Optimus Prime is the leader of the Autobots in the Transformers G1 continuity. Before civil war broke out on Cybertron, Optimus was a mere civilian. As the conflict escalated, he began to voice his disgust over how Cybertronian society had descended into violence. However, he would eventually find himself being chosen by the Matrix of Leadership to take command of the Autobots and lead the fight to free Cybertron from the destructive influence of the Decepticons.
Optimus Prime is charismatic and decisive. He understands the hard choices that need to be made in times of war, but he will always look for a way to win the battle without sacrificing the lives of his soldiers or any bystanders. He firmly believes that freedom is the right of all sentient beings and loss of life - any life - weighs heavily upon him. But he does not succumb to despair and he will always continue fighting for as long as it takes to put an end to the Decepticons' reign of terror.
History[]
Marvel Comics[]
To be added
The Transformers (G1 cartoon and movie)[]
In the episode "War Dawn", Optimus Prime's early history is revealed after the Aerialbots are transported through time via a chronosphere device used by Megatron. While Megatron had planned to send the Aerialbots back to the dawn of time, Optimus Prime destroyed the machine before the process was completed. The Aerialbots found themselves on Cybertron during the planet's Golden Age, nine million years past.
As the Aerialbots marveled at their surroundings, they were greeted by the young dock worker Orion Pax, who introduced them to his friends Dion and Ariel. During this time, the group spotted a trio of robots flying overhead. marveling at their ability. The Aerialbots recognised the flying robots as Decepticons, with Silverbolt warning Pax that they weren't necessarily people he would want to meet. Ariel mentioned overhearing a rumour that these robots had established an army and attacked one of the other city-states, but Orion was unconcerned about the prospect of war, thinking that Cybertron's guardian robots would take care of such things.
Later, as Orion was guiding a ship into dock, he was approached by Megatron, who claimed to be looking for a spare warehouse to store his inventory. When Orion mentioned that his docks primarily stored energon, Megatron commanded his army of drones to attack. Orion objected, only to get blasted by Megatron's fusion cannon. When Ariel and Dion tried to help Orion, they got blasted too. As the Decepticons began plundering the energon stockpiles, the Aerialbots fled along with Orion's inactive body. As they sought help elsewhere in the city, they came across Alpha Trion and begged him to save Orion. Looking over the injured 'bot, Alpha Trion detected a strong spirit within him and agreed to help him. He took Orion into his workshop where he had been modifying many robots in order to fight back against the Decepticons. After waiting for several hours, the Aerialbots were stunned to find that Orion Pax had been completely rebuilt and renamed Optimus Prime: the first of a new breed.
With his new name and new body, Optimus Prime also gained clarity, realizing he was wrong to admire Megatron because of his power. As the Decepticons continued their rampage, Optimus stepped in to confront them, this time being unfazed by Megatron's fusion blasts and swiftly gunning down every Decepticon drone that charged at him.
More Than Meets The Eye[]
With energon resources all but depleted on Cybertron, Optimus Prime led an Autobot crew aboard the Ark in order to seek out new energy sources. However, the Ark was intercepted by the Decepticon warship Nemesis and the enemy managed to board the vessel. As both factions fought within the Ark's command centre, the ship was caught in the gravitational field of a nearby planet, which would turn out to be a prehistoric Earth. The vessel went down and crashed into the side of a volcano with both the Autobots and Decepticons being knocked offline, remaining lifeless for over four million years.
In 1984, a volcanic eruption caused the Ark's computer - Teletraan-1 - to reactivate. The computer launched a reconnaissance probe that scanned several Earth vehicles before it re-energized the Decepticons, who then left the Autobots to rust. However, a parting shot from Starscream caused a rockslide that triggered Teletraan-1 again, which went about reviving the Autobots, starting with Optimus, who received a vehicle mode resembling an 18-wheeler truck.
With the Decepticons no longer within the Ark, Optimus concluded that they must be active and out in the world, most likely attempting to secure Earth's resources for their own purposes. He sent Hound and Cliffjumper on a scouting mission to see if they could find their wayward adversaries. They succeeded in locating the Decepticons and discovered that Megatron intended to plunder Earth's resources to construct and fuel a new starship so that they could return to Cybertron. Suffering from an itchy trigger-finger, Cliffjumper attempted to assassinate Megatron with a long-distance shot, but missed and ended up revealing to the Decepticons that the Autobots were still alive.
When the Decepticons attacked an offshore oil rig, Optimus led an Autobot strike force to stop them. They ultimately failed to prevent the Decepticons from getting away with their plunder and Megatron then blew up the rig with a well-placed shot from his fusion cannon. As the enemy took to the skies, Optimus and the Autobots found themselves in the ocean surrounded by fire. Placing the live of the human workers first, Prime attempted to lift a crane off of the trapped Sparkplug Witwicky and his son Spike. Meanwhile, the other Autobots rescued the remaining humans and extinguished the fire. While the Decepticons had won this engagement, the Autobots gained new allies as Sparkplug and Spike offered to help them by educating the alien robots about Earth.
When the Decepticons later attacked Sherman Dam, Optimus engaged Megatron in an epic duel atop the dam, brandishing his energon axe while Megatron used a mace. While the two leaders fought, the other Autobots were once again overpowered by the Decepticons, who escaped with yet more energon cubes. Distracted by the sight of the fleeing Decepticons, Optimus was sucker-punched by Megatron and sent plummeting off the dam. He survived the fall, however, and was pulled ashore by Jazz.
The Decepticons later took over the ruby crystal mines of Burma and the Autobots plotted to put a stop to them once and for all by planting a bomb in the mines, collapsing the caverns and burying their enemies. Bumblebee and Sparkplug entered the mines and planted the bomb, but were caught. When they failed to report back, Optimus drove up the mountain to rescue them, sending in Roller to find the pair. After Roller entered, the bomb went off and the blast sent Optimus - still in truck mode - rolling down the mountainside. Despite the rough fall, Optimus was able to transform back into robot mode, apparently no worse for wear. The Autobots then went about the task of digging out Bumblebee and Sparkplug, who had also survived. All of the Decepticons had survived the explosion too, as Megatron blasted a way out and they flew away to plan their next raid.
Following the Burma debacle, the Autobots came up with a plan to trick the Decepticons into attacking a decoy target. Using Hound's holographic projectors, they created a false rocket base where they planned to ambush the Decepticons. However, Ravage - who had been captured by the Autobots prior to the Sherman Dam raid - escaped and informed Megatron of this plot. Megatron attacked the holographic rocket site using several fake, animatronic Decepticons made from scrap parts while the rest of his forces attacked the real rocket base.
With the Decepticons having stolen all of the resources they needed to complete their new ship, Optimus Prime led the Autobots to Megatron's base where the Decepticons were about to take off. After a brief battle, the Decepticons boarded their ship which then took to the sky. Optimus refused to accept defeat and commandeered Sideswipe's rocket pack so that he could pursue the Decepticon cruiser. This, too, proved to be a futile gesture as Optimus was shot out of the sky by the ship's gun turret. Though he survived the shot and subsequent fall, Optimus had no way of stopping Megatron now. The Autobots' ill fortune suddenly turned, however, as they looked to the sky to see the Decepticon ship come down in flames and crash into the ocean, followed by a parasailing Mirage, who had boarded the ship during the earlier battle and sabotaged the controls. It seemed that the Autobots were victorious after all, but little did they know that the Decepticons still lived.
Transport to Oblivion[]
Months following their previous battle, the Decepticons reemerged to continue their campaign of terror on Earth. Optimus Prime was dismayed to discover that Megatron and his followers were still functional and were attacking a solar power station. He led a team of Autobots to drive the villains off, and while they were successful, the Decepticons escaped with a large quantity of energon to send to Cybertron with their new intergalactic "space bridge" transport system. Spike was captured and nearly sent across the bridge with the energy, but at the last moment, Prime blasted him free of the transport pod and then hurled Megatron into the bridge in his place.
Divide and Conquer[]
While searching for any trace of where the Decepticons' space bridge would next materialize, Prime received word of a Decepticon attack on a weapons factory and sped to the scene. In the battle that followed, Prime was badly injured by an exploding computer bank when he shielded the human workers with his body, and was taken back to Autobot Headquarters for repair. Alas, Laserbeak followed the Autobots back to their base, and while Prime was lying on a medical table with his internal mechanisms exposed, the crooked cassette struck, destroying Prime's vital cosmitron component. A team of Autobots were dispatched to Cybertron to recover a replacement cosmitron, but in their absence, the Decepticons initiated an all-out attack on the Autobots. At the last moment, the cosmitron arrived, and the repaired Prime made a dramatic entrance onto the battlefield, challenging Megatron to one-on-one combat and soundly defeating him.
S.O.S. Dinobots[]
Optimus Prime okayed Wheeljack and Ratchet's project to create robotic dinosaurs to bolster their forces. Unfortunately, when the three "Dinobots" turned out to be dangerous, simple-minded monsters, Prime ordered them destroyed. Wheeljack was able to talk him down to merely deactivating the Dinobots and sealing them within a cavern in their volcano headquarters... and a good thing, too, since soon after, when Prime and the Autobots were defeated in battle with the Decepticons at the Great Falls, Wheeljack was able to bring the Dinobots back online to save the day. Realizing that "even the wisest of men and machines can be in error", Prime overruled his previous order, and allowed the Dinobots to remain part of the Autobot ranks.
War of the Dinobots[]
Prime was so impressed with the Dinobot trio's improved performance that he ordered the creation of two more. Unfortunately, Prime would soon learn that the Dinobots were not perfect; left alone to guard a strange energy-rich meteorite, the Dinobots were approached by Megatron, who exploited their simple brains to turn them against Optimus Prime. Soon after, when Prime discovered that the meteorite was unstable and set to explode, he rushed out to warn the Dinobots, only to be attacked by them and taken to Megatron. The Decepticons had also stolen the meteorite, unaware of its impending detonation, and when the space-rock finally exploded, Prime dove into action and shoved the Dinobot leader Grimlock to safety. Realizing that Optimus Prime was on the side of the angels, Grimlock apologized, and he and Prime shook hands.
The Ultimate Doom[]
When the Decepticons constructed a massive space bridge in order to bring Cybertron into Earth's orbit, that they might exploit the energies released in the chaos that would ensue, Prime attempted to stop Megatron from activating the third and final pylon in the system. Megatron merely laughed, and informed Prime that he would be the one to activate the pylon—for if he did not, Cybertron would be utterly destroyed. Prime was forced to comply and brought the pylon online, but he did not linger on the moral repercussions of his decision, and instead led the Autobots in combatting the environmental terrors that Cybertron's orbit unleashed.
On top of all this mayhem, the Decepticons had also used hypno-chips to mind-control human slaves into helping them gather energy, including Sparkplug Witwicky. Learning that Sparkplug had been taken to work on Cybertron, Prime felt that it would be best if Spike did not find out, only for the boy to overhear him discussing it. Prime permitted Spike to join a team of Autobots that were heading for Cybertron to investigate the source of the Decepticons' mind-control. Prime then led another team of the Autobots on a mission to stop the construction of a Decepticon hydro-electric generator, cruising into battle on Transformer-sized surfboards.
Things came to a head in a huge firefight on a tropical island, during which the Autobots returned from Cybertron with a device that undid the effects of the hypno-chips. Megatron cut his losses and fled with the energy he had gathered, but Prime then opened fire on his craft, blowing up the energy within and creating an explosion powerful enough to thrust Cybertron back out of orbit.
Countdown to Extinction[]
In the wake of Cybertron's orbit, Optimus Prime and the Autobots set about repairing the damage done to Earth, when an even greater threat emerged: Starscream had set Dr. Arkeville's exponential generator to overload and destroy the planet. For the first time—but not the last—Prime and Megatron were forced to team up for the greater good (or the lesser evil), as Megatron transformed into pistol mode and allowed Prime to wield him so that they could shoot the exponential generator into space and save Earth.
A Plague of Insecticons[]
Hearing reports of giant robotic insects in Bali, Optimus Prime led a team of Autobots to investigate. The team discovered that the insects in question were a trio of "Insecticons" who had allied themselves with Megatron, and pursued them to an oil refinery the Decepticons were in the process of plundering. In one of his most impressive feats of strength ever recorded, Optimus Prime hoisted an entire oil tanker over his head and hurled it at Megatron. The Insecticons were so awed by this display of strength that they decided to consume the gathered energon and flee, earning them Megatron's ire. Although he considered the day a victory, Prime worried that the Insecticons would inevitably ally themselves with Megatron again.
Heavy Metal War[]
When an unarmed Megatron appeared in front of Autobot Headquarters claiming that he had come only to talk, Optimus Prime agreed to hear him out, and found himself challenged to a one-on-one duel in accordance with Cybertronian law. Law and honour dictated that Optimus accept the challenge and that whoever lost the duel would have to leave Earth along with their whole army. Confident in his abilities, Prime accepted the terms.
When the day of the duel came, both Autobot and Decepticon armies gathered in a makeshift arena to watch their leaders fight. What the Autobots weren't aware of was that the entire duel was a scheme hatched by Megatron, who had no intention of fighting fairly and had been enhanced with the powers of each of his soldiers, granting him a staggering advantage against Optimus. Megatron soundly defeated Optimus, much to the outrage and disbelief of the Autobots who were fully prepared to attack the Decepticon leader, but Prime reminded them of the agreement and demanded that they honour it.
As the Autobots returned to their base to prepare for their exile, they discovered the Dinobots battling against the Constructicons outside the Ark. Prime reminded his troops that they weren't to get involved with the fight due to the agreement with Megatron and returned to the Ark. Spike's friend Chip Chase used Teletraan-1 to analyze Optimus' battle injuries and discovered that they were consistent with the powers and weapons used by other Decepticons, revealing that Megatron had cheated in order to win the duel. With the deception uncovered, Optimus declared that the agreement with Megatron was null and void, leading the Autobots outside to aid the Dinobots in the battle against Devastator. With a blast from his fully-charged rifle, Optimus was able to reduce Devastator down to his component Constructicons. The Autobots then pressed their attack against the Decepticons and forced them all into a lava-filled chasm. Spike wondered if this was the last they had seen of the Decepticons, but Optimus suspected quite rightly that the war was far from over yet.
Changing Gears[]
When Megatron threatened the stability of the sun with his Solar Needle, Prime was caught off guard by the Decepticon leader and wound up staring down his fusion cannon. Megatron ordered the other Autobots to lay down their weapons, but Prime told them to leave him to his fate and destroy the needle. Refusing to risk their commander's life, the Autobots complied with Megatron's wishes, but Prime found a way out of the situation by requesting a last wish: he asked Gears, who had been rendered totally subservient by the removal of one of his circuit cards, to destroy the Solar Needle for him, and the deed was done before Megatron could do anything about it.
City of Steel[]
When the Decepticons attempted to take over New York City, Optimus Prime led his Autobots into the partially-transformed metropolis to stop them. Prime was ambushed and captured by the Decepticons, who then disassembled him. Though taken apart, Prime remained alive, but Megatron kept possession of his head while allowing the Constructicons to do whatever they wanted with his other parts.
When the Autobots attempted to access Megatron's fortress via the city sewers, they found themselves being attacked by a robotic alligator. They managed to evade the monstrous mechanimal, later finding Optimus' head. Receiving conflicting readings on his scanners, Hound realised that the alligaticon had been built from Optimus' parts. The Autobots went after the creature and subdued it, dismantling it in order to put Prime's body back together. Afterwards, Prime was almost fully restored, but his right arm and ion blaster rifle were still missing. The heroes soon discovered that their leader's arm had been installed atop the Empire State Building as a defence turret, ready to blast away any intruders.
The Autobots soon stormed the ESB, but had to contend not just with Optimus' arm, but also Devastator. Fortunately, Optimus was able to control his arm remotely after getting close enough to it, manipulating it into shooting Devastator off the building. With Devastator defeated, Optimus reclaimed his arm and he and the other Autobots soon sent the Decepticons packing.
A Prime Problem[]
As part of a plot to lead the Autobots to their doom in a crevasse of korlonium crystals, Megatron created a perfect clone of Optimus Prime, which he could remote control from a distance. Despite the Prime clone's blatantly odd behaviour, the Autobots were unable to tell the difference between the two Primes, so they staged several contests in hopes of identifying the true Prime through his skills. Unfortunately, a sharp-shooting test and a race yielded no results, and the Autobots were forced to table the debate and go into battle against the Decepticons with both Primes. To fully complete the illusion, Megatron proceeded to create a clone of Starscream, which his Prime clone then destroyed, convincing the Autobots that it was the genuine article. Unfortunately, Megatron promptly blew his ruse by dismissing Spike's safety as unimportant, and all of the Autobots immediately turned on the clone and blew it to smithereens.
Child's Play[]
When the Decepticons attempted to turn a baseball stadium into a new space bridge, the mechanism malfunctioned, teleporting Prime, Bumblebee, Perceptor, Inferno, Smokescreen and a quartet of Decepticons to an alien planet inhabited by giants. Prime took the diplomatic approach, introducing himself and the Autobots to Aron, the alien boy into whose room they had been transported, and Aron then helped his new friends evade capture and dissection by the planet's authorities. Following a riotous sewer-surfing journey back to Aron's house, the Autobots departed the planet in a toy rocket ship Perceptor had rewired.
The Gambler[]
On the return journey to Earth from Aron's planet, the Autobots were captured by the alien gambler Bosch, who brainwashed them all, save Smokescreen, and sold them to Lord Gyconi on the asteroid resort of Monacus. Optimus Prime was pitted against an Animalien in a gladiatorial battle for Gyconi's patrons' amusement before Smokescreen and Bosch secured the Autobots' freedom and restored their minds, allowing them to escape and resume their journey back to Earth.
Prime Target[]
Optimus Prime's fame and prowess led him to become the target of the demented big-game hunter, Lord Chumley, who sought Prime's head to go along with his other rare trophies. Chumley captured several Autobots in order to lure Prime to his estate, and of course, the Autobot leader had no choice but to comply. Battling his way through a mock-up of Cybertron itself against all kinds of bizarre traps and creatures, from a ferocious dragon-like beast, to several robotic arachnids, to the interfering Astrotrain and Blitzwing, Prime succeeded in freeing his Autobot comrades, capturing Chumley, and delivering him to the authorities.
The Search for Alpha Trion[]
Prime received the shock of his life when Megatron contacted him to inform him that Elita-One was still alive, and had been captured by his Decepticons on Cybertron. Prime immediately departed for Cybertron to rescue her, but walked straight into the trap that had been laid for him, and was trussed up by the Decepticons and dangled above a vat of acid. Just as Prime was dropped, Elita used her secret power to stop time, freezing Prime in mid-air and pulling him to safety. Unfortunately, the use of her power drained almost all of her life-force, leaving her on the brink of death, so Prime loaded her aboard his trailer and set out in search of Alpha Trion, in the hope that the ancient Autobot could heal her.
In the process, Prime rediscovered his own forgotten connection to his creator, when Alpha Trion shocked him with intimate knowledge of his and Elita's systems by telling him that only his own power supply could properly interface with Elita's. Prime gave Elita the power transfusion necessary to save her life, and the two lovers then joined the other Autobots in fighting off the Decepticons. Prime regretted that they had to part ways again, but Elita knew that she had to continue the fight against the Decepticons on Cybertron.
The Key to Vector Sigma[]
When Megatron rebuilt several cars into a new group of warriors known as the Stunticons, Optimus Prime realized that the Decepticons would have to travel to Cybertron and reactivate the mega-computer Vector Sigma in order to give life to these new creations. Optimus intended to follow Megatron, but since the Autobots lacked a space bridge, they would have to travel via Omega Supreme's rocket mode, giving the Decepticons a significant headstart. By the time the Autobots had arrived at Alpha Trion's lab on Cybertron, the Decepticons were already halfway to Cybertron's core.
After repairing Alpha Trion, the Autobots made their way into the core. Along the way, they entered an abandoned hangar containing the remains of numerous maintenance drones and a series of ancient shuttlecraft. Soon, they found themselves under attack by Vector Sigma's centurion droids, which Megatron was able to command since he had the mega-computer's circuit key. The droids were practically invulnerable and the Autobots fell back to the hangar. There, Optimus devised a plan to use the ancient maintenance drones to distract the centurions. Two batches of drones were repaired, though the first batch was quickly torn apart by the centurions. The second group of drones instead lured the centurions over a ledge, falling into a lower level. With the centurions dealt with, the Autobots proceeded onward towards Vector Sigma.
When the Autobots arrived at Vector Sigma's chamber, the Decepticons were long gone, having succeeded in giving life to the Stunticons and returning to Earth with the circuit key. Since Megatron built the Stunticons to fight the Autobots on the roads, Optimus decided that they would take the fight to the skies by building a new air combat unit. Salvaging the ancient shuttles from the hangar, the Autobots rebuilt them into a new group of robots that would be dubbed the "Aerialbots". However, without the Key to Vector Sigma, Alpha Trion had no choice but to merge his own spark with the mega-computer in order to bring it back online. After Vector Sigma awoke, Optimus addressed it and requested that it give life to the Aerialbots, granting them the capacity to make their own decisions while imbuing them with a sense of justice and compassion. After the Aerialbots were brought online, the Autobots made their way back to Earth where they would confront the Stunticons and stop Megatron's plan to cyberform Earth using the Key to Vector Sigma.
War Dawn[]
After being informed of abnormal energy readings emanating from Cybertron, Optimus Prime led an expedition there that included the Aerialbots. After the Seekers tricked the Aerialbots into setting foot on a chronosphere device, Megatron activated the time machine and attempted to send the Aerialbots all the way back to the beginning of the universe. Before the temporal shift was completed, Prime blasted the chronosphere to smithereens. While the Aerialbots were spared from being trapped at the dawn of creation, they still ended up nine million years in the past, finding themselves in Cybertron's Golden Age.
Eventually, the Autobots were able to repair the chronosphere and bring the Aerialbots back to the present, just in time to fend off a guardian robot that the Decepticons had revived. After the guardian was destroyed and the Decepticons had fled, Silverbolt told Optimus Prime about what they had learned about Megatron in the past, as well as revealing that they had met Prime's past incarnation: Orion Pax. Upon hearing his past name, Optimus recalled how Megatron had almost killed him when they first met and how the Aerialbots had saved him by taking him to Alpha Trion to be rebuilt.
Transformers: The Movie[]
By 2005, the Decepticons had conquered Cybertron and the Autobot forces were divided between Earth and Cybertron's two moons, with Optimus Prime commanding Moonbase 1. In preparation for a final assault on Cybertron, Prime sent Ironhide, Prowl, Brawn and Ratchet on an energon run to Autobot City on Earth. However, the shuttle was intercepted by the Decepticons who used it to bypass Autobot City's early-warning systems, allowing them to attack the fortress city while its defences were down. Fortunately, Blaster was able to transmit an SOS to Prime, who later arrived with reinforcements.
Arriving at Autobot City and witnessing the carnage Megatron had wrought, Prime transformed and drove into the city, knocking down several Decepticons along the way. The other Decepticons opened fire on Prime as he charged towards them, transforming back into robot mode and gunning each of them down as he sought out Megatron, soon cornering the Decepticon leader. Optimus declared that one would stand and the other would fall as the two arch-enemies engaged in what was to be their final battle. The fight was fierce and Optimus suffered a number of injuries, but it seemed that he was truly the stronger of the two as he managed to disarm Megatron and throw him across the platform. With Megatron floored, Optimus picked up his dropped rifle and took aim. Megatron feigned pleading for mercy while reaching for a discarded blaster nearby, but just as he reached the weapon, the young Autobot Hot Rod suddenly intervened, jumping the Decepticon leader and blocking Prime's shot. Megatron took full advantage of the moment, grabbing Hot Rod with one arm to use as a shield while he used his other arm to raise the blaster and shoot Optimus multiple times. Optimus fell and Megatron tossed Hot Rod aside before walking over to his nemesis, ready to deliver one final shot. As Megatron stood gloating over him, Prime mustered the last of his strength and slammed his foe with both arms, sending the Decepticon commander falling over the edge of the platform. Prime then collapsed to the deck as Hot Rod ran over to him, begging for forgiveness.
With Megatron defeated, the Decepticons retrieved their fallen leader and retreated aboard Astrotrain. Optimus was rushed to the medical bay where he was examined by Perceptor, who delivered the tragic news that Prime's wounds were fatal. With the Autobots' medical personnel having been killed in the battle, nothing could be done to save Prime, but he told the Autobots around him not to grieve for him as he would soon be one with the Matrix. Prime then turned to Ultra Magnus, entrusting him with the responsibility of leading the Autobots from then on, though Magnus insisted that he was not worthy of the honour. Prime then uttered some prophetic words to Magnus, telling that one day the Matrix of Leadership would light their darkest hour. He then opened his chest and removed the Matrix, which fell from his trembling hand as he uttered the words "'Til all are one." After Ultra Magnus installed the Matrix within himself, he, Hot Rod, Arcee, Springer, Kup, Perceptor and Daniel Witwicky stood solemnly as they watched the light flicker from their leader's optics and his body lose all colour. Optimus Prime was no more.
Dark Awakening[]
Following the defeat of Unicron, the Autobots laid their fallen heroes to rest inside a great orbital mausoleum, including Optimus Prime. However, the former Autobot leader would not be allowed to rest in peace as his body was stolen by the Quintessons, who were able to revive him and implant him with mind-control devices, turning him into their puppet. Optimus himself would have no idea what the Quintessons had done to him, believing that his actions were of his own will.
In 2006, Rodimus Prime, Kup, Ultra Magnus, Arcee and the Witwicky's boarded the orbital mausoleum after their ship was destroyed by the Decepticons. While aboard, Daniel briefly separated from the group and came across Optimus, running back to his father to tell him what he saw. Initially, the others didn't believe Daniel, but Rodimus decided to investigate Optimus' tomb and found that it was empty. Shortly after, the group were attacked by the Decepticons and pushed back into the main crypt. Before Galvatron could execute Rodimus, Optimus Prime suddenly appeared, weapon in hand, and fired at the Decepticons. Terrified by the sudden appearance of the former Autobot leader, the Decepticons withdrew.
Optimus approached Rodimus, asking if the Matrix was safe. Rodimus, having never been comfortable with the responsibility of leadership, was all too willing to give the Matrix back to his predecessor. After receiving the Matrix, Optimus suddenly attacked the group before activating the mausoleum's auto-destruct sequence. As Optimus fled in an escape shuttle, the mausoleum flew towards a nearby sun. Prime returned to Cybertron where he told the other Autobots that Rodimus' crew had all been killed by the Quintessons, using it as a rallying cry for the entire Autobot fleet to mobilize and attack the Quintessons' new home base. However, this was all a part of a Quintesson plan to wipe out the Autobots in one fell swoop: they had programmed Optimus to lure the fleet towards a planetoid that had been rigged with an enormous detonator powerful enough to annihilate the whole fleet once it was in range.
As Optimus took command of the Autobot fleet and led them towards the Quintessons' trap, a message came in that Rodimus and his group had survived and were on their way to rendezvous with the armada. Convinced that this was mere Quintesson trickery, Prime ignored the message and ordered the fleet to proceed with all speed. When Rodimus and his group approached the flagship aboard an Interceptor craft, Prime ordered the incoming ship destroyed. Rodimus and co. ejected from their vessel just in time and boarded the flagship where Rodimus confronted Optimus on the bridge. During the confrontation, it became clear to Rodimus that Optimus was not in control of himself and that he was struggling to resist the Quintessons' influence. Nevertheless, Optimus attacked with lethal force and was able to fight effectively in spite of the damage to his own body. While Rodimus was able to remove one of Optimus' arms during their fight, he could not bring himself to kill his former leader. Optimus moved in for the kill, but the Matrix within his chest began to overpower the Quintessons' mind control, bringing him back to his senses. Optimus then removed the Matrix and returned it to Rodimus, telling him to leave before he returned to the bridge and issued his final command to the Autobot fleet: return to Cybertron.
As the rest of the Autobot armada escaped, Optimus continued to pilot the flagship on his own towards the Quintesson detonator. The Quintessons threw all of their firepower at the flagship, but nothing could stop it. The heavily-damaged Optimus uttered "Til all are one" one last time before his ship collided with the detonator and was subsequently vaporized in the resulting explosion. The other Autobots watched the explosion from a safe distance, mourning the passing of their greatest leader for the second time.
The Return of Optimus Prime[]
In a blatant disregard for continuity, Optimus Prime would return fully repaired with no explanation as to how this occurred. Despite being physically pristine, he was not alive. Furthermore, his ship was not flying towards a Quintesson detonator but towards a star in the process of going nova.
While scientists Gregory Swofford and Jessica Morgan were testing out a starship constructed from a new radiation-proof alloy, they detected Optimus Prime's ship heading towards a nearby star. With the star about to go nova, there was little time for them to rescue the former Autobot leader, something that Swofford was hesitant to do since he blamed Optimus for the scar on his face, an injury which he had procured years ago during one of Prime's innumerable fights with Megatron. Jessica coerced her bitter colleague into helping her save Optimus and they got his body aboard their ship just in time. As the star exploded, it scattered solar spores that covered the hull of the Solaris, which brought them back to Earth along with Optimus Prime's body.
After the Decepticons raided Mark Morgan's lab, Jessica was injured in the ensuing battle between the Terrorcons and Technobots. Jessica survived, but had been rendered paralyzed and required a cybernetic exoskeleton on her legs to move about. Morgan blamed the Autobots for his daughter's condition and had developed a hatred for all Transformers since they had brought their war to Earth. Seeking revenge against all Transformers, Morgan and Swofford plotted to use Optimus Prime's body and the hate-inducing spores they had brought to Earth to destroy them all. Since Prime was lifeless at the time, they could not infect him with the hate spores, instead deciding to use Optimus' body as bait to lure the Autobots into a trap. Mark told Jessica to meet with the Autobots and tell them that Optimus was at the lab. Despite not sharing her father's hatred for the Autobots, Jessica did as she was told and informed Rodimus Prime of her father's plan.
Rodimus assembled a strike force to head for Dr. Morgan's laboratory, disregarding Jessica's warning of a trap. While Rodimus managed to secure Optimus' body, the other Autobots were exposed to the hate spores and were driven insane, attacking each other and everyone else around them. The Decepticons soon arrived so that they could destroy Optimus' body, but they too fell victim to the hate plague, which was spread via touch. Rodimus narrowly escaped from the lab with Jessica and Optimus' body, returning to Metroplex where he contacted Sky Lynx, asking him to find and capture a Quintesson in order to resurrect Optimus. Not long after this, however, Rodimus would also be infected with the hate plague.
Sky Lynx succeeded in finding a Quintesson and brought it back to Earth. Returning to Metroplex, the two got to work on reviving Optimus and were ultimately successful. When Optimus was restored to full functionality, Sky Lynx informed him of the current situation with the hate plague virus. He, Optimus and their Quintesson captive then went about recovering the few Autobots who had avoided infection and contemplated a plan of action. Optimus believed that a solution lay with the Matrix of Leadership, but since the relic was in Rodimus' possession, there was no way to get it without contracting the hate virus as well. Jessica Morgan told Optimus about the alloy she, her father and Dr. Swofford had developed and how it was impervious to radiation and heat. Optimus surmised that he could be rendered immune to the plague if he were to be coated in the metal, but the Decepticons had stolen Morgan's entire supply. The Autobots promised to retrieve the metal and set off to the planet Chaar, the Decepticons' home base.
Arriving on Chaar, Optimus and his team found Galvatron running for his life from the other Decepticons, who had all been infected with the hate spores. They fought off the crazed Decepticons and Optimus told Galvatron that the alloy he had stolen held the key to stopping the plague. The Decepticon leader agreed to take the Autobots to the location where the metal was stored, though Prime and the Autobots knew better than to trust him with the full details of why the metal was so important. Upon arriving at the storage facility containing the metal, Jessica let slip that Optimus planned to coat himself with the metal and turned on him. Sky Lynx was able to disarm Galvatron and he was put to work loading up the metal for shipment. It wasn't long, however, before the infected Decepticons followed them, infecting Galvatron, Jessica and most of the Autobots. Only Optimus and Sky Lynx managed to escape and returned to Earth where the Quintesson went about coating Prime with the alloy.
Once coated and protected from the hate spores, Optimus went in search of Rodimus Prime. Upon finding him, Optimus tried to appeal to Rodimus' better nature, but the young Autobot leader was gripped by madness and shot at Optimus before driving away. Optimus chased Rodimus down to a steel mill where the two fought a heated battle. While Optimus tried his best to subdue Rodimus gently, it soon became clear that he couldn't be reasoned with or be defeated without resorting to extreme force. Though Rodimus furiously resisted every step of the way, Optimus was finally able to knock him out and reclaim the Matrix of Leadership.
After reclaiming the Matrix, Optimus went offline as he entered its astral realm to commune with the Autobot leaders of the past. The Quintesson had to recover his inactive body and hide it from Galvatron and a mob of infected Transformers. While within the Matrix, Optimus spoke to Alpha Trion and several other ancient Autobot leaders, hoping to find the answer to curing the hate plague. One such entity explained to Optimus that such madness could only be fought with wisdom, and Optimus realized that the accumulated wisdom within the Matrix itself could destroy the hate spores. Just as the maddened Galvatron had found Optimus and was about to thrust a spike through his torso, Prime awoke and his chestplate opened, releasing the energy of the Matrix which spread across the Earth. The Matrix energy wiped out the hate spores and cured all infected beings across the world, though the Matrix itself had been reduced to an empty shell. With the crisis over, Galvatron told Optimus that he had earned his respect and the Decepticons left without further aggression. Morgan and Swofford apologized for what they had done before being taken by the authorities while Optimus Prime once more stepped into the position of Autobot leader.
The Rebirth[]
Since resolving the hate plague crisis, Optimus had become overwhelmed by an inexplicable sense of urgency, convinced that something tremendous would soon happen. This vague prophecy began unfolding when the entire Decepticon army attacked Autobot City, but as the Autobots fought against the bulk of their forces, the spies Wingspan and Pounce infiltrated the complex and stole the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber. The Decepticons then withdrew and headed for Cybertron, but Optimus rallied his forces and followed them. He sent out a warning to Kup and the other Autobots already on Cybertron, warning them not to let the Decepticons open the Plasma Energy Chamber.
By the time Optimus and his army arrived, the Plasma Energy Chamber was no longer on Cybertron, having been taken by Kup and his group. As the Autobots and Decepticons clashed for control of the planet, Prime ventured into the core to seek answers to his questions. Using the shell of the Matrix, he reactivated Vector Sigma and merged with it, meeting with the spirit of Alpha Trion within. Alpha Trion explained what had happened to the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber and that is was currently on the planet Nebulos. He also went on to say that Vector Sigma had allowed Galvatron to learn of the Key's existence, all as part of a plan to bring about a second Golden Age of Cybertron. This plan required the Key remain safe no matter what.
After emerging from Vector Sigma, Optimus Prime departed Cybertron for Nebulos, leaving Ultra Magnus in command of the Autobot forces fighting off the Decepticon onslaught. When he arrived on Nebulos, he was greeted by Kup's group and found that they had all binary-bonded with members of the Nebulon rebellion, becoming Headmasters and Targetmasters. The group then headed out to confront Cyclonus and his group of Decepticons who had allied themselves with the Hive, who were in possession of the Key. While the Autobots took the Key back briefly, it was quickly taken away again by Mo Zarak and Scorponok, who captured Arcee and Daniel Witwicky before departing for Cybertron.
Optimus Prime and the binary-bonded Autobots prepared to depart for Cybertron, but Spike stated that he was staying behind with Cerebros. Optimus urged Spike to come since organic beings were immune to plasma energy and he stood the best chance of shutting down the Plasma Energy Chamber should it be opened, but Spike had a plan to fight back against Scorponok and needed Cerebros' help to make it work. Hesitantly, Optimus allowed Spike to remain while he and the other Autobots took off in their shuttle. When they reached Cybertronian space, however, they found that their planet was gone, vanished without a trace. However Galvatron had moved the planet, Optimus suspected there was only one place he would take it, telling Kup to set a course for Earth.
As Prime had suspected, Cybertron had indeed been moved to the Sol system. When they landed, they discovered that Ultra Magnus and his forces had all been defeated and had their power cells removed to fuel the rocket engines that had propelled Cybertron to its current location. With the last of his energy, Magnus told Prime that Galvatron had the Key to the Plasma Energy Chamber and was going to use it to destroy Earth by pouring plasma energy into the sun, triggering a supernova. The Nebulons, fearing that the chain reaction might reach their world, abandoned their Autobot partners to storm Scorponok. When the Autobots followed, they wound up being captured by the Decepticons.
Whilst Prime and the others were being held captive within Scorponok, Spike returned to Cybertron with Fortress Maximus, a battle station built from the remains of the original Hive City. A terrific battle erupted between Maximus and Scorponok as both titans transformed into their colossal robot modes. Fortress Maximus managed to overpower Scorponok and the captive Autobots were freed, but by then the Plasma Energy Chamber had opened. The Decepticons fled the planet aboard Scorponok, which was flung across space after being struck by a bolt of plasma energy. The Autobots, meanwhile, began suffering from power overload and were brought to near death. Prime begged Spike to shut down the Chamber, telling him of the miracle promised by Vector Sigma. With the help of Gort and the other Nebulons, Spike was able to shut down the Chamber and reconfigure Galvatron's rocket engine to draw energy in rather than expel it. This stopped the sun from exploding by absorbing the excess energy it was giving off, which was then used to re-energize Cybertron. With the Autobots, Cybertron and Earth saved, Optimus thanked Spike and Cerebros, telling the pacifistic Autobot that he did not have to fight any more.
Transformers: The Headmasters[]
To be added
Dreamwave Comics[]
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IDW Publishing[]
Full article: Optimus Prime (IDW)
Transformers: Devastation[]
To be added
Abilities[]
- Superior Strength - Optimus is one of the largest and strongest of all the Autobots, in body and mind. He is capable of lifting 4,000,000 pounds unaided and a blow from his fist exerts a force of 12,000 pounds per square inch.
- Ion Blaster - Optimus carries a powerful ion laser rifle in battle. This weapon has a range of 30 miles.
- Energon Axe - Optimus wields an energon-powered axe in melee combat.
- Alternate Modes - Optimus's Cybertronian vehicle mode is some form of large, armoured truck. His Earth vehicle mode is that of a Freightliner FL86 truck.
- Triple Components - Optimus Prime's robot mode is divided into three segments. His main body is the Brain Center, his trailer transforms into an armed combat deck, and he has a wheeled surveillance module called Roller. The combat deck is armed with several artillery and energy-based weapons.
Notes[]
- In almost every incarnation, Optimus Prime has sacrificed himself to protect others or died while protecting others, and come back to life at a later date.
- In Japan, he is known as Convoy.