There have been dozens of Autobots and Decepticons seen in live-action in The Transformers franchise — however, not all of them manage to survive, and there have been many Decepticons and Autobots alike that have died. Starting in 2007 with Michael Bay’s Transformers, the live-action movies based on the popular animated series and toy line have brought many characters from both to the big screen, including fan-favorites like Optimus Prime, Megatron, Bumblebee, and Starscream.
While many Autobots appear in multiple Transformers movies, the franchise has killed many of them off. The live-action Transformers timeline is full of dead Autobots, partly because this ups the cinematic stakes, but also because the deaths of talking robots are far less likely to require the movie getting a higher age rating than if their human counterparts suffered the same fates. Looking at every Transformer that died in the movies creates a list of some of the most popular Autobots, with several fan-favorites from other mediums not lasting that long after they made their live-action debut.
Cliffjumper is an Autobot that only appeared in 2018’s Bumblebee. While audiences don’t spend enough time with him to get attached, his brutal early death sets the tone for the movie and shows that the Decepticons are as formidable as ever. A refugee from Cyberton along with fellow Autobots Ratchet, Wheeljack, Arcee, Brawn, and Ironhide, Cliffjumper never made it to Earth, as his pod crash-landed on one of Saturn’s moons instead.
After fleeing Cybertron, Cliffjumper is captured and tortured by the Decepticons Shatter and Dropkick, two new villains. He refuses to give up Optimus Prime’s location resulting in the pair cutting him in half down the center. It is a violent kill to start the prequel but he goes out a loyal soldier. While he wasn’t one of the most prominent Autbots in the franchise, he did suffer one of the most brutal deaths.
The live-action Transformers franchise wasted no time in killing off beloved Autobot characters. Jazz was one of Optimus Prime’s closest allies and a source of light-hearted relief compared to the more serious Transformers in the Autobots. Jazz takes the form of a Pontiac Solstice and is something of a motor mouth, cracking jokes and never letting himself get down.
At the end of the first movie, he makes an important gesture to the Transformers human characters by staying behind to fight Megatron and delay him, so that Sam Witwicky and the rest of the Autobot’s human allies can escape. Jazz fearlessly taunts the Decepticon leader until the very end of his life, and gets a few punches in as well, before the much stronger Transformer splits him in two. Jazz is the only Autobot to die in the first film, and he is honored with a military burial.
Easily one of the most surprising Autobot deaths in Transformers was in 2009’s sequel to the 2007 original — this was, of course, the moment Optimus Prime died fighting Megatron in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. There was no guarantee that Transformers would end up being a seven-movie franchise when Revenge of the Fallen was released, so when Optimus Prime is killed by Megatron halfway through the film, audiences were appropriately shocked.
Being one of the most powerful Transformers, it takes multiple Decepticons and a powered-up Megatron to finally end Optimus, and the fight at the end of the film becomes all the more dire without his leadership. Of course, the death of Optimus Prime wasn’t permanent, and returned to the franchise pretty quickly, but this didn’t make his death any less impactful. As the leader of the Autobots and a staple of Transformers in any medium, Optimus Prime felt like a safe character when it came to on-screen deaths, though Revenge of the Fallen proved this wasn’t the case.
The Arcee Sisters — Arcee, Elita-1, and Chromia — are a trio of field commander female Transformers who transform into sports bikes when not fighting on one wheel. They work for N.E.S.T. and the US Government but disobey the politicians when the rest of N.E.S.T. decides to go to Egypt to fight the Fallen. While not the most prominent in the storyline of Revenge of the Fallen, they were among the most visually unique Autobots.
While they were certainly memorable in their appearance, the Arcee sisters didn’t last long in the live-action Transformers movies. Arcee and Elita-1 die protecting Sam Witwicky and Mikaela Banes, and Chromia is not heard from again. They are dutiful Autobots who are particularly compassionate for the humans of Earth, so their deaths, while sad, save Sam and allow him to resurrect Optimus.
Among the most memorable Transformers introduced in Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was the aged Jetfire. Jetfire was once a Decepticon himself, serving the Fallen until he defected after seeing the carnage the Fallen was going to cause. Sam Witwicky resurrects Jetfire and convinces him to join the Autobot cause. He is an old and grumpy Transformer trying to make up for his wrongs from the past.
Jetfire wants nothing more than to make amends for once being a Decepticon, and he eventually does by giving his own life for the Autobot cause. He kills two Decepticons in the battle in Egypt and then heroically sacrifices his parts so that Optimus can gain his strength back. It is one of the few times in the franchise that a Decepticon proves they care more about something other than themselves.
After several Autobots were killed in 2009’s Revenge of the Fallen, fans of the franchise went into the third movie, 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon, knowing that there’d likely be more Autobot deaths. One of the fan favorites who lasted from the original film to Transformers: Dark of the Moon, Ironhide is the Autobots’ weapons specialist. He was Optimus Prime’s number two and an excellent second-in-command who was willing to stand up to his leader.
Even though he may have always been willing to fight faster than Optimus, Ironhide still devoted himself to saving humanity and the Autobots. It takes a complete act of betrayal for Ironhide to let his guard down low enough to be killed. When Sentinel Prime turns on him, it was a complete shock seeing one of the original Transformers quickly turn to rust, asking “Why?” as his final words.
One of the most emotional Autobot deaths in Transformers: Dark Of The Moon was Wheeljack, who’s passing was all the harder due to how close he was to Bumblebee. Also known as “Que,” Wheeljack is a scientist Autobot capable of making any type of weaponry for his fellow Transformers. Right before the Battle of Chicago, Wheeljack, Bumblebee, and a few other Autobots are captured by the Decepticons, and Wheeljack is executed.
Wheeljack’s death was particularly hard for viewers because he pleaded for mercy before he was killed by the Decepticons. It’s hard to humanize the robotic Cybertronian’s and make them emotionally relatable in the live-action Transformers movies, but the moment Wheeljack showed that he wasn’t read to die definitely managed to. It is a very affecting death, as the scientist tries to talk the Decepticons out of killing him, calling everyone “good chaps” who can work it out. But he is unceremoniously shot as Bumblebee watches in grief.
While Sentinel Prime was an antagonist in Dark of the Moon, he also wasn’t a Decepticon, so he still counts among the dead Autobots in the live-action Transformers movies. While Sentinel Prime turns traitor in Dark of the Moon, he is one of the few non-Decepticon villains of the Transformers franchise. Sentinel betrays the Autobots, even killing Ironhide personally. He is a strong-willed leader who is willing to enslave the Earth to revive Cybertron.
His duplicity instantly made him a hate-worthy character, particularly because it seemed Optimus Prime looked up to him. What’s more, as a Prime, Sentinel Prime is supposed to be one of the wisest beings among all Transformers, so his fall from grace and betrayal becomes especially loathsome. With this in mind, when Optimus Prime executes Sentinel Prime with a shotgun, it’s the only cheerworthy death for an Autobot.
Ratchet is one of the few Autobots to make it to four films, having been first introduced in 2007’s Transformers and remaining a member of the team until 2014’s Age of Extinction. His death comes early in Transformers: Age of Extinction and is one of the saddest in the franchise as the medic Autobot dies confused and alone. He’s also one of the few Autobots to be killed by humans rather than by the Decepticons alone, which makes his death all the more tragic.
Forced into hiding, Ratchet is attacked by a group of soldiers he thinks are friendly, only to realize too late they are there to kill him. It is a dark and somber end for the elderly Autobot, but he dies with his head held high when he refuses to give up Optimus Prime’s location to one of the scariest characters in Transformers, Lockdown.