The Secret of Halley's Comet

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Challenge of the GoBots ep 63
(Broadcast Order)
Challenge of the GoBots ep 64
(Story Order)
SecretOfHalleysComet022.jpg
"The Secret of Halley's Comet"
Production code 0142-8553
Production company Hanna-Barbera
Airdate December 11, 1985
Written by Lane Raichert
Animation studio Wang Film Productions

The GoBots desire the power of Quantumite, but will Halley's Comet give up its mysteries?

Synopsis[edit | edit source]

SecretOfHalleysComet012.jpg

With Halley's Comet entering the solar system UNECOM sends up a manned flight from Australia to visit it, with Matt, a scientist[1], A.J., Nick and Professor Von Joy onboard. It will return to the joint new UNECOM/Guardian Star Fortress space station, where Leader-1, Sparky, Turbo and Scooter are currently stationed, after its' mission. The probe returns to the station very quickly with an important discovery - the rare and powerful Quantumite, harvested from the comet's tail. However, the Fortress then comes under Renegade attack, with their stealth device negating Sparky's attempts to use the station's weaponry. The Fortress' shields take a battering until Scooter and the Professor wire the Quantumite up to the system, making Thruster's weaponry useless against it - however the power surges seconds later. The Professor fixes it and the shield grows so much it rocks the Renegade ship, which goes back into stealth mode. Meanwhile the probe ship is readied for launch again, with Turbo added to the crew for extra protection. The UNECOM vessel enters a communications blackspot and is shot down by the waiting Thruster, crashing into the comet's surface.

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The crew survive with no significant injuries but Cop-Tur and Crasher immediately board, blasting Professor Von Joy. Nick and A.J. escape out onto the comet while Turbo tackles the Renegades off the ship but they are soon joined by Cy-Kill, Sky-Jack and Pincher, who stun everyone still onboard. Cy-Kill then sends Sky-Jack and Pincher to find the kids. Controlled by Cy-Kill, Matt contacts the Star Fortress, stopping Leader-1 from getting suspicious. Out on the comet A.J. is able to use a grenade to bring an avalanche down on their pursuers. Cy-Kill meanwhile plans to use the captured probe to sneak past the force field and steal the Quantumite core. Nick and A.J. sneak back onto Thruster, hoping to sabotage the ship and prevent lift-off, but instead end up disabling the cargo bay doors. Cy-Kill meanwhile knocks out Matt and leaves him for dead on the probe ship, with only a few minutes' air remaining and no spacesuit.

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The probe ship lands and Scooter gets ready to greet the crew - only for the door to open and reveal Cy-Kill, Cop-Tur, Sky-Jack and Pincher. They begin trashing the station, burying Leader-1, chasing the staff around and blasting equipment before Cy-Kill reminds them the Quantumite is their first priority. Sparky and Scooter dig Leader-1 out while Turbo restores the oxygen on the probe ship in time to save Matt. Twister, Mach-3 and a UNECOM team do their best to defend the Quantumite from the Renegades until Cy-Kill mesmerises the humans, making them turn on the Guardian pair and giving the Renegades an opening to knock them out. They steal it and Pincher welds the door shut, preventing the other Guardians from following, getting away before Leader-1 can melt the door. The Guardians soon close in, though - Leader-1 shoots Sky-Jack while Sparky hits Cop-Tur and they seem to have them trapped - only for Thruster, piloted by Crasher, to appear in the launch bay. She uses its' weaponry to scatter the Guardians. However, due to Nick and A.J. the cargo bay doors won't open to let them in. Cop-Tur forces the doors and the kids fall out. The doors then land on Cy-Kill, and he drops the Quantumite container. Without it the element rapidly becomes unstable, burning his hands and eating into the Star Fortress. Realising it will destroy the station, Leader-1 orders an evacuation while Cop-Tur persuades the forlorn Cy-Kill to escape as well. The probe vessel is the last ship off after confirming the rest of the personnel are safe, and seconds later the Star Fortress detonates, with Leader-1 telling a crestfallen Professor Von Joy the next Star Fortress will be bigger and stronger, while they still managed to save many samples from the comet. A.J. claims she wants a reservation for the next flight to Halley's Comet but Matt informs her it won't be back for another eighty years, and Scooter chuckles at the idea of planning ahead that far.

Featured characters[edit | edit source]

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Guardians Renegades Humans

Quotes[edit | edit source]

"You have to watch them every second..."

Cy-Kill breaks the fourth wall to complain about Sky-Jack and Pincher.

"I had it in my hands..."
"Yeah, yeah, I know, but let's get out of here."

Cy-Kill is on the receiving end of Cop-Tur's caring side.

Notes[edit | edit source]

One of us is wrong!
Uh-oh!

This episode has continuity problems that might be from it being aired out of order.

Check our story order for more information!

SecretOfHalleysComet007.jpg

Continuity notes[edit | edit source]

  • Story Order:
    • Twister is very briefly seen as an active Guardian, placing this episode after "Guardian Academy".
  • Gadgets and Powers:
    • Cy-Kill uses his mesmerism to make Matt Hunter deliver a stilted A-OK report to the star fortress. He also spontaneously turns an entire squad of UNECOM soldiers against the Guardians.

Continuity errors and plotting errors[edit | edit source]

  • Nick and A.J. hear explosions back at the ship, despite the vacuum of space.
  • It might be scientifically possible to land on Halley's Comet but the episode generally treats it like the Moon, at best.

Animation and technical errors[edit | edit source]

  • Cy-Kill says the energy shield surrounds the whole planet, but it only surrounds the space station in the animation.
  • Crasher's chest is gray instead of black when the Renegades prepare to depart.
SecretOfHalleysComet032.jpg
  • The vents on the side of Leader-1's chest glow instead of the center chestpiece when he activates his radio during the Renegade intrusion.
  • Sparky's missing her left arm when they start digging Leader-1 out of the rubble.
  • Small Foot is drawn instead of Sparky as the Guardians race to save the Quantumite.
  • As the Renegades flee, Pincher's "nose" in vehicle mode is blue instead of its normal gold.

Real-world references[edit | edit source]

Trivia[edit | edit source]

  • The Renegades might not get the Quantumite but they destroy a gigantic space station and prevent the Guardians from using the element to protect Earth.
  • It's 75-76 years, Matt, is it really hard for an astronaut to be that precise?

Foreign localization[edit | edit source]

Home video releases[edit | edit source]

DVD

2015 — Challenge of the GoBots — The Series, Volume Two (Warner Archive Collection)

External links[edit | edit source]

Footnotes[edit | edit source]

  1. Name currently unknown