Five Servos of Doom
From Transformers Wiki
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 Wax on, wax off. | |||||||||
| "Five Servos of Doom" | |||||||||
| Season | 3 | ||||||||
| No. in season | 6 | ||||||||
| Airdate | April 4, 2009 | ||||||||
| Written by | Andrew Robinson | ||||||||
| Directed by | Kalvin Lee Yoshio Frank Chatani | ||||||||
| Animation studio | Mook | ||||||||
| Continuity | Animated cartoon continuity | ||||||||
Sentinel Prime has incredible success capturing fugitive Decepticons, leading Prowl to suspect he's getting help.
Contents |
Synopsis
In the dead of night, the Autobots steal through the streets of Detroit, on the trail of a Decepticon energy signature. With the source of the signal cornered, Prowl makes his move and dives through a window, only to find that the signal is coming from a signal beacon and that the Autobots have been tricked. To make matters worse, Sentinel Prime has disappeared, and the Autobots spread out to search for him. During the search, Optimus Prime spots an unfamiliar shadow and follows it around a corner...to find the sycophantic Starscream clone, captured and stasis-cuffed by Sentinel Prime. They take the prisoner back to the Elite Guard's ship, where Optimus is stunned to discover that Sentinel has also recently captured Blitzwing and Swindle as well.
Jetstorm and Jetfire are eager to know how Sentinel managed to apprehend the Starscream clone, as is Optimus, but Sentinel gets defensive and tells Optimus it does not concern him. Prime confides in Prowl his suspicion that Sentinel is hiding something, and tells about the strange shadow he saw. Back at the Autobot plant, the pair consult computer records to see if Optimus can identify the distinctive helmet the robot was wearing, and when they find one that fits the bill, the stunned Prowl flashes back to his past on Cybertron...
- The helmet belongs to Yoketron, the ninja master who trained Prowl centuries ago. Attempting to dodge the draft during the Great War, Prowl was apprehended by Elite Guardsman Warpath and placed into the care of Yoketron, who saw potential in him and offered to train him in exchange for the charges against him being dropped.
Optimus pulls Prowl out of his ruminations, and the ninja-bot silently speeds back to the Elite Guard ship to converse with Jazz, another of Yoketron's old students. The pair suspect that their old sensei may somehow be on Earth, capturing Decepticons, and that Sentinel is taking the credit. Sentinel walks in on the middle of the discussion and laughs off the notion that Yoketron is even still online, before departing on another patrol. Knowing that something is not right, Jazz and Prowl shadow Sentinel, but when Sentinel rounds a corner and disappears, Prowl lapses into his memories once again, recalling when Yoketron taught him that it was the robot himself, not his tools, that made the ninja. With nothing left to do, the pair return to the Elite Guard's ship, where Jetfire and Jetstorm are working to repair their communications system.
The two brothers, who are struggling to get the ship's gyro-stabilizer working, tell the ninjas that Sentinel is waiting for them in the brig, and Jazz and Prowl are amazed to see that Sentinel has brought in Lugnut! As Sentinel gloats, Prowl calls him on the unlikelihood of the whole scenario and accuses him of having "help". The ninja-bot points out the missing weapons on all the Decepticons, and notes that only one bot that he knows of takes trophies from his victims, but Sentinel silences him by revealing that he has removed Lugnut's "Punch of Kill Everything" and placed it in a storage compartment in that very hallway. Embarrassed, Prowl leaves, and Sentinel turns on Optimus, telling him to keep Prowl in line, lest he "bust him back to protoform". The word echoes down the hallway, and Prowl pauses...
- As Prowl's skills increase under Yoketron's tutelage, he is deemed worthy of a weapon by his master and is given his shuriken. Yoketron leads Prowl into a chamber containing holographic busts of his greatest students, but one plinth is empty—a spot, Yoketron reveals, previously held by a former student who disgraced the cyber-ninja corps. Prowl is amazed when Yoketron uses a technique known as "processor-over-matter" to open the far wall of the chamber with the power of his mind, revealing a greater chamber beyond, its walls lined with protoforms that the Cyber-Ninja Corps has been charged with protecting. Yoketron challenges Prowl to close the chamber using processor-over-matter, but Prowl is unable to accomplish the task, and Yoketron sends him on an "optics quest" to find his center and become a true cyber-ninja.
Prowl's trip down memory lane is cut off as Sentinel comes down the hallway. He uses his hologram projector to disguise himself as a cabinet and listen in as Sentinel talks with parties unknown over his communicator. Prowl alerts Jazz before trailing Sentinel to Tigatron Stadium, where he learns that his suspicions were correct: Sentinel is working with Lockdown, who is wearing Yoketron's helmet! Prowl busts up the prisoner exchange, but it is soon revealed that Lockdown has double-crossed Sentinel, having been made a better offer by the liar Starscream clone. Lockdown and Prowl engage in battle, and Lockdown reveals that he was also a student of Yoketron...
"But the seeds of the future lie buried in the past!"
"... shut up, boy."
- Returning from his unsuccessful optics quest, Prowl discovers that Yoketron's dojo has been attacked, the protoforms almost all stolen, and Yoketron himself fatally wounded. As Yoketron's spark begins to fade, Prowl recovers one of the remaining protoforms and places his master's spark in it, saving Yoketron's life. Yoketron, however, is appalled by his student's actions; one must never sacrifice a piece of the future in order to save a piece of the past. When Prowl's time comes, Yoketron tells him, he too will understand. As Prowl looks on, Yoketron allows his spark to fade out.
At last, all is clear to Prowl: Lockdown led the attack on the dojo and took the protoforms! Prowl pins Lockdown and demands the return of Yoketron's helmet; Lockdown appears to comply, but the helmet has been booby-trapped and binds Prowl in a tangle of cables. The captured Prowl is taken to Lockdown's ship, where the bounty hunter intends to remove his jump jets and holo-projector in order to complete a duplicate set of the armor that he loaned Prowl during their last encounter. Lying on Lockdown's "operating table", Prowl concentrates, and at last masters processor-over-matter, freeing his body from the cables with the power of his mind.
Meanwhile, Optimus Prime, Jazz, Jetfire and Jetstorm have arrived to rescue Sentinel Prime from the clutches of the Starscream clone, but the fight is not going well, as the clone uses Sentinel for a shield most of the time. The clone takes to the air, but Prime blinds him with a faceful of foam, and he crashes into the middle of the stadium field, dropping Sentinel head-first into the ground.
Back aboard Lockdown's ship, the bounty hunter turns to discover that Prowl has freed himself and donned both Yoketron's helmet and the armor, knowing that he will be able to handle its power this time because of the lesson he has finally learned: It is the ninja-bot, not the weapon. The two engage in battle once more, and their fight soon carries them out of the ship and into the middle of the other fight going on in the field outside. Optimus Prime and Jazz are in the process of dropping the stadium's scoreboard onto the Starscream clone, but Prowl and Lockdown get in the way at the last second, before they can stop the giant screen's tumble. As the dust clears, Optimus and Jazz discover that Prowl has used processor-over-matter to protect the combatants from the debris. Optimus quickly stasis-cuffs the Starscream clone, but Lockdown gets away.
A little later, everyone has returned to the Elite Guard ship, where Jetstorm and Jetfire open a communications channel with Cliffjumper on Cybertron. Cliffjumper tells the Autobots about Shockwave's attack on Ultra Magnus, and rather than add to the trouble, Prime refrains from reporting Sentinel's misconduct, instead simply informing Cliffjumper of the capture of the Decepticons on Earth, crediting Prowl. Sentinel thanks Optimus for covering for him, but Optimus promises that once everything is done, he and Sentinel will have it out.
Back at the Autobot base, Jazz compliments Prowl on his armor, and tells him that Yoketron would be proud to have him wear his helmet. Prowl vows to do everything he can to be worthy of it.
Featured characters
(Characters in italic text appear only in flashback.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)
| Autobots | Decepticons |
|---|---|
|
Quotes
Jetfire: Sentinel Prime, sir, tell please.
Jetstorm: How did you making to capture this badness bot?
Optimus: Yes, Sentinel. How did you capture this badness bot?
- —Optimus Prime and the twins question Sentinel and butcher the English language.
Warpath: Ask me, he should rust in the stockade. Any Autobot who won't fight the Decepticons is no better than a Con himself. We're at war.
Prowl: It's not my war!
Warpath: Then maybe I should take you out back and make it your war!
Yoketron: I believe I can take it from here.
Warpath: Bam pow! Lousy draft-dodgin' peacenik.
- —Warpath has no time for draft-dodgers.
"Give. Me. Yoketron's. Helmet."
- —Prowl is not messing around.
"Couldn't resist that old armor, though, could ya? What makes you think you can handle it this time?"
"I've learned something since then. It's the ninja-bot, not the weapon."
- —Lockdown and Prowl
"Whoa, bro. P-over-M."
- —Jazz, impressed with Prowl's processor-over-matter mastery.
"Diggin' the new armor, specially Yoketron's helmet. He'd be proud to have you wear it."
"Thank you. I plan to do everything in my power to be worthy of it."
- —Jazz and Prowl
Notes
Continuity notes
- Prowl performed the titular "Five Servos of Doom" technique back in "The Elite Guard".
- Swindle is still stuck in vehicle mode after the events of "SUV: Society of Ultimate Villainy".
- Prowl's samurai armor was previously seen in "A Fistful of Energon", in which Lockdown last appeared. Additionally, it was in that episode that Starscream escaped from the Elite Guard flagship, which is the "last time" that Sentinel refers to while arguing with Optimus.
- As of this episode, we've seen all the Cybertronian modes for the five main Autobots.
- And, as of this episode, all the main 'bots have had flashback episodes (counting "Autoboot Camp" for both Bulkhead and Bumblebee).
- Prowl's keeping of his new armor continues the trend started in "TransWarped" with Bumblebee and Ratchet that upgrades are okay now because damnit, this is war. This is a notable turnaround from the position of the first two seasons.
Transformers references
- Yoketron is named for Takara's lead designer, Hideaki Yoke.
- In addition to Yoketron and Jazz, the busts in Yoketron's little "hall of fame" depict Animated incarnations of various Transformers that have otherwise not appeared in the series (yet?). Those clearly visible onscreen include Springer, Sky Garry, Devcon, Dai Atlas, Heavy Load, Star Upper and Roadhandler, but there are many more busts in the room that are only seen from a distance, and are essentially unidentifiable. Derrick J. Wyatt has identified the other Transformers as Ultra Magnus, Star Saber, Tap-Out, Kick-Off, Grandus, Motorarm, Powerhug and Road Rocket.
- Tigatron Stadium!
- Lockdown identifies Prowl's techniques as Metallikato Sigma and Circuit-Su.
- Yoketron's Spark container is similar to design to Big Convoy's Matrix, with two L-shaped handles instead of U-shaped ones. Fitting, when one considers Yoketron's Japanese-based aesthetic.
- One of the upgrades seen on Lockdown's shelves is Soundwave's G1 shoulder-mounted missile launcher.
- The protoform Prowl takes from the room has a design similar to the ones in Beast Wars.
- Also, the protoform-pods-or-whatever-they-are-called on the walls look like the stasis pods from the same franchise...where the protoforms were guarded as well! Coincidence? Perhaps...
- Master Yoketron's dying words to Prowl are rather foreshadowing....
Real-world references
- The title of the episode is apparently derived from the 1972 Hong Kong martial arts movie Five Fingers Of Death. The movie's name is a regular source of recycling, including wrestler Bret Hart's "Five Moves Of Doom" and the mockumentary 18 Fingers Of Death to name a few.
- A reference to "Five Faces of Darkness" may not have been intended, but the Brazilian title sure seems to be going in that direction.
- Tigatron Stadium is named after and largely based on Tiger Stadium, the former home field of the Detroit Tigers. The stadium ceased use by the team in 1999, and was later fully demolished in 2009.
Animation or technical errors
- Lockdown seems to have...lost a...tooth?
- When Prowl readies himself to kick Lockdown, his animation model doesn't have Yoketron's helmet, but rather, the helmet from the episode "A Fistful of Energon". This error reappears when Prowl charges at Lockdown a few seconds later.
- When the scoreboard crashes onto Prowl, Lockdown, and Ramjet, Prowl is missing his samurai armor.
- In the pan shot from the assembled Autobots and defeated Liar Starscream to Sentinel Prime with his head stuck in the ground, Sentinel's arms are spread out onto the turf as if he were no longer in stasis cuffs. His arms are positioned correctly when the shot switches to a close-up.
- Jetstorm has no mouth when Jetfire hails Cliffjumper on the Elite Guard ship's viewscreen.
Continuity errors
- It's not technically an error, since Prowl has always remained quiet on his history and could just have been holding back from correcting anyone, but this episode reveals that he was online during the Great War, prior to the creation of Omega Supreme, where previous episodes have suggested that none of the main Animated Autobot cast, except for Ratchet, were around back then. Notably, this makes Prowl older than Optimus Prime, which... sits ill, at best.
- Based on the various conversations about him, it seems the public believes Master Yoketron mysteriously disappeared. This is rather at odds with Prowl's flashback, in which Master Yoketron leaves two distinct corpses behind thanks to Prowl trying to revive him. This makes one wonder what exactly happened after that.
- On a related note, this also means that Jazz was active in the Cyber-Ninja Corps during the war, apparently long before Sentinel even came online (much less joined the Elite Guard). Even ignoring Sentinel's various flaws, this raises legitimate questions about just how promotions are handed out in the Elite Guard.
- Swindle is still in one piece, despite a certain cop telling the Autobots he would be stripped down and sold at an auction.
- Sentinel notes he had to pay a fine to remove the vehicle-locked Swindle from an impound lot. HOW he could have paid a fine with money he'd never have reason to carry goes unexplained.
- Lockdown has never mentioned Prowl's fighting before, referred to any cyber-ninja training, or, perhaps most noticeably, worn Yoketron's helmet prior to this episode. The latter may have been meant to be explained by Lockdown's stated interest in Prowl's use of the samurai armor during their last encounter, but it's still a little clunky.
- By much the same token, given what a big point Prowl makes of Yoketron's helmet being distinctive enough in shape to be recognizable even in shadow, it seems a little odd in retrospect that he made no comment regarding the strong similarity to his former master's helmet when he first saw the previous "samurai" helmet he got from Lockdown.
- The protoform in this episode is a whole lot different than the one featured in "TransWarped". This new look will remain constant for the rest of the series.
Trivia
- Like the previous episode, this episode received an early online debut when a copy loaded onto the Cartoon Network website server, intended to go live after the episode premiered, was leaked out on March 27, over a week before the episode premiered on television.
- Having three faces warrants three mouth clamps, it seems, as the animation depicts the mouth clamps on Blitzwing's faces rotating when he switches personality. Interestingly, you can still see some of the smile on Random Blitzwing's face.
- While trying to identify the helmet Optimus Prime saw, Prowl brings up the images of the helmets worn by Ultra Magnus and Blitzwing on the computer.
- Similar to the misspelling of Shockwave's name in "Autoboot Camp", the Closed Captions for this episode misspell Lockdown's reference to "Metallikato Sigma" and both his and Prowl's references to "Circuit-Su" as Metallic Arrow Sigma and Circuit Sioux, respectively.
- The voice cast for this episode does not credit David Kaye with the role of Cliffjumper.
Foreign localization
Brazilian
- Title: "Cinco Faces Do Mal" ("Five Faces Of Evil")
- Original airdate: ???
French
- Title: "Cinq servomoteurs du destin" ("Five Servomotors of Doom")
- Original airdate: ???
Spanish (Latin America)
- Title: "Los cinco servos de la perdición" ("The five servos of doom")
- Original airdate: 10 November 2009
Japanese
- Title: "Shishō no Katami" (師匠の形見, "Memento of the Master")
- Original airdate: 6 November 2010
Home video releases
- DVD
2011 — Transformers Animated — Vol. 9 (Paramount) — Japanese audio only.
2014 — Transformers Animated — Season Three (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers Animated — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)
2014 — Transformers Animated — Season Three (Madman Entertainment)
