The Official "Ask A Question" Thread

[FlawlessVictory]

I searched and couldn't find a thread like this that already existed. Since I have a bunch of questions(not necessarily plot holes) that perhaps others could answer I figured I would start this thread. I'm sure others have questions as well.

Perhaps these questions are answered in the movie and I can't remember that it was or in the manner it was answered or perhaps I missed it altogether.

So here goes:


1. Why didn't Sam use the piece of Allspark to revive Optimus? It worked for Megatron, why wouldn't it work for OP? He could have at least tried.

2. Why is it called the "Matrix of Leadership"? It's a key that helps unlock energy. What's "leadership" about it? In the cartoon, it was passed down and converted a bot to a Prime. Again, here, it is just a key. Where is the leadership involved?

3. If the Matrix of Leadership needs to be earned, why is the Fallen able to use it with no problem? He obviously never earned it, yet he can use it?

[Mr. Earle]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

I searched and couldn't find a thread like this that already existed. Since I have a bunch of questions(not necessarily plot holes) that perhaps others could answer I figured I would start this thread. I'm sure others have questions as well.

Perhaps these questions are answered in the movie and I can't remember that it was or in the manner it was answered or perhaps I missed it altogether.

So here goes:


1. Why didn't Sam use the piece of Allspark to revive Optimus? It worked for Megatron, why wouldn't it work for OP? He could have at least tried.

2. Why is it called the "Matrix of Leadership"? It's a key that helps unlock energy. What's "leadership" about it? In the cartoon, it was passed down and converted a bot to a Prime. Again, here, it is just a key. Where is the leadership involved?

3. If the Matrix of Leadership needs to be earned, why is the Fallen able to use it with no problem? He obviously never earned it, yet he can use it?

Michael Bay does not care about your petty questions. Only thing he cares about are:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

EXPLOSIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

[sandmjuggalos]

Originally Posted by Mr. Earle

Michael Bay does not care about your petty questions. Only thing he cares about are:

Spoiler!!! Click to Read!:

EXPLOSIONS!!!!!!!!!!!

And jokes about male genitalia....

[Silent_Dave]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

1. Why didn't Sam use the piece of Allspark to revive Optimus? It worked for Megatron, why wouldn't it work for OP? He could have at least tried.

2. Why is it called the "Matrix of Leadership"? It's a key that helps unlock energy. What's "leadership" about it? In the cartoon, it was passed down and converted a bot to a Prime. Again, here, it is just a key. Where is the leadership involved?

3. If the Matrix of Leadership needs to be earned, why is the Fallen able to use it with no problem? He obviously never earned it, yet he can use it?

1. 'Cuz Optimus can't fly.

2. 'Cuz the Matrix of unlocking energy doesn't sound as cool.

3. 'Cuz he's the alpha and the omega.

[FlawlessVictory]

Originally Posted by Tumbler Prime

1. 'Cuz Optimus can't fly.

I thought maybe it had do with him being a Prime. But it's only because he can't fly? That seems lame. So if your a decepticon it's easier to be resurrected than if you are an autobot?

[The Guard]

1. Let's assume he could. I suppose if we simply assume that Sam could have used the shard to bring Optimus back to life, and that he knew this somehow, then he concievably could have done so, with some bumps along the way.

But I don't think we do know that. We have knowledge as viewers about the shard that Sam doesn't appear to have as a character in the movie. Sam knows the shard turned the appliances in his kitchen into killing machines and that it fills his mind with alien robot symbols. And he knows the Decepticons want it, and him. And that's about it.

What is there in the film to suggest he knows a shard can be used to resurrect on its own, or that it would ultimately even work the same as it did on Megatron (assuming it was just the shard that brought him back)?

But let's assume Sam did know what the shard was capable of. Why didn't he use it to revive Prime? There's the fact that he probably didn't know where Prime was. Prime, you may recall, was at a secret military base after he died, and his body was in lockdown, and the head of the department wanted nothing to do with him, even potentially resurrecting him.

Now, you might say "Well, Agent Simmons was able to contact NEST. Couldn't Sam just have gotten in touch with Simmons and had Simmons" contact NEST for him?"

Maybe. But Sam didn't know where to find Agent Simmons, either. They weren't exactly friends In TRANSFORMERS, and somehow, I doubt they kept in touch.

Leo is the only way they found Simmons, and Leo didn't know Agent Simmons WAS Agent Simmons to begin with either, he just knew he was "Robowarrior". By the time they find Agent Simmons, after the Decepticon attack and Prime's death, they're just about getting to the point in the story where Simmons calls in NEST to meet them in Egypt anyway.

So assuming Sam wanted to and was able to use the shard to revive Optimus, what would have changed, exactly about the story? NEST could have met them...not in Egypt? There'd be no Jetfire, nothing about the Primes, the Matrix, etc? Would that really have made for a better film?

What, would Sam just stumble onto The Matrix and The Fallen's insidious plot and its relevance to Transformer history along the way?

This whole "Why didn't Sam use the shard to revive Prime" just strikes me about the same as someone going "Why did Batman need clues to find The Joker in THE DARK KNIGHT? Why didn't he and Fox just use his cell phone device every time he needed to locate him? Then there wouldn't have needed to be a chase sequence, he wouldn't have had to quit, he could have prevented the hospital from blowing up, etc". Yeah, and the story would have been a lot worse for it.

[FlawlessVictory]

^Ok, that's fair. I can buy that. And thanks for taking the time to answer.

My followup:

Is it explained in the movie why The Matrix is needed to revive OP? Would the Allspark have worked on him? I can't remember how it was explained.

[SciFi Warlock]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

^
My followup:

Is it explained in the movie why The Matrix is needed to revive OP? Would the Allspark have worked on him? I can't remember how it was explained.

In the movie when the Matrix falls apart to dust Sam collects the dust in his sock and Mikela (I think it was her) asks what he is doing and Sam says he has a feeling about the Matrix reviving Optimus Prime. Then when he met the original Primes in his death experiance his feeling was confirmed and he made it to Prime.

Mind you personally I think it would have been better if Prime was in Stasis lock recovering slowly and the Matrix was able to speed up that recovery process rather than be used as a resurrection device.

[FlawlessVictory]

Originally Posted by SciFi Warlock

In the movie when the Matrix falls apart to dust Sam collects the dust in his sock and Mikela (I think it was her) asks what he is doing and Sam says he has a feeling about the Matrix reviving Optimus Prime. Then when he met the original Primes in his death experiance his feeling was confirmed and he made it to Prime.

Mind you personally I think it would have been better if Prime was in Stasis lock recovering slowly and the Matrix was able to speed up that recovery process rather than be used as a resurrection device.

Right.

I guess what I am trying to remember most is, if it was ever stated that the Matrix of Leadership could be the only way to revive OP. Because if Sam was guessing that the MoL could revive OP why wouldn't he have guessed that the Allspark piece could possibly do the trick? He still had the Allspark piece with him at this point I believe since he just it used to awaken Jetfire.

My guess is that it did HAD to be the MoL because Prime was just that, a Prime. Not your typical Transformer. That's the best way I can rationalize it unless I am forgetting some dialogue in the movie.

[matrix_ghost]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

1. Why didn't Sam use the piece of Allspark to revive Optimus? It worked for Megatron, why wouldn't it work for OP? He could have at least tried.

Maybe because he didn't know that.Or he was just afraid to use it. After all in the first movie the allspark killed megatron because he got the full force of it's power.

[FlawlessVictory]

Originally Posted by matrix_ghost

Maybe because he didn't know that.Or he was just afraid to use it. After all in the first movie the allspark killed megatron because he got the full force of it's power.

I get what your saying but after Sam what has been through and seeing the magical abilities of the piece of the Allspark(bringing to life kitchen appliances, awakening Jetfire) you would figure it's at least worth a shot to try it on OP. What's the worse that could happen, OP is dead already.

He has one mythical object in his possession but before even trying that, he wastes more time trying to find another mythical object when it would have made more sense to at least try the first mythical object first.

[SciFi Warlock]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

I get what your saying but after Sam what has been through and seeing the magical abilities of the piece of the Allspark(bringing to life kitchen appliances, awakening Jetfire) you would figure it's at least worth a shot to try it on OP. What's the worse that could happen, OP is dead already.

He has one mythical object in his possession but before even trying that, he wastes more time trying to find another mythical object when it would have made more sense to at least try the first mythical object first.

Considering that up until the spark revived Jetfire from Statis lock not resurrect him all the transformers created from the All Spark were violent. The cellphone, the Mountain Dew Machine, the kitchen appliances were all very aggressive from the second the all spark hit them. If I was Sam I would not want to use the spark shard on Prime cause I would be afraid that he would come back acting all violent. All they needed was an evil version of a powerful being like Prime to make things worse.

Plus as far as I could tell the shard was out of juice once it released Jetfire from statis lock. If I was there not knowing how the heck Megatron came back to life I would think the shard just turned off the statis lock not resurrected Jetfire. The shard I think was gone and was used by accident on Jetfire. Add in that as soon as Jetfire appeared they were transported to the desert and had no chance to use the shard on Prime. Even if the shard was still active and around Sam would still think it would only reactive a transformer in statis lock not resurrect them.

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

^Ok, that's fair. I can buy that. And thanks for taking the time to answer.

My followup:

Is it explained in the movie why The Matrix is needed to revive OP? Would the Allspark have worked on him? I can't remember how it was explained.

The Allspark wouldnt have worked on Prime because his spark was gone, Jetfire wasnt dead when the shard woke him up, he was just in statis lock, and the Decepticons used parts from one of their own to also rebuild Megatron AND use the shard. Not to mention Megatron had parts of the Allspark within him when Prime didnt.

[FlawlessVictory]

I guess it can be said that once the piece of the Allspark shorted out and imprinted itself into Sam's brain that Sam essentially became a vessel for the Allspark. That once Prime died, the Allspark was communicating on a subconcious level with Sam to get to this one piece(The Matrix of Leadership) to revive Prime. Which is why Sam believed so much it would work, because the Allspark was communicating with him.

[FlawlessVictory]

Originally Posted by SciFi Warlock

Considering that up until the spark revived Jetfire from Statis lock not resurrect him all the transformers created from the All Spark were violent. The cellphone, the Mountain Dew Machine, the kitchen appliances were all very aggressive from the second the all spark hit them. If I was Sam I would not want to use the spark shard on Prime cause I would be afraid that he would come back acting all violent. All they needed was an evil version of a powerful being like Prime to make things worse.

Plus as far as I could tell the shard was out of juice once it released Jetfire from statis lock. If I was there not knowing how the heck Megatron came back to life I would think the shard just turned off the statis lock not resurrected Jetfire. The shard I think was gone and was used by accident on Jetfire. Add in that as soon as Jetfire appeared they were transported to the desert and had no chance to use the shard on Prime. Even if the shard was still active and around Sam would still think it would only reactive a transformer in statis lock not resurrect them.

Good points. And I can't for the life of me remember what happened to that piece of Allspark that was used to awaken Jetfire. Where did it end up?

Originally Posted by AVEITWITHJAMON

The Allspark wouldnt have worked on Prime because his spark was gone, Jetfire wasnt dead when the shard woke him up, he was just in statis lock, and the Decepticons used parts from one of their own to also rebuild Megatron AND use the shard. Not to mention Megatron had parts of the Allspark within him when Prime didnt.

Hmm, I see, interesting. Thanks.

[SciFi Warlock]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

Good points. And I can't for the life of me remember what happened to that piece of Allspark that was used to awaken Jetfire. Where did it end up?

Maybe Wheelie took it with him when he suddenly dropped out of the film

[Silent_Dave]

Originally Posted by FlawlessVictory

I thought maybe it had do with him being a Prime. But it's only because he can't fly? That seems lame. So if your a decepticon it's easier to be resurrected than if you are an autobot?

No, i meant that Sam thought resurrecting a Decepticon Blackbird would be wiser than resurrecting the Prime that saved his life.

[The Guard]

My followup:

Is it explained in the movie why The Matrix is needed to revive OP? Would the Allspark have worked on him? I can't remember how it was explained.

It's explained in the movie that The Matrix is tied to creation energies, and when Sam asks Jetfire if it could revive Prime, Jetfire says "It was never designed for that purpose, but it is a device like no other" or something like that.

The short answer to "Would the Allspark have worked?" is "I don't know". And I certainly don't know if Sam would have known if it would have. Sam's
experience with the Allspark shard in ROTF was not a good one.

Good points. And I can't for the life of me remember what happened to that piece of Allspark that was used to awaken Jetfire. Where did it end up?

Jetfire absorbed it. That's what the Allspark appeared to do in TRANSFORMERS and ROTF. Merge with things it was powering up or...killing.

And Jetfire wasn't dead, people. He was hibernating. Bringing someone out of a nap, or coma, and bringing them back from being stone cold dead are different.

2. Why is it called the "Matrix of Leadership"? It's a key that helps unlock energy. What's "leadership" about it? In the cartoon, it was passed down and converted a bot to a Prime. Again, here, it is just a key. Where is the leadership involved?

I'm still not sure why it's called that in the comics and the cartoons, because it's much more than just that. See the "Matrix" thread here for details.

I look at the Matrix of Leadership in ROTF as a sort of religious artifact. You'd have to have some sort of leadership qualities to wield it properly. That's all I can figure.

3. If the Matrix of Leadership needs to be earned, why is the Fallen able to use it with no problem? He obviously never earned it, yet he can use it?

I have no idea how the Matrix of Leadership works, or when it dissolves, or how many times, etc, but it may only have dissolved because Sam is not a Transformer, or a Prime. The Fallen is a Prime, and always had been. I don't know if the Matrix is smart enough to discern between them, or if it just powered up for good once Sam was deemed "worthy".

[FlawlessVictory]

Originally Posted by Tumbler Prime

No, i meant that Sam thought resurrecting a Decepticon Blackbird would be wiser than resurrecting the Prime that saved his life.

Hehehe, got ya.

Originally Posted by The Guard

The short answer to "Would the Allspark have worked?" is "I don't know". And I certainly don't know if Sam would have known if it would have. Sam's experience with the Allspark shard in ROTF was not a good one.

True, which like with some examples that SciFi Warlock listed could have led to possible reluctance to use it on OP even if the idea did happen to pop in his head.

Jetfire absorbed it. That's what the Allspark appeared to do in TRANSFORMERS and ROTF. Merge with things it was powering up or...killing.

Ah! Ok.

I look at the Matrix of Leadership in ROTF as a sort of religious artifact. You'd have to have some sort of leadership qualities to wield it properly. That's all I can figure.

Yea, that's probably the best explaination to use.

I have no idea how the Matrix of Leadership works, or when it dissolves, or how many times, etc, but it may only have dissolved because Sam is not a Transformer, or a Prime. The Fallen is a Prime, and always had been. I don't know if the Matrix is smart enough to discern between them, or if it just powered up for good once Sam was deemed "worthy".

Thinking about it now, must be since the Fallen is a Prime, he could always have the ability to wield the MoL regardless of how evil his intention was. His Prime status allows him that ability and perhaps because he did actually earn it at one time. Otherwise, why would the other Primes sacrifice themselves and the MoL if the MoL would disintegrate in the Fallen's hands if he got his hands on it. They knew regardless if the Fallen was unworthy now, that if he got his hands on the MoL that he would still be able to use it, so they had to sacrifice themselves along with the MoL to stop him.

I wonder though, instead of the Primes having to sacrifice themselves and the MoL, and thus possibly ending the Transformer race as they knew it, why couldn't the Primes just team up and take out the Fallen? Maybe these Primes didn't believe in any kind of violence?

[Ipodman]

Who voiced Arcee? And which other Arcee did she voice?

[FlawlessVictory]

^According to Wiki, Grey DeLisle voiced Arcee.

[Silent_Dave]

Originally Posted by Ipodman

Who voiced Arcee? And which other Arcee did she voice?

Originally it was going to be Susan Blu, the original voice for Arcee, who voiced her in ROTF, but apparrantly it's Grey DeLisle now, and in the movie it sounds like Grey DeLisle.