Do you like episodes where a character gets tagged by something that makes them act wildly out of order? Well, you’re in luck, then. They did one of those on the latest episode of Transformers: Robots in Disguise.
Things start off with Bumblebee and co. chasing down the episode’s Decepticon. His name is Quillfire, and he’s an anarchist who hates oppression. You know the type; paranoid, prattles on about some shadowy conspiracy by “the man” trying to keep honest folks like them down, probably has a Tumblr account. Anyway, he can fire quills all over the place, since he’s a porcupine that turns into a Humvee. Everyone manages to find cover from the rain of giant, metallic quills except for Grimlock, who suddenly realizes he’s just run shit out of luck. As a barrage of quills sail towards him, Bumblebee performs the traditional bodyguard dive knocking Grimlock out of the way. Unfortunately, Bumblebee got hit.
After getting Bee back to the scrap yard, Fixit removes the quill from his ass. He lets everyone know that the quills Quillfire shoots off contain toxins that affect the nervous system of those hit. It’s basically random how anyone reacts to the toxin, though. Strongarm realizes that with Bumblebee out of commission, she’s next in line for leadership, which Sideswipe naturally balks at. None of that matters, though, since Bumblebee wakes up, and immediately begins acting like a child. The toxin caused him to revert to childhood. Incredibly dickish childhood.
Quillfire is the sort of anarchist that either doesn’t follow the possible consequences of their actions to their logical conclusion, or simply doesn’t care. He tries to set a quartet of elephants free. Meanwhile, Strongarm decides that heir first priority is to track down Bumblebee and make sure he doesn’t hurt himself, or anyone else. Which isn’t easy due to the fact that his pranks involve bathtubs full of rubber cement and spring-loaded catapults loaded with nuts and bolts.
Strongarm eventually has her fill of this shit and tells Sideswipe to look after him, since he actually likes Bumblebee’s pranks, while she and Grimlock go after Quillfire. Sideswipe and Russell actually manage to get Bumblebee to sit still and not cause trouble by employing the age-old tactic of television.
Strongarm and Grimlock figure out that Quillfire is hiding out at a local carnival, which I’m guessing is completely and conveniently automated since it’s located near Crown City. Russell and Sideswipe, however, made the mistake of letting their charge out of their sight and, having heard that there was a Carnival somewhere, Bumblebee followed Strongarm and Grimlock there. Strongarm does not want to deal with him, so she orders Grimlock to sit on him if he has to.
The police are blocking off the entrance to the carnival, though, so she can’t just go strolling through. Luckily for her, she remembers that she transforms into a police vehicle. Having sent the real police off to catch a biker gang for traffic violations, she pats herself on the back, and asserts that she can handle anything.
Her ass gets saved by Bumblebee and Grimlock. Happy for the assist, but upset that they didn’t follow orders, she asks why they aren’t where she left them. Grimlock shows her his ass, and informs her that it’s a bad idea to sit on someone as they transform, so I’d guess it’s covered in deep gouges and yellow paint.
Bukmblebee turns on all of the rides, which Strongarm argues will at least give them the opportunity to search for Quillfire. Quillfire lures them onto the tilt-a-whirl, and turns it on, trapping them. He then gets caught in a giant bouncy house that would be perfect for a game of Kosho if only there were a few pools installed. Bumblebee walks in and begins playing on the trampolines, which Quillfire doesn’t like because fun oppresses him.
Strongarm and Grimlock free themselves from the tilt-a-whirl and enter the tent just as Quillfire decides to hit Bumblebee with all of his quills. Bumblebee avoids them in midair by somersaulting, though, and they all hit Quillfire dead center, knocking him unconscious. They lure Bumblebee to the top of a tower and chain him up, deciding that this was the best way to wait out the toxin. He wakes up the next morning, wondering why his head feels heavy and why he’s chained to the top of the tower, thus cementing Quillfire as the party drug of the century.
I liked this episode. Kid Bumblebee was entertaining in his own, dorky way. And at least they made use of the whole “in disguise” thing, for once.
Final Thoughts:
- Bob the security guard had a strangely high voice.
- Those quills were friggin’ huge.
- Autobots should check their privilege.
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