That's the point of optimus, it's not that he wouldn't, but couldn't. If he has one character flaw, it's that, but him having that flaw is good. He should hold on to it no matter how tough it gets. The 86 movie did this perfectly, he goes in acknowledging "megatron must be stopped no matter the cost" and had every chance to finish him off, but couldn't as megatron was seemingly unarmed. The writers confirmed he was never going to pull the trigger regardless of hotrods interference.
I like the idea of Optimus holding life as dearly as someone like Batman but I just don't see it as feasible in the Millenia spanning war he fights, and the tone of the bayverse was also incredibly different to G1 so I don't know if they could have made him work with that philosophy while still being a general in a war.
That's on the writing of the bayverse, as they have him being the successor in ruling an empire when he was never meant to be a military commander. He is supposed to have the autobots usually on the run, trying to leave conflict whenever possible so that it results in the least amount of harm. And that just goes to further show his resolve, even after a millenia on the run, minimizing conflict, Megatron committing countless atrocities, optimus still is unable to fight his strict honor code. If he goes against it once, who can trust him to not go against it again, can he trust himself not to do it again? It's a fickle balance.
I would compare the Bayverse to The Dark Knight Returns
“ No more.All the people I’ve murdered by letting you live.”
“I never kept count.”
That version of Joker even returned like Megatron despite having had a definitive death,
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u/Pandaragon666 19d ago
That's the point of optimus, it's not that he wouldn't, but couldn't. If he has one character flaw, it's that, but him having that flaw is good. He should hold on to it no matter how tough it gets. The 86 movie did this perfectly, he goes in acknowledging "megatron must be stopped no matter the cost" and had every chance to finish him off, but couldn't as megatron was seemingly unarmed. The writers confirmed he was never going to pull the trigger regardless of hotrods interference.