MediaWiki - User contributions [en]

Operation: Firestorm

2011-10-08T13:39:35Z

195.93.21.40:

[[Image:ROTFMegatronSam.jpg|thumb|350px|Megatron begins his attack on his hated enemy- the Photoshop lens flare.]]

'''Operation: Firestorm''' was the battle the [[Autobot]]s, [[NEST]], and the [[United States military]] waged against the [[Decepticon]]s for possession of the [[Matrix of Leadership]] in 2009. The Decepticon objective was to seize the Matrix and activate the [[star harvester]] that the [[Dynasty of Primes]] had built thousands of years ago, while the Autobots and NEST sought to use the Matrix to resurrect [[Optimus Prime (Movie)|Optimus Prime]], the last of the [[Prime (rank)|Prime]]s and the only one who could defeat [[The Fallen]].

{{quote|We got a whole lot of fight coming our way!|[[William Lennox|Major Lennox]]|[[Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen]]}}

==Fiction==
===''Revenge of the Fallen''===
Thousands of years ago, the Dynasty of Primes came to [[Earth]] and tried to build a machine which would harvest [[Energon (fuel)|Energon]], a process which would destroy the star Earth orbited. When the Primes discovered that the planet was inhabited by the [[human]]s, the majority of the Primes decided to uphold their law regarding the sanctity of life and not proceed. One of the Primes, however, despised the humans and sought to activate the machine. A great battle took place, but the Dynasty prevailed and stole the Matrix from their brother, giving their lives to seal in a tomb made of their bodies. The rogue Prime was forever known as The Fallen, and his followers became known as the Decepticons.

In the present, Optimus Prime, the last descendant of the original Primes, gave his life to protect [[Sam Witwicky]], who subconsciously knew where to find the Matrix from the [[AllSpark]], from the clutches of [[Megatron (Movie)|Megatron]], the Decepticon commander and disciple of The Fallen. Unable to find the boy on their own, the Decepticons made overt attacks in order to compel the humans to turn Sam over to them. In response, the United States government shut down NEST and ordered the Autobots with them detained. When Sam learned what he was carrying from [[Jetfire (ROTF)|Jetfire]], a former Decepticon who had been sent to find the Matrix by The Fallen, he theorized that the Matrix might be able to resurrect Optimus. Setting out with his girlfriend [[Mikaela Banes]], roommate [[Leo Spitz]], former [[Sector Seven]] agent [[Seymour Simmons]], and the Autobots [[Bumblebee (Movie)|Bumblebee]], [[Skids (ROTF)|Skids]] and [[Mudflap (ROTF)|Mudflap]], Sam managed to contact Major [[William Lennox]] of NEST and arrange for Optimus Prime's body to be brought to the [[Gulf of Aqaba]], which held a clue to where the Matrix was hidden. Sam eventually managed to find the [[Tomb of the Primes]] in [[Petra]], but the Matrix seemingly crumbled to dust. Sam continued his belief that the Matrix could still work and gathered up the dust, then headed out with his companions while NEST airdropped into the Gulf.

Unfortunately, [[Starscream (Movie)|Starscream]] was in Egypt following an earlier lead on Sam. Finding the convey, Starscream began strafing Bumblebee's group. Heading into a nearby quarry, Sam and Mikaela split off from the rest of the group, while Simmons and Leo took [[the Twins]] as a diversion. Before NEST could make contact with the [[Pentagon]], Starscream released an [[electromagnetic pulse]] that disabled their communication, also noting Prime's body. [[Soundwave (ROTF)|Soundwave]], watching events from orbit, quickly disabled all the other satellites above the region, convincing [[Morshower|General Morshower]] to launch a UAV over the region, while also contacting the governments of [[Egypt]] and [[Jordan]] to request an assist in confirming visuals.

[[Image:ROTF Protoform army.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Humans went to war wearing body paint. Decepticons went nude.]]
As the Twins took Simmons and Leo to a quarry in [[Giza]], it quickly became apparent that Starscream was no longer following them. As Simmons considered how to proceed, Megatron arrived and landed on the [[Great Pyramid of Giza]]. Starscream informed Megatron of the presence of Prime's body, and Megatron surmised the boy's intentions. As Starscream flew off, Megatron ordered the Decepticons to begin their assault. At his command, thirteen Decepticons landed in [[transition form]]s between the NEST landing site and the Pyramids, beginning a search for Sam. Major Lennox explained the situation to his colleagues, then ordered a group of volunteers to accompany [[Ironhide (Movie)|Ironhide]] and [[Arcee (Movie)|Arcee]] up through a set of pillars to find Sam and get him to Optimus. At the quarry, the [[Constructicon (ROTF)|Constructicon]]s arrived to form [[Devastator (ROTF)|Devastator]], who would ''not'' actually be joining the main group.

Making their way to NEST's position, Sam and Mikaela were forced to duck into an abandoned house as Starscream made a fly over. The two humans intended to wait until it was clear, but Starscream had detected their presence and led a group of Constructicons and Protoforms in search of Sam. it didn't go very well, to the point Starscream began shooting the ground in frustration. As Sam and Mikaela tried to wait out the Decepticons, an [[Insecticon (Movie)|Insecticon]] entered the hut the two teens were hiding in. Sam destroyed the small Decepticon before he realized what it was, but not before it sent out a transmission. Starscream tore off the roof of the hut and tried to grab Sam, but his efforts brought down part of the wall, allowing the teens to escape. [[Scrapper (ROTF)|Scrapper]] nearly crushed the two teens with his [[mace|flail]], and Starscream tried the less subtle method of firing missiles at the humans, but they managed to evade the Decepticons. Before Starscream's group could proceed, [[Sideswipe (ROTF)|Sideswipe]] and NEST soldiers opened fire on the Decepticons, preventing them from pursuing Sam. Ironhide's team then [[roll out|rolled out]] with Arcee providing escort.

[[Image:ROTF Devastator vs Twins.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Don't you hate it when your food fights back?]]
Back the quarry, the presence of the Twins compelled Devastator to activate his [[Vortex Grinder]] and begin swallowing up everything in sight. Simmons was nearly swallowed, but was saved by Leo. Mudflap was less fortunate, and was swallowed whole, which seemed to stop Devastator. Simmons realized that the only safe place was underneath Devastator, and the group made their way to him. At that point, Mudflap, who had survived, burst out of Devastator's head. Mudflap then began a furious assault on Devastator, who was unable to return fire due to his target being ''on his head''. Skids climbed up Devastator and fired a grapple to his brother, allowing Mudflap to reach him. Unfortunately, Mudflap then accidentally shot Skids in the face, sending the two Autobots to the ground below.

[[Image:ROTF movie BumblebeevsRampage.jpg|thumb|left|250px|SHORYUKEN!]]
As Sam and Mikaela continued to make their way to Optimus Prime's body, Starscream saw them on an flyby. Deciding to use a less forceful method, Starscream ordered [[Rampage (ROTF)|Rampage]] and [[Ravage (ROTF)|Ravage]] to use their back up plan. Rampage forcibly ejected [[Ron Witwicky|Ron]] and [[Judy Witwicky]], who had been captured following the Decepticon attack on [[Paris]]. Rampage held the two humans at cannon point and made it clear he wanted Sam to turn over the Matrix to him. However, Bumblebee had made his way back to Sam's position, and Sam distracted Rampage long enough for Bumblebee to drop kick the Decepticon away from the Witwickys. Reacting quickly, Rampage began laying into the smaller Autobot, but Bumblebee was faster and managed to pin Rampage, trying to break his arm. Ravage then attempted to jump Bumblebee from behind, but Bumblebee managed to grab Ravage by the tail and ''tear out his spine''! Focusing his attention back on Rampage, Bumblebee tore off Rampage's arms and overextended his neck, killing the Decepticon. Bumblebee then tried to escort the humans to NEST's position, but the heavy amount of fire forced Sam to order Bumblebee to take his parents away from the battlefield, as he continued with Mikaela.

Back at the village, the Decepticons had positioned themselves among the pillars, and were overpowering the Autobots and NEST soldiers protecting Prime's body. A pair of Jordanian helicopters made their way to the village, but one was shot down by [[Long Haul (ROTF)|Long Haul]]. The other made its way to the Great Pyramid, and was downed with a blast from Megatron's [[fusion cannon]]. The helicopter survived both the shot ''and'' the crash, and Leo and Simmons began removing the survivors from the copter. Simmons took a radio from one of the soldiers and began following Devastator. By this point, the UAV that the Pentagon had launched had reached the village, and General Morshower ordered pretty much every available asset to the area.

[[Image:ROTF Ironhide vs Buffalo.jpg|thumb|250px|right|He's NOT Bonecrusher and he does NOT hate women]]
Meanwhile, Sam and Mikaela finally made contact with Ironhide's team, with Arcee informing Sam that Optimus was beyond the pillars. Before the group could leave, they were set upon by Starscream, a protoform, and [[Buffalo MPV Decepticon|another Decepticon]]. Arcee's pink and [[Elita-1 (ROTF)|purple component]]s were quickly downed while Ironhide and Arcee's [[Chromia (ROTF)|blue component]] provided cover fire. Ironhide urged Sam to get to the pillars and reach Prime's body. At the Great Pyramid, Devastator began to scale the massive structure, and Simmons realized that the pyramid was built over the harvester the Decepticons sought to activate. Using his radio to contact the ''U.S.S. Stennis'', he informed [[L. W. Wilder|Captain Wilder]] of Devastator's presence and to relay a ready order for the crew of a destroyer carrying a [[rail gun]].

At the village, the reinforcements finally made their way to NEST's position, and began unleashing their firepower on the Decepticons, downing several protoforms. [[Robert Epps|Sergeant Epps]] was able to contact the Air Force fighters and bombers en route, with two B-1 bombers carrying heavy ordnance authorized to attack. The NEST soldiers of Ironhide's team relayed that they had made contact with Sam and pointed him in the right direction. Sam and Mikaela were able to make their way past the Decepticons, who were too busy returning cover fire to search for the humans. Unfortunately, Megatron also arrived, unleashing his considerable fire power on the humans. Major Lennox and Sergeant Epps managed to make their way to Sam and Mikaela, but were unable to run for Prime's body, as [[Mixmaster (ROTF)|Mixmaster]] began using the ruins they were hiding in as cover to attack the tanks. As he continued his assault, Jetfire then arrived and sliced Mixmaster in half, then killed the Decepticon by crushing his torso. However, Jetfire in turn was attacked by [[Scorponok (Movie)|Scorponok]], fatally wounding the [[Seeker (ROTF)|Seeker]] before having his head crushed.

[[Image:ROTF Megatron vs humans.jpg|thumb|250px|left| MY URINES ON FIRE AHHHHHHHH.]]
At the pyramid, Devastator had managed to expose the harvester by the time ''U.S.S. Kidd'' was in position to fire. Simmons relayed target coordinates to the ''Kidd'', which fired the rail gun, blowing Devastator apart. At the village, the Air Force contingent was almost ready to launch their first strike. Unfortunately, Sergeant Epps did not toss very well, with the orange smoke canister mere feet from the humans. As everyone ran for cover, the F-16s launched their strike, hitting a few protoforms and Long Haul. Ironhide soon ran out of the smoke, damaging and ejecting one of his cannons. Once the B-1s arrived, they dropped their 2000 pound JDAMs on the Decepticon position, eliminating Scrapper and the last of the protoforms. As this was going on, Sam made a mad dash from Prime's body, only for Megatron to emerge from the smoke and fire his fusion cannon at Sam's feet. The boy was caught in the blast and thrown through the air, landing near Prime's body. Megatron then continued firing on the heavy weaponry, but with him being the only apparent survivor, they turned all their weaponry on him. Under constant fire and brought to his knees, Megatron was forced to retreat.

As medics made their way to Sam, it appeared as if the boy was dead. In truth, he was in another plane of existence, where he encountered the Dynasty of Primes. They told him that he had been destined to discover the Matrix, but it could not be merely found, instead earned. Sam's courage and sacrifice in his fight to help Optimus made him worthy of the Matrix, and they returned him to life, restoring the Matrix in the process. Filled with new life and resolve, Sam made his way to the shell before him and drove the Matrix into the empty [[spark]] chamber. The plan worked, and Optimus Prime was reborn.

[[Image:ROTF Fallen headchop.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Fallen totally chopped some dude's head off.]]
Just then, The Fallen teleported in using a [[space bridge]], knocking the Autobots to the ground and killing a few humans before he stole the Matrix. Heading the machine, The Fallen placed the Matrix into its slot and activated the star harvester. The humans launched a volley of missiles from their heavy armor, only for The Fallen to raise it with his [[telekinesis|telekinetic powers]] and drop it above the pyramid. Optimus tried to stand, but was still injured from his previous fight with Megatron. Seeing this, Jetfire offered his parts to Optimus, then killed himself by ripping out his spark core. [[Ratchet (Movie)|Ratchet]] then ordered [[Jolt (ROTF)|Jolt]] to use his electric whips to begin transplanting Jetfire's afterburners and weapons onto Optimus. Once it was complete, Optimus was left with a [[Super Mode|powered-up form]], and flew off for the pyramid.

[[Image:ROTF Megatron face melt.jpg|thumb|250px|left|GIVE ME BACK MY FACE!]]
As F-22s tried to make a bombing run against the machine, The Fallen raised some of the rocks Devastator had smashed aside to block their line of fire. One of the fighters was unable to move out of the way and impacted on a rock, exploding. Fortunately, Optimus Prime was able to fly through the rocks, knock the Fallen and Megatron off the pyramid, and fire a rocket at the machine's spire, causing the star harvester to explode. Once they reached the ground below, Optimus and The Fallen laid into each other, and it quickly became apparent that Optimus was strong enough to defeat The Fallen. Megatron quickly came to the aid of his master, and Optimus crashed the group through some ruins, before Megatron dragged him away from the Fallen. Megatron then began to lay into Optimus, only for Prime to break off his [[Death-lock pincer|sword]] and force Megatron to eat a blast from his own fusion cannon. Damaged, Megatron tried to counterattack, but Optimus used his [[Dual Energon Swords|sword]] to slice off Megatron's fusion cannon and his afterburner to send the Decepticon leader through some ruins. Badly damaged, Megatron could barely call for Starscream.

[[Image:TheFallen-ROTFfacegotten.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Optimus really needs a psychiatrist]]
With Megatron dispatched, The Fallen was forced to face Optimus Prime alone. Although he was able to tear off one of the afterburners and strike Optimus with it, Optimus was able to grab The Fallen's spear and impale him with it, then used it to ''tear off his face''. As The Fallen tried to flee, Optimus Prime punched through his abdomen and crushed his spark core, killing The Fallen. Though horrified by the loss of his master, Megatron still looked as if he was ready to continue, until Starscream pointed out that cowards sometimes survive. Injured and unable to continue the fight, Megatron acknowledged Starscream's advice but vowed that the war would continue.

With the Fallen dead and the star harvester destroyed, NEST and the Autobots had won. Optimus reunited with them, and the group then made their way home aboard the ''Stennis''. Following a return to the states, Sam resumed his time at college, while Optimus Prime sent a message into space detailing past events, further proclaiming that Humanity and the Autobots would face the unknown future together, as their ancestors did once before. {{storylink|Revenge of the Fallen (film)|Revenge of the Fallen}}

Unknown to both sides, the body of Ravage was recovered by the mysterious group known as the [[Initiative]], who used it in their own plans to acquire energy to power their own "infant". {{storylink|Tales of the Fallen issue 5|Tales of the Fallen #5}} The Autobots and Soundwave did not discover this until February of 2010. By this point, Megatron was still not combat ready. {{storylink|Nefarious issue 1|Nefarious #1}}

==Notes==
*The events of Operation: Firestorm proceeded differently in the [[Revenge of the Fallen (novel)|novelization]] and [[Revenge of the Fallen (comic series)|comic adaptation]] based on earlier scripts. Those differences include:
**Megatron joined Starscream in strafing Bumblebee's group, but in his interstellar jet mode.
**Ironhide and Arcee never took a team to look for Sam, instead staying with the main NEST/Autobot group during the entire battle.
**Instead of shutting down the satellites above Egypt, Soundwave transmitted doctored video to the Pentagon.
**Simmons contacted Captain Wilder before the UAV transmitted information of the battle to the Pentagon. Additionally, Wilder was Captain of the ''Roosevelt'', and the rail gun was located on the ''Zumwalt''.
**Jordan and Egypt provided additional military support to the United States once it was confirmed that the Decepticons were attacking.
**Devastator was destroyed just before Optimus made his initial attack on the harvester.
**Megatron and Starscream abandoned the Fallen to his death when Optimus exposed the lie in The Fallen's promise to make Megatron a Prime, as Primes were born, not made.
**Optimus recovering the Matrix.

[[Category:Battles]]
[[Category:Revenge of the Fallen]]

Optimus Primal (BW)

2009-06-13T14:52:40Z

195.93.21.40: /* Beast Machines cartoon */

{{factions|maximal|maximalbm|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Optimus}}
{{disambig3|Primal}}
:''Optimus Primal is a [[Maximal]] and an [[Autobot]] in the [[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]] and an Autobot-aligned Maximal from the future in the [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] continuity family. He is also sometimes known as '''Optimal Optimus''' (not to mention Boss Monkey, Bigbot, Fearless Leader, etc.).''

[[Image:Optimusprimalbw.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Next one of you says "trukk not munky" gets it in the FACE.]]
Young and untested, '''Optimus Primal''' was a mere captain of an exploration ship when he and his crew were diverted off-course to pursue a stolen Predacon ship under the leadership of some crook named [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]. The rest, they say, is (literally) history.

Though he does have a penchant for stuffy speeches, Optimus Primal is much more down-to-cybertron than his legendary [[Optimus Prime (G1)|namesake]]. He is committed to the Maximal codes of honor and moral judgment, but he does view them with some irreverence, and is not above finding loopholes or administering unorthodox solutions if necessary. ("Sometimes, crazy works," he says.) He is eternally loyal to his friends and respectful to his enemies. He is brave and selfless in battle. However, he is so committed to helping others that he can withdraw into a deep depression when he feels he has let them down. This is the only time he is self-absorbed.

Optimus Primal is extraordinary for not only being able to distinguish himself despite living in the shadow of Optimus Prime, but for perhaps even surpassing him, seeing as he [[Optimal Situation|saved the life of his namesake]] and ushered in a new [[technorganic]] [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. It is possible Optimus Primal is the greatest Cybertronian hero who has ever lived.

{{quote|Come on, let's hear it, the usual destiny and honor speech.|Megatron|"[[Nemesis Part 2]]"}}
{{quote|Speech this!|Optimus as he punches Megatron in the face|"[[Nemesis Part 2]]"}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Convoy''', '''Convobat''' (bat), '''Metals Convoy''' (Transmetal), '''Powered Convoy''' (Optimal Optimus), '''Beast Convoy''' (''Robot Masters''), '''Yvonco'''<ref>This joke name is first seen in the intro part from Japanese dub version of the episode "[[Fallout]]". "Yvonco" (ã‚¤ãƒœãƒ³ã‚³) is the reverse of "Convoy" (ã‚³ãƒ³ãƒœã‚¤).</ref>
:''Italian name:'' '''Black Jack''', '''Metal Gorilla''' (Transmetal), '''Optimus Primal''' (Optimal Optimus)
:''Polish name:'' '''Optimus Naczelny''' ("Optimus Primal")
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jīn-gāng Wáng''' (金剛王, "King King Kong")
:''Russian name (first Beast Wars dub):'' '''King Kong'''
:''Russian name (second Beast Wars dub):'' '''Optimus Comandeer''' ("Optimus the Commander")
:''Cantonese name:'' '''Odim'''

==Fiction==
===Optimus Primal vs Megatron!===
Under the eerie shadows of a full moon Optimus Primal, a gigantic bat, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], a swift-stalking cheetah, and [[Razorbeast]], a fearsome wild boar, hunt purposely through the depths of a jungle. Soon Optimus detects the thermal emissions and fusion activity from a building, which mean they've found their target. His motion sensors register what appears to be a harmless [[Earth]] creature below.

Before Optimus realizes his mistake the alligator lashes out with as smashing swipe of its tail, knocking Optimus into the swampy waters. The beast transforms and [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] towers above him. The building ahead is the Predacons' genetics lab and he'll never let Optimus reach the secrets inside. He orders his troops to attack and everyone transforms to robot mode. The gigantic arthropods Tarantulas and Waspinator engage Razorbeast and Cheetor respectively while Optimus and Megatron face off.

Optimus brags that the Maximal "[[bio-genetic morphing process]] has allowed us to create the perfect fusion of organic musculature and Transformers technology!" Megatron responds that his side did all that too, so nan-neh, but used the DNA of Earth's most vicious predators. When Optimus notes that the Maximals seem to be getting the upper hand, Megatron immediately detonates the lab and escapes, vowing to return with new forms and new plans when the Maximals least expect it. The Beast Wars have just begun! {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

{{note|This comic, along with the on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the Beast Wars cartoon and its backstory. Instead they seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Optimusprimalbwtimelines.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Pre-fur Primal, Maximal nobody.]]
Optimus Primal is a veteran of the last [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], one waged between the Maximals and the Predacons. He is a distinguished graduate of the [[Maximal Military Academy]], where he was a diligent student of the accomplishments of past generations, both militaristic and scientific.<ref>Optimus Primal's profile in the Diamond Comics-exclusive edition of [[Dawn of Future's Past]].</ref>

Captain of the ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Optimus Primal and his crew had been stuck on a space station for weeks while awaiting [[Rampage (BW)|additional cargo]]. Finally, they were leaving and ready to return to embarking on their mission of exploration, but the [[Maximal Defense Command Center]] had a different idea. The [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] had been stolen by [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and a group of rogue [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]], and Optimus Primal's ship was closest to intercept.

They closed in on Megatron's stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', and shots were fired back and forth. Suddenly, not one but two ships joined their battle. One was sent by the [[Tripredacus Council]] and was commandeered by secret operatives [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. Another, the ''[[Chromia 10]]'' was crewed by its [[Airazor (BW)|Maximal owner]] and [[Tigatron|Unit 2]], a member of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]]. Both of these ships were ultimately destroyed, but Primal ordered the Maximals on board the ''Chromia-10'' be downloaded into blank [[Stasis pod|stasis pods]] to save their lives.

Via transmission, Megatron taunted Optimus Primal and his crew. The ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal and jumped through. The ''Axalon'' followed. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past|Dawn of Future's Past}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Takehito Koyasu]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Lope]] (Portuguese), [[Ben Hecker]] (German)

[[Image:OptimusPrimal BW1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Shadows?! I don't need no stinkin' shadows!]]
Optimus Primal was the captain of the exploration ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. When his crew got word that the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] criminal [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had stolen the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and a [[Darksyde|ship]] with [[transwarp]] capabilities, Primal's ship was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so ''Axalon'' was sent to chase Megatron's crew.

Primal followed the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appeared above a mysterious planet, but both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, Primal ordered that the [[Stasis pod|stasis pods]] carrying the rest of his crew to be ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with [[Energon (fuel)|energon]] â€” so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Primal took the form of a silverback gorilla. Primal remarked that his new form was "interesting" upon exit from the [[CR chamber]]. Estranged from his comrades, the Predacon [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] challenged Primal to a duel soon after their arrival, seeking command of the Maximals so he could, in turn, defeat Megatron. However, the Predacons saw the duel and tried to kill them both. Dinobot joined the Maximals after Optimus risked his life to stop him from dropping to his death. Dinobot later repaid him by saving him from a missile fired at him by Megatron. (That did cause the energon-laced mountain where they were to explode, but nobody got killed). Optimus earned Dinobot's respect, but the ex-Predacon would never admit to respecting him out loud. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

Both sides entrenched themselves on their new world, and the "[[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]" began. Strange unnatural sites and artifacts were discovered, leading Primal and the others to believe that aliens had seeded the primitive planet with experiments and traps. One such trap, the [[Standing Stones]], ensnared Primal's body for a short time, during which the Maximals scrambled to ascertain their chain of command. In his absence, the Maximals squabbled and fought over leadership, until finally his core consciousness was able to speak to them and name [[Rattrap]] as his replacement. Primal's body was subsequently retrieved from the Standing Stones, and he resumed command.

[[Image:OptimusPrimal Transmetal.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Transmetal Rippedimus Primal.]]
When [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] discovered evidence of the [[Vok]]'s imminent arrival, Megatron called a truce, to which Primal reluctantly agreed. While investigating a newly-created Vok installation, Primal was tortured and captured by the aliens, who spoke to him (in the form of [[Unicron]]) and told him of their plans to "sterilize" the planet. Barely escaping the Vok base, Primal returned to the ''Axalon'' to find it overrun by [[Tarantulas]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who had turned a space stasis pod into an escape ship in order to flee the doomed planet. As the planet's second moon was converted into a [[Planet Buster]], Primal took the ship to do battle with the superweapon, against the objections of his crew. Primal planned to detonate the ship's [[transwarp cell]] when in range of the weapon, after ejecting to safety. The plan workedâ€”with the exception of the "ejecting" part. Megatron remotely seized control of the vessel, overriding Primal's ejection commands. The Predacon commander taunted Primal as he futilely beat his fists against the pod, until the detonation obliterated the pod, the Planet Buster, and Primal, reducing them all to so much space junk. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:OptimalOptimus Opsituation feralscream1.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Trukk and munky...and playne.]]
Primal's [[Spark]] journeyed to the [[Allspark|Matrix]], where it was soon recovered by [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and placed in a [[blank]] [[protoform]], which became his new [[Transmetal]] body. Primal now transformed into a mechanical gorilla with a gorilla-on-a-hoverboard third mode, which he used to kick the crap out of the Predacons. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)}}

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Continuity error!]]
Later on, Primal was captured and imprisoned in [[Metal Hunter|yet another Vok base]], this one controlled by his archnemesis Megatron. During a daring rescue attempt by the Maximals and Tarantulas, Optimus engaged in a furious battle with Megatron, destroying both the Metal Hunter and the alien disc. The Maximals then suffered a number of setbacks, including the death of Dinobot, the destruction of [[Transmutate]], and Megatron's acquisition of the deadly [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]. However, the Maximals were soon greeted with good news: the realization that the [[transwarp wavefront]] created by the destruction of the Planet Buster would lead Cybertron to them, making a rescue operation possible. Help arrived soon enough, but in the unexpected form of the rebuilt [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], who had come to arrest Megatron for his crimes against the [[Pax Cybertronia]]. In the midst of this, Primal was forced to chastise new recruit [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] for his dangerous relationship with Blackarachnia. Primal assisted Ravage in arresting Megatron, but was soon betrayed by the ex-[[Decepticon]], allowing Megatron to escape and reach the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] in an attempt to assassinate [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)|The Agenda (Part III)}}

Primal was forced to take the great Autobot's spark inside himself to keep it protected. This caused his body to grow larger and stronger, gaining ground and air vehicle modes along with his previous gorilla form. Megatron sardonically dubbed him "Optimal Optimus" (ironically, no one else ever used that name). In his new form, he successfully protected Prime's spark until it could be returned to his repaired body, thus saving history and the future from destruction.

With the location of the Ark revealed and Megatron now desperate to end the war at any cost, Primal was forced to move his Maximals into the volcano where the Ark's hull lay. {{storylink|Optimal Situation|Optimal Situation}} This new, defensive war was much more difficult to fight, and disadvantaged the Maximals severely, even with his new four-mode body and enhanced firepower. With the loss of their defense system, [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]], {{storylink|Changing of the Guard|Changing of the Guard}} the arrival of the rebellious and embittered [[Depth Charge]], {{storylink|Deep Metal|Deep Metal}} the awkward and violent maturation of Cheetor, {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2|Feral Scream Part 2}} proto-humans to guard, {{storylink|Cutting Edge|Cutting Edge}} the theft of the original Megatron's spark and the ensuing mutation of the Beast Wars' Megatron, {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}} the introduction of the previously treacherous and morally ambiguous Blackarachnia into their ranks and her imminent Transmetallization, {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon|Crossing the Rubicon}} Optimus Primal had more than his share of problems to deal with.

The tide was finally turned when the Vok resurrected and combined [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] and [[Tigatron]] into the mighty [[Tigerhawk]], who obliterated the Predacon base. {{storylink|Other Victories|Other Victories}} In the end, Primal's forces defeated Megatron's, and with the captured Predacon leader strapped to the roof of a borrowed Autobot shuttle, the Maximals at last headed home. Leaving the planet and memorializing his fallen comrades, Optimus Primal declared that the Beast Wars were over. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2|Nemesis Part 2}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
=====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Burningconvoy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|All these compliments are making me blush.]]
Optimus Primal was summoned across time by [[Lio Junior]] to help [[Lio Convoy]] destroy [[Majin Zarak]]. Optimus Primal became '''Burning Convoy''' by joining the power of his matrix with Lio Convoy's.

After Majin Zarak's destruction, Optimus Primal returned to ancient [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger}}

{{note|It's not clear when during the Beast Wars Optimus Primal was taken.}}

=====''Robot Masters''=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Yuto Kazama]] (Japanese)

Optimus Primal chased Megatron in yet another time warp into the Generation 1 era. There, he met and joined forces with [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. Together, their special attack was a massive energon tornado called Double Convoy Tornado. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

The Double Convoy Tornado would come to be countered by [[Megatron (BW)|Beast Megatron]]'s and [[Megatron (G1)|Rebirth Megatron]]'s Double Megatron Tornado, but emerge victorious with the addition of Lio Convoy's Lio Typhoon Arrow, creating Triple Convoy Tornado Link attack. {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}

He also had a temporary virus-induced Black Body form.

{{note|Since both were known as simply "Convoy" in their respective Japanese series, Optimus Prime was designated "G1 Convoy" while Optimus Primal was designated "Beast Convoy".}}

=====''Beast Wars Reborn''=====

{{note|This story takes place after the events of Beast Machines.}}
[[Image:BeastWarsRebornMegatronArtwork1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Rebirth control.]]
Both Megatron and Optimus Primal awoke inside a bizare temple-like spaceship which was hurtling through space. Neither had any memory of who they were or how they got there, only their own names and a feeling of discomfort between one another. The pair went about investigating the ship in search of answers. While Megatron's memory was lost, his personality remained mostly intact: he was more concerned with seizing control of the ship before Primal did in order to gain the upper hand.

They eventually found a data log and discovered that their sparks had been taken and they were reborn into new bodies (unbeknownst to them, bodies identical to their original forms). However, their memories were intentionally not uploaded into their new bodies. While searching the log they discovered that the ship's main power source was a [[Golden Disk]] lodged within a giant pillar. Megatron immediately raced to obtain the Disk and Primal followed him. The closer they got to the disk the more the ship attempted to thwart their advance by manipulating its atmosphere conditions.

Once they reached the chamber, the ship's environment suddenly morphed to that of a decaying planet littered with the corpses of robots. The corpses came to life and began shambling toward them, intent on eating their sparks. They made short work of the zombies, leaving Megatron to obtain the Golden Disk and Primal with a feeling that he shouldn't entirely trust Megatron.

From another dimension beyond time and space, [[Primus]] recognized that something was amiss and sent one of his messengers to meet Primal and Megatron within the spaceship. {{storylink|The Mysterious Temple in Space|The Mysterious Temple in Space}}

====''Binaltech''====
Optimus Primal sent his spark back in time, and took over [[Doctor Arkeville|Dr. Arkeville]]'s recently completed [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]] body frame. The black Optimus Prime clone, imbued with the good spark of Primal then warped out, and set about rescuing the collapsing Binaltech timeline by splitting it from, and restoring, [[The Transformers: The Movie|the original timeline]].

When questioned by the Autobots, "Black Optimus" revealed only that the "Protector" was responsible for ensuring the continuation of the Binaltech universe - a universe that was the key to the [[Alternity (species)|Alternity]]. Primal's spark was [[Kiss Player|summarily ejected]], reverting the clone to his original evil programming, who then quickly escaped.

As the Autobots sought to shut down the rogue Binaltech projects happening around the world, Optimus Prime faced off against Nemesis Prime. The battle looked to be short-lived as Prime found himself outmatched by Nemesis Prime's [[Unicron|power]]. However Optimus Primal's spark merged with Optimus Prime - something Prime [[Optimal Situation|had vague memories of experiencing previously]]. The power resulting from this fusion enabled Optimus Prime to deflect Nemesis Prime's attack, ultimately destroying the clone.

{{note|Optimus Primal is not named in the ''Binaltech'' story. The identity of the Protector was originally speculated to be [[Hot Rod (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] due to his function (detailed on his techspec card) and future leadership role. However, Optimus Prime's memory of spark fusion, and the Protector's words to him, spark-to-spark, about the "seeds of the future" clearly establish the Protector to be Optimus Primal.}}

{{charstubfiction}}

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Takehito Koyasu]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Briggs]] (Portuguese), [[Tilo Schmitz]] (German)

[[Image:Optimusprimalbm.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Release the warrior! Also, um, the jetpack.]]
Apon arriving on an empty Cybertron and having lost Megatron in transwarp space Primal split the group up. He went with Cheetor and Rattrap he was chased by tank drones and was the first to de-evole and lose his memory.

Seemingly minutes after the shuttle departed for transwarp space, Optimus Primal suddenly found himself back in his original, organic gorilla body and thrust into a dangerous situation on an eerily deserted [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], unfamiliar with how he arrived there and pursued by an army of [[Tank Drone|tank drones]]. Cornered by the mechanical terrors, Primal attempted to Maximize, but his parts only shifted painfully and his body was tortured by electric shocks. Using his ape-mode body's agility, he swung out of reach, and suddenly received a vision of a monorail-vehicle nearby. Swinging into the train car, he found [[Rattrap]], afflicted by the same [[Transformation virus|transformation lock virus]] as Primal. Rattrap suggested "taking off these fur suits", but there was not time, for another squadron of tank drones caught them. It would have been the end for Primal and Rattrap, had the timely arrival of [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] not saved them. Once again, Primal received a vision, showing a pit. Heading (well, falling) into the hole, he and his companions were caught on a familiar spiderweb, courtesy of [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who was back in her Season 1 spider form and severely weakened. Heading underground, Primal led the weakened Maximals to the depths of ancient Cybertron on Blackarachnia's webs. Falling into darkness, Primal threw a piece of scrap metal and discovered what appeared to be a wall of fire. He had, in reality, awakened the powerful and legendary [[Vector Sigma|Oracle]]. As the other three Maximals watched, Primal entered into the bowels of the computer, within which he was granted visions he could not yet comprehend, including the prophetic statement that "the seeds of the future lie buried in the past." The Oracle then began to "[[Reformatting|reformat]]" Primal. Primal emerged in a new, [[technorganic]] beast mode and urged the other dying Maximals to complete their "reformatting" as well. Shortly after this was achieved, the group was attacked by an underground army of Cycle Drones. During the ensuing fight, Primal was the first to master the "art" of transformation as he plunged into a deep pit. Flying out, Primal grabbed the nearest drone and demanded answers, but lost his concentration, causing him to revert to beast mode. {{storylink|The Reformatting|The Reformatting}}

Primal began to teach the three other Maximals the lost art of transformation, which was mastered by achieving an inner calmness and finding their spiritual centers. Though Cheetor and Blackarachnia were successful off the bat, [[Rattrap]] badgered him just to "give us the command codes." Primal and the others were attacked by a [[Vehicon Mole|Mole Drone]], which broke their concentration and caused them to revert to their beast modes, so they fled. Primal also had to save Cheetor and Blackarachnia from a squadron of Aero-drones shortly after. {{storylink|Master of the House|Master of the House}} Eventually, Primal and his allies learned that Megatron had broken free during their transwarp flight home and so arrived on Cybertron before them. Megatron had then conquered the planet and laid a trap for Primal's crew and any other Transformers returning to Cybertron.

[[Image:Thereformattingmaximalsmaximize.jpg|right|350px|thumb|We Animal Mechanical can!]]
A short time later, Primal's crew came across the bat-mode Cybertronian [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]], who seemed to suffer from the same transformation lock virus that Primal had upon arrival. Nightscream led them to an underground tree, where Primal, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia ate the fruit and began to revert to their animal instincts. When Nightscream was injured in a Vehicon attack, Primal showed a new talent granted by the Oracle, reformatting the youth into a new, techno-organic body. However, Optimus was critically weakened by this and requested the over-eager Cheetor to take command in his absence. {{storylink|Forbidden Fruit|Forbidden Fruit}}. No longer the inexperienced scientist of his youth, Primal was constantly haunted by the losses of [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and many of Rattrap's quips would send him into despair. During the events that followed, Optimus Primal came to be much more in touch with his spiritual side than he ever was before, due to an almost mystical connection to the Oracle. This granted him visions and intuitions, guiding him to complete its designs, though he had some trouble at first comprehending just what the Oracle wanted and how to go about it. Misinterpreting the Oracle's intentions led Primal into extremism, believing that he was meant to purge the technological from Cybertron, turning it into a fully organic world. Such was Primal's obsession with his "mission", that he was even ready to reformat an unwilling Megatron. However, Rhinox/Tankor took advantage of his reliance on the Oracle's visions, cutting him off from them, leaving Primal both confused and uncertain.

Optimus Primal and the Maximals began to probe deeper into Cybertron and discovered a chamber of fossils and a strange, organic liquid. As the liquid flowed through the chamber, palm-like plants sprang up, revealing Cybertron's organic roots. When Tankor gained control of the Key to Vector Sigma, he infected the verdant orchard, transforming it and Nightscream into "technomatter". While Blackarachnia kept Nightscream under control, the others searched for a mole drone to drill deeper into the core and produce enough liquid to reverse the transformation. {{storylink|The Key|The Key}}

Primal later found the [[Plasma energy|Plasma Energy Chamber]], a device lethal to technological beings. While Megatron readied the planetwide pulse of Vector energy, Primal began to harness the energies of the Chamber to destroy all technological life on Cybertron. As the two forces clashed, Primal's spirit was transported into the Matrix, the Transformers' afterlife. {{storylink|End of the Line|End of the Line}} As he and Megatron fought in the void, he pondered if this was his destiny, to fight his nemesis for eternity. Before him, he saw the faces of his comrades, the Maximals, berate him for his poor leadership and near-genocidal behavior. He then found himself back on prehistoric Earth, where a red-eyed copy of Primal attacked him, scolding him for his fanatical behavior. Finding himself back in space, he saw the collective sparks of Cybertron.

[[Image:Optimalmegatronoptimusprimal.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Yesss, I've skinned you and I'm wearing your head as a hat."]]Meanwhile, the other Maximals journeyed downwards once more, speaking to Primal via the Oracle. Although Primal originally refused to lead the Maximals, he relented and returned. Around him, a forest of techorganic trees sprang up as he realized that his mission was not to destroy technology, but to create a balance, in the same way the Oracle had done for him.
As the [[Battle for the Spark|Battle for the Sparks]] continued, the Maximals cultivated an orchard around the Oracle, but the plants fared poorly and began to wither. Worried, Primal wondered if the orchard was to be in vain. When an extraterrestrial shuttle crashed into Cybertron, it was Primal who led the Maximals toward the site. Discovering organic matter inside, the team was attacked by a strange plant-creature. Pursuing the beast towards the Oracle, Optimus reformatted the creature into a techno-organic plant. The plant introduced itself as [[Botanica]], a fellow Maximal scientist, and tended to the dying orchard, restoring it to vigorous life.

In the ultimate conflict between Primal and Megatron, Optimus sacrificed his life, plunging with Megatron into the heart of Cybertron and ushering in the reformatting that returned the deactivated population to life and gave birth to the new, technorganic Cybertron. As the surviving Maximals looked out over their new home, Primal and the Oracle spoke to [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], and Primal departed with the words "Transform, and Transcend", as his Spark joined the Matrix. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future}}
{{-}}

====''Universe'' comic====
[[Image:Csoptimusprimalu2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Look, up in the sky! It's... an ape?]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English, script reading)

As the denizens of post-Vehicon [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] just began to settle into their peaceful, [[technorganic]] world that Optimus Primal had given his life to create, [[Unicron]] unexpectedly struck from afar. He teleported several [[Transformer|Transformers]] into himself, a handful of the countless victims across the [[Continuity|multiverse]] whom he pitted against each other in order to harvest their [[energon radiation]] and, eventually, [[Spark|sparks]]. Decimated in some unknown battle and trapped between dimensions, Unicron sought to revitalize himself in this fashion.

Deep within Cybertron, [[Primus]] and [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] summoned Optimus Primal back from the dead and sent him on a raid to free Unicron's captives. {{storylink|Abduction|Abduction}} Once inside the Chaos-Bringer, he found allies in the form of a [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and even a [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] from variant timelines. {{storylink|OTFCC Live-Action Drama|OTFCC Live-Action Drama}} But he also found himself discolored by sinister [[Unicron virus|radiation]] that threatened not only his body, but also his spark. Nevertheless, he was quite successful in his mission, battling Unicron's [[Minion of Unicron|Minions]] until he had freed dozens of abductees. Then, still within Unicron, he sent them back to their home dimensions by the power of prayer.

Returning to Cybertron, Primal was glad for his victory, but he wondered if his own resurrection could bring about Megatron's return as well. {{storylink|Escape (issue)|Escape}} More pressingly, Primal was unable to convince the [[Maximal High Council]] that any of this was actually ''happening,'' so he ended up turning to the dead for new troops. Primus gave him a selection of fallen warriors to choose from, and he picked [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Depth Charge]]. They were to launch more raids within Unicron while an orbital defense platform was being constructed above Cybertron. But Depth Charge refused to take part in more violence, so Alpha Trion took a cue from Unicron and transported [[Omega Prime]] into their dimension to fight in his place. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}

{{note|The tale of the Universe war was halted here for a time, as [[Hasbro]] had revoked [[3H Productions|3H]]'s license to the ''Transformers'' property. But the story would be continued in [[Fun Publications]]' [[Balancing Act (issue)|''Cybertron'' comic'']]''.}}

====''Cybertron'' comic====
[[Image:Primal_FPUnivBio.jpg|thumb|left|175px|"Did I say ''Matrix'' of Purification? I meant Fist."]]

Optimus Primal took Omega Prime and others on raids within Unicron's internal "prison cities," freeing more captives. Primal then embarked on an even more proactive venture, leading teams to other dimensions in anticipation of Unicron's strikes and setting up defensive measures before the Chaos-Bringer could gather more victims. Despite gaining more followers in this process, Primal and other veterans were being worn down by Unicron's corruptive influence. Certainly those who had been abducted and reformatted by Unicron were affected, but some (such as Primal himself) who had been exposed to Unicron's nanotech virus and its accompanying radiation were also suffering. In order to avert madness and death, Primus [[Reformatting|reformatted]] Primal and several of his comrades. Not only was his [[Optimus Primal/toys#Beast Wars 10th Anniversary|new form]] immune to the virus and radiation, but it also possessed the [[Matrix of Purification]], which could heal others of Unicronian corruption.

[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's 11:00pm. Do you know where your Beast Wars cast is?]]

Months passed as the competing armies grew, their battles raging on a level comparable to the [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|Great Wars]]. Cybertron itself remained stable, but only for a time. The planet fell victim to a massive invasion, later called "the Culling," in which Unicron's Minions swept across the globe in a killing frenzy, the sparks of their victims feeding the Chaos-Bringer. Primal's army fended the invaders off, but in the chaotic aftermath, Primal's earlier fears were realized as [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] returned to lead the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s back to glory. He initially fought Primal, but he eventually called a truce to better face their common foe.<ref>Optimus Primal's bio in the [[Revelations Part 3|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #9]]</ref>

Continued raids saved many more captives and brought the Minions to near-defeat. Then as one raiding party including Primal and Omega Prime battled their way out, Unicron suddenly began to disappear. The raiders rapidly teleported away, but Omega Prime did not materialize with the rest. He was pulled in mid-teleport by [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] into the Cybertron of the [[Unicron Singularity]], which had been the cause of the Unicron-war Unicron's disappearance. Presumably Optimus Primal made it back to his own dimension safely, but this is unconfirmed. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}} {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}
{{-}}

===Manga continuity===
====''Beast Wars II'' comic====
When Lio Convoy goes nuts and grows to giant proportions, wreaking havoc across the landscape, Optimus Primal is summoned across time by the power of the Matrix to heal him.

====''Beast Wars Metals'' comic====
[[Image:DevilGorilla-sk.jpg|right|300px|thumb|It's on like a reanimated cyborg Donkey Kong!]]
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Primal was left dead. Within [[Transwarp space]], he found himself being dragged into the afterlife by a horde of monsters. Suddenly, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] arrived and attempted to return him to life. Primal at first refused, saying he wished to move on. Rhinox then smacked some sense into him, reminding him of his duty to his Maximals. Brought back to his senses, Primal left Transwarp space, his spark being blasted from a laser cannon of Rhinox's design.

Over at the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had recovered Primal's sparkless, rampaging body and imprisoned it in shackles. Using a voodoo ceremony of [[Tarantulas]]'s design, Megatron intended to turn Primal's body into a Predacon slave. Before he could apply his mutant blood and finish the ceremony, Primal's spark reunited with his body and upgraded into a [[Transmetal]].

None too pleased, Primal proceeded to make short work of Tarantulas, [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] and Megatron's army of drones. He then defeated Megatron and escaped the ''Hindenburg'', rescuing an injured [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] in the process. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

In another adventure, he fed his head to Rampage. (Don't worry, he had a spare; the head that was eaten had a bomb in its mouth, anyway.) Later, he ate Optimus Prime's spark in order to become Optimal Optimus.

===''Robots in Disguise'' toy bio===
When a spirit guide was needed to counsel an [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] of [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|the past]], Optimus Primal rose to the task.

===''Universe'' CD-ROM===
[[Image:UnivCDROM Autobots.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"Pardon me, just passing through."]]
On some alternate Cybertron, that universe's Optimus Primal was leading the Autobots [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]], [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and [[Striker]] against [[Reptilion|Reptillion]], [[Obsidian (BM)|Obsidian]], [[Tankor (BM)|Tankor]], [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]], and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] in the most intense day of fighting that year. Just as the combatants were really starting to beat the slag out of each other, they were interrupted by a mysterious spaceship that swooped down, sucked the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] up on beams of light, and flew away. Primal and his troops were left dumbfounded, unaware that the ship had been a tool of [[Unicron]] in his quest to build [[Minion of Unicron|an army]] for a [[Universe war|grand war]]. {{storylink|Universe CD-ROM|Universe CD-ROM}}

{{note|This comic shows no signs of being intended to mesh with any other ''[[Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]]'' fiction. Given that ''Universe'' is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, it could still be a side note to the [[Universe war|greater storyline]]... but no matter how you look at it, there's no way that this Primal can be the same Primal in the main ''Universe'' comic.}}

===3D Battle-Card Game===
Optimus Primal leads a motley crew of Autobots from (potentially) disparate timelines against the forces of Megatron. He is probably getting tired of having to do this.

==Toys==
[[Image:Optimus Primal toys.jpg|right|250px|thumb|There's a lot more where these came from!]]
{{main|Optimus Primal/toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Optimus Primal/toys}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
* The design of Optimus Primal's bat form is an [[homage]] to [[wikipedia:Batman|Batman]], an action figure license also held at the time by [[Kenner]].<ref>Toy database section in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* Primal's gorilla mode, paired against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s t-rex mode, was inspired by the showdown in [[wikipedia:King_Kong|King Kong]].

* Indeed, gorilla Primal's original tech specs (which belong to the [[micro-continuity]] that takes place on modern-day Earth) seems to strongly imply that Primal is a building-scaling ape of Kong-like stature. As speculated in the ''Beast Wars'' volume of the ''[[Cybertronian: The Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide|Cybertronian]]'' action figure guide, this may have been intended to explain why he is [[Scale|in the same scale]] as Megatron, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This would also make somewhat greater sense in the context of the toyline itself, wherein the leader characters were of a much larger "Ultra" size-class than their minions, unlike their eventually much smaller depictions in [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|the CG cartoon]].

* According to a guide book published in conjunction with the ''[[Beast Wars II (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]'' theatrical film, Optimus Primal's original body had the following technical specifications. The veracity of these numbers in relation to anything actually featuring Primal, of course, is questionable.

:Height: 2.8m (9.19 feet).
:Weight: 2 tons.
:Running Speed: 60km (37.28 mph, beast mode), 50km (31.07 mph, robot mode).
:Airspeed: Mach 7.
:Maximum Power Output: 1,000,000 horsepower.

* According to his [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] [[bio]], Optimus Primal is from "the future", suggesting the events of Robots in Disguise are somehow part of the [[Beast Era]]'s past.

* According to his bio in the end of the comic "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", Optimus Primal graduated near the top of his class at the Maximal Military Academy.

* In his Transmetal form, Optimus Primal's spark chamber is on a hinge in his chest to swing down to the opening in his abdomen. In his Optimal Optimus form, he stored Prime's spark in his vehicle mode [[cockpit]].

* "Powered Convoy", Optimal Optimus' Japanese name, is Ultra Magnus' [[pre-Transformer]] name in the [[Diaclone]] toyline.

* According to the control art of Optimus Primal's toy, his chest originally seemed to be a kind of launcher instead of being an homage to the [[Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]].<ref>Toy database section in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* According to the diagram of Optimus Primal on the catalog packed with "TM-SP DX Convoy", his spark chamber is [[Energon Matrix|Matrix]]-shaped. ''[[Optimal Situation|Oh lord]].''

==Reference==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/OptimusPrimal/optimusprimal.htm Optimus Primal at TFU.info]

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Optimus Primal (BW)

2009-05-14T19:36:27Z

195.93.21.40: /* Beast Machines cartoon */

{{factions|maximal|maximalbm|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Optimus}}
{{disambig3|Primal}}
:''Optimus Primal is a [[Maximal]] and an [[Autobot]] in the [[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]] and an Autobot-aligned Maximal from the future in the [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] continuity family. He is also sometimes known as '''Optimal Optimus''' (not to mention Boss Monkey, Bigbot, Fearless Leader, etc.).''

[[Image:Optimusprimalbw.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Next one of you says "trukk not munky" gets it in the FACE.]]
Young and untested, '''Optimus Primal''' was a mere captain of an exploration ship when he and his crew were diverted off-course to pursue a stolen Predacon ship under the leadership of some crook named [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]. The rest, they say, is (literally) history.

Though he does have a penchant for stuffy speeches, Optimus Primal is much more down-to-cybertron than his legendary [[Optimus Prime (G1)|namesake]]. He is committed to the Maximal codes of honor and moral judgment, but he does view them with some irreverence, and is not above finding loopholes or administering unorthodox solutions if necessary. ("Sometimes, crazy works," he says.) He is eternally loyal to his friends and respectful to his enemies. He is brave and selfless in battle. However, he is so committed to helping others that he can withdraw into a deep depression when he feels he has let them down. This is the only time he is self-absorbed.

Optimus Primal is extraordinary for not only being able to distinguish himself despite living in the shadow of Optimus Prime, but for perhaps even surpassing him, seeing as he [[Optimal Situation|saved the life of his namesake]] and ushered in a new [[technorganic]] [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. It is possible Optimus Primal is the greatest Cybertronian hero who has ever lived.

{{quote|Come on, let's hear it, the usual destiny and honor speech.|Megatron|"[[Nemesis Part 2]]"}}
{{quote|Speech this!|Optimus as he punches Megatron in the face|"[[Nemesis Part 2]]"}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Convoy''', '''Convobat''' (bat), '''Metals Convoy''' (Transmetal), '''Powered Convoy''' (Optimal Optimus), '''Beast Convoy''' (''Robot Masters''), '''Yvonco'''<ref>This joke name is first seen in the intro part from Japanese dub version of the episode "[[Fallout]]". "Yvonco" (ã‚¤ãƒœãƒ³ã‚³) is the reverse of "Convoy" (ã‚³ãƒ³ãƒœã‚¤).</ref>
:''Italian name:'' '''Black Jack''', '''Metal Gorilla''' (Transmetal), '''Optimus Primal''' (Optimal Optimus)
:''Polish name:'' '''Optimus Naczelny''' ("Optimus Primal")
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jīn-gāng Wáng''' (金剛王, "King King Kong")
:''Russian name (first Beast Wars dub):'' '''King Kong'''
:''Russian name (second Beast Wars dub):'' '''Optimus Comandeer''' ("Optimus the Commander")
:''Cantonese name:'' '''Odim'''

==Fiction==
===Optimus Primal vs Megatron!===
Under the eerie shadows of a full moon Optimus Primal, a gigantic bat, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], a swift-stalking cheetah, and [[Razorbeast]], a fearsome wild boar, hunt purposely through the depths of a jungle. Soon Optimus detects the thermal emissions and fusion activity from a building, which mean they've found their target. His motion sensors register what appears to be a harmless [[Earth]] creature below.

Before Optimus realizes his mistake the alligator lashes out with as smashing swipe of its tail, knocking Optimus into the swampy waters. The beast transforms and [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] towers above him. The building ahead is the Predacons' genetics lab and he'll never let Optimus reach the secrets inside. He orders his troops to attack and everyone transforms to robot mode. The gigantic arthropods Tarantulas and Waspinator engage Razorbeast and Cheetor respectively while Optimus and Megatron face off.

Optimus brags that the Maximal "[[bio-genetic morphing process]] has allowed us to create the perfect fusion of organic musculature and Transformers technology!" Megatron responds that his side did all that too, so nan-neh, but used the DNA of Earth's most vicious predators. When Optimus notes that the Maximals seem to be getting the upper hand, Megatron immediately detonates the lab and escapes, vowing to return with new forms and new plans when the Maximals least expect it. The Beast Wars have just begun! {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

{{note|This comic, along with the on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the Beast Wars cartoon and its backstory. Instead they seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Optimusprimalbwtimelines.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Pre-fur Primal, Maximal nobody.]]
Optimus Primal is a veteran of the last [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], one waged between the Maximals and the Predacons. He is a distinguished graduate of the [[Maximal Military Academy]], where he was a diligent student of the accomplishments of past generations, both militaristic and scientific.<ref>Optimus Primal's profile in the Diamond Comics-exclusive edition of [[Dawn of Future's Past]].</ref>

Captain of the ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Optimus Primal and his crew had been stuck on a space station for weeks while awaiting [[Rampage (BW)|additional cargo]]. Finally, they were leaving and ready to return to embarking on their mission of exploration, but the [[Maximal Defense Command Center]] had a different idea. The [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] had been stolen by [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and a group of rogue [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]], and Optimus Primal's ship was closest to intercept.

They closed in on Megatron's stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', and shots were fired back and forth. Suddenly, not one but two ships joined their battle. One was sent by the [[Tripredacus Council]] and was commandeered by secret operatives [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. Another, the ''[[Chromia 10]]'' was crewed by its [[Airazor (BW)|Maximal owner]] and [[Unit 2]], a member of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]]. Both of these ships were ultimately destroyed, but Primal ordered the Maximals on board the ''Chromia-10'' be downloaded into blank [[Stasis pod|stasis pods]] to save their lives.

Via transmission, Megatron taunted Optimus Primal and his crew. The ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal and jumped through. The ''Axalon'' followed. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past|Dawn of Future's Past}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Takehito Koyasu]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Lope]] (Portuguese), [[Ben Hecker]] (German)

[[Image:OptimusPrimal BW1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Shadows?! I don't need no stinkin' shadows!]]
Optimus Primal was the captain of the exploration ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. When his crew got word that the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] criminal [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had stolen the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and a [[Darksyde|ship]] with [[transwarp]] capabilities, Primal's ship was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so ''Axalon'' was sent to chase Megatron's crew.

Primal followed the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appeared above a mysterious planet, but both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, Primal ordered that the [[Stasis pod|stasis pods]] carrying the rest of his crew to be ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with [[Energon (G1)|energon]] â€” so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Primal took the form of a silverback gorilla. Primal remarked that his new form was "interesting" upon exit from the [[CR chamber]]. Estranged from his comrades, the Predacon [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] challenged Primal to a duel soon after their arrival, seeking command of the Maximals so he could, in turn, defeat Megatron. However, the Predacons saw the duel and tried to kill them both. Dinobot joined the Maximals after Optimus risked his life to stop him from dropping to his death. Dinobot later repaid him by saving him from a missile fired at him by Megatron. (That did cause the energon-laced mountain where they were to explode, but nobody got killed). Optimus earned Dinobot's respect, but the ex-Predacon would never admit to respecting him out loud. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

Both sides entrenched themselves on their new world, and the "[[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]" began. Strange unnatural sites and artifacts were discovered, leading Primal and the others to believe that aliens had seeded the primitive planet with experiments and traps. One such trap, the [[Standing Stones]], ensnared Primal's body for a short time, during which the Maximals scrambled to ascertain their chain of command. In his absence, the Maximals squabbled and fought over leadership, until finally his core consciousness was able to speak to them and name [[Rattrap]] as his replacement. Primal's body was subsequently retrieved from the Standing Stones, and he resumed command.

[[Image:OptimusPrimal Transmetal.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Transmetal Rippedimus Primal.]]
When [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] discovered evidence of the [[Vok]]'s imminent arrival, Megatron called a truce, to which Primal reluctantly agreed. While investigating a newly-created Vok installation, Primal was tortured and captured by the aliens, who spoke to him (in the form of [[Unicron]]) and told him of their plans to "sterilize" the planet. Barely escaping the Vok base, Primal returned to the ''Axalon'' to find it overrun by [[Tarantulas]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who had turned a space stasis pod into an escape ship in order to flee the doomed planet. As the planet's second moon was converted into a [[Planet Buster]], Primal took the ship to do battle with the superweapon, against the objections of his crew. Primal planned to detonate the ship's [[transwarp cell]] when in range of the weapon, after ejecting to safety. The plan workedâ€”with the exception of the "ejecting" part. Megatron remotely seized control of the vessel, overriding Primal's ejection commands. The Predacon commander taunted Primal as he futilely beat his fists against the pod, until the detonation obliterated the pod, the Planet Buster, and Primal, reducing them all to so much space junk. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:OptimalOptimus Opsituation feralscream1.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Trukk and munky...and playne.]]
Primal's [[Spark]] journeyed to the [[Allspark|Matrix]], where it was soon recovered by [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and placed in a [[blank]] [[protoform]], which became his new [[Transmetal]] body. Primal now transformed into a mechanical gorilla with a gorilla-on-a-hoverboard third mode, which he used to kick the crap out of the Predacons. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)}}

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Continuity error!]]
Later on, Primal was captured and imprisoned in [[Metal Hunter|yet another Vok base]], this one controlled by his archnemesis Megatron. During a daring rescue attempt by the Maximals and Tarantulas, Optimus engaged in a furious battle with Megatron, destroying both the Metal Hunter and the alien disc. The Maximals then suffered a number of setbacks, including the death of Dinobot, the destruction of [[Transmutate]], and Megatron's acquisition of the deadly [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]. However, the Maximals were soon greeted with good news: the realization that the [[transwarp wavefront]] created by the destruction of the Planet Buster would lead Cybertron to them, making a rescue operation possible. Help arrived soon enough, but in the unexpected form of the rebuilt [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], who had come to arrest Megatron for his crimes against the [[Pax Cybertronia]]. In the midst of this, Primal was forced to chastise new recruit [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] for his dangerous relationship with Blackarachnia. Primal assisted Ravage in arresting Megatron, but was soon betrayed by the ex-[[Decepticon]], allowing Megatron to escape and reach the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] in an attempt to assassinate [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)|The Agenda (Part III)}}

Primal was forced to take the great Autobot's spark inside himself to keep it protected. This caused his body to grow larger and stronger, gaining ground and air vehicle modes along with his previous gorilla form. Megatron sardonically dubbed him "Optimal Optimus" (ironically, no one else ever used that name). In his new form, he successfully protected Prime's spark until it could be returned to his repaired body, thus saving history and the future from destruction.

With the location of the Ark revealed and Megatron now desperate to end the war at any cost, Primal was forced to move his Maximals into the volcano where the Ark's hull lay. {{storylink|Optimal Situation|Optimal Situation}} This new, defensive war was much more difficult to fight, and disadvantaged the Maximals severely, even with his new four-mode body and enhanced firepower. With the loss of their defense system, [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]], {{storylink|Changing of the Guard|Changing of the Guard}} the arrival of the rebellious and embittered [[Depth Charge]], {{storylink|Deep Metal|Deep Metal}} the awkward and violent maturation of Cheetor, {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2|Feral Scream Part 2}} proto-humans to guard, {{storylink|Cutting Edge|Cutting Edge}} the theft of the original Megatron's spark and the ensuing mutation of the Beast Wars' Megatron, {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}} the introduction of the previously treacherous and morally ambiguous Blackarachnia into their ranks and her imminent Transmetallization, {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon|Crossing the Rubicon}} Optimus Primal had more than his share of problems to deal with.

The tide was finally turned when the Vok resurrected and combined [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] and [[Tigatron]] into the mighty [[Tigerhawk]], who obliterated the Predacon base. {{storylink|Other Victories|Other Victories}} In the end, Primal's forces defeated Megatron's, and with the captured Predacon leader strapped to the roof of a borrowed Autobot shuttle, the Maximals at last headed home. Leaving the planet and memorializing his fallen comrades, Optimus Primal declared that the Beast Wars were over. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2|Nemesis Part 2}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
=====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Burningconvoy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|All these compliments are making me blush.]]
Optimus Primal was summoned across time by [[Lio Junior]] to help [[Lio Convoy]] destroy [[Majin Zarak]]. Optimus Primal became '''Burning Convoy''' by joining the power of his matrix with Lio Convoy's.

After Majin Zarak's destruction, Optimus Primal returned to ancient [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger}}

{{note|It's not clear when during the Beast Wars Optimus Primal was taken.}}

=====''Robot Masters''=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Yuto Kazama]] (Japanese)

Optimus Primal chased Megatron in yet another time warp into the Generation 1 era. There, he met and joined forces with [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. Together, their special attack was a massive energon tornado called Double Convoy Tornado. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

The Double Convoy Tornado would come to be countered by [[Megatron (BW)|Beast Megatron]]'s and [[Megatron (G1)|Rebirth Megatron]]'s Double Megatron Tornado, but emerge victorious with the addition of Lio Convoy's Lio Typhoon Arrow, creating Triple Convoy Tornado Link attack. {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}

He also had a temporary virus-induced Black Body form.

{{note|Since both were known as simply "Convoy" in their respective Japanese series, Optimus Prime was designated "G1 Convoy" while Optimus Primal was designated "Beast Convoy".}}

=====''Beast Wars Reborn''=====

{{note|This story takes place after the events of Beast Machines.}}
[[Image:BeastWarsRebornMegatronArtwork1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Rebirth control.]]
Both Megatron and Optimus Primal awoke inside a bizare temple-like spaceship which was hurtling through space. Neither had any memory of who they were or how they got there, only their own names and a feeling of discomfort between one another. The pair went about investigating the ship in search of answers. While Megatron's memory was lost, his personality remained mostly intact: he was more concerned with seizing control of the ship before Primal did in order to gain the upper hand.

They eventually found a data log and discovered that their sparks had been taken and they were reborn into new bodies (unbeknownst to them, bodies identical to their original forms). However, their memories were intentionally not uploaded into their new bodies. While searching the log they discovered that the ship's main power source was a [[Golden Disk]] lodged within a giant pillar. Megatron immediately raced to obtain the Disk and Primal followed him. The closer they got to the disk the more the ship attempted to thwart their advance by manipulating its atmosphere conditions.

Once they reached the chamber, the ship's environment suddenly morphed to that of a decaying planet littered with the corpses of robots. The corpses came to life and began shambling toward them, intent on eating their sparks. They made short work of the zombies, leaving Megatron to obtain the Golden Disk and Primal with a feeling that he shouldn't entirely trust Megatron.

From another dimension beyond time and space, [[Primus]] recognized that something was amiss and sent one of his messengers to meet Primal and Megatron within the spaceship. {{storylink|The Mysterious Temple in Space|The Mysterious Temple in Space}}

====''Binaltech''====
Optimus Primal sent his spark back in time, and took over [[Dr. Arkeville]]'s recently completed [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]] body frame. The black Optimus Prime clone, imbued with the good spark of Primal then warped out, and set about rescuing the collapsing Binaltech timeline by splitting it from, and restoring, [[The Transformers: The Movie|the original timeline]].

When questioned by the Autobots, "Black Optimus" revealed only that the "Protector" was responsible for ensuring the continuation of the Binaltech universe - a universe that was the key to the [[Alternity (species)|Alternity]]. Primal's spark was [[Kiss Player|summarily ejected]], reverting the clone to his original evil programming, who then quickly escaped.

As the Autobots sought to shut down the rogue Binaltech projects happening around the world, Optimus Prime faced off against Nemesis Prime. The battle looked to be short-lived as Prime found himself outmatched by Nemesis Prime's [[Unicron|power]]. However Optimus Primal's spark merged with Optimus Prime - something Prime [[Optimal Situation|had vague memories of experiencing previously]]. The power resulting from this fusion enabled Optimus Prime to deflect Nemesis Prime's attack, ultimately destroying the clone.

{{note|Optimus Primal is not named in the ''Binaltech'' story. The identity of the Protector was originally speculated to be [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] due to his function (detailed on his techspec card) and future leadership role. However, Optimus Prime's memory of spark fusion, and the Protector's words to him, spark-to-spark, about the "seeds of the future" clearly establish the Protector to be Optimus Primal.}}

{{charstubfiction}}

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Takehito Koyasu]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Briggs]] (Portuguese), [[Tilo Schmitz]] (German)

[[Image:Optimusprimalbm.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Release the warrior! Also, um, the jetpack.]]
After losing megatron in the transwarp shift and landing on a seemingly deserted cybertron, primal decides they split up, he went with Rattrap and Cheetor. They soon found themselves being chased by tank drones with de-evolving viruses. Primal is the first to be de-evoled, to lose his memory and change back to his origanal form.

Seemingly minutes after the shuttle departed for transwarp space, Optimus Primal suddenly found himself back in his original, organic gorilla body and thrust into a dangerous situation on an eerily deserted [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], unfamiliar with how he arrived there and pursued by an army of [[Tank drone|tank drones]]. Cornered by the mechanical terrors, Primal attempted to Maximize, but his parts only shifted painfully and his body was tortured by electric shocks. Using his ape-mode body's agility, he swung out of reach, and suddenly received a vision of a monorail-vehicle nearby. Swinging into the train car, he found [[Rattrap]], afflicted by the same [[transformation lock virus]] as Primal. Rattrap suggested "taking off these fur suits", but there was not time, for another squadron of tank drones caught them. It would have been the end for Primal and Rattrap, had the timely arrival of [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] not saved them. Once again, Primal received a vision, showing a pit. Heading (well, falling) into the hole, he and his companions were caught on a familiar spiderweb, courtesy of [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who was back in her Season 1 spider form and severely weakened. Heading underground, Primal led the weakened Maximals to the depths of ancient Cybertron on Blackarachnia's webs. Falling into darkness, Primal threw a piece of scrap metal and discovered what appeared to be a wall of fire. He had, in reality, awakened the powerful and legendary [[Vector Sigma|Oracle]]. As the other three Maximals watched, Primal entered into the bowels of the computer, within which he was granted visions he could not yet comprehend, including the prophetic statement that "the seeds of the future lie buried in the past." The Oracle then began to "[[reformat]]" Primal. Primal emerged in a new, [[technorganic]] beast mode and urged the other dying Maximals to complete their "reformatting" as well. Shortly after this was achieved, the group was attacked by an underground army of Cycle Drones. During the ensuing fight, Primal was the first to master the "art" of transformation as he plunged into a deep pit. Flying out, Primal grabbed the nearest drone and demanded answers, but lost his concentration, causing him to revert to beast mode. {{storylink|The Reformatting|The Reformatting}}

Primal began to teach the three other Maximals the lost art of transformation, which was mastered by achieving an inner calmness and finding their spiritual centers. Though Cheetor and Blackarachnia were successful off the bat, [[Rattrap]] badgered him just to "give us the command codes." Primal and the others were attacked by a [[Vehicon Mole|Mole Drone]], which broke their concentration and caused them to revert to their beast modes, so they fled. Primal also had to save Cheetor and Blackarachnia from a squadron of Aero-drones shortly after. {{storylink|Master of the House|Master of the House}} Eventually, Primal and his allies learned that Megatron had broken free during their transwarp flight home and so arrived on Cybertron before them. Megatron had then conquered the planet and laid a trap for Primal's crew and any other Transformers returning to Cybertron.

[[Image:Thereformattingmaximalsmaximize.jpg|right|350px|thumb|The Technorganic maximals in a rare moment of not running away!]]
A short time later, Primal's crew came across the bat-mode Cybertronian [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]], who seemed to suffer from the same transformation lock virus that Primal had upon arrival. Nightscream led them to an underground tree, where Primal, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia ate the fruit and began to revert to their animal instincts. When Nightscream was injured in a Vehicon attack, Primal showed a new talent granted by the Oracle, reformatting the youth into a new, techno-organic body. However, Optimus was critically weakened by this and requested the over-eager Cheetor to take command in his absence. {{storylink|Forbidden Fruit|Forbidden Fruit}}. No longer the inexperienced scientist of his youth, Primal was constantly haunted by the losses of [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and many of Rattrap's quips would send him into despair. During the events that followed, Optimus Primal came to be much more in touch with his spiritual side than he ever was before, due to an almost mystical connection to the Oracle. This granted him visions and intuitions, guiding him to complete its designs, though he had some trouble at first comprehending just what the Oracle wanted and how to go about it. Misinterpreting the Oracle's intentions led Primal into extremism, believing that he was meant to purge the technological from Cybertron, turning it into a fully organic world. Such was Primal's obsession with his "mission", that he was even ready to reformat an unwilling Megatron. However, Rhinox/Tankor took advantage of his reliance on the Oracle's visions, cutting him off from them, leaving Primal both confused and uncertain.

Optimus Primal and the Maximals began to probe deeper into Cybertron and discovered a chamber of fossils and a strange, organic liquid. As the liquid flowed through the chamber, palm-like plants sprang up, revealing Cybertron's organic roots. When Tankor gained control of the Key to Vector Sigma, he infected the verdant orchard, transforming it and Nightscream into "technomatter". While Blackarachnia kept Nightscream under control, the others searched for a mole drone to drill deeper into the core and produce enough liquid to reverse the transformation. {{storylink|The Key|The Key}}

Primal later found the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]], a device lethal to technological beings. While Megatron readied the planetwide pulse of Vector energy, Primal began to harness the energies of the Chamber to destroy all technological life on Cybertron. As the two forces clashed, Primal's spirit was transported into the Matrix, the Transformers' afterlife. {{storylink|End of the Line|End of the Line}} As he and Megatron fought in the void, he pondered if this was his destiny, to fight his nemesis for eternity. Before him, he saw the faces of his comrades, the Maximals, berate him for his poor leadership and near-genocidal behavior. He then found himself back on prehistoric Earth, where a red-eyed copy of Primal attacked him, scolding him for his fanatical behavior. Finding himself back in space, he saw the collective sparks of Cybertron.

[[Image:Optimalmegatronoptimusprimal.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Yesss, I've skinned you and I'm wearing your head as a hat."]]Meanwhile, the other Maximals journeyed downwards once more, speaking to Primal via the Oracle. Although Primal originally refused to lead the Maximals, he relented and returned. Around him, a forest of techorganic trees sprang up as he realized that his mission was not to destroy technology, but to create a balance, in the same way the Oracle had done for him.
As the [[Battle for the Spark|Battle for the Sparks]] continued, the Maximals cultivated an orchard around the Oracle, but the plants fared poorly and began to wither. Worried, Primal wondered if the orchard was to be in vain. When an extraterrestrial shuttle crashed into Cybertron, it was Primal who led the Maximals toward the site. Discovering organic matter inside, the team was attacked by a strange plant-creature. Pursuing the beast towards the Oracle, Optimus reformatted the creature into a techno-organic plant. The plant introduced itself as [[Botanica]], a fellow Maximal scientist, and tended to the dying orchard, restoring it to vigorous life.

In the ultimate conflict between Primal and Megatron, Optimus sacrificed his life, plunging with Megatron into the heart of Cybertron and ushering in the reformatting that returned the deactivated population to life and gave birth to the new, technorganic Cybertron. As the surviving Maximals looked out over their new home, Primal and the Oracle spoke to [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], and Primal departed with the words "Transform, and Transcend", as his Spark joined the Matrix. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future}}
{{-}}

====''Universe'' comic====
[[Image:Csoptimusprimalu2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Look, up in the sky! It's... an ape?]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English, script reading)

As the denizens of post-Vehicon [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] just began to settle into their peaceful, [[technorganic]] world that Optimus Primal had given his life to create, [[Unicron]] unexpectedly struck from afar. He teleported several [[Transformer|Transformers]] into himself, a handful of the countless victims across the [[Continuity|multiverse]] whom he pitted against each other in order to harvest their [[energon radiation]] and, eventually, [[Spark|sparks]]. Decimated in some unknown battle and trapped between dimensions, Unicron sought to revitalize himself in this fashion.

Deep within Cybertron, [[Primus]] and [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] summoned Optimus Primal back from the dead and sent him on a raid to free Unicron's captives. {{storylink|Abduction|Abduction}} Once inside the Chaos-Bringer, he found allies in the form of a [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and even a [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] from variant timelines. {{storylink|OTFCC Live-Action Drama|OTFCC Live-Action Drama}} But he also found himself discolored by sinister [[Unicron virus|radiation]] that threatened not only his body, but also his spark. Nevertheless, he was quite successful in his mission, battling Unicron's [[Minion of Unicron|Minions]] until he had freed dozens of abductees. Then, still within Unicron, he sent them back to their home dimensions by the power of prayer.

Returning to Cybertron, Primal was glad for his victory, but he wondered if his own resurrection could bring about Megatron's return as well. {{storylink|Escape (Universe comic)|Escape}} More pressingly, Primal was unable to convince the [[Maximal High Council]] that any of this was actually ''happening,'' so he ended up turning to the dead for new troops. Primus gave him a selection of fallen warriors to choose from, and he picked [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Depth Charge]]. They were to launch more raids within Unicron while an orbital defense platform was being constructed above Cybertron. But Depth Charge refused to take part in more violence, so Alpha Trion took a cue from Unicron and transported [[Omega Prime]] into their dimension to fight in his place. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}

{{note|The tale of the Universe war was halted here for a time, as [[Hasbro]] had revoked [[3H Productions|3H]]'s license to the ''Transformers'' property. But the story would be continued in [[Fun Publications]]' [[Balancing Act (issue)|''Cybertron'' comic'']]''.}}

====''Cybertron'' comic====
[[Image:Primal_FPUnivBio.jpg|thumb|left|175px|"Did I say ''Matrix'' of Purification? I meant Fist."]]

Optimus Primal took Omega Prime and others on raids within Unicron's internal "prison cities," freeing more captives. Primal then embarked on an even more proactive venture, leading teams to other dimensions in anticipation of Unicron's strikes and setting up defensive measures before the Chaos-Bringer could gather more victims. Despite gaining more followers in this process, Primal and other veterans were being worn down by Unicron's corruptive influence. Certainly those who had been abducted and reformatted by Unicron were affected, but some (such as Primal himself) who had been exposed to Unicron's nanotech virus and its accompanying radiation were also suffering. In order to avert madness and death, Primus [[Reformatting|reformatted]] Primal and several of his comrades. Not only was his [[Optimus Primal toys|new form]] immune to the virus and radiation, but it also possessed the [[Matrix of Purification]], which could heal others of Unicronian corruption.

[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's 11:00pm. Do you know where your Beast Wars cast is?]]

Months passed as the competing armies grew, their battles raging on a level comparable to the [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|Great Wars]]. Cybertron itself remained stable, but only for a time. The planet fell victim to a massive invasion, later called "the Culling," in which Unicron's Minions swept across the globe in a killing frenzy, the sparks of their victims feeding the Chaos-Bringer. Primal's army fended the invaders off, but in the chaotic aftermath, Primal's earlier fears were realized as [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] returned to lead the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s back to glory. He initially fought Primal, but he eventually called a truce to better face their common foe.<ref>Optimus Primal's bio in the [[Revelations Part 3|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #9]]</ref>

Continued raids saved many more captives and brought the Minions to near-defeat. Then as one raiding party including Primal and Omega Prime battled their way out, Unicron suddenly began to disappear. The raiders rapidly teleported away, but Omega Prime did not materialize with the rest. He was pulled in mid-teleport by [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] into the Cybertron of the [[Unicron Singularity]], which had been the cause of the Unicron-war Unicron's disappearance. Presumably Optimus Primal made it back to his own dimension safely, but this is unconfirmed. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}} {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}
{{-}}

===Manga continuity===
====''Beast Wars II'' comic====
When Lio Convoy goes nuts and grows to giant proportions, wreaking havoc across the landscape, Optimus Primal is summoned across time by the power of the Matrix to heal him.

====''Beast Wars Metals'' comic====
[[Image:DevilGorilla-sk.jpg|right|300px|thumb|It's on like a reanimated cyborg Donkey Kong!]]
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Primal was left dead. Within [[Transwarp space]], he found himself being dragged into the afterlife by a horde of monsters. Suddenly, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] arrived and attempted to return him to life. Primal at first refused, saying he wished to move on. Rhinox then smacked some sense into him, reminding him of his duty to his Maximals. Brought back to his senses, Primal left Transwarp space, his spark being blasted from a laser cannon of Rhinox's design.

Over at the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had recovered Primal's sparkless, rampaging body and imprisoned it in shackles. Using a voodoo ceremony of [[Tarantulas]]'s design, Megatron intended to turn Primal's body into a Predacon slave. Before he could apply his mutant blood and finish the ceremony, Primal's spark reunited with his body and upgraded into a [[Transmetal]].

None too pleased, Primal proceeded to make short work of Tarantulas, [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] and Megatron's army of drones. He then defeated Megatron and escaped the ''Hindenburg'', rescuing an injured [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] in the process. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

In another adventure, he fed his head to Rampage. (Don't worry, he had a spare; the head that was eaten had a bomb in its mouth, anyway.) Later, he ate Optimus Prime's spark in order to become Optimal Optimus.

===''Robots in Disguise'' toy bio===
When a spirit guide was needed to counsel an [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] of [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|the past]], Optimus Primal rose to the task.

===''Universe'' CD-ROM===
[[Image:UnivCDROM Autobots.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"Pardon me, just passing through."]]
On some alternate Cybertron, that universe's Optimus Primal was leading the Autobots [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]], [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and [[Striker]] against [[Reptilion]], [[Obsidian (Universe)|Obsidian]], [[Tankor (Minion of Unicron)|Tankor]], [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]], and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] in the most intense day of fighting that year. Just as the combatants were really starting to beat the slag out of each other, they were interrupted by a mysterious spaceship that swooped down, sucked the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] up on beams of light, and flew away. Primal and his troops were left dumbfounded, unaware that the ship had been a tool of [[Unicron]] in his quest to build [[Minion of Unicron|an army]] for a [[Universe war|grand war]]. {{storylink|Universe CD-ROM|Universe CD-ROM}}

{{note|This comic shows no signs of being intended to mesh with any other ''[[Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]]'' fiction. Given that ''Universe'' is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, it could still be a side note to the [[Universe war|greater storyline]]... but no matter how you look at it, there's no way that this Primal can be the same Primal in the main ''Universe'' comic.}}

===3D Battle-Card Game===
Optimus Primal leads a motley crew of Autobots from (potentially) disparate timelines against the forces of Megatron. He is probably getting tired of having to do this.

==Toys==
[[Image:Optimus Primal toys.jpg|right|250px|thumb|There's a lot more where these came from!]]
{{main|Optimus Primal toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Optimus Primal toys}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
* The design of Optimus Primal's bat form is an [[homage]] to [[wikipedia:Batman|Batman]], an action figure license also held at the time by [[Kenner]].<ref>Toy database section in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* Primal's gorilla mode, paired against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s t-rex mode, was inspired by the showdown in [[wikipedia:King_Kong|King Kong]].

* Indeed, gorilla Primal's original tech specs (which belong to the [[micro-continuity]] that takes place on modern-day Earth) seems to strongly imply that Primal is a building-scaling ape of Kong-like stature. As speculated in the ''Beast Wars'' volume of the ''[[Cybertronian: The Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide|Cybertronian]]'' action figure guide, this may have been intended to explain why he is [[Scale|in the same scale]] as Megatron, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This would also make somewhat greater sense in the context of the toyline itself, wherein the leader characters were of a much larger "Ultra" size-class than their minions, unlike their eventually much smaller depictions in [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|the CG cartoon]].

* According to a guide book published in conjunction with the ''[[Beast Wars II (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]'' theatrical film, Optimus Primal's original body had the following technical specifications. The veracity of these numbers in relation to anything actually featuring Primal, of course, is questionable.

:Height: 2.8m (9.19 feet).
:Weight: 2 tons.
:Running Speed: 60km (37.28 mph, beast mode), 50km (31.07 mph, robot mode).
:Airspeed: Mach 7.
:Maximum Power Output: 1,000,000 horsepower.

* According to his [[Robots in Disguise]] [[bio]], Optimus Primal is from "the future", suggesting the events of Robots in Disguise are somehow part of the [[Beast Era]]'s past.

* According to his bio in the end of the comic "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", Optimus Primal graduated near the top of his class at the Maximal Military Academy.

* In his Transmetal form, Optimus Primal's spark chamber is on a hinge in his chest to swing down to the opening in his abdomen. In his Optimal Optimus form, he stored Prime's spark in his vehicle mode [[cockpit]].

* "Powered Convoy", Optimal Optimus' Japanese name, is Ultra Magnus' [[pre-Transformer]] name in the [[Diaclone]] toyline.

* According to the control art of Optimus Primal's toy, his chest originally seemed to be a kind of launcher instead of being an homage to the [[Autobot Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]].<ref>Toy database section in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* According to the diagram of Optimus Primal on the catalog packed with "TM-SP DX Convoy", his spark chamber is [[Energon Matrix|Matrix]]-shaped. ''[[Optimal Situation|Oh lord]].''

==Reference==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/OptimusPrimal/optimusprimal.htm Optimus Primal at TFU.info]

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Optimus Primal (BW)

2009-05-14T19:33:22Z

195.93.21.40: /* Beast Machines cartoon */

{{factions|maximal|maximalbm|autobot}}
{{disambig3|Optimus}}
{{disambig3|Primal}}
:''Optimus Primal is a [[Maximal]] and an [[Autobot]] in the [[Beast Era]] portion of the [[Generation 1 (franchise)|Generation 1]] [[continuity family]] and an Autobot-aligned Maximal from the future in the [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]] continuity family. He is also sometimes known as '''Optimal Optimus''' (not to mention Boss Monkey, Bigbot, Fearless Leader, etc.).''

[[Image:Optimusprimalbw.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Next one of you says "trukk not munky" gets it in the FACE.]]
Young and untested, '''Optimus Primal''' was a mere captain of an exploration ship when he and his crew were diverted off-course to pursue a stolen Predacon ship under the leadership of some crook named [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]. The rest, they say, is (literally) history.

Though he does have a penchant for stuffy speeches, Optimus Primal is much more down-to-cybertron than his legendary [[Optimus Prime (G1)|namesake]]. He is committed to the Maximal codes of honor and moral judgment, but he does view them with some irreverence, and is not above finding loopholes or administering unorthodox solutions if necessary. ("Sometimes, crazy works," he says.) He is eternally loyal to his friends and respectful to his enemies. He is brave and selfless in battle. However, he is so committed to helping others that he can withdraw into a deep depression when he feels he has let them down. This is the only time he is self-absorbed.

Optimus Primal is extraordinary for not only being able to distinguish himself despite living in the shadow of Optimus Prime, but for perhaps even surpassing him, seeing as he [[Optimal Situation|saved the life of his namesake]] and ushered in a new [[technorganic]] [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]]. It is possible Optimus Primal is the greatest Cybertronian hero who has ever lived.

{{quote|Come on, let's hear it, the usual destiny and honor speech.|Megatron|"[[Nemesis Part 2]]"}}
{{quote|Speech this!|Optimus as he punches Megatron in the face|"[[Nemesis Part 2]]"}}

:''Japanese name:'' '''Convoy''', '''Convobat''' (bat), '''Metals Convoy''' (Transmetal), '''Powered Convoy''' (Optimal Optimus), '''Beast Convoy''' (''Robot Masters''), '''Yvonco'''<ref>This joke name is first seen in the intro part from Japanese dub version of the episode "[[Fallout]]". "Yvonco" (ã‚¤ãƒœãƒ³ã‚³) is the reverse of "Convoy" (ã‚³ãƒ³ãƒœã‚¤).</ref>
:''Italian name:'' '''Black Jack''', '''Metal Gorilla''' (Transmetal), '''Optimus Primal''' (Optimal Optimus)
:''Polish name:'' '''Optimus Naczelny''' ("Optimus Primal")
:''Chinese name (Taiwan):'' '''Jīn-gāng Wáng''' (金剛王, "King King Kong")
:''Russian name (first Beast Wars dub):'' '''King Kong'''
:''Russian name (second Beast Wars dub):'' '''Optimus Comandeer''' ("Optimus the Commander")
:''Cantonese name:'' '''Odim'''

==Fiction==
===Optimus Primal vs Megatron!===
Under the eerie shadows of a full moon Optimus Primal, a gigantic bat, [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], a swift-stalking cheetah, and [[Razorbeast]], a fearsome wild boar, hunt purposely through the depths of a jungle. Soon Optimus detects the thermal emissions and fusion activity from a building, which mean they've found their target. His motion sensors register what appears to be a harmless [[Earth]] creature below.

Before Optimus realizes his mistake the alligator lashes out with as smashing swipe of its tail, knocking Optimus into the swampy waters. The beast transforms and [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] towers above him. The building ahead is the Predacons' genetics lab and he'll never let Optimus reach the secrets inside. He orders his troops to attack and everyone transforms to robot mode. The gigantic arthropods Tarantulas and Waspinator engage Razorbeast and Cheetor respectively while Optimus and Megatron face off.

Optimus brags that the Maximal "[[bio-genetic morphing process]] has allowed us to create the perfect fusion of organic musculature and Transformers technology!" Megatron responds that his side did all that too, so nan-neh, but used the DNA of Earth's most vicious predators. When Optimus notes that the Maximals seem to be getting the upper hand, Megatron immediately detonates the lab and escapes, vowing to return with new forms and new plans when the Maximals least expect it. The Beast Wars have just begun! {{storylink|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!|Optimus Primal vs Megatron!}}

{{note|This comic, along with the on-package [[Bio|bios]] of the first wave of Beast Wars toys, predate the development of the Beast Wars cartoon and its backstory. Instead they seem to present the characters as a direct continuation of the previous Autobot/Decepticon conflict, with Optimus Primal actually being a new form of Optimus Prime and Megatron being his Generation 1 counterpart, and their battles taking place on present day, [[human]]-inhabited Earth, rather than in the distant past. Once the cartoon launched, the toyline adjusted itself to match that continuity instead, relegating this one to an aborted [[micro-continuity]].}}

===Cartoon continuity===
====Dawn of Future's Past====
[[Image:Optimusprimalbwtimelines.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Pre-fur Primal, Maximal nobody.]]
Optimus Primal is a veteran of the last [[Great War (G1)|Great War]], one waged between the Maximals and the Predacons. He is a distinguished graduate of the [[Maximal Military Academy]], where he was a diligent student of the accomplishments of past generations, both militaristic and scientific.<ref>Optimus Primal's profile in the Diamond Comics-exclusive edition of [[Dawn of Future's Past]].</ref>

Captain of the ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]'', Optimus Primal and his crew had been stuck on a space station for weeks while awaiting [[Rampage (BW)|additional cargo]]. Finally, they were leaving and ready to return to embarking on their mission of exploration, but the [[Maximal Defense Command Center]] had a different idea. The [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] had been stolen by [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] and a group of rogue [[Predacon (BW)|Predacons]], and Optimus Primal's ship was closest to intercept.

They closed in on Megatron's stolen ship, the ''[[Darksyde]]'', and shots were fired back and forth. Suddenly, not one but two ships joined their battle. One was sent by the [[Tripredacus Council]] and was commandeered by secret operatives [[Laserbeak (G1)|Laserbeak]] and [[Buzzsaw (G1)|Buzzsaw]]. Another, the ''[[Chromia 10]]'' was crewed by its [[Airazor (BW)|Maximal owner]] and [[Unit 2]], a member of the [[Maximal Command Security Force]]. Both of these ships were ultimately destroyed, but Primal ordered the Maximals on board the ''Chromia-10'' be downloaded into blank [[Stasis pod|stasis pods]] to save their lives.

Via transmission, Megatron taunted Optimus Primal and his crew. The ''Darksyde'' opened a [[transwarp]] portal and jumped through. The ''Axalon'' followed. {{storylink|Dawn of Future's Past|Dawn of Future's Past}}

====''Beast Wars'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Takehito Koyasu]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Lope]] (Portuguese), [[Ben Hecker]] (German)

[[Image:OptimusPrimal BW1.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Shadows?! I don't need no stinkin' shadows!]]
Optimus Primal was the captain of the exploration ship ''[[Axalon (BW)|Axalon]]''. When his crew got word that the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] criminal [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had stolen the [[Golden Disk (Voyager)|Golden Disk]] and a [[Darksyde|ship]] with [[transwarp]] capabilities, Primal's ship was the closest vessel that also possessed a transwarp drive, so ''Axalon'' was sent to chase Megatron's crew.

Primal followed the Predacons through a transwarp portal and appeared above a mysterious planet, but both ships were damaged in the ensuing space battle, and before both ships crashed into the planet's surface below, Primal ordered that the [[Stasis pod|stasis pods]] carrying the rest of his crew to be ejected into orbit.

The planet was rich with [[Energon (G1)|energon]] â€” so much so that prolonged exposure would short out their bodies, so the Maximals and Predacons were forced to take organic forms from the local creatures. Primal took the form of a silverback gorilla. Primal remarked that his new form was "interesting" upon exit from the [[CR chamber]]. Estranged from his comrades, the Predacon [[Dinobot (BW)|Dinobot]] challenged Primal to a duel soon after their arrival, seeking command of the Maximals so he could, in turn, defeat Megatron. However, the Predacons saw the duel and tried to kill them both. Dinobot joined the Maximals after Optimus risked his life to stop him from dropping to his death. Dinobot later repaid him by saving him from a missile fired at him by Megatron. (That did cause the energon-laced mountain where they were to explode, but nobody got killed). Optimus earned Dinobot's respect, but the ex-Predacon would never admit to respecting him out loud. {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 1)|Beast Wars (Part 1)}} {{storylink|Beast Wars (Part 2)|Beast Wars (Part 2)}}

Both sides entrenched themselves on their new world, and the "[[Beast Wars (event)|Beast Wars]]" began. Strange unnatural sites and artifacts were discovered, leading Primal and the others to believe that aliens had seeded the primitive planet with experiments and traps. One such trap, the [[Standing Stones]], ensnared Primal's body for a short time, during which the Maximals scrambled to ascertain their chain of command. In his absence, the Maximals squabbled and fought over leadership, until finally his core consciousness was able to speak to them and name [[Rattrap]] as his replacement. Primal's body was subsequently retrieved from the Standing Stones, and he resumed command.

[[Image:OptimusPrimal Transmetal.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Transmetal Rippedimus Primal.]]
When [[Inferno (BW)|Inferno]] discovered evidence of the [[Vok]]'s imminent arrival, Megatron called a truce, to which Primal reluctantly agreed. While investigating a newly-created Vok installation, Primal was tortured and captured by the aliens, who spoke to him (in the form of [[Unicron]]) and told him of their plans to "sterilize" the planet. Barely escaping the Vok base, Primal returned to the ''Axalon'' to find it overrun by [[Tarantulas]] and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who had turned a space stasis pod into an escape ship in order to flee the doomed planet. As the planet's second moon was converted into a [[Planet Buster]], Primal took the ship to do battle with the superweapon, against the objections of his crew. Primal planned to detonate the ship's [[transwarp cell]] when in range of the weapon, after ejecting to safety. The plan workedâ€”with the exception of the "ejecting" part. Megatron remotely seized control of the vessel, overriding Primal's ejection commands. The Predacon commander taunted Primal as he futilely beat his fists against the pod, until the detonation obliterated the pod, the Planet Buster, and Primal, reducing them all to so much space junk. {{storylink|Other Voices, Part 2|Other Voices, Part 2}}

[[Image:OptimalOptimus Opsituation feralscream1.jpg|left|150px|thumb|Trukk and munky...and playne.]]
Primal's [[Spark]] journeyed to the [[Allspark|Matrix]], where it was soon recovered by [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and placed in a [[blank]] [[protoform]], which became his new [[Transmetal]] body. Primal now transformed into a mechanical gorilla with a gorilla-on-a-hoverboard third mode, which he used to kick the crap out of the Predacons. {{storylink|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)|Coming of the Fuzors (Part 2)}}

[[Image:OptimusPrimal OpSit Matrixspark.jpg|right|150px|thumb|Continuity error!]]
Later on, Primal was captured and imprisoned in [[Metal Hunter|yet another Vok base]], this one controlled by his archnemesis Megatron. During a daring rescue attempt by the Maximals and Tarantulas, Optimus engaged in a furious battle with Megatron, destroying both the Metal Hunter and the alien disc. The Maximals then suffered a number of setbacks, including the death of Dinobot, the destruction of [[Transmutate]], and Megatron's acquisition of the deadly [[Rampage (BW)|Rampage]]. However, the Maximals were soon greeted with good news: the realization that the [[transwarp wavefront]] created by the destruction of the Planet Buster would lead Cybertron to them, making a rescue operation possible. Help arrived soon enough, but in the unexpected form of the rebuilt [[Ravage (G1)|Ravage]], who had come to arrest Megatron for his crimes against the [[Pax Cybertronia]]. In the midst of this, Primal was forced to chastise new recruit [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]] for his dangerous relationship with Blackarachnia. Primal assisted Ravage in arresting Megatron, but was soon betrayed by the ex-[[Decepticon]], allowing Megatron to escape and reach the [[Ark (G1)|Ark]] in an attempt to assassinate [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. {{storylink|The Agenda (Part III)|The Agenda (Part III)}}

Primal was forced to take the great Autobot's spark inside himself to keep it protected. This caused his body to grow larger and stronger, gaining ground and air vehicle modes along with his previous gorilla form. Megatron sardonically dubbed him "Optimal Optimus" (ironically, no one else ever used that name). In his new form, he successfully protected Prime's spark until it could be returned to his repaired body, thus saving history and the future from destruction.

With the location of the Ark revealed and Megatron now desperate to end the war at any cost, Primal was forced to move his Maximals into the volcano where the Ark's hull lay. {{storylink|Optimal Situation|Optimal Situation}} This new, defensive war was much more difficult to fight, and disadvantaged the Maximals severely, even with his new four-mode body and enhanced firepower. With the loss of their defense system, [[Sentinel (BW)|Sentinel]], {{storylink|Changing of the Guard|Changing of the Guard}} the arrival of the rebellious and embittered [[Depth Charge]], {{storylink|Deep Metal|Deep Metal}} the awkward and violent maturation of Cheetor, {{storylink|Feral Scream Part 2|Feral Scream Part 2}} proto-humans to guard, {{storylink|Cutting Edge|Cutting Edge}} the theft of the original Megatron's spark and the ensuing mutation of the Beast Wars' Megatron, {{storylink|Master Blaster|Master Blaster}} the introduction of the previously treacherous and morally ambiguous Blackarachnia into their ranks and her imminent Transmetallization, {{storylink|Crossing the Rubicon|Crossing the Rubicon}} Optimus Primal had more than his share of problems to deal with.

The tide was finally turned when the Vok resurrected and combined [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] and [[Tigatron]] into the mighty [[Tigerhawk]], who obliterated the Predacon base. {{storylink|Other Victories|Other Victories}} In the end, Primal's forces defeated Megatron's, and with the captured Predacon leader strapped to the roof of a borrowed Autobot shuttle, the Maximals at last headed home. Leaving the planet and memorializing his fallen comrades, Optimus Primal declared that the Beast Wars were over. {{storylink|Nemesis Part 2|Nemesis Part 2}}

====Japanese cartoon continuity====
=====''Beast Wars II'' cartoon=====
[[Image:Burningconvoy.jpg|right|180px|thumb|All these compliments are making me blush.]]
Optimus Primal was summoned across time by [[Lio Junior]] to help [[Lio Convoy]] destroy [[Majin Zarak]]. Optimus Primal became '''Burning Convoy''' by joining the power of his matrix with Lio Convoy's.

After Majin Zarak's destruction, Optimus Primal returned to ancient [[Earth]]. {{storylink|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger|Lio Convoy in Imminent Danger}}

{{note|It's not clear when during the Beast Wars Optimus Primal was taken.}}

=====''Robot Masters''=====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Yuto Kazama]] (Japanese)

Optimus Primal chased Megatron in yet another time warp into the Generation 1 era. There, he met and joined forces with [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]]. Together, their special attack was a massive energon tornado called Double Convoy Tornado. {{storylink|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!|Fight! The Group of the Strongest Commanders!}}

The Double Convoy Tornado would come to be countered by [[Megatron (BW)|Beast Megatron]]'s and [[Megatron (G1)|Rebirth Megatron]]'s Double Megatron Tornado, but emerge victorious with the addition of Lio Convoy's Lio Typhoon Arrow, creating Triple Convoy Tornado Link attack. {{storylink|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters (episode)|The Lio Convoy Typhoon Enters}}

He also had a temporary virus-induced Black Body form.

{{note|Since both were known as simply "Convoy" in their respective Japanese series, Optimus Prime was designated "G1 Convoy" while Optimus Primal was designated "Beast Convoy".}}

=====''Beast Wars Reborn''=====

{{note|This story takes place after the events of Beast Machines.}}
[[Image:BeastWarsRebornMegatronArtwork1.jpg|right|200px|thumb|Rebirth control.]]
Both Megatron and Optimus Primal awoke inside a bizare temple-like spaceship which was hurtling through space. Neither had any memory of who they were or how they got there, only their own names and a feeling of discomfort between one another. The pair went about investigating the ship in search of answers. While Megatron's memory was lost, his personality remained mostly intact: he was more concerned with seizing control of the ship before Primal did in order to gain the upper hand.

They eventually found a data log and discovered that their sparks had been taken and they were reborn into new bodies (unbeknownst to them, bodies identical to their original forms). However, their memories were intentionally not uploaded into their new bodies. While searching the log they discovered that the ship's main power source was a [[Golden Disk]] lodged within a giant pillar. Megatron immediately raced to obtain the Disk and Primal followed him. The closer they got to the disk the more the ship attempted to thwart their advance by manipulating its atmosphere conditions.

Once they reached the chamber, the ship's environment suddenly morphed to that of a decaying planet littered with the corpses of robots. The corpses came to life and began shambling toward them, intent on eating their sparks. They made short work of the zombies, leaving Megatron to obtain the Golden Disk and Primal with a feeling that he shouldn't entirely trust Megatron.

From another dimension beyond time and space, [[Primus]] recognized that something was amiss and sent one of his messengers to meet Primal and Megatron within the spaceship. {{storylink|The Mysterious Temple in Space|The Mysterious Temple in Space}}

====''Binaltech''====
Optimus Primal sent his spark back in time, and took over [[Dr. Arkeville]]'s recently completed [[Nemesis Prime (G1)|Nemesis Prime]] body frame. The black Optimus Prime clone, imbued with the good spark of Primal then warped out, and set about rescuing the collapsing Binaltech timeline by splitting it from, and restoring, [[The Transformers: The Movie|the original timeline]].

When questioned by the Autobots, "Black Optimus" revealed only that the "Protector" was responsible for ensuring the continuation of the Binaltech universe - a universe that was the key to the [[Alternity (species)|Alternity]]. Primal's spark was [[Kiss Player|summarily ejected]], reverting the clone to his original evil programming, who then quickly escaped.

As the Autobots sought to shut down the rogue Binaltech projects happening around the world, Optimus Prime faced off against Nemesis Prime. The battle looked to be short-lived as Prime found himself outmatched by Nemesis Prime's [[Unicron|power]]. However Optimus Primal's spark merged with Optimus Prime - something Prime [[Optimal Situation|had vague memories of experiencing previously]]. The power resulting from this fusion enabled Optimus Prime to deflect Nemesis Prime's attack, ultimately destroying the clone.

{{note|Optimus Primal is not named in the ''Binaltech'' story. The identity of the Protector was originally speculated to be [[Rodimus Prime (G1)|Rodimus Prime]] due to his function (detailed on his techspec card) and future leadership role. However, Optimus Prime's memory of spark fusion, and the Protector's words to him, spark-to-spark, about the "seeds of the future" clearly establish the Protector to be Optimus Primal.}}

{{charstubfiction}}

====''Beast Machines'' cartoon====
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English), [[Takehito Koyasu]] (Japanese), [[Guilherme Briggs]] (Portuguese), [[Tilo Schmitz]] (German)

[[Image:Optimusprimalbm.jpg|left|250px|thumb|Release the warrior! Also, um, the jetpack.]]
After losing megatron in the transwarp shift and landing on a seemingly deserted cybertron, primal decides they split up, he went with Rattrap and Cheetor. They soon found themselves being chased by tank drones with de-evolving viruses. Primal is the first to be de-evoled, to lose his memory and change back to his origanal form.

Seemingly minutes after the shuttle departed for transwarp space, Optimus Primal suddenly found himself back in his original, organic gorilla body and thrust into a dangerous situation on an eerily deserted [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]], unfamiliar with how he arrived there and pursued by an army of [[Tank drone|tank drones]]. Cornered by the mechanical terrors, Primal attempted to Maximize, but his parts only shifted painfully and his body was tortured by electric shocks. Using his ape-mode body's agility, he swung out of reach, and suddenly received a vision of a monorail-vehicle nearby. Swinging into the train car, he found [[Rattrap]], afflicted by the same [[transformation lock virus]] as Primal. Rattrap suggested "taking off these fur suits", but there was not time, for another squadron of tank drones caught them. It would have been the end for Primal and Rattrap, had the timely arrival of [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]] not saved them. Once again, Primal received a vision, showing a pit. Heading (well, falling) into the hole, he and his companions were caught on a familiar spiderweb, courtesy of [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]], who was back in her Season 1 spider form and severely weakened. Heading underground, Primal led the weakened Maximals to the depths of ancient Cybertron on Blackarachnia's webs. Falling into darkness, Primal threw a piece of scrap metal and discovered what appeared to be a wall of fire. He had, in reality, awakened the powerful and legendary [[Vector Sigma|Oracle]]. As the other three Maximals watched, Primal entered into the bowels of the computer, within which he was granted visions he could not yet comprehend, including the prophetic statement that "the seeds of the future lie buried in the past." The Oracle then began to "[[reformat]]" Primal. Primal emerged in a new, [[technorganic]] beast mode and urged the other dying Maximals to complete their "reformatting" as well. Shortly after this was achieved, the group was attacked by an underground army of Cycle Drones. During the ensuing fight, Primal was the first to master the "art" of transformation as he plunged into a deep pit. Flying out, Primal grabbed the nearest drone and demanded answers, but lost his concentration, causing him to revert to beast mode. {{storylink|The Reformatting|The Reformatting}}

Primal began to teach the three other Maximals the lost art of transformation, which was mastered by achieving an inner calmness and finding their spiritual centers. Though Cheetor and Blackarachnia were successful off the bat, [[Rattrap]] badgered him just to "give us the command codes." Primal and the others were attacked by a [[Vehicon Mole|Mole Drone]], which broke their concentration and caused them to revert to their beast modes, so they fled. Primal also had to save Cheetor and Blackarachnia from a squadron of Aero-drones shortly after. {{storylink|Master of the House|Master of the House}} Eventually, Primal and his allies learned that Megatron had broken free during their transwarp flight home and so arrived on Cybertron before them. Megatron had then conquered the planet and laid a trap for Primal's crew and any other Transformers returning to Cybertron.

[[Image:Thereformattingmaximalsmaximize.jpg|right|350px|thumb|We Animal Mechanical can!]]
A short time later, Primal's crew came across the bat-mode Cybertronian [[Nightscream (BM)|Nightscream]], who seemed to suffer from the same transformation lock virus that Primal had upon arrival. Nightscream led them to an underground tree, where Primal, Rattrap, and Blackarachnia ate the fruit and began to revert to their animal instincts. When Nightscream was injured in a Vehicon attack, Primal showed a new talent granted by the Oracle, reformatting the youth into a new, techno-organic body. However, Optimus was critically weakened by this and requested the over-eager Cheetor to take command in his absence. {{storylink|Forbidden Fruit|Forbidden Fruit}}. No longer the inexperienced scientist of his youth, Primal was constantly haunted by the losses of [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and many of Rattrap's quips would send him into despair. During the events that followed, Optimus Primal came to be much more in touch with his spiritual side than he ever was before, due to an almost mystical connection to the Oracle. This granted him visions and intuitions, guiding him to complete its designs, though he had some trouble at first comprehending just what the Oracle wanted and how to go about it. Misinterpreting the Oracle's intentions led Primal into extremism, believing that he was meant to purge the technological from Cybertron, turning it into a fully organic world. Such was Primal's obsession with his "mission", that he was even ready to reformat an unwilling Megatron. However, Rhinox/Tankor took advantage of his reliance on the Oracle's visions, cutting him off from them, leaving Primal both confused and uncertain.

Optimus Primal and the Maximals began to probe deeper into Cybertron and discovered a chamber of fossils and a strange, organic liquid. As the liquid flowed through the chamber, palm-like plants sprang up, revealing Cybertron's organic roots. When Tankor gained control of the Key to Vector Sigma, he infected the verdant orchard, transforming it and Nightscream into "technomatter". While Blackarachnia kept Nightscream under control, the others searched for a mole drone to drill deeper into the core and produce enough liquid to reverse the transformation. {{storylink|The Key|The Key}}

Primal later found the [[Plasma Energy Chamber]], a device lethal to technological beings. While Megatron readied the planetwide pulse of Vector energy, Primal began to harness the energies of the Chamber to destroy all technological life on Cybertron. As the two forces clashed, Primal's spirit was transported into the Matrix, the Transformers' afterlife. {{storylink|End of the Line|End of the Line}} As he and Megatron fought in the void, he pondered if this was his destiny, to fight his nemesis for eternity. Before him, he saw the faces of his comrades, the Maximals, berate him for his poor leadership and near-genocidal behavior. He then found himself back on prehistoric Earth, where a red-eyed copy of Primal attacked him, scolding him for his fanatical behavior. Finding himself back in space, he saw the collective sparks of Cybertron.

[[Image:Optimalmegatronoptimusprimal.jpg|right|150px|thumb|"Yesss, I've skinned you and I'm wearing your head as a hat."]]Meanwhile, the other Maximals journeyed downwards once more, speaking to Primal via the Oracle. Although Primal originally refused to lead the Maximals, he relented and returned. Around him, a forest of techorganic trees sprang up as he realized that his mission was not to destroy technology, but to create a balance, in the same way the Oracle had done for him.
As the [[Battle for the Spark|Battle for the Sparks]] continued, the Maximals cultivated an orchard around the Oracle, but the plants fared poorly and began to wither. Worried, Primal wondered if the orchard was to be in vain. When an extraterrestrial shuttle crashed into Cybertron, it was Primal who led the Maximals toward the site. Discovering organic matter inside, the team was attacked by a strange plant-creature. Pursuing the beast towards the Oracle, Optimus reformatted the creature into a techno-organic plant. The plant introduced itself as [[Botanica]], a fellow Maximal scientist, and tended to the dying orchard, restoring it to vigorous life.

In the ultimate conflict between Primal and Megatron, Optimus sacrificed his life, plunging with Megatron into the heart of Cybertron and ushering in the reformatting that returned the deactivated population to life and gave birth to the new, technorganic Cybertron. As the surviving Maximals looked out over their new home, Primal and the Oracle spoke to [[Cheetor (BW)|Cheetor]], and Primal departed with the words "Transform, and Transcend", as his Spark joined the Matrix. {{storylink|Endgame Pt. III: Seeds of the Future}}
{{-}}

====''Universe'' comic====
[[Image:Csoptimusprimalu2.jpg|right|250px|thumb|Look, up in the sky! It's... an ape?]]
:''Voice actor:'' [[Garry Chalk]] (English, script reading)

As the denizens of post-Vehicon [[Cybertron (planet)|Cybertron]] just began to settle into their peaceful, [[technorganic]] world that Optimus Primal had given his life to create, [[Unicron]] unexpectedly struck from afar. He teleported several [[Transformer|Transformers]] into himself, a handful of the countless victims across the [[Continuity|multiverse]] whom he pitted against each other in order to harvest their [[energon radiation]] and, eventually, [[Spark|sparks]]. Decimated in some unknown battle and trapped between dimensions, Unicron sought to revitalize himself in this fashion.

Deep within Cybertron, [[Primus]] and [[Alpha Trion (G1)|Alpha Trion]] summoned Optimus Primal back from the dead and sent him on a raid to free Unicron's captives. {{storylink|Abduction|Abduction}} Once inside the Chaos-Bringer, he found allies in the form of a [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and even a [[Megatron (Armada)|Megatron]] from variant timelines. {{storylink|OTFCC Live-Action Drama|OTFCC Live-Action Drama}} But he also found himself discolored by sinister [[Unicron virus|radiation]] that threatened not only his body, but also his spark. Nevertheless, he was quite successful in his mission, battling Unicron's [[Minion of Unicron|Minions]] until he had freed dozens of abductees. Then, still within Unicron, he sent them back to their home dimensions by the power of prayer.

Returning to Cybertron, Primal was glad for his victory, but he wondered if his own resurrection could bring about Megatron's return as well. {{storylink|Escape (Universe comic)|Escape}} More pressingly, Primal was unable to convince the [[Maximal High Council]] that any of this was actually ''happening,'' so he ended up turning to the dead for new troops. Primus gave him a selection of fallen warriors to choose from, and he picked [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] and [[Depth Charge]]. They were to launch more raids within Unicron while an orbital defense platform was being constructed above Cybertron. But Depth Charge refused to take part in more violence, so Alpha Trion took a cue from Unicron and transported [[Omega Prime]] into their dimension to fight in his place. {{storylink|Homecoming (issue)|Homecoming}}

{{note|The tale of the Universe war was halted here for a time, as [[Hasbro]] had revoked [[3H Productions|3H]]'s license to the ''Transformers'' property. But the story would be continued in [[Fun Publications]]' [[Balancing Act (issue)|''Cybertron'' comic'']]''.}}

====''Cybertron'' comic====
[[Image:Primal_FPUnivBio.jpg|thumb|left|175px|"Did I say ''Matrix'' of Purification? I meant Fist."]]

Optimus Primal took Omega Prime and others on raids within Unicron's internal "prison cities," freeing more captives. Primal then embarked on an even more proactive venture, leading teams to other dimensions in anticipation of Unicron's strikes and setting up defensive measures before the Chaos-Bringer could gather more victims. Despite gaining more followers in this process, Primal and other veterans were being worn down by Unicron's corruptive influence. Certainly those who had been abducted and reformatted by Unicron were affected, but some (such as Primal himself) who had been exposed to Unicron's nanotech virus and its accompanying radiation were also suffering. In order to avert madness and death, Primus [[Reformatting|reformatted]] Primal and several of his comrades. Not only was his [[Optimus Primal toys|new form]] immune to the virus and radiation, but it also possessed the [[Matrix of Purification]], which could heal others of Unicronian corruption.

[[Image:Optimusprimaluniverseend.jpg|right|200px|thumb|It's 11:00pm. Do you know where your Beast Wars cast is?]]

Months passed as the competing armies grew, their battles raging on a level comparable to the [[Cybertronian Civil Wars|Great Wars]]. Cybertron itself remained stable, but only for a time. The planet fell victim to a massive invasion, later called "the Culling," in which Unicron's Minions swept across the globe in a killing frenzy, the sparks of their victims feeding the Chaos-Bringer. Primal's army fended the invaders off, but in the chaotic aftermath, Primal's earlier fears were realized as [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] returned to lead the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]]s back to glory. He initially fought Primal, but he eventually called a truce to better face their common foe.<ref>Optimus Primal's bio in the [[Revelations Part 3|Transformers Collectors' Club comic #9]]</ref>

Continued raids saved many more captives and brought the Minions to near-defeat. Then as one raiding party including Primal and Omega Prime battled their way out, Unicron suddenly began to disappear. The raiders rapidly teleported away, but Omega Prime did not materialize with the rest. He was pulled in mid-teleport by [[Over-Run (Armada)|Over-Run]] into the Cybertron of the [[Unicron Singularity]], which had been the cause of the Unicron-war Unicron's disappearance. Presumably Optimus Primal made it back to his own dimension safely, but this is unconfirmed. {{storylink|Revelations Part 1}} {{storylink|Revelations Part 2}}
{{-}}

===Manga continuity===
====''Beast Wars II'' comic====
When Lio Convoy goes nuts and grows to giant proportions, wreaking havoc across the landscape, Optimus Primal is summoned across time by the power of the Matrix to heal him.

====''Beast Wars Metals'' comic====
[[Image:DevilGorilla-sk.jpg|right|300px|thumb|It's on like a reanimated cyborg Donkey Kong!]]
Following the [[Quantum surge]], Primal was left dead. Within [[Transwarp space]], he found himself being dragged into the afterlife by a horde of monsters. Suddenly, [[Rhinox (BW)|Rhinox]] arrived and attempted to return him to life. Primal at first refused, saying he wished to move on. Rhinox then smacked some sense into him, reminding him of his duty to his Maximals. Brought back to his senses, Primal left Transwarp space, his spark being blasted from a laser cannon of Rhinox's design.

Over at the [[Predacon (BW)|Predacon]] base, the ''[[Hindenburg]]'', [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]] had recovered Primal's sparkless, rampaging body and imprisoned it in shackles. Using a voodoo ceremony of [[Tarantulas]]'s design, Megatron intended to turn Primal's body into a Predacon slave. Before he could apply his mutant blood and finish the ceremony, Primal's spark reunited with his body and upgraded into a [[Transmetal]].

None too pleased, Primal proceeded to make short work of Tarantulas, [[Terrorsaur (BW)|Terrorsaur]] and Megatron's army of drones. He then defeated Megatron and escaped the ''Hindenburg'', rescuing an injured [[Airazor (BW)|Airazor]] in the process. {{storylink|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!|Raise the Curtain for Beast Wars Metals!!}}

In another adventure, he fed his head to Rampage. (Don't worry, he had a spare; the head that was eaten had a bomb in its mouth, anyway.) Later, he ate Optimus Prime's spark in order to become Optimal Optimus.

===''Robots in Disguise'' toy bio===
When a spirit guide was needed to counsel an [[Optimus Prime (RID)|Optimus Prime]] of [[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|the past]], Optimus Primal rose to the task.

===''Universe'' CD-ROM===
[[Image:UnivCDROM Autobots.jpg|left|180px|thumb|"Pardon me, just passing through."]]
On some alternate Cybertron, that universe's Optimus Primal was leading the Autobots [[Snarl (BM)|Snarl]], [[Silverbolt (BW)|Silverbolt]], and [[Striker]] against [[Reptilion]], [[Obsidian (Universe)|Obsidian]], [[Tankor (Minion of Unicron)|Tankor]], [[Razorclaw (Universe)|Razorclaw]], and [[Blackarachnia (BW)|Blackarachnia]] in the most intense day of fighting that year. Just as the combatants were really starting to beat the slag out of each other, they were interrupted by a mysterious spaceship that swooped down, sucked the [[Decepticon|Decepticons]] up on beams of light, and flew away. Primal and his troops were left dumbfounded, unaware that the ship had been a tool of [[Unicron]] in his quest to build [[Minion of Unicron|an army]] for a [[Universe war|grand war]]. {{storylink|Universe CD-ROM|Universe CD-ROM}}

{{note|This comic shows no signs of being intended to mesh with any other ''[[Universe (2003 franchise)|Universe]]'' fiction. Given that ''Universe'' is entirely ABOUT alternate dimensions, it could still be a side note to the [[Universe war|greater storyline]]... but no matter how you look at it, there's no way that this Primal can be the same Primal in the main ''Universe'' comic.}}

===3D Battle-Card Game===
Optimus Primal leads a motley crew of Autobots from (potentially) disparate timelines against the forces of Megatron. He is probably getting tired of having to do this.

==Toys==
[[Image:Optimus Primal toys.jpg|right|250px|thumb|There's a lot more where these came from!]]
{{main|Optimus Primal toys}}

==Merchandise==
{{main|Optimus Primal toys}}

{{-}}

==Notes==
* The design of Optimus Primal's bat form is an [[homage]] to [[wikipedia:Batman|Batman]], an action figure license also held at the time by [[Kenner]].<ref>Toy database section in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* Primal's gorilla mode, paired against [[Megatron (BW)|Megatron]]'s t-rex mode, was inspired by the showdown in [[wikipedia:King_Kong|King Kong]].

* Indeed, gorilla Primal's original tech specs (which belong to the [[micro-continuity]] that takes place on modern-day Earth) seems to strongly imply that Primal is a building-scaling ape of Kong-like stature. As speculated in the ''Beast Wars'' volume of the ''[[Cybertronian: The Unofficial Transformers Recognition Guide|Cybertronian]]'' action figure guide, this may have been intended to explain why he is [[Scale|in the same scale]] as Megatron, a Tyrannosaurus Rex. This would also make somewhat greater sense in the context of the toyline itself, wherein the leader characters were of a much larger "Ultra" size-class than their minions, unlike their eventually much smaller depictions in [[Beast Wars (cartoon)|the CG cartoon]].

* According to a guide book published in conjunction with the ''[[Beast Wars II (franchise)|Beast Wars II]]'' theatrical film, Optimus Primal's original body had the following technical specifications. The veracity of these numbers in relation to anything actually featuring Primal, of course, is questionable.

:Height: 2.8m (9.19 feet).
:Weight: 2 tons.
:Running Speed: 60km (37.28 mph, beast mode), 50km (31.07 mph, robot mode).
:Airspeed: Mach 7.
:Maximum Power Output: 1,000,000 horsepower.

* According to his [[Robots in Disguise]] [[bio]], Optimus Primal is from "the future", suggesting the events of Robots in Disguise are somehow part of the [[Beast Era]]'s past.

* According to his bio in the end of the comic "[[Dawn of Future's Past]]", Optimus Primal graduated near the top of his class at the Maximal Military Academy.

* In his Transmetal form, Optimus Primal's spark chamber is on a hinge in his chest to swing down to the opening in his abdomen. In his Optimal Optimus form, he stored Prime's spark in his vehicle mode [[cockpit]].

* "Powered Convoy", Optimal Optimus' Japanese name, is Ultra Magnus' [[pre-Transformer]] name in the [[Diaclone]] toyline.

* According to the control art of Optimus Primal's toy, his chest originally seemed to be a kind of launcher instead of being an homage to the [[Autobot Matrix of Leadership|Matrix]].<ref>Toy database section in ''[[Beast Wars Universe]]''</ref>

* According to the diagram of Optimus Primal on the catalog packed with "TM-SP DX Convoy", his spark chamber is [[Energon Matrix|Matrix]]-shaped. ''[[Optimal Situation|Oh lord]].''

==Reference==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1996/Maximal/OptimusPrimal/optimusprimal.htm Optimus Primal at TFU.info]

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Prowl (G1)

2007-12-28T14:02:28Z

195.93.21.40: /* Dreamwave comics continuity */

{{disambig3|Prowl}}

:''Prowl is an [[Autobot]] and [[Maximal]] from the [[Generation 1]] [[continuity family]].''

[[Image:Prowlg1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Prick.]]

'''Prowl''' is the Autobot military strategist. As such, [[Supreme Commander|Autobot Commander]] [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] will keep Prowl near at hand for his indispensable expertise. He believes his dedication to logic and rational thought puts him next in line for Optimus Prime's [[Prime (rank)|job]] and dreams of making grand speeches {{m-}} even though in reality he's stoic and uncharismatic.

He really doesn't tend to get along well with his fellow Autobots, many of whom find his strict adherence to military protocol stifling, and his uptight personality sure doesn't help matters. He does not react well to the unexpected and despises disorder. The [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobot]] commander [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]], who is disorder made manifest, ''especially'' honks Prowl off, and Grimlock feels pretty much the same way in return, only with more swear words. He's very fond of his [[acid pellet]]s, though.

A possible alternate-universe version of Prowl is active during the ''[[Universe]]'' conflict.

:''French-Canadian name:'' '''Cervo''', '''Rôdeur ''' (as Action Master) 
:''Hungarian name'': '''Portyázó''' (meaning Prowler) 
:''Italian name:'' '''Pantera'''

==Fiction==
===Marvel Comics continuity===
{{noteukonly}}
''Before Optimus became leader, Prowl was part of the self-styled Magnificent Six, a team of Autobot warriors who would be tortured and humiliated by the sadistic [[Megadeath]].'' {{storylink|The Magnificent Six!}}

Prowl was one of the select Autobots chosen by [[Optimus Prime (G1)|Optimus Prime]] to travel aboard the [[Ark]], and ended up in stasis lock for four million years at the base of [[Mount St. Hilary]] with the rest of the crew. Once the volcano exploded, Optimus chose Prowl to lead the first away mission into civilization. {{Storylink|The Transformers (comic issue)|The Transformers}} Like most of the Autobots, though, he soon ran out of energy without any option of refueling on Earth, and suffered even greater injuries when the Ark and the deactivated Autobots aboard were taken over by [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] and the Decepticons. ''He was eventually revived when [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and the [[Dinobot (G1)|Dinobots]] reclaimed control of the Ark from Shockwave's drone, the [[Guardian]]. {{Storylink|The Wrath of Guardian!}}''

With Optimus Prime's head still in Decepticon possession, Prowl took command of the Autobots until their true leader could be restored. At [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]]'s suggestion, he forged an alliance with human fuel magnate, [[G.B. Blackrock]], arranging an exchange of free gasoline for the Autobots for their help in protecting Blackrock's facilities from the Decepticons. The Autobots were eventually successful in recovering Prime's head, and restoring him to functionality, but Prowl suffered some injuries battling the Decepticons and a false Prime in the process. {{Storylink|Prime Time!}}

''Shortly thereafter, Prowl was the ringleader of a group of Autobots strongly requesting that Prime use his [[Creation Matrix]] to create Ultimate Autobot super-warriors to wipe out the Decepticons for them. The lethal efficiency of Prowl's stance was just as strong opposed by another faction who saw such action as a perversion of their sacred lifeforce, and the potential for laying waste to Earth. Prime's long absence and relative weakness after his recent ordeals left Prowl and the others less deferential than normal to his will, but after he singlehandedly fought through the Decepticons to rescue [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]], Prowl and the other Ultimate Autobot proponents backed down and accepted Prime's final word on the subject. {{Storylink|Crisis of Command!}} When the Dinobots were driven feral by their primitive circuitry, Prowl nearly sacrificed himself crashing a shuttlecraft straight into the feuding [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] and [[Sludge (G1)|Sludge]]. {{Storylink|Dinobot Hunt!}}''

Prowl's injuries kept him out of action for some time, ''though he was back in action briefly (and later deactivated by means unknown) during the Battlecharger's rampage, and attempted to bring them in despite the endangerment of human life.'' {{storylink|Perchance to Dream}} Ratchet did manage to briefly revive him in order to exploit Prowl's police car mode against a human thief named the [[Mechanic]] who had infiltrated the Ark. {{Storylink|Funeral for a Friend!}} Prowl was fully revived in time for Grimlock and [[Blaster]]'s grudge match on the moon, and fought alongside the combined crews of the Ark and [[Steelhaven]] against the Decepticon party-crashers. {{Storylink|Totaled!}} Unfortunately, it wasn't too long afterwards that Prowl was once again knocked off-line, this time battling the [[Underbase]]-charged [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]] in New York. {{Storylink|Dark Star!}}

He would remain in stasis for some time, until Grimlock acquired a large supply of super-energy known as [[Nucleon]], and pumped it into all of the Ark's stasis chambers. Prowl found himself revived just in time to engage the Chaos-Bringer known as [[Unicron]] for the sake of all Cybertron, and then bury his longterm friend and leader, Optimus Prime, who sacrificed himself to destroy Unicron. {{Storylink|On the Edge of Extinction!}} At Prime's last request, Prowl reluctantly supported Grimlock as new leader of the Autobots. While Grimlock pursued his own interests, though, Prowl found himself working almost alone trying to maintain the tenuous peace between the Autobots and Decepticons. He ended up overplaying his hand, and gave Decepticon leader [[Bludgeon (G1)|Bludgeon]] a chance to betray the Autobots, leaving them trapped on the dying world of Cybertron, without transport, while the Decepticons fled to conquer new civilizations. Luckily for Prowl, Grimlock had anticipated the Decepticons' treachery (By Primus, how'd he manage that...?!?) and had secured alternate starships. The Autobots chased their foes to the planet of [[Klo]] and, thanks to the resurrection of Optimus Prime and the arrival of the Last Autobot, managed to drive off Bludgeon's forces, sending them into at least temporary exile. {{Storylink|End of the Road! (Marvel US comic)|End of the Road!}}

Following the discovery of the Cybertronian Empire, Prowl once again took up arms and served under Optimus.

'''Earthforce'''

''(Note: These stories do not fit into the normal Marvel UK continuity. See [[Earthforce]] for details.)''

''Prowl was reactivated by Galvatron's interference; he easily shook off an attempt at brainwashing him via his baser instints and shot Galvatron in the face. Along with Wheeljack, he lamented about the proliferation of newer types of Transformers, claiming these newcomers gave him a headache just thinking about them. {{storylink|Starting Over!}} He went on to risk his life to stop a Decepticon weapon, leading to both being lost; it turned out he'd survived and deactivated the weapon weeks ago, and was just taking it easy in Louisiana. Now part of Earthforce, he became second-in-command under Grimlock - and had much more success with it than in US #76-80! He also pursued Megatron back into the past when he used Flashback technology to try and alter the events of [[Dark Star!]]; possessing his own past body, Prowl thwarted Megatron and then had to let his past self be killed by Starscream. {{storylink|Flashback}}''

''Along with the surviving Magnificent Six and Silverbolt, Prowl once more faced Megadeath in 1990 and, encouraged by Silverbolt to overcome the past, helped beat Megadeath half to death.''

===Animated continuity===
:''Voice actor:'' [[Michael Bell]] (US), [[Toshirō Ishii]] (Japan) 

[[Image:G1_Prowl_Bluestreak_Rollforit.jpg|thumb|left|200px|It's like looking into a mirror...well, not really.]]

Prowl was part of the crew of the ''[[Ark]]'', the Autobot starship that left Cyberton looking for alternate sources of energy only to crashland on [[Earth]]. Four million years later, the Transformers were reawakened by the eruption of the volcano the Ark had crashed in and reformatted by Teletraan-1. Despite being situated in the United States, Prowl was reformatted as a Japanese police car. No one seemed to notice. {{Storylink|More Than Meets the Eye, Part 1}}

On Earth, Prowl continued to serve as [[Optimus Prime]]'s right hand man, filling the role of military advisor and strategist. His precision thinking and by-the-books planning served as a valuable counterpoint to Jazz's more improvisational style, and it was up to Optimus Prime to weigh their views and come to a decision.

During an attack against Decepticons, Prowl's battle computer was knocked offline by a particularly fierce blow. Crippled, Prowl extended his antenna to seek out an online computer that he could patch into. He found [[Chip Chase]]'s desktop terminal, and the young human ally momentarily took control of Prowl, animating the massive Autobot warrior with his computer. {{Storylink|Roll For It}}

[[Image:Wheresmyface.jpg|thumb|right|200px|I'm glad [[Skyfire]]'s here Prime, but where's my face?]]

[[Skids]] and Prowl attempted to stop the mayhem caused by [[Blitzwing]]'s Decepticons, but instead the two Autobots crashed into each other and were temporarily rebuilt into a throne by [[Scrapper]]. {{Storylink|Triple Takeover}}

Prowl met [[Primus|his maker]] in the year 2005, alongside fellow Autobots [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Brawn]] and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]]. During a [[Decepticon]] assault of a shuttle run to earth from Moonbase One for energon. He was felled by a single blast from [[Scavenger (G1)|Scavenger]], which penetrated his armour and extinguished his spark. {{Storylink|The Transformers: The Movie (1986)|The Transformers: The Movie}}

Prowl's body was evidently recovered for interment, as his grave was housed in the interstellar Autobot mausoleum. Along with the mausoleum itself, Prowl's remains were later plunged into a red sun as a side-effect of a [[Quintesson]] plot. {{Storylink|Dark Awakening}}

===Headmasters cartoon===
Prowl appears as an extra on Earth, even though he died in the movie five years or so previously.

''('''Note''': Prowl's revival can be chalked up to error, especially since [[The Transformers: The Movie (1986)|the Movie]] did not actually reach Japan until many years later. However, he was listed as deceased in [[Dark Awakening]], which did air in Japan, so who knows? Maybe he got better like [[Wheeljack#Victory|Wheeljack]] did?)''.
Another possibility is that the robot identified as Prowl was in reality [[Bluestreak]], mistakenly portrayed with Prowl's colour scheme.

===Binaltech===

When Prowl's [[laser core]] was lost to [[subspace]] in a [[GT System|GT]] Transfer accident, his longtime friend Chip Chase volunteered to sacrifice his very own soul in order to breathe life into the now-lifeless Prowl 2. With the help of [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] Chip's consciousness was transported into Prowl's frame. The new entity created in this fusion is virtually indistinguishable from Prowl's old persona, thanks to copies of the original Prowl's [[memory core]] and [[datatrax]], while a separate neurocomputer handles Chip's thought processes.

===Kid Stuff Talking Story Books===
:''Voice actor:'' Unknown

:''"OUR MISSILES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1!"''

Prowl appears in this storyline as Optimus Prime's over-acting right-hand man.

===Dreamwave comics continuity===
Prowl was an Autobot from [[Praxus]]. After the death of Sentinel Prime, [[Grimlock (G1)|Grimlock]] called him, [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], and others to the ruins of Praxus, where he declared that if the new [[Prime (rank)|Prime]] was insufficient, they would take control of the Autobot military. Prowl was present at the ceremony when Optronix became Optimus Prime, and was restrained by Grimlock when Prime was attacked. Prowl became Optimus Prime's [[Sub-Commander|immediate subordinate]] and advisor. When Optimus ordered a planetary evacuation, Prowl told Prime that there were many voices raised in opposition against it. Prime asked if Prowl's own voice was raised in opposition, but he did not reply. The planetary turbines were activated by Megatron, and Prime left to investigate. As [[Shockwave (G1)|Shockwave]] lead an assault on Iacon, Prowl and Jazz lead the defense, and Prowl sent out an order to all Autobots outside Iacon to regroup and dig in elsewhere. After Iacon was devastated by the mecha-forming process, Prime aborted the evacuation. {{storylink|The War Within}}

After Prime and Megatron disappeared in a [[space bridge]] test, the Autobots fractured, leading to the [[Lightning Strike Coalition]] and [[Wreckers]] leaving the main Autobot army. Prowl took oever leadership of the Autobots. He worked with Shockwave, who had assumed command of the Decepticons, to prevent the [[Fallen]]'s plans from coming to fruition. He and Shockwave agreed to let the [[Well of All Sparks]] remain sealed [['Til all are one]], as Shockwave put it. Prowl thought the line was catchy. {{storylink|The War Within: The Dark Ages}} Eventually, however, [[Ultra Magnus (G1)|Ultra Magnus]] took command of the Autobots, and reunited the three factions. {{storylink|The War Within: The Age of Wrath}}

Prowl was one of many Transformers under the control of rogue government engineer-turned-arms dealer [[Adam Rook]]. He, along with several Autobots and Decepticons, attacked the Smitco Oil Refinery Artic facilty during Rook's sales demonstration to several terrorist organizations. Unfortunately, the invasive-program that controlled Prowl killed a helpless human refinery worker escaping from the destruction. {{Storylink|Prime Directive, Part 2}}

===Transformers Legends anthology===
When Optimus Prime accidentally kills a fellow Autobot, Prowl--who never liked [[Geosensus|the dead guy]] anyway--covers it up so the rest of the team won't lose faith in their leader.

===IDW Beast Wars: Ascending===

Prowl is a member of the Maximal counter part to the Tripredacus Council, the Maximal Imperium, alongside former Autobot teammates Ironhide and Silverbolt.

===IDW comics continuity===
{{ongoing}}
Prowl has been serving the Autobots for a long time, dating back to the days of [[Sentinel Prime#IDW comics continuity|Sentinel Prime]] if not earlier. He was part of the team that attempted - and failed - to crack down on the illegal bloodsports in [[Kaon]]. When Megatron defeated Sentinel and devastated the Security Team HQ, it was Prowl who took control and ordered the evacuation of security forces from Kaon. {{storylink|Megatron Origin}}
[[Image:Prowl_avatar.PNG|right|thumb|100px|When he takes those sunglasses off, "Won't Get Fooled Again" starts playing out of NOWHERE. YEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!]]
Currently, he is the leader of a detachment of Autobots that has operated covertly on Earth for at least four years, attempting to foil a Decepticon insurgency lead by [[Starscream (G1)|Starscream]], and blindly following the Autobot rules of counterinsurgency. He almost throws [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] in the brig for breaking cover to rescue three humans from the Decepticons, and subsequently refuses to contact Optimus Prime until further evidence of enemy activities is uncovered. He does not willingly believe Ratchet when the medic tells him that the Decepticons have stepped up their presence by constructing a second base. However, [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] ends up sending a pulsewave transmission to Prime behind Prowl's back. {{storylink|Infiltration}} Once Optimus arrives, Prowl shows himself to be a trusted and loyal officer.

In the [[Kup]] Spotlight, Prowl is shown hiding Springer's rescue mission from Optimus but he still feels it's a wasted effort, asking Springer if Kup would want other Autobots killed rescuing him. {{storylink|Spotlight: Kup}}

Prowl uses a [[holomatter]] avatar along with [[Jazz (G1)|Jazz]], [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]], [[Sunstreaker]] and [[Wheeljack (G1)|Wheeljack]] while driving on the highway.{{storylink|Infiltration (issue 6)}}

When everything kicked off in Brasnya, Prowl led Jazz and Wheeljack (and later Hot Rod and Hardhead) into battle, attempting to capture a Decepticon facsimilie - he risked his life in the attempt (though Hot Rod mucked up his first attempt). When Optimus was temporarily offlined and believed dead, Prowl assumed full command and came up with a strategy for fighting Megatron (shoot him, then run away). {{storylink|Escalation}}

===IDW ''[[Hearts of Steel]]'' continuity===
With Optimus Prime in stasis lock, Prowl and [[Ratchet (G1)|Ratchet]] appeared to be the co-leaders of the Autobots in the 19th century. {{Storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 1}} Despite [[Bumblebee (G1)|Bumblebee]]'s pleading, he was reluctant to interfere with the humans, but nevertheless participated in the pursuit of [[Astrotrain (G1)|the Astrotrain]] as it headed to New York. {{Storylink|Hearts of Steel issue 4}}

His "Ice Age Wars" altmode is uncertain, but it is spiky, and possibly aquatic. His 19th century altmode is a small black-and-white locomotive with a glowing red smokestack.

==Toys==
===Generation 1===
* '''Prowl''' (Autobot Car, 1984/1985/1990/2002/2003)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''09''', '''TFC-02'''

[[Image:G1Prowl_toy.jpg|left|thumb|I ain't fallin' for no banana in the tailpipe...]]

: Prowl was part of the first series of Autobots released in 1984, reusing a mold originally developed for a ''[[Diaclone]]'' Datsun Fairlady Z (280 ZX) police car, with his decals altered to remove the "Diaclone" marks. (The European "[[Classics (Euro)|Classic Heroes]]" re-release retained the ''Diaclone'' stickers, for unknown reasons).

: In 1985, Mexico imported ''Transformers'', but there were some notable changes on numerous toys. Prowl's helmet, arms, and boots turned black, plus his "POLICE" decals became "POLICIA". There was also a wide running change (or just factory error) that left out the black paint on his car hood.

[[Image:Prowl-Mexico.jpg|right|thumb|150px|El Pricko (pronounced "pree-ho")]]

: In 2002, Prowl was re-released as part of the [[Transformers Collection]] series in Japan. This version has slightly-altered decals, and fully-functional spring-loaded missile launchers.

: In 2003, Prowl was released as part of the Toys "R" Us [[exclusive]] "[[Commemorative Series]]" line in the US. This version of Prowl uses a softer , unchromed black plastic for his rifle and missiles owing to [[for safety reasons|breakage issues]], plus his launchers are completely non-firing. He uses the same decals as the Japanese "bookbox" release.

: The same mold was used for [[Bluestreak]] and [[Smokescreen (G1)|Smokescreen]].

* '''Prowl''' (Action Master Blaster, 1990)

: A non-transforming action figure, [[Action Master]] Prowl is modeled after his cartoon model with a few toy-based liberties taken. He came with his [[Turbo Cycle]] vehicle, though the main figure was compatible with all other Action Master vehicles and weapons.

===Beast Wars===
*'''Magnaboss''' (Ultra, 1997)

: Prowl transforms from a lion into a robot, with his cat-butt turning into a "cyber tail claw" weapon. He is able to combine with [[Ironhide (G1)|Ironhide]] and [[Silverbolt (G1)|Silverbolt]], its package buddies, into Magnaboss.

: This mold was used to make [[Lio Junior]].

:''('''Note''': The toy packaging gives absolutely no indication as to who the Magnaboss components are as characters. Their being Generation 1 characters is a [[retcon]] from the [[IDW]] comic series.)''

===Machine Wars===
* '''Prowl''' (Basic, 1997)
[[Image:Mwprowl.jpg|right|thumb|Do you have any idea how fast you were going?]]

: Sharing a mold with ''[[Machine Wars]]'' [[Mirage (G1)|Mirage]], Prowl transforms into a Formula-1 race car, and converts to robot mode with a spring-loaded, one-step transformation. His rifle-halves store in his legs in car mode. He --and the entire ''Machine Wars'' line-- was available only at Kay-Bee stores.

: Prowl's usual function is strategist, but, in an ironic twist, in this first non-police car form he's described as chief of security.

: This mold was also used to make ''[[Robots in Disguise (franchise)|Robots in Disguise]]'' [[Skid-Z (RID)|Skid-Z]].

===Smallest Transformers===
* '''Prowl''' (2003)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''GTF-09'''
[[Image:STF_Prowl.jpg|left|thumb|Wee-woo-wee-woo-wee-woo.]]

: Released in Wave 2 of Smallest Transformers, STF Prowl is the smallest possible transforming toy based upon the original Prowl toy. He faithfully repoduces the transformation sequence for the most part, but due to parts-cost limitations, he has little articulation, his legs cannot separate and his wheels do not roll.

{{-}}

===Alternators===
* '''Prowl''' (Alternator, 2005/2006)
:''Alternator ID number:'' '''16'''
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''BT-15'''
[[Image:AlternatorsProwl.jpg|right|thumb|200px|You better get a lawyer son...]]

: ''[[Alternators]]'' Prowl transforms into a 1:24-scale Acura RSX car with police lights, opening doors, hood and trunk. His engine becomes a (non-firing) gun, while a clear-plastic nightstick is hidden under his car-mode rear section. He was among the last of the "red box" Alternators, but was included in new "white box" assortments in 2006. The "white box" version of Prowl had additional Acura logos on the rear of the car that the "red box" version did not.

[[Image:BinaltechProwl.jpg|left|thumb|200px|... you better get a real good one.]]

: For his standard Japanese ''Binaltech'' release, Prowl got a different vehicle mode deco based on a real Japanese police car (the [[Hasbro]] version's deco being based more on the original [[Generation 1]] toy), a different spoiler mold, different rims, right side steering, a Imperial chrysanthemum emblem instead of an Acura logo, and gray plastic instead of stony-blue. He was also labelled as a "Honda Integra Type-R", the model's make in Japan.

{{-}}
* '''Prowl Vivid Blue Pearl Edition''' (Binaltech, 2005)
: ''Japanese ID number:'' '''BT-15'''

[[Image:Binaltech_Blue_Prowl_toy.jpg|right|thumb|100px|Prowl on his day off...]]

: Like [[Jazz]], Prowl got two different ''Binaltech'' decos released in equal numbers. The second version, known as Vivid Blue Pearl Prowl, is a civilian version with no police lights, a mostly blue interior, a Honda logo (instead of a Imperial chrysanthemum emblem) on the grill, and a solid blue car-shell. His robot-mode parts remained mostly the same color, however.

: This mold (the Japanese blue Prowl variant, combined with parts from American police Prowl) was used to make ''Alternators'' [[Camshaft]].

* '''Prowl Satellite Patrol Edition''' (Binaltech, 2005?)

: The [[Hasbro]] version of Prowl, using the Hasbro red box packaging, was supposed to have been released in Japan as an exclusive to a satellite TV provider. The only notable difference from the Hasbro version was the "Satellite Patrol" markings on his doors. It is unknown if this toy was ever actually released, however.
{{-}}

===Universe===
*'''Prowl''' (Autobot, 2005)

: A redeco of the ''Robots in Disguise'' [[Prowl (RID)|Prowl 2]] mold, ''[[Universe]]'' Prowl transforms into a Chevrolet Caprice police car with through-axle construction for super-speedy rolling on smooth surfaces. His gun hides as his car mode's tailpipe. Originally only available at Kay-Bee stores in packaging with no sub-line markings, his entire assortment was later repackaged under the ''Universe'' banner and sold through "dollar store" chains like Family Dollar.

===Attacktix===
*'''Prowl''' (Booster, 2007)
[[Image:Tf2-16-400.jpg|left|thumb|150px|I got a big... gun.]]

: Introduced in Series 2 of [[Attacktix]], Prowl is a Captain class unit with the special ability to stun an opposing player unit. His sculpt is based upon his G1 cartoon model with some additional details. His weapon is a '''hugely''' oversized version of his rifle, capable of firing a large silver projectile.

{{-}}

==Trivia==
* Prowl's ''[[Diaclone]]'' predecessor also came with additional optional stickers that would identify him as being part of the police forces from existing Japanese cities, namely "Tokyo City", "Sapporo City", "Sendai City", "Osaka City" and "Fukuoka City".

* The original ''Transformers'' instructions booklet shows a visible Japanese label sheet complete with the Imperial chrysanthemum emblem found on Japanese police cars, which did not make it to final product.

* ''Machine Wars'' Prowl's card-art is actually an altered version of the art for the ''[[Generation 2]]'' [[Laser Rod]] [[Jolt (G2)|Jolt]].

* [[Transmetal 2]] [[Prowl (Transmetal 2)|Prowl]] may ''possibly'' be the same spark as the G1 character reincarnated... though the IDW series makes this REALLY complicated.

* At [[OTFCC 2004]], Hasbro stated that there was no Prowl ''Alternators'' toy in the works, but some other emergency vehicle (which got a chorus of boos). In fact, the Acura RSX [[Alternators]] mold was original supposed to be [[Red Alert (G1)|Red Alert]], as backed up by a placeholder listing found at Hasbro's website and a Takara color guide for the toy that used a control drawing which sports a head sculpt based on G1 Red Alert (but colored as Prowl).<ref>[http://www.fantofan.jp/earlybirdsp/bt-15.jpg Color guide for Binaltech Prowl, sporting a G1 Red Alert head sculpt, at Fan to Fan]</ref> Eventually, however, it was decided to release the toy as Prowl instead.

*Instead of having a normal gunshot death, Prowl is shown having orange smoke coming from his mouth as he dies. ''Ewww!''

==Footnotes==
<references />

==External links==
*[http://www.tfu.info/1984/Autobot/Prowl/prowl.htm Prowl on TFU.info]

[[Category: Action Masters]]
[[Category: Alternators]]
[[Category: Attacktix]]
[[Category: Autobots]]
[[Category: Autobot leaders]]
[[Category: Beast Wars characters]]
[[Category: Combiners]]
[[Category: Generation 1 characters]]
[[Category: Headmasters characters]]
[[Category: KB Toys exclusives]]
[[Category: Machine Wars characters]]
[[Category: Maximals]]
[[category: Maximal leaders]]
[[Category: Security officers]]
[[Category: Strategists]]
[[Category: Universe characters]]<div id="wikia-credits"> From [http://transformers.wikia.com Teletraan I: The Transformers Wiki], a [http://www.wikia.com Wikia] wiki.</div>