History TearJerker / Transformers

* ''Every'' time Optimus Prime dies. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain They do it in almost every series]], for pretty much the same reason, and we still cry.

* ''TearJerker/TransformersRevengeofTheFallen'' (2009)

* ''Every'' time Optimus Prime dies. [[TheyKilledKennyAgain They do it in almost every series]], for pretty much the same reason, and we still cry.

[[folder:''Transformers'' live-action film series]]
[[AC:''Transformers'' (2007)]]
[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/339cfd86_10a5_496e_b495_82553d77b0d5.jpeg]]
[[caption-width-right:350:''Look, he’s not fighting back!'']]
* The montage of the Autobots meeting up on Earth, particularly for the music.
** "The Gathering of the Autobots" really climaxes when Ironhide rises out of the swimming pool - a gentle choir singing in the background - and the little girl looking at him without any hint of worry or fear. "Children, sleep safely at night. The heroes have come to watch over you".
** And the finale, with "What I've Done" in the background, Optimus' final monologue, declaring how they will protect humanity.
* Prime asking Ironhide, "Were we so different?", who declares with sincerity uncontaminated by cynicism and irony that "Freedom is the right of ''all'' sentient beings."
** The distant look Optimus has when he responds to Ironhide; it's pretty easy to imagine that he was remembering all the brutality he saw during the Great War. Coupled with Peter Cullen's [[HurtingHero delivery]].
** Fridge adding to it: As [[Film/TheAvengers2012 Nick Fury]] said, "Excuse me, do we come to ''your'' planet and blow stuff up?" Humanity, thus far, as at least had the courtesy to keep our violence among ourselves. And now the war that destroyed Cybertron has come to Earth, an innocent planet that never asked for any of this.
* Bumblebee's capture, especially when you see him being ''experimented on'', all the while making muffled whines in pain.
** Equally gut-wrenching is Sam trying-- unsuccessfully-- to get Sector Seven to stop attacking Bumblebee. [[SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct Major props to Shia [=LaBeouf=]]] for giving a ''devastating'' performance here:
---> '''Sam:''' Look! He's not even trying to fight back! ... Stop hurting him!
* How about the first time Optimus Prime is in robot mode on camera for the first time speaking to Sam and Mikaela? The first line of dialogue that he speaks is so characteristic of him, and with the voice of Peter Cullen to this day will still cause tears of nostalgia for many.
* Jazz's death.
** The fact that it was ''easy'' for [[spoiler: Megatron to tear him apart]] was tearjerking in and of itself. Not to mention the fact that he died trying to protect some random humans when he could have easily run away and saved himself. He died a true Autobots death, he died a hero.
*** Let's take a look at his end, shall we? He first was shot off of his feet at point-blank range by the one not his leader's equal, then his leg was most likely crushed from being in Megatron's hand while transformed, then stepped on without so much as enough space underneath him to keep his back straight and his head up, then after trying to fight back and then getting slammed back first against Megatron's SPIKED AND BLADED KNEE, goes out practically spitting a challenge into Megatron's face, then getting ripped in half. From what we saw from his remains after the final battle he also lost his arm, and Ratchet implies that he may have STILL been functioning, yet the poor doc-bot still couldn't do anything.
* How one-sided Optimus vs Megatron is.
** To elaborate, we only see two Autobots ''attempt'' to take on Megatron throughout the film. Jazz and Optimus. Jazz didn't even stand a chance, and Optimus... honestly doesn't fare much better. And Optimus ''knows'' that it's likely he won't win. At one point, he tells Sam to prepare to shove the Allspark into his chest, fearing that even he, Leader of the Autobots, cannot stop Megatron.
*** What makes it worse is that moments after his conversation with Sam, Optimus is immediately brought down by Megatron ''again'' - he is ''barely'' managing to stay on his knees and is ''clearly'' within an inch of his life... and then Megatron [[KickThemWhileTheyAreDown coldly kicks him in the face]].
*** And THEN there is his desperate pleading with Sam against letting the boy shove the Allspark into Megatron's chest. Sam opts to go through with the action to [[TakeAThirdOption spare Prime while taking out Megatron]], but Optimus knows the full risk of what Sam's about to do, and can only ''plead'' with Sam to stick with [[HeroicSacrifice his original plan]] - being too injured to even continue the fight with Megatron anymore, and more importantly, [[PapaWolf protect Sam]].
---> '''Optimus:''' Sam! Push the cube into my chest now! Sam! [[BigNo NO,]] SAM!
*** There’s also another interpretation. Optimus ''didn’t want Megatron to die''. He’s pleading Sam to not do it. Yes, even after all that Megatron did, Optimus still viewed him as a brother in arms. He even gave him a brief but heartbreaking eulogy:
---->'''Optimus:''' You left me no choice, ''brother''.

[[AC:''Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen'' (2009)]]
* [[spoiler: Optimus Prime]]'s death is a big one even when you know it's coming.
* Optimus Prime's inspirationally heroic declaration of love for humanity towards Megatron's sickeningly cynical lack of respect for life: "[[PapaWolf You won't stop at one!!]] [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments I'll Take You ALL on!!]]"
* Ron Witwicky's [[spoiler: heartrending cries when Sam is (temporarily) killed by Megatron]].
** Even before, with Sam telling his father: [[spoiler: "You've gotta' let me go. You've gotta let me go."]] Especially contrasted with how eager his dad was to ship him off to college at the beginning of the movie.
** Bumblebee's reaction to [[spoiler: Sam's death.]]. All he could do was whine with terror anguish. He couldn't vocalize his feelings.
** YMMV like ''crazy'' on this, but the scene where [[spoiler: Megatron watches in horror and anguish as Optimus kills the Fallen could count. Watching ''Megatron,'' of all bots, express sadness over anyone is jarring, but then one has to remember that, for all his flaws (and there are MANY of them) Megatron isn't necessarily a soulless monster...]]

[[AC: ''Transformers: Dark Of The Moon'' (2011)]]
* Optimus's ending speech, which ends with "But the day will never come, that we forsake this planet and its people". Cue [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic Iridescent]] by Linkin Park playing over the end credits.
** The novel ends on a line afterward: We are here. We... [[spoiler:are home"]].
* There's also the moment where Sam tells Carly [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments "You're gonna be fine. I promise."]]
* The death of [[{{OneSceneWonder}} Jerry Wang]].
* [[spoiler:[=Que/Wheeljack's=] death. Poor guy, just trying to negotiate...]]
** Worse is, we barely even knew him, since he'd been in a total of two scenes doing anything, but his line before it happens.
--> ''"Bu-but-but, we surrender!"''
* [[spoiler: The sight of Bumblebee about to be executed]]. Made even more dramatic by the fact that [[spoiler: there didn't seem to be ''any'' hope of him being rescued and another Autobot was just ruthlessly slaughtered right then and there! What's even worse is Bumblebee reaching out to [=Que/Wheeljack's=] corpse, making it clear that he'd just seen his ''friend'' get murdered!]]
** Even worse is when Bumblebee speaks, not via radio, but actually ''speaks'' during the scene. When [[spoiler: Que died, he said "Goodbye, old friend." and when he sees Sam, hiding and unable to do anything to help him, "We had a good run."]]
** To add on to the impact, the track [[spoiler:"[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lBJ90C4kDCA No Prisoners, Only Trophies]]"]] plays soft and gentle, more suiting to quiet and reminiscing-type scenes. It adds on to the helplessness of the sequence.
* ManlyTears may be shed during the opening sequence with the moon-landing. [[spoiler: And maybe again when Buzz Aldrin shows up.]]
* [[spoiler: When the Autobots were forced to leave, thanks to the world leaders, Optimus and Bumblebee say their goodbyes to Sam.]]
** Also what doubles this scene making it into a tear-jerker [[spoiler: the Decepticons are holding Carly hostage, and will kill her if Sam doesn't do as they say, which is essentially be a spy for them against the Autobots. Prime already had one long time friend betray him, so in hindsight when he calls Sam his one true friend, you know Sam felt like he was punched in the gut! The kid loved and respected the Autobots, he especially respected Optimus, so he was forced to momentarily betray his friends, to keep Carly alive.]]
** It does not help at all that "[[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3hSouDW1P8 There is No Plan]]", which is a very mournful version of "Arrival to Earth" plus "Optimus" from the first film's score, plays in the background while all this is going on.
* When Wheelie and Brains [[spoiler: board the Decepticon cruiser and take it down]], during the crash, one of them says that they're not going to make it. [[spoiler: After the cruiser goes down, they're nowhere to be seen]], meaning that they were ''right''. What hammers the point even harder is that Wheelie was one of the few people who was genuinely nice to Brains.
-->'''Wheelie:''' [[spoiler: We had a good run, Brains! You and me!]]
** Thankfully [[spoiler: the two of them are shown to have [[SparedByTheAdaptation survived in the novel]].]]
* It's subtle, but look at the expression on Optimus' face after he [[spoiler: executes Sentinel Prime]]. It's quite clear that doing that ''deeply'' affected him, as he essentially had to [[spoiler: put a gun to his mentor's head and pull the trigger]]. It's one thing for Optimus to kill [[spoiler: Megatron. Megatron was his avowed enemy and had caused nothing but death and destruction for centuries.]] But [[spoiler: Sentinel was his ''friend'' and Optimus' mentor, the one who taught him the very thing he's now killing him for.]]
** Sentinel's [[spoiler: cry of "No, Optimus!" right before Optimus kills him]] is pretty depressing. It would be different if it was someone like Megatron or Shockwave, but as mentioned above, this is the only father figure Optimus has ever known. And he has no choice but [[spoiler: to make him pay for what he's done.]]
* Hearing Optimus Prime [[spoiler: say "Please..." after Sentinel cuts off his arm and drags him across the ground to finish him. Bay made it clear beforehand that anyone who dies in this movie isn't going to magically come back, and at that moment, it felt like Optimus might die. The fact that he would plead with Sentinel one last time, hoping to revive the goodness in his old mentor, is almost too much to handle.]]
* Seeing [[spoiler: Cybertron dissolve into a black hole. Cybertron, the Autobots' (and Decepticons') ''home'', lost forever.]]
** Worse (or better), remember what Megatron, his authority and power, all we've ever seen him care about all but gone, said:
--->'''Megatron''': Cybertron, you are saved... At last...
*** He's not just a power-hungry tyrant: he's a ''living being'' like us, who wants to see his first home made whole again. He actually showed that he cared for something other than himself. He just might have redeemed himself a bit for all he did leading up to that moment. And then... [[spoiler:he and his home are gone. That which he worked for, the cause he championed, such a pure end for such horrific means, he lost it in his final moments.]] Even for Megatron... it just doesn't seem right.
*** The final fight scene between [[spoiler:Optimus and Megatron]] has been criticized for being too short... but maybe [[spoiler:Megatron didn't want to fight anymore. His body wrecked, his home destroyed, everything he ever aimed to accomplish rendered moot, and everyone he ever cared about dead... except for Optimus. In one final, desperate attempt to save himself, well aware of the atrocities he's committed, he turns to Optimus and asks for forgiveness... and finds that Optimus has none left in his Spark for the likes of him... Is it possible that the leader of the Decepticons reached the DespairEventHorizon and just... gave up?]]
* For some, when Sam starts to walk out of his Accureta Systems job interview. He says pretty much what he says there a few times, but that's the first time you see how much he really wants to do something that matters.
* The scene of [[spoiler:Optimus and Sentinel, with Optimus offering his old mentor the Matrix.]] Should be a SugarWiki/{{Heartwarming Moment|s}} but becomes TearJerker in light of what happens later.
* Within seconds, not only did [[spoiler:Sentinel betray the Autobots, but he ''killed'' Ironhide in a brutal and horrifying manner, which comes completely out of nowhere. Even more shocking is that Ironhide wasn't a new character introduced in this film, but one of the Autobots from the first film whose been in all three, a character we actually got to know...]]
** What's worse is [[spoiler:Ironhide's reaction as he's dying. It's clear he's just as shocked as the audience probably is. He didn't die in battle with an enemy - a ''friend'' that he looked up to and respected suddenly shoots him in the back and murders him.]]
* For a Decepticon lover, [[spoiler: the deaths of Starscream, Soundwave, and Megatron]].
* The deaths of [[spoiler:Skids and Mudflap]] in the comic adaptation. Despite their controversial characterization, it's hard not to feel sad as [[spoiler:Mudflap flies into a grief-striken rage over his brother's death and is himself killed moments later.]]
** The novel arguably makes it worse with [[spoiler:Mudflap's reaction to Skids' death]]:
--> "There had never been a moment when the motor-mouthed Autobot named Mudflap had been at a loss for words. Under ordinary circumstances, Sam would expected him to say something like "''Oh, no you did-unt! Oh NO you DID-UNT! Uh uh! You in it now!''" He said nothing like that. Perhaps it was because of the psychic link that he shared with his twin so that he had actually [[spoiler:felt Skids die]]. Perhaps it was because of [[spoiler:the betrayal of a warrior they revered above all others, like finding out the Archangel Michael was on Satan's payroll]]. Whatever the reason, Mudflap didn't react the way Sam would have expected. Instead he howled. It was a primal agony, torn from the individual bit of Spark that powered all the Autobots. It was the most horrible thing Sam Witwicky had ever heard, and he recognized it for what it was: the sound of a soul dying. And then it escalated into a war cry of undiluted fury."
** To top it off, [[spoiler:Mudflap's]] last words are [[SugarWiki/HeartwarmingMoments "Run, you guys! Leave him to me! This bastard's mine!"]]
** It hits the nail on the head that Sentinel shoots Mudflap as he's charging him. [[DyingMomentOfAwesome Even though Mudflap is dying,]] [[DefiantToTheEnd he's still punching Sentinel out as he rusts away to nothing.]]
* It makes it a TearJerker is that [[spoiler:those aren't {{Red Shirts}} dying, those are 100% innocent human beings.]]
** "When you were standing in the wake of devastation... when you were waiting on the edge of the unknown... and with the Cataclysm raining down, insides crying "Save me now", you were there, impossibly alone..."
* Some people criticize Carly's character for being useless, not contributing much, only being in the movie to look pretty, etc. and in some ways she does come off as clingy. She doesn't want Sam getting himself involved in any more alien robot battles, even though he spends much of the first part of the movie trying to get right back into the middle of things. It wasn't until the scene where it looks like Carly and Sam have a falling out and she ends up taking back the 'lucky rabbit' and leaving Sam with the torn off foot that a motive behind Carly's seemingly clingy character emerges. It's a small, quiet, blink-and-you-miss-it type line that she says to Sam, which is something like "Do you think I'd rather have that medal instead of my brother?" Carly's behavior towards Sam suddenly makes perfect sense. Her brother was a soldier who died in combat, and she doesn't want to go through that pain again by losing Sam. No wonder she looks so stunned and horrified during that iconic scene where she stares at the battlefield that was once Chicago: She's seeing the exact type of conditions that killed her brother.
* When [[spoiler:the Autobots ship is blown up.]]
* Optimus flying into the battle scene after [[spoiler:the other Autobots escape from Soundwave]], with the track [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=4__qLubgb0s#t=77s It's Our Fight]] playing in full blast, and watching Optimus destroying Decepticons left and right before tearing Shockwave apart.
* Optimus's last words to Sentinel Prime before he executes his mentor. The tragedy behind those words is how true they are; Sentinel was the one who taught Optimus that freedom is the right of all sentient beings, and Sentinel turned against and betrayed those words in "Dark of the Moon".
--> "You didn't betray me. ''You betrayed yourself''".
* While you got used to seeing people running from Chicago, when some kids were trying to run, you really get the message that [[ChildrenAreInnocent the Decepticons will]] [[SubvertedTrope never]] [[WouldHurtAChild discriminate.]]
** For that matter, the images of a decimated Chicago. WarIsHell, indeed.
* When that Cybertronian fighter swooped down on civilians and nearly killed Sam and Epps. It has no purpose in doing so, and would gain NOTHING from it. [[FridgeHorror The pilot was doing it]] [[ForTheEvulz for KICKS...]]
[[/folder]]

---> '''Optimus:''' Sam! Push the cube into my chest now! Sam! [[BigNo NO,]] [[AdultFear SAM!]]

* ''TearJerker/TheTransformers'' (1984-1987)

* ''TearJerker/TransformersDarkofTheMoon'' (2011)

* ''Tearjerker/{{Bumblebee}}'' (2018)