#Sparkplug Witwicky

[transformrobots]

comic 7 - bird window

04-04-2025

[minniethemoocherda]

THE PARALLELS ARE KILLING ME!! 😭

[shnowyfox]

Happy Father's day! Here's some dads I drew today!

Pride month Father's day means I get to show off my ultimate dad pairing optimus/Sparkplug. It's always in June I'm pretty sure but sh

Additionally. This is old but I'm unsure if I ever posted this picture of star Saber reduced to his brain of courage form so he's small enough to hug his son properly :]

Bonus content: list all the father figures I plan on including in sigma as of present! (That I can recall)

Sparkplug Witwicky, Spike Witwicky, Haruma Gō, Metalhawk, Soundwave, Shockwave, Ratchet, Wheeljack, Star Saber, and Tarantulas

Honorable mentions go to Grimlock who created the technobots, Rattrap and Rhinox, Roller, Megatron, Optimus Primal not outright but cheetor is his son cmon guys, ratbat, Rubbish, Blurr, Giga, leo convoy, bw2 Skywarp and samton the step dads that stepped up, and Optimus Prime

Also ig Vector Sigma, Devil-Z, and Primacron

[spacemothsota]

Cyberform AU - Part 3

Commune "Diego Garcia" (Autobot base for Cyberformed allies).

Warning: Attention: in this AU, all human allies of the Autobots are in the same universe (reality), for the sake of their psychological well-being.

The human government is not particularly happy about the fact that Cybertronians can change humans. It is quite logical that this scares them, fortunately the Autobots and Decepticons are not very inclined to cyberform just anyone.

In fact, the government was largely unaware of this until 1984 (or later) when Sparkplug and Spike were reported "disappearing" (that's right, they were the first). Also, the Autobots became more protective and closed during the disappearance period, not allowing human agents into part of the ARC. This behavior and unwanted questions created a couple of unpleasant incidents (Optimus was not very happy, he had to regulate the resulting friction and calm everyone down, although he knew what was going on). Later, when the "new bots" appeared for special agents and later the government, the puzzle came together. It was not difficult, since the former humans were still less accustomed to the new realities of their lives, they willingly used human terms, concepts and names. In addition, the Autobots began to request human items, such as pillows and blankets, the size of a Cybertronian. (All in the name of adaptation, so that it would be easier for a person to gradually get used to the new, plus old familiar things were gradually replaced with Cybertronian ones, a slow transition did not allow the former people to get nervous once again).

This was shocking, but it was decided to hide this information, firstly, not to cause panic among the public, and secondly, there were few cyberformed humans, it was easier to turn a blind eye to the disappearance of a couple of people than to question a politically (and not only) advantageous alliance. In addition, the government believed that it could use former people against the Autobots themselves in case of danger (later this resulted in an extremely unpleasant situation for the cyberformed, due to which they quickly left Earth and moved to Cybertron).

It was decided to give the Autobots another place for this process, so as not to disturb the agents and not to cause unnecessary conflicts (the protective nature of the Cybertronians at some stages was quite unpleasant for the joint work of people and bots).

Diego Garcia Island: It is a former military base, but it was completely given to the Autobots to develop it and keep the cyberformed away from the public eye until they are ready to keep their secret. And so that the cyberforming process does not traumatize other people who are not so close to the Cybertronians ("What is not there, does not exist / there are no witnesses, no victims" - said the human government and pointed towards the island).

If a human ally gets to the island, then a special department cleans up all paper or other sources about this person, erasing them from the system as if such a person never existed, since he will not return to the world of people. Sometimes you have to bribe people, but usually threats and money are enough to make them keep quiet. The old data that is not deleted is sent to the island for the cyberformed themselves.

On Diego Garcia, the Cyberform Commune was created, they have their own leader, a management system, they also work to preserve important cultural parts of their lives. In the commune, former humans undergo final processes and treatment (they receive support from those who have already gone through this). They receive an education from the Autobots and a profession if possible (if their human profession has a Cybertronian equivalent). The commune is mostly subordinate to Optimus and other high-ranking Autobots (they mostly do not participate in combat missions, the Autobots collectively decided that their comrades are not yet mentally ready for such things, although some enthusiasts show a desire to fight side by side. However, there are exceptions). Diego Garcia, in a way, serves as a support function for the Autobots, there is also a large laboratory with a medical bay.

In a way, Diego Garcia is practically a Cybertronian city, a small settlement by human standards. Access there is mainly through the air, a ship or a space bridge.

Prev | Next

To understand what Cyberform AU is: Q&A1 Character List

[transformers-nerd-13]

Hi everyone! This is my analysis of Fire in the Sky. Sorry this took so long; my life has been kind of hectic for the last few days, but I finally found the time to sit down and analyze this episode, so without further ado, let's get into it!

We open on a shot of the Ark and the surrounding desert covered in snow--like, a LOT of snow. And pine trees. Aren't they in a desert--where did the pine trees come from?? Also why is the snow going up??

The snow gets fixed in the next shot where Spike—who has winter clothes for some reason—finds a giant snowman and comments that it's the biggest snowman he's ever seen. The snowman is actually just Jazz covered in snow. (How long was he standing out there??)

There are snow many (couldn't resist) snow puns in the first few minutes of this episode and I love it so much.

The bots have a snowball fight and Spike warns Ratchet about Bee, who's about to throw a snowball at the medic, but instead throws the snowball at Spike for ratting on him. Spike falls and tumbles down a hill (where did that hill come from--) and the snow builds up around him as he rolls down making him a giant snowball--big enough to somehow swallow Ratchet, Hound, and Cliffjumper and take them with him (how did that much snow build up around him in 2 seconds--) but the snowball falls apart soon after. Spike laughs and says he can't believe he's in a snowball fight in July in the middle of the desert.

Optimus (who's inside the Ark) is worried about this snow and asks Teletraan for a worldwide weather report. Teletraan reports that the temperatures worldwide are 40 degrees below normal and dropping rapidly; the planet is freezing. I'm not sure if that's how that works Teletraan but, okay. For the sake of this episode working I will suspend my disbelief.

Optimus says that the heat energy from Earth's core is somehow being drained away, and Gears says that it must be the cons. 

Cut to what is presumably the arctic where we see an explosion followed by a green crystal pushing its way out of the ground. Pan over to Skywarp who tells someone to add a new part to...something.

Reflector puts this...thing (I genuinely have no idea what this is; I'm gonna chalk it up to Cybertronian tech) into the side of the green crystal, which they're apparently using to siphon energy from the earth’s core to make energon cubes. Starscream tells Megatron that all is proceeding on schedule; locating the crystal shaft that led to the earth's core was the hard part, but pumping the heat energy out is simplicity itself.

It is getting harder to suspend my disbelief here.

Megatron says that soon Earth will freeze and the Decepticons will return to Cybertron with enough energon to conquer the universe.

Cut to Rumble who is currently using his pile drivers on a wall of ice (for some reason; legitimately no idea why he's doing this) but the ice isn't breaking. Skywarp (who's appeared from the void) shows up and mocks Rumble for not being able to break the ice. Rumble hits the ice wall again and this time it breaks, but it causes a small avalanche that sends Rumble running (an extremely goofy run I must add) and lands Skywarp flat on his aft. Rumble spots something in the newly uncovered ice. Starscream shows up and asks them why they're just sitting around, and Skywarp tells him they found something in the ice. Megatron (appearing from the void) says he wants a clearer look of what's in the ice, and Starscream promises him that he'll have it. After some more digging, they discover that it's a "Robot of unknown classification" (the word Cybertronian didn't exist yet) and that with his size and probable strength, he'd make an excellent Decepticon. 

Cut to the Ark where Teletraan reports of an abnormally large energy expenditure in the arctic circle. On the video feed provided by the sky spy, Spike notices the green crystal sticking up out of the ground. Jazz suggests that maybe it's some kind of natural phenomenon, but Teletraan tells them that Decepticon activity has been sighted. Optimus says "If we don't stop Megatron and his bunch, earth is doomed. Autobots, transform and roll out!" I'm sorry, Megatron and his bunch??? What is that phrasing lol?? Also, how are y'all gonna drive to the arctic???

Cut to the cons who've gotten the unknown bot out of the ice and are currently trying to fix it. Thundercracker comments that "Whatever it is, being on ice kept it fresh." Sir. This is a Cybertronian?? And y'all were dead for 4 million years just sitting in a ship and I don't see you decaying.

Soundwave (who's also there) hits the bot with 50,000 volts to try to reactivate his impulse center and memory monitor (whatever those are) but it doesn't work. Megatron asks Starscream "Why are you so concerned about this creature?"

I've said it before but I'll say it again, this is a Cybertronian!! Why are they talking like they've discovered a woolly mammoth or a mermaid or something?? Like Thundercracker could've said "Whoever this is, being on ice kept them fresh." It still wouldn't have made sense but it'd be more polite at least. And I understand that the word Cybertronian didn’t exist yet but Megatron could've asked Starscream "Why are you so concerned for this bot?" It would've made more sense.

Starscream says he's concerned because he knew this bot once a long time ago, back on Cybertron. Soundwave gives Skyfire one million volts to reactivate his impulse center and memory monitor and it works. Megatron seems surprised that Starscream had friends before the war--or just friends, period.

Starscream explains that the bot's name is Skyfire. He and Skyfire were both explorers, and they left Cybertron together just before the con's final falling out with the Autobots (whatever that means) and went to explore what was an uncharted planet at the time; Earth. Despite the fact that they detected no intelligent life on the planet, Skyfire insisted that they look closer. A polar windstorm kicked up and the two were separated. "I circled half the globe looking for him, but he was gone." Starscream says.

For everyone who's confused about why a good amount of people in the fandom ship these two, this is why. But I do have to question a few things here; just half the globe? Also how did you know what a polar windstorm was; you don't have snow or polar winds on Cybertron?? And you two flew to earth in your alt modes; earth CAN'T be that far from Cybetron; why don't the cons just use their built-in flight capabilities to go back to Cybertron??

Skyfire wakes up and asks what happened. He sees Starscream and figures that Starscream must've rescued him and he asks where they are. Starscream explains that they're on Earth, the planet where Skyfire crashed. Megatron introduces himself and tells Skyfire that they're on this planet to collect the energy needed to revive Cybertron and conquer the universe, and the Autobots are their enemies.

Cut to the bots who have somehow driven to the arctic circle (my ability to suspend my disbelief is seriously dwindling) where Spike points out the Aurora Borealis to Optimus who says that it's very pleasing to his optic sensors (sir you're a truck how can you see anything right now; or are you just pretending you can see this—). 

Cut to the cons where Skyfire has been given a Decepticon insignia. This is also the one time we see the Decepticons have a salute (seen above). Megatron instructs Starscream to put Skyfire on guard patrol and leaves. Skyfire asks Starscream if he's happier being a warrior than a scientist, and Starscream tells him yes, he does; it's much more exciting. He tells him that one day he'll be the leader of the Decepticons, and when that day comes, Skyfire will be his second in command. Skyfire tells him that he's grateful to him for freeing him, so he'll try to bring him credit.

Not going to lie, this scene kind of breaks my heart. Skyfire’s just woken up after who knows how many millions of years on a world that isn't his own, and the one shred of familiarity he has is Starscream, who's no longer the same bot he once knew in the slightest, but despite that, Skyfire still wants to hang on to the one piece of his old life that he has left and is willing to go pretty far to hang onto it. 

Cut to a little later with Skyfire on guard duty. He sees the Autobots in their alt modes approaching, and says "It seems the time has come for me to make the change from science to war." This line hit me so much harder than I expected it to. Skyfire is changing everything about himself for the sake of staying close to Starscream. Don't mind me I'm just gonna go scream into a pillow for a sec.

The bots near Skyfire and Spike says "Prime, what is that?" as he sees the giant bot.

Again. Cybertronian.

The bots transform and Skyfire (having heard Optimus call the bots Autobots) declares that they must be destroyed. Skyfire fires at the bots a couple of times and misses, but it's enough to send Ironhide face-planting into the snow.

Spike and Sparkplug (who's also here) try to run but trip on...something (snow I guess) and Spike ends up slipping into a patch of ocean that's there for some reason and calls to his dad for help (he's completely fine five seconds later so we won't talk about it). Sparkplug pulls Spike back up onto the ice as Skyfire fires again, this time separating the humans from land. Spike yells to the bots for help to get back to land. Skyfire hears them and goes to investigate and try to communicate with them (showing he's still a scientist at heart, er, spark) despite the fact that the other Autobots are still shooting at him but since they have the aim of Stormtroopers, he'll be fine.

Skyfire picks up the two humans who struggle in his grasp and call for help. He asks them why they're so frightened; he won't harm them. Spike asks why he's wearing the Decepticon logo (to be with Starscream) and Skyfire answers that only the evil Autobots need fear him, which isn't really an answer. It just sounds like the continuation of his previous line that was spaced out weird. Spike tells him that the Autobots are good; that they're fighting to protect earth and all the humans on it; that the Decepticons are the real monsters. Skyfire says that that can't be right, and he'll prove they're not evil; he'll take them to Megatron.

Yeah there's no way that could go wrong.

The autobots just kinda watch Skyfire walk away since they can't fire on him because they might hit the humans. 

Cut to a little later with the cons with Skyfire peering into the ice cave looking very polite as Megatron commends him for a job well done and says that the two Autobot sympathizers may prove useful. He tells Starscream (who's holding the humans now) to deal with the two. Starscream sort of tosses Spike and Sparkplug and the two tumble a few times before hitting the wall. Starscream uses his blaster to melt the ice above the humans to make a sort of makeshift cage that the two could easily get out of if they wanted but nope. Skyfire says that he promised the humans that no harm would come to them; that this is wrong; Megatron tells him he overstepped his authority. Starscream asks Skyfire who he is to promise safety to their enemies. Skyfire says that they're not his enemies; they're his friends. He tries to reach into the ice cave to grab them, but Starscream tells him not to interfere as he shoots Skyfire's hand. He tells Skyfire that the humans are insignificant, and that once they cease to be useful, they'll be terminated. 

Cut over to the bots who've found the con's ice cave. They drive into the cave in their alt modes, but Gears stops just before entering, causing Hound, Ratchet and Ironhide to have to stop behind him. Hound tells Gears to move it, but Gears tells him he's got a feeling they're about to fall right into a trap. Right after he says that, the ice breaks below them and they fall into the caves below. Hound leads the way to find Spike and Sparkplug.

There is no trap by the way so I guess your sensors are off Gears.

Meanwhile, Bee tells Optimus that there's no sign of the four who fell through the ice and suggests that they could be lost. CliffJumper hears Spike calling for help (he seems to do that a lot) and goes to find him.

He finds the humans remarkably quickly and uses the defrost cycle on his blaster (apparently it has that) to free them from their icy prison cell. Jazz, Bee, and Optimus show up and now all they have to do is find the other four.

Cut to said other four finding Reflector who's still got that thing plugged into the crystal (has he just been standing here the whole time??) and figure out what the con's plan was. Gears says that they should get out of there and find Optimus before the cons find them. Megatron and Starscream appear from the void to restate their plan of getting energon, leaving the dead world of earth behind them, yada yada yada, and Megatron spots the four Autobots and gives the order to seize them. Skywarp and Thundercracker trap (sort of--they could easily get out of this) the bots and Megatron tells them to dispose of them immediately, which Starscream eagerly says he'll do with pleasure. Megatron tells Soundwave (who's also there) to check the tunnels for any other autobots, but Soundwave sends Ravage to go check the tunnels instead. 

Cut to the humans, Optimus, Bee, Cliff and Jazz walking through the tunnels. "We've been searching these tunnels for astro-minutes, and still no Ironhide! Maybe we oughta split up." Jazz says. How long is an astro-minute?? And it's not just Ironhide missing dude, Ratchet, Hound and Gears are too. It would've been better if he'd said "...and still no sign of the others!..." instead.

Bee suggests that they double back but Optimus tells them to stick to the pre-arranged search pattern. Cliffjumper tells Optimus that that'll take too long and runs ahead a few feet, only to be tackled by Ravage. Optimus shoots Ravage and they all transform and roll out with Ravage tailing them. When the bots get some distance between them and Ravage, Bee stops and transforms, shooting at the roof of the cave, causing a blockade of ice to come down in front of Ravage and block his path. 

Cut to Ratchet, Hound, Gears and Ironhide aboveground near the green crystal with Skyfire and Starscream standing in front of them. Starscream comments that Skyfire's years in the ice diminished his loyalty, but because of their old friendship, he would give Skyfire the pleasure of melting down these Autobots. "But I'm a scientist--not an executioner!" Skyfire protests. "I am your superior! I order you to terminate them!" Starscream shouts at him. "No. I will not. They have done no wrong." Skyfire says firmly. "But you have! Traitor!" Starscream screeches before he shoots Skyfire.

...I have never wanted to kick Starscream's aft more. I cannot properly express how much I would like to hit him with a chair. This moment right here is where Skyfire realizes that the Starscream he knew is gone, and he's never coming back. Starscream is going too far and Skyfire is finally drawing the line because he isn't going to sacrifice his morals for the monster his friend has become, when this monster has sacrificed nothing for him. Even the Autobots are in shock when Starscream shoots Skyfire. ...I'm gonna go scream into a pillow again real quick. 

Starscream shoots the green crystal behind the autobots that causes an explosion that breaks the bots into a million pieces and somehow doesn't affect the crystal even a little bit. Starscream laughs victoriously before he turns his attention to Skyfire. "As for you Skyfire, consider yourself fortunate that you did not end up like your friends." Starscream sneers before he steps Skyfire in the most awkward fashion I have ever witnessed.

Also the Autobots are completely fine; them being broken into a million pieces was one of Hound's holograms. Skyfire asks how they're okay, and Ratchet explains it to him. Skyfire is relieved that they're okay, but Hound is a bit worried about Skyfire. They get Skyfire behind some cover (aka a giant snow drift) and Ratchet begins patching him up.

Optimus and that group of bots/humans have appeared from the void and Optimus asks how Skyfire is. Ratchet reports that Skyfire was badly damaged and isn't looking too good. Cliffjumper doesn't understand why they're fixing a Decepticon; Hound tells him that Skyfire tried to save them; "And Starscream blasted him for it!" Ratchet adds, sounding furious.

The fact that the Autobots, who have no backstory on Starscream and Skyfire, are angry with Starscream for shooting someone they perceived to be a friend of his speaks volumes to me. Maybe the Autobots have been betrayed like that, and know how it feels to be in Skyfire's position. 

Ratchet announces that he's done all that he can for Skyfire, and that now it was a matter of time and luck.

Cut to Laserbeak who's apparently been watching all this go down and sends a message to Megatron in what I can only assume to be Cybertronian morse code. Cut to Megatron who's admiring an energon cube when he gets Laserbeak's message. He gets angry and throws the cube at Starscream, the cube hitting Starscream in the head. He tells Starscream that he failed to get rid of the autobots, and Starscream realizes that Hound's holograms tricked him. Megatron says that they won’t be tricked a second time and orders the Decepticons to attack but only the seekers go to attack.

The seekers go aboveground and start raining bombs down on the Autobots.

Ratchet tries to wake up Skyfire, telling him that he won't leave him here. (...God I love Ratchet.)

The Seekers and the Autobots exchange fire, Skywarp and Thundercracker crash into the ocean, and Megatron shows up. Optimus and Megatron both break a chunk off of the giant green crystal and use them as weapons as they duke it out. Optimus beats Megatron, but when Skyfire shows up, Megatron believes that he has the upper hand, ordering Skyfire to destroy Optimus. This implies that he didn't know about Starscream shooting Skyfire and leaving him for dead. Maybe Starscream dodged a bullet there. 

Skyfire tells Megatron that he takes no orders from him as he removes his Decepticon logo and replaces it with an Autobot one that he pulled from the void as he declares that he's an autobot. He yeets Megatron into the nearest ice dune and the Reflector triplets attack him in pyramid formation (what did they think that was gonna do??) and Skyfire just kinda shoves them to the side. Starscream shoots at Skyfire telling him that he's through. Skyfire transforms and goes after Starscream, talking about evening the score as the humans cheer for him from the ground.

Starscream demands that Skyfire show himself even though Skyfire is literally right above him (again I must ask where the fuck their eyes are when they're in their alt modes-) before Skyfire reveals himself. Starscream promises Skyfire that he will pay for his treachery. The two crash into each other; Starscream lands unceremoniously in a snow drift and the Autobots cheer for Skyfire until Ratchet points out that Skyfire is losing altitude fast.

Skyfire shoots...something and re-buries the green crystal the cons were using to siphon energy from the earth's core, but Skyfire is buried with it. The Autobots think that Skyfire is dead; he risked everything to save earth--the energy drain has stopped, the earth will warm up again, and the cons have been defeated. Optimus tells Spike that "He won't be forgotten Spike, he will live forever, so long as freedom exists. We will remember you, Skyfire." "We will remember." The other Autobots echo solemnly. 

....my heart hurts. This scene packs such an emotional punch I can't put it into words. This whole episode does. It's one that resonates with me because I've been in a similar, albeit much less dramatic, situation to Skyfire. It's one I think could resonate with a lot of people. Through the entire last half of this episode, I just wanted to punch Starscream and I have never wanted to punch him more than when I was watching this--I really hated him in this episode which is something the episode did really well. And it gives you room to wonder what Starscream was like before the war; before Skyfire went missing. Honestly I think this just made it to my top three favorite G1 episodes. 

Anyways, I'll be putting up a poll soon after I post this so you guys can vote on if you want me to analyze more of season one or move on to season two. I hope this was enjoyable! :) 

[uncannybob]

The Witwicky Family Tree.

A family tree covering all known members of the Witwicky family from the Transformers franchise.

Feel free to ask if something seems confusing or if I missed something.

[elfdragon12]

I read the new Transformers issue and I certainly do have more feelings and I will talk about them, but I just love what this issue reveals about the narrative purposes of Sparkplug's memories playing in Optimus's mind.

These memories are a symbol of his humanity (in the metaphorical sense, obviously). As Optimus becomes absorbed in violently punishing Shockwave, the previously beautiful memory of this baby in his "father's" arms becomes overtaken and corrupted.

Both Optimus and Sparkplug knew how much the war, fighting, and violence hurts. These memories are what kept Sparkplug grounded at all, even if he struggled. These memories are what can keep Optimus grounded, even if he must continue fighting.

[cybertron-smash-or-pass]

G1 Sparkplug Witwicky

[starscreamisreginageorge]

Everyone else: Hating this

Jazz: Having the time of his life

[transformers-synergize]

main humans yippee

edited my human ref/design a tiny bit

[jazzsstash]

Models of Peacemaking (And the Lack Thereof)

The focal point of the franchise is the Cybertronian civil war. Keyword: “the”. They haven’t had one before. Their society has been largely stable, if rotting in some ways, since Primes were declared the leaders.

In some continuities, the Quintessons interrupted the societal stability by invading and seizing power, and the Cybertronians fought them off with force. Victory was forcing the other side off of Cybertron. Loss was death or slavery.

Before that, there was Primus versus Unicron. Again, the same stakes. So even if that is encoded in the Matrix, the wisdom of this is the same as the lesson from the war with the Quintessons: drive off your enemies, or they will destroy you.

These are the only models for mass conflict that they have. They don’t have warring city-states. They don’t have rival countries. The closest model that they have that has repeated cyclically enough for them to learn something about how to handle it is gang violence, and I don’t see either Megatron or Optimus looking for conflict resolution solutions from there.

The only way that they know how to end a war is by forcing the other side to no longer be relevant, through death or driving them away. They do not have the experience of going home and building things back together. Of how to tolerate old, bitter resentments that cannot and are not allowed to flare into new physical conflict, but carve deep scars. Of forming new governments meant to heal the flaws of the old.

Perhaps this is why their war has stretched out for millions of years, neither side wanting to fully eliminate the other. Neither knowing what they would do with each other if they stopped fighting, because they have never fought each other before.

Perhaps Ratchet, one day, frowns at Sparkplug and asks him what a “peace treaty” is. Because “age” and “experience” are not the same, and humans are far more experienced at ending wars than the Cybertronians are. We have had hundreds more of them, long and short, large and small.

Perhaps, for once in millions of years, Optimus can see a way to end the war that he can stand to implement- one that made the Matrix go quiet, not having any experience to contribute. And maybe if he can persuade Megatron that this is real, he will see it as well. And they can build a form of peace that is not grounded in annihilation.

[wonderwomanpleasesteponme]

When will you fucking realize that the Autobots aren't your enemy????? This page hurts man.

[poproxgimikz]

INTRODUCTION

Varoom!!

The sound of a powerful motor echoes deep within a cave somewhere in the Pacific Northwest. Hanging from a ceiling, stalactites vibrate from the sound. A racetrack has been cleared on the rocky floor.

Around the outside of the track stand the Autobots. With them are their human friends Sparkplug Witwicky and his son, Spike.

They are watching a large red van speed around the track. It is Ironhide, the oldest and toughest of the Autobots. He is testing the Sun-Pak, an experimental solar battery designed by Sparkplug. They are deep underground so that the test will be a secret.

The Autobots need fuel as much as humans need food. If this battery works as well as Sparkplug says, it could be the answer to the Autobots' prayers!

Optimus Prime, the leader of the Autobots, is elated.

"Twenty-three hours and still going strong!" He says.

Ratchet has been keeping a close eye on the test. If something goes wrong, he's the Autobot fix-it man.

"Hey, Ironhide," He calls to the red van, "how are you feeling? Have your old gears started to wear out yet?"

"Go chew on a microchip!" shouts Ironhide as he whizzes by. "I have never felt better!"

Sparkplug checks his stopwatch. "According to my calculations, he should have full power for another hour."

NEXT

Fun fact: For some reason Spike is renamed Buster in this book.

[ichbinmeltdown]

I guarantee that Spike has tried to get the Autobots to do yard work and stuff for him

Sparkplug just goes up and says "Hey Spike, I'm doing some work on the house, I'm gonna go to Lowe's and get some supplies. While I'm gone I want you to clean up the backyard" and then once Sparkplug leaves he just runs to the phone and goes "Hey Prime what's up? Listen, can I get y'all to come help me with something real quick?"

And then when Sparkplug is driving home a few minutes later he hears all this thumping on their block and is like "wtf is that?" then sees the Autobots in the backyard, picking up stuff and moving big rocks and whatnot

Then he just runs up and goes "Spike!!! I asked YOU to help clean up the backyard, not the Autobots!" OP bends over and says "Spike. You didn't tell me Sparkplug asked you to help him." and Spike just laughs nervously

A few minutes later Spike is at the Ark, sweeping and mopping the floor for them. He's pouting and OP is saying "This should make up for not cleaning the backyard. Hopefully you'll learn your lesson about not trying to get someone else to do your work for you."

[transformers-nerd-13]

Alrighty, you asked for it, so you got it! Here's my analysis of Transformers G1; More than Meets the Eye: Part Two. I did an analysis of Part one yesterday so go read that if you are so inclined (you can find it on my page; I'm still learning Tumblr so I'm not sure how to link posts lol). Fair warning this is pretty long. Without further ado, let's get into it!

We open with a recap of what happened in the previous episode to remind the viewer of what happened last time. It's pretty rapid fire so I assume some of it had to be cut or it had to be pretty short for episode time. 

We're then introduced to Huffer (unfortunate name sir) who has his arm stuck in some debris. He calls for help and Brawn comes to his aid. Brawn uses a...well, it looks like a welder or a blowtorch but functions more like a laser so I'm not sure what to call this--to free Huffer. As soon as Huffer is free, both Huffer and Brawn fly off because at this point, all the Autobots could fly, ditching the other Autobots. Thanks for your help guys. 

We cut over to Prime who's still trying to free Spike and Sparkplug. Optimus tells Trailbreaker--who's currently helping the oil rig workers escape--to use his force field to suppress the flames. Not sure how effective this would really be, I mean if you trap the flames in a closed space, it'd eventually burn up all the oxygen and burn out, but this is an oil fire so it also has to run out of fuel--maybe I'm overthinking this; this is an 80's cartoon, they didn't care about physics. Wheeljack offers Trailbreaker a hand in suppressing the flames and the two take off. Trailbreaker uses his forcefield, but Wheelack proves that force field immediately redundant by using his built in fire extinguishers on the fire. Why didn't Prime just ask Wheeljack to use his fire extinguishers in the first place?? Why does Wheeljack never have these extinguishers again?? They would've really helped when the Dinobots or Autobot Spike started wrecking the Ark/Teletraan One. Just sayin.

Optimus gets Spike and Sparkplug free and Jazz uses his built-in grappling hook sort of like a fishing line to reel Optimus in, getting them to safety on a somehow steady piece of debris. 

Sparkplug doesn't exactly thank Optimus? He says "I don't know who you are, but you saved our lives." Seeming completely unbothered that he's talking to a giant robot. He should've at least properly thanked Optimus. Manners Sparkplug. Optimus tells them that they're Autobots from the planet Cybertron and that the ones who attacked the oil rig were called Decepticons. Robots in disguise my side function! Spike asks if there's anything he and Sparkplug can do to help the bots. Optimus tells them that the Autobots are the only ones who can stop the Decepticons, but Sparkplug points out that he and Spike know more about earth than the bots do.

Cut to later where the Autobots have apparently taken the two humans back to the ruins of the Ark where Spike is sitting on a nearby rock formation and writing in his diary or notebook about the Autobots. He says that he doesn't know if they're from the past or the future, but they're highly advanced robots who can think and have "real" feelings.

Spike. They literally told you they're from another planet. They are an alien species. You're talking about them like they're a human creation. 

We pan over to see Soundwave spying on Spike not very discreetly from behind a rock. That's gotta be a fragging tall rock. When did Soundwave get here and why is he here?? How did Teletraan not pick him up on the scanners???

Spike puts his notebook in his backpack and starts back toward the Ark, walking towards Soundwave, who transforms into his cassette player mode.

Spike spots his cassette player mode and picks it up, and even though it clearly has the Decepticon symbol on it he picks it up and takes it with him because he’s apparently blind. Spike enters the Ark, his backpack has apparently vanished into the void, and he puts Soundwave near Teletraan. This totally won't bite him in the ass later.

Spike asks Trailbreaker about Cybertron, but asks him why the Autobots transform--it's not a question about Cybertron, it's a question about CybertronIANS. He could've asked about Cybertronians and the question about why they transform wouldn't seem so out of place. Trailbreaker answers that they transform for disguise, and that it beats walking.

Sir, since you've gotten to earth, every single Cybertronian has had all the stealth of an elephant in a room with a floor covered in bubble wrap. Disguise my boron compressor.

Spike asks how they transform. We cut over to Ratchet's medbay where Ratchet is currently fixing Huffer's arm (I guess it got damaged from the debris??), Sunstreaker and Cliffjumper are also there in their alt modes for some reason. Mirage and Hound are also there for some reason. Trailbreaker and Spike have materialized in the medbay and Trailbreaker tells Mirage and Hound that Spike wants to know how they transform. Hound transforms, and that's apparently a good enough answer for Spike. T-cogs hadn't been invented yet, so I guess a demonstration of a transformation was the best answer they had at the time. 

Hound makes a hologram of a man in his driver's seat, and Spike asks "What other tricks can you do?" I don't really like the phrasing of that question; I'm not really sure why, but it just rubs me the wrong way. It would've been better if Spike had asked "What else can you do?" Idk that might just be a personal preference. 

Mirage shows off his invisibility powers before Hound offers Spike a ride and Spike accepts. 

Cut over to Soundwave who transforms into his bot mode (seriously Teletraan how are you not seeing this-) and ejects Ravage so that Ravage can enter Teletraan in his (G1 Ravage was a he because literally everyone was a he in Season 1 of G1) cassette mode to gather information on Earth's resources before Soundwave turns back into his cassette player mode and starts recording again for some reason. There's nobody else in the room, Soundwave. What are you recording?? Also why does Teletraan have a cassette port?? And why does Teletraan already have recorded information of Earth's resources?? When did it have time?? Who gave it that command?? Or did it just do that on its own?? So many questions lol. 

Cut over to Hound and Spike who are taking a drive through the desert where the Ark crashed (side note, are there any deserts with volcanoes??). Hound says that Earth must be a nice place to live. Spike replies that it's okay, but he wants to know more about Cybertron. Spike doesn't realize is that Hound is just as curious about Earth as he is about Cybertron, and while it may have been boring for the kids watching to have them exchange information about their respective home worlds, it would've been a nice bonding moment between the two. Hound tells Spike that before the war, Cybertron was quiet and peaceful. Spike asks if he misses it, and Hound replies "Sometimes" and they move on from this really quickly. Maybe because it’s painful for Hound to talk about. Of course Hound misses it; it was his home. But he can't afford to stay in a state of grief over the loss of his home because there's a war going on; he needs to push through and help the Autobots win the war so that they have a chance of seeing their home world again, even if it'll never be the same as it was. It hurts to think about what his home once was. Or maybe I'm reading too far into this again.

Spike and Hound make it back to the Ark, and Spike finally notices something fishy about that cassette player he brought back since it's recording data from Teletraan. Soundwave decides that the jig is up and transforms into his bot mode, trying to grab Spike, missing horribly as the human ducks to avoid him. Spike hits an alarm that he could somehow reach and Soundwave and Ravage (who ejected from Teletraan at Soundwave's command) make a run for it. Optimus (who appeared from the void) sees them running out of the Ark and says "A Decepticon! Get him!"

One, do you not know who Soundwave is?? Two, “Get him”. That was your whole plan. Get him (If anyone gets the reference put it in the comments). Good plan Optimus.

The Autobots however do not go after Soundwave and he gets away. Bumblebee and Brawn manage to catch Ravage but that lasts for all of two seconds before Ravage gets out of their grasp. Sideswipe and Jazz fire on Ravage but since they have the aim of Stormtroopers, they miss horribly. 

I am now half convinced that the only reason the war has gone on so long is because nobody on either side can aim for shit.

Ravage disappears into the shadows and suddenly nobody can see him anymore. Gears and Hound have suddenly replaced Sideswipe and Jazz. Optimus tells Gears to use his infrared (I guess Cybertronians show up in infrared light??) which just looks like a red flashlight (mhm yep that's definitely infrared) that allows them to spot Ravage. Jazz and Prowl fire a net and capture Ravage (pictured above with Gears’ “infrared” light).

Cut over to the cons where Soundwave is somehow playing back the information Ravage gathered from Teletraan about Sherman (Sherma maybe? If so then Senator Sherma’s—MTMTE—name is a very obscure reference.) Dam without actually having Ravage (no idea how that worked), presenting the dam as a potential power source to gather more Energon. Megatron commends Soundwave for a job well done, while Starscream says that the dam doesn't possess enough electrical power to make the Energon cubes. Megatron tells Starscream that "Your knowledge is only overshadowed by your stupidity" (one of my favorite lines), and that they're going to create a tidal wave big enough to send enough power surging through the dam to make all the Energon cubes they need. At least they're using clean energy I guess?

Cut to the next day at sunrise when the Decepticons arrive at the dam. Soundwave ejects Rumble who goes to the bottom of the river and uses his pile-drivers to create the tidal wave (I don't think this would actually work but I could be entirely wrong) while the other cons take off and head for the power plant (aka the dam).

The employees inside the dam notice that the gauges are going crazy and say something must be wrong while one guy smacks the gauges to try and fix them (solid plan sir that'll definitely work). One of the other employees tells them that the river's rising and tells the others to man their emergency stations. 

Cut over to the Ark where Teletraan tells Jazz and Spike in complete gibberish writing about the tidal wave at the dam and that the power output is ten times what it is normally. Jazz says that it could be the cons (it couldn't possibly be a natural disaster, it must be the Decepticons!) 

Cut over to the cons who have arrived at the dam and Megatron starts making demands, telling the employees who have not manned their emergency stations to do exactly as he says.

Quick cut over to the Autobots who are now on their way to the dam, Optimus telling the others: "Autobots, accelerate!" and they all keep going at the exact same speed they were going at before.

Back with the Decepticons in the dam, the employees say that the dam is gonna blow and that they've gotta get outta there. The Decepticons don't care though and start making their Energon cubes anyway. The Autobots arrive on the scene and Prowl briefly gets Optimus' voice before regaining his own voice again and asks if he really thinks the cons are behind this. Before Optimus can answer, he's cut off by Megatron firing a warning shot at them, telling them that they're too late. The bots take to the air while Hound and Spike find the heart of the tidal wave. Hound goes into the river to investigate and finds Rumble. 

Cut over to Ironhide and Bumblebee who are diverting the water of the river so that it doesn't cause too much flooding (yeah, that's how that works. Also how the heck does Bumblebee fit in the back of Ironhide's Alt Mode???) which they succeed in. 

The other Autobots arrive at the power plant where they all shoot at the plant and finally manage to hit something--that something being Starscream, as well as a tiny Starscream with no wings who never gets addressed--before entering the plant. The bots and cons duke it out while Sparkplug gets the employees out of the power plant. Mirage saves Cliffjumper from Thundercracker and Skywarp and Cliffjumper compliments Mirage’s combat skills.

Megatron and Optimus go one on one with each other and it looks like Megatron has the upper hand until Starscream uses a slingshot and whatever he fires from the slingshot hits the computers in the dam and explodes. The explosion causes Megatron to lose his upper hand. He and Optimus begin duking it out once again while the other cons make their getaway with the Energon cubes. 

Meanwhile, Spike is getting worried about Hound, who is still fighting Rumble underwater. Rumble traps Hound under some rocks and makes his way back up to the surface. For some reason Spike asks Rumble where Hound is, and Rumble just shoves Spike away as he walks off.

Rude.

Spike picks a fight with Rumble and loses in under five seconds. Spike calls for help which distracts Optimus from the fight, allowing Megatron the opportunity to knock Optimus off the dam they were fighting on seconds before and into the river below. Megatron mocks him and makes his escape with the other Decepticons as Optimus is sent down river. Jazz appears from the void and once again uses his grappling hook to get Optimus to shore for the second time this episode.

Cut over to Spike who seems to have been knocked unconscious by Rumble before he left with the other cons off screen and is now waking up. He calls out for Hound, but there's no reply, so he dives into the river to find him. He finds Hound remarkably quickly and manages to gain temporary super strength as he un-buries Hound enough so that Hound can get them both back up to the surface.

Apparently the short time Spike was underwater was long enough for him to almost drown (I guess he didn't take a deep enough breath before going under??) and Hound helps Spike recover from this but....it...it just looks wrong. So we're going to move swiftly onward. 

Cut to the other Autobots. Mirage suggests that they repair the Ark and go back to Cybertron and forget about the Decepticons. Optimus tells him that they can't do that; if Megatron succeeds here on Earth (presumably succeeding in gathering energy), he'll be impossible to beat on Cybertron. Huffer says that the bots aren't fighters like the cons are (haven't y'all been fighting a war for millions of years?? I'd assume you'd at least pick up some fighting skills in that amount of time). Optimus tells Huffer that "We must have courage. We can't ignore the danger; we must conquer it." A very good line. 

Cut to a quick montage of the cons getting more Energon cubes from various sources. Soundwave reports to Megatron that the new space cruiser is almost complete, but they still need 3,000 astroliters of energy (however much that is). They need one more source of energy to get this amount and the cons choose the Ruby Crystals of Burma as their energy source since they're apparently the richest source of energy on the face of the earth. 

Starscream tests their Energon using a giant blaster hooked up to some of Energon cubes and firing on a mountain to ensure that the cubes actually work. Megatron calls him a fool for wasting the energy, but Starscream tells him that he didn't know for sure that they worked because they never tested them. In Starscream's defense, it was a good idea to make sure they actually worked to make sure that their hard work and plundering of resources wasn't for nothing, but it probably should've been done earlier and now they need even more energy to replace the amount that Starscream used by firing that blaster, which, needless to say, annoys Megatron since he's now set them back and they don't have the time to replace it. Except they do because Soundwave informs them of the existence of rocket fuel which they could plunder to make more energon cubes. 

Cut over to a lake not too far away from the cons where Trailbreaker is listening in on the cons plans using his satellite dish and Spike and Sparkplug are calmly drinking tea. They hear the con's plan and go to radio Prime.

Cut back to the cons where Starscream (unprompted) is telling Megatron not to test him and that his desire for power is as great as Megatron's. Megatron tells him that "Power flows to the one who knows how; desire is not enough." How what?? How to use it??? Probably what they meant. Starscream tells him that time makes all things possible, and that he can wait. A strike force of cons (aka every con who we've seen thus far) is assembled and they take off for the crystal mines. This interaction would've been better if it'd been before Soundwave telling them about the rocket fuel because it would give Starscream just cause to be annoyed because Megatron is yelling at him for performing a necessary experiment to ensure that what they'd been doing was actually working. Soundwave could've interjected after Starscream had said that he could wait, telling them about the rocket fuel and thus diffusing the situation. 

Cut to Trailbreaker, Spike and Sparkplug who've decided to drive back to the Ark and report back to Prime in person instead of radioing him off screen for some reason--maybe Trailbreaker's radio wasn't working? Thundercracker and Skywarp attack them on their way back (for some reason--how did they find them??) and since Trailbreaker isn't built for speed, they radio the Ark for backup.

So Trailbreaker's radio was working?? Why didn't you just radio Prime earlier???

Their backup arrives literally five seconds later in the form of Sideswipe and Sunstreaker who either drove at the speed of ZOOM to get there that fast or they weren't too far from the Ark, but if it was the latter, they really didn't need the backup because they would've arrived not long after, so I'm going to assume it was the former. Sunstreaker gets hit but it's only enough to damage his new paint job. He shoots Thundercracker in response (the autobots have good aim this episode) and apparently this is enough to send Thundercracker back for repairs. Skywarp accompanies him back to Decepticon HQ, but it never gets brought up again so we're going to ignore it. Trailbreaker thanks the twins for their help. Sunstreaker complains about his damaged paint job but Sideswipe tells him that nobody will notice if Sunstreaker only makes left turns.

I don't think that's how that works, but okay. 

Cut to the Decepticons who are currently in the crystal mines making Energon cubes. Somehow Skywarp and Thundercracker have already made it here and both are completely fine. Soundwave says that there's enough crystals in the mine to power the whole planet of Cybertron. So you guys don't need the rocket fuel after all??

Cut to the Autobots who've made it to just outside of the mines. Wheeljack suggests using a bomb of his to bury the Decepticons forever. They know the cons are in the mines, they just don't know where. Bumblebee and Sparkplug (who apparently used to work in these mines??) volunteer to go into the mine, find the cons, and plant the bomb. Wheeljack warns them that once they push the button to detonate the explosive, they have exactly one minute to get out of there. Prime tells the two that if there's any problems to get out of there. Sparkplug assures Prime that there won't be any problems.

Foreshadowing.

Bee and Sparkplug make it into the mines without much issue and place the bomb, but when they try to get out, they're caught by Thundercracker and Skywarp who start beating them up. 

Back outside, Jazz comments that the two should be out of there by now and Prime is getting worried. Ironhide volunteers to go check it out but Optimus says he'll go. Backup is offered but he refuses, telling the other bots that if he's not back in five minutes to come get him.

Optimus sends his drone Roller who sounds like R2D2 and will only appear in a handful of other episodes to go investigate just before the bomb detonates.

The bomb goes off and everyone inside of the mine is buried and Optimus is sent barrel-rolling dramatically in slow motion down the cliff side, leaving us with a cliffhanger. 

And that was the second episode of the Transformers. It crams a lot into one episode, but somehow when you watch it, it doesn't feel too rushed. I do wish they'd taken some more time for the humans and the Autobots to learn about and understand each other, but I understand that there was a time limit on the episode and these interactions may have been considered boring by the kids watching at home. Overall it's a very fun watch though.

I hope this was enjoyable! I'll probably be putting out my analysis of Part 3 within the next few days. Hope to see you there!

[transformers-mosaic]

Transformers: Multiverse - "Sssscum"

Earliest evidence posted on March 27th, 2014

Story, Art - Richard Smith

deviantART

wada sez: Richard Smith had contributed to Mosaic several times, and had a couple of strips to submit to Multiverse after Mosaic shuttered—but apparently they just ghosted him? So I’ve decided to finally set things right, and am serialising these two strips as part of the Multiverse archive. You’re welcome. This first one obsessively references basically every single human character from the Sunbow cartoon; I’ve tagged them all below.