The Transformers: The Movie is famous for the death of Optimus Prime, but the Autobot leader was far from the only soldier to fall to Megatron and the Decepticons in the big-screen debut for the robots in disguise. After the wild success of the 1984 animated TV series, Hasbro decided it was time for the Autobots and Decepticons to make the leap to cinemas in 1986.
But beyond just being an extension of the popular cartoon, The Transformers: The Movie is the crucial turning point of the franchise. The story takes place in 2005, two decades after the events of the first two seasons of the TV series. The movie introduces a slew of new Autobots and Decepticons who would go on to be the main characters of the Generation 1 franchise until it fizzled out a few years later.
Above all, The Transformers: The Movie is remembered for being a saltier affair than the cartoon. Characters not only cursed and endured horrific injuries, many of them actually died. That level of violence was never seen on the TV series, and this made the Transformers a controversial franchise at the time. The harsh truth is that the violence wasn't really story motivated, but was simply a way for Hasbro to write off their 1984 toys to make way for the 1986 characters. Still, the sting of those deaths still stays with some fans to this day.
One of the more diminutive Autobots, Brawn was still a bruiser, always ready for a fight or to help out a weaker Autobot. He was the first Autobot to fall in The Transformers: The Movie, blasted through the shoulder by Megatron when the latter boarded the Autobot shuttle headed toward Earth. There have been some tongue-in-cheek theories over the years that Brawn actually survived, as he appeared via animation error in a third season episode of the animated series that takes place after the movie, and he was later replaced in an Autobot mausoleum by Huffer.
Prowl is traditionally one of Optimus Prime's most trusted lieutenants, a logic-driven cop who occasionally runs afoul of some of the more spirited Autobots. Imagine if Cyclops turned into a car - that's Prowl. On the same shuttle as Brawn, Prowl took a couple of shots at Starscream before the Constructicon Scavenger managed to blast him, penetrating his armor and causing him to die horrifically, his eyes glowing and belching up smoke as he collapsed in a heap. It's one of the franchise's most gruesome scenes and one that haunted a generation of young Transformers fans.
The Autobot medic was usually a grouchy curmudgeon, but he was always dependable at getting his fellow injured Autobots up and running again. The final line of defense on the Autobot shuttle - along with Ironhide - Ratchet was double fisting blasters at the Decepticons before he was shot multiple times in the chest, falling to his death. Ironically, his last act was to look over to the injured Ironhide, concerned for his fellow Autobot's well being. A doctor to the end.
Ironhide was Optimus Prime's right-hand man for the majority of the cartoon's first two seasons. His southern drawl and punchy attitude made him a fan favorite, as well as his role as something of an old-timer who has seen a lot in his many years fighting the Decepticons. Ironhide fell alongside Ratchet as the Decepticons wrangled control of the Autobot shuttle away from them. As Megatron detailed his plan to secretly invade Autobot City on Earth and wipe out the Autobots resistance, a mortally wounded Ironhide crawled over to Megatron in a futile attempt to thwart the Decepticon leader. With a smirk, Megatron spits out "such heroic nonsense," and obliterates the prone Ironhide.
Windcharger was a fairly minor Autobot in the grand scheme of things. During the Battle of Autobot City, as the Decepticons begin closing in, Autobots Arcee and Springer are charged with getting the city's defense online. They manage to elude Starscream and get to a missile launcher, which is splayed with dead Autobots. Arcee finds herself hauling Windcharger's broken corpse away from the battle, and ignominious end for a mostly forgotten character.
The mad scientist of the Autobots, Wheeljack was shown to have died next to Windcharger, his corpse lying near the same missile launcher. Interestingly, Wheeljack was not originally one of the Transformers killed; he was one of the show's most popular characters and would have made sense in the show's later, more science fiction influenced seasons. The corpse next to Windcharger was originally supposed to be the Autobot Smokescreen (Wheeljack's corpse is actually colored in Smokescreen's colors in one long shot). Earlier versions of the script had Wheeljack leading a guerrilla assault on the Decepticons on Earth for the back half of the film, but instead, he met his end offscreen and with no fanfare. He deserved so much better.
The leader of the Autobots met his untimely end at the climax of the Battle of Autobot City. With the Decepticons firmly in control of the conflict, Optimus arrived from Cybertron - with the Dinobots in tow - to help turn the tide of the battle. After plowing through most of the Decepticon soldiers, Optimus had a pitched battle with Megatron where it seemed he would come out on top before the naive young Autobot Hot Rod interfered in the fight. Megatron used Hot Rod as a shield, shooting Optimus multiple times as he collapsed. Optimus would muster one last bit of strength to mortally wound Megatron, but he died soon after the conflict was over.
The death that all fans remember, Optimus Prime's demise scarred a generation of unsuspecting children. It's easy to forget now, but the first two seasons of The Transformers animated series never even hinted that a hero's death was in the cards. In what is one of the more baffling moves in the history of franchise storytelling, Hasbro simply did not realize they had created an icon in Optimus Prime. To Hasbro, Optimus Prime was simply a 1984 toy that was discontinued and needed to make way for new product. Hasbro eventually saw the error of their ways, reviving the Autobot leader in the season 3 finale "The Return Of Optimus Prime" after a huge letter-writing campaign made them realize they had seriously traumatized a huge swath of their audience. Despite that unintended consequence, Optimus Prime's death remains one of the most affecting moments in the franchise's history and enriched the mythos in ways that Hasbro couldn't have possibly predicted.
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