"Oh, Optimus...if you could see me now..."
The third and final installment of the Prime Wars Trilogy, directly following the conclusion of The Transformers: Titans Return.
Following the death of Optimus Prime, Megatronus claims the Enigma of Combination and the Matrix of Leadership for his own. Now he seeks the Requiem Blaster, intent on harnessing the power of all three artifacts to create a dangerous doomsday weapon. As infighting breaks out between Transformers in fear of the coming apocalypse, a small team led by Megatron must band together to reach the Requiem Blaster first and fight back before Megatronus can wipe out their species forever, all the while contending with his acolytes Overlord and Rodimus Cron. Secrets from Cybertron's past will be revealed, and a new Prime shall be named as the Transformers make their last stand.
Tropes
- Adaptational Badass: Optimal Optimus is notorious for being constantly hit with The Worf Effect and taken out practically every episode in Beast Wars. Here he's able to fight a full powered Rodimus Cron one on one and ultimately lays him out long enough for the team to pin him down. Then pull the Matrix of Chaos out of his chest himself.
- Adaptational Early Appearance: Outside the original toyline early on, most Beast Wars fiction overall paints that titular event as happening (barring time travel) centuries after the Autobot/Decepticon war. This series sees Optimus Primal only years after the war interacting with the original Megatron and Primal's own namesake after he's once again resurrected.
- Adaptational Heroism: Predaking, his motivations are more fleshed out than random destruction here and he ultimately shows up to help in the final battle.
- Amnesiac Hero: Optimus Primal. He can't remember anything about his life before standing guard over the Requiem Blaster.
- Apocalypse How: Megatronus's ultimate plan.
- Back from the Dead:
- Megatronus's scheme involves resurrecting Solus Prime.
- To the surprise of no one (even TFWiki.net snarked about it in the page for "Saga's End"
), Optimus Prime returns at the end.
- Bear Hug: Grimlock pulls Megatron into a big one after Megatron saves him and the others from Overlord. It is quite adorable and funny, with how Grimlock lifts him up and does a little dance, with Megatron understandably dumb founded from it.
- Big Bad Duumvirate: Megatronus and Rodimus Cron, though Cron initially pretends to serve.
- Bittersweet Ending: Megatronus is defeated, Unicron is stopped, and Optimus Prime is Back from the Dead. With the mission complete the team return to their lives to help improve Cybertron and Optimal Optimus acts as the new leader of Cybertron. However, many sacrifices had to be made and many lives were lost during the conflict. Nearly every Combiner is dead, and the Dinobots no longer able to form Volcanicus due to Sludge's death, Megatron sacrficed his life after finally redeeming himself, Hot Rod is traumatized by his time as Rodimus Cron, and Starscream's ghost is still active as a potential threat.
- BFG: The Requiem Blaster, it's strong enough to almost obliterate anything it is aimed at. When it was used on Overlord it created a trench big enough to be seen from orbit!
- Brought Down to Normal: Megatronus's constant use of his powers over the course of the series drains him just enough for the heroes to push back against him in the end.
- Bubblegloop Swamp: Where the action starts.
- The Chosen One: Optimus Primal was chosen to guard the Requiem Blaster for eons. He's also the next Transformer to bear the Matrix of Leadership.
- Combining Mecha: The Combiners from the previous two series return. We also get Predaking and newcomer, Volcanicus who gets the trilogy's first combining sequence.
- Continuity Snarl: The claim that Unicron turned Megatron into Galvatron ala Transformers:The Movie clashes with Unicron's dormant status as a derelict head for for millions of years with no explanation for how this was possible.
- Deadpan Snarker: Megatron. Perceptor to a lesser degree.
- Demonic Possession: Unicron takes over Hot Rod's body after he becomes Rodimus Cron and greatly enhances his strength.
- He tries to pull this on Megatron, but is rebuffed.
- Demoted to Extra: After featuring prominently in The Transformers: Titans Return, Emissary just has a cameo here as a victim of Megatronus's spark draining device and sitting alongside Windblade in the epilogue.
- Dumb Muscle: Grimlock and the Dinobots, as per usual. Predaking's a little brighter, but not by much.
- Dying as Yourself: When possessed by the Matrix of Chaos, Megatron opts to be killed before Unicron can remake him into Galvatron again.
- The End... Or Is It?: Starscream's ghost still lingers in the material plane.
- Evil Counterpart:
- The Matrix of Chaos to the Matrix of Leadership.
- Overlord to Megatron. Here and in The Transformers: Titans Return, characters make a point of comparing the two. Both are imposing, Decepticons with tank alt modes and a love of combat, but where Megatron matures and ultimately does the right thing, Overlord puts his ego and vendetta above all else.
- Evil Versus Evil: After Unicron takes over Rodimus Cron's body, he sets out to destroy the Matrix of Leadership. This puts him in direct conflict with Megatronus, who needs the Matrix as part of his plan to resurrect Solus Prime, at the cost of all Cybertronian life. Grimlock even suggests to the others they should just kick back and let the two villains kill each other, but Windblade was opposed to the idea because Rodimus Cron was still her friend Hot Rod.
- Handicapped Badass: Victorion carries on sans arm.
- Hero Killer: Overlord and Rodimus Cron are quickly racking up quite the body count.
- "I Know You Are in There Somewhere" Fight: Windblade attempts this with Rodimus Cron when they meet again. It doesn't take.
- Informed Kindness: Windblade describes the Torchbearers this way after Victorion dies. Only one ever appeared separated from their combined form, granted she was doing something nice at the time.
- Invincible Villain:
- Overlord and Rodimus Cron were shown to be completely unstoppable in their pursuit of the heroes. Their first appearance had them utterly dominate and kill off Computron, Menasor, and Devastator. No other bots had done any better in stopping them. Ultimately, it took Megatron using the Requiem Blaster at pointblank range to kill Overlord, and even after being caught in the blast radius Rodimus Cron managed to get back up after Unicron possessed him.
- The main party actually manages to do better, at great cost. And then Megatronus shows up...
- Ultimately, Optimal Optimus is required to finally defeat Rodimus Cron head on.
- Leader Wannabe: Victorion tries to appoint herself leader of the team despite ultimately following Megatron's plan.
- Licked by the Dog: After Megatron defeats Overlord and saves the rest of his team, Grimlock, who up to then had been distrustful of Megatron, runs up to him and gives him a big Bear Hug, saying he's not so bad after all.
- Mêlée à Trois: Between Megatronus, who wants to kill all Cybertronian life to restore the spark of Solus Prime, Windblade and Megatron's party who want to stop him, and Overlord and Rodimus Cron who want to destroy the Matrix and thus the final thing that can disrupt Unicron's resurrection.
- Mythology Gag: Wooh boy, considering it's mostly based on G1 it has quite a lot of references. Not only to the Original Cartoon but also other media.
- Unicron's head is left floating in space and possibly orbiting around Cybertron just like in the 3rd season of the original G1 Cartoon. However in this incarnation, only his right eye is destroyed unlike the original only having both of his eyes destroyed, and even then he had his left eye destroyed first.
- Rodimus Cron mentions Megatron's time as Galvatron. Making him probably the fourth Megatron whom became Galvatron and then became Megatron again somehow. Just like the ones from the Unicron Trilogy.
- When Unicron is trying to posses Megatron, then make him his new host and turning him into Galvatron yet again. Their dialogue exchange quotes their first meeting back in The Transformers: The Movie.
- Due to the fact that they might need to kill the Hot Rod, now rechristened as Rodimus Cron, in order to stop Unicron, Megatron jokes about how he now gets to kill yet another Prime.
- In the near end of the final episode. Optimus Prime and Primal, while walking and conversing in a hangar pass by the a ship that looks very similar to the Axalon from Beast Wars.
- Yet again, Optimus Prime's death doesn't stick.
- When Predaking battle Megatronus, he says "You will suffer at the hands of Predaking!" paraphrasing dialogue he delivered in one of the episodes back in the G1 Cartoon.
- Next Tier Power-Up: Optimus Primal to Optimal Optimus. Thanks to the Matrix of Leadership choosing him as the next Prime.
- Non-Action Guy: Perceptor is far and away the weakest member of the team. Doesn't stop him from sticking his neck out, though.
- No Range Like Point-Blank Range: Megatron defeats Overlord by shooting him with the Requiem Blaster at point-blank. Considering nothing else even phased him, it was pretty much the only option he had.
- Not Afraid of You Anymore: During their battle, Optimal Optimus tells Unicron (who has taken over Rodimus Cron's body) that he needs to learn the Transformers no longer fear him.
- Off with His Head!: How Victorion and Predaking die, by the hands of Rodimus Cron and Megatronus respectively. In surprisingly similar ways. Having their heads ripped off by hand. Menasor on the other hand gets this posthumously after Overlord snaps his neck.
- Older Than They Look: Perceptor was around when prophecies of the Primes were first deciphered.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: At some point in the past, Megatron handed Overlord his only defeat in battle. He is still trying to pay Megatron back years later.
- Physical God: Megatronus, which makes sense considering he's part of the Thirteen Primes.
- Precision F-Strike: Megatron gives an understandably worried "Oh shit..." when Megatronus throws Predaking's decapitated head at him and then sees it.
- Ragtag Bunch of Misfits: Our heroes are Windblade, the reformed leader of the Decepticons, an out of shape genius, and a one-armed Combiner. Grimlock and Optimus Primal join the party later on.
- Redemption Equals Death: Megatron.
- "Where Are They Now?" Epilogue: Optimus delivers one to Optimal Optimus and the audience explaining where the survivors wound up.
