Awesome / The Transformers: The Movie

"Now... light our Darkest Hour!"

You're at your best when the going gets rough
You've been put to the test, but it's never enough
You got the touch! You got the power!
When all hell's breaking loose, you'll be ridin' the eye of the storm
You got the heart! You got the motion!
You know that when things get too tough, you got the touch!

— Stan Bush, "The Touch"

Awesome moments in The Transformers: The Movie.

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

• Laserbeak. He's the very first Cybertronian character to appear onscreen, and he managed to enter, spy and leave the Autobot Moonbase 1 undetected. He also registered important information about the Autobots plans of going to Earth, which allowed the Decepticons to catch the Autobots in the shuttle totally off guard, and kill them.
• The Decepticons' attack on the Autobot ship that resulted in the deaths of Brawn, Prowl, Ratchet and Ironhide. Think about it, after 65 episodes of losing, the Decepticons are showing us why their war with the Autobots was at a stalemate and reminding us why the human race feared them.
  • For added points, they attack to the sound of N.R.G.'s "Instruments Of Destruction", which would go on to become the Decepticons' unofficial theme due to the awesome of this one scene.
• Ironhide's Defiant to the End moment should count as this. He's been shot multiple times, he's so badly injured he can barely move, he has no way at all to alert his fellow Autobots to what's coming. He also knows that even if he were in perfect health, he'd have little chance against Megatron. But if his options are to lay down and die, or die putting up whatever resistance he can, there's no choice for him. Megatron might have called the act "heroic nonsense", but it was still heroic.
• Hot Rod exposing the Decepticons' theft of the Autobot shuttle and costing them the element of surprise.
• Kup solidified his standing as a badass character right from the start. During the assault on Autobot City, Kup leaps onto Blitzwing's cannon while he is in tank mode, not only managing to divert the canon away from firing at Hot Rod and Daniel but also blast Shrapnel out of the air who then crashes into Blitzwing. Kup takes out two Decepticons at once, without ever drawing his weapon or firing a shot.
• Springer's early one-liner certainly ranks up there with anything from the movie. "I've got better things to do tonight than die!" as he starting hailing rockets on the Decepticons.
  • Springer actually gets a few of these.
    Springer: (After a Take My Hand! moment) Believe it or not, this is the fun part.
• Blaster gets a subtle Moment of Awesome when Soundwave sends his mini-cassettes out to destroy the transmission tower and attack him and Perceptor. Instead of running as Perceptor suggests, Blaster ejects his own army of mini-cassettes to fight back. While the cartoon presented Blaster as Soundwave's Good Counterpart previously, this was the first time he got to have his own cassette Transformers, and with how much trouble Soundwave's mini-cassettes give the Autobots, seeing the odds evened out is satisfying.
  • Perceptor's actions there also qualify. He's very much the Non-Action Guy of the Autobots, but his first reaction is to take on the mini-cassettes to protect Blaster.
    Perceptor: [as the mini-cassettes swarm him] Run, Blaster! Save yourself!
    Blaster: No way! Two can play! [kicks Ravage out of the air] Sic' 'em! [deploys his own mini-cassettes]
  • Also, Blaster's first appearance. There's shots all around his broadcast tower and his response, without a care in the world?
  Blaster: Look out and shout! *camera zooms in on him as he lifts his fist up* Ow! *Blaster then flicks a switch to keep blasting the Decepticons.*
• Devastator: " PREPARE FOR EXTERMINATION!"
  • Megatron's line that preceded that is just as great:
    "Constructicons, MERGE FOR THE KILL!"
  • His introduction is terrific. To a lot of later born 80s kids who grew up with only the tapes, amongst them this movie, this was their introduction to Transformers that make one giant one. Since the script was written before Devastator was outclassed by the Scramble City-style teams he is a juggernaut and the dreaded.
    Kup: Devastator...!
• Despite having Devastator tearing down their gates and a massive horde of Decepticons filling the sky (very obviously outnumbering them), the Autobots manage to Hold the Line against them for an entire day without Optimus or the Dinobots.
• When the Autobot shuttle of reinforcements flies in, we see Optimus give the Dinobots the order to destroy Devastator. Grimlock's response? "Me Grimlock love challenge!"
  • As the Dinobots descend and come for him, Devastator looks up and gives an Oh, Crap! face — a Combiner the other Autobots fear, and it sees something that worries it. And then they do take him out.
• Optimus Prime's Big Damn Heroes moment, beginning with "Megatron must be stopped, no matter the cost," and climaxing with "One shall stand, one shall fall." So good that both were voted to be inserted into the live-action version, and the song playing during the scene ("You got the touch...") has not only become the stuff of legend, it, and we must emphasize this, BECAME THE THEME FOR THE ENTIRE FRANCHISE. It's since seen a number of remixes, including at least two by Stan Bush, who remains in the public eye primarily for this song, and has made him and the entire band welcome among Transformers fans pretty much anywhere they go.
  • Just the part where he speeds towards Thrust, whose terrified expression is reflected in Optimus' grill as he gets run over, is incredible to begin with.
    • Credit to Blitzwing for being savvy when he sees Prime coming and jumping to escape the rampaging but landbound semi truck. He's the only Decepticon not to get his aft handed to him by Optimus in that scene. Still, bonus points to Prime, who, if you watch his steering wheel closely, is swerving towards Blitzwing to try and take him out like he did Thrust and Shrapnel. If Megatron terrorizes all other Autobots by his mere presence alone, that bit is proof enough that the Decepticons see Prime in the same vein.
    • After running down those two Decepticons, Optimus, no-selling a volley of laser fire, launches himself into the air while in truck mode via booster rockets, transforms, and without pausing shoots down Thundercracker, Soundwave, and Ramjet all in mid-air, and then shoots Dirge and Kickback when he lands. And keep in mind, these aren't mere mooks or cannon fodder like the Insecticons. These are all elite Decepticons who for the better part of the past few years have been terrorizing the galaxy at large. And Prime sweeps them all away as if they were cannon fodder.
    • Then comes the final battle with Megatron, and Optimus whips him in unarmed combat. After Hot Rod causes the fight to turn, a stabbed and shot Optimus still knocks Megatron over a three story fall with the Polish Hammer.
    • Special mention goes to the part when Megatron jumps into the air, the sun backlighting him for added awesome, and dives toward Prime... only for Prime to uppercut him in the face. How the HELL did Micheal Bay not swipe this shot for his movies?
    • In fairness, even before Hot Rod intervenes, Megatron does pretty well for himself, subverting his usual General Failure role by having a good number of prominent Autobots dismantled, then in his final battle, he proves his worth, tackling Optimus head first and impaling his chest with discarded rubble. Either way you look at it, Megatron killed the Big Good, and not many villains can claim that.
      Megatron: I'll rip out your optics!!!

    • When Megatron starts begging for mercy - in truth he's just buying time to grab a nearby gun - from Optimus, the Autobot leader makes it clear that he is not buying it.
      Megatron: No more, Optimus Prime! Grant me mercy, I beg of you!
      Optimus Prime: You, who are without mercy, now plead for it? I thought you were made of sterner stuff.
    • Optimus's defiance in the face of execution:
      Megatron: I would have waited an eternity for this! It's over, Prime.
      Optimus Prime: ...NEVER!
• After the battle with Optimus Prime, Megatron is near death and what does Starscream do? He kicks him when he's down and turns to leave without him. Megatron can only plead to Soundwave "Don't leave me." Soundwave responds "As you command" and promptly carries him. This scene is awesome enough to rival Optimus Prime's death scene and demonstrates the loyalty and competence that make Soundwave so beloved.
  • It's also a character-defining moment for Starscream — namely, his biggest Kick the Dog moment of the entire series so far.
    • Keep in mind, Starscream kicks Megatron with all his might... with the same foot he had earlier blasted apart to escape being crushed.
• The last exchange between Starscream and Megatron.
  Megatron: Wait! I still function!
  Starscream: Wanna bet?
  • Of course, this only makes the payback detailed below even more priceless.
• Also after this scene but before the one above it, Starscream starts, and WINS, a brawl inside Astrotrain to see who will be the new leader. You don't see Starscream during the brawl, but with him being crowned it's obvious that he won.
  • Word of God is that he hid in the corner until the brawl was over, then basically sucker-punched the real victor. Still kind of awesome for him - for once being a weaselly little bastard was totally the right call.
• Rumble and Frenzy, two of the smallest Decepticons (if not the smallest) manage to take out DEVASTATOR, the largest and most powerful Decepticon, who is usually only defeated by either all the Autobots working together or another combiner/gestalt team. Even all 5 Dinobots have trouble with Devastator.
  Rumble and Frenzy: No way!
  • It's how they defeat him that makes it awesome; instead of attacking Devastator directly (which, given this movie's nature, would have been suicidal), they activate their piledriver mode and shake up the floor to the point where Devastator falls apart into the individual Constructicons, and that's when the duo strike.
    • And let's remind you again, that the "floor" is Astrotrain. Bot deserves some respect for withstanding all this.
• Megatron gets one when he demands something in return for destroying the Matrix for Unicron. As Unicron notes, "[his] bargaining posture is highly dubious", Megs is floating in space with five deactivated Decepticons and is barely functioning himself. Still, when a Physical God gives you a command and your response is "what's in it for me?", you have a lot of ball-bearings. Much like Optimus, even on the brink of death Megatron does not cower or back down.
  • Heck, through the entire scene Megatron is defiant. While Unicron has none of it, Megatron still deserves points for not letting go of his dignity and pride.
    Unicron: I have summoned you here for a purpose.
    Megatron: Nobody summons MEGATRON!
    Unicron: Then it pleases me to be the first.
    Megatron: State your business!
  • It gets better if you take Unicron lore that would be established later into account - Megatron is mouthing off to the Transformers equivalent of Satan, and manages to get a powerful upgraded form and some new troops out of it.
• Something between Fridge Awesomeness and a Posthumous Moment of Awesome: Unicron only gets involved when Optimus dies, implying that he wouldn't have dared try to steal or destroy the Matrix when Optimus Prime was wielding it.
• Megatron, after having been betrayed by Starscream and rebuilt as Galvatron, returns to the Decepticons...
  Starscream: Who disrupts my coronation?!?
  Galvatron: (Reveals himself) Coronation, Starscream? This is bad comedy.
  Starscream: Megatron...? Is that you??
  Galvatron: Here's a hint!
  • Slag^note Not to be confused with the triceratops dinobot. in one shot — definitely one of Galvatron's better moments and so richly satisfying, you wonder why Megatron didn't fry the little creep years ago.
  • And the one-liner afterward...
    Galvatron: Will anyone else attempt to fill his shoes?
    Rumble: What'd he say his name was?
    Galvatron: Galvatron!
    Other Decepticons: LONG LIVE GALVATRON! GALVATRON!
  • The moment between Starscream's death and Galvatron's one-liner had Starscream's crown fall at Galvatron's feet... And Galvatron, as part of the movement to turn to the other Decepticons and dare them to challenge his leadership, stomps on it. Because the true leader of the Decepticons needs no crown to be recognized, only his strength.
• The Autobots faking their deaths at the hands of Galvatron and his forces by detonating most of the shuttle they're escaping in.
  Arcee: Did we have to let 'em detonate three quarters of the ship?
  Springer: Seeing as how they would have detonated four quarters, I think it was a good choice.
• Hot Rod's response to the Quintesson judge is cheesily badass.
  Quintesson: Silence, or you'll be held in contempt of this court!
  Hot Rod: I have nothing but contempt for this court!
  • Immediately afterwards, Hot Rod and Kup are thrown to the Sharkticons.. and then proceed to make their execution as difficult as possible.
    "We can't hold out forever, Kup, but we can give them one humongous repair bill!"
  • They hold their own against a massive number of Sharkticons, using their vehicle modes to ram them, using what little energy they have in their weapons, and even pieces of defeated Sharkticons to wreck their supposed death sentence. Even though they can't, as Hot Rod noted, hold out forever, they can stall long enough for...
• The Dinobots' big moment where they burst in to save Hot Rod and Kup from the Quintessons and their Sharkticons. Viewers will notice that while Sludge, Swoop and Slag actually smash some Sharkticons, Grimlock, their leader and most powerful member, doesn't really do anything but roar at a number of Sharkticons. But that alone is enough to make like a dozen of them cower, back down and flee. How goddamn terrifying do you have to be to make a sizable contribution to a violent skirmish without even lifting a finger? And in the end, Grimlock forces them to pull a Heel–Face Turn and betray the Quints.
  Quintesson: Sharkticons! Execute them!
  [Grimlock roars and stomps foot]
  Grimlock: Me Grimlock say execute THEM!
  (The Sharkticons contemplate their choices for a moment... and gleefully chase the Quintessons.)
• Unicron's minute-long transformation. While Unicron's nature is well-known to us now, it certainly wasn't in 1986, and seeing him transform from a planet into a planet-sized robot on the big screen is an experience you won't forget.

  Unicron: For a time, I considered sparing your wretched little planet, Cybertron. But now...you shall witness...its DISMEMBERMENT!

  • At first, it's not even clear what's happening: all we see are parts shifting around from Galvatron's perspective, looking more like the landscape itself rising and falling. Then suddenly, what is unmistakably a hand begins to emerge...
  • Galvatron tries to cow Unicron into submission. Unicron's response? "You underestimate me, Galvatron." Cue Transformation Sequence as Galvatron stares in horror and awe at the largest Transformer that has ever existed.
  • The Decepticons' reaction to that monstrosity attacking Cybertron: they fight back the moment they realize they're under attack.
• Grimlock leading the Dinobots to attack Unicron from behind, and giving the planet eater a literal ass-kicking. Also managing to do more damage than anyone other than Hot Rod/Rodimus to Unicron in the process!
  • His comment as he starts to do so is awesome in itself.
    Grimlock: (As he transforms) Me Grimlock kick butt!
• Kup, the veteran Autobot who always has a story about a similar situation in the past. Kup has been there, Seen It All and done everything. Then he witnesses a transformed Unicron and the war raging around the Planet Eater.
  Hot Rod: Doesn't this remind you of anything Kup?
  Kup: Nope. Never seen anything like this before.
• Hot Rod drives his damaged ship right into Unicron's eye and makes the evil god feel pain for the first time in the film. Not the last time, either...
• Three Words:
  Optimus Prime's spirit: Arise, Rodimus Prime.
  • The buildup is rather awesome as well:
    Galvatron: First, Prime. Then, Ultra Magnus. And now, you! It's a pity you Autobots die so easily, or I might have a sense of satisfaction now.
    (Hot Rod grabs the Matrix and opens it, and The Touch begins to play.)
  • Hot Rod then turns into Rodimus Prime, no-sells Galvatron's blasts, and wrestles with him for a few seconds before throwing him through Unicron's walls and into space, which as we'll see later in the series, damages Galvatron so badly that he utterly loses his mind.
    Rodimus Prime: This is the end of the road, Galvatron!
  • Then, he unleashes the energies of the Matrix to destroy Unicron from within.
    Rodimus: Now, light our darkest hour!
  • He caps this all off by leading the Autobots and Witwickys out of Unicron and dropping Optimus Prime's old catchphrase:
    Rodimus: Autobots, transform and roll out!
• The whole soundtrack by Vince DiCola. Particularly Unicron's Theme; you hear that theme and you know something bad's about to happen.
  • Say what you will about the plot, the cheesiness, and any other flaws it might have. But the soundtrack elevates this movie.
• Another thing that elevates the movie is the sheer creativity of the designs and animation. From the beautiful crystalline designs of Lithone to the twisted caverns of Unicron, and from the grisly horror of the 1984 Autobots' deaths to Hot Rod’s final battle with Galvatron, nearly every moment is visually memorable and iconic. It’s clear that the creators put far, far more effort into making this movie than a glorified toy commercial required.
• After getting his exosuit, Danny gets three awesome moments:
  • He succeeds in getting his suit to transform, and promptly knocks aside two attacking Decepticons.
  • He saves Springer from Wreck-Gar's attack by striking Wreck-Gar from behind with a massive girder.
  • He manages to prevent his father and several Autobots from being dropped into Unicron's acid tank through the use of his exosuit's blaster.

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