Optimus Prime (Transformers)
Template:Transformers character
- This page is for the original 1984 Transformers character, Optimus Prime. For other individuals with this name, see Optimus Prime (disambiguation).
Optimus Prime is the leader of the heroic Autobots from the Transformers Universe. His name became somewhat iconic, and has since been reused for alternate universe versions of the character who have appeared in more recent Transformers media. Since his public debut, his name has become virtually synonymous with courage, strength, and integrity. He has since become not only the most famous Autobot, but Transformer of all time.
Fiction
Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots, a faction of heroic robots from the planet Cybertron who battle their enemies, the evil Decepticons, for control of their homeworld, and by extension, peace in the Universe. Immensely kind and compassionate, Prime puts all his talent to use to improve the world around him, and has dedicated himself to the protection of all life, particularly the inhabitants of Earth; he will battle his foes with unyielding resolve to uphold this belief. In power and intelligence, Optimus Prime has no equal, known as one of the greatest heroes on both Cybertron and Earth.
Optimus Prime transforms into a 1980s style cab-over-engine semi-trailer, comprising three components. The truck's cab transforms into the robot mode of Prime himself, with vast strength and armed with a laser rifle. Within his chest is contained the mystic talisman known as the Autobot Matrix of Leadership (or Creation Matrix), carried by all Autobot leaders and passed down through the ages. The truck's trailer disconnects and transforms into the Combat Deck, a mobile battle-station/command headquarters with an "Auto-Launcher" robot armed with assorted artillery and beam weapons. It can also serve as radio antennae for battlefield communications between the Autobots. The Combat Deck can launch Prime's third component, Roller, a mobile scout buggy that can easily slip behind enemy lines; when Roller is present somewhere, it is as if Prime is there himself. Injury to one component is felt by each of the others, and while Prime could survive the destruction of either, despite the slight degree of autonomy they possess, the Combat Deck and Roller would not be able to survive without him.
Additional powers included in the animated series (somewhat inconsistently) short-range optic blasts, holographic map projections, and deployable hydro-foils designed by Wheeljack which allowed Prime and the other Autobots to traverse bodies of water with ease. Although used only once, one of Prime's more memorable abilities from the animated series was the ability to retract his right hand and replace it with a glowing energy axe, which has since been rendered in toy form several times. Prime once used this axe in the Dreamwave comics series.
Across the assorted continuities of the original Transformers Universe, there have been various interpretations of Optimus Prime. One of Prime's most notable characteristics in any form was his adamant commitment to leadership by example, and avoidance of any hypocrisy in his command, but beyond this, the animated series leant towards Optimus Prime as a straightforward, wise and essentially upbeat battlefield general. The Marvel Comics series, on the other hand, in addition to these more obvious characteristics, suggested a Prime secretly plagued by self-doubt and, more importantly, a conflicted sense of pacifism that often made him an extremely reluctant warrior, and it was occasionally implied that the conflict with the Decepticons lasted as long as it did primarily due to his unwillingness to take a more aggressive stance.
A tragic constant of the character is his predilection for self-sacrifice - across several continuities, Prime (and later, his modern namesakes) is almost sure to meet his end and later return to life (sometimes more than once). In Beast Wars Megatron II comments to Optimus Primal just before he sacrifices himself to save earth; "You Optimuses do like to sacrifice yourselves, don't you?" In refrence to the many times Optimuses have given their lives for their causes.
Animated series
Optimus Prime began his life as a robot named Orion Pax, a simple dock worker during the Golden Age of Cybertron nine million years ago, with a girlfriend named Ariel, and a best friend named Dion. At the time, a new breed of robot had recently appeared on the planet with new robot-mode flight powers that made Orion idolize them. Unfortunately for Orion, when Megatron, the leader of these robots, approached him with inquiries about using one of the dock warehouses, Orion fell for the deception and he and Ariel were fatally wounded when Megatron and his forces then attacked in order to claim the energy stored there. Searching for someone to help them, the time-displaced Aerialbots took Orion and Ariel to the ancient Autobot, Alpha Trion, who used them as the first subjects for the new reconstruction process he had developed - rebuilding the frail Autobot frames into battle-hardy configurations. With this reconstruction, Orion Pax became Optimus Prime, the first of the Autobot warriors, who took the mantle of leadership as the civil war against Megatron and Decepticons erupted, while Ariel was rebuilt into Elita One, the commander of the Autobot resistance on Cybertron (War Dawn).
There is some evidence Dion would later become Ultra Magnus. Hence his similar design to Optimus Prime as well as Prime's referral to him as old friend right before he passes in Transformers: The Movie.
As leader of the Autobots, Prime headed up the Autobots' mission to search out new worlds with new sources of energy to revitalise the depleted Cybertron. However, shortly after its launch, the Autobots' craft was attacked by the Decepticons' space cruiser, and boarded by Megatron and the Decepticons. In the ensuing struggle, the G-forces of a nearby planet pulled both craft down, and the Autobots' ship crashed into a volcano, thrusting all the occupants into emergency stasis. Four million years later, in the Earth year 1984 A.D., a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, Teletraan I back to life, and it reactivated the Decepticons, programming them with new Earth-based disguise modes. As a petty parting gesture, Starscream fired upon the Autobot ship, creating a landslide that knocked Prime into the path of the computer's restoration beam, restoring him to life, and beginning the war anew on Earth (More Than Meets The Eye Part 1).
Prime was perpetually at the forefront of the action throughout the early years of the war on Earth, usually confronting Megatron, and, in some rare instances, being forced to team up with him for the greater good (or the lesser evil). He has suffered his fair share of battlefield scrapes, almost meeting his end when his vital cosmotron component was critically damaged by the Decepticon jets and Laserbeak.
Prime suffered a severe - though unfair - defeat when Megatron challenged him to one-on-one combat while imbued with the different powers of all the Decepticons.
Generally, Prime acted in a commanding role as part of larger battles and event, but played prominent and solo roles in a few, also. In 1985, Megatron created a virtually perfect duplicate of him, leaving the Autobots unable to differentiate between the two until the clone disregarded the safety of their human companion, Spike Witwicky, exposing the deception.
Later in the same year, Prime's fame and prowess led him to become the target of the demented big-game hunter, Lord Chumley, who sought his head to go along with his other rare trophies. Entering the hunter's estate alone, Prime defeated all the traps and beasts lying in wait and brought Chumley to justice.
The same year also saw Elita One captured by the Decepticons on Cybertron and used to lure Prime there alone; although knowing it was a trap, he ventured in solo and was defeated by the Decepticons and nearly destroyed, until Elita's stasis-field powers froze time long enough for them to escape. Prime was forced to seek out Alpha Trion to save the wounded Elita's life, and in the process, rediscovered his forgotten connection to his creator.
Prime gave the instrucitons to the super-computer Vector Sigma in programming the Aerialbots' personalities.
Towards the end of the year, Prime was among the team of five Autobots who disguised themselves as the Stunticons, with Prime’s alternate mode making him the perfect choice to masquerade as Motormaster. Penetrating the Decepticons’ camp, the Autobots ran into trouble when the real Stunticons arrived, trying to prove their identities by forming Menasor. With a combination of Windcharger’s magnetic powers and Mirage’s illusion-creating ability, the Autobots were able to appear as Menasor too, but the deception was soon revealed, though they were still able to thwart the Decepticons’ plans (Masquarade).
Over the course of the next twenty years, the Decepticons succeeded in seizing control of all of Cybertron, forcing the Autobots to operate from their new city on Earth, and from two bases on Cybertron's moons. In the Earth year 2005 A.D., Prime was stationed on Moonbase One, and dispatched troops to Earth to acquire energy for an upcoming strike on Cybertron. The Decepticons, however, got wind of the plan and used the shuttle run to attack Autobot City; a distress call summoned Prime and support troops to Earth, and in the ensuing battle with Megatron, Optimus Prime sustained fatal injuries, but not before turning the tide of battle and forcing the Decepticons to flee. Despite the efforts of Perceptor, Optimus Prime died. The Matrix, and with it leadership of the Autobots, fell into the hands of Ultra Magnus, and subsequently to Rodimus Prime (Transformers: The Movie).
Prime's body was entombed in a massive deep-space mausoleum with the many other fallen Autobots, but his corpse was desecrated by the Quintessons in 2006, when they reanimated it as part of an attempt to destroy the Autobots by using Prime to lure their space fleet into a trap. However, the Matrix was able to purify Prime of the Quintesson influence, and he ordered the other Autobots clear while he piloted his flagship into the Quintessons' detonator, triggering the explosion of a nearby sun.
Prime was believed to have been destroyed in the explosion, but in reality, before the flagship impacted with the detonator, his body was recovered from the craft by two human scientists, Jessica Morgan and Gregory Swofford. However, as their ship departed, it was coated in solar spores released by the explosion of the sun. Jessica's father, Mark Morgan, loathed the Transformers (both Autobot and Decepticon), and his hatred only grew when an attempt by the Decepticons to steal a heat-resistant alloy he had developed resulted in Jessica being paralysed. Swofford and Morgan reconstructed Optimus Prime's body in an attempt to use it as a delivery system for the spores, which induced hatred and madness, in order to destroy the Transformers. However, when they could not reanimate him, they used his body as a lure instead, bringing the Autobots to their lab, where they were infected. As this "Hate Plague" proceeded to spread across the galaxy, Sky Lynx retrieved a Quintesson, who fully restored Optimus Prime to life. Coating himself in Morgan's heat-resistant alloy, Prime reclaimed the Matrix from Rodimus and unleashed its concentrated wisdom to destroy the Hate Plague.
The show's fourth season, set in 2007, consisted entirely of a three-part miniseries - Prime began to suffer visions following the release of the Matrix's energy, which foretold a great transformation for Cybertron. Events began with the Decepticons' theft of the key to the Plasma Energy Chamber, which forced Prime to consult Alpha Trion within Vector Sigma, learning that the mega-computer had orchestrated events in order to restore Cybertron's Golden Age. When the Plasma Energy Chamber was opened and threatened to drive Earth's Sun supernova, Spike Witwicky and the Nebulans who had become involved in the conflict as a result of these events were able to drain off the excess solar energy and revitalize Cybertron (Rebirth Part 1-3).
Transformers: The Headmasters
While the Transformers animated series came to an end in America with "The Rebirth" in 1987, across the Pacific, in Japan, it was decided to continue production of three new, exclusive animated series to continue the story. The first of these series, Transformers: Headmasters, supplanted the events of "The Rebirth", picking up one year after the events that saw Optimus Prime's return to life.
In the interim year, with the Decepticons not having been heard from, the Autobots had entered into an even closer relationship with Earth, and begun the colonization of other worlds, the first of which was the planet Athenia, where Optimus Prime was stationed. It soon became apparent, however, that when Prime had released the energy of the Matrix to cure the Hate Plague, the consequences were more far-reaching than he had anticipated - without the energy of the Matrix to act as a balancing factor, Vector Sigma had become destabilized, and the Decepticons suddenly returned to exploit this, assaulting Cybertron in order to seize control of the mega-computer. Prime took a squad of troops to aid in the battle on the planet, and when the arrival of the Autobot Headmasters tipped the battle in their favor, Prime broke off from the main attack and headed down into the depths of the planet, planning on stabilizing Vector Sigma at any cost.
Guided through the dangers of the planet's catacombs by the spirit of Alpha Trion while the other Autobots searched for the Matrix on Earth, Prime eventually arrived at the computer, only to find his way barred by Cyclonus and Scourge. Hot Rod then arrived with the Matrix, with which Alpha Trion merged, re-energizing it and transforming Hot Rod back into Rodimus Prime; for the first time, the two Primes fought side-by-side and defeated Galvatron.
Before Rodimus could implement the Matrix to stabilize Vector Sigma, however, Optimus Prime sacrificed himself to perform the task, merging with the computer and restoring its balance to save the planet - dying again only a few short episodes after his rebirth.
Super-God Masterforce
The second of the Japanese-exclusive Transformers series, 1988's Super God Masterforce did not actually feature Optimus Prime himself, but it did feature one of his bodies. This series sees human truck driver Ginrai merge with and control a Transtector (a lifeless Transformer body) which bears a striking resemblance to Optimus Prime - although not revealed in the main 42 episodes of the series, an additional clips episode produced after the fact explained that this was because the body was intended to be used by Prime, only to be stolen and hidden on Earth by the series antagonist, Devil Z.
Battlestars: Return of Convoy
Although 1991's Return of Convoy line continues the storyline of the animated series, it was not rendered in animated form, instead being told through one chapter of manga and feature articles in Japan's TV Magazine. Here, Optimus Prime is finally brought back to life through the use of Zone Energy (from the preceding series, Transformers: Zone), as the mighty Star Convoy. As another truck/trailer combination, Star Convoy transforms into a Micromaster base.
Marvel Comics
In Marvel Comics' comic series, before the Great War broke out on Cybertron, the robot who would be Optimus Prime (his name before becoming the Prime Autobot remains unknown) was a Transformer of note, displaying his skills in the Infraformers Sharpshooting Competition. Subsequently, when the war began, Prime quickly made a name for himself as a combat leader. On a mission with the Triggerbots to stop Megatron from claiming the Underbase, Prime was forced to jettison the massive databank into space to prevent anyone acquiring its power, but with this action, proved his wisdom and skill to the Autobot Council of Elders. The outbreak of the Great War saw Autobot territories falling under Decepticon dominion, one City-State at a time. The last City-State to be taken was the Autobot capital of Iacon. As Decepticons besieged Iacon, the Council of Elders prepared to surrender. Councillor Xaaron suggested that High Councillor Traachon step down and allow a military officer to assume Autobot leadership. Traachon then used his powers of veto and effectively elected himself out of office, allowing Optimus Prime to assume supreme command of the Autobots, becoming the first soldier to ever hold the mantle of Autobot leadership.
Four million years ago, Cybertron - shaken from its orbit and drifting through space - came under threat when it floated into the path of a massive asteroid swarm that could potentially devastate the planet. Prime led a group of his most powerful Autobot warriors on the Autobot starship, the Ark, on a mission to destroy the asteroids, and although successful, in the aftermath of this mission the Ark was attacked by Decepticons, hoping to overcome their weakened foes. Intent on keeping the secrets of the Ark from the Decepticons, Prime set the craft on a suicide course, crashing it into the prehistoric planet Earth.
In 1984 A.D., a volcanic eruption reactivated the Ark, which in turn brought the Transformers back on-line. Prime led the Autobots in their opening battles to prevent the Decepticons from plundering Earth's resources, but following their initial victory, the Autobots were all deactivated by Shockwave. Prime was decapitated by Shockwave, and had the energy of the Creation Matrix leeched from his mind to give life to Shockwave's creations, the Constructicons (although Shockwave was unaware that the Matrix was not merely a program in Prime's mind, but a physical object in his chest). Before Shockwave could give life to his next Decepticon, Jetfire, Prime transferred the Matrix energy into the mind of Buster Witwicky, who used the energy to turn Jetfire on Shockwave, allowing Prime to reclaim his body and retake leadership of the Autobots, giving Jetfire true life as a reward.
The Autobots suffered heavy casualties and several of their number were in the Ark's repair bay waiting to be repaired. In need of new troops, Optimus Prime requested that Wheeljack transfer the sparks (which Prime refers to as 'engrams') of five Autobots stored in crystals to lifeless Autobot bodies that had created earlier. Grapple, Hoist, Smokescreen, Skids and Tracks were these five Autobots. Optimus Prime explained that before they left the planet Cybertron four million years ago, these five Autobots agreed to have their sparks transferred to the crystals for storage in case the Autobots needed extra troops during the mission of clearing a path for Cybertron through an asteroid belt.
Optimus Prime appointed Bumblebee responsible for guiding all but Grapple of the new Autobots on a tour around their new home but that they were not to engage with the enemy.
Grapple was given the task of designing a new Autobot - Omega Supreme, which Prime granted life to with the Matrix.
After a period of effective leadership which saw the activation of several new Autobots including the Aerialbots, who Prime infused with life using the Matrix, Prime engaged Megatron in a video game duel for possession of a super fuel. Prime was victorious, but Megatron implemented a cheat code, allowing him to re-enter the game. Prime was able to defeat him yet again, but in doing so, he also destroyed several of the game sprites, and refused to accept his victory, as he had performed an action that compromised his beliefs about the preservation of life, which he would never have done, had the duel been real. In accordance with the rules of the game, Prime's body exploded and he died. Autobot surgeon Ratchet's subsequent efforts to restore him were unsuccessful, and his body was launched into space, the Autobots unaware of the presence of the physical Matrix object within the corpse. The funeral barge eventually crashed on a giant moon; as it lay there for an untold time, the Matrix reached out to nearby living organisms, studying and recreating them. One such recreated being became known as Death Bringer.
Prime's personality had been copied onto a floppy disk by the technician running the game, Ethan Zachary, who employed him in various video game scenarios he developed. Prime's damaged mind led him to believe that he himself was a video game character, and in an attempt to bring him back to life, Goldbug, Joyride, Slapdash and Getaway took the disk to the planet Nebulos, where a new body was constructed for Prime. They built a new body for Optimus Prime, and even upgraded it with the ability to combine with the trailer to form a larger robot. In an effort to keep Transformers off their planet, however, the Nebulans had poisoned their fuel, and the sensation of dying convinced Prime that he was truly alive, and not a game character. To save his life, the Nebulan scientist Hi-Q bonded with him, creating Powermaster Optimus Prime.
Powermaster Prime and his Autobots later battled Death Bringer. Optimus Prime immediately sensed Matrix energies eminating from Death Bringer, and realised that the undead reaper was a creation of the Matrix. Proving invulnerable, Optimus Prime was finally able to defeat Death Bringer by convincing it to self-destruct in concordance with its primary function. Prime salvaged a sliver of Matrix energy from Death Bringer's remains, which he later used to restore a rainforest destroyed during a battle between the Autobot Rescue Patrol and the Decepticon Air Strike Patrol member Whisper. The battle with Death Bringer alerted Optimus Prime to the fact that his old body was still out there somewhere in space, and more importantly, that the Matrix that it carried was also with it. With a war to win, the location of the Matrix was not a high priority.
Optimus Prime allied the Autobots with Scorponok's Decepticons in defeating Starscream when the later gained the power of the Underbase. When Starscream gained cosmic power from a breif exposure to the Underbase, it was Optimus Prime's idea to let Starscream absorb so much power from the Underbase that it destroyed him.
With the subsequent threat of Unicron looming, priorities quickly changed and Prime began a quest to locate his old body and the physical Matrix object within it. When the Matrix was successfully reacquired, Prime sacrificed his life one more time to destroy Unicron by plunging the Matrix into his maw. However, the Powermaster process had been working to fully bond Prime and Hi-Q, and with Prime now destroyed, the process completed itself in Hi-Q's body, and the two minds and souls became one. Hi-Q's biomechanical body was stripped down and reconstructed by the Last Autobot, creating a brand new Optimus Prime (visually based on his Action Master toy).
Generation 2
An undisclosed period of time later, at the beginning of the Transformers: Generation 2 comic book sequel series, Prime was restored to a form resembling his original body, and he and the Autobots found themselves caught in the schemes of a "second generation" of Cybertronians led by the icy Jhiaxus, who were colonising and cyberforming other worlds. Plagued by nightmarish visions of a life-destroying entity called "the Swarm," Prime looked into Cybertron's past and discovered that Jhiaxus and his kind were the result of further unintentional Transformer reproduction, their nature and intent distilled to the purest, most unemotional form of conquest, and that the Swarm was the by-product of this process. Entering into an alliance with the recreated Megatron's Decepticons to combat the Swarm and Jhiaxus, Prime was consumed by the abomination and destroyed, but at the last moment, unleashed the energies of the Matrix into the Swarm, purifying it. In parting, the Swarm recreated Prime in a new form, (based on his "Hero" toy), and he and Megatron set out to lead the united Autobots and Decepticons into a new age.
Beast Wars
It is important to note that Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximal faction in the Beast Wars animated series and toyline, is not Optimus Prime - he is a descendant of his, who took the name to honor the Autobot leader. The same applies to the Megatron of this universe. However, before the animated series began, Hasbro did actually envision Prime and Megatron as their beast counterparts - design elements such as Prime's mouthplate (slitted to add an actual mouth for the animated series) suggest it, and the first mini-comic that came packaged with the toys makes it clear. However, once the animated series began, this was changed.
The Beast Wars were waged on prehistoric Earth, eventually leading to the discovery of the buried Ark. Megatron, in a desperate gambit, decided to attempt to change history by killing Optimus Prime, who was still lying in the Ark in stasis lock. Megatron hoped that this would result in the Decepticons winning the Great Wars and eventually the rule of Cybertron by the Predacons, the descendants of the Decepticons. Megatron unleashed a full-power weapon blast at Optimus Prime's face, near-fatally injuring him. However, Optimus Primal proceeded to take Prime's spark into his body to protect it from surgical trauma while his injuries were repaired. The subsequent power increase caused by Prime's spark's connection to the Matrix augmented Primal into the large, transmetal "Optimal Optimus" form with three alternate modes (jet, land vehicle, and transmetal gorilla). Then, with the repairs complete, Prime's spark was restored, and he briefly activated before sinking back into normal stasis.
In the Transformers: Cybertron comic series it was shown that Vector Prime secretly aided Optimus Prime's survival when he was shot in the head by Megatron in the Beast Wars television series.
When animating the scene in which Primal removes Prime's spark, Mainframe's animators consulted Transformers: The Movie for reference on the interior of Prime's chest. However, not realizing the importance of the Matrix of Leadership, they rendered it as a container for Prime's spark. Although Beast Wars writers Larry DiTillio and Bob Forward claimed that in their view, Prime had not received the Matrix from Alpha Trion at this point.
One of the comics produced for Botcon indicated that the Matrix was in fact stored in a secondary compartment, hidden behind Prime's spark. In this comic the alien Vok used the Matrix, the Transmetal Driver and a control suit once piloted by the Predacon Quickstrike to create Primal Prime.
Dreamwave Comics
In the 21st century reimagining of the Generation One continuity by Dreamwave Productions, Optimus Prime started life as Optronix (Orion to his friends), a data archivist. After taking note of a battle in which the Autobot leader Sentinel Prime had been defeated by Megatron, he was summoned to the Council of Elders and informed that the Matrix had chosen him to be the next leader of the Autobots. He received the Matrix of Leadership shortly thereafter, and almost arranged for the Autobot evacuation of Cybertron, intending to leave the Decepticons to their own devices, until a battle with Megatron beneath the planet's surface, accompanied by visions from the Matrix, stirred him on to fight for the safety of his homeworld. It is interesting to note that in this reimagining, Optimus actually was physically changed in appearance and size by the Matrix during the events of the first volume of War Within.
Some time into his role as leader, Prime disappeared in a spacebridge experiment along with Megatron, but returned some time later, having spent a period of time on Quintessa. Events during this period have gone unrecorded as a result of Dreamwave's closure.
The actual events of the Autobots and Decepticon coming to Earth were never printed by Dreamwave comics, but flashbacks of the events were seen which suggest events similar to those in the three episode television series pilot, More Than Meets the Eye Part 1-3 occured in the Dreamwave storyline.
Following the awakening of the Transformers on Earth, the Autobots allied with humankind and eventually defeated the Decepticons at the turn of the century. They planned to return to Cybertron aboard the newly constructed Ark II, but the ship was destroyed as part of a military conspiracy to take control of the Transformers. However, a terrorist organization run by the enigmatic Lazarus was able to seize control of several of the Transformers that fell back to Earth, while the U.S. military located Prime's body. Before his departure, Prime had entrusted a small portion of the Matrix to Spike Witwicky, who was forced by the product chief, General Hallo, to use it to reactivate Prime. Functional again, Prime used the Matrix to reactivate more of his fallen comrades, and then faced off against Megatron in San Francisco.
Following this, Prime began to experience subconscious urgings, leading both the Autobots and the Decepticons to the Arctic Circle, where Shockwave arrived to greet them - and arrest them as war criminals. Shockwave had succeeded in ending the war on Cybertron, but Prime soon fell in with a rebel Autobot group that had discovered Shockwave had greater agenda. Rallying Autobots across Cybertron to the cause, Prime faced Shockwave in battle but was defeated and had the Matrix ripped from him and used to activate Vector Sigma. Before Shockwave could make full use of the mega-computer's data, however, Ultra Magnus (in this continuity, Prime's brother) arrived and bested him. The injuries Prime took in this conflicted necessitated a prolonged restoration period in stasis but Dreamwave's closure meant that Prime never appeared in their pages again.
In an unprinted issue of Dreamwave's Generation 1 title, Optimus Prime awakened from the cryo regeneration chamber and freed Alpha Trion from Shockwave's lab.
Devil's Due Comics
In this reimagining of the Generation One story, the Ark was discovered by the terrorist Cobra Organization, and all the Transformers inside were reformatted into Cobra vehicles remotely controlled by the Televipers. In this storyline Optimus Prime turned into a Cobra HISS tank. In this storyline it was Optimus Prime who was able to get a message to Wheeljack about, alerting GI Joe to where the Cobra base was hidden.
In the second series from Devil's Due Optimus Prime and the Stunticons were sent back in time in an accident with the space bridge. He was reformatted into a 1920's semi-truck.
In the third Devil's Due series Optimus Prime sent Autobots Perceptor, Grimlock, Arcee and Bumblebee on a mission to Earth. But they were unable to prevent the escape of Serpentor, a rogue military cyborg implanted with Megatron's memories. Journeying via spacebridge to Cybertron, Serpentor killed Bumblebee, united the Decepticons and attacked the Autobot capital city. Most of the Autobots were captured and Prime became Serpentor's prisoner, preparing to break free as Serpentor was distracted.
IDW comics
With the rebellion of Starscream against Megatron, and the arrival of the Decepticon leader on Earth to put his affairs in orders, the other Autobots operating under cover on Earth summoned Optimus Prime to the planet in preparation for dealing with the next phase of Megatron's plan.
Kiss Players
In this Japanese spin-off of the Transformers: Alternators toyline (Binaltech in Japan), the Alternator version of Prime (see "Toys"), is partnered with Earth Defense Command operative Marissa Faireborn, who discovers his unconscious body and awakens him with a kiss. With this kiss, Marissa passes on her skills and abilities to Prime, including her knife-wielding abilities. She is also a skilled surfer, and her board can transform into a blade for Prime to wield.
Live-action film
In Michael Bay's upcoming 2007 film, Transformers, Optimus Prime will be present as Autobot leader. However his distinguishing faceplate will be able to become a mouth during dialogue. A picture of his vehicle mode, a semi truck with flames painted on it, was first seen July 11th 2006, on the website www.aintitcool.com. It was removed shortly thereafter most likely by request of Paramount. Fan reaction has been negative, but there are also some who claim this is a hoax and that, without a proper insignia to signify the validity of the truck, they won't believe it until more reliable pictures come to surface. However, some have compared the alternate mode to the G2 toy, and a source compares the G2 alternate mode with the G1 robot mode. [1]
According to comments by Michael Bay in July 2006 the reason why they went with a huge long nose truck for Optimus Prime was they did test with flat nose trucks for scale purposes, and the flat nose would only be about 20 to 25 feet tall in robot mode. They went with the biggest truck they could find: the Peterbilt, which could stand 40 to 50 foot tall as a robot. [citation needed]
Information released by the Director during ComicCon 06 reveals that Peter Cullen will voice Optimus Prime in this upcoming 2007 flick.
Toys
Through the years, there have been many action figures representing the original Generation 1 incarnation of Optimus Prime, some of which have featured in fiction, others of which have not.
- Generation 1 (1984)
- The original Optimus Prime toy, with Combat Deck and Roller. Originally part of Takara's 1983 Diaclone line under the name "Battle Convoy," the figure was designed by Hiroyuki Obara. The figure's definitive mouth-plate has become a design element in most incarnations and variants of Prime down the years (bar a few exceptions, noted individually below). Integrated into the first year of the Transformers toyline, the toy was given its new name, Optimus Prime, by comic book writer/editor Dennis O'Neil. His removable fists are one of the most easily-lost parts of the figure, and have proven to be a step in transformation that future toys based on this body have striven to eliminate. Roller was included in many colors, including blue, black and silver.
- A special promotional version of the figure was released in 1985, with a Pepsi sticker on the trailer. In Japan, the toy was released again twice within the G1 line, in multi-figure packs, both times with blue windows to closer represent the cartoon.
- The toy was reissued in Japan in 2000 with blue windows, blue eyes a die-cast Matrix accessory, and at the same time, was redecoed entirely in black as an exclusive for the JAFCON convention. It was reissued again in 2003 with a new energy axe accessory. Reissued in the west by Hasbro in 2002, the toy had to be modified for safety reasons, and features shorter smokestacks and longer missiles, as well as having Roller's launcher deactivated.
- As a Diaclone mould, the toy features an opening "cockpit" in his chest where two Diaclone drivers can sit. The Matrix accessory which shipped with Galaxy Force/Cybertron Optimus Prime fits perfectly inside this compartment.
- The cab of the toy was later redecoed into the cab of Ultra Magnus and Pepsi Convoy.
- Decoy (1986)
- A small, red rubber model of Prime, part of a large number of similar figures of other Transformers that were packaged as promotional items with figures in the 1986-87 toyline.
- Powermaster Optimus Prime (1987)
- One year after his original toy left store shelves after his death in Transformers: The Movie in 1986, Prime was restored to life as part of the new Powermaster sub-group. As before, he transforms into a red truck cab with a grey trailer, and when his Powermaster engine parter Hi-Q is plugged into place, the cab becomes a robot, while the trailer transforms into a battle station. The major new feature of the toy, however, is the ability of the cab and trailer to combine together to form a giant "super robot" version of Prime.
- The head for the super robot is a separate piece which must be attached, and the original design for the toy was to have this be an upgraded Roller, who would transform from buggy, to robot, to head. This did not come to pass, however, and the head is left to sit separately with no function in any other mode (although it can be stored in the trailer in truck mode).
- Powermaster Prime was remolded that same year for his Japanese release as Ginrai. His cab, originally plastic with stickers for windows, was recast in die-cast metal, with translucent plastic windows, his smokestacks were shortened and chromed, his small robot mode's eyes were made blue, and his grey plastic was darkened and made more metallic. Ginrai shipped with an additional trailer named God Bomber which turned into an additional robot or combined with him to form a larger robot. Ginrai was reissued in Japan in 2001, in both his original color scheme, a red and orange "Fire Guts" eHobby exclusive, and in black as "Nucleon Quest Convoy." This reissue, in its original colors, was later released by Hasbro, branded as Powermaster Prime, with God Bomber renamed Apex Bomber.
- Action Master (1990)
- Part of the new sub-line of Transformers figures which did not actually transform, Action Master Optimus Prime is a poseable action figure resembling a composite of the original toy and his animated appearance. Instead of transforming himself, he came packaged with the "Armored Convoy," a large truck which could transform into a battle station and an aircraft. This body was the basis for the new form the Last Autobot reconfigured Hi-Q/Prime into at the conclusion of the original US Marvel Comics series.
- Star Convoy (1992)
- A Japanese-exclusive from the final year of the Generation 1 toyline, Star Convoy is the reborn form of Optimus Prime, and comes with a Micromaster version of Hot Rod. He transforms from a truck into a robot (without the usual cab/trailer separation), and can also become a battle station for Micromasters. His electronic "Tread Unit," apparently a new form for Roller, allows him to roll forward or backward in vehicle or robot mode, and becomes a conveyor to roll out Micromasters in base mode. These electronics can also be linked with Star Convoy's fellow Autobot Grandus, to operate that toy's base-mode elevator. A third Autobot, Sky Garry, can also connect in base mode, and the three can link up in vehicle mode, with Grandus hitched to the rear of Star Convoy, and Sky Garry atop him, in a combination called the "Battlestars."
- Star Convoy was reissued in Japan in 2005, his white parts replaced with metallic silver, and his yellow chest cross in chromed gold.
- Generation 2 (1993)
- A redecoed and slightly remolded version of the original Generation 1 Optimus Prime toy, this is the form to which Prime is returned at the beginning of Marvel's Generation 2 comic. With his trailer now black instead of grey, Prime is also equipped with an electronic sound box which emits various laser noises, and the phrase "I am Optimus Prime!" Two firing missile launchers can plug into the side of this box, which can be wielded in Prime's robot fists, while the box itself mounts either on the front of the trailer, or on Prime's back.
- Hero Optimus Prime (1994)
- This new figure's primary feature was a bellows-operated cannon; by slamming your hand down on the small plastic bellows attached to the toy by a hose, a jet of air blasted a rubber-tipped missile through the air. This figure is the form into which the Swarm reconfigured Prime at the conclusion of Marvel's Generation 2 comics, although there, it was rendered with his traditional color scheme, instead of the toy's more unique one. Although there were plans to redeco the toy in more traditional red and blue colors ([1]), this did not come to pass. (A similar colour-scheme was however used for the much-later Armada Powerlinx Optimus Prime.)
- Hero Prime was released in Europe as a different character named "Sureshot," changing the chest stickers which displayed Optimus's name. The toy was later redecoed in black, grey and teal and released as Destructicon Scourge for the Transformers: Robots in Disguise line in 2002.
- Laser Optimus Prime (1995)
- Part of the "Laser Rod" sub-group of 1995 (hence leading him to often be incorrectly referred to as "Laser Rod Optimus Prime"), this incarnation of Prime had a light-up electronic fist which illuminated his clear plastic sword, and light-up heads for his tanker truck vehicle mode. In traditional fashion, the cab became Prime himself while the trailer transformed with spring-loaded action into a very heavily armed battle station with missile launcher, disk launcher and bellows-operated cannon. Highly poseable for the time, this toy was for a long period viewed as one of the best Transformers toys created.
- Laser Prime was later redecoed in black, grey and teal as Black Convoy for Takara's 2000 Car Robots line, who was then in turn imported and turned into Scourge for Transformers: Robots in Disguise in 2001. In 2006, the figure was redecoed again into the Japanese eHobby exclusive, Laser Ultra Magnus.
- Go-Bot Optimus Prime (1995)
- As part of the large sub-line of free-wheeling, simplistic "Go-Bots," this was an unusual Optimus Prime figure, a redeco of an earlier figure named Firecracker which transformed into a red Lamborghini Diablo. Go-Bot Prime was the first Optimus Prime figure to lack the characeter's distinctive mouthplate, but was the first Optimus Prime to score a perfect set of 10s in his tech spec numbers. Additionally, the toy's tech spec gave an explanation for the large number of bodies Prime had been going through during the Generation 2 toyline, crediting an "Internal Reconfiguration Matrix" with the transformations. The US version of the toy came with no Autobot symbol and a plain chest, whereas the Japanese version has a blue Transformers logo on it.
- General Optimus Prime (unreleased)
- There were plans and prototypes to release a toy called General Optimus Prime, a re-coloration of a Decepticon Autoroller in white and grey camouflage deco, but the toy was never released. The figure could be seen, along with Sgt. Hound, and Road Block and Dirtbag, in a picture from the 1995 Hasbro Toy Fair Boy's Toys Catalogue. It appears that the repaints are incorrectly listed, due to the colors of the two figures. [2]
- Optimus Primal (1996)
- Although the later storyline of Beast Wars would go on to depict Optimus Primal as a different character than Optimus Prime, the comic which shipped with the original Beast Wars toy versions of Optimus Primal and Megatron depicted them as new incarnations of Optimus Prime and Megatron. Presumably these forms - Primal as a bat, Megatron as a crocodile - were their new bodies post-Generation 2.
- This toy was redecoed into the BotCon 1996 exclusive toy, the black and grey Onyx Primal, and the Japanese-exclusive Convobat, in traditional red and blue Prime colors.
- Machine Wars (1997)
- The short-lived Machine Wars toy line from Hasbro featured an Optimus Prime figure that was a recolored version of Thunderclash, a 1992 Turbomaster - part of a line of Transformers exclusive to Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Thunderclash was not ill-suited to the job, given that he was a truck with a cab that became a robot and a trailer that became battle station. As a repaint of an existing character, this incarnation of Prime also lacked the characteristic mouth-plate, although the toy's box art depicted him with one, being as it was retooled art from Laser Optimus Prime's packaging. He continued the trend of perfect 10s in his tech specs, but was for a long period regarded as one of the worst Prime toys, not because the toy itself was bad by some fans, but because it was visibly un-Prime-like.
- Transtech (unreleased)
- With the absence of the original Optimus Prime from the main Transformers toyline through Beast Wars and Beast Machines, the proposed Transtech toyline would have brought him back in a new and unusual way. Hasbro's initial plans for the series would feature familiar characters in more organic-looking bodies, except with vehiclular alternate modes instead of the animal forms which had dominated the two recent series. Although the idea was eventually scrapped in favor of Transformers: Armada (with Transformers: Robots in Disguise being imported for the "filler" year in between), Toronto-based design studio Draxhall Jump produced many concept sketches (from which even a few toy prototypes were produced), including, naturally, a new incarnation of Optimus Prime, which essentially fused the alternate modes of Prime and Primal by transforming into a semi truck with a stylised, ape-like face sculpted into its front.
- Smallest Transformers (2003)
- A miniature, two-inch-high version of the original Optimus Prime figure sold in the first wave of the blind-packaged "Smallest Transformers" series (often incorrectly called "World's Smallest Transformers," or "WSTF"). His trailer was available separately, and the figure was later recolored into a cartoon-based paintjob for another release in 2004, alongside a white version of the figure, dubbed "White Mode," but clearly a reference to the shared mold of the original toy and Ultra Magnus. A black version was also produced.
- 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime (2004)
- Released in 2004 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Transformers franchise, this 12" tall version of Optimus Prime strives to reproduce his cartoon appearance in the most intricate detail, going so far as to feature a particularly complex torso transformation in the name of featuring a different design of grill for truck and robot modes. Featuring die-cast metal parts, working suspension, a removable light-up Matrix and flip-up wrist communicators, this highly-poseable Prime was armed with his traditional ion blaster (originally released in grey, later amended to the correct black), his energy axe, and even a gun-mode Megatron.
- In Japan, the toy was released as "Masterpiece Convoy," and was able to feature longer smokestacks due different safety regulations. The Japanese version of the toy also lacked the painted "battle damage" scorch marks. The packaging could be folded up to create a cardboard trailer to hitch up to the back of the cab. Takara later redecoed the figure in white in 2005 as "Masterpiece Ultra Magnus."
- In honor of the 20th anniversary of Transformers: The Movie, this figure is being re-released in 2006 with a new electronic display base which will speak phases from the film. Takara, on the other hand, is apparently releasing the figure with a proper trailer.
- Robot Masters (2004)
- The Japanese Transformers: Robot Masters toyline naturally featured a new toy of Prime, here referred to as G1 Convoy in order to distinguish him from the also-appearing Optimus Primal, also called Convoy in Japan, and here equipped with the qualifier of "Beast Convoy." Designed to look like a small version of the 20th Anniversary figure, the Robot Masters incarnation of Prime featured an overly simplistic transformation that resulted in an unimpressive truck mode, but came with his gun and axe. The figure was redecoed in black as a Dangeki Hobby exclusive in 2005.
- Orion Pax and Barrelroller (2005)
- A redeco of the 2005 reissue of Kup as Orion Pax, available exclusively through the Japanese online retailer, eHobby. Kup's Targetmaster partner Recoil was included as Barrelroller, a droid who transformed into a loading tool, intended as an earlier form of Roller.
- Transformers: Alternators (2006)
- Originally, Hasbro intended for the Dodge Ram toy they had created for the licensed vehicle line, Transformers: Alternators to be a different character, but Takara insisted on the toy's identity as Optimus Prime, as pick-up trucks are an uncommon sight on Japanese roads, and Prime's character would help to sell the toy.
- Oddly, however, when originally solicited, the Japanese version of the toy (the line known there as "Binaltech") was named Ginrai, after the Prime lookalike from Super-God Masterforce, but this solicitation was cancelled. When it appeared again, as part of the "Binaltech Aterisk" line - which featured small PVC figures of girls that could ride in the vehicles - it was as "Black Convoy." This too vanished, and Prime was finally released as himself, with different paint applications, in the "Kiss Players" line, with Marissa Faireborn.
- Alternators Prime was redecoed into Nemesis Prime for the 2006 San Diego Comic Con.
- War Within Optimus Prime (2006)
- Based on Optimus Prime's Cybertronian mode from Dreamwave's Transformers: The War Within comic book series, this transforming figure will be part of the 6" "Cybertron Heroes" size class of Transformers Titanium Series figures.
- Transformers Classics (2006)
- Intended to update classic characters into modern forms, Transformers: Classics does the obvious thing and includes in its first wave a new version of Optimus Prime, who once again transforms into a red truck cab. This Optimus Prime does not have a trailer, and the smokestacks become a rifle. [3]
Other merchandise
As the figurehead of the entire Transformers franchise, Optimus Prime has been on more pieces of merchandise than one can comfortably count, with one of the most outrageous being the "Optimus Prime Oral Care Station". Several statues and busts of Prime have been released by various companies since the return of Transformers to prominence, and other figures released include various PVCs as part of Takara's "Super Collection Figure" line, which were later imported as part of Hasbro's "Heroes of Cybertron" series. Larger "Mega Collection Figure" PVCs were articulated and came with energy axe and gun figures, and the fondness for such representations of the character has not decreased with the release of 3" original and War Within versions of Prime in the Titanium series.
Other incarnations of Optimus Prime
As the Transformers franchise has grown, more continuities separate from the original Generation 1 series and its subsidiaries have come into existence, each featuring Optimus Primes of their own. For the other two most prominent Primes, see:
- Optimus Prime (Robots in Disguise) for the Optimus Prime of Transformers: Robots in Disguise
- Optimus Prime (Unicron Trilogy) for the Optimus Prime of Transformers: Armada, Energon and Cybertron.
The parallel-universe spanning Transformers: Universe line also featured:
- A yellow repaint of the smaller Spychanger version of Robots in Disguise Prime, who appeared in the 2004 Botcon voice actor play, and was seemingly yet another new Optimus Prime taken from a parallel dimension to that of the Robots in Disguise fiction.
- A repaint of the Spychanger Scourge from the Robots in Disguise line, painted to resemble Generation 1 Optimus Prime. Two packaging versions of this toy existed - a Kaybee version which did not attribute the toy to Universe and was packaged in vehicle form, and a version for discount stores which did and was packaged in robot mode. His function is Leader and his motto is "Freedom is the right of all sentient beings." Dedicated to protecting all life, Optimus Prime leads the Autobots in unceasing battle against the evil Decepticons. His courage and wisdom know no bounds, and he is respected throughout the universe as a powerful champion of peace. Carries a blaster rifle as well as the ancient Autobot Matrix of Leadership.
Trivia
- Optimus Prime's original name before he became Autobot leader was Orion Pax in the television series. Orion is the Roman god of the hunt, and Pax is latin for peace.
- There is also an Optimus Prime in the U.S. Army Ohio National Guard. He had his name legally changed to Optimus Prime in March of 2003, on his 30th birthday. His former name has not been disclosed.
- The Alaskan band Mr McFeely have released a moving ballad entitled 'The Death of Optimus Prime', telling the story of the character's first demise.
- In the Family Guy episode, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", it is 'revealed' that Optimus Prime is in fact Jewish. In reference to this, Toyfare magazine's humorous "Twisted Toyfare Theatre" segment once featured a brief scene in which Jewish superhero, The Thing, meets Prime at a synagogue.
- The TV show Robot Chicken parodied Optimus Prime and other G1 Transformers characters. Optimus Prime develops prostate cancer in the associated show segment. It is then revealed that the segment was "acted" by the Transformers, and a healthy Optimus Prime explains that Transformers do not have Prostates and cannot get cancer, but that "You do, and you can." The toy used in the show for Prime was from the Robot Masters line, though the last scene uses the Masterpiece Optimus Prime toy. This was probably due to their exceptional posability and show accuracy.
- The music video for the Nizlopi song JCB features a brief appearance by Optimus Prime.
- Optimus Prime often appears in the online cartoon College University.
- Optimus Prime features in the Internet meme, The Ultimate Showdown of Ultimate Destiny, losing his head to Godzilla in the third verse. Past experience says he will probably be brought back from the dead for a sequel. Further, true to character, Prime is seemingly the only participant who does not directly attack another participant, instead spending his time saving Batman, then attempting to shore up a building that Godzilla has tried to knock down.
- A forty foot (12.2 metre) statue of Optimus Prime has been found in Yunnan Province, China. It is located near several automobile dealerships. The Transformers cartoon was broadcast in China (PRC) from 1990 onwards and had a large following among youths of that generation. [2]
- There are many formulas one could use to estimate Optimus Prime's height. Using average human height scale for the Diaclone mini-pilot figurines as a baseline measurement, the original Convoy/Optimus Prime tops out at 42 feet/12.8 metres tall. Conversely, early Diaclone toys were done at a 1:32 scale to the real vehicles, which makes Optimus Prime's robot mode of 6.3 inches a mere 16.8 feet tall in real life. The 2004 20th Anniversary Optimus Prime figure, on the other hand, is of an imprecise scale existing somewhere between 1:24 (the same scale as Transformers: Alternators) and 1:30, making Prime somewhere between 24 and 30 feet tall.
- The scale of Go-Bot Optimus Prime is a little easier to judge. Go-Bot Optimus Prime is 7 cm long as a toy, and a real Diablo car is 451 cm long. That's a scale of about 1:64. With Optimus standing 7 cm tall, he'd come to only 15 feet tall, as small as the official height of Bumblebee.
References
External links
- Transformers On-Line Encyclopedia
- Champions Role Playing Game character of Optimus Prime.
- tfu.info's page on the original toy. Other variations/editions of the Optimus Prime namesake are listed at the bottom.
- uncyclopedia's page on the fictionally absurd exploits of Prime
- Everything I Need To Know, I Learned From Optimus Prime
- Discovery of 40 foot Optimus Prime statue
- Kenworth Cab Over some designs seem to be based off
- ToyBin Optimus Prime Gallery
