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Epic
"Transform and Roll Out"
Season	1
No. in season	1–3
Production company	Cartoon Network Studios
Airdate	December 26, 2007
Written by	Marty Isenberg
Directed by	Matt Youngberg Yutaka Kagawa (Part 1) Minoru Yamaoka (Part 2) Makoto Fuchigami (Part 3)
Animation studio	Mook
Continuity	Animated cartoon continuity
Watch this episode on YouTube (Part 1)  Watch this episode on YouTube (Part 2)  Watch this episode on YouTube (Part 3)

When a small crew of maintenance Autobots comes into possession of the powerful AllSpark, a battle with their long-forgotten enemies sends them crashing toward a strange, distant planet known as... Earth.

Synopsis

Part 1

In deep, deep space, Optimus Prime watches a history vid of the Great War, prompting Ratchet to complain about him watching that "junk" when the other members of the crew need assistance. Prime wonders if they were designed for more than repairing space bridges. The two 'Bots transform into their vehicle modes and head out into the asteroid field.

Well... at least there's no mass-shifting.

Outside, Bulkhead, dangling from a high rock by his wrecking ball (and becoming quite queasy in the process), is freed by Bumblebee, who also ends up taking a tumble. Bumblebee complains about the sheer amount of rocks blocking the space bridge node, and one is shattered unexpectedly by Prowl's throwing star. Prime gives his troops a speech about teamwork (which Prowl moans at theatrically), but at that point the space bridge lights up, sending rocks and Autobots flying. Fancy footwork by Optimus saves each of his teammates from the debris, and a well-aimed grappling line shuts down the bridge. With his subordinates stunned at their leader's skills, Prime is forced to admit he trained at Cybertron's military academy. Bumblebee's query as to what the heck he's doing on a nowhere maintenance assignment is left unanswered as they notice something glowing in the rubble.

Prime clears away the debris to reveal a large, chest-like object. Ratchet is horrified and immediately demands they throw it back into the space bridge, but an alert from Teletran-1 announces the arrival of a signature consistent with the long-lost Decepticons. Ratchet then insists they take the object and just get out of there post-haste.

Yes, this is a scout ship. Way to go, Magnanimous.

On board their ship, Ratchet finally reveals what they've found: the AllSpark, the source of all Transformer life that was lost centuries ago. Optimus, worried about the oncoming Decepticon signal, contacts the Cybertron Elite Guard for help. After taking a bit of snark from Sentinel Prime, Optimus reveals what they found, which shuts Sentinel up fast. Sentinel then puts the crew through to Ultra Magnus, who tells Optimus Prime to stay put while they send reinforcements... and not to worry about that Decepticon thing. Optimus, considering this to be a really stupid move, orders the crew to start booking it out of there.

Scotty, engage!

This proves wise, as the signal is indeed a Decepticon ship—a command ship, in fact. The identification markings are ones that Optimus and Ratchet recognize, meaning its commander can only be one person: Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. On board the Decepticon ship, Starscream doubts the AllSpark is aboard the Autobot ship and declares Megatron a fool. Lugnut denounces Starscream as a traitor, while Blackarachnia calls Lugnut an idiot for his blind loyalty and Blitzwing just acts... well, crazy. The Decepticons continue to bicker at each other until Megatron enters, shutting up all of them. The Decepticons chase the Autobot ship, and Starscream volunteers to board them. Megatron quickly shoots that idea down, saying he'll tend to this matter personally. Just before he leaves, Starscream wishes his commander "luck" with a pat on the back... affixing a bomb to Megatron in the process.

Megatron makes his way to the Autobots' ship and begins to melt his way through its hull. Optimus uses external manipulator arms to grapple with Megatron, until the bomb detonates, sending the ship careening uncontrollably into a space bridge node, which explodes after they go through the gate. Starscream begins to make a speech declaring himself the new Decepticon leader, but the other three have abandoned ship, noting that the fireball from the space bridge explosion is only getting larger. Too late, Starscream realizes the trouble he's in...

An unknown distance away, the Autobot ship reappears above a small blue and green planet. Prime checks on his troops, but Megatron has gotten aboard, having survived the explosion, but at the cost of his right arm. Prime uses his grappling line to shut off the gravity, making it more difficult for Megatron to fight. All five Autobots face off against the Decepticon, but he's too strong (though Prowl does manage to cut off Megatron's damaged arm). Prime and Megatron both end up in the storage bay where the AllSpark is... and as the ship enters the atmosphere, Prime is able to blow the hatch and kick the screaming Megatron out of the ship.

Oddly familiar.

On a small farm, a young boy hears a thud and runs to where something has landed in a not-too-distant field. He is shocked to find a robotic head staring lifelessly up at him.

Meanwhile, Prime orders his team into emergency stasis pods to prepare for a crash-landing. He manages to steer the ship away from the city below and gets to a stasis pod just before the ship plunges into Lake Erie.

Fifty years later, Detroit is once again a thriving city, but instead of manufacturing automobiles, robots are the city's stock-in-trade. Isaac Sumdac is talking to a public school class taking a tour of his facilities, which gets interrupted by Isaac's daughter, Sari Sumdac, and her robot dog, Sparkplug. As Sari is carted off to her lessons by a robot tutor, Isaac shows the school kids a nanotech lab, just in time to witness a roach infused with microbots grow out of control and start consuming everything in sight. Isaac tries to keep things calm, but the monster bursts out of the lab...

Part 2

Yeah, watering it will surely stop the beast.

The monster continues to grow, absorbing just about everything it touches to increase its size and power. In the process, it destroys a lot of the factory. Captain Fanzone, the S.W.A.T team, the fire department, ambulances, and robot drones arrive, but the creature absorbs several of the responding vehicles, too. Fanzone uses a bazooka-type weapon and destroys the beast, despite Sumdac's objection. This protest proves well-founded, as the remnants of the creature start flowing back together again, save for one piece that drops into the nearby lake and works its way down to the Autobots' ship, its nanites seeking the absorbable technology there. It infiltrates via a small breach in the outer hull, but thankfully, the ship's intruder alert systems are functional and awaken the Autobots before any damage is done. Examining the situation, they decide to have Teletran-1 give them Earth forms so they can blend in and help out. A probe is launched into the chaos and scans various vehicles, including an ambulance, a police motorcycle, an armored personnel carrier, a fire truck, and Captain Fanzone's car. Everyone deploys except Ratchet, who remains behind to analyze the sample of alien material.

Avengers, ASSEMBLE!

During the fight, Bulkhead and Bumblebee spot Sari trying to wrest her security key from Sparkplug's mouth. Mistaking which is owner and which is pet, they approach her, but Bulkhead's greeting only scares her away. She quickly gets nabbed by the monster, but Bumblebee saves her, earning her trust and friendship. Prowl attempts to take on the bug-slug by himself, against Prime's orders, and gets absorbed. Prime orders Ratchet to join them in battle to save Prowl, but the old veteran insists that finding a "cure" code to neutralize the nanites' programming makes more sense than coming out and getting trashed. A somewhat chastened Prime agrees, and Ratchet soon delivers the goods. However, the new program must be uploaded by direct contact—meaning from inside the monster. This means the smallest, fastest one of them has to do it. Bumblebee reluctantly takes on the task. The beast has been using some of Prowl's absorbed intelligence and comm link tech, though, so it knows what they're planning and is now smart enough to fight back. Despite this, Bumblebee succeeds in delivering the code, and the bug dissolves into a dusty shower of deactivated nanites. Prowl is soon uncovered, but he's suffered grave wounds and must be taken back to the Autobots' ship for repairs. Sari pesters Bumblebee to be taken along, and her new friend reluctantly agrees, since there's no time to make her go away quietly.

Bumblebee, having a pet is a big responsibility.

Once on board, Sari's refusal to stay still and quiet causes 'Bee some embarrassment. He quickly and discreetly ejects her into a ventilation port and joins the others. However, the port opens onto a shaft that takes Sari right to the chamber where the AllSpark is being kept. Curious, she touches it, and it reacts to her, sending its energies into her security card key and reconfiguring it into a key of another sort entirely. Prime finds her almost immediately thereafter, but with no time left to spare away from Prowl, he has to bring her back with him to the repair table. Ratchet's prognosis is bleak, but the AllSpark Key abruptly reacts, glowing and tugging her toward Prowl. Bumblebee, seeming to grasp what's happening, helps her onto the table, and as she approaches, her Key reshapes itself to fit into a slot on Prowl's chest. She inserts it, and with a burst of energy, the Autobot ninja is whole again. The Autobots then take Sari home and, after a brief misunderstanding, are made heroes and are even invited to a ceremony.

In outer space, Starscream sits aboard the damaged but functional Decepticon ship, babbling that he will find the AllSpark, even though he's been attempting it on his own for the last fifty solar cycles. The ship's computers then detect the traces of AllSpark-like energy in action, and Starscream learns where the Autobots are...

Part 3

INSERT WHAT WHERE?!

The Autobots are later seen trying to fit in. Bulkhead gets firsthand experience in traffic jams, some birds mistake Prowl for the statue of the bald guy next to him, Bumblebee learns how organics fuel up, and Ratchet can't get a stasis nap without getting a dozen or so parking tickets. Optimus Prime remarks that the Autobots are programmed to respect life, which they always understood to stem from the AllSpark, but as organics are life, they must respect and protect them too. Optimus also expresses curiosity about how little organics are made. Sari's whispered explanation leaves him rather... shocked. The Autobots make a new home base out of a building Sari's dad got out of a merger, an abandoned auto factory that Bumblebee describes as a real fixer-upper—a REAL fixer-upper. All of a sudden, they get alerted to a fire. The Autobots proceed to douse the blaze and save its victims, no problem, unaware they are being watched by Starscream.

The next day, during the inauguration ceremony for the Sumdac Fully Automated Rapid Transit System (F.A.R.T.S., for short), Starscream enters Earth's atmosphere and takes on a group of fighter jets. He destroys all but one, which he scans. As the civilians and Autobots watch the aerial display of the Crimson Angels, Isaac Sumdac notices there is an extra jet present that he didn't hire. That one jet then leaves the formation and streaks toward the ceremony platform, where it transforms into Starscream, who fires his null-ray cannons at the Autobots.

After a short fight, which the Autobots lose, Starscream knocks out Bumblebee and takes him, Isaac, the mayor, and Capt. Fanzone hostage in the F.A.R.T.S. train, flying it to the top of a very tall tower. He demands that the Autobots deliver the AllSpark if they want him to release the train car. The Autobots don't trust him, but don't want to risk human lives, so Sari offers a plan, but they ignore her. She continues to tell a sob story until the Autobots listen. The Autobots proceed with her plan, and Prowl and Sari fly up to the transit pod to rescue the hostages while the other Autobots keep Starscream busy. Once Starscream realizes what's happening, he takes a brief beating but recovers quickly. Starscream then throws the train—thus keeping his end of the deal—with Sari, Prowl, and Bumblebee on top of/in it. Between Bumblebee's agility and Prowl's thrusters plus Ratchet's magnets, Sari is rescued and the train lands without much damage. The Autobots then challenge Starscream to a friendly game of Keep Away, during which Starscream almost gets the AllSpark, but Bulkhead gets it instead, because he said he got it. A furious Starscream unleashes a devastating, prolonged (as in nearly 12 seconds) null-ray blast on the Autobots, briefly knocking them all senseless.

In the old days, The Touch would have started playing now.

With the Autobots down, Starscream takes the AllSpark from Optimus and blows a couple of blocks of Detroit right off the map. Not ready to give up, Optimus climbs all the way up a building to get it back from Starscream, which Starscream doesn't see coming because he was too busy gloating. After a quick back-and-forth exchange of possessing it, both grab it at the same time. As they struggle, the AllSpark opens and emits a strange energy wave that blasts Starscream away.

The explosion has left Prime dangling precariously, and he takes a tremendous plummet to the pavement. He notes weakly that he now knows what it feels like to be a hero, then dies, but Sari uses the AllSpark Key to revive him.^[1] The Autobots later go about fixing up Detroit, earning the enduring gratitude of the citizenry. Professor Sumdac is also grateful, for the Autobots saved him and Sari, but he fears what will happen if the Autobots—not to mention the rest of the world—were to discover the source of his robotic empire.

Unseen by Sumdac, one of the optics of his source of technology glows in a darkened room. Megatron still functions...

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

History vid

Scene 1: Decepticon troopers attack led by their commander. Their numbers appear overwhelming.
Scene 2: Two tetrajets pursue two Autobots over a Cybertronian highway.
Scene 3: Omega Sentinel-like robots counter-attack the Decepticon troopers and appear to turn the tide.
Scene 4: Transport trucks enter a storage facility.
Scene 5: An inspired Transformer salute.

Quotes

"Do you ever get the feeling that you were programmed for something more than just repairing space bridges?"
"I got a diagnostics program that can delete that feeling like a bad line of code."

—Optimus Prime's dreams are crushed to a fine powder by Ratchet.

Icy Blitzwing: *freezes Blackarachnia's right arm* As usual, Blackarachnia, your demeanor is as unpleasant as that accursed, organic mode of yours.
Blackarachnia: Blow it out your actuator, three face. *snarls and breaks the ice on her hand*
Hothead Blitzwing: Ze name is BLITZWING, insect! REMEMBER IT! Because it's the last thing you're going to hear before I-
Random Blitzwing: Express my feelings in song! ZE ITSY BITSY SPIDER...

—Blitzwing cements his position as a fan favorite in less than a minute.

"What do you want now, Starscream?"
"Only to wish you luck, my liege."
"I do not believe in luck."
"Neither do I."

—Megatron fails to notice Starscream place his explosive.

"Know what? You're even uglier at this angle!"

—Bumblebee is about to realize there are some things you should never, EVER, say to a Decepticon.

"Hi, I'm Bumblebee!"
"I'm Sari."
"Oh, don't be, I like my name."

—Bumblebee and Sari are off to an awkward start.

"Y'know, all things considered, fixin' space bridges wasn't such a bad gig."

—Bumblebee, just before embarking on the plan to dissolve the bug monster.

"Uh...am I going to be able to breathe down there?"
"Oh, sure! ...What's 'breathe'?"

—Sari is in good hands with Bumblebee.

"And to think, Ultra Magnus told me not to be a hero. Is this what it was like in your day?"
"The Decepticons didn't leave us very much to cheer about."

—Optimus Prime and Ratchet at the ceremony.

"Enjoy it while you can, 'heroes.' You're about to take a fall."

—Starscream, watching a news report on the Autobots.

"Give up the AllSpark or give up the Earth. How am I supposed to decide?"
"Heroes are the ones who make the hard choices."

—Optimus Prime and Ratchet after Starscream makes his ultimatum.

"Let go, Autobot!"
"Never! The AllSpark is life!"
"Then, let it end yours!"

—Starscream and Optimus Prime, fighting over the AllSpark.

"So, this...is what it feels like...to be a hero."

—Optimus Prime, just before dying.

"Fixing bridges? Isn't this where we started out?"

—Bumblebee, as the Autobots clean up the city.

Notes

Transformers references

• The title of the episode itself is a reference to past Transformers lore.
• Footage from the G1 cartoon episodes "War Dawn" and "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1" is used as history tapes detailing the events of the first Great War, millions of years prior, accompanied by narration from Corey Burton doing his best impression of Victor Caroli. This has been confirmed as purely an in-joke, and should not be taken as linking Animated to G1, continuity wise.
• The Autobot ship here bears a distinct resemblance to the Ark, albeit with a colour scheme more reminiscent of Omega Supreme. (As we learn much later, there is a very good reason for that.)
• Bumblebee says "We're all gonna die."
• Sari's robotic dog Sparkplug is likely named after either Sparkplug Witwicky from G1, the Armada Mini-Con Sparkplug, or both.

Twenty years later, and they're still overdressed.

• Characters resembling Spike, Carly, and Daniel Witwicky are seen at a hot dog stand, purchasing some sort of futuristic bunless wieners-on-a-stick. The characters went on to become recurring figures in the background cast of the show, and in "Garbage In, Garbage Out" it was revealed that their names were... Spike, Carly and Daniel Witwicky.
• When Optimus Prime dies, his body fades to grays, just as Generation 1 Optimus Prime did in The Transformers: The Movie. His spark chamber opens in much the same manner as well.
• Teletran-1 (spelled with only one "a" in this universe) dispatches a small satellite very similar to the Sky Spy satellite used on occasion by the Autobots in the Generation 1 cartoon. The glowing energy "boxes" with which it scans vehicles for the Autobots to transform into are lifted wholesale out of "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1".
• At one point, Bulkhead refers to Optimus as "Boss-bot", echoing an epithet used for Beast Wars Megatron by the Fuzor Quickstrike, and also used by Cheetor refer to Optimus Primal. Bumblebee also calls Optimus "Big-bot", again a term used by Cheetor to refer to Optimus.

Real world references

• In this episode, Tutor Bot tries to teach Sari about the Smoot-Hawley Tariff Act, a major economic blunder of the 1930s.
  • This may also be a reference to the film Ferris Bueller's Day Off, which includes a high school teacher attempting to teach his disinterested class about Smoot-Hawley.
• In this episode, Starscream's engines use a sound effect borrowed from The Phantom Menace: the sound made by Sebulba's podracer engines; and from “Attack of the Clones”: the sound made by Obi-Wan Kenobi's starfighter exiting hyperspace.
• When Prowl gets birdpooped on, he is standing next to a statue of Hazen S. Pingree, four-term mayor of Detroit and one-time governor of Michigan. In real life, the statue is located in Detroit's Grand Circus Park.
• A refurbished Michigan Central Station makes an appearance as the site for the dedication of Detroit's rapid transit system. The real-life station (abandoned since the '80s) was featured in the 2007 live-action movie.
• When Optimus comes back to life, he asks, "Is this the Well of All Sparks?" and Sari answers, "No, it's Detroit." This is an allusion to the movie Field of Dreams, in which Shoeless Joe Jackson (Ray Liotta) asks Ray Kinsella (Kevin Costner), "Is this Heaven?" and Ray answers, "No, it's Iowa."
• In the Japanese dub, Bumblebee mentions Rescue Fire, which is another TakaraTomy property that's based on Takara's Tomica toy car line. Prior to Animated's Japanese debut, it aired in the same timeslot and channel as Galaxy Force did.
• The Crimson Angels are a reference to the Blue Angels.

Animation or technical glitches

• Megatron's vehicle mode is depicted flying upside-down, or backwards, or possibly both. To be fair, in space, there is no up and down (and to be even fairer, it's really hard to tell from the toys exactly what is the front of Megatron's Cybertronian spaceship mode), but that does not excuse the fact that any propulsion system used would be in the back of the mode.
• Prowl sliced off what was left of Megatron's arm below the elbow, but when Ratchet hurls it at Megs, it was sliced above (and subsequently includes) his elbow.
• Megatron's mouth doesn't move when he offers to spare the Autobots’ lives in exchange for the Allspark.
• When the Autobot get into the stasis pods, Prime, Bulkhead, and Ratchet are on the left side, with Bumblebee, Prowl, and an empty pod on the right, in that order. Yet when they get out later in the episode, Prime, Bumblebee, and Bulkhead are on the left, and the empty one, Prowl, and Ratchet on the right.
• As pre-Earth Prime enters the chamber which will re-format his body into his Earth mode, he walks past Ratchet, who is drawn mostly in his pre-Earth mode, except for the fact that his Cybertronian gut is replaced with his ambulance gut. In the next scene, Ratchet is properly drawn, pre-Earth gut and all.
• When Sari says to the Autobots it is okay to put down their hands, Bulkhead's face is black.
• When Bulkhead removes the Allspark from Ratchet's vehicle mode, in one frame the black outlining on his right arm vanishes and reappears one frame later.
• When Starscream tackles Optimus Prime through a building as the Autobot tries to escape with the AllSpark, Optimus's axe is missing from Starscream's left wing. It reappears moments later for Optimus to retrieve it.
• In at least one scene, Starscream's Earth-form wing is shown with a spike, in the same manner as his Cybertronian body.
• When Optimus' chest closes up after his Spark is restored, the wide 'spark cover' section is not seen flipping back down. It disappears when his windows close back over his spark.

Continuity errors

• There was a pretty big continuity error evident in the show's very premise that nobody really picked up on, which was: if the AllSpark was the source of Transformer life, and it was jettisoned into space at the end of the Great War, and most of Prime's crew weren't alive during the Great War... how did they come on-line? Despite the fact that nobody was asking the question, the AllSpark Almanac II guidebook provided the answer by revealing that there is also a version of Vector Sigma in the Animated universe that could also grant life.
• When Optimus kicks Megatron out of the docking tube, the sky around the ship is blue. However, the very next shot, in which Megatron falls to Earth outside the Sumdac barn, shows a nighttime scene.
• The train Starscream blasts from the tower falls toward the ground very, very slowly.
• When we rejoin Starscream, he states that he has been searching for the AllSpark for fifty solar cycles. In later episodes, a solar cycle is equivalent to a day and a stellar cycle is used for years. This is the only time a solar cycle has been used to reference years, so either Starscream entered some sort of temporal anomaly or someone messed up. For more confusion information, see our breakdown of units of time.
  • Further, why would Starscream use a time measurement that corresponds to Earth? He hadn't even heard of the planet yet. (Does a Cybertronian year just happen to be roughly the same as an Earth year?)
• Sumdac is using Megatron's hand as a chair. However, he seems to be using the right hand, which was blown up by Starscream. (It could have fallen off the Autobots' ship, as it was still clinging to the hull when last seen, but that seems unlikely.)
• From Isaac Sumdac's monologue, it seems he somehow knows the source of this technology has some relation to the Decepticons. But, not only he has no way of knowing that, he later believes Megatron when he presents himself as an Autobot.
  • Or, when he expresses his concerns, he could just have meant him dissecting one of their kind.
• When Optimus Prime first tries to activate the Orion's "Omega" emergency defense system, Teletran-1 claims it has been disabled due to energy conservation efforts. However, Omega Supreme is in a modified stasis due to being critically injured, not due to Cybertron's "green" initiatives. Optimus appears to be aware of the Omega Sentinel function, but has never actually used it.

Trivia

• Bumblebee's voice is slightly different in this episode from how it sounds later, as is Lugnut's voice, which seems very metallic.
• When mocking the Autobots, Starscream actually calls Megatron "the great Megatron" without any sarcasm. Apparently, he'll only give a sincere compliment to his leader when he's insulting something else. Either that or he's just trying to make himself sound more impressive by building up the reputation of the one he's defeated.
• According to responses at a panel at BotCon 2008, the unfortunate acronym for Fully Automated Rapid Transit System was totally unintentional...which makes it that much funnier.
• Ratchet is able to use his front windshield as a video screen.
• Several elements present in this opener were changed/dropped in the main series, including expressive vehicle modes, the replacement of solar cycles with stellar cycles in terminology, the recolouring of Ratchet's magnetism from yellow to pink, and Sari's Key changing shape. However, the expressions on vehicle mode were briefly used again by Wasp in the episode "Predacons Rising".
• During Sari's "conversation" with the AllSpark, it shows her the faces of Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime, Megatron, and Starscream, then the Cybertronian vehicle modes for Optimus and Ratchet, the AllSpark's case and the Autobots' ship. Then Sari unknowingly shows the AllSpark a man and a woman in suits, a boy, the planet Earth, pyramids, purple flowers, a horse, an aircraft with a giant cloud coming from the back, a cell and a DNA strand. The woman has dark skin and red hair like Sari.
• This is the only episode in the series where Blackarachnia is shown to be working - or even aligned in any way - with the Decepticons. Beyond the opening introdump and abandoning ship, she's very much an independent agent.
  • Although, the same could arguably be said for Starscream.
• This movie was (lovingly) lampooned at the MSTF panel for BotCon 2008, along with "War Dawn", the episode from which most of the "history vid" footage was taken.
• Remarkably, when Optimus Prime's ship began free falling towards Detroit and crashed into Lake Erie, it did not catch one human bystander's attention, even in the dead of night. Now that's a city that sleeps.
• In addition, the giant yellow ship went unnoticed at the bottom of the lake for 50 years straight.
• This episode was adapted in comic book format using screen captures as "Transformers Animated Volume 1".

Foreign localization

Brazilian

• Title: "Transformar e Avançar!" ("Transform and Advance!")
• Original airdate: ???

French

• Title: "Les Transformers mettent la gomme" ("The Transformers put the pedal to the metal")
• Original airdate: 3 September 2008

German

• Title: "Transformieren und Abfahrt" ("Transform and Roll Out")
• Original airdate: 3 May 2008 (Part 1), 10 May 2008 (Part 2), 17 May 2008 (Part 3)

Italian

• Title: "Viaggio verso l'ignoto" ("Journey towards the Unknown")
• Original airdate: 20 September 2008 (Part 1), 27 September 2008 (Part 2), 4 October 2008 (Part 3)

Spanish (Latin America)

• Title: "Transformense y avancen" ("Transform and go forward")
• Original airdate: 7 June 2008, (The Three episodes)

Japanese (Part 1)

• Title: "Shinshō! Transformer" (新章! トランスフォーマー, "A New Chapter! Transformers")
• Original airdate: 3 April 2010

• The episode begins with the entire Otoboto family gathered as Yūka and Tatsuya tell the viewers in unison to watch in a well-lit room (to prevent seizures and damage to your eyesight, you know).
• As the title sequence begins, Optimus Prime asks how everyone is doing, then introduces himself as leader of the Autobots. When he realizes nobody knows who he is, he assures them that he's leader of the Autobots. Then the theme song starts.
• Cut: Ratchet and Optimus's conversation as they walk down a hall, where Prime refers to feeling like being meant for "more than just repairing space bridges", and Ratchet's snarky response about deleting that feeling "like a bad line of code".
• Cut: Bulkhead's comment on their medic being always grumpy, Ratchet responding to Bumblebee's age crack with a smack upside the head and the retort of "I may have one servo in the scrapheap, but I can still hear!".
• The usual cries of "Transform!" and attack names are added in. (Bumblebee's "stingers" are now called "Energy Stingers", for instance.) Perhaps most annoyingly, every single thing Optimus does has the prefix of "Ultra" added to it. In the span of ten seconds, he goes through his "Ultra Anchor", "Ultra Axe" and "Ultra Net" attacks.
• Cut: After shutting down the space bridge, the following sequence where Ratchet is repairing Bumblebee, Bulkhead commenting about Optimus's moves, Optimus reluctantly admitting that he used to train at the Academy, and Bumblebee saying that he should've been with the Elite Guard.
• Cut: Ratchet's poking back at Optimus wanting to see some action, Bumblebee pointing out they're repair bots, Optimus requesting a link with Cybertron Command Headquarters and Bulkhead impressed by it.
• Teletran-1 now speaks as though "she" is in a state of perpetual orgasm.
• When the Autobots first happen upon the Nemesis and all freak over Megatron, a new scene transition is added when transitioning into the discussion between the Decepticon forces. A guitar riff of the classic Generation 1 scene transition music is even used.
• Blitzwing's personae now speak with thick American accents, and spout English words like "Hey!" and "Man!"
• New commercial bumpers have been crafted, featuring stock art of the characters with their voice actors screaming their name, followed by "Transform!"
• Cut: Starscream's entire speech on the bridge ("This is a dark day...") followed by him getting caught in the explosion.
• When Bulkhead tumbles into Optimus, following his line "A little warning would have helped!", he screams out "Mommyyyyyyy!" Yeah, Japanese Bulkhead ain't so smart.
• Cut: After Megatron is kicked from the ship, the establishing shots of Paw Paw (the street sign, the outside of the barn and the scroll across Isaac Sumdac's lab).
• Cut: Following Prime's line "Not until I've steered us clear of this populated sector!", the brief scenes of the Autobots being sealed in their stasis pods.
• Cut: As soon as the ship crashes into Lake Eerie and leaves a stream of upturned water on the surface, the scenes of the ship sinking and Teletran-1 "initiating emergency stasis mode" on the pods as they turn grey. The episode resumes at the long shot of the sinking ship slowly coming toward the camera, with a new voice-over of Teletran-1 telling the Autobots "good night".
• Cut: As Isaac Sumdac narrates the history of Detroit and automaton manufacturing, the scene of the trash-collecting automaton has been cut.
• Cut: The scenes of Sari pulling the bubblegum off her face, eating it, the crowd reacting in disgust, Isaac Sumdac reacting in frustration, the kid asking Sari what its like to grow up around robots and Tutor Bot hauling Sari off.
• Cut: After the cockroach absorbs the nanobot liquid, all the scenes involving Isaac Sumdac explaining the nanobots to the children and the children looking through microscopes at the nanobots. The sequence cuts to the roach growing bigger.
• Cut: The close-up of Isaac Sumdac saying "Nothing to be concerned about, children!" and the kid remarking that "This accident doesn't look too happy". The sequence cuts to the roach crashing through the window behind him.
• The Otoboto Family segment features Hiroyuki Otoboto telling his son, Tatsuya Otoboto, about Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers, complete with clips from "More than Meets the Eye, Part 1", as well as a brief musical clip from the songs "Time Bomb Town" (by Lindsey Buckingham, from the Back to the Future soundtrack) and "Fairy Godmother Song" (from the Shrek 2 soundtrack). Mr. Otoboto then produces a complete set of Animated Autobot toys. Tatsuya is thrilled, but wouldn't ya know it? Mrs. Otoboto comes in with dinner! During mealtime conversation, Mrs. Otoboto makes the mistake of using the word "transform", which inevitably causes Tatsuya to start talking about Transformers, much to the amusement of his father and the annoyance of his older sister, Yūka. Tatsuya then causes a "freeze frame" so that he can introduce himself and his family (messing with his father's glasses in the process for his own amusement). Oddly, despite being "frozen", everyone proceeds to blink. As time resumes its normal pace, Hiroyuki wonders what happened to his glasses. He then digs into his dinner, except, oh no! It's too hot! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!
• During the "next episode" segment, Optimus Prime and Bumblebee proceed to have an argument. Bumblebee thinks Optimus's name is too long and hard to remember. Bumblebee suggests that "Convoy" would be better, but Prime shoots the idea down immediately. Bumblebee opts to call him "Opti" (Oputi), since it has fewer syllables. Prime refuses to be called such a name (more fitting for a dog), so Bumblebee settles on "Pu-Pu" after "Opera" (Opura) is also rejected for sounding weird. Prime refuses that too, thinking it sounds cute, but that it would be hard not to laugh instinctively at it. Bumblebee then tricks Prime into answering to it, which frustrates him even further. The argument proceeds past the "next episode" segment and straight into the sponsor cards.

Japanese (Part 2)

• Title: "Eiyū, sono Na wa Autobot" (英雄、その名はオートボット, "The Heroes Are Called Autobots")
• Original airdate: 10 April 2010

• Hiroyuki and Tatsuya Otoboto tell the viewers in unison to watch the episode in a well-lit room (with Hiroyuki giving a creepy wink at the end).
• Instead of Optimus introducing at the opening, Bumblebee introduces himself and tells viewers to listen to JAM Project's cool song.
• Cut: The rush of emergency vehicles driving through the city, alongside the following scene of Fanzone getting into his car, preparing to enjoy lunch at Burger Bot, and receiving the emergency call before departing.
• Cut: Fanzone arriving at Sumdac laboratories, his little dilemma with the broken megaphone, and his first directions to the police force.
• Optimus now has "Ultra Jump" added to his "arsenal" as he distracts the nano-monster.
• Bulkhead now says "dosukoi" on occasion, a word usually used by sumo wrestlers.
• Cut: The left-to-right pan of the ruined laboratory where the tour had taken place.
• Cut: Much of the flying debris from the monster falling into the ocean.
• During the trans-scanning, Teletran-1 announces the type of vehicle being scanned and the Autobots as they are reformatted.
• Cut: Fanzone noticing the four vehicles confronting the monster and attempting to call them back before noticing that they are unmanned and include his own car.
• Cut: Immediately after the previous cut, the scene where Bulkhead and Bumblebee attempt to converse with the police drones while fighting the monster.
• The joke on Sari's name—"I'm Bumblebee." "I'm Sari." "Oh, don't be. I like my name." "No, I mean my name is..."—is somewhat altered. Instead, Bumblebee "corrects" her that he's not named "Sari" (the pun involving "I'm Sari" sounding like "I'm sorry" not working in the Japanese language, obviously).
• Cut: After Bumblebee takes Sari into the parking garage, Fanzone's and Dr. Sumdac's observation of Bumblebee and his unknown purposes, and the ordering the police drones to save Sari.
• Bumblebee counts off while disabling the police drones, and he has an extra line even though his mouth doesn't move.
• Cut: Ratchet's comment on Optimus being a "typical Academy Bot", along with a shot of the computer analysis of the monster.
• Cut: Sari's gasp when Bumblebee is jumping at the monster.
• When Sari reassures Ratchet that humans "don't usually blow up things" with emergency symbols, Ratchet comments about being treated kindly.
• Cut: After Dr. Sumdac shakes hands with Optimus at the ceremony, Optimus's comment regarding not being a hero, his question to Ratchet about things being "like this in your day", and Ratchet's rather ominous response.
• Cut: After the ceremony, the foreshadowing scene in which Starscream is seen monologuing in the crashed Nemesis on the Moon.
• For the Otoboto family segment, Hiroyuki and Tatsuya are playing on the living room carpet with their toys (Hiroyuki and his Optimus Prime against Tatsuya and his Bumblebee). Filled with nostalgia, Hiroyuki begins describing the Autobots and the roles of each character to the audience, only to have Tatsuya beat him to the punch by ending all his sentences. Suddenly, they hear a crashing sound coming from the kitchen. Hiroyuki and Tatsuya rise to the occasion, shout "Transform!" and "change" into Optimus Prime and Megatron t-shirts (accompanied by their own dramatic "transformation" sequences and the theme from Maskman). But before they can battle the forces of Evil stirring up trouble in the kitchen, they first have to sit back down on the living room floor and transform their toys into vehicle mode. (So, what if there was a burglar beating your wife, dude?) As Hiroyuki completes the transformation of his Optimus toy, we are assured that the "adventure" of the Otoboto family will be continued next episode.
• In the "next episode" segment, Bulkhead asks Ratchet about the name "Transformers Animated", and Bulkhead then mistakenly tells viewers to watch "Transformers Anime". Ratchet later jokes about shortening the title to "Tra-Ani" because the original title is a bit long.

Japanese (Part 3)

• Title: "AllSpark no Himitsu" (オールスパークの秘密, "Secret of the AllSpark")
• Original airdate: 17 April 2010

• This time, it's mother and daughter, Megumi and Yūka Otoboto, who tell viewers to watch the episode in a well-lit room.
• Starscream does the intro in a rather...perky manner.
• Cut: The whole sequence of the Autobots integrating themselves into Detroit: Bulkhead walking through rush hour traffic, Prowl's encounter with the birds' "present", Bumblebee ordering at Burger Bot, Ratchet getting ticketed for napping in a no-parking zone, Sari traumatizing Optimus on human reproduction, and the Autobots checking out their new "home".
• During the sequence in which the Autobots are responding to the building fire, there are some additional lines and a tweak: The entire team sound off their names while heading on scene; Bumblebee jokes about calling in Rescue Fire, to which Bulkhead responds by breaking the fourth wall, "That's a different show"; and the news reporter's coverage/praise of the Autobots doesn't mention "Detroit" by name and lasts until the scene changes to Starscream watching from the Nemesis.
• Sumdac says "480" on introducing the F.A.R.T.S.'s speed, which makes sense, as Japan uses the metric system and 300 miles equals to 482.803 kilometers.
• Cut: Optimus commenting to Ratchet on being constantly called "heroes" and not feeling any different than repairing space bridges before, and Ratchet's response on the grim ends of the "heroes" he's known and his reluctance to share their fates.
• During Starscream's attack on the jet fighters, one of the pilots shouts additional "Mayday!"s, to which Starscream retorts that "It's not 'Mayday', it's Starscream! Remember it!"
• Cut: Panning shot from the top of Michigan Central Station down to the gathered Transformers.
• When Starscream claims he's the "new boss" (literally) of the Decepticons, Bulkhead corrects him instead of saying that he thought Megatron was in charge.
• Extra lines: both Ratchet and Prowl after the station crumbles; Starscream has one before Prowl tricks him with a hologram and another while dragging Optimus about after Prime uses his grappling hook.
• Cut: Optimus declaring his name after Starscream demands the AllSpark. Cuts right to Starscream tossing Bumblebee into the transit pod.
• Starscream's gloating while circling Sumdac Tower before Optimus baits him with the AllSpark.
• When Sumdac asks how Sari got up the tower, Prowl's line is changed from "Same way you're getting down," to "By me, father." Fanzone's "This is why I hate machines!" catchphrase during the trip down is also tweaked.
• Fanzone seems to be screaming for his grandfather as Prowl is dropping down to the blimp.
• Additional line for Starscream when Ratchet tries to stop him with his magnetic manipulators.
• Add "Ultra Spray" to Optimus's list of "Ultra" attacks when he sprays Starscream with fire retardant foam twice. Oy...
• Bumblebee has an extra line while trying to attack Starscream when the latter realizes the jig's up.
• Prowl calls out to Bumblebee when the train is knocked over the edge, and Starscream shouts "Dual Sonic Blaster" on sending all three into free fall.
• Joining Bumblebee's "Ikimasu!" and Bulkhead's "Dosukoi!", Prowl's verbal tic is "De aru!" (Literally, "to be" in formal speech.)
• Bulkhead's rhetorical question on catching the train on the first bounce is changed to a vow to do his best.
• Instead of shock absorbers, Sari asks if Bumblebee has a parachute.
• Ratchet has "Magnet Power" as his attack call when he catches the youngest pair, Sari's "some shock absorbers" line is altered, Prowl has "They're floating." as an extra line, and Bumblebee thanks Ratchet. Optimus's "think fast" line is delayed to just as he throws the AllSpark, and the medic's "Aw, crud." line is changed to objecting on being called "gramps" by Bumblebee.
• While Sari calls the game "Keep Away" in English, here it's changed to Tag, or 鬼ごっこ (oni-gokko).
• Instead of going on how fast one can stop, Bumblebee talks about hitting the goal.
• Bulkhead's "I said, 'I got it.'" is altered after he clocks Starscream and gets the AllSpark.
• Starscream yells that the show isn't over yet when he attacks the Autobots again just as Optimus is contemplating on getting the AllSpark to a safe place.
• Instead of responding that it's Detroit when Optimus asks whether he's in the Well of AllSparks, Sari just welcomes him back. Another line change is that she tells Bulkhead that humans also cry when they're happy, instead of the Autobots having much to learn about humans.
• Cut: The news reporter covering the Autobots' rescue and repair efforts, Bumblebee commenting how they started out on fixing bridges, Sumdac's lament of his robotic empire's origin, and the camera pan to Megatron's head.
• In this Otoboto family segment, Hiroyuki whips out his cellphone and goes into full chatting mode. Tatsuya wonders what kind of work his father does and whether it's actually work, as he usually sees Hiroyuki playing with Transformers figures almost all the time. Tatsuya then flashbacks to last week, when, after transforming their figures to vehicle mode, father and son are racing Optimus and Bumblebee before encountering Yūka's feet. Yūka thinks her father is quite the man-child and hands over a card from someone whom Hiroyuki thought passed away three years earlier.
• The Autobots discuss their favorite sports player during the "next episode" segment, Optimus citing Shuzo Matsuoka as his favorite, much to the others' disappointment. As Prime waxes poetic about Matsuoka's passion and energetic character, he doesn't realize that his teammates have already left.

Polish

• Title: "Transformacja i jazda" ("Transform and Roll Out")
• Original airdate: 11 October 2008 (Parts 1 and 2), 12 October 2010 (Part 3)

Home video releases

DVD

2008 — Transformers Animated — The Battle Begins (Hasbro) — Part 1 only.
2008 — Transformers Animated — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and Spanish audio.
2008 — Transformers Animated — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and German audio.
2008 — Transformers Animated — Transform and Roll Out (Paramount) — English and German audio.
2008 — Transformers Animated — Transformieren und Abfahrt (Paramount) — English and German audio.
2010 — Transformers Animated — Vol. 1 (Paramount) — Japanese audio only.
2013 — Transformers Animated — Season One (Madman Entertainment)
2014 — Transformers Animated — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)

Footnote

1. ↑ This is something of an Optimus Prime record: Dead after only three episodes, revived a mere 75 seconds later. Way to go.