The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus
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| File:The two Faces of Ultra Magnus Ttilecard.JPG "The Ass of Ultra Magnus" | |||||||||
| "The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus" (Zettaizetsumei! Car Robo 3 Kyōdai) "Stalemate! 3 Car Robo Brothers" | |||||||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS, Studio Gallop | ||||||||
| Airdate | 4 October 2000 (Japanese) October 20, 2001 (English) | ||||||||
| Written by | Yukiyoshi Ōhashi (Japanese) Michael McConnohie (English) | ||||||||
| Director | Akira Katō | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Studio Gallop | ||||||||
Ultra Magnus bad?
Neither side is sure just yet.
Complicated plots.
Synopsis
Reviewing clips in his viewing globe, Megatron ponders the presence of Ultra Magnus. Sky-Byte points out that the new Autobot is no fan of Optimus Prime, and suggests recruiting him; Megatron agrees, assigning Sky-Byte the job. Meanwhile, Koji and the Autobots also question the role Ultra Magnus has come to play.
The three Autobot brothers, Sky-Byte, and Ultra Magnus meet each other in the city and begin to battle. When Sky-Byte and Ultra Magnus are alone, the Predacon offers Magnus a team-up against Optimus Prime. Magnus claims to be interested in the offer (but secretly only wants to join the Predacons for information). The Autobots have been eavesdropping on this conversation with concern, and emerge from hiding to confront Ultra Magnus; unfortunately, the Commandos have also been hiding nearby, and they ensnare the three brothers in a net.
T-AI and the Autobots send Team Bullet Train to investigate the Autobot brothers' disappearance. As a test of loyalty, Megatron assigns Ultra Magnus to defeat one of the trains. Meanwhile, Scourge uses the captured Autobots to set a trap for Optimus. Magnus, learning this, gets the location of the trap from a clueless Sky-Byte, and then rushes to attack the train bots—but before firing, he turns around and faces Sky-Byte. The four Autobots quickly blast the shark over the horizon.
Prime arrives at the location Scourge forwarded him, looking for his comrades. All the Decepticons open fire, but the train bots (sent by Ultra Magnus) arrive on the space bridge in time to save their leader. But because the Decepticons have prisoners, the Autobots can't fight back.
Magnus, having been told of the Autobot brothers' location by Sky-Byte, turns up to where they're being held and bluffs his way in. Although warned in short order by Sky-Byte, the Predacon trio are no match for Ultra Magnus, who frees the three Autobots and carries them to the battlefield (much to the bemusement of a passing Kelly). With the knowledge the brothers are free, Optimus and Rail Racer are finally able to fight back.
The Autobots and Predacons battle against each other. When Megatron stomps upon the three brothers, concern for the Autobots causes Ultra Magnus to receives an exponential power-boost. The energy is transferred into the three Autobots, who push Megatron away and change color into stronger forms. Ultra Magnus and Prime combine into Omega Prime and, faced with superior firepower, the Decepticons retreat. Magnus states that he still holds his grudge against Prime and leaves; privately he ponders whether he and Optimus could be sharing the Matrix somehow.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Predacons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"This whole Ultra Magnus thing is so uncool!"
- —Koji, sounding oddly happy.
"Now Megatron will see that I'm the sharpest shark in the fish tank of evil!"
- —Sky-Byte, ever the wordsmith...
Ultra Magnus: Hey Sky-Nibble, we gonna walk all day or what?
Sky-Nibble: Almost there.
"Aww, Sky-Chump, I'm sorry if I hurt your feelings."
- —...but hey, Ultra Magnus ain't too shabby either.
"Megatron is an absolute utter genius, wouldn't you agree?"
"I guess."
"Admire the sheer beauty in making Optimus Prime search for the Autobots where he'll never find them, but where we will find him! Hahahaha! It's so sweet. When he shows up, the Decepticons will pounce!"
"That's pretty slick."
"Yes, that's why Megatron is so amazing."
- —Sky-Byte gushes to a less-than-enthused Ultra Magnus on his favourite subject. He really should gather some like-minded friends and start a fan club.
"I have to tell you, I feel that I have been used very badly!"
- —Sky-Byte states the blatantly obvious
"Hey! There go all the talking cars on that truck. I wonder what's up. Maybe they're all being taken away for good to some kind of talking car junkyard, never to be seen again. Ha, I should be so lucky..."
- —Kelly tries her hand at wishful thinking...it doesn't last.
"You meddlesome metal maggots!"
- —Megatron malevolently metes malicious mockery.
Notes
Differences with Car Robots
Real-world references
- Sky-Byte states that "we're all more or less brothers under the armour, but some of us are more equal than others". Two fins good, four wheels bad!
Trivia
- Side Burn claims that on Cybertron he was first in his class in theoretical mechanics. Maybe there weren't any red sports cars around to distract him.
- After a four-episode absence since "Sky-Byte Saves the Day", Slapper, Dark Scream and Gas Skunk finally make their glorious return to the storyline...in a minuscule role that sees only Slapper get any lines other than "aaaaargh". It's a harsh, unforgiving world when you're yesterday's henchman.
- This episode introduces spiffy new colour schemes for the Super Mode Autobot brothers, doubtlessly for reasons that are entirely inherent to narrative development. One slight issue, though: if Side Burn is attracted to little red sports cars, and his super mode form is a little red sports car, then...actually, let's not go there.
Home video releases
- DVD
2001 — Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 7 (Pony Canyon) — Japanese audio only.
2005 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 2 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Season Two (Maximum Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)
