Out of His Head
From Transformers Wiki
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 If looks could kill. | ||||||
| "Out of His Head" | ||||||
| Season | 1 | |||||
| No. in season | 14 | |||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | May 7, 2011 | |||||
| Written by | Nicole Dubuc | |||||
| Directed by | Vinton Heuck | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures | |||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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Megatron attempts to resurrect himself using Dark Energon by controlling Bumblebee's mind.
Contents |
Synopsis
Ratchet concludes his tests on Optimus Prime and gives their leader a clean bill of health. Optimus thanks Ratchet and Bumblebee, while Arcee is unsure whether she managed to successfully end Megatron's life during their mission on the Decepticon ship. In truth and unknown to any of the others, Megatron's psyche still dwells in Bumblebee's processor, and he's determined to reclaim his own body.
Miko referees a basketball game between Bumblebee and Bulkhead. Bulkhead easily sinks the first basket, but as Bumblebee goes to shoot, he suddenly flashes back to the space bridge explosion. When Bulkhead interrupts the vision, he gets the ball thrown at his head. Bumblebee apologizes and they play on. Later on, Bumblebee freezes as Megatron takes control. Megatron wonders how he escaped the destruction of the space bridge, and he recalls Starscream pulling the sliver of Dark Energon from his chest. Now knowing what he needs to restore his body, Megatron vows to take revenge upon his subordinate.
On the Decepticon warship, Starscream taunts Megatron's body with the Dark Energon sliver, announcing that he has come up with a new, epic plan that will convince the other Decepticons that he's worthy of leadership. Knock Out arrives in time to hear the tail end of the speech.
Waiting outside his house, Raf calls Jack, who is already in class, to complain that Bumblebee hasn't picked him up for school. Bumblebee is at base, being puppeted by Megatron to crush a piece of equipment. Ratchet is irritated by the destruction, and Bumblebee explains his visions of Megatron. Ratchet induces a power-down to allow Bumblebee's mind time to rest. While he's explaining this to Optimus and Raf, they get a call from Agent Fowler, who says that Decepticons have broken into the Kauai Naval Observatory in Hawaii and stolen the Heuck Nigoghossian telescope's primary lens. Fortunately, the lens has a tracking device, and the Autobots trace it to the Arctic, where there's a massive, unmineable energon deposit—unmineable unless the glacier it's in is melted, something that would devastate coastal cities.
Indeed, the Decepticons have already created a heat ray with the lens, and Starscream begins melting the glacier in question.
Raf chats with the shut-down Bumblebee, despite Ratchet pointing out that Bumblebee can't hear him. Raf asserts that Bumblebee is family and shows off a photo of his parents and siblings.
Optimus, Arcee and Bulkhead walk through the Arctic and locate the Decepticon warship, which is warming things up with its heat ray.
Ratchet leaves Raf and Bumblebee to find parts to repair the equipment Bumblebee damaged. While he's gone, Bumblebee suddenly powers up and heads to the main control room, where he activates the GroundBridge. Ratchet and Raf are surprised to find him departing through the GroundBridge and wonder where the diminutive Autobot is going. Bumblebee arrives at the battlefield where Optimus and Ratchet once fought Megatron's army of Terrorcons, in search of the Dark Energon shard Megatron used to raise the dead. Ratchet attempts to use the GroundBridge to follow Bumblebee, but once he activates it, Bumblebee promptly steps back through, carrying the Dark Energon, and decks the medic. Having placed Raf out of the way, Bumblebee runs back through the GroundBridge. Ratchet realizes that Megatron's mind has taken over Bumblebee, and he tracks the scout to coordinates in the Arctic. Raf insists on going too.
Atop the Decepticon warship, Starscream spots Bulkhead and Arcee. Knock Out orders Breakdown to deal with the two Autobots, and the big 'Con starts laying into them. Meanwhile, the unseen Optimus scales a nearby cliff.
Ratchet and Raf arrive in the Decepticon ship to find disabled Vehicons everywhere. They reach the lab, where Bumblebee has hooked himself up to Megatron's body, but when Ratchet attacks Bumblebee, he's knocked across the room. Raf manages to encourage Bumblebee to retake control, but it's only a brief respite. Ratchet yanks the life support cable from Megatron, only to again be tossed across the room. Despite a last-ditch attempt by Raf to stop Bumblebee, the scout plunges the Dark Energon shard into Megatron's body, and Megatron awakens. A group of Vehicons arrives to find Megatron has risen from the dead, and he orders them to terminate the Autobots, as he has his own "extermination to perform". Under fire from the Vehicons, Ratchet, Bumblebee and Raf retreat.
Optimus reaches the top of his cliff and takes a flying leap onto the Decepticon ship. On the ground, Arcee and Bulkhead continue to battle Breakdown. Starscream and Knock Out spot Optimus coming towards them across the hull of the ship, and Starscream turns the heat ray on the Autobot leader. Undeterred, Optimus drives all the way up to the heat ray and slices it with his sword, causing the whole thing to explode. Optimus is thrown to the ground, only to face the rage of Starscream, who begins diving towards him, missiles at the ready. Starscream is intercepted halfway through the dive by Megatron, who takes his disloyal lieutenant back to the Decepticon warship. Faced with his old leader, Starscream attempts to flee in his vehicle mode, only for Megatron to grab him by the tail and toss him against the ship. Even the promise of nearby Autobots to destroy isn't enough to distract Megatron, who begins dragging Starscream away by the head.
Watching the still-blazing ship depart, Optimus radios Ratchet for a bridge, but Ratchet, Bumblebee and Raf appear nearby.
Later at base, Ratchet finishes checking over Bumblebee, who thanks Raf for helping to rescue him.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Lucky for us, Megatron was still alive."
<Bumblebee says something>
"Yeah, I actually said that."
- —Arcee surprising us all.
"Prime, you spot any Decepticons wearing hula skirts lately?"
"No, Special Agent Fowler. Why?"
- —Agent Fowler says something that makes sense in context that Optimus Prime hasn't received yet.
"Mm-hmm. Yes, very nice."
- —Ratchet is unimpressed with Raf's picture of his family.
"Yes! I love when a plan comes together!"
- —Starscream, fan of the A-Team.
"Decepticons! Your rightful lord and master has returned!"
- —Megatron reawakens.
"Megatron's greatest mistake was ever allowing you to live, Prime!"
- —Starscream, a few seconds before Megatron shows up.
"Lord Megatron? You are...you're healed! Praise the AllSpark! It is a miracle!"
"Oh, it will be a miracle alright, Starscream...if you survive what I have planned for you!"
"But the Autobots—Optimus—right there, waiting for you!"
"My greatest mistake? I've made a few. But there is one I do not intend to make again!"
"N-no! Master! NOOOOOO!!!"
- —A desperate Starscream and a surprisingly self-aware Megatron.
Notes
Continuity notes
- Arcee hasn't forgotten her trip to the Arctic in "Scrapheap".
- It seems that Megatron was conscious (and able to perfectly remember) when Starscream extracted the fragment of Dark Energon from his chest in "Masters & Students".
- Starscream states that his Dark Energon shard is the only chunk of Dark Energon on Earth. Aside from the one Megatron retrieves, this would be proven wrong later.
- The fight with the Dark Energon zombies took place in "Darkness Rising, Part 4".
- Bulkhead and Bumblebee play with a hollowed-out version of the ball he used for lobbing with Wheeljack in "Con Job".
- Raf doesn't know how he understands Bumblebee, as stated in his notebook.
- Raf finally gets to see snow. But does Optimus remember the snowball he promised to give him?
Transformers references
- Optimus Prime recalls their "end run on Polyhex".
Real-world references
- The Heuck Nigoghossian telescope is named for Prime directors Vinton Heuck and Shaunt Nigoghossian.
- Starscream loves it when a plan comes together.
Errors
- In the real world, large telescopes use mirrors, not lenses.
- Starscream's eye is misaligned when he spots Arcee and Bulkhead approaching.
- When Ratchet rips away the life support tube from Megatron's chest, we see the buckled hole left from his wounds during the space bridge accident. However, after the Dark Energon shard restores Megatron to life, we see his chest armor completely fixed and sporting a snazzy fresh Decepticon sigil. Looks like Dark Energon doubles as a super polish in addition to reviving the dead.
- Megatron somehow manages to speak through Bumblebee, despite the fact that Bumblebee's damaged voice-box renders him incapable of such complex vocalizations.
Trivia
- This is one of the few episodes storyboarded by the artist Adam Van Wyk.
- Raf apparently has seven people in his family, including himself. He also has at least two sisters with one of them named Pilar.
- Sierra's friend sits in front of Jack in at least one class (or perhaps homeroom). And yet she is still unnamed.
- Raf is the first of the humans to see Megatron face to face.
- In the final scene, while Ratchet is talking, Optimus has his battle mask on, despite normally only wearing it when going out on a mission.
- It's pretty impressive that Starscream kept landing on the spires of the ships. You would think that since Megatron just aimlessly threw him aside, he wouldn't be necessarily aiming for another spire?
- In a nice show of attention to detail, Starscream can't immediately provide full thrust away from Megatron when he transforms because his engine is spooling up.
- Megatron was in the Autobot base and could have easily learned its location by just walking out "for a drive" and noting his coordinates. He even had the perfect excuse, since everyone could see something was wrong with Bumblebee.
- In later episodes, Optimus condemns the concept of killing a helpless life form, yet in this episode Arcee nonchalantly boasts about her attempt to kill Megs right in front of him. Guess Optimus' hearing took a hit from the cybonic plague?
- Adaptations of this episode include a prose version as part of Bumblebee in Danger!.
- The Japanese broadcast of this episode was the first to use the second Japanese title sequence, "TRANSFORMERZ".
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Bumblebee sous contrôle" ("Bumblebee under Control")
- Original airdate: ?
German
- Title: "Ausser Kontrolle" ("Out of Control")
- Original airdate: 23 December 2011
Hungarian
- Title: "Elbitorolt elme" ("Usurped Mind")
- Original airdate: 26 January 2012
Indonesian
- Title: "Kembalinya Megatron: Invasi Bumblebee" ("The Return of Megatron: Bumblebee Invation")
- Original airdate: 19 September 2012
Italian
- Title: "Fuori di testa" ("Out of Mind")
- Original airdate: 12 November 2011
Japanese
Korean
- Title: "Du Eolgul ui Beombeulbi" (두 얼굴의 범블비, "The Two-Faced Bumblebee")
- Original airdate: 11 October 2011
Polish
- Title: ?
- Original airdate: 22 December 2011
Portuguese
- Title: "Fora de Si" ("Not Himself")
- Original airdate: 6 February 2012
Spanish (Spain)
Home video releases
- DVD
2012 — Transformers Prime — Season One (Shout! Factory)
2012 — Transformers Prime — Season One Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2012 — Transformers Prime — Folge 4: Die vierte Dimension (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.
2012 — Transformers Prime — Volume 3: Alien Threat (Madman Entertainment)
2012 — Transformers Prime — Vol. 7 (Avex Trax) — Japanese audio only.
2012 — Transformers Prime — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Saison 1 Vol. 3: L'attaque des Decepticons (Universal Pictures France) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Vol. 3: La furia dei Decepticons (Universal Pictures IT) — English, Italian, Dutch, French and Spanish audio.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Season One: Decepticons Unleashed (Universal Pictures UK)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Saison 1: L'intégrale (Universal Pictures France) — English, French, Italian, Dutch and Spanish audio.
2015 — Transformers Prime — Season One (Universal Pictures UK)
- Blu-ray
2012 — Transformers Prime — Season One (Shout! Factory)
2012 — Transformers Prime — Season One Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2012 — Transformers Prime — Staffel 1 - Das Bündnis (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.
