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Beast Wars: Transformers (cartoon)

2010-01-14T03:50:20Z

125.237.142.158: /* Others */

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Though [[Trukk not munky|reviled]] by many Transfans when it first hit the airwaves in 1996, the wholly-[[CGI]] '''''Beast Wars''''' is now considered by many to be among the finest examples of Transformers storytelling.

:''Canadian name:'' '''Beasties'''
:''Japanese name (season 1):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars)
:''Japanese name (season 2-3):'' '''Super Lifeform Transformers Beast Wars Metals''' (超生命体トランスフォーマー　ビーストウォーズ　メタルス, Chō Seimeitai Transformers Beast Wars Metals)
:''French name:'' '''Animutants'''
:''French name (Canada):'' '''Robots-Bêtes'''
:''Italian name:'' '''Biocombat'''
:''Latin-American name:'' '''Guerra de Bestias'''
:''Polish name:'' '''Kosmiczne Wojny''' ("Cosmic Wars")

==Overview==
The series opens at an unspecified time and place, where two warring factions of robots have crashed on a strange planet populated by animals like those on [[Earth]]. The planet abounds in mystery, with vast deposits of raw [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]] and evidence of [[Vok|alien]] activity. The Energon forces the newly arrived Transformers to take on protective beast forms to shield themselves from the ambient Energon radiation. And so begin the Beast Wars...

[[Image:Beastwarsmaxgroup.jpg|left|300px|thumb|Rattrap and Airazor conspire to ruin school picture day.]]
Though at first the show seemed to be in an entirely separate continuity, by the end of the first season's 26 episodes, viewers had been treated to a number of classical Transformers references, such as [[Unicron]] and even the reappearance of [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], last seen as a ghost in the third season of [[The Transformers (cartoon)|the original cartoon]]. These ties to the original story increased as the second season progressed and the planet was revealed as prehistoric Earth, the characters having been thrown back in time. The third season was entirely structured around the [[Maximal]]s defending their dormant [[Autobot]] ancestors aboard the ancient crashed [[Ark (G1)|Ark]].

The show won over many viewers through fun, intriguing stories and generally high production values. Strong characterization, top-notch scripting and voice acting, and complex, overarching plot threads are among the reasons cited for the show's enduring popularity. Some of the show's mysteries and machinations remain topics for fan debate over a decade after it aired.

The show's CGI, though somewhat primitive by today's standards, was revolutionary by television standards of the time (and puts [[Energon (cartoon)|some later shows]] to [[Cybertron (cartoon)|shame]]). Mainframe's animators took pains to ensure their characters gestured and emoted in great detail, and the "camera" work often took creative advantage of the format's flexibility.

The show was immediately followed by a sequel series, ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]''.
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==Episodes==
{{main|List of Beast Wars episodes}}

''Beast Wars'' has had 52 episodes over 3 seasons.

===Season 1: 1996–1997===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]
# [[Beast Wars (Part 2)]]
# [[The Web]]
# [[Equal Measures]]
# [[Chain of Command]]
# [[Power Surge]]
# [[Fallen Comrades]]
# [[Double Jeopardy]]
# [[A Better Mousetrap]]
# [[Gorilla Warfare]]
# [[The Probe]]
# [[Victory (episode)|Victory]]
# [[Dark Designs (episode)|Dark Designs]]
# [[Double Dinobot]]
# [[The Spark]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 1]]
# [[The Trigger, Part 2]]
# [[Spider's Game]]
# [[Call of the Wild]]
# [[Dark Voyage]]
# [[Possession]]
# [[The Low Road]]
# [[Law of the Jungle]]
# [[Before the Storm]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 1]]
# [[Other Voices, Part 2]]}}

===Season 2: 1997–1998===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Aftermath]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 1)]]
# [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)]]
# [[Tangled Web]]
# [[Maximal, No More]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 1)]]
# [[Other Visits (Part 2)]]
# [[Bad Spark]]
# [[Code of Hero]]
# [[Transmutate (episode)|Transmutate]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 1)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part 2)]]
# [[The Agenda (Part III)]]}}

===Season 3: 1998–1999===
{{columnlist|4|
# [[Optimal Situation]]
# [[Deep Metal]]
# [[Changing of the Guard]]
# [[Cutting Edge]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 1]]
# [[Feral Scream Part 2]]
# [[Proving Grounds]]
# [[Go with the Flow]]
# [[Crossing the Rubicon]]
# [[Master Blaster]]
# [[Other Victories]]
# [[Nemesis Part 1]]
# [[Nemesis Part 2]]}}

==Characters==
Because developing new CGI character models was, at the time, an expensive and time-consuming process, the number of on-screen characters in ''Beast Wars'' was relatively small compared to most other ''Transformers'' shows. It is thus practical to list all the Transformers who appeared in the cartoon. They are listed in order of appearance. (The [[stasis lock]]ed [[Autobot]]s and [[Decepticon]]s aboard the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] are not on this list.) Note that many characters besides these are also full-fledged ''Beast Wars'' characters, having appeared in other media.

===[[Maximal]]s===
[[Image:BW Maximals.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Time for Rattrap to lead.]]
*[[Optimus Primal]]
*[[Rattrap]]
*[[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]]
*[[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]]
*[[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] (allied with the Maximals, nominally a Predacon)
*[[Tigatron]]
*[[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]]
*[[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]]
*[[Depth Charge (BW)|Depth Charge]]
*[[Tigerhawk]]

===[[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]]===
[[Image:BW Predacons.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Waspinator is loved by fans.]]
*[[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]
*[[Scorponok (BW)|Scorponok]]
*[[Tarantulas]]
*[[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]]
*[[Waspinator (BW)|Waspinator]]
*[[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] (became a Maximal towards the end of the series)
*[[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]]
*[[Quickstrike (BW)|Quickstrike]]
*[[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]
*[[Tripredacus Council]] (very briefly)
*[[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]]
*[[Dinobot II]]

===Others===
*[[Snowstalker]]
*[[Transmutate (character)|Transmutate]]
*[[Protohumans]]
*Assorted [[Vok]]
*[[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]]
*[[Megatron (G1)|G1 Megatron]] (Holo Messege)

==International releases==
===Japan===
In Japan the show was split into 2 separate 26 episode series, ''Beast Wars'' which aired in 1997 (consisting of Canadian season 1) and ''Beast Wars Metals'' which aired in 1999 (consisting of Canadian seasons 2 and 3). The ''Beast Wars Metals'' series featured two additional clip shows:

*Episode 14: "[[Where Is the Banana?]]"
*Episode 26: "[[Remix: I Lost the Banana!]]"

Japan crafted two separate theatrical releases, the first being "[[Beast Wars Special Super Lifeform Transformers]]" (premiering the episode "[[Bad Spark]]" as well as two other segments) and a triple feature of short animated films based on [[TakaraTomy|Takara]] toylines (premiering the episode "[[Cutting Edge]]"). Since these episodes were released theatrically, they are not included in the show's proper 26 episode list, with their places being taken by the pair of aforementioned clip shows.

Additionally, for whatever reason, the Japanese dub of ''Beast Wars'' and ''Beast Wars Metals'' notoriously chose to turn the series into a goofy comedy show with lots of fourth-wall humor and a relentless string of over-the-top and in-your-face jokes, even at the most ''inappropriate'' of moments.

Some examples include:

* The beginning of every episode would start with one of the characters asking a ridiculous question and receiving equally ridiculous answers (Optimus Primal asking "Where is my banana", for instance) before segueing into the [[War War! Stop It|opening rap theme]] by [[Banana Ice]]. (On that music note, "[[For the Dream|FOR THE DREAM]]" is the closing song, while "[[Hello! Toughness]]" was the ending song for the special "[[Clash! Beast Warriors]]".)
* Rattrap would constantly break the fourth wall by "smelling" what the audience was eating and make gluttonous comments.
* Many characters received completely new personalities that were polar opposites to their Western interpretation (Depth Charge enjoyed singing folk songs while Megatron became a flamboyant madman that shrieked like a little girl at the sight of danger). Other characters had their ''genders'' altered (poor, poor Airazor).
* Clipshows would feature the characters interacting in silly situations such as gameshows and contests (in one instance, Megatron acted as judge in a celebrity impersonation contest).
While many long-time ''Transformers'' fans in Japan reviled this dub (including [[Hirofumi Ichikawa]]) it remained a hit with its target audience: young children. At any rate, this version of ''Beast Wars'' was popular enough to spawn two equally goofy-natured spin-offs, ''[[Beast Wars II (cartoon)|Beast Wars II]]'' and ''[[Beast Wars Neo (cartoon)|Beast Wars Neo]]'', and two Japanese-exclusive theatrical releases.

However, [[Pioneer|Pioneer's]] Japanese DVD sets of the series come with optional English language dialogue with Japanese subtitles, allowing fans in Japan to view the more serious version of the show if desired.

===United Kingdom===

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol3 VHS.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
When originally aired on GMTV in the United Kingdom, ''Beast Wars'' was only screened on school holidays, usually in double bills on Bank Holidays, and one episode per morning on half-term weeks, meaning that only a few episodes were shown a year, with wide gulfs in between (most prominently, ''three months'' passed between the airings of "Other Visits" parts [[Other Visits (Part 1)|1]] and [[Other Visits (Part 2)|2]]). In a sign of things to come, "[[Beast Wars (Part 1)]]" was shown some 25 minutes earlier than billed due to re-scheduled news reports, meaning many fans missed the entire opening episode. Things went from bad to worse when "[[Equal Measures]]" was skipped, and only continued when, after "[[Victory (episode)|Victory]]", the series skipped directly to "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". The entirety of the second season followed the conclusion of the first, but the channel never aired the third season; although it was subsequently released on VHS, the cliffhanger-resolving "[[Optimal Situation]]" was only available as a free gift with purchase at [[Toys"R"Us]].

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Beginning Vol1 VHS.jpg|right|150px|thumb|]]
Additionally, these GMTV airings were modified in various ways. The first and most foremost alteration was the removal of the word "Transformers" from the series' title, which was only reinstated with "[[Other Voices, Part 1]]". With regard to the actual content, the earliest episodes generally had nothing more extreme than the removal of uses of the word "[[Slag (slang)|slag]]" (as it is effectively a synonym for "slut" in English slang), but with the beginning of the second season, edits were steadily made to episodes for no readily apparent reasons. Additionally, any scenes featuring flashing images were routinely put through a filter that slowed such scenes down to comical levels. This culminated in a butchered version of "[[The Agenda (Part 1)|The Agenda]]", which snipped out many short scenes throughout all three episodes for no reason, from inconsequential moments like Tarantulas cackling and driving out of his lab in Part 1, to key scenes such as Silverbolt and Optimus Primal's "office talk" in Part 2, and in what was the last straw for many fans, the complete second half of [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]'s speech (''the part explaining [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s entire motivation''), also from Part 2.

[[Image:UK Beast Wars Vol2 DVD.jpg|left|150px|thumb|]]
During the time they had the rights to the series, GMTV also showed the entirety of seasons one and two on the then cable-only channel ITV 2.

Almost the entire run of the show ended up on VHS from 2000 to 2001, oddly missing "[[Aftermath]]" and "Optimal Situation". This time, cuts were gone! Characters could rightfully swear! '''Season 3 was finally released!''' Season 3 got the first release, in Volumes 1 through 4, with box art of characters being used on the covers. Then, Season 2 got collected as well, as... Volumes 5 through 8. (''That'' must've confused some kiddies.) Finally, Season 1 was collected as ''Beast Wars: The Beginning''. These later releases used CGI art. DVD collections have so far been absent, beyond two super-cheap DVD releases by [[Universal]]. The first collected "The Agenda" through to "Cutting Edge", followed by one just collecting "Feral Scream" and "Proving Grounds". They're now out of print.

Channel 5, a terrestrial channel, showed the entire series in its complete form in 2003. Thankfully. This got rerun too, leading to the ''Beast Wars'' comics getting [[Transformers (Titan Magazine)|used as reprints in Titan's Movie-based comic]].

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===France===
In France and (French) Belgium, the show was called "Animutants" and had a good quality dubbing, rather close to the original voices. But while the first two seasons of the show were aired, the third one never was; the show always ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", leaving the viewers in the area with the worst case of cliffhanger ever.

===Vietnam===
In Vietnam, the show was called "Chiến tranh quái vật vũ trụ" (Galaxy Monster Wars). The show was released on VHS tapes with a very good Vietnamese dub, then it was copied to VCD. Unfortunately, as happened in France, only the first two seasons were aired. It ended with "[[The Agenda (Part III)]]", and left the fans with a cliffhanger.

===Germany===
The German dub used the original title, ''Beast Wars'''. The show was initially very successful on the TV Station RTL2 and was released on VHS. However, only the first season was shown and dubbed. Furthermore, the TV broadcast had many fight scenes censored to comply with Germany's strict laws against TV violence; however, the VHS Release was uncut. After many reruns the show was cancelled and the second and third Season were never shown in Germany.

==Trivia==
* The first season of ''Beast Wars'' cost $18 million, according to [http://groups.google.com/group/alt.toys.transformers/browse_thread/thread/b334d45514e26ab4/bc8e54e9165e0823?hl=en&lnk=st&q=bob+forward+interview+inferno+megatron&rnum=1#bc8e54e9165e0823 a 1997 interview with Bob Forward].
* [http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/B-CLUB_%28%E6%A8%A1%E5%9E%8B%E9%9B%91%E8%AA%8C%29 B-Club magazine] erroneously claims that ''Beast Wars'' is the first fully CGI television show in the world, a title actually held by ''[[:wikipedia:Insektors|Insektors]]''. Mainframe's own CGI show ''[[wikipedia:ReBoot|ReBoot]]'' also predates ''Beast Wars''.
* The Production Designer for the show, [[Clyde Klotz]], won an Emmy for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Animation in 1997. How cool is that?

==See also==
*[[Dark Glass]] was an unproduced script intended for season 3.

[[Category:Beast Wars| Beast Wars (cartoon)]]
[[Category:Mainframe]]
[[Category:Television series]]

The many deaths of Optimus Prime

2010-01-14T02:26:33Z

125.237.142.158: /* Robots in Disguise */

[[Image:Afterdeath-gameoverman.jpg|right|300px|thumb|Oh, he's gone and died again. Botheration! Most inconvenient.]]
Across the various continuities, '''Optimus Prime dies a lot.''' This happens for various reasons:

* It allows for him to be replaced by [[Hot Rod (G1)|a new character]] (and thus [[To sell toys|a new toy]]).
* It allows for him to come back from the dead in a new body (again, a new toy).
* It's dramatic (in theory).
* It makes him into something of a [[Jesus|Christ]]-figure.
* It allows for numerous [[Optimus Prime memorials|memorials]] to be constructed in his honor (though they're some times built even ''before'' he dies, morbidly enough).

Nearly every continuity family has featured Prime dying at least once; the only exceptions are the Optimus Primes from ''[[Robots in Disguise (cartoon)|Robots in Disguise]]'' (though [[The Final Battle (RID)|only just]]) and ''[[Shattered Glass (franchise)|Shattered Glass]]'' (though [[Reunification: Part 3|that might change soon]])

Some examples:

==Generation 1 cartoon continuity==
===''Generation 1 cartoon''===
[[Image:Wardawn_orion_dies.jpg|right|210px|thumb|It kind of doesn't count twice. He's not Optimus Prime (yet) and he's not dead (yet).]]

* Orion Pax died (or was at least severely damaged by Megatron) and had to be rebuilt into Optimus Prime by [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]]. It's possible that if Orion had not been repaired, Optimus Prime would have ceased to exist. Pax's girlfriend Ariel was also heavily damaged, and rebuilt into [[Elita One]]. They were with their friend [[Dion]] when they were attacked by Megatron, although it is unknown if he was likewise rebuilt.

===''The Transformers: The Movie''===

[[Image:TFTM dead gray Prime.jpg|left|180px|thumb|[[:wikipedia:Oscar Wilde#Release and death|"Either that wallpaper goes, or I do."]]]]
* The best-known example is from ''[[The Transformers: The Movie]]'', in which [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] dies of wounds from his battle with [[Megatron (G1)|Megatron]]. Famously, his body turns gray as he dies. ([[Misconceptions and urban legends about Transformers|Urban legend]] says his body also ''crumbles,'' but no such footage is known to exist.) Being the first time he died, it was actually unexpected.
{{-}}

===''Kiss Players''===
*Sometime between [[The Transformers: The Movie|2005]] and [[The Transformers (cartoon)|2010]], [[Marissa Faireborn]] revives Optimus using the Galvatron cells in her body. Ultimately, all the cells are put back into Galvatron, and without them, Optimus promptly dies again.

===Season 3===
[[Image:Optimusg1zombie.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Mind if I smoke?"]]
* He returns from the dead twice; first as a zombie under [[Quintesson]] control in "[[Dark Awakening]]" as part of a plan to destroy the Autobots, only to die again when he overcomes the Quintesson control through the power of the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] and possibly the strength of his will, and sacrifices himself to save the Autobots.

* He then was brought to life again (for reals, yo) in "[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1]]".
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===''The Headmasters''===
[[Image:Headmasters-primedies.jpg|right|thumb|300px|"...I'm dead."<br/> "YES, you are!"<br/> "You think that's funny, Jennings?!"]]

* In ''[[The Headmasters (cartoon)|The Headmasters]]'', Prime's death in ''The Transformers: The Movie'' was sort-of recreated in a flashback montage at the beginning of "[[Four Warriors Come out of the Sky]]", but not really. Rather than die while taking down his ultimate nemesis in a one-on-one struggle to the death to defend his city, his comrades, the planet Earth, and freedom itself, he just kind of gets randomly shot while in the middle of an ordinary battle outside of [[Ark (G1)|Autobot Headquarters]], and turns gray. Nobody else seems to notice this. It's not clear that Prime himself notices it. It's about the most half-hearted death ever.

* Optimus Prime later died again—in another act of self sacrifice, of course—when he walked into [[Vector Sigma]] and tried to bring it back under control directly in "[[Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime]]". His body turned gray as he died, followed by a (likely only symbolic) scene of him telling [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] that it would be his responsibility to keep leading the Autobots and to continue his work, seen as a transparent, light-haloed figure against the sky and heard in third person narration as Rodimus stared into the sky. (Then again, given the [[Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime|proven]] existence of [[Starscream (G1)|gho]][[Alpha Trion (G1)|sts]]...)
{{-}}

===''Return of Convoy''===
*The [[Battlestars]] managed to restore Optimus's life with the power of the [[Zodiac]], evolving him into Star Convoy in "[[The Battlestars]]".

===''Generation 2''===
* In the Japanese version of ''Generation 2'', Optimus Prime was badly wounded by Megatron's [[fusion cannon]] and almost died, but was resurrected and evolved yet again, this time into [[Laser Rod]] Optimus Prime, by the power of the [[Reconfiguration Matrix]]. {{storylink|G-2 (pack-in comic)|G-2 #13}}

==Marvel Comics continuity==
===Generation 1===
[[Image:Pmoptimusprimedeath.jpg|right|200px|thumb|"Give me my face!"]]

*In "[[Afterdeath!]]", Prime, after failing to live up to his moral principles while playing a video game, volunteers to be killed. The [[Autobot]]s launch his funeral bier into space. Fortunately, the creator of the video game, [[Ethan Zachary]], saves a backup copy of Prime's mind on a [[floppy disk]]. We first meet this virtual Prime sixteen issues later in "[[Pretender to the Throne!]]". He gets his new [[Powermaster]] body two issues thereafter, in "[[People Power!]]".

*A previous attempt was made at making virtual Prime a new body in "[[Totaled!]]". The body ''spontaneously blew up''.

*About thirty issues later, Prime sacrifices himself to defeat [[Unicron]], in "[[On the Edge of Extinction!]]". However, his Powermaster partner, [[Hi-Q]], survives, and almost immediately begins babbling about how he's ''really'' Optimus Prime. This turns out to be true, and the [[Last Autobot]] metamorphoses Hi-Q into Prime (with a new [[Action Master]] body) in [[End of the Road! (US)|the last issue of the original Marvel US series]].
{{-}}

===''Generation 2''===
[[Image:Swarmoptimus.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Unleashing the light of the Matrix upon a great evil. Again.]]
*This Prime wasn't done dying yet. His adventures continued in the G2 comics, and he died defeating the [[Swarm (G2)|Swarm]] in the final issue of that series, "[[A Rage in Heaven!]]". The Swarm reconstituted him three pages later (in a body based on his then-current [[Combat Hero]] toy).
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==IDW Comics continuity==

*In his first battle with the [[Ore-13]] powered Megatron, Optimus was killed. {{storylink|Escalation issue 5}} Or at least, his ''main body'' was: by quickly downloading his consciousness into [[Combat Deck]] (and then back again), Optimus was able to survive. Being that close to death meant he briefly existed in a limbo state, which got him noticed by [[Nova Prime]] in the [[Dead Universe]]. {{storylink|Escalation issue 6}}
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==''Beast Wars'' cartoon continuity==
===''Beast Wars'' cartoon===
[[Image:Smelt Prime.JPG|right|200px|thumb|"I'm not quite dead yet! I feel happy!"]]
In ''[[Beast Wars (cartoon)|Beast Wars]]'' and ''[[Beast Machines (cartoon)|Beast Machines]]'', you could mark the end of a season by the near-death experience of one [[Optimus Primal|Optimus]] or [[Optimus Prime (G1)|another]]...

*At [[Other Voices, Part 2|the end of the first season]] of ''Beast Wars'', [[Optimus Primal]] piloted a bomb-equipped stasis pod in an attempt to destroy the [[Planet Buster]]. Unfortunately, [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had sealed the pod's hatch, and Optimus blew up with it. [[Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)|Early in the second season]] (a few hours later as far as the characters were concerned), [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] managed to unite Optimus's drifting [[spark]] with a [[blank]] [[protoform]], thus bringing him back to life (and in a new [[Transmetal]] body, too).

*At [[The Agenda (Part III)|the end of second season]], the ''Beast Wars'' Megatron came very close to killing the original Optimus Prime. But [[Optimal Situation|Prime didn't ''quite'' die]], so we really shouldn't count it.

===''Beast Machines'' cartoon===
*At [[End of the Line|the end of the first season]] of ''Beast Machines'', Optimus and Megatron had a cataclysmic battle, using the energies of [[Vector Sigma]] and the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]]. This would have destroyed [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], but Optimus took the warring energies into himself and disintegrated. However, his spark was trapped within the [[Oracle]], and the other [[Maximal]]s convinced him to return to the real world at [[Fallout|the start of second season]]. The Oracle kindly gave him a new body (which, believe it or not, was ''not'' a new toy).

*At [[Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future|the end of the series]], Optimus gave his life to defeat Megatron once and for all, pushing him into the [[technorganic]] core of the planet. In assorted ancillary media ([[Universe (2003 comic)|convention comics]], [[Beast Wars Reborn|text]] [[Alternators|stories]]), he comes back to life yet again.

(Strangely, the end of the third season of ''Beast Wars'' had no Optimus deaths whatsoever! A half-dozen ''[[Depth Charge (BW)|o]][[Tigerhawk|t]][[Dinobot II|h]][[Inferno (BW)|e]][[Quickstrike (BW)|r]][[Rampage (BW)|s]]'' died, but not Optimus.)

==Robots in Disguise==

He's one of the only Primes that ''didn't'' die! However, it came ''very'' close in [[The Final Battle (RID)|the final battle]], when he planned to sacrifice himself to stop [[Megatron (RID)|Galvatron]].

==Unicron Trilogy==
===''Armada'' cartoon===
[[Image:Sshot-arm-39-4.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Now Optimus, don't go all to pieces. You say you have to split? Well, you're a chip off the ol' block.]]
* In the ''[[Armada (cartoon)|Armada]]'' episode "[[Crisis]]", [[Optimus Prime (Armada)|Optimus Prime]] used his body to block the blast of [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]]'s [[Hydra Cannon]], protecting the [[Earth]]. When the cannon's energy is spent, we see Optimus turn grayish-white, then ''actually'' crumble to bits. A bunch of [[Mini-Con]]s use the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]] to resurrect him [[Miracle|three episodes later]].
{{-}}

===''Armada ''comic===
* The corpse of an [[Optimus Prime (Worlds Collide)|Optimus Prime]] (killed by Unicron) from an alternate universe appeared in the ''[[Armada (comic)|Armada]]'' comic issue titled "[[Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4]]". Yep, practically all we know about this Optimus is that he died. He doesn't turn gray, but his colors are faded.

==''Universe''==
[[Image:Nemesisprimetfuclone.jpg|right|180px|thumb|Technically, this is the clone.]]
* The corpse of an Optimus Prime (killed by [[Megazarak]]) from an alternate universe was cloned by Unicron to create [[Nemesis Prime (Universe 2003)|Nemesis Prime]]. The clone, before he became Nemesis, appeared in ''Cybertron'' comic issue "[[Balancing Act, Part 2]]". Once again, practically all we know about this Optimus is that he died.
{{-}}

==Movie continuity==
{{Note|Though Optimus Prime doesn't die in the [[Transformers (2007)|movie itself]], he does consider fusing the [[AllSpark (Movie)|All Spark]] into his own spark, an action that would destroy them both, if necessary to keep it out of Decepticon hands.}}

===''Transformers The Game''===
In Decepticon mode storyline, [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]] was beaten to the ground, and as he crawled for the [[AllSpark (Movie)|All Spark]], [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] smashed his head with his flail ... poor Prime, he gets the most violent death. {{Storylink|Transformers The Game (console)}}

===Titan Magazines ''Transformers'' movie comics===
{{notetitantlg}}
Optimus was left in a frozen, ''near''-death state. {{storylink|Transformers Comic issue 9|Twilight's Last Gleaming, Part: 1}}

===''Revenge of the Fallen'' movie===
[[Image:ROTF Optimus death.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Stabbed through the chest ''and'' shot at point blank range. ''And he still comes back to life!'']]
To protect [[Sam Witwicky]], Optimus Prime engaged in a brutal battle with [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]], [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]] and [[Grindor (ROTF)|Grindor]]. Despite "literally" disarming Starscream and destroying Grindor, Optimus is run-through from behind by Megatron and killed. This event causes Sam to follow the symbols the All Spark sliver placed in his mind to find the ancient [[Matrix of Leadership#Live-action film series|Matrix of Leadership]], the only thing that could restore life to Optimus. Unfortunately, it crumbled into dust upon touching it in the [[Tomb of the Primes]] on the border between [[Egypt]] and [[Jordan]]. During the climactic battle in Egypt between [[NEST]] and the Decepticons, Sam was seemingly killed by Megatron, only to be taken to another plane of existence where he met [[Seven Primes|the Primes who died]] to prevent [[The Fallen]] from achieving victory, and they bestowed upon him the true Matrix, which allowed Sam to revive Optimus. {{Storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)}}
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==''Animated'' cartoon==
[[Image:TFAnimated transformandrollout DEATH.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Dead in the third episode for 75 seconds. It's a new record!]]
In the third part of the ''[[Transformers Animated (cartoon)|Animated]]'' movie, "[[Transform and Roll Out]]", [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|Optimus Prime]] dies after his battle with [[Starscream (Animated)|Starscream]]. Like the Generation 1 Prime before him, he turns gray upon dying. Seventy-five seconds later, [[Sari Sumdac]] uses the mysterious [[AllSpark Key]] to revive him. It's a new record, Primey!
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==''Henkei!'' manga==
{{storylink|A Nightmare, Once Again}}

==See also==
* [[Death]]

*[[Prime Spark]] - The short story explores the question of where <s>all</s> [[Optimus Prime (Animated)|most]] of those Optimus-es go when they die. (Answer: someplace dull.)

*[[Ginrai#Victory_cartoon|God Ginrai]] - Often erroneously put in this category

* [[Dirge (G1)]] - The appropriately named, yet very unlucky guy who gets [[:Image:Dirge DeathSerpentor.jpg|killed]] [[:Image:Dirge DeathSwarm.jpg|off]] [[:Image:Dirge DeathTimelines.jpg|in]] [[:Image:Dirge DeathUnicron.jpg|many]] [[:Image:Dirge DeathArmada.jpg|continuities]] (but less than [[Optimus Prime (disambiguation)|Optimus Prime]]).

* [[Sentinel Prime (G1)]] - The [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] [[:Image:Sentinel prime lou.jpg|who]] [[:Image:Sentinel prime dw.jpg|must]] [[Megatron Origin issue 4|die]].

* [[Cy-Kill (disambiguation)|Cy-Kill]], who is repeatedly killed COS HE SUCKS LOLOLOLOL.

{{DEFAULTSORT:many deaths of Optimus Prime}}
[[Category:Stories]]