Revelation (episode)
From Transformers Wiki
| The name or term "Revelation" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Revelation (disambiguation). |
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| Oh. They weren't lucky. | |||||||||
| "Revelation" (Uchū Metsubō he no Countdown) "Countdown to Universal Destruction" | |||||||||
| Production company | TV Aichi, We've, Tōkyū Agency | ||||||||
| Airdate | July 9, 2005 (Japanese) October 24, 2005 (English) | ||||||||
| Writer | Hiro Masaki | ||||||||
| Director | Atsushi Nakayama | ||||||||
| Animation studio | GONZO, Radix | ||||||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity | ||||||||
As if searching for Starscream and decoding a mysterious message from Cybertron wasn't trouble enough for the Autobots, Megatron and the Decepticons are free and back on Earth!
Contents |
Synopsis
Out in space, riding atop an asteroid, Crumplezone leads Scourge to the sphere holding Megatron and the other Decepticons prisoner. Scourge's flame breath and axe fail to even make a dent in the globe, but Megatron knows that it is only a matter of time until he is free.
On Earth, the Autobots are confronted by Colonel Franklin, who tells them his story. As a child, he fell into the Green River Rapids, and was rescued by a shadowy figure that changed shape into a helicopter. Nobody ever believed his story, but he knew what he had seen was real, and dedicated himself to finding other such stories. As he grew older, he joined the military to further his search for the truth, and now, it's standing right in front of him. It even turns out that his rescuer was Evac! Now that everyone at last realizes that Colonel Franklin is on the side of the angels, he offers up all his military resources to help the Autobots find Starscream and the stolen Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys.
In the seas of the South Pacific, one of the Ancient Decepticons awakened by Starscream, the wily Thunderblast, is out looking for some fun, and scans a human speedboat for an alternate mode. As she is enjoying the sun and surf, Jetfire appears in the sky overhead. They fight briefly, before Thunderblast suddenly vanishes into thin air. Jetfire transmits the info to the Autobot base, where Scattorshot deduces that Thunderblast has disappeared into a Camouflage Shield that is hiding something in the middle of the ocean. That something, as we soon learn, is a volcanic island that Starscream is using as a staging base, to which Thunderblast returns, arriving just in time to witness Starscream adding the Earth's Cyber Planet Key to the Omega Lock. As in the past, the addition of the key causes the lock to open a space bridge, launching a beam of energy into space, and into the heart of the black hole. Across the galaxy, on Velocitron, on Jungle Planet and on Earth, a space bridge portal hangs in the sky, displaying the terrifying image of the black hole to all onlookers. Concerns over the secrecy of the Autobots' mission have to be put on the back burner, however, when a strange energy burst is detected by the Autobots' computers. Despite fears that it has come from the black hole or the space bridge, it turns out that it is an encrypted signal sent back from Cybertron itself, a response to the original signal the Omega Lock sent out in the past.
In space, Scourge and Megatron combine their power, striking the sphere from within and without simultaneously. The tactic succeeds in shattering the sphere, freeing the Decepticons within, and Megatron immediately plans to head for Earth and revenge himself upon Starscream. Scourge requests that he be allowed to join Megatron, as he hungers to visit new worlds and experience new challenges. Megatron permits it, and the group leaves through a dimension gate.
Back on Earth, while Jolt randomly reveals he's not from Cybertron after all, Red Alert and Vector Prime have decrypted all they can of the signal from Cybertron, which seems to be telling the Autobots to bring the Omega Lock and Cyber Planet Keys back to the planet. Of course, they have to get them back from Starscream, first...but before they can start making plans to do so, Megatron's dimension gate appears in the sky above Niagara Falls. Acting quickly, Prime's team calls upon the help of several refugee Autobots to evacuate the humans out of the surrounding area with warnings of a tornado, after which Scattorshot surrounds it with a camouflage shield to hide what is about to transpire. The Autobots roll out for Niagara Falls and meet Megatron's forces there, but when both sides admit that there are more pressing concerns at hand, the Decepticons attempt to depart. As letting them go is not an option, Optimus Prime opens fire on their dimension gate, collapsing it, and starting off a major battle. As Override and Crosswise deal with Crumplezone and Ransack, and Leobreaker and Snarl clash with Scourge, Landmine is confronted by Mudflap and almost paralyzed with shock. Vector Prime comes to his aid, and Landmine reveals that he practically raised Mudflap back on Cybertron.
"No problem, guys!"
Megatron and Prime go head-to-head, meanwhile, but their battle is interrupted by Red Alert, Scattorshot and Hot Shot, who entreat their leader to help Leobreaker and Snarl, who have been trapped by Scourge's flame, while they hold off Megatron. Prime does so, and the three Autobot troops give a surprisingly good account of themselves against the much more powerful Decepticon leader. As his rage at being thwarted by weaker warriors boils over, Megatron taps into the power of the Omega Lock and Earth's Cyber Planet Key. The Lock fires a beam of energy around the planet, which strikes Megatron and unlocks in him a new Cyber Key Power: a powerful machine gun that he uses to mow down Hot Shot, Red Alert and Scattorshot in one deadly volley. Optimus Prime turns in time to see his warriors fall, and charges at Megatron with a howl of fury...
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others |
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Quotes
Jetfire: No sign of Starscream...but most speedboats on Earth don't come with missile launchers!
[Jetfire's shadow appears over Thunderblast]
Thunderblast: Hey! Where's my sun?
Jetfire: Ahoy there! I haven't seen you around here before!
Thunderblast: Quit blocking my sun, you big goon!
Jetfire: Well, excuse me!
Thunderblast: You spend thirty years in an ice cave and see how friendly you are!
Jetfire: You mean you're one of those escaped monsters?
Thunderblast: HEY! Who are you calling a monster?!
Jetfire: But that's... I didn't mean...!
[Thunderblast shoots Jetfire down]
Thunderblast: Sayonara, Mister Buzz-Kill!
Jetfire: No doubt about it... she really is a monster!
- —Croikey! She's a feisty Sheila!
Crumplezone: I missed you, Ransack! *sobbing*
Ransack: Hey, hey - hey! No hugging!
"So you're pretty sure the black hole isn't going to turn us all into a cosmic smoothie?"
"Oh, come on, Lori, now you're just being silly! We'd look more like root beer, anyways."
- —Lori discusses astrophysics with Bud in his own inimitable fashion.
Landmine: What happened to you? Mudflap, you're no Decepticon!
Mudflap: Landmine, listen, I... you know you and me go way back. I don't want to hurt you, but I gotta do what I gotta do! Cyber Key Power! Walk away, Landmine. Just walk away!
Landmine: Mudflap! Look at what you're doing here!
Mudflap: I said walk away!
"Nice moves."
"I know."
- —Override and the ever-humble Crosswise
"Gee, Megatron, who's the pathetic one now?"
"Insolent...worms. You will PAAAAAY!!!"
- —Hot Shot's taunts drive Megatron into a rage. This is not going to end well.
"A brand new weapon - a gift from the Cyber Planet Key of Earth, you should feel honored. And now - Goodbye!"
- —Megatron, before using his new weapon.
Notes
Differences with Galaxy Force
- As ever, Cybertron adds the customary reference to the Omega Frequency when the Omega Lock is fired up.
- Galaxy Force sees Bud make a lot of rather uncharacteristic scientific observations, as he tells Lori that a normal black hole could never expand, and that it wouldn't return anything sent into it. Cybertron just replaces it with him making jokes (mostly about brownies). In large part, this change is also necessitated by the fact that in Galaxy Force, it's a lead-in to the shocking discovery that Cybertron is still intact within the black hole. Since Cybertron changed things so that the planet was never consumed in the first place, this lead-in is entirely unnecessary, and excised.
- When the battle starts, Crumplezone and Ransack transform and...just drive off. Galaxy Force gives no reason for this odd "tactic", least of all why Override should bother following a fleeing enemy, so Cybertron adds the explanation that they are attempting to exit the camouflage shield.
- In Cybertron, Mudflap is much more apologetic to Landmine, and would rather not fight him if he could avoid it. In Galaxy Force, he's terribly righteous. Jerk!
- Additionally, Cybertron includes bizarre dialogue from Landmine that he "practically raised " Mudflap (Transformers can be babies?), while in Galaxy Force he merely states that they used to be best friends.
- Of some significance is the different spin on the dialogue between Scourge and Megatron once Megs is free from his spherical prison. In both series, Scourge recounts a desire to visit new worlds now that he has learned of their existence, but, in Cybertron, Megs goads Scourge into admitting he also wants to come to Earth to enact "revenge" on Optimus, Snarl, and Leobreaker. This makes absolutely no sense, as the Autobots left Jungle Planet on equitable terms with Scourge. Galaxy Force, on the other hand, has Megs prod Scourge into admitting that he's just lonely now without a strong opponent to fight on Animatros, to which Scourge sheepishly agrees, then follows with a good belly laugh. A good sparring partner is apparently worth abandoning your homeworld for!
- Crosswise is apparently much less humble in Cybertron than his counterpart Autovolt in Galaxy Force. After he and Override (Nitro Convoy) cooperate in blasting Crumplezone (Landbullet) off the road, in response to Override's complimenting his awesomeness, he replies "It was nothing" in Galaxy Force, but "Yes, I know" in Cybertron.
Animation and/or technical glitches
- When the Autobots confront Megatron, a dubbing error sees Optimus Prime deliver a prolonged speech while Vector Prime's mouth is moving, carrying on directly into when his own mouth starts moving. Presumably, the first part of Optimus' speech was intended for Vector Prime, with Optimus carrying on afterwards as in the final dub.
- When Megatron absorbs the power of the Omega Lock to get a new weapon, a beam of light is shot into space and we get a view of Earth from space as the beam descends to Megatron's exact position. Megatron is in Niagara Falls, which is in Ontario and New York, but the beam lands somewhere in Kansas or Oklahoma.
- In addition, the way Canada is drawn is incredibly inaccurate, with the Hudson Bay replacing most of where Ontario and Quebec should be.
Continuity errors
- Cybertron has Thunderblast intimate that Crosswise only sealed her away thirty years ago. This doesn't jibe with Lucy Suzuki's remark upon first finding Crosswise in the ice that he had been frozen for a thousand years. Maybe she's trying to lie about her age?
- The sphere containing Megatron and the Decepticons has changed from an opaque metallic globe to a translucent purple shimmering one. This may have been an intentional choice to better show Megatron's interactions with Scourge.
- Vector Prime claims that a signal was sent into space "each time" a Cyber Planet Key was placed into the Omega Lock, when it only happened with the Velocitron Key. The error is not present in Galaxy Force, where Vector Prime only mentions the Velocitron Key incident.
Transformers references
- When faced with Leobreaker and Snarl, Scourge transforms to beast mode himself, with the promise of giving them a "Beast War".
- A black tanker truck resembling the 2001 Robots in Disguise franchise Scourge can be seen in the traffic jam created by the Autobot refugees after Scattorshot tries to stop Megatron's warp gate.
Real-world references
- In response to the sight of Scourge unleashing his fire breath, Crumplezone gasps "Woah, flame on!", quoting the catchphrase of superhero Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch), a member of the Fantastic Four.
Trivia
- "Revelation" was the last episode of the series to premiere on Kids' WB, and the final new episode to air in 2005. When the series returned in 2006, it was back on Cartoon Network. This was... upsetting to Cybertron fans without cable, many of whom had to wait years to see the rest of the series.
- Scourge is voiced by Colin Murdoch, instead of Trevor Devall in this episode. This is fairly noticeable, as Murdoch's Scourge voice is significantly deeper than Devall's.
- As in "Retreat", actress Chiara Zanni stands in for Sarah Edmondson as Lori for this episode. She will do so once more, in "Inferno".
- When the Decepticons arrive on Earth, Crumplezone gets the planet's name wrong, calling it "Dirt". The same joke would later be made in the Revenge of the Fallen movie by Jetfire.
Home video releases
- DVD
2005 — Transformers: Galaxy Force — Vol. 07 (Victor Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2008 — Transformers: Cybertron — The Ultimate Collection (Paramount)
2014 — Transformers: Cybertron — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)