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"Truck!" "I see it!" "TRUCK!" "I SEE IT!"
"Battle For Cybertron II"
Season	3
No. in season	2
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

The full forces of the Autobots and the Decepticons engage in a battle for control of Cybertron.

Synopsis

In the Threshold of the Well, Megatron jubilantly watches as Shockwave's laser snare obliterates the Ark, praising the scientist for succeeding at something. The Decepticon leader monologues about how things are going: the Autobots are dead, Vector Sigma is back inside the Threshold, and soon he will use the AllSpark to create an army of Decepticons, all loyal to him. He then commands Skywarp to take the Seekers to comb through the ship's wreckage, find the artifact, and kill any Autobot survivors they find. However, the moment is interrupted by someone cutting through the Threshold's doors. It's Teletraan-X, who is incensed over the destruction of its ship, and vows revenge. Megatron effortlessly swats the little drone away, only to find it did not come alone: the Autobots are still alive. Megatron is confused, so Optimus Prime explains...

Before the Ark got to Cybertron, Optimus ordered all hands to abandon the ship, suspecting the Decepticons of laying a trap, and has Teletraan-X pilot the ship on its own despite Hot Rod's objections.

Optimus calls Megatron on how easy his actions were to predict. Megatron snarls back that he may have a few surprises left. Regardless, the full force of the Decepticons stands between Optimus and getting the AllSpark back where it belongs. The two armies charge at one another.

Nearby, Bumblebee, Hot Rod and Cheetor watch. Though both Bumblebee and Cheetor want to get involved, Hot Rod reminds them of Optimus's orders to stay out of the fight until he clears the way for them, much to Bumblebee's disappointment. The two armies fight, but despite casualties on both sides, neither has a clear advantage. As Bumblebee sees Soundwave incapacitate Ratchet, he hurries off to get involved, but Hot Rod blocks his path. Fortunately for both, Grimlock intervenes to save the Autobot's medic.

As the battle rages, Optimus and Megatron clash, unaware that Shadow Striker is drawing her gun on Optimus. At the last moment, Prowl leaps in front of her shot, saving Optimus at the cost of his own life. An enraged Optimus vows that now, he and Megatron will end their battle once and for all. Meanwhile, by the Threshold's door, Shockwave observes and turns away from the fight. Inside the building, he signals to Megatron that they are ready, as he descends into the planet to the howls of Scraplets.

To be continued...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Shockwave, your laser snare, for once you did something right."
"My success rate is 99.8%."

— Megatron doles out praise to Shockwave.

"You...you...you big buckethead bully!"

— Teletraan-X exercises his insult subroutines on Megatron.

"Megatron, after all these cycles of unending treachery, you are easy to predict."

— Optimus Prime burns Megatron.

"YAH! When cruel pain calls, a serenade of fury, Sky-Byte ascendant!"
"Worst poet ever Sky-Byte."
"Philistine!"

— Sky-Byte does not take criticism from Arcee well.

Notes

Continuity notes

• In "Escape From Earth", it was unclear if Vector Sigma had been left on Earth. This episode confirms it to have been brought home by the Decepticons.
• Similarly, Sky-Byte was last seen drifting off into space in the same episode. While it was unclear if he was ever recovered at the time, this episode shows him to still be among the Decepticons.
• Ramjet chronologically last appeared in "Allspark" amongst the Seekers attacking the space bridge. Dirge, meanwhile, was chronologically last seen in "Cube".
• Jetfire grounds Skywarp and Ramjet with Seeker-esque chest missiles, much like his former friend Starscream.
• Prowl sacrifices himself to save Optimus Prime's life, mirroring Prowl's first appearance in "Matrix of Leadership", where Optimus Prime risks his own life to save a doomed Prowl.
• Shadow Striker is distraught that her fatal shot hit Prowl instead of Optimus Prime, likely due to their brief friendship in "Parley".

Transformers references

• There is an assortment of new faces in this episode. To start off, the Seekers are now led by a gender-bent version of Skywarp, who was absent from the previous two seasons.
• A new face amongst the Decepticons is Alpha Strike, who is modeled after Beast Machines Strika, yet has been renamed for trademark reasons.
• The Autobots are joined by a new version of the elderly veteran Kup, whose design is based off his Generation 1 counterpart's first Generations toy with minor stylistic tweaks based off his Titans Return toy.
• Debuting seconds after Kup is a new version of the one-eyed Wrecker Whirl, who is modeled after his Generation 1 counterpart's original and 2012 More than Meets the Eye comic design.
• Despite receiving only vocal grunts in this episode, we get to see Dead End, a new version of the Generation 1 Stunticon. His design is based off his Combiner Wars toy but in the colors of his live-action movie universe namesake.
• Prowl dies by taking a blast through the right side of his upper torso, the same way his G1 Counterpart died in the original movie, although unlike the gruesome fate his original incarnation suffered, here it merely appears as if Prowl's paint was damaged before expiring.

Real-world references

• Kup says that "[he's] getting too old for this scrud", referencing Roger Murtaugh's famous line from Lethal Weapon: "I'm too old for this shit."

Other trivia

• The Cybertronian text displayed on Megatron's display screen is "Scan" and "I like pickles."
• The Threshold building is surrounded by multiple statues of Alpha Trion and Maccadam, foreshadowing their status as members of the Thirteen.
• While the episode's animation does not make it look like Prowl's injury is that bad, the fact that the light in his eyes fades implicitly confirms that he indeed perished. Furthermore, he is not seen again after what goes down between and after "Battle For Cybertron IV" and "The Loop".

Animation and technical errors

• Though Megatron issues a command to Skywarp, she is not shown to be amongst the present Decepticon group.
• Even in Skywarp's first appearance, she is occasionally replaced with Nova Storm's model, an inconsistency that would continue randomly throughout the rest of the season.

Foreign localization

German

• Title: "Die Schlacht um Cybertron Teil 2"
• Alternate Title : "Kampf um Cybertron"
• Original airdate: September 5, 2020

Portuguese

• Title: "A Batalha por Cybertron, Parte 2" ("The Battle for Cybertron, Part 2")
• Original airdate: September 17, 2021

Home video releases

• TBA