Toxicity

« Transformers: Prime ep 41 »
Despite the title, this episode has nothing to do with System of a Down.
"Toxicity"
Season	2
No. in season	15
Production company	Hasbro Studios
Airdate	May 26, 2012
Written by	Steven Melching
Directed by	Scooter Tidwell
Animation studio	Polygon Pictures
Watch this episode on YouTube

Bulkhead encounters life-threatening danger during the last relic hunt.

Synopsis

He watches too much of Tales from the Crypt.

With other teams dispatched to find relics, Megatron visits the Insecticon hive and calls for a volunteer. Hardshell steps forward and Megatron sends him and three others to find the fourth and final relic. The four Insecticons arrive in a volcanic region on the equator and immediately split up.

At the Autobot base, Bulkhead watches Miko leave with her team before he is dispatched to the area at the equator. Though he arrives at the correct coordinates, there's no relic there, but his search is interrupted by the approach of Hardshell. The Insecticon attacks Bulkhead and, after a brief exchange of words, the pair fight. Although he takes a few hits, the Wrecker flattens Hardshell, knocking a mandible off the Insecticon in the process. Bulkhead then heads downhill, realizing that an old lava flow may have taken the relic in the same direction. He keeps Agent Fowler updated back at base via radio. Meanwhile, Hardshell comes to and heads off with the other Insecticons to find their target.

Though leaking energon from his fight, Bulkhead manages to find the relic. Unfortunately, it turns out to be a toxic form of Energon known as Tox-En, which Megatron could refine into a lethal bio-weapon. Though Fowler suggests bringing it to base, Bulkhead realizes that he's going to have to dispose of it himself, "Wrecker style". Hardshell and the other Insecticons find the vessel shortly after, but as one of them goes to grab the small piece of Tox-En within, the grenade Bulkhead left behind explodes, leaving him fatally riddled with Tox-En shrapnel. Hardshell lets Megatron know about the Tox-En, but Megatron wants to know why Hardshell doesn't have the stuff yet.

Bulkhead, meanwhile, runs away from the volcano with the rest of the Tox-En, leaving a trail of leaking energon to throw off the Insecticons. As he turns and starts to head up the volcano, Bulkhead strikes up a conversation with Fowler about their past war-time careers and discovers they've more in common than they'd previously thought. However, as Bulkhead continues his journey, he begins to feel the effects of the toxic energon and almost succumbs to its spark-sapping properties. After Agent Fowler convinces him to keep going for the sake of duty and family, namely Miko, Bulkhead trudges on.

Hardshell is not so easily destroyed.

Meanwhile, Hardshell figures out the false trail, and he and the other Insecticons fly uphill. They catch up to Bulkhead, who has just arrived at the volcano's mouth, and surround him. Bulkhead throws a grenade at one Insecticon and jabs the Tox-En into Hardshell. The third Insecticon charges in bug mode, but Bulkhead decks it with the Tox-En and jabs the chunk into its shell before turning back to face Hardshell. Receiving the news that Miko is safe, Bulkhead begins sparring with Hardshell, though they are both now weakened from the toxic energon. Though Hardshell manages to get the better of Bulkhead, as he moves to finish the Wrecker off, Bulkhead works up the strength to throw Hardshell over to the Tox-En before flinging the monster towards a hole in the caldera crust leading down into the molten lava. Bulkhead then throws the Tox-En to Hardshell, and the dizzied Insecticon falls into the volcano, destroying the toxic relic. As Bulkhead heads for the GroundBridge, Hardshell climbs out of the volcano and shoots the Autobot in the back, sending him flying through the GroundBridge to land within the Autobot base, his back burning. Ratchet, Raf, and Fowler see the smoke coming out of Bulkhead and run to his aid.

To be continued...

Featured characters

(Characters in italic text appear only in flashbacks.)
(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Quotes

"I can haz cheeseburger!"

—Yes, Agent Fowler actually said that.

"Yeess, the Wrecker leaks from his wounds."

—Hardshell pulling a Megatron on us.

"When were you ever behind enemy lines?"
"I wasn't always a 'Bot sitter."
"Huh. Next you're gonna tell me that your mother doesn't tuck you in bed at night."
"Not since basic training."

—Bulkhead finds out that Agent Fowler knows things about being a soldier.

"Look soldier. You know as well as I do there's the mission. And the reason why you take the mission!..."
"Honor... duty..."
"Family. Which is why you need to do whatever it takes to finish this job and come home safely."

—Agent Fowler tries to encourage a faltering Bulkhead.

"Wrecker! Put down the rock, and allow us to put you out of your misery!"
(Insecticons surround Bulkhead, who sighs and takes out a grenade)
"Gotta swat some flies..."

—Hardshell confronts Bulkhead at the volcano's crater.

"Fowler... mission accomplished. Though you might have to... tuck me in."

—Half-dead from Tox-En poisoning, and all Bulkhead needs is a nap? Hardcore.

Notes

Continuity notes

• This is the final episode of the four-part relic-hunting arc, all four parts of which happen concurrently. This episode focuses on Bulkhead and Fowler. Fowler's handling of Vogel in "Tunnel Vision" and the Antarctic research base in "Triangulation" are shown from his point of view. Raf is also seen programming the virus that Ratchet installs in Laserbeak in "Triage". The ending scene is the same as in "Triage".
• All four relic mission episodes start with the letter "T".
• The room currently occupied by the Insecticon hive was previously used to store Dark Energon way back in "Darkness Rising, Part 2".
• During Bulkhead's first fight with Hardshell, the Insecticon delivers an attack that looks eerily similar to how Starscream killed Cliffjumper. The actual hit is obscured (the camera is set behind Hardshell), but it doesn't seem to do any visible damage (although this could be why Bulkhead was leaking energon after the fight). At the end of the fight, meanwhile, Bulkhead clocks Hardshell with a wicked uppercut, knocking off one of his mandibles. The scene plays out in a suspiciously similar fashion to how Cliffjumper lost one of his horns to a Vehicon in "Darkness Rising, Part 1"; the mandible even sticks point-first in the ground.
• Fowler makes mention of his old Army Ranger days, which he first mentioned in "Nemesis Prime".
• Bulkhead flashes back to scenes from previous episodes when Fowler is trying to get him to continue the mission. First, he remembers several instances where his life was threatened, including:
  • Leading Scraplets through the GroundBridge into the Arctic in "Scrapheap".
  • Getting his Energon drained by the energon harvester in "Deus ex Machina".
  • Clashing with Breakdown in "Out of His Head".
  • Getting blown back by the malfunctioning GroundBridge in "Shadowzone".
  • Protecting Miko from falling rocks in "Rock Bottom".
  • Clashing with Breakdown in "Operation: Breakdown".
  • Being wired to one of Dreadwing's bombs in "Loose Cannons".
  • Getting attacked by Scraplets in "Scrapheap".
• Shortly after the above, Bulkhead remembers several interactions with Miko, including:
  • Miko assuring him that she's protected before Bulkhead heads down a slope in "Darkness Rising, Part 3".
  • Bulkhead showing Miko a new battle scar in "Metal Attraction".
  • Miko revealing herself from inside Bulkhead's chest in "Darkness Rising, Part 4".
  • Bulkhead trying to dissuade Miko from using him as a role model in "Deus ex Machina".
  • An exhausted Miko trying to clear rubble in "Rock Bottom".
  • Miko trying to get an amnesiac Bulkhead to remember her in "T.M.I.".
• Bulkhead's tactic of hiding a grenade in the Tox-En container is similar to the one proposed by Wheeljack in "Triage". Wrecker style, indeed.

Transformers references

• During Bulkhead's flashback to the victims of Megatron's refined Tox-En weapon, one of the corpses in the foreground looks a lot like an Ironhide from another continuity. The reddish one behind it looks similar to the generic impaled by Megatron during Ratchet's flashback to the beginning of the Great War in "One Shall Rise, Part 3".
• Green-tinted energon that emits visible fumes and is toxic to Cybertronians was previously seen in Energon. Given Bulkhead's flashback, Megatron's refined, weaponized version of Tox-En may be a small-scale version of the energon gas that plagued that series' version of Cybertron.
• In a likely coincidence (but with a chance of being intentional given the "Binder of Revelation"), in the TakaraTomy Prime toyline, some of the Arms Microns have Energon Crystals dubbed "Poison" energon... which are an ugly dark green color, much like the poisonous Tox-En introduced in this episode.
• Both Megatron and Hardshell say "YESSSSSS".

Real-world references

• While still recovering from the shock he received in "Flying Mind", Fowler blurts out "I can has cheeseburger", a popular cat-based internet meme.
• Considering its green coloration, mineral-like composition, and fatal effects from prolonged exposure, Tox-En is essentially Cybertronian Kryptonite.

Errors

• After Hardshell punches Bulkhead during their first fight, the latter's cannons transform into maces without the usual sound effects.
• In the establishing shot of the Tox-En before the commercial break, there are two samples in the container; the larger one which Bulkhead takes with him, and the smaller one he leaves as a booby trap. After the commercial break, the same shot shows only the larger sample.
• When Megatron receives Hardshell's report on the Tox-En, Soundwave is standing behind him, with his visor undamaged. This clashes with the continuity of the arc; Soundwave should either be absent from the ship (if he's still embroiled in his relic hunt) or sporting a cracked visor from his battle with Wheeljack, as a later scene in this episode indicates that Knock Out is still on his own relic hunt.
• When Bulkhead incapacitates one of the Insecticons with the Tox-En ("Here, hold this!"), it is in its beetle alt-mode. After it manages to shake the Tox-En off its body, it is suddenly in robot mode after the shot of the crystal rolling on the ground. Although he could have transformed off screen.
• Speaking of that Insecticon, its fate is somewhat ambiguous. It falls over in a way that suggests that it's unconscious or dead, but Hardshell acts as though it is still online. Either way, it doesn't appear for the rest of the episode.
• In "Triangulation", Bulkhead is shown running through the GroundBridge for his mission. However, in this episode he is shown just walking through the bridge.
• It has been shown previously that Insecticons have blasters, and they show awareness of Tox-En's debilitating effects on their bodies... so why don't any of them try attacking Bulkhead from range, reducing the risk of Tox-En exposure? Even if they're trying to avoid hitting the Tox-En, they could certainly at least flank Bulkhead and attack from opposite sides.
• As Fowler tries to contact Bulkhead during the battle in the volcano's caldera, we see Ratchet and Raf downloading the Iacon database in the background (as seen in the previous episode). However, when the same scene was shown in "Triage", Fowler was silent for the duration of Ratchet and Raf's conversation.
• On multiple occasions, Bulkhead uses the Tox-En against his opponents, sticking it in or on them, which results in a "sizzling" sound and them being in pain and immediately collapsing, as if the Tox-En was akin to acid. However, Bulkhead himself has prolonged, continued handling of the Tox-En for most of the episode and simply sounds like he's come down with rapid-onset flu.
• In this episode, Bulkhead describes himself as being contagious, due to Tox-En exposure. During Ratchet's triage activities in the next episode, there is no indication of any decontamination activities or any exposure to the other Autobots, and it's never mentioned again.

Trivia

• Apparently, Bulkhead has been inside Decepticon barracks at some point (possibly on a mission for the Wreckers back on Cybertron). They are very, very smelly, but not as much as the landscape near an active volcano.
• In the past, the Wreckers have generally been a small, closely knit unit (despite their horrific attrition rates). However, Hardshell's comment that he's faced Wreckers numerous times suggests the team is much larger in the Aligned continuity.
• Bulkhead tells Fowler that the relic would likely survive a dip in molten rock while hunting for it in a cooled lava flow. Not only is this technically untrue (the Tox-En only survived its fall due to its container), but a drop into lava is exactly how Bulkhead disposes of the relic in the end.
• Despite having at least one more grenade on his person, Bulkhead doesn't attempt to leave the entire Tox-En cache in his Insecticon trap. Presumably, it wouldn't have been enough to completely destroy the toxic fuel, or it wouldn't have fit in the canister, giving Hardshell's team warning that something was up.
• Bulkhead finally finds something even worse than Scraplets. Incidentally, he saw the effects of both Scraplets and Tox-En during the war, and neither was a pleasant experience.
• Assuming Tox-En is the robot equivalent of mustard gas or a bioweapon, its use would be a war crime according to human conventions. Bulkhead quite rightly wants to destroy it, but that doesn't stop him from using it several times. This is the second episode in a row where the Autobots do something very ethically questionable in pursuit of the relics.

Foreign localization

French

• Title: "Energon toxique" ("Toxic Energon")
• Original airdate: ?

German

• Title: "Bulkheads Mission" ("Bulkhead's Mission")
• Original airdate: 19 January 2013

Japanese

• Title: "Dokuen Henkei! Mushi no Ō Hardshell" (毒炎変形!虫の王・ハードシェル, "Toxic Flame Transformation! Hardshell, King of the Insects")
• Original airdate: 12 January 2013
• Hardshell's personality is changed to be less serious and more hyper and talkative, in line with the other Japanese Insecticons.

Brazilian Portuguese

• Title: "Toxidez" ("Toxicity")
• Original airdate: 21 June 2013

Italian

• Title: "Il Tox-En" ("The Tox-En"), "Tossicità" (2017 airing, "Toxicity")
• Original airdate: 5 February 2013

Home video releases

DVD

2012 — Transformers Prime — Season Two (Shout! Factory)
2013 — Transformers Prime — Vol. 21 (Avex Trax) — Japanese audio only.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Folge 10: Bulkheads Mission (EDEL:kids) — English and German audio.
2013 — Transformers Prime — Volume 3: Weapons of Choice (Madman Entertainment)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Season Two Collection (Madman Entertainment)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Season 2 Vol. 3: Toxicity (Primal Screen)
2014 — Transformers Prime — Saison 2 Vol. 3: La course aux reliques (Primal Screen)
2015 — Transformers Prime — Stagione 2 Vol. 3: Il Tox-En (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.
2015 — Transformers Prime — Intégrale Saison 2 (Primal Screen)
2015 — Transformers Prime — The Complete Season 2 (Primal Screen)
2015 — Transformers Prime — La Seconda Stagione Completa (Primal Screen) — English, Italian, Swedish, Finnish, Danish and Norwegian audio.

Blu-ray

2012 — Transformers Prime — Season Two (Shout! Factory)
2015 — Transformers Prime — Season Two Collection (Madman Entertainment)