TFA Meme - Day 18 - Most Badass Death

DAY 1: Favorite Male Character - Prowl: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 2: Favorite Female Character - Blackarachnia: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 3: Least Favorite Characters - neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 4: Favorite Episode - "Garbage In, Garbage Out": neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 5: Favorite Season - Season One: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 6: Favorite Couple - Optimus and Prowl: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 7: Least Favorite Episode  - "Three's a Crowd"
DAY 8: Least Favorite Couple - Bumblebee/Prowl
DAY 9: Favorite Villain - Meltdown
DAY 10: You Hated It, I Loved It - Prowl's Human Form: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 11: You Loved It, I Hated It - Human Error II: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 12: Least Favorite Season - Season Three: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/4…
DAY 13: Great Character Arc: Ratchet: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/T…
DAY 14: Best Comedy Moment
Day 15: Best Tragic Moment
DAY 16: Best Heartwarming Moment: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/T…
DAY 17: What Is This, I Don't Even: neoyi.deviantart.com/journal/T…

MEME LIST: neoyi.insanejournal.com/10921.…





My Toonzone Blog recap of TF Prime's "Masters and Students" is up. Yes, I did put up That One Screenshot of Starscream and Megatron: www.toonzone.net/blog/blogs/47…


DAY 18: Most Badass Death:

In a pitiful attempt to concede this with a holiday I actually don't celebrate, let's talk about the dead. That is, what's the most badass death scene in the series. Regrettably, it's not hard pickings, only four or so bots actually die on this show. At least it's meaningful and has a purpose in the overall story instead of dying for the sake of dying. The Vehicons' only existence in Transformers Prime is to ramp up the body count and make the show darker and edgier because they can. Even if it was a brilliant strategy to entice viewers, Cliffjumper was only a sacrificial lamb meant to invoke the tone of its show and not really a character (maybe if he lasted more than five minutes) - Joss Whedon pulled the same in Buffy, though I can safely say Buffy is a hundred times better written than Transformers Prime. While I don't particularly have a problem with that per say (if not to lend credential that killing, even if they aren't humans, isn't going to automatically frighten children, you PC crazed soccer moms), the deaths are much more poignant in Transformers Animated. For that matter, this applies to Beast Wars. Oh, Dinobot, why did Megatron have to make a second form of you? It kind of undermines your sacrifice. Kind of.

Moving on. Most badass death. Simple. Optimus' brief one in the beginning episode. Yeah, I know, it's cheating since he comes back, but he still died. It counts. Shut up, this is my meme.



Optimus' temporarily departure wouldn't have worked half as good if Starscream wasn't at his A game. It was my second time viewing Part 3 of "Transform and Roll Out" when I realized how incredibly effective Starscream was - both as a creditable villain and the immense sense of destruction he was causing. He pulls some serious shit. At one point, Optimus grapples his legs and he responds by flying over various obstacles, forcing Optimus to take the full brunt of a skyscraper, roads, and cars like a tether ball. I haven't felt this uncomfortable since Xena did the same to Gabrielle, just replace "flying" to "riding on Argo". It really says a lot how well we love these alien, robotic characters that seeing them getting their asses kicked is a horrific image to witness. All the damage takes a sever toll on Optimus and eventually the energy wave of the Allspark does him in. He's barely in one piece as he falls several floors to the ground, finally dying after uttering the words he's wanted to say all his life, "So this is what it's like...to be a hero."



Cue mourning.

Sari especially. She takes it poorly by not accepting this fate at all. Screw destiny. She takes her Allspark key and tries to revive him despite Bumblebee's protest that dying doesn't work that way. Luckily, she has the Allspark nearby. Optimus was lucky, the thing is an enigma. It either decided to contribute because of its role ("The AllSpark is Life!") or being that the show hints it has sentinel thought, merely decided to be kind and bring him back to life because it's God and it can revive whoever the damn well he wants and you know what you can do about it? NOOOOOOOOOOTHING! There's a lot of interpretation and Marty Isenberg wisely chose to explain its origins, actions, and consequences as minimum (to the point of nonexistence) as possible.




Optimus lives and mumbles if he's in the Well of AllSpark. Sari tearfully informs him otherwise, but all is well in the world.

Incidentally, because I'm a stupid fangirl (and I think I mentioned this in my first day meme when I was documenting Prowl's life story), I am totally taking "Endgame: Part II" as a book end to this. Optimus sacrificed his life protecting the AllSpark only to be revived in the end. Prowl was present during this process and even commented in astonishment and disbelief that someone would go to great lengths to die for the AllSpark, let along everyone else because It's The Right Thing To Do. I think he took it to heart because he totally does the same thing in the series finale. Optimus dies as the Allspark's temporary guardian against Starscream, Prowl gives his spark to complete the AllSpark. For reals, if Starscream fought Prowl like he did in the third episode, the book end would be perfect. And then he pretty much goes Aerith and helps from beyond.

Wait, Aerith. Last of her kind who has symbolic relationship with the Earth and nature and ends up unknowingly dying as she summons the one thing that can stop the Big Bad's Black Materia and constantly helping the main characters from the Afterlife while being a constant reminder of Hope? Prowl, who has a symbolic relationship with the Earth and nature and ends up sacrificing himself and using the last ounce of his abilities to stop the Big Bad's Giant Robot and in an unplanned Season Four, helping the main characters from the Afterlife while constantly being reminded...well, actually, that part is iffy.

Oh my GOD.


...I am reading too much into this.









NO. BRAIN. STOP. I'm going to lie down.



HAPPY HALLOWEEN!

_{Note, don't take the Prowl/Aerith thing seriously, there's virtually no connection between these two sans their death and love/tune with nature -  I just went off-topic because I've been in an FFVII mood lately. Good game, shitty sequels/prequels. Honestly, I think Prowl would have been in this category if Optimus didn't die so awesomely first.}


NEXT: DAY 19: Favorite Character Moments

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