The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1

« The Transformers ep 56 » « Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers ep 42 »
Megatron's latest addition to his troops. He's really going to regret this one...
"The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1"
Production code	700-55
Season	2
No. in season	40
Production company	Sunbow Productions
Airdate	November 25, 1985
Written by	David Wise
Animation studio	Toei
Continuity	Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Watch this episode on YouTube

After being beaten by the Autobots once again, Megatron hatches a plan to create a team of Decepticons that will give him supremacy over the roads.

Synopsis

Rumble makes an excellent carjacker. Why are we not surprised?

The Autobots are escorting a convoy of tankers which carry a new superfuel which the government has given to the Autobots. Things have been quiet so far, but Optimus Prime is wary. Prowl thinks that the Decepticons are unaware of the superfuel, when they take that moment to attack. Megatron sends the Coneheads to attack, but they are unable to follow them into the tunnels and canyons on the road. Megatron himself decides to destroy the superfuel, but Smokescreen manages to distract him, while Optimus and Prowl drive Megatron off.

Megatron is furious that the Autobots beat them, and decides to rectify the situation. Rumble is sent to steal cars of various models, and Possum Brown's truck, all of which Megatron alters with Decepticon technology, such as anti-gravity boosters and automatic force fields. Using a remote control, Megatron tests the cars' abilities. Rumble is amazed with their stunt driving, and Megatron decides that it's a good name. Bringing them about, he has them transform into robot mode, and dubs them the Stunticons.

"I'm not quite dead."

Learning that the Decepticons are making new soldiers, Prime realizes they'll need Cybernetic personalities to truly live, and there is only one way to do that. Omega Supreme takes a group of Autobots to Cybertron, where Megatron is informed by Shockwave that he has located Vector Sigma, the megacomputer that gave the Transformers life. But they will require the circuit key to activate it. The Key is in the possession of Alpha Trion, and the Decepticons head for his lab. After a brief struggle, Soundwave locates the Key and gives it to Megatron.

Arriving on Cybertron, the Autobots hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, only to find a dying Alpha Trion. Ratchet and Hoist are able to save his life, and he explains to Optimus what Megatron intends to do. The Autobots head into the tunnels for Vector Sigma.

We came, we saw, we kicked some ass.

In the tunnels, the Decepticons encounter Centurion droids, which Megatron discovers he can control with the Key, and instructs them to attack the Autobots. The Autobots encounter the drones and, unable to destroy their attackers, retreat to a derelict hangar. Heading to Vector Sigma, Megatron activates the super computer, which gives life to the Stunticons: Motormaster, Dead End, Breakdown, Drag Strip, and Wildrider. The Decepticons return to Earth, where the Stunticons are set loose on human roads.

This isn't gonna end well.

In the hangar, Ratchet and Wheeljack set about repairing the damaged maintenance drones which are scattered around, sending them out to fight the Centurions, with little success. Finally a column of maintenance drones marches off a cliff, and the Centurion drones blindly follow them. The Autobots reach Vector Sigma, learning that it already gave the Stunticons life. Optimus plans to use a series of ancient rockets and have them rebuilt as Earth style jets, planning to fight the Decepticons in the air.

At a human base, the Stunticons arrive attempting to make another attempt to steal the superfuel, and the soldiers believe they're being attacked by the Autobots.

To be continued...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"So much for your security, Prowl."

—Smokescreen, as the Decepticons attack

"I knew I'd never make it."

—Dirge, accepting his lot in life.

"No, Megatron, you'll have to blow us all up, and frankly, I don't think you have the guts."

—Optimus Prime goads Megatron to shoot at the super fuel.

"Annnnd Mueller takes it! ...What in the world?"
"You mean Rumble takes it!"

—Race track announcer and Rumble, who proceeds quite literally to take it

"Incredible! Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt driving."
"Stunt driving...yes! Behold—the Stunticons!"

—Rumble gives Megatron an inspiration.

"This can't be the way those Deceptigoons came."
"On the contrary, it definitely is."
"What makes you so sure?"
"Because who else would have sent them to kill us?"

—Ratchet and Alpha Trion as the Centurion droids approach

The early concept of the disco mirror ball, which the humans stole, millions of years later.

"I am Vector Sigma. Before Cybertron was, I was! Who reactivates me?"

—Vector Sigma

Megatron: I am Megatron, your leader. Declare yourselves to me.
Motormaster: I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you!
Dead End: I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say.
Breakdown: I'm... I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too.
Drag Strip: I am Drag Strip. I live to obey!
Wildrider: I'm Wildrider! And I wanna bust something up!

—The Stunticons speak their first words.

"Big and stupid."

—Blaster on the Centurion droids who, in their zealousness, ran off a cliff to chase the maintenance robots.

Notes

Continuity notes

• In the scene where the Autobots walk through a chamber with lots of destroyed Transformers in it, there are two generics in the foreground. The same character models previously appeared during the "historic footage" segment in "Desertion of the Dinobots, Part 2". The green and yellow generic retained his color scheme, whereas the blue one is now one solid shade of blue. The model will appear again in "The Burden Hardest to Bear", again in different colors.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • Soundwave actually uses that gun on his shoulder while fighting the Centurion drones.
  • Soundwave extends a lock-picking electrical widget from his fingertip.
  • The newly-built Stunticons show off their ridiculously fancy driving abilities - they smash through trees, buildings and solid rock, they launch themselves into the air, spinning and flipping while doing so, and they make hairpin 180-degree turns.

Real-world references

• Vector Sigma's line "Before Cybertron was, I was" is a paraphrase of what Jesus says in John 8:58.
• For robots that have never been exposed to human culture, the Centurion droids demonstrate surprising proficiency in pro-wrestling, performing moves such as the German Suplex, body slam, headlock and Irish Whip.
• Star Wars sound effects:
  • TIE Fighter roar as the coneheads dive to attack the superfuel convoy.
  • Millennium Falcon engine roar as the coneheads follow them into the canyon.
  • Truncated lightsaber-vs-seeker-ball as Megatron inserts the key.

Animation and technical errors

• Coloring errors:
  • As Prime notes how quiet it's been, his headlights and bumper are red instead of white and gray.
  • The back of Megatron's leg is colored blue during his "Thrust, Dirge, Ramjet, after them!" line; apparently the colorists thought it was part of the sky.
  • Ramjet's wings are white instead of maroon as he emerges from the canyon.
  • When Thrust transforms to rescue Ramjet, it's actually Dirge's animation model with Thrust's deco.
  • "If it weren't for those accursed Autobots..." - Megatron's left arm is colored white instead of gray, and his forehead is missing its detailing.
    

    
  • Rumble's visor flashes between white and red when he steals the F1 car which will become Drag Strip. Oddly enough, it's stable red when the Autobots review the same sequence on Teletraan I later on!
  • Blue eject button on Soundwave as Megatron prepares to test his newly upgraded cars.
    • And again after he exists the space bridge.
  • Omega Supreme's head is red instead of gray as he transforms to rocket mode outside Autobot Headquarters.
  • Omega's visor is gray instead of clear as he reverts to robot mode on Cybertron.
  • "Let's roll!" - the inside of Prime's cheekguard changes from gray to blue.
  • As he dives into the Vector Sigma tunnel, Blaster's forehead changes from red to its correct white.
  • As he watches Vector Sigma rise, Soundwave's cheekguards are blue instead of gray.
  • As Megatron welcomes the Stunticons to Earth, his waist is light gray instead of its usual dark gray.
• The coneheads don't have the standard Decepticon laser noise as they dive to attack.
• When Ramjet crashes, he reverts to robot mode without the transformation sound.
• As the Autobots open fire on Megatron, they get a weird mix of Prime's laser noise and the standard Decepticon laser noise.
• One of the bank robbers, the getaway driver and the lorry driver are all wearing hard hats; have Spike and Sparkplug started a fashion trend?
• As Rumble steals the semi truck, two of his shots start with Megatron's fusion cannon sound effect and end with the usual Decepticon laser effect.
• The establishing shot of Cybertron is very different than the stock shot usually used on the show; it's a greatly simplied version of the planet, without all the giant holes and war damage (maybe it's just "the other side".) Still another version can be seen briefly as Omega Supreme flies toward the planet, much closer to the usual stock shot but still not the same model.
• The inside of the space bridge elevator continues glowing pink after the doors open.
• As the Autobots race towards Alpha Trion's lab, Omega Supreme actually clips through Blaster.
• "Good grief!" - the illumination of Wheeljack's "ears" doesn't quite line up with the ears themselves.
• In the first shot of their approach, the Centurion droids are walking in place rather than advancing.
• When the Centurion droids attack, Megatron's nose is colored dark gray.
• Soundwave's Decepticon insignia is missing as he avoids a Centurion's fist.
• After the Autobots leave the hanagar, Blaster's mouth is jumping up and down independently of his face.
• "Soon! Very soon." - Megatron's voice is missing its robotic processing.

Continuity errors

• The central premise of this episode—that bringing new Transformers to life requires the supercomputer Vector Sigma—is highly problematic in the context of.... well, every other episode before or since in which new Transformers are created:
  • The Dinobots were simply built on Earth.
  • The Constructicons, in their first episode, are likewise described as having been built on Earth (though that's a whole can of worms in itself.)
  • Later episodes would likewise contradict it, showing Trypticon and the Technobots being brought to life without Vector Sigma.
  • Megatron emphatically declares that Vector Sigma gave all his contemporaries life, and introduces himself to the computer as "one of your own creations". In "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 4", Megatron is shown being built on a table by the evil Constructicons, with Vector Sigma nowhere in sight (the same Constructicons who would later be turned evil, and still later be built on Earth).
  • "Five Faces of Darkness" also presents the Quintessons as the original creators of the Transformers. Vector Sigma was apparently involved, as Alpha Trion states that he was a first generation product of Vector Sigma, and he also led the Transformer rebellion against the Quintessons. It is possible that Vector Sigma was built by the Quintessons.
    • Optimus sort of explains most of this by saying "There's no place on Earth to give them cybernetic personalities like we have", the "like we have" part perhaps insinuating that personalities from Earth would end up with low intelligence. For Trypticon and the Dinobots at least, this appears to be correct; the Technobots, meanwhile, were built by a temporarily super-intelligent Grimlock, using parts of Unicron, so... who knows.
• Why does Warpath drop out of the convoy? Why doesn't he return fire? Was he supposed to have been damaged by the first assault? If so, the animation doesn't show it.

• Megatron apparently builds the Stunticons by himself. Where are the Constructicons, who were useful in creating the robotic cars in "Make Tracks"?
• Rather than launching an assault to commandeer the space bridge as they've previously done in "Divide and Conquer" (and will do again) to instantly transport themselves back home, Optimus Prime calls for Omega Supreme to fly them to Cybertron the long way. Naturally, this facilitates the Omega Supreme subplot which will ultimately result in the Aerialbots dropping their bad attitude, but it's still an odd choice considering the urgency of the situation.

• In "The Search for Alpha Trion", Alpha Trion was introduced as an enigmatic old Transformer hiding in an underground base. This episode ignores the brunt of that. For starters, Alpha Trion's base is no longer underground and doesn't appear to be secret anymore. Nor does Alpha Trion himself. For some reason, the Decepticons know that Alpha Trion still lives, that he has the Key to Vector Sigma and what the location of his laboratory is. Wheeljack makes the situation even more peculiar by remarking that Alpha Trion's base is messier than it's ever been, insinuating that he's been there before. On a sidenote, in "The Search for Alpha Trion", Alpha Trion's lab was neat and tidy.
• "It's a miracle we survived that blast" - see Trivia notes below for more on Prime's non sequitur line.
• Speaking of urgency - despite the repeated need for speed, the Autobots never use their vehicle modes on Cybertron - not to hurry to Alpha Trion's lab, not to rush to the Vector Sigma tunnel, not to travel IN that tunnel, not to get away from the slow-moving Centurion droids...
• "Megatron's been battling us on the roads" - the Autobots haven't actually faced the Stunticons yet. Megatron took them directly to Earth after creating them.

Trivia

• According to episode writer David Wise at various conventions (such as BotCon 2009), he was instructed to include Vector Sigma when writing this episode as part of the Hasbro episode mandates. Not knowing what Vector Sigma was, he pressed story editor Bryce Malek, who in turn had to go to Hasbro to learn that Vector Sigma was "the computer that gave all the Transformers personalities". This caused Malek to respond: "Well, it didn't do a very good job, did it!"
• At the script stage, this episode had the uninspired sub-title "Creation of the Stunticons".
• The shooting scripts for both installments of this two-parter contain several "deleted scenes" which expand greatly upon some of the more significant events in the story. In this episode:
  • "That blast" mentioned by Prime in the finished episode actually happens.
  • While the other Autobots are busy down in the tunnels, Omega Supreme battles Shockwave on the planet's surface throughout the second act of the episode. Shockwave refers to Omega as his "old enemy," and is on the losing end of the fight until he gets his hands on a "cyberbomb," which he uses to defeat Omega, leaving him very badly damaged. There is a vestigial reference to this battle in Part 2, and further scenes relating to its consequences are removed from that episode, altering the nature of its turning point quite a bit.
• The tank vehicles seen at the army base are the MOBAT and the Armadillo from the G.I. Joe animated series.
• Rumble is shown capturing a Tyrrell P34 during a Formula 1 race, the year presumably being 1986. In actuality, the six-wheeler Tyrrell P34 was retired after the 1977 season, and did not appear again on any race circuit until 1999.
• When the Stunticons first veer into traffic, several Earthen cars swerve to avoid them - and they're all in the Stunticons' color schemes. The beige one even has a purple patch where Breakdown's Decepticon insignia is.

Foreign localization

French

• Title (European French broadcast): "La clé de Victor Segma" ("Vector Sigma's Key")
• Title (European French DVD release): "La clé du succès - Partie 1" ("The Key to Success - Part 1")
• Title (Canadian French broadcast): "La clé pour Vecteur Sigma, partie 1" ("The Key to Vector Sigma, Part 1")
• Original airdate: ?

• The annoying alien voice effect is still here, despite being less violent in this episode.
• Albert Augier is back! But for some reason, Georges Atlas keeps Soundwave for this episode.
• The race commentator saying "What in the world?" is translated differently in the original event ("That's unbelievable! What's happening?") and when Optimus Prime and Ratchet watch the video ("What's happening this time?") as if it was happening again.
• Missing lines:

• Optimus Prime's lines "See what I mean? Let's move it! So much for your security Prowl!" are missing.
• The dialogue between Smokescreen and Optimus Prime driving is missing.
• Dirge's lines "I knew I'd never make it!" and "Gotta get him out of here for repairs." are missing, as well as many Coneheads lines in plane mode.
• Smokescreen's line "Eat my smoke!" is missing.
• Rumble's lines "You mean Rumble takes it!" and "I just need the car!" as he steals the vehicles are missing.
• Soundwave's lines as he's looking for the key are missing.
• Megatron's line "Welcome Stunticons!" as they admire the landscape is missing.

• Name-dodging:

• As a the classic name-dodging situation, Megatron's line "Thrust! Dirge! Ramjet! After them!" is replaced by "Get that fuel! I need it!".
• Optimus Prime's line "Hoist! Ratchet! Can you repair him?" is replaced by simply saying "Do you think you can repair him if you both work on it?".
• Instead of saying their names, the Stunticons all make little speeches about pledging allegiance to Megatron.

• Ratchet describing the Stunticons as "Megatron's new car group" is replaced by "Megatron's new mentally ill guys". Wow.
• In order to write the "To be continued" in French, it was added at the end of the episode while the Stunticons are invading the base. The original one was removed, making the music cut abruptly.

Italian

• Title (dub 1): "Gli Stunticons" ("The Stunticons")
• Original airdate: ?
• Title (dub 2): "La chiave di Vector Sigma - Prima parte" ("The Key of Vector Sigma - First Part")
• Original airdate: ?

Japanese

• Title: "Vector Sigma no Kagi PART I" (ベクターシグマの鍵 PART I, "The Key of Vector Sigma PART I")
• Original airdate: May 2, 1986

Mandarin

• Title: "Mólì Shénqiú (Shàng)" (魔力神球(上), "The Magic Ball, Part I")
• Original airdate: ?

Brazilian Portuguese

• Title: "A Chave Para Vector Sigma, Primeira Parte" ("The Key to Vector Sigma, First Part")
• Original airdate: ?

Russian

• Title: "Klyuch ot Sigma Comp'yutera" (Ключ от Сигма Компьютера, "The Key to Sigma Computer")
• Original airdate: ?

Home video releases

VHS

1986 — The Transformers — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn (A.M.T. Video Gems)
1988 — The Transformers — The Key to Vector Sigma & War Dawn (V.I.P. Video Gems)
1991 — The Transformers — The Key to Vector Sigma (Little Gems Video Club)
2000 — The Original Transformers — Volume 4: The Key to Vector Sigma (Rhino Entertainment)

LaserDisc

1995 — Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers — Megatron Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
1999 — The Transformers — Decepticon Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.

DVD

2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 7 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 3: Series 2.2 (Madman Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Volume 13 (Déclic Images) — European French audio only.
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers — Le Journal des Quintessons (UFG Junior) — European French audio only.
2009 — Transformers — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
2009 — Transformers — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2009 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume Two: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

External links

• Dossier at The Cybertron Chronicle
• Episode dialogue script with deleted lines
• Episode model sheets