Question: what do a band, the Mythbusters, and Transformers: Robots in Disguise have in common? Fuckin’ Rube Goldberg machines, that’s what.
So the bots are hauling in parts from a roller coaster that Denny bought, which makes me question how he makes any money considering he never seems to sell anything, when Russell comes home from playing football. Grimlock expresses interest in the game, and Russell tries to teach him. In the process, though, he smacks the ball with his tail so hard that it would probably have taken Russell’s head off. It ricochets several times, eventually resting right in the laser tripwire that alerts them to anyone trying to enter the junkyard.
Steeljaw and his pack are watching, however, and Steeljaw has the beginning of a plan. They tie down a Decepticon named Kickback, who is literally a giant robot grasshopper, to a tree for the purposes of using him as bait. The bots pick up his signal, and rush out without leaving anyone but Fixit to guard the place. By the time they realize what happened, Kickback has sucker punched kicked them on his escape, and Steeljaw’s pack are in their base.
For the first time, Steeljaw’s dossier gets brought up – by him, no less. Narcissist. Anyway, he was locked away for instigating rebellion, in addition to illegal research into sub-sonics. And that’s the important part, as he’s set up his buddies with protection against the sub-sonic signal that’s about to be broadcast. Coincidentally, the signal doesn’t affect mini-cons, but how could that be a plan breaking flaw?
Bee and the gang walk right into the field, and Steeljaw takes the opportunity to gloat. He has them disarm, and leaves their weapons just out of their direct reach inside the field. The balls on this guy. They could just get a long pole or tree or something and scrape them over the field, but whatever. They decide to try (unsuccessfully) to get around the field by going underground and over the wall.
Meanwhile, Steeljaw tells his buddies to open the stasis pods. Fixit tells a literally unbelievable lie that they’ll explode if they aren’t opened from the command console. He decides to roll with it, and sets Fixit to work, threatening Denny and Russell’s lives when he tries to stall. Denny and Russell, however, manage to sneak away while no one is looking. Pissed, Steeljaw commands Thunderhoof and clampdown to catch them. Russell convinces Denny that they know the scrapyard, and that they can use that knowledge to knock the two out. They lead them onto a grand scale Home Alone trap with the end goal being a steel container to lock them up in. Unfortunately, the mud was not enough to keep Clampdown from killing his and Thunderhoof’s inertia, so they switch to plan “B”.
Clampdown manages to snag Denny before the machine rigged to their escape zip line completes its sequence. Which is why your escape mechanism should be fast, which Rube Goldberg machines are not. Steeljaw immediately uses Denny to threaten Fixit. Realizing he has no choice, Fixit opens the pods… very slowly.
Russell gets to the bots and gives them the rundown. They realize that the field doesn’t work on Mini-cons, and decide that a catapult is their best option. They miss the console with their first shot with Slipstream, but Jetstorm hits right on the money, shorting out the console and bringing down the field. They finally recollect their weapons, and beat the shit out of the Decepticons while Bumblebee goes for Steeljaw. The bots catch up to him just in time to struggle with keeping the pods closed.
Denny and Russell reunite, and make it to the console to find that Fixit was knocked out cold when Slipstream ricocheted into him. Denny is unsure he can do anything, but Russell reminds him that he’s already worked with plenty of Cybertronian tech. Morale bolstered, he puts in the right sequence and reseals the pods. Well, they reseal after he kicks the console, anyway.
Seizing an opportunity, Steeljaw runs, collecting his pack on the way out of the junkyard. The bots decide it’s more important to secure their base than to go chasing after him. Steeljaw, however, is not happy with the way events played out, trashing their hideout and commanding his pack to get out of his sight. One piece of sheetmetal, however, starts acting strangely. Megatronus, one of the original 13 Primes and the first Decepticon, contacts Steeljaw through it. He pretty much tells him that he was behind the Alchemor‘s crash, for the purposes of freeing Steeljaw. He thinks Steeljaw will be of use to him once he gets back to our dimension, and promises him Earth if he does what is asked. Steeljaw reluctantly accepts (usual “I take orders from no one” thing, before pragmatism sets in). He leaves Steeljaw with a reminder that just because they are currently on different planes, doesn’t mean that Megatronus can’t harm him.
Well, at least we got a tease for what’s to come, right?
Final Thoughts:
- I have no idea what electrocuted Thunderhoof during that fight.
- Situations like the whole “weapons just out of reach” thing are why poles are useful.
- Imagine if the prisoners woke up right in that field. Nice plan, Steeljaw.
About Author
