The Secret of Omega Supreme (episode)
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| File:Secret of Omega Supreme title shot.JPG His real name is Ralph. | |||||||||
| "Quest for Survival" | |||||||||
| Production code | 700-45 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | November 6, 1985 | ||||||||
| Written by | David Wise | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
When the Constructicons begin mining on a distant asteroid, Optimus Prime calls on Omega Supreme for assistance, only for a long-standing enmity between Omega and the villains to come to light.
- Japanese name: オメガ・スプリームの秘密 (Omega Supreme no Himitsu, "The Secret of Omega Supreme")
Synopsis
A rocket ship bursts out of the ocean and travels into space. Guided by an unknown force, the rocket lands on an asteroid and then directs that hunk of rock into Earth orbit. A door on the rocket opens, revealing the Constructicons, who step out and signal Megatron of their success. The Decepticon leader intends to mine the asteroid for the energy-rich ore inside.
During his own orbit of the Earth, Cosmos catches sight of the operation and reports in to Autobot headquarters. Optimus Prime contacts Omega Supreme for help. During a one-on-one chat, Optimus senses that Omega is holding a grudge against the Constructicons and demands an explanation. Omega complies in normal speech.
On Cybertron, Omega Supreme is a good-natured, friendly Guardian Robot. One of his assignments is guarding the Crystal City, the creation of his friends, the Constructicons. Unfortunately, they are altered by Megatron's Robo-Smasher and permanently changed into Decepticons. The Constructicons then trick Omega into leaving his post, and during his absence, they destroy the city. After losing his friends, his job and his city all in the same day, Omega swears he will first help his friends recover and then will get vengeance on Megatron.
For weeks, Omega tracks the Constructicons, until he captures them and tries to reprogram them. At first, it appears that they have been restored, but on their way home, the Robo-Smasher corners them. The Constructicons form Devastator and wrestle Omega into the Robo-Smasher's clutches. The machine goes to work at reprogramming Omega; he is able to pull away in the middle of the process, but the experience leaves him scarred and emotionally barren except for his desire for vengeance against his former friends. He chases after them for millions of years and finally finds them on Earth.
Knowing that Omega's judgement might be clouded fighting the Constructicons, Optimus orders him to remain on Earth unless Prime himself gives the order to head to the asteroid. Omega acknowledges Prime's order.
In space, Cosmos gets a sample of the ore from the asteroid and brings it back to headquarters. Teletraan I determines that the ore is organic in nature. Prime has just ordered Omega to destroy the asteroid, and now he regrets that decision. His further attempts to contact Omega fail because the huge Autobot is bent on revenge.
Once on the asteroid, the vengeful Omega immediately attacks his enemies, wildly smashing open a huge fissure. The entire asteroid breaks in two like an egg, hatching an alien creature, which flies toward Earth. (Although it appears somewhat robotic, Teletraan I's claims that the asteroid was organic in nature imply that the creature is, in fact, biological.)
The creature heads straight toward Earth and begins to destroy San Francisco. Powerglide, Ironhide, Smokescreen, Tracks and Beachcomber move to stop it, but fail after several attempts.
Omega is still attacking the Constructicons, their battle having moved from the asteroid to the Earth, when Prime tracks him down. He demands that Omega stop his attack and instead clean up the mess he created by releasing the creature. Prime tells Omega that only he can save Earth by luring the monster back to its food supply on the asteroid. When the Constructicons escape, Omega threatens Optimus, but the Autobot leader refuses to back down and reminds Omega of his past.
Finally, Omega concedes to Prime's authority and heads off. He confronts the creature and leads it back to the asteroid, where it eats its fill and then flies off into space, never to be seen again.
In the meantime, Prime uncovers Megatron's ore-processing facility and singlehandedly destroys it.
At the end of the day, Optimus thanks Omega for fulfilling his duty. Both Optimus and Omega express hope that he might one day regain some of the feelings that he lost.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Others |
|---|---|---|
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Notable quotes
"Where are you going?"
"To talk to the only other Autobot who can fly into outer space."
"Omega Supreme! Sounds like a barrel of laughs."
- —Powerglide and Optimus Prime
"That asteroid may be new fuel for Megatron. The Constructicons are mining—"
"Constructicons?! Constructicons: Enemies. Enemies die!"
"This is a military mission, not a vendetta, Omega."
"Results: Same!"
- —Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme
"Quit squirming! This is for your own good! HAHAHAHHAHAHAH!"
- —Devastator parrots Omega's words back at him while holding him down for the Robo-Smasher to reprogram him.
"Megatron failed. I lived...but changed. Since then, I feel only hate for the Constructicons."
- —Omega Supreme reveals the results of his betrayal to Prime.
"Revenge: soon. Anticipation: high. Vengeance: GOOD!"
- —Omega Supreme after being ordered to remove the Constructicons from the asteroid in orbit of the planet.
"Keep San Francisco clean—leave!"
- —Tracks to the monster.
"What—eh—if we all just split up—"
"Then he'd hunt us down one at a time."
"Then I say we unite!"
- —Hook, Scrapper and Bonecrusher debate how to deal with Omega Supreme.
"Relax, man. Remember, we're all one with the universe."
"We're about to become one with the pavement! Duck!"
- —Beachcomber and Tracks, as the creature is attacking.
"Perhaps someday, you'll see that there are more important things in life than revenge."
"Possibility: Growing."
- —Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme see a little hope for future therapy.
Notes
Animation or technical glitches
- Near the beginning of the episode, when Hook is talking to Megatron, Sideswipe (an Autobot) is standing to his right. When the camera angle switches, he is replaced by Soundwave.
- The Constructicons wear Decepticon insignias from the beginning, when they were still Omega Supreme's friends.
- Also, why do the Constructicons have Earth forms in the flashback?
- After the Constructicons get Robo-Smashed, there is a shot of Omega Supreme in front of the Crystal City, then a short panning shot of the Constructicons approaching the Crystal City without Omega Supreme in front of it.
- The animation and backgrounds make it a bit unclear how far away Omega Supreme went from the Crystal City. It looks like he just went down the street and back, and he could have seen whether there was an attack from right where he was.
- When Omega Supreme is talking about Megatron giving the Constructicons a "new form", the sky behind him is the sky of Cybertron at the time.
- When Omega Supreme is removing the Robo-smasher from his head, his left forearm is disconnected from his upper arm.
Continuity errors
- "The Secret of Omega Supreme" established an important (and contentious) second origin story for the Constructicons. According to Omega Supreme, millions of years ago, when he was the guardian of Crystal City on Cybertron, he befriended the then-benevolent Constructicons. Megatron subsequently rewrote the Constructicons' brainwaves, turning them into a combining force for evil. This story contradicts Megatron's assertion (in "Heavy Metal War") that the Constructicons were built "recently" on Earth. However, he might have been referring to their current bodies, akin to what happened with the Combaticons, so this account of their origin isn't entirely invalid. Regardless, the Constructicons' origin is complicated by a flashback in "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4" in which the Constructicons are shown creating Megatron, which contradicts both previous origin stories. These different origins for the Constructicons have become notorious as one of the biggest continuity errors in the series.
- Optimus Prime refers to Omega Supreme as the only other Autobot capable of spaceflight, yet in season one, Skyfire made at least two interplanetary flights to Cybertron—one when it was in Earth's orbit, The Ultimate Doom, Part 2 and one millions of years previously, when it was very far away. Fire in the Sky Oh, and Cosmos is like, right there.
- According to both Omega Supreme and Optimus Prime, the reprogramming effects of Megatron's Robo-Smasher can never be reversed, but in "The Core", Wheeljack and Chip Chase were able to sway the Constructicons to the Autobots' side with dominator discs. This may have been yet another brainwash/override of previous programming rather than a "reversal", as such.
- Optimus Prime's surprise at Omega Supreme's post and function (MOS) back on Cybertron doesn't make sense, considering he had been given the Matrix and thus the rank of Autobot Commander about three million years before Omega's encounter with the Robo-Smasher.
- Optimus Prime knows that Megatron used the Robo-Smasher to "swell the ranks of the Decepticons," yet doesn't seem terribly concerned that the Decepticons he's been shooting at for millions of years may very well be mind-controlled slaves. If freedom is truly the right of all sentient beings, shouldn't he be trying to free them rather than kill them?
- By the same token, "the evil forces of the Decepticons" described in the theme doesn't seem much like a given if the forces are brainwashed.
Trivia
- The uncharacteristic eloquence displayed by Omega Supreme in this episode was actually the result of an error by writer David Wise, who was unaware of Omega's normal speech pattern and scripted the episode with normal dialogue. Dialogue editors were forced to insert Optimus Prime's request for Omega to "talk like a normal Autobot" to make the script work.
Home video releases
- VHS
1986 — The Transformers — Volume 12: "The Secret of Omega Supreme", "War Dawn", "A Plague of Insecticons" (Family Home Entertainment)
- Laserdisc
1994 — Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers — Convoy Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
1998 — The Transformers — Autobot Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 5 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 3: Series 2.2 (Madman Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers — Volume 05: Stagione Due Parte Terza (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
2009 — Transformers — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2009 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
