Over the course of their innumerable conflicts, Transformers frequently perish. Though most Transformers pass on safe in the knowledge that their Sparks will ascend to a peaceful existence in their afterlife, Cybertronian cultures have also developed various funerary practices to venerate – or at least dispose of – the Sparkless remains of deceased Transformers.

The realities of war mean that few Transformers are laid to rest in a dignified manner. Perhaps for this reason, most Transformer death rites skew towards the practical rather than the spiritual, though various Cybertronian religions have been known to outline specific funerary procedures for the devout. Some Transformers, Autobots in particular, have been known to adopt the funerary customs of other worlds when they lay their deceased to rest on alien soil. In other instances, the passing of a Cybertronian represents a vital opportunity for other Transformers to salvage parts from the dead, or recycle their bodies into new supplies of living metal.

Particularly honored heroes may receive monuments and memorials in their name in the hopes of inspiring future generations of Cybertronians to live up to their example.

Ashes to ashes! Junk to junk!Wreck-Gar

Generation 1 continuity family

Cartoon continuities

Autobots have been known to both bury their dead and inter them. Dark Awakening When Skyfire seemingly perished after being buried by ice, the Autobots held a short memorial service for him. Fire in the Sky

When Rodimus Prime was believed dead, Springer said they would take the body back to Cybertron for internment. Five Faces of Darkness, Part 2

Fallen warriors from the Battle of Autobot City, including the body of Optimus Prime, were interred aboard a massive, spaceborne mausoleum where Autobot pilgrims could pay their respects. They were immortalized by the "Veil of Remembrance." Dark Awakening The Autobots later erected an Optimus Prime memorial in Autobot City... shortly before Optimus returned from the dead. Oops. The Return of Optimus Prime, Part 1

After Ultra Magnus was shot dead by Sixshot, he received a burial at sea on his favorite planet Earth, inside a glass coffin decorated with Christian imagery. Ultra Magnus Dies!!

The Decepticons create markers bearing the likeness of their dead, lit by an eternal flame. It is unclear if these mark the place where a Transformer's remains are stored or not, but at least three Transformers have markers in two locations. Superstitious Decepticons believe a deceased Transformer's spirit may linger near its marker, and it is considered bad luck to disturb one. The Transformers: The Movie Starscream's Ghost

The Autobots have been known to dispose of a fallen enemy by giving them to the Junkions, with Ultra Magnus intending to send them to collect a fallen Galvatron. The Dweller in the Depths

Marvel Comics continuity

A facsimile Optimus Prime was once buried when the Earth-bound Autobots believed it to be the real Optimus. This was a departure from Cybertronian traditions, but according to the Autobots present, adhering to Earth traditions was 'what he would have wanted'. Resurrection! When the real Prime died a short time later, his body was instead shot into space, suggesting that maybe he wouldn't have wanted a burial after all. Funeral for a Friend!

At the chance Thunderwing would die on his obsessive hunt for the Matrix, Spinister noted he'd sent flowers. Dark Creation

Beast Era

Traditionally, Predacon warriors have their bodies melted down and recycled with honors shortly after their passing. Predacons consider this to be an act of great respect towards the dead, though Maximals disagree. Fallen Comrades When Dinobot sacrificed his life to save humanity's future, the Maximals recycled his body in honour of his Predacon heritage. Those Maximals with airborne alternate modes subsequently flew over his body in a missing man formation, though it's unclear if this act is a Predacon or Maximal tradition. Code of Hero

For Maximals, it is customary to hold a wake where friends and comrades reminisce about their memories of the fallen. The deceased Transformer may be memorialized with a holographic statue. The Catalyst

2005 IDW continuity

Some Cybertronians, including the Autobots, memorialize the dead through the "Act of Transition", a public ceremony where friends and colleagues of the deceased can volunteer to eulogize their fallen comrade. This ceremony can be performed en masse should the need arise. When performing the rite, Hot Rod donned a ceremonial cloak and shoulder pads. The Gloaming Cybertronians sometimes honor the fallen by repainting their insignias grey. Some Other Cybertron

Transformers in this continuity tend to bury their dead, interring them within coffin-like crypts. These vary wildly in design, and some sport extra features such as holographic remembrance avatars. Megatron Origin #3 In other instances, coffins may be jettisoned into space if Transformers perish aboard a starship. The Gloaming The Wreckers stored the bodies of fallen members in the Zone of Remembrance aboard their base, the space station Debris, including, ominously, pre-emptively prepared graves for active members of the team. Sins of the Wreckers #3 A traditional Neoprimalist funeral, by contrast, involves preserving the head while cremating the rest of the body. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Spectralists are known to practice particular rites when interring their dead. The Road Not Taken

In the years before the war, the Senate organized numerous state-sponsored memorial services for members who had perished in the line of duty. Murdered security officers Bumper and Fastback received one such ceremony overseen by Sentinel Prime. Megatron Origin #3

The bodies of Primes and other Matrix-bearers, on the other hand, were traditionally ferried to the Primal Basilica in a public parade of mourning, whereupon the Matrix was transferred to the next holder of the artifact. In the case of Sentinel Prime, the body was later moved to a secure location owing to heightened security concerns. The Last Autobot

The funerary customs of Decepticons are not known. It is, however, not unheard of for low-ranking Decepticons to scavenge spare parts and innermost energon off recently expired corpses. Who's Afraid of the DJD? This approach was shared by the Junkions, who considered this behavior "honoring the fallen." The Next Day, and the Next

Several superstitious Transformers believe in a mythological figure called the "Necrobot", who supposedly travels the galaxy to surreptitiously log the deaths of every Cybertronian. Who's Afraid of the DJD? The crew of the Lost Light discovered that the Necrobot really did exist – a humble 'bot named Censere. In addition to charting the deaths of every Transformer, Censere took a fragment of their residual spark energy back to the "Necroworld." There, he tended to a planet-sized garden filled with holographic statues of every living Cybertronian, which deactivated when the Transformer in question died. The spark fragments he gathered were crafted into blue flowers and planted around the statue of the Transformer who had killed them. The Not Knowing

On the colony world of Velocitron, the natives chose to dispose of their dead by melting them in a smelting pool. The Next Day, and the Next On Caminus, Transformers may have epitaphs inscribed on their spark casings before burial. How Bright Their Frail Deeds Following his death, the Autobots buried the Devisien Oiler in a grave marked by a simple tombstone, though it is unclear if this is the custom on Devisiun or if the Autobots were burying him per their own culture. The Next Day, and the Next Carcerians are big on recycling their fallen comrades-in-arms, with components of their dead heroes earmarked to be incorporated into their First One's throne, and their traitors used as ammunition. The Will of the Few

Beast Wars: Uprising

The Builders frequently named buildings after deceased combatants in the Great War. Examples include the Ratchet Memorial Hospital in Iacon Derailment and the Cyclonus Memorial Tower in Thetacon. Broken Windshields

2019 IDW continuity

Brainstorm had a funeral overseen by a Reversionist member, in which his body was vaporized by a plasma pyre. The World In Your Eyes Part Four Silent marches were held for Brainstorm and Rubble, who would die not long after Brainstorm. The Cracks Beneath Your Feet Part Four

Unicron Trilogy

Following the death of Smokescreen, Optimus Prime led the Autobots in a military salute to their fallen comrade. Sacrifice

The Autobots chose to bury Alpha Quintesson's body on Grass Planet, marking his final resting place with a simple tombstone. Optimus Supreme

Live-action film series

Following Jazz's death during the battle of Mission City, Optimus Prime briefly eulogized Jazz's remains. Transformers Jazz's body was placed inside a trailer (which acted as a coffin) by Ironhide and was deposited in the ocean after a ceremony. Alliance issue 3 The bodies of the Decepticons were simply tossed into the Laurentian Abyss in the hopes that the pressure and freezing temperatures would keep them permanently offline. Transformers

Shortly after the massacres inflicted by Shockwave and his goons, "graves" were made for the deceased Autobots in the form of shipping containers. Optimus Prime dwelled on their deaths for a few minutes, shortly before he left on a mission to Chernobyl. Dark of the Moon #1

Hound took off his hat and held it over his chest as he witnessed Leadfoot's death. Age of Extinction

Animated

An Autobot crew who performs a noble duty and dies in battle is given a proper funeral service. The one who knew the fallen comrade the most gives the eulogy, respectful or not. Dispatches Before a funeral, the remains of great heroes are placed in an open coffin, carried by their comrades, to be displayed to the masses after a victory. Endgame, Part II Immediately afterwards, an Autobot's remains are ceremoniously melted down into raw material for new protoforms.^[1] If a notable figure is not quite dead yet, they'll be put into stasis lock until they can be returned to a fully operational state. A Bridge Too Close, Part II TransWarped

A great Decepticon leader, such as Megatron is given a proper funeral service. It is not uncommon for one person to erect a statue in the honor of the fallen in particular. The Arrival issue 1 The remains of executed traitors are unceremoniously thrown into nearby rivers or garbage piles to rust where they lie. Mission Accomplished

Aligned continuity family

When Solus Prime perished during the disastrous battle between the Thirteen Primes, the remaining eleven members of the Thirteen held an elaborate ceremony for their fallen sister, setting off fireworks and guns to commemorate her passing. At the conclusion of her funeral, the Primes worked together to construct an elaborate tomb for Solus Prime containing some of her many artifacts. They launched the tomb into a distant part of the galaxy, connected to Cybertron via a network of space bridges. The Covenant of Primus Exiles

The Primes did not extend this elaborate celebration to the treacherous Liege Maximo, who had orchestrated the passing of Solus in the first place. His lifeless body was subsequently cast into a deep chasm and unceremoniously buried until Megatron robbed the grave for his own purposes. The Covenant of Primus

Important Transformers were known to be interred in the Crypt of the Primes^{[citation needed]}, a mausoleum that contained the bodies of Primes and other important Transformers. Traditionally, the deceased were commemorated with elaborate rites and rituals, though when Sentinel Prime was interred he was memorialized with a very simple ceremony, as befitting the straitened wartime conditions. Exiles

In the present day, Autobots sometimes immortalized fallen warriors by constructing monuments and holding memorial services to honor the accomplishments of the deceased. Darkness Rising, Part 1 The Autobots have also been known to bury fallen Decepticons, as Optimus Prime and Bumblebee did with Skyquake. As maintaining their cover was paramount to both sides, this may have been a simple attempt to prevent humans from discovering Skyquake's body. Masters & Students

Following his sacrifice to revive Cybertron's Well of All Sparks, Optimus was honored with an enormous statue in the rebuilt Kaon. Pilot (Part 1)

Decepticons rarely showed any inclination to memorialize their dead, though both Knock Out and Dreadwing attempted to honor the memories of their comrades by killing those who were responsible for their deaths. Attitudes can vary about the treatment of bodies, as Starscream was somewhat disturbed by Knock Out's cavalier attitude toward conducting experiments on his fallen friend's corpse, while Knock Out felt he was honoring his fallen comrade by tormenting the one who once tormented Breakdown. Loose Cannons Tunnel Vision Thirst

EarthSpark cartoon

After the Battle of the Spacebridge and the end of the Transformers' war, the Spacebridge Memorial Park was created to honor those who fell. Within the memorial, an image of the AllSpark was covered in remembrance flowers, one for every life lost during the battle, whether Cybertronian or human. Megatron explained their significance to the young Terrans in an attempt to impart the responsibility they held as the last hope for the Cybertronian race, and not to make the same mistakes he and the Decepticons had. Warzone

References

1. ↑ [1]