Line #99 Anime/TransformersEnergon


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/Transformers_Energon.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350:]]
3
4	The sequel to ''Anime/TransformersArmada'' and the second installment of the Anime/UnicronTrilogy and the second (and final) entry to be animated by Creator/{{Actas}}, ''Transformers Energon'' (''Transformers Superlink'' in Japan) was concerned with the search for energon, the source of both Cybertronian factions' power. Although previous series had followed the integral plot of Autobots and Decepticons searching for energy, ''Energon'' was quite heavily obsessed with it.
5
6	The show begins with Cybertronians living on Earth with humans and on the lookout for more energy. Although Megatron is supposedly dead and the Decepticons and Autobots are allies, an undercurrent of shakiness pervades the Autobot cities. Meanwhile, deep inside all that remains of [[{{Satan}} Unicron]], the planet-sized Transformer, sits Alpha Q, prince of an ancient planet that was eaten by Unicron in ages past. Alpha Q plans to re-activate Unicron to recreate his own planet (Unicron can do that in ''Energon'') and so sends out Terrorcons to find energy to power Unicron. They immediately head for Earth, and while the Autobots and Decepticons battle the Terrorcons, an old enemy lurks in the distance...
7
8	The series-wide gimmick was 'energon stars', little translucent plastic things that slotted into holes on the Transformers. The star acted as a magnifying glass, revealing a faction sigil at the bottom of the hole.
9
10	In addition, most of the Autobots took the form of [[CombiningMecha combining toys]], which the show called [[XtremeKoolLetterz Powerlinxing]]. In most cases, one robot formed the head, arms, and torso, while a second formed the legs and abdomen in a manner reminiscent of ''[[Anime/TransformersVictory Victory]]'''s Multiforce. In-story, it was explained that this made the combined bots [[ThePowerOfFriendship 10 times more powerful]].
11
12	One episode, "Distribution," was meant to [[MilestoneCelebration commemorate the 500th episode of Transformers]]. However, it was aired as a special in Japan, non-canon to the actual plot.
13
14	Dreamwave Comics began publishing an adaptation as a direct sequel to their ''Armada'' comic, which like the ''Energon'' comic, was more or less a re-imagining of the series rather than a strict adaptation (for one thing's Unicron's ranks include four Transformers from ''Beast Wars'', which were never in the animated series). Unfortunately, Dreamwave's numerous legal issues, which eventually led to the company's own dissolution, stopped the comic from ever being completed.
15
16	Followed by ''Anime/TransformersCybertron''.
17	----
18	!!This show provides examples of:
19
20	* TwoDVisualsThreeDEffects: The robots are for the most part rendered in CGI, which is one of the series' common complaints due to how overly stiff and robotic ([[{{Irony}} ironically]]) they are compared to the 2D animation.
21	* AbortedArc: It makes perfect sense that Megatron would order Kicker's live capture upon finding out that he has the unique ability to detect Energon. Kicker avoids capture, and they never make another attempt at kidnapping him. This isn't an issue in the comic book adaptation, where the Decepticons make multiple attempts at grabbing him [[spoiler: and even succeed at more than one point.]]
22	* AintTooProudToBeg: Much like [[TheStarscream his original predecessor]], Six Shot frequently shifts between openly insulting and defying Galvatron, to snivelling desperately before him, usually when the latter decides to handle their desputes in a more physical manner. He attempts this again to save his hide during a failed coup -- it doesn't work.
23	* AnimationBump: '''''ANY''''' scene animated by Munetaka Abe, such as Inferno's torture in "Imprisoned Inferno", the Combiner Team combination sequences in "Distribution", and portions of the fight between Optimus and Galvatron in "Spark".
24	** A non-2D example is the episode "Farewell Inferno", which features several battles with a lot of better render then the usual for this series' CGI, with battles that look surprisingly good in CGI. In fact, for once, they managed at one point to give someone a cock-eyed look without needing to switch to traditional animation. [[note]]Unfortunately, one of the shots that follows up a bit later (Inferno's agony scream after receiving a energon star), ''is'' in 2D.[[/note]]
25	* ArcWords: Characters tend to justify their actions with "This is my destiny".
26	* AttackOfThe50FootWhatever: [[spoiler: Galvatron explodes to colossal size after raking in a second dose of Super Energon, then proceeds to suck it dry through an energy tether on his back like a straw, growing progressively bigger and bigger while ''yanking Cybertron out of orbit and dragging it with him.'']]
27	* ArtShift: Whenever there's a scene where CGI just won't cut it, they switch to normal cel art because it ''actually looked better than their CGI.''
28	* AsYouKnow: A common form of {{Padding}} is for characters to tell each other past events as if everyone hadn't been paying attention for the last 20 episodes.
29	* ATeamFiring: The limited CGI calls for this on frequent occasions. Granted [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy it's from the Decepticons side more often]] (was there ever a point Demolishor and Snowcat actually hit their target?).
30	%%* AxCrazy: Cyclonus and Shockblast
31	* BackFromTheDead: Optimus Prime and Megatron. Also [[spoiler: Demolishor, Starscream, Cyclonus, Inferno, Scorponok, Alpha Q's solar system, and Unicron]].
32	* BadBoss: Megatron often (though granted his crew prefer him over the odd times [[AxCrazy Shockblast]] was put in charge).
33	* BenevolentBoss: Optimus. Kicker often acted as a de facto sorts (or intended so at least).
34	* BlindIdiotTranslation: In ''spades''. The dub was just plain ''bad'', but notable technical issues include [[FillingTheSilence constant inserting of stock phrases and "Um?"s solely so there'd be noise where there was none previously]], characters having their names and lines switched up, and some episodes (seemingly picked at random) edited to remove any references to Primus. Emphasis on "some", others kept it in.
35	* BodyBackupDrive: After Demolisher is blown up, Megatron builds him a new body and sticks his spark into it, but not before reformatting it to remove Demolisher's pesky morality. Which leads to a ''[[TookALevelInDumbass very stupid]]'' reincarnation of the Decepticon, and one of many TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot complaints.
36	* ButtMonkey: Ironhide, klutzy rookie, frequently repremended by his peers and often subordinate to Kicker and thus the most constant victim to his nasty attitude ([[SelectiveEnforcement which is never reprimanded]] and treated as being ActuallyPrettyFunny by the others). Almost all of the Decepticon mooks act as this.
37	* CanonForeigner: For the Hasbro release toyline, a handful of new Autobots and Decepticons were included to boost their ranks. On the Decepticons' side, these included Sharkticon, a soldier [[HatedByAll no one wants to be around due to his rank degeneracy]]; Slugslinger, a ''Generation 1'' homage who is a crass AcePilot that's [[TheFriendNobodyLikes only slightly more tolerated]]; and Mirage, a SmallNameBigEgo separate from [[MidSeasonUpgrade what the show depicts him as]] and his emotionless, OmnicidalManiac clone Dreadwing. Over on the Autobots, there was Tow-Line, TheStrategist with the ability to Powerlink with his mobile platform; And Dinobots Grimlock and Swoop, who gain the ability to combine into Mega-Dinobot. The Snow Cat and Demolishor toys were also planned to be these as well, until the show used them as simple upgrades.
38	** A handful of PaletteSwap characters, most of them Autobot-alligned, were also originally released as separate entities in the Hasbro lineup. These included Roadblock[[labelnote:]]used for Inferno, originally intended as a homage to G1 Grapple, based on his bio[[/labelnote]], Offshoot[[labelnote:]]Recolor of Signal Lancer, written as his brother who favors making weapons over Energon structures[[/labelnote]], Landquake[[labelnote:]]used for Landmine, originally written as his {{Pacifist}} brother who only fights when he has to[[/labelnote]], Beachcomber[[labelnote:]]used for Cliffjumper, originally written as a homage to the ''G1'' character, [[PungeonMaster but with more puns]].[[/labelnote]], and Treadbolt[[labelnote:*]]a redeco and (later revealed) GenderFlip of ''Armada'' Scavenger[[/labelnote]].
39	%%* TheCaptain: Optimus
40	* CaptainObvious: Mostly it was due to an incomplete translation, though. Time would often be filled with Optimus saying to people who ''probably have some idea as to why they came to some dangerous place locked and loaded'', "Remember, our ''mission'' is to ''protect the planet/Energon/injured character.''" Also, the first third or so of the series consists of episodes in which bad guys will steal a cache of Energon that the good guys just discovered. ''Every single time,'' someone (maybe more than one someone) will say "They're ''after'' our ''Energon!''" Similarly, the bad guys would talk about their plan and say "We need more Energon!" as if they'd just come to the conclusion. In fact, ''all'' of the repetitive dialogue that plagues the series is delivered as if it's something that's just dawned on the person who has said it twice already.
41	* CharacterDevelopment: Carefully subverted. Should a character start to have it, they ''will'' be damaged and reformatted and do nothing but blandly follow orders for the rest of the series. [[spoiler: Starscream]] gets it worse. His ''whole arc'' is about remembering nothing of his former life since Alpha Q revived him in a new form. How is it resolved? After about five episodes he [[spoiler: tries to attack Megatron, gets mindwiped ''again,'' by Megatron this time, and... does nothing but blandly follow orders for the rest of the series]]. Humans can't be reformatted, so Kicker simply stops having a beef with Cybertronians by episode three-ish. Only Ironhide has his character arc seen through. That, by the way, is ''not'' down to the dub.
42	* ChuckCunninghamSyndrome: In the 10 [[InconsistentDub or 20]] years since ''Armada'', several characters don't seem to be around anymore, and will not return or be mentioned- Fred and Billy (traveling the world), Blurr, Sideswipe, Scavenger, Wheeljack, and the large force of Mini-Cons, the partner Mini-Cons, and the ones who form the 3 legendary weapons, the Star Saber (the ''Energon'' look-alikes forming the weaker Energon Saber are unrelated), Skyboom Shield and Requiem Blaster) prominent in the series are gone. Red Alert, however, will turn up again in Cybertron. Also notable: Crumplezone and Blackout, Cylconus and Demolishor's Mini-Con partners show up for a ''very'' brief moment in episode 4, then are never seen again. Later, the Street Team Mini-Cons, High Wire, Sureshock and Grindor, all but vanish from the story- they don't even have speaking roles or plot relevance!
43	** [[AllThereInTheManual In japanese continuity at least]], the Mini-cons moved away from Cybertron and Earth to form their own civilization.
44	* ClipShow: "Team Optimus Prime".
45	* CombiningMecha: The whole point, really.
46	** Parodied twice in a row during a filler episode. Once with both robots transforming into an upper half, and the second with transformers who can't even combine.
47	* ContinuityNod: Megatron's body, still entombed inside Unicron's, has his body design from ''Armada'', since all of the 'Bots and 'Cons now have new robot modes and transform into different vehicles due to them all being upgraded, Megatron is immediately upgraded once he is revived.
48	* ControlFreak: Kicker, oh so much. Repeatedly yells orders at his comrades and throws tantrums whenever his bellows are ignored or contradicted.
49	-->'''Kicker''': Don't argue with me!/This is MY planet, MY rules!/I don't care what you think!/DO IT!
50	* ConvergingStreamWeapon: Optimus Prime when combined with Wing Saber. "Meteor Attack Mode" consists of him firing a Chest Blaster at the same time as his normal beams, which absorbs them to create a massive stream of plasma.
51	* CrossingTheBurntBridge: Shockblast attempts to overthrow Megatron, who is quite amused when he later needs to be rescued from the Autobots. Six Shot also attempts to assassinate him later in the series, complete with a lengthy TheReasonYouSuckSpeech. It ends as expected for him.
52	* CurbstompBattle: Scorponok attempt to silence a reviving Megatron by stabbing his spark chamber with his own sword. Instead, Megatron comes alive just fine, with a new body, and proceeds to batter the living daylights out of Scorponok, tearing him apart so badly, he gets ''robotic swollen cheeks''.
53	* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Energon'' ends up much darker than ''Armada'' with Megatron's few noble traits gone and his cruelty amplified; the outright war that the Decepticons prosecute lead to much more onscreen death than in the rest of the ''Unicron Trilogy''. By series end, most of the Decepticon cast has been killed off.
54	* DepravedHomosexual: Mirage in the Japanese version, ''Superlink''. In ''Energon'' this is, somewhat obviously (though not completely), edited out.
55	** This may also be SingleTargetSexuality. Mirage isn't such a bad guy, he's just a huge Megatron fanboy with a crush.
56	* DiedInIgnorance: [[spoiler:Sixshot vows revenge on the murderer of his brother, Shockblast. Snowcat unwittingly claims the culprit was Optimus Prime (because [[NotMeThisTime "Who else?"]]) when in reality it was Megatron via Unicron's power after Shockblast [[TheStarscream pulled a failed coup]]. Sixshot allies with the Decepticons to get back at Optimus, though his fanatical zeal and the usual BadBoss tendencies of Megatron (now Galvatron) lead to the two clashing repeatedly anyway. Sixshot ultimately wounds and almost kills Galvatron to claim Optimus for himself, though Galvatron recovers superpowered, and kills Sixshot, who never figures out the truth.]]
57	* TheDogBitesBack: Six Shot. Granted he wasn't exactly loyal to begin with, but a good few beatings ensured he wanted Galvatron dead as much as he did Optimus.
58	* DolledUpInstallment: A bizarrely small-scale example: certain characters in the series were originally designed to be separate entities, but then got repurposed into upgraded versions of old characters, despite often looking nothing like the originals. Demolishor has been confirmed as one; he was originally supposed to be Long Haul. Snow Cat, Mirage, and Roadblock are also often speculated to be in this category, and Roadblock's toy bio even describes him as a separate character.
59	* DubInducedPlotHole: The dub was clearly rushed, with a lot of dialogue leaving out plot-relevant details that were present in the Japanese version.
60	** The dub ran into some confusion regarding Megatron's name; In Japan, he called himself Megatron throughout all of ''Armada'' (or rather, ''Micron Legend'') and was Galvatron in all of this series after he gained his new body, while the English dub for ''Armada'' had him call himself Megatron in most of the series until he gets a new color scheme and renames himself to Galvatron, which toy-wise was the same for this series. Either from being mandated by Hasbro to use the name for the latest toy or simply forgetting how the dub of the previous series handled things, the cast call the Deception leader prior to his resurrection Megatron despite his corpse still being in his Galvatron colors and him not having officially renamed himself again.
61	** In an early episode, Megatron complains about the fact several walls and parts of Unicron vanished because Alpha Quintesson is draining the energon and Scorponok is covering him by claiming Unicron needs to be fed energon on a regular basis, with the English version failing to explain why Unicron is regressing.
62	** Optimus defeats Megatron in one episode by pulling a gun from his chest he calls the Matrix Blaster. In the dub, he says it is Hot Shot's blaster, despite him never being seen using this weapon before, and asks why he's giving to him... despite the gun coming out of his chest rather than being handed to him by Hot Shot.
63	** One episode has the Decepticons stationed in a mobile base resembling Unicron, as it was spawned from him. The animation for said base was apparently unfinished, so the dub sticks a generic asteroid in its place. Despite this, Hot Shot still says that the asteroid resembles Unicron, and Prime mistakingly says it was a home to Unicron rather than spawned from him.
64	** The dub skipped over one episode for unknown reasons, so Megatron suddenly knows the artificial Energon Sun in Alpha Q's universe has Unicron's head inside, with absolutely no explanation whatsoever (because he discovered the fact in the original episode). The same episode had Alpha Q complete his goal of recreating his home planet, which doesn't happen in the dub.
65	** In the Japanese version of the "Distribution" special, Prowl and Downshift argue over which them is cooler as the dominant form of a Powerlinx, while in the dub, they instead argue over whether or not they could take on the Decepticons. The argument was supposed to set up the gag where they would end up Powerlinxing in their top halves, which was kept in the dub.
66	* DubNameChange: It's a lot, but here's the list from Japanese to English:
67	** Grand Convoy is (of course) Optimus Prime.
68	** Skyfire is Jetfire. In an ironic twist, his G1 counterpart started out as Skyfire.
69	** Roadbuster is Ironhide.[[note]]Ironhide was ironically Demolisher's Japanese name, before Demolisher himself was upgraded to Irontread.[[/note]]
70	** Hot Shot is still Hot Shot. In the Japanese dub, however, he started by the name ''Hot Rod'' in the series' predecessor before he became Hot Shot we know here.
71	** Inferno/Inferno V (upgraded form)[[note]]The '''V''' stands for Volt in his Japanese name.[[/note]] is Inferno/Roadblock (upgraded form).
72	** Rodimus Convoy is simply Rodimus.
73	** Landmine is still Landmine.
74	** Ariel is Arcee. Fitting that her appearance strongly resembles her G1 counterpart.[[note]]In the G1 series, Ariel was the former identity of Elita-1, the love interest of G1 Optimus Prime.[[/note]]
75	** Blastarm is Strongarm.
76	** Airglide is Skyblast.
77	** Signal Flare is still named as such.
78	** Sprung is Bulkhead.
79	** Wheeljack is Downshift. Unfortunately he and fellow Autobot Cliffjumper tend to switch with each other's names in the English dub.
80	** Overdrive is Cliffjumper. Unfortunately he and fellow Autobot Downshift tend to switch with each other's names in the English dub.
81	** Red Alert is Prowl.
82	** Omega Supreme keeps his name.
83	** Wing Dagger/Wing Saber (upgraded form) is as he is.
84	** MegaZarak is Scorponok. Interestingly, this even mirrors his G1 counterpart.
85	** Galvatron/Galvatron G is Megatron/Galvatron, because Megatron is a more recognizable name.
86	** Ironhide/Irontread (upgraded form) is Demolisher. He's still Demolisher in the English dub, in which both his memories and intelligence were highly degraded.
87	** Sandstorm/Snowstorm (upgraded form) is Cyclonus/Snow Cat (upgraded form).
88	** Shockwave/Shockfleet (upgraded form) is Tidal Wave/Mirage (upgraded form).
89	** Nightscream is Starscream.
90	** Laserwave is Shockblast. Naturally, Laserwave was the Japanese name for G1 Shockwave, whereas Shockwave is also the Japanese name for Tidal Wave.
91	** Six Shot retains the name.
92	** Buildron[[note]]Buildron was the Japanese name of the G1 Constructicons.[[/note]], Bruticus, and Superion are respectively Constructicon Maximus, Bruticus Maximus, and Superion Maximus.
93	* DumbMuscle: Tidal Wave.
94	* DullSurprise: The most common word for filling in the blanks where the dialogue doesn't fit the mouth-flaps is a lobotomized-sounding 'uuuuh?' Also, the poor CGI allows for few expressions beyond "mouth sorta open."
95	** ''Energon'', along with the Dreamwave comics coming out at the same time (Pat Lee's range is ''also'' limited to mouth open vs. mouth closed) were responsible for the "dull surprise" meme migrating to the Transformers franchise.
96	* EnemyMine: Megatron and Optimus Prime.
97	* EvenEvilHasStandards: Most of the Decepticons (particularly Tidal Wave) despise Shockblast due to his [[JerkAss arrogant]], and [[AxCrazy borderline psychotic attitude]] towards his comrades, and lack of respect towards their leader. His first mission ends disastrously after the others turn on him, enraged after he attacks Tidal Wave.
98	** Even more with Demolisher, who can't decide what's wrong or right. He, however, shows sympathy for the humans, as he protests, [[ItMakesSenseInContext that if Megatron rips out human hearts, they'll die]]. Megatron does not argue.
99	* EvilGloating: Megatron does this a lot. Granted he is also saved by it when [[spoiler:Six Shot attacks him in a coup, only to stall the final blow to mock him long enough for Scorponok to intervene]].
100	* EvilIsNotAToy: Megatron and Shockblast seek to control Unicron once he’s full awakened. [[spoiler:Shockblast gets more than he bargained for and almost becomes a mindless killing machine. Megatron is slowly dying from being hooked up to Unicron’s core and is losing himself to Unicron.]]
101	* ExactWords: After being repeatedly pointed out the penalties for making plans against Galvatron's orders (in both a verbal and physical manner) [[TheStarscream Six Shot]] decides to follow this through to a tee, refusing to supply any assistance whatsoever to the Decepticons unless a usually rather irate Galvatron gave him his approval. Taken to extremes in a heated dispute over setting the Energon towers to a dangerously high level. Eventually a frustrated Six Shot submits and deliberately lets them overload, almost destroying the planet.
102	--> '''Six Shot:''' [[SarcasmMode Why I'm only following your orders sir. I'm only trying to please you, Oh Mighty Commander!]]
103	* FaceHeelTurn: Tidal Wave ditches the Autobots at the first news Megatron survived, Cyclonus leaves when he spies Megatron's sword being wielded by Scorponok, and Demolishor betrays the Autobots when he sees Megatron alive and well, but cautiously. After his brush with death and subsequent rebirth, Megatron wipes out the morality in Demolishor, and this reduces him to a gibbering moron blindly following Megatron. Starscream becomes Megatron's right hand after being hit with a dose of MindRape to break Alpha Q's control over him, but Megatron has ulterior knowledge not to restore Starscream's memory or risk another HeelFaceTurn and an insubordinate soldier.
104	%%* AFatherToHisMen: Optimus.
105	* FlatCharacter: ''A lot'' of Autobots are introduced in the series, and only so many get actual individual spotlight. Some of the complex characters get reformatted into flat characters as well.
106	* GreekChorus: Alpha Q, after [[spoiler: he dies. Possibly he's watching the show from Quintesson heaven... or hell]].
107	* HateSink: Though the Cons are brutal, it's pretty clear that Shockblast isn't meant to be liked in the slightest. His brutality towards both enemy and ally, to the point that Megatron of all people has to tell him to cut it out, and sadist tendencies, make it quite satisfying when he's finally [[spoiler:crushed by Unicron]].
108	%%* HeelFaceRevolvingDoor: Rodimus's team and Scorponok.
109	* HeelFaceTurn: Alpha Q and Rodimus's team (though neither were truly evil, and the latter were more standoffish.)
110	* HorsemenOfTheApocalypse: In the Dreamwave continuity, Rhinox, Airazor, Cheetor and Terrorsaur.
111	* HulkSpeak: Tidal Wave! His upgraded form Mirage too, albeit less consistently.
112	* HurlItIntoTheSun: Inferno does this to himself to end his Decepticon impulses. His Spark remained intact, so he got better. [[spoiler:The story ends with Galvatron also doing it to himself to put Unicron inside him to rest for good, with Starscream and Mirage following him out of loyalty.]]
113	* InconsistentDub: Is it Shockwave or Tidal Wave? Mika or Misha? And just who is Cliffjumper? Also, ''Armada'''s habit of occasionally referring to people or things by their Japanese names (which have not been used in the show previously) continues. Basically, the dub is bad.
114	* InherentlyFunnyWords: ''Alpha Q''. ''Think'' about '''[[PrecisionFStrike it]]''', hero.
115	* InvincibleHero: To an extent, there are usually over a dozen Autobots consistantly throughout the show's run compared to what is usually less than half that amount of Decepticons. The Decepticons cannot use Powerlink, the main premise of the show (despite being able to in ''Armada'') and the large majority [[ImperialStormtrooperMarksmanshipAcademy can't even aim straight]]. By the finale, only two Decepticons are suggested to have survived, while every single Autobot that was previously killed [[DisneyDeath is revived]]. Oh, and of course the Autobots have Kicker.
116	* IOweYouMyLife: Revealed to be the reason [[spoiler: Scorponok]] serves [[spoiler: Megatron]].
117	* IWantThemAlive: In the episode "Kicker Beware" Megatron notices that Kicker has the power to sense energon, and thinks that this might be of use to him. He sends his Dcepticons to go kidnap him.
118	* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: Kicker, albeit with a lot more heavy enthasis on the [[JerkAss jerk]] part than the usual Transformers protagonist.
119	%%* KickThemWhileTheyAreDown: [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Obviously]], Kicker.
120	%%* KidAppealCharacter: Ironhide
121	* KilledOffForReal: [[spoiler: The real Scorponok, Alpha Quintesson, Shockblast, Team Ironhide, Six Shot, Construction Maximus, Bruticus Maximus, the imitation Scorponok, Unicron, Galvatron, and presumably, Starscream and Mirage.]]
122	* MidSeasonUpgrade: ''Tons.'' Here's the whole list:
123	** ''Any'' time a Transformer gets a combination spark or learns to Powerlink. Some are unique.
124	** [[spoiler: Episode 13: Cyclonus begs Megatron for repairs after a battle when he really doesn't need them. To shut him up, Megatron hooks Cyclonus up to Energon cables and they reconstruct him into Snowcat. Though this might be considered a ''downgrade'', because though he gets a rarely-utilized freeze ray, he loses his aerial capabilities and arguably TookALevelInDumbass, no longer a cackling loon, but a ''yodeling'' one.]]
125	** [[spoiler: Demolishor is destroyed in Episode 15, then promptly brought back in a seemingly tougher body. In reality, he looks ''less'' threatening. He's not a badass battle tank anymore- he's a blasted dump truck who hoots like an ape and pounds his chest, because Megatron stripped his sense of right and wrong away, reducing him to a simpleton.]]
126	** [[spoiler: Wing Dagger and Tidal Wave are crushed under an Energon Tower. Tidal Wave is crippled, but Wing Dagger is dead. In episode 24, Tidal Wave returns as the smaller and "smarter" Mirage. Oh, and he no longer combines with Megatron, but ''lusts'' for him. Next episode, Rad finishes rebuilding Wing Dagger and Primus revives him as Wing Saber. Wing Saber becomes Optimus Prime's new combining battle armor with two modes.]]
127	** Constant Energon supply to Unicron finally restores his body and gives him a brand new armor color scheme. Then he gets the outer layer of his armored exterior shredded off by an energon implosion and spends ten ''more'' episodes resurrecting back to par. His head, however, takes a while longer to revive- Alpha Q keeps it in his possession until [[spoiler: Megatron takes it by force and kills him]].
128	** [[spoiler: Megatron's repeated brainwashing leads to Inferno's death, but his spark is rescued, and he's rebuilt and modified into Roadblock- not much different than before.]]
129	** Optimus Prime and Omega Supreme learn their combination sparks are compatible and combine into Optimus Supreme.
130	** [[spoiler: Shockblast absorbs Unicron's power and doubles in size, but turns into an OmnicidalManiac. It doesn't end well...]]
131	** [[spoiler: Landmine, Cliffjumper, Hot Shot, Ironhide, and Jetfire are given new armor by Primus (really recolors) and Optimus Supreme grows to Unicron's size. He then kills Unicron and the super-sizing power crops up every now and then. Unicron survives as just a spark.]]
132	** Megatron discovers the [[spoiler:Super Energon]] and uses it to first become Galvatron, then [[spoiler: an ever-growing giant, then planetary size, eventually on par with Unicron's might.]] Starscream also gets an upgrade- though Galvatron forces him to enter the Super Energon as a test of loyalty.
133	** [[spoiler: Galvatron and Optimus Prime DeusExMachina the crap out of their power. But it turns out all Transformers have the primal nature of Unicron inside them, and it takes over. Both bots try to overcome this madness, where they keep one-upping each other in size, and the most egregious example? Prime somehow manifests the equivalent of Omega Supreme's armor, and his little Prime Force drones are equipped just for added good measure, ''without combining with Omega Supreme''.]]
134	** [[spoiler: Galvatron accidentally lets the disembodied spark of Unicron steal his body and reaches his ultimate size. Unicron takes over and plans his rampage anew. Primus's spark itself decides to absorb the Super Energon and become a massive star, which fully ignites into a new sun for Alpha Q's planets after Galvatron regains control and plows into it to destroy Unicron. [[Anime/TransformersCybertron The living sun ploy doesn't end well]]- one series later, it collapses into a black hole and Galvatron and Starscream come back to life even stronger, further bonded to Unicron's powers.]]
135	** The [[spoiler: Ultimate Powerlink formed by the Autobots uniting sparks with Optimus Prime]] in the GrandFinale.
136	* MerchandiseDriven: Well, it is ''Franchise/{{Transformers}}.'' With energon weaponry, Brute Modes, combination, and a few lingering Mini-cons, we may have a record for most toy gimmicks in one series.
137	* MindRape: Megatron uses this to brainwash Starscream and Scorponok into being loyal to him, and attempts to do it to Inferno.
138	* MisappliedPhlebotinum: The series has a metric buttload of powerups, but they were almost never used in a way that would give the user an advantage. ''Even transformation itself,'' with characters who turn into cars ''running on foot'' in the majority of OutrunTheFireball type situations. Also, combining usually served only to halve the number of troops in a straight firefight. Optimus' SuperMode tended to be activated and then not used, as he continued firing with the same gun he has in his normal mode. ''Also'' also, energon weapons tended to run out of power after being fired two or three times.
139	%%* MsFanservice: TAKE A WILD GUESS!
140	* MythologyGag: Megatron's new body is patterned after G1 Galvatron with a blue and white deco. When he takes a dunk in Super Energon mid-season, his colors change to the classic purple and he once again takes the name Galvatron.
141	* NeverSayDie: Transformers has long preferred "offline" or "slagged" to "dead" when it actually happens (or could happen) to someone, but only Energon tries to pretend that dead characters are actually still alive - making you wonder where the hell any given character whose death was smoothed over is if we didn't see it directly. [[spoiler: Ironhide's fanboy trio]] are "down..." and Ironhide ''leaves them behind?'' This is not the only such example.
142	** Additionally, when Demolishor dies, what was a TearJerker in the Japanese version becomes... Ironhide screaming at everyone to "GET IN THE SHIP!" And he isn't even fazed when Demolishor ''forces him aside'' to rescue Megatron. He just.. keeps spouting stock phrase lines from a rotten apple dub!
143	* NinjaPirateZombieRobot The Nekomimis are robot catgirl maids.
144	* NoHoldsBarredBeatdown: The first thing Megatron does when he revives is dish one of these out to Scorponok for trying to kill him.
145	* NotSoHarmlessVillain: [[TheStarscream Six Shot]] spends the majority of his appearance getting smashed against his own control panel by [[BadBoss Galvatron]]. When he finally plots a coup, he nearly dissassembles his master with his laser blast (keeping in mind the legendary Decepticons could not even dent his armor at full power). Of course, then [[AttackOfThe50FootWhatever Galvatron upgrades a second time...]] and [[DroppedABridgeOnHim Six Shot]] gets the boot. A big, BIG boot.
146	* NoSympathy: The team tend to find [[ButtMonkey Ironhide's]] treatment from Kicker to be rather funny.
147	%%* OlderAndWiser: Hot Shot, Rad, Alexis, and Carlos.
148	* OutOfFocus: Surprisingly, Alexis and Carlos fade away into the background and eventually disappear from the storyline until the final episode of the US dub of ''Cybertron.'' Also- '''''ALL''''' Mini-Cons except the ones who create the Energon Saber- and even ''they'' rarely show up outside weapon form. That includes the, Street Action Team, High Wire, Sureshock and Grindor, who form Perceptor- they become mindless transport for Kicker- not participating in combat whatsoever. Heck, Perceptor now ''[[RetiredBadass washes cars.]]''
149	* OverzealousUnderling: Six Shot is portrayed as such: due to his own vendetta against Optimus Prime, he frequently goes against Galvatron's orders to target the Autobots. Repeated disobeying of orders, almost killing his own side in the process or just butting into Galvatron's [[TheOnlyOneAllowedToDefeatYou own obsessive rivalry with Prime]] made him the constant target of violent lambastings and tantrums from his ControlFreak BadBoss. Sure enough, this pattern slowly embittered Six Shot into TheStarscream, sabotaging and blackmailing Galvatron with Cybertron's artillery to ''force'' him to deal with things his way, and eventually attacking and almost killing him, deeming the commander an interference to his own troops. Galvatron escaped and underwent an EmergencyTransformation, making sure to crush Six Shot first thing before dealing with the Autobots.
150	* PaletteSwap: Six Shot, of his older brother Shockblast. Also, the trio of Ironhide fanboys, of each other. Also, Cyclonus is sporting a new black color scheme, while Demolishor has borrowed [[Anime/TransformersArmada Scavenger's]], apparently, becoming green and purple. Tidal Wave gets a new paintjob when he's ''fried by touching raw energon.'' Ow. Obviously, this is [[MerchandiseDriven to sell toys]].
151	* ParentService: Kicker and Misha usually wear skin-tight spacesuits. No, the fact that they're teenagers does not count.
152	%%* PlanetEater: Unicron.
153	* PowerCrystal: A few Cybertronians have them.
154	* QuirkyMinibossSquad: Snowcat (formerly Cyclonus), Mirage (formerly Tidal Wave), and Demolishor (who doesn't get a new name. Tough luck, pal.)
155	* RedshirtArmy: As in ''Armada'', generic, unnamed Autobots in the larger battles tend to get blown to shreds like they're made of Kleenex. Nobody seems to care. On the other side, Terrocons are nothing but cannon fodder, barely getting even speaking lines. By the end of the series [[spoiler: ''[[TotalPartyKill ALL of them are dead]]'']].
156	** The Decepticons aren't much better.
157	* RougeAnglesOfSatin: In the '''episode titles'''. Seriously. "Scorpinok"? "Improsoned Inferno"? Jesus Christ.
158	** And those are the two that weren't corrected for the DVD release. "A Tale of Two Heroes" and "Decepticon Army" originally aired as "A Tale Of Two Heros" and "Deception Army." Also, while spelled right, "Ironhide Team" is about Team Ironhide.
159	* RunningGagged: Kicker's buck kicking of Ironhide earns him a DeathGlare from his new team of fanboys. [[OhCrap He is wise not to do it again]], even after they meet their demise.
160	* SciFiWritersHaveNoSenseOfScale: "Solar system," "Galaxy," and "Universe" are used in ways that make you wonder if the dubbers knew what ''any'' of those words mean. Rushed translation explains lines not matching ''Superlink,'' but it ''doesn't'' explain "We warped into another galaxy on the outer reaches of the solar system!" or "I could annihilate the Decepticons by deploying the energon grid. But then I run the risk of destroying the entire universe, because it's loaded with raw energon!" (Uh... no, that could never happen. At all.)
161	* ScarsAreForever: In the third episode, Tidal Wave's foolish mistake to touch a raw Energon star laying on a battlefield etches lightning-shaped scars onto his body. However, this is only shown in the Japanese version- the rushed American doody dub and its incomplete craptacular CGI doesn't actually ''show'' this happening- it just fills in the unfinished patch with stock footage and the scars are demoted to a NoodleIncident.
162	* SoundtrackDissonance: Some music is present in inappropriate moments in both the Japanese version and especially the Englush dub.
163	* TheStarscream: [[spoiler: Shockblast and later Six Shot]]. In the ultimate form of irony, ''Starscream'' turns [[spoiler: undyingly loyal to Megatron.]]
164	* StockFootage: Compared to most other instances of this trope, these ones are horrible animation-wise (See Conspicuous CG above).
165	* TerribleTrio: Cyclonus (later Snowcat), Demolishor (later [[DepartmentOfRedundancyDepartment Demolishor]]), and Tidal Wave (later Mirage).
166	* ThereAreNoTherapists: When he was a child, [[JerkWithAHeartOfGold Kicker]] once found himself adrift in space without any support, only to land on a dark, isolated asteroid, where his father radioed him and told him to search it for energon by himself while the Autobots were looking for him. This apparently wasn't anything new. His father never got him any help for this, and it ''really'' shows.
167	* TookALevelInKindness: Though it's rather late in, Kicker's treatment of Ironhide is a lot softer in the final arc.
168	* TyopOnTheCover: Four episodes had misspelled titles in the dub - "[[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Scorpinok Scorpinok]]" (which should be "Scorponok"), "[[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/A_Tale_of_Two_Heros A Tale of Two Heros]]", "[[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Imprisoned_Inferno Improsoned Inferno]]", and "[[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Deception_Army Deception Army]]" (the latter two were corrected on the DVD release). In fact, the third one of these provides the trope image.
169	* UnknownRival: Six Shot makes a personal vendetta against Optimus Prime for [[spoiler: supposedly killing Shockblast]]. However, since he stays at his control booth to monitor missions [[spoiler: leaving only once to attack fellow Decepticons Galvatron and Scorponok]], Prime seemingly has no idea of Six Shot's revenge or even his existence whatsoever. It's a side effect from being Galvatron's chew toy whenever he disobeys him.
170	* YouKilledMyFather: Six Shot allies with Megatron to get revenge on Optimus Prime for killing [[spoiler: his brother Shockblast]]. In reality, [[spoiler: he was killed by Megatron himself]]. Poetically, [[spoiler: so is he]].
171
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Context Anime / TransformersEnergon