Starscream's Brigade

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Surely, this will be his moment to shine...or not.
"Starscream's Brigade"
Production code	700-61
Season	2
No. in season	46
Production company	Sunbow Productions
Airdate	January 7, 1986
Written by	Michael Charles Hill
Animation studio	Toei, Nakamura Production, Sei Young Animation Co. Ltd.
Continuity	Generation 1 cartoon continuity
Watch this episode on YouTube

After his latest attempt to overthrow Megatron's rule of the Decepticons, Starscream is banished from HQ, but this time, he hatches a plan...

Synopsis

YOU'RE FIRED!

In 1943, at the height of World War II, humans waged war on one another on the island of Guadalcanal in the south Pacific. Their wrecked and useless vehicles lay there untouched through the decades, until the present time—1985.

Within Decepticon Headquarters, Starscream and Megatron are having a spat over the fact Megatron favors Shockwave. Predictably, it ends with Starscream shooting Megatron in the back and proclaiming himself the new leader. Megatron recovers after a few seconds, knocking Starscream to the ground. The rest of the Decepticons refuse to obey Starscream's order to kill Megatron, so he attempts to flee, only to be shot down by Megatron. At the Decepticon leader's order, Laserbeak carries Starscream away and dumps him on Guadalcanal.

Humiliated and infuriated, Starscream stumbles upon the remnants of some old World War II vehicles, which inspire him to create an army of his own. He forces his way past Thundercracker and Skywarp, who are guarding the space bridge, and travels to Cybertron. There he breaks into a Decepticon Detention Center and liberates the personality components of five Renegade Decepticons. Returning to Guadalcanal, he installs them into the wrecked vehicles, which transform into the Combaticons. The quarrelsome warriors are not happy with their new bodies and threaten simply to beat Starscream to a pulp, until he reveals that their new bodies do not contain energy absorbers, without which they cannot refuel: "No energy, no life." In exchange for the needed equipment, the Combaticons agree to obey Starscream's orders for the moment.

It was a whirlwind romance.

Jazz and Cliffjumper are making a public appearance at the unveiling of the Optimus Prime memorial when Starscream and the Combaticons attack. The two Autobots are badly outnumbered. The statue is soon in ruins, and pair are abducted in Vortex's cargo bay. The Decepticons return to Guadalcanal, where Starscream celebrates triumphantly and the Combaticons squabble over who was responsible for the victory. He tells them to settle down and informs them that until they obtain five energy absorbers, no one is getting one.

At the Decepticon base, Shockwave informs Megatron that the Combaticons' personality components are missing. Assuming the Autobots are responsible, Megatron launches an attack on the Ark. The Autobots, meanwhile, have learned of the attack on the memorial and the abduction of Jazz and Cliffjumper, and they have assumed Megatron is responsible. When the Decepticon forces attack, the Autobots are confused by Megatron's demand for the personality components, and Optimus Prime's demand to turn over Jazz and Cliffjumper causes Megatron to suspect Starscream. Before he can complete his thought, a hit from Optimus knocks him to the ground and, realising that he and his men are low on energy, he orders a retreat. The Autobots consult Teletraan I again for the scoop on the personality components.

Starscream and the Combaticons attack the Decepticons while they're attempting to refuel at a train station. With the refueling incomplete, Megatron and his forces are compelled to retreat, allowing Starscream to capture Dirge and Ramjet as well. The energy absorber count is now four, and Starscream and his men retire to the Amalgamated Water and Power Plant to recharge.

"Aren't I supposed to have an evil and a good angel?"

Megatron, meanwhile, rallies his troops (except the Stunticons, who are "busy"), and moves against Starscream and his army. In the ensuing battle, Megatron pulls out his trump card: Devastator. Unfortunately for him, Starscream pulls out his trump card when he reveals that the Combaticons can likewise combine into a single titan: Bruticus! Bruticus makes short work of Devastator, laying out the combined Constructicons. The massive combiner then scoops up Megatron in one hand and forces him to acknowledge Starscream as the new Decepticon leader.

The Autobots use the battle's distraction to rescue Jazz and Cliffjumper; meanwhile, the late-arriving Stunticons look over the situation and decide that Starscream is too likely to continue his rampage. Merging into Menasor, they defeat the unsuspecting Bruticus with one massive punch.

From the resultant crater, Megatron emerges; grabbing Starscream by the throat, he decrees that Starscream and his army are banished from Earth. The usurpers are hauled away by Astrotrain and left stranded on a distant asteroid in deep space... from which Starscream swears vengeance.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"NOBODY TURNS HIS BACK ON ME!"

—Starscream, as Megatron turns his back on him.

"You are a fool, Starscream, if you think that anyone would ever follow your orders."
"Just wait, Megatron. One of these days, I will have my revenge."
"You and what army?"

—Megatron inadvertently giving Starscream his scheme of the week.

"Who are you? And what are we doing in these crude carcasses?"
"Yes, I wouldn't want to be seen by anyone I know in this getup."

—Onslaught and Blast Off, fashion critics.

"Hey Swindle! Listen to this! ...My sonic blaster blows 'em away!"
"That's hip, Brawl. But check this out! Instant air conditioning!"
"Really. My ionic blaster is more sophisticated than any of your crude weapons."
"Hang on to your hats! It's gonna get a little windy! Heheheheh!"
"Thanks, Vortex. I could use a little target practice!"

—the Combaticons do a little bit of introdumping toy salesmanship.

"I see incompetence breeds even more incompetence. HAHAHAHAHAHA!"

—Megatron to Starscream, after the latter fails in his attempt to destroy the Decepticon leader.

"Now, Megatron: who is the new Decepticon leader?"
"Enough! Uhm...you are."
"I can't hear you!"
"You are!"
"I am now the leader of all Decepticons!"

—Starscream has Megatron in the grip of Bruticus, literally.

Motormaster: Megatron's in trouble.
Dead End: Who cares?
Wildrider: It looks like Starscream's defeated him.
Dead End: So?
Motormaster: So, you think Starscream's going to stop here?
Dead End: Good point. He never knows when to quit.
Motormaster: Stunticons, unite to form Menasor!

—The Stunticons survey Starscream's victory.

"Bruticus?"
"No, Starscream, not Bruticus. It's Megatron—your leader!"
"Megatron, don't, please!"
"This time, it really is 'goodbye', Starscream! Astrotrain, get him and his giant ally off this planet! They are banished from Earth...forever!"
"You'll regret that you did not destroy me, Megatron! I shall have my revenge!"

—Starscream and Megatron after the Decepticon leader survives Starscream's latest mutiny.

Notes

Production information

• First draft script: 16th September 1985
• Dialogue recording: 2nd October 1985

Continuity notes

We shall remember you, Optimus. In case you happen to die.

This morning Megatron chipped a nail, causing his lieutenant Starscream to declare himself Decepticon leader.

• The Combaticons' creation is pretty crazy. Starscream puts the "personality components" - which actually just look like tiny energon cubes - into 5 old wrecked vehicles. The vehicles then "transform" into a state of full repair, then transform again into the Combaticons' new modern alternate modes. And somehow through this rather organic process, Starscream manages to exclude energy absorbers in their bodies.
• Earth builds a memorial to Optimus Prime before he's even dead... Ominous.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • The Combaticons pontificate on their weapons and abilities, as quoted above.
  • Jazz pulls his gun out of his aft. Seriously - he reaches behind his lower back, we hear a panel-sliding noise, and he brings his gun into view.
• Powerglide reports the location of the Decepticons' firefight as "on the north side" without mentioning any particular city. Another "appearance" of Central City?
• As they transform into Bruticus's limbs, the Combaticons make groaning noises in Bruticus's voice, like they're having a really painful bowel movement. This was so amazingly cool that it would be replicated in print form by Dreamwave two decades later.
• "Personality components" are shown to be small, glowing pink cubes.
• Timelines would revisit the history of the Combaticons, as alluded to in this episode, in its Wings universe.
• < < What makes Starscream the leader? Megatron said so! Well, hard to argue with that, huh? > >

Real-world references

• The episode opens with a sepia-toned flashback to the battle of Guadalcanal, 1943, with a variety of vehicles shown fighting, including a battle ship, a pillbox, a gun emplacement, and several amphibious landing ships. Several are shown abandoned in the present day and become the Combaticons:
  • An M4 Sherman tank, which becomes Brawl (drawn a bit generically.)
  • A (yellow and purple!) Jeep which becomes Swindle
  • A (purple!) B-17 Flying Fortress, the 4-engine bomber which becomes Blast Off.
  • An F4U Corsair - the single-engine fighter which becomes Vortex. (The pilot who ejects when the plane is shot down has his goggles pushed up onto his helmet.)
  • A half-track transport which becomes Onslaught.
• Speaking of which, this is the one and only time we get a confirmed date for the cartoon's events. Unsurprisingly enough, they are set in 1985, when this season of the show aired.
• Star Wars sound effects:
  • Clashing lightsabers as Devastator opens fire

Animation and technical errors

Maybe Megatron isn't the one Starscream should be worried about...

• The art in this episode is noticeably sub-par. Characters are more often than not poorly rendered with odd proportions and really rough or incomplete linework (oftentimes both at the same time) in addition to the typical errors.
  • Additionally, Starscream's head shape often switches (as in, sometimes between cuts) between the one from Season 1 with the elongated chin and rounded helmet and his updated Season 2 design with the blockier features.
• In the opening shot of the Decepticons in their base, Thrust, Dirge and Ramjet are all missing their wings. Astrotrain's head is too big, and he's missing the red bits of detailing on his chest.
• In the shot of Soundwave, Thrust and Astrotrain watching Megs and Screamer squabble, Soundwave's visor is incorrectly drawn as two separate (and rather creepy) optics, and his tape door has the wrong shape. Thrust's cockpit is drawn incorrectly and sort of bleeds into his chest, and he's drawn with a super-huge chin strap that shouldn't be there at all. And Astrotrain's still missing his red details, as well as the Decepticon insignia on his wings - which suddenly appear when he and the others react to Megatron getting shot (The other errors from the earlier shot are retained however).
• Starscream's missing one of his wing insignia as he walks over to the downed Megatron.
• Coloring errors:
  • When Megatron kicks him away, Starscream's cockpit is all yellow instead of yellow with gray stripes.
  • As he looms over Starscream, Megatron's abdominal section is uncolored (a few shots later, he has the red and blue buttons back).
  • When Megatron jams his fusion cannon in Starscream's face, Starscream's mouth is the same medium gray as the rest of his face.
  • As Starscream brushes off the tank's hatch, his red coloration bleeds into his helmet and face.
  • Starscream has blue eyes as he orders Skywarp and Thundercracker to stand aside.
  • While Starscream tells the Combaticons he wants them to defeat Megatron, he's got blue eyes again, his cockpit cowling is colored yellow, and his wings are missing for a moment - then they're drawn smaller than usual. They change in size and shape throughout the episode.
  • As Vortex creates wind in helicopter mode, Cliffjumper is colored like Bumblebee.
  • As he listens to Teletraan's report, Gears's back is colored the same light blue as his windshield.
  • When Megatron says "This is your last chance, Optimus!", a black Thrust is standing to his left. (This animation error would become a recurring background character in later Japanese media.) The camera cuts to Prime and then back to Megatron, who now has a properly decoed Thrust standing to his right. In the latter shot, the barrel of Megatron's fusion cannon is too short.
  • In the first shot of the Combaticons recharging, Vortex's forehead is colored red, instead of his visor.
  • As Starscream says it will not be long before Megatron launches an assault, his hands and lower arms are red instead of blue.
  • When Powerglide flies over the Decepticons, his plane mode is not only white, but a different model. It's back to normal when the scene cuts back to the Autobots.
  • When the Autobots arrive at the battle and transform, Optimus' waist is uncolored for a moment.
  • As Menasor flies towards him, Starscream's face is dark gray instead of light gray, and his eyes are blue - and triangular instead of rectangular.
  • Blue eyes on Starscream again as Megatron throttles him.
  • As he lies face-down on the asteroid, Onslaught seems to have some of Prowl's color scheme.
• As Starscream orders "his" troops to attack Megatron, Soundwave, Thrust and Astrotrain are again shown watching, in the same positions but totally re-drawn, seemingly by the A-list illustrators this time. The only thing they got wrong is Thrust's cockpit, which is way too wide.
• When Megatron shoots Starscream at the beginning of the episode, a plume of fire appears at the aft end of his cannon, a phenomena not usually seen (in the cartoon, at least.)
• Starscream's wing stripes and insignia appear out of nothing when Laserbeak picks him up.

No wing insignia, and he's missing the red striping on his wings as well.

• Throughout the episode, the animators can't seem to decide which way up to have Starscream's Decepticon insignia (or that he has them at all).
• As Starscream stands and marvels at the tank he just dug up, the cels of both the Seeker and the tank jitter when the camera zooms out.
• Thundercracker's cockpit lines disappear as he turns to see Starscream's arrival.
• As the Space Bridge activates, the control panel that Skywarp just used is no longer there.

No, you run like a girl!

• The Decepticon detention center sure looks like something you'd find on Earth, eh? The doors are labeled with Arabic numerals and personality components are kept in file cabinets!
• When he's in the Decepticon Detention Center, Starscream's audio is out of synch with the animation; he's still counting off room numbers well after he's already passed them and is standing in front of his destination.
• Starscream's vents are quite a bit higher than the door frame, but he miraculously manages to run into the room without them getting in the way.
• A couple of layering errors as Starscream inserts the personality cubes into the wrecked vehicles.
• Even disregarding the size of their original Earth vehicles and their final vehicle modes, the Combaticons have a lot of scale issues throughout the episode. Generally, Onslaught should be the tallest, Swindle the shortest, with Brawl, Blast Off and Vortex somewhere in between.
• And like the Stunticons before them, the Combaticons don't seem to have detailed transformation schemes worked out for the animators to use. The animators often show no understanding of what robot mode parts correspond to which vehicle mode parts. In his first transformation, for example, Vortex's helicopter mode morphs into an egg-shaped blob, which his robot form grows and morphs out of. And when Onslaught transforms during their first battle, the wheels on his arms disappear, and are replaced by other wheels that fold out from under him.

• Onslaught's backpack guns are missing when he and Brawl react to the energy absorber news. And hey, wasn't Brawl over by Starscream, threatening his life, just one shot ago?
• In the first shot of the covered-up "memorial", it's actually floating above the pedestal. Jazz and Cliffjumper are in the shot, but in the next shot of the memorial, they're gone.
• In the first shot of the memorial, Cliffjumper is on Jazz's right; in subsequent shots, he's on Jazz's left. Also in the second shot, Jazz has a vertical line through his face instead of a mouth.
• When Blast Off pontificates about his ionic blaster, only the center part of his faceplate moves. The whole thing should be animated.
• Jazz starts reacting to being sucked into the air before it actually happens.
• Vortex is a hundred feet or so in the air when he pulls in the two Autobots... then only a few feet off the ground in the next shot.

So many possible captions, so little space.

• Onslaught has two separate eyes as he helps Vortex to his feet. During the same scene, the background music seems to be off-pitch.
• Megatron's head seems a little small when he's chatting to Shockwave over the comm. Also, he's missing his cannon.
• As he reacts to this the news, Optimus Prime's fog lights are drawn too long (they extend all the way to his back!).
• Prime's trailer has none of its detailing as he rolls out of Autobot Headquarters; it's just a plain gray box.
• In the shot after Optimus fires at Megatron, Thrust is shown at the latter's side in his full normal colour scheme. In the next shot showing him, his red is replaced with the same grey in the rest of his colour scheme. And then in the next shot featuring him after that, he's shown standing at the opposite side of Megatron than in the previous shots!
• Megatron and three jets are consistently shown to be attacking Autobot HQ... but as the 'bots watch them fly off, 8 Decepticons are shown.
• As Optimus watches the Decepticons retreat, a blue blemish appears at the upper left edge of the animation cel.
• During the same shot, Optimus turns towards the camera and his chest grille is triangular instead of rectangular. Also, as he leaves the frame it suddenly loses all of its detail (the lines disappear, leaving a white blob). His arms, meanwhile, have some extra rectangles on them.
• The plot point that Megatron and company are running low on energy is pretty easy to miss. It's only alluded to by a shot that briefly shows the Decepticons standing around at a train station, with cables connecting them to the trains - but the cables are barely visible. A later line by Soundwave spells it out more clearly. (Fans have also interpreted Megatron's aborted fusion cannon blast as a symptom of low energy; see the Trivia notes below for more.)
• Gears is about as tall as Tracks when Optimus asks about the stolen personality components after the battle. The extra rectangles on Optimus's arms are also present in a shot during the scene. A few seconds later when Optimus orders the other Autobots to transform, Gears and Bumblebee now become smaller than Tracks while Powerglide grows to Tracks's height.
• When Starscream jumps over the subway car, he's missing his feet!
• Starscream's wings reach almost to his knees as he introduces Megatron to the Combaticons.

• When Swindle says "Bye bye, Megatron!", Onslaught is shorter than him and Vortex, and his face looks rather... smooshed.
• When Starscream says, "Don't think that it hasn't been fun," when he confronts Megatron, his wings are missing.
• There is no transformation noise for Thundercracker as the Decepticons bust out of the station.
• Just before Starscream points at Dirge and Ramjet, his mouth disappears for a moment.
• Ramjet fell on his back, but is laying face-down when Starscream points to him.

• In the pan across the debating Combaticons, Blast Off is tallest, instead of Onslaught.
• The scene transition music warbles in the subsequent cut to Autobot Headquarters.
• When Megatron rallies the Decepticons before going after Starscream, Shockwave is consistently shown with the group, even though he's supposed to be on Cybertron. A wingless Dirge is also seen in the group, despite the fact that he's supposed to be a prisoner of the Combaticons at that point. (It could be Thrust, miscolored.) Towards the end of the scene as Megatron orders the call for the Stunticons, Soundwave jitters back to his position in the group for a couple of frames as he walks towards the computer console.
• Swindle and Starscream have little residual half-rings left on their chests when they detach the energy cables, but they're gone in the next shot.
• Thundercracker (again!) has no transformation sound effect as he lands to attack. Despite being in robot mode in the previous shot!
• Starscream doesn't get the usual Decepticon laser effect as he opens fire.
• Improbable viewpoints:
  • When Powerglide reports in, Teletraan provides the Autobots with a view of him flying along. Why not show them what he's actually looking at, instead?
• Ironhide has a sudden case of Dull surprise as Optimus issues the order to "Roll out" to the power plant.
• As usual, Devastator's transformation sequence is all kinds of screwy. This time, Hook transforms not only into his own portion of Devastator, but also most of Long Haul's and much of Bonecrusher and Scavenger's as well, including their cabs. A second later, Bonecrusher and Scavenger transform into their usual Devastator components—including the parts that Hook already formed! Long Haul and Mixmaster's transformations are left out of the animation entirely.
• Devastator's voice is missing its usual reverb echo.
• When Devastator's head pops out, he has two eyes. When he starts firing, he has his more usual visor.
• In addition to their ridiculous grunting in Bruticus's voice, Blast Off and Vortex somehow walk over to Bruticus after transforming into his arms.
• Bruticus's first line is "You make Bruticus angry!" The first two words are really easy to miss, however.
• Devastator goes back to two eyes when Bruticus knocks him down, and as he stands back up.
• Ironhide and Warpath were part of the team at Autobot HQ, but they're replaced by Ratchet and Grapple at the power plant.
• As the Decepticons fight alongside the fallen Devastator, Huffer is standing and shooting with them!
• In the shot with the Decepticons looking up at Bruticus holding Megatron while the Stunticons arrive, there are two more Decepticons than have been established being led by Megatron in the battle; including what looks like Shockwave.

• Dead End's missing the line in the middle of his visor, and has a huge neck (to compensate for his over-long helmet.)
• Once again, just like Devastator, Menasor's transformation is rather odd - Wildrider and Breakdown are shown attaching to the outside of Motormaster's legs, but in the next shot, they are his legs as they should be.

Continuity errors

• This episode was aired after "Aerial Assault", which also featured the Combaticons.
• Thanks to the show's general reluctance to depict real-life firearms, the World War II soldiers are all fighting with laser guns.
• Starscream cannot seriously be so stupid as to think one shot is going to take out Megatron...can he?
• How exactly did Megatron not inform either Skywarp or Thundercracker about Starscream's exile from the Decepticons? Skywarp doesn't seem to notice or care that this turn of events happened when Starscream threatens him at the space bridge.
• Starscream maintains control of the Combaticons by not installing energy absorbers into them, thereby preventing them from re-energising, and a repeated point is made that they must capture five Transformers in order to take their energy absorbers for the Combaticons. Yet the Combaticons are somehow able to recharge after capturing only four Transformers.
• Teletraan One has an odd habit of not telling the Autobots stuff it knows about! This time out, it doesn't inform them about the renegade Decepticon thefts until explicitly asked, even though five new Decepticons just showed up on Earth.
• After the Autobots figure out what's happening with Starscream and Megatron, Optimus dramatically orders his troops to "Transform and roll out!" But it seems they forgot to figure out where they were going; they're never shown arriving anywhere! The next time we see the Autobots, Optimus and Powerglide are once again standing in front of Teletraan I, and Optimus orders Powerglide to search for Starscream. Who says Prime doesn't learn from his mistakes?
• As Megatron leads the attack on Starscream and the Combaticons; Thundercracker is shown firing at him in robot mode with the rest of the Decepticons. However, as he then lands with Megatron and Soundwave, he is shown transforming from Vehicle Mode into Robot Mode.
• Quite a few Decepticons are missing in the final battle, including Blitzwing, Skywarp, Thrust, Reflector, Ravage, Laserbeak, Buzzsaw and Frenzy.
• Considering how dangerous a battle involving a large number of Decepticons, including five new Decepticons the Autobots don't fully know the capabilities of; Prime's decision to just bring along Bumblebee, Prowl, Ratchet and Grapple out of the by now very large Autobot roster seems... odd, especially when no Autobots were shown to be damaged in the previous battle.
• So Astrotrain, in his space shuttle mode, can transport Starscream and the Combaticons to an asteroid in deep space, but Blast Off, a space shuttle himself, can't fly them back to Earth?

Trivia

Hey look! It's Jazz and Cliffjumper! Have we mentioned that lately?

• Notes from the original script [1] :
  • According to the cover, this episode was titled "30 Seconds over Megatron" before broadcast - a reference to the 1944 war movie 30 Seconds over Tokyo.
  • The script dictates specific, historically-accurate World War II vehicles for each one (as listed above), and then it describes them as their modern, toy-based forms, but no explanation is given for the transition. The WWII element of the Combaticons' origin is a strange choice since none of their toys are actually WWII-era vehicles. However, they can be shown going through a reconfiguration upon taking new bodies, causing the vehicles to "upgrade" into more advanced ones. Exactly how the Combaticons update their vehicular forms is not explained.
  • The original script also calls for them to still be rusty and battered upon activation (hence their displeasure with their new bodies); some off-screen repairs then get them into fighting shape.
  • Megatron's fusion cannon troubles are expanded upon in the original script (the reason for its original malfunction, during the attack on Autobot Headquarters, is not made clear - though the blast from Optimus that hits him might be a reasonable guess.) Later he's shown repairing it while the Decepticons re-energize in the train station, but it continues to give him trouble, giving him another reason to withdraw.
  • Megatron says "Where is that fool Starscream?", as if to imply that they came to the train station to look for him. A cut script line from Soundwave makes it clear that Megatron has totally forgotten that he ousted his lieutenant and is just idly wondering where he is. It would appear Starscream's "I'm right here, Megatron" after Megatron asks the question was meant to (rather unsuccessfully) cover up this gap in the episode proper.
  • The Aerialbots were slated to go scouting alongside Powerglide.
  • A brief flashback, narrated by Megatron, was supposed to show the imprisoned Combaticons having their personality components removed back on Cybertron.
  • Prime waits for a more opportune moment before sending his troops to rescue the prisoners.
  • The script accounts for the energy absorber discrepancy, and makes it central to the outcome of the story. In the script, only four of the Combaticons recharge, with Brawl as the odd man out. As a result, instead of being defeated by Menasor, Bruticus runs out of power at the end of the battle. The Stunticons are not included in the script; it seems likely they were shoehorned in at the last minute by the same sort of corporate dictate that wedged the Protectobots into the last few episodes of the season, pretty severely fouling up the story the episode was trying to tell.
• Starscream blows up the Decepticon detention center after raiding it. Did he just kill a bajillion disembodied Decepticons? Cold.
• Number of times that somebody says "Jazz and Cliffjumper": 7
• In a record for the series, Megatron calls for a retreat three times... all within 8 minutes.
• Devastator got his tail kicked. Can you tell he's no longer a new toy, folks?
• The plot of this episode is reused in a simplified form in "The Special Teams".

Foreign localization

French

• Title (Canadian and European French broadcasts): "La mutinerie" ("The Mutiny")
• Title (European French DVD release): "La brigade de Starscream" ("Starscream's Brigade")
• Original airdate: ?

• All the logo transitions were cut. It is unknown if it was that way for the original broadcast or if the episode was chopped for the DVD release.
• The intro conversation is not about Shockwave in the dub. Megatron explains that to be a worthy Decepticon, one has to be respectful towards their leader. Starscream answers that the leader should then be able to defeat the Autobots in order to be respected.
• When we see Astrotrain, Thrust and Soundwave shocked by Starscream shooting Megatron, one of the voice actors adds an over-dramatic shocked reaction, but very late (next shot actually), probably as a joke.
• When seeing the old tank, Starscream says "It kinda reminds me of the clumsy look of the big Blitzy!". Blitzwing was called by his full name previous episode, so maybe Starscream just uses a cute nickname for him.
• Starscream's line "I know you're in here somewhere." got its "you" translated by "tu", making it sound like he's looking for one person or one object instead of five.
• Teletraan-1 says that Soundwave was the one that removed the personality components from the Decepticons, instead of Shockwave.
• When looking at Dirge and Ramjet, Starscream's line "Two more transformers to add to our collection" is mistakenly translated by "Two more Autobots to add to our collection".
• Megatron's speech to his troops is sympathetically translated by "He is not capable of defeating us. He behaves as if he was only a few hundred years old!".
• Francis Lax makes an auto-reference by making Drag Strip say "Tell Megatron he can take his little shovel and his bucket and go play around!". Lax created that expression for his dubbing of Han Solo in the original Star Wars film, when the latter says to Luke "Stay calm kid, take your shovel and your bucket and go play around!" during the Millenium Falcon pursuit.
• Motormaster tells the Stunticons to form "Megachor" for some reason.
• Name-dodging:

• Difficult challenge, but they managed to not pronounce Starscream's name a single time in the episode. He is called "that moron" by Powerglide, "Megatron's second" by Optimus Prime, "the one who thinks he can take my place" by Megatron, "the insane" by Motormaster, or simply "he" several times.
• As usual, Soundwave never pronounces Laserbeak's name. When ejecting him, he says "To work, and quickly!".
• Instead of saying the names of Jazz and Cliffjumper, Marty says "You already recognized them!". Cliffjumper then says "We are here incognito!", and Marty answers "Huh... Yes, okay".
• Teletraan-1 says that "two Autobots" were captured. Later, Optimus Prime asks Megatron to release "the two Autobots".
• Powerglide does not call Optimus Prime, it's the latter who just says "Show me what's happening there".
• Optimus Prime's lines "Jazz and Cliffjumper appear to be safe. Grapple, Ratchet, now go get Jazz and Cliffjumper!" are replaced by "They are in good shape. Go get them, and hurry up!".

• Missing lines:

• Starscream's line "This thing must be huge!" is absent.
• Starscream's counting "214... 215... 216..." is absent.
• When about to shoot Megatron, Starscream does not precise "and there is nothing you can do to stop me!", creating a strange silence.
• Megatron's "Noooooo!" is missing.
• Brawl's line is missing as Dirge and Ramjet join the battle.
• Soundwave's line "Re-energization of troops incomplete. Must withdraw." is absent.
• Drag Strip does not precise that they are having a demolition derby, despite his mouth moving on screen.

German

• Title (Generation 2 dub): "Starscreams großer Kampf" ("Starscream's Big Fight")
• Original airdate: September 3, 1994

Italian

• Title (dub 1): "I Combacticons" ("The Combaticons")
• Original airdate: ?

• When he reaches room 217, Starscream's line: «Ah ah! 217!» is changed to: «It should be somewhere...», making it look line he wasn't really sure the personality components were there. And... yes... he used a singular verb...
• Since Cliffjumper is known in Italy as "Grillo", meaning "cricket", the name "Cliffjump" is changed to "Saltapicchio", which is another (more dialectal) way of saying "cricket".
• Teletraan I says that Starscream was the one that removed the personality components from the Decepticons, instead of Shockwave.

• Title (dub 2): "La brigata di Starscream" ("The Brigade of Starscream")
• Original airdate: ?

• The dub adds a fandom in-joke, as Marty's misnaming of Cliffjumper is changed to "Bumper".

Japanese

• Title: "Starscream Gundan" (スタースクリーム軍団, "Starscream's Brigade")
• Original airdate: July 18, 1986

Mandarin

• Title: "Hóngzhīzhū de Pànbiàn " (红蜘蛛的叛变, "Starscream's Mutiny")
• Original airdate: ?

Brazilian Portuguese

• Title: "O Motim do Starscream" ("Starscream's Mutiny")
• Original airdate: ?

Russian

• Title: "Otryad Skandalista" (Отряд Скандалиста, "Starscream's Brigade")
• Original airdate: ?

Home video releases

VHS

1988 — The Action Adventure Collection (Tempo Video)
1989 — Transformers — Starscream's Brigade (Tempo Video)
1993 — The Biggest Ever Saturday Morning Heroes (Tempo Video)
1999 — The Original Transformers — Volume 3: Programmed for Evil (Rhino Entertainment)

LaserDisc

1995 — Fight! Super Robot Lifeform Transformers — Megatron Set (Takara) — Japanese audio only.
1999 — The Transformers — Decepticon Edition (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.

DVD

2001 — The Transformers — DVD Box 2 (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only.
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Rhino Entertainment)
2003 — The Original Transformers — Season 2 Part 2: Vol. 8 (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Season 2 Part 2 (Metrodome)
2004 — Transformers — Collection 3: Series 2.2 (Madman Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers — Volume 14 (Déclic Images) — European French audio only.
2006 — Transformers — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome)
2006 — The Best of The Transformers (Madman Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers — The Classic Episodes (Metrodome)
2007 — The Transformers — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — Transformers — Volume 06: Stagione Due Parte Quarta (Medianetwork Communication) — English and Italian audio.
2009 — Transformers — Season Two: Part Two (Metrodome)
2009 — The Transformers — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment)
2009 — The Transformers — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection (Shout! Factory)
2009 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume Two: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2011 — The Transformers — The Complete Original Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — The Transformers — Season Two, Volume Two: 30th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers — The Classic Animated Series (Metrodome)

External links

• First draft script, submitted on 16th September 1985
• Episode model sheets