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You other bots cannot deny-
"Battle For Cybertron I"
Season	3
No. in season	1
Production company	Allspark Animation
Airdate	February 17, 2020 (UK) March 6, 2020 (CN app/website) March 15, 2020 (USA)
Writer	Randolph Heard
Director	Jean Texier
Animation studio	Boulder Media Studio
Watch this episode on YouTube

With the Ark fast approaching Cybertron, Chromia and Perceptor must escape their captors to warn the Autobots of Megatron's trap.

Synopsis

Jetfire and Windblade return from their scouting mission to Cybertron's surface, reporting to Optimus Prime that they have found no sign of Decepticon activity on the planet's surface. Bumblebee sees the recording of Iacon City, completely devastated and in ruin, and despairs that the city will never be home again. Cheetor reassures him that with the power of the AllSpark, which has already performed miracles, they will restore Cybertron. Optimus has Teletraan-X broadcast a message to the entire Ark crew: their journey is at an end, they will use the AllSpark to revive their world, and nothing will stand in their way.

A little while later, Optimus and Windblade look over Chromia's last transmission, urging them—and Optimus in particular—to return to Cybertron. However, since then, Windblade has been unable to get in contact with her friend, which unsettles Optimus. At that very moment, Chromia is imprisoned in the bowels of Cybertron alongside Perceptor, who scolds her for having sent the falsified message to Optimus, simply because the Decepticons threatened to kill him. Chromia tries to escape, with no luck until Perceptor uses his eyepieces to refract their prison's bars to break Chromia's bonds, albeit at the cost of his eyes exploding.

The two Autobots sneak past their Decepticon guards. Perceptor reveals that, while blind, he has other means of seeing, using his scanners to find a network of naturally occurring tunnels right in front of them. Perceptor's scanners note the tunnels manage to reach all the way down to the Well of the AllSpark. With that, Chromia figures out where they are. The two make their way to the surface of Iacon City, where Chromia finds Megatron has taken over the Threshold of the Well, turning it into his own private fortress. A pair of Seekers fly overhead, and the two Autobots duck down an alleyway. Chromia notes they need to contact Optimus, and asks if Perceptor can get them to a communications array. However, their path leads them right into a Decepticon patrol. Perceptor urges Chromia to leave him to face the Decepticons alone, but is subdued by the last Decepticon standing, who calls in the Seekers after Chromia. A chase through the streets of Iacon ensues, ending when Chromia tricks her pursuers into colliding with a building. Unbeknown to Chromia, she's being followed by Laserbeak. On reaching her destination, Chromia is attacked by the bird-bot, who she lays out with one punch. Unfortunately, Soundwave is also there, and he effortlessly subdues her.

Back on the Ark, Cheetor vows to the Allspark that whatever it takes, he will be ready. Bumblebee enters, and is unnerved by the sight, though Cheetor assures him everything's fine. On the bridge, Hot Rod is overjoyed at the though of finally getting home and returning to the Lithium Flats for some racing. He asks his fellow crewmembers what they plan to do. Grimlock plans on throwing a soiree, to which everyone is invited. Arcee plans to just kick back and relax, and Drift ominously tells Hot Rod that he has something special in mind, something a long time coming, and he will make sure Hot Rod is there. Hot Rod nervously chuckles off his shipmate's intense statement.

Back on Cybertron, as Soundwave drags Chromia through the streets, he receives a call from Shockwave: the Ark has entered Cybertron airspace. As Chromia watches, the Decepticons fire a laser snare at the Autobot ship, which envelops it, then crushes it, causing the ship to explode in a massive fireball, right in front of Chromia's eyes!

To be continued...

Featured characters

Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Transformation. Everything in the universe transforms. Sometimes, it is for the better. Sometimes, it is not. After a millennia of war between the Autobots and the Decepticons, in our most desperate moment, I expelled the AllSpark from Cybertron, causing the destruction of our planet. For this, I blame myself. But now, our world will transform again. And Megatron and his Decepticon forces...cannot stop us."

— Optimus Prime drops some trans philosophy gives a speech to the audience.

"Why didn't you do that before?"
"I didn't know if it would work. Also, I burnt out my optics. I can no longer see."

— Chromia and Perceptor discussing the latter's unorthodox escape strategy.

Notes

Continuity notes

• When reminding Bumblebee of the AllSpark's power, Cheetor lists off the artefact's supernatural feats in Season 2. Repairing the Ark ("Escape From Earth"), restoring the Sharkticon homeworld ("Wiped Out"), and healing Croaton ("Ghost Town"). Each feat is accompanied by a flashback to the episode in question.
• Optimus received Chromia's transmission in "The Crossroads", unaware it was a Decepticon trap.
• Perceptor stayed behind on Cybertron waaaaay back in "Fractured". Mentioned to have contacted the Autobots in an alternate timeline in "The Crossroads", it's now revealed that he was taken prisoner alongside Chromia.

Transformers references

• TBA

Real-world references

• TBA

Other trivia

• Drift's eyes are red in his scene with Hot Rod, instead of the standard Autobot blue, which we would list as an error... except Hot Rod explicitly calls him "red eyes". And the next time he shows up, two episodes from now, his eyes are blue again.

Animation and technical errors

• The audio waves on Soundwave's shoulders don't vibrate to his voice like they usually do when he says his line to Chromia.
• Perceptor's optics are undamaged and glowing blue when he is on the ground after being shot unconscious by a Decepticon generic.

Foreign localization

German

• Title: "Die Schlacht um Cybertron Teil 1"
• Alternate Title: "Schlacht um Cybertron"
• Original airdate: August 29, 2020

Portuguese

• Title: "A Batalha por Cybertron, Parte 1" ("The Battle for Cybertron, Part 1")
• Original airdate: September 17, 2021

Home video releases

• TBA