Death/Archive
Unusual for something that started as a children's toy and 80's cartoon, death of important characters is a prominent feature in Transformers. The reasons for it vary from plot development to the arrival of new toys. However, the fact that the majority of characters are machines means that death isn't automatically an absolute in the various Transformers universes.
Generation 1
Marvel Comics
The first time the concept of death was addressed in Transformers is when Gears appeared to fall to his death while he and Spider-Man were rescuing Sparkplug Witwicky. The Autobots coldly gathered up Gears' parts, which creeped out Spidey and Sparkplug, who were expecting some show of sadness for the Autobots' fallen comrade. Gears was rebuilt and back in tip-top shape without a problem. Prisoner of War!
One of the more grandoise slaughters was the Underbase Saga, where a super powered Starscream destroyed/deactivated dozens of Transformers, Autobot and Decepticon alike, in his quest to secure the Underbase. The reason for this was to remove old characters to allow more "screen time" for the newer toys.
Transformers The Movie
The movie is infamous for the slaughter of a large number of season 1 and 2 characters, especially the likes of Optimus Prime and Starscream. The reason for this was the upcoming season 3 toy line.
See also
- The many deaths of Optimus Prime
- Dirge (G1) - The unlucky guy who gets killed off in many continuities (but less than Optimus Prime).
- Quake - The unlucky guy who gets killed over and over in the same continuity, but doesn't seem to mind.
