust
- Arcee (Diamond Select, 2009)
Released by Diamond Select Toys in 2009, Arcee was sculpted by Mark Wong of Art Asylum and limited to 1000 pieces. She is featured packing two of the style of pistol she is commonly seen with and looking off to one side. As is the case in certain continuities, she is listed as a member of Elita One's resistance group. Arcee's tech specs give her the following classifications: STR 5.5, INT 8, SPD 8, END 5, RNK 6, CRG 9, FBL 6, SKL 10.
Trivia
- Arcee had two different character models in 1980s Transformers media. An earlier model served as the basis for her original unproduced toy (seen above), which was also the model used for most of her Marvel Comics appearances and for parts of the episode "Only Human". Her final model, meanwhile, was used for her appearances in The Transformers: The Movie, the rest of her season 3 appearances, and her Japanese Headmasters appearances.
- When asked about Arcee's design in an interview, Floro Dery's reply was, "Arcee is the naked mechanical equivalent of Princess Leia of Star Wars."[3] Well, that answers that question... while raising a whole bunch of others!
- Arcee has the most romantic attachments of any Transformers character: Hot Rod in the movie, Marvel Comics and Dreamwave continuities, Springer after the movie, Chromedome in The Headmasters, and Bumblebee in Devil's Due continuity. And then there is the weird affection shown toward Daniel in "The Rebirth, Part 3", but most fans won't read too much into it, for their own sanity. Damn but she got around.
- Arcee's finalized character model was used to make a lot of the background female characters during the movie and season 3. Various Junkion ladies and the Paradron Medics share her design, only without the shoulder-thingies, and a more "shaped" version of her earlier model appeared in "Starscream's Ghost".
References
- ↑ In the episode "Transmutate", Rattrap says, "What in the name of my great aunt Arcee is going on?". Later, in "Wreckers: Finale Part II", the two actually meet up and have a very awkward silence at each other.
- ↑ The creators list for Jaran Studios' Dread Force includes this information in Rob's profile.
- ↑ TransFormers Philippines: Interview With Floro Dery
External links
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- Character stubs missing fiction
- Unreleased toys
- Autobots
- Beast Machines characters
- Convention exclusives
- Female Transformers
- Headmasters
- Headmasters characters
- Martial artists
- Maximals
- MyClone
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- Universe (2008)
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