Overmatch

« Transformers: Armada ep 14 »
Richard Dawson! Charles Nelson Reilly! They're here to play The Overmatch Game '76!
"Overmatch" 強敵 (つわもの) (Tsuwamono) "Formidable Enemy: Exceptional Person"
Production code	TF: A-14
Production company	TV Tokyo, NAS
Airdate	December 13, 2002 (English) 11 April 2003 (Japanese)
Writer	Ryō Motohira
Director	Takashi Sano
Animation studio	Actas Inc.
Continuity	Unicron Trilogy
Watch this episode on YouTube

The Autobots have a solid victory thanks to the Star Saber, but then a mysterious and powerful mercenary gives the Decepticons a new edge.

Synopsis

And here's the star of The Overmatch Game '76...

In a mountainous area, under the moonlight, the Decepticons search for another Mini-Con. As Starscream climbs a mountainside to the active panel, Hot Shot leaps in front of him and summons the Star Saber while Smokescreen goes after the Mini-Con. Hot Shot slices through Starscream's arm, making the Decepticon fall from the mountain. Starscream unsheathes his sword, but the Star Saber easily cuts through it, and a stray shard knocks Cyclonus out of Smokescreen's way. Megatron orders Demolishor forward, but Optimus then lands directly onto the Decepticon leader, leaving Demolishor to fight Hot Shot on his own. When Hot Shot removes Demolishor's cannons, Megatron once more orders a retreat.

Here's Mini-Con #923. You gettin' all this down?

Smokescreen arrives at the mountain's base and introduces the activated Mini-Con: Liftor. Optimus warns Hot Shot not to be overconfident, then almost notices a cloaked figure who watched the entire battle.

Rad complains that the fridge is full of tools at the Autobot base, and Carlos explains that Alexis is out shopping for more food; this still doesn't explain why there are tools where the food should be.

"Dumb Demolishor is SO dumb..." "How dumb is he?"

Alexis buys some laundry detergent with bleach in a grocery store and some de-greaser, even if there is a suspected risk of causing her fashionable Mini-Con to short-circuit. When she gets back to the Autobot base, Red Alert reminds the kids that the Mini-Cons shouldn't go out in public and silences Carlos's boredom complaints. He then gives the kids an upgraded Laserbeak.

In the Decepticon base, the Decepticons are healing their wounds while Megatron berates his troops. Then the mysterious cloaked figure from earlier arrives, and Megatron introduces him as Scavenger. Scavenger belittles all the Decepticons, aggravating Starscream into an assault that Scavenger can deny outright, leading Starscream to hold another grudge.

On Earth, Scavenger locates a yellow Mini-Con storage panel, but instead of grabbing it, he leaves it as a catalyst for a series of manipulated events. Soon enough, the Autobots and the Decepticons face each other in combat. Hot Shot is eager to use the Star Saber to make the first move, and Cyclonus opens fire at Hot Shot, who leaps and slices off the Decepticon's helicopter tail. Starscream then challenges Hot Shot in open combat.

Just then, Scavenger's laughter draws everybody's attention. Optimus admits that Scavenger taught him how to fight. Starscream tells Scavenger to butt out, and Scavenger tells Megatron to butt out.

Starscream and Hot Shot begin their duel. Their first attacks bounce off each other. On the second approach, Starscream can put a nasty gash into Hot Shot's face. On the third dive at each other, Hot Shot again slices Starscream's sword off. Starscream yells that the duel isn't over yet, but Scavenger prevents him from going on fighting, telling Starscream that he'll beсome a great warrior only when he knows himself better.

"Scavenger and Hot Shot had a mighty battle - it was so mighty that it shook the BLANK."

Then Scavenger pronounces that Hot Shot's victory was only because of the Star Saber. When Hot Shot challenges Scavenger, the mercenary uncloaks himself and accepts the challenge. Scavenger pushes Hot Shot back, and a stab from Hot Shot wedges the Star Saber within Scavenger's arm. Scavenger is unfazed and slaps Hot Shot away, then delivers a brutal punch to Hot Shot's gut, winning the fight.

Megatron tries to claim the Star Saber, but Optimus intervenes. However, Cyclonus has found the Mini-Con, and with the prize in hand, the Decepticons retreat. On the Moon, Megatron tries to unlock the Mini-Con, and Scavenger explains the Skyboom Shield legend.

As Megatron reflects upon this new revelation, his laughter echoes through the halls of the Decepticon base.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Hah-ha! I found one! Something's glowing up in the rocks above you, Starscream. I'll bet you dollars to brainchips it's a Mini-Con!"

—Cyclonus

"You want to go again?"
"Uh, no, uh, thanks. I've had enough punishment for one day."

—Hot Shot and Demolishor, after the former slices off the latter's shoulder cannons

Gene Rayburn's wardrobe courtesy of the Palm Beach Signature Collection by John White.

"Mommy! I just saw a robot in the store!"
"That's nice, dear."

—A little boy and his mother, upon seeing Sureshock.

"What is the meaning of this? I have never seen such a pathetic combat!"

—Poor Megatron suffers from questionably translated dialogue.

"I wasn't sure until just now whether I would respond to your request. I made up my mind after witnessing that battle and seeing how pathetically you performed. You need all the help you can get. Still, I'm impressed that you would have a base here. It's perfect for a warp facility. Nice work, Megatron. Sometimes your intelligence surprises me."
"Spare me the cynicism. Calling you was a last resort, believe me. We must have that Star Saber. Can we count on your assistance, my friend? I'll be certain to make it worth your while."

—Scavenger sasses Megatron

"Megatron, I've heard the rumors about these three assistants of yours. Some claim they are among the most fearsome of the Decepticons. So much for believing everything you hear."

—Scavenger, dissing the Decepticons

Detailed!

"My butt! What have you done to my poor butt?!"

—Cyclonus laments the loss of his helicopter tail

"Enough stalling! Your trip down memory lane has nothing to do with me or this battle!"
"You're right, Starscream. On with the battle. I'm looking forward to witnessing your little performance."
"Oh, this will be more than just a performance. And when I'm finished with him, I'm gonna do a little surgery on your mouth."

—Starscream and Scavenger

Notes

Differences with Legends of the Microns

• In Armada, after Starscream calls Demolishor a fool, the latter says Starscream isn't having better luck finding the Mini-Con, and Starscream replies that it sounds like a personal problem. In Legends of the Microns, Starscream calls Demolishor a "blockhead"; Demolishor asks Starscream what he said, and the latter says he told Demolishor to get moving. Later, Cyclonus's line telling Starscream to watch himself is removed.
• Hot Shot says, "Transform!" a second before transforming in Armada, but he says it while changing into robot mode in Legends of the Microns. Then he's silent as he leaps toward Starscream.
• The transformation noise heard during the Star Saber forming sequence and the echo effect from Hot Shot's voice in the next shot are removed. After forming the sword, Hot Shot's line is extended to remove the Armada version's awkward silence.
• Instead of his "warm and fuzzy" line, Hot Shot only tells Smokescreen about the Mini-Con.
• Armada adds more reactionary sounds from Starscream after Hot Shot cuts him with the Star Saber to remove most of the silence in the scene's Japanese version. Demolishor only says Starscream's name instead of telling him to look out.
• Starscream sounds even more devastated when he loses his sword than he does in Armada, and the weird silence after his line is removed.
• After Megatron commands him to charge, Demolishor asks if Megatron wants him to get the Star Saber, and Megatron confirms Demolishor should do it. Then, instead of telling Demolishor that he's occupied, Megatron stutters awkwardly, unable to finish his sentence.
• Legends of the Microns adds an echo effect to Demolishor reacting to Hot Shot slicing off his cannons.
• Megatron sounds more frustrated when ordering the Decepticons to retreat. As they withdraw, Starscream and Cyclonus say, "Damn!" and "Scumbags!" respectfully. Then Hot Shot remarks the fight was "almost boring."
• Optimus warns Hot Shot not to get cocky since the Decepticons will soon adapt to fighting the Star Saber. Then Hot Shot says the sword will end the fighting before that happens. After this, Scavenger doesn't laugh during his close-up, and he says, "Foolishness" in an unimpressed tone.
• In Armada, Rad complains that it took him a lot of time to "fix" the fridge, but in Legends of the Microns, it's about how much effort it took to "get" a refrigerator in the base. He sounds more surprised upon opening the fridge in the Japanese version.
• Rather than worry about de-greaser for cleaning the Autobots and detergent causing the Mini-Cons to short circuit as she does in Armada, Alexis wonders if Transformers even take baths at all in Legends of the Microns. When she returns with the food, Alexis says Billy and Fred gave her suggestions. Then Rad asks Alexis why she took Sureshock with her in Armada. He instead asks about Sureshock's disguise in Legends of the Microns.
• Red Alert presents the kids with an upgraded Laserbeak to reward their "good housekeeping" around the base. As he explains Laserbeak's upgrade, Armada has about two seconds of awkward silence after Red Alert says Laserbeak can now detect the children's voices from anywhere. The Japanese dub removes it as Red Alert doesn't stop talking abruptly before the scene cuts to him.
• Alexis talks about spy-cams in Armada, while she hopes that Carlos will calm down and return to minding the base in Legends of the Microns.
• In Legends of the Microns, after Cyclonus moans about the team getting bested by the Star Saber, Megatron shouts that they are fools and need to steal back the sword before lowering his voice proposing another invasion of the Autobot base. In Armada, Megatron's voice doesn't have any drastic tonal shift.
• Rather than making his presence known by saying that Megatron is surrounded by incompetence, Scavenger refers to Megatron by his "Emperor of Destruction" title; he doesn't speak again until after Megatron introduces him. Instead of asking how Scavenger entered the Decepticon base, Cyclonus says, "How dare you!"
• Megatron refers to Scavenger as a mercenary in Armada but a reinforcement in Legends of the Microns. Scavenger believes Megatron summoned him for another reason and says that he pities Starscream, Demolishor, and Cyclonus after witnessing the battle in the Japanese dub, but says Megatron needs serious help in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, Scavenger's subsequent critique of their base and warp facility is deprecation as he highlights how he thinks it's a handy and cowardly retreat method, quipping how Megatron always prepares his escape routes.
• Megatron says that hiring Scavenger was a last resort and promises to make his services worthwhile in Armada (quoted above). In Legends of the Microns, Megatron notices Scavenger's naturally not easy to impress and asks him to lend his power as the Decepticons are almost helpless against the Star Saber.
• As he walks away from Starscream, Scavenger's laughter is extended so that it ends simultaneously with the background music. Then Starscream's inner dialogue is him questioning how he will "tolerate Scavenger's arrogance."
• Scavenger's scene finding the yellow Mini-Con panel is silent except for the very end when he laughs and says "Foolishness" like earlier. He says "Pathetic fools" at that point in Armada.
• After Hot Shot cuts off Cyclonus's butt, Armada extends Cyclonus's line to remove the Japanese dub's silence.
• Instead of Starscream sarcastically thanking Megatron for "the instructions," Starscream tells Megatron to shut up.
• Legends of the Microns adds an echo effect to Hot Shot's voice and later Starscream's as well whenever they talk to Scavenger from down in the field.
• When Optimus confirms that Scavenger taught him how to fight, he speaks to Scavenger directly in Armada but talks to Hot Shot in the Japanese version.
• In Armada, Scavenger tells Megatron not to interfere with Hot Shot and Starscream's duel. In Legends of the Microns, he first tells Optimus not to meddle before telling Megatron to shut up as well. Then Cyclonus says Megatron's name instead of asking if he should get Scavenger.
• Armada plays the Transformers theme when Hot Shot and Starscream's duel starts, while Legends of the Microns plays "For the Glory!."
• Rather than saying Hot Shot is in trouble, Smokescreen only addresses Optimus.
• When he smiles after cutting Hot Shot's face, Starscream's inner monologue is him saying, "I can do it" instead of confidently believing Hot Shot is finished; he also says it after smiling rather than immediately. Directly after, there's no sound effect when Starscream spins around to attack Hot Shot a second time.
• Scavenger shouts when he ends the duel instead of using the calm tone from Armada, and Starscream demands Scavenger not to get in his way.
• Hot Shot tells Scavenger not to hold back in Armada but says he won't hold back in Legends of the Microns.
• Armada removes the Japanese dub's silent bits during Hot Shot's fight with Scavenger by adding more moments of Scavenger laughing and Hot Shot yelling.
• When Hot Shot jams the Star Saber into Scavenger's arm, he congratulates himself on the move as internal dialogue in the Japanese dub. In Armada, he realizes his folly, now that the weapon is pinned.
• Upon defeating Hot Shot, Scavenger calls him not bad for an amateur in Armada, he asks if that fight was Hot Shot's best in Legends of the Microns. Then Megatron commands Scavenger to get the Star Saber. In Armada, he says to move in and retrieve the sword without naming anyone.

Animation and technical errors

• In his first bit of dialogue, Demolishor says he can't look for a Mini-Con since "It's all I can do to move around here." It's most likely a dubbing error, and Demolishor is supposed to say that he has trouble moving on the mountain; the Japanese dub correctly has Demolishor state that he can barely even climb.
• In the opening, Cyclonus says he found "one" like there's more than one Mini-Con. Legends of the Microns corrects this so that Cyclonus says he found "it" instead.
• After forming the Star Saber in the opening fight, the markings under Hot Shot's eyes are miscolored black instead of matching his face.
• After Hot Shot slices Starscream's sword, the Decepticon insignia on Starscream's right arm is a tiny triangle.
• As the flying piece of Starscream's sword cut off by Hot Shot hits Cyclonus, it has visibly shrunk down quite a bit.
• Demolishor strangely asks Megatron "Who will send you in as my backup;" presumably, this was meant to be read as "Who will you send in as my backup." Legends of the Microns changes some of their lines, removing the error as Demolishor now asks if Megatron wants him to retrieve the Star Saber.
• When Carlos tells Rad about Alexis's grocery trip, Rad calls Sureshock "Grindor." He again calls Sureshock "Grindor" when she returns, and Alexis refers to her as male.
• When scolding the Decepticons for the opening fight, Megatron refers to it as "a pathetic combat." In Legends of the Microns, his line is now that it's the first time they've been utterly humiliated.
• While praising Starscream for challenging him, Scavenger says the former's arm was severed in battle, though it was his wrist. The Japanese dub fixes this error with Scavenger saying Hot Shot cut Starscream's sword and wrist.
• When Scavenger says he taught Optimus how to fight, the side of his left eye is colored white like the top of his head.
• As Starscream dismisses the "trip down memory lane," part of his head matches the color of his face.
• Starscream's sword is miscolored purple rather than red in one shot after he slashes Hot Shot's face.
• Before Hot Shot charges him, Scavenger's head is off-model in two shots, and his mouth doesn't move. Then after blocking Hot Shot's attack, the left of Scavenger's face is miscolored.
• After Hot Shot is defeated and the Decepticons retreat, Red Alert is heard asking Hot Shot if he is fine. However, Red Alert is nowhere on the battlefield (he's presumably still at the base, like before), and Smokescreen is the one seen coming to Hot Shot's aid. Legends of the Microns fixes this by replacing Red's voice with Smokescreen's.
• When Smokescreen comes to Hot Shot's assistance, he is missing his antenna/horn.
• The Star Saber is slightly off-model in its final shot.
• The Decepticon symbol on Starscream's arms is a purple spot in some scenes. The same applies to Smokescreen's Autobot symbol.
• The Autobot and Decepticon symbols are badly drawn in some scenes.
• There's a strange sound effect heard when the Decepticons retreat at the end; the Japanese dub removes it.
  • Starscream's chest is also partially miscolored with too much dark gray in his final shot.

Continuity notes

• This episode is Scavenger's cartoon debut. Linkage issue #3 and issue #4 would establish he had been on Earth for a while before his cartoon appearance, witnessing battles between other Mini-Cons activated on Earth. He aided in one of the struggles and traded his ship for a Mini-Con partner of his own, continuing his journey on foot.
• Smokescreen gains his Mini-Con partner, Liftor, whom the Autobots find in the southern hemisphere.
• This episode is Laserbeak's latest appearance since "Prehistory."
• Another character mentions Megatron's "Emperor of Destruction" title in the Japanese dub; Megatron said it himself in the previous episode.
• This episode is the first where a Mini-Con dons a human disguise.
• None of the other Decepticons have heard of Scavenger before; the episode "Trust" would clear up why.
• Scavenger trained Optimus Prime to fight in the past. He wasn't the only one.
• Scavenger's evaluation of Starscream foreshadows his identity crisis, which becomes a significant future plot element.
• Hot Shot suffers his first defeat since gaining the Star Saber.
• A panel from the Race Mini-Con Team debuts in this episode.
• Scavenger introduces Megatron to the legend about the Skyboom Shield, kicking off the hunt for the next Mini-Con weapon.
• According to Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003, this episode and Scavenger's debut mark the start of the show's tonal shift and the influx of new characters.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • This is the third time Starscream uses his sword after "Base" and "Jungle," but the first time he shows it since "Underground."
  • Red Alert makes some minor adjustments to Laserbeak, allowing him to pick up the children's voices from "anywhere."
  • Scavenger shows off his hand-to-hand combat skills and incredible strength. He also proves to be a master strategist, analyzing all of his opponents' and allies' attacks. It's both of these things that allow him to triumph in battle opposite Hot Shot wielding the Star Saber.
• Powerlinx forms:
  • Hot Shot wields the Star Saber in battle twice in this episode.

Continuity errors

• As the flying piece of Starscream's blade hits Cyclonus, it's shown to hit his wing between his torso and arm, the subsequent explosion quite clearly showing his right arm coming off. As the Decepticons retreat, he only has the outer part of his wing cut, and his arm is still attached.
• Between the shots of Smokescreen introducing Liftor and admiring the Star Saber, his crane suddenly shrinks. Then, in the wide shot of him, Optimus, and Hot Shot, Smokescreen's crane is long again.
• Optimus tells Hot Shot they can't trust the Decepticons, but isn't that already extremely obvious? The Japanese dub has Prime warn Hot Shot the 'Cons will adapt to the Star Saber.
• Why do Rad and Carlos wear their suits when the kids don't go on a mission in this episode?
• Billy and Fred are no-shows in this episode after finally seeing around the Autobot base in the prior one. On the other hand, the Japanese dub has Alexis mention them when returning to the base with food.
• After Red Alert details Laserbeak's upgrade, Alexis comparing it to spy-cams doesn't roll with her earlier dialogue about the base, and Red Alert's idea of presenting the upgraded Laserbeak as a way to cheer up Carlos. Legends of the Microns fixes the issue by having Alexis say Carlos should now be in better spirits to keep up the chores.
• Megatron claims the opening fight was the first time the Decepticons were utterly humiliated, but he said the same thing after their disastrous invasion of the Autobot base in the last episode.
• Red Alert says in the next episode that Scavenger joined the Decepticons, but Scavenger never indicates doing that here. Red Alert doesn't say this in Legends of the Microns, and it seems that Scavenger returns to the Decepticon base at the end of this episode only as a formality to Megatron, rather than formally joining the 'Cons.
• After Starscream stands up to Scavenger, the latter says Starscream's arm "has been severed," except it's supposed to be past tense and to be more accurate, Hot Shot slashed Starscream's wrist, not his arm. Scavenger correctly recalls seeing Starscream's sword, and wrist get cut in Legends of the Microns.
• Demolishor vanishes as Hot Shot and Starscream talk to Scavenger before their fight and reappears on the Moon at the end, so where was he?
• How would Scavenger even know about the Skyboom Shield since the other Transformers seem generally unaware of the Mini-Con weapons?

Transformers references

• Scavenger refers to Megatron's reputation as the "Lord of Destruction," referring to the Japanese ranking title of Decepticon leaders.

Real-world references

• Cyclonus's "dollars to freight chips" line is a variation of the phrase "dollars to donuts."
• In the store, one can see "Hagiss" toilet paper in the aisle. The name can easily be mistaken for "haggis," the Scottish pudding.
• In some shots during his fight with Hot Shot, Starscream's wing blade looks like a katana.

Trivia

• The kanji 強敵 would be pronounced as "kyouteki," while "tsuwamono" is used for the kanji 強者.
• This is the first episode with the opening set at night.
• This episode is the first if not only one not to have the Star Saber forming with its usual stock footage background.
• In Legends of the Microns, Scavenger says that Starscream, Cyclonus, and Demolishor are a "legendary trio" among the Decepticons.
• This episode is where Optimus's image used for Legends of the Microns's following episode preview comes from, albeit with a different background as later seen in "Tactician."
• This is the first episode where the kids get little screentime compared to the Transformers.
• This is the second episode without an opening and ending monologue after "Ruin."
• According to the Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003:
  • It was Takeshi Sano's idea for Scavenger to wear a cloak. He also arranged the opening fight scenes by placing Hot Shot in a high position to show he has an advantage over the Decepticons.
  • Scavenger gives Hot Shot the cold shoulder for his arrogance but is lenient to Starscream out of appreciation for his spirit.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Une arme redoutable" ("A Formidable Weapon")
  • When Optimus Prime dives on Megatron while saying, "I'll take you on!" the voice actor says the line in his Smokescreen voice instead of Optimus Prime. That's the problem when you voice multiple characters, heh.

Hungarian

• Title: "Zsoldos" ("Mercenary")

Italian

• Title: "Invincibili" ("Invincibles")

Korean

• Title: "강적 하이에나" ("Formidable Foe Hyena")

Polish

• Title: "Konfrontacja" ("Confrontation")

Portuguese

• Title: "Adversário Superior" ("Superior Opponent")

Home video releases

DVD

2003 — Transformers: Legends of the Microns — Volume 4 (Columbia Music Entertainment) — Japanese audio only.
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Best Of The Decepticons (Rhino Entertainment)
2004 — Transformers: Armada — Season One: Part One (Rhino Entertainment)
2007 — Transformers: Armada — Le combat recommence... (TFou Vidéo) — French audio only.
2008 — Transformers: Armada — Volume One (New KSM) — English and German audio.
2014 — Transformers: Armada — The Complete Series (Shout! Factory)

VideoNow

2003 Transformers: Armada (Tiger Electronics)