Aggressive depigmentation

Aggressive depigmentation refers to the loss of colour that occurs in the living metal of a Cybertronian after suffering traumatic damage or losing one's spark. When this happens, the natural colour of a Transformer will fade, leaving the body various shades of grey.

Fiction

Generation 1 continuity family

Generation 1 cartoon continuity

The Transformers cartoon

When taking a shot directly through his chest from Scavenger, Prowl's mouth erupted in a fiery plume of smoke, and his body turned grey before hitting the floor of the shuttle. After he succumbed to his wounds sustained during the Battle of Autobot City, Optimus Prime's body turned black and grey. When Galvatron killed Starscream for his treachery, the Air Commander's entire body turned black, then crumbled to ashes. The Transformers: The Movie

Japanese cartoon continuity

The Headmasters cartoon

After perishing from a mutual kill, Soundwave and Blaster's bodies both decolourized. What was left of Soundwave's exploded remains turned white, while Blaster turned the bog-standard grey. The Mystery of Planet Master

When he died again, this time sacrificing himself to reset Vector Sigma, Optimus' body turned grey in Rodimus's arms. Birth of the Fantastic Double Prime

Victory cartoon

In the final fight between Victory Leo and Liokaiser in front of Deathsaurus' Planet-Destroying Fortress, the Decepticon combiner was blasted into the fortress's main cannon, which drained him of all his energy, turning it grey and sending it flying off into the depths of space. Showdown! The Fortress vs the Victory Unification

Dreamwave Generation One continuity

When Grimlock took several shots for Ultra Magnus, his corpse began to desaturate within seconds of his death. The Age of Wrath

After being shot in the back by Shockwave, Ultra Magnus died in Optimus's arms, the colour immediately fading from his body, only for it to return when Magnus sprang back to life a few minutes later. Countdown to Extinction

Dreamwave Armada comic

An Optimus Prime from a doomed Cybertron was sent to another universe by Unicron as a perverse calling card. When found and brought to Autobase Earth, his colours had faded almost entirely before he died. Worlds Collide, Part 1 of 4

2005 IDW continuity

50 Shades of Thunderclash

Aggressive depigmentation set in almost instantly after a spark expired. Rage, Rage Sardines While not all Cybertronians displayed the condition upon death, The Gloaming those that experienced magic's necrotic symptoms fell victim to aggressive depigmentation in moments. Ghost in the Machine Schismatic In certain cases of fatal damage, Cybertronians could display aggressive depigmentation before their spark expired. The Frail Gaze In some cases, the recently deceased only experienced a desaturation of their colours, rather than turning grey. Heavy The Return of the King

During World War II, Centurion slew "Shockwave", the latter's corpse turning grey upon his demise. Strange Visitors

After the initial Expansion, Nemesis Prime's body turned grey upon his essence returning to the Dead Universe. Black Planet Topspin's body underwent aggressive depigmentation after he voluntarily sacrificed his spark to unlock Aequitas. Last Stand of the Wreckers #4

A NAIL protester who transformed himself to death demonstrated both aggressive depigmentation and rigor morphis. How to Say Goodbye and Mean It When fatally wounded by an infestation of personality ticks, a dying Thunderclash was drained of colour and also succumbed to rigor morphis until the ticks were defeated, restoring his health and palette. The Frail Gaze

After an accident had resulted in the Lost Light quantum duplicating itself, the Rodimus of one of the ships lost his life when he defeated the sparkeater, his body turning dark grey upon his demise. The Road Not Taken

When Ravage was killed in a fight between Shockwave and Soundwave, the colour immediately began to fade from his corpse, only to restore itself when the properties of Ore-14 they were surrounded by brought him back to life. Soundwaves

Skids's body lost its colours upon his demise. Rage, Rage

While travelling back to the Lost Light aboard Skip, Ratchet inexplicably succumbed to aggressive depigmentation despite being alive. Sardines It was later revealed however that, as part of their master plan, the Omega Guardians were slowly teleporting Ratchet to make it seem as though he was dying. The Unremembering

Upon being exposed to the corrosive effects of Prysmosian magic, Centurion Ghost in the Machine and Kup depigmented after death, while Breakdown's arm experienced similar effects immediately after coming into contact with magical energy. Schismatic Wheeljack's analysis of magic however allowed him to devise a counter-frequency that returned Breakdown's arm to normal. Temporarily at least. Desperate Measures

After being at ground zero in an explosion, Alpha Trion perished, his corpse succumbing to aggressive depigmentation. Another Mine

When Scorponok had been slain by the Grand Architect, Farsickness his corpse experienced a notable, though not total, desaturation of its colours. The Return of the King

In a confrontation between the Colonist Soldiers and G.I. Joe, Gimlet thoughtlessly crushed Mainframe's VAMP, killing the operator. In an equally thoughtless response, Slug cleaved the Eukarian in half, his corpse instantly turning grey. Time Will Rust

Beast Wars: Uprising

When he was shot dead by the otherdimensional cyborg Vamp, Overshoot's body quickly turned grey. Cultural Appropriation

On the final day of the Buzzclaw Memorial Games, Preditron noted fellow unwilling combatant Torque, who was suffering from an unknown ailment, was already beginning to show signs of colour-fade before he was even dead. Safe Spaces

2019 IDW continuity

The Titans who had gone immersant to makeup the Cybertronian Mountains were all various shades of grey. The World In Your Eyes Part One Awakenings We Are Not Meant To Be Darkness

He was such a colourful fellow...

When Rubble discovered Brainstorm's corpse, the scientist's body had visibly desaturated. The World In Your Eyes Part One When Rubble passed not long afterwards, his own body lost its colours. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part One

Sentinel Prime's body began to quickly desaturate when he died, Prime later losing all of its colours when he was laid to rest. Awakenings

Several desaturated Cybertronian body parts were visible when Ultra Magnus discovered a splice-thief den on Kworia. When Magnus later found a still living Cybertronian in the process of being vivisected, the unfortunate mechanoid's body had already turned grey. Storm Horizon Part 1

When Circuit died, his body instantly lost all of its colours. Tread & Circuits Part 4

Transformers vs. The Terminator

Following the Decepticons reactivating in 1984, they turned their weapons against the stasis-locked Autobots in the Ark, executing them. When the T-800 and Sarah Connor arrived, the bodies of several Autobots had turned grey. Enemy of My Enemy Part Two

War for Cybertron Trilogy cartoon

When in the Dead Universe, Optimus Prime was shown a potential future by Sky Lynx where he had died, Prime's corpse being a solid grey. Earthrise episode 5

2021 Beast Wars comic

When Terrorsaur killed Razorbeast, a furious Skold avenged her friend by ripping out the flyer's spark, his corpse quickly turning monochrome. Maximals Strike Back, Part 2

When Megatron later slew Polar Claw, the polar bear's body notably desaturated. Children of the Vok

Transformers: Animated cartoon

Yoketron's body turned grey when he was slain by his treacherous pupil Lockdown. Prowl attempted to revive him by placing Yoketron's spark in a blank protoform, but the ancient Autobot refused to sacrifice an unborn life to save himself, and died permanently, his new body turning grey instantly. Five Servos of Doom

Optimus's body turned grey when he temporarily died (for a grand total of seventy-five seconds). Transform and Roll Out

Starscream's body did not turn grey when he was first killed by Megatron, Megatron Rising - Part 2 or in any of his subsequent deaths, Mission Accomplished until his absolutely final death, when the AllSpark fragment keeping him alive was removed from his head. Endgame, Part II

When he sacrificed himself to restore the AllSpark, Prowl's body went grey. Endgame, Part II

Cyberverse cartoon

When Starscream merged with the AllSpark, his first act was to drain the sparks of his Seeker loyalists, their bodies quickly turning grey. I Am The Allspark

By the time of Tarn's power play, Iaconus' corpse had turned grey. The Perfect Decepticon

IDW Shattered Glass continuity

The bodies of several Senators turned grey during Ultra Magnus' attack on the Senate. Shattered Glass II #1

One film

When Orion Pax fell down a chasm after being shot by D-16, his dying body turned grey. His fall went all the way down to the Core of Cybertron. The spirits of the Thirteen met Orion as Alpha Trion told him that his noble sacrifice has made Primus deem him worthy of the Matrix of Leadership. Orion was rebuilt, revived, and returned to Iacon City as Optimus Prime.

When Megatron tore Sentinel Prime in half, his body turned grey as he died. He was not revived. Transformers One

Toys

Masterpiece

• Convoy Sleep Mode (2010)
  • ID number: MP-4S
  • Accessories: Trailer/Combat Deck, ion Blaster, Autobot Matrix of Leadership, gun mode Megatron, Megatron's scope, stock and silencer, energon-axe

Released by TakaraTomy as part of their Welcome to Transformers 2010 anniversary line honoring the "future era" of the original cartoon (which was set in 2010 in Japanese continuity, you see!), this exceptionally morbid re-release of the Masterpiece Convoy figure recolours the Autobot leader in blacks and greys very low-saturated reds and blues, representing his dead body from The Transformers: The Movie—but don't worry, kids, it's actually a "sleep mode", according to the figure's name! Limited to 2010 pieces in Japan (see what they did there?), it comes with all its customary accessories, including the Perfect Edition trailer, redecoed where appropriate: the trailer itself has become translucent, its energon-axe is now transparent grey, and Megatron, in another movie homage, is rendered in translucent purple, evoking the scene depicting his transformation into Galvatron. The figure was also released in other parts of Asia as a limited edition of 2010 as well, combined with the Japanese edition for 4020 total. The Japanese version denotes "Serial Number in Japan: ####/2010" on its bio card with the number out of 2010, while the Asian version denotes "C1 - ####/2010" with the number out of 2010 on its bio card.

This version of Convoy depicts Hot Rod and Ultra Magnus on its communicators.

War for Cybertron: Earthrise

• Alternate Universe Optimus Prime (Leader Class, 2020)
  • TakaraTomy ID number: ER EX-17
  • TakaraTomy release date: February 20, 2021
  • Accessories: Ion Blaster, shield/ramp, trailer/Combat Deck, artillery robot, Matrix of Leadership

"Alternate Universe Optimus Prime" is a greyscaled redeco of War for Cybertron: Earthrise Optimus Prime with a new head that evokes the battle damage and his death in The Transformers: The Movie. The Matrix of Leadership is the same as the mass retail Leader, though the Ion Blaster is painted completely silver and his rear calves are painted. Another change is the number of lugnuts on the wheels of the trailer. The normal retail version has 10 lug nuts per wheel, whilst this release has none. He is packaged in a Selects-styled box that depicts Ultra Magnus, Hot Rod, and Arcee grieving during his death scene reflected on a window of his damaged truck mode.

There are reported issues where the left chest piece is unable to tab in fully due to a deformed pin, leaving a small uneven gap visible in robot mode.

This is the only Earthrise toy to lack an ID number and map piece and isn't part of the Galactic Odyssey Collection. Coincidentally, Hasbro ID number WFC-E28 is never used in the toyline within its range of E1 to E41, lending to the possibility that WFC-E28 was intended to be his.

Alternate Universe Optimus Prime was supposed to release as an exclusive for Amazon Prime Day 2020, though the day was pushed back several months, making the toy release much earlier. The figure first saw release in some Malaysian hobby shops before it was fully revealed on Hasbro's June 26 Fan First Friday stream. The figure was later released in Japan as a TakaraTomy Mall exclusive as part of the 7th wave of TakaraTomy Selects toys.

Merchandise

The Loyal Subjects

• 8" Dead Optimus Prime (2013)

Collect them all! This character article is a stub and is missing information on their toys & merchandise. You can help Transformers Wiki by expanding it.

Super Cyborg

• Optimus Prime (Dead) (2018)
  • Accessories: Ion blaster, torso plate

This dark grey version was exclusive to New York Comic Con 2018.

ReAction

• Fallen Leader Optimus Prime (2021)
  • Accessories: Ion Blaster

Released in the fourth wave of ReAction, this all-grey version of Optimus features a new torso tooling with open chest panels revealing a (non-removable) Matrix of Leadership.

This is the first of three different figures of the same concept to be sold under the name "Fallen Leader Optimus Prime"; the other two (below) are Target exclusives.

This figure was initially solicited to retailers as "Dead Optimus Prime" before the slightly gentler name change... but "Dead Optimus Prime" is still what the figure is labeled on the cardback checklist as of wave 6.

• Fallen Leader Optimus Prime (2022)
  • Accessories: Ion Blaster

This Target-exclusive version of the "Fallen Leader" concept is just the normal Optimus figure with the closed-up chest done in the greys of the initial "Fallen Leader" figure. Exciting! And clearance fodder!

This figure was released alongside the "Chrome Commander Megatron" figure.

ULTIMATES!

• Optimus Prime (Fallen Leader) (2023)
  • Accessories: 2 fists, 2 open hands, 2 Matrix-grip hands, trigger-grip right hand, Matrix of Leadership, ion blaster

This retool and redeco of ULTIMATES! Optimus Prime is the latest of several representations of his dead body from "The Transformers: The Movie," now with a greyscale paint scheme, a heavily damaged left torso section, and cracks all over him (and on his rifle too for good measure). They also seem to have improved the elbow articulation.

Preorders opened in June 2022, with the expectation that of figures shipping the following May. As of September 2023, BigBadToyStore says that it is estimated to arrive February 2024.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

• King Starscream (Fallen) (2023)
  • Accessories: 2 arm cannons, smirking alternate head, disintegrating alternate head, closed fists (L & R), gripping hands (L & R), "expressive" hands (L & R), crown

In a change from the sizable squadron of "Coronation" Starscreams offered over the years, "King Starscream (Fallen)" represents the character as he looks when killed by Galvatron. His body is grey and cracked, his cape torn, one set of hands meant to powerlessly grasp at the air, and one of his alternate heads is screaming and partially crumbled.

Preorders were open until January 13, 2023, with the toys purportedly shipping the following Fall.

This item is currently scheduled for release, but is not yet available at mass retail.

Trivia

• Aggressive depigmentation is, of course, a fancy name for the long tradition of Transformers turning grey upon death, with the term first being given in the 2018 comic issue Transformers: Lost Light #13.