Denny O'Neil, the Man who Named Optimus Prime, Dies at Age 81
Friday, June 12th, 2020 3:06PM CDT
Category: People NewsPosted by: william-james88 Views: 42,232
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It was during this time that Hasbro approached Marvel to write the fiction for the Transformers brand. While it was ultimately Jim Shooter and Bob Budiansky who developed most of it, the initial treatment was by Denny O'Neil and one of the things kept from it was the name of the leader of the good guys, Optimus Prime. Other characters you may know that he created are Green Lantern John Stewart and Ra's Al-Ghul. He died at 81 years old, may he rest in peace.
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Posted by TulioDude on June 12th, 2020 @ 3:26pm CDT
Rest in peace.
Posted by sol magnus on June 12th, 2020 @ 3:31pm CDT
The only other character he named to survive into the toyline was Prowl. Probably could've mentioned it.
But yeah - Hard Travelin' Heroes, Smiling, hairy-chested Batman, Ra's Al Ghul - and many others all came from Denny O'Neil.
Posted by Rodimus Prime on June 12th, 2020 @ 4:07pm CDT
Posted by Quantum Surge on June 12th, 2020 @ 4:29pm CDT
Posted by ZeroWolf on June 12th, 2020 @ 4:52pm CDT
Posted by -WonkoTheSane- on June 12th, 2020 @ 5:26pm CDT
Posted by Rodimus Prime on June 12th, 2020 @ 6:28pm CDT
I wouldn't call it 'small,' he was responsible for naming the most iconic character of the franchise.Quantum Surge wrote:Thank you for the small but impactful contribution, Mr. O'Neil.
Posted by leokearon on June 13th, 2020 @ 1:52am CDT
Posted by Mechastrike on June 13th, 2020 @ 3:43am CDT
RIP Denny O'Neil
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 13th, 2020 @ 6:17am CDT
RIP
Posted by sol magnus on June 13th, 2020 @ 8:56am CDT
Mechastrike wrote:i knew him from a 2003 documentary called Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked. critics called him as the guy who killed Robin. lol.
RIP Denny O'Neil
I bought those issues on the stands. It came down to some ridiculous small number of calls in favor of Jason Todd's death. I should dig them out. That death sort of showed a turn in how cynical comic book fans had become, how the dark stuff of the 80s had culminated in that. He did a big op-ed in the comic of how didn't want Robin to die, and how sad he was it came down to so few votes in favor, but DC wouldn't welch on a promise.
Posted by william-james88 on June 13th, 2020 @ 12:18pm CDT
sol magnus wrote:Mechastrike wrote:i knew him from a 2003 documentary called Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked. critics called him as the guy who killed Robin. lol.
RIP Denny O'Neil
I bought those issues on the stands. It came down to some ridiculous small number of calls in favor of Jason Todd's death. I should dig them out. That death sort of showed a turn in how cynical comic book fans had become, how the dark stuff of the 80s had culminated in that. He did a big op-ed in the comic of how didn't want Robin to die, and how sad he was it came down to so few votes in favor, but DC wouldn't welch on a promise.
He's been back for almost 15 years now, so in the end I guess everyone gets their wish.
To be honest though, I much preffer Tim Drake as a character, without Todd's death we wouldn't have gotten him.
Posted by AllNewSuperRobot on June 13th, 2020 @ 12:25pm CDT
Posted by william-james88 on June 13th, 2020 @ 12:28pm CDT
AllNewSuperRobot wrote:Also, although the way he came back was perhaps almost as controversial as his demise, Todd became a much better character post-resurrection than when he was Robin.
Agreed and yes the initial reaaon for his return was batshit bananas. I am glad the same author redid it later in the film version and I think it has retroactively become the canon story for his return. At least that's what I choose to think.
Posted by sol magnus on June 13th, 2020 @ 3:15pm CDT
william-james88 wrote:sol magnus wrote:Mechastrike wrote:i knew him from a 2003 documentary called Comic Book Superheroes Unmasked. critics called him as the guy who killed Robin. lol.
RIP Denny O'Neil
I bought those issues on the stands. It came down to some ridiculous small number of calls in favor of Jason Todd's death. I should dig them out. That death sort of showed a turn in how cynical comic book fans had become, how the dark stuff of the 80s had culminated in that. He did a big op-ed in the comic of how didn't want Robin to die, and how sad he was it came down to so few votes in favor, but DC wouldn't welch on a promise.
He's been back for almost 15 years now, so in the end I guess everyone gets their wish.
To be honest though, I much preffer Tim Drake as a character, without Todd's death we wouldn't have gotten him.
I've no fight with Tim Drake, and you're right. But it was very much a 'sign of the times.'