Enter The Nightbird

At the Autobot base, Wheeljack has made a new security system involving panels that react to touch and has all of the other Autobots setting them up in various parts of the base. Optimus is pleased because it means that the Decepticons shouldn't be able to get inside as easily now but then Cliffjumper runs in saying that Doctor Fujiyama (the FAMOUS SCIENTIST!) wants to speak to the Autobots.
 

Fujiyama says that he needs the Autobot's help to guard his latest creation - the most advanced human-created robot in the world, which is still primitive by Autobot standards but even so he wants to make sure that the Decepticons don't steal it and use it for their evil purposes. Optimus agrees and the Autobot arrive at a conference for the grand unveiling, where Fujiyama shows everyone his invention for the first time: a giant female ninja robot called "Nightbird", which he believes will be able to help the world non-violently. Uh huh.
 

Optimus wants to know what a ninja is so Spike tells him about them, but then the Decepticons invade the building and send all of the humans present into a panic as they all run out. The Autobots aren't particularly great in the fighting that follows either with Ironhide managing to shoot a girder down onto himself and Soundwave making Brawn take a fall.
 

Megatron gets punched in the face but it turns out his attack was nothing more than a diversion so that Starscream, Thundercracker and Skywarp could rip the top of the building off and then steal the Nightbird, and they do that with relative ease. The Decepticons have what they came for and so the entire group heads away leaving the Autobots to pick up the pieces.
 

The Decepticons take Nightbird back to their new temporary base, and Megatron hands her over to Bombshell who begins his work to turn her into an evil robot that the Decepticons can use against the Autobots. Bombshell soon finishes his special upgrades to her and she is activated - with the simple mission of stealing the world energy chip from the Autobots, and then destroying them.
 

Optimus promises Fujiyama that they'll return Nightbird to him in one piece, something that Jazz doesn't do a good job of confirming, and the Autobots all head back to base to fix up their injured. At the base, Prowl and Spike are wondering why the Decepticons stole Nightbird in the first place, oblivious to the fact that she is actually above them and soon gets deeper into the base, avoiding the new security measures by walking on walls.
 

With the Autobots finishing repairs Nightbird is free to head over straight to Teletraan-1 and take the "world energy source" chip from it, which de-activates all of the base's power. As she heads back outside she runs into Mirage and quickly kicks him out of the way just as the other Autobots arrive to find him and see that Nightbird is in the base.
 

They corner her but she turns around and reveals that she has several buzzsaws which she throws at the Autobots and make them duck, and as they are distracted by this she then uses another power to cause a great light to further distract the Autobots. When the light fades out Optimus and the others see that she has gone and they decide to go after her whilst Ratchet repairs the still-injured Autobots and tries to get the power back on.
 

The functional Autobots head outside and they see Nightbird up a mountain. Prime changes his rifle's setting to stun and shoots her, but as they get up to where she is to take a look she was just pretending to be hurt and knocks down Bluestreak and then takes out Prime with her lightsaber, before stealing his rifle and running off before any of the other Autobots can stop her.
 

At the Decepticon base, Megatron somehow learns that Nightbird has taken Prime's gun and hopes she does more damage to him before she returns. Starscream begins to get snobby saying that she'll soon be burnt out and recaptured by the Autobots, which annoys Bombshell, but Megatron says that she's hot enough to replace Starscream whenever he chooses.
 

Meanwhile Ratchet has finished getting the other Autobots to operational status and then gets enough energy together to put Teletraan-1 back online, and he sees that the world energy sources chip has been stolen -whoever has that can tap into any energy source in the world and take it for themselves, and as he contacts Optimus to inform him of this information, Optimus tells the other Autobots they have to get Nightbird. They all transform and Hound uses his infrared to track her down.
 

They find her in a canyon where she tries to escape but falls, dropping Prime's gun, but she uses some kind of energy to retrieve her sword and then starts fighting all of the Autobots with a variety of weapons whilst avoiding all of the Autobot's attacks. This is being watched by Megatron who thinks that Nightbird is terrific and that she'll replace Starscream no problem at this rate.


One punch in the face for you, good sir.
 

Megatron gets Skywarp and Thundercracker to grab Starscream and then Bombshell and Soundwave use a special energy cage to trap him. Megatron then gets up and goes to see how Nightbird is doing only to find out that the Autobots seem to have finally caught with an energy cage of their own. Knowing that they need to rescue her so they can get the energy chip, Megatron gets the Decepticons (minus Starscream) together to head out for a battle.
 

The Autobots see that Nightbird has dropped the chip but before they can go and get it the Decepticons appear and attack, and then Megatron uses his "anti-matter" gun to free the ninja robot. No one has seen, however, that Starscream has managed to escape from the energy cage and is also at the battle, ready to prove how worthless Nightbird really is.
 

He shoots her in the back with his null ray, deactivating her and after saying something bizarre, he flies away. Megatron orders all of the Decepticons to go after him so they can rip him to pieces for being a traitor, meaning the Autobots are the victors as not only have they gotten Nightbird, but they also have the chip back.
 

The Autobots return Nightbird to Fujiyama who is pleased that she hasn't been damaged, and that all of the Decepticon upgrades have been removed. He then puts her into some kind of stasis pod, saying that she will now be locked away forever. But as the pod is moved away, Nightbird's eyes begin to glow and she frowns, has she really been freed of Decepticon influence?

This is the only episode Nightbird is featured in. However, in the comic "Departure", there is a story involving Fujiyama building more Nightbirds which eventually leads to the deaths of Daniel and Wheelie.

Megatron also uses a weapon that isn't his cannon at one point, an extremely rare occurrence that, if memory serves me right, doesn't happen again until Transformers The Movie.

This episode is also notable for some of the poorest/strangest dialogue in the series, such as Cliffjumper's first line, Megatron's love affair with Nightbird and Starscream's most nonsensical outburst ever. There is also some badly done sounds, such as one of Starscream's unnecessary yells being cut off too early and at one point when Optimus is hit, he makes some ridiculous "wah! oohh wah!" noises.