Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2000 TV series)

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Transformers: Robots in Disguise (2000 TV series)
GenreMecha, Action, Science Fiction
Anime
Directed byOsamu Sekita
StudioStudio Gallop

Robots in Disguise is the title of the 2001 English-dubbed version of the Japanese television series "Transformers: CarRobot". In America Robots in Disguise is both Transformers line of toys and cartoon series, a self-contained universe separate from any of the other existing Transformers Universes. It is an imported and dubbed version of the Japanese series from the previous year, Transformer: CarRobot, brought to the West as a "filler" line while production on the next series, Transformers: Armada began.

Storyline

When Megatron and his evil Predacons arrive on Earth and kidnap the planet's foremost energy expert, Dr. Kenneth Onishi, a secret force of goodness emerges - Optimus Prime and his Autobots, hidden undercover on Earth disguised as vehicles, reveal themselves to do battle against Megatron's forces.

Episodes

RiD title (Car Robots title)

  1. Battle Protocol! (First Movement! Fire Convoy)
  2. An Explosive Situation (A High Speed Battle! Gelshark)
  3. Bullet Train to the Rescue (Unite! Bullet Train Robo)
  4. Spy Changers to the Rescue (Ninja Robo - Spy Changers Go!)
  5. The Hunt for Black Pyramid (Deadly Jump! Mach Alert)
  6. The Secret of the Ruins (Gigatron's Revenge!)
  7. Side Burn's Obsession (Speedbreaker's in Danger)
  8. Secret Weapon D-5 (Mysterious Weapon! D-5)
  9. Mirage's Betrayal (Counter Arrow's Betrayal?!)
  10. Skid-Z's Choice (Out of Control! Indy Heat!!)
  11. Tow-Line Goes Haywire (Parking Violation! Wrecker Hook)
  12. The Ultimate Robot Warrior (The Ultimate Extreme! Buddha-Transformer)
  13. Hope for the Future (Gigatron Reveals His Ambition!) (clip show)
  14. The Decepticons (Friend!? Foe!? Black Convoy!)
  15. Commandos (Quintuple Merge! Valdigus)
  16. Volcano (En Garde! Two Convoys!)
  17. Attack from Outer Space (Aiming From Space! Shuttler!!)
  18. The Test (Awaken to Justice, Black Convoy!)
  19. The Fish Test (Secret Strategy! Gelshark!)
  20. Wedge's Short Fuse (Raging Warriors: The Build Masters!)
  21. Landfill (Quadruple Merge - Build King!)
  22. Sky-Byte Saves The Day (Gelshark Returning)
  23. A Test of Metal (Target: Build Masters)
  24. Ultra Magnus (Enter: God Magnus)
  25. Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion! (Mighty Combination: God Fire Convoy)
  26. Lessons of the Past (Focus: New Warriors) (clip show)
  27. The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus (Body and Mind - Three Car Robot Brothers)
  28. Power to Burn! (Double Matrix, Open!)
  29. Fortress Maximus (Arise, Cybertron City!)
  30. Koji Gets His Wish (JRX vs. Valdigus)
  31. A Friendly Contest (Gelshark's Trap)
  32. Peril From the Past (The Final Key? Sayonara, Ai)
  33. Maximus Emerges (Stolen Plasma)
  34. The Human Element (The Mystery of Brave Maximus)
  35. The Mystery of Ultra Magnus (Gelshark's Blues) (clip show)
  36. Mistaken Identity (Black Convoy's Ambition)
  37. Surprise Attack (Arise, Brave Maximus!)
  38. Galvatron's Revenge (Devil Gigatron's Counterstrike)
  39. The Final Battle (Fire Convoy's Final Battle)

Summaries

Like most anime, RiD (as it is commonly abbreviated to by fans) can comfortably be broken up into 13-episode story arcs.

  • Episodes 1-13

Megatron captures Dr. Onishi, and the Autobots ally themselves with his son, Koji, vowing to safely recover him from Megatron's clutches. An assortment of plans by Megatron to steal the Earth's energy ensue, led by his subordinate, Sky-Byte, but are stopped by the Autobots, including the newly-introduced teams, Team Bullet Train and the Spy Changers. Probing Doctor Onishi's mind, Megatron discovers the significance of an ancient cave system, in which the Autobots discover a coded microchip belonging to the Doctor. After scuffles involving the new Autobot troops Skid-Z and Tow-Line, the microchip leads the Autobots to the Cave of the Dragon, where they discover a mysterious artifact of Cybertronian origin.

  • Episodes 14-26

Further information decoded from Dr. Onishi's microchip leads the Autobots to the site of a crashed Cybertronian spaceship containing six protoform Autobots. But Megatron has also learned of the ship through his mind-probes and attacks, capturing the Autobots and taking them to a nearby military base, where he scans them vehicle modes and infuses them with his own Spark energy, creating the evil Decepticons. The final Autobot scans Optimus Prime in addition to the tanker truck that will be his alternate mode, creating Scourge, a twisted "evil twin" of Optimas. Several battles with the Decepticons ensue, as Sky-Byte grows steadily jealous of the attention Megatron heaps on his new warriors. Amidst battles between the Decepticons and the newly-promoted Autobot subgroup, the Build Team, Sky-Byte attempts to prove his worth by holding a tower of humans hostage in exchange for the Autobots' O-Parts, one of which is the artifact from the Cave of the Dragon. The plan meets with failure, but when Sky-Byte saves his hostages lives, Koji begins to think he might not be all bad. Subsequently, Ultra Magnus, the bitter brother of Optimus Prime, arrives on Earth to claim the Matrix in Prime's possession, leading to an injured Optimas Prime facing certain doom against the Decepticons on a desert island. Magnus offers him the hand of friendship, but it is a ruse to allow Magnus to take the power of the Matrix, with an unexpected side-effect - the two brothers merge into Omega Prime and defeat their foes.

File:Maximusfire.JPG
Fortress Maximus firing its entire arsenal.
  • Episodes 27-39

The Predacons and Decepticons attempt to turn Ultra Magnus to their side, but he refuses and channelling the power of the Matrix he and Prime now share, he supercharges the Autobot Brothers, giving them new powered-up forms. The discovery of a mysterious energy field radiating from beneath the Earth's surface leads both sides to the discovery of Fortress Maximus, a colossal Transformer city hidden on the planet to protect it and in the confusion battles that ensue to claim its power, Dr. Onishi is accidentally set free by Sky-Byte. Now with Dr. Onishi advising them, the Autobots begin to put all the pieces together and under his guidance, quickly locate all the O-Parts, which are combined to form a map that leads to the Orb of Sigma. In a failed attempt to acquire the orb, Megatron is buried in the ruins of a mysterious pyramid, but is resurrected by its energy as Galvatron. The Orb of Sigma soon leads the Autobots to Cerebros, the power key of Fortress Maximus, but he is stolen by the Decepticons and used by Scourge to activate Fortress Maximus, who rampages through the city until Koji calls out to him, and he stops. Experimentation soon makes it obvious that Maximus responds to human bio-signatures, leading the Decepticons to capture Koji, but accidentilly snatching his friend, Carl. With Maximus active, Scourge makes his power play, attempting to use him to destroy Galvatron, but when the scheme fails, all the Decepticons have their brains wiped. Galvatron proceeds to drain Fortruss Maximus's energy, boosting his already-formidable strength and then releases a swarm of cyber-bats across the Earth, using them to hold the children of the world to ransom to stay Optimus Prime's hand. Believing he has destroyed the Autobots in a lava flow, Galvatron then recalls his bats, but finds that his foes are still alive, leading to a final confrontation with Omega Prime at the Earth's core. The children of the world re-energized Fortress Maximus, who transmits his energy to Optimas Prime, forming the gigantic Matrix Blade, with which Prime finally defeats Galvatron. At the end, the Predacons and Decepticons--including Galvatron, but except Sky-Byte are imprisoned aboard Fortress Maximus and escorted by Ultra Magnus to Cybertronian space, and the remaining Autobots prepare to leave Earth for good after some rest & relaxation.

Censorship

RiD's airing was heavily affected by the terrorist attacks on 9/11, and many of its episodes were held back, re-edited, removed from re-run schedules, aired late or didn't air at all in the USA. The entire run of episodes did air on Fox Kids in the UK.

  • "Secret of the Ruins" was the first to go. Its opening scene featured buildings being destroyed and a reference to terrorism, and the episode was held back to be redubbed. The scene in question was recreated using footage from "Battle Protocol!" Eventually, the episode aired between "Ultra Magnus" and "Ultra Magnus: Forced Fusion." It is the episode in which Doctor Onishi's microchip is introduced, so its removal left something of a hole in the series. The original version of the episode has never been broadcast, and for international syndication, only the altered redubbed version was used.
  • "Hope for the Future" was held back, eventually airing between "The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus" and "Fortress Maximus."
  • "Attack From Outer Space," "Landfill" and "Sky-Byte Saves the Day" did not air in the US. "Attack" would go on to air in Canada, and all three would subsequently air in the UK. All three episodes feature buildings being destroyed, and the plot of "Sky-Byte Rampage" revolves around stopping a tower from falling over. However, this is the first episode to put focus on the O-Parts, and its removal from the line up disrupted the continuity of the show.
  • "Power to Burn!" aired before "The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus," instead of after.
  • Heavily altered from its original Car Robots content (see "Changes" below), "Lessons of the Past" aired between "Peril From the Past" and "Maximus Emerges."
  • "The Mystery of Ultra Magnus" was the final episode of the show to air. However, in its official placement as episode 35, it remains out of order (again, see below).
  • "Spy Changers To The Rescue" There were 2 versions of this episode aired before and after 9/11. The pre-9/11 episode contained references to the generator possibly exploding and a scene with Prowl's jet-claw. The post 9/11 episode had the jet-claw edited out and the possibilities of "Explosions" were changed to possibilities of "circuit corrosion" along with other minor dialogue changes.

Characters

Autobots (Cybertrons)

  • Optimus Prime (Fire Convoy) Voiced by: Satoshi Hashimoto (Japanese); Neil Kaplan (English)

Leader of the Autobots, bearer of the Matrix and brother to Ultra Magnus, Optimus Prime transforms into a firetruck. The forward portion of the truck transforms into Prime himself, while the rear portion can form a mobile weapons platform/communications array/recharging station, or combine with Prime as additional armour and weapons in Super Mode (Super Fire Convoy). He is able to change the ladder of his fire truck mode into a powerful shoulder-mounted cannon, firing extremely cold jets of water in an attack he calls the Blizzard Storm. Furthermore the sirens on his back in Robot mode are able to fire energy (as seen in episode 1) for the Fire Flash attack.

File:Rid magnus.jpg
Full body view

The first new character to bear the name of Ultra Magnus since the G1 original. He was known as God Magnus in the Japanese 2000 line, Transformers: Car Robots. God Magnus owed his name and alternate mode to Ultra Magnus (and also to Godbomber, an earlier character from the G1 "Super-God Masterforce" anime , who disassembled to form armour for his Prime-styled partner, Ginrai), so when the series was released in the US, the name change was obvious, and Ultra Magnus returned to TV screens for the first time since the G1 series. Ultra Magnus transforms into a car carrier capable of transporting other Autobots such as the Autobot Brothers. In addition to his remarkable strength and fighting ability, he is armed with the "Blue Bolts" - a variable-configuration weapon of immense destructive power. His back-mounted jetpack allows for periods of flight.

When his brother, Optimus Prime, was chosen to carry the Matrix, Magnus felt passed over, and was left carrying a grudge against his brother that eventually exploded into violence when he arrived on Earth with the intention of taking what he believed was rightfully his- by force, if necessary. Severely injuring Prime, who refused to fight back, Magnus tracked him to a desert island, where he pretended to offer him the hand of friendship, only to attempt to absorb the Matrix for himself, forcing the brothers into the combined form of Omega Prime (God Fire Convoy). Through this link, Magnus was also able to channel the power of the Matrix, which he used to supercharge the Autobot Brothers into newly-coloured forms. Although Magnus remained a free agent, refusing to take orders from his brother, his animosity dwindled and he frequently helped the Autobots by combining with Prime to battle the Predacons and Decepticons. Despite being present in the battle against Galvatron at Earth's core, it is never officially stated what happens to him after Omega Prime triumphs, he can be seen riding atop Fortress Maximus in shipping the detained Predacons and Decepticons to an asteroid prison colony.

Note that in Car Robots, there is not one singular Matrix, but multiple ones, each held by high-ranking Autobot commanders. Magnus already possesses a Matrix, and simply seeks to steal the power of Fire Convoy's to increase his own (the overspill of energy resulting in the supercharging of the Autobot Brothers).

Fortress Maximus was hidden on Earth in order to protect the planet --it is often assumed that he was sent to prevent the potent energy within burgeoning mankind from falling into twisted hands-- slumbered beneath its surface, with the assorted keys to his re-awakening scattered across the globe - the component pieces known as the O-Parts were concealed within ancient structures, the Orb of Sigma within a subterranean pyramid, and Cerebros, the power key of Maximus, within a South American temple, all presumably done with the aid of the early civilisations responsible for the constructions. At some undefined point, a group of six Autobots were sent to Earth to reactivate him, but when their ship crashed, they joined Maximus in stasis, until the emergence of Megatron and Optimus Prime's forces. His Headmaster component is known simply as The Emissary (Brave in Japan), while Cerebros is here the name of the Emissary's Headmaster (known as Plasma in Japan), the smallest component of the toy. Interestingly, rather than being portrayed as human/Nebulon-sized in the animated series, Cerebros was the size of a normal Transformer, making Brave Maximus far, far larger than his American predecessors.

Although he kept his agenda secret, Megatron had actually come to Earth in order to reactivate Fortress Maximus, and to that end, he kidnapped noted archaeologist Doctor Kenneth Onishi, who had detected energy emanations from Maximus beneath his city, and had mapped the location of the O-Parts. Kept comatose, a resistant Onishi's mind was read by Megatron in hopes of learning the location of the O-Parts, while the Autobots had a microchip gifted to Onishi's son, Koji, to guide them. The first of the O-Parts was located within the Cave of the Dragon, and a second was later found.

Some time later, when the hapless Predacon Sky-Byte held a tower of humans hostage, he was able to bluff the Autobots into suggesting their O-Parts as ransom, completely unaware as to what the components truly were. The plan resulted in failure, and soon after, the Autobots discovered Fortress Maximus's body buried beneath the city, bringing it to the surface and hiding it from their enemies. With the help of the liberated Doctor Onishi, the remaining five O-Parts were quickly recovered by the Autobots despite Predacon and Decepticon interference. United, the seven O-Parts formed a map that led to the Orb of Sigma, which then merged with the O-Parts to lead the Autobots to Cerebros. Unfortunately, the Decepticons successfully captured Cerebros, and Scourge was able to use the part of his programming that was Optimus Prime's to command him to activate Fortress Maximus. Summoning forth the city's transforming master computer, the Emissary, Cerebros became its head, then it in turn became Maximus's head, but the giant Transformer immediately began rampaging out of Scourge's control until Koji commanded it to stop, and Maximus once again disappeared beneath the Earth, leaving behind Cerebros in Decepticon hands.

It soon became apparent that, in his assignment as protector of Earth, Maximus had been harmonically keyed to obey commands from human beings, specifically pure, innocent ones such as children. With this information, Scourge used the part of his bio-signature that was human to briefly control Maximus until a mass of human children overrode his control. The Decepticons then kidnapped Koji's friend, Carl, and used him to control Maximus, but the plan failed when Scourge then turned Maximus on Galvatron (an upgraded incarnation of Megatron). With Cerebros finally in Autobot hands and the way to control Fortress Maximus fully understood, the Autobots countered an attack by the Decepticons by activating Maximus, who engaged Galvatron in battle and almost had him defeated, until he used his power-draining abilities to sap Maximus's strength, using it to boost his own. While Omega Prime (Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus combined) challenged the empowered Galvatron to a battle at the Earth's core, Koji had children all around the world send their hope and energy to Fortress Maximus, who channelled it to Omega Prime in the form of the mighty Matrix Blade, with which Prime defeated Galvatron. Maximus, along with Ultra Magnus, subsequently transported Galvatron and his troops away from Earth for imprisonment.

Autobots Brothers (three carrobots brothers)

The eldest of the three Autobot Brothers. X-Brawn loves extremes and can handle any type of environment, from desert to blizzard, and can traverse some of the toughest terrain. He lives for the thrill, and can often be found climbing the tallest towers in the city in car mode, using his winch to pull himself up the buildings. He is a martial arts master, and has enormous strength in his left arm, which he uses to execute lariats (a pro-wrestling manoeuvre) on his Predacon opposition. X-Brawn is a bot of few words, but is very reliable.

When Optimus Prime's brother, Ultra Magnus, came to Earth and forced Prime into a combination that allowed him to share the power of the Matrix, Magnus's link to the Matrix resulted in him inadvertently channelling its energy in the midst of a battle. That energy involved Prowl, Side Burn and X-Brawn, "supercharging" them into newly-coloured, more powerful bodies. After a brief amount of training, Prowl and the others were soon able to control this new ability, shifting to "Supercharge Mode" when an extra power boost was needed in battle. Their supercharged modes afforded them no advantage in their final battle with Galvatron, however, as they were strung up and had their energy drained by the villain, until Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus challenged him to a final battle at the Earth's core, and defeated the villain.

The middle sibling of the three Autobot Brothers. Competent and loyal, Prowl is Optimus Prime's trusted right-hand man. He possesses a sharp, tactical mind which makes him very quick to assess situations. Prowl is equipped with jet boosters in car mode, which allows him to give chase with remarkable speed; the boosters can also be used as weapons when in robot mode. Prowl takes his role as an enforcer of the law seriously, and is very conscientious about rules and regulations -- something that his fellow Autobots often experience. Prowl can use his electronic systems to jam radios or hack into systems, and his ultra-sensitive scanners can detect the hum of an enemy circuit from clear across a city, and he won't give up until he's got his man. In his role posing as an ordinary human police car, Prowl has become a model officer dedicated to the preservation of law and order - even when it occasionally conflicts with his duties as an Autobot. He's constantly on Side Burn's back for his habit of stalking red sports cars, and he thinks that the veteran X-Brawn should try to set a better example for their younger teammate.

With the appearance of Megatron's forces on Earth, Prowl was forced to emerge from hiding alongside his brothers, X-Brawn and Side Burn, to engage the villains in a series of battles. As the most level-headed of the Autobot Brothers due to his police training, he was the one who rarely got himself involved in solo battles, instead fighting as part of a team for maximum effect. Prowl's authoritarian attitude shapes much of who he is and what he does - he spent a lot of time keeping Side Burn in line, often catching him breaking the rules of the road in his pursuits of red sports cars, and imparted those same rules to Tow-Line, who followed them with even greater zeal than Prowl himself. So entrenched in his role as a police car, Prowl at one point was even unwilling to disguise his "uniform" so that he could save Side Burn from a Decepticon trap.

When Optimus Prime's brother, Ultra Magnus, came to Earth and forced Prime into a combination that allowed him to share the power of the Matrix, Magnus's link to the Matrix resulted in him inadvertently channelling its energy in the midst of a battle. That energy involved Prowl, Side Burn and X-Brawn, "supercharging" them into newly-coloured, more powerful bodies. After a brief amount of training, Prowl and the others were soon able to control this new ability, shifting to "Supercharge Mode" when an extra power boost was needed in battle. Their supercharged modes afforded them no advantage in their final battle with Galvatron, however, as they were strung up and had their energy drained by the villain, until Optimus Prime and Ultra Magnus challenged him to a final battle at the Earth's core, and defeated the villain.

Side Burn full-body shot

The youngest and fastest of the Autobot Brothers, Side Burn rockets down highways in his Dodge Viper mode for fun, in pursuit of an enemy - or chasing after his latest flame. Because that's Side Burn's greatest weakness: the ladies. Every time he sees a little red sports car, he's falls in love all over again, but can't seem to comprehend that Earth cars aren't alive. Despite his flaws, he is a courageous and sympathetic Autobot, always ready to defend those whom he cares about. He also displays a sense of humour, something he thinks his older siblings lack.

Others

When this eager soldier arrived from Cybertron, he selected the race car of Augie Cahnay to be his vehicle mode, but also wound up absorbing Cahnay's psychotropic energy, which had saturated the vehicle, leaving him compelled to enter any race he could find.

Working undercover as a tow truck, Tow-Line has learned the rules of the road, and now lives by them, punishing any infraction, large or small, and even if a fellow Autobot is responsible. He is well known for the phrase "No parking means no parking!" He's responsible for traffic riot control, and can use his powerful hook to lift and carry anything from a car to a bullet train.

Team Bullet Train (Team Shinkansen)

This trio of Autobots is comprised of cheerful junior member, Midnight Express (J4), battle-ready Rapid Run (J7), and their courteous commander, Railspike (J5). There's not a lot they can't handle on their own, but when the situation demands extra firepower, the team can combine into the mighty Rail Racer (JRX, short for "Japanese Rail Express").

Railspike is the grizzled leader of the Team Bullet Train. He is courageous and polite, and his intelligence makes him akin to any battlefield situation. He tends to act as a peacekeeper when tempers get out of hand. Despite his apparent age, Railspike is still able to take on his enemies with incredible efficiency and skill. Railspike transforms to a 500 Series Shinkansen Nozomi bullet train engine. He is equipped with rocket launchers in his shoulders, and is capable of generating ultrasonic waves, powerful enough to take down his targets in one hit. He also fires Reflector Mines which can send an opponents attack right back at them. He forms the upper body, arms and head of Rail Racer.

Rapid Run is eager, enthusiastic, and proud. He is a remarkable warrior, often taking on multiple foes with unrelenting courage (though this could be attributed to his hot-headed attitude). He is very competitive and likes to think of Team Bullet Train as the Autobot's elite force, and of himself as the fastest of all the Autobots. Rapid Run can change to a 700 Series Shinkansen Rail Star bullet train engine. He is armed with a grenade launcher, and can fire large, powerful missiles from his Deflector Shield, which deflects attacks. He forms the lower body and back of Rail Racer.

Midnight Express is the youngest of the three members in the bullet train team. He is cheerful, friendly and eternally upbeat in the company of his friends, but harsh in the presence of enemies. Midnight Express transforms to an E4 Series Shinkansen bullet train engine. He is equipped with high temperature missiles, and his shoulders can generate shearing blades of solid light, capable of slicing giant icebergs in two. He has high strength and endurance in cold weather, but is less efficient in warmer environments. He transforms into the legs of Rail Racer.

Railracer is the powerful combined form (or gestalt) of Team Bullet Train. As a super-robot, his mind is a union of the thoughts of the three Autobots who comprise him (oddly, he refers to himself as "we" as opposed to first-person). Railracer is not at all as unwieldy and lumbering as the super robots of the original Transformers series - he's equipped with built-in accelerators that greatly improve his speed and mobility. He wields a giant gun, which is a combination of Railspike's beam gun and Midnight Express's rifle, as well as Rapid Run's shield.

Spy Changers

File:Hotshot-rid.jpg
Hot Shot, leader of the Spy Changers

A team of six Autobot espionage specialists. The team can drive over any surface, even water, in defiance of gravity, and have optical camouflage powers that render them invisible at will. Despite their radically different personalities, the Spy Changers are a perfectly functioning unit, often relying heavily on teamwork tactics.

Hot Shot is the leader of the Spy Changers. He comes across as gruff, almost rude, in his role as commander, but this is really a result of his strong concern for his subordinates. He is a personal friend of Optimus Prime, whom he has served under for millions of years. Hot Shot is armed with an adjustable fire blaster gun, which can be focused to a narrow beam or spray fire in a wide angle. An interesting point of trivia; in Car Robots, Artfire is referred to as a relative of Fire Convoy.

R.E.V. (Race Exertion Vehicle, he is often simply called "Rev") is the Spychanger's tactical officer, and Hot Shot's right-hand man. Given his voice, he is the oldest of the Spychangers, but this does not seem to impede his performance in any way. R.E.V. has excellent jumping prowess, and can spring from building to building in urbanized areas. He's armed with a shotgun.

Crosswise is the Autobots' science officer. His specialty is space engineering, but he also has a hand in developing new machinery, and often helps out with the maintenance of his teammates. Crosswise is armed with an anti-gravity gun, which causes the targets it hits to rise in the air.

W.A.R.S. is one of the few pro-war Autobots, a bold and daring warrior whose violent actions frighten and appal friend and enemy alike. He is equipped with heavy armor and a machine gun, which he's firing all but constantly. (W.A.R.S. stands for Wicked Attack Recon Sportscar)

Ironhide is one of the younger members of the Spy Changers, yet is a battlefield veteran with incredible strength. He's normally very peaceful, but can be incredibly irascible at times, he often takes out his frustration on Predacons or Decepticons. He doesn't like to be told what to do. Ironhide is a transports expert and wields a shockwave rifle.

Mirage is one of the most unenthusiastic Autobots - he's unsure of the Autobot cause, and can't be fully trusted. But despite his doubts, Mirage is a very valuable soldier - he carries out various functions, from bodyguard duty to espionage, all of them with excellent results. Mirage is the fastest of the Spychangers, and an excellent marksman. He is armed with a laser sniper rifle.

Build Team (Build Masters)

As the engineers who built the Global Spacebridge tunnel system that transports the Autobots around Earth, the Build Team always wanted to see action on the front lines, and thanks to Optimus Prime, they got their chance. The team is capable of combining into Landfill (Build King) in various configurations.

Wedge is the young leader of the Build Team. Unrefined and reckless, he sometimes makes mistakes owing to his youth, but with the help of his friends and the acquisition of plenty of experience, he is maturing into a capable leader. Wedge appears to have an almost limitless energy reserve. He wields a double-barrelled beam gun.

Heavyload has the greatest strength and the thickest armour of the Build Team. Being well versed in all sorts of fighting techniques, he is also Wedge's martial arts instructor. He acts as Wedge's personal aide, and is prepared to lay down his life to follow his leader's orders.

An expert marksman, Hightower is second to none when it comes to using firearms. He acts as Wedge's personal bodyguard. Wedge's recklessness can leave him at a loss, but he dispenses frank advice even while staunchly supporting his leader. Hightower has deep trust from his teammates.

Grimlock, the Build Team's second-in-command, has a really sunny disposition. Calmly and coolly, he judges the progress of a battle, then provides appropriate advice to Wedge and his other teammates. Grimlock is often deep in thoughts, pondering how best to pass on to Wedge his experience on numerous battlefields.

Predacons (Destrongers)

The Predacons are an elite group of cyber-animal Transformers of unknown origins who are in search for the ultimate power.

  • Megatron
File:Ridmegs.jpg
Robots in Disguise Megatron (Gigatron)

Megatron (Gigatron) was the merciless leader of the Predacons, including Sky-Byte, Slapper, Darkscream and Gas Skunk, in Transformers: Robots in Disguise. Having wrought destruction across most of the universe, Megatron has now turned his attention to Earth and the energy it is rich in, as well as having a hidden agenda - to obtain the power of Fortress Maximus. To this end, he kidnaps energy expert Doctor Kenneth Onishi, who had previously uncovered many of the keys to unlocking Maximus's power. Voiced by: Yōichi Kobiyama Japan, Daniel Riordan United States

Megatron's own great power is evidenced by his six-mode transformation - robot, bat (Gigabat), twin-headed dragon (GigaDragon), jet (GigaJet), car (GigaFormula) and claw (GigaHand). Each form has its own different frightening capabilities, making Megatron a very unstable and unpredictable fighter. (In Car Robots, each mode has its own personality, voice, and behaviour patterns).' Whispered rumours say that Megatron and his Predacons may have come from another place... another time... but whatever his origins, Megatron's goal is clear - ultimate power will be his.

Some time into the campaign on Earth, Megatron sought to bolster his forces, locating six Autobot protoforms in a crashed Cybertronian spaceship, bestowing them with military vehicle modes and corrupting them with his own Spark energy, creating the Decepticons. However, their leader, Scourge, happened to scan Optimus Prime along with the tanker that would form his alternate mode, and as a result became something of an "evil clone" of Prime, whose cruelty and cunning eventually extended to plotting against Megatron.

In the pursuit of his greater agenda, Megatron began seeking the mysterious O-Parts, which led to the Orb of Sigma, in a subterranean pyramid. The orb would lead to Cerebros, the power key to the huge Autobot battle station, Fortress Maximus, who, it was revealed, he had actually come to Earth to obtain. When Megatron was buried in the ruins of the pyramid following a failed attempt to steal the orb from the Autobots, he underwent his most startling transformation of all, as the energies of the pyramid resurrected him as the vampiric Galvatron (Devil Gigatron), able to enhance his own strength by draining the life energy from others. In addition to retaining his original six transformations (now redubbed DevilBat, DevilDragon, DevilJet, DevilFormula and DevilHand), Galvatron can now assume four new modes - a pteranodon (Devilnodon), a griffin (DevilSaurer), a mammoth (DevilMammoth) and a hydrofoil (DevilCruiser). Now considering himself reborn, Galvatron possessed the ability to drain energy from other beings - Slapper, Darkscream and Gas Skunk were his first victims, but Fortress Maximus, Earth's children and Omega Prime would soon feel this deadly power too. Towards the end of his final battle against the Autobots, Galvatron absorbed energy from children all around the world in order to recharge himself, in doing so, he discovered that the energy source within humans could be used to his advantage. Thus he turned his attention to using said energy to conquer all in his path- combined with the added power of Fortress Maximus, he would be unstoppable. Thankfully, Prime was able to defeat him with the gathered energy of Earth's children, courtesy of Fortress Maximus, and he was sent back to Cybertron for imprisonment.

In some ways, Sky-Byte is one of the central characters on the show. All he wants is for Megatron to see him as the loyal and dependable warrior that he really is, and he goes to great lengths to prove his resourcefulness to him. Although heralded as one of the mightiest Predacon warriors, Sky-Byte has summarily failed to live up to his hype during Megatron's campaign on Earth. Unfortunately for Sky-Byte, things seldom turn out as he has planned them - if it isn't the Autobots who thwart his plans, it is the three fools he has under him. And then there's the new threat, Scourge; that ingratiating newcomer who tries to assume his place as Megatron's second-in-command...

In spite of the disgraces he has to endure in the cartoon, Sky-Byte is one of the most feared and respected Predacon warriors. He's a merciless warrior in battle - in shark mode his powerful jaws can tear through an armored tank, and the anchor arm on his left side can crush even the thickest, strongest wall like a microchip in the jaws of a shark.

His fierce outer appearance aside, there is also a softer side to Sky-Byte - he's an intellectual with great love of poetry. The toy is a repaint of transmetal 2 Cybershark from Beast Wars.

  • Predacon Trio

The three members of the Predacon ground force are specialised for combat in water, air and on land, and they can't cut it in any of them. They try their best, but their most admirable quality is that they're good for a laugh. Each member of the team fires the Right, Left and Centre Lasers (respectively) to combine into one mighty attack. The toys are repaints of Beast Wars Spittor, Stink Bomb and Nightglider (respectively).

Slapper is one of the Predacon foot soldiers under Sky-Byte's command and, although its not saying much, is probably the most competent of the Predacon Trio. In beast mode, Slapper can leap remarkable distances in a single bound. He can use his long tongue like a whip, dexterously wrapping it around his enemies' weapons to snatch them away. In robot mode, the tongue detaches to be wielded as a weapon. He also has a camouflaged extendible grabber claw which can tear through the hull of a battleship. Slapper has also proven himself to be a supremely competent hacker, able to infiltrate even heavily protected systems. Slapper has a tendency to speak his mind without thinking, often earning his superiors' disapproval. Transforms into a frog. His tongue is over 40 feet (12 m) long and he attacks with his Right Laser in robot mode. In Car Robots, he speaks in Kansai dialect.

Voiced by: Ryō Naitō Japan, Peter Lurie United States

Gas Skunk is one of the three foot soldiers under Sky-Byte's command. He is snobbish and conceited, traits that are possibly a response to others' treatment of him - being a skunk, most individuals tend to keep a distance from him. Gas Skunk is an expert in demolitions operations and is also something of a technical specialist; able to cobble together intricate devices from the barest of essentials. He can fire time bombs from his right shoulder and emit a gas from his mouth that, if inhaled, causes uncontrollable laughter. In beast mode he can also emit his Death Skunk Attack; which fires a cloud of acid. In robot mode he fired a Left Laser from his left shoulder. He relies on his serrated tail for close range combat. In Car Robots, he speaks in effeminate Japanese.

Voiced by: Norio Imamura Japan, Jerry DeCapua United States

Darkscream is one of the Predacon soldiers under Sky-Byte's command. Rather flamboyant, he loves to show off his fencing skills. He has an all-absorbent fascination with samurai and swashbuckler dramas. Dark Scream is a fairly competent swordsman (though he often boasts his expertise) and can slice through most alloys with one stroke of the serrated Energon sword hidden in his tail. Nocturnal by nature, he has no trouble with all-night missions. Can virtually escape detection - he emits an electromagnetic cloaking field, is soundless in flight, and disappears in subdued light and shadows. His "Center laser" also has freezing properties. Transforms into a Japanese giant flying squirrel. In Car Robots, he speaks in feudal "de gozaru" style Japanese.

Voiced by: Hiroki Takahashi Japan, Steven Blum United States

Decepticons (Combatrons)

In an attempt to bolster their numbers, the Predacons stole six Autobot protoforms. With their forms taken from vehicles found at a nearby airfield, and their personalities corrupted by Megatron's evil influence, they were given the title of Decepticons.

Scourge, as he came to be named, was one of a crew of six Autobots sent to Earth to reactivate the legendary Autobot battle fortress, Fortress Maximus. As leader, Scourge was equipped with the ability to detect the unique energy signatures of the O-Parts, the Cybertronian components that held the key to Maximus's awakening - but he was never given the opportunity to use that ability in the service of the Autobots. With all six members of the crew held in stasis pods in protoform state through the long journey, their craft malfunctioned and crashed on Earth in the mid-20th century, and the Autobots joined Maximus in slumber.

In the present time, archaeologist and energy expert Doctor Kenneth Onishi's research eventually led him to the various links in the chain of Fortress Maximus - he located the fortress itself beneath Earth's surface, mapped the location of the O-Parts, and discovered the location of the crashed Autobot spaceship. However, when the evil Megatron came to Earth with the intent of harnessing Maximus's power, he captured Onishi, and through mental scans, discerned the location of the Autobots' ship. Stealing the six protoforms, Megatron took them to a nearby military base to scan vehicle modes for them, infusing them with a part of his own spark energy to turn them to the side of evil. The first five became the Decepticons, but when Megatron targeted a tanker truck to scan as the alternate mode of the final protoform, Optimus Prime leapt into action in order to save the truck's human driver, and as a result, the tanker, Prime and the human were all scanned. With an infusion of Megatron's spark energy to complete the concoction, Scourge was born, emerging from his pod as a dark twin of Optimus Prime, who proved that Megatron's programming had over-ridden any Autobot goodness within him. Appointed leader of the new Decepticons, he quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with.

After leading a series of missions that were brutal but unsuccessful, and constantly but vainly urged by Optimus Prime to search for the true Autobot nature within himself, Scourge developed a fierce independent streak, steadily growing more and more revolted at being in the service of Megatron. When Fortress Maximus was discovered buried beneath Metro City, exposure to his energies began to reawaken memories the original mission Scourge had been programmed with, and as the run began to locate the O-Parts, Scourge rediscovered his ability to sense them. Holding one in his hand, his mission was now clear to Scourge - but unfortunately, Megatron's reprogamming added a distinctly more power-hungry bend to it, as Scourge now sought to activate Fortress Maximus and use it himself to conquer the galaxy.

Successfully capturing Cerebros, the power key to Fortress Maximus, Scourge used the part of his programming that was Optimus Prime's to dupe the robot into activating Maximus, but the giant robot ran amok until the Autobots' human ally, Koji was able to stop it. Realizing that humans could control Maximus, Scourge then amplified the human part of his bio-signature and succeeded in taking control of him, until he was overridden by a large group of human children. Seeking to use Koji himself for the process, a case of mistaken identity resulted in the Decepticons capturing his best friend, Karl, instead, but when Karl proved able to activate Fortress Maximus, Scourge dropped his facade of loyalty and ordered Maximus to destroy Galvatron (Megatron's new form). The failure of this plan brought about a punishment most severe - Scourge and the Decepticons had their autonomy stripped by Galvatron, turned once again into loyal servants so dedicated to Galvatron that they continued to do his will even after he attempted to kill them as a belated punishment. With Galvatron's defeat, Scourge was captured and taken back to Cybertron for imprisonment with the other villains.

Scourge was voiced by Barry Stigler in the United States and Taiten Kusunoki in Japan. The popularity of his now-famous black, grey and teal colour scheme spawned a series of other "evil Prime" figures that were repaints of other Optimus Prime toys, beginning with a new incarnation of Scourge himself, a redecoed version of the 1994 "Laser Optimus Prime" figure. Other similar repaints have since been given the name Nemesis Prime, although the first, from Transformers: Armada was indeed named Scourge in Japan, who was followed in 2004 by a Japanese exclusive re-colored 'model-kit' of Grand Convoy (Energon Optimus Prime) in the Superlink line , named "Grand Scourge".

  • Commandos (Combatrons)

This team comprised the rest of the Autobot mission sent to reactivate Fortress Maximus. Together, they possess the ability to combine into one mighty robot, Ruination(Valdigus), with each of the four smaller members able to form any limb, rather than assuming the fixed configuration of the animated and comic book incarnations G1 predecessor. Movor and Ro-Tor can form arms to give Ruination flight powers, while Armorhide and Rollbar give extra physical power in the role. Ruination's weapons are a combination of all the team's individual guns, and can level a city with their power.

These five robots actually began life as Autobots, sent to Earth along with a sixth to lead them in a mission to reactivate the legendary Autobot battle station known as Fortress Maximus. However, their craft malfunctioned and crashed, and the six Autobots were entombed in protoform state, joining Fortress Maximus in slumber until their ship was unearthed by Megatron and his Predacons. Absconding with the Autobot protoforms right under Optimus Prime's nose, Megatron took them to a nearby military base, intending to scan alternate modes for them. Mega-Octane was the first to be reactivated, infused with a portion of Megatron's own spark energy to create the first of a new breed of Transformer that Megatron dubbed the "Decepticons." The other four members of the team followed, and eventually the sixth, Scourge, who took leadership of the team from Mega-Octane with a show of force.

The Commandos, as they were named (maintaining the team's original name of the Combatrons in Car Robots ), soon demonstrated their skills by blowing up dams across the country, debuting their combining abilities against Rail Racer and later attempting to harness the energies of a volcano on Montrose Island. As part of a string of failed attempts to locate the Autobots' hidden base, Movor was launched into orbit to track Side Burn from space, and the Decepticons then pretended to have reverted to their original Autobot selves in an effort to make the Autobots take them in. Later, Decepticon corruption of the Autobots' global spacebridge led Ruination into conflict with Landfill.

It soon became apparent that Scourge sought to overthrow Megatron's leadership, and the discovery of Fortress Maximus, buried beneath the Earth's surface accelerated the process as exposure to his energies, and those of the O-Parts - the keys to Maximus's resurrection - awoke memories of Scourge's original mission. His new Decepticon programming turned it on its head, however, as he now wished to command Maximus's power for his own, and soon had the Commandos thinking the same way, conspiring with Mega-Octane to get Cerebros, the power key of Fortress Maximus, under his control. As a series of chases to acquire control of Maximus began, Scourge eventually revealed his treachery by trying to have the giant attack Galvatron (Megatron, in a new form), only for the plan to fail. In retribution, Galvatron again brainwashed the Decepticons, turning them back into his loyal servants, who followed him so completely that they were even willing to take his orders after he attempted to killed them as a belated punishment. With Galvatron's defeat, the Decepticons and Predacons were all taken back to Cybertron for imprisonment.

Mega-Octane is the cool, calculating leader of the Combiners. He is cruel and unfair, and uses his four subordinates as if they were his own limbs - he expects them to carry out his orders without question, and he has no tolerance with delays or mistakes. He is somewhat envious of Scourge, who snatched leadership of the Commandos directly from him. In missile trailer mode, Mega-Octane can launch missiles with a range of 65 miles (105 km). In robot mode, he carries a laser rifle. He can also transform into a combat station and perform maintenance on his teammates. He forms the torso and head of Ruination.

Armorhide specializes in desert warfare, and his body camouflage can fool most Autobots' photorecptors. Unfortunately, his loud boasting and eagerness to scrap Autobots often reveal his position. Armorhide isn't too bright, he is described as a "Half-track mind" by fellow Commandos. In tank mode, Armorhide can reach speeds of 45 mph (72 km/h) and has a range of 600 miles (970 km). His turret-mounted gun shoots a shell up to a distance of 3.5 miles (5.6 km) with powerful force. Armorhide combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination.

Movor transforms into a combat space-shuttle, and is capable of achieving planetary orbit under his own power. He carries detection equipment so he can search for Autobots from orbit, and is equipped with a powerful, long-range x-ray laser that allows him to attack them from that distance. He is somewhat pompous about his abilities, something which irritates his teammates. Movor has excellent heat-resistance. He combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination.

Rollbar specializes in hand-to-hand combat. He is a skilled practiser of Crystalocution - the Cybertronic martial art of defeating an opponent by attacking his metal fracture points. He's also very interested in Earthen martial arts. Although described as "All-terrain terror", Rollbar prefers Arctic environments, and likes fighting on rainy days. He combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination. Rollbar has a sarcastic sense of humour, which often shines through both amongst his team and when facing Autobots.

Ro-Tor is responsible for reconnaissance. He isn't particularly fast in helicopter mode, but he has a tight turning radius and fantastic manoeuvrability. In addition he's almost soundless in flight, which allows him to sneak up on hapless Autobots and attack them from above. Ro-Tor likes to practice acrobatic flying in his free time. Ro-Tor combines with his fellow Combiners to form the giant robot Ruination.

The combined form of the five Commandos/Combatrons. A powerful foe, Ruination often followed Scourge's plans. Valdigus's info card also stated that he gains his energy from Coffee-milk.

The Commandos are a redeco of the original 1986 Combaticons figures.

Others

Son of Doctor Kenneth Onishi (Daichi Ōnishi), Koji allied himself with the Autobots after his father was kidnapped by Megatron, offering them advice and knowledge about Earth. A bright child, Koji has learned a lot about archaeology from his father, though he possesses no special powers, beyond a startling knack for being right where he needs to be, in the middle of coincidental Predacon attacks. When Dr. Onishi was freed from Megatron's clutches, it seemed Koji's role in the Transformer war was over, until he found himself able to control Fortress Maximus.

T-Ai - her name being an abbreviated form of "Tactical Artificial Intelligence" - is the sentient computer program which runs the day-to-day operations of the Autobots' base, manning and directing the Global Spacebridge and activating Battle Protocols, selecting suitable members for the mission at hand. She is reportedly the "daughter" of the Teletraan I computer system of the RiD universe. What exactly this means is unknown. She keeps tabs on events across Earth, coordinates Autobot forces across the globe, maintains the elaboate Space Bridge network, and generally keeps things running smoothly at the base (or as smoothly as possible considering the variety of odd personalities that make up the Autobot ranks). To interact with other beings, T-Ai manifests herself as a holographic avatar resembling a young human girl in a maroon uniform, similar to that of a Japanese policewoman, which seems have caught the eye of Koji (who, in the Japanese version, is the only character to affectionately refer to her as "Ai-Chan"). She is an incredibly advanced computer that displays distinct emotions, self-awareness, a sense of humour, and -perhaps most notably- the ability to lose her patience. She is quick to verbally berate any Autobot found shirking their duties - usually Side Burn.

This hapless young woman doesn't get involved in the Transformers' battles on purpose - she just always seems to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. In addition to owning the disguised X-Brawn, she's also had her nerves frayed through Side Burn's constant pursuit of her red sports cars, and frequently goes off on vacations in an attempt to relax, only to have the Transformers wreck those, as well. Kelly was in the tanker truck that was scanned by Scourge to form his alternate mode, and consequently, her human bio-signature was incorporated into Scourge's own. He was later able to use this bio-signature to control Fortress Maximus.

Koji's best friend, briefly captured by the Decepticons in a case of mistaken identity, who tried to use him to control Fortress Maximus.

Another of Koji's friends.

A female news reporter who frequently covers the Transformers' battles.

Changes

As is commonplace for a televised English dub of a Japanese animated series, some alterations, omissions and even additions were applied to Car Robots for its broadcast as Robots in Disguise. Here is a short list of some of the major ones.

  • Although the series is, in the words of producer Eric S. Rollman, "its own storyline independent of the other series", featuring "somewhat similar characters in a parallel dimension", the series's dialogue was adapted to include sidelong references to past Transformers series - some subtle, some obvious, and some downright obscure. Some examples include:
    • The Autobots transport system is renamed the Spacebridge (named for the intergalactic transport system from G1), and is said to function using Transwarp technology (space/time displacement technology from Beast Wars).
    • T-Ai is identified as the 'daughter' of the Teletraan I computer program. Teletraan I was the Autobots' computer in G1.
    • Side Burn is at one point tied up using Energon Chains, a callback to the G1 episode, "SOS Dinobots".
    • Megatron's mind-reading device is named the Psycho-Probe, after a similar machine from the G1 episode, "The Girl Who Loved Powerglide."
    • When ignored by Megatron, Slapper comments: "What are we, Vehicon drones?" referencing the robots from the Beast Machines series.
    • At one point in "Explosive Situation" Dark-Scream refers to Sky-Byte as Overbite. Overbite was the name of a G1 Seacon who also transformed into a shark.
    • The name of the racer whose psychotropic energy Skid-Z absorbs is changed from "Goldberg" to "Augie Cahnay", a racer from the G1 episode, "Trans-Europe Express".
    • X-Brawn at one point comments that the Decepticons are on him "like Insecticons on a power core", a reference to the G1 episode "The Insecticon Syndrome", in which the titular characters consume the power core of the Nova Power Station.
    • In "Hope for The Future", Midnight Express comments that the Autobots' Sky Spies are searching for Dr. Onishi 24/7. In the original series, the Cybertron possessed a seldom-used miniature spy satellite dubbed the "Sky Spy".
    • In "Sky-Byte Saves The Day", Darkscream refers to Sky-Byte as "fearless leader", a reference to the nickname used by Rattrap with regards to Optimus Primal from Beast Wars.
    • In Optimus' recollection of his and Magnus' origins, he mentions his creator as being Alpha Trion; the ancient robot who built Optimus Prime in the original series, and who many fans speculated also built Ultra Magnus.
    • In this same monologue, Optimus states he was chosen by Vector Sigma, the All-Spark, to inherit the Matrix. Vector Sigma was the super-computer said to have given sentience to all Transformers in the original series, and the All-Spark was a concept introduced in Beast Machines; that after death, a Transformer's spark; basically their soul; joins with all other deceased sparks in a single, pure, unified state of existence. Interestingly, in the RiD universe, apparently these two previously unrelated objects are one and the same.
    • Prior to being activated, the blank-slate robots that become the Combatrons/Decepticons are referred to as protoforms, and the containers they are sealed in are called stasis pods. Both of these terms originated from the Beast Wars series.
    • In the episode "Koji Gets His Wish", Scourge says he will reduce to Optimus Prime to "so many scraplets". Scraplets were a race of small, canniballistic robots from the Marvel Transformers comics, that devoured larger robots.
    • In the episode "Commandos", after Sky-Byte declares himself to be most appropriate to masquerade as Optimus Prime, Slapper responds, "Well, ain't that just prime," an unmistakable reference to Beast Wars/Beast Machines Optimus Primal's oft-used catchphrase.
    • The colours of Side Burn's super mode greatly resemble those of Hot Rod (G1)'s vehicle mode.
    • In "Peril from the Past", Optimus Prime is heard to command the others to head out on their mission in true G1-Optimus Prime fashion: "Autobots, transform and roll out!"
    • In "Surprise Attack", Megatron mentions he's working for "the Predacon Council", a homage to the Tripredacus Council of Beast Wars.
  • Scene transitions consisting of rotating CGI faction symbols were inserted into the series in homage to the similar scene transitions from the G1 series. In Car Robots there was a simple "flash" between the Cybertron logo and Destronger logo (akin to the classic "Batman" TV series scene changes). Oddly, the new transitions added for RID were completely edited out of the UK airings of the show.
  • Several computer-animated POV shots were inserted into early episodes (sometimes in addition to existing footage, sometimes in place of it), but by less than halfway through the series, this practice was abandoned.
  • In Car Robots, God Magnus is already in possession of a Matrix of his own - as in previous Japanese series such as Beast Wars Neo, all high-ranking Autobots possess a Matrix, which is nothing more than a source of energy, unlike the mystical object of G1 lore. Magnus simply wants to take Prime's Matrix to increase his own energy. It is the over-spill of energy which results from this that supercharges the Car Brothers.
  • All three of the series clip shows were completely reworked for RiD, and were altered to focus on new material. The change is largely negligible for "Hope for the Future", but "Lessons of the Past" suffers greatly as it is edited from studying the Decepticons, the Build Team and Ultra Magnus into a purely Decepticon-centric episode consisting almost entirely an abridged retelling of "Landfill". Despite these changes, however, the episodes still fit into their original chronological placement. Not so for "The Mystery of Ultra Magnus"; in its original form as "Gelshark's Blues", the episode saw Gelshark (Sky Byte) ruminate on the superchanging of the Car Brothers, the emergence and activation of Brave Maximus and the transformation of Gigatron into Devil Gigatron, but for RiD, the episode is completely done away with and instead, through spliced-together footage from previous episodes, turned into a story about Megatron studying Ultra Magnus's early appearance. The episode retains its position as #35, however, and clearly does not fit as Megatron has become Galvatron at this stage and is focusing on Fortress Maximus. Chronologically, it must fall somewhere between "The Two Faces of Ultra Magnus" and "Fortress Maximus".
  • In the series penultimate episode, Devil Gigatron releases a swarm of cyberbats which attach themselves to children across the world. In Car Robots, Devil Gigatron uses these bats to absorb the mental energy of the children, and then, after believing he has defeated the Cybertron, recalls the bats and absorbs them back into his body, boosting his strength with the energy. Inexplicably, in RiD, any reference to the energy drain is removed, as Galvatron instead uses the bats to hold the children to ransom, forcing the Autobots to stay their hands. Then, once he believes the Autobots dead, Galvatron recalls the bats because he no longer has a need for them, and his absorption of them recharges him for no apparent reason. Consequently, the removal of this plot point makes Galvatron's claim in the final episode that he plans to absorb the power of the children seem to come from nowhere.
  • In the final episode of Car Robots, with the Cybertrons in his clutches, Devil Gigatron forces Fire Convoy to use the Global Spacebridge to take him to the Earth's core, where he will drain the very planet's energy directly. In RiD, this is altered to Prime challenging Galvatron to a final battle there and instructing T-Ai to seal all the Spacebridge portals, so that even if he loses, Galvatron will be trapped (RiD makes very little of the fact that Galvatron is an energy vampire). At the battle's conclusion in Car Robots, Ai believes Fire Convoy is dead, but in RiD, she considers him only "trapped". This is particularly bizarre, as it is clear that she did not seal the Spacebridge, as a portal remains wide open for Fortress Maximus to transmit his energy to Prime. Prime credits his ability to escape to the energy release by Galvatron's deactivation.
  • The original transforming sound from G1 is reused.

Cast

Japanese Cast (Car Robots)

US Cast (Robots in Disguise)

Arranged alphabetically by last name.


Theme songs

Japan (Car Robots)

Opening

  • "Honoo no Overdrive [Burning Overdrive]" by Kouji Wada

Ending

  • "Marionette" by Mami Nishikaku

U.S. (Robots in Disguise)

Opening

  1. "Transformers: Robots in Disguise Theme" by Saban
  2. "Transformers: Robots in Disguise (Alternate Theme)" by Hasbro

Ending

External links

Notes

When written together as "Carrobots", the show's Japanese title was frequently misread as "Carrotbots" on Usenet and web forums.

Transformers: Car Robots was originally planned to run for 52 episodes. However, due to Takara's financial problems back in 2000, the episode number was cut down to 39.

According to a panel discussion at BotCon 2005, the Prowl, X-Brawn, and Side Burn molds are currently so degraded from usage that they will likely never be utilized again, and may in fact be incapable of being used again.

The O-Parts so frequently sought in the series may be a reference to the archaeology term OOPArt-- an "out of place artifact", or anachronisms. Pieces of Cybertronian technology buried in ancient places on Earth would certainly be considered OOPArts.

The characters of Ai/T-AI and Junko/Kelly were brought back in 2005 as "drivers" for the Transformers : Binaltech Asterisks line's first two figures. Ai was a Policewoman [Now fully named 'Ai Kuruma', which literally translates to "Love Car".] was teamed up with Alert, who had the alternate form of a Subaru WRX Japanese police car. Junko was a 'racing queen' teamed up with Sunstreaker, who had the alternate form of a speedy yellow Dodge Viper.

In the US toyline, Megatron was in fact based on the revised mold for Devil Gigatron, not Gigatron, and so possesses the same 10 transformation modes as Galvatron.

A running joke is that Kelly/Junko is seen doing something and keeps running into the Autobot via Space bridge.

Though RiD/CR was originally considered it's own separate universe, Takara-Tomy's recently created Transformers Timeline places CarRobot in the year 2000 of the Japanese Generation 1 Timeline, causing some conflicts with previously established information, though how this will affect past and future installments of the Transformers storyline is unknown at this time.

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