Recaps

Chen Changsheng and Starscream argued over who would lead their cooperation, while Black Watch soldiers began collecting the defeated Decepticons. Cyclonus attacked the humans and was captured, leaving Starscream to consider Black Watch a useful potential ally.

• Chen Changsheng rejected Starscream's proposal to compare their trump cards and said Starscream could take the lead only by beating him.
• Black Watch soldiers arrived and began gathering Brawl and Bonecrusher for transport to District 7.
• Cyclonus attacked the Black Watch soldiers with his rotor, killing several before the unit returned fire.
• Black Watch soldiers targeted Cyclonus's leg joints and captured him.
• Starscream watched without intervening and concluded that Black Watch had enough strength to make cooperation worthwhile.

Starscream reconsidered working with Chen Changsheng, hoping to gain human support and strengthen his bid for leadership among the Decepticons. Chen let him test whether his captured companions would submit, and only Cyclonus agreed.

• Watching the Black Watch dismantle Cyclonus, Starscream admired the troops and weighed cooperating with Chen Changsheng.
• Starscream reasoned that the Decepticons needed human allies and that he could lead them while Megatron was missing, despite Shockwave's influence.
• Starscream asked Chen Changsheng to release his captured companions so they could discuss cooperation.
• Chen challenged Starscream to awaken Demolishor, Cyclonus, and Bonecrusher and see whether they would obey him.
• Starscream awakened the three Decepticons; Cyclonus submitted, while Bonecrusher and Demolishor cursed and rejected him.

After Starscream and Cyclonus killed Frenzy and Bonecrusher, Starscream planned to use Chen Changsheng and Black Watch to recruit other Decepticons. Meanwhile, the US military mobilized to respond to the alien attacks, prompting Simmons to consider bringing Section 7 into the spotlight.

• Starscream killed Frenzy and gave Chen Changsheng weapons and gadgets made from the fallen Transformers, while Cyclonus killed Bonecrusher and pledged allegiance to Starscream.
• Starscream and Cyclonus planned to recruit arriving Decepticons by having Starscream play the hero and Chen Changsheng appear as a powerful villain.
• After the Decepticons' attacks exposed their presence, the US Department of Defense formed a team of military survivors and specialists to investigate and prepare a response.
• Simmons objected to the Department of Defense taking charge because he believed aliens fell under Section 7's authority, and he began considering a more public role for Section 7.

Chen Changsheng helped Simmons approach Secretary of Defense Keller with evidence of extraterrestrials, but Keller arrived at Section 7 with the Crisis Response Team to take control. After witnessing Frenzy transform and speak, Keller questioned Simmons about whether the aliens could be made to cooperate and decided to meet Bumblebee himself.

• Chen Changsheng chose footage of Bumblebee, Frenzy, and the Mars Rover for Simmons to show the Secretary of Defense.
• Simmons returned to Section 7 with Secretary of Defense Keller and the Crisis Response Team, who came to seize control of the department.
• Keller inspected Frenzy's high-voltage cell, and Simmons had the staff shock Frenzy awake so he transformed into a robot.
• Frenzy cried out about the Geneva Convention and paced around the cage while Keller and his think tank watched.
• Simmons explained that extraterrestrials were intelligent and could communicate, but he could not reliably make them cooperate.
• Keller asked to see Bumblebee for himself, and Simmons led him toward the room where Bumblebee was being held.

The Secretary of Defense visited the imprisoned Frenzy, whose insults quickly drove the delegation away, then went to question the more cooperative Bumblebee. Bumblebee remained confined but had been assisting Section 7 with research and improving the virtual world, and the chapter ended as Simmons introduced the Secretary of Defense to him.

• Frenzy remained under constant electric-shock surveillance in his reinforced cage, while Bumblebee continued working with Section 7 and receiving materials from Chen Changsheng.
• The Secretary of Defense and his group entered Frenzy’s cage, and Frenzy hurled curses at Keller.
• Keller asked Simmons about Frenzy’s behavior, then told Simmons to take him to the cooperative robot.
• Simmons led Keller and the think tank away as Frenzy shouted after them.
• The delegation reached Bumblebee’s larger but similarly reinforced cell, where Simmons introduced Keller and asked Bumblebee to answer his questions.

Secretary of Defense Keller questioned Bumblebee about the attacks on US military bases and Air Force One, and Bumblebee clarified that the attackers were Decepticons, enemies of the Autobots. Seeing an opportunity to gain allies and escape Section 7, Bumblebee appealed to Keller, who ordered Simmons to hand Bumblebee and Frenzy over to the government.

• Keller asked Bumblebee to help address the attacks on US military bases and Air Force One.
• Bumblebee denied that the attackers were his companions and identified them as Decepticons, a faction opposed to the Autobots.
• Keller learned that the aliens were split into two factions, while Bumblebee explained the Autobots' opposition to Decepticon rule.
• Bumblebee described the Autobots as defenders of freedom and democracy, winning Keller and the other officials' interest in cooperating.
• Simmons watched Bumblebee appeal to Keller and grew angry as Keller ordered him to hand over Bumblebee and Frenzy.

Chen Changsheng let Bumblebee leave with Keller’s convoy and focused on developing independent technology before the arrival of more Transformers. At the Cosmic Cube, he prepared to activate his own Transformer and considered how the AllSpark and Seed Pods created new life.

• Chen Changsheng watched Keller’s team take Bumblebee and decided that developing quickly mattered more than either Transformer’s fate.
• Chen Changsheng considered Unicron beneath Earth and planned to rely on Cybertron and Megatron to prevent its awakening.
• Chen Changsheng noted that Umbrella Corporation was mass-producing technology based on reverse-engineering Megatron, paving the way for Transformers beyond Autobots and Decepticons.
• Chen Changsheng dismissed the researchers and went alone to the underground chamber to activate a Transformer with the Cosmic Cube.
• Chen Changsheng recalled Bumblebee’s explanation that the AllSpark gave machines life and that Transformer technology influenced whether they favored the Autobots or Decepticons.
• Chen Changsheng considered how Transformer reproduction was rare and costly, and learned that the AllSpark activated machines while Seed Pods cultivated offspring from Transformer genetic information.

Chen Changsheng used the AllSpark to activate a smartphone, which transformed into a small, heavily armed Transformer that recognized him as its master. Though it seemed friendly and controllable, Chen Changsheng took it outside to have Red Queen verify it.

• Bumblebee threw the AllSpark into space during the battle between the Autobots and Decepticons, and Megatron and Bumblebee pursued it in different directions.
• Chen Changsheng pieced together the AllSpark's history and prepared to test it with a smartphone designed by Red Queen.
• Chen Changsheng channeled a small amount of Spark energy into the phone, and it transformed into a calf-high robot armed with miniature weapons.
• The smartphone Transformer aimed a weapon at Chen Changsheng, then called him "Master" and explained that its foundational logic identified him as its master.
• Chen Changsheng decided to take the little Transformer outside so Red Queen could check whether it was safe and controllable.

Chen Changsheng learned that Red Queen had made the smartphone Transformer obedient to him, then let her examine its body and use it to carry part of her computing power. Red Queen relished having a physical body, while Chen Changsheng considered how embodied intelligent life might alter its relationship with humans.

• Chen Changsheng contacted Red Queen, who explained that her intelligent programs were programmed to recognize him as their master and obey him.
• After Chen Changsheng gave permission, Red Queen sent computing power through the network to investigate the smartphone Transformer.
• Red Queen used the smartphone Transformer to stay by Chen Changsheng’s side and said its altered hardware could support her computing power.
• Red Queen explained that she had sealed the phone’s original program, leaving two consciousnesses in the body, with herself in control and the original program unable to leave.
• Red Queen described the phone’s body as a new physical experience and expressed a longing to know what a flesh-and-blood body felt like.
• Chen Changsheng considered whether intelligent life with physical bodies could become a competitor to humans, but concluded that Transformer bodies also confined them and offered a form of reincarnation.

Chen Changsheng prepared for the Transformers’ arrival while Optimus Prime led a small Autobot team to his mountaintop villa, hoping to secure human support in the fight for the AllSpark. Chen’s Black Watch forces ambushed them, and the Autobots escaped under heavy fire with Ironhide badly damaged.

• Chen Changsheng asked Red Queen to prepare three high-performance computers that could be combined into one, and she began arranging their construction.
• Bumblebee reported his situation to Optimus Prime, who told him to maintain good relations with humans and wait for instructions.
• After Soundwave intercepted Decepticon communications about the AllSpark, Optimus Prime led Autobots to Earth and found information about Sam Witwicky and the glasses.
• Optimus Prime brought Ironhide, Ratchet, Jazz, and Hound to Chen Changsheng’s fortified villa, where Black Watch troops spotted them and launched an ambush.
• Optimus Prime led the Autobots out of the encirclement, but the attack nearly destroyed Ironhide before Ratchet could repair him.

Chen Changsheng relied on artificial Transformers to monitor and control Decepticons who surrendered to him, allowing him to release them without risking Section 7's secrets. Barricade became the first to receive a smartphone Transformer equipped with an Arc Reactor and learned that the tiny device could destroy him.

• Optimus Prime suppressed Ironhide and the other Autobots' tempers while preparing to ally with humanity and eliminate Decepticons on Earth.
• Starscream led a mixed group of Decepticons, including warriors rescued or surrendered from Chen Changsheng's custody, while concealing them from human forces.
• Chen Changsheng used brutal sparring to break Barricade's defiance and make him an obedient member of the Surrender Faction.
• Chen Changsheng, Mechanical Emperor, Red Queen, and Skynet confirmed that artificial Transformers could be trusted, and Red Queen developed smartphone Transformers with Arc Reactors.
• A smartphone Transformer tested Barricade's genuine surrender and demonstrated its explosive power, after which Barricade allowed it to settle beside his AllSpark.

Chen Changsheng turned Barricade into a willing informant, while Optimus Prime and Keller agreed to a US-Autobot alliance against the Decepticons. Chen Changsheng learned of the deal and prepared to activate three supercomputers at Section 7, where he continued concealing the Space Cube.

• Chen Changsheng used smartphone restraints and luxurious vehicle care to win Barricade over, then sent him to spy on Starscream.
• Keller met with Optimus Prime and the Autobots at a secret military base, where Frenzy became a test subject after Bumblebee handed him over.
• Optimus Prime agreed to help humanity capture Decepticons, and the Department of Defense began preparing a combined force under human leadership.
• Simmons informed Chen Changsheng of the secret alliance, while three supercomputers built by Red Queen awaited activation at Section 7.
• Chen Changsheng's upgrades reduced the chance that Transformers would detect the Space Cube, which Bumblebee had failed to notice while confined at Section 7.

Chen Changsheng used the AllSpark to give Red Queen, Skynet, and Mechanical Emperor Transformer bodies, while Soundwave’s arrival disrupted Starscream’s bid for power among the Decepticons. Starscream sought Chen Changsheng’s help against Soundwave, as Chen prepared to capture Soundwave’s spacecraft and launch modified mecha into space.

• Chen Changsheng activated the AllSpark to transform three supercomputers into Transformer bodies, which Red Queen, Skynet, and Mechanical Emperor took over.
• Black Watch and Crisis and Response Group forces captured Decepticons until Soundwave arrived from Cybertron and summoned the warriors gathered around Starscream.
• Starscream grew jealous of Soundwave’s influence and contacted Chen Changsheng to propose joining forces against him.
• Starscream told Chen Changsheng that Soundwave had brought a Cybertronian spacecraft carrying Decepticon warriors and younglings, and Chen became interested in capturing it.
• A rocket launched from Houston carrying modified Starship Troopers mecha powered by the AllSpark, while Chen prepared three mecha warriors to deal with Soundwave.

Starscream lured Soundwave into a trap and captured him alive for Chen Changsheng and the Umbrella Corporation. Soundwave was left dismembered, while Starscream became more determined to build his own army.

• Starscream led three humanoid mechs in pursuit of Soundwave, who was monitoring communications from a satellite in space.
• Starscream sent Soundwave a plan to join forces, then used a jamming bomb to cut off communications and attacked him.
• Soundwave accused Starscream of betraying the Decepticons and refused to swear allegiance, then launched a desperate counterattack.
• Starscream and the three mechs overpowered Soundwave, restrained his limbs, and removed his head to capture him alive for Chen Changsheng.
• Starscream watched the mechs dominate Soundwave and grew envious, deciding he needed an army of his own.

Chen Changsheng froze Soundwave and arranged for Skynet to give the struggling Decepticons limited intelligence support. Starscream asked him for powerful troops and offered to capture an ancient Decepticon in return, whom Chen Changsheng recognized as The Fallen.

• Chen Changsheng had Soundwave frozen to preserve his intelligence and knowledge of Cybertron.
• Without Soundwave, the Decepticons fell into disarray, so Chen Changsheng planned to give them limited intelligence support to keep the conflict balanced and collect living metal.
• Starscream asked Chen Changsheng for powerful combat personnel, claiming his forces had suffered losses and could not withstand the Autobots.
• Chen Changsheng pointed out that Barricade and his cooperating Transformers remained under Starscream's command.
• Starscream offered to capture an ancient Decepticon in exchange for troops, and Chen Changsheng recognized him as The Fallen, the Decepticon founder who had returned to activate the Star Extractor Tower.

The Fallen planned to restart the Star Extractor Tower on Earth to save Cybertron and take revenge, while Chen Changsheng decided to secure the tower and Leadership Module first. Chen Changsheng acquired and revived Skyfire, whose portable teleportation ability he hoped to use, and welcomed him to the team.

• The Fallen planned to use the Star Extractor Tower to replenish Cybertron's energy and avenge the Cybertronians who had sealed him on Earth.
• Starscream left with three Mecha Artificial Transformers and prepared to challenge the Autobots for leadership of the Decepticons.
• Chen Changsheng decided to seek the Star Extractor Tower and Leadership Module hidden in the Egyptian pyramids, then arranged to acquire Skyfire for his teleportation ability.
• Chen Changsheng bought the Blackbird Reconnaissance Aircraft from the aerospace museum and sent Skyfire to Section 7 for remote activation.
• Skyfire awakened, saw Chen Changsheng's Artificial Transformers, and mistook them for the result of new Cybertronian technology.
• Chen Changsheng stepped forward and welcomed Skyfire to the team.

Chen Changsheng recruited Skyfire to help locate the Star Extractor Tower before The Fallen could use it to destroy the Sun. As they prepared to search Egypt, Starscream led mech Transformers in an attack on the Autobots’ Rapid Response Unit.

• Skyfire awakened among Transformers, and Chen Changsheng explained that The Fallen had returned and planned to activate the Star Extractor Tower.
• Skyfire recalled The Fallen’s betrayal of the Primal Transformers and asked how he could help humanity.
• Chen Changsheng asked Skyfire to help find the Star Extractor Tower, and Skyfire warned that he did not know where it was built.
• Chen Changsheng said they had excavated clues and could begin searching Egypt with Skyfire.
• Starscream led three mech Transformers in an assault on the Autobots’ Rapid Response Unit, where their fearless fighting disrupted the usual battle tactics.

Chen Changsheng brought Skyfire to Egypt to recover the Leader Module and excavate the Star Extractor Tower. Skyfire used the module to restore his body, then offered it to Chen Changsheng before insisting on teleporting the group back to the excavation site.

• Chen Changsheng arrived in Egypt with Skyfire and sent artificial Transformers to excavate the pyramid containing the Star Extractor Tower.
• Chen Changsheng took Skyfire to another pyramid and found the sealed Primal Transformers and the Leader Module.
• Skyfire grasped the Leader Module, and its energy restored his decrepit body.
• Skyfire offered the Leader Module to Chen Changsheng, who stored it away.
• Skyfire insisted on teleporting Chen Changsheng and several artificial Transformers back to the Star Extractor Tower.

Chen Changsheng kept the Star Extractor Tower and studied it with Skyfire while the US military reconsidered its alliance with the Autobots amid the escalating war. Sam encountered Bumblebee again, and the Autobots learned Chen Changsheng had the glasses but could not retrieve them.

• After teleporting into the desert, Chen Changsheng and the others found the exposed Star Extractor Tower, and Skyfire decided to let humanity choose its fate rather than destroy Cybertron's last tower.
• Skyfire handed Jack the decision over the tower, but Chen Changsheng kept the Leadership Module and arranged for a holographic pyramid to conceal the tower while he studied it with Skyfire.
• As Decepticons and Autobots fought across Earth, the US military learned the Autobots were exiles who had lost Cybertron and began considering an independent force to oppose both factions.
• Chen Changsheng continued studying the tower as his living-metal supply grew, and Sam encountered Bumblebee again.
• The Autobots learned Chen Changsheng had the glasses but could do nothing to make him return them.

Chen Changsheng led Starscream, Skyfire, and artificial Transformers to The Fallen’s ship to eliminate him while he was dormant, but The Fallen awakened and overwhelmed the attackers. Skyfire recognized the chance to confront his former superior and prepared to strike.

• Chen Changsheng took Starscream, Skyfire, and a team of artificial Transformers to find The Fallen’s ship at the edge of the Solar System.
• Starscream used his standing with the Decepticons to lead the group aboard and take them to The Fallen’s dormant chamber.
• Chen Changsheng ordered Starscream to kill The Fallen, but The Fallen erupted with power and blasted Starscream away.
• The Fallen escaped the encirclement and severely damaged the artificial Transformers with his strength and metal staff.
• Skyfire remembered The Fallen’s past power and prepared to attack him.

Skyfire and the artificial Transformers attacked The Fallen, but his scepter trapped them in a gravitational field. Chen Changsheng broke through with magnetism and fought The Fallen directly, leaving the battle unresolved.

• Skyfire charged The Fallen, and the artificial Transformers overwhelmed him with attacks while avoiding high-powered weapons.
• The Fallen produced a scepter and used its technology to suspend the attackers in a gravitational field, leaving them unable to fight back.
• Starscream wondered whether he could return to the Decepticons as Chen Changsheng entered the field and used magnetism to move freely.
• Chen Changsheng struck The Fallen and forced him to retract the field, causing the suspended Transformers to crash to the ground.
• Chen Changsheng and The Fallen fought fiercely, trading injuries as they countered each other with gravity and magnetism.

Chen Changsheng defeated The Fallen and claimed his staff, then arranged to extract the ancient Transformer's knowledge through the virtual world. He and Starscream prepared the mothership for departure by teaching artificial Transformers to pilot it and filling out the crew with Blacklight Insectoid clones.

• Chen Changsheng adapted to The Fallen's fighting rhythm, severed the arm holding his staff, and defeated him through a battle of attrition.
• Chen Changsheng had Skyfire resize The Fallen's staff and told Starscream to take The Fallen while preserving his knowledge.
• Starscream explained that The Fallen's spark would be uploaded into the virtual world, where he could be persuaded to share his knowledge.
• Chen Changsheng and Starscream turned to operating the mothership and discovered that its former crew had been pilots rather than fighters.
• Starscream transmitted piloting knowledge to the artificial Transformers, and Chen Changsheng supplied additional crew with Blacklight Insectoid clones.

Chen Changsheng brought the Cybertronian spacecraft to Mars and decided to seek Sentinel Prime on the Moon to obtain Cosmic Bridge technology. He planned to have the Autobots search for Sentinel Prime while tensions between the Autobots and humanity continued to grow.

• Chen Changsheng rejected Skyfire's offer to pilot the mothership, and Skyfire watched Starscream and the other Transformers operate it.
• Chen Changsheng and the others flew past Earth to Mars while escorting The Fallen.
• Chen Changsheng recalled that Sentinel Prime was sleeping somewhere on the Moon and possessed the Cosmic Bridge technology he wanted.
• Chen Changsheng decided to use the Autobots on Earth to search the Moon for Sentinel Prime rather than look for the spacecraft himself.
• Colonel Fenix cooperated with Optimus Prime to find the Transformers' weaknesses, while human authorities grew dissatisfied with the Autobots' limited technology and the damage caused by their battles.
• The Autobots and Decepticons continued fighting, and the United States considered wiping out both factions despite its cooperation with the Autobots.

Colonel Fenix and the Autobots investigated Decepticon activity at Chernobyl, where Chen Changsheng had arranged a staged battle to reveal a Cybertronian spacecraft engine. Barricade escaped with the engine while Optimus Prime defeated the Decepticons left behind.

• Colonel Fenix led the combined forces to Chernobyl after the US government and Autobots grew wary of Decepticon activity there.
• Barricade ordered his troops to wait underground while they guarded the spacecraft engine and complained about leaving their comfortable life on Earth.
• When Fenix's team arrived, Barricade fired at the vanguard and fled, while one of his soldiers took the engine and pursued him.
• The Rapid Response Unit could not stop the Decepticons, so Fenix called Optimus Prime for help.
• Optimus Prime charged the Decepticons who emerged from underground and killed them in battle.

After Optimus Prime discovered that the Americans had hidden the Ark’s engines, he confronted their leaders and uncovered the Ark’s crash site on the Moon. While the Autobots waited for permission to travel there, Chen Changsheng took the damaged Ark and began planning to use Megatron to gain the Cosmic Bridge technology.

• Optimus Prime defeated four Decepticons and recognized the engines they carried as parts of The Fallen’s Ark.
• Optimus Prime confronted Colonel Phinix and then the Secretary of Defense over the engines, forcing the Americans to investigate their records.
• The Autobots located the Ark’s crash site on the Moon, but the president delayed their rocket project for a month.
• Chen Changsheng traveled to the Moon, took the damaged Ark, and hid it elsewhere.
• Chen Changsheng decided to target Megatron as a puppet who could help him obtain the Cosmic Bridge technology.