The Return of Optimus Prime
The Return of Optimus Prime is the two-part season finale of Season 3 on the animated TV series The Transformers.
Part 1
Part 1 first aired on February 24, 1987 in syndication.
Synopsis
Back on Earth, Gregory and Jessica's father begin running tests on the spores, and soon discover them to be a highly infectious contagion able to induce and exacerbate hatred and destructive impulses in any sentient being they contaminate. Despite the obvious danger, the two scientists are eager to continue studying the spores, a prospect Jessica openly objects to. Before a consensus can be formed, however, their lab is attacked by the Terrorcons, who are after their new alloy. The Technobots quickly join in to protect the humans and the metal, and in the resulting gestalt battle, Jessica is severely wounded and taken to the local hospital. This prompts an angry backlash from Jessica's father, who is encouraged by Gregory to get revenge on both factions by reviving Optimus and using him as a carrier for the plague. This is exacerbated when they learn Jessica was rendered paraplegic in the accident, and now needs a specialized exosuit to walk. Unfortunately for them, they're unable to revive Optimus, and are content to scrap his body to make more of their alloy. Jessica makes a futile attempt to save Optimus by appealing to her father's and Gregory's sense of morality, and is only successful when they realize that, as the Autobots' leader, they could use Optimus's body as bait to lure the rest of his people into a trap. Because of her friendship with the Autobots, Jessica is forced to lure them into the trap, something she hates and hopes she won't learn to hate her father and colleague for.
Despite her attempts, the plan goes off without a hitch; Rodimus Prime, the new leader, foolishly orders an assault team to be sent to rescue Optimus' body without hearing everything about the trap, and while he and Jessica are able to escape with the body unscathed, the rest of the assault force is contaminated thanks to a quick switch by Dr. Morgan and Gregory. Unfortunately, the Decepticons arrive just then to compound matters, having learned of Optimus' recovery by Jessica and determined to see that the former Autobot leader never revives again; they, too, are mostly infected, and with the plague spreading out of control, Rodimus is convinced that Earth's only hope lies in reviving Optimus. Sadly, not even the Junkions are able to initiate such a miracle, and all seems lost, until Rodimus remembers that the Quintessons had resurrected Optimus before in the previous episode. With the Quints in hiding in the farthest reaches of the galaxy, however, Rodimus is forced to order Sky Lynx to find one for him. In the meantime, Rodimus shuts down Metroplex, to prevent him from going on a rampage in case he gets infected. Just as soon as he finishes that task, however, an infected Ultra Magnus infects him, sending him on a rampage along with the rest of the Transformers on Earth; a few Autobots manage to avoid infection, but are seriously damaged in a fight with a crazed Superion.
Sky Lynx, meanwhile, has managed to find a Quintesson, but unfortunately, the virus has become so prevalent, it's been carried offworld and is now in the process of infecting the entire galaxy. Sky Lynx manages to garner the Quint's cooperation in light of the chaos going on, and with a few false starts, successfully brings Optimus back from the dead. Sunbow/Rhino DVD
Part 2
Part 2 first aired on February 25, 1987 on syndication.
Synopsis
With Optimus now back among the living, he's informed of the current situation, and orders the begrudging Quintesson to rebuild the rest of the damaged but uninfected Autobots. However, when asked what the plan is to save the galaxy from the Hate Plague, Optimus regretfully admits that he has none; without the wisdom of the ancients that resides within the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, he has no clue as to where to start, until Jessica comes forward and reveals the existence of her father's alloy and its ability to block out the spores. Coated with the alloy, Optimus may be able to get close enough to the infected Rodimus (who now holds the Matrix) and regain the artifact. Unfortunately, the remaining samples of the alloy are now under Decepticon control on Charr, prompting them to head there and try to retrieve it.
On Charr, an uninfected Galvatron is pinned by his crazed minions, until Optimus and his gang arrive to offer a team-up. Under the circumstances, Galvatron is forced to agree, but grows suspicious when he's not told why Optimus needs the alloy (it's hinted that Optimus was informed of Megatron's change into Galvatron upon his revival and, knowing how Megatron works, refuses to elaborate to prevent a double-cross). On the way to where the alloy is being kept, however, Optimus' forces are eliminated one by one by the mob of infected Transformers following them, until only he, Galvatron, Jessica, and Sky Lynx remain. Once Jessica confirms there's enough material to coat Optimus with, though, Galvatron quickly deduces their plan and does indeed double-cross them, but is caught off-guard by Sky Lynx and forced to load the alloy into Optimus' trailer. Unknown to them, Cyclonus has snuck up on them and, as the last of the alloy is loaded, infects Jessica, who in turn infects Galvatron and this forces Optimus and Sky Lynx to return to Earth alone. On Earth, the Quintesson carefully coats every inch of Optimus' body, taking great pains to make sure he doesn't miss a spot and, thus, leave a "chink in the armor" for the spores to get through.
As soon as he's coated, Optimus heads out to find Rodimus, which he does. Rodimus is at a local junkyard terrorizing fellow Autobots. Optimus confronts his successor and tries to reason with him, but the plague is too strong to break through. Running out of options, Optimus leads Rodimus into a car manufacturing plant nearby, cornering him and removing the Matrix from him by force, but not before the remaining members of his team are infected. Back at Autobot headquarters, Optimus dives into the matrix, risking becoming lost in its vast history in an attempt to find a cure for the disease while the Quintesson keeps watch. Just as all hope seems lost, and the infected Transformers barge their way in, Optimus finds his answer in the annals of Cybertron prehistory; apparently, the plague has been encountered once before by the Transformers' ancestors, who managed to seal it inside the star that went nova in the first half of the episode, but were unable to totally eradicate it because of the lack of pure, raw wisdom needed to do so, and with the spores now enveloping the galaxy, it's doubtful that there's anyone who has the knowledge needed to even contain them. Optimus, however, theorizes that the millions of years of data contained within the Matrix itself should be enough to destroy the spores once and for all, and - before Galvatron pierces him through the chest with a metal rod - unleashes that knowledge upon the galaxy. To his relief, his gamble works, as the Matrix fully empties in order to eradicate the plague.
In the aftermath, both Gregory and Dr. Morgan apologize for their actions, realizing their unfounded hate for the Autobots started the mess, in the first place. Also, in a surprising show of admiration, Galvatron orders a cease-fire (at least temporarily), his inherent madness apparently also cured by the Matrix's wisdom. Speaking of the Matrix, Rodimus (now Hot Rod without it) notes that the wisdom of the ancients is gone; Optimus disagrees, though, noting how they've all grown a little wiser from the experience, and must now fill the Matrix again with all their accumulated knowledge and experience from then on. Once more in control of the Autobots, Optimus orders them to "Transform and roll out".Rhino DVD
Animation errors
- In the episode Dark Awakening, Optimus Prime's undead body was heavily damaged, resembling a human zombie. In addition to cracks and chips all over his body, he had lost his left arm and eye/optic prior to piloting the ship to its doom. At the start of Part 1 when his body is discovered on the ship prior to impact, his missing parts are intact and his body appears pristine.
References to "The Transformers: The Movie"
- The scene where Optimus Prime saves everybody by using the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, is obviously similar to the scene of The Transformers: The Movie where Rodimus Prime uses the matrix to destroy Unicron by asking it also to light out the Autobots' darkest hour and unleashing its power to destroy Unicron, thus saving Cybertron (and possibly the rest of the galaxy). Prime himself actually says "light our darkest hour" while The Touch plays.