Buzz
At its core, the Transformers concept is simple: machines that can transform into vehicles such as cars, trucks, and aircraft. But over the years, writers have woven this straightforward idea into countless Transformers stories, some of which are truly outlandish.
10. Mass Death
Transformers has long been criticized for being a mere tool for selling toys. When Transformers: The Animated Movie was released, the filmmakers, in collaboration with the toy manufacturers, faced a pressing dilemma: How could they persuade kids, who were already attached to their favorite characters, to buy new toys? The solution was clear: wipe out a large number of robots and shock children into wanting to purchase the latest models.
While it's easy to fill a Transformers movie with the grisly deaths of nameless characters, Slate notes that the film goes a step further by killing off over a dozen key characters from the cartoon series. Among them is the scheming Starscream, reduced to ashes by Galvatron. Most memorable, however, is the demise of Autobot leader Optimus Prime, whose serene death in an Autobot hospital mirrored the loss of loved ones, deeply affecting children watching their animated hero fade away. This kind of heartache, unfortunately, was beyond the healing power of the new Rodimus Prime figure.
9. Orson Welles's Final Film
Transformers: The Animated Movie featured a star-studded cast, including Judd Nelson as Hot Rod and Leonard Nimoy as Galvatron. Yet, the most shocking and surreal casting choice was the legendary Orson Welles voicing the planet-devouring Unicron. After all, this is the same man who revolutionized cinema with Citizen Kane in 1941, and, as he once told biographer Barbara Leaming, he spent his afternoons “playing a toy.”
Considering his relatively indifferent view of the role—accepted primarily to finance projects more in line with his legendary status—it is especially tragic that this would become the final performance Welles ever gave. The film grossed just $6 million and stood as an odd, cartoonish conclusion to a Hollywood career that spanned over forty years. Welles passed away from a heart attack in October 1985.
8. Optimus Prime's Resurrection as a Jesus-like Zombie
For many young Transformers fans, one of the most heart-wrenching scenes was the death of Optimus Prime in the animated movie. He perished a hero, battling Megatron and the Decepticons before succumbing to his injuries. Yet Hasbro wasn’t done with the emotional turmoil, and when Optimus Prime returns, he’s part robot, part savior, and fully an unsettling zombie figure.
In the animated episode “Dark Awakening,” the Autobots stumble upon a crypt-like spaceship, a final resting place for fallen heroes. Their pesky human companion, Daniel, discovers the body of Optimus Prime and attempts to gather others to witness it. However, by the time they arrive, all that remains is an empty tomb. Yes, Optimus is resurrected, appearing just in time to fend off a Decepticon assault. But it’s quickly revealed that Prime has fallen under the control of the villains, the Quintessons.
Throughout the episode, young viewers are forced to watch as Prime attempts to kill his friends, loses his arm, and gets his face mangled, resembling a robotic Two-Face. Fortunately, the true Optimus Prime personality reemerges at the end . . . and Prime sacrifices himself in a final, self-destructive explosion, taking down his Quintesson captors as he dies once more in front of an appalled audience of children.
7. The Transformers Are Unable to Save Humanity
For better or for worse, one of the consistent themes across Transformers cartoons, films, and comics is the Autobots' unwavering commitment to protect Earth. Many believed that the Transformers’ greatest failure in this regard was depicted in the 2011 movie Transformers: Dark of the Moon, where a Decepticon assault on Chicago was made to mirror the tragic magnitude of the September 11 terrorist attacks. However, a decade earlier, writers from the small-screen Transformers confirmed that humanity ultimately faces extinction.
The CGI series Beast Wars was one of the more unconventional installments in the Transformers franchise. It featured robots transforming into animals rather than vehicles, with narratives unfolding in both the distant past and future. One of the more bizarre adversaries of the show were the Vok, a race descended from a strange life form known as the Swarm. In the conclusion of the short-lived Transformers: Generation 2 comic, the Swarm descends upon San Francisco, doing what they do best: devouring all life. The comic's writer, Larry DiTillio, grimly envisioned this leading to the extinction of humanity, a concept that became part of the official Transformers lore through Beast Wars. This is the reason why the future Earth is shown as lifeless in the series.
6. Transformers Have the Ability to Reproduce Asexually
Perhaps the only thing stranger than the world-ending Swarm is their origin: Transformer offspring. Fans of the franchise have long been curious about how exactly Transformer reproduction works. Transformers seem to have gender—mostly male, with occasional female characters like Arcee. However, it seems questionable whether they possess true sexual identity. To put it simply: Arcee has a more colorful paint job and a higher-pitched voice, but otherwise shares all the same components as Optimus Prime.
So, where do Transformer babies come from? One common theme in Transformers media is that it’s not enough to simply construct a new robot. To bring it to life, a god-like energy source must infuse the robot. This spark not only animates the machine but also grants it a unique personality—whether it’s the heroic spirit of Optimus Prime or the tyrannical nature of Megatron. However, conquerors need legions, and in the Marvel comics continuity, self-proclaimed Cybertronians introduced a method called “budding,” allowing them to create new versions of themselves.
These newly created versions lack the divine spark, making them cold and emotionless compared to their more vibrant counterparts. The Cybertronians used the budding process for millennia to expand their forces, but eventually, this led to the birth of the humanity-devouring Swarm. These insatiable creatures are primarily after Transformer souls, though they’re happy to start by consuming the outer shell.
5. The Autobots Allowed the Galaxy to Be Conquered
The same Cybertronians from Marvel’s Transformers: Generation 2 comic delivered another shocking revelation to the Autobots. After Optimus Prime, Megatron, and their entire crew were lost aboard the Great Ark, which would eventually bring them to Earth, the Decepticons on Cybertron discovered the process of budding and used it to create a powerful army to replace their fallen forces. With this cold, soulless army behind them, these Decepticons set out to conquer vast areas of the galaxy, obliterating entire planets' populations so they could “cyberform” those worlds to meet their own demands.
This inevitably delivered a heavy blow to Optimus Prime and the Autobots. While they spent years battling for Earth and defending humanity, they allowed countless other civilizations to be destroyed by their enemies. Interestingly, these emotionless Cybertronians didn’t hold much regard for the Decepticons we know either. The calculated, soulless Cybertronians saw their planet-wide exterminations as part of a larger plan for the greater good, whereas Megatron and his followers took a sadistic pleasure in destruction, something the Cybertronians found distasteful, despite Megatron’s relatively modest body count in any comics or cartoons other than the animated film.
4. The Transformers Have Their Own Version of the Holy Trinity
Any fan of the Transformers animated film is familiar with Unicron. In the movie, he is portrayed as a Transformer equivalent of Galactus, consuming entire planets and causing chaos across the galaxy. Longtime followers of the original cartoon also know of Primus, a pseudo-god who is credited with granting life to the Transformers. However, fewer are aware of the odd way the comics link these two characters: In the comic lore, the first Transformer deity was simply called 'The One.' This god created Unicron, only to later split him in half to give birth to Primus.
Despite their shared origins, Primus and Unicron are polar opposites: Primus’s mission is to bring life to the universe, while Unicron’s is to obliterate it. Strangely, the great Transformer god appears to be fine with the destruction caused by Unicron, viewing it as necessary to preserve the balance between order and chaos within the cosmos.
3. Starscream Just Refuses to Die
One of the most jaw-dropping moments in Transformers: The Animated Movie was the sudden death of Starscream. While other Generation 1 characters met their end with little drama, Starscream was blasted by Galvatron, the former Megatron, just as he was about to be crowned leader of the Decepticons. This shocking turn of events led most viewers to believe that Starscream was gone for good.
But that wasn't the end for him. In a later episode titled 'Starscream’s Ghost,' it’s revealed that the Decepticon survived as a vengeful spirit capable of possessing other bodies. He continues his body-hopping spree after being cast out of Cyclonus’s body, moving on to take control of Scourge. In a twisted turn, Starscream uses Scourge to seemingly resurrect Unicron, only to betray the giant Transformer once he's been given a new form. A set of Autobot explosives eventually sends both Starscream and Unicron's head flying into space, where, one can imagine, his infuriating scream still echoes.
2. Seaspray Turns Into A Mermaid And Falls In Love
Among the many bizarre moments in the Transformers cartoon series, the episode 'Sea Change' stands out. Initially, it begins like any other typical Transformers episode. Autobots Bumblebee, Perceptor, and Seaspray travel to an alien planet after receiving a distress call. Upon arrival, they rescue one of the planet’s natives from a Decepticon attack, and that’s when things take a strange turn.
Seaspray quickly becomes infatuated with the native named Alana, who introduces him to the Well of Transformation. This mysterious well can dissolve an old body and reshape it into a completely new form. When Decepticon chaos ensues, Seaspray drives through the Well, transforming into a mermaid. Not a robotic mermaid, but a humanoid Aquaman-like character, still sporting mechanical feet. The Well also transforms Alana into a mermaid, and during the increasingly bizarre battles with the Decepticons, the Well’s power helps Seaspray revert to his robot form and turns Alana into a pink Transformer.
Ultimately, the heroes triumph, but Alana returns to her humanoid form and Seaspray is back to being a robot. They make a vow to make their relationship work, despite the likely awkward medical visits Alana will have to endure. In the end, they literally sail into the setting sun.
1. The Transformers Almost Altered History
Given the typical Decepticon tactics, you might assume that sending them back to Earth’s Middle Ages would be an ideal opportunity to reshape history in their favor. But when some Decepticons are sent back in time, they are led by Starscream, whose main goal isn’t world domination but simply grabbing some land for himself. To achieve this, he offers his help to a group of knights, even entering a jousting tournament in the process to make his real estate dreams come true.
When the Autobots thwart this plan, Starscream improvises. He seizes control of a castle, creates an electrical generator, and gathers as much bird poop as possible to make gunpowder. This outrageous plan nearly succeeds, and the Autobots are on the brink of defeat—until a wizard magically intervenes. The wizard restores the Autobots to full strength, leads them back to the time-travel cave, and drives off a dragon guarding it. Both Autobots and Decepticons return to their future, where Megatron is waiting to take out the Autobots. Luckily for them, Starscream’s time travels have stirred up unresolved father issues, and he hugs Megatron so fiercely that all the Decepticon leader’s shots miss.
