Can a cybertronian die of old age?

Discussion in 'Transformers General Discussion' started by scoobsterinc, Apr 2, 2015.

  1. scoobsterinc

    scoobsterinc Scoobs

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    Ive just been thinking and looking around to see and I can't seem to find anything. In some continuities they seem to age but it doesn't show them dying from it (Such as RoTF Jetfire). Do you guys know?
     
  2. Scrapmaker

    Scrapmaker Hadar Sen Olmen

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    Presumably if they aren't properly maintained, their bodies could give out and they could die. This is the closest thing I can think of to a Transformer dying of old age.
     
  3. Dragonzzilla

    Dragonzzilla Well-Known Member

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    Pretty much.
     
  4. Murasame

    Murasame 村雨

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    Kup would have died this way, he was saved by using Pretender technology.
     
  5. Bountyan

    Bountyan Well-Known Member

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    In IDW they can. Tailgate was a case of this before he got fixed.
     
  6. Meta777

    Meta777 Dr Pepper Fan

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    I think in most continuities, the general standard is that old age really isn't much of a concern to them, given their mechanical make-up. It's lack of energy or maintenance that'll really get them; ROTF Jetfire laments that so many years without fresh Energon is what led him to being so 'old' and malfunctioning.

    So yeah, keep a Transformer energised and up to date, and they'll be fine for, well, forever in most cases.
     
  7. SPLIT LIP

    SPLIT LIP Be strong enough to be gentle

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    IDW basically says they can, but nobody is old enough to have actually died from it. They always get killed someway else before they get the chance. The closest example was Tailgate, who spent six million years underground in a hole with no contact to the outside world. (and even then, his condition was curable once they foudn Luna 1)

    Everything dies eventually.
     
  8. Blitz Wing

    Blitz Wing Triple Threat

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    In the G1 Cartoon, the episode "Desertion of the Dinobots" was about how they were all losing their functions because they were depleted of "Cybertronium". So in the G1 cartoon at least, they need to replenish their Cybertronium, or their bodies will fail them.
     
  9. WishfulThinking

    WishfulThinking The world has moved on...we've always said.

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    Since the spark relies on the robot housing to keep it alive, as others have mentioned, the housing can eventually wear down and cease functioning. But, you can always find a new body to house the spark, essentially rejuvenating the Transformer...although, if the spark has grown cantankerous in it's older age, its personality will probably remain the same.
     
  10. Ironhide1234

    Ironhide1234 Here.

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    What happend to G1 Alpha Trion.

    It seemed he was in the episode with the Aerialbots then is season 3, he was "one with" the Matrix.
     
  11. ZeroiaSD

    ZeroiaSD Autobot

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    IDW did mention some *had* died of it at some point. That's how they knew what Tailgate had, Ratchet had seen it before.

    Basically if you get old enough, age related problems crop up, some of which are invariably fatal.

    Though it's also implied that if you do enough regular preventative work, replacement parts and such, you'll have much better odds of not getting such problems. Alpha Trion being the example.

    Not waiting too long is certainly key. Were it not for pretender tech, Kup would be unable to get replacements of key components.
     
  12. Shin-Gouki

    Shin-Gouki Retired Admln Veteran

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    Alpha Trion combined with Vector Sigma to Activate it without the key
     
  13. Macross7

    Macross7 Well-Known Member

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    Regeneration One showed Rodimus dying of old age.
     
  14. Pravus Prime

    Pravus Prime Wields Mjolnir!

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    It's been theorized as possible in a few continuities, but we've never explicitly seen it (Even the TF Wiki doesn't have any cases of it).

    Emirate Xaaron in the Marvel comics had gone so long without Transforming that he was fairly certain that if he did, the shock would kill him.

    As mentioned, no Energon in too long or failure to upgrade/maintenance could bring it about.
     
  15. AutobotJazz1

    AutobotJazz1 Well-Known Member

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    If they keep their bodies up & runnin they're practically immortal. Other than that i couldnt imagine dying from old age really.
     
  16. Veritas Prime

    Veritas Prime You're Not Alone

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    I think in theory the answer is yes they can die but it will have to take hundreds of millions of years.
     
  17. Ironhide1234

    Ironhide1234 Here.

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    Did he? Oh right :p 
     
  18. Cerberus

    Cerberus Shockwave loyalist

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    their bodies while kept fresh and maintened can extend their lifes, but i think somewhere its was explained that their sparks actually fades off after a certain amount of time and then extinguish itself, kinda like a human brain or heart
     
  19. grindcore138

    grindcore138 TIME TO DELIVER A PIZZA BALL!

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    In IDW Ratchet mentions that Pharma (before he went insane) had recently recorded the first case of age-related Spark burnout, so they can die of age eventually, but it seems maintenance is the key to nigh-immortality in most Transformers continuities.
     
  20. Autovolt 127

    Autovolt 127 Get In The Titan, Prime!

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    Pretty much,