The Buzz on Windblade TFP

The Buzz on Windblade is the twenty-third episode of Transformers: Robots in Disguise season 1.

Plot
The Bee Team encounters a new Autobot, sent to Earth long ago.

Synopsis
Strongarm is giving a lecture to the other Autobots about the dangers of horses, using a toy rocking horse as a model. Bumblebee is skeptical about horses being a threat, but Strongarm believes that since many of the Alchemor' s inmates take on the look of Earth animals, they should learn about all of Earth's animals. Sideswipe is annoyed with the lesson and heads off to train in the woods alone.

While leaping from tree to tree in the forest, Sideswipe overhears a fight, and stumbles across Scratch, locked in combat with a jet. The jet gains the upper hand and transforms into an unfamiliar Autobot, who overpowers and incapacitates the Decepticon. Sideswipe tries to compliment her on her takedown, but she mistakes him for another Decepticon. The Autobot nearly takes him down until she notices his Autobot insignia. The Autobot introduces herself as Windblade, a fellow Autobot on a mission of her own.

Back at the scrapyard, Fancyclaws is safely put in a stasis pod. Windblade is quickly making friends with Bumblebee and his team, much to Strongarm's dismay. Strongarm asks if she was sent by the High Council, but Windblade reveals Primus himself sent her to Earth. She recounts that a thousand years ago, Primus warned her of a rising evil, and sent her into stasis after modifying her body and enhancing her sensors. Having reawakened a month ago, Windblade has been secretly tracking down and imprisoning fugitive Decepticons. Strongarm thinks that Windblade was more "Windbag than Windblade, but Sideswipe thinks that she is awesome. Windblade detects another Decepticon signal nearby, and helps Fixit get a lock on it. The team rolls out after Windblade comes up with a catchy motto, impressing Bumblebee and he asks how she came up with one so quickly.

The team eventually arrive outside a nearby airfield, where a trio of human planes are behaving in a strange pattern. Strongarm isn't pleased about having to work with Windblade, but finds herself partnered with Windblade, Grimlock, and Sideswipe. They work their way toward the airport's entrance, but Strongarm accidentally tips off one of the humans, who orders the nearest "drones" to divebomb the Autobots. The four Autobots make a run for the hangar — although Strongarm thinks that they should contact Bumblebee first — and manage to get inside.

Once inside, the Autobots discover their target: a bee-like Decepticon who controls humans with her toxic sting. Even worse, the Decepticon boasts that her loyal workers are planning to spread this toxin to airports all over the world! As the Autobots move closer, the Decepticon takes her two nearest workers hostage, and threatens to kill them if the Autobots try to arrest her. Windblade tries to call the Decepticon's bluff and draws her weapon, but Strongarm trips her before the Decepticon notices. Realizing that they cannot endanger innocent humans, the Autobots temporarily retreat.

Outside, Windblade confronts Strongarm about why she stopped her attempt to attack. Strongarm retorts that all human lives are worth saving. Windblade is surprised, but realizes that Strongarm is right. After filling Bumblebee and Drift in on the situation, Bumblebee has Fixit try to find a match for their quarry. Fixit tells them that they're up against Zizza, a bee like Decepticon who tried to pull a similar mind-control plan back on Cybertron, but failed to consolidate her powers and as a result was arrested and placed aboard the Alchemor in a stasis pod. Strongarm, studied the behavior of Earth bees, hatches a new plan. Noticing that Zizza needs heat to stay active, Strongarm tells her teammates that she knows how to make Zizza "chill out".

The group surrounds the hangar and swings into action; Grimlock, Drift, Bumblebee, Sideswipe, and Windblade distract Zizza's drones while Slipstream and Jetstorm cut the power, deactivating Zizza's heat lamps and Strongarm searching for a truck that has refrigerated foam. Fixit warns Bumblebee that there's a plane requesting landing clearance. Bumblebee orders Fixit to hack into the control tower and divert the plane. Meanwhile, the mind-controlled pilots move in to intercept the plane. Bumblebee asks Windblade to reach the landing plane first, and Sideswipe tags along to assist. After Sideswipe forces the brainwashed pilots to land, Fixit manages to hack into the Control Tower, and diverts the plane to another airfield.

Strongarm watches the interception, but then notices Zizza trying to flee. Strongarm tries to weigh Zizza down while dodging her stingers. Windblade and Sideswipe pass by, and their combined efforts manage to knock Zizza into a tanker filled with refrigerated foam, incapacitating the temperature-sensitive Decepticon and allowing Strongarm to slap a pair of stasis cuffs on her target.

With the airfield back to normal and the humans recovering with no memory of the event, Windblade announces that she's off to continue her own mission. Sideswipe begs her not to go, even pleading Bumblebee to say that she can't leave. Before she leaves though, Windblade makes amends with Strongarm, admitting that her reckless plan almost cost innocent lives. With a mutual respect slowly growing between the two, Windblade transforms and flies away. Sideswipe compliments Strongarm on her plan... leaving Strongarm shocked and wondered if she just heard a genuine compliment from him.

Autobots

 * Bumblebee
 * Strongarm
 * Sideswipe
 * Grimlock
 * Fixit
 * Drift
 * Jetstorm
 * Slipstream
 * Windblade

Decepticons

 * Zizza
 * Scratch

Quotes
Strongarm: And the lower appendages, or 'hooves', of real horses can cause significant injury.

Bumblebee: Uh, Strongarm, horses aren't generally aggressive unless provoked.

Strongarm: Perhaps not, sir. But given how many of the Alchemor's inmates are analogous to Earth's animals, it is vital that we understand any-

Sideswipe: Enough!
 * —In the classroom with Miss Strongarm

Windblade: Looks like this team you've put together has had a pretty high success rate. The mark of good leadership.

Bumblebee: [bashful] Heh, well… I had solid raw materials to begin with.

Windblade: If Slick here is any indication, I'd say that's probably true.

Strongarm: [muttering] Slick?
 * —The rest of the team meets Windblade

Windblade: Let's crank some pistons and cross some distance!

Sideswipe: Yeah-ha-ha, alright!

Grimlock: That's how you do it!

Bumblebee: Now, how did you come up with that so fast? Cause I've had the worst time.
 * —In which Bumblebee finds a catchphrase mentor

Continuity notes

 * Windblade mentions having been reactivated a month ago, suggesting that is how much time has passed since the Alchemor crash.

Prisoner manifest

 * In stasis: Hammerstrike, Bisk, Chop Shop, Terrashock, Filch, Minitron, Springload, Ped, Quillfire, "that one with all the eyes", Malodor and the Skunkticons, Nightstrike, Vertebreak, Octopunch, Groundpounder, Headlock, Scowl, Scratch, Zizza
 * Known at large: Steeljaw, Thunderhoof, Underbite, Clampdown, Kickback
 * Released: Grimlock
 * Countless others all missing, presumed at large

Transformers references

 * As per Transformers: War for Cybertron, Primus is depicted as being the core of Cybertron.
 * Sideswipe performs jet judo like in the G1 episode "Roll for It".

Real-world references

 * Grimlock clambers up the air control tower while being attacked by planes, an obvious homage to King Kong.
 * Windblade's transformation by Primus is a direct reference to the transformation sequences in magical girl anime, most famously Sailor Moon.

Trivia

 * Strongarm brought up the fact that most of the Alchemor's prisoners resemble Earth animals, and how they share some of the same strengths and weaknesses.