(Minor spoilers for Transformers: Dark of the Moon follow)
Roughly halfway through Transformers: Dark of the Moon, a series of setups, diversions, and general evildoing lead to the exile of the Autobots from Earth. Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and the rest of our heroes are herded onto a ship and launched into space. This was all a Decepticon trap however, as Starscream emerges and blows the starbound shuttle to pieces. The six-year old beside me grabs my hand in fear. As I take a closer look, I notice his lip quivering and tears rolling down his face behind his 3D glasses. My son was devastated. The heroes he looked up to were destroyed in the blink of an eye.
Flash back 25 years ago. I was sitting in a theater with my father, waiting eagerly to see my heroes on the big screen for the first time. It was 1986; I was ten years old, and Transformers: The Movie was just released. Optimus Prime was my hero as a child. I learned more about morality, honor, and being a good person from him than I did my own parents. I looked up to him. Remember now, this was back before the internet and “spoiler warnings”, so I had no idea what was coming. Megatron and the Decepticons were storming Autobot City on Earth. Things looked bleak for the good guys until Prime and the reinforcements arrived. This led to a knock down drag out brawl between Prime and Megatron, and due to that little punk Hot Rod’s interference, the leader of the Autobots took the worst of the beating. As a diehard follower of the cartoon, I assumed everything would be alright. He’d get up, walk it off, and live to fight another day. I was wrong. As the life left Optimus’ eyes, and he was declared dead by Perceptor, I broke down. I (along with a couple dozen other children) was sobbing in the middle of the theater. Never in a million years would I expect my hero to die, onscreen, right in front of me. He was the beacon of hope, and just like that, he was gone.
Back to the present day. I held my son’s hand tight, and assured him that everything would be okay. Something special just happened. It’s hard to explain, but if you’re a parent I’m sure you know the feeling. That bond, the connection that will forever be a part of our lives, and we will never forget it. Two mirrored experiences, twenty five years apart, each an emotional awakening of sorts. All thanks to the Transformers.
