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iincandcscence-a-blog · 6 years

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Rodimus has clearly obvious tropes that are embedded into his personality, I want to elaborate on a few. Namely, his Chronic Hero Syndrome / Hero Complex / Heroic Self-Deprecation (these all, ironically, go hand-in-hand), his Brilliant, but Lazy attitude (which is also tied into another trope that I wish to elaborate on), his very clear Fatal Flaw(s), what’s Beneath the Mask / his personality as a Jerk With a Heart of Gold, his role as The Atoner (it’s not an extreme level, but it’s there) and how it connects with the trope My Greatest Failure, and last but not least his thought processes: It’s All My Fault / My God, What Have I Done?

Oh, and of course, you have his Father To His Men attitude. Because he’s not always immature when it comes to that but I will go into this last.

(Thank you, TVTropes.)

Now, to put this under a read more because it’s LONG. Like, super long.

Chronic Hero Syndrome is different to Hero Complex, and Hero Complex is different to Heroic Self-Deprecation. What’s kind of sad is that, for Rodimus, they all tie into each other in some way. You might have gathered that this all has something to do with him being a hero. And it is! Just not necessarily in a good way.

The definition of Chronic Hero Syndrome is provided by TVTropes and is as follows:

“Chronic Hero Syndrome is an "affliction" of cleaner heroes where for them, every wrong within earshot must be righted, and everyone in need must be helped, preferably by Our Hero themself.”

This part of Rodimus is... Well, it’s not entirely mild. It shows in the comic in various ways and when Megatron came into play, they decided to go around and help those in need along the way (or, maybe, it pushed Rodimus into doing more and trying to help - whether it was out of pride or finally having a reason to try and one-up Megatron is debatable). Though, because of this trope, it’s more than likely the key reason Rodimus was so easily manipulated by Getaway and, by extension, the mutineers - because his heroism can be so obvious, they could’ve expected that he’d jump on the opportunity to go and investigate a distress signal.

And, in a way, this stems into his Hero Complex. Where Chronic Heroic Syndrome is an extreme, Rodimus more or less fits better into the Hero Complex. Simply put, a Hero Complex is the innate desire to fulfill heroic deeds, for recognition of their heroic deeds.

The extreme is destroying things to then make said things better once again, though with the intention of doing so in the first place. Rodimus does this unintentionally, but that’s not quite the focus. Rodimus wants to make amends for what he’s done (this will be discussed a little later on), but to do so, he has to complete as many heroic deeds for this. However, there is usually always a motive behind their Hero Complex: what would Rodimus’ motive be?

Thanks to this in-depth look into what causes someone to have a Hero Complex, we can gather what motives Rodimus may have and why he has the drive to be everyone’s hero.

“They are approval-seeking and require outward validation. A person who was unable to learn how to approve and validate their inner world will sometimes seek approval and validation from others to the point where they are willing to nearly die for it. Those who have this reason for their hero complex have inner worlds of insecurities abounding, and they need that other person or other people to help them feel like they’re worth something.”

This probably isn’t so obvious, but we do know that Rodimus hates himself (as confirmed by James Roberts) and seeks validation from others. He does reckless things because he knows that, if done right, people will praise him for it. So sure, the whole process of doing it, nobody really thinks that he’s doing this right... But the approval he gets from actually pulling off a dangerous stunt and the validation for being others’ heroes is enough for him.

The best example is at the very start of More Than Meets The Eye. He shoves the sparkeater into the quantum engines as they jumped and promptly saved his crew in doing so. He got the approval and praise from Drift, which was enough for him (clearly, since it didn’t bother him much when Ultra Magnus attempted to scold him for pulling off such a reckless move). Another time that applies this is also pretty early in the comics, where he sacrifices the Matrix - and nearly himself as well - to save all Cold Constructed Cybertronians. While he never got outright approval for such a risky action, and got a rather... Unpleasant reaction from Optimus (granted, he only mentioned that he broke his half of the Matrix), it still plays heavily into this.

Which brings me to the last point: Heroic Self-Deprecation. Just to clarify what this means:

“No matter how much they do for the world or what their loyal friends tell them, they're still incapable of believing that they're anything more than useless. Every little mistake leads to a massive display about how it's all their fault and how they're just not good enough.”

Now, one might think, “oh, Rodimus couldn’t have this, he’s too confident!”, but I beg to differ. If his backstory is anything to go by, he puts the entire world on his shoulders and holds up every little regret like it’s the end of the world if he doesn’t. What he does do well, he doesn’t seem to give himself enough credit for. Perhaps the key turning point for this was after issue 15, specifically, since he seemed to suffer from this more prominently since then...

In Dark Cybertron, the feeling that he’s not good enough is way too clear: this is highlighted in a few different parts, one namely being his conversation with Magnus before he left. When Magnus tells him he’s not a leader, Rodimus responds, “don't tell me that you can't do my job, because you can do my job - probably better than I can”. Now, while this may be true, he’s putting little to no faith in himself; not only that, but he blatantly ignores the obvious compliment that Magnus had given him. That was, I quote, “I haven't got-- whatever it is that you have. That extra something. I haven't got that”. There was something Rodimus had that Magnus didn’t that made him a more capable leader in Magnus’ perspective.

I think the worst part of it is during the rescue mission of Kup. No, really. It hurts me because I love both Rodimus and Optimus / Orion, but the exchange they have when Rodimus tells him about what he did and then how he handled it...

“I messed up. No, but I mean hugely. I smuggled a Decepticon prisoner on board the Lost Light and he escaped, and people died, and then I let my best friend take the blame... And after he left - I haven’t heard from him in ages - the guilt got the better of me and I ‘fessed up. First to Ultra Magnus, then the rest of the crew. I apologized. And after I said sorry, I invoked the Crisis Act.”

“You asked them to vote?”

“All of them, yeah - well, the 190 who were functional at the time. A referendum, really: ‘should I stay as captain? Yes or no.’”

“And here you are. Still captain.”

“Yes, but... Eighty-nine people wanted me gone. That’s why I carved the- y’know, in my hand. See? ‘S like a permanent note to self: ‘you gotta win ‘em back, Rodders.’”

...

“You could’ve resigned.”

“I, er... I what?”

“You should have resigned. You only invoked the Crisis Act because you thought you’d win. If you’d been truly ashamed of your actions, you’d have stepped down.”

“Um... I kinda thought it took more courage to stick it out?”

“Nonsense.”

“Um. Yeah.” ... “I was, um, sort of expecting the standard Optimus pep talk...? Nobody’s perfect, learn from your mistakes, that kind of thing?”

“I’m not here to absolve you of your guilt.”

(Conversation between Rodimus and Optimus. Dark Cybertron, Volume 2.)

While this is reconciled later on in the story (with Rodimus giving Optimus the pep talk; I’m so proud of him), it’s in this moment where there’s no praise. There’s no helping him. Nothing. It’s just Rodimus confessing everything, right from what he did to how he wants to get them back, and he’s actively seeking some comfort from his role model; he said so himself that Optimus is his role model. Sure, not exactly direct, but...

“You know who I always wanted to be, Orion? I’m talking all my life.”

“Yes - Rodimus Prime. And I’m sorry, but that makes you a fool. To actively want to be a Prime after the damage wrought by my predecessors...”

“You’re wrong. I never wanted to be ‘Rodimus Prime.’ Not deep down. Deep down, I always wanted to be you. The real you - not Orion Pax.”

(Part of a conversation between Rodimus and Optimus. Dark Cybertron, Volume 2.)

(And then, when the conversation ended and Rodimus was shot in the chassis by Nova, Optimus went into full dad mode. Because nobody shoots his son after he gives the pep talk and gets away with it. Looking at you, Nova Prime. I hope you feel many regrets.)

I feel like all of this, all of this right here, connects with his Heroic Self-Deprecation. He knows what he did, he knows that somehow, he has to win them all back, but at the same time... He wants to be like Optimus. He wants to have those same qualities that Optimus has and he knows that it’s impossible for him to have it, because he’s even scared to live by the decency, and the integrity, and the morality. But that’s not the point.

The point is, Rodimus thinks little of himself. He thinks so very little of himself, in fact, that he thinks that Magnus would be a better leader than him, even though he has that extra something. He got a pretty obvious thing, that he mostly like had thought of, smacked in his face by Optimus saying that he should’ve just given up because of that mistake. He thinks that, essentially, he’d be better off being someone else rather than himself. Rather than Rodimus, or even Hot Rod.

Now, let’s go onto the next one, shall we?

Rodimus has a serious case of being a brilliant mind, but being rather lazy. This does tend to make him seem stupid, but let’s just face it; he might never understand science, but he knows enough to come up with some pretty smart ideas. He might rush in at a moment’s notice, but he’s smarter than he looks overall. The definition of “Brilliant, But Lazy” is as follows:

“...you have the Brilliant, But Lazy character, who is more than capable of taking care of any situation that the heroes have to deal with, but doesn't care.”

It’s less that he doesn’t care, but more that he doesn’t like to deal with responsibility. When he does deal with it, he can be brash and quick to make assumptions, or he can be level headed for once and actually help out a bit better than most. However, it’s this dislike of responsibility that stems from a few various sources (after all, he already has a lot of burdens) that makes him seem lazy in nature. He’s capable, more than capable at the best of times. But even when he accepts the responsibility, it always seems like someone else is willing to stand in for him...

“... Need a scapegoat? Get an ex-Decepticon.”

“Well it’s not gonna happen. I’m taking the fall for this one. Your name doesn’t have to come into it. It’s taken you years to win back people’s trust, and you’re not throwing it all away on my behalf.”

...

“I won’t let you do this for me.”

“I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for everyone else.”

(Bits of the conversation between Rodimus and Drift about the inquiry related to the Overlord incident, in the prose story “The Sound of Breaking Glass”, MTMTE #21.)

Or, they push aside the fact that he’s taken responsibility for something because it’s just expected of him. That, or they think he’s doing it because there’s something about the situation that really calls for it, even though he has shown great promise as a responsible leader and warrior, behind the various levels of (faked) immaturity. He tends to shove it all onto Ultra Magnus, or Drift, or even Megatron when he arrives on the Lost Light - but for what?

This can be left up to interpretation, but for me, it’s linked to his Heroic Self-Deprecation. How, you might wonder? Well, he not only thinks little of himself, he’s sure others think little of him as well. Perhaps he just plays into everyone’s thoughts of him...

Which brings me to the trope I connect with this one; him faking his stupidity. He’s not an idiot. Actually, he’s far from it. He’s made smart decisions in the past that have saved his life, and even his reckless decisions have some sense in them. He has remarkable timing, he’s got sound strategies when he needs them, and he does know what he’s doing.

“Another variant is of someone who is a genuine genius but who pretends to be The Fool in order to avoid responsibility, either because they are lazy or because of some trauma which has undermined their confidence.”

Based on the quote above, I think it’s safe to say it’s a mixture of both.

He might not be a full-blown genius like Perceptor or Brainstorm, but he can play connect-the-dot in the right situations and he can make the right decisions when he needs it. For example, he was the sole reason that Nightbeat was able to break Nova Prime’s hold on him by asking him a simple question that forced Nightbeat to think. This was related to the numbers on his hand, a personal reminder that he needed to win back the 89 people of 190 active crew members that wanted him gone as captain. He knew Nightbeat couldn’t resist the right mystery.

But, just like that, I’m linking it back to his brilliant but lazy attitude; he shoves his responsibility on Drift, Magnus and Megatron, intentionally or not. And he’s stated once before, in the More Than Meets The Eye annual; “... Beneath my cocksure exterior I have incredibly low self-esteem”. Now, whether he was joking, and whether or not Ratchet realized this...

(Most likely not, since he seemed quick to dismiss this and claim that further beneath that, he does think he’s better than everyone else...)

... It’s possible - no, certain - that Rodimus hides it with layer upon layer of faked confidence and egotism. And that faked confidence and egotism links back to the mistakes he’s made and the Heroic Self-Deprecation, and THAT links to his brilliant but lazy attitude and his faking of stupidity. Because it seems like, whenever he is smart, people are surprised by it.

And if he can’t impress them, and it dents his self-esteem, then why bother being smart?

...

Let’s move onto the next one!

Rodimus is painfully aware that he has many flaws, and even more so aware of the fact that he has some very clear fatal flaws.

“Heroes have a Fatal Flaw which they wrestle with on a consistent basis. This may open them up for specific conflicts later...”

One could say his fatal flaw is his ego - but based on the evidence above (and that I’ve stated this literally a few paragraphs up), this ego seems to be a very extravagant cover-up for his lower self-esteem. Plus, he doesn’t quite fit the criteria to have his fatal flaw be egotism. This, ironically, seems to fit Getaway. No, Rodimus’ fatal flaw wouldn’t be egotism.

It’s one of two things: his impulsiveness, or his recklessness. Both are connected, however...

Let’s have a look at what TVTropes has to say.

“A Tragedy of Impulsiveness is when a tragedy is caused by someone's impetuousness or irrational impatience. This trope's power comes from the fact that if characters had thought before they acted the tragedy could have been avoided.”

This seems rather accurate. Perhaps it was also what Rodimus was referring to when he was talking to Drift at the end of Lost Light #7, when he said that he needed people like Drift and Ultra Magnus to keep him in check. And perhaps he’s right; his impulsive nature has gotten the crew into many unpleasant situations that derive from exactly that, and a lot of said situations tend to contain a tragedy in them. So, this as a fatal flaw makes perfect sense. Rodimus’ impulsiveness knows no bounds and he needs someone to regulate this.

But what about his recklessness as his fatal flaw?

(How lovely for TVTropes to title recklessness as “Leeroy Jenkins”. Funny video.)

“The Leeroy Jenkins (or just Leeroy for short) is a specific type of [person] who has no patience for complicated plans, preferring to charge full-tilt into the fray and start attacking whatever's in front of him.”

... Well, it’s not wrong.

Rodimus is notorious for running in without a plan. That, or his plans are to the extreme, and therefore are more suited to the trope called “Crazy Enough To Work”, since half of them actually do seem to work in his favor. (See: “Spotlight: Hot Rod”.) In general, however, Rodimus will think recklessly and make a frontal assault without really putting in the thought as to how it could all go wrong. Granted, the times he did so in prominent parts of the comic were in the Overlord arc, the Tyrest arc, during Dark Cybertron when it called for it, and of course, that one time Rodimus thought it was a brilliant idea to tackle one of the Functionists...

What may be obvious is that his impulsiveness and his recklessness tend to go hand-in-hand with each other. Actually, one tends to lead into the next, and it’s his biggest flaw. What’s further ironic is that his impulsiveness and recklessness, accompanied with his Chronic Hero Syndrome as mentioned much further above, are all reasons behind him falling into the trap...

Now, let’s look at his attitude, shall we?

“Virtually everyone has to wear a public mask in order to be accepted by others. That's a simple fact of human psychology. When circumstances (such as anonymity, strong emotion, or sufficient power) allow a character to take off that mask and act in complete accord with their inclinations, they reveal what's beneath the mask.”

Look, I won’t dismiss the fact that Rodimus does have confidence. I won’t dismiss the fact that he’s charismatic, and with a slight hint of an ego, and overall a fun guy that attracts others to him by being him. (After all, he and Megatron combined killed off the personality ticks due to there being too much charisma in one room...) However, you would have noticed that throughout the comics, it seems to have been enhanced to the point that it’s actually obnoxious and almost infuriating. You may have also noticed this started almost immediately when Megatron became co-captain of the Lost Light and after Dark Cybertron.

This was something told by James Roberts as well: Rodimus enhances his better parts of his personality to cover his self-hate. There’s nothing quite as simple as that. Rodimus is a strong character, in both physicality and mentality, but there’s only so much one can handle, especially after four million years of war.

This is somewhat of a coping mechanism for Rodimus. If he can’t voice his grief and even gets criticized for something that isn’t true (yes, Rung, looking at you; he really did feel like he failed the crew), then it’s better to hide it and say that he’s completely okay. Some may be able to look right through him, others will take it the wrong way and think that he’s just being childish. In retrospect, turn to the very start of the comic series. He was more like himself; charismatic, somewhat confident, a slight ego. He didn’t act the way he does now back then.

In turn, this leads me to my next point.

“A person you would expect to be a big Jerkass has some redeeming qualities behind their tough demeanor. Occasionally, they'll try to make it a Hidden Heart of Gold.”

It’s no secret that Rodimus has acted like a jerk, even in the newest issues; and, unfortunately for our poor learning speedster captain, it’s had an everlasting effect on a few people. One of those people namely being Brainstorm, having adjusted so poorly to Rodimus’ usual reactions to his work that he even has to explain himself to Cyclonus...

“You see? You see? That’s what success looks like! Swerve and Ten, plucked from a pocket prison and delivered, safe and sound, to your welcoming arms. And to think - to think! - you said it couldn’t be done.”

“On the contrary, I said I was confident you’d find a way to bring them back. In fact, I’ve been nothing but supportive since I brought you the wand.”

“Oh. Yeah, sorry. Thanks to Rodimus I’m conditioned to expect incomprehension, mockery and boredom - usually in the span of thirty seconds.”

(Conversation between Brainstorm and Cyclonus, Lost Light #5.)

So yes, Rodimus has screwed up a lot by acting like a jerk. However, I firmly believe that it isn’t intentional, and that his mouth runs faster than his thoughts do. It doesn’t excuse the behavior, and I could provide plenty of examples where he was a downright jerk. For example, when he said that he had “rehabilitated” Drift (yes, how smart of you to say, Rodimus), or when he attempted a joke about Tailgate’s face being punchable during the Brainstorm arc...

But, he really does have a heart of gold. Or, a spark of gold, in this context. In which a heart of gold is an expression that means “to be very kind and generous”. Synonyms vary from considerate, to well-meant, to supportive and good-natured.

Rodimus cares deeply about his crew members, and I will elaborate on such later on, but he is willing to do what it takes to make up for his actions. He doesn’t quite have the hidden heart of gold like Whirl, for example, because it can be so damn obvious that Rodimus has this wonderful heart of gold for his crew members. Let’s take, for example, not only the prose story “The Sound of Breaking Glass”, but also MTMTE #36. Oh yes, that issue. That one issue. Where Rodimus tried, with all his power, to make sure that Trailbreaker would live in the future.

But first! In the prose story, Rodimus is shown being kind and good-natured towards Red Alert, who had just been woken up after his suicide incident - which Rodimus put upon himself. This is in front of Getaway and Fortress Maximus, too, but he’s kind of... Subtle.

“Red Alert?”

“Captain, I want to apologize for--”

“Stop right there. No apologies. Not on my ship.”

“But I can’t imagine the inconvenience I caused by my decision to, um, remove myself from the field of play.”

“Nonsense. You were under tremendous pressure. Okay, so you didn’t feel able to confide in me, but that says more about my failings as a leader than anything else.”

...

“My point, Rodimus, is that I’d like to stay here ... What are they called, Legislators? We could reprogram the Legislators to act as the moon’s protectors.”

“I think with you and Fort Max, Luna 1 is going to be in safe hands. Just promise to stay in touch!”

(Conversation between Red Alert and Rodimus, “The Sound of Breaking Glass”, Issue #21.)

Based on the meaning behind having a heart of gold, it does shine through here. Whether or not the others present register it (a part of me feels like Getaway was too silent in this moment, which is both understandable since he wasn’t involved in the conversation, but concerning...), Rodimus clearly cares. And clearly, he knows that being on Luna 1 is better for Red Alert.

Now, Issue #36. How many of you remember the despair Rodimus had when he saw that Chromedome had shaken hands with Trailbreaker and ultimately erased his memory of the previous conversation he had with him? The conversation that would’ve ultimately allowed for Trailbreaker to live in the future? A lot of you might find that moment memorable (at least, I do. Roddy was incredibly hurt because it was his only chance to avoid the needless death), and/or very painful to reflect on, but that conversation he had before showed his kindness.

“Will you do that for me? It’s very important.”

“Sure. Whatever.”

“Trailbreaker.”

“Ofsted XVII. Stay inside the ship. Got it.”

... “You’re a good person.”

(MTMTE #36, conversation between Rodimus and Trailbreaker in the past.)

What really gets me is that Rodimus even went out of his way to tell Chromedome to not shake hands with Trailbreaker, no matter what, even though he never said why. Mostly because one isn’t supposed to be tinkering with time (because Rodimus, you’re not supposed to change the future, even if you really want to), but it shows he cares. It even proves his kindness and his consideration, even. He most likely puts himself at fault for Trailbreaker as well, even though he had nothing to do with it; after all, Trailbreaker was a member of his ship.

This will be used as an example for his “Father To His Men” attitude, but let’s continue.

The Atoner. Now, this trope quite literally makes up Drift’s entire character, but this applies to Rodimus in a very specific context. He wants to atone for whatever he’s done in the past. This isn’t just relating to Overlord, either; this can be seen in a variety of different lights. Though, the real problem is that Rodimus doesn’t necessarily fit into The Atoner by definition of the trope.

“The Atoner is an evil character who has realized the error of his ways, possibly wants to make amends, and has decided that they will do so via heroic deeds. Simple imprisonment won't do, because it does nothing to make recompense for what he's done wrong.”

The trope clearly specifies this is for a character that was once bad turned good, and seeking out redemption for the past sins that have been committed. Which is why, while Rodimus does want to atone for his mistakes, he just doesn’t quite fall into this category. This is very much suited to Drift rather than Rodimus, though the elements behind it make it favorable...

He’s more suited to the category of “My Greatest Failure”. By definition, given via TVTropes:

“Nothing defines a hero better than his morals, and the biggest sympathy point can be guilt over some monumental screw-up that taught the hero to buckle down and stop taking his job too lightly.”

So, the last part didn’t quite follow through like he intended to, but in MTMTE #21, Rodimus tells Ultra Magnus the truth behind Overlord and how he wished to make amends for it.

“Magnus-- (I’m gonna call you Magnus.) Magnus, if this is it - it I’m going to die - I need to come clean. Everything you’ve just said - I’ve done worse. I’ve done much worse. I brought Overlord on board. I was part of it, with Drift and Brainstorm and the Duobots. I let it happen. Prowl said I owed it to the Autobots. Before we left Cybertron, he... We met in his office, and he told me he wanted an Autobot Phase Sixer - somebody as powerful as Overlord, but on our side. And then he said-- These might not have been his exact words, but he said if I was scared of having Overlord on board I could say no, which... Well. Here we are.”

...

“I don’t want to die.”

“Of course not. Of course you don’t.”

“No, I mean-- Self-sacrifice, Magnus - it’s cheap. It’s a cheap way out. I need to live so I can make amends and--”

(Conversation between Rodimus and Minimus Ambus/Ultra Magnus. MTMTE #21.)

The idea behind “My Greatest Failure” is that they feel incredibly guilty over a gigantic screw-up and they start taking their job seriously again. While Rodimus does feel insanely guilty over the fact that it was his fault Overlord was on board, it doesn’t mean he stops taking his job lightly. That’s thanks to his personality, however. However, his need - not want, need - to live to make amends? It’s what fits him into the Atoner trope. He knows what he did was wrong and he desperately wants to fix it. He does make some amends with Drift, with their reunion...

“I don’t trust myself with words - they’re too easy to manipulate. But you taught me that there are a dozen better ways to speak to someone. If you read my aura, or listen to the timbre of my voice, or look at the colors in my eyes... If you do any of those things you’ll understand how bad I feel - and how badly I want things to be like they were.”

(Part of the reunion conversation, said by Rodimus. MTMTE #52.)

I adore this little bit of conversation. And while I am a little upset that there was only one page dedicated to their reunion and their need to talk out the radio silence and so on (seriously, it had been three years since Drift left - you can imagine how bad Rodimus felt without his best friend around, and at his fault too), this really touched me. Not only does Rodimus try and make amends for his banishing of Drift, but he does so through telling Drift to analyse how he says things and what his body language tells him.

And so, Rodimus is kind of a mixture of the two tropes, though contrasting one another. But let’s not dwell on these contradicting tropes for too long and move onto the second last points I have.

“My God, What Have I Done?” and “It’s All My Fault” go hand-in-hand. They usually follow from one into the other, and this is so very prominent in not only the Overlord arc, but he has a literal moment in the Functionist Universe arc in Lost Light. The meaning behind the two are:

“My God, What Have I Done?” - “Well-intentioned but misguided character ... comes to realize that his actions have caused incredible damage, physical pain, emotional pain, or even loss of life.”

“It’s All My Fault” - “You see characters blaming themselves for major messes fairly often, especially when they're not the only ones who are suffering as a result. It's a universal phrase used in every genre and medium.”

Rodimus has this moment a few too many times, and it ties into his Heroic Self-Deprecation, for the most part. The two most obvious moments are, of course, after the Overlord incident and he talks to Drift about the inquiry (as so in “The Sound of Breaking Glass”), and during the Functionist Universe arc, soon after he decided to punch alternate Rung.

Let’s see, did he say either of the two phrases in the first example?

“I had to do something! People were asking questions! And what do you do if you want to stall things? You launch an inquiry.” ... “An inquiry into something I’m responsible for. Oh god. Oh god, I feel sick. I’ve messed up big time.”

“I can sort this out, Rodimus. Honestly, I can fix this.”

“This is my fault, not yours. We were standing in Prowl’s office, and he was trying to convince me that bringing Overlord on board was ‘right and proper’, and you called me an idiot for even considering it.”

(Conversation between Rodimus and Drift, “The Sound of Breaking Glass”. MTMTE #21.)

... Well. Looks like he says both of the phrases, even though worded a little differently. This is important: Rodimus knows he’s responsible, and he knows that technically Drift is responsible for it too, but he’s more than willing to take on all of the blame and avoid getting anyone else involved. Or, more like, he feels like it’s all his fault and he knows he’s messed up horribly...

Alright, how about the dialogue about alternate Rung? Now, this is more or less just focusing on the whole “what have I done” aspect instead.

“I’m serious, Rodimus. I need the Cog to destroy Luna 2, and I won’t let you stop me. I can’t.”

“If that’s how it is...” ... “Fine!”

“What the hell are you doing?!”

“I...” “... I...” “... What the hell am I doing?”

(Rewind snaps some sense into Rodimus. Lost Light #6.)

Now, this is a less minor occasion, but the trope still applies. Rodimus has caused physical pain to alt. Rung, just because he was so desperate to get to Luna 2 so he could get home. And, because of that, he made an impulsive and reckless decision to punch alt. Rung in the face.

This also heavily ties in with his Atoner-like personality where he feels obligated to make amends for what he had done. It was why he was so quick to tell everyone to get off the Cog while he remained behind, to make sure that the Cog found its target... And while yes, it’s implied that perhaps he was thinking of self-sacrifice, he’s crashed ships into things before and survived it. (See: that one time Hot Rod stole Magnus’ ship to re-retrieve the Matrix.)

So, in case you haven’t quite understood what I’ve said so far: each of these tropes feed into one another.

Fatal Flaw(s) (Impulsiveness + Recklessness) > It’s All My Fault / My God, What Have I Done > The Atoner / My Greatest Failure > Chronic Hero Syndrome / Hero Complex / Heroic Self-Deprecation > Brilliant, But Lazy / Obfuscating Stupidity > Beneath the Mask / Jerk With A Heart Of Gold.

Can you see how they all interconnect with one another?

And now, drumroll, for the very last trope that I want to talk about (finally!)............ And now we shall talk about his attitude as a Father To His Men!

Now, hear me out. Rodimus is technically not cut out for this trope. He has trouble remembering his crew, and he has his moments where he seems to have blatant disregard for them. He’s just that bit too much of a jerk, though unintentionally, to make this work. Optimus fills this role so much better than Rodimus does. However, he has his moments shine through.

Now, I wish to give you a few snippets from the page that stands out.

“This commander cares deeply about his men and exhibits it constantly. A mentor to the officers under him, he takes a deep personal interest in their welfare and tries to keep them out of harm's way.”

“This character generally cultivates a father-figure atmosphere. He is a source of morale, discipline and stability.”

“He will accept responsibility for any mistakes, even if it was not entirely his fault, especially if the failure would result in severe punishment for a subordinate.”

... Which are all, unfortunately, not true in Rodimus’ case.

While he does care about his crew, and very much so, he does a horrible job of keeping them out of harm’s way. A constant example is convincing Chromedome to inject when he needs it, so he can ultimately help the others, while not being any help at all to Chromedome. Another example is Overlord, since it was a last minute decision that put many in harm’s way.

He’s far from the second snippet. In fact, it sounds more like Optimus. Optimus gives off a father-figure atmosphere. Rodimus even stated himself, Optimus defined what the title of Prime really meant during Dark Cybertron. Optimus is this snippet, but this is what Rodimus wants to be. He wants to be the source of morale, discipline and stability, but he can’t be - because he’s none of those things. He’s far from it, actually. And he knows it.

The last point is a little iffy for Rodimus. He was prepared to do it once, for Drift, but I cannot recall another time he was willing to take the full blame for something that wasn’t solely his fault. The only reason he didn’t go through with it was because Drift insisted he left instead...

So, why am I talking about this trope when it doesn’t seem like it fits Rodimus?

Because, out of all the tropes possible, this is the one trope Rodimus aspires to have. He wants to keep his crew safe. He wants to be the perfect role model and he wants to be the one to take on any responsibility regardless, because he just won’t let them take it instead. The only thing that’s holding him back is his own fatal flaws. His impulsiveness and recklessness hold him back from being this kind of figure to his crew. He has the heart of gold to make it work, but Rodimus doesn’t have the right level of... Well, maturity, perhaps. But he also makes poor decisions, and they usually come at the cost of the crew. And he gets in the way of himself.

And so, overall, Rodimus has a very fleshed out character. These tropes may be common, but they make up most of his character, and they’re all so important in their own way. And, in a way, they all affect how I portray Rodimus. He’s not always immature, he might say something insensitive here and there but he never really means it...

He really is trying to do the best for himself and his crew. It’s just too much for him right now.

#🔥 ▸ ❝ reflections of the past. ❞ ( headcanon )#long post //#// MAN #// i honestly could go on and on and on about roddy but holy shit this was so long #// 6.3K WORDS EVERYONE THIS IS HOW DEDICATED I AM TO R/ODIMUS #// someone: r/odimus is one dimensional #// me: PULLS OUT RECEIPTS

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