Having been born in the early 80's being a lifelong Transformers fan makes for some easy math...
1980's + Transformers = Growing up with Rodimus Prime
And that is almost in a literal sense - as I grew older, I literally saw Hot Rod grow into his role as Rodimus Prime on the silver screen. Transformers: The Movie was a poignant memory from my childhood, and the first movie-going experience that I can really remember.
I've also been following the Transformers story arcs in the IDW universe (http://www.idwpublishing.com/trending_titles/transformers/) for a good number of years now. I was a bit late to the game, but I caught up, and my graphic novel collection contains almost all of the published work from IDW. Transformers, like almost every comic book character from Archie Andrews to Zatanna Zatara, has grown as we have grown. No longer the 1980's kid's cartoon, Transformers has taken a turn for the serious. The borderline campy things, such as Warpath's "bang, boom" speech patterns or Seaspray's vocalizations sounding like he is constantly submerged or gargling have given way to more adult-like attitudes. Although some things have stayed very much the same: Megatron was a veritable force of nature and he refused to yield; Shockwave is still a "mad scientist;" Grimlock's speech pattern is still grammatically cracked - but there is a great explanation for that; Starscream is still a schemer, to the point that he manipulated his way to the top of the Cybertronian ladder!
(from the IDW website)
That is not to say that there is none of the weird personality quirks from various characters. Soundwave has a wee bit more personality but is very much the same; Optimus Prime is, of course, the consummate leader; Hot Rod/Rodimus is still headstrong; Ultra Magnus could easily be the psychological dopplegänger for Hermes Conrad from Futurama, what with his love for bureaucracy; Galvatron is single-minded in his causes and tends play jumprope with the line between sanity and insanity. So the spirit of the ever-so gnarly 80's lives on with some more mature and PG-13 or R rated themes.
(also from IDW, promotional image for the "More Than Meets the Eye" series)
Looking back at the 80's cartoon, I decided that I can view it through both the lens of my childhood and the eyes of an adult. That "throwback to my youth" perspective allows me to enjoy the cartoon as it was - miscolored frames, scientific inaccuracies. The adult that I am supposed to be can view the storylines with some depth, whether it was intended or a figment of my imagination.
Transformers: The Movie introduced the plot device of the Autobot Matrix of Leadership. After Hot Rod interferes in the battle between his hero Optimus Prime and Megatron, it leads to fatal consequences for Optimus Prime (and the beginning of the Transformers literary trend of him dying - like, a lot). Laying in the hospital, his spark fading, he reveals the Matrix and hands it over to Ultra Magnus for safe keeping and declaring that Ultra Magnus is his successor as Autobot leader. The adventure continues for Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, and the rest of the newly-introduced Autobots as they face off against a new batch of Decepticons. Eventually, the Matrix of Leadership winds up in the hands of Hot Rod, who is the chosen one of the Autobots who would "rise from the ranks and use the power of the Matrix to light our darkest hour." Hot Rod is reconfigured into Rodimus Prime, and he saves the day.
The Transformers show continues on with the focus on the new cast of characters, with the Matrix of Leadership being a key element to the storylines. The Matrix of Leadership is not only the symbol of the leader, but it is the repository of all knowledge, strength, and wisdom of the previous bearers. Rodimus Prime takes a little trip "into" the Matrix and learns the history of his planet and the Cybertronians. It turns out the the sparks of all of the previous Matrix bearers are all contained within the Matrix. Plus, Cybertron has a hidden history - it was originally a manufactured planet that was a manufacturing plant. Built by the Quintessons, Cybertron produced the combat line of Decepticons and the worker line of Autobots.
At some point, the Quintessons decided that they wanted Cybertron back, and they hatched themselves a convoluted plan - defeat the Autobots first, and then cherry-pick the Decepticons with greater ease. Sounds basic - like a girl with her pumpkin spice and Ugg boots - right? Granted, I will provide a rather brief summary of the episode, as there is a wee bit more intrigue with regards to the process of how it all goes down, but those details are the trimmings. Getting right to the meat and potatoes of it... Enter Zombimus Prime.
(from the Season 3 episode "Dark Awakening")
The Quintessons grabbed his body and repaired just enough of the damage to make him function, and reprogrammed him to lead the Autobots to their untimely demise. Rodimus Prime, feeling burdened by the weight of the Matrix - both what it represents and what it contains - is all too eager to return the Matrix to Optimus Prime. The Autobots follow Optimus towards their certain doom, but Optimus fights off the deadly Quintesson programming, and manages to thrust Matrix back into Hot Rod's hands and warn his troops away from danger. Everyone is safe, except for Optimus Prime, and the Autobots mourn the loss of their beloved leader again.
Optimus comes back later, having been found by a team of humans who are on a mission in space. Again, he is utilized for nefarious ends. The humans intended to use the depowered and seemingly lifeless body of Optimus Prime as bait for their trap. Things go rather sideways, and events lead to Optimus Prime being properly revived (not to gloss over that, as the episode was totally rad, but I've laid down the groundwork that I needed; more on the Return of Optimus Prime to come, keep reading!).
Given the technological and theological education and background that I have, I kind of took the whole death and return of Optimus Prime to a level that, perhaps was not intended. I mean, the reality of it is that in 1986, many parents complained about the scarring and damaging effects on their wee lads who witnessed the death of Optimus on the big screen. Frankly, it was sad, yeah, but there are a helluva lot worse things to have witnessed when in the single digit age range. Partially due to parent complaints, partially due to marketing of new toys, Hasbro, TakaraTomy, Sunbow, and all other parties involved decided to bring Optimus back to life. Frankly, Zombimus Prime was far more shocking than dying Optimus Prime. So they put together the storyline for "Dark Awakening" and followed it up with "The Return of Optimus Prime" - fan service and marketing.
But I, as I've gotten older, have subscribed to a particular depth to the storyline. So I hope that the drumroll leads to something that you, my reader, will find as intriguing and even fun as I find it to be.
"Dark Awakening" has the epic meeting of the Primes - Optimus is, by design and nature, a true Prime, thanks to his being reconstructed by Alpha Trion. And Rodimus, the one who rose from the ranks, was granted that title by his own nature as well. That moment when Rodimus hands over the Matrix to Zombimus, he rejoices at the freedom from the responsibilities of leadership and returns to being just plain ol' Hot Rod. Zombimus takes the Matrix and places it in his chest cavity.
And here's where I take it and put my own spin on what exactly happened to him.
The Matrix of Leadership stores the sparks of the previous bearers/leaders. After his epic final clash with Megatron at Autobot City, Optimus's spark did not just leave him, as it would any other Cybertronian. His spark entered the Matrix, and there it stayed, proven by Hot Rod's reformatting into Rodimus Prime, during which he heard Optimus's voice saying "Arise, Rodimus Prime!" That was not Optimus talking from "The Great Beyond" or the AllSpark or whatever the Generation 1 continuity had in store for deceased Cybertronians, but from his spark's place of repose in the Matrix. Now place that same Matrix back in the chest of Zombimus...
The Quintessons reprogrammed him to do their bidding, and they counted on the blind devotion and obedience of the Autobots to their beloved leader. What they failed to count on is that the Cybertronians had evolved from their original designs. The Quintessons did not originally design their Cybertronian slaves to transform - that was something that the Autobots developed to combat the Decepticons in the wars that followed after they freed themselves from Quintesson control. During that time, the Autobots also developed the Matrix of Leadership. The Quintessons had not prepared for Zombimus taking the Matrix and reintroducing his spark back into his body. The internal struggle became a battle for control over himself - Optimus's spark and real personality fighting the Quintesson's foreign programming. This is indicated clearly several times throughout the episode - moments of the Matrix shimmering and Zombimus grabbing his head like he's got a migraine from hell. At some point, he garners enough control over himself that he gives the Matrix back to Rodimus after they have a tussle, and he tells his young successor to get out and save the Autobots. Ever the hero, he is Zombimus no more, and Optimus Prime lives again - if only long enough to save his people. Although most descriptions and episode synopses say that there are remnants of Optimus's personality remaining in him that grow stronger with the help of the Matrix, I found that to be a very elementary description that fails to explain the events in the Return of Optimus Prime.
Optimus's ship survived the Quintesson trap, his body was discovered by a team of humans, and he was used as bait for a trap. His spark had been restored, but the physical damage and lack of energon had him in the Cybertronian equivalent of a comatose state. The humans tried to revive him in the same manner as the Quintessons, but they had little to no chance of that. Granted, the animation showed a mostly-intact Optimus, and there allusions of physical repairs, but I chalked that up to a combination of the animation discrepancies and the fact that Zombimus was kinda creepy and possibly over-the-top for American kids. Or some such nonsense like that.
The humans' trap is triggered, and it ends up blowing up in their faces, with global consequences that are practically apocalyptic - a spore-borne Hate Plague that caused anyone infected to lose their reason. Worse still, the Hate Plague was spread by tactile contact. Rodimus Prime's last order before he gets consumed in all of the chaos is to send Sky Lynx to find a Quintesson to repair Optimus Prime. Alpha Trion would have been the better option, but he was out of the running due to merging with Vector Sigma in Season 2. Only a Quintesson could get Optimus Prime out of his coma. Predictably, and spoiled by the title of the episode, the Quintesson does the deed, and Optimus Prime is back, with no trace of the Zombimus programming and his spark intact. His first move is to admit that he was not quite the leader that he had been, since Rodimus had the Matrix. Optimus realizes that he needs some special shielding to help him retrieve the Matrix from Rodimus, who is a bit cuckoo for Coco-Puffs thanks to the Hate Plague and has no intention of cooperating with anyone. Optimus Prime and a few remaining Autobots end up teaming up with Galvatron to get the ore that will shield him and allow him to touch Rodimus Prime.
(from the Season 3 episode "The Return of Optimus Prime Part 2")
In another move of art-reflecting-life, we see Optimus Prime coated in the alloy and he is kicking Rodimus behind and taking names - literally, as once he takes the Matrix, Rodimus Prime goes back to being Hot Rod.
(from the Season 3 episode "The Return of Optimus Prime Part 2")
And Optimus Prime looks like the cab part of the G1 Ultra Magnus toy.
(Thanks to seibertron.com for this image of G1 Ultra Magnus).
Now, all tasks have been accomplished, and Optimus Prime just has to do that which he does so well - take a gigantic risk to save not only his fellow Autobots, but humanity and Earth, Cybertron, and even the Decepticons (because Optimus has that much class and honor), and the whole of the galaxy. He risks his life yet again by delving into the Matrix to search for answers. He finds them and his consciousness re-emerges from the Matrix, which he then uses to light their darkest hour.
(from the Season 3 episode "The Return of Optimus Prime Part 2")
So crisis averted, the galaxy is saved, Optimus Prime is back and alive, Hot Rod doesn't have to be the leader anymore, and everything is shiny and new. There are still some questions, however! The whole "light our darkest hour" thing was already done, and Rodimus was the chosen one - no one could open the Matrix of Leadership before him. And Rodimus was the chosen one, which would imply that it is a rather unique position. So how, I ask you, how could Optimus Prime, who is not the chosen one (of which there is exactly one, who is Rodimus and not Optimus [I know, getting a bit redundant here, sorry!]), then open the Matrix? And light their new darkest hour? Having been a part of the Matrix, his spark having been contained in it, seems to have given Optimus the ability to operate it. No other Autobot leader had ever had his spark restored to his body in the same manner as Optimus Prime. He was unique in that regard, and that uniqueness also granted him the same opportunity as Rodimus - although Rodimus's ability was in his nature, and Optimus's grasp of it was induced by his unusual circumstances. Having his spark restored to his original body - the same matter and the original form, as some philosophers would say - restored him with the added bonus of being able to access the Matrix, since he had been a part of it.
What brought this on was not just "adulting," but was a desire to have some depth to the characters and stories that I loved in my youth, and that I still love to this day. While there is no real religion or theology in the G1 cartoon, there is a sort of reverence for Optimus Prime, and his return from the dead is pretty awesome. I don't appreciate that his return often puts him in comparison as a messiah; title would indicate that Rodimus is more in line with that concept, although the "back from the dead" thing makes Optimus a strong parallel for Christ. However... Nope. Just nope. Mortal, created/built, and the Primes together would combine for the Christ comparison, detracting from the single notion. My beliefs aside, there is a purely rational and technical explanation that I gave, and it gives the IT guy in me the comfort of knowing that something awesome happened with some of my favorite fictional characters - the big robots - and that the explanation shows more than the childish storyline, and that the universes of my childhood can grow along with me.