Traitor (episode)
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the Generation 1 cartoon episode. For the Renegade from GoBots, see Traitor (GoBots). |
| |||||||||
 J'accuse! | |||||||||
| "Traitor" | |||||||||
| Production code | #700-20 | ||||||||
| Season | 2 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 5 | ||||||||
| Production company | Sunbow Productions | ||||||||
| Airdate | September 27, 1985 | ||||||||
| Written by | George Hampton Mike Moore | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Toei, Nakamura Production, Dai Won Animation Co. | ||||||||
| Continuity | Generation 1 cartoon continuity | ||||||||
 Watch this episode on YouTube
| |||||||||
Could Mirage have betrayed the Autobots?
Contents |
Synopsis
At the Experimental Energy Research Laboratory, two scientists are working on the new electro-cells that will hopefully solve Earth's energy problems. Unfortunately, the cells won't be viable until they've been stabilized, which could result in a massive explosion. At that moment, Starscream and Skywarp break through the roof and take the cells. Megatron arrives to remove the cells carefully, as an explosion could be quite destructive, and the Seekers are not known for being gentle. Having taken the cells, Megatron transforms and has Starscream fire away, destroying the lab to prevent any more from being created.
Meanwhile, Cliffjumper is tearing toward the Autobot base. Heading into the control room, he informs Optimus Prime that he's found where the Decepticons have placed the electro-cells—in the same place Mirage patrolled yesterday. Mirage is shocked that he didn't get a reading on them, and Cliffjumper says that maybe Mirage did. Before any formal accusations are made, Optimus Prime politely tells Cliffjumper to shut up. The Autobot leader then leads a team to recover the cells.
At a canyon, the Decepticons have hooked up a buffer device to the cells. Starscream uses it as a chance to call Megatron a coward for not turning on the cells and filling energon cubes, then he activates it. The cells fill the cubes rather quickly, but just as quickly drain the cubes and explode. Megatron walks over to show Starscream the business end of his fusion cannon.
As he does so, the Autobots arrive, but are spotted by Laserbeak, who tells Soundwave. Megatron orders Soundwave to call in the Insecticons, with the promise of a special reward. A battle ensues, during which Mirage is injured by Skywarp, though he manages to tear off the Decepticon's insignia. The Insecticons then arrive, turning the tide of battle, but a stray shot by Shrapnel hits the buffer, risking an explosion. The Autobots take the Decepticons' distraction as a chance to retreat.
At the base, Mirage is repaired, while Cliffjumper continues his accusations of treason. Mirage defends himself, and Optimus orders Cliffjumper on recon, with instructions to inform them if Megatron tries to move the cells. Ratchet tells Mirage to rest, but Mirage doesn't need rest. Leaving the base, he heads to the Insecticons' hideout, where they are discussing their "special reward"—two energon cubes. Going invisible and sneaking into the base, Mirage swipes the cubes while the Insecticons aren't looking, leaving the Decepticon insignia in their place, then drives to the valley. However, Cliffjumper spots him.
Naturally assuming that Mirage is a Decepticon, Cliffjumper prepares to fire, only for the Insecticons to arrive. As Mirage slips away, Starscream discovers Cliffjumper, but the little guy is able to escape. Megatron comes to investigate, and they spot Mirage. They fire at him, but their lasers hit the ground near the Insecticons, who assume the Decepticons are firing at them. The Bugs and the Cons throw down, but Mirage is caught in the crossfire. Bombshell implants a cerebro-shell into Mirage and has him fire on the Decepticons as well. Megatron sees Mirage, puts two and two together, and convinces the Insecticons to stop fighting the Decepticons. Megatron also plans to use Mirage for a little trap of his own.
Heading back to the base, Cliffjumper tells Prime what he saw. Optimus, Ratchet, and Cliffjumper head to the valley, where Mirage greets them and explains his original plan, saying that the Insecticons fled from the battle and the Decepticons chased after them. Despite Cliffjumper's warnings, the Autobots head to retrieve the cells, only for the Decepticons to ambush them, with Mirage joining in on the fire. Cliffjumper attacks Mirage, throwing him some distance, which apparently deactivates him.
Bombshell commands Mirage to continue, but gives up. Ratchet then investigates and notices the cerebro-shell. Removing it allows Mirage to regain control, and he rejoins the fight—on the side of the Autobots. Prime makes a run for the cells, but Megatron concludes that if he can't have them, no one can. Firing randomly, he explodes the buffer device, sending the Decepticons everywhere possible as the Insecticons and Autobots retreat. Emerging from the wreckage, Megatron laments his hasty action.
As Prime informs the scientists of what happened, Ratchet works to repair Mirage, while Cliffjumper laughingly admits that he may need some repairs as well—for having doubted his friend. Awwww.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
|
|
Quotes
"I just love opening presents."
- —Skywarp as he breaks through the roof of a human research institute
"You fool! You'll destroy us all!"
"Destroy us all, oh brave Megatron? Perhaps it's time the Decepticons looked elsewhere for direction, to someone prepared to make command decisions!"
- —Megatron and Starscream argue over who is a better leader. Again.
"This time, you have dared too much, Starscream. You must pay the price for your insolence!"
- —Megatron threatens to terminate Starscream. Again.
"Try and remember which side you're on, Mirage."
"Keep your mind on the Decepticons, Cliffjumper."
"That's just what I'm doing!"
- —Optimus Prime reprimands Cliffjumper for his suspicions.
"An electro-cell! Come to papa..."
"Not so fast, papa!"
- —Cliffjumper and Starscream have a moment.
"Release the electro-cells, Megatron. They don't belong to you."
"I possess them. Therefore I own them!"
- —Optimus Prime and Megatron discuss the finer points of legal ownership
"Uh-oh. Sounds like I'm not alone."
"You're not! And this is one of those times when you really need a friend."
- —Cliffjumper and Starscream have another moment.
"You wouldn't cheat us. You need us to get rid of the Autobots. Maybe after that, you'd rob us blind. But not now!"
- —Bombshell after hearing Megatron's explanation of Mirage's trickery
Notes
Production information
- First draft storyboards completed: 29th November 1984
- Storyboards slugged: 3rd December 1984 (by John Walker)
- Dialogue recorded: 10th December 1984
- Storyboards revised: 10th December 1984
- Final storyboard revision: 18th December 1984
- Shipped to Toei: 21st December 1984
Continuity notes
- Ratchet uses a boltcapper to repair Mirage. Cliffjumper's "cybro-polygraph" screams that the mind-controlled Mirage is leading them into a trap.
- Gadgets and powers:
- Shrapnel makes use of his grenade launcher that fires spikes all around the target. It's nasty, as Mirage can attest. The animators got a little confused, though, and had him fire it as a spike-studded stream of liquid from his retracted hand socket, rather than from his hand held gun (as more correctly seen in "The Insecticon Syndrome".)
- Shoulder missiles: Mirage fires his shoulder launcher twice in this episode, each time blowing away one of the Seekers. It's only the second but not the last time he uses this prominent weapon.
- Where's the trailer go?
- When Prime transforms to retreat, his trailer is already behind him, waiting for him, despite being nowhere in evidence in the preceding shots.
Real world references
- Star Wars sound effects:
- The two energon cubes land in Mirage's driver seat to the sound of a lightsaber cutting through the air.
- The sound of lightsabers dueling can be heard in the first few seconds of the scene immediately after the one where Mirage is freed from the cerebro-shell.
- Megatron seems to understand human law well enough to reference the legal concept that "Possession is nine-tenths of the law"
Animation or technical errors
- Shrapnel's characteristic speech quirk of repeating the last word in each sentence is absent from several of his early lines.
- Coloring errors:
- Starscream and Skywarp both have their entire canopy cowlings colored yellow as Megatron hands off the electro-cells to Skywarp. Both should have a metal-colored bit near the bottom. The same error occurs as Starscream steps away from his test of the electro-cells.
- When Megatron is rushing to put out the fire on the electro-cells, there are two Starscreams beside him. One is probably supposed to be Skywarp, who was shown standing there in the preceding shot.
- Kickback's eyeband is black instead of red as he observes the fallen Skywarp.
- Rumble is red in one shot as he's firing at the Autobots. (It's probably not supposed to be Frenzy.)
- For whatever reason, Megatron's entire right arm assembly is colored much lighter and lacks shading than the rest of his body as he threatens Bombshell.
- A yellow smudge dots part Bombshell's grey on his chestpiece when he's about to shoot Mirage.
- Ratchet's face is white instead of light gray as he laughs in the closing shot.
- Is that glowing pink stuff behind Megatron (after he blows up the energy institute) supposed to be fire? 'Cause fire don't look like that.
- The animators could never really decide what the back end of the Ark looks like, but it almost always has at least three engines. The first shot of Autobot Headquarters shows it with only two. It has three a few moments later.
- As Megatron turns toward the about-to-explode electro-cells, Starscream is behind him, despite being nowhere in evidence a second earlier.
- Ironhide is not shown retreating with the other Autobots.
- As Prime orders Cliffjumper to maintain surveillance of the electro-cells, a closeup shot shows the two of them at the same head height. Prime should be much taller than Cliffjumper.
- The Decepticon insignia that plays such a vital role in the plot appears to be printed on a piece of cloth, despite coming from a metal robot. It unfurls and rustles when released, and gently floats to the ground when dropped. There's also no visual evidence that Skywarp is missing an insignia at any point (pretty amazing, considering how often the animators tended to forget the Seekers' wing insignia).
- The Insecticons are standing right by their energon cubes when Mirage first arrives. When Mirage steals the cubes a second later, the room is unoccupied.
- Cliffjumper's entire lower section is not drawn or painted in when he gets distracted by the arrival of the Insecticons as they arrive at the electro-cells.
- Starscream's stray shot as he gets rammed by Cliffjumper has no sound effect.
- Wally Burr stands in for Hal Rayle as Shrapnel when he observes that the Decepticons are firing on them. His voice is missing its electronic processing, but he does have his last-word echo! echo.
- Mirage's entire left side is missing at the edge as he congratulates himself on a plan well sprung and turns invisible.
- As Skywarp's arm reaches into the frame to aim at Kickback, the screen-side edge of it is missing! His arm is also colored in a similar blueish tone like Starscream instead of its regular purple.
- When Thundercracker gets hit by Mirage's missile, the cry of pain sounds more like Skywarp. Considering that the episode so far has very explicitly featured only Starscream and Skywarp, Thundercracker's appearance would almost seem to be a coloring mistake, but all three jets finally appear together near the episode's end. (Even without this hit, Skywarp suffers a huge amount of abuse in this episode.)
- As Cliffjumper is relaying Mirage's whereabouts to Optimus and Ratchet, his arm jumps to his side as he finishes his line about Mirage's apparent treachery.
- A strange jump cut occurs as the Insecticons flee the electro-cell explosion, making it seem like they teleported out between shot changes.
- While driving away from the electro-cell explosion, Optimus Prime's cab appears ridiculously small compared to his trailer.
Continuity errors
- As usual, cartoon humans are pretty much made of rubber. The two scientists fall at least fifty feet from the electro-cell module, but recover almost instantly.
- Despite being a scientist, Starscream doesn't believe that any experimentation is needed with the cells. He apparently used up all his patience with tests back in "More than Meets the Eye, Part 3".
- Cliffjumper is very quick to accuse Mirage of treachery, despite never showing any signs of mistrusting him before—e.g., "More than Meets the Eye, Part 2".
- Megatron's awfully quick to declare that Optimus Prime has lost. They haven't even fired shots at each other yet! Prime repays the favor at episode's end, rather randomly declaring that Megatron has lost.
- While observing the Decepticon installation, Cliffjumper loses track of Mirage when the latter turns invisible, despite looking straight at a clear trail of Mirage's footprints.
- Appearing/disappearing Autobots:
- Ratchet isn't among the Autobots leaving Autobot Headquarters, but he arrives at the electro-cell site with Prime and company. Jazz shows up a moment later. Bluestreak and Prowl, meanwhile, have disappeared.
- After the second commercial break, the only Autobots shown are Prime, Ratchet, Cliffjumper and Mirage. This strangely small casting choice becomes especially noticeable during the semi-final battle, when all four are gathered together, talking and not firing, yet the sounds of a raging firefight can still be heard in the background! Prime orders the trio to "join the others", perhaps implying that more Autobots should have been shown, but again, no other Autobots are anywhere in sight. At the final battle's end, the three Autobots somehow leave the battle to surround Megatron, leaving nobody to fight the rest of the Decepticons!
- The scientists' voices are inconsistent when comparing their scene at the end to the one at the start. Most noticeable is the fact that the fat one has a British accent at first, which has become American by the end.
Trivia
- Poor Reflector. He (they?) doesn't (don't?) appear until the end of the battle, just long enough to be blown away by the explosion of the electro-cells.
- This episode ends with Cliffjumper jumping in Mirage's lap, and the two of them hugging and rolling over, while Ratchet laughs. This is the epitome of weird.
- This is not the only time that a Mirage has been suspected of treachery. In fact, this episode's Cliffjumper-Mirage dynamic is among the series' best-remembered aspects, coloring fans' perceptions of both characters and being obliquely referenced time and again in contemporary Generation 1 stories.
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Le Traître" ("The Traitor")
- Original airdate: ?
- Again, a big part of the regular cast is absent from this episode. A new unidentified actor is present to take over the roles of Skywarp, Starscream, Soundwave, Bombshell and Thundercracker.
- Soundwave's line "Autobots attacking! Prepare to counter-attack" is not dubbed, making the shot on his running legs very long.
- Starscream's name is usually never pronounced in the dub. However, they did it here, adding it where it was not in English, and... flunking. Megatron says "So that's what happened to Starscream's insignia", though it belongs to Skywarp. Nice try...
- At one point, Megatron calls the electro-cells "auto-cellules" when all the other iterations in the episode are translated "électro-cellules".
Italian
- Title (dub 1): "Mistero è un traditore" ("Mirage Is a Traitor")
- Original airdate: ?
- Title (dub 2): "Il traditore" ("The Traitor")
- Original airdate: ?
Japanese
- Title: "Ligier no Uragiri" (リジェの裏切り, "Ligier's Betrayal")
- Original airdate: September 28, 1985
Mandarin
- Title: "Pàntú " (叛徒, "Traitor")
- Original airdate: ?
Brazilian Portuguese
- Title: "O Traidor" ("The Traitor")
- Original airdate: ?
Home video releases
1994 — Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers — Convoy Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
1998 — The Transformers — Autobot Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
- DVD
2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 1 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2002 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 1 (Rhino Entertainment)
2002 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 1: Vol. 1 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — Transformers — Season 2 Part 1 (Metrodome)
2003 — Transformers — La Course des Autobots (UFG Junior) — European French audio only.
2004 — Transformers — Bumper Collection Special (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 2: Series 2.1 (Madman Entertainment)
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2008 — Transformers — Volume 03: Stagione Due Parte Prima (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
2009 — Transformers — Season Two: Part One (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume One: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume One: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)
