I'm gonna do so much D-16 appreciation on here you guys have NO idea.
Transformers One is definitely one of my absolute favourite pieces of Transformers media and definitely my favourite Transformers movie. This is no small feat as there are at least 40 different movies, TV Shows and video games. That is without counting the several different comic series, some of which are very good and have arguably some of the franchise's best stories and writing.
Well, that's for several other posts down the line, today I'm here to discuss D-16 from TFOne. He goes through such an interesting character arc. When we first see him, he is an incredibly dutiful and hardworking bot who is the voice of reason, especially with his best friend Orion Pax.
Much of what I'm going to say today is not going to seem a lot like appreciation. I want to start out with a proper examination of D-16 as a character. I wouldn't write this much about a character unless I really liked them or downright loathed them. In this case it is the former but I'm sure that I'll eventually be angry about something on here.
SPOILERS FOR TRANSFORMERS ONE
Basic plot explanation for TFOne:
Uh whoops. Turns out it wasn't very easy to do a basic explanation and I just made a summary of the entire movie. (if you know me this is very unsurprising)
If you have watched it and/or just want to see me gush about D-16 then go to "Any and all hope" for my thoughts on the ending and to "Needless to say I love this guy so much!" for the rest.
Orion Pax and D-16 are cogless (without a transformation cog, so just a humanoid robot all of the time) miners in the city of Iacon on the planet Cybertron, where all Transformers live and come from. They toil day in and day out to keep Cybertron's population alive, because the natural flow of energon (the Transformers' source of food and energy) no longer flows.
The mythology is basically that a sort of robot god called Primus transformed into the planet Cybertron and created the first Transformers known as the "Primes" (very powerful and important Transformers) who died in a battle against the Quintessons, the arch enemies of all Cybertronians.
One of these Primes had the Matrix of Leadership which, well, it's hard to explain simply but it contains all knowledge of previous Primes (and in some continuities, the wisdom of every single deceased Transformer) and is only bestowed upon Cybetronians who are deemed worthy enough. The Matrix also causes Energon to flow on Cybertron. Before the Matrix was lost, mining for energon was not necesarry.
According to Sentinel Prime, the only Prime who survived the Quintesson attack, the Matrix has dissappeared and so he regularly goes on quests to find it... Well at least that's the official explanation. Orion Pax often sneaks into the archives to try and find clues which could help Sentinel find the Matrix. Meanwhile, D-16 is against this and trusts that Sentinel will find it by himself without Orion getting himself into trouble. Here we can sense the signs of D-16's resentment of Orion's antics while also understanding the deep bond they have regardless of their differences in attitude.
They clearly care about and know each other deeply. Orion's ambition both complements and clashes with D-16's insistence on following orders. D-16 usually end up forgiving Orion, and sometimes even begrudgingly goes along with what Orion suggests.
A bunch of things happen and they end up on the surface with two additional bots, Elita-1 and B127, and it is then revealed that Sentinel Prime never was a true prime and that he orchestrated the Quintesson attack. When he tried to take the Matrix for himself, it dissappeared, and so energon stopped flowing. He was not worthy in the eyes of Primus, since he is conniving, manipulating and ultimately unworthy of the Matrix.
This obviously shatters D-16's entire reality. All the energon he and Orion have been toiling in the mines for years upon years to obtain, has been handed over to the Quintesons. Their labor wasn't even helping the citizens of Iacon.
D-16 wishes to return to blissful ignorance. He blames Orion for uprooting the order he has come to appreciate. He merely talks about how Sentinel betrayed HIM with little to no regard of how the others around him may be feeling at the moment. Orion tries to explain to D-16 why they can't just stay ignorant. He tries to confront D-16 but he is having absolutely none of it. He says that Orion only ever thinks about himself, which in part is irritation over Orion's tendency to bend and ignore protocol, but also seems to be projection of some sort. When his anger reaches its boiling point, he realises that he can never return to the simple life as a miner he once had.
They continue arguing. "Don't you want to stop him?"Orion asks, to which D-16 says:
"NO, I want to kill him! I want to put Sentinel in chains and march him through the mines so everyone can see him for the false prime that he is! I want him to suffer and then to die in darkness... But we all know that it doesn't matter what I want, right, Pax? The fact is, we're just cogless bots, right? We had limited options and now, now we have none.
Watch this clip of the scene, it's very well-done in my opinion:
To make matters worse, Alpha Trion (an actual prime who they managed to revive) then reveals that the caste system they have been placed in since birth has been constructed by Sentinel. Under Sentinels rule, miners don't have cogs while other citizens of Iacon do, something which is treated as natural. It turns out that Sentinel took the cogs from them before they went online, so they could never achieve the ability to transform. (presumably to prevent them from rising up against him) Alpha Trion then gives them the transformation cogs from some of the other fallen primes.
D-16 starts going off the deep end. He never gets enough time to process his emotions. He and the others are constantly distracted, after all. The people around him handle the situation poorly, though that is understandable given their immaturities and the awful situation they are in.
Orion, Elita and B127 don't seem to notice D-16's descent into violent extremism until later on where his strengthened determination makes it even harder to make him snap out of it. He becomes hellbent on revenge, regardless of wether or not it will ever help bring justice to Iacon. He does not care as long as he gets to make Sentinel feel even a smidge of the pain and hate he's experienced all of his life. He's clearly been repressing it for a long time.
scene where he talks about not trusting anyone We see how D-16 is almost manically excited by his newfound powers. He is practically high on his new power and can't wait to make Sentinel pay. He has nothing left to loose and so he lets his violent tendencies overtake him.He even challenges Starscream, leader of the renegade Cybertronian High Guard, to a fight and wins. Here we get to see his iconic cannon.
HIS EYES FLASH RED REMEMBERSide note: This is an awesome fight and I love seeing Starscream here, though that's for another post. He is remarkably masochistic in this scene, for whatever reason.
Orion Pax wants to imprison Sentinel and reform Iacon's corrupt systems. D-16 simply wants revenge. All of this violent extremism and hatred culminates in WRITING UNDER CONSTRUCTION, SORRY EVERYONE SHOW'S OVER FOR NOW
Orion phrases it in the worst possible way.
Any and all hope of making D-16 snap out of it dissappears in that moment. The damage has been done.
... D-16 manages to catch him. Orion is hanging over the pit and the only thing tethering him to this world is D-16's hand. "Why! Why did you have to do that. Why!" D-16 yells in despair. Several emotions flash across D-16's face until he settles on one final conclusion. Orion is in the way. Orion thinks he's just as bad as Sentinel. Orion has betrayed him. "D... No..." Orion says with a tone of despair. He knows what is about to happen. D-16 knows what he has to do; He has to let go.
He shuts his golden eyes for one final time as he leaves behind what is left of D-16. As D-16 dies, someone else replaces him. He reopens his eyes. They're completely red, lit by the rage of a million cycles of exploitation.
"I'm done saving you."
He releases his grasp. As Orion plunges to his death, he is met with scornful yet sorrowful eyes. In the ensuing scene, we see Orion's dead body fall deep into Cybertron's beautiful and ever-shifting depths. D-16 turns back around to finish what he started with Sentinel. When Orion's body reaches the core of Cybertron, Primus speaks to him and grants him the Matrix of Leadership. Meanwhile, what used to be D-16 is brutally killing Sentinel, tearing his body apart while he is still alive in front of all of Iacon. Then he pulls Megatronus' stolen cog out of Sentinel's chest and takes it for himself, discarding the core of Onyx Prime, the Prime of foresight. With the cog in his hand, he holds a speech for his onlookers.
"The age of primes has ended! No more false prophets. Follow me, and you will never again be deceived! RISE UP! I will lead us all into the future."
Finally, he places Megatronus cog into his chest. His body reshapes itself yet again. His cannon gets two extra barrels, his helmet becomes even more closed off and his new stature makes him tower over everyone. D-16 is gone and we finally learn what replaced him. He claims his idol's name for himself. Megatron is here to stay. Meanwhile, Orion Pax is ressurected under a new name:
"Rise up, Optimus Prime!
Optimus Prime shoots out of the depths of Cybertron and returns to face is former brother, Megatron.
Megatron feels deeply betrayed. Lines where tears have rolled down his face make it apparent that he's been crying, though he will never admit to it. Megatron has no sympathy for Optimus Prime. If anything, he likely feels that his friend is completely dead, his body repurposed by the Primes for their own goals.
Needless to say, I love this guy so much! I do! He is genuinely a fascinating character and his evolution throughout the story has been expertly crafted. I have literally zero complains. The signs were all laid out from the start and we didn't see them before it was too late! The movie doesn't baby the story at all. D-16 wants to kill Sentinel. Not "eliminate" or "get rid of". No. He even ends up ripping him apart in a scene so brutal it'd be a hard R-rating if this was about humans. We literally see the light leave Sentinel's eyes as his body fades into monochrome shades.
Viewers can still empathise with him despite the darkness inside of him. Maybe even because of it. Wanting to kill off corrupt politicians ruining society and people's lives for their own interests and profit sure as hell is something I've thought about. I'm obviously not gonna do it, but D-16's line of thinking is unsurprising and even understandable. The issue arises when it's about personal revenge instead of doing what is right. When Orion compares D-16 to Sentinel before he is accidentally shot by the cannon, it's a terrible misunderstanding. What Orion means is that being intentionally cruel and vengeful is what Sentinel stood for, and he knows that D-16 will truly loose himself if he goes through with killing Sentinel.
It's isn't about saving Sentinel, it's about saving D-16 from himself.
This harrowing and deeply tragic ending is among the many reasons why I love it so much
And his design! Oh wow I haven't even gotten to that yet! He looks so awesome. The helmet is simple yet it works so well for him. It is somehow extremely versatile when conveying his character development.
Honestly I am having trouble being coherent so I'll just make a list.
- What I love about D-16/Megatron
D-16 deceived himself into believing that killing his best friend was something he simply had to do. That it was the right thing to do. He is so very blinded by his rage that no one can reach him. No one.
D-16 could have been saved. Had there been more time, had they caught the warning signs, then maybe things would not have turned out like this. We will never know.
We will never know BECAUSE THEY WON'T GREENLIGHT A SEQUEL.
Fuck the marketing team! Fuck the industry for being so money hungry that a movie has to make a bajillion dollars to be considered succesful.
It was marketed like a mediocre movie for very small kids, chosen to release at the same as several other movies with one being another animated robot. Hasbro ignored their movie and paid the price.
If Hollywood didn't insist that a movie has to make 3x its budget to be succesful, we'd be in a better world with so much incredible art. Now that practically everyone who has seen it says it's an incredible film, surely there'd be much higher profits the next time around.
But no! Alas! God fucking damn it I get so pissed off when I think about this. Every. SINGLE. Time.
I didn't even get to see it in cinemas because I discovered the Transformers franchise literally a week after the movie stopped being shown in cinemas. YES I AM STILL MAD ABOUT THIS.
So I rant about what I love about the movie instead to keep my head high. That's really all I can do.
Thanks for stopping by.