Threaten

Let's see what you can see... This article is in need of images.

« Transformers: Armada ep 38 »
"Threaten" 脅威 (ひゅどらきゃのん) (Hydra Cannon) "Threat: Hydra Cannon"
Production code	TF: A-38
Production company	TV Tokyo, NAS
Airdate	August 18, 2003 (English, Canada) September 23, 2003 (Japanese) October 3, 2003 (English, United States)
Writer	Shōji Tonoike
English adaptation	Ward Perry
Director	Masayuki Motsumoto
Animation studio	Actas Inc.
Continuity	Unicron Trilogy

With the Star Saber, Skyboom shield and Requiem Blaster in their possession, the Decepticons combine the three weapons into the Hydra Cannon.

Synopsis

The kids are understandably upset that Starscream has betrayed them, taking the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield with him. Carlos and Billy both throw down the stones which the Decepticon had brought back from Mars. While Alexis and Rad both try to calm them, Fred drops his huge lump of rock and howls. Hot Shot silently leaves, watched by Optimus.

On the Moon, Megatron thanks Starscream for bringing him the two Mini-Con weapons, though Thrust wants to check they're real. Once Starscream hands them over, Megatron holds him at swordpoint before chuckling and suggesting the Decepticon take some time off. He then instructs Thrust to make sure the "project" is completed.

Side Swipe tries to interrupt Hot Shot's target practice, but is stopped by Jetfire, who suggests they let Hot Shot get it out of his system. Alexis also mopes and is comforted by Sureshock.

Demolishor, Wheeljack and Cyclonus are busy working on the Decepticon spaceship when Thrust lets them know he's going out. Starscream tails Thrust, dragging the Decepticon aside, but the pair have been seen by Demolishor, who hurries off to tell Megatron. Megatron is too busy admiring his new toys to care and tells Demolishor to get back to work. Starscream demands Thrust tell him what the mysterious project is, and Thrust is happy to enlighten him: They plan to harness the combined power of the three Mini-Con weapons. Once Thrust manages to convince Starscream that they're allies, Starscream leaves...and Sideways appears to congratulate Thrust on his performance.

The kids are all at home—Rad channel surfing, Carlos snoring, and Alexis pondering Starscream. At base, Hot Shot believes they should act now before the Decepticons attack. Jetfire thinks there's a way they can get the three weapons back, but Side Swipe reports that the Decepticon warp gate is locked tight. They realise that the only way to get there is via the spacecraft they've been working on, which means they have to finish it fast. Jetfire offers to pilot the ship, but Optimus wants him to stay behind due to his anger towards Starscream.

The Decepticon project is complete—the Hydra Cannon. Thrust explains it is named Hydra because it harnesses nine Mini-Cons, and the Hydra had nine heads. Megatron is keen to try it out, and Thrust suggests a test in space to avoid any risk to themselves.

The kids find the Autobots frantically working to complete their spaceship and wonder why they're in such a hurry to leave Earth. Hot Shot explains they're working to get back the Mini-Con weapons. The kids' conversation turns to Starscream, and they resolve not to talk about him again, though Rad observes that Alexis seems saddened by their comments. Fred announces that they should go see a comet. Rad apologises to Alexis, but she says she's OK.

What do you mean "Freudian"?

The Decepticon spaceship launches from the Moon, but falters. Demolishor reports they don't have enough power to reach escape velocity, but they push the engines to maximum and are able to lift off. Thrust apologises that his calculations must have been inaccurate, and Megatron hopes that the calculations for the Hydra Cannon aren't so.

Kelly Bomgartner from Channel 4 is covering the comet and complains to her cameraman about the crowd of people. At the Cosmoscope Research Center, a couple of technicians look bored.

The Decepticons have also spotted the comet and decided it would make an excellent target for their testing of the Hydra Cannon. At Megatron's command, Starscream readies the cannon for firing. The front of the ship unfolds and the cannon extends.

Near the Autobot base, the five kids manage to spot the comet. Alexis, depressed, tells them she's going home, and is followed by Rad.

Starscream hits the big purple button to fire the cannon and, after an extended build-up of energy, a fiery beam erupts from the front of the ship. The Decepticons struggle to keep the ship from flying backwards from the recoil, then watch as the comet explodes in a blaze of light.

On Earth, the kids look up in shock as the sky lights up with the comet's destruction. The computers at the research center all shut down, and Kelly has to prompt her cameraman to point his camera in the right direction. The Autobots have seen the destruction too, and Side Swipe manages to locate the Decepticon ship. On the Moon, Sideways looks up at the devastation and laughs.

The Decepticons celebrate the success of their weapon, and Thrust suggests they return to Cybertron and conquer it. Megatron, however, says they have some unfinished business to take care of first and tells Starscream to target the Autobot base. Though Starscream points out that will destroy the entire Earth, Megatron is determined. They turn the ship towards Earth, and Starscream struggles to make a decision whether to save the Earth or obey his leader.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"I've always been your ally, Starscream. I just had to hide it from the others so they wouldn't get suspicious."

—Thrust is unconvincing to everyone but Starscream.

"Hot Shot has been more than a handful lately. Besides, don't give up on Starscream just yet. There's no doubt he's a hardened Decepticon, but he's still a Transformer. He still could come around, and I'm hoping that all Transformers will make peace with each other someday."

—Optimus Prime, dreamer

"...this device will be known as the Hydra Cannon! With it, you can conquer the universe!"
"Ah. The Hydra Cannon?"
"You see, the "Hydra" refers to a dragon that possesses nine heads. Heh.. yeah.. So do the power of the Hydra Cannon.. is created combining the powers of... nine Mini-Cons!"

—Thrust explains his creative and genius naming skills to Megatron.

"Throughout Human history, they believed a comet was a sign of bad luck, but good luck for us when we blow it to pieces!"

—Thrust

"I know Megatron wants to get the Autobots, but why does he have to destroy a whole planet? I can't let this happen! There are too many innocent people down there. My friends are down there! But if I refuse, Megatron will surely cut me down. We're almost in position! I don't have much time! What should I do?! WHAT SHOULD I DO?!"

—Starscream is stuck between a Hydra Cannon and a hard place.

Notes

Differences with Legends of the Microns

• In Armada, the first scene involving the Decepticons has Starscream and Thrust arguing about the "authenticity" of the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield. Starscream hands them over to Megatron, who says that they're the real thing. In Legends of the Microns, Starscream and Thrust quickly argue over who will present the weapons, and Megatron congratulates Starscream.
• In Legends of the Microns, the pop idol Rad is watching is singing about "love and the sky", while in Armada she's singing about Transformers, which makes no sense. This is likely a translation error due to the Japanese singer vaguely sounding like she's saying "Transformer".
• When Sideways watches the explosion in space while on the moon in Armada, he lets out a quick evil laugh whereas in Legends of the Microns he's completely silent.
• In Armada, Megatron thinks that Optimus will somehow be able to escape the Hydra Cannon. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron thinks Optimus can somehow survive being hit.
• When hearing about the Decepticon ship moving towards Earth, Hot Shot panics in Legends of the Microns. In Armada however, he pessimistically says "We're done for!"
• A major difference involves the final scene. In Armada, Starscream has an entire inner monologue about not understanding why Megatron has to destroy an entire planet to kill a few Autobots, and that innocent people, including his human friends, are down there. He also laments that if he doesn't fire, Megatron will "cut him down." The episode ends with him freaking out because time is of the essence and he has no idea what he should do. In Legends of the Microns, Starscream is mostly silent except for when he asks himself "What have I done?!"

Animation and technical errors

• Megatron says Starscream has brought the three most powerful weapons with him, but Megatron already had the Requiem Blaster.
• Alexis is wearing long-sleeved pajamas, but in the closeup shot of the Mars rock on her desk, her arms are bare.
• In the high-shot of the Autobot control center, Side Swipe is miscoloured.
• Optimus says the energy wave which destroyed the comet came from the Moon when it came from the Decepticon ship.
• Thrust says the Autobot base is on the other side of the planet from them, but the comet was apparently visible from its location.

Continuity notes

• Thanks to Starscream bringing the Star Saber and Skyboom Shield, the Hydra Cannon has finally been complete after the buildup that started in "Decisive Battle".
• Kelly and her cameraman, as noted above, were previously introduced way back in "Vacation".

Continuity errors

• The Decepticons were building their spaceship long before they knew that the three Mini-Con weapons could combine into the Hydra Cannon, so how did they know to design the ship to accommodate it?
• Hot Shot sounds surprised that the Autobots have a spaceship, even though he was there when the Axalon was under construction in previous episodes.
• Kelly calls her cameraman Jimmy in this episode, however he was called Roger in his previous appearance in "Vacation".
• Starscream only brought 1 rock back from Mars, so why does every kid have their own Mars rock?

Trivia

• Alexis gets Sureshock's name right!
• For some reason, this was the only episode not to air in the usual Friday slot during Legends of the Microns's original run; rather, it aired on a Tuesday.
• Among the news programs Rad cycles through, we see an idol singing a song about loving the Transformers, a game show, and a news report about a comet. The first one raises a lot of questions.
• This episode's Japanese version is the first one where the following episode preview narration doesn't end with the usual "Fight, Convoy! TRANSFORM!" Instead, it ends with Rad reacting with disbelief and shock about something involving Optimus. The following episode preview to do this is after the credits of "Portent," with Alexis reacting the same way about Starscream.

Foreign localization

German

• Title: "Die Drohung" ("The Threat")
• Original airdate: This episode was never shown on TV, but was dubbed in 2003. The dub premiered in 2009 with the German DVD release of the show.

Hungarian

• Title: "Fenyegetés" ("Threat")

Italian

• Title: "La minaccia" ("The Threat")

Korean

• Title: "스크림의 선택 2부" ("Scream's Choice Part 2")

Portuguese

• Title: "Ameaça" ("Threat")

Home video releases

DVD

2004 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 10 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2006 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part Two (Rhino Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Armada — The Collector's Edition (Universal)
2009 — Transformers: Armada — Volume Two (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)