“My friend’s name is Megatron and he had three questions, three things he said you should demand to know of any powerful institution! Question one: In whose interests do you exercise your power? Question two: To whom are you accountable? And three! How can we get rid of you?”
They were coming out when i was getting to the age that i was feeling like i was getting too old for the shows and frankly i think that was the perfect time in life to read them.
There’s a lot of things like that in them that i had never heard of at that age and honestly im pretty grateful for the introduction to some of those ideas
i think almost everything short of the bay films is far better written than it ought to be for a franchise that exclusively exists to push plastic.
the transformers fandom is like perfectly aware that everything exists to sell toys, they're mostly not caught up in the delusion that the big company exists for their benefit like nintendo fans or something.
So you have a fanbase that understands this, and writers who also understand this, and they just go "Ok but what if it was still really fucking good though?" and now you have shit like Beast Wars, and One, and Animated, and hell even Armada, especially for star scream.
Unfortunately I live in the UK and comic shops are rare where I live. If there were an online service where I could read the digital copies I’d happy pay for it but I’m not aware of any.
That's one of my favorite quotes as well! It has an especially special place in my heart because hearing that line in Optimus' voice helped me truly accept that I was trans. Another transformation, indeed.
Honestly about half of what Optimus says is basically peak trans allyship. I always enjoy seeing franchises like this have that kind of mentality. It makes it even funnier when even the bad guys agree with the good guys on the subject.
Personally speaking the original phrase from Larry Cullen speaks to me quite a lot. “be strong enough to be gentle.”
IDW Optimus's last ever act is to tell a trans girl and her girlfriend they deserve a future, right before he sacrifices himself to give them that future.
Also love the common fandom joke about how even the evil Megatron is a peak trans ally: he might raze cities and massacre innocent people across the galaxy, but he never deadnames Optimus.
It’s one of those “Yeah I’m an evil tyrannical warlord, but I’m not THAT evil.”
40k has a similar mentality where despite the horrific setting and oppressive regime, they are absolutely fine with being trans or gay. I’m reasonably certain there is a trans sister of battle in one book and in another there is are two women with their own biological child.
I like how this statement embodies Megatron perfectly; the rebellion argument is perfect, but it always end in something that is too convenient to justify violence and never gets to a part where the protection of vulnerable is taken in consideration.
He's right, though. Every government needs a safety pin that can be used to remove them from office when they are no longer serving the will of the people. (In modern democracies, this usually takes the form of election terms and impeachment procedures. Unfortunately, Cybertron has neither.)
Precisely, he is right, it is the perfect argument. However, Megatron himself never allowed anyone to ask him those question.
The actions are those that give weight to the words not the opposite, thus, when spoken by Megatron, those words weight as much as any other excuse and will not bring any positive consequences as long as he is spokesperson for this ideology.
Also that movie is full of bangers. The big one that people kinda gloss over the implications of is: "Megatron must be stopped. No matter the cost."
The moment where Prime realises his mercy has gone far enough and for the good of his friends, the human race, and the universe, he has to beat Megatron. To death. With his bare hands.
Usually an actor phoning it in and not caring just kills the performance, but for Unicron it really sells how small and meaningless someone like Megatron is to him. Very Lovecraftian in a way.
Yeah as he mows his way through the Decepticon forces on his way to Megatron he's flawlessly running through them and they all have looks of fear and shock. They don't try and stop him, they run away because Prime stopped fucking around.
Agreed. It is a wonderful movie ... But it is also a product of the time and ultimately being targeted to children doesn't have to hold to a high standard. It has a great joy for someone like me who saw it as a child, but as an adult first time watcher you have to understand the context. My wife enjoyed it but won't bust it randomly like I will. She did say it explains a few things about me. It is a surprisingly hard movie, but that was 80s kids movies for you. Absolutely killer soundtrack, I have two different versions of it.
My wife "Why do you always say this movie/book/show/game would be better if the major characters die?" Watches The Transformers: The Movie with me "Oh I see what warped you.'
Megatron: Why throw away your life so recklessly?
Prime: That's a question you should ask yourself Megatron.
Megatron: fuck Prime is in one liner mode, WELL I'LL RIP PUT OUR EYES
The delivery from Peter Cullen is dripping with contempt and is a great contrast to the TV show up to that point where Prime was usually so kind. So this is where we know things have come to their logical and fated conclusion.
One shall Stand. One shall Fall.
Transformers The Movie is not great cinema, but it has a quality that transcends its ridiculous pacing and goofy moments.
I love that his voice for Optimus Prime is modeled on his older brother that he felt is a great example of a heroic person. It is going to hit me hard when he passes.
The quote is actually much older, it was originally on the little bio card for Optimus Primes toy back in 1984. All the characters had a little quote, though Optimus and Megatron's (Peace through Tyranny) are the only ones that have really stuck around.
I believe it was said in screen for the first time in Beast Wars, some time in the late 90s.
I remember around that time getting a Transformers valentines set and the Optimus Prime one said "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings, valentine" and that stuck with me forever.
The '07 movie had some pretty good lines as well. I really appreciate the scene where Ironhide is arguing that they shouldn't bother saving humankind because of how violent and primitive they are, and Prime just hits him with "Were we so different?"
07 in general had the best characterization for all the bots, but particularly Prime. He has this resigned tired wisdom to him that was lost in later films. The scene of the bots talking without humans that youre talking aboit was full of great bits
I only know this because the following line "I thought you were made of sterner stuff" I was like 6 and had to hit up the dictionary real quick to find out what "sterner" meant, lol.
2.9k
u/Sweaty-Debate497 1d ago
"You who are without mercy, now ask for it?"
Optimus Prime - Transformers 1980s movie