« Transformers: The Headmasters ep 29 »
Grant me the power to revolutionize the world!
"The Master Sword Is in Danger!!" 危うしマスターソード!! () (Ayaushi Master Sword!!)
Production company	Takara, Toei
Airdate	26 February 1988
Writer	Toyohiro Andō
Director	Nobuō Shirahata
Animation studio	Toei
Continuity	Japanese Generation 1 cartoon continuity

It's Chromedome and Daniel to the rescue when the Decepticons kidnap Wheelie and ransom him in exchange for the secrets of the Master Sword. But are the Autobots ready for... the Duocons?!

Synopsis

Scorponok learns how taffy is made.

The Decepticons have vanished after their previous defeat, and with a search turning up nothing, the Autobot Headmasters speculate that they may have left the planet. However, Fortress and Highbrow are sure that they are still on Master, as it is the only planet that can provide them with the materials used in the construction of Battleship Maximus, that they might create a weapon of equal power. Pointblank compliments Highbrow's sharp mind... before trashing his combat ability.

Deep beneath the surface of planet Master, Scorponok is holed up in a massive cavern, where the Decepticons have assembled a large amount of machinery to process ore. By luck, after escaping underground at the end of the previous battle, they have discovered the minerals necessary to create the powerful alloy G-Metal. Even so, shields forged from his metal will still not be strong enough to stand up to the Master Sword, and Scorponok put into motion a plan to learn the secrets of the sword.

On Battleship Maximus, Daniel is playing video games when Wheelie puts forth his latest idea—now that they are on planet Master, he will undergo the rigorous Headmaster training process, and become a Headmaster himself! Daniel is insulted when Wheelie points out that he'll always be better than him because he's a Transformer, and Daniel goes to bed in a huff. When Daniel rises early the next morning to do his chores, Wheelie is nowhere to be found, but Daniel is not concerned. In truth, Wheelie has simply decided to start his training with a run, but while out in the desert, the ground gives way beneath the young robot's feet...

"The other guys and I took a vote. And we're just going to leave you like that for the rest of the series."

A short time later, concern over Wheelie's absence is mounting aboard Battleship Maximus, with Daniel's indifference having vanished. As the Autobots meet to search for him, however, a transmission is received from Sixshot, who reveals that he has captured Wheelie and will drop him in acid if Fortress does not provide all the data on the Master Sword within three hours. While Pointblank advocates rejecting the demand, writing Wheelie off as a necessary sacrifice of war, Fortress is undecided. Daniel attempts to rescue Wheelie on his own, and Chromedome agrees to help him; Highbrow finds them before they leave, but allows them to go, upgrading Daniel's video game gun into a genuine blaster just in case. They depart hidden aboard the Trainbots, with Highbrow covering for them by saying that the Trainbots are just going on reconnaissance, just as Fortress announces that he will give in to the Decepticons' demands. Highbrow is then forced to admit that Chromedome and Daniel have gone to rescue Wheelie.

"Optimus Prime is dead again, Sixshot. You know any 21st century computers that can still read 3 1/2's?"

Chromedome and Daniel, meanwhile, have successfully evaded the Horrorcons and entered Scorponok, where Daniel is able to use his small size to sneak under infra-red alarm beams and turn them off. Chromedome uses his telepathic powers to pick up Wheelie's brainwaves, and they discover the room in which he is being held—only Daniel can pass through the door's anti-Transformer sensor, and after deactivating it, he and Chromedome free Wheelie. Concurrently, Battleship Maximus sets down outside, and Fortress is about to hand a disk containing the Master Sword data over to Sixshot when Chromedome bursts out, revealing that Wheelie has been freed. With all bets off, the Headmasters and Targetmasters of both sides emerge for a firefight, during which Scorponok orders his two newest warriors in battle—the Duocons! In the midst of the confusion that these two fast-moving, rapid-firing warriors create, the disk is blasted from Fortress's hands, and is grabbed and passed like a football across the battlefield from faction to faction, until Battletrap finally seizes it, and the Decepticons pull out with the secrets of the Master Sword in their hands.

Aboard Battleship Maximus, Pointblank apologizes for allowing the disk to fall into enemy hands. Meanwhile, Chromedome, Daniel and Wheelie are being reprimanded for leaving the ship without permission by being made to scrub it from stem to stern. Chromedome is particularly irate, running up and down the halls with a mop, but the other Headmasters placate him by praising him for saving Wheelie's life.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Notes

Continuity notes

• Daniel's video game light gun first appeared in "Find MegaZarak's Weak Spot!!" Highbrow previously gave it an upgrade similar to the one seen in this episode, turning it into an actual weapon, in "Mystery of the Space Pirate Ship".

Real-world references

• After Daniel covers himself with a blanket, part of Wheelie's posing is taken from the transformation pose of the title character of Kamen Rider, another show produced by Toei.

Animation and technical errors

• In the scene where Wheelie is contemplating becoming a Headmaster, when he stands up, he's only slightly taller than Daniel.
• When Sureshot and Crosshairs fire on the Duocons, their shots are Decepticon-purple instead of Autobot-orange.
• Likewise, when the Duocons return fire on the Autobot Targetmasters, their blasts are orange, instead of purple.
• When Chromedome runs towards the other Autobot Headmasters with a mop, his legs are the same color as his arms. As he runs past them, they change to the correct brown color.

Continuity errors

• Scorponok (himself, not his transtector) is small in this episode—the size of the other Headmasters' heads. Normally Scorponok is about the size of an average Transformer.
• Superhuman humans:
  • Daniel is able to execute a jump of at least 8 feet up, landing through Chromedome's roof.
• Why don't the Horrorcons raise the alarm after Chromedome blazes past them into the Decepticon base?
• The Duocon's names are switched when they appear.

Trivia

• Wheelie tells Daniel he can't become a Headmaster, but Wheelie himself can because he is a Transformer. Actually, humans will become Headmaster Juniors in the near future. And of course, in another reality Daniel did become a Headmaster…
• Wheelie being taken hostage, and kept suspended above a vat of acid is pretty brutal when you stop to think about it in human-terms. Remember, Wheelie is still just a child—an annoying one—but a child, nonetheless. It kinda adds a whole other layer to how evil the Decepticons really are—especially Sixshot.
• The information on the Master Sword is kept on a massive floppy disc. Behold the future!
• Hey, it's the Duocons in their animated series debut! Where they actually come from, however… is never explained.
• In a stark departure from the series' established norms, the Duocons transform via a shimmer of red effects bubbles rather than in any visually meaningful way. This is especially weird given how simple their actual transformations are.
• The insert song "Destron Sanka" is used for the second time in the series as the Duocons enter the fray.

Foreign localization

English

• Title: "Crisis on Planet Master" (Omni Productions dub)
• Original airdate: January 31, 1993
  • Before this episode, the Malaysian dub titles were at least derived from the actual Japanese titles, iffily translated in some way (with the odd exception). However, from this episode through until the final two-parter, they abandon all pretense of even trying to translate the Japanese titles, and just slap random (if not inappropriate) titles on 'em.
  • The dub gets the Duocons' names around the right way.

• Title: "The Secret of the Master Sword Is in Danger" (Shout! Factory sub), "The Master Sword Is in Danger" (Shout! Factory menu)
  • Weirdwolf bizarrely says "Scorponok's Transtector"... when speaking to Scorponok himself.
  • As a team name, "Two-In-One" is appropriately translated as "Duocons". However, when Battletrap and Flywheels use it as a transformation call, it is left untranslated.

Mandarin

• Title: "Mǎsītǎ zhī Jiàn de Wēijī" (玛斯塔之剑的危机, "The Master Sword in Danger")

Italian

• Title: "Il Master-Sodo è in pericolo" ("The Master Sword is in danger")

Home video releases

Laserdisc

1996 — Transformers: The Headmasters Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.

DVD

2002 — Transformers: The Headmasters — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2005 — The Takara Collection Vol 1 — Transformers: Headmasters (Metrodome)
2007 — Transformers — The Complete Takara Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers: Headmasters (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers: Japan Generation 1 — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2011 — Transformers Japanese Collection: Headmasters (Shout! Factory) — Japanese audio with optional English subtitles only.
2012 — Transformers: The Japanese Collection (Shout! Factory) — Japanese audio with optional English subtitles only.