- This article is about the fictional Transformer. For the real-life person who named himself after this character, see Optimus Prime (person).
| Transformers character | |
| Different forms of Optimus Prime and Optimus Primal (Beast Wars) | |
| Optimus Prime | |
|---|---|
| Allegiance | Autobot |
| Subgroup | None |
| Function | Autobot Leader |
| Alternate mode(s) | semi-trailer (G1) |
| Series | G1 cartoon, Marvel Comics, Dreamwave Comics, Beast Wars |
| Voiced by | Peter Cullen (US) Tesshō Genda (Jap) |
In the original Transformers television and comic series, Optimus Prime is the leader of the heroic Autobots by right of his possession of the Matrix of Leadership. In subsequent editions of the Transformers toy line, "Optimus Prime" (or a variation thereof) has become the traditional name for the Autobot leader. In Japanese, he is known simply as Convoy, hence the traditional name of the Autobot leader there is some variation on this word.
In some versions of Transformers continuity, he is only the most recent Autobot leader ("Prime" is akin to a title, not a surname), though he is almost always considered to be the greatest. The original Optimus Prime died and was resurrected multiple times (particularly in the Marvel comic book series), owing to his fortitude, or perhaps his popularity among fans. Consequently, it has become almost a tradition for the further iterations of Prime to meet their ends, and then be restored to life.
The original toy that was to become Optimus Prime was originally released by Takara in October of 1983, and designed by Hiroyuki Obara as part of the Diaclone toyline, there named Battle Convoy. 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.
G1 Optimus Prime
There is no nobler being than Optimus Prime. Were he human, he would be a doctor, a mechanic, a scientist and a warrior - but on Cybertron, there is no difference in these professions, and Optimus uses all his skills to heal, repair, improve the world around him, and if he must, to fight. His care and compassion is without equal, and he will battle unceasingly to protect the weak and defend what he believes in. As a 1980s style Cab-Over semi-trailer, Optimus Prime was made up of three components - the cab transformed into Prime himself, possessing the Autobot Matrix of Leadership, while the trailer became his Command Deck, a mobile battlestation/command headquarters, containing Roller, a mobile scout buggy. Injury to one component was felt by each of the others. The Combat Deck and Roller appear to possess some degree of autonomy, but while Prime could survive their destruction, they would not be able to survive without him.
There have been several interpretations of this character; some writers depict Optimus Prime quite straightforwardly as a wise but essentially upbeat and gung-ho battlefield general who leads by example. However, other portrayals have suggested that in addition to these more obvious characteristics, Prime is a leader secretly plauged by self-doubt and, more importantly, a conflicted sense of pacifism. The cartoon continuity shows Optimus questioning his decisions on several occasions, but the most comprehensive depictions of this more troubled Prime originate in the Transformers comics. See also the similarly differing interpretations of the G1 Megatron in the main Megatron article.
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 - ones with new robot-mode flight powers that made Orion idolise them. Unfortunately for Orion, when Megatron, the leader of these robots, approached him with inquiries about using one 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.
Alpha Trion is known to have kept the Matrix of Leadership safe since the death of the previous Autobot leader, but it is unclear if he gave it to Optimus Prime at this point in time. It is probable, however, as he carries the "Prime" title as soon as Alpha Trion introduces him. Note, however, that Optimus Prime's body was not transformed by the Matrix in the same manner that Rodimus Prime's was - Rodimus's transformation occurred because he was the "Chosen One" of Autobot legend.
As leader of the Autobots, Prime headed up the Ark's mission to search out new worlds with new sources of energy to revitalise the depleted Cybertron. However, shortly after its launch, the Ark was attacked by the Decepticon space cruiser, the Nemesis, and boarded by Megatron and the Decepticons. In the ensuing struggle, the g-forces of a nearby planet pulled the craft down, and it impacted in the side of a dormant volcano, thrusting all the occupants of the ship into emergency stasis. Four million years later, in the Earth year 1984, a volcanic eruption jarred the ship's computer, Teletraan I back to life, and it reactivated the Transformers, programming them with new Earth-based disguise modes.
In Transformers: The Movie, set in the Earth year 2005, Prime sustained terminal injuries in battle with Megatron, and the Matrix and leadership of the Autobots fell to Ultra Magnus, and later to Rodimus Prime. 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 got the other Autobots clear while he piloted his flagship into the Quintessons' detonator, triggering the explosion of a nearby sun.
Prime was believed to be destroyed by this, but in reality, before the flagship impacted with the detonator, his body was recovered from 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 Autobots, 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 unleased its concentrated wisdom to destroy the Hate Plague.
In the show's fourth season, consisting entirely of a three-part miniseries titled "The Rebirth", 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 other organic Nebulans who had become involved in the conflict as a result of these events were able to drain off the excess solar energy and revitalise Cybertron.
Optimus Prime was voiced by Peter Cullen in America, and by Tesshō Genda in Japan. In Brazil, Prime was voiced by Afonso Celso de Vasconcellos (1st and 2nd seasons) and also by the late Darcy Pedrosa (2nd and 3rd seasons and The Movie).
Headmasters
This Japanese-exclusive animated series served as a continuation of the American animated series, except it disregarded the events of "The Rebirth" and picked up a year after the events of Prime's return to life. Here, the releasing of the Matrix's energy begins to destabilise Vector Sigma, forcing Prime to merge with the computer to regulate it, sacrificing his life only a few short episodes after returning, to save Cybertron.
Super God Masterforce
The second of the Japanese-exclusive Transformers series, 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 - because it was designed as part of a plan to bring him back to life, only to be stolen and hidden on Earth by the series antagonist, Devil Z. Ginrai can merge with his trailer, becoming Super Ginrai, and can then merge again with his additional transforming drone trailer, God Bomber, becoming God Ginrai.
This toy was released in America as Powermaster Optimus Prime, with appropriately different accompanying fiction in the pages of Marvel Comics (see below). God Bomber, however, was not released outside of Japan until Powermaster Prime was reissued in 2003, and God Bomber - renamed Apex Bomber - came included.
Battlestars: Return of Convoy
Although this particular piece of Japanese-exclusive fiction was not actually an animated series, it remains part of the animated series continuity. Here, Optimus Prime is finally brought back to life through the use of Zone Energy, as the mighty Star Convoy. As another truck/trailer combination, Star Convoy transforms into a Micromaster base, and can combine with fellow Autobots Grandus and Sky Garry.
Amidst the chaos of civil war, Optimus Prime emerged as leader of the Autobots on Cybertron. He led a group of his most powerful Autobot warriors on the Autobot starship The Ark on a successful mission to destroy an asteroid swarm that threatened to destroy the planet. In the aftermath of this mission, however, the Ark was attacked by Decepticons, and Prime set the Ark on a suicide course, crashing it into the prehistoric planet Earth. Reactivated four million years later, Prime led the Autobots in their battles to prevent the Decepticons from plundering Earth's resources.
Following their opening war for fuel with the Decepticons, the Autobots were all deactivated by Shockwave, who decapitated Prime and leeched the energy of the Creation Matrix from his mind to give life to his creations, the Constructicons (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.
Some time later however, 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.
However, 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 belive 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.
Subsequently, with the threat of Unicron looming, 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
When the Transformers line was revived in the early '90s as Generation 2, Marvel released an accompanying comic book series which follow on from the original. Set an undisclosed period of time after his rebirth, Prime appeared in a form matching his original body - fitting, as the G2 toyline's first Prime figure was the original Prime toy, with added missile launchers and a recoloured trailer. Prime was plagued by visions of the Swarm - a destructive by-product of Transformer reproduction - entering into an alliance with Megatron against it and the forces of the second-generation Cybertronians led by Jhiaxus. Prime's body was destroyed yet again when he confronted the Swarm, but upon releasing the energy of the Matrix into it, purifying it, Prime was reborn by the repentant creature, recreated in a new body based on his Generation 2 "Hero Optimus Prime" figure. At the end of the battle, Prime’s dream of reuniting the two races of Transformers into a single force for good seemed to be a possibility when the Autobots and Decepticons fought side by side against a common foe.
Although these were the only two versions of Prime to appear in the Generation 2 comics, the G2 toyline featured additional Optimus Prime toys which did not appear in the comic book series. These included "Laser Optimus Prime", part of the "Laser Rod" subgroup who transformed into a tanker truck, and featured a light-up sword (later repainted for the Robots in Disguise line as Scourge), and "Go-Bot Optimus Prime", part of another sub-group of smaller, simpler figures, who was a repaint of an earlier figure named Firecracker, who turned into a red Lamborgini. Additionally, there was an unreleased "General Optimus Prime" figure, a repaint of Dirtbag from the auto-transforming "Autorollers" subgroup, who turned into a dump truck. Go-Bot Prime's tech spec offered an explanation for Prime's numerous bodies, crediting an "internal reconfiguration matrix" as the reason behind his multiple forms.
Dreamwave Comics
In the 21st century reimaging 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.
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.
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 organisation run by the enigmatic Lazarus was able to seize control of several of the Transformers that fell back to Earth, while the US 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 a 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.
This short-lived toy line from Hasbro featured an Optimus Prime figure that was a recolored version of Thunderclash, a 1992 toy previously exclusive to Europe. No comic book or television series was ever produced for this toy line.
It is important to note that Optimus Primal, leader of the Maximal faction in this animated series and toyline, was not Optimus Prime - he was 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, as this is mentioned in the first mini-comic that came packaged with the toys indicates. However, once the animated series began, this was forgotten.
The Beast Wars raged on prehistoric Earth, eventually leading to the discovery of the buried Ark, where, in the cumulation of his agenda, Megatron unleashed a full-power weapon blast at Optimus Prime's body, fatally injuring him in a plan to alter history and ensure Decepticon victory in the Great War. However, Optimus Primal proceeded to take Prime's spark into his body to protect it from surgical trauma while his injuries were repaired, and the subsequent power increase cause by Prime's spark's connection to the Matrix mutated Primal into an "Optimal" form with two additional transformations. Then, with the repairs complete, Prime's spark was restored, and he briefly activated before sinking back into normal stasis.
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 realising 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.
Robots in Disguise (Car Robots)
In this stand-alone alternate continuity, Optimus Prime - called Fire Convoy in Japan - leads the Autobots in a secret campaign. Hidden in plain sight on Earth as common, everyday vehicles, the Autobots are forced to emerge when Megatron and his Predacons arrive and wreak havoc in their attempts to attain the power of Earth's varied energy sources.
In this world, Optimus Prime transforms into a fire engine. The front section of the vehicle detaches and becomes Prime himself, armed with his Blaze Blaster cannons and Gryo-Strike leg wheels, while the rest of the vehicle transforms into a mobile battle station/refuelling port/communiations array, and can combine with Prime as additional weapons and armor, forming his super mode. The ladder/hose section houses Prime's "Power Stream" water cannon, capable of shooting freezing streams of water, and also contains a quartet of rocket launchers. His super mode feet contain missile launchers than can mount to the shoulders of his regular robot mode. Prime is also holder of the sacred Matrix, which has led to some degree of bad blood between himself and his hot headed brother, Ultra Magnus (God Magnus), who feels that he was passed over and should be the one to possess the Matrix, which results in his coming to Earth to take what he believes it rightfully his. The brothers are able to combine into the super robot Omega Prime (God Fire Convoy).
For this series, Prime was voiced by Neil Kaplan (English) and Satoshi Hashimoto (Japanese).
Modern Universe
This new alternate-universe incarnation of Optimus Prime is voiced by Gary Chalk in all English-language cartoon versions.
Transformers: Armada (Micron Legend)
Leader of the Autobots and protector of life throughout the galaxy, this universe's Optimus Prime leads his small team of Autobots to Earth to prevent the Decepticons from acquiring the small race of power-enhancing Transformers known as Mini-Cons.
This Optimus Prime transforms into a semi-truck and is partnered with the Mini-Con, Sparkplug (Prime). The cab of his truck mode detaches and forms Prime himself, while the trailer can transform into a battle station mode operable by Prime and several Mini-Cons. Prime can also combine with his base to form a "Super Mode" robot. Additionally, Prime can combine with Jetfire and/or Overload for additional power.
In this universe, the tragic constant of the Transformers multiverse continued, and Optimus Prime died by standing purposefully in the path of the Hydra Cannon built by Megatron from the three Mini-Con weapons. It was the Mini-Cons themselves, however, who resurrected him, entering the Matrix and reconstructing a new body for him. Subsequently, Prime was forced to face the dark part of his soul by Unicron, who forced him to face the fact that on some level, he enjoyed the thrill of combat. Following Unicron's defeat, Prime's denial was sorely tested as Galvatron forced him into one final furious battle, that ended when Galvatron sacrificed himself to end the circle of hate that powered Unicron.
Voiced by Toru Ohkawa in Japan.
Transformers: Energon (Superlink)
Although peacetime in the decade that followed the apparent deaths of Unicron and Galvatron had afforded Prime (called Grand Convoy in Japan) the opportunity to train his own elite squadron of Autobots, teaching the martial art of Kumite, the re-emergence of the war has forced him to return to his role as commander. The war for the Mini-Cons, and the truths he was forced to face in his confrontation with Unicron seem to have changed him - now a stern commander, he is more direct, and shows little of the conflict that held him back. However, he is still known to make classic "Prime" decisions, which include an emphasis on team work, and the foundation of the Autobot values. Some exaggerate his objective as a single-minded, violent dedication to destroying both Megatron and Unicron, but the fact that he has been known to counsel and advise individuals like Kicker and Ironhide, as well as go so far as to compromise with Alpha Q, shows that this is not true.
No longer able to combine with his trailer, Prime has instead been gifted with the Spark of Combination by Primus, allowing him to combine with the quartet of vehicular drones in his trailer, the Prime Force (Grand Cross) - Fire One, Copter Two (Gyro Two), Digger Three and Submarine Four, each of which can form either an arm or a leg when they combine with Prime, creating his Super Mode. Later, Prime also gained the ability to combine with his fellow Autobots, Wing Saber and Omega Supreme, merging with the latter regularly in the final stages of the conflict, growing to colossal heights to directly battle Unicron.
Voiced by Katsuyuki Konishiin Japan.
Transformers: Cybertron (Galaxy Force)
- Galaxy Convoy in Japan.
The Autobot Supreme Commander who is first to arrives to battle & last to leave. To his platoon, he is an extremely warm-hearted leader whom they could depend on. Although subordinants may lose their courage in the most distressing situations, Prime never abandons his friends & always gives it his all. However, at first Prime shows a near-xenophobic reluctance with interacting with other cultures, believing that such interaction would cause more harm than good and strongly prohibiting his team from mingling with the locals of Earth, Velocitron, and Animatros during their search for the Cyber Planet Keys. This attitude was drastically changed when Prime realized that the only way to acquire the Cyber Planet Keys from Velocitron and Animatros was to play by their laws.
His alt-mode is a futuristic firetruck, although some believe it to be some sort of mobile weapons platform (The show itself treats it as a firetruck). This can also transform into a flight mode, with wings and cannons on each side of the truck. In addition to his standard robot mode, he can combine with his rear 'trailer' section to form a heavily armed Super mode. That trailer section can also form an independant weapons platform, useable by anyone.
During the Animatros story arc, it was discovered he could combine with Leobreaker (Liger Jack in Japan) into a stronger form called Savage Claw Mode (Liger Convoy in Japan). In addition, Optimus can combine with Wing Saber (Sonic Bomber in Japan) as well, into Sonic Flight Mode (Sonic Convoy in Japan).
He was voiced by Taiten Kusunoki in the japanese version.
Dreamwave Comics
Just as Marvel Comics produced a companion comic to the original Transformers toyline that differed from its animated counterpart, so too did Dreamwave produce a comic to go along with the Transformers: Armada and Energon lines that owed little to their animated fellows. This incarnation of Optimus Prime, however, is not particularly different from his animated counterpart in personality.
Transported to a parallel universe as the walls of reality began to crumble, fortelling the coming of Unicron to the Armada universe, Prime and Jetfire were supercharged by their Mini-Con companions into new, "Powerlinx" forms, and combined to hold the chaos-bringer at bay. Unicron was eventually defeated by the united power of the Mini-Cons, but ten years later, his threat rose again, and Megatron's disembodied spark, trapped within the world-eater, called out to Prime, intercepting his path during a spacebridge transit, and bringing him inside Unicron's body. Prime fought his way through Unicron's defences, but alas, Dreamwave's closure meant that resolution to the storyline was not accomplished.
See also
- 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.
- In the controversial Family Guy episode, "When You Wish Upon a Weinstein", it is 'revealed' that Optimus Prime is in fact Jewish.
- The TV show Robot Chicken parodied Optimus Prime and other G1 Transformers characters. Optimus Prime contracts prostate cancer in the associated show segment.
- 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
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