Transformers: Energon

Transformers: Energon, known in Japan as Transformer: Superlink, is a Transformers animated series co-produced by Hasbro and Takara, and a direct sequel to Transformers: Armada. It is also the first Japanese Transformers series in which the Transformers are computer-generated (CG), in a cel-shaded technique similar to the Zoids anime, which was a trend that would continue into the next series, Transformers: Cybertron.

Transformers: Energon premiered on Cartoon Network's Toonami block in a marathon on April 9, 2004. only 4 episodes were aired during the marathon and no further episodes of the series appeared on Toonami. The rest of the series aired on Cartoon Network outside of Toonami.

Plot
The series takes place ten years after the finale of Armada, opening in an age of peace on Cybertron and Earth which is destined not to last long. Energon pits the Autobots against an array of villains: the reborn Megatron, the barely functional Unicron, and the mysterious Alpha Q and his Terrorcon minions.

Autobots
Optimus Prime — Leader of the Autobots. Although peacetime had afforded Prime the opportunity to train his own elite squadron of Autobots, teaching the martial art of Kumite, the re-emergence of the war has forced him to return to his role as commander. The war for the Mini-Cons, and the truths he was forced to face in his confrontation with Unicron seem to have changed him - now a stern commander, rarely allowing emotion to interfere with his duties, his plans are simple, direct, and often violent, while his dedication to his mission to destroy Megatron and Unicron is unnerving in its single-mindedness. However, he still shows concern for his subordinates, and by the end of the series, he makes numerous personal sacrifices that show that even if he is harsh, everything he does is for the greater good. No longer able to combine with his trailer, Prime has instead been gifted with the Spark of Combination by Primus, allowing him to combine with the quartet of vehicular drones in his trailer, the Prime Force (Grand Force) - Fire One, Copter Two, Digger Three, and Submarine Four, each of which can form either an arm or a leg when they combine with Prime, creating his Super Mode. Near the middle of the series, with the revival of Wing Dagger as Wing Saber, Optimus gains two new 'Powerlinx Optimus' forms, the frequently used primarily red 'Flight Mode', taking advantage of Wing Saber's maneuverability and speed, and the rarely used primarily blue 'Fight Mode', which, in turn, takes advantage of Wing Saber's sheer firepower. Even later, than that, after the awakening of Omega Supreme, Optimus Prime is able to use the Spark of Combination to combine with the ancient warrior, creating his most powerful form yet: Optimus Supreme.

Jetfire — Jetfire can be relied on for consistency - he's much the same as he ever was, cracking wise on and off the battlefield, but unwaveringly serious in his duties despite any outward appearance to the contrary. He transforms into a spacecraft, and although he can no longer Powerlink with Optimus Prime, he now also possesses the Spark of Combination, allowing him to link up with other Transformers, commonly Ironhide. During the battle against Unicron, Jetfire was evolved into a more powerful form by Primus.

Hotshot — Ten years is not that long of a time to a Transformer, but for Hot Shot, it has seen him mature from a hotheaded young fighter into a seasoned warrior, looked up to and respect by many other Transformers, including the rookie, Ironhide - and he's still the fastest of them all in his sports car mode. Hot Shot possesses the Spark of Combination, and combine with other Transformers, most frequently Inferno. During the battle against Unicron, Hot Shot was evolved into a more powerful form by Primus.

Ironhide — The youthful, impetuous Ironhide is the newest addition to Optimus Prime's team, and is desperate to prove himself to his commanders, particularly his idol, Hot Shot. Indeed, it is not generally the actions Ironhide performs on his own that define his character, but rather the actions taken in his relationships with others, the first such challenging being his partnership with the disagreeable human, Kicker. Neither Ironhide nor Kicker were happy about Optimus Prime's decision to force them together, but despite everything, the two eventually became good friends. Ironhide would also have to deal with the betrayal of Demolishor and the corruption of Scorponok, resulting in an emotional growth that saw him become the object of adoration himself, and leader of his own team. Ironhide transforms into an SUV with roof-mounted cannons, and possesses the Spark of Combination, allowing him to combine with other Transformers. During the battle against Unicron, Ironhide was evolved into a more powerful form by Primus.

Inferno/Roadblock — Inferno, the level-headed master sniper of Team Optimus Prime transforms into a fire engine and possesses the Spark of Combination, frequently combining with Hot Shot. He tended to play no major role until the Autobots were transported to a new region of space where Alpha Q had successfully recreated the planets destroyed by Unicron. Here, on Iron Planet, Inferno was charged with guarding Shockblast, but an attack by the Decepticons saw Megatron infuse Inferno with his own energies, trying to brand him with the Decepticon symbol and turn him to his side. Inferno fought the influence in a series of Jekyll-and-Hyde-like transformations, eventually plunging himself into the Energon Sun defeating the Megatron's influence. Thankfully, Jetfire was able to recover his Spark and had a new body constructed for him, recreating Inferno as Roadblock, who now transformed into a truck crane.

Decepticons
Megatron/Galvatron — Although he was believed dead by both the Autobots and Decepticons, Megatron, like Unicron, had survived the final battle ten years beforehand. Megatron's body was now a decaying husk, absorbed into the equally damaged body of Unicron, but when the being called Alpha Q began his plan to re-energise Unicron, Megatron saw his opportunity, syphoning off some of the Energon that Alpha Q's Terrorcons stole, working towards his own rebirth. To turn the Decepticons to his side, Alpha Q forged a sword from Megatron's Spark, but when an enraged Scorponok stabbed Megatron's corpse with the blade, Megatron was born anew, with a powerful new body that transformed into a gunship, armed with Hyper Power cannons. Taking the sword for his own, he proceeded to take over Unicron's body, sending Alpha Q fleeing into Unicron's head, and restarted his campaign against Earth and the Autobots, seeking Energon to reactivate Unicron, whom he would use as the ultimate weapon.

Demolishor — After Megatron's demise ten years prior, Demolishor continued to follow his leader's final order to work with the Autobots, and was appointed a guard at the Autobot's Ocean City. Despite frequent conflicts with some of the Autobots there, and an unwillingness to follow the orders of Optimus Prime when it meant he was left out of the fight, he generally served well, fighting strongly against the early Terrorcon attacks. However, when Demolishor beheld the sword forged from Megatron's Spark, he could sense his leader's life energy, and found himself questioning his role. When Megatron himself was reborn and attacked Ocean City, Demolishor faced off against his leader, but could not bring himself to fire upon him, returning to his side. However, there were still some lingering doubts in Demolishor's mind, his experiences with the Autobots and humans clearly having affected him. He made his final decision, however, when he cast his concerns aside and pushed Megatron out of the path of Miranda II's Energon force field, taking the full force of the energy, destroying his body. However, Megatron was able to recover his Spark, and using the powers of Unicron, created a new body for him. As a final insult, however, Demolishor's mind was wiped clean, removing all memory of his time with the Autobots and diminishing his intelligence, turning him once again into a loyal servant. Prior to his reconstruction, Demolishor retained his original form of a missile tank, but after being recreated, his alternate mode became a dump truck, with a hyper power missile launcher.

Tidal Wave/Mirage — Tidal Wave was appointed a position at Asteroid City during his time working with the Autobots after Megatron's death. He was almost twice as big as most other transformers, and armed with four torsomouted twin-cannons, making him a very dangerous opponent. When the Terrorcons attacked the city and abducted Tidal Wave, he was brought before Scorponok, who persuaded Tidal Wave to join his side using the promise of Megatron's resurrection. Even though Scorponok's master, Alpha Q, had no intention of actually reviving the Decepticon leader, Megatron engineered his own rebirth, and Tidal Wave happily returned to his service, although he loudly vocalised his doubts about integrating Shockblast into the team, apparently having had some very bad past experiences with the criminal. Ordered to help Shockblast in battle, however, Tidal Wave was crushed by a falling Energon Tower, and after his body was transported back to Unicron, Megatron used the planet-eater's power to rebuild Tidal Wave as Mirage. Prior to this, Tidal Wave retained his original battle ship transformation (albeit scarred from exposure to unprocessed Energon), but as Mirage, he now transformed into a speedboat, with multiple Hyper Power missile launchers. Now a good deal smaller, Mirage was also faster and smarter - not hugely intelligent, but with less of Tidal Wave's childish outlook and a more menacing, intelligent demeanour.

Cyclonus/Snow Cat — Working with the Autobots after Megatron's demise, Cyclonus was stationed at Lunar City, the Cybertron City on the moon. It was devastated in a Terrorcon attack, but Cyclonus survived and made his way back to Earth for a happy reunion with Demolishor. The pair were torn apart again, however, by the appearance of Scorponok, wielding a sword forged from Megatron's Spark, which was enough to convince Cyclonus of his leader's continued existence, causing him to immediately turn on his Autobot allies. A short time later, after Megatron was fully resurrected, Cyclonus sustained heavy damage in battle, and Megatron used the power of Unicron to rebuild his body, turning him into Snowcat. Prior to this recreation, Cyclonus retained his original helicopter alternate mode, but as Snowcat, he became a polar exploration vehicle (similar to the G.I. Joe Snow Cat), with Hyper Power cannons, and deployable skis, which soon gave him a fondness for yodelling in place of his original cackling laughter.

Starscream — When Megatron seized control of Unicron's body, Alpha Q needed an assassin to destroy him so that he could return to his original task. Using what little Energon he had left, Alpha Q recreated another victim of Unicron - the Decepticon, Starscream, who had been destroyed ten years before. However, Alpha Q ran out of Energon before the process could be completed, leaving Starscream's body unstable, constantly shifting from a physical to an ethereal form, able to teleport by "ghosting" from location to location. He still transformed into a jet, now equipped with Hyper Power missiles and a colossal Energon sword. Additionally, Starscream lacked any of his memories, and was unleashed upon Ocean City, battling Optimus Prime, and then tracking Megatron back to Unicron's body, where he lost a battle to the Decepticon leader, who used Unicron's power to brainwash Starscream, turning him into his right-hand man and most loyal subordinate. Later, as a reward for his loyalty, Megatron allowed Starscream to immerse himself in the Super Energon, stabilising his physical form. His alternate mode is a jet based on an F-22 Raptor.

Terrorcons
Scorponok — A triple changer, able to assume the alternate modes of a scorpion-themed construction vehicle and jet, Scorponok was allegedly the grand chamberlain of the armies of Planet Q, and sacrificed his life when he detonated the planet's core to stop the attack of Unicron. The spark of the planet's ruler, later to be known as Alpha Q, continued to exist within the dormant Unicron, and set about forming a plan to recreate his homeworld and other worlds that had been consumed by Unicron, using Energon. From Unicron, he recreated Planet Q's armies as the Terrorcons, and resurrected Scorponok to lead them. Scorponok managed to turn several Decepticons to his and Alpha Q's side, until Megatron was resurrected. Megatron promptly beat Scorponok to a pulp for trying to usurp the power of Decepticon leader, and branded him with a Decepticon symbol. However, Scorponok continued to act as a mole for Alpha Q, working towards his master's goals from within Megatron's team. When Megatron came to suspect this, he strapped Scorponok to a meteor and hurled him at Earth's Energon Grid, hoping to force Alpha Q out of hiding to rescue his minion. Scorponok survived the ordeal with Rodimus' help, and was reunited with Alpha Q, entering into an alliance with the Autobots to stop Megatron from reviving Unicron. However, after Scorponok's subsequent defeat by Megatron, the positively charged Energon released from Unicron's head by Alpha Q reacted with the negatively charged Energon vented from Unicron's body by Megatron, tearing open a fissure in space, through with the teams were sucked. In this new region of space, all of the planets consumed by Unicron had been recreated, but Scorponok was to meet an unfortunate fate as Megatron completely brainwashed him, turning him into a true Decepticon.

Terrorcon Drones — Savage and unthinking, the Terrorcons are mindless drones without intelligence of their own, swarming over their targets and foes like insects. Although comparatively fragile and easily destroyed with artillery fire, they usually achieve their objective through sheer numbers alone. They can transform into robot modes, although they rarely do so. They are capable of handling raw Energon, although rather than shape and mould it, they actually consume it, and interally convert it into negatively charged Energon stars, used to give Unicron sustenance, and later to give the Decepticons power boosts (although they remain harmful to the touch). The Terrorcon body types include:


 * Battle Ravage — One of the most commonly used Terrorcons, these robots have panther alternate forms, with shoulder-mounded cannons and a morning star-style tail weapons.


 * Dive Bomb — Also commonly used, these Terrorcons have hawk alternate forms, equipped with Energon boomerange weapons.

Episodes
Transformers: Energon is part 2 of the "Unicron trilogy," which also includes Transformers: Armada and Transformers: Cybertron. The entire series was first released on DVD in the United States, from 2004 to 2005, in 8 installments. In 2008, the entire series was released as Transformers: Energon - The Ultimate Collection. In 2013, Shout! Factory licensed the series and re-released it on DVD on May 6, 2014.

Broadcast History
The series premiered in Japan, on TV Tokyo, from January 9, 2004 to December 24, 2004. The English dub of the series premiered in the United States on Cartoon Network from January 31, 2004 to March 19, 2005, including stints on the blocks: Saturday Video Entertainment System, beginning on January 31, 2004, and Miguzi, beginning on October 4, 2004.
 * Japan (TV Tokyo) — January 9, 2004 - December 24, 2004
 * United States (Cartoon Network) — January 31, 2004 - April 2005
 * Canada (YTV) — 2004 - 2005
 * France (Cartoon Network) — September 2, 2004 - 2005
 * United Kingdom (Toonami) — September 6, 2004 - 2005
 * Spain (Cartoon Network) — Fall 2004 - 2005
 * Latin America (Cartoon Network) — January 2005 - 2005
 * Italy (Cartoon Network) — 2004 - 2005

Toonami Broadcast History
The series appeared very briefly on Cartoon Network's Toonami block, on Friday, April 9, 2004. Only four episodes aired during a special marathon. Afterwards, the series never appeared on the Toonami block again.
 * Toonami (United States) — April 9, 2004
 * Toonami (United Kingdom) — September 6, 2004 - 2005
 * Toonami (Latin America) — January 2005 - 2005
 * Toonami (Spain) — Fall 2004 - 2005