Brainpower
From Transformers Wiki
| This article is about the cartoon episode. For the mobile game event, see Brain Power! |
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| He has no style, he has no grace. This 'Con has a funny face. | ||||||
| "Brainpower" | ||||||
| Season | 2 | |||||
| No. in season | 6 | |||||
| Production company | Hasbro Studios | |||||
| Airdate | March 26, 2016 | |||||
| Writer | David McDermott | |||||
| Director | Frank Marino | |||||
| Animation studio | Polygon Pictures, drop (2D) | |||||
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Grimlock tries to make himself smarter by absorbing information from a Cybertronian data cylinder into his brain, but something goes wrong and leaves the team at a disadvantage.
Contents |
Synopsis
As the Mini-Con Torpor fiddles with a device, Bumblebee and Strongarm observe from nearby and discuss how they're going to capture him. Unfortunately as Grimlock attempts to join the conversation, he alerts Torpor to their presence. Bumblebee and Strongarm give pursuit, however Torpor stuns them with blasts of light, and it's only Grimlock's brute-force approach which takes the Mini-Con down.
Taking the Mini-Con back to the scrapyard, Grimlock grouses about not being included in the strategy meetings and accuses them of not thinking he's smart enough. Russell and Fixit are meanwhile helping Denny unload a collection of vintage toasters which Denny claims is Russell's college fund. Moments later, Grimlock sadly plonks himself down on the pile of toasters and complains about how Bumblebee and Strongarm don't think he's smart. When he mentions the police academy, Fixit reveals he has a copy of the academy entrance exam. Soon Fixit is feeding the exam directly into Grimlock's head from a Cybertronian data cylinder. Grimlock starts on the first question, but it takes him until sunset, and he still gets it wrong. Fixit offers to download him a study guide, however once they have him hooked up, Bumblebee calls them away to the stasis pods. Grimlock attempts to fiddle with the data cylinder, but everything goes wrong, and Grimlock is left lying on the ground.
The others find him lying on the ground, and as he wakes up they discover Grimlock's brain has been greatly boosted in power. Fixit reports that the data cylinder is empty, the contents having been loaded into Grimlock's brain. Unfortunately as Grimlock says, his condition is going to result in the breakdown of his neural pathways and eventual death. As they're discussing possible solutions, the alarm sounds and Fixit reports that a Decepticon signal has been detected at the experimental energy research laboratory. He's able to identify the Decepticon as Simacore, a scientist paired with the Mini-Cons Axiom and Theorem. Bumblebee is reluctant to take Grimlock along, but Grimlock quotes the likelihood of the mission's failure without him, and Bumblebee reluctantly agrees.
As they arrive at the research laboratory, Grimlock suffers his first headache, but he's able to quickly get them inside by deducing the entry keycode. Fixit radios to report he may have come up with a cure for Grimlock's condition. Grimlock announces he believes that Simacore is after the particle accelerator's secondary control circuit, which could be used in a Cybertronian starship, and at that point they run into the Decepticon himself, who is surprised to meet an intelligent Dinobot. Though the Mini-Cons he fires miss the Autobots entirely, Grimlock accidentally stumbles, knocking over Bumblebee and Strongarm. Matched against Simacore, Grimlock finds his sudden need to calculate every possible tactic a hindrance to his normal "instinctual" brawling style, and instead swipes the control circuit and makes off with it. Knocking out Bumblebee and Strongarm, the Decepticon gives chase.
"Hah. I wouldn't point fingers, you jerk."
Grimlock seals himself in the particle accelerator control room, barricading the rear door. While he attempts to come up with a plan of attack, Simacore has his Mini-Cons magnetized Bumblebee and Strongarm to the particle accelerator, and begins the charging process. Fixit, Denny and Russell arrive and are let in to the control room by Grimlock. Fortunately Fixit's cure works, draining the information out of Grimlock's brain and back into the data cylinder, though it leaves Grimlock temporarily immobile. Russell has a plan — with five minutes to go, he has Grimlock invite Simacore to the observation room for a battle of wits. Simacore insists on giving the first question, the classic "two trains leaving different cities" problem. Fixit is unable to provide Grimlock with the mathematical answer in his panic, but the Dinobot finds a solution to the problem Simacore hadn't anticipated, as one of the cities is Nuon City, which no longer exists and thus cannot have a train. Simacore reluctantly acquiesces, and asks for Grimlock's question. Things look dire as the panicky Fixit locks up, unable to come up with a brainteaser, but Grimlock has his own very simple question for the Decepticon... and has regained his mobility to boot, flattening Simacore as he ponders Grimlock's little puzzle. With seconds left, Grimlock solves the problem of getting to his teammates in time by smashing through the wall and smashing the magnet control panel, just in time for Bumblebee and Strongarm to jump free from the particle accelerator before it fires.
"Because you're a man. And you're right. I have always known about man. From the evidence, I believe his wisdom must walk hand in hand with his idiocy. His emotions must rule his brain. He must be a warlike creature who gives battle to everything around him. Even himself."
Back at base, the Decepticons are safely stored away in a stasis pod, and while Grimlock's glad to be himself again, he's still keen to have another go at the tests. Fixit gives Grimlock a copy of the study guide on a tablet, and the Dinobot promises he'll take his time this time around... and asks if there's a version of the test with pictures.
Featured characters
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons | Humans |
|---|---|---|
|
Quotes
"You two don't think I'm smart enough for strategy, and planning, and strategying... ing."
- —Pre-cylinder Grimlock
"Well, it seems a bit ludicrous now, but after the debacle with Torpor earlier today, I became convinced that you and Cadet Strongarm considered me intellectually inferior."
"Come on, Grim, we would never say that. Out loud."
- —Post-cylinder Grimlock and Strongarm
"I hesitate to state the obvious, but if I remain behind, your mission is seventy one percent more likely to meet with failure, and fifty four percent more likely to meet with humiliating failure."
- —Grimlock
"If a Cybertronian unirail leaves Kaon City going east at 1000 mechanometers per orbital cycle, and another unirail leaves Nuon City going west at 63.6, at what point do they meet?
"Wait, I've got it! It's a trick question! Underbite destroyed Nuon City, so it doesn't have a unirail anymore! Ba-boom!"
- —Simacore's question and Grimlock's answer
"What's red and black and blue?"
"...what's red and... ah, I see. How very droll. Once again you're insulting me so I—"
"CANNONBAAAAALL!!!"
- —Grimlock and Simacore engage in a battle of wits.
Notes
Continuity notes
- Bumblebee mentions that a "friend of his" went through a similar brain-enhancing-slash-melting experience with a data cylinder. That would be Bulkhead, way back in the Transformers: Prime episode "T.M.I.". Grimlock mentions that they cannot use the solution the Autobots used in that episode- dispersing the contents of the cylinder into the air- because the structure of a Dinobot's processor is too different from an Autobot's.
- Underbite's destruction of Nuon City was first mentioned in "Pilot (Part 1)".
Prisoner manifest
- In stasis: Hammerstrike, Bisk, Chop Shop, Terrashock, Filch, Minitron, Springload, Ped, Quillfire, "that one with all the eyes", Malodor and the Skunkticons, Nightstrike, Vertebreak, Octopunch, Groundpounder, Headlock, Scowl, Scratch, Zizza, Pseudo, Fracture, Airazor, Divebomb, Thunderhoof, Underbite, Clampdown, Overload, Backtrack, Ransack, Polarclaw, Razorpaw, Swelter, Glacius, Torpor, Simacore, Axiom, Theorem
- Known at large: Steeljaw, Kickback, Saberhorn, Glowstrike, Scorponok, several unnamed Glowstrike/Scorponok associates, Crazybolt, Slicedice
- Released: Grimlock
- Countless others all missing, presumed at large
Transformers references
Real-world references
- Grimlock's quip about Torpor being on his way to "Grandma's house" refers to the traditional story "Little Red Riding Hood".
Trivia
- Fixit mentions that Grimlock has absorbed 3.667 yottabytes of information into his cortex. To put that into perspective, that comes out to 3.667 septillion bytes of data, or 3667 zettabytes. The internet was estimated to scrape one zettabyte of data by the end of 2016, so it seems Fixit wasn't exaggerating when he said "several thousand times the sum total of all human knowledge"!
- Why does a simple prison ship have an entire civilization's worth of data kicking around, anyway?
Animation and technical errors
- (tbd)
Foreign localization
French
- Title: "Tout dans la tête!" ("All in the Head!")
- Original airdate: April 17, 2016
Hungarian
- Title: Agymenők (wordplay on "agymenés" - insanity/brainstorm and "nagymenők" - hotshots)
- Original airdate: May 6, 2016
Italian
- Title: "Forza Cerebrale" ("Cerebral Strength")
- Original airdate: May 10, 2016
Japanese
Home video releases
- DVD
2017 — Transformers Robots in Disguise — Misdirection (Beyond Home Entertainment)