The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1

2011-07-07T20:29:59Z

209.213.225.198: /* Trivia */

{{episode|
|series=G1toon
|series2=2010
|ep=94
|ep2=31
|prev2=The Desperate Struggle of Justice
|next2=The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2
|image=ReturnOptimusPrime1 Optimus lives.JPG
|caption=And there was much rejoicing (yay).
|title="The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1"
|production code=700-115
|airdate=[[February 24]], 1987
|written by=[[Marv Wolfman]] [[Cherie Wilkerson]]
|production company=[[Sunbow Productions]]
|animation studio=[[Toei]]
|continuity=[[Generation 1 cartoon continuity]]
}}

'''An embittered scientist uses the body of Optimus Prime to unleash a dangerous plague on the Autobots and, ultimately, the universe.'''

:''Japanese title:'' コンボイの復活パート1 (''Convoy no Fukkatsu Part 1'', "The Resurrection of Convoy Part 1")
:''German title:'' '''Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime, Teil 1''' ("The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1")

==Synopsis==
[[Image:ReturnofOptimus1 Prime rescue.jpg|left|200px|thumb|"You're right, it is athlete's foot."]]

While on a deep-space mission to test a new [[Impervious alloy|heat-and-radiation-resistant alloy]] that they have developed, scientists [[Jessica Morgan]] and [[Gregory Swofford]] detect a ship carrying Optimus Prime's body {{storylink|Dark Awakening}} on a collision course with a planetoid orbiting a star they are researching nearby. Despite Gregory's reservations (his face was scarred in a previous scuffle between [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] and [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]], which he blames on Optimus), he is talked into helping Jessica rescue Prime's body before the ship collides with the planetoid, the impact of which also sets off the star into a supernova and coating their ship with unusual spores.

[[Image:ReturnofOptimus1 Scattershot rescues Jessica.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Don't worry, I'll help you rescue your daug-OOH LOOK, A BUNNY!]]

Upon return to Earth, Jessica's father studies the spores and learns that they are not only alive, but are an [[Hate Plague|incredibly contagious viral agent]] that induces hatred and destructive urges into whoever they contaminate. After a new scuffle between the Technobots and Terrorcons over the new alloy gravely injures Jessica, her father is convinced by Gregory to try and resurrect Prime's body as a carrier of the spores against the Autobots, a sentiment exacerbated when it's learned Jessica was paralyzed from the waist down in the accident and now needs a special exosuit to walk. However, when reviving Prime's body turns out to be impossible for them, Gregory and Jessica's father decide to use it as bait for the other Autobots. Dr. Morgan forces Jessica to lure them into a spore trap at the lab.

The trap goes off without a hitch, mostly due to Rodimus' reckless haste in recovering his predecessor's corpse in lieu of caution, and several Autobots—including Superion and Defensor, two of the most powerful Autobot gestalts—are infected. The Decepticons have learned about Optimus Prime's recovery as well, and have shown up to terminate the former Autobot leader permanently, but are instead infected themselves. Fortunately, Rodimus, Jessica, and Galvatron manage to escape unharmed, the former two with Optimus' body; a few other Autobots manage to escape infection as well, but are badly wounded while attempting to subdue a sickened and crazed Superion.

[[Image:ReturnofOptimus1 Magnus sneaks up.jpg|left|200px|thumb|Rodimus has [[Energy vampire|no reflection]]?]]

Back at Autobot City, Rodimus pleads to Wreck-Gar to try and repair Prime, but Prime is too far gone even for Junkion medical experience. Desperate, Rodimus contacts Sky Lynx and orders him to locate and bring back a Quintesson, remembering that they had [[Dark Awakening|once before restored Optimus to life]]. He then sets about disconnecting Metroplex to keep the city-former from becoming infected. However, just as he finishes the final steps to do so, an infected Ultra Magnus appears. He gives chase to Rodimus before he's temporarily subdued by Wreck-Gar...who ends up becoming infected, and infecting Rodimus in return.

[[Image:ReturnofOptimus1 Quintesson fixing Prime.jpg|right|200px|thumb|You put your right arm in. You put your right arm out.]]

With the Hate Plague, as it's now called, rampaging even to the ends of the galaxy, Sky Lynx finds an uninfected Quintesson who he saves from infected Sharkticons in exchange for reviving Optimus. The Quintesson warns that—should anything go too awry during the process — there's a good chance that Optimus will never live again. It's touch-and-go for a while, but eventually, the Quintesson manages to pull through and Optimus is restored to full life, declaring that "no force in the Universe can stop me."

[[The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 2|To be continued]]...

==Featured characters==
{{featuredcharacters
|c1=
* [[Optimus Prime (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Optimus Prime]] (3)
* [[Afterburner (G1)|Afterburner]] (10)
* [[Strafe (G1)|Strafe]] (11)
* [[Lightspeed (G1 Technobot)|Lightspeed]] (12)
* [[Scattershot (G1)|Scattershot]] (13)
* [[Nosecone (G1)|Nosecone]] (14)
* [[Computron (G1)|Computron]] (16)
* [[First Aid (G1)|First Aid]] (17)
* [[Blades (G1)|Blades]] (18)
* [[Hot Spot (G1)|Hot Spot]] (19)
* [[Wide Load]] (20)
* [[Air Raid (G1)|Air Raid]] (21)
* [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] (22)
* [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] (23)
* [[Streetwise (G1)|Streetwise]] (25)
* [[Groove (G1)|Groove]] (26)
* [[Defensor (G1)|Defensor]] (27)
* [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]] (28)
* [[Skydive (G1 Aerialbot)|Skydive]] (29)
* [[Fireflight (G1)|Fireflight]] (30)
* [[Slingshot (G1)|Slingshot]] (31)
* [[Superion (G1)|Superion]] (32)
* [[Chase (G1)|Chase]] (33)
* [[Freeway (G1)|Freeway]] (34)
* [[Searchlight (G1)|Searchlight]] (35)
* [[Wheelie (G1)|Wheelie]] (36)
* [[Blurr (G1)|Blurr]] (37)
* [[Bumblebee (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Bumblebee]] (38)
* [[Steeljaw (G1)|Steeljaw]] (39)
* [[Kup (G1)|Kup]] (50)
* [[Wreck-Gar (G1)|Wreck-Gar]] (51)
* [[Sky Lynx (G1)|Sky Lynx]] (52)
* [[Metroplex (G1)|Metroplex]] (53)
|c2=
* [[Megatron (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Megatron]] (4; flashback)
* [[Cutthroat (G1)|Cutthroat]] (5)
* [[Rippersnapper (G1)|Rippersnapper]] (6)
* [[Sinnertwin (G1)|Sinnertwin]] (7)
* [[Blot (G1)|Blot]] (8)
* [[Hun-Gurrr]] (9)
* [[Abominus (G1)|Abominus]] (15)
* [[Ratbat (G1)|Ratbat]] (24)
* [[Soundwave (G1)/Generation 1 cartoon continuity|Soundwave]] (40)
* [[Cyclonus (G1)|Cyclonus]] (41)
* [[Scourge (G1)|Scourge]] (42)
* [[Galvatron (G1)|Galvatron]] (43)
* [[Bruticus (G1)|Bruticus]] (44)
* [[Drag Strip (G1)|Drag Strip]] (45)
* [[Motormaster (G1)|Motormaster]] (46)
* [[Dead End (G1)|Dead End]] (47)
* [[Wildrider (G1)|Wildrider]] (48)
* [[Breakdown (G1)|Breakdown]] (49)
* [[Brawl (G1)|Brawl]] (54)
* [[Rampage (G1)|Rampage]] (55)
* [[Razorclaw (G1)|Razorclaw]] (56)
|c3=
* [[Gregory Swofford]] (1)
* [[Jessica Morgan]] (2)
* [[Mark Morgan]] (3)
* [[Bonnie Carlson]] ()
|c4=
* [[Quintesson]]s (57)
* [[Sharkticon (G1)|Sharkticons]] (58)
}}

==Notable quotes==
"Computron think too much!"
:—'''Abominus''', who subsequently shoots Computron

"Why do I keep seeing you in my dreams, Optimus? Are you telling me I'm not the leader ''you'' were? I already know that, Optimus. I always have."
:—'''Rodimus''' ponders in front of [[Optimus Prime memorial|Optimus's memorial statue]] in Metroplex.

"Where's that punk Rodimus Prime?! I want him!" 
"There you are, you wimp!" 
"You can't escape, Rodimus! I can track your gas fumes anywhere!"
:—Several lines from infected '''Ultra Magnus''' as he tracks down Rodimus Prime. ''In virus veritas,'' indeed.

"The Autobots are acting like madmen!" 
"It's a madness plague, Galvatron. If one of those Transformers touches you, you're infected." 
"You're lying!" 
"Fine. Whatever makes you a happy Decepticon. Just watch your rear thruster."
:—'''Galvatron''' and '''Rodimus Prime'''

"I'm a doctor, not a forklift!" 
"His engines, they cannae take the strain!" 
"He's dead, Jim." 
:—'''Wreck-Gar'''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s inspired medical descriptions of Optimus Prime's condition

"It's over, kid. I've won!" 
"Don't believe it, old friend!"
:—Infected '''Ultra Magnus''' blocks '''Rodimus Prime''', who evades him.

"Like I said before, kid. It's all over. What...? ARGH!" 
"And as ''I'' said before: Don't believe it."
:—Infected '''Ultra Magnus''' corners '''Rodimus Prime''', only to be lassoed by Wreck-Gar.

"I'm a pepper! Wouldn't you like to be a pepper, too?"
:—'''Wreck-Gar''' merrily spreads the infection.

"They've all gone mad. This is no place for me!"
:—The irony is lost on '''Galvatron.'''

"The world needs a leader now!"
:—'''Sky Lynx''' on the reactivation of Optimus Prime

"I've done it! Optimus Prime lives!" 
"It's true. Our leader is back." 
"Yes, Sky Lynx, and this time, no force in the universe can stop me."
:—'''Quintesson''' and '''Sky Lynx''' as the decidedly confident '''Optimus Prime''' is revived

==Notes==
===Animation and/or technical glitches===
[[Image:Swindle TROOP.jpg|right|250px|thumb|"So we bought your daughter's exosuit from a Decepticon...what's so bad about that?"]]
* The first shot of Prime's ship shows it colored in orange. In all other shots, it's white with orange landing gear. And it looks totally different from its [[Dark Awakening|last appearance]].
*The first shot of Optimus Prime on Gregory's display shows him sitting in a red chair. It's yellow in other shots.
* As the duo first come upon Prime's body, he's missing the vertical line on his abs/grille.
* As Jessica is being loaded into First Aid, Gregory and Mark are wearing smocks, not the suits and ties they wear in other shots.
*When Gregory and Jessica's father rush at the hospital and find the Autobots, [[Swindle (G1)|Swindle]] is amongst them.
* Jessica grabs tops of Optimus' arm to try and save him from the incinerator. The next shot shows it towering over her.
* As he drives Jessica into Autobot City, Ultra Magnus is shown driving into a tunnel in one shot, but in the next he's in open air.
*Optimus' statue is missing the smoke stacks on its arms.
*The depressions on Rodimus' shoulders are white again in this episode. They were burgundy in the previous one.
*Rodimus' helmet is missing its horizontal line in this episode.
*When Rodimus is done talking to Optimus' statue, his head slides backwards. Twice.
*Rodimus' helmet is missing its horizontal line in this episode.
*When Defensor is shown after the Protectobots combine, his left arm is missing.
*Steeljaw just pops into the frame during the Autobot rollcall.
*When Soundwave looks down after having Ratbat inserted into him, his faceplate stays in its old position of looking upwards.
*When Ratbat is inserted into Soundwave, he is white instead of a purplish-magenta colour.
*Also pertaining to Soundwave, when he says "Ratbat has returned. Ratbat, report!", the vocoded voice processing provided by [[Scott Brownlee]] sounds higher pitched than usual.
*When Galvatron says, "So Optimus Prime may yet live." For a second his chin turns black.
*When Rodimus dispatches some of the Autobots to watch the area around the lab, Wheelie is missing his Autobot symbol.
*Before entering the lab to retrieve Prime's body, Rodimus gives orders to Defensor...though Defensor is shown as the one mouthing all of those orders.
*In the same scene as above, Goldbug is somehow right in front of Defensor, but Bumblebee wasn't rebuilt into him yet.
*Quite often, the red aura around infected Transformers are out of step with the animation or visible through objects in front of them.
*When the Autobots get infected, several are shown clipping through each other.
*Superion shoots a gun with the sound effect of Galvatron's cannon. Defensor fires back with a gun that sounds like Rodimus Prime's gun.
*Galvatron's chin is gray in some shots, dark gray in others.
*In one scene, Bruticus is the same size as all the regular Decepticons.
*Sky Lynx is shown flying out of the solar system past Saturn, but it's colored white instead of yellow.
*Magnus' gun uses the sound effect from Galvatron's cannon as he blasts into the Autobot lab.
*When Rodimus notices Magnus behind him, his eyes are lined thicker than usual.
*When Wreck-Gar is about to infect Rodimus, Rodimus is all red before he's been infected.
*During Brawl's rampage, he somehow manages to infect an inanimate truck.
*As an unconscious man leans against this truck, a pair of infected people fight over both him and the truck, overlapping them as if it they weren't there.
*When Defensor picks up a stone monument to throw, the monument gains a red aura around it, but does not become red. The red aura disappears when the monument is thrown.
*Before being picked up by Sky Lynx, one of the Quintesson's faces flashes red for a moment.
*The Quintesson's Egyptian-styled head is facing Optimus at the end, but one shot shows it facing backwards.
*During his famous line at the end of the episode, Optimus Prime's mouthplate isn't moving.

===Continuity errors===
[[Image:Retcon.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Someone fixed Prime's body, but no one can fix the story.]]
*More or less this entire episode is a massive continuity error, as it purports to pick up at the end of Optimus Prime's last prior appearance in "[[Dark Awakening]]", yet actually presents entirely different conditions. In the prior episode, Optimus Prime lost an arm and half of his face (on top of his longstanding physical damage still left from the [[The Transformers: The Movie|animated movie]]), but was still alive as he managed to steer his ship at high speed through the heavy fire of a massed Quintesson spacefleet, deliberately ramming a detonator that caused a binary supernova and obliterated the ship and the entire solar system around it. Yet in this new episode, Optimus Prime is shown completely intact and pristine, albeit dead, as his (completely different) ship drifts, slowly and alone, through a system in which the sun is about to go nova from natural causes.
*Jessica Morgan and Gregory Swofford detect life-signs aboard Optimus Prime's ship, but the Autobot is dead.
*Where did the Throttlebots come from?
*Why is Steeljaw part of the Autobot rollcall when Blaster is not?
*Even though Ratbat's reconnaissance recording consists of nothing more than an ambiguous, one-line statement by Jessica Morgan - "My father has his body in the lab." - Galvatron immediately knows that she's referring to Optimus Prime.
*Doctor Morgan throws spores at Rodimus, apparently not noticing that ''his own daughter'' is inside him, even though we see her clearly through his windows in several other shots.
*Rodimus contacts Sky Lynx and gets an exterior visual of him somehow.
*Rodimus decides to deactivate Metroplex to stop him from catching the plague, but Magnus is infected and already walking around on him well before Rodimus pushes the last switch.
*If the Quintessons really are "in hiding in the far reaches of the galaxy" as Sky Lynx claims, then how did any of the at-the-time-still-Earthbound Hate Plague carriers manage to find them, much less get all the way out there to infect them in the first place?
*For that matter, how the hell did these theoretical Hate Plague carriers manage to ''beat Sky Lynx to the Quintessons''?
*How are Sky Lynx and the Quintesson able to take the time to revive Optimus Prime without being attacked? Did all the other Autobots and humans leave Autobot City?
*And how does Sky Lynx know the Quintesson is repairing Prime back to the way he was before he died, rather than the brainwashed version from "Dark Awakening"?

===Real-world references===
*Wreck-Gar's line: "Lucy, Lucy, what have you done now?" Is a reference to [[wikipedia:I Love Lucy|I Love Lucy]].
*Wreck-Gar's lines: "I'm a doctor, not a forklift!" and "He's dead, Jim," reference popular quotes from ''Star Trek'' medic [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Leonard_H._McCoy/ Dr. Leonard H. McCoy].
*Similarly "His engines, they cannae take the strain!" comes from another ''Star Trek'' character, namely [http://memory-alpha.org/en/wiki/Montgomery_Scott Montgomery Scott] (AKA Scotty), though this is often claimed to not be attributed to the character except for its use in parodies.
*Wreck-Gar's comment: "I'm a pepper! Wouldn't you like to be a pepper, too?" is a reference to an old [[wikipedia:Dr_Pepper|Dr Pepper]] ad campaign in the late '70s to early '80s.

===Trivia===
* The [[Hate Plague]] appears to affect Sharkticons differently from how it affects Transformers and humans. While other organisms become incredibly aggressive, Sharkticons seem to become obsessed with infecting everyone else.
* When Jessica Morgan asks who built Optimus Prime in the first place, Rodimus Prime responds by saying the Quintessons did so, yet Optimus was modified from Orion Pax, who was repaired by [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]], though he might have meant who built Optimus in his original form.
* Jessica Morgan and Gregory Swofford are able to lift, push and pull Optimus Prime's massive body out of his chair and onto their ship without any mechanical assistance or devices except a rope. There's no gravity in space, but objects still have mass and therefore inertia.
* The Hate Plague can apparently infect any creature, both purely mechanical and biological.
* Even though it occurs in a flashback, this is ''technically'' the last appearance of Megatron in the original American series.
* The resurrection of Optimus Prime in the show was a direct result of children's reactions to his death in ''The Transformers: The Movie'' and subsequent letters, as acknowledged by a Hasbro exec in a 1986 newspaper article. He didn't even have a toy on the shelves! 
* The Autobots are implied to have created the exosuit for Jessica so she can walk again. Hmm, one wonders if this technology could have been [[Chip Chase|useful before now]]...
* This is soundwave's final appearance in the original american series.

==Home video releases==
{{homevidnote}}
;VHS
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 1987 — ''The Transformers'' — The Return of Optimus Prime ([[Family Home Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Germany.png|20px|Germany]] 1987 — ''Transformers'' — Die Rückkehr von Optimus Prime (Erster Teil) ([[Polyband]]) — German audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1988 — ''Transformers'' — The Return of Optimus Prime: Optimus Prime the Ultimate Robot ([[Tempo Video]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1989 — ''Transformers'' — Headmasters / The Return of Optimus Prime (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 1991 — ''Transformers'' — Headmasters / The Return of Optimus Prime / Cosmic Rust (Tempo Video) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2000 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Volume 7: The Return of Optimus Prime ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]])
;Laserdisc
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 1999 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' ([[Geneon Universal Entertainment|Pioneer LDC]]) — Japanese audio only.
;DVD
[[Image:Flag of Japan.png|20px|Japan]] 2001 — ''The Transformers: 2010'' — DVD Box (Pioneer LDC) — Japanese audio only. 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2004 — ''The Original Transformers'' — Season 3 Part 2 & Season 4 ([[The Original Transformers|Rhino Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Season 3 and Season 4 ([[Metrodome]]) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2004 — ''Transformers'' — Collection 5: Series 3.2 ([[Madman Entertainment]]) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2006 — ''Transformers'' — The Complete Generation One Collection (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2007 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of UK.png|20px|United Kingdom]] 2009 — ''Transformers'' — Season's Three & Four {{sic}} (Metrodome) 
[[Image:Flag of Australia.png|20px|Australia]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — Complete Collection: Decepticon Edition (Madman Entertainment) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2009 — ''The Transformers'' — The Complete Series: 25th Anniversary "Matrix of Leadership" Collection ([[Shout! Factory]]) 
[[Image:Flag of USA.png|20px|United States of America]] 2010 — ''The Transformers'' — Seasons Three & Four: 25th Anniversary Edition (Shout! Factory)

==External links==
*[http://cybertronchronicle.freewebspace.com/cartoon-dossier/synopses/the_return_of_optimus_prime_part_1.html Dossier at the Cybertron Chronicle]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1}}
[[Category:Generation 1 episodes]]

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The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1