Speed
From Transformers Wiki
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 "I think it was called 'The Bus That Couldn't Slow Down.'" | |||||||||
| "Speed" (Gekitō! Starscream) "Fierce Fighting! Starscream" | |||||||||
| Production company | TV Aichi, We've, Tōkyū Agency | ||||||||
| Airdate | February 26, 2005 (Japanese) July 30, 2005 (English) | ||||||||
| Writer | Genki Yoshimura | ||||||||
| Director | Atsushi Takeyama | ||||||||
| Animation studio | GONZO | ||||||||
| Continuity | Unicron Trilogy cartoon continuity | ||||||||
The search for the Cyber Planet Keys proceeds apace... but neither the Autobots nor the Decepticons are aware of the treachery quietly brewing at the heart of the conflict!
Contents |
Synopsis
Starscream stands in the fire dimension, ready to do battle with Landmine, Overhaul, and Optimus Prime. As the Decepticon swordsman makes short work of the two smaller Autobots, Optimus Prime silently converts to Super Mode, but Starscream effortlessly dodges his cannon blast and takes him down. Suddenly, the three defeated Autobots fade out of existence, revealing the battle as some sort of training exercise. Thundercracker compliments Starscream on his victory, but Starscream ignores him and stalks off through a warp gate.
On Earth, Bud, Lori and Coby are watching a horror movie in a theater. Horror movies, it turns out, are not exactly Coby's favourite thing in the world, and after the movie ends, Lori and Bud tease and scare him about it as they head to the Autobot base. Jetfire, Scattorshot and Optimus Prime all find this story terribly amusing, as does Jolt, who suggests that he join them on their next trip to the movies. The Autobots don't think this is such a great idea, but Bud and Lori suggest the Autobots could pretend to be dressing as characters, like fanboys at anime conventions. Optimus contemplates the idea for a moment, but Jetfire makes him realize that they're a little tall for that. Landmine and Vector Prime then enter, back from their latest fruitless search for more information about the Cyber Planet Keys.
As night settles in, elsewhere on Earth, Megatron meets with Starscream over a body to water to ask if Starscream has located the Omega Lock yet. When Starscream responds that he hasn't, Megatron accuses him of slacking off, while at the same time casually mentioning his new subordinates Ransack and Crumplezone, who could, he alleges, replace Starscream at any moment. Megatron shows off the Planet Map and takes off through a warp gate, but behind his back, Starscream pulls out a copy of the map and declares himself more worthy of getting the Keys!
While drinking tea with her parents and staring up at the stars, Lori is shocked to see the Atlantis Pattern being projected into the sky from some nearby mountains. She quickly contacts the Autobots to inform them, and the heroic robots immediately roll into action, only to discover—surprise!—it's a Decepticon trap set up by Thundercracker with a spotlight. As he opens fire on the Autobots, the explosions are observed by the town sheriff and his deputy, who decide to head for the mountains to check it out. Landmine foils Thundercracker's attempt to cause an avalanche, and Optimus Prime takes out the spotlight with his trailer's cannons. Just then, Starscream arrives, distinctly displeased about Thundercracker acting without his permission, but nonetheless willing to battle the Autobots and putting his training to the test. When Optimus goes to Super Mode, Starscream executes the same move he trained with, but Optimus blocks and counters it, to Starscream's shock. Starscream decides to call the battle off when Jolt radios Prime to inform him of the approach of the sheriff, advocating that the Transformers' existence remain a secret. Optimus is surprised to hear such talk coming from one of Megatron's men, and Starscream takes offense to being lumped in with Megatron, bashing Prime a few more times before making a hasty exit with Thundercracker. The Autobots return to base, victorious, while the sheriff and his deputy are left baffled at the sight of the now-deserted battlefield.
Meanwhile, on Velocitron, Brakedown and Clocker are helping Hot Shot tune himself up in preparation for his next race with Override. Red Alert worries that Hot Shot has removed his entire self-analysis system, but before he can raise any objections, Override arrives and the race begins in earnest. Override even gives Hot Shot a big lead, but catches up with and passes him in no time. His heart burning for victory, Hot Shot taps into the Cyber Planet Key of Velocitron, at last awakening a Cyber Key power within himself. With this new "Accelewing" upgrade, Hot Shot soars by Override in the blink of an eye and seems sure to win... until his entire system blows out, thanks to a fault that he couldn't detect after removing his diagnostic system. He crashes through the guard-wall of the track and falls to the ground below, but fortunately, avoids serious injury. Override silently departs, but admits to herself that Hot Shot's new pace was impressive.
Elsewhere on Velocitron, Starscream has joined Megatron on the planet and is introduced to Ransack and Crumplezone. Starscream asks if he can borrow the duo for a while, and leads them to a junkyard, where they surprise a scavenging Red Alert. The resultant battle doesn't go well for Red, and after Crumplezone fires his flamethrower at him, the Decepticons assume he's finished. However, Red Alert leaps out of the flames in his vehicle mode and uses his Cyber Key power to take out the surprised Ransack and Crumplezone, blasting them off into the sky. He prepares to turn his guns on Starscream, but without even flinching, Starscream deploys his chest cannons and takes Red Alert out with one shot. Leaving the unconscious Autobot lying in the junkyard. Starscream flies away, musing about beginning the "age of Starscream" with the help of his copy of the Planet Map...
Featured Characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"Huh! Thinks his oil don't stink! Hoo-wee! Well stink it do!"
- —The ever-eloquent Thundercracker comments on Starscream's snobbishness.
Optimus Prime: Humans!
Starscream: Bad timing. We'd better call it a night. You're a lousy dancer anyway!
Optimus Prime: That's a sober suggestion coming from one of Megatron's lackeys!
Starscream: I'm not Megatron's lackey! I BOW TO NO-ONE!!
- —Prime knows how to push Starscream's buttons.
"I hate always being right!"
- —Red Alert on his lot in life
Notes
Differences with Galaxy Force
- In Cybertron, as Lori looks up at the stars, she speaks in veiled terms to her father about the Autobots, asking him what he would do if he ever met aliens. In Galaxy Force, she merely thinks about the Autobots to herself, and comments aloud on the romantic night sky.
- In Cybertron, the sheriff decides to investigate the explosion in the mountains because he doesn't believe it to be the result of fireworks. In Galaxy Force, he does so because he takes issue with fireworks being set off illegally.
Animation or technical errors
- Optimus erroneously cries out "Cyber Key power!" instead of "Super Mode!" when shifting to his more powerful form. The error is not in the Galaxy Force version of the episode.
Real-world references
- Thundercracker congratulates Starscream on his completion of the training exercise with a cry of "Way to git 'r' done!", paraphrasing the catchphrase of popular hick-comedian Larry The Cable Guy. It's not the last time the joke will be made in the course of the series.
Trivia
- The Autobots rush awfully carelessly to the site of a mysterious light that has a very big chance of being a Decepticon trap.
- Optimus Prime uses his trailer's artillery emplacement mode for the first time in the series.
- Red Alert is awfully resilient in this episode, able to withstand a point blank blast from Crumplezone's enormous flamethrowers without so much as a scratch.
- So... when exactly did Starscream get his hands on the planet map to copy it? In fact, later episodes indicate that the map in Megatron's clutches is the copy, created (and altered) by Starscream, while Starscream himself has the original!
Home video releases
- DVD
2005 — Transformers: Galaxy Force — Vol. 02 (Victor Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2008 — Transformers: Cybertron — The Ultimate Collection (Paramount)
2014 — Transformers: Cybertron — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
