(The following is a nonprofit work of fanfiction and is outside of the original canon. All names, characters, businesses, places, events, and/or incidents of any kind depicted within this story are being used for entertainment purposes only.)

(The Loud House and all related characters were created by Chris Savino and all rights belong to Nickelodeon.)

- Chapter Twenty-One -

More Than Meets the Eye!

Saturday, July 25th...

One of the best things about growing up in the 80's was watching your favorite Saturday morning cartoons. And boy howdy, did I have quite the list. Many of them ranged from simple childish fun like Pee-wee's Playhouse and Galaxy High, to action and adventure-centered goodness like Dungeons & Dragons, SilverHawks, and ThunderCats. Other times, it was good old-fashioned superhero stuff such as Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends and The Incredible Hulk. However, out of all the cartoons back in the day, there was one other show that stuck with me the most and would continue to stand the tests of time thirty years onward.

A little show which had proven many times over that there was more to it than meets the eye.

I am, of course, talking about this one series known simply and famously as The Transformers. It was good old 80's science fiction action, and I couldn't get enough of it. And the episodes I saw that Saturday morning were no different. I sat in the living room like always, scarfing down a huge bowl full of Mr. T cereal in my hands and watching as Optimus Prime and the heroic Autobots wage their battle to destroy the evil forces of the Decepticons, like they would always do.

If you actually thought He-Man and the Masters of the Universe was my number one favorite of all time, you would only be half right, to tell you the truth. Aside from that splendor of awesomeness, The Transformers was unlike anything I had ever seen before, and the idea alone was completely unheard of at the time; giant alien robots from outer space that have the ability to actually "transform" into cars and other types of vehicles, exactly as the title of the series strongly implied.

The one I'm referring to specifically was the TV series based on the original Generation One toyline, or just G1 for short, which came out a while back in 1984. I still remember to this day seeing the television promo for the cartoon for the very first time when I was about nine years old. It happened one day when my sisters and I were just lounging about in the living room, straight up bored out of our minds, trying to find a decently entertaining program to watch on TV.

Of course, this was three years before Lily was born, and Lisa was only two, so it pretty much boiled down to the nine of us until then. After two painstakingly boring minutes of surfing through the old Zenith, we stopped at one channel and waited for whatever was playing to be good. And that was when the promo suddenly appeared on the screen. From the moment I laid my eyes on it, I felt myself being pulled in very quickly. I couldn't believe what I was seeing with my own two eyes. The music, the bright neon lights, the Autobot and Decepticon emblems flying through the screen, and the deep voice of the announcer.

"It's the most incredible robot story ever told; The Transformers!" the voice dramatically proclaimed as they played the show's iconic theme song. The rest of the promo was followed by jet planes and cars actually transforming before my very impressionable nine-year-old eyes into their robot selves, firing laser blasters and missiles at each other. "The Transformers, now a three-day mini-series, unlike anything you've ever seen before! Don't miss it!"

"Coming December seventeenth on KBVO-TV!" the second announcer declared. All it took were those twenty-eight seconds of screen time to make me excited for this new series. My sisters, on the other hand... Well, not so much.

"Looks a lot like something Stinkoln would watch." I remember Lynn remarking with a mocking smile.

Well, she wasn't exactly wrong. And yes, even back then when I was nine, she called me that stupid nickname.

"Looks pretty lame, if you ask me." Lori dismissed, sounding not the least bit impressed.

Well, regardless of what they thought, I for one became immediately hooked. The funny thing was that it had never once occurred to me that the cartoon was created particularly for the sole purpose of selling the toys, just like these companies did with the other cartoons I watched with an insatiable passion. Well, I can safely say it totally worked because after finally watching the show itself, I soon found myself collecting whatever of The Transformers figures I could get my little hands on.

At least the ones which were available at the time, anyway. I always thought it was pretty radical, if not downright tubular, how they could change into a car or a plane almost easily and instantly. I was also very impressed with the way they were designed as well. It was a lot like having a toy robot and a model car all rolled into one figure. They truly didn't just call them "robots in disguise" for nothing, that's for ding dang sure. They really were more than meets the eye, as the iconic phrase goes.

Since after watching the show, The Transformers became one of my favorite franchises, standing closely next to He-Man and G.I. Joe.

Try to imagine my surprise, when around two years later, I would soon learn that they were releasing a full-length animated movie. I nearly squealed like a happy little girl when I first saw the commercial for it. I swear, I thought my brain was going to explode all over the living room from not being able to contain the amount of excitement that quickly built up inside. I begged my mom and dad up and down for weeks if we could go see it on the day it came out.

Finally, they both gave in, and on the eighth of August in 1986, The Transformers: The Movie made its premier in theaters across the country, and we drove through town to the Royal Woods Cinema, even dragging my sisters along with us, much to their annoyance. After having arrived at the cinema and bought each of our tickets, our theater was packed with kids from possibly every corner of town with their parents who appeared like they would rather be somewhere else then be stuck watching a movie based on a kid's cartoon/toyline whose appeal they understood next to nothing about.

Adults tend to forget what it's like to be a happy little kid sometimes. Every single child in that theater, including myself, cheered at the top of our lungs with sheer excitement when we heard the rock and roll version of the show's iconic theme song, this time done by some rock band who called themselves Lion. I swear that I remember seeing Luna shoot her arms up in the air and bang her head to the rhythm of the song.

"I don't know who this band is, but they sure can totally rock!" I remember her also saying.

When the music was over, the movie finally began. And what happened next left me and all the other kids in the theater in quite a shock. We helplessly stared at the giant screen in horror as the Decepticons mercilessly gun down our favorite Autobot characters, characters that we grew to love since the show first aired. It was like we were witnessing a massacre. But nothing—and I mean absolutely NOTHING—in this entire world could have prepared us for the most traumatizing moment much later in the movie that utterly broke the hearts of over thousands of Transformers fans throughout the nation.

The Death of Optimus Prime...

You have no idea just how gut-wrenching this scene was for us 80's kids back in the day. It was like watching the death of a much beloved father-figure, one who embodied leadership, loyalty, kindness, and prevailing over impossible odds. To see such a figure like this, lying on a medical bed fatally wounded. It was just too much. I remained in my seat, feeling my throat tightening pretty quickly, tears threatening to burst out from my eyes. Vince DiCola's ever fabulously orchestrated score did us no favors whatsoever, making the scene ten times worse.

"This can't be happening," I recall muttering under my breath, desperately shaking my head.

"Until the day… 'til all are one…" Optimus groaned what would be his final words, passing on the Matrix of Leadership to Ultra Magnus. And just like that, it was over. Optimus Prime was no more. I bowed my head low, tears finally pouring down my face, sobbing quietly while Mom and Dad gently patted my back to try and comfort me. Heck, even Leni, of all people, was getting equally emotional about it as I was, much to our unexpected surprise. I can still remember about a third of the surrounding kids walking out of the theater with their faces soaking wet with tears, no longer wanting to stay and finish the rest of the movie.

That was, without a single shred of doubt, one of the worst moments of my childhood, and I still wish to this day that I could forget about it. But when you see something like your favorite cartoon character dying after having won against a serious threat, there is just no way to recover from that, and it clings to you for the remainder of your life. Take it from a forty-one-year-old boomer like me; there are some things you cannot get over, no matter how old you become.

You may think it's pretty immature of me to make a pretty huge deal about a beloved cartoon character dying. But for us 80's kids who grew up watching these shows almost on a religious level, it was not to be taken lightly. For me, the death of Optimus Prime was equally as terrible as the assassination of John F. Kennedy or the Chernobyl disaster. Believe me, it was just that serious to us fans. For the rest of the movie, I remained very depressed and stricken with grief.

I was especially happy and satisfied when near the end, Hot Rod, after having become Rodimus Prime, the new leader of the Autobots, finally defeated Megatron—whom at that point had been christened "Galvatron"—thereby avenging Optimus' wrongful death, and then destroyed the evil Unicron, the film's true main villain, thus saving the entire universe from destruction. But regardless, it still didn't change the fact Optimus was now gone, and we wouldn't see him again.

After the movie was over, I remained completely quiet, even as we drove back home. The whole experience left a giant gaping hole in my heart, like somebody had shot a bullet straight into my chest. It also made me extremely unhappy that Hasbro would have the absolute nerve to just do away with one of the greatest animated heroes of all time like that and replace him with some new character we didn't even know about until the movie.

Time and time again, my family tried to tell me it was just a movie, that it was nothing worth getting upset about.

All I did was ignore them, knowing none of them would remotely understand what I was going through. It took precisely one full week for me to get out of my grief-stricken stupor and return to my normal self once again. But despite so, Optimus' death still hurt to think about, even after a year later. Thankfully, it wasn't enough to deter me from continuing to watch the show. I would sometimes glare at the screen whenever Hot Rod, er, Rodimus Prime, appeared, and I would shake my head.

You may be the new leader of the Autobots, pal, I remember thinking bitterly, but not in a million years will you ever replace Optimus. But then, all that pain seemed to have washed away when I saw the TV promo saying that he was returning, and at the very end of season three in a two-part episode, no less. I was beyond overjoyed that I jumped up from the couch and I shouted so loud to the point where I thought everybody in the entire house could hear me.

"OPTIMUS IS BACK!" When I finally got see the two-part episode on that very February, my heart pounded excitedly as well as nervously. And when Part Two came about, when I saw Optimus stand up from that medical bed, I stared wide-eyed beyond belief. They actually brought him back, as if his death never happened in the first place. I cried tears of joy that day, thanking the Good Lord above for answering my prayers.

I can't wait to see what happens next in season four! I thought excitedly, sucking in my bottom lip and feeling my heart pound to no end. That was one of the hardest things about watching your favorite cartoons. Being forced to wait until the next season rolls around that only God Himself knows when. And even now, on that very Saturday morning of July twenty-fifth, with my half-empty bowl of cereal, I still couldn't wait.

A little while later, after having finished my breakfast, I stood up from the couch with no small effort and I made my way over to the kitchen with the intention of refilling my bowl of Mr. T cereal. Distantly, I could hear the sound of a lawnmower going off outside, reminding me that it was Mom's turn to cut the grass. Returning to my task at hand, I practically filled my bowl up the second time and walked back over to the living room couch all the while trying not to spill my breakfast.

I beamed joyously when I saw the title of one of my favorite episodes; S.O.S. Dinobots.

It's the one where the Dinobots made their first ever appearance. To give you a clear idea of whom I'm talking about, imagine three Autobots which could transform into mechanical dinosaurs. Yep, you heard me correctly. I said dinosaurs. First there was Grimlock, who turned into a Tyrannosaurus rex. The second was named Slag, who could transform into a Triceratops. And then thirdly, there was Sludge, who turned into a Brontosaurus. It was the best of two things kids adored: giant robots and giant lizards. A combination I don't think anybody's ever seen before.

Hasbro must have done something right, because when the toys for the Dinobots came out, I remember them being sold out rather quickly within less than one week at the nearest toy store here in town. It took me quite a short while, but I managed in the end to get a hold of all three figures to go with my collection. It was always so fun to imitate their voices, especially Grimlock, the self-imposed leader of the Dinobots. But it's also because the T. rex happened to be my favorite dinosaur.

"Me Grimlock pity fool who don't eat Mr. T cereal!" I exclaimed in a fake deep voice, shoving a spoonful into my mouth. No sooner had I said that the front door swung gracefully open, and my mother walked inside of the living room, sweating profusely in no small part to the summer heat outside and smelling completely like recently cut grass almost as if she was wearing some type of brand-new women's perfume that she bought over at JCPenney.

"Morning, Mom." I greeted casually. She smiled tiredly at me, both her arms drooping from her shoulders, and then she disappeared into the dining room over to the kitchen to make herself an ice-cold glass of water.

"Lincoln, could you take out the trash really quick?" she called me.

I sighed in mild irritation. Right after the TV screen cut to a commercial break, I decided to get this little chore Mom oh-so lovingly placed upon me quickly done and over with. Setting my cereal bowl down on the coffee table and stood back up and raised my arms up in the air above my head, stretching the muscles out to their full capacity. I then walked back over to the kitchen where Mom was waiting for me with a fresh bag full of garbage all tied up and ready to go.

Thankfully, it was not that heavy of a load this time, and I swung the bag over my shoulder with relative ease, and I made my way outside to the front yard and stuffed it inside the tin trash can. With this little chore over, I dusted my hands and walked my scrawny butt back to the living room couch and carefully picked up my cereal bowl—and just in time as well.

"We now return to The Transformers!" the deep dramatic voice proclaimed while Starscream flew around the TV screen.

Sometime later, after the episode had run its respective course, and after finishing up my second helping of Mr. T cereal, I once again returned to the kitchen for the third time and soaked my empty bowl up over the sink until it was nice and clean. I then noticed that Mom was no longer around, as if she had suddenly disappeared. Strange. I would have noticed her walk back to the living room or maybe hear the backdoor open and close. Then again, I was so engrossed with watching my show that I barely even noticed anything else around me. I scrunched my shoulders together into a simple shrug.

She must have gone upstairs to take a shower or something, I thought. Mowing the lawn is definitely not an easy task to do. Especially during a hot summer day like this. I looked down at my wristwatch and saw that it was now close to ten-thirty. And thus, my Saturday morning time had drawn to a close until next week, that is. Decidedly, I walked back out to the living room, intending to go upstairs to plan out my next activity for later this summer. But just before I could even land a foot on the first step of the stairs, I heard a very familiar tune play on the TV.

Excitedly, I whipped my gaze around to look straight at the screen of our Zenith once again—only to frown unhappily when I saw that it was for another new line of Transformers toys, the ones who were branded as "Headmasters" and "Targetmasters". At that point, I truly believed Hasbro was quickly running out of ideas, even after having brought Optimus back to life. And besides, no matter how many new characters with silly gimmicks they come up with and pump out, they would never have the same nostalgic impact as the original series did.

Turning away, I headed straight up the stairs and made it to the sanctity of my bedroom in search of whatever plans I had left for summer...

Here's a little historical fact for you; after seeing the Death of Optimus Prime, young kids at the time actually did walk out of theaters crying, not even bothering to stay and finish the rest of the movie. Heck, they even went so far as to lock themselves in their bedrooms and wouldn't come out for about a week or two. It really was THAT traumatizing, believe me. It got to the point where parents sent angry letters to Hasbro, the company who did the toys.

You might be wondering, "Why would they kill him off like that?" Well, it's because Hasbro was discontinuing their original toyline from 1984, with Optimus being part of that same line, so they could market and introduce new figures for the franchise. Sadly, they didn't know just how beloved of a character Optimus actually was for American kids who grew up watching the cartoon. And it nipped Hasbro right in the tender part of their butts.

And so, they decided to try and remedy this terrible mistake and bring him back at the very end of season three.

But despite him being revived and making a lot of kids in the 80's extremely happy, Optimus' death in the movie still had a pretty strong impact. To this very day in 2024, those same 80's kids, who are now grown adults, would still cry whenever they think about or re-watch it. Heck, even I get pretty choked up at times, and I didn't even grow up in the 80's, though I desperately wish I did. But don't just take all of my word for it, though.

I encourage you, the readers, to find out for yourselves and look it up on Google or YouTube.

Anyhow, sorry if nothing crazy or eventful happens in this chapter. It was pretty much nothing but nostalgic reminiscing and a bit filler-ish. Still, I think it turned out pretty well in the end.

And with that, don't forget to post your reviews down below and tell me what you all thought.

Have a good final day of summer vacation, and I'll see you later in the next chapter.

Peace! ;)