Autobot Spike
Title card via TFWiki, fan-archive fair use
A battle leaves Spike near death, so his mind is transferred into a hastily-built Autobot body that goes berserk under the strain.
The Autobots gather around Sparkplug's worktable in Autobot Headquarters for a demonstration. Using spare parts and human ingenuity, Sparkplug has cobbled together a large robot he has dubbed Autobot X, and with a flip of a switch sets him loose. He immediately runs amok—groaning, growling and smashing everything in sight. It takes Trailbreaker, Prowl and Ironhide to bring him down. Sparkplug apologizes to Optimus Prime for the mess and recommends Autobot X be put in storage.
Before this can be done, the party is interrupted by an alarm. Decepticons are attacking the new Air Force rocket base. The Autobots roll out to the base and engage the Decepticons. During the battle, the rockets and their fuel are inadvertently destroyed, and Megatron orders a retreat.
To cover their escape, Megatron creates a diversion for the Autobots; he blasts Bumblebee while Spike Witwicky is riding in him. The attack leaves Bumblebee damaged and Spike comatose. Spike is taken to Metro Hospital, where the doctors suggest that if Spike's mind could be transferred somewhere else, they would be able to operate on his fragile body.
Wheeljack and Sparkplug transfer Spike's mind into Autobot X's body. However, as a side effect of the transferral process, Spike's mind is in an extremely unstable state. Angry and confused about his new body, Autobot Spike rampages, destroying several computers and machines in Wheeljack's shop.
Optimus Prime is able to subdue Autobot Spike without damaging his mind. To keep Spike calm, Wheeljack tunes Teletraan I to a television station, where cruel Fate just happens to have scheduled an airing of a movie featuring Doctor Frankenstein's unholy attempt to create life. Spike is roused to anger, convinced that he, like the Doctor's creation, is a "monster." He again rampages throughout the Ark, then escapes.
Alone in the wilderness, Spike suffers from the conflict between his own mind and what there is of Autobot X. Will he use his new body and powers to help the world like Optimus Prime, or conquer all Humanity?
Laserbeak informs Megatron of Spike's new Autobot body and unstable mind, and Megatron forms a plan to trick Autobot Spike into destroying the Autobots. Megatron soon finds Spike with Reflector's help. Autobot Spike attacks, but Megatron has other plans. Spike's unstable mind makes it hard for him to think, and he is easily twisted by Megatron to side with him against the Autobots.
Bumblebee brings the Autobots to Spike's location, but they are unable to fight against the vengeful being for fear of destroying Spike's mind. Only after Autobot Spike shoots his father off the edge of a cliff does he realize what he has done. At once, he saves his father and turns on the Decepticons.
—Ratchet is a 1984 purist.
—Sparkplug referring to Autobot X destroying Autobot headquarters
—Brawn after kicking Soundwave
—Spike's doctor clumsily moves the narrative along within earshot of Autobot X's creator.
—Starscream, referring to the now-mechanized Spike
- The episode begins with a narrative voice-over from Victor Caroli. Most such narratives recap events from previous episodes; however, this one is solely to introduce the episode's opening events. After a couple more tries ("Day of the Machines", "Atlantis, Arise!"), this convention would be dropped entirely.
- Ratchet is standing behind Wheeljack when Wheeljack "volunteers" him to help improve Autobot X. Ratchet has a comical surprised reaction to the news. Wheeljack later looks visibly depressed that his mind transfer device has burned itself out.
- This episode features a curiously large amount of extreme close ups with the camera constantly going straight into characters' faces for no reason.
- The episode finally addresses that it's incredibly unsafe to bring a teenager to a battle between two factions of giant robot killing machines. Except that Spike continues to tag along in the future...
- Thirty years later, the device which accomplished the consciousness transfer was given a name in the pages of Ask Vector Prime... the Cortexitron.
- The three Reflector components, while speaking in unison, refer to themselves as "I".
Screencaps via TFWiki (Teletraan I), used under fan-archive fair use.