Swoop (episode)

The name or term "Swoop" refers to more than one character or idea. For a list of other meanings, see Swoop (disambiguation).

« Transformers: Armada ep 13 »
Sadly, Swoop received no royalties for this episode.
"Swoop" 聖剣 (つるぎ) (Tsurugi) "Holy Sword: Sword"
Production code	TF: A-13
Production company	TV Tokyo, NAS
Airdate	November 29, 2002 (English) 4 April 2003 (Japanese)
Writer	Isao Shizuya
Director	Masayuki Motsumoto
Animation studio	Actas Inc.
Continuity	Unicron Trilogy
Watch this episode on YouTube

The Decepticons, intent on completing the Star Saber, invade the Autobot base.

Contents 1 Synopsis 2 Featured characters 3 Quotes 4 Notes 4.1 Differences with Legends of the Microns 4.2 Animation and technical errors 4.3 Continuity notes 4.4 Continuity errors 4.5 Transformers references 4.6 Real-world references 4.7 Trivia 4.8 Foreign localization 5 Home video releases

Synopsis

Patrolling the skies, Cyclonus searches for the Autobot base's exact position, for which the Mini-Con Sonar was able to determine the general location. Demolishor is surprised that Megatron can understand the Mini-Cons' language. Cyclonus finds the base, and Megatron, having gained another advantage, has a hearty laugh.

Within the Autobot base, Alexis, Carlos, and Rad start to give Billy and Fred the grand tour. But before the others can show Fred and Billy around, an alarm goes off, and Alexis, Carlos, and Rad rush to the control room, abandoning their friends. Billy has a brilliant idea for himself and Fred to explore. Meanwhile, Optimus notes that a warp gate has opened within the base.

Megatron, the Decepticons, and Sonar arrive in the Autobot base, soon caught on security cameras. Red Alert activates some defense devices Hot Shot built into the place. Billy, hopelessly lost as Fred predicted they would be, concedes that his navigational skills have failed him. Not noticing the humans, the Decepticons walk by and come under fire from the defense lasers, unwittingly endangering the two boys. Optimus characteristically orders a ceasefire; Megatron assumes it must be a system malfunction and presses forward.

Red Alert determines the Decepticons are tracking the Mini-Con storage panels containing the other two Star Saber Mini-Cons, and Hot Shot eagerly rushes to confront them. Optimus takes the panels elsewhere, drawing the Decepticons away from the control room. Alexis then uses the room's computer to track Billy and Fred's movements.

On his own, Hot Shot attacks the Decepticons, but Megatron uses his antlers to grab Hot Shot's head, suspend the Autobot in the air, and then toss him aside. The other Autobots arrive, and Smokescreen activates a screen—of smoke!—to allow them to fall back into a separate chamber. By the time the Decepticons blast through the door, they only see Hot Shot drive away.

The Autobots use the chase to isolate each member of the Decepticons from the rest. Smokescreen lassos Demolishor while Red Alert baits Starscream into a hall of mirrors, his reflected taunts leading the seeker into a trap pit.

The three friendly human kids find their two jerky peers, and Cyclonus finds all five of them. The Decepticon intends to capture and ransom them for the Mini-Cons, but Rad uses the Autobots' warp gate to teleport Cyclonus to someplace far away.

The only Decepticon left, Megatron, gets double-teamed by Optimus and Hot Shot, but the skirmish leads to Megatron holding his cannon right up to Hot Shot's face. Sonar awakens his brethren, and Megatron seizes the Star Saber. But just as he brandishes his new weapon in the air, Optimus blasts it out of Megatron's hands, directly into Hot Shot's.

Megatron links with Leader-1 and offers Hot Shot one last chance to reconsider his side, which Hot Shot refuses, so Megatron opens fire. The torrent of energy blasts blows Hot Shot back, but the coaching of his human friends gives him the inspiration he needs to use the Star Saber to resist Megatron's gunfire. Megatron orders an immediate withdrawal after Hot Shot gets close enough to slice off one of his horns.

Optimus lets Hot Shot keep possession of the Star Saber, and the children celebrate this victory. On the Moon, Megatron wishes for revenge so hard it hurts.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"Maybe they ran out of ammo."
"Lasers don't run out of ammo!"

—Cyclonus and Starscream trade ideas on why the automatic defenses have stopped shooting.

"Man, that laugh of yours is really annoying."

—Hot Shot to Megatron.

"Try and download THIS!"

—Hot Shot risks attacking Megatron with a lousy computer pun.

"...why do I have to do all this work?"

—If you look up the word "grunt" in a dictionary, you'd probably find a picture of Demolishor

Billy: "Cyclo-butt!"
Fred: "That's Cyclonapus!"
Cyclonus: "It's Cyclonus!"
Billy: "...Thanks for clearing that up, mister."
Fred: "You have a nice day!"

—Billy, Fred, and Cyclonus in a rare purposeful Armada name mix-up

"Time for a SYSTEM CRASH!"

—Lame computer pun #2 from Hot Shot as he tackles Megatron.

Megatron: "Yes, this is more like it, I'm going to pixelate every one of you Autobots."
Optimus: "He's out of control."
Megatron: "Now you will do as I say, hand over all your Mini-Cons to me, or I'll have no choice but to re-format your friend's memory bank."
Hot Shot: "You... won't get anything from me!"
Megatron: "Then I'll have to execute your program."

—Megatron gets computer-pun vengeance on Optimus Prime and Hot Shot.

"For the last time: Access denied."

—Hot Shot tries something different for rejecting Megatron's offer of allegiance: a computer pun!

Notes

Differences with Legends of the Microns

• In Armada's opening scene, Megatron berates Cyclonus for wasting time and not looking hard enough for the Autobot base. Cyclonus and Demolishor generally moan about how it's hard to find. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron says they lent Cyclonus Blackout for a reason, after which Cyclonus disses Blackout's search capabilities, prompting Demolishor to defend his Mini-Con partner.
• Rather than asking Demolishor if he can also understand the Mini-Con language, Megatron says, "You idiot! Can you even sense the atmosphere in here?" Demolishor tries interpreting the question before Starscream says Demolishor is "too dense to get it."
• Starscream receives the warp coordinates from Cyclonus instead of those for the Autobot base. After finding the Autobot base, Megatron stops laughing before the scene cuts to the shot of the Moon and Earth in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, his laugh is heard during both scenes before the episode title card, and it sounds louder and more sinister.
• In Armada, Fred worryingly says that he isn't a fan of surprises, but Legends of the Microns has him ask Carlos if the more surprising part of the Autobot base is coming up in an excited tone. Billy asks Rad if there are more exciting things to see rather than wondering why they're still waiting. The sound effect of the Star Saber's holographic projection is gone. Alexis says Carlos now acts like Billy and Fred's "sempai" rather than their tour guide.
• Billy only calls out for Carlos after he and Fred find themselves alone. Instead of Billy deciding he and Fred should explore the base alone, he says they should look for the others. Then Fred makes a point of their troubles worsening each time he listens to Billy. Fred says Billy has a knack for getting them lost in Armada.
• Arriving in the Autobot base, Cyclonus gleefully says he's going to trash the place. After Megatron tells him to focus on the mission, Cyclonus says, "You're no fun at all."
• Billy says he forgot where the exit is instead of not knowing where they are in the base. When Billy and Fred see the Decepticons, Billy mistakenly calls Megatron "Mega-Shield," before Fred says, "No, you mean Megatrog!" In Armada, Billy says, "Megafrog," and it's the only one used.
• In Armada, the scene of Sonar pointing the way is silent. As Sonar points ahead in Legends of the Microns, Megatron says, "I see, so it's the way, then?" as an internal monologue.
• When the defense systems ceasefire, Megatron rationalizes it as a systems malfunction in Armada; however, he merely accepts it in Legends of the Microns.
• Hot Shot says the Decepticons know where they are and want a fight in Armada but asks why they're coming towards the Command Center in Legends of the Microns. Later, Optimus is silent after Smokescreen asks him what they should do. Then Hot Shot storms off, determined to take Sonar from the Decepticons. He seeks to punish them for intruding into the base in Armada.
• Optimus doesn't tell the kids to stay in the Control Room until he turns to look at them. Optimus says the line immediately in Armada, so there's an awkward silence afterward until he continues talking.
• Cyclonus doesn't crack a joke about the Mini-Cons (or Autobots?) getting scared and running but talks about Sonar detecting the other Star Saber Mini-Cons and laughs. Legends of the Microns makes more sense as Hot Shot mocks Cyclonus's laughter and says that "tasteless laughing" is forbidden in the base. Armada has Hot Shot comment on Cyclonus's annoying laugh even though the latter barely laughed a moment ago. Then the Autobot tells the Decepticons to leave since they take trespassers very seriously.
• Megatron acknowledges Hot Shot, who then says that "persistent fools" also aren't allowed in the base and demands Megatron to hand over Sonar. Then Megatron calls Hot Shot a fool and extends his horns.
• While silhouetted in the smokescreen, we only hear Demolishor say that he can't see and Cyclonus calling the Autobots "clever bastards." Then Demolishor and Megatron tell whoever's firing to stop, with Megatron and Smokescreen talking simultaneously as the latter and Hot Shot escape. All the Decepticons talk over each other in Armada, and their dialogue stops before the scene cuts to Smokescreen and Hot Shot.
• Optimus tells Hot Shot off for his recklessness instead of telling Hot Shot not to blame himself.
• After Cyclonus fails to transform in the corridor, Starscream says, "Looks like sensing the atmosphere is too much for you as well," harkening back to what Megatron said to Demolishor on the Moon.
• When they split up, Demolishor and Starscream call out for Megatron. Only Starscream's inner monologue is heard as he thinks to himself that finding the Mini-Cons should take priority over Megatron, and Demolishor is "overly loyal." Then Demolishor repeats Megatron's name. After Starscream tells Demolishor to try blasting the door again in Armada, they both have internal dialogue: Starscream thinks about taking the Mini-Cons for himself, and Demolishor complains to himself about having to do all the work.
• Demolishor's scream now echoes as Smokescreen reels him back.
• After he finds Red Alert, Armada adds Starscream's incoherent mumbling to remove the Japanese version's silence.
• At the end of the scene where Red Alert traps Starscream, Red's line isn't about the Mini-Con panel being a fake; instead, he tells Starscream to sit quietly.
• Legends of the Microns has Fred and Billy wondering if the Autobots or other kids will return for them instead of the Decepticons. They frantically apologize before Rad, Carlos, and Alexis reveal themselves. Depending on the dub, the subsequent dialogue differs: In Armada, Billy tells the others never to ditch him and Fred again. Then Carlos tells Billy and Fred to expect surprises when hanging out with Rad, Alexis, and himself. When Rad says they should leave, Carlos makes the classic "trouble just around the corner" joke before Cyclonus appears. Legends of the Microns has Billy ask the others why they didn't rescue them sooner, and Carlos answers that they had to stop the Decepticons from finding the Mini-Cons. After Rad speaks, Carlos tells Billy and Fred to stay close to them this time. When Cyclonus finds the kids, he muses about finding "something else fun to play with this time." The louder background music and Billy, Fred, and Cyclonus exaggeratedly shouting their lines increase the scene's comical nature.
• In Armada, Billy and Fred screw up Cyclonus's name as "Cyclobutt" and "Cyclonapus". In Legends of the Microns, where Cyclonus's name is "Sandstorm", Billy and Fred incorrectly call him "Sandsteam" and "Sandstop" instead.
• After Cyclonus sets the record straight with Billy and Fred about his name, Fred says, "Yes, Cyclonus!" and Billy says, "Forget about that! Run for it!" After Rad tells the other kids to hide, he has an extra line where he says he has an idea to get rid of Cyclonus. Cyclonus claiming that his sensors can detect the children's body heat isn't in Legends of the Microns; instead, he tells the kids to come out in a high-pitched singsong manner, playing up the hide-and-seek game. Carlos later has a line before Fred and Billy after Rad warps Cyclonus out, which removes the awkward silence present in Armada.
• Optimus tells Megatron outright that he fell into a trap; Megatron realizes that Hot Shot played him, and Hot Shot says Megatron didn't catch on quickly enough. As he gets electrocuted, Megatron says, "Don't underestimate me... I'll show you just why I'm Megatron, the Emperor of Destruction!" Then, instead of Megatron's computer pun about "pixelating" the Autobots (quoted above), he says, "A worthless trick like this can't even be called a trap!"
• With Hot Shot at his mercy, Megatron quips about the trap helping stretch his shoulders. When Optimus approaches, Megatron warns him to stay back unless he wants something to happen to Hot Shot.
• In Armada, Megatron reacts with a gleeful "That's it!" as the Star Saber forms. In Legends of the Microns, he responds with a surprised "What!?" instead. After the Star Saber forms, Megatron says, "So this is the legendary power?!" instead of smugly claiming ownership of the blade. The Japanese dub also removes the transformation noise from the sequence.
• After Hot Shot catches the Star Saber, Megatron demands him to return it, rambling about being the most powerful Transformer worthy of it in Armada. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron demands "his sword" back and calls Leader-1 to combine for his Full Blast Mode.
• Armada has Megatron give Hot Shot a proposal of allowing him to join the Decepticons by returning the Star Saber with the latter denying the offer and trying to attack, only to be pushed back, then thinking to himself about having to resist Megatron's power. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron mocks the Autobot for being weak and unable to protect Optimus, provoking Hot Shot to attack, and he silently grunts after falling back.
• Megatron says Hot Shot trying to wield the Star Saber is a pointless effort, and the farce is now over, with a dramatic echo effect added to the end of the second line before Hot Shot charges at Megatron. Then it takes about seven seconds for Hot Shot to connect with the Star Saber, instead of a split-second like in Armada.
• While Hot Shot uses the Star Saber to block Megatron's attack, Legends of the Microns has Hot Shot wondering if that's the sword's power, and Megatron reveling and desiring possession of it more than ever. Armada has Hot Shot getting used to the sword, while Megatron is taken aback by Hot Shot's ability to control the weapon.
• After Hot Shot slices Megatron, the Decepticon leader reacts in shock to his horn getting severed and says he'll remember this before retreating. The wide shot of Megatron and Hot Shot is now repositioned so that Megatron's head is visible at the top of the frame.
• Instead of referring to Megatron as "Megatroy" before Carlos finally corrects him, Fred once again calls the Decepticon leader "Megatrog."
• Alexis delivers the ending narration instead of Rad. The main difference between them is that Rad says the Star Saber ended up in Hot Shot's hands, while Alexis says it's how the sword came to be with Optimus's team.
• In the last scene, Megatron's damaged horn is visibly restored (see below). Megatron doesn't single out Hot Shot for his humiliation, and his swearing revenge is slightly shortened to finish as the scene cuts to the close-up of his hand. In Armada, his scream holds a level tone and ends before the dissolve to the ending shot of the Moon. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron's yell starts at one level but intensifies during the dissolve and continues over the last shot.

Animation and technical errors

• While searching for the Autobot base in the opening scene, Cyclonus's canopy is missing.
• Megatron's throne is off-model.
• During the close-up of Sonar sitting upon Megatron's arm, Megatron's entire arm is miscolored red. In Legends of the Microns, it's fixed and recolored gray but appears red for a split second before the scene cuts.
• Immediately after this, the outline of Demolishor's right eye is so thick that it looks like he's squinting.
• After finding the Autobot base, the extreme close-up of Megatron's face is reused footage from when he appears on Earth in "First Encounter," and the colors aren't updated to match his new appearance.
• Before the Star Saber projection shot, Fred's potato chip bag partially changes color when he and Billy look at each other.
• When Runway and Jetstorm react to Sonar's proximity by projecting the Star Saber's image, Carlos reacts to it by saying, "Hey! The Autobots shut off the force field! Follow me, you guys!" This line is presumably an error as there was no force field present. No one reacts to the Star Saber's holographic projection in the Japanese dub, and Carlos continues Billy and Fred's base tour.
• Billy's voice oddly doesn't echo in the halls after calling for the others to complete the tour. Legends of the Microns adds the echo effect to his voice.
• After Megatron warps into the Autobot base and instructs Sonar to find his partners, one of Sonar's chest panels is miscolored yellow.
• During the scene where Megatron asks Sonar where the other Star Saber Mini-Cons are, he uses the singular pronoun "it" instead of the proper plural pronoun "them." This mistake happens again when Megatron realizes Optimus has the Mini-Cons. In Legends of the Microns, Megatron only uses the singular term when Sonar points down the hall.
• As the base's defense system fires at the Decepticons in the Japanese version, Billy and Fred aren't visible but suddenly appear on the monitor's bottom-right corner in the next shot.
• When Optimus tells the kids to stay in the Control Room, he says, "Rad, you kids stay here and sit tight." but this is grammatically incorrect. The Japanese dub fixes it as Optimus says, "Rad, you and the others stay here."
• During Megatron's close-up, after he shouts, "Horn attack mode!" the horns toggle back and forth to create the illusion of them extending. However, this happens clumsily as the horns' tips repeatedly poke in and out of the edge of the screen, so it looks like Megatron is using them to rub his cheeks.
• After Megatron drops Hot Shot after grabbing him with his horns, the horns aren't animated as returning to their standard size even though they have the sound effect. Legends of the Microns shows the horns shrinking down.
• After Red Alert says, "Now, Smokescreen" (signaling Smokescreen to release the smokescreen), Smokescreen is missing his antenna/horn. It proceeds to vanish and reappear in the scenes after as well.
• Megatron scolds Cyclonus for shooting blindly in the smokescreen, but, based on the silhouette and their positions, Starscream and possibly Demolishor seem to be the ones firing. Legends of the Microns fixes the error by not naming whoever's shooting.
• The Decepticons' lasers change color at random throughout the episode, appearing as their signature purple in some shots but switching between yellow and red in others.
• After Megatron blasts the door, Cyclonus's chest has four windows on it instead of two.
• After failing to transform in the corridor, Cyclonus is miscolored like Demolishor; Legends of the Microns corrects it (see right).
• After Starscream, Demolishor, and Cyclonus get separated from Megatron, the Decepticon symbols on the back of Starscream's wings are upside down.
• Cyclonus says, "I'll cut them off on the other side," but it's Starscream who, after suggesting they blast their way through, proceeds to do so while Cyclonus up and vanishes from Demolishor's side. Legends of the Microns fixes these mistakes with Starscream saying they should find another route, and then Cyclonus says, "I'll go this way, you go that way," with Cyclonus fully animated as exiting the shot.
• Before attempting to blast open the door that separated them from Megatron, Demolishor says to stand back although Starscream and Cyclonus already left a moment ago. As explained above, this error doesn't happen in the Japanese dub.
• As Starscream has his internal monologue, the corridor that's supposed to be behind Demolishor is now a wall; the hall returns in the next shot.
• When Smokescreen sneaks up behind Demolishor, it looks like Demolishor faces a long corridor despite being in front of a door seconds ago.
• It looks like Red Alert is in the mirror room with Starscream, and Starscream's mouth keeps moving after saying his line. Starscream strangely also doesn't reflect on any of the glass even after shooting it to pieces. Legends of the Microns fixes these mistakes and makes the scene more elaborate as the room is reminiscent of an infinity mirror room, with Starscream facing multiple reflections of himself. When Starscream shoots the glass, he faces the screen in Armada, but in Legends of the Microns, he isn't visible as him blasting the glass happens from his POV, and he now casts reflections on the glass shards (see right).
• Starscream's mouth not moving when he yells at Red Alert upon being trapped looks like an animation mistake because he says his line too early. Starscream says his line as he looks up at Red Alert in the Japanese version.
• During the shot of Optimus and Hot Shot watching Megatron get electrocuted, the Autobots are obscured while Megatron's legs are in focus on either side of the frame. The Japanese dub corrects this by reversing the effect so that Megatron's legs in the foreground are blurred, and Optimus and Hot Shot are in focus (see right).
• After being blasted by Megatron and Leader-1, Hot Shot's visor is briefly miscolored yellow.
• There are multiple instances where Megatron's Decepticon symbols are missing, whether it is the one on his chest, the two on his shoulders, or all three.
• Sonar disappears from Megatron's shoulder and reappears on it periodically.
• In Megatron's scene of shooting up the base, he looks superimposed since the poles on either side of him are so close together that his hands aren't clasped around them; another mistake that Legends of the Microns fixes (see right).
• Megatron's mouth doesn't move when he commands Sonar to awaken his partners.
• In the shot of Megatron holding the Star Saber, the sword is too bright to be seen clearly, and it blends into the background starburst. Legends of the Microns lowers the sword's brightness, so it's colored blue instead of white, and viewers can make out its outline.
• The animation of Megatron demanding Hot Shot to hand over the Star Saber is reused from "Base" when Megatron Powerlinx with Leader-1.
• In the scene of Rad telling Hot Shot to Powerlinx with the Star Saber, his eyes are drawn looking at the upper-right corner of the screen while the other kids look straight towards the camera and look like low-quality static models compared to Rad. They also don't blink and look like lifeless dolls. The Japanese version fixes it to have the other kids looking in the same direction as Rad. However, the other kids' bodies are still positioned towards the screen, instead of the right like Rad's.
• After Rad speaks to Hot Shot, Leader-1 is miscolored purple to match Megatron. Before Hot Shot charges at Megatron, Leader-1's coloration gets corrected in Legends of the Microns.
• After his horn gets sliced off, Megatron doesn't have the shadow around his eyes, though they return before he retreats.
• As he escapes from the pit just before the Decepticons retreat, the raised spots on Starscream arms are miscolored purple. In Legends of the Microns, he says he finally managed to climb out, but his mouth doesn't move.
• After the Decepticons retreat, Hot Shot's mouth doesn't move when he says using the Star Saber was intense; maybe this was meant to be internal dialogue. This part is silent in Legends of the Microns so it's not a mistake.
• Megatron's treads look perfectly smooth in his final shot.

Continuity notes

• Megatron can understand the Mini-Con language now, a nice follow-up to the Japanese version of "Metamorphosis" where he admitted being clueless about what Leader-1 said, much to Starscream's amusement.
• The Autobot base's establishing shot is the same one seen in "Soldier."
• After learning of the Transformers' existence in "Carnival" and being openly included in the secret after being kidnapped in "Confrontation," Billy and Fred finally get to see the Autobot base for the first time.
  • Fred and Billy aren't the only two to learn of the Autobot headquarters. In a strange twist of fate, the Decepticons discover the base too.
• In the Japanese dub, Alexis sarcastically dubs Carlos Billy and Fred's new "sempai." The last time any of the kids were called that term was in "Palace," when Optimus referred to the kids as the Autobots' sempai.
• In Armada, Fred says Billy has a knack for getting them lost; he says their problems worsen each time he listens to Billy in Legends of the Microns. Fred's right on both occasions, as past episodes like "First Encounter," "Metamorphosis," and "Carnival" have shown.
• The last time a character mentioned the "Emperor of Destruction" title in the Japanese dub was in "Base."
• The Star Saber is finally revealed after eight episodes of build-up, starting with "Soldier," and it ends up in Hot Shot's possession.
• Gadgets and powers:
  • Sonar can track and activate his other team members, fitting for someone named after a kind of locator.
  • Megatron uses his "Horn Attack Mode" for the first time, extending his antlers (or horns as they're called in this episode) to grab and throw around other Transformers.
  • Smokescreen uses his chest winch and hook as a lasso in robot mode.
  • Like in the episode "Palace," Starscream fires lasers from his lower chest again. His cockpit fins fold down out of the way of the lasers.
  • Apparently, Cyclonus's sensors can detect human body heat, in Armada at least.
  • Optimus uses his "Big Punch" attack for the third time to knock the Star Saber out of Megatron's hand.
• After Hot Shot Powerlinx with the Star Saber, it's the first time Megatron tells a character to "Go to the Pit!" in Legends of the Microns. The last time any Decepticon used the term was in "Base."
• Powerlinx forms:
  • Cyclonus Powerlinx with Crumplezone for the first time; Crumplezone forms his helicopter cockpit.
    • Blackout somehow attaches to Cyclonus's undercarriage at the same time.
  • Megatron uses his Full Blast Mode for the second time, after its debut in "Ruin."
  • Hot Shot Powerlinx with the Star Saber for the first time.

Continuity errors

• Megatron claims Sonar is detecting the Autobots, but the Mini-Con has no reason to single out the Autobots themselves. The Japanese dub corrects it to have Megatron say that Sonar detects the dormant Runway and Jetstorm.
• Smokescreen answers Red Alert's cue to activate the smokescreen quite loudly, loud enough for the Decepticons to hear, though they're trying to be stealthy. The Japanese dub remedies this by having Smokescreen reply in an appropriately hushed tone.
• Why does Starscream want more Mini-Cons for himself? He probably can't Powerlinx with multiple Mini-Cons anyway, and Megatron might take them for himself as he did with Demolishor at the end of "Palace." The Japanese dub changes it so that Starscream is only trying to find the Mini-Cons instead.
• Cyclonus plans to capture the humans and trade them for the Mini-Cons, even though he already tried that and failed in "Confrontation." Legends of the Microns fixes this by having Cyclonus chase the kids, thinking they'll lead him straight to Hot Shot.
• Why does Optimus tell Hot Shot to get Megatron after catching the Star Saber but stops him seconds later and gets himself injured? In Legends of the Microns, Optimus tells Hot Shot to look out as Megatron is about to unleash his Full Attack Mode, so he moves to save Hot Shot and gets wounded.
• Hot Shot saying, "Yes sir!" after Optimus puts him in charge of the Star Saber doesn't line up with Prime nodding, and the fact that Hot Shot looks surprised. The Japanese dub has Hot Shot react stunned by Prime's offer before accepting it after Optimus nods, so the scene now makes sense.

Transformers references

• Starscream gets caught in Red Alert's trap, kind of like another Starscream another time.
• In Legends of the Microns, near the end, Megatron refers to himself as the Emperor of Destruction, a classic nod to the infamous title from Transformers lore.
• A Decepticon again references the Pit in Legends of the Microns.

Real-world references

• When Megatron berates Demolishor for being surprised that he can now understand Mini-Cons in the Japanese dub, he uses a version of the phrase Kuki yome (空気読めない Kūki yome)." It's usually used when someone is too dense to understand something or read a situation. Even Starscream says Demolishor is too stupid to understand what Megatron means.
• Starscream saying, "It a trap!" might be a blatant reference to the famous quote said by Admiral Ackbar in Star Wars Episode VI: Return of the Jedi.

Trivia

• The kanji 聖剣 would be pronounced as "seiken," while "tsurugi" is used for the kanji 剣.
• This episode was probably meant to be named "Sword" instead of "Swoop," as this episode's events have pretty much nothing to do with "swooping" and just about everything to do with a sword. The episode's Japanese title supports this. Guess someone goofed and wrote the wrong five-letter "Swo--" word. Oops.
• This episode is the first in which Jim Conrad narrates the opening instead of Rad and gives a new variation of the intro.
  • In Legends of the Microns, this is the first episode featuring the show's second variation Optimus's opening narration before the title sequence with scenes from "Underground," "Prehistory," and "Ruin" among others.
• Did Billy and Fred seriously not realize the initial sirens going off inside the Autobot base meant danger? They can't be THAT clueless.
  • They also have weird difficulties remembering the names of the Decepticons, calling Megatron "Megafrog" (I mean, how would Fred associate Megs with frogs?) and later ”Megatroy,” and Cyclonus ”Cyclonopus," who quickly gets frustrated. In fairness, Fred's guesses are closer than Billy's, especially in Legends of the Microns.
• Hot Shot is responsible for the Autobot base's internal defense systems, explaining a lot. In Legends of the Microns, Hot Shot explains that Smokescreen and Red Alert installed them.
• Smokescreen activates... a SMOKESCREEN! As his Japanese name is "Grap," this probably wasn't an intentional bit.
• The Decepticons seemingly use paper.
• At the end of the Japanese dub, Billy refers to Megatron as a "fork-head." Given that Megatron's head (and to some extent, his shoulders) looks like a huge tuning fork with those horns, Billy's not wrong.
• This episode is one of the few without an opening narration.
• Legends of the Microns Year Book 2003 reveals that since Armada aired in the U.S. first, dubbing was close to the last episode when this episode aired in Japan, so production was now running smoothly at this point.
• This is the first episode since "Carnival" without any music changes between dubs except for the bumper themes.
• Fred has Mazeophobia, the fear of being lost.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Une visite mouvementée" ("An Eventful Visit")

German

• Title: "Das Schwert der Mini-Cons" ("The Sword of the Mini-Cons")
• Original airdate: This episode was never shown on TV but was dubbed in 2003. The dub premiered in 2009 with the German DVD release of the show.

Hungarian

• Title: "Rajtaütés" ("Strike")

Italian

• Title: "La Spada Stellare" ("The Star Saber")

• Alexis's line: "Well, what? Do you know? Carlos is a tour guide now..." is... not present at all, leaving some cringy seconds of her moving her mouth in complete silence and Rad reacting to nothing.
• Megatron's line: "I know you Autobots are loyal to one other but this is ridiculous!" is incomprehensibly changed to: "Well done, Autobot! I see you made the right decision!"(???).

Korean

• Title: "승리는 우리의 것" ("Victory is Ours")

Polish

• Title: "Uderzenie" ("Strike")

Portuguese

• Title: "Investida" ("Strike")

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)
2005 — Transformers: Armada — Vol:04 (Universal)
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)