Afterdeath!

	; PlayStation 3... thousand
	"Afterdeath!"
Publisher	Marvel Comics
First published	September 1986
Cover date	January 1987
Writer	Bob Budiansky
Penciler	Don Perlin
Inkers	Ian Akin & Brian Garvey
Colorist	Nel Yomtov
Letterer	Janice Chiang
Editor	Don Daley
Continuity	Marvel Comics continuity

Optimus Prime kills himself over a video game. Seriously.

Synopsis

Ethan Zachary is a programmer at Energy Futures Industries who works on a device called a hydrothermocline. The hydrothermocline is intended to draw energy from the different thermal layers of the ocean, and is seen as a potentially inexhaustible power supply for the world.

Megatron wants to steal the hydrothermocline, and takes Combaticons to the laboratory where the hydrothermocline is being stored. Optimus Prime and the Protectobots show up to stop them. After a bit of grandstanding, during which Ethan is captured, it becomes clear that if the Autobots and Decepticons continue to fight, they will end up destroying the very thing the Decepticons have come to steal. Ethan offers a compromise: the Transformers fight their battle in a computer-generated virtual world—a computer game called Multi-World.

Groove is already not paying attention.

Megatron agrees, but only if the stakes are increased to include not only the hydrothermocline, but also the life of the losing leader. Optimus agrees to these terms, and the game is played. The Protectobots must fight the Combaticons while remaining true to their principles, assisting and sparing the lives of the inhabitants of the computer world while the Combaticons attempt to destroy them. This gains the trust and assistance of these computer characters, who help the Protectobots defeat the Combaticons.

At last, Megatron and Optimus face off, but while Megatron has lost the assistance of his Combaticons, Optimus still has the Protectobots, now in the form of Defensor. Defensor kills Megatron, and himself, in the game by destroying the platform they're standing on. But, Megatron cheats by using a "back door" password, enabling himself to be recreated in the game at any point he chooses; in this case, right behind Optimus, from which point he shoots the Autobot leader in the back. Prime manages to avoid falling by holding on to a ledge, but defeats Megatron only at the cost of the lives of the computer-generated characters.

Although this earns him victory in the game, Optimus feels that he has "cheated" by sacrificing his principles (unaware of how Megatron has already cheated previously). Prime tells Ethan to destroy him instead. Ethan presses the button and Optimus is destroyed.

The Decepticons leave with the hydrothermocline, and the Protectobots gather up the shattered body of the Autobot leader. As they leave, Ethan Zachary reveals that he has saved a copy of Optimus's character on a five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy disk.

Featured characters

(Numbers indicate order of appearance.)

Autobots	Decepticons	Humans	Others
Optimus Prime (5) Wheeljack (6) Hot Spot (12) Streetwise (13) First Aid (14) Groove (15) Blades (16) Defensor (18)	Vortex (7) Onslaught (8) Brawl (9) Swindle (10) Megatron (11) Blast Off (17) Bruticus (19)	Ethan Zachary (3) Margaret (4)	Formulak the Compuzoid (1) Hordes of Hazzak (2) Cloud-Steppers (20)

Quotes

"What is this?"
"A native of the planet -- a fleshling. Careful, they're slimy."
"Can I crush it, Megatron? Can I?"

—Bruticus and Megatron on humans.

"S-Stop! I -- I've got a... suggestion!"
"Silence! The condemned has no right to speak!"
"I... I have a way for you to fight it out... without destroying the hydrothermocline in the process!"
"Oh? In that case, you have my permission to continue..."

—Ethan Zachary knows what Megatron wants to hear.

"Make sure you do understand, fleshling. A Decepticon needs no button to destroy a fleshling. The heel of his foot will do."

—Megatron

Megatron: "... Where are my Combaticons?!"
Vortex: "I... uh, was incinerated..."
Blast Off: "I crashed..."
Swindle: "I crumbled..."
Brawl: "I..."

"I violated the Autobots' most cherished principle -- I knowingly harmed innocents because of our conflict with the Decepticons."
"But the element of surprise, Optimus -- you had no choice!"
"Each of us always has a choice. I chose to cheat."

—Optimus Prime justifies his decision to Blades

(Narration) "Ethan Zachary is also silenced by what he has just seen. His grief is no less real than the Protectobots'.
After all, Optimus Prime was the greatest, most noble being he had ever met in his entire life...or played in a computer game."

—GG, Optimus Prime. GG.

Notes

Artwork and technical errors

Ouch.

On page 10, Optimus Prime tells Brawl that Autobots don't cheat. The speech bubble appears to be a response, but it is depicted as being spoken by Blades.
The speech bubble of Onslaught's "YEEOWW!!" is drawn coming from Hot Spot.

Continuity errors

Even by today's standards, the Multi-World is an incredible computer game. The graphics and AI put even modern games to shame. No wonder Ethan needed cheat codes.
Brawl somehow knows Groove's name, even though their two teams are new and don't seem to have met before.

Continuity notes

Scenes that take place in Multi-World are displayed in comic panels with 'cut' corners, matching the corners of the monitor itself.
The Protectobots and the Combaticons make their first appearance with no introduction or origin offered. Under US continuity, it seems that we are to simply assume that the Protectobots and Combaticons were created just before this story occurs (in the same fashion as the Aerialbots and Stunticons in "Heavy Traffic!"). However, a Matrix-induced dream sequence in the UK story "Second Generation!" shows the Protectobots being created on Earth prior to this story's events. A brief flashback in "Club Con!" shows Defensor on Cybertron several centuries ago. This is very likely an error, as he was depicted as "normal" height and is standing next to Sunstreaker, who should be on Earth at the time, not to mention that in the same issue, a Battlecharger is drawn among the Autobots, proving continuity wasn't at its best that day! On the other hand, in Generation 2, the Combaticon Onslaught is shown to share an unclarified history with the Cybertronian Mindset, which is difficult to resolve with his Earthly construction.
Wheeljack extracts the cerebro-shell injected by Bombshell in "Heavy Traffic!" and uses it to learn of Megatron's plans.
First Aid and Streetwise use the decrystallizer cannon and air-compressor cannon vehicle mode guns that their toys came with.

Real-life references

The Ark is in rural Oregon, while the energy lab is on the Oregon coast.

UK printing

Issue #105:

Back-up strips: The Inhumanoids - "The Coming of the Inhumanoids, Part 1" and Robo-Capers
The "Transformation" introductory page for UK issue #105 erroneously claims that "Transformers issues 104 and 105 features the final Prime/Megatron conflict", even though it referred to the previous issue as "issue 104" just a few sentences ago.
In UK issue #105, the start of Hot Spot's objections to Prime leading the mission in Multi-World was blacked out to make a better cliffhanger for issue #106.

Issue #106:

Back-up strips: The Inhumanoids - "The Coming of the Inhumanoids, Part 1" and Robo-Capers

Letters pages

Other trivia

Optimus Prime's entire mind fits on a five-and-a-quarter-inch floppy disk. No, seriously. IT DOES.
Budiansky's intention was to show the high moral standards Optimus lived up to, though he admits "perhaps I was taking it to an absurd extreme". He always planned to bring Optimus back though! ^[1]
This issue was reprinted as issue #7 of IDW Publishing's Generations series.

Bot Roster

Autobots: 27 active as the Protectobots arrive and Optimus Prime dies; 5 rogue Dinobots, 14 in repair bay. (46 total)
Decepticons: 27 active as the Combaticons arrive; 9 offline. (36 total)

Courtesy of my...

Swindle calls out his scatter-blaster.
First Aid makes Swindle and Brawl incredibly fragile with his decrystallizer cannon; Streetwise then shatters them with a gust of compressed air.
Blast Off hits Blades with his X-ray laser.
Groove blinds Vortex with a photon pistol.
Onslaught ambushes Hot Spot with his sonic stun-gun.
Hot Spot takes down Onslaught with a fireball; Defensor later takes out the bridge with another fireball.

Changes in the IDW Transformers Classics reprint

On page 10, panel 2 the tail of the mis-assigned speech bubble has been removed so that it doesn't look like Blades is saying Brawl's line. (Whether this actually works is questionable)
Removal of the zip-tone dots on page 14, panel 5 left behind only blotchy ink splotches thanks to smudging on the original printing of the comic.

Covers (3)

US cover: Megatron shooting Optimus in the game, by Herb Trimpe.
UK issue #105 cover: Defensor vs. Bruticus, by Lee Sullivan.
UK issue #106 cover: reuse of art from US cover, recolored and cropped, with a new caption to boot by Robin Bouttell.

US issue #24 - Look, just turn off the screen, we can pretend this never happened.
UK issue #105 - Ah, if only...
UK issue #106 - And one shall CHEAT!

Reprints

Transformers: Showdown TPB: Soundwave, Rumble, Cosmos, Warpath, Powerglide and half of the space bridge, by Andrew Wildman.
Transformers: Showdown hardback: Optimus Prime's head, by Alan Davis, Mark Farmer, & Chris Blythe.
The Transformers: Generations #7 cover A: Optimus Prime and Megatron fight in the game, by Nick Roche.
Generations #7 cover B: line-art version of cover A.
Generations #7 incentive cover: reuse of a panel from this issue.
Generations TPB: reuse of cover A to Generations #1, by Nick Roche.

Transformers: Showdown TPB
Transformers: Showdown hardback
The Transformers: Generations #7 cover A
Generations #7 cover B
Generations #7 incentive cover
Generations TPB

Greatest Battles of Optimus Prime and Megatron: Optimus Prime and Megatron in their War Within bodies, by Don Figueroa.
Classic Transformers Volume 2: panels from US issues #20 and #25.
The Transformers: Best of Megatron: Megatron, by Livio Ramondelli.
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 2: Megatron, by Guido Guidi.
Transformers: The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 7: The Harder They Die: Tantrum and a scene of the Wreckers; cover art by Don Figueroa and Geoff Senior.
Transformers: Best of Optimus Prime: Optimus Prime headshot; cover art by James Biggie.

Greatest Battles of Optimus Prime and Megatron
(IDW Publishing, 2007)
Classic Transformers Volume 2
(IDW Publishing, 2008)
Best of Megatron
(IDW Publishing, 2010)
The Transformers Classics, Vol. 2
(IDW Publishing, 2012)
The Definitive G1 Collection: Volume 7
(Hachette Partworks, Ltd. 2017)
Transformers: Best of Optimus Prime
(IDW Publishing, 2022)

References

↑ METALMACHINE.NET » Blog Archive » Behind the Scenes with Bob Budiansky on the Transformers:
Why did you have Optimus Prime die because he cheated in a video game?...
[Budiansky:] Perhaps I was taking it to an absurd extreme, but I wanted to illustrate the high moral standards by which Optimus Prime lived. Even if it meant his departure from the scene, he lived up to his agreement with Megatron about the game. Also, I always planned on bringing him back, so reports of his “death” were greatly exaggerated, at least in hindsight.

[0] METALMACHINE.NET » Blog Archive » Behind the Scenes with Bob Budiansky on the Transformers:
Why did you have Optimus Prime die because he cheated in a video game?...
[Budiansky:] Perhaps I was taking it to an absurd extreme, but I wanted to illustrate the high moral standards by which Optimus Prime lived. Even if it meant his departure from the scene, he lived up to his agreement with Megatron about the game. Also, I always planned on bringing him back, so reports of his “death” were greatly exaggerated, at least in hindsight.

[1]

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