Serpent's Eye:

THE KEY TO VECTOR SIGMA

Part One

Review by Raksha

This was one of my favorites from the start, and thus I have it on video tape from way back in 1985. The picture quality has deteriorated a little in all this time, but I'm pleased to say I have the complete and uncut episode.

We start with a very good title. It's one of those sci-fi-style episode titles which mean nothing in and of themselves – upon the first viewing of this episode, one has no clue who or what Vector Sigma may be – but the techno-babble is obscure and intriguing enough to promise great things. This one does not disappoint.

Notice at the beginning, the superfuel was given by "the government" to the Autobots to test out. Humans collaborating with Autobots (as also seen in many other instances) shouldn't be surprised to be treated as enemies.

Prowl says "Given the security measures, it's unlikely the Decepticons even know about the superfuel." They constantly underestimate the Decepticons. (Likewise in "Enter the Nightbird" – "Could the Decepticons eavesdrop on us?" "It's not too likely." Etc.) But imagine Soundwave at work, picking up secret transmissions without any problem whatsoever.

As the Decepticons descend for an attack, Prime says, "So much for your security, Prowl." Who says Prime isn't snide to his troops?

Notice Ramjet leading the jet assault on the convoy. I've long realized he has a surprisingly good instinctive leadership talent, and here we see it again.

Thrust and Dirge are back in the sky when Ramjet collides with the mountain. Instead of attacking the Autobots again, they quickly come to Ramjet's aid to get him out of there for repairs. This nicely shows the high regard Thrust and Dirge have for Ramjet. Megatron also doesn't order Thrust and Dirge back into the fray. As aggravated as he is that "those motorized morons are getting away," he does not say "Never mind him!"

Prime once again underestimates Megatron, thinking he "doesn't have the guts" to fire on the tanker and risk blowing everyone up. Megatron is about to prove him wrong – he would risk it, and has taken plenty of personal risks in the past. And you notice, none of his own warriors are right nearby. He's only risking himself, and that, he's willing to do.

We get an example of a typical Autobot fighting tactic – Smokescreen blocks the view, and all Autobots fire on Megatron at once - showing once again that they can't fight unless they outnumber their opponents. Not that creating the advantage is a bad thing – but were the Decepticons to use this same technique, the Autobots would mewl about "cheating."

In a sense, Rumble sparked the process that led to the Stunticons. His words inadvertently planted the seed of the idea for car-mode Decepticons in Megatron's mind.

It looks like Megatron rewarded Rumble for giving him the idea, by letting him gather most of the vehicles – a task he seemed to enjoy greatly. We didn't see where Breakdown and Wildrider came from, so presumably someone else was gathering those cars at the same time.

Speculation: How much of a Transformer's past "life" is retained in memory, even if it's not a sentient form yet? (We see a hint of this later in Silverbolt, and also perhaps G1 Galvatron – a "physical memory"?) When first we see Drag Strip, he's a winning race car, or at least his body is. Later he becomes a highly competitive individual. However, Dead End's body was a getaway car for a bank robbery, and there's no real correlation with his later personality.

Motormaster's body was a truck that apparently often exceeded the speed limit. Notice the driver didn't seem surprised at being told he had "smokeys," as the police came after him for speeding. Likewise Motormaster later made his own rules of the road.

Megatron praises Rumble with a "Good work, Rumble." He always gives credit where it's due.

It's neat to see Megatron working on a highly technical project. Prime would be completely unable to do such a thing. The "building scene" is expertly done, in such a manner that it's clear a lot of work has been done and much time has gone by, while still packing it into a few seconds of air time (see also Elita's repair scene in "Search for Alpha Trion"). Though we don't see Soundwave during this time, we can presume that he, and possibly the Constructicons, were also present and assisting.

Megatron playing with his remote-controlled toy cars was just ... cute. I kept expecting Rumble to ask whether he could have a turn too. :)

Soundwave is there as they "test the improvements," lending credence to the idea that he was also in on the rebuilding.

Right around here it seems appropriate to mention, this is an episode with great animation. During the testing scene, for instance, Megatron is drawn perfectly. Very handsome.

Rumble, inadvertently again, names the team. ("Not even the Autobots can do that kind of stunt-driving.") Upon my first viewing of this episode, I cringed at the name "Stunticons" – it always made me think of "stunted growth." With the years, and since the characters were so great, I got used to it so it no longer sounds the least bit strange, but it still doesn't roll nicely off the tongue like, for example, "Combaticons." The excellent characters outweigh the unfortunate name, though – and perhaps Megatron was again rewarding Rumble for his good work, by taking his input on the team name.

Soundwave, very characteristically, stands in silent observation.

Can Megatron be considered somewhat of a creator to the Stunticons, since he in large part built their physical forms and orchestrated their existence? He might perhaps be seen that way, but it doesn't fit – he does not act as a father-figure to them in the way that Soundwave acts toward his tapes. This gives us some insight into Cybertronian culture as it relates to reproduction.

Prime says of the newly-built transformable cars "There's no way here on Earth to give them cybernetic personalities like we have. Some have taken this to mean that Vector Sigma is the only source of new Transformer life. We know from other episodes, however, that this isn't true, and this episode itself contradicts the notion later. In fact, Prime knew there were no female Decepticons among the Earth forces at that point in time, so there was no one to combine impulses with to form new personalities. He also knew there was no other source on Earth that could install personalities – thus if we presume the Matrix exists in the pre-Movie universe (which is questionable), this tells us the Matrix is not held by Prime on Earth. This we also know from "City of Steel" and "Prime Problem." Also note the phrasing: "personalities like we have." That is, complete adult personalities, not childlike ones such as for instance the Dinobots. Prime also is apparently unaware that Soundwave all on his own can give life to his creations – though these are none the less still "adolescents," not adults. And even if a female personality matrix were available for input of energy, the resulting offspring would still be "childlike" at first. So if Megatron wants "instant adults" ("personalities like we have") under these circumstances, he has to go to Cybertron to a creation factory.

Megatron has a very telling line: "To rule the roads, my Stunticons must have independently functioning personalities of their own." No brainless drone warriors for Megatron! "My Stunticons" indicates a sort of possessive pride in them, quite rightly so. The whole scene before the space bridge is excellent, with the wind sighing in the background – it gives it an air of something dramatic and momentous.

We get a neat interior view of the space bridge as Megatron, Soundwave, Rumble, and the Stunticons travel to Cybertron. Also a nice visual as Megatron "emerges from the light" on the other side.

Good old Shockwave meets Megatron at the space bridge and says, "I await your orders." Gotta love that efficient loyalty. Megatron was apparently in contact with Shockwave before coming up, because Shockwave already knows what Megatron wants and has done the research, having plotted a course to Vector Sigma.

It's understandable that Rumble wouldn't know the name – after all, he wasn't created by Vector Sigma. (Here is our evidence in this very episode that by no means is Vector Sigma the only source of Transformer life and consciousness.) Megatron replies that it's "the megacomputer deep in the heart of Cybertron which gave us all life." "Us all" in this case, clearly does not refer to "all Transformers," nor even "all Decepticons," since Rumble just proved otherwise. I will presumptuously assume it refers to Megatron and his cohorts as seen in "A Chance in a Million."

Shockwave has characteristically looked into any potential problems beforehand, whereas Megatron is at this point eager to just plunge in. Good thing he has such competent advisors. Shockwave has found out that Vector Sigma needs a circuit-key to be reactivated. Megatron does consider his enemies' moves, and is as usual three steps ahead of them – he knows the Autobots are following him, that they likely know about his gathering of Earth vehicles, have guessed what he's up to, and will try to stop him. He wastes no time switching scenarios. Contrast this with the Autobots' stupid, blind underestimation of the Decepticons.

Megatron & Co. arrive in Alpha Trion's workshop, where Megatron gets the old Bot's attention with a deliberately mis-aimed cannon blast. Alpha Trion greets him with a startled "You!" Something about his tone of voice, the way he said the word, conveys a definite sense of familiarity. So, Megatron and Alpha Trion have had personal conflict in the past. Interesting.

Megatron at first gives Alpha Trion a chance to get off easy, by demanding the Key to Vector Sigma. It's only when Alpha Trion resists, that Megatron fires on him. He's willing to do whatever it takes, and it was stupid of Alpha Trion to attempt a pre-emptive strike.

How did Soundwave know what energy patterns to search for, among all the clutter of Trion's lab, in seeking out the Key in particular? Here I will guess that he compared elements of Megatron's energy signature to that of the Key, considering Megatron was created by Vector Sigma.

Megatron again says "my Stunticons," as in "We're ready to give my Stunticons life." He may not consider himself a parent to them, but he does feel a personal sense of responsibility toward them.

Optimus Prime says "Alpha Trion knows more about Vector Sigma than any of us." Vector Sigma is the creation factory that gave Megatron, specifically, life. Hmm. What was Alpha Trion's connection to the Total Warfare Munitions Plant and its overlords?? ("A Chance in a Million" reference again, if you don't mind some future fanfic speculation....)

Megatron did not, however, bother to kill Alpha Trion after he had what he wanted. A3 is alive, barely, when the Autobots find him. This suggests Megatron does not know about A3's involvement with Total Warfare, or he would presumably have finished him off. Alpha Trion, however, knows were Megatron came from. Hmm, again.

And another puzzle: how much does Shockwave know about the situation? He knew Alpha Trion had the Key – though wouldn't necessarily know why Alpha Trion had it.

I'm assuming Vector Sigma is one of the few remaining creation factories left which have any possibility of reactivation. Or at least it was the most convenient to reach.

It's neat to see Rumble undertaking this great adventure into the depths of Cybertron with his idol and his creator. He must be very proud that they're treating him as an adult.

There are centurion droids guarding Vector Sigma. There's been a lot of debate as to which Cybertronian robots are sentient and which ones aren't. It seems these droids are not. They show no real reasoning, just reaction to movement and energy weapons.

This is, to my knowledge, the only time in the cartoon that we see Soundwave fire his shoulder cannon, in the fight against the droids.

Rumble calls upon Megatron, expressing his trust that Megatron will come through: "You better do something, Megatron!" Megatron responds with typical brilliance, recalling that the Key is part of Vector Sigma, and the droids must guard it as well. Of course, he has no absolute proof of how they'll react – but he courageously stands his ground as the horde approaches. They stop just in time and fall to their knees. I must agree with Rumble's impressed words: "That's a neat trick!"

Megatron sends the droids after the Autobots, cleverly using any resources he comes across. He knows very well the Autobots must be following that same downward passage.

Soundwave quite easily cracks the security code, and opens the door to the Vector Sigma chamber. In the usual style, he has said almost nothing the whole time, but it was he who delivered the critical advance warning of the approaching droids, and was then the only one who could open the barrier. He is indispensable, always there when needed, but does not call attention to himself.

Though the scene is not shown (another clever way to pack more information into less air time), it's clear that Megatron & Co. set explosive charges to stop the following Autobots – as indicated by the next time we see Prime, who says "It's a miracle we survived that blast." Megatron sent the droids after the Autobots anyway, just to be sure, rather than taking the careless Autobot approach and assuming his enemies were out of commission.

It's interesting to hear the Autobots express so little respect for Cybertron's past. Finding the storage hangar with old shuttleships, they say "What a bunch of junk;" and to Alpha Trion's remark that "In their day those shuttleships served Cybertron well," Blaster says dismissively, "Yeah, well that day was a long time ago."

The storage hangar seems to be the site of an ancient, intense battle. I wonder what course of history was once decided there?

The Vector Sigma chamber is again brilliantly done, with a sci-fi-style sacred temple atmosphere. Still, Rumble was obviously expecting something more impressive than a floating disco ball as the thing that gave life to his idolized leader. One can hear the disbelief in his voice: "That's Vector Sigma?" Megatron again re- iterates, "That's it. The megacomputer which gave us all life." Listen carefully to his tone. Somehow it's tinged with the undertone of a bitter memory. For a moment he's lost in the contemplation of his past, and is understandably irritated when Rumble still in disbelief breaks in with "You're puttin' me on." No wonder Megatron snaps, "Silence, you ignorant idiot!" Rather an overreaction, but it's somewhat understandable. A great line for Rumble, and a great scene for Megatron.

Vector Sigma sounds decidedly pissed-off when it demands to know who reactivated it. The line "Before Cybertron was, I was" makes no sense in this context. It may be a recorded message to create awe in the listeners (again, they're on "sacred ground," and such places are often filled with all sorts of psychological tricks), or there's more to the story that we don't know. I'm willing to let it be a mystery for now.

Megatron knows how to give the right verbal commands to Vector Sigma. This thing that created him, will now do his bidding. He demands that Vector Sigma give personalities to the Stunticons: "Fill them with hatred for the Autobots, and all that the Autobots stand for" (in other words, hypocrisy, lies, pretense, weakness, disloyalty, and the intent to destroy the Decepticons).

For all of the Autobots' disrespect of the past, they're completely ineffective against the unstoppable centurion droids. Here's where you want to say "They don't build ‘em like they used to."

Again a superbly done scene where Vector Sigma "beams" personalities into each Stunticon. You can see the moment where they "wake up," where suddenly they're aware of their environment and look around, look back toward Megatron.

Megatron shows that he does not consider himself a creator of the Stunticons. He says "I am Megatron, your leader" – not "your creator."

Excellent introduction by each Stunticon – their first words indicate their personalities. Best of all is Motormaster, who speaks first, establishing himself as team leader. He steps forward past the others, raises his sword in salute to Megatron, and says "I am Motormaster. I swear loyalty to you." With an opening line like that, how could I not love this character?

Dead End says "I am Dead End. I guess I'll have to do what you say." His smooth and cultured voice is a contrast to Motormaster's rough-edged growl. Though his words seem almost indifferent, his tone indicates that doing what Megatron says might be kind-of interesting. Plus, he's the second to speak, raising his gun in salute like Motormaster did with his sword – so he's not as indifferent as he would like to pretend.

Breakdown says, "I'm – I'm Breakdown. I'll obey too." The slight stutter indicates he may not be that confident in himself, but he does seem quietly firm about his loyalty. He is the only one who doesn't raise a fist or weapon in salute or for emphasis – more of a quiet observer who doesn't call attention to himself, but can be trusted. Where have we seen that before?

Drag Strip says, "I'm Drag Strip – I live to obey!" and clenches his fist for emphasis. I like his dedication!

Wildrider makes the least impressive entrance: "I'm Wildrider, and I want to bust somethin' up!" But it is in keeping with his nature – he wants action, and probably got antsy waiting for everyone else to finish introducing themselves. Megatron in any case appreciates the enthusiasm. His "Well said!" seems to apply to all of them.

At the space bridge, although Wildrider is impatient to "try out our stuff," it's Drag Strip who's first into the transport beam, just like he was first across the finish line in his earlier state.

Meanwhile, back in the underground, Prime noticeably does no work on the storage hangar drones – he tells Alpha Trion, Ratchet, and Hoist to do it. Here again we see that he doesn't have anything close to Megatron's intelligence and technical skill.

The reactivated drones all look the same – they were apparently maintenance robots – but in an earlier scene there were varied dead robots around. This seems to be a mix of sentient Transformers from the past (dead), and identical ancient drones. Neither the drones nor the centurion droids had faces, though the drones had blank eyes, at least. Some of the differently-colored dead robots were shown earlier to have faces. Still, the presence or absence of recognizable facial features cannot be considered a defining element to tell sentient vs. non-sentient robots apart. I suspect we're seeing somewhat of a progression from older styles to more recent designs.

Blaster's line "Big and stupid" is rather amusing. He certainly is.

Another great scene as Megatron presents Earth to the Stunticons: "Welcome, Stunticons. This is your world now." Nice dramatic gesture, with Megatron on a rise above them, pointing toward human habitation, sending them to wreck havoc on the Autobots' allies. As we saw from the start, humans have it coming.

Great end scene of the Stunticons wrecking the installation guarding the superfuel – nice vindication of the opening!

Summary:

The Stunticons are my favorite combiner team. They have some significant competition from the Constructicons, but in the end, the Stunts win out. In viewing this episode, I always felt like I was along for the journey, that I was in some sense taking part in their creation. We got to see them every step of the way, from lifeless Earth vehicles formed and shaped by Megatron, to the exact moment that consciousness flashed on inside them. This in and of itself makes me feel close to them. They're also a team with very well-defined personalities. One can get a sense of who they are from the very first moment, from their very first words. And when the team leader's first utterance is to swear loyalty to Megatron, you cannot go wrong.

An important element of this episode deals with Transformer reproduction. The age-old question – where do new Transformers come from? – is by no means conclusively answered here, though numerous hints are given. A cursory viewing of the episode would lead one to believe, as some do, that only Vector Sigma has the power to give Transformers life, at least in the cartoon universe. A more careful viewing of this episode makes it clear that precisely the opposite is shown.

Though this episode was about the creation of the Stunticons, it actually (and to my surprise, after watching it numerous times) says almost as much about Megatron's origin. We know now that Alpha Trion had his dirty little fingers in the mix somehow. This episode is a venerable example of the very best of the TF cartoon genre – compelling characters, a wonderful sense of history, fantastic scenery (even great animation in this one!), and dropping just enough hints to be able to build a backstory upon. Whether all those hints were scattered throughout in a deliberate, premeditated manner, is highly doubtful, of course. I even suspect that the mysterious line "Before Cybertron was, I was," meant nothing at all to the writer, and was merely added because it "sounded cool," rather than with any particular purpose in mind. It's just this sort of thing that feeds the imagination, however. It's just this sort of framework that encourages the growth of a rich mythology forged by the fandom itself.

Just as MTMTE is the ideal first Transformers episode, introducing every excellent element that was ever to come thereafter, KtVS is the ideal "historical" episode, adding additional layers and maturing the theme to an entirely new level. Now we start getting into the question of Transformer reproduction, where individual characters came from, who knows what secrets, and what lies buried in the past. Though the focus of this episode is clearly on a positive future – creating new warriors for the sake of eventual victory – we delve back into the lost past to do so. From start to end, from the great title to the excellent closing scene, this is indeed how a Transformers episode should be written.

(Continue to Part 2....)

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