Each maintains a basic character structure which they are intended to stick to;

- Believes freedom is the right of all sentient beings
- Compassionate for humans
- Offers Decepticons a chance to surrender

While occasionally variations tend to drop one of these points - the situation with the Bayformers in my view is that they drop these more often so its difficult to call the character Optimus when he is not expressing these points. For example, when he goes into 'berserker mode' or whatever it is when he's just mowing down Decepticons.

While I don't doubt that Optimus would kill - to have him just straight up murdering everything and ripping faces off other robots is just dark stuff to the level of this guy;



Its just out of character to the point where he doesn't retain enough elements of the older iterations.

I would even go as far as to compare this with Beast Wars - while in that iteration he retained his characteristics he lost his basic appearance. In the Bay-verse the opposite is happening, he maintains his basic appearance yet loses his character.

 

So for everyone who feels that movie Optimus has lost his character, what would you have him do instead?

 

  Thanks Honorbound. I appreciate it!

 

Ya know what occurs to me?

That there is no change!!!

This is just another Transformers, that's all. There have been different Transformers media before and since.

What has come before is still intact. This is different. Not changed.

 

Bingo.

 

I'd like for the character to be more consistent. One part of the film he's sounding all wise old sage, yet in another part of the film he's rage killing everything that isn't an Autobot or human. I thought Transformers Prime handled it better with sage Prime but a Prime that has to use violence when all else has failed.

A hero of both worlds. Yes I know Cybertron isn't exactly an ideal vacation destination and the Transformers aren't looking for a population explosion any time soon, but it feels like movie Prime is all screw my home planet and screw my species. Just way too quick to give up on his species and the home world. I want that Prime who finds a way to save both planets and both species like he's building a better universe not lets just die and hope the humans don't screw up like we did.

Some more of the heroic ideal would be nice because I'm tired of the dark hero routine. Yea the Batman movies were great but I love stuff like Captain America 2 where things were dark, things were going all to heck, but Cap remained the heroic ideal to look up to in dark times. Maybe it's just too corny or hokey for people these days but I want some films where the heroes represent the sort of world I'd like to live in rather than being a mirror of the bad things in the world I live in. Like Aang in the Avatar the Last Airbender cartoon series who found a different way when everyone said you must kill the Fire Lord.

 

I don't hate change but I gotta admit, I hope Optimus Prime loses his monotone voice, he had/has the same voice in TF:07, ROTF, DOTM, TFP and TF Rescue Bots

 

This.

 

But... but that's Peter Cullen... That's how Optimus talks...

 

Some people just don't like Cullen as Prime. I can understand the notion.

Some people prefer Chalk or Kaye's portrayals. Which, again, I get.

 

Either way, they're not just gonna give Prime a different voice four movies in.

 

Excellent post.

However, I don't feel that Optimus was some rage machine going ballistic on a bunch of robots in such a cut and dry stance. I feel in several situations he was cornered and fought his way out of to survive (Forest Battle comes to mind here specifically) or was trying to protect/save someone (Jet Powered Prime scene in DOTM after the Wreckers freed him from the cables) and blitzed all the 'Cons in a surprise attack.

Yes, I agree that saying things like "Give me your face!" doesn't help his case, and I agree that he did go over the top, especially at the end of DOTM. However, I feel he was fed up, had lost enough friends and family, and just lost it briefly, like for some people when they get so angry they "see red."

Optimus isn't without fault. I'm not putting him up on a pedestal at all, but I feel he's still heroic and honorable and still stands for what is right.

As far as the cartoons you mentioned, I feel that there's a better chance to show both sides of Prime, an "equal balance" of both instead of the two hours and change that the movies run for.

I won't deny that the films are nothing but popcorn flicks to me. I don't try to find fault in them and instead enjoy them for what they are and not what they aren't. Is this Optimus Prime different? Yeah, in his execution at least. Does he still fight for the right cause? Absolutely. Is he still Optimus Prime? Of course he is.

Sometime feel betrayed I suppose, but it's perfectly acceptable to separate the characters if you want to. They're still Optimus Prime, but disregarding one over the other isn't necessarily a bad thing. I personally feel movie Optimus gets shit done but only when necessary, including killing other Decepticons if it comes to that.

 

I cannot fathom this. It's...it's...it's just weird to me.

 

But shouldn't the always contemplative, attempting-to-live-up-to-his-own-legend, paragon of awesomeness Optimus Prime have a bit more self control?

 

So he'll just... push them off of himself while he's outnumbered? Continue to just run away and be chased down by 'Cons who transform into faster vehicles then what he changes into?

I'm not sure what you mean by self control here. If you're getting your ass handed to you, do you fight for your life or do you curl up in a ball? Which one is more "honorable?"

As far as living up to his legend, you're the one that told me what his "legend" was on the back of a cardboard box. I expect Optimus to not just sit there and take it.

 

I understand, but in G1 Prime never talked like that

 

Dude, no one's saying he shouldn't kill. It's his vicious brutality, and his on the spot executions of unarmed combatants that people take issue with.

His legend isn't off the back of a box in universe, dude.

 

I'm trying to think of a time when he actually killed a 'Con while they were unarmed. If something comes to mind, remind me please.

And I'm not denying his in universe legend, but a legend is generally the best, most epic parts of a story, the parts that make a character loved and well known. We don't always see (or sometimes we do) a situation where the brutality is necessary.

 

There's no such thing as an unarmed Decepticon

 

Demolishor.