A British hunter named Lord Chumley wants Optimus Prime's head on his wall. He captures a few Autobots as bait, something Megatron finds impressive, prompting Optimus to brave his compound.
Tropes
- Arbitrarily Large Bank Account: Lord Chumley must have one, considering he lives in a castle, has a lot of expensive stuff like submarines, and builds extremely odd traps.
- Alien Arts Are Appreciated: Several Autobots at the beginning are seen watching a soap opera, and get upset when a news broadcast interrupts it.
- Atlas Pose: Done by Grapple.
- Bond One-Liner: Optimus gets one in after destroying a mechanical spider with its own venom.
"Don't you know it's dangerous to play with poison, Mrs. Black Widow?"
- Continuity Cameo:
- Recurring G.I. Joe newsman Hector Ramirez makes an appearance at the beginning of the episode reporting on the stolen Russian aircraft.
- Likewise, Dania, member of the October Guard (the Russian counterpart to the Joe Team) makes an appearance as the pilot of said stolen aircraft.
- Chronic Hero Syndrome: One of Optimus' defining traits is his heroic nature. Chumley tries to use this against him by projecting a terrified human woman as bait for a trap. However, Prime sees through the ruse and ignores the woman. Blitzwing ends up in the trap instead.
- Cold-Blooded Torture: The captured Autobots are kept in traps that could be classified as this.
- Deadpan Snarker:
- Starscream points out that Lord Chumley has captured more Autobots in 2 days than Megatron has in 2 years.
- Prime's golden line about booby traps is delivered this way.
- Decoy Damsel:
- Chumley put out one for Optimus. He doesn't fall for it. When Blitzwing tries to stomp on her, it's revealed to be a goo trap.
- He catches Inferno by making it look like a child was stuck in a burning building, with said child being a doll.
- Determinator: No matter what Chumley throws at Prime, he gets through it.
- Do with Him as You Will: Lord Chumley is ultimately left tied up and trembling, on top of the jet he stole from the Soviets by the Autobots when they return it to its owners. Considering the USSR's reputation, Chumley has very good reasons for shaking.
- The Dog Bites Back: When Prime finally makes it to Chumley's control room, Chumley, in desperation, frees the imprisoned Astrotrain and Blitzwing in the hope that they can help fight off the irate Autobot leader. They choose to take their revenge on Chumley instead.
Astrotrain: Let's see how you like being hunted!
- A Father to His Men: The reason why Optimus played Chumley's game in the first place. He can't let his soldiers be destroyed. Even when he's momentarily knocked out, a panicked call from Bumblebee is enough to give him a Heroic Second Wind and help him free the Autobots.
- Good Is Not Dumb: Optimus outsmarts the majority of Chumley's traps, whereas Blitzwing and Astrotrain fell for the traps Optimus walked away from.
- Have a Gay Old Time: This gem:
Optimus Prime: Amazing! A booby trap that actually captures boobies!
- Human Head on the Wall: Well, a Cybertronian head. Lord Chumley wants Optimus Prime's noggin for his collection.
- Hunting the Most Dangerous Game: Lord Chumley tries to hunt down Optimus Prime and hang his head on the wall. And he actually proves himself to be a worthy challenge to the Autobot leader.
- Improbable Age: Chumley’s butler is old enough to remember the Boer War, both of which took place in the late 1800s (the second one was from 1899-1902. If the episode is set during the time it was broadcast, the butler would have to be at least 90 to have any real memory of the war, and closer to 100 to have taken part in it at all, even if he lied about his age to serve).
- Inexplicably Awesome: Lord Chumley is an old British hunter who lives in a castle, has access to a multitude of vehicles such as submarines and a steam locomotive, and seems to own an oil refinery and an apartment building (which he casually burns down during the episode) among other things. His traps include items such as a robot spider, an energy net, a 3D-projector and a replica of a part of Cybertron as a hunting ground.
- I Shall Taunt You: Starscream gets a laugh out of Megatron's humiliation in that a British human hunter has done more in two days than he has in two years. He gets in another one when asking Megatron if he's recruiting Chumley because he's afraid to go after Prime himself.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Chumley stole from the USSR, kidnapped and tortured at least six Autobots, held two Decepticons hostage, and tried to kill Prime and use his head as a trophy. By the end, Prime beats all of his traps, the Decepticons try to kill Chumley the moment they're free, and he's captured by the same Autobots he held prisoner and left tied to the stolen plane in the middle of a USSR base.
- Mundane Utility: The Autobots are shown watching a soap opera on Teletraan One.
- No Good Deed Goes Unpunished: Inferno is captured when he tries to help put out a fire and save a child... only for said child to be a doll and for the fire to have been staged to capture Inferno.
- Not Me This Time: When several Autobots go missing as Chumley kidnaps them, the Autobots minus Optimus suspect it's Megatron. Optimus knows it's not Megatron since as Starscream pointed out, Megatron isn't that skilled of a kidnapper. The real Megatron wishes he was behind this.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Blitzwing and Astrotrain are sent by Megatron to propose an alliance with Chumley, who refuses on the grounds that he wants to defeat and make a trophy out of Optimus on his own.
- Off with His Head!: Again, Chumley wants to add Prime's head to his wall.
- Papa Wolf: Optimus Prime is a reasonable 'bot who seems to only resort to violence when all other options have failed...but when Chumley kidaps several Autobots and tortures them for pleasure, he quickly learns why Optimus is the leader of the Autobots.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: Astrotrain and Blitzwing really want to get revenge on Chumley... but when they see the Autobots coming at them (while they're unarmed), they promptly fly away.
- The Sociopath: Chumley has many traits of one, such as callously breaking both local and international laws with his hunting methods, not caring about the collateral damage that'll happen. He's also so self-centered that he feels he should be the only one that kills Optimus and reacts poorly when the Decepticons seemingly manage to do it before him.
- Villain Respect: Megatron finds Chumley's skills in capturing Autobots impressive.
- Villain Team-Up: Averted. Megatron wants this to happen between the Decepticons and Lord Chumley, but the latter is uninterested.
- What Happened to the Mouse?: Dinsmore, Chumley's elderly butler and accomplice, is last seen hiding in a tank in Chumley's trophy room. He's never shown or confirmed to have been arrested.
- Worf Had the Flu: The Autobots are all experienced warriors...but while out looking for Tracks and Bumblebee, all but Prime and a few lucky 'bots got stuck in Chumley's traps.
- You Are a Credit to Your Race: Megatron is impressed by Lord Chumley's hunting skills.
