The Decepticons
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the Robots in Disguise episode. For the Transformers faction, see Decepticon. |
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 The Coming of the Redecos. | |||||||||
| "The Decepticons" (Teki? Mikata!? Black Convoy) "Foe? Friend!? Black Convoy" | |||||||||
| Production company | TV Tokyo, NAS, Studio Gallop | ||||||||
| Airdate | July 5, 2000 (Japanese) September 22, 2001 (English) | ||||||||
| Written by | Junki Takegami (Japanese) Tom Wyner (English) | ||||||||
| Director | Akira Katō | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Studio Gallop | ||||||||
Find six protoforms
Megatron hatches a plan
Six Decepticons
Contents |
Synopsis
As Koji talks to Optimus Prime about Earth's history of UFO sightings, T-AI breaks in to announce that she has managed to decode Doctor Onishi's microchip. It shows a location at grid co-ordinates L3, Delta 5.2.; Koji explains that that's Castle Peak, where eyewitnesses claimed to have seen UFOs sixty years ago. Prime decides to investigate the site with the Autobot Brothers. When they arrive they pass by Kelly.
The four Autobots at first find an expedition site run by the Predacons. Sky-Byte hits a weak point in the ground with his claw, causing a cave to collapse onto him and unearthing the ship in question. Caught in the disaster (of course), Kelly yells that another vacation has gone down the drain. The ship turns out to have come from Cybertron sixty years ago, with six Autobots who'd been sent to Earth. Optimus scans the ship to find the six Autobots in protoform mode and intends to bring them to base to help the battle against the Predacons. The Predacons have other plans, arguing the ship is theirs because they found it first. Optimus counters that this is only valid if the ship is abandoned by its crew. Then Megatron arrives and renders the point moot by stealing the protoforms, with the Predacons stalling the Autobots enough to allow him to get away with it.
He then brings the protoforms to McKinley Army Base, where Kelly, who has been rescued by the soldiers there, is sitting on a jeep, griping that her vacation's been ruined again. Megatron hopes to make the protoforms scan the most powerful vehicles in the army base and then infuse them with his spark energy to turn them to his command. Dark Scream and Slapper then scan a missile truck, despite being fired at by the base's vehicles. T-AI informs Optimus what's happening at the base, but by the time the Autobots arrive, they're too late; Mega-Octane has been created. He transforms to robot mode, and Optimus welcomes him to Earth as an Autobot, only to be refused and fired upon.
While Mega-Octane provides cover for the completion of the scanning process, Slapper scans a tank, Gas Skunk scans a jeep armed with a large cannon, and Dark Scream scans a helicopter. Sky-Byte starts to look for a vehicle, only for Optimus Prime to intervene, knocking him over and causing the scanning beam to shoot off into the sky. It seems the beam is about to strike a passing bird, but the animal swerves out of the way at the last second, and the pod instead winds up scanning a space shuttle. Megatron infuses all four protoforms with his spark energy, which turns them into Decepticons. He still holds the last protoform, however.
Kelly boards a tanker truck holding 10,000 gallons of rocket fuel and tries to get away, but almost overturns it. Optimus saves her, but this allows Megatron to scan the tanker, Optimus and Kelly all at once, creating Scourge. After a dramatic pause, Scourge declares allegiance to Megatron and says his purpose is to lead the Decepticons to victory. Mega-Octane objects, insisting he should be leader, but Scourge proves his worth with an impromptu test of bravery: he throws a punch at Mega-Octane and stops his fist short, but Mega-Octane still flinches, proving that he does not have the steely resolve to lead. With Scourge firmly in place as their leader, the Decepticons open fire on the Autobots with all weapons. Optimus tries to convince Scourge to reject Megatron's evil, but to no avail. Prime then fires a Blizzard Storm attack, which proves equally ineffective. Even so, Megatron tells Scourge that he is not at full strength and that they should withdraw. After the Decepticons leave, Optimus hopes that they will reject the evil in them and realize their true selves, but notes they are dangerous enemies until that happens. Meanwhile, the Predacons are (not unreasonably) concerned that they may be out of a job.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Predacons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"In the past 60 years, there have been thousands of UFO sightings all over the world. My dad is one of the scientists that would investigate them, Optimus."
"It's a fascinating subject. I find it strange that many people on Earth still refuse to believe they exist."
- —Koji and Optimus Prime discuss those weird people who don't believe in alien robots.
"That incompetent fool must've gotten his tongue caught in the drill again."
- —Sky-Byte has the utmost confidence in Slapper.
Megatron: "They will be my loyal and dedicated servants! Invincible warriors!"
Sky-Byte: "With your spark energy they'll be unbeatable..."
Dark Scream: "...not to mention sneaky, sly, and deceitful...."
Gas Skunk: "...underhanded, diabolical, and devious..."
Slapper: "Let's not forget overbearing, egotistical, arrogant, conceited and verbose! Bombastic, power-hungry, vain, self-serving, greedy, maniacal and a real pain in—"
[Megatron punches his head down into his shoulders]
- —Slapper just doesn't know when to quit
"Whenever I try to take a vacation something always ruins it. It's not fair. On the other hand, the soldiers that rescued me after the earthquake are really cute! And I think one of them has a crush on me! This could be a pretty good vacation after all!"
- —Kelly, trying to look on the bright side, unaware that it's all about to go horribly wrong (again).
"I have only one purpose: to serve Megatron. I have only one desire: to destroy Megatron's enemies. I have only one mission: to lead the Decepticons to victory!"
- —Scourge has a clear mission statement.
"Come on, What are you waiting for? Don't just stand there."
- —Sky-Byte wants to create Decepticons.
Notes
Differences with Car Robots
- In Car Robots, T-AI merely comments on how good a choice Optimus has made in selecting the Autobot Brothers for the mission; in Robots in Disguise, she informs him she'll be telling them to use the space bridge to travel directly to the target location.
- A moment later, Car Robots has Optimus inform T-AI he will be going on the mission too. Robots in Disguise extends this scene with some looped footage as Optimus instead says that everyone will need to be on alert, as what is waiting for them is likely dangerous. Capping the scene off, Car Robots has the shot of the map dissolve into the next scene of the brothers in the space bridge, but Robots in Disguise uses one of its scene transitions instead, and so re-uses the footage of the map from earlier for a static, un-dissolving shot before the transition.
- As everyone speeds to the scene, Car Robots has X-Brawn explain the mission to his brothers, while Robots in Disguise has them already briefed, with X-Brawn doubting that Onishi would have investigated if it were not warranted. In Car Robots, Side Burn is sceptical about the UFO, but Robots in Disguise gives this dialogue to Prowl, and has Side Burn wonder where the UFO might have come from.
- Robots in Disguise adds backstory to the Autobot spaceship, with Prowl recalling the story of how it vanished in the past. In Car Robots, the characters have no idea about its past, beyond being able to recognize its design as Cybertronian.
- The Autobots and Predacons argue salvage law in Robots in Disguise, whereas in Car Robots, Prime just tries an appeal to reason, hoping to rescue the Autobots within rather than fight. As such, when Megatron arrives, his cruel jest is different depending on the version: in Robots in Disguise, he says he will allow Optimus to salvage the ship (but not the protoforms, haha!), while in Car Robots, he agrees to give Optimus just what he wants and rescues the protoforms (only to run off with them, haha!).
- In Car Robots, following Megatron's departure, the Autobots wonder what he plans to do with the protoforms. In Robots in Disguise, this is changed to the Autobots wondering about how Megatron knew about the ship's location, with X-Brawn pointing out that he would have found out from Onishi himself. Car Robots does have that explanation, but it comes from Megatron himself at the start of the next scene, as he gloats over his victory. Robots in Disguise puts a commercial break between these scenes, moving the explanation up to keep it self-contained.
- Just before the commercial break, an extra shot of Optimus is added to the end of the scene with some extra dialogue of him blaming himself for inadvertently letting the Predacons know the ship was Cybertronian in origin.
- Kelly takes some happiness from thinking a soldier has a crush on her in Robots in Disguise, while in Car Robots, she's happy to have had a free helicopter ride.
- Robots in Disguise adds a CGI overlay to Sky-Byte's POV as he scans the military base from afar.
- Just before Darkscream and Slapper arrive with the first pod, Robots in Disguise cuts a short scene of Kelly still giggling about her free helicopter ride.
- Car Robots has a commercial break just as the first protoform scan takes place, with the footage repeating after the show returns. Robots in Disguise doesn't have a break, so it cuts this repeated footage and fills the time by extending Koji and T-AI's conversation—changing part of its content from Car Robots, in which T-AI explains to Koji about scanning, to T-AI worrying Megatron has found a way to control the protoforms—and adding a short scene of the Autobots heading to the scene in the space bridge, re-used from the start of the episode.
- In Car Robots, after Mega-Octane opens fire on Optimus, Megatron dramatically names him a "Combatron" (the Japanese name for the Decepticons), but Robots in Disguise already had him dubbed a Decepticon at the moment of his creation, and changes this line to Megatron just telling him the other Decepticons will be arriving soon. This is followed by Robots in Disguise cutting to commercial break, and when it returns, some footage of Mega-Octane from earlier in the episode is reused as an establishing shot for the act.
- In Car Robots, Mega-Octane agrees to help scan the remaining protoforms because Megatron promises to make him the commander of the Decepticons if he does so. Megatron makes no such promise in Robots in Disguise, with Mega-Octane helping out of in-born loyalty. As such, later in the episode, when Scourge appoints himself Decepticon leader, Car Robots sees Mega-Octane angrily recall the promise Megatron made him, while in Robots in Disguise, his objection is just the product of ego brought on by being the first Decepticon created.
- As the Predacons line up with the pods, Car Robots has Sky-Byte spreading his arms to address Megatron, informing him of their readiness. Robots in Disguise reinterprets his spread arms as a gesture of command to the other Predacons to get to work.
- When Mega-Octane holds the Autobots off, in Robots in Disguise Sky-Byte remarks that Megatron's plan is working, while in Car Robots, he reflects on Mega-Octane's courage, and tells the other Predacons not to let the new guy show them up.
- In Robots in Disguise Darkscream congratulates himself on his choice of a helicopter, but in Car Robots, he remarks with relief how he nearly accidentally scanned Kelly, a quick foreshadowing set up for Scourge's creation a few minutes later.
- When it appears the fifth protoform's beam is about to hit a bird, a short sequence in which Sky-Byte imagines what a Predacon bird would look like (pictured) is edited out of the Robots in Disguise version. The reason for this edit is unclear, since it's doubtful that it was a post-9/11 edit due to the fact it does not entail buildings getting damaged or destroyed.
- In Car Robots, Optimus despairs upon the creation of the next four Decepticons, but X-Brawn points out that one pod remains; in Robots in Disguise, it's Optimus who focuses on the final pod, while X-Brawn warns him against making a play for it.
- The potential explosion radius of the tanker truck is ten miles in Robots in Disguise, but ten kilometers in Car Robots.
- After Optimus grabs the tanker, Robots in Disguise adds some extra dialogue from Megatron thanking Optimus for his intervention, lengthening the shot of him before he activates the pods scanner.
- During the dramatic silence as everyone awaits Scourge's first words, Robots in Disguise accelerates the speed of several of the pans to pick the pace of the scene up just a tiny bit.
- As the final act begins, the shot of Scourge's eyes glowing red is added to the start of the scene as a background for some additional dialogue from him to begin the action.
- Car Robots fades from a close-up of Scourge's head to his trailer in battle station mode; Robots in Disguise removes the fade and changes it to a direct cut to the trailer.
- Other shots and scenes slightly extended for Robots in Disguise include:
- Optimus responding to Koji's lesson on UFOs
- Optimus ordering the contents of Onishi's microchip to be displayed, and everyone looking up at the screen
- Optimus ordering T-AI to summon the Autobot Brothers
- The Autobots standing around after they transform upon arrival at Castle Peak
- The Autobots staring up at the spaceship
- The Autobots preparing to open up the ship
- Two shots of Prime as he argues with the Predacons
- Megatron infusing Mega-Octane with his spark energy
- Optimus's reaction to Mega-Octane's appearance
- Prime ordering the Autobots in to stop the scanning of the remaining protoforms
- Scourge issuing his first orders to the Decepticons
- The Decepticons firing upon the Autobots after Optimus tries to appeal to them
Animation or technical errors
- Scourge's battle station has its center rocket not only facing the wrong way but remaining stationary on its launch pad while its other missile and disc launchers fire away at the Autobots. The toy's bellows used to fire it are also visible, albeit colored grey.
- When traveling through the space bridge, X-Brawn, Prowl, and Side Burn seem to be oversized compared to Optimus.
- The pre-Decepticon Autobot protoforms are incorrectly referred to as "Cybertrons" (the Japanese term for "Autobots") at least twice in this episode.
Continuity errors
- Scourge refers to Mega-Octane by name despite not having been told the latter's name yet.
Continuity notes
- The microchip T-AI finds the ship's location on was retrieved by the Autobots in "The Secret of the Ruins".
Transformers references
- The idea of Transformers existing as protoforms in stasis pods originated in Beast Wars.
- The UFO over the Great Wall looks like a blue version of Cosmos.
- The protoforms are alternatively referred to as "proto-entities".
- When scanning the Jeep for Rollbar's altmode, Gas Skunk declares that the Jeep's cannon will "make scraplets out of the Autobots."
Real-world references
- There are several mountains in the U.S. named Castle Peak, but none of them at the co-ordinates indicated on T-AI's map.
Foreign localization
Italian
- Title: "I Decepticons" ("The Decepticons")
- At the end of the episode, after saying that she's nice to everyone, Kelly makes some examples by saying that she respects animals and that she prepares cookies for Santa Claus.
Portuguese
- Title: "Os Decepticons" ("The Decepticons")
Home video releases
- DVD
2000 — Transformers: Car Robots — Vol. 4 (Pony Canyon) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Three-Disc Box Set: Part 1 of 2 (Maximum Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Season One (Maximum Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Robots in Disguise — Ultimate Collection (Maximum Entertainment)
