Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the cartoon episode. For the mobile game event, see Five Faces of Darkness: Part 2. For a list of other meanings, see Five Faces of Darkness (disambiguation). |
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 Only Galvatron can see the Energon Fairies | |||||||||
| "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-87 | ||||||||
| Season | 3 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 2 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | September 16, 1986 | ||||||||
| Written by | Flint Dille | ||||||||
| Animation studio | AKOM, Sam Young Studio | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
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As a near-death experience on Chaar allows Rodimus Prime to discover who kidnapped the Autobots, Cyclonus and Scourge head to rescue Galvatron... only to find that something is very wrong with their leader.
Contents |
Synopsis
On Chaar, the Decepticons have discovered the snooping Rodimus Prime and Grimlock. However, the Decepticons cannot muster enough energy to power their weapons, so they opt to beat the two Autobots to death. They overwhelm Rodimus and Grimlock, but scatter at the sight of a meteor... which turns out to be the Skuxxoid ship commandeered by Springer and Arcee. They grab Rodimus and Grimlock, but Rodimus is non-responsive. Cyclonus allows them to leave, as he has more pressing matters... such as finding Galvatron.
On Quintessa, the Quintessons are interrogating Kup, who is Cybertron's Chief of Security. They seem to know the true answers to their questions, even though he lies. They learn that Cybertron is militarily secure, but that Kup is worried about Earth's security. Ultra Magnus and Spike are surprised that the Quintessons seem to know so much, but the Quintessons end their discussion by trying their hand at interrogating Spike.
Elsewhere, Springer sets the Skuxxoid ship down. A badly injured Rodimus is mumbling Springer's name and that of the Matrix, and Arcee believes that Rodimus is naming Springer as the new Autobot leader. Suddenly, Rodimus's life force disappears. Arcee assumes the worst, but Grimlock points out that the Matrix didn't appear, so he is still alive. As for Rodimus Prime's life force, it's going on a very trippy journey through the Matrix, seeing Optimus Prime, a skull-like thing, a few robots... and the Quintessons. Coming back online, Rodimus realizes that it was the Quintessons who kidnapped the others, not the Decepticons.
On Quintessa, Spike, Magnus, and Kup overpower their guards, taking a Quintesson judge named Deliberata hostage. When they confront the court, however, the Quintessons merely sentence him to die in the Sharkticon tanks as well. The pit opens, plunging Spike and the Autobots into the pit along with Deliberata. The side of the pit opens, allowing the other Quintessons to watch. They like to watch.
Heading to Thrull, Cyclonus sends Scourge to pull Galvatron from the plasma pool. Cyclonus and the Sweeps greet their leader, only to discover that he has been driven insane by the plasma baths. Galvatron immediately proceeds to lay the smackdown on his would-be rescuers, but Scourge, who speaks crazy, manages to talk him down. Galvatron declares that they have an empire to regain, and they depart, but not before Galvatron destroys Thrull.
On Quintessa, as the Sharkticons begin to swarm in, Spike asks why they're being executed, and the Quintessons say that Spike is guilty of associating with the Autobots, who are guilty of theft. Magnus assumes that they are talking about the Decepticons, but the Quintessons point out that the Autobots inhabit Cybertron. Above, the Skuxxoid ship flies through the sky, only to be destroyed by the Quintessons' defense systems. However, the Autobots were not on board, instead arriving in Springer's copter mode. The Quintesson tribunal flees Grimlock's would-be assault, while Springer pulls the others out of the Sharkticon tank. The Aerialbots arrive with their escape ship. However, the Quintessons, obsessed with destroying the Matrix, detonate a core bomb on Quintessa. Safely in the distance, they watch their homeworld explode.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans | Others |
|---|---|---|---|
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Quotes
"It just don't pack the wallop it used to!"
"Yeah, because we're out of energy, dummy!"
- —Vortex and Swindle exposit for the audience.
"You are the Autobot Kup. You are Cybertron's chief of security."
"Naw, my name's Teaspoon! And I'm Cybertron's chief dishwasher."
"Zero percent probability of truth. Identification positive."
- —The Quintessons interrogate Kup. They apparently lack a sense of humor.
Ultra Magnus: Where are you taking us?
Quintesson: To your judgement.
Kup: Right. We're gonna get a fair trial, and then they're gonna kill us.
- —Kup already knows how the Quintessons' justice system works.
"Alright, Quintessons, you have a choice. Release us, or I turn your buddy here into blooey juice!"
- —Spike
"Pay us no mind. We just... like to watch."
- —The Quintessons creepily enjoy Sharkticons attacking Ultra Magnus, Kup and Spike.
"Mighty Galvatron, I have learned your lesson! I now know not only that you are the leader, but also why."
"Such insight is rare! Watch out for this one, Cyclonus. One day, he might take your place."
- —Scourge and Galvatron speak crazy.
"An asteroid?"
"Yeah. So? I've seen thousands of 'em."
"About to land on your head?"
"I gotta admit that's new."
- —Ultra Magnus and Kup
Season 5
Tommy and Powermaster Optimus Prime meet in the barren wasteland and Tommy begs to know who kidnapped Ultra Magnus, Kup and the rest. Prime tells him it would be more fun if he tried to figure it out on his own. Tommy recounts the clues from the previous story, but can't quite put the pieces together. Optimus tells Tommy if he calms down, he'll relate more of the tale...
Tommy is impressed by the explosion of Quintessa, but shows no concern for the Autobots, as he figures they've gotten out of worse spots. Optimus tells him just how worse things are going to get for the Autobots by relaying details from the next segment of their adventure. Tommy becomes rightfully worried, at which point Prime sets him down and says the rest of the tale will have to wait. For now, he's promised to help Quickswitch test out Cybertron's new security system. As Prime blasts off, he promises to return soon to transform Tommy's day into an adventure.
Notes
Production information
- Miniseries outline revised: 18th February 1986 (edited by Steve Gerber)
- Finalised script approved: 20th March 1986
- Dialogue recording: 31st March 1986
- Ted Schwartz' Rodimus Prime dialogue replaced by Dick Gautier ADR: 30th April 1986
Continuity notes
- At some point Earth gained a Lunar Colony, whose football team played a tough game against the (presumably Chicago) Bears.
- Spike threatens to turn Judge Deliberata into "blooey juice".
- Thrull has (had) plasma baths.
- A Quintesson judge refers to the Matrix of Leadership as "the Leadership Matrix".
- The Quintesson forces aim a massive proton cannon at oncoming Autobot rescuers.
- Quintessa is blown up with a "core bomb".
Real-world references
- Star Wars sound effects:
- The Sweeps take off from Chaar, and later from Thrull (to escape Galvatron's onslaught) with the sound of the Millennium Falcon's engine burst noise (most likely flying past cam before landing on Yavin IV).
- As Galvatron takes off from Thrull, a second Star Wars effect plays: this time the sound of the Death Star's combined superlaser beam streaking towards Alderaan. The Millennium Falcon effect is recycled as Cyclonus and company follow their leader.
- The laser sound effect as the Autobot ship opens fire on the Quint gun emplacement is the same one used by the alien death rays in the original The War of the Worlds movie.[1]
- Spike describes a football game between the Lunar Colony team and "the Bears".
Animation and technical errors
- The usual incorrect color models used by AKOM provide us with:
- Characters with the inside of their mouths colored to match their exterior colors. Cyclonus has a purple mouth, and Arcee's is dull pink in some shots.
- Cyclonus has dark purple eyebrows.
- In addition to appearing with his standard outdated AKOM color model, Rodimus Prime's gun is a light blue and gray, rather than the correct black (or the incorrect red that AKOM more often used, including just last episode.)
- Galvatron is colored to the specifications of an oudated color model, giving him "underpants" that are pale purple, instead of the same purple as the rest of him. As with Rodimus, these outdated colors will be his standard appearance throughout all AKOM episodes.
- Apparently, AKOM never got any model sheet updates. Older character models used in the episode include:
- Grimlock, who has his early, flattened robot head design (not seen since Season 1!)
- Soundwave, who has a white backpack instead of blue (it was just barely visible in one or two shots in "The Core".)
- Rodimus Prime gets a new voice... or more correctly, an old one! Actor Ted Schwartz had been originally cast as Rodimus and recorded several episodes, but was then replaced by Dick Gautier, who dubbed over all his lines for the finished, broadcast episodes. The "previously on" segment in this episode, however, is compiled using the original Schwartz audio! A single Schwartz-spoken line can also be heard in the next episode.
- Gautier himself continues to voice Rodimus within the actual episode, though he lacks the super-bass modulation he had in Part 1.
- Grimlock's dino mouth doesn't move for his "Me Grimlock no hurt" line.
- While walking with his fellow Decepticons, Rumble is as tall as Soundwave. He should be barely half as tall. Breakdown should also be a head or so shorter. The mid-section of his left arm mostly disappears for a few frames as Grimlock shoots him.
- The Decepticon advance during Rodimus's "en masse" line contains all sorts of strangeness. "Rumble" has a totally redesigned chest, "Soundwave" has two windows like Optimus Prime as well as a face instead of a mouthplate, and "Breakdown" has a new chest and a Dead End-like head. A mangled Wildrider is also half visible at the screen's edge. That, or AKOM for some reason drew a bunch of generics, but colored them like the actual characters. ("Rumble" also briefly has the square panels on his shins flicker from yellow to white and back for a second.)
- Someone forgot that Onslaught was beat to hell at the end of last episode, battered and with a broken backpack gun. He's totally intact here. For that matter, none of the Decepticons are in the sorry physical state we saw them in last episode; their damage is never seen again.
- The claws that pick up Rodimus and Grimlock are shown emerging from a circular hatch. A few shots later, they're shown to be permanently attached to the outside of the ship.
- Coloring errors:
- Cyclonus's jet windows aren't colored:
- As he turns from firing on the departing Rodimus on Chaar.
- As Galvatron bashes him away for the first time on Thrull.
- As Galvatron advises him to "Watch out for this one".
- Arcee's lower helmet segment is colored the same rose pink as her face as she monitor's Rodimus's life force. It should be the same white as the rest of her helmet.
- Rodimus's spoiler centerpiece is yellow instead of orange as he sits up after his vision.
- Arcee's legs are colored gray throughout the rescue, when they're supposed to be white.
- Cyclonus's jet windows aren't colored:
- The energon cubes are glowing in the whitish-yellowish style seen in very early episodes of Season 1, rather than the pink that was seen throughout Season 2 as well as in the previous episode.
- Kickback is standing with Drag Strip as Cyclonus prepares to leave Chaar. He's supposed to be dead.
- Four Sweeps fly off with Cyclonus, even though seven were in the shot immediately prior.
- The floatation beam of the head Quintesson judge is off-center.
- When Kup sasses the Quintessons by referring to himself as 'Cybertron's chief dishwasher', observe the Quintesson on the throne (the one closest to the screen). One of the faces is mouthing Kup, word for word! This seems to persist for the rest of the scene.
- During the "answer he suppresses" line, the Quintesson's faces all slide around on their bulb together. The animators probably meant this to be expressive, but it's really not clear that they should be able to move around at all.
- Magnus is in prison, but he's still got his shoulder missiles. Shouldn't he be disarmed? Shouldn't he have used them?
- Even after being savagely beaten by the Decepticons to the point of death, Rodimus' character model shows absolutely no signs of damage. This is even more unusual when you consider the extremely damaged condition of the Decepticons earlier in the episode.
- Arcee's nose is missing its outlines in several shots on the asteroid. It's visible only by its shading.
- As Grimlock remembers rescuing Rodimus on Quintessa, his head is drawn too small (looking more like a lizard head than a T. Rex head).
- When Rodimus confirms that Grimlock saved his life on Quintessa, his helmet is drawn very... oddly.
- Weird technicality - When Kup is saying his lines ending with the words "Rush 'em and pray", his "ears" are bouncing up and down.
- In the previous episode, when Cyclonus first learns of Galvatron's location, the lava pool where Galvatron is submerged appears in a small crater. When Cyclonus actually does find Galvatron, the location not only seems different, but the crater has gotten larger as well. Finally, when Scourge pulls Galvatron out, the lava pool is the size of a small lake.
- The Quintessons voices are all over the place in this episode, with four different voices (Regis Cordic, Roger C. Carmel, Jack Angel, and Stan Jones) coming out of three different judges, a product of the script using various different descriptors to refer to the different Quintessons and their various different faces that had led to a bit of confusion (Cordic, Carmel, and Angel will remain the primary Quintesson actors throughout the season, as the Quints often operate in threes). A fourth Quintesson, Judge Deliberata, does appear in the back half of the episode, but for his single line, is voiced by Corey Burton rather than any of the other Quintesson performers.
- Kup is drawn delivering Magnus's line "You're confusing us with Decepticons."
- The line "Carry out the executions" is shown, via cross-fade, to be delivered by two different Quint faces, even though it's spoken by a single voice.
- Judging by how the Autobots (and Sharkticons) are standing, the Sharkticon pool is maybe 3 feet deep.
- As the Sharkticons move in, Kup is shown bashing two of them. The shot changes, and the two Sharkticons are both gone, with a new one now moving in from a distance.
- Arcee's first shot makes its laser sound effect before its fired.
- The spatial physics of Springer carrying the other three Autobots is pretty much physically impossible.
- As Kup says to keep fighting, both he and the Sharkticon facing him are doing some kind of funk hoedown dance, but neither is actually fighting the other.
- During the "as they die" line, the Egyptian-looking Quintesson in the center of the shot has a gray forehead, instead of blue.
- Silverbolt is drawn so huge in jet mode that the Autobots climb aboard him like humans boarding an actual SST. Now that is mass shifting. Why did they even need a shuttle?
Continuity errors
- Grimlock and Rodimus's blasts have absolutely no effect on the Decepticons, despite them already being heavily damaged, low on fuel, and being fired upon from point blank range.
- Rodimus, you may not like being stomped en masse, but that hardly makes your under-energized, weaponless attackers "cowards".
- Seriously, Grimlock? One of the biggest, baddest Autobots, subdued by a horde of half-dead Decepticons? What the hell? What happened to his fire-breath, at least?
- After the Autobots retreat, Cyclonus just throws his gun away!
- Wait a minute. The Quintessons? The Quintessons? You mean those guys who when we last saw them were seconds away from being massacred by their rebellious Sharkticon subjects? How are they not all dead?!
- Before his life force temporarily enters the Matrix, Rodimus says "My time in the light is short..." Arcee claims that's what Optimus Prime said when he was dying, but this never happened in the film. It did happen, however, in an early draft of the movie's script (dated to April 1985); to be precise, Prime said "My time in the light has ended..."
- Kup, Magnus and Spike are shown to be being escorted by an Allicon and at least five Bailiffs, however when they stage their uprising, the Bailiffs are missing, leaving just the Allicon for Kup to punch out.
- Death-by-Sharkticon was pretty much instantaneous in The Transformers: The Movie. Here, the Sharkticons just stand around staring at their quarry while everybody gabs on and on.
- The Quintesson that was sentenced along with Spike, Kup and Ultra Magnus vanishes after they take the plunge, at least until Rodimus makes an attempt to rescue them, where he is once again seen with them.
- Referring back to the end of the movie; so, let's get this straight. Rodimus Prime is now so awesomely strong that he can hurl Galvatron through about 15 feet of the solid steel that makes Unicron's hull, and after the drag factor of that, Galvy is still travelling so fast that he breaks the combined gravitational pull of both Unicron and Cybertron, and within about, what, four months? ...he crashes onto a planet in a different galactic quadrant? Can Rodimus hurl giant robots into hyperspace? It's true what they say about sci-fi writers and no sense of scale, you know.
- Galvatron's claim that he is "more powerful than ever" is pretty questionable, considering that he is never again shown atomizing anybody like he did to Starscream. Then again, pretty much everything he claims is pretty questionable. He is, no kidding, fruitcake flapjacks crazy.
- When the Quintessons previously tried the Autobots, Kup and Hot Rod were found innocent.
- Broadside makes his bizarre debut in this episode, as his jet mode character model is used as the Autobots' rescue ship. However, the next episode shows him being blown up. For a long time it was an open question as to whether this ship was intended to be Broadside or not, but the eventually-unearthed original script called for "a uniquely designed ship that serves as a space and atmosphere-worthy aircraft carrier for the Autobots"—indicating that his appearance was specifically interpretation on the part of the animators at AKOM. For a more in-depth breakdown, see: Broadside (G1)#Canon or error?.
- In 2017, the Titans Return and Legends toys for Broadside included mini Aerialbot planes in reference to this episode.
- Silverbolt orders Slingshot to pull the others out, but it's Silverbolt who lands and carries them away.
- Fireflight was never given explicit orders to leave the ship, but is shown returning to it. Silverbolt, who did leave the ship, is not shown returning.
Trivia
- After all the shadowy mystery surrounding the Quintessons' identity last episode, there's absolutely no drama to the reveal in this episode. We get an establishing shot of Quintessa, and then cut to the Quintessons interrogating Kup as if we were picking up from a commercial break or something.
- Despite "Five Faces of Darkness"'s reputation for horrific art, there are some decent moments here and there: the closeup of Vortex and Swindle; the Sharkticon fleeing from the exploding cannon.
- Galvatron takes a long time to transform to and from cannon mode when he leaves Thrull. His transformation speed returns to normal afterward.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Les cinq visages du mal, partie 2" ("The Fives Faces of Evil, Part 2")
- Original airdate: ?
- This episode is one of those that has never been released on DVD in French.
- Concerning the European French dub:
- In order to not pronounce some robots names, the narrator replaces the part about Blurr and Wheelie being sent to Earth by "The Autobots celebrate their triumph by organizing Olympic Games, but the events are interrupted by a sudden attack led by unknown assailants".
- The Quintesson's line "and then... how he faces death" was cut.
- While in the original version, Kup tells Spike they are going to live a "fair trial", the French dub almost makes a reference to The Movie. Kup tells Spike that they are going to live a "parody of trial", while in the French dub of the Movie, Kranix said "parody of justice". We were on the verge of greatness, we were this close!
- The Quintesson's scream as Spike is pulling his tentacles is missing.
- As usual, the Aerialbots' lines in plane mode are missing.
German
- Title: "Die fünf Gesichter der Finsternis, Teil 2" ("The Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2")
- Original airdate: ?
Italian
- Title (first dub): "I cinque volti del male, Parte 2" ("The Five Faces of Evil, Part 2")
- Original airdate: ?
- Onslaught says "meteorite" instead of "meteor".
- Title (second dub): "Le cinque facce dell'oscurità, Parte 2" ("The Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2")
- Original airdate: ?
Japanese
- Title: "Yomigaeru Shin Hakai Taitei", (蘇る新破壊大帝, "The Revived New Emperor of Destruction")
- Original airdate: November 21, 1986
Mandarin
- Title: "Wǔmiànguài (2)" (五面怪 (二), "Five-Faced Monsters (2)")
- Original airdate: ?
Brazilian Portuguese
- Title: "A Desforra, Segunda Parte" ("The Rematch, Second Part")
- Original airdate: ?
Russian
- Title: "Pyatj likov tjmy (Chastj 2)" (Пять ликов тьмы (Часть 2), "Five Faces of Darkness (Part 2)")
- Original airdate: ?
Home video releases
- VHS
1990 — The Transformers — Five Faces of Darkness (Family Home Entertainment)
1990 — The Transformers — Five Faces of Darkness (Family Home Entertainment)
1999 — The Transformers: 2010 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers: 2010 — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2002 — Transformers — Five Faces of Darkness: Parts 1-5 (Sony Wonder)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 1 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 3 and Season 4 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 4: Series 3.1 (Madman Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers — Season's Three & Four [sic] (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2010 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — The Transformers — Seasons Three & Four: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)
