The Traumatic Death of Optimus Prime in TRANSFORMERS: THE MOVIE Sparked a Writing Campaign To Bring Him Back
My uncle worked on the classic 80s animated film Transformers: The Movie, so I had the opportunity to attend the premiere of the film, which I still remember like it was yesterday. That was such an awesome experience! I was a huge fan of the animated Transformers series, so of course I was excited that a movie was coming, and I was thrilled for the opportunity to watch that movie on the big screen!
Little did I know the trauma I was about to experience. Several of my favorite characters were killed off in the opening scene of the film! I couldn’t believe what in the hell was happening! I sat there and watched in awe and sadness as the lights went out in the eyes of these beloved characters. What in the hell was going on!? My young brian couldn’t comprehend the insanity that was taking place!
Then all of a sudden I’m watching Optimus Prime in an epic battle with Megatron. Of course, Optimus Prime was going to beat him and live! There was no doubt in my mind the Autobot hero was going to destroy Megatron until Hot Rod came rushing in and interfered and because of that poor decision, I watched as Megatron blew Optimus away!
Not long after I sat there watching as the light from Optimus Prime’s eyes went out and then he freakin’ turned grey! GREY! He was dead, and I couldn’t believe it! I was so sad, and it’s all I could think about over the course of the movie. That first viewing of the film was me dealing with the fact that Optimus Prime had been killed and there was nothing I could do to bring him back to life! It was devastating. I got to know and love this character over the course of two seasons and 65 episodes and now he was dead.
During an interview with Collider, Optimus Prime voice actor Peter Cullen talked about playing Optimus and the stories he heard regarding the sadness of kids over the character’s death:
"I did Optimus Prime up until the movie in 1986, where I was put to rest. 'There lays Optimus Prime. See ya, kid!' And I didn't come back, I wasn't resurrected until the first Michael Bay film. So, there's a lot of time in between; however, I did come back to do two or three shows because a lot of kids evidently had trouble with that scene, and they were not coming out of their rooms and hiding under beds, I was told."
I don’t recall kids hiding under their beds over the character’s death, but it certainly was something that kids at the time were dealing with. The experience was so traumatic that a letter-writing campaign was launched and it persuaded the studio to bring Optimus Prime back to life for a limited time.
Optimus returned for a two-part episode titled "The Return of Optimus Prime.” Hasbro had every intention of getting rid of Optimus Prime, but the letter-writing campaign forced their hand to bring him back. In another interview with THR, Cullen said:
"[T]hey brought me back for three shows. The mothers of America went to the powers that be, and so they had to bring me back. But then, that's when I went to sleep again permanently, and I didn't touch it until that first movie with Michael."
In the story for Optimus’ return, he was resurrected by a race of robots called Quintesson, who were not aligned with the Autobots or Decepticons. They needed the Autobot leader to come back to battle against the “Hate Plague” which caused everyone in the galaxy to fight one another. This was huge for Hasbro, and as a kid, it was amazing to see Optimus Prime back in action!
The reaction that the kids had in regard to Optimus Prime’s death affected G.I. Joe: The Movie as well and they changed Duke’s fate from dying to surviving after being in a coma.
Optimus Prime was just such a beloved character, and fans weren’t prepared to let him go. He will always and forever be the face of the Transformers franchise. I still think it’s crazy that Hasbro killed him off! That was one hell of a bold move that appreciate now more than I did as a kid. They were really looking to do something different, but damn… it was sad.