Trust (Cybertron)

Optimus Prime's trust in Leobreaker is all that stands between the Decepticons and Jungle Planet's Cyber Planet Key.

Synopsis

Galled at both Scourge's decision to give Jungle Planet's Cyber Planet Key to the Autobots and his change of heart in his attitude toward subordinates, Megatron leads Starscream and Thundercracker on an air raid of Scourge's temple. While the Autobots try to fight them off, Lori petitions Scourge for his aid in the battle, but the dragon-bot has no desire to get involved in their war. To keep the Cyber Planet Key out of the Decepticons' clutches, Vector Prime and Backstop follow Optimus Prime's instructions to conceal the key within a box, and then distribute it and several dummy boxes among the Autobots. With none of the Autobots aware which of them is carrying the real key, they break into teams and head off in different directions, splintering the pursuing Decepticon forces.

Hot Shot and Override have to deal with the wild terrain of Jungle Planet as they are pursued by Ransack and Crumplezone, who manage to get ahold of their box. When Ransack opens it, however, he is met with a spring-loaded boxing glove to the face. At the same time, Sideways engages Vector Prime, using his newly revealed ability to warp to keep the elderly Transformer at bay, then using his insignia-switching power to dupe Safeguard and snatch Vector Prime's box. He has as much luck as Ransack, though, finding only a rock inside. As these two clashes play out, Optimus Prime tries to douse the fires around the temple started by Thundercracker, and Scourge comes to his aid in the interest of protecting his planet, taking Thundercracker out with a blast of his own flame.

Snarl and Leobreaker, meanwhile, have escaped to a nearby shoreline, drawing attention to themselves deliberately by eschewing the cover of the jungle, based on Leobreaker's belief that there is no way Optimus would trust him with the real Key. The pair suddenly fall into a pit dug by Mudflap, but are able to quickly extricate themselves and overpower Mudflap, hurling him into the ocean. Leobreaker is then given pause to reconsider his tactic, debating the possibility that he does indeed have the real key, and after conferring with Snarl, the pair decide to head into the jungle.

Elsewhere, Megatron confronts Optimus Prime, who is carrying the one remaining box. The two enemies attack simultaneously, but Prime's blast is the one that finds its mark, and Megatron is laid low. Megatron mocks Prime for being too weak to deliver a killing blow, and when Prime turns to leave, Megatron quickly transforms to vehicle mode and drives into him, causing him to drop the box. This one, too, contains only a rock, meaning that Leobreaker is actually carrying the real key! Megatron is surprised that Prime has that much trust in any of his troops, but Prime merely finds it sad that Megatron can't trust any of his men that much. Dismissing the issue, Megatron and Starscream head after the key with all due haste.

The two Decepticons catch up to Snarl and Leobreaker in the jungle, and Starscream locks swords with Snarl while Megatron stalks Leobreaker through greenery. Megatron's taunts draw Leobreaker out of hiding, but before the two can battle, Optimus Prime arrives to back his friend up. The pair combine into Savage Claw Mode, only to be cut down from behind by Starscream. As the merged pair fall, they drop the box containing the Cyber Planet Key, and Megatron seizes it, before preparing to deliver the final blow. Before he can, Prime's Matrix shines with energy, interacting with the Cyber Planet Key and causing a beam of energy to shoot into the sky. At first, nothing seems to come of it, and Megatron returns to the matter at hand... when he is suddenly hit by a barrage of a laser fire! Looking heavenward, everyone sees that the Matrix and the Key have opened a space bridge to Earth, and all the other Autobots, Mini-Cons and humans have come to join their comrades! Surrounded by Autobots, Megatron tries to muscle his way through, but Prime is able to muster enough strength for a final attack, taking out Megatron and reacquiring the Cyber Planet Key.

After the Decepticons retreat, the heroes all regroup back at Scourge's temple, where Lori greets them. Bud is especially impressed with Scourge's fearsome dragon form, but the Jungle Planet leader is now thoroughly tired of outsiders and strange little creatures cluttering up his planet, and orders them all to leave. With the Key now in their hands, the Autobots comply and head back to Earth through the space bridge. On their journey, Vector Prime asks the Mini-Cons how the "secret mission" he assigned them was going, and Jolt attempts to tell him about their new alliance with Lucy Suzuki, only to be drowned out by some shouts from Coby, who worries what the other Autobots will think about another human knowing of their existence.

Meanwhile, back on Earth, Lucy Suzuki's ears would probably be burning, if she wasn't in the middle of a freezing blizzard, still carrying on her research in the Arctic. When some of her fellow scientists discover a huge object frozen in a wall of ice, Lucy is called in to examine, but none of the assembled men and women of science expect a beam to burst from the ice and scan the car that brought her! The ice wall crumbles, and a perfect replica of the car bursts out and spins to face them, much to everyone's shock... except, perhaps, that of the government agent watching through binoculars from nearby, who announces that at last, he has seen a robot in disguise with his own eyes....

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

Starscream: I still can't believe Scourge sold out to the Autobots!
Megatron: Bah! He has decided to act like Optimus Prime!
Thundercracker: What'cha mean, big guy?
Megatron: He considers himself a leader who protects his subordinates at potential cost to his own welfare. Such noble sentiments are only held by the weak and foolish...it makes me sick!
Thundercracker: Ah get it!
[pause]
Thundercracker: Hold the relish! Does that mean in a pickle, you'd forget about me?
[Megatron ignores him and banks left]
Thundercracker: [to Starscream] You too?!
[Scream similarly ignores him and banks to follow Megs. Starscream and Megatron silently fly off out of shot]
Thundercracker: Wait! Wait up! Why d' y'all skeedaddle whenever Ah talk?!

"You wanna rumble in my jungle?! That's all right by me!"
"Sorry...but I'm hungry like the wooooolf!"

—Leobreaker and Snarl unleash their dreaded puns on Mudflap.

Starscream: Luckily, you still have me.
Megatron: Hm. Yes. But do I really trust you?
Starscream: No, I don't think you do.

--Starscream tells it like it is

"You should visit Earth! You have friends there now!"
"By the Spark of the Ancients, don't you ever give up?!"

—Lori is going to make Scourge nice whether he likes it or not.

Notes

Differences with Galaxy Force

• In Galaxy Force, as Vector Prime hands out the boxes, he sagely states: "To fool your enemies, you must first fool your allies." In Cybertron, he doesn't say this, and it isn't replaced with anything, leading to an odd moment of noticeable silence.
• As Hot Shot and Override race off with their box, Galaxy Force has them comment on how difficult Jungle Planet is to drive on (which is why Override has to blast the tree stump). Cybertron replaces the exchange (for no apparent reason) with some general banter about the scenery.
• Crumplezone waxes metaphysical in Cybertron, wondering aloud if felling an Autobots in the forest makes a sound if no one is around to hear it. In Galaxy Force this segment is devoid of dialogue.
• In Cybertron, Lori briefly believes the final box is her responsibility, when actually, it is Optimus Prime's. In Galaxy Force, she's not so deluded.
• Cybertron has Leobreaker unsure of what to do following his battle with Mudflap, and sees him consider the possibility that he does have the real key. In Galaxy Force, hesitance doesn't enter into it; he immediately decides that making themselves an easy target will only help convince the Decepticons they do not have the real key, so he has to start thinking and acting like does have it, even though, unlike Cybertron, he genuinely never believes Optimus trusts him that much.
• As he stalks Leobreaker through the jungle, Galaxy Force has Megatron insult both his bravery and that of Optimus Prime. It is the insult against his commander that Leobreaker cannot brook, causing him to reveal himself. In Cybertron, Megatron only insults Leobreaker himself, and that's enough to make the lion-bot snap.
• When Lori greets Coby and Bud, Cybertron merely has her ask what took them so long. In Galaxy Force, she is miffed to see Coby, because that means he has been allowed to go to two different planets, when she and Bud have only been to one.

Animation or technical errors

• For the entirety of this episode, Ransack is missing the black "mask" that normally surrounds his eyes.
• Footage of Optimus Prime dousing the fire from the air is recycled from "Inferno".
• When Optimus and Override are shooting at the Decepticons, Override's weapon can be seen both on her back and in her hand.

Continuity or plotting errors

• Megatron is struck by a laser blast from the Autobots...before the space bridge is actually shown to open.
• Scourge questions what a dragon is despite having told Megatron to "witness the three-headed dragon" back in Search.

Continuity notes

• Leobreaker is still combining with Optimus Prime as his left arm, after the damage their normal right-armed combination suffered in the previous episode.
• The kids met Lucy Suzuki in "Race". She was carrying out research in the Arctic, and discovered the truth about the Transformers, when they met her again in "Ice".
• By now familiar to regular audiences, the mysterious government agent has previously appeared in "Hidden", "Collapse" and "Race". He's about to stop being mysterious soon, we promise!

Transformers references

• As Megatron transforms before engaging Optimus Prime in battle, he declares that he has "waited an eternity for this," paraphrasing Generation 1 Megatron's famous line from The Transformers: The Movie. This is the first instance of Cybertron homaging a line from the movie...but it will not be the last!

Real-world references

• Vector Prime describes the Autobots' gambit with the boxes as a shell game.
• Crumplezone paraphrases the classic philosophical riddle about a tree falling in a forest, except he's talking about Autobots.
• As Leobreaker leaps at Mudflap, he declares: "You wanna rumble in my jungle? That's all right by me!", a seeming fusion of two different references. The line is apparently derived from the 1974 Jethro Tull song "Bungle in the Jungle" (which features the lyrics "Let's bungle in my jungle/Well, that's all right by me!"), incorporating a reference to The Rumble in the Jungle, the famous boxing match between Muhammad Ali and George Foreman from the same year.
• The musical reference Snarl makes right afterward is a lot more clear, as he announces himself to be "hungry like the wolf," quoting the 1982 Duran Duran song of the same name.
• Megatron mocks Leobreaker by calling him a Cowardly Lion, a character from The Wizard of Oz.

Home video releases

DVD

👁 Japan
2005 — Transformers: Galaxy Force — Vol. 06 (Victor Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
👁 United States of America
2008 — Transformers: Cybertron — The Ultimate Collection (Paramount)
👁 United States of America
2014 — Transformers: Cybertron — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)