Writer: Sean P. Fodera
Publication date: November 30, 2004
It's Transformers: Armada, and Optimus Prime is dead. He awakens in a bar back on Cybertron, Maccadam's Old Oil House, and finds himself sharing a back room with G1 Optimus Prime, who has just died in The Transformers: The Movie; Beast Wars Optimus Primal, who has just died in the season one episode "Other Voices, Part 2"; and Beast Machines Optimus Primal, who has just died in the season one episode "End of the Line." The four Optimuses drink oil and try to figure out why they're here and how they're all connected. Eventually G1 Prime, the only one of the four not voiced by Garry Chalk, deduces that he and the Primals have been brought here to give an anti-suicide pep talk to Armada Prime, because his show is the most recent. Armada Prime is like "I didn't kill myself, I got disintegrated saving the Earth from Megatron's doomsday weapon," but the other Optimuses just browbeat him about suicide not being the answer. Armada Prime asks them if they live in a cotton candy house or something.
They all hold hands and then the bartender comes in and kicks them out. As they step out into the hallway, they bump into their four respective Megatrons, fresh from having their own purgatorial drinking game. The Megatrons leap to attack the Optimuses before anyone can point out that it makes no sense for them to be here, because G1 Megatron never died and Beast Wars Megatron didn't die during the Beast Wars. Maybe Armada Megatron died but I never watched that shit. Anyway this collision of multiversal foes causes everyone to return to their time and universe of origin. Armada Prime returns to life ready to fight Megatron again.
Not very good, I'm afraid. The opportunity to have Optimus Primal interact with G1 Optimus Prime is squandered almost as badly as Star Trek: Generations squandered having Captain Picard team up with Captain Kirk. Likewise, the opportunity for a multiversal conference of Primes is a nonstarter because at the time this story was written, G1 and Armada were the only Transformers cartoons featuring a version of Optimus Prime who had died. While Optimus Primal died no fewer than three times in the course of his adventures, it makes no sense at all for him to be here, because he isn't Optimus Prime. They're two completely different people who exist in the same world, separated by centuries of fictional history. They just have a similar-sounding name (for irl branding reasons) and similar narrative role as "leader of the good guys."
This story was just written too early for it to work. If it was written today, there would be a whole bunch of dead Optimus Primes who could meet up for a drink. I can imagine G1 Prime and Bayverse Prime having a more interesting conversation than the one in this story, which goes on for 20 pages despite being about nothing and reaching no conclusion. And speaking of no conclusion,
