I suppose this should extend into other Primes as well to be truthful.

What is it the Matrix grants?

It alters the outer, and with that inner form of the carryer most times, increasing size & stature. It's a source of life somehow. It has the ability to destroy Unicron with a few eminations. It's said to bestow knowledge from the past.

How? Why?

Does the mass from stature increasing come from inside the device? Is life just zapped out from it into a vessel, or does it open a spark that leads to a Spark so to speak? What is it about the energy within that is so deadly to Unicron? How does it bestow this knowledge from the past? Is it just available like a memory, viewable like a file or something else? What else can it do? How?



Don't think we've had a Matrix-specific thread in either a while (early in the original TFL's run) or at all. Thought it might be nice.

Hmm... good call Cov.

The Matrix of Leadership, as granted to the Primes, acts as a gateway to the Allspark/Creation Matrix. The Matrix device itself acting like a mini-spacebridge between the now-reality and a paradimensional "sea of souls" (Creation Matrix/Allspark), which would be comprised of sparks both ancient, old and new/unused.

<hr>
edited to add:

Contained within The Creation Matrix/Allspark is hope, emotion, and light, stuff which is out of Unicron's reach, the opposite of everything he stands for. When confronted with it, he'd pause, but when opened inside his physical form via the physical manifestation of the Matrix of Leadership, that power courses through every cable and circuit of Unicron's being.

In the cybertron run, it was a power or some sort, and like the cyberkeys, could open the spacebridees when used with vector primes sword. It also subsituted a cyberkey once in the episode "Titan" where they tryed to close the black hole with only 3 cyber keys.

If you look reeeeeaaaaalllllll closely, you can see that Hotrod and Prime push the "Win" button when battling Unicron and the Hate-plague. The Matrix is the Transformers equivalant of a Game-genie or Game-shark.

It has a part of primus in it, correct? i think it also contains a part of every prime it has, as well, making it wiser after every prime.
as for the ability to destroy unicron, i think the continuity has it wrong. i see the oracle sending out tera-amps of energy and every spark in existence being called to send a burst of energy all at the same time to give unicron's spark a massively fatal feedback/overload throughout his body.

The Matrix also appears to boost physical and mental abilities beyond that of a typical Cybertronian. How does that work?

You have to wonder how that mental stuff works. Sure, makes them a bit brighter seemingly, and it's said to give knowledge of past Primes. But how exactly? Does it incorporate that knowledge into their mind? Is it something more accessable like a computer? Is there ever confusion on the part of the new Prime on his identity?

So many questions!

perhaps a sybiote/host relationship?

Does the Matrix have a default underlining personality of it's own?

Hot-Rod, on becoming Rodimus Prime, seemed to have no problems adapting. I'd guess it would be like plugging in a whole raft of extra processing power to a computer.

But yeah, a reservoir of extra knowledge stored there by previous Primes, too.

I don't think the Matrix has any personality of its own - or maybe it does, and has a serene, calming, amturing effect on them?

well, it did chose Rodders.....

You know, in a way you could say that the Matrix and transformer idea is kinda hypocriticle. Technology is always improveing and getting better. Yet an Autobot leader is always turning to the anciant wisdome and power of the Matrix. You would think that it would become obsolite and they would evolve beyond it.
I guess the Matrix may be a tool to help us relate to the transformers. Like humans, the autobots turn to the Matrix like a diety and delve into deep meditative states to obtane knowlage to help them in their most desperate times. Maybe the true power of the Matrix is to help humanize the transformers evan further?

I think you make very sound points, Bublou. But I thought energon WAS growing on earth. It's been ages since I've seen BW's so I may be forgeting something.

I think in the first one. they said something like "I've never known RAW energon to be naturally ocurring on a planet like this." or something like that. the word "RAW" is the key. now, not raw, STABILIZED energon grows on metallic worlds, presumably, and natural energon i imagine would break down over time if too far from a star or other source of heat and energy.

Stable, planet. Raw (or concentrated), nebula.

Works fine for me then.

One thing. I never saw the Matrix as choosing Hotrod, more that he got hold of it first and it somehow adapted to him instead of Ultra Magnus. This was the reason Magnus could never use it. Perhaps after a Prime dies the Matrix attaches its self to the first Autobot to touch it?

My theory on the Matrix:
It stores the knowledge like a computer. The bearer has access to that knowledge either when they need it, or it filters through without them being aware. And at the same time their knowledge is being added to it.

Kind of like a newborne animal makeing the first thing it see's it's mother? I could go with that.

Yeah, that's basically what I was getting at. I don't know how credible it is but it's just the way I saw it after watching the movie.

Fucking Hotrod...

If the Matrix is like a baby and Hotrod stole him does that make him a child snacher and a murderer?

And he had the potential to be such a good character...

I meant more that he got Optimus killed and then fucked up the Matrix 'bonding' with Magnus to make him the next Prime.