Episode Review: Transformers S01 Ep16 – “Heavy Metal War”

“No-one drives us, stupid human!”

The episode opens on a building site, where a group of construction workers are installing energy disks, which will tap power from the earth’s magnetic field. If you’ve been watching transformers for any length of time, you’ll know who will find these energy discs appealing!

A team of green construction vehicles speed rapidly to the construction site. As the human construction workers realise that nobody is driving the vehicles, they attack and reveal themselves as the Constructicons! The Constructicons (Scrapper, Scavenger, Mixmaster, Long Haul, Hook and Bonecrusher) steal the energy discs and return to their leader-Megatron.

Megatron tells Starscream that the Constructicons were worth the time they spent building them in the caverns that they are using and orders the Constructicons to attach the energy discs to their new invention. We soon learn that Scrapper’s invention will give Megatron the power to defeat the Autobots by giving him the powers of all of the Decpeticons, along with what he refers to as Optimus Prime’s only weakness-his overdeveloped sense of honour.

“You have such a strong sense of honour……”

At Autobot Headquarters, Megatron is spotted flying in, only to be greeted by attacks from Bumblebee, Wheeljack, Ironhide, and Optimus Prime. Megatron declares that he is only there to speak, and challenges Optimus Prime to do battle. The loser of the battle will have to exile himself and his army into deep space, with the winner being able to stay where he chooses. Buoyed by the opportunity to end the war if he wins, Optimus accepts the challenge. Megatron, pleased that Optimus has accepted, flies back to the caverns.

“I will win at any cost!”

At the caverns, Megatron orders his troops to put their power chip rectifiers (which give them their unique abilities) into the exchange furnace of his power transfer machine. Starscream reminds Megatron that both warriors must fight unaided according to the Cybertron code of conduct. Undeterred, Megatron is determined to win at any cost, even if it means cheating. The Decepticon warriors donate their powers and they are explosively transferred to Megatron.

Megatron orders the Constructicons to tunnel their way beneath Autobot Headquarters and disable Teletraan-1 so that the computer cannot warn Optimus Prime of Megatron’s increased power, and deception.

The Autobots roll to the location of the looming battle. The Decepticons arrive soon after. Both sides warriors take up locations around the battle area, and Prime reminds Megatron that he must fight unaided according to the law. Prime and Megatron engage in one-to-one combat and Megatron shows his immense power immediately, tossing prime like a rag-doll across the arena. He follows with some shots using Starscream’s cluster bombs and null rays. Optimus is able to counter with a blast of his own, and throws a large boulder at Megatron. Using Skywarp’s teleportation ability, Megatron evades the boulder and shoots Prime squarely in the back, this time using his own Fusion Cannon.

Looking almost defeated, Optimus recovers and blasts Megatron, then follows by tackling him, but Megatron uses powers given to him by Reflector and Thundercracker to send Prime sprawling. A few more blasts from Megatron’s Fusion Cannon finishes Prime off. Declaring Victory, Megatron reminds the Autobots that they must exile themselves to deep space. While the Autobots are unhappy and want to fight back against Megatron, the broken Prime reminds them that Megatron won according to Cybertron law and orders the Autobots to comply. Having just enough energy left to transform, Optimus leads the rest of the Autobots back to headquarters, with the Decepticons following from the air to make sure they keep to their word.

“No destroy Teletraan-1, Dinobots destroy you!”

Meanwhile, Teletraan-1 has detected that the Constructicons are below Autobot Headquarters, and alerts the Dinobots to their presence. The Dinobots respond and a battle breaks out. The Dinobots appear to be gaining the upper hand as they take their alt-mode dino forms. However, the Constructions reveal that they have some heavy artillery of their own, showcasing something never seen in The Transformers up to this point. The Constructicons combine together to form a giant robot-Devastator!

As the rest of the Autobots are arriving home, they see the battle raging between the Dinobots and Devastator, but Prime reminds them that they are unable to help due to the law.

Ratchet tends to Optimus Prime’s injuries, returning him to full strength, and Chip reveals that Teletraan-1 has analysed the battle and found that Megatron was using the strength of all of his warriors. Realising that Megatron has cheated, the Autobots are able to ignore the agreement made with him and fight back-starting with Devastator.

Hound creates a hologram to confuse Devastator, and while he is distracted, Prime opens fire on him, causing him to disengage into the separate Constructicons. The Dinobots follow with a brutal attack, forcing the Constructicons into the lava of the volcano. The Autobots then fire on the rest of Decepticons, forcing them into the lava too. Megatron is the last Decepticon standing, and Optimus, showing no hestitation, blasts him in to the lava.

The Autobots ponder whether the war has been ended, but a battle damaged Megatron surfaces from the lava and vows to rise again!

Key Scenes, Plot Points and Characters:

The power transfer scene in this episode is just stunning and impactful. You can almost feel how immense the transfer of power to Megatron is! Of course, the introduction of the Constructicons is key to this episode. This is done really well and it’s great to see all of their abilities and skills being used throughout the episode-culminating in seeing them form Devastator for the first time.

The Verdict:

Fantastic episode. Great story, great action, great pace. I score this episode 10 energon cubes out of 10. 

Afterthoughts:

Wow, what a great way to finish series one! This is just a great episode, with iconic moments and the introduction of the Constructicons. This episode is exciting and captivating from start to finish, and showcases everything that fans love about The Transformers!

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About Steve Shreeve 68 Articles
When he isn't writing about Transformers, Steve runs Shreeve Health and Fitness, using his online training service to train people in any location. Steve loves Transformers and Star Trek, retro toys and cartoons, sharks, and nature.