The Ultimate Doom, Part 1
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 "Now, pardon me as I try to outrun those tsunami behind me!" | |||||||||
| "The Ultimate Doom, Part 1" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-08 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | November 3, 1984 | ||||||||
| Written by | Larry Strauss | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Toei | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
Megatron brings Cybertron into Earth orbit to harvest the energy from the destruction caused by Cybertron's gravity.
- Japanese title: 破滅の日 PART I (Hametsu no Hi PART I, "Day of Destruction PART I")
- Latin American title: La Destrucción Máxima, Parte I
Synopsis
Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp attack a solar power station on India's coast. Optimus Prime, Wheeljack, Jazz and Sunstreaker arrive in time to intercept them. Watching this battle remotely are Megatron and the evil human scientist Doctor Arkeville. Megatron orders Soundwave to begin phase two of Operation Guinea Pig, which involves setting Rumble and Ravage loose inside Autobot headquarters. With the Autobots distracted by Rumble's rumbling, Laserbeak flies in, nabs Sparkplug and flies out.
Back in India, the Seekers suddenly take flight and retreat. Prime smells a rat, then Sunstreaker tells him of the attack on their headquarters.
After bringing Sparkplug to Decepticon headquarters, Doctor Arkeville fits him with a mind-control device called a hypno-chip which brings him into the Decepticons' control. Megatron intends to use this technology to create an army of human slaves. With the successful completion of the first part of his plan, Megatron communicates with Shockwave to confirm that the new space bridge is ready.
The Autobots attack the Decepticon undersea base to rescue Sparkplug. Optimus Prime leads a direct attack from above while Cliffjumper, Brawn and Windcharger tunnel under the ocean floor. The mission is successful, and the Autobots return him to their base. After undergoing repairs, the Autobots and Spike notice that Sparkplug is acting oddly, but before they can learn why, the Decepticons launch a surprise attack. Spike realises that Sparkplug has sabotaged the Autobots' weapons and Teletraan I, which let the Decepticons in undetected.
When Spike confronts his father, Sparkplug appeals to Spike to join the Decepticons. Spike refuses, and Sparkplug tells his son that when they next meet, they will be enemies. In a desperate effort to salvage the situation, Spike sets off the fire-retardant foam. This clogs the Decepticons' weapons, and Megatron orders a retreat. Sparkplug willingly goes with them.
At the space bridge site, Megatron reveals that he intends to bring Cybertron into Earth orbit using the bridge. The gravity of Cybertron will cause natural disasters, and the Decepticons plan to harvest the energy and transport it to Cybertron. Arkeville isn't too keen on this idea, but Megatron says it's a new problem for the evil scientist to solve using his genius intellect.
Using the Sky Spy, the Autobots see the giant space bridge and roll out to investigate. When they attack the bridge site, Megatron releases a group of human slaves to act as shields. The ploy works, and things get even more complicated when the humans attack the Autobots with sticks and stones.
Spike stops Sparkplug from attacking Bumblebee, and for a moment it appears that Sparkplug is back to normal. But Arkeville recomputes his signal, and Sparkplug is again under Decepticon control. He rushes to the first space bridge pylon and activates it. Thundercracker activates the second.
Optimus Prime chases Megatron up to the third pylon and wrestles him away from the button. Megatron orders Prime to turn on the pylon himself, or else he will be responsible for catapulting Cybertron into oblivion. Unwilling to sacrifice his home planet, Optimus Prime activates the space bridge, bringing Cybertron into Earth's orbit, but wonders if he is dooming Earth in the process.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
Skywarp: I say Megatron's plan was brilliant.
Starscream: And I say the diversionary attack on the solar plant was a waste of energy.
Skywarp: You waste more energy with your mouth!
- —More heart-warming Decepticon camaraderie.
"I've got the plan, if all of you've got the cast-iron manifolds for it!"
"We have!"
- —Prowl and Optimus Prime
"Into the ocean, let's be daring. The last one in is a rusty herring."
- —Jazz, turning into a poet
Megatron: Fire-retardant foam! Our circuitry's been shorted out.
Thundercracker: My weapon!
Skywarp: Can't we just bash 'em to pieces?
Megatron: If we stay, this foam will permanently damage our circuitry. The Autobots are through anyway. RETREAT!
- —The Decepticons become ever more farcical and ridiculous.
"As the Earthlings say: Fat chance, fat-head!"
- —Optimus Prime has been spending too much time with Spike.
"Have I saved Cybertron...only to destroy the Earth?"
- —Optimus Prime angsts over his decision to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit.
Notes
Technical or animation glitches
- The Maharaja says that his solar panels are collecting three hundred energy units per second. Typical government inflation! The screen says it's thirty units per second.
- For an Indian, that Maharaja sure does look like a Caucasian.
- Skywarp has Thundercracker's colors as he blasts his way into the palace.
- Prime has a sloped windscreen as he and the other Autobots drive through the jungle.
- As the Autobots enter the water, Sunstreaker is colored red instead of yellow.
- Megatron's fusion cannon is drawn pretty badly repeatedly throughout this episode. The front barrel is often drawn at less than half the size it should be. (See the picture further up this page for an example). Apparently size isn't important after all.
- Improbable viewpoints:
- Megatron gets a stationary view of the Autobots charging into the Maharaja's palace. Did Starscream and company spend their time their setting up a camera for him?
- He also gets a view of Soundwave hanging around outside Autobot Headquarters. (Clearly, the Autobots have no security at this point.)
- As Sparkplug works to sabotage the Autobots, Dr. Arkeville gets footage from inside Autobot Headquarters! We can maybe let this one slide and say that Sparkplug set up a video feed or something.
- Then Arkeville gets a view that's clearly coming from Teletraan I itself! (Actually, that would explain both viewpoints.)
- The Sky Spy gets what is essentially a ground-level view of the Decepticon energy pylons.
- Megatron doesn't seem to be leaning over a console or anything as the Autobots arrive at the space bridge, but Arkeville still gets a full view of him from Decepticon Headquarters.
- Arkeville then gets a view from right next to Sparkplug as he talks with Spike during the battle.
- As Soundwave salutes, most of his body shifts around a bit, but his chestplate remains completely still.
- As Rumble transforms, Soundwave's open chest cavity is colored light blue, as if it were closed. His open chest panel is colored dark blue, as if it weren't there!
- Soundwave has a purple Autobot symbol as he ejects Laserbeak. Once his cassette door is open, its inside face is colored solid dark blue, instead of the light blue that it should be.
- Most of Laserbeak's caws and cries are not electronically modulated, though his usual electronic trill does show up a few times.
- Sideswipe's leg clips through Spike as he joins them in watching Rumble.
- Sideswipe's gun vanishes as he bashes Ravage aside.
- Laserbeak grabs Sparkplug from a metal-paneled interior space, yet immediately flies right out of the volcano's cone. As Spike looks up after Laserbeak, he's suddenly standing against a rock background.
- After the Autobots in India realize they have been duped, Sunstreaker says "We were set up!", but in Prowl's voice. A similar goof happened in "Roll for It".
- Starscream's face is light gray instead of medium gray as he and the other Seekers ride the elevator into Decepticon HQ.
- Either a line was cut, or Frank Welker misparsed one of Megatron's lines; he says "It had better function" in regards to the hypno-chip.... when nobody had previously been discussing the chips at all.
- The outer edges of Bumblebee's face are supposed to be white, but they're colored yellow as he consoles Spike.
- The animation of Shockwave talking to Megatron is recycled from "Transport to Oblivion", complete with its strange brightly-lit background and awkward shadow, and Shockwave's incomplete arms.
- Starscream's air intake is light gray instead of red as he and the other jets wait for Megatron.
- Prowl drives into the air at the cliff edge before transforming.
- Brawn's front grill just phases right through his giant vehicle-mode drill as it folds back up.
- Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
- Prime's strike team includes Prowl, Hound, Jazz, Sunstreaker, Wheeljack, and Bumblebee. During the underwater battle, Gears appears for a single shot.
- As Bumblebee says his "biggest space bridge ever" line, the shot changes, and he's been replaced by a misshapen Hound.
- Whatever damage Cliffjumper did to the inside of Decepticon Headquarters has disappeared by the time Autobots take their exit.
- As he dives back out of Decepticon HQ, Cliffjumper is colored as Bumblebee.
- After Starscream, soaking wet with seawater, emerges from the hole made by Cliffjumper's glass gas, there is a moment where his animation freezes...as well as the dripping water.
- In a pan across the interior of Autobot Headquarters, there are two Prowls.
- One of them is drawn working on Jazz. Since when is Prowl a mechanic?
- In the same shot, Ratchet's mouth is missing as he works on Sunstreaker.
- A layering goof (or cheap shortcut) has Sparkplug's arms not actually reaching into the open panel on Wheeljack's back where he's supposed to be working.
- As Ratchet protests Sparkplug's attempt to work on Optimus, it's suddenly Prowl who he is repairing, rather than Sunstreaker (and despite Prowl being up and about a few shots ago).
- After Prime falls, suddenly it's Jazz laying on the table by Ratchet, with Bluestreak standing over him.
- Sparkplug's wrench looks different between shots, losing its round bolt wrench end in some shots.
- When the Decepticons are showered with foam at the Ark, the shot cuts from Thundercracker to Skywarp by simply changing the colors on the character.
- When Starscream flies to the space bridge, his alt-mode is noticeably misshapen. His transformation is amazingly off, as well.
- As Optimus takes aim at Megatron for the second time ("It's not over yet, Megatron!"), his faceplate disappears for a second or two.
- After Sparkplug has his moment of hesitation, Spike's mouth moves, but no words come out.
- When Dr. Arkeville mentions having to improve his hypno-chips, the background is Autobot orange instead of Decepticon purple.
- The third pylon's energy beam isn't quite aligned with the pylon itself.
Continuity errors
- Megatron's "diversion" only draws four Autobots away from their headquarters, with at least that many still present, yet he seems to regard it as a smashing success.
- The entire process of rescuing Sparkplug is fraught with improbabilities:
- Brawn's team should have been swept away by cascading torrents of water as soon as a big enough hole was opened in their tunnel.
- Decepticon Headquarters should also have been inundated as soon as the floor dropped out beneath Starscream. To hold the water at bay, the atmospheric pressure in the base would have to be equal to the water pressure at the bottom of the ocean -- a pressure that Sparkplug and Arkeville most assuredly could not survive.
- Whatever force keeps water from gushing up through the big hole in the floor doesn't stop water from gushing in when Brawn punches a big hole in the wall.
- "Hold your breath, Sparkplug!" says Windcharger, as they prepare to swim out of Decepticon HQ. Yes, that will save you from the freezing temperatures and crushing pressures at the bottom of the ocean!
- The water gushing into the base is nowhere to be seen as Starscream re-enters the base.
- The Decepticons enter Autobot Headquarters through a huge hole in the wall, yet there has been no explosion or anything.
- The Decepticons can be apparently easily damaged by fire-retardant foam, yet the Autobots are fine.
- Spike trips over nothing as he flees the battle. The next shot make it seem like he was supposed to have tripped over his dad's wrench... but in order to have tripped Spike, the wrench must be either monumentally heavy or bolted to the floor; nonetheless, in the next frame Spike picks the wrench up with no sign of strain—just as you would expect anyone could.
Continuity notes
- This episode is one of several that gets a narrative opening from Victor Caroli.
- Gadgets and powers:
- The Autobots make their first use of hydrofoils in this episode, newly installed by Wheeljack. More than most, these gadgets would show up in many future episodes.
- Ironhide retracts his hand and out comes a toilet plunger lookin' thing. He uses it to locate the center of Rumble's seismic disturbance, with the results displaying on his chest windows (not unlike his sonadar sensors.)
- Optimus Prime's chest windows light up, indicating an attack on Autobot Headquarters.
- Brawn has a vehicle mode tunneling drill. It'll show up again in "The Immobilizer".
- Cliffjumper has a depth gauge that emerges from his vehicle-mode hood.
- Cliffjumper fires his glass gas like a regular laser beam from his hand gun.
- Ratchet uses the same retractable wrist-welder he had in "Transport to Oblivion".
- This time, it's the blue button on Megatron's stomach that acts as his radio transmitter.
- Once again, evidence that Cybertron is actually outside the Milky Way galaxy: Optimus describes the apex of the space bridge as being "beyond this galaxy".
- For those who wonder how humans can breathe on Cybertron, this episode offers some relief: the final scenes clearly show Cybertron sucking up a chunk of Earth's atmosphere. Of course, this doesn't cover Chip Chase's earlier visit to the planet in "Divide and Conquer".
Real-world references
- The Seekers attack a solar power plant off Malabar Coast, which is located in southern India.
- As always when there's a countdown of any kind, it's given to Cliffjumper.
- Is Windcharger's line "This must be the place!" a reference to the Talking Heads song that came out just two years prior? Or would you have to be naive to think that?
- Brawn plays a reverse lifeguard: "Everybody into the pool!"
- Star Wars sound effects:
- The sound of an igniting lightsaber is repurposed for Cliffjumper's glass gas beam.
- As Spike flees the battle in Autobot Headquarters, the background laser effects include the sound of the Death Star's turbolasers firing at the Rebel fighters.
- The fritzed-out Autobots get the sound of Darth Vader and Ben Kenobi's lightsabers locking and sparking in their fight aboard the Death Star. The sound is recycled when Spike shorts out Teletraan I a second later.
Trivia
- This episode is subtitled "Brainwash" in scripts and other official materials.
- Like "More than Meets the Eye", the mid-80s Family Home Entertainment VHS release of "The Ultimate Doom" was granted the Film Advisory Board Award of Excellence, proudly displayed on the video box cover. However, this particular "award" does not reflect the quality of any work submitted, but rather that the work is "family-friendly". Cheeky, once again!
- This was one of the six episodes fetured on the console game Revenge of the Fallen.
Home video releases
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- VHS
- 1985 — The Transformers — Volume 2: "The Ultimate Doom" (Family Home Entertainment)
- 1996 — The Transformers — The Ultimate Doom (Malofilm)
- 1996 — Transformers — L'Ultime Piège {Malofilm) — French audio only.
- 2001 — The Original Transformers — Villains: The Ultimate Doom (Kid Rhino)
- Laserdisc
- 1999 — The Transformers — Decepticon Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
- 2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- 2001 — The Original Transformers — Villains: The Ultimate Doom (Kid Rhino)
- 2002 — Transformers — Original Series: Volume One (Maverick Entertainment)
- 2002 — Transformers — Complete Original Series: Deluxe Edition (Maverick Entertainment)
- 2002 — The Original Transformers — First Season Collector's Edition (Kid Rhino)
- 2002 — The Original Transformers — Volume Three (Kid Rhino)
- 2003 — Transformers — Collection 1: Series 1 (Madman Entertainment)
- 2004 — Transformers — Season 1 (Metrodome)
- 2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
- 2007 — Classic Transformers — Series One: Part Two (Metrodome)
- 2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
- 2008 — Transformers — Volume 02: Stagione Uno Parte Seconda (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
- 2009 — Transformers — Season One (Metrodome)
- 2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
- 2009 — The Transformers — The Complete First Season: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
- 2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
