Megatron Rising - Part 2



'''The Autobots are decimated by the Decepticon invasion, but still must rally to prevent the All Spark from falling into their clutches. '''

Summary
As Megatron descends to ground level, Optimus, Prowl and Bulkhead look on in disbelief. As he lands, Bulkhead takes point, launching his wrecking ball, but Megatron calmly slices it off before backhanding Bulkhead into a nearby building. Prowl then attacks, but his throwing stars are easily deflected, and he finds himself on the defensive, dodging Megatron's swords. Taking cover behind a bridge support, he manages to avoid them, but Megatron's attacks destroy it, and two children are nearly crushed under the falling rubble, saved only by Optimus borrowing "a move from the Bumblebee play book", using a combination of his wheels and ax to dash forward and snatch the children up. Meanwhile, Prowl is pinned under Megatron's foot, and the Decepticon draws a sword, ready to take revenge for Prowl slicing off the remains of his arm fifty years ago. Optimus saves Prowl by using a combination of his grappler and ax to knock the sword from Megatron's grasp. The two leaders face off, but Megatron simply blocks Prime's blow and kicks him away. As Megatron reaches for his dropped sword, Optimus launches a grappler, tripping him. Megatron follows up by snapping the grappler's line and using it to swing Optimus into the side of a building.

In the tower, Blitzwing wants to join the fight, but Lugnut won't allow him to interfere in Megatron's business. As the two Decepticons argue, Dr. Sumdac tries to make a break for it, only to be blocked by Blitzwing. Meanwhile, Starscream holds a struggling Bumblebee while watching Optimus and Megatron battle, trying to decide whom he'll gain more from by helping, the Autobot or his would-be leader. On the ground, Optimus is taking a beating but says he will never reveal the AllSpark's location. Unfortunately, Megatron simply plans to use the key to track down the AllSpark. Punching Prime hard enough to send him skidding across the tarmac, Megatron calls out to his loyal Decepticons. Lugnut and Blitzwing immediately respond, and Starscream casually comments on his decision being made for him and throws Bumblebee away. As Lugnut prostrates himself, Starscream drops down on his head, ready to renew his tenure as Second in Command. Megatron comments on the appropriateness of Starscream's presence, takes aim on the Autobots...then quickly jams the key into Starscream's chest, seemingly draining him of life. Dropping the offline traitor, Megatron asks if there are any other dissenters. Getting a negative response, he turns back to the Autobots, only to discover they've used the distraction to escape. Blitzwing wants to chase after them, but Megatron believes the AllSpark takes priority. At his command the Decepticons transform and roll—er, rise up, tracking their prize.

Isaac rushes outside to find the Autobots badly damaged, and confesses to them that he had rebuilt Megatron. Bulkhead and Prowl seem angry, but Prime decides they have more urgent problems to worry about: they were outclassed by the Decepticons even when in perfect operating condition, and now no longer could rely on Sari's key to repair them. Isaac suspects that there may be enough residual radiation from the key left in his lab machinery to repair the Autobots, and they give his idea a try.

Ratchet, working to get the submerged Ark flight-ready, sends out a security scan which detects the approach of Blackarachnia and Sari. Apparently the girl's sympathy from the previous episode was a ruse: she had been deliberately leading Blackarachnia in circles on the ice to waste time, and also had assumed the half-organic creature would not be able to stay underwater for long--a guess confirmed to be true by an outraged Blackarachnia, who becomes very threatening to Sari. Before the situation can get uglier, Ratchet surfaces the Ark through the ice beneath them, rescuing Sari and catapulting Blackarachnia helplessly through the sky. Sari's gratitude at being rescued quickly fades when she finds out that despite "all that crud" about responsible handling, Ratchet lost her key.

Back at Sumdac Tower, the Autobots are more or less repaired by the leftover energy in the lab machines. Knowing they are still sore at him, Optimus apologizes for his earlier bad attitude and asks them to repair their friendships as well. Sumdac is still feeling guilty about rebuilding Megatron and offers his assistance, though the Autobots are skeptical--both of his loyalty and of what a mere human could offer them. Before they can decide, Ratchet and Sari arrive in the Ark. The Autobots board the ship, which by now has come under heavy bombardment from the Decepticons.

The Autobots attempt to fly the Ark into space, drawing the Decepticons away from Earth's civilians--but some well-aimed missiles wreck the ship's vital systems and that idea along with it. The vessel crashes into the side of the volcanic cone on Dinobot Island. The Autobots gear up for what will surely be a climactic battle; Prime states he is proud to have his current team by his side, while Bumblebee says he's just as happily have the Elite Guard. The Decepticons close in for their attack, and the Autobots use some of their tactics learned throughout the series to throw them off-balance: Ratchet and Bumblebee combine powers to generate an electromagnetic pulse that temporarily disables Blitzwing, and Bulkhead uses his sheer... Bulkheadness... to force Lugnut to crash. Back on the ship, Isaac is trying to jerryrig a weapon to use against Megatron; recognizing that they might not survive, he tries to tell Sari something that had been a secret, but instead of listening she rushes off to ask the AllSpark to give her more power so she can help her friends. She asks it why she had been chosen in the first place, but doesn't understand its cryptic "charades" answer (see below).

Unable to match the Decepticons in sheer power, the Autobots manage to prevail by using their own teamwork and playing off the Decepticons' weaknesses--thanks to some clever 'bot tactics, the schizoid Blitzwing and overly talkative Lugnut are basically encouraged to defeat themselves. But Megatron has no apparent weaknesses, except perhaps being cluttered with little shards of Optimus Prime after he finishes beating on the Autobot. Their one-sided fight carries them into the hold of the Ark, where Megatron succeeds in acquiring the AllSpark. Before he can celebrate, he is temporarily downed by Isaac, who knows enough about Megatron's circuitry to disable his equilibrium sensors--but although he drops the key in his stumble, the tyrant isn't down for long. Megatron is about to finish Prime, when Sari hurls Prime the key and he jams it into the AllSpark's spherical casing, cracking it open. A destabilized Megatron flees the Ark (and kidnaps Isaac on the way--don't blink!) before the AllSpark explodes inside his chest, dispersing its energy throughout the atmosphere.

The key is now the single most powerful Cybertronian artifact, and too important to be entrusted to the care of an Autobot--so Prime returns it to Sari, who uses it to repair all her friends as usual. But Megatron still functions--and has plans for his new prisoner, Isaac Sumdac.

Stats

 * Written by: Marty Isenberg
 * Directed by: Ben Jones, Ciro Nieli, & Shunji Oga
 * Original airdate: April 5, 2008

Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes
"Time to borrow a move from the Bumblebee playbook."
 * Optimus Prime realising that a giant ax can't solve everything

"Decepticons, transform and rise up!"
 * Megatron has his own version of roll out.

Isaac: Oh dear, this is all my fault! Sari: What? It's not like you built Megatron in your lab or anything. [Isaac Sumdac looks away and uncomfortably taps his fingers] Sari: YOU BUILT MEGATRON IN YOUR LAB?! Ratchet: On the bright side, now I don't feel so bad about losing your key.
 * One of several awkward moments this episode for Isaac Sumdac

"If we go down, we go down fighting. And I can't think of a better band of Autobots I'd be prouder to fight alongside." "Not even the Cybertron Elite Guard? Because I sure wouldn't mind having them here now."
 * Optimus Prime prepares to fight and die while Bumblebee would rather fight and live.

Ratchet: Electromagnetic pulse, kid! [Bumblebee and Ratchet cross their powers together and short out Blitzwing] Calm Blitzwing: Curious. My electrical systems have gone offline. Which means Crazy Blitzwing: I'M FALLING!! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH!
 * Crazy Blitzwing finds humor in everything.

Bumblebee: I thought I saw him go down along the shore. [Crazy Blitzwing appears in tank mode and starts firing at the Autobots] Crazy Blitzwing: The only one going down, is you!
 * Crazy Blitzwing quickly disses Bumblebee.

Bumblebee: So what do we do now? Wait for him to turn into a tank and crash like last time? Ratchet: Nobody gets that lucky twice. Prowl: Perhaps we can make our own luck. I've noticed a connection between Blitzwing's multiple personalities and his vehicle modes. We can use that weakness against him...but it will require using Bumblebee's greatest strength. Bumblebee: What, my stingers? My turbo-speed? Prowl: Your obnoxious personality.
 * Prowl nails friend and foe alike with ninja precision.

Bumblebee: Hey, Blitzbrain! Is that your jet mode, or did your pal Lugnut dump out some spare parts? [Blitzwing in jet mode fires two ice missiles at Bumblebee, narrowly missing him] Bumblebee: How come you have three faces? Couldn't decide which was the ugliest? [Two more missiles from Blitzwing miss Bumblebee] Bumblebee: And who uses ice as a weapon? What are you? A refrigerator? Angry Blitzwing: [Transforms to tank mode from jet mode] YOU WANT HEAT!? I'LL GIVE YOU MORE THAN YOU CAN HANDLEOH SLAG, NOT AGA! [Crashes through ice into the lake]
 * Angry Blitzwing, his own worst enemy.

"You all fought like Autobots! I can't tell you how proud I am of each and every one of you." "Go on, tell us. We can take it!"
 * Optimus Prime praises the Autobots while Bumblebee showcases his recently discussed "greatest strength".

"I trust you are comfortable in your chair!"
 * Megatron to Isaac Sumdac. The choice of furniture was destined to come back to haunt him.

Continuity errors

 * At the beginning of the series, years were measured as solar cycles to Transformers, but Megatron refers to years as stellar cycles.
 * Megatron said that Prowl slashed off his arm, while he actually lost it due to Starscream planting a bomb on his back. Prowl did, however, slash a part off that remained after the explosion.
 * In Isaac Sumdac's flashback, Megatron's head is seen complete and undamaged in the field. However, in past episodes, Megatron's head is seen half damaged in Isaac Sumdac's lab.
 * In "Lost and Found", Ratchet reveals that even with the key, the ship would not be operational for a "long, long time," but in this episode he is able to get it spaceworthy in about two minutes--without the key and with only one arm. However, the course of the series makes it clear that many months are going by, so it's possible the Autobots had enough of a "long time" necessary to repair the ship off-camera.
 * Sari recognizes Megatron from his new Earth alt mode, despite never seeing it before. She also seems to know who Megatron is, despite never being told, either. Unless you count her experience with the All-spark, which never gives a name, just an image.
 * Megatron asks Professor Sumdac if he is comfortable in his chair in the form of Megatron's hand, despite it being the wrong hand.

Animation errors

 * When Ratchet catches Sari after Blackarachnia drops her, his right arm is intact. In the next scene, it's gone again.
 * Also, when Ratchet, Bumblebee and Prowl are planning on how to stop Blitzwing, Ratchet's arm is intact again, but in the next shot, it's gone again. This happens constantly during the final battle.
 * When Blitzwing changes faces after Megatron coldcocks Starscream, his face rotates vertically, not horizontally as it usually does.
 * The black lanyard attached to Sari's key keeps disappearing and reappearing.
 * Optimus Prime appears really tiny when he's shown sitting at the Ark ' s door at the end.

Transformers references

 * The manner in which the Ark sticks out of the rock is reminiscent of the original Ark.


 * A key as the most powerful Cybertonian artifact? Most familiar.


 * Putting the AllSpark into his chest did not kill Megatron, unlike his second cousin twice removed.

Real-world references

 * When Blitzwing accidently turns into a tank in midair as a response to Bumblebee's taunts, he says, "Oh slag, not again!" This may be reference to a scene in the British sci-fi comedy novel, The Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy, where a heat-seeking nuclear missile is turned into a bowl of petunias by the Improbabilty Drive and thinks, "Oh no, not again", as it falls to its doom. Some have speculated that if we knew why this reference was made, we would know a lot more about the nature of the universe than we already do now.

Miscellaneous trivia

 * The intro has a number of new sound effects added in.


 * Despite the fact the Ark crashed on Dinobot Island, Grimlock and company are nowhere to be seen. Slag!!!!


 * Since virtually the beginning of the series, fans have been theorizing that Sari may be more than she appears (see her own article for all the details), and this episode includes the first serious in-show hint in that direction. In addition to Professor Sumdac attempting to tell Sari "something important" when he thinks it's possible that they're about to die, a point is repeatedly made of noting that the AllSpark "chose" Sari, and when she asks it why, it projects an image of a DNA strand with a glowing, blue orb at its center. Hmmm...


 * Sari bites Blackarachnia's hand, and somehow, the latter feels pain. Ordinarily, this could be explained away if one supposes that Blackarachnia's hand in robot mode is organic, but you can hear a metallic clang as Sari chomps down on it. That girl has some teeth on her.


 * After 24 years, the Decepticons finally have an equivalent of "Transform and Roll Out." And it's one that makes perfect sense, considering that traditionally, most Decepticons can fly. Even after taking that into consideration, the frequent depiction in Transformers lore of the Decepticons as an insurgent army rising to glory and conquest lends it a certain poetic elegance as well. "Decepticons, Transform and Rise Up!"


 * Megatron's transforming sequence from helicopter to robot is mostly the sequence of robot to helicopter played backwards with a few shots added—or possibly, the robot-to-heli sequence is actually the heli-to-robot sequence played backwards with certain shots removed. The added/deleted shots are seemingly designed solely for a vehicle-to-robot sequence (such as the reveal of his hands, head, and final elegant "Power Pose"), making the latter theory more likely.


 * Megatron actually punishes Starscream for betraying him. You can count on one hand all the times that has happened in every TF series prior to this, combined. And Galvatron blasting him to slag doesn't count.


 * The Animated Decepticons seem to do a better job battling the Autobots when Megatron isn't commanding them.


 * This episode proves that Animated Megatron is awesome and a total badass. But we had already guessed that.