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The Transformers: IDW The Death of Optimus Prime
In a desprate bid to save the universe, Autobot leader Optimus Prime plunged the Creation Matrix into the heart of Cybertron. A searing white light consumed everything. As his vision cleared, Prime found himself on the desolate surface of a world he did not recognise. The Matrix lay before him... broken in two.
23 pages, Paperback
33 people want to read
About the author
James Roberts
536 books132 followersJames Roberts is a British comic book writer best known for his contributions to the Transformers franchise.
Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Librarian Note: There are more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 2, 2020
Orion Pax is reborn, sheeple!
Taking a break from Lost Light i thought it would be good of me to catch up on some of the stuff I missed. So I have jumped back to this particular issue and I really dug it. (You're shocked, I can tell).
Few things of note are the writing and artwork... the sass i know James Robert's for is still here, but I notice the story is significantly more serious than in Lost Light.
The art is also a bit more flat- but weirdly it works as a stylistic choice and I'm kinda in love with it?
Optimus is a boring do-gooder character to me but even i can't deny the dude has some killer wisdom and speeches. Where we see him off by the end of this narrative actually made me curious to see his story continued further. Hope he's doing okay.
I still find it refreshing we're in a Post War for Cybertron world that doesn't involve the Earth or human characters in any meaningful way. Count your blessings, people!
Taking a break from Lost Light i thought it would be good of me to catch up on some of the stuff I missed. So I have jumped back to this particular issue and I really dug it. (You're shocked, I can tell).
Few things of note are the writing and artwork... the sass i know James Robert's for is still here, but I notice the story is significantly more serious than in Lost Light.
The art is also a bit more flat- but weirdly it works as a stylistic choice and I'm kinda in love with it?
Optimus is a boring do-gooder character to me but even i can't deny the dude has some killer wisdom and speeches. Where we see him off by the end of this narrative actually made me curious to see his story continued further. Hope he's doing okay.
I still find it refreshing we're in a Post War for Cybertron world that doesn't involve the Earth or human characters in any meaningful way. Count your blessings, people!
December 10, 2017
My very first Transformers comic delivers. Love the art, love the reality of a post-war world with conflicts and bitterness - of the victors, of the "normal" population, of the vanquished; need for a change (of the way of life, of leadership); with the increasing awareness that the post-war life is not simple at all. I'm convinced and want more.
March 24, 2023
I like how this one shot story wrapped up all of the previous threads, and set the title in a new direction, splitting off into two very compelling stories. It was well written, and showed Optimus prime as a great leader. The revelation about the matrix was totally awesome and worth reading this just for that. Brilliant imagination And plot twist
December 17, 2019
I think maybe we're supposed to think that Optimus gets a raw deal here, but it ain't wrong.
September 3, 2025
he podido dar 300 volteretas facilmente
July 12, 2023
This is a strong place to jump into the series - the status quo has changed, the planet is new, and we have a rush of dynamics and characters that need to be introduced.
I have to say that the art was part of what sold me on this series. It’s so confident - the panelling changes boldly there are zoomed-out shots of space and alien landscapes and large, complex structures, and huge crowds of inventively-designed characters, some of them recurring and some of them one-offs. The colours are similarly strong - vibrant and covering a whole spectrum.
I also appreciated the way characters were selected - we get most of major leaders who need to be set up, and I think the dialogue they all get - and there is quite a lot of dialogue - manages to give you an insight into both their personalities and the larger position that they represent.
I even find Optimus Prime’s ANGST ™ fairly compelling. It’s interesting to see a character like that end up so…not jaded, but frustrated and in need of renewal. A war spanning galaxies and millennia has come to an empty victory, and now there is actually going to be something more complicated to do than think about win or lose.
I also like, to be blunt, that most of the characters are in the wrong, in one way or another. Whether that’s Optimus Prime’s heroism that sometimes turns out to be symbolic self-sacrifice, or Prowl’s odd combination of hypocrisy, loyalty, and pragmatism, or Rodimus’ determination to run off on an aspirational quest, or Bumblebee’s determination to try and work things out even though he doesn’t really have a clear idea of what to even do and he struggles to be heard amongst so many more forceful personalities, or Metalhawk’s repositioning to make himself always seem like the most reasonable person in any room… There’s a lot going on, character-wise… And the morality, though it hasn’t had the opportunity to get all that complicated just yet, feels as if it might be the kind that draws lines between ideas like ‘nice’, ‘good’, and ‘the right choice in that situation’.
What I do find a little bit unfortunate is the fact that the text establishes moral ambiguity for its characters, then seems to decide that the Autobots are right anyway… Or, at least it really takes against the NAILS who, despite having escaped a planet at war and been refugees and space travellers for 4 million-ish years, all seem oddly naïve and useless. But we'll see where that goes!
Finally, the ending was decisive and leaves a lot for a reader to follow through on into one of the full series.
I have to say that the art was part of what sold me on this series. It’s so confident - the panelling changes boldly there are zoomed-out shots of space and alien landscapes and large, complex structures, and huge crowds of inventively-designed characters, some of them recurring and some of them one-offs. The colours are similarly strong - vibrant and covering a whole spectrum.
I also appreciated the way characters were selected - we get most of major leaders who need to be set up, and I think the dialogue they all get - and there is quite a lot of dialogue - manages to give you an insight into both their personalities and the larger position that they represent.
I even find Optimus Prime’s ANGST ™ fairly compelling. It’s interesting to see a character like that end up so…not jaded, but frustrated and in need of renewal. A war spanning galaxies and millennia has come to an empty victory, and now there is actually going to be something more complicated to do than think about win or lose.
I also like, to be blunt, that most of the characters are in the wrong, in one way or another. Whether that’s Optimus Prime’s heroism that sometimes turns out to be symbolic self-sacrifice, or Prowl’s odd combination of hypocrisy, loyalty, and pragmatism, or Rodimus’ determination to run off on an aspirational quest, or Bumblebee’s determination to try and work things out even though he doesn’t really have a clear idea of what to even do and he struggles to be heard amongst so many more forceful personalities, or Metalhawk’s repositioning to make himself always seem like the most reasonable person in any room… There’s a lot going on, character-wise… And the morality, though it hasn’t had the opportunity to get all that complicated just yet, feels as if it might be the kind that draws lines between ideas like ‘nice’, ‘good’, and ‘the right choice in that situation’.
What I do find a little bit unfortunate is the fact that the text establishes moral ambiguity for its characters, then seems to decide that the Autobots are right anyway… Or, at least it really takes against the NAILS who, despite having escaped a planet at war and been refugees and space travellers for 4 million-ish years, all seem oddly naïve and useless. But we'll see where that goes!
Finally, the ending was decisive and leaves a lot for a reader to follow through on into one of the full series.
April 13, 2012
Poor Prime the things he puts up with..
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews