Recap / Transformers: Animated, S1E1: Transform and Roll Out

"Do you ever get the feeling you were programmed for something more than just repairing space bridges?"

"I've got a diagnostics program that can delete that feeling like a bad line of code."

— Optimus Prime and Ratchet

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

Tropes:

In General

• An Aesop: It's good to reach for your dreams, but beware of the challenges that come with it. Also, one shouldn't disregard the value of trust and unity, especially when faced with a major obstacle.
• As You Know: The War has already happened and ended centuries ago, the Decepticons have been exiled from Cybertron, Optimus is not the leader of the Autobots in this continuity and is instead the leader of what is essentially a clean-up crew, the Allspark was thrown into unknown space to keep it out of evil hands, and fifty years from the present, Detroit is a technology hub.
• I Work Alone: Prowl refuses to cooperate with his teammates, citing this. At one point, he gets Instantly Proven Wrong after saying this, resulting in him almost dying had Sari not intervened. He does get better though, barring moments of Aesop Amnesia in later episodes.
• Meaningful Echo: "You can trust this face, can't you?"
• What the Hell, Hero?: Prowl gets this from Optimus following several repeated acts of insubordination.

Part 1

• An Arm and a Leg: Starscream's bomb blows off Megatron's right arm ^note  good for the Autobots, as this also destroys his Fusion Cannon , and then Prowl slices off what remains.
• Contrived Coincidence: It just so happens the Autobots end up in the same sector of space as Megatron and his Decepticon warriors and where the Allspark happened to be hidden, all while doing some simple repairs on a space bridge. Then again, considering the mysterious power of the Allspark, it may not have been a coincidence.
• Dare to Be Badass:
  Bumblebee: We're repair bots! We're not programmed for this kind of action.
  Optimus: Then consider this an upgrade.
• The Dreaded: When the Autobots realize they encountered Megatron's flagship, he's established to have this reputation.
• Eats Babies: Bumblebee says he's heard that Megatron eats protoforms for breakfast.
• Establishing Character Moment:
  • Each of the Autobots are quickly introduced with their personalities:
    • Optimus Prime is shown watching old history vids, getting exasperated with his crew's antics, and trying to be a good leader, but clearly struggling with command, showing that he's not going to be the Optimus most audiences are familiar with.
    • Ratchet arrives openly complaining, trying his best to dodge questions about the war, and is shown to have a mentor-like relationship with Optimus.
    • Bumblebee is seen bragging about his skills in spite of his small stature.
    • Bulkhead gets stuck in a pile of debris, hanging precariously from it, but quickly bounces back upon being freed and smashes with intense strength.
    • Prowl only enters the scene with a surprise attack on the debris, quickly establishing that he prefers to work alone.
    • Sentinel Prime rather smugly takes Optimus's message with an arrogant attitude, eager to knock his comrade down a peg.
    • Ultra Magnus appears as a stern figure who isn't too concerned about a possible Decepticon presence, aside from having a small team come to get Prime's crew just in case, while advising Optimus not to be a hero; it's not in his programming.
  • The scene of the Decepticon crew together establishes all the pertinent quirks: Starscream's disregard for Megatron and toady charade, Lugnut's complete devotion to Megatron, Blitzwing's multiple personalities, Blackarachnia's organic mode, and Megatron being large and in charge.
• Failed a Spot Check: After Optimus switches off the anti-gravity, Bumblebee enters the bridge and fails to notice that Megatron is in it until he bumps right into him himself.
• Foreshadowing:
  • The specific coloring of the Autobot ship and Optimus trying to activate the Omega defense system hint at a big reveal in Season 2.
  • Blackarachnia is shown being rather snarky and aloof compared to the rest of her teammates, hinting that she really doesn't care about the Decepticon cause so much as they were the only ones who wouldn't tear her open for experimentation.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The team believes this when they get chased down by Megatron's flagship, which is much larger than them and they can't do anything but try to flee to the nearest space bridge due to lacking a weapons cache.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Sentinel thinks Ultra Magnus wouldn't bother with Optimus Prime, due to him being a lowly maintenance bot. Optimus shows Sentinel the Allspark in storage, and he immediately patches him through.
• It's Probably Nothing: Ultra Magnus dismisses Optimus's concerns about them being near a Decepticon ship while carrying the Allspark, ordering him to just stay put, though he does say that he'll send a small team to help.
• Meaningless Villain Victory: Starscream actually succeeds in taking down Megatron (or at least weakening him to be finished off by the Autobots) and becomes leader...of a crashing ship with nobody on it, since the other Decepticons have evacuated.
• Mythology Gag:
  • The documentary of the Great War at the beginning is footage from the original series.
  • The ship resembles the Ark, Teletraan I is the ship's navicomputer, and Optimus attempts to activate Code: Omega.
  • Megatron's design in the series resembles his counterpart from the first live-action movie, which was released only a few months beforehand.
  • During their video chat Sentinel mockingly refers to Optimus as a "third rate Rockbuster."
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When Teletraan I reveals that a Decepticon ship is heading their way, then Optimus and Ratchet recognize it as a flagship... Megatron's, in fact.
  • Sentinel picks up the line and pesters Optimus instead of listening to him. Optimus shuts him up fast by showing footage of them with the Allspark in their cargo bay.
  • Teletraan I revealing that the ship is unarmed because of new protocols to conserve energon, meaning that they can't defend themselves. Optimus gives a Big "WHAT?!" in response to this.
• Screening the Call: Ultra Magnus stuck Optimus in a dead-end job, citing that he's "not programmed to be a hero", despite the previous scenes showing his experience in the Autobot Academy, proving he has the capabilities to be one.
• Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Blitzwing, Lugnut, and Blackarachnia leave in escape pods when the Space-Bridge explodes and consumes both ships in the explosion, leaving Starscream alone on the bridge to wax about the tragedy of Megatron's death and how he'll have to be the leader now, oblivious to the explosion until he realizes nobody else is still aboard.
• Thrown Out the Airlock: Optimus kicks Megatron out the airlock as the ship descends into Earth.
• The Unreveal: At the beginning, the rest of the team learns that Optimus attended the Autobot Academy. When they ask him what he's doing in a backwater job, their attention is pulled away to the discovery of the Allspark. Optimus's solemn facial reaction to being asked the question implies something bad happened, and it is hinted shortly afterwards that he isn't seen highly of and taken seriously by the Elite Guard.
• We ARE Struggling Together: The Decepticons on Megatron's ship find each other annoying. Between Starscream's treachery, Lugnut's fanaticism, Blitzwing being...well, Blitzwing, and Blackarachnia not really caring for her Decepticon comrades, shows the only reason they're still online is because they have Megatron holding them in check.
• With All Due Respect: After being ordered by Ultra Magnus to stay put, Optimus orders his team to get back to the space bridge they were at, saying that while he respects Ultra Magnus, he has no idea how urgent their situation is.
• Worf Had the Flu: Megatron gives the Autobots a good fight, but he doesn't utterly smash them into the ground because Starscream's bomb severely damaged him in flight. When he recovers at the end of the season, however...

Part 2

• Comically Missing the Point: When the team reveals themselves to the humans, everyone has their Jaw Dropped at the sight of giant robots while Sumdac, looking through binoculars, only sees that Sari has been snatched by the monster. Fanzone turns his head for him.
• Failed a Spot Check:
  • Sari fails to realize that the factory has been abandoned, being more concerned with getting Sparkplug back. When she gets scared by the talking vehicles, she blindly runs off and bumps right into the giant monster.
  • Professor Sumdac is too busy worrying that the monster may hurt Sari that he initially doesn't notice that four vehicles have transformed into giant robots.
• Instantly Proven Wrong: Prowl, after saying I Work Alone, immediately gets absorbed by the monster when he attacks it alone. The others have to save him, and without Sari's Key, this decision would've proven to be deadly.
• One Dialogue, Two Conversations: Bumblebee sneaks Sari aboard the Teletraan I, but has trouble getting her to behave while he's in vehicle mode.
• Spotting the Thread: Fanzone realizes something's up with a certain four vehicles when he notices that the motorcycle and his own car have no drivers.
• War Is Hell: During a celebration in their honor, Optimus asks if this is what it was like in the old days.
  Ratchet: The Decepticons didn't leave us very much to cheer about.

Part 3

• Be Careful What You Wish For: Optimus so badly wants to be a hero. Starscream's ultimatum shows him how much pressure that involves.
• Big Bad Wannabe: Why Starscream tries to claim the Allspark for himself.
  Starscream: Now, nothing will stop me from leading the Decepticons and crushing the Autobots forever!
• Bird-Poop Gag: Some pigeons perch on Prowl. When they leave, he finds that his head has bird droppings on it.
• Darkest Hour: Ratchet claims this when Starscream takes the Allspark, until it's reverted in like a minute.
• Death Is Cheap: So cheap, in fact, that Optimus is only dead for like a minute.
• Fake Ultimate Hero: Starscream mocks the Autobots for thinking they finished Megatron when it was really because of his bomb. Starscream doesn't know that Megatron survived the explosion, but it was the deciding factor; the damage Megatron suffered gave the Autobots the chance to fight him off and eject him during the crash. As the season finale would later demonstrate, none of these Autobots have the skills yet to fight a fully powered and undamaged Megatron.
• Foreshadowing: Starscream loudly proclaiming that he was the one responsible for Megatron being blown up. Upon being reactivated, Megatron will see a recording of this and learn he was betrayed.
• From the Mouths of Babes: Sari completely shatters Optimus Prime's innocence when she tells him about the birds and the bees◊.
• From Zero to Hero: Optimus and the other go from lowly repair bots on Cybertron to applauded heroes on Earth.
• Fun with Acronyms: An unintentional case as the writers didn't realize the Fully Automated Rapid Transit System spelled out FARTS.
• Genius Bonus: Sari's tutor-bot can be heard mentioning the Hawley-Smoot Tariff.
• Irony: While making repairs for the damage caused in the fight with Starscream, Bumblebee notes they're doing what they did at the start of all this: fixing bridges.
• Innocently Insensitive: Bulkhead becomes this when telling Sari that her crying won't bring back Optimus from the dead. In about a minute later, he also questions her tears of joy when the Allspark revived Optimus. Lucky for him that Sari took it so well.
• Oh, Crap!:
  • When one of the jets at the celebration goes straight towards the Autobots.
• Sadistic Choice: Starscream demands the Autobots turn over the Allspark, or else he'll kill the hostages and begin tearing the planet apart to find it himself.
  Optimus: Give up the Allspark or give up the Earth. How am I supposed to decide?
  Ratchet: Heroes are the ones who make the hard choices.
• Sarcasm Failure: In a traffic jam, one of the drivers complains that he'd rather just walk at this point. Bulkhead agrees and transforms out of vehicle mode to just walk instead of just waiting.
• Screw Your Ultimatum!: While fighting over the Allspark.
  Starscream: Let go, Autobot!
  Optimus: Never! The Allspark is life!
  Starscream: Then, let it end yours!
• The Talk: Optimus asks Sari where babies come from. His reaction is one of surprise.
• Tears of Joy: After Optimus is revived:
  Optimus: Is this the Well of All Sparks?
  Sari: [crying] No, it's Detroit. [hugs him]
  Bulkhead: Hey, I thought you only did that leaking thing when you're sad.
  Sari: You guys have so much to learn about humans.
• This Cannot Be!: Ratchet realizing that one of the jets is a Decepticon.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Though definitely worried about her father and Bumblebee, Sari exploits crying in order to get the Autobots agree to let her help save Starscream's hostages. As she says, it's a usual way to get what she wants.
• You Are Not Alone: Prowl reminds Optimus of this after Starscream makes his ultimatum.

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