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Rejected from Hell's Grannies.
"The Ultimate Weapon"
Production code	700-104
Season	3
No. in season	19
Production company	Sunbow Productions
Airdate	November 10, 1986
Written by	Arthur Byron Cover
Animation studio	Toei, Studio Look, Sei Young Animation Co. Ltd.
Continuity	Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Watch this episode on YouTube

While Galvatron threatens the Autobots with a vague and mysterious "ultimate weapon", First Aid leaves the Autobots.

Synopsis

The stripes are to help them blend into the herd.

In the far-flung future of 2006, the Netherlands is the most violent nation on Earth. Bands of roving French street gangs throw grenades into windmills for no obvious reason. Unable to rely on the police, old ladies begin arming themselves in their gardens. Desperate, the police turn to the Autobots, who seek to stem the fighting. The Protectobots, after some harshing on the part of Rodimus Prime, roll out to stop the violence. Ultra Magnus tries to calm Rodimus, saying he's just as good a commander as Optimus Prime was. Rodimus, however, feels that he will never live up to the legendary Autobot leader's legacy. Who could?

Arriving in the city, the Decepticons attack, and Blades is injured. First Aid takes him to Metroplex to get repairs, while Galvatron attacks. Retreating, Galvatron taunts Rodimus with the threat of the Ultimate Weapon. At Metroplex, Swindle breaks in and manages to steal Metroplex's transformation cog. First Aid tries to reason with Swindle, but the Combaticon merely shoots the Autobot medic, then leaves. Amid a fleet of naval destroyers, Trypticon rises from the sea and eats a ship before destroying the rest. Galvatron tells Trypticon to hurry to Metroplex, but realizes when and when not to push the dinosaur. Swindle arrives and attempts to haggle for the cog. Galvatron offers him a limited-time deal: Hand over the cog, or see his life get ended.

It's just a flesh wound—er, armor wound.

At Metroplex, First Aid is feeling guilty over his pacifism. While Rodimus maintains that he would never force First Aid to violate his beliefs, First Aid decides to leave to clear his head. Learning that Trypticon is coming, the Autobots roll out. Reaching a nearby city, Trypticon menaces a train, but Defensor manages to save it, even with only one arm. The Aerialbots move in to attack. Air Raid gets shot down, while Silverbolt flies into Trypticon's stomach through his mouth, firing all the while. Injured, Trypticon is forced to retreat. However, it's only bought them time, as Metroplex is still the only one who can fight Trypticon, and he's locked in city mode. Even with the cog, First Aid is the only one who understands Metroplex's systems enough to fix him. Hot Spot decides to track down his AWOL teammate.

City rivalry takes on a whole new meaning.

Rodimus and Magnus head for Trypticon's hiding place, with Spike and Daniel posing as repairmen. Vortex, nearly duped, realizes that the cars are Autobots due to the pollution-free fuel that they are using. Daniel is thrown off a cliff, but Magnus saves him. Rodimus and Magnus distract the Decepticons while Spike and Daniel steal Trypticon's cog. Returning to Metroplex, they install Trypticon's cog in Metroplex, while the Decepticons install Metroplex's cog in Trypticon. (It's easy to get lost, but just pay attention and it will make sense.) Convinced that he "can still smash", Trypticon heads for battle. Metroplex transforms from city mode, but both cities are suffering problems.

Behold: the label gun of DOOM!

At a junkyard, First Aid is keeping NUL-A, a junkyard robot, company while fixing abandoned refrigerators in an effort to think about something other than the Autobots. Hot Spot finds him and informs him of Metroplex's problem. Though still unsure of rejoining the Autobots, First Aid realizes that Metroplex's danger is more important. Meanwhile, Trypticon has gained the advantage and thrown Metroplex into a nearby lake. (Talk about irony.) Heading for Metroplex, First Aid manages to get inside and properly align the transformation cog, allowing Metroplex to transform fully. Metroplex throws Trypticon deeper into the lake, and the dinosaur sinks. Galvatron threatens to use the Ultimate Weapon, but Rodimus realizes that the weapon is a bluff. Out of options, Galvatron retreats. First Aid's faith in his work is restored, and Rodimus's confidence is emboldened, at least until the next time he has a crisis of faith.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

First Aid: I'm taking him back to Metroplex for emergency repairs!
Galvatron: Better get used to the trip, Autobot.
Rodimus: Why don't you get used to losing, Galvatron? It's all you ever do!

—Rodimus Prime hits the Decepticons where it hurts: in the war record.

"Hey! Wait a second! Who are you? Where'd you come from? How'd you get in?!?"
[Swindle shoots the floor from under Scamper and Slammer, causing the Autobots to crash]
"No time to answer stupid questions!"

—Scamper, the world's worst security guard, is blasted by Swindle.

"I heard you were a pacifist, but I don't believe there's a Transformer who won't fight for his life!"
"I don't believe in fighting. I'm a medic, not a warrior."
"Then you'll die for your beliefs!"

—Swindle taunts First Aid.

Never play Battleship with Trypticon

Trypticon: Best humans can do?
[Trypticon tosses battleship halves at attacking ships]
Galvatron: Come, Trypticon, stop trifling with that! Metroplex awaits.
Trypticon: Trypticon hungry!

—Trypticon finds that naval destroyers taste great and are less filling.

"Crush the human toy! Destroy it! ....Crush Aerialbots!! ...Grrr - raugh - arrg -- stand still so Trypticon can crush!!"

—Trypticon sees the world in simple terms.

[Spike runs into Cyclonus]
Cyclonus: Humans...
Spike: Uh, everything's fine in there. Uh, the problem must be somewhere else.
Cyclonus: Then don't dawdle, human. Trypticon must be repaired at once... for the greater glory of Galvatron!
Spike: You got it, you got it... sheesh, I ain't ever worked for such a bunch of grumpy employers.

— A rather clueless Cyclonus lets Spike and Daniel get away with Trypticon's transformation cog.

"Hey, keep it down! This is a residential area!"
"Trypticon turn Metroplex into slum!"

—Metroplex and Trypticon discuss urban renewal in a whole new way.

Galvatron: I still have my ultimate weapon, Rodimus! Surrender now, or I'll unleash its force upon you all!
Rodimus Prime: [to Ultra Magnus] You know, I think I've finally started to wise up. If such a weapon existed, he'd have used it a long time ago!
Galvatron: I tell you for the last time, Rodimus. Surrender, or there won't be an Earth left to protect! Surrender! This is your last chance, or—
Rodimus Prime: You're bluffing, Galvatron.
Galvatron: I tell you this is the end!
Rodimus Prime: You're right. It is, because I used the real 'ultimate weapon'...my mind!
Galvatron: Stay back!
[Rodimus Prime continues walking towards Galvatron]
Galvatron: I said stay back!
[Rodimus Prime continues walking; Galvatron throws the "ultimate weapon" control device on the ground]
Galvatron: Aarh! There will be another day, Rodimus!
[Galvatron retreats]
Rodimus Prime: And we'll be ready.

—Galvatron's less-than-impressive bluff is called by Rodimus Prime.

Notes

Continuity notes

• The interior of Metroplex looks really dilapidated. Every shot when the Autobots are inside shows broken pipes, cracks in the walls and other defects. It looked fine the last time we saw him.
• Galvatron actually seems to have his crazy under control in this episode, even showing concern as to whether using Metroplex's transformation cog in Trypticon would work.
• It is unclear what species of robot NUL-A is, as his speech and mannerisms clearly demonstrate him to be sentient rather than some kind of human-built drone. Somehow, he knows who Wreck-Gar is.
• Silverbolt seems really upbeat in this episode, for some reason.
• Much like the Autobots in "Masquerade", Magnus and Rodimus employ some kind of camouflage coloration that just switches right off when they're done with it.
• How the mighty have fallen part 1: This episode suggests that the Decepticons operating on Earth now hire legitimate human workers for repair duties, instead of just enslaving them as they would have done in the past.
• How the mighty have fallen part 2: the once-formidable Menasor is defeated by a couple of blasts from the Autobots. Later, the entire Stunticon team are soundly and totally defeated (off-camera) by Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus, despite previous outings depicting them as a serious threat to the Autobots.

Real world references

• The episode is set in the Netherlands; though not named, distinctive features include several windmills in the opening sequence, a lot of (trashed and burning) traditional Dutch half-timbered houses, and a cluster of Modernist A-frame vacation cabins (stomped by Trypticon).
• Nul-A appears to be a New York Yankees fan, wearing a brown baseball cap bearing their logo.
• Star Wars sound effects:
  • Millennium Falcon engine burst as the Aerialbots launch.
  • X-Wing diving whine and TIE roar as Magnus jumps after Daniel.
  • Falcon engine burst as Magnus leaps up the cliff.

Animation and technical errors

• Despite a lot of little flubs, this is one of the better-looking episodes of the series, particularly among all the AKOM crap surrounding it:

Missing line on his forehead, right. And we get art like this in return? Yeah, we'll take it.

• In the opening shot, the Netherlands looks a lot like Miami Beach, complete with palm trees.
• The guns carried by the rebels disappear when they run up to the windmill and throw their grenades, and reappear as they run away.
• Once again, Rodimus is missing the line on his head crest in many shots.
• The laser beam the old woman fires from her pistol is red, but the laser beam that actually hits the car tires is blue.
• Coloring errors:
  • "And in time you'll realize you're every bit as good..." The central spine of Rodimus's spoiler is light gray; it should be orange.
  • When Blades flies ahead and gets shot down by the Decepticons, the front part of his altmode is colored white instead of the usual red.
  • First Aid's amublance mode is entirely white as he carries Blades toward Metroplex; at very least, he should have red text reading EMERGENCY on his sides.
  • "Can you transform, Blades?" - First Aid's visor flashes white several times.
  • As Defensor forms, his feet are colored Groove-gold and Streetwise-light gray, rather than the correct black.
  • As the Decepticons retreat, Galvatron's shoulders are missing the red squares on top.
  • As Rodimus talks to Magnus about needing First Aid back, his Autobot logo's "eyes" are red.
  • Spike's eyebrows are brown in this episode. They were black in "Nightmare Planet."
  • "I don't believe you" - Vortex's blades are gray instead of black.
  • When Spike and Daniel run into Cyclonus, he's missing the orange rectangle on his chest. It reappears two shots later. He's also "clean shaven"; when he notices Trypticon's missing cog, he's got the purple chin again.
  • When Hot Spot is trying to convince First Aid to come back into the Autobots, the visible wheels on First Aid are colored as white, not black.
  • Metroplex's face is briefly colored black as he and Trypticon wrestle.
  • First Aid's visor is colored black as he finishes modifying Metroplex's new cog.
  • "Sometimes it just takes a while to realize" - Rodimus' spoiler is burgundy in the middle instead of orange.
• When Galvatron transforms after shooting Blades, his cannon mode seems awfully thin, and he's missing his Decepticon logo.
• In the first pan over the massed Decepticons, Predaking's face isn't really drawn in, making it look like his helmet sank into his shoulders and took his face with it.
• When Ultra Magnus orders Steeljaw and Ramhorn to attack, he wields a completely different gun than the one he normally uses. His normal gun reappears in subsequent shots.
• Ramhorn has little eyeballs.

Hot Spot's having such a good time he didn't even realize that the humans and the building have been utterly obliterated.

• Hot Spot is shown kneeling by a building to shelter some humans with his hand. When First Aid drives off a moment later, he's still kneeling and holding out his hand, but the building and the people are missing.
• Metroplex actually opens his outer wall before he's asked to by First Aid. First Aid is also drawn at toy scale relative to Metroplex; he should really be much smaller than shown.
• Appearing/disappearing 'bots:
  • Predaking shows up for two shots at the start of the battle, and is not seen again.
  • Steeljaw and Ramhorn appear out of nowhere, bash Galvatron, and are never seen again.
  • In the wide overhead shot of the battle, Octane has also vanished; when the Decepticons retreat, only Galvatron, Cyclonus, Vortex and Brawl are shown.
• "Give it up, Galvatron" - Rodimus and Magnus are huge compared to the ruined buildings in front of them, 50 or 75 feet tall or more.

What mouth?

• Mouthing off:
  • When Galvatron responds to Rodimus Prime's question during the village battle, Cyclonus's mouth is missing.
  • When First Aid declares he's leaving the Autobots, Hot Spot is depicted as actually having a mouth in several shots, including close-ups and speaking lines, despite the fact that normally he is shown with an Optimus Prime-like moving mouthplate - including earlier in this very episode!
  • When First Aid declares his return to the Autobots, Rodimus' mouth is missing, too, but reappears when he starts talking.
• "So, Galvatron has an ultimate weapon..." Rodimus's spoiler is missing.
• Swindle's gun uses the Galvatron cannon sound effect, rather than the standard Decepticon laser noise.
• As Swindle rejoins the Decepticons, Blitzwing's helmet is purple instead of yellow.
• The basket of oranges the farmer drops disappears in subsequent shots.
• As Trypticon stomps across the landscape, Galvatron flies along side him. But in two shots, Galvatron's forward motion stops and starts in perfect synch with Trypticon's steps!
• Trypticon's line "Nothing can stand in my way" is slightly cut off by the scene transition.
• Trypticon grabs a monorail and tosses it in the air, yet an interior shot shows the people sitting perfectly calmly!

• The Autobots are huge compared to the scenery around them as they drive up to Trypticon; they're also not driving on the road (probably because it's too small to hold them!)
• Thanks to Roger C. Carmel's inconsistency with his characters, we have a Motormaster with a weak voice that actually sounds a lot like Regis Cordic's Menasor, making it difficult to compare.
• As Silverbolt exits Trypticon's mouth, he's coloured like Air Raid.
• As the separated Protectobots observe the wounded Trypticon, First Aid is among their number.
  • Then Defensor lands and separates into the Protectobots!
• Flying Autobots:
  • Defensor drops into the shot as though he was flying around somewhere.
  • Magnus gets a rocket sound effect as he leaps up the cliff.

Vortex has light-piping!

• Daniel's distinctive scream is recycled three times in a row - as he reacts in fear, as Vortex shakes him, and as he plummets off a cliff - and a fourth time after the commercial break.
• Daniel is unusually tall and buff in this episode. When he and Spike are involved in the clandestine operation to steal Trypticon's transformation cog, he is almost as tall as his dad.
• When Spike tells Daniel that they'll be just in time for their rendezvous, Spike is not carrying the toolbox containing the transforming cog. It reappears when they exit Trypticon.
• When Trypticon is trying out his "new" transformation cog, he's depicted unusually small - only about as big as a combiner, with Galvatron coming up to around his hip. This is the same citybot who had a Concorde jet flying around his insides earlier.
• "Man, I hope I'm doing the right thing" - Rodimus's face his small and squished, relative to his helmet. It regains its normal proportions as he turns to look at Magnus.
• In a slight visual cheat, Metroplex instantly transforms into base mode with a flash of light, a few seconds later he transforms back to robot mode in the same way when Trypticon kicks him.
• Trypticon completely misses Metroplex when they fire on each other, yet Metroplex falls down.
• Hot Spot's transformation is completely backwards as he and First Aid drive up during the citybots' battle - his cab should become his arms, but instead he sprouts arms from the back of his vehicle form, while his cab morphs into his legs.
• After the cog is modified, Metroplex is mouthing something but Trypticon is talking.
• When Galvatron declares that while Trypticon may have been defeated he still lives, his laser cannon is enormous (and again, his shoulders are missing the red squares...until Rodimus is next to him).
• As Rodimus Prime tells Ultra Magnus that he has finally wised-up to Galvatron's bluff, Ultra Magnus' left shoulder overlaps Rodimus' rear wing, even though Rodimus is standing closest to the viewer and should instead overlap Ultra Magnus.
• In one shot of Galvatron, the "Ultimate Weapon" remote is missing (we see only Galvatron's closed fist). In another, the remote is blue instead of grey.
• "I guess I do belong with the Autobots" - Rodimus's mouth and chin lines are missing; they appear as he starts to speak.

Continuity errors

• During their initial assault in the village, Octane is seen among the firing Decepticons in several shots, even though Galvatron had placed a price on his head in "Starscream's Ghost". (Curiously, Onslaught is missing, even though the other Combaticons are present; it's tempting to speculate that the wrong character was called for by the script or pulled by the animators.)
• Blitzwing is hovering next to Galvatron during Trypticon's attack on the naval fleet, even though he was banished from the Decepticons following "Five Faces of Darkness, Part 5". He put in a similarly short appearance in "Fight or Flee". It's unclear if any of these appearances were scripted, or if Octane and Blitzwing were simply chosen by the animation team as crowd filler.
• Trypticon came in off the coast, seeking his shot at Metroplex and, guided by Galvatron, started making his way inland towards the Autobot city, through human orchards and towns. For reasons unknown, he is next seen harassing trains along the beachfront, his previous objective of destroying the immobile Metroplex seemingly set aside for the ocean breezes.
• When the monorail train was endangered during Trypticon's initial rampage, wouldn't it have been a hell of a lot easier to have a two-armed Superion catch it rather than a one-armed Defensor?
• Rodimus Prime claims that only First Aid knows enough about Metroplex's internal construction to put the transformation cog back correctly. However Pipes was the one who re-installed it most recently. And surely Perceptor's smart enough to give it a good old go and figure it out?
• Vortex almost finds out about Spike and Daniel's plan merely from the clean Autobot fumes of Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus' exhaust, but does not seem to notice that the highly distinctive vehicles are quite obviously the two Autobot leaders (complete with Autobot insignia) nor the fact that Daniel is way too young to drive.
• On the same note, you'd think that Galvatron's second-in-command would know who the two humans that are always with the Autobots are. He even held Daniel hostage, and communicated directly with Spike, back in "Surprise Party"!
• Considering how often Decepticons tend to attack Autobot bases, isn't positioning Metroplex near a human residential area a really bad idea?
• As he watches Trypticon sink, Metroplex has a Dinobot moment, announcing: "TRYPTICON VANQUISHED." Come on, 'plex, you had verbs just like one scene ago.

Trivia

Bonus image! We're just throwing you a bone, here, folks. Sure, it may seem like it came from out of left field, but there's no harm in tossing it out there, right?

• The animation quality takes a particular leap forward when Trypticon attacks Metroplex. In fact, this is the only non-AKOM episode featuring Metroplex vs. Trypticon, and thus the only one that doesn't make them look cartoonishly awkward.

Foreign localization

French

• Title (European French broadcast): ?
• Title (Canadian French broadcast and European French DVD release): "L'arme ultime" ("The Ultimate Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

• To date, and although there is probably one in existence, the European French dub of this episode is lost. The French DVD editions use the Canadian French dub instead.
• Concerning the Canadian French dub:

• A distant talking voice can be heard during the shot with the gang shooting from the car.
• Despite a good start in which Rodimus Prime and Ultra Magnus say "Rodimus Primus" and "Optimus Primus", Hot Spot calls his leader "Rodimus Primo" again mid-episode.
• Metroplex is called by his English name instead of "Métropole".
• Motormaster's line "Stunticons, transform!" was dubbed by "Decepticons, transform!".

German

• Title: "Das Transformationsmodul" ("The Transformation-Modul")
• Title (Generation 2 dub): "Der große Bluff" ("The big Bluff")
• Original airdate: ?

Italian

• Title (first dub): "L'arma definitiva" ("The Ultimate Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

• Metroplex saying: «Trypticon vanquished!» is changed by having him singing (yes, "singing") the sentence "♪And Trypticon c'est defeated♪" on the tune of La Marseillaise. This is a reference to the fact that, in this dub, Metroplex speaks using a French accent and often using French words.

• Title (second dub): "L'arma finale" ("The Final Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

Japanese

• Title: 究極の武器 (Kyūkyoku no Buki, "The Ultimate Weapon")
• Original airdate: April 24, 1987

Mandarin

• Title: "Zhōngjí Wǔqì " (终极武器, "The Ultimate Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

Brazilian Portuguese

• Title: "A Super Arma" ("The Super Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

Russian

• Title: "Glavnoye orujiye" (Главное оружие, "The Main Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

Latin Spanish

• Title: "El Arma Mortífera" ("The Deadly Weapon")
• Original airdate: ?

Home video releases

VHS

1989 — Transformers — Carnage in C Minor / The Ultimate Weapon (Tempo Video)

LaserDisc

1999 — The Transformers: 2010 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.

DVD

2001 — The Transformers: 2010 — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — The Original Transformers — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 3 and Season 4 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 5: Series 3.2 (Madman Entertainment)
2005 — Transformers — Volume 20 (Déclic Images) — Canadian French audio only.
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)

External links

• Episode dialogue script