The thing about Cliffjumper dying in the very first episode is that it doesn't shift the status quo, because he effectively never gets to become part of the status quo. The status quo we're dropped into is effectively post-Cliffjumper.
RIP Peter Cullen
- Thread starter LordGigaIce
- Start date
Yeah, this is like saying the status quo of Beast Wars changed when the Axalon and the Othership first crash-landed on prehistoric Earth.
Or the status quo of Animated changed when Optimus's team first found the AllSpark.
These are inciting incidents, not dramatic changes to a preexisting scenario, because there was no scenario of note beforehand.
Or the status quo of Animated changed when Optimus's team first found the AllSpark.
These are inciting incidents, not dramatic changes to a preexisting scenario, because there was no scenario of note beforehand.
To be fair, the "mottos" on the bios aren't, and are more just general statements that sum up the character. It's why Ironhide and Cliffjumper have two of them.
Speaking of bios, as iconic as "freedom is the right of all sentient beings" is, I feel like the best summation of Optimus' character is "We cannot let the humans pay for our mistakes." It captures the guilt that has for better or for worse become a big part of modern incarnations of the character, but still captures the heroism we know him for. He's not content to be a hero for his side in a civil war, or even a hero for his species. Letting our world be ruined by a war that isn't our fault at all, even if it achieves a good outcome for his species, is just wrong and he won't watch it happen. He'll die before watching it happen. It's also a rebuttal to the idea that he secretly enjoys the war, or at least enjoys being good at it, and doesn't know who he'd be without Megatron. No. It's not about winning the war. That is not his motivation at all anymore.
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself."
Optimus is big mad right there because Sentinel is still thinking about sides in their war. He's thinking he betrayed the Autobots, and betrayed Optimus personally. And Optimus is just so done with that kind of thinking. It's not about that anymore. Now that their war has spilled over onto our planet, the ideals he thought they shared are being tested, and Optimus has decided that they mean something. They're not just a prize to be won if their side happens to win the war. Sentinel doesn't get it, and time's up.
"You didn't betray me. You betrayed yourself."
Optimus is big mad right there because Sentinel is still thinking about sides in their war. He's thinking he betrayed the Autobots, and betrayed Optimus personally. And Optimus is just so done with that kind of thinking. It's not about that anymore. Now that their war has spilled over onto our planet, the ideals he thought they shared are being tested, and Optimus has decided that they mean something. They're not just a prize to be won if their side happens to win the war. Sentinel doesn't get it, and time's up.
That dialogue from the first movie was enough to kindle a lot of hope for how things would go. Peter makes it so good. "Were we so different? They're a young species. They have much to learn. But I've seen goodness in them."
I don't hate that they killed Cliffjumper. There's nothing wrong with wanting to establish some stakes.
But the one-two punch of casting the Rock and then killing him after like five minutes really was the laziest way to go "WE HAVE STAKES, GUYS!" in a show. It's as @lastmaximal said... the aesthetics of epicness more than anything else.
ofc they didn't have the budget to keep the Rock around for half a season of tv, but maybe don't cast the Rock? Having Cliffjumper be part of the team without the extra hoopla of stunt casting would make him feel more integrated into the show that when he does die it really feels like the status quo has shifted, and not "oh well I guess the budget for the celebrity VA ran out."
But the one-two punch of casting the Rock and then killing him after like five minutes really was the laziest way to go "WE HAVE STAKES, GUYS!" in a show. It's as @lastmaximal said... the aesthetics of epicness more than anything else.
ofc they didn't have the budget to keep the Rock around for half a season of tv, but maybe don't cast the Rock? Having Cliffjumper be part of the team without the extra hoopla of stunt casting would make him feel more integrated into the show that when he does die it really feels like the status quo has shifted, and not "oh well I guess the budget for the celebrity VA ran out."
They had a pretty good VA for him in the Flashbacks too. Maybe they could have used him for the season.
Imagine what that show could have been if one sane person had taken a look at their plans for the budget and said no.
I've always assumed it was the opposite of what this seems to be implying. Since they'd decided to kill him off right at the start, they wouldn't need to pay his voice actor for long, and that meant they could afford to get a big name.
This makes much more sense.
Either way, the way they went about it sucks.